How do you measure the world’s man-made wonders? How about by how well they serve as a backdrop for your destination wedding? Here are four hotels with ceremony and reception views that are of some of the world’s most recognizable architectural icons. Just add the oohs and I do’s.
Sunset view of Statue of Liberty from Ritz-Carlton New York, Battery Park Ritz-Carlton photo
Statue of Liberty
The Ritz-Carlton New York, Battery Park
Nothing starts your new life with a grander gesture than a welcoming salute from the torch-bearing hand of New York Harbor’s Lady Liberty. And you’ll swear she’s giving you a wave during your wedding at The Ritz-Carlton New York Battery Park, near the southern tip of Manhattan.
The hotel’s wedding venues featuring views of the Statue include their Liberty Suites, for smaller, more intimate gatherings of up to 20 guests (all of whom will want a peak through the suite’s telescope), and, the most popular location, Rise, a 14-th floor space that includes an outdoor terrace and can accommodate 20-50 guests.
A nice touch here is that views of the statue and the harbor can be especially spectacular at sunset, when you’ll want to make your own salute, perhaps with a raised glass.
The Park Hyatt Sydney’s wedding venue looks out on the Sydney Opera House Park Hyatt Photo
Sydney Opera House
Park Hyatt Sydney
Who needs a heavenly choir at your wedding when the Park Hyatt Sydney is so close to the Sydney Opera House that the Australian Chamber Orchestra may not be able to hold themselves back from belting out “Here Comes the Bride.”
The hotel’s on-site venue, called the Guest House, sits on Sydney Harbour directly across from the opera house. It has an outdoor terrace and private presentation kitchen, and can accommodate up to 70 people, including those who can’t refrain from breaking into an aria themselves.
After a major renovation, the hotel opened again recently, with floor-to-ceiling glass that looks out onto private terraces and the harbor beyond.
The Blue Mosque is just one of the two world-class architectural wonders the Four Seasons Istanbul at Sultanahmet looks out on Four Seasons photo.
Haghia Sophia and the Blue Mosque
Four Seasons Istanbul at Sultanahmet
As a way of acknowledging that your own dynasty will last through the ages, exchange vows while looking out from the rooftop terrace of the Four Seasons Istanbul at Sultanahmet toward two masterpieces of religiously inspired architecture.
The massive dome of the Haghia Sophia, which is now a museum, is a wonder of Byzantine design, while the rare six minarets of the still-functioning Blue Mosque, so named for the blue mosaic tiles that adorn its interior, make it unusual even in the Islamic world.
Once an infamous political prison, the hotel itself is now known for its pasha-like luxury and comfort, located in the heart of historic Istanbul.
There’s no question about where your wedding took place when you hold it at Cavallo Point enLuce Photography photo
Golden Gate Bridge
Cavallo Point
No need to leave your heart in San Francisco when you can take it across the Bay to Sausalito’s Cavallo Point, a 142-room luxury lodge that offers views of the Golden Gate Bridge from all its wedding venues–and many of its rooms.
Location favorites include the Mission Blue Lawn, which can accommodate 250 guests in a tented reception; the Blue Mission Chapel, with views from the terrace; and the Callippe ballroom, where the bridge is framed by windows that stretch to the ceiling.
San Francisco itself is easily accessible by bridge or ferry, but with the lodge’s serene setting, on the grounds of Golden Gate National Park, guests may never get around to making the journey.–Bob Payne
