The Curtis Atrium Temporarily Waives Its Wedding Venue Fee for Front Line Workers
The offering extends beyond health care workers to grocery store staff and other essential figures.
A ceremony at The Curtis Atrium. Photography courtesy Constellation Culinary Group
Here’s some good news: The Curtis Atrium is now one of the locations waiving its wedding venue rental fee (valued from $3,500 to $5,500) as a result of the coronavirus pandemic; in this case, for front line workers and couples whose weddings have been impacted. This comes at the same time as a group of Philly vendors launched a separate giveaway package for essential staffers (that’s The Gush, if you weren’t familiar) and is certainly a sign of more support from the region’s “I do” industry.
“We have received a lot of calls in the recent weeks from couples who have had to reschedule and are struggling to find a new venue, a new date or a new plan given this uncertain time,” says Leila Miller, senior director of sales at Constellation Culinary Group, which manages the historic venue. “Given that and our desire to give thanks to health care and front line essential workers, we decided two weeks ago to put together an offer that would really help these folks out and provide a much easier (and cost-effective) planning process for them moving forward.”
A reception setup
Tablescapes at the venue
The offering is available to emergency and health care professionals, grocery store staff, drivers, mail carriers and others crucial in the coronavirus crisis, and helps ease the total cost of a wedding at the venue, which can run between $30,000 and $45,000. The program also features a premium bar upgrade or third cocktail station, and Constellation has partnered with some of the region’s leading vendors (All About Events, The Styled Bride, The Papery, M2 Photography, Hotel Monaco and Chick Invitations) to provide complimentary or discounted services. Those eligible must book their event by September 30th; the wedding must take place on or before August 31st, 2021. Not surprisingly, it’s already begun to garner interest since its launch at the tail end of April: Constellation is in talks with couples rescheduling their dates from March through July; Miller also expects new campaigns starting on the company’s Facebook and Instagram pages to generate more inquiries.
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Constellation took the venue over from Cescaphe in 2018 and embarked on a renovation with such updates as an on-site kitchen, mezzanine-level reception area with a custom brass bar and dual marble staircases surrounding the fountain. It reopened in May 2019, and the team expected to host between 30 to 40 weddings in its first year. But it, too, has been hit by the effects of the outbreak; thus far, six weddings at the venue have had to be postponed. “Many of our team members are essential employees and working hard in our commissaries to make meals for the food insecure. It is because of this that we felt strongly about expanding the reach beyond health care only,” adds Miller.
Dinner seating amid the glam setting
Curious what a wedding might look like here? The venue can accommodate 300 seated guests with dancing or 500-plus for a cocktail-style shindig. A premium bar package upgrade includes a full bar for five hours with top-shelf beer, wine and spirits. Two signature cocktails will be mixed up (like the Pear Haymaker with citrus vodka, pear, lemon, ginger ale and mint); there’s a prosecco toast and tableside wine service for dinner. A third cocktail station, meanwhile, would bring a larger variety of food items – table offerings range from artisan cheese to Northern Mediterranean to Philly faves with soft pretzels and crab kettle chips.
Miller also notes that the team is working with couples to meet their needs — they’re creating more micro-wedding options for them to hold a smaller celebration now and a larger one at a later date or instead of a bigger event.
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