Gramercy Park Hotel: A Legendary Venue for Unforgettable Weddings
Manhattan’s legendary park-side venue is the ideal setting for a totally customized union
One can't paint New York as it is, but rather as it is felt, said Georgia O’Keefe, and the same might be said for planning a New York wedding.
“A wedding is an expression of a couple’s personal style, a celebration of their love, and an opportunity to set the tone for a lifetime together,” says Sabria Farhat, wedding specialist at Gramercy Park Hotel. “What will be remembered is how the moment felt, and the tangible details – the room, the flowers, food, music – should present a setting in which to create the desired feeling.”
A Challenge to the Status Quo: Gramercy Park Hotel
With its exclusive park-side setting, one-of-a-kind rooftop celebration space, diverse additional settings and bold modern artworks and décor, Gramercy Park Hotel is the ideal place for couples to begin a life together.
“Since its storied beginning in the 1920s, Gramercy Park Hotel has welcomed individualists who have inspired its evolution as a meeting place for people and ideas,” says General Manager Elizabeth Mao. “For the couple who wants to mark the beginning of their life together with their own personal style, Gramercy Park Hotel is a place that shares their imagination and vision.”
The Perfect Setting
Whether a very private ceremony shared by just a few loved ones, a glamorous luncheon for 40 or party under the stars for 200, Gramercy Park Hotel offers different settings to suit each couple’s own vision for their wedding.
Gramercy Terrace is the Hotel’s newly refurbished, year-round rooftop garden restaurant with unparalleled skyline views lit by sun, stars, and a sea of candlelight. Vividly imagined by artist Julian Schnabel, who re-designed the hotel in 2006, Gramercy Terrace features subtle lighting, custom-designed furniture and changing displays of contemporary art from one of New York’s most extensive private collections. With a series of indoor and outdoor spaces to choose from, options include sit down dinners, cocktail receptions, and dancing into the night. The venue’s state-of-the-art sound system is ideal for a DJ, and small groups of live musicians can also be accommodated.
The divisible Park Room, overlooking Gramercy Park, is a gracious salon for up to 66 seated for a meal, or 120 for a reception. Comfortable chairs are among the exotic wood furnishings, with lush red velvet drapes adorning the floor-to-ceiling windows.
The Hotel’s six private suites, accommodating up to 20 for dinner or 30 for a reception, offer a more residential feel for small ceremonies, elegant cocktail parties and home-style dinners. The Gramercy Park Hotel Penthouse can host 30 for a meal, and up to 60 for a reception.
The famous Rose and Jade Bar, the unofficial home to the city’s artistic, fashion and literary communities, is occasionally made available for private functions. High ceilings, original pieces by this era’s most important artists, and dramatic color and furnishings offer an original statement to surround each couple’s own style.
Gramercy Park Hotel also works closely with members of the wedding party and families to plan bridal showers, rehearsal dinners, bachelor dinners and day-after brunches for out of town guests.
The Details: Food, Drink, Flowers, Music, Photos, and the Dress
Gramercy Park Hotel works closely with couples to realize their dreams. Drawing on the expertise of its own event planning and culinary staff, the catering team is also pleased to suggest and connect couples to some of the city’s top fashion designers, florists, cake specialists, makeup and hair stylists, musicians and graphic designers.
For celebratory food and drink, couples can choose from several menu options created by Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group (who also oversees the kitchens at Maialino, the roman trattoria adjacent to Gramercy Park Hotel), or work with the catering team to design a menu to their own tastes. The Hotel’s wine cellar is at one’s disposal, and couples may even want to ask one of the property’s resident mixologists for a bespoke libation to mark the occasion.
To capture the moment, Gramercy Park Hotel offers some of the city’s most interesting backdrops, including rooms of brilliant color and soaring ceilings, custom furnishings and dramatic contemporary art, and limited access to Gramercy Park. “We can also recommend photographers with style ranging from traditional to avant garde for pre-wedding portraits and on-location shoots of the wedding couple,” suggests Farhat.
From out of town? Chef Concierge David Moreno and his team are experts at opening up the city to visitors, and to planning memorable honeymoons for newly married couples. “Since the passing of the state’s Marriage Equality Act in 2011, the city has become a favored destination for couples from other jurisdictions to get married,” notes Farhat. “We can arrange an officiant for the ceremony, and help couples understand the legal requirements of getting married in New York state.”
For weddings of 100 guests or more, Gramercy Park Hotel offers a complimentary suite that can be used as a private dressing area during the day, and a romantic retreat for the first night of the honeymoon. With 24-hour access to the kitchens of Gramercy Terrace, Rose and Jade Bar and Maialino, couples can indulge in late night noshing and breakfast in bed, or even a gourmet picnic à deux in Central Park. In-room spa and beauty services can also be arranged.
The Legend Lives On: Gramercy Park Hotel
Located across from Gramercy Park in a residential community at the foot of Lexington Avenue, Gramercy Park Hotel brings together ideas and viewpoints, styles and inspirations, and people and personalities. Since opening in 1929, Gramercy Park Hotel has been at the heart of the city’s arts, culture, fashion and social life.
For bookings, contact the special events team at 212 201 2168 or sfarhat@gramercyparkhotel.com