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thoughts for an urban wedding?


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Oh, outstanding idea to aim for a likely Waterfire weekend! :thumbsup: I just ran into a couple from Boston who apparently did their wedding several years ago at Waterplace and the Biltmore (complete with gondola rides, etc) and they were gushing that it was "nearly perfect."

Congratulations, and good suggestion!

- Garris

i was hoping i'd be the first wedding at waterplace... oh well...

i'll have to study the schedules, and if we decide to do it at the biltmore, i'll plan for a weekend when there will most likely be a waterfire. :D

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  • 6 months later...

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so my wedding plans have changed a bit. we've booked the biltmore for the reception and we're using the chapel at PC for the ceremony (meaning people get to see more of providence than jsut the downtown area.

we also came up with this great idea for table "numbers" and rather than using numbers, i guess a lot of couples are now using words or places or whatever. we decided we're gonna name our tables after providence neighborhoods (or common terms for the actual neighborhoods). the only ones we're definitely not using are wanskuck (because it sounds awful) and hartford (because it sounds like another city), although we can put the people we don't like at those tables. :P

anyways, we're looking to take some pictures of some defining part of each neighborhood (although we probably won't take the pics until spring/summer). any suggestions for the neighborhoods other than the 2 i mentioned? obviously downtown will be the skyline (and probably the name of the head table, but we'll call it "downcity" instead).

also, any suggestions for rehearsal dinner restaurants? we're putting together a list of possible places, but it can't be a chain. so far we have gracie's, hemenway's (i know it's sort of a chain, but it's good), barnsider's, and cassarino's as possibilities. we were thinking about adding mumu to the list, but one of the people who will be there has severe allergies to nuts, so asian food might not be a good idea. i know new restuarants are opening up all the time, so the choice will be tough. we don't want something terribly expensive. i also don't know what restaurants really do these types of big reserved dinners either. i know hemenway's, gracie's, and barnsider's all have separate rooms that can be reserved for this, and i don't see why cassarino's, with 3 floors wouldn't be able to do that, but i don't know what others have something like that. bravo would be great, but it's small, so we'd take up half the restaurant.

also, we're looking for places within walking distance of the biltmore to do brunch the morning after. we're thinking bravo depending on the price and how busy they get for their sunday brunch (because we're not gonna cover everyone's cost for this, people have to pay their own way, but we figured we'd offer it for those who are from out of town and need food the next morning before leaving).

the wedding's not until 2008, so we've got time, but we like to think of things ahead of time and we want to try the restaurants beforehand as well.

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I think the rehearsal dinner depends on what kind of crowd your friends and family are, and if you're trying to impress them, or make them comfortable. You strike me as one who's less out to impress and more looking to just have a good time, so I'd lean towards Barnsiders actually. If you haven't been, there's something very homey and comfortable that I really like about the place. I think Cassarino's would also fit into that class.

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I think the rehearsal dinner depends on what kind of crowd your friends and family are, and if you're trying to impress them, or make them comfortable. You strike me as one who's less out to impress and more looking to just have a good time, so I'd lean towards Barnsiders actually. If you haven't been, there's something very homey and comfortable that I really like about the place. I think Cassarino's would also fit into that class.

frankly, we want them to be impressed. :D but we don't want to spend a ton on the rehearsal dinner since the wedding will be impressive and is expensive (the biltmore ain't cheap). so i guess we want to do a little of both... impress with the awesome restaurant scene in providence, but not make anyone feel uncomfortable (they can all handle nice restaurants except maybe my fiancee's brother and grandparents who i guess can be considered hicks, but in a nice way).

really, we're just looking to be amused by our suburban families as they come to "the big city" for our wedding and don't know what to do. no one in my family has had a wedding in the downtown area of a city, and even though most of my family grew up in new haven, they seem to now fear the city. so this will be fun for everyone, but mostly us.

we've actually been to all those restaurants i've mentioned except gracie's (which seems expensive, but not as bad as hemenways).

any suggestions for other restaurants?

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Dude, you don't need to book your rehearsal so far in advance. who knows what will happen in the next 18 months. I'd give it a little more time before you worry about that--just think of what restaurants and venues that could pop up between now and then!!!

:)

and from a planning standpoint, the earlier you book stuff, the longer you have to regret your decisions. Certainly some things you cannot wait on, but there are plenty of details that you can slide on for a little while. getting all your work done now can actually cause more stress. trust me.

oh and the facilitators from the charrettes got sick after eating at Hemenways.

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Dude, you don't need to book your rehearsal so far in advance. who knows what will happen in the next 18 months. I'd give it a little more time before you worry about that--just think of what restaurants and venues that could pop up between now and then!!!

