In a city where a couple can marry at a movie premiere and hundreds of wives-to-be scale a giant wedding cake for cash, the idea of putting a honeymoon suite inside a tourist attraction isn't all that unconventional. Commemorating its 75th year—and perhaps looking to edge out the competition with a creative ploy for publicity—Brides magazine built a bedroom inside Top of the Rock this week for a pair of newlyweds.
Dubbed the Mile High Honeymoon Suite, the promotion opened to the public on Tuesday and closed with a cocktail party last night. Tuesday night, however, Ryan and Kelley Pattee had the 67th-floor perch to themselves. Chosen by the Condé Nast publication as a couple deserving of a unique honeymoon—the bride's ailing parents prevented the two from taking a vacation after their wedding in August—the Pattees were left to their own devices in the east-facing corner of Rockefeller Center's rooftop observatory.
To construct the grand Dorothy Draper-inspired four-poster bed, the magazine utilized its own resources. Brides wedding style director Maria McBride, a designer and consultant with six books on bridal style to her name, headed up the project with production handled by Mark Musters, the veteran event producer and designer now working under the name Studio Mamu. "Working with a space open to the public has inherent challenges," said McBride. With only a six-hour window to load in and build the suite, McBride relied on Musters' production experience to tackle last-minute problems.
"Everybody is looking for creative ideas, ways to increase business, and we all have to make the most of what we have," said Millie Martini Bratten, editor in chief of Brides. But rather than curtail the plans for its anniversary, the magazine chose instead to take advantage of sponsors, forging strategic partnerships that would add to the marketing effort. Companies like Ann Gish, Swarovski, and Veuve Cliquot provided products for the suite, while Air Tahiti Nui, Tahiti Tourisme North America, and the Four Seasons Bora Bora supplemented the promotion with a vacation package for the Pattees.
For one of the sponsors, the marketing stunt was a springboard from which it could target other honeymooners. Air Tahiti Nui is now offering a package—a replication of the one given to the Pattees—for newlyweds.
