Lotte New York Palace Wedding – Macarena and Cosimo

Macarena and Cosimo built their day around two buildings that face each other across Madison Avenue. They married at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and held their Lotte New York Palace wedding reception in the Villard Mansion opposite, which meant a vintage Rolls-Royce carried them roughly one block. It is one of the few pairings in Manhattan where a cathedral ceremony and a landmark reception need no travel plan at all.

A couple with a vintage Rolls-Royce outside the Villard Mansion at the Lotte New York Palace

The mansion is the part worth booking, not the tower

The Lotte New York Palace is a modern tower behind a Gilded Age mansion. The mansion is the part worth booking. The Villard Houses were built in the 1880s for the railway financier Henry Villard, designed by McKim, Mead & White as brownstone houses set around a courtyard, and landmarked by the city in 1968. The courtyard opens straight onto Madison Avenue and is the only outdoor space here that stays private.

Black and white photograph of the arcade in the Villard Mansion courtyard The Madison Avenue courtyard arches at the Lotte New York Palace A couple at the wrought iron courtyard gates in the evening A wedding dress with a long train spread across the courtyard stone

The courtyard is also the easiest place to photograph a large wedding party, because the arcade gives you shade, shelter and a repeating set of arches to arrange people against.

The wedding party gathered under the courtyard arcade The full wedding party in the Villard Mansion courtyard

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Staying in the hotel removed the only transfer in the day

Staying in the hotel is the practical case for this venue, and it is stronger here than usual because the ceremony was across the road. Nobody had a transfer to worry about. The tower suites also give you the one thing the mansion cannot, which is real daylight, and a view down onto the cathedral spires.

A pair of crystal embellished wedding shoes on a chair Two wedding bands in a pink ceramic heart dish Lace and beadwork detail on the back of a wedding dress The spires of St. Patrick's Cathedral seen from a hotel suite above Madison Avenue The wedding party in formalwear and pale pink gowns before the ceremony Final preparations to a lace wedding dress in the hotel suite

The mansion interior is why photographers push couples here

The mansion interior is the reason photographers push couples towards this venue. The marble staircase runs up past a wall of circular leaded windows, and the stair hall above it is topped by a carved coffered ceiling and a chandelier. None of it is lit by daylight, which sounds like a problem and is actually the opposite: it looks the same at four in the afternoon as it does at ten at night, so portrait time can go wherever the schedule needs it.

A portrait in the red carpeted corridor of the Villard Mansion A portrait with a bouquet on the marble staircase of the Villard Mansion The circular ironwork windows above the Villard Mansion staircase A couple framed by the ironwork window on the mansion stair landing A couple embracing on the marble staircase of the Villard Mansion A couple beneath the leaded ironwork windows of the mansion stair hall A wedding dress trailing down the marble stairs of the Villard Mansion The coffered ceiling and chandelier above the Villard Mansion stair hall Black and white photograph of the carved ceiling in the mansion stair hall

Off the staircase there is a series of panelled sitting rooms, a bar and a library, all of them lamplit and deeply coloured. You can work through four or five distinct backdrops without walking more than a minute, which is what makes a tight schedule survivable here.

A portrait on a leather sofa in a panelled sitting room at the Villard Mansion A portrait in a lamplit sitting room with gilt panelling and deep red walls A couple beside the bottle display beneath the Villard bar sign The red carpeted staircase and gilt balustrade inside the Villard Mansion A couple in a richly coloured lounge lit by table lamps The wedding party in black tie in a red walled sitting room

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Two photographers on every wedding, and lately three.

The cathedral light changes completely as the day goes on

St. Patrick’s is directly across Madison Avenue from the mansion. It is an enormous neo-Gothic building and it photographs like one: the aisle is long, the vaulting is high, and the light through the stained glass changes completely depending on where you stand. A cathedral length veil earns its name in a space this size.

The nave of St. Patrick's Cathedral looking towards the stained glass Walking down the aisle of St. Patrick's Cathedral with a parent The wedding party processing up the cathedral aisle The priest in vestments before the ceremony at St. Patrick's Cathedral Black and white photograph of a cathedral length veil and train in the aisle The high altar of St. Patrick's Cathedral during the ceremony Black and white photograph of the ceremony at the cathedral altar Exchanging vows before the priest at St. Patrick's Cathedral The ring exchange during the cathedral ceremony A veil and train spread across the marble in front of the altar

Two practical notes for anyone considering it. The cathedral is a working parish with an active daily schedule, so your ceremony sits inside a timetable rather than owning the building for the day. And flash is not the way to shoot here. Everything above was made with the light the cathedral already has.