:)

and from a planning standpoint, the earlier you book stuff, the longer you have to regret your decisions. Certainly some things you cannot wait on, but there are plenty of details that you can slide on for a little while. getting all your work done now can actually cause more stress. trust me.

oh and the facilitators from the charrettes got sick after eating at Hemenways.

we're not going to book the rehearsal dinner any sooner than june 07 and probably not until after that. we're just looking for ideas so we can go try some of the restaurants (we don't have a lot of money so these would be special dinners, maybe once a month or once every 2 months).

the only things we've booked are the biltmore, the chapel, and the priest. we'll probably book the DJ and photographer over thanksgiving time. other than that, we're not worried, those are the things that book the soonest (one DJ who we're not going with said he had a couple booked for november of 2008 already, we're not going with him because he seemed kind of slimey and weird).

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I would recommend the Gatehouse in Wayland's Richmond Square. "But wait" you may say, "The Gatehouse is closed!" Actually, it's closed to the general public and used for catering and for event functions, for which your dinner would almost certainly qualify. Whether that will be true in 18 months, who knows...

The Gatehouse is beautiful, right on the Seekonk River, and it has a lot of surface parking, which may be more comfortable for your urban averse guests. While I obviously haven't had any of their food since it was closed to the public, everything that chef and kitchen turned out before was wonderful when I dined there previously.

- Garris

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I would recommend the Gatehouse in Wayland's Richmond Square. "But wait" you may say, "The Gatehouse is closed!" Actually, it's closed to the general public and used for catering and for event functions, for which your dinner would almost certainly qualify. Whether that will be true in 18 months, who knows...

The Gatehouse is beautiful, right on the Seekonk River, and it has a lot of surface parking, which may be more comfortable for your urban averse guests. While I obviously haven't had any of their food since it was closed to the public, everything that chef and kitchen turned out before was wonderful when I dined there previously.

- Garris

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Have you considered 3 Steeple Street? I believe they have a function room upstairs, they're right on top of the action on waterfire nights and have great view of the riverfront regardless, and they seem to tread the line between fancy and casual fairly artfully. (plus it's stumbling distance to the Biltmore).

I'm a big fan of their food and the ambiance- it feels like the archetype of Providence restaurants to me for some reason.

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Have you considered 3 Steeple Street? I believe they have a function room upstairs, they're right on top of the action on waterfire nights and have great view of the riverfront regardless, and they seem to tread the line between fancy and casual fairly artfully. (plus it's stumbling distance to the Biltmore).

I'm a big fan of their food and the ambiance- it feels like the archetype of Providence restaurants to me for some reason.

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Some thoughts.

I had a rehearsal dinner at The Gatehouse way back when, 1996 or so. I don't really remember if it even had the same name then. It was great. I love the location and I love water. But it isn't downtown.

3 Steeple St. is a great choice for being near the center.

You might ask if Bravo will be allowing functions on their second floor by the time you need it. The last time I was there, it was finished but the waitstaff still wasn't sure what they were going to use it for. That seems like it would be a cool place to have a rehearsal dinner, though, and the price point should be a little less than, say, Gracie's.

For brunch I have to hope that DownCity diner will be back in business by then. Beyond that, why not let folks choose? Give them directions to Nick's, to Rue L'Espoir, etc.

Don't do brunch with everyone. The wedding is your day to celebrate with all of the family. Take the time immediately after the wedding to celebrate with yourselves. I know some people might consider that greedy especially with so many folks from out of town but every couple I know that did the day after brunch regretted it. YMMV, of course, my sample size here is three or four.

If you are trying to sell Providence it might be worth putting together an insert for the invitation. Or you could do a website.

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Also, regarding table pictures.

East Side:

- Wayland Square. I would try to take a picture from Richmond Square with the old railroad bridge in the background.

- Blackstone. About halfway up the Blackstone walking park there is a statue. You can frame a picture here with the statue, the bench in front of it, and a couple of houses. Alternately, you could take a picture of the fountain at Lippit Park and frame it either with the children's play area or the houses across the street.

- Summit/Hope. I happen to like the new wing of Miriam and think it might be photo worthy when complete. Again, you need some framing. There is also the cool old church on Hope St.

- Mount Hope. There are some great places to snap picks of the houses rising along the hill. You might want to scout a location.

- Benefit. Just pick a place. It's worth giving Benefit it's own table.

- College Hill. Something with the Brown Quad.

- Fox Point. There is a vista along Hope St. where you can capture the corner of Hope and Wickenden which has buildings in the foreground but peaks through and has a nice view of the Upper Bay.

- India Point. Technically this is part of Fox point but this is a great opportunity to photo the new 195 Bridge, maybe with the Hurricane Barrier.

- South Main St. Not technically a neighborhood, but it might be worth taking a photo here. You have the County Courthouse, the Old Stone Bank, and also just a nice strip of storefronts.

- RISD. Not sure what to call this but capturing the classic buildings along the river is a must, IMO.

- Capital District. Statehouse is the obvious choice, I think.

- Charles. You should know what you want to photograph here. Just don't choose Wal-Mart, ok? :)

- Smith Hill. I love the re-done victorians that you can see from the highway.

