Best Places to Say, ‘I Do,’ This Fall

In 2022, autumn reigned supreme for U.S. weddings. Twenty percent of all nuptials took place in October, and 43 percent of all weddings occurred between September and November, according to a study by theknot.com. As fall nudges out summer as the most popular wedding season, couples are looking beyond the beach for destinations that shine in cooler months.

These four ALHI Members are dreamy year-round; here’s what makes them perfect fall wedding destinations:

The Langham, Boston

Boston sits at the center of New England, and The Langham, Boston sits at the center of the city’s downtown district. It might just be the geographic heart of fall wedding locations and it's definitely at the top of the list for couples looking to pair history with romance.

The Langham, Boston inhabits the former Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, built in 1922, of granite and limestone with marble doorframes and mantles. The building was declared a historic landmark so retains most of its original features, including terrazzo floors and floor-to-ceiling murals by American painter N.C. Wyeth. The hotel's pastry kitchen is in a former vault.

Owners of The Langham, Boston were able to get a renovation approved by the landmarks commission in June 2021, but restrictions to historic buildings require that additional floors not be visible from the ground. Wedding guests might be surprised a hotel that appears to be five stories from the sidewalk contains nine floors. Other surprises include original art in every nook and a vibe that's more modern than "federal reserve bank" might imply.

The hotel is a short walk from Union Oyster House, the oldest eatery in the city. Couples can share a dozen on the half shell and then pledge their troth under a Wyeth mural depicting Abraham Lincoln, a president who was quite fond of oysters.

Nemacolin Resort

In 1987, thirty-one years after Joseph Hardy opened his first 84 Lumber store, he was in position to do something special for his family. He bought a few hundred acres in the Allegheny Mountains of southwestern Pennsylvania so he and daughter, Maggie, could go fishing. Between Hardy's voracious appetite for experience and his expanding family's interests, the land acquisition grew to a 2200-acre resort christened Nemacolin Resort, now filled with everything from a Pete Dye golf course to Versailles-like gardens.

Couples looking for an autumn wedding location with both man- and nature-made beauty come to Nemacolin Resort. There are endless romantic outdoor spots for a ceremony, and just as many indoor choices such as the Marquis Ballroom, the Panorama Pavilion or Falling Rock, a $55 million Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired lodge. Art lovers can marry in the Reflections gallery, surrounded by modern art.

Hardy, who died on his 100th birthday in January 2023, always had a cigar in hand. Bride and groom can visit the mahogany-lined Hardy Room for a quick photo session with cigars and a Punch-shaped humidor, or they can jump into a Humvee and cruise a 20-mile driving experience course, or zipline to the ceremony. In short, there are a lot of options.

Lotte New York Palace

In 1882, railroad tycoon Henry Villard bought a chunk of Madison Avenue, the block between 50^th and 51st streets, to be exact. He commissioned six private homes situated around a central cobblestone courtyard. The sedate brownstone exteriors hid Gilded Age opulence that almost immediately bankrupted him. Villard Houses may have been plural but were always perceived as a set; with the addition of an adjacent 55-story building, now function as one in the form of Lotte New York Palace.

The hotel is an array of beauty—mosaic-patterned groin vault ceilings, La Farge-designed opalescent windows and Siena marble everywhere. There's a Gold Room with 30-foot swathed-in-gilt ceilings, walls and wainscoting. A 2013, $140 million renovation supervised by the Landmark Preservation Commission kept the gilded history intact.

Weddings at Lotte New York Palace are beautiful year-round, but there's an added luxury in autumn as nearby Central Park fills with fall colors and Gold Room cognac cocktails gleam. In a city filled with special spaces, the Lotte New York Palace holds a place of its own.

The Jefferson, Washington, D.C.

Couples who choose the District of Columbia as a wedding location don’t need to be sold on the town; they’re here for the icons. But which hotel for the ceremony? There’s a sound argument to be made for The Jefferson, Washington, D.C., located just four blocks from The White House.

Designed as a luxury apartment block in 1923 by Beaux Arts master Jules Henri de Sebour, who also designed the French and Peruvian embassies, the property became a hotel in 1955. There’s a long list of luxe details—a dramatic barrel-ceiling atrium skylight, travertine bathrooms and marble fireplaces galore.

The restaurant located under that skylight, The Greenhouse, can be reserved for private events; wedding parties might see a U.S. Senator wander in when the lantern’s lit under the Capitol dome.

Bride and groom can stroll down to the National Mall, take photos with America’s magnificent memorials, and wave at the Oval Office as they head back to The Jefferson, Washington, D.C., to say ‘I do.’ It’s a significant location, equal to the significance of a wedding day.

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