Marriage: Princeton style

Since the 1968 conversion of Prospect House from the Presidential residence to a faculty club and banquet hall, alumni have sought after the mansion for a nostalgic, romantic setting for their wedding celebrations.

Prospect House hosts 35 weddings per year, up to two per weekend. Twenty-eight weddings are currently booked for the year 2002. "Alumni make up about 75 percent of the weddings and the other 25 percent is faculty and their children," director of catering Jodi Mintz said.

Kristen Nuffort '98 and Matt Johnson '98 were married on campus in September. The ceremony took place in the University Chapel. The 140 guests danced to '80s music in Prospect's Presidential Dining Room and ate salmon and filet mignon in the Garden Room.

"Prospect House came to mind because we definitely wanted to be on campus," Nuffort said. "The proximity to the chapel was important, and it was wonderful to be surrounded by friends and to be back here."

According to Mintz, 85 percent of the Prospect House revenue comes from catering functions such as weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, Easter brunches and other traditional events.

Restaurant Associates, which provides the catering at Prospect House, is an institutional food service company based out of New York that gained momentum and fame during the 1960s under innovative restaurateur Joe Baum. Under this company, dozens of New York's trendiest restaurants, such as the Rainbow Room, flourished.

The University receives a $1,700 "administration fee" for use of the Prospect facility. The fee goes toward maintenance of the gardens, furnishings and amenities, Mintz explained.

Mintz would not specify whether the University shares in the revenue from Prospect House with Restaurant Associates.

"I don't think [the University] makes much of a profit off of the alumni. They want to provide a service," she said.

The complete wedding package offered by Prospect House includes use of the building for a four hour time slot, a one-hour cocktail reception with three hot and cold hors d'oeuvre, choice of a four-course plated or buffet dinner, traditional wedding cake, tablecloths and napkins, changing rooms for the bride and groom, coordination of dance floor rental and a menu tasting. Recommendations for local photographers, florists, bands, DJs, performers, hotels and limousine services are also available.

The cost of an affair with dinner and "deluxe" appetizers for 100 guests runs around $21,100. According to Mintz, the "labor" fee, which includes bartenders, butlers and waiters remains "pretty consistent" at $1,430. "Prospect is a very attractive option for many alumni because it's less money than the average hotel around here," Mintz said.

Chapel administrator Richard Parks acts as the "point person" for couples who want to use the Chapel facility for the spiritual portion of their wedding.

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"Princeton University Chapel is one of the most beautiful chapels in the area. Students have fond memories of it," Parks said.

Eligibility for use of the facility is limited to alumni, current students, current staff or faculty and children of any of the above. Couples must write a letter explaining what the chapel means to them. Alumni, according to Parks, make up 90 percent of the wedding ceremonies held at the Chapel. Additionally, 40 percent of the ceremonies are uniting two University alumni.

"For people who have met here, it's a nice common ground to come back to," Mintz said.

"Very few people from the town of Princeton get married here. Some people have come back from Hong Kong and Paris for their ceremonies," Parks added.

Construction on the interior of the Chapel slashed the number of requests for ceremonies in the chapel.

The Nuffort-Johnson wedding was held inside the Chapel despite the scaffolding. "It was not ideal," Nuffort said. "It would have been nice [without the scaffolding,] but the place was meaningful to us. It's where we went to church when we were on campus. It actually looked the best we've seen it in the past year."

Parks said use of the Chapel costs between $750-850, while some other schools, like Duke and Syracuse universities, charge over $1000.

"It's very reasonable here if you take into account the $20-30,000 people spend on receptions," Parks said. The money from the use of the Chapel goes to the Office of Religious Life and contributes to the cost of the wedding coordinator and upkeep of the Chapel. "It goes towards keeping the experience here special," said Parks.