Went to a wedding at Leonard's on Saturday (long) Added PICS

I went to a wedding at Leonard’s on Saturday night. Here are my thoughts; you can FM me for more details if you’d like.

We arrived at 7 pm for a 7:30 ceremony. After dropping off the car with the valet, we were asked outside the door which event we were there for. FH and I were then directed to the second floor (actually the main level, I think). It took us a long time to get up there because there’s only one elevator and lots of people waiting for it. Also, there were a bride and groom taking pictures of the staircase, so we couldn’t walk up.

The ceremony room was lovely. Can you believe that not 1, not 2, but 3(!!!) cell phones went off during the ceremony?? I could not believe it. In fact, one person actually took the call and WALKED OUT during the ceremony!! I would be so upset!

The ceremony was in the room just left of the clear piano (sorry, I don’t remember names). The only sort of negative thing that I noticed was that a Leonard’s staff member rolled out the aisle runner even though it was obvious that guest were still milling outside the room. A bunch of people walked all over the runner getting to their seats, and there were a couple of wet spots (it was raining that night). But at this point, I’m probably being super-picky. Also, a few people came in late to the ceremony room, and every time the door opened, you could hear what was happening outside.

After the ceremony, we were directed to the cocktail hour room. I felt a little bad, because there was another bride and groom taking pictures, and they had to stop while 130 people walked between them and their photographer. Anyway, the cocktail hour was SO yummy. The bride and groom got the sushi station and it was a huge hit (lots of Korean people at the wedding, so lots of sushi fans). There was just SO much food there. Some people were actually surprised that there was a sitdown dinner coming! They used the room to the right of the clear piano; it was nice, but there didn’t seem to be enough chairs for people. Once, my FH and I went up to the bar, and when we got back, our chairs we gone! The bar was fine and there was never a line, but all the sodas and juices were generic brands.

We were then directed into the main room. It was the left-most room on the second floor. The floor was very nice, all marble with no carpet. Their centerpieces were beautiful; I’ll post a picture of them later. They had high centerpieces, and it looked great in the room. The chairs were covered in white with a bow, which looked great with the white marble floor.

There were a couple of things I did notice. The bar was initially set up outside the room, which would have been fine, but then it was moved inside the reception room. Only the bar was rolled in while the bride and groom were having their first dance. Definitely noticeable. Also, I asked our server for a drink (in between courses, so she wasn’t serving anything), but she wouldn’t take my drink order, and instead told me that I had to go up to the bar. It was a little weird, because the bar was on the other side the dance floor, and at this point, the bride was dancing with her dad. The food was good, but I was stuffed from the cocktail hour so I didn’t eat too much of it. The cake was only okay, but the plate of pastries they put on every table was a nice touch. The sweetheart table was set up beautifully on a little platform with the cake table in front. Looked great in the pictures.

Oh, and the bathrooms were nice and clean. They have a whole bunch of stuff like hairspray, a brush, perfume, etc. already on the counter, but most of it looked a little dusty. But all in all, it was a wonderful wedding!

ETA pictures:

Re: Went to a wedding at Leonard's on Saturday (long)

The cell phone thing would bother me. I should make sure that the groomsmen or maitre'd remind my guests to turn their phones off before entering the ceremony. I NEVER thought of that.

Re: Went to a wedding at Leonard's on Saturday (long)

There's always going to be one scumbag with a ringing cell phone.

Our best man made an annoucement right before our ceremony about cell phones.

And, we still had one ring 9 times as we had our first kiss.

With regard to some of the things at Leonard's, I think those were contract options-the sodas, the waitress not taking your drink order.

With regard to the other bride and groom, they either arrived before their scheduled time, or arrived late. If everyone is on time, there are no problems with guests walking into photos.

Re: Went to a wedding at Leonard's on Saturday (long)

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Posted by suven

There's always going to be one scumbag with a ringing cell phone.

Our best man made an annoucement right before our ceremony about cell phones.

And, we still had one ring 9 times as we had our first kiss.

With regard to some of the things at Leonard's, I think those were contract options-the sodas, the waitress not taking your drink order.

With regard to the other bride and groom, they either arrived before their scheduled time, or arrived late. If everyone is on time, there are no problems with guests walking into photos.

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That is BS! when we meet with our officiant, we're going to have him ask people at the very beginning to turn off their phones.

Re: Went to a wedding at Leonard's on Saturday (long)

It does sound like a beautiful wedding.

Personally, I love Leonards been there to so many weddings that I feel I know the place by heart!

If the elevator is full I would just walk outside and come up the stairs that go up and lead you right into the front of Leonards.

It looks like it was raining from what you mentioned so perhaps thats why the two weddings collided because they started late? Leonard's usually uses drapes and times to separate the flow so one bride doesnt collide with another.

Thats what I understood from being BM to a wedding at Leonards last year.

In any case I think that we can plan our weddings all we want, there will still be things that go wrong and we just have to take them in stride:).

However, there are no excuses when it comes to rude, rude guests!!! If I was late Id stay out wouldnt come in. I mean sometimes you are late to the church and you can walk in slowly that no one really notices at all, but in a small room like that Id just stay out. I guess you cant ask that of everyone because that would mean people (all people) would be thoughtful and considerate and thats just not the world we live in!
And lets not even start with the cell phone use.

Re: Went to a wedding at Leonard's on Saturday (long)

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Posted by glenda2004
However, there are no excuses when it comes to rude, rude guests!!! If I was late Id stay out wouldnt come in. I mean sometimes you are late to the church and you can walk in slowly that no one really notices at all, but in a small room like that Id just stay out. I guess you cant ask that of everyone because that would mean people (all people) would be thoughtful and considerate and thats just not the world we live in!
And lets not even start with the cell phone use.

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I couldn't believe one guest. He walked in during the vows, walked about 2/3 of the way into the room, couldn't find a seat then turned around and walked out of the room.

Sigh. As much as we plan, I guess you can't control rude people.