Although the hotel is known for its outstanding food, its Food & Beverage Director Peter Grills realized after they had done a few Indian weddings that they needed outside help to provide the authentic Indian cuisine brides and grooms requested - a task made harder by the diversity of Indian food based on different regions.
After working with several caterers who specialized in Indian food, the hotel decided to simplify the process and create a partnership with Bombay Grille, which has been providing authentic Indian fare in the area for more than 20 years and has extensive offerings of Indian cuisine including vegetarian options.
The Indian Wedding Packages have been a hit. I encourage you to go to www.theballantynehotel.com to learn more and see photos from a few of the weddings.
The hotel's Meeting & Event Specialist Alli Hall filled me in on some of the fascinating aspects of Indian weddings.
"They are usually huge parties that last for about 12 hours with hundreds of guests," she says. "The groom's entrance to the wedding is very elaborate. Most enter on a white horse. One time, a groom came in on a parade float." The hotel has even had a request for an elephant, a common practice in India, but not here since it would cost about $40,000 to get a pachyderm for the party.
The ceremony at the hotel can go on for hours, so except for members of the wedding party, guests come and go freely to another room where there's a luncheon buffet. Often, festivities resume in the evening with more food and dancing.
Grills loves the gorgeous spectacle of it all. "It's really something to see," he says.
For wedding inquiries, Indian or otherwise, contact the hotel's catering department at 704-248-4035; or email weddings@theballantynehotel.com.
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