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A Wedding Weekend

Weddings have become weekend gatherings, & Hilton Short Hills accommodates with warmth & style.

Combining Cultures, Families, & Associates | Dramatic, Versatile, Delicious | Reunion Weekends | Realistic Schedule | Contact


“Most couples today are taking a major role in planning their own weddings,” says the director of catering at Hilton Short Hills. “Our first meeting used to be with the bride and her mother, but now the initial meeting is most often with the bride and groom.

“Today’s grooms are much more involved, and it’s refreshing to see how many of them have strong opinions about what they would like their wedding to be.

“They may not want to be involved in every aspect of the planning, but the old adage that it’s the bride’s wedding is no longer the case. It’s now their wedding.”

Combining Cultures, Families, & Business Associates
Most couples today have a keen sense of who they are. “I encourage them to reflect their personalities in their wedding day. They also often want their ethnic backgrounds included in their celebration, in a tasteful and subtle way.”

Photos: Sarah Merians Photography

This is easily accomplished with thoughtful menu selections. “With so many intercultural marriages, incorporating ethnic foods is actually quite necessary.”

At one recent Hilton wedding, the bride was Italian and the groom was Indian, so the catering director arranged for an Indian chef to come in and prepare a variety of popular Indian hors d’oeuvres. “We served them during the cocktail reception, and then for dinner we had a number of Indian vegetarian entrées.” They were prepared for several of the groom’s family members, who had traveled from New Delhi to attend the wedding.

In addition to a six-tiered wedding cake and plated dessert, “the menu was capped off by silver pedestals of cannoli, fogliatelle, pignoli cookies, chocolate and almond burfi, gulab, jamun, and ladus!
“That beautiful, yet simple presentation of Italian and Indian delicacies illustrated both the couple’s unity and their individuality.”

Many couples who come to Hilton Shrot Hills live and work in New York City. “But often one or both of them grew up in the Short Hills area, so their roots are here.

“Having their wedding here gives them the best of both worlds: sophisticated elegance, great food, impeccable and gracious service — plus a sense of ‘coming home.’ ”

The catering director always asks brides and grooms to share their ideas about their dream wedding. “The most commonly used phrase I hear is that they want their day ‘to have an understated elegance, yet to also be fun.’

“Most couples I meet are established in their professional careers, and many times both are in the same profession. Since so many of their business friends will be at their wedding, it’s important that the celebration have the same level of sophistication that they exhibit in their professional careers.”

That can be reflected easily in their table décor and in the linens they choose. There are two other questions that help guide each bride as she makes her selections. “I ask about her wedding gown and what they want their cake to look like. That usually tells me a lot about their style. Then I can suggest linens and floral décor in keeping with how they want to present themselves.”


Dramatic, Versatile, Romantic, & Delicious
The Grand Ballroom at the Hilton Short Hills has a lofty ceiling, glimmering mirrors, silk wall coverings, and crystal chandeliers. Its intricate architectual details and soft color palette — when enhanced with your particular floral decorations — can evoke a mood that is either formal and elegant, or playful and creative. “The choice is yours.”

The ballroom’s design also offers a wonderfully versatile area for wedding receptions and a rich setting for wedding photos.

The space has large French doors which open to a tree-lined nature setting. During the day the view from the patio is natural and romantic. At night the trees and foliage are illuminated with dramatic lighting, creating a bold and striking backdrop.

In warm weather, the large private patio with plants and flowers also serves as an extension of the ballroom for outdoor enjoyment.

The hotel has an especially experienced culinary team, headed by Executive Chef Walter Leffler, who works closely with Banquet Chef Jeff Sandberg and Pastry Chef Gale O’Malley.

“They all create exceptional cuisine, and enjoy working with a personalized menu for our brides and grooms.” Rather than serving banquet food, “they want each guest to feel like he or she was presented with a unique dish, specially created to his or her own tastes.”

