Love Stories Memories of NYC Weddings

Allison & Jason

Jason and I met in college at Syracuse University but did not start dating until 4 years after we graduated.

We actually reconnected at Madison Square Garden at a Knicks game. He saw me on the Jumbotron (believe it or not!) and texted me "you’re famous". My response was "who is this?" and the rest is history.

We chose The Palace because we knew we wanted an intimate wedding overlooking New York City and [The Jewel Suite] was the most elegant suite we had ever seen.

Kate & Blake

Blake and I met on hinge. It was a cold winter night and we made a plan to meet for drinks. I was coming from my work happy hour and he was coming from work. He had been working long hours because he is an accountant and it was tax season.

One drink led to two drinks and then three, but I kept myself together! As the night ended we didn’t want to say goodbye. We kissed at the bar and as he was putting me in a cab to go home, we decided to watch a movie at his apartment. After the movie ended, I decided the right thing to do was to go home! However, as I was walking out of his apartment he kissed me goodbye AND as I was waiting for the elevator he came out and gave me another kiss. Clearly, neither of us wanted to say goodbye. Three days later we met for dinner again, and the rest is history!

I grew up in Manhattan so I always dreamed of a New York City wedding and Blake loved the idea as well. We visited many New York hotels in search of a venue to hold our wedding and as they say, Rachel had us at hello. From the moment we met her, her warmth and genuine confidence and affection for the venue came through. We could not imagine from the moment we met Rachel doing the wedding anywhere else. The Palace exemplified everything we were looking for as it’s a truly iconic classy hotel.

Johnathan & Adam

I do a lot of work at Rockefeller Center, and so the Palace has become my home for my New York business trips. We’ve even invited our families to stay with us at the Palace during special trips during the Christmas season. So when it came time for Jonathan and I to start looking for wedding venues, the Palace was naturally at the top of the list.

Jonathan and I knew that having a destination wedding in New York City was going to be an adventure for many of our invited guests. We wanted a venue that wasn’t a typical ballroom. We wanted something with charm, elegance, and an interesting history. The Villard Mansion fit all of these criteria. I wrote to Rachel Wolff about the possibility of hosting our wedding in the mansion, and I was overwhelmed by how it all just fell into place from there.

Rachel Wolff, Katrina Lee, Brent Howard, Dan Nelson, and the entire staff at The Palace are the best! Jonathan and I are fairly easygoing, straight-forward guys. We knew we didn’t need a lot of fussing over minor details, and that’s why Rachel was such a wonderful fit. She’s also a very straight-to-the-point person, and so decision making seemed effortless. She guided us towards the important things we needed to think about, and away from the minutiae that she could handle without us.

Rachel also helped immensely with recommendations for 3 vendors.

The Ron Ben Israel wedding cake came with our wedding package. Ron and his staff could not have been more delightful to work with. We met with them one time and were able to completely design our cake and flavors within that visit. The final product was not only masculine and elegant, but delicious.

Jonathan and I also decided to use a dj versus live music for the entire event. Rachel guided us towards Hank Lane music, and after a few phone calls, we were able to map out all of the music for the entire night. They handled everything from the gathering music, soloist microphones, cocktail hour/dinner music, announcements and introductions, special lighting, and then music for the dancing. Our dj was incredibly detailed and very clear with his communication which made planning easy. Above and beyond that was his incredible talent during the dance party portion of the reception. So many guests commented about his amazing ability to keep everyone on the dance floor.

Finally, Rachel pointed us towards By Yena Designs for our flowers. Being a landscape architect, I felt a little pressure to have great flowers. We had the idea of wanting to use cherry blossoms throughout as they’re not only incredibly gorgeous and in season during April, but they also have a sentimental meaning for Jonathan’s family as their home is nestled within a cherry orchard in Northern California. Our flowers were above and beyond anything we had hoped for. Just like Rachel, Yena is also a very straight-forward person, and so we planned the entire look for the wedding within a single phone call and a few emails. The flowers were without a doubt one of the lasting impressions made upon our guests. We could not be happier with how Yena’s company produced everything.

All of that said, we could not be happier with how our wedding turned out. Our expectations were exceeded beyond anything we ever imagined, and we could not be more grateful. The Palace Hotel will always hold a special place in the heart of our family.

Vanessa & Herwyn

Going back to when we first met, we never saw each other as potential partners, let alone getting married live on TV during a pandemic, at The Palace.

We met in 2011 on a dance team, finding mutual interests in dance, while we both happened to be in separate nursing schools. Over time, our friendship became something that was more, yet genuine.

In 2019, we got engaged and planned to get married in May of 2020, but the pandemic put our plans to a halt. Our focus shifted from a wedding to taking care of our patients. As nurses, we are used to dealing with the sick, but COVID changed our lives completely.

One evening, we found ourselves on the phone with the Today show, discussing how Hoda wanted to marry us live on TV, at The Palace. On June 25th, 2020, it happened. That day was truly unforgettable. Despite how challenging and uncertain life can be, we were so happy to be able to share our love with everyone!