We are still on "cloud 9" following the wedding of our youngest son, Justin to his bride, Erin. About 6 months ago we all started to look for a suitable venue. Since the kids of our neighbors were in a marrying mood we had attended 13 weddings in the last 18 months. So we had a pretty good idea of what we liked and what we didn't.
After looking at hotels and banquet halls in vermont, New Jersey and New York, we went to look at the Hilton Pearl River. We were greeted by their event manager, Gerry Burns, who turned out to be a honey. She answered all of our questions, showed us typical menus, offered suggestions as to timing, and was the easiest to negotiate with.
Along with Justin and Erin, Erin's parents (good friends) and we decided to book the hotel for our event. For Friday night rehearsal dinner we planned a Manhattan Lower East Side Deli theme, complete with hors d'oeuvres, matzoh ball soup, kosher pastrami, corned beef, knishes, and much more. For dessert in addition to the unlimited make your own sundaes, we asked for a babke cake, and all o fthe supplies necessary to make an old-fashioned New York egg cream. Despite never having done any of this, the staff swung into action, and needless to say, everything came together perfectly. They were truly amazing. We had a special keyboardist, Dani Lev, from Sammy's Romanian restaurant in Manhattan for entertainment. Gerry along with her maitre d' were there every step of the way, insuring that the guests were happy , and pacing the evening for speeches, entertainment, and food service.
Gerry had us rehearse the procession and made sure that everyone was calm and ready to go. She asked for the names of people for who she would have printed reserved seat signs in the first row. On wedding day we were all excited, and Blake, 3, was going to pull Braden, 1, down the aisle in a red wagon. At the last minute Braden decided not to take the ride, so Gerry had Braden's dad carry him, followed by Blake with the wagon with a tuxedoed teddy bear following. Problem- and instant solution. The ceremony was magical and needless to say we were excited. We had told Gerry that, we really liked lamb chops but we had missed getting them at the previous weddings. And, so, when we exited the ceremony into the cocktail hour, there she was with arms outstretched, a plate full of lamb chops in each hand. And, she said "keep moving... we don't want to hold up your guests".
Without boring you with details, the Sunday brunch was just as professionally run. The omelet stations were manned, there was an ample supply of everything, both food and plates at all three of the events, and used plates were scooped up promptly.
This really is a class act. Truly, we joked that we would be back as wedding crashers. We would highly recommend the hotel for any type of catered event.
Incidentally, our guests had about 15 room nights and I am not aware of any complaints. Our guests were all very happy. we had a great, great time and would do it again.
Finally, the catering staff was very reasonable in counting people at the buffets. All in all... 100%. We are so fortunate. Thank you Hilton Pearl river. We truly feel like a part of the family.