Revisting the new Pendry Natirar

/

A few years ago, we had the pleasure of planning a beautiful wedding at the Natirar Mansion. So, needless to say, it was such a joy to return and meet the incredible new Pendry team now overseeing this stunning property—right in New York City's backyard.

Let me count the ways we loved every moment of planning this one! Alie and Michael were a dream couple to work with, and her parents, who were involved throughout the process, were just as wonderful.

Alie is one impressive woman—sharp, driven, and genuinely kind. With an MBA from Harvard, she’s passionately committed to advancing genetics to help prevent health issues like cancer before they begin. We were so inspired by her work and felt honored to have such thoughtful, brilliant humans as clients. I genuinely looked forward to every meeting, whether in person or over Zoom.

Recently, I had the chance to visit and stay overnight at the new Pendry—and shout out to the GM for the Penthouse upgrade!

I’ll admit it: I’m a total sucker for a resort with a five-star spa. The Pendry Spa absolutely delivered—spa, gym, and cuisine were all next level.

The main event space remains unchanged—still sun-drenched, modern, and welcoming. On the hotel side, new additions provide fresh options for weekend events, wedding celebrations, or full property buyouts.

One of my favorite new spaces is the large outdoor terrace on the top floor, just off a long, elegant dining room. The views stretch across the grounds and trees—it truly feels like you’re in another world. The terrace is a blank canvas, ready to be transformed with umbrellas, florals, and any décor your heart desires.

There’s also a lower terrace off the new restaurant, Ladd’s Tavern—perfect for a cocktail-style reception or a sit-down dinner. And if you're not doing a full buyout, you can reserve the acclaimed Ninety Acres restaurant for an event. Even better, host a cooking class there for your guests during the day or plan an intimate welcome dinner the night before the big celebration.

We’d be thrilled to bring a new client here for a 2026 or 2027 celebration. In the meantime, treat yourself to a visit at this incredible spa—complete with steam rooms, infrared saunas, a salt cave, and a range of luxurious treatments. Then, top it all off with a delicious meal at Ladd’s Tavern or Ninety Acres.

Until next time...

Happy planning,
Ashley

Photography by Allan Zepeda

The Biltmore to The Dunlin: An Epic wedding story!

/

We will forever remember Rebekah & Ben’s wedding dearly. From day one, we knew it would be a notable weekend of celebration.  We often have repeat clients and familiar faces in attendance at our weddings, but it is not every day that we have upwards of three past couples and a few future clients as well.  This crowd has become like family, and stepping into the role of event planner doesn't feel like work at all. 

This planning began with a hip, wintertime engagement party at The Wooley on Broome Street. Classy, festive and totally relaxed, the couple's two worlds got to party with one another for the first time. Rebekah from Nebraska and Ben from Manhattan. 

Photography by Jenny Fu

Later in the Summer we also had the pleasure of planning a casual, summertime, backyard couple’s shower at Greene’s residence in New Jersey. By the time, the wedding month came around everyone know everyone and, oh, so fun that we got to spend time with multiple past clients and catch up! 

Life threw us all a curve ball when it decided to send Hurricane Helene to Asheville, NC, just weeks before their wedding.  I knew within a day or two that there was no way we could host at the historic Biltmore Estate.  Their classy, black-tie, Gatsby-esque wedding would have to move to another location.  I also knew this couple wanted to move forward with their lives rather than postpone. Prior experience has taught me that time is of the essence, especially when looking to move a wedding over a popular date. We secretly began planning a new weekend of celebration, in a new city, while they waited with baited breath, reluctant to give up hope that the water would recede in Asheville. .

We gave R+B many domestic and international choices, aiming to capture that historic feel.  None did the job. I know what they needed was a resort and less busy weekend than was originally planned. To arrive, check in, chill and then celebrate. I also insisted on a great team to execute since we would be meeting them literally 19 days prior to the wedding. 

About 3 weeks after Hurricane Helen Ashley had a list of venues but knew who the winner would be. For one, the couple already frequented Charleston, they are foodies, and many guests were coming from NYC and Charleston is one of the easiest and quickest domestic locations to travel to from here.

When you hire a wedding planner as clued in as Ashley Douglass Events, you get the added security of knowing having a hard pivot is not our first Rodeo. Additionally, because of our place in the industry we knew that the brand new Auberge Resort in South Carolina just opened, maybe all of one week before Hurricane Helen hit in North Carolina. 

With a wave of a wand, and a ton of working into the late-late night, as you can see, everything came together beautifully! Rebekah, Ben and their families and friends enjoyed a perfect weekend wedding at the brand-new Auberge Resort, The Dunlin, on John’s Island in Charleston, SC. 

We fit the previous design to suit The Dunlin’s event barns.  We had to change some of the decor but overall the aesthetics were similar minus that historical feel.  Perhaps the biggest lift was both helping some of the guests with the change in their own plans and attempting to keep the design almost the same in a busy climate with many rentals having been destroyed on one hand or already contracted out on the other.  

Sending love and hope that all necessary aid is given to Asheville as their rebuilding will be a long haul. This city was so kind to us and their people so approachable. We look forward to planning at the Historical Biltmore Estate again. 

