Rebecca & Nick’s Yale Club wedding
A chuppah of flowers, then the chairs lifted on the dance floor. The Yale Club, Manhattan.
Vanderbilt Avenue, Midtown Manhattan
Weddings at the Yale Club
The Yale Club stands on Vanderbilt Avenue, across from Grand Central, and a wedding here has the formality of an old New York club with the city pressed right up against its windows. We have planned weddings at the club, from a first look on the roof terrace to portraits in the middle of Vanderbilt Avenue and an evening in the ballroom. What stays with you each time is the height: the ballroom sits high above the street, and the city arrives in the windows as the evening darkens.
What makes the Yale Club special
It is a private club, so the day has a quiet, members-only calm that a hotel cannot give, and the rooms carry the weight of a century of New York celebrations. The address matters too: Grand Central and Vanderbilt Avenue become part of the photographs, and guests arriving from Midtown hotels are minutes away.
- The Grand BallroomCeremony, dinner and dancing
High on the club’s upper floors, with tall windows, ornate plaster and crystal chandeliers, and room for a large seated dinner with a dance floor. For the wedding we planned here, the ceremony was held in a ballroom beneath a chuppah of white and green flowers, and the evening followed under the chandeliers.
- The roof terraceFirst look, cocktails, portraits
Above Midtown, with the towers close enough to touch. We used it for the first look. An open-air space in the middle of the city depends on the weather, so we always hold an indoor alternative for anything planned up here.
- The library and smaller roomsGetting ready, family moments, a tea ceremony
The club has wood-paneled rooms of several sizes, which suit a family ceremony, a quiet moment before the aisle, or a room for the wedding party to gather while the ballroom is being set.
What we know that most couples don’t
Membership
The Yale Club is a private club, and its events are arranged through the club. If no one in your family is a member, ask the club’s events office early how a wedding can be hosted, before you set your heart on a date.
The turn between ceremony and dinner
When the ceremony and dinner share a floor, one room is reset while guests are at cocktails. We plan that hour so it feels like part of the evening, with the terrace, the photographs and the drinks timed so no one notices the room being turned behind the doors.
Load-in on a Midtown street
Vanderbilt Avenue is one of the busiest blocks in the city, and every delivery goes up in the club’s elevators. We schedule the florist, the band and the rentals to the club’s windows, and build as much of the design as possible before it arrives.
Street portraits on Vanderbilt Avenue
Portraits in the middle of Vanderbilt Avenue look spontaneous. They are timed to the minute, with someone watching the light and the traffic, and the photographer and the couple know exactly how long they have before the lights change.
The club’s own rules
A private club has its own house rules, from catering and décor to dress and sound. We read them with you at the start, so the design never asks the club for something it does not allow.
Our wedding at The Yale Club of New York City
Questions about The Yale Club of New York City
Do you plan weddings at the Yale Club?
Yes. We have planned weddings at the Yale Club of New York City, and one is told in full on our Yale Club wedding page.
Do we need to be members to marry at the Yale Club?
The club is private and its events are arranged through members and the club’s events office. Ask the club directly about its current policy for families who are not members; we are glad to help you with that first conversation.
Can the ceremony and reception both be held at the club?
Yes. At the wedding we planned there, the ceremony was held in a ballroom beneath a chuppah of flowers, cocktails followed, and dinner and dancing took place in the ballroom.
How many guests does the Yale Club suit?
The Grand Ballroom suits a large seated dinner with a dance floor, and smaller rooms suit a rehearsal dinner or a family ceremony. The club confirms current capacities for each room, and we plan the floor around your guest count.
Where do guests stay?
Midtown has hotels within a few minutes’ walk of the club and Grand Central, which makes a room block easy for guests who travel. We arrange blocks close enough that guests can walk to the club.
Planning a wedding at The Yale Club of New York City? Tell us about it.
Tell us about your wedding, and we will take it from there.