Reunion Weekends
“A destination wedding may seem very romantic,” says Director of Food and Beverage Thomas Petrillo, who recently moved back after four years at Hilton’s world famous Waikoloa Village on the Big Island (where they host many destination weddings), “but often some of the most important people to the bride and groom are unable to attend for various reasons.”

Even so, most brides and grooms still want their wedding celebration to be more than just a five-hour event.

“So the concept of a hotel ‘Wedding Weekend’ is much more appealing to both the couple and their families,” says Tom, “especially here at Short Hills where we are able to offer a resort feeling, but without the palm trees.”

“We’ve seen that weddings have become ‘reunion weekends’ for couples and their friends and families,” says the director of catering. “Our hotel offers the weekend celebration you want for your guests.”


Weddings at the Hilton Short Hills typically begin on Friday, with a relaxing day of beauty and pampering at the hotel’s well-appointed European Spa.

“It’s usually hosted by the bride for her bridal party. It’s a great way to thank her bridesmaids, as well as to spend some relaxing, quality time with her closest friends.”

The European Spa is often followed by high tea for the bride and her bridal party, as well as for the moms and grandmothers, in the hotel’s Retreat Lounge.

“Friday night’s climax is the pre-nuptial dinner in one of our private banquet rooms, or perhaps a summer barbecue buffet on our patio.” The wedding eve activities culminate in the hotel’s Retreat Lounge, “for one last drink before the big day.”


Enjoy Every Aspect — With A Realistic Schedule
“Couples should take the time to savor each moment of the weekend, and frankly the best way to do that is to be as close to ‘on time’ for your appointments and photo session as you can be.”

The staff also helps every couple create a carefully thought-out wedding day timeline to keep them on schedule.

“The less you rush, the less stress you will have, and the more enjoyable the evening will be for both you and your families. The goal is to keep you on schedule without you noticing.”

The wedding day itself can often be time-pressured and stressful, but they make it sound like a wonderfully relaxing, cared for experience.

“The wedding day is typically filled with hair and makeup appointments in our full service salon for the bride, the moms, the grandmothers, and the bridal party.”

The groom’s day may include a massage in their spa or a tennis match at one of their courts, followed by lunch in the Terrace Restaurant or poolside at their Patio Bar and Grill during the summer months.

The wedding night celebration, “which would not be complete without a full service martini bar,” is almost always followed by a farewell breakfast for the couple’s overnight guests. “Often the bride and groom also invite some local friends and relatives to come back to the hotel for breakfast, just to share wedding memories from the previous evening.”

Their greatest compliments are not just the thank you hugs and letters received, but when families “come back to book their next wedding or special event.” Testimony to that would be one particular CEO of a major corporation. “He hosted all three of his daughters’ wedding celebrations at our hotel, and all within 33 months!”

They attribute such client satisfaction to the hotel’s “wonderful staff. They are seasoned, professional, and very caring. During many of our weddings, for example, I often see servers paying special attention to the younger children or seniors who might need special assistance.

“Likewise, if a groomsman has forgotten his cufflinks, we will go out and find a pair for him.”

It’s that special caring that makes all the difference to their customers. “In the past two years we’ve begun to see the return of couples married here during our ‘innaugural’ year, 1988. Now they’re calling to book their children’s Bar and Bat Mitzvahs. I can’t think of a greater compliment for us.”

“That brings me to a final suggestion. You must feel comfortable with the person and the staff you are working with, and trust that they’ll orchestrate your wedding day just as you’ve dreamed.

“I’m often asked, ‘How do you manage to stay so calm?’ The truth is I love weddings. Most important, we have a wonderful culinary team and a dedicated staff we can rely on. I also try to interject humor wherever I can. If you can get them to laugh, even when the rabbi is 45 minutes late — then the rest is easy!”

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Hilton Short Hills
41 JFK Parkway
Short Hills, NJ 07078
973.379.0100
diana_crisci@hilton.com
www.hiltonshorthills.com