We got married this past weekend at the Hotel Utica. The hotel is beyond stunning, and was the perfect place for our ceremony and reception.
We were married in the lobby with most of our guests watching from the mezzanine above. It is the end of July, and it was very hot and very muggy outside. I found out on Thursday morning,
two days before the wedding, that there was not air conditioning in the area where 40 people were having dinner, including myself and my husband. The air was not broken, it didn't work, and had never worked. They never said a word about it. There were also no fans that would have at least moved air around, and blown it up from the cooler lobby below.
The programs were printed, each one was two pages, tied together with ribbon, with each person's table information on the back. We had spent hours on the seating arrangements for the mezzanine and the Saranac room. There was no changing what was already set up.
The venue is stunning, but very sadly, I do NOT recommend that anyone use it during the summer. We were literally dripping sweat during dinner, the cakes and cupcakes were mush (they were displayed on the mezzanine), and the air conditioning in the Saranac Room was unable to keep up with less than 3/4 capacity.
If you are getting married in a cool month, and want to take advantage of stunning architecture, a good staff, and do things a little different - I highly recommend it. If there is any chance that the outside temperature will be hot, forget it.
Michelle
(Photos by Green Goat Studios)