Theresa Brown makes no bones about being “a party girl.” As director of catering for the Crowne Plaza in Suffern, she arranges about 100 events a year ”” weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, bar and bat mitzvahs, school reunions and company social events.
Speaking of weddings that she books, she says, “I become very protective of the brides. You get attached to them after 16 months or more of making preparations.”
“Eight months is last minute,” she adds about bridal bookings.
Brown has been known to go to the store to pick up panty hose or hair products for a bride on her wedding day. “A bride”™s mom who got out of the hospital the day before the wedding called and told me she did not want to disturb her daughter, but she felt able to attend and lacked transportation,” Brown says. “I rushed to pick her up, surprising the bride upon our return.
“I love the anniversaries,” she says. “It”™s so nice to see people who have been together for many years and are still devoted to each other.”
The most unusual event during her three-year tenure at the Crowne Plaza was not, however, a wedding or anniversary. It was a bat mitvah. “It had a Cinderella theme, with castