Okay so if you’ve landed here, you’re probably already half in love with the Beekman. And honestly, fair enough. I’ve seen a lot of NYC wedding venues and most of them blur together after a while. The Beekman doesn’t. It’s one of those places where you walk in and you just stop for a second because the ceiling goes up to nine full stories Victorian atrium, pyramidal skylight at the very top, built back in 1883. They restored it carefully before reopening as a hotel in 2016 and had the good sense to leave most of the original architecture exactly where it was.
That’s the short version of why people keep booking it. Now let me give you the full picture, because there’s more to know before you start making calls.
Why the Beekman Hotel Works So Well for Weddings
A lot of NYC wedding venues need you to bring the atmosphere. You’re renting a blank-ish room and filling it with florals, lighting, draping, whatever else trying to make it feel like something. The Beekman doesn’t work that way. The atmosphere is already there. The nine-story atrium, the exposed brick in some of the lower event rooms, real wisteria hanging from the ceiling upstairs, chandeliers that were actually chosen with care. You show up, you put some flowers on the tables, and the room already looks like a wedding.
Capacity cuts off at 90 guests. That’s non-negotiable. If your list is 150 people you need to start a different search, no way around it. But if 90 works for you or if you actually want something smaller the cap becomes an asset. Your dinner feels like a dinner, not a catered event in a conference hall. Everyone is actually in the same room having a good night.
Location also matters more than people usually think about when they’re comparing venues. The Beekman sits at the edge of the Financial District and its walking distance from the Brooklyn Bridge, right next to City Hall Park, One World Trade is visible on the skyline. For wedding photos that’s a completely different situation than being in some midtown side street with nothing interesting behind you.
Ceremony Spaces Inside the Beekman Hotel
Three main options depending on what feel you’re going for.
The Wisteria Room is probably the most photographed space in the whole building. It’s on the top floor and there’s real wisteria flowers hanging throughout the ceiling. Light comes in soft and diffused, works almost any time of day, and even with minimal decoration the room already looks extraordinary. Best suited for smaller ceremonies, maybe under 40 people, where the intimacy of the space matches the size of the group.
Clinton Hall is for couples who want something grander. Arched entries, crystal chandeliers, 10 floor-to-ceiling windows. The room reads formal and dramatic in a way that photographs very well and feels genuinely impressive when guests walk in.
Chapel Street Ballroom has more classic high ceilings, detailed moldings, the kind of architecture that signals “wedding” without any effort on your part. Works especially well for couples who want a more traditional ceremony style.
All three can be adjusted with your florist’s input and the hotel’s lighting setup. The base is already strong in each case.
Reception Rooms Worth Knowing About
The Farnsworth Room is where most dinner receptions happen. Seats up to 80, exposed brick walls, vintage chandeliers, terracotta ceiling details. It has texture and warmth that a lot of newer event spaces genuinely can’t replicate. Guests tend to stay at their tables longer here because the room is comfortable and interesting to sit in. That sounds minor but it actually affects the energy of a reception pretty significantly.
Connected to it is The Cellar black and white mosaic tile floors, custom chandelier, exposed brick, and enough room for a proper cocktail hour where people can actually move around and have conversations instead of standing in a tight cluster near the bar.
Up on the 10th floor there are two penthouse units with private outdoor terraces. The open sky above Lower Manhattan, the city spread out in every direction. If the weather cooperates, cocktail hour up here is genuinely hard to beat. It changes the mood of the whole evening in a way that no indoor room can replicate.
Food and Drink — Tom Colicchio’s Culinary Team
The food at Beekman weddings is handled by Tom Colicchio’s culinary team, the same people behind the Temple Court restaurant inside the hotel. Colicchio has been one of the more respected names in serious New York dining for decades Craft, Top Chef, multiple other projects. This isn’t a hotel that slapped a famous name on a generic banquet operation. His team works with each couple individually to build the menu.
You can go plated dinner, pass appetizers, buffet whatever format works for your event. Everything is sourced seasonally from local suppliers. Wedding packages cover the standard logistics: linens, table settings, votive candles, printed menu cards. You don’t have to source those separately.
The Photography Situation at the Beekman Hotel
This venue photographs better than almost anything else in Manhattan. The atrium is the main reason nine stories of natural light dropping down through that pyramidal skylight creates conditions for indoor portraits that you’d normally need a large studio and a lot of equipment to approximate. Portraits here have actual depth and dimension. They don’t look like hotel photos.