The vaulted Gothic ceiling and stained glass of St. Patrick's Cathedral Black and white photograph of the recessional down the cathedral aisle

Ten quiet minutes, which is the only gap the day gives you

The car was more ceremonial than practical given the distance, and that is exactly the point. It gave them ten quiet minutes alone between the ceremony and the reception, which is the only real gap in the day where that is possible. If you take one piece of planning advice from this post, it is to protect that gap however you get it.

Leaving the cathedral with a veil lifting in the wind Seated in a vintage car with a bouquet after the ceremony A vintage white Rolls-Royce waiting outside the cathedral A couple with champagne beside a vintage Rolls-Royce on Madison Avenue Black and white photograph of a vintage car outside the Villard Mansion A portrait among greenery with a cathedral length veil A parent congratulating the couple during cocktails A couple reflected in a window during cocktail hour

One palette, carried from the escort cards to the cake

Dinner was in the ballroom, a space with arched windows, painted panels and chandeliers, set with tall candelabra and pink and white roses. The palette ran pink, white and gold from the escort cards through to the cake, which is the sort of decision that makes a room look designed rather than decorated.

A tall arrangement of pink and white roses on the escort card table A gilt framed menu lit by a candle at the reception A reception table dressed with roses and gold under the chandeliers Tall floral centrepieces and candelabra above the reception tables A calligraphed place card on a patterned tablecloth A white and gold monogrammed wedding cake on a draped table Gold leaf and lattice detail on the tiers of the wedding cake A sugar flower detail on the top tier of the wedding cake

The gold on the cake picked up the gold on the chargers and the menu cards. Repetition like that reads as intent in photographs, and it costs nothing extra to plan.

A display of pastries and fruit at the reception A seafood and canape display during cocktail hour A place setting with a gold charger, menu card and gold rimmed glassware A printed dinner menu with a gold scroll motif at each place Guests at the reception in the ballroom at the Lotte New York Palace The ballroom set for dinner with its arched windows and painted panels Entering the ballroom dance floor to applause A first dance on the white dance floor in the ballroom A couple dancing as the wedding party watches from the floor

The dance floor was white with their monogram in the centre, which is worth knowing about as a choice: a pale floor bounces light back up into everyone standing on it, and dancing pictures are better for it all night.

A wide view of the first dance in the ballroom The dance floor filling with guests after dinner The band performing against the painted panels of the ballroom A vocalist and band during the reception Black and white photograph of a dance on the monogrammed floor Guests dancing together late in the reception A couple sharing a kiss at the head table The dance floor and band at the far end of the ballroom Cutting the wedding cake at the reception

Planning notes for a Lotte New York Palace wedding

Book portrait time in the mansion rather than around sunset, because the best backdrops here are interior and unchanging. For the version of this venue where the ceremony stays inside the mansion, see this wedding under a chuppah in the panelled rooms. Ask exactly which mansion spaces are yours and for how long, since the bar operates commercially and the public rooms are shared with the hotel. If you are pairing the venue with a cathedral ceremony, start with the cathedral’s calendar and not the hotel’s, because it is far less flexible. And walk the spaces in the evening, since that is the light you will actually have.

If you are still choosing, it is worth reading how this venue sits against the others in the city on my guide to the best wedding venues in NYC.

For guest capacities, what actually drives the cost and how the rooms compare with one another, I have written a separate Lotte New York Palace venue guide.

Questions couples ask about a Lotte New York Palace wedding

Can you have the ceremony at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and the reception at the Lotte New York Palace?

Yes, and the two are directly across Madison Avenue from each other, so guests can walk. Book the cathedral first, because its calendar is far less flexible than the hotel’s.

What do you need to be married at St. Patrick’s Cathedral?

At least one of the couple must be a baptized, practising Catholic, and couples who are not registered at the Cathedral can marry there if they are registered members of another Catholic parish. The cathedral asks that you schedule at least a year in advance, and in practice demand often pushes that closer to two.

Where do you take wedding photographs at the Lotte New York Palace?

Inside the Villard Mansion: the marble staircase with its circular leaded windows, the carved coffered ceiling in the stair hall, the panelled sitting rooms, the bar and the library. The Madison Avenue courtyard is the outdoor option and stays private.

Is there daylight inside the Villard Mansion?

Very little. The mansion’s public rooms are lit by lamps, sconces and candles rather than windows, so the look does not change with the hour or the season. That makes it reliable for a winter wedding and flexible for the timeline.

Can the wedding party be photographed outdoors at the Lotte New York Palace?

Yes, in the Madison Avenue courtyard, which was the mansion’s carriage entrance. The arcade around it gives shelter and shade, so it works in most weather.

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Tell me the date and the venue, and I will tell you honestly whether it works.

A couple with a vintage Rolls-Royce outside the Villard Mansion at the Lotte New York Palace