By Courtney Byrnes
After the COVID-19 pandemic put many celebrations on hold in 2020, weddings and b’nai mitzvah began to return to venues in 2021 with fervency. This year looks to be no different, as venues expect rescheduled and newly planned celebrations alike to bring their spaces to life.
Radhika Reddy, founder and majority owner of Ariel International Center in Cleveland; David Rabinsky, director of social catering at The Ritz-Carlton in Cleveland; and Kathleen Dangelo, president and owner of Sapphire Creek Winery & Gardens in Chagrin Falls, are among those ready to welcome upcoming celebrations at their venues.
Ariel International Center
Located in a historic Cleveland warehouse with views of the lake, skyline and landmarks of the city, Ariel International Center offers a scenic venue to host a wedding ceremony, reception or b’nai mitzvah.
“Ariel International Center accommodates about 350 people without a dance floor,” Reddy says, adding it accommodates up to 300 people with the dance floor. “And the beauty about it is it’s an old warehouse, red-brick building converted to an event space. The fourth floor, called the Skyline Lake Room, has the beautiful views of the Cleveland skyline on the west side, and on the north it looks out to the lake.”
The Skyline Lake Room is the main venue available for rent, but celebrants can also add on the rooftop, often used for wedding ceremonies and cocktail hours. The third floor also has a lake view, serving as a backup for inclement weather, she says.
Reddy also owns Ariel Pearl Center, Ariel Broadway Hotel and Ariel Ventures – a 100% women-owned and minority firm – as well as a community development financial institution, Ariel Economic Development Fund, which has invested in EventWorks4D, a hologram event technology company of which Reddy is CEO.
With a hologram lounge on the first floor of Ariel International Center, Reddy’s partner and president of EventWorks4D, Joel Solloway, helped create a special bat mitzvah when he made a hologram of the celebrant to wow the guests.
“He did the script with the mom and the kid and they created a hologram on the stage.” Reddy says. “And so as people came, they stopped in the hologram hall and saw her on the stage and they thought it was real – ‘cause the holograms look like real life.”
She notes how shocked people were when the girl walked out on stage to reveal the illusion. While adding a hologram version of yourself or as a couple can be expensive, it can definitely make any party unforgettable.
EventWorks4D was also a part of creating the technology for recreating hologram Holocaust survivors with voice recognition at the Illinois Holocaust Museum in Skokie, one of the first in the world, Reddy says (The Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage in Beachwood also uses hologram-style technology to share the story of the late local Holocaust survivor, Stanley Bernath).
As far as other services offered at Ariel International Center, a crew will set up and break down tables and chairs before and after the event. Outside catering is allowed with a fee, and the venue has an alcohol license to provide alcohol and bartenders.
“We have an event supervisor and set-up crew and break-down crew, so really we rent out the room, set up the tables and the chairs,” Reddy says. “We do rent out linens, but beyond that we do have preferred caterers who bring in the food.”
Ritz-Carlton Cleveland
The Ritz-Carlton offers an array of venue options to fit the needs of any celebration and with guest rooms available, it’s like the party doesn’t have to end.
From the Ritz-Carlton Ballroom, the Radiant Room, Highball Cleveland and the Silver Grille, the Ritz-Carlton staff will work with each interested party to find the right fit for a celebration of any size.
“Prior to COVID, we really renovated all of our spaces,” Rabinsky says. “Within the hotel proper, we have our ballroom, the Ritz-Carlton Ballroom, which can accommodate up to about 240 guests with a dance floor for a wedding reception. We also have the Radiant Room which is a smaller, more petite space that accommodates up to 90 with a beautiful view of the Cuyahoga River. It’s also a great spot for wedding ceremonies up to a couple hundred people.”
The ballroom makes for a great place for a b’nai mitvah, as the foyer can be utilized for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres for the adults while the teenagers enjoy the dance floor, soft drinks and separate hors d’oeuvres in the ballroom, Rabinsky says.
The Silver Grille, located in the Higbee Building and connected through Tower City, is a historic location on the 10th floor that has been renovated and can accommodate 350 guests with a large dance floor.
Highball Cleveland is one of the new spaces and features an octagonal marble bar, with the latest in technology, lighting and built-in furniture, Rabinsky says.
“It can accommodate up to about 90 to 95 people for a cocktail reception. It’s also a great spot for after parties, after weddings for those that want to remain whether it’s a ballroom wedding or coming from the Silver Grille or even the Radiant Room,” Rabinsky says. “It’s proven to be quite popular in that way.”
While the newly renovated spaces and guest rooms make for an eye-catching celebration, another stand-out at the Ritz-Carlton is the kosher kitchen.
“Our chef has been with us for quite a number of years and has trained in a number of different Ritz-Carltons throughout the world – from over the pond in London, in Ireland, also in different areas in the United States – and loves to find out exactly what guests are looking for to make sure that it is unique and that their menu satisfies their vision and taste to make it different from any other wedding,” he says.
Sapphire Creek Winery & Gardens
Looking to swap out the skyline and city views for the beauty of nature? Sapphire Creek Winery & Gardens offers a seamless interaction with the outdoors and makes a busy wedding day as relaxing as can be.
“When you book a wedding at Sapphire Creek Winery, since there is so much interaction with the outdoors, the decor is so easy because you really don’t want to compete with the outdoors,” Dangelo says. “It’s not like you are walking into a big-box venue where you have to decorate every single thing. … We provide cutlery, glassware, dishes, everything you need. Our couples just need to provide linens and ceremony chairs.”
The entire venue, which accommodates up to about 250 guests and features extensive outdoor gardens perfect for pictures, is available to rent for outdoor ceremonies. Receptions are hosted in the Oak Room.
“Most of our couples have an outdoor ceremony on either our Great Lawn or our Woodlands Pavilion, and then they have cocktail hour outside on our white terrace and then they move in for dinner,” Dangelo says. “For dinner it’s really nice because our bigger room, the Oak Room, is shut off with these very, very large brown doors and right before dinner we open up. It’s very dramatic, it’s a really nice entrance for the guests into the dining area.”
While there is much for guests to enjoy throughout the evening, the bridal party has access to the venue for the whole day.
“Most of our couples rent out the entire venue for their wedding which gives you access to the winery from 10 a.m. to midnight,” Dangelo says. “It’s really a beautiful day.”
The bride and bridesmaids will get ready in the loft and then enjoy lunch with mimosas, while the groom and groomsmen get ready in the cellar and enjoy some beer and sandwiches, Dangelo says.
“It’s really a relaxing, really lovely day – and people don’t have to run around,” she adds.
A final aspect that makes a wedding at Sapphire Creek Winery so special is the Bourbon Garden tradition.
“It’s a fun thing unique to Sapphire Creek where couples come 30 days before their wedding and bury a bottle of bourbon upside down in our bourbon garden,” Dangelo says, adding it’s a southern tradition meant to bring luck for good weather on the wedding day. “And then after the wedding, they come unbury the bourbon and share with their bridal party and guests. They all enjoy it.”