HotelChatter

The Target

Alright, so I'm not actually planning a 250-person wedding for next summer. It was research. I work for one of The Pierre's competitors and I was off on a secret-shopper mission sort of thing. After speaking briefly with someone on the phone, I came in for a walkthrough later that day armed with $300,000-ish imaginary Daddy dollars, a proportionally large (fake) rock, a (real) hospitality degree and all the wedding fantasies and expectations that come from 21 years of, well, being a girl.

That said, the wedding coordinators I dealt with were surprisingly warm (read: not sleazy salesmen) and professional; they treated me with respect and seemed completely unfazed by my age. I'm sure this probably has more to do with the fact that I was ready to throw down hundreds of thousands than with genuinely fabulous service, but I appreciated it nonetheless. Though I can't quite put my finger on exactly what it was they did or said, these guys managed to interact with me so that I understood they had a ton of experience with weddings, yet didn't feel like "just another bride."  

The Space

Well, it's The Pierre. The space is exquisite. Four Seasons sold the property over to Taj Hotels a couple years ago and within the last year or so, most of the already-beautiful function space has been renovated. They touched up a lot of the artwork on the ceilings and installed, as the man giving me the tour put it, "more brilliant fixtures." The color scheme was mostly browns, blues and golds and the tiny details, like doorframes and handrails, looked brand new if not flawless.

The Pierre prides itself on only hosting one wedding on any given day and promises that all attention will be devoted to you on your special day. The ceremony takes place in one room, cocktails in another and the dinner/dance happens in the Grand Ballroom, so you've got all day to set up and none of the spaces have to be turned over.

I will say, though, that I was a little put off by the chairs in the Grand Ballroom--gold chivari chairs with stains all over the grey-striped cushions--but I was assured that the spots were from a recent event and would be cleaned thoroughly soon. Oh, and the dance floor was puny, but he explained that this was only a "half dance floor" and a full dance floor was, obviously, twice the size of the one I was looking at.

The ballroom is absolutely beautiful, from the elegant gold detailing to the ceiling, looks a lot like raw silk when the lighting hits it in a certain way. Sort of made me wish I was actually getting married...for a second.  

Included in the space rental is use of the bridal suite. The bridal suite features a living area, dining room, sizeable bar, a bedroom and an enormous, gorgeous private balcony with a breathtaking view of Manhattan. It also, unfortunately, features that fugly shade of green that's not-quite-kelly-but-not-quite-forest green, but the marvelous balcony should make you forget all about it.

Food and Booze

When we sat down to discuss the menu, pricing and contract, the Director of Catering busted out a fountain pen to draft the contract. A fountain pen! I love that! How very Pierre-esque. Ok, anyway, for the cocktail reception, you've got a top shelf open bar, 10 to 12 passed hors d'oeuvres and several little stations set up (caviar and fois gras stations among them). I almost blew my cover and exposed myself as the completely classless and unrefined single college student that I am when I winced at the word caviar and asked for a mini-cheeseburger station instead (totally doable, by the way-- the wedding coordinator loved it!)

The seated dinner menus I looked at had varying levels of deliciousness and could be, obviously, tailored and tweaked to include whatever my cold little Bridezilla heart desired. Food and booze price per person: about $450. With tax and service charge: about $520 per head. Chump change.

Also worth mentioning: they have an in-house cake lady that they prefer to use who calls herself the "Leonardo DiVinci of Cakes." Leonardo was also a master of anatomy, so maybe she can make an awesome cake for your bachelorette party too. Just saying.

The Verdict

I'd get married there in a red hot second if I had, you know, an actual person to marry and no budget whatsoever.