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On The Shores of Manhattan

At the southernmost tip of the city, you are greeted by elegance, the outdoors,
and even the Statue of Liberty.
A Country Setting in Manhattan | Before You Choose, Ask Questions | Be Guided by Your Own Style | Contact

“In setting up your wedding,” says Alex Miljkovic, director of catering at Battery Gardens, “be guided by your own tastes and lifestyle. Think about what you like to do.

“Do you like to sail, do you like to play golf, or garden? If so, then you may want to look at outdoor facilities, which might be near the water or in a park.”

If you like more of a regal Victorian or corporate look with lots of wood, you may want to visit more traditional venues, like the midtown Manhattan hotels. If you love gardens and rolling lawns, you may opt for something outside the city.

For a more formal event find out if the facility offers floor length tablecloths and black tie service. If it’s informal, ask if they do buffets and what the pricing structure is for an informal buffet.

“Some brides change their minds,” says Alex. “Even if they come in asking for a more informal approach, with a buffet and a more casual type of dress, once they sign the contract and know this is really moving forward, they revert to more formal ideas and become more interested in tradition.

“If the bride has been married once before, often she and her groom want to be more informal. They tend to have cocktail buffets, and a more informal approach to everything.”

A Country Setting in Manhattan
“We did a wedding here with a bride who loved the city and also loved her weekends out of the city. She wanted to have a country setting in Manhattan.”

They set up a special scene on their outdoor patio. “They couple brought in their own grass and sodded two-thirds of our outdoor patio! They rented wicker furniture that you might have on a country porch or in the front yard. They put that out on the newly sodded patio and that’s where we did cocktails. They actually transported their love of the country right here into Manhattan on the water!”

New York ... & Brazil, Scotland, Egypt, India, & More
“We did another wedding where the New York bride married her Brazilian groom. She laid out the room, chose the menu, and used Brazilian flowers. She also had a Brazilian theme for the buffet, tropical plants on each table, and a Brazilian band.”

In one section of the buffet they had fried plantains and carne asada, which is a marinated beef item served with Latin herbs and spices. “We served fried yucca and a special Spanish paella, saffron rice with shrimp, mussels, and charizo sausage.

“Another New York bride had lived in London and was marrying a Scottish gentleman. At the end of the cocktail reception, instead of our staff making an announcement or blinking lights, they had a bagpiper start playing. He led the entire group of 150 people from the cocktail reception into the dinner,” says Alex, who also notes that they can accomodate up to 225 people for a sit down dinner.

Battery Gardens also hosted a beautiful Egyptian wedding, where they incorporated some design aspects of a traditional Egyptian dinner.

“Tables in Egyptian weddings are typically rectangular, so we brought in special tables for them. We had tablecloths that had a gold, silver, and satin finish, which is the color scheme preferred at an Egyptian wedding.

“There was a special area where men could go out and smoke their traditional Egyptian Shisha pipes. We also had a professional belly dancer perform between courses on the dance floor.”

Another wedding joined two New Yorkers. “They both were very interested in Indian music. During the ceremony and cocktails they had Indian musicians performing with sitars.

“The couple stood on a platform during cocktails, and the entire wedding party stood around them in a circle as they recited their wedding vows.”

Basic Questions for Your Venue
In choosing your venue, Alex suggests exploring five key areas.

1. Facilities. Is your venue large enough to accommodate all your guests? Is there a bridal suite available for you? Are there outdoor facilities available?

2. Menu. Will your guests have a choice for their main course? Does the menu include an open premium bar throughout the event? Is champagne included? Is a wedding cake included? Will they do a tasting?

3. Service. Will the catering manager be your contact throughout? Will he or she be there on the day of your event?

4. Accommodations. Are there hotel rooms for your guests?

5. Costs. Does the venue require a minimum guarantee? (Those that do will charge for that number even if fewer guests attend.) If you’re planning your ceremony at the place of the reception, is there a ceremony fee? When is your deposit due? When is your final payment due?

Be Guided by Your Own Style

Some decorations depend on the bride’s personality. “If you want a country wedding, you could add many things with a country accent, from floral print tablecloths to country wicker furniture, for example.

“If you want your wedding in a ballroom, you might want a taller floral arrangement so the room doesn’t overwhelm you and your guests. Some of the grand ballrooms are very ornate and you also may want to tone that down with a neutral tablecloth.

“So there are several ways you can play off the space you are working with.

“The color tones of our space are neutral. They are white, champagne, and light celery, and offer a lot of flexibility as far as decorations are concerned. Flowers jump to life in this type of setting. When you have neutral tones and whites in your room you have the freedom to incorporate any color scheme, flowers, or tablecloths you want.”

Special Services
Battery Gardens offers their bridal couples a wedding cake. “We also offer floor-length linens, a bridal suite, valet parking, in-house floral decorators, and musicians,” says Alex.

“We’re also associated with a hotel company that offers special rates to our brides and their guests. They are in the Wall Street area, about a 15-minute walk from Battery Gardens.”

Alex started his career in the restaurant business and then was accepted into the formal Hilton Hotels management training program. “They gave me an appointment in the catering and sales department in the Waldorf=Astoria.” From the Waldorf he went to the Plaza Hotel and then to Battery Gardens.

“The wedding planning process is usually six months to a year,” Alex explains. “You get to know people well and develop great friendships with the bride and groom and also with their families.

“After months of planning you come to the wedding day and it’s like opening night on Broadway. The talking and tasting is behind you, and you can see everyone’s joy and celebration that day. It is so rewarding.”