Wedding Blog

Thursday night, after anxiously waiting to see a preview screening of 27 Dresses and then deciding to give up and forgo fighting the hoards of engaged gals and their pals to get in… MOH and I decided to head to Koreatown for dinner instead. On our way, we passed by the new Times Center and MOH (one of the most curious and adventurous people I know) squealed and pulled me inside to check out the building. We’re both art nerds, well, just big nerds in general and were just thrilled with every detail of the place.

The building is designed by world renown architect, Renzo Piano (who also designed one of my most favorite places in the world, The Centre Pompidou). The ground floor is open to the public and you can just stroll in and check out the latest art installation or the amazing Lobby Garden. The entire building is environmentally friendly/green, generating more than 30% of its energy on-site. The exterior features an awesome curtain wall of ceramic rods that shades the building. If you think the outside is cool, just wait until you get inside!

And what does this have to do with weddings, you may ask? Well… you can rent out many of the spaces for events and weddings!

There are two main spaces, The Hall and The Gallery, both of which are perfect for a modern, colorful, minimalist wedding. The color scheme reminds me of a Mondrian painting.

The Hall
It is a 4,958 square foot room that accommodates 400 for banquets and up to 700 for receptions.
 

The Gallery

A 910 square feet (35 feet by 26 feet) room and has one full glass wall that looks out onto 41st Street.

And imagine having a ceremony in the Lobby Garden (though I don’t know what the rules are for that). It’d be so surreal!

The Lobby Garden (behind the stage)

Here are the details I found on the site about renting the spaces. The only catch is that you have to use one of their approved caterers (one of which is our caterer, Abigail Kirsch!) and the space requires rental of chairs and tables. But for a creative bride, this would be a great “blank” slate to start with.

TheTimesCenter can be used for public, private, nonprofit, or corporate events. Each of its individual spaces may be rented together or separately. Rates are based on a 4-hour block of time. Nonprofit discounts available as are package deals for renting both TheStage and TheHall and/or full-day or multiple-day events. Rates are set as a basic “four wall” rental. This amount does not include additional charges, such as security and custodial personnel, certain types of equipment rental, front-of-house and technical staff, catering, box office/ticketing services, etc. In addition, there are ticketing and facility surcharges. When booking your event at the TimesCenter, it is important to inform staff of your event and technical needs so that you may receive an accurate price quote. To receive an estimate for an event, contact TheTimesCenter booking office directly at (212) 556-4300 or timescenter@nytimes.com.

Oh and if you’re a true nerd (like me), check out Times Talks, a series of lectures presented at the Times Center. Our wedding world hero, Martha spoke there Friday night.

So, if anyone gets married here, don’t forget to invite the Canaries!

{All images from www.thetimescenter.com}