Chapel by the Sea

The Signature Package

A great wedding is a culmination of invitations, seating plans, décor, ceremony, food, wine, flowers, and music.  It is conducive to memorable moments, great conversation, and the making and rekindling of lasting friendships.  Like so many other art forms, its apparent ease of execution disguises an inversely proportionate amount of hard work, planning, and skill. 

A great wedding impacts all of the senses; it is tactile, it is noisy, full of sights, smells and tastes; but most of all, it is emotional and meaningful. When all of these feelings and emotions come together in a harmonious manner that experience takes on a transcendent quality that will define the memory of your wedding for you and your guests.  

 

Our Signature Wedding Package has been developed to offer you, the bride and groom, a seamless and delightful wedding day without stress and complication.  In order to bring you to that point our dedicated team will guide you through a planning process that will leave you confident in your plan, and confident in us.  You will be ready and able to direct your attention to the other very personal components of your wedding such as décor, flowers, vows and music.  Finally, it is our hope, that you will be able to relax into your wedding day, enjoy the ride, and really live the experience.         

 

The Schedule
As with so many of the components of our wedding package, the schedule of events is a finely tuned part of our process, optimizing our guest’s experience of each of the components of the wedding, yet ending each before it goes on too long, and smoothly moving on to the next adventure. 

 

The schedule includes plenty of venue changes for your guests, who will move together from venue to venue, and thus be more acutely aware of changes in the program, as each location is specifically set up to be conducive to different activities.  As guests move around the property they experience an array of different venues, food, and service styles; but more importantly, they are guided through the peaks and valleys of emotion, ceremony, and festivity that make weddings so meaningful and memorable:  

 

High emotion and anticipation dominate the crowd as they sit, surrounded by ocean and sky at our “chapel by the sea,” waiting for the bride, then quietly observing the ceremony and vows. The mood and conversation are always light with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres in the garden. Camaraderie, raucous toasts, and moving speeches set the tone during dinner.  Finally, after all that emotion, there is nothing left to do but kick off your shoes, dance, cheer, and revel in the joyousness of it all.  

 

Our processes, systems, and staff training are all set up to allow us to quietly and discreetly set the stage for all of these wonderful things to happen.  Of course, no one can make your bashful uncle stand up and deliver an impromptu speech on how much it all means to him, but if we set the stage, dim the lights, give him a nice meal, and pour him a little wine… who knows?

 

 

Signature Wedding Schedule of Events

4:00pm Ceremony at Chapel by the Sea

4:30pm Hors d’oeuvres, Cocktails, Photos in the Garden

6:00pm Principal Meal in the Great Room

8:30pm After Dinner Music and Dancing in the lounge

11:00pm Late-night Culinary Offering

1:00am Bar Closes

 

Chapel by the Sea 
Say your vows between the ocean, the sky, and the people you love.  The emotional significance and visual impact of witnessing a marital union in such a setting cannot be overstated.  Guests watching the wedding ceremony unfold in front of such a breathtaking backdrop will be very moved. 

 

There is something quite magical about being married by the ocean.  We have, therefore, created several spaces where this might happen.  Our chapel by the sea is by far the most popular spot.  As well, there is a large lawn area, a garden, and several other spots where ceremonies have taken place. Outdoor receptions generally take place in the comfort of a large open space with plenty of natural conversation spots.  Guests frequently talk far into the night under a canopy of stars, with the gentle rhythms of the ocean waves in the background.

 

Hors d 'oeuvres, Cocktails in the Garden
This is a perfect chance for guests to mill about and socialize before dinner.  Informal arrangements of seating and standing areas lend themselves to small conversation groups and relaxation while guests enjoy beautifully presented hors d’ oeuvres and before-dinner drinks.  

 

On your own, or in consultation with our chef, you can use the menu provided in this booklet to design your own hors d’ oeuvre menu.  This is a chance to be expressive and carefree with your menu selections.  When you plan the principal meal you may want to consider the tastes and preferences of your guests, but with hors d’ oeuvres anything goes.  Choose items that really appeal to you or speak to the extremes of your personality:  restrained, “down-home,”  unpretentious, glamorous, decadent, daring, passionate, borderline crazy… have fun with it!

 

The same goes for the drink menu at this point in the day.  Offer the classics, a signature cocktail, a glass of bubbly, a keg, or Italian sodas.  Have waiters waiting with drinks on trays, or take a more laid back tone and allow guests to wander to the bar on their own.    

 

 

 

Usually, at this time, the wedding party is off getting their photos taken.  You may want to request that your photographer has you back in time to enjoy the cocktail festivities with all the guests, or you may want to save your grand entrance for the principal meal.  No matter what you choose, let us know where the photo shoots are taking place and we will bring a sampling of refreshments and hors d’ oeuvres to you.

 

Principal Meal in the Great Room 

Our critically acclaimed Chef Paul MacInnis oversees food and beverage services and will meet with you to discuss your options and plan your menu, wine list, cocktails, hors d’ oeuvres, and late night offering. 

 

The principal meal will be served in the great room, which can be personalized with props, décor, flowers, and centerpieces.  Our goal is to create an ambience that makes even a large party feel intimate and familiar.   

 

No matter what your menu, meals arrive perfectly cooked and beautifully garnished.  They are served quickly and efficiently at a tempo that does not rush the guests but keeps them from getting bored.  Our servers will identify vegetarians and guests with religious preferences and serve them alternate mirror menu that we will create to compliment the rest of your food events. 

 

Our culinary team specializes in gourmet, multi-course menus. There are a number of benefits to a multi-course style of menu.  First, compared to a traditional three course meal with choice, the multi-course menu allows greater flexibility in menu selection (if a guest does not care for a particular course, they need only wait until the next course.) Secondly, this style minimizes  interactions between the service staff and the guests; the fewer number of interactions, the smoother the event seems to run, and the more the room stays focused on speeches and the bride and groom.  Finally, the multi-course offerings are, by their very nature, impressive and celebratory in nature.    

After Dinner Music, Dance, and Late Night Snack

This one is pretty easy to figure out; it’s time to party.  Turn up the music and dance the night away.  You can bring in a DJ or band, or you can play music of your own on our sound system.   Some of your less adventurous guests will appreciate that we keep quiet spaces open as a low-key option where they can take breaks from the party or pass the night with quiet conversation.   Our late night culinary offering is always a hit, choices range from a hearty soup and homemade bread, pizza, s'mores, or poutine bar.