- Elmhurst. You might just want to use the PC chapel since that's where you are getting married.

- Valley. This is a tough one. If you have some skill I would suggest trying to capture some Mill buildings

- Mount Pleasant, Manton, Silver Lake. I sadly don't know much about the Western part of the city.

- Olneyville. It might sound trite, but IMO the only choice for Olneyville is a photograph of the Olneyville New York System.

- Federal Hill. The obvious is DePasquale Square

- West End. Can this be the Armory? Or some of the distinctive Victorians near it? Too bad the Crayon house has been un-crayoned.

- Upper South Providence. Hospitals maybe? There must be some other distinguishing features but those will be the most prominent.

- Lower South Providence. If you could capture a nice street scene showing the mixed ethnicity down here, that would be pretty great.

- Elmwood/South Elmwood/Washington Park. I would suggest a picture inside the park for South Elmwood, a picture along the park for Elmwood, and a picture showing the "state" streets from Washington Park. If you are lucky in the spring (no leaves) you might be able to capture a pic with houses with the Bay in the background off of Narragansett Blvd. (Allens Ave.)

- Reservoir. There has to be a way to capture the actual reservoir in a nice way that identifies it.

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Some thoughts.

I had a rehearsal dinner at The Gatehouse way back when, 1996 or so. I don't really remember if it even had the same name then. It was great. I love the location and I love water. But it isn't downtown.

3 Steeple St. is a great choice for being near the center.

You might ask if Bravo will be allowing functions on their second floor by the time you need it. The last time I was there, it was finished but the waitstaff still wasn't sure what they were going to use it for. That seems like it would be a cool place to have a rehearsal dinner, though, and the price point should be a little less than, say, Gracie's.

For brunch I have to hope that DownCity diner will be back in business by then. Beyond that, why not let folks choose? Give them directions to Nick's, to Rue L'Espoir, etc.

Don't do brunch with everyone. The wedding is your day to celebrate with all of the family. Take the time immediately after the wedding to celebrate with yourselves. I know some people might consider that greedy especially with so many folks from out of town but every couple I know that did the day after brunch regretted it. YMMV, of course, my sample size here is three or four.

If you are trying to sell Providence it might be worth putting together an insert for the invitation. Or you could do a website.

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Are you staying at the Biltmore and is your wedding party staying there? Do brunch at the Biltmore, people can roll out of bed and to the brunch. Do it in the top floor ballroom.

Also, Bravo does brunch, perhaps you could get there function room, it's a little further to roll from the bed though.

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Are you staying at the Biltmore and is your wedding party staying there? Do brunch at the Biltmore, people can roll out of bed and to the brunch. Do it in the top floor ballroom.

Also, Bravo does brunch, perhaps you could get there function room, it's a little further to roll from the bed though.

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you booked the biltmore without knowing what beers they offer?

What is wrong with you? !!

why not do a nice catered brunch thingy downtown at Burnside Park? or at Waterplace Park. Maybe that restaurant that used to be called Bella Vista (and it was something else before then) offers a brunch.

But i agree with everyone who says don't worry about brunch. You're going to be exhausted. Plus, not all guests like every moment programmed of their weekend (between rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, wedding day, wedding night and now brunch too?! Sheesh give them a chance to sleep).

Why not meet up with your friends and family at one of their guest rooms, or back at your house, or at a friends place downtown in the Peerless (ari?) :) and have a early afternoon cocktail or something.

There was nothing i wanted more than to luxuriate in my suite, have a bubblebath, eat bonbons and drink champagne, after my wedding night but we had to head out to the parents house and say goodbye to all the relatives, who frankly, were quite surprised to see us standing.

btw, i will apologise in advance for being one nosey mo-fo but who the heck is paying for all this?! a big wedding at the biltmore is easily the equivalent of 1/4 of an entire house, or MORE!

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you booked the biltmore without knowing what beers they offer?

What is wrong with you? !!

why not do a nice catered brunch thingy downtown at Burnside Park? or at Waterplace Park. Maybe that restaurant that used to be called Bella Vista (and it was something else before then) offers a brunch.

But i agree with everyone who says don't worry about brunch. You're going to be exhausted. Plus, not all guests like every moment programmed of their weekend (between rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, wedding day, wedding night and now brunch too?! Sheesh give them a chance to sleep).

Why not meet up with your friends and family at one of their guest rooms, or back at your house, or at a friends place downtown in the Peerless (ari?) :) and have a early afternoon cocktail or something.

There was nothing i wanted more than to luxuriate in my suite, have a bubblebath, eat bonbons and drink champagne, after my wedding night but we had to head out to the parents house and say goodbye to all the relatives, who frankly, were quite surprised to see us standing.

btw, i will apologise in advance for being one nosey mo-fo but who the heck is paying for all this?! a big wedding at the biltmore is easily the equivalent of 1/4 of an entire house, or MORE!

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