It is winter here in New York and it has me thinking of my favourite winter wedding venues. There is something so cozy and intimate about a winter wedding. For those of you that have multiple friends getting married in the same year, it means your wedding may not be as close together with the other weddings in the peak months of the year. You may even get a better rate with the wedding venue for an off peak winter weekend (usually January to March in New York). It is naturally a little quieter during those months for wedding vendors, so that may be to your benefit too. If you are really lucky, maybe you even get a bit of snow on your wedding day! Here are some of my favourite venues.
The New York Historical Museum
New York’s first museum The New York Historical makes for a very special space to host a wedding. Located on the upper west side, the various galleries make for such an interesting experience for your guests. It works beautifully for weddings of 100-200 guests. You could have your ceremony in the Library, cocktails in the Gallery of Tiffany Lamps, dinner in Dexter Hall in front of the largest Picasso in North America and dancing back in the Library.
The Foundry LIC
The Foundry in Long Island City is a venue that has been beautifully restored to showcase its industrial character. It has 3000 square feet of raw space, with a large courtyard, rooftop terrace and indoor greenhouse. It is the ivy covered greenhouse that I find so special for a winter wedding. We were incredibly lucky for this wedding, where a big snowstorm blanketed the grounds the day before, but the wedding day was relatively calm with the weather. The long tables in The Foundry covered with elegant taper candles and a pop of deep burgundy napkins had all the cozy feels.
Blue Hill at Stone Barns
A short drive out of Manhattan gets you to Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Westchester, New York. You could have your ceremony in the upper hayloft, cocktails in the lower haybarn (smaller format event) or the restaurant (larger format event) and then dinner back upstairs in the hayloft. The grounds are always beautiful to walk around for portraits even in the winter. The winter light coming in through the trees can be so pretty.
Rainbow Room
65 five floors up in Rockefeller Center, guests are always impressed with the Rainbow Room when they step off the elevator. Bar Sixty-Five for the ceremony has a beautiful modern ceiling and impressive views of the Manhattan skyline. Guests will go next door to the Private Dining Room and Gallery for cocktails. Dinner takes place in the stunning Rainbow Room with crystal chandeliers. It is one of my favourite rooms for 200-250 guests, as the tiered seating around the central dance floor (which can rotate!) makes a larger wedding feel more intimate.
Photographer credit to Anna Gianfrate, Storyteller Weddings, Dave Robbins Photography, Judy Pak Photography and Heather Waraksa Photography