Glens Falls Chronicle Serving the Glens Falls/Lake George region; Warren, Washington and northern Saratoga counties since 1980
By Cathy DeDe, Chronicle Managing Editor
We’re hearing that weddings are big, and back, mostly tradtional with some fun touches. We talked to several area venues to see what’s happening.
Emily Stein at The Lodge at Echo Lake is seeing “Unplug Unplug Unplug!” with “lots of wedding couples asking guests to leave photo taking to their photographer and/or videographer so that they can enjoy the evening.”
Cupcakes or donut station instead of the traditional wedding cakes for dessert.
Signature drink or fountain named for the couple.
Dogs part of the wedding ceremony, “even cuter when the dog is dressed up.”
Other new ideas Ms. Stein reports:
Brides walking down the aisle with both parents.
Old-school cars to arrive or depart from the ceremony.
Fun non-traditional gifts for guests like s’mores packages, warm blankets, or cozies for beverages at the post reception bonfire.
Ms. Stein notes, “This year we had a number of couples who got married during the pandemic who still wanted to do it over so they could celebrate with their family and friends, for a wedding ceremony and reception.
Stephanie Ottino, Director of Sales and Marketing at the Queensbury Hotel, said December and Holiday Weddings are on a growing emphasis: “We’re continuing to see a lot of interest, with couples looking to take advantage of our over-the-top holiday decorations and tap into the festive atmosphere.”
“We just hosted four weddings in the week between Christmas and New Year’s,” Ms. Ottino said. “Two were smaller elopements or micro-weddings, while the others were larger, more traditional, including a big New Year’s Eve wedding which was a total blast and great way to ring in the New Year with a balloon drop at midnight.”
“Extra! Extra!” she says. “We’re loving the new ‘wedding newspaper’ trend,” instead of a traditional wedding program. The newspaper has “the day’s schedule, fun “articles” about the couple and “maybe even a custom crossword puzzle.”
Ms. Ottino calls this “the year of the walls,” citing “flower walls, Champagne walls, you name it,” custom flower or greenery walls used as a backdrop to a ceremony and then re-purposed for a photo spot or sweetheart table.
“And who wouldn’t love…a wall full of Champagne flutes to welcome you to a wedding reception!”
Finally she notes, Have you heard of the Audio Guestbook yet? “Instead of a traditional guestbook that people sign, couples set up a vintage or retro phone at their reception for their guests to leave an audio message on.”
Katie Hawkins at The Elms in Lake Luzerne & Mountain Airstrip Farm in Corinth, which will have its first full wedding season this year, says, “Sustainability has been a lovely trend on the rise in the wedding industry.”
“From using recycled paper for wedding stationery, to propagating plant cuttings for wedding favors, to repurposing florals from ceremony to reception — we would love to continue to see people’s creativity in reducing wedding waste.”
“We’ve been loving mismatched bridesmaids dresses, pocket boutonnieres, small wedding cakes, documentary style photography, more intimate events, and vintage/bespoke wedding decor!
“We would highly recommend choosing a color palette with several tones as opposed to a two-tone color scheme, in order to add depth & dimension.”
For food, she said, “Station-style, customizable options seem to be quite popular! Guests love a fun touch like a mobile coffee bar or ice cream truck at a cocktail hour or reception.
“2023 was the year of colorful decor and florals, and we don’t see that ending anytime soon! Bows have taken the world by storm since the holidays.”
She also cites “quiet luxury, where the focus is more of an understated elegance.”
Ms. Hawkins notes, “Vow renewals have become a huge thing, with couples celebrating milestone anniversaries…in a celebration even bigger than their original wedding. We’re also continuing to see couples who didn’t get to have their wedding because of Covid-19.”
LeAnna Avila at The Inn at Erlowest suggests some substitutions she’s seen.
“Skip favors. More of them are left rather than taken. In lieu of favors, donate to specific charity.”
“In lieu of a wedding cake, offer a Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Sundae cart. Six ice cream flavors and all the toppings!”
Or further, she adds, “Boozy ice cream carts! Add Baileys, for example, to your sundae.”
“Instead of the couple’s first dance, invite the grandparents to take the floor for their spotlight dance.”
Ms. Avila said the Inn at Erlowest in Lake George averages 120 to 150 weddings per year — never more than one a day, but any day of the week.
She adds, “We always have a wide range of ages with our couples. The older couples tend to want more of an intimate gathering, while the younger couples want larger events with lots of dancing.”
Dawn Bennett at Fort William Henry says couples “have been right on trend, with the sweetheart tables, photo booths, signature cocktails. They’re doing all of that.”
The Fort’s Carriage House opened last May, capacity 300 people. “Bigger weddings are the new trend,” she said.
“I have 47 weddings on the books for 2024. I would say three-quarters are over 150-person weddings. That’s a new trend, but really, it’s coming back. It used to be back in the day when we first started doing weddings, people were doing 200 people, and then it just got scaled back. Now it’s coming back.”
“Bands are coming back,” Ms. Bennett adds. “Now that we have the Carriage House and the bigger space, for 2024, I’m going to say two thirds of my weddings are already scheduled to have bands,” where, in the old White Lion room, pre-Carriage House, Ms. Bennett said couples typically had a DJ.
Like Ms. Ottino at the Queensbury Hotel, Ms. Bennett notes one new thing she saw at a couple of weddings was, rather than a guest book, an old-fashioned telephone where people could record messages to the couple. “That’s pretty cool.”
For the first dance, Ms. Bennett said, “They’re choreographing it themselves. The big thing, I had a family dance this year, so mom and dad joined in. That was pretty cool, too.”
For the ceremony itself, Ms. Bennett said, “It’s not so much an official officiant. They’re tending to go to having somebody they know ordained to do the ceremony, so they know the couples. It’s just more heartfelt.”
“Foodwise, they’re pretty much right on par. I’ve had a few ask for just a cocktail reception where the food is out all night, or some served family style, everything on the table, and everybody has to serve themselves. But most of them are pretty much standard plated or a buffet, Just the two options, usually beef and a seafood choice.”
As far as who’s getting married, Ms. Bennett says, “There’s been quite a few older couples in recent years. But it’s either older or younger. I’ve had quite a few that were in their 20s, when typically it was couples in their 30s, so seems that they’re getting married younger.”
She said local and destination weddings are a “huge” part of the resort’s success — beyond the wedding itself.
“We have guests come from all over, and they always come back. Now they’re wedding guests, but then they’re regular leisure guests. They come back because they love the area so much. It’s a great marketing tool for Lake George, and the area.”
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