Shout out to our new besties in the business - Social Spool and Technical Event.  They worked tirelessly. Thank you to Curated Events, Event Works, Emerson James, BBJ, and Nuage Designs for your time and patience.  Without these rental companies going above and beyond and pulling rentals from multiple regions, cutting new fabrics, and dealing with a less-than-perfect revised production schedule, none of this would have been possible.  

Shout out and thank you to the Lowland in downtown CHS which hosted our large welcome party in their cool restaurant/ townhouse, and brick courtyard. One of the many tasks needed to be accomplished to change the city let alone the venue, was to find a restaurant willing to close down on a Friday evening. We emailed, called and stopped in on foot, if not harassed, upwards of 30 restaurants unless we found the perfect location that was willing to shutdown for us to enjoy cocktails and many heartfelt speeches. 

Lastly, the hugest, heartfelt thanks to the truly caring and passionate Dunlin Team.  You have quickly become a new venue that is like family. We cannot wait to be back next year. 

Part of my heart will always be with Asheville and we intend to visit again soon. The vendors and staff at the various venues we had on the schedule for that weekend, including but not limited to hiking excursions in the Blue Ridge Mountains, will stay in memory. The kindness, the vulnerability, the strength. We are all in this together. 

Mazel Tov Rebekah & Ben

All photography by Jenny Fu

New Venues to Love: SC, TN, NJ, MT

/

New Venues to Love: SC, TN, NJ, MT

We are behind on the blog. That is an understatement. Who has time for a blog when they have such exciting work to do. However, we promise to reboot our weekly emails in the New Year and have them reciprocated here, on the blog, often in more detail.

This past year we visited a few great new venues and worked some new ones too.

It has always been surprising how hard it is to find a great venue that builds their new property with all the logical needs a great wedding venue needs. Only some of these are:

  • Enough accommodations for at least the wedding party and all immediate family members to stay.

  • Multiple venues for multiple events, so we can keep the space being used for the main event a surprise! Also, so guests can check in and stay the weekend.

  • Other hotels nearby that are nice enough for the guests that most likely will not stay on-site.

  • A great food and beverage program on-site.

  • A rain back up plan for at least the ceremony, if not also the cocktail hour, or another flat piece of land to pitch another tent.

  • Close to a major airport and ideally, a cute town or city for guests to explore.

  • Even better, a golf course, tennis courts, gym with an outdoor pool and of course a stellar on-site spa.

  • Internal staff that “gets it”.

Without further adieu, our NEW favorites list is below! We will write a more detailed blog soon, just enjoying the Holidays for now!

THE DUNLIN, Auberge Resorts Collection, John’s Island, SC

PENDRY Natirar, Peapack, NJ

SOUTHALL, Franklin, TN

Little shout out to the Newly reopened WALDORF ASTORIA New York

Coming soon in 2025…..

ONE&ONLY Moonlight Basin, Montana

FAENA New York City

Photo below by Jenny Fu Photography at The Dunlin

RSVP Options: 6/27/23 Tuesday’s Tips→

/

TUESDAY TIPS 6/27/23

*RSVP CHOICES*

You may find that your guests are staying at many different types of accommodations. Perhaps you chose a destination location, or it’s the nature of the area in which you are getting married. Additionally, nowadays, we are all used to being able to obtain as much information as we want, online. It is because of these two reasons that we feel strongly about the following:

1. You should feel comfortable over-communicating on your website. While aesthetically I favor less is more, oftentimes on stationery products and in general with regard to the written word, in this instance however, I feel differently. 

2. You may want to consider an online RSVP. Now, many love the old-fashioned RSVP that comes in the postal mail. I do too! You have visions of saving them for the rest of your life, making a collage for your man or ladies cave, or hope that you receive fun notes on the back in the postal mail, sending you running to the mailbox. Okay, maybe, but.... you also want to make sure guests tell you where they are staying and how many of them are coming? Is their plus one in fact coming? Did they decide on their own that they are bringing a plus one because they don't understand etiquette? Guests can return to your RSVP page on the website down the line to fill in any of the additional fields you added to that page such as allergies, or their RSVP for the night before.

3. You may want to update guests on any changes you may make in between the time you sent the invite and the date of the wedding. Those changes may be the location of your ceremony at the venue.  The week of the wedding, if rain is forecasted and that changes the location of the ceremony, you may want to give them a quick email. Certainly, the venue team (and planning team if you have one) will be helping with this on-site, however guests do appreciate being informed. Not all rain plans are simply tenting on top of the same space. 

4. If you are not preparing a welcome bag you may want to drop the weekend itinerary into the body of an email. You might, also, want to give them this information before they receive their welcome hotel bag. 

//

  The photo below is a little peak at the invite process. We write notes on the Proof PDF, as we find it dramatically helps clients understand our suggested updates.

Sign-up for Tuesday Tips and receive a free gift

/

Hi there,

Are you on The List? This list is a great resource for some of you that cannot necessarily obtain the planner you prefer.

SIGN UP to our weekly wedding planning tips! You will receive our free guide, “7 Ways Wedding Planners Cut Costs For Their Clients” and the option of joining our waitlist for our first Mini Course, “Start Your Wedding Planning Like A Pro”

Pass this LINK onto Friends and Family planning a wedding too!

Looking forward to seeing you on screen one day soon!