Inside you’ve got the brick, the wisteria, the chandeliers, the tile floors in The Cellar, the long vertical view of the atrium from below genuinely a lot to work with without setting foot outside. And when you do go outside, you’re steps from City Hall Park, walking distance to the Brooklyn Bridge, and surrounded by some of the most visually interesting architecture in the city.
One important thing to know before you hire your photographer: the Beekman requires prior approval for professional photographers working on-site. Your photographer needs to contact the events team before the wedding day. Don’t wait until the week before sorting this out during planning.
For couples who want to see what this venue looks like when it’s shot by someone who actually understands the light conditions and spatial layout, check out Matthews Sowa Photography. They’ve worked across this whole corner of Lower Manhattan and bring the technical knowledge to do the Beekman justice.
Practical Planning Advice
The hotel has a dedicated events team that handles everything from room blocks, vendor coordination, logistics. Reach out early. Spring and fall Saturdays book up well in advance, and the lead time is longer than most couples anticipate.
The 90-guest limit is firm. If you need to be realistic about trimming your list, figure that out before you fall deep into planning around this venue. It’s a painful conversation to have after you’ve already started getting attached to the space.
Weekday dates and January through March tend to have more pricing flexibility. Worth asking the events team about directly; don’t assume peak pricing is the only option.
The hotel maintains relationships with local vendors who’ve worked events there before. Florists, bands, DJs, day-of coordinators who know the loading situation, the lighting setup, the kitchen access. Using those relationships makes coordination smoother, especially if you’re planning from out of state.
What Your Guests Experience When They Stay Here
The Beekman’s guest rooms aren’t standard hotel rooms. Vintage furnishings sourced individually by the design team, aged oak floors, high ceilings, marble bathrooms with rain showers. Some rooms have custom-designed beds and leather headboards. The quality of the room itself is genuinely part of the experience, not just somewhere to sleep between wedding events.
Room service runs 24 hours through the Crafted Hospitality menu. So when the reception ends and everyone’s still awake and hungry, there’s actually real food available. The hotel is part of the World of Hyatt program for guests who collect points.
The Lower Manhattan location means guests who extend their stay have a lot to explore the Seaport District, Brooklyn Bridge Park across the river, neighborhoods and restaurants most visitors don’t make it far enough downtown to find. A wedding weekend here can be a proper New York City experience, not just a one-night event.
Best Photo Spots Right Near the Beekman Hotel
City Hall Park is a two-minute walk and handles every season decently. Spring blossoms, fall color, winter bare trees against stone architecture all of it works for portraits. Enough open space for group shots, enough intimate corners for couples.
Brooklyn Bridge pedestrian walkway is the other one. If you’ve got a photographer who plans around light, early morning before tourists show up or late afternoon during golden hour are when the bridge produces its best images. The cables, the towers, East River, Manhattan skyline it’s the kind of shot most wedding albums don’t have because most venues aren’t close enough to make it practical.
The Financial District streets themselves are underused as photo locations. Narrow old blocks, cobblestone in spots, 1800s building facades right next to glass towers that combination is completely specific to this part of New York and doesn’t exist anywhere else in the city. For couples who want photos that actually look like they happened in New York and not in a generic event space, this neighborhood does it.
Matthews Sowa Photography covers all of these spots regularly and knows how to get the most out of each one regardless of weather or time of day.
FAQs
How many guests can the Beekman Hotel accommodate for a wedding?
Capacity is 90 guests for ceremony or reception. It’s an intimate venue by design not suited for large guest lists.
Does the Beekman Hotel offer wedding packages?
Yes, and they’re customizable. Packages include linens, table settings, candles, and printed menu cards. Tom Colicchio’s culinary team builds a specific food and drink menu for each wedding rather than using a fixed template.
Can I hold both my ceremony and reception at the Beekman Hotel?
Yes. There are separate ceremony spaces like the Wisteria Room and Clinton Hall, and reception spaces like the Farnsworth Room and The Cellar. The full day can stay on-site.
Is professional photography allowed at the Beekman Hotel?
Professional photography requires prior approval from the hotel. Your photographer must contact the events team before the wedding day; this isn’t something to leave until the last minute.
What makes the Beekman Hotel different from other NYC wedding venues?
The 1883 Victorian building, the nine-story atrium, the Wisteria Room, vintage interiors, rooftop terrace access, and the culinary program from Tom Colicchio all come together in a way that newer venues simply can’t replicate. The building itself does most of the heavy lifting.
Does the Beekman Hotel offer accommodation for wedding guests?
Yes. Room blocks are available for wedding parties and their guests. The rooms are individually designed with vintage furnishings and quality amenities; they’re genuinely nice rooms that add to the overall wedding weekend experience.
