What is your favorite trend for weddings currently?
Long-standing “rules” no longer apply. Traditional times, days and months for weddings have been replaced with wedding reception brunches, weekday celebrations and off-peak months. The benefit of embracing the new rules is two-fold—when different options are considered, your dream venue has more availability and potential savings increase the power of your budget.
People realize they can work, travel and live how they want. Why not marry as they want? Who would have thought a Tuesday in February would be a popular wedding date? But old rules don’t apply when it’s February 22, 2022 (AKA 2/22/22).
What is your best advice for engaged couples?
Culinary experiences have infiltrated every aspect of life. With the increased sharing of amazing food experiences on social media platforms, couples want to present their guests with instagrammable food presentations—even at their wedding reception. While the bride and groom take center stage, the next important element is a tantalizing culinary experience. Executive Chef Damion Henry creates unique and decadent offerings that delight the palate and showcase food as art—resulting in the perfect subject for guests to shoot and share on Instagram.
What makes your business stand out?
Your wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime experience shared with family and loved ones. In order to preserve the exclusivity of your reception, we dedicate the entire third floor to your event—a commitment that is exceptionally rare. A tenured wedding specialist partners with you -- from the very first site inspection, through months of planning, until your guests head to the dance floor—to create a bespoke and elegant experience.
What do you think is essential for any wedding?
There is a famous quotation by Maya Angelou, and in the last portion, she says, “. . . people will never forget how you made them feel.” The team at The Langham, Chicago is passionate about providing bespoke and memorable service and care to every individual they come in contact with. This even applies to our four-legged friends. The Director of Social Catering personally checked in on a couple’s dog throughout the reception to ensure he didn’t feel left out of the celebration.
What is the most gratifying part of your business?
We have a desire to surprise and delight our guests. We become investigators, trying to determine preferences before they arrive. We pick up on their habits when they are in-house so we can anticipate their needs. But the most gratifying part of our business is seeing a couple’s expression of pure joy and delight as they enter the reception to celebrate the momentous occasion.
Photography by: Courtesy of Kent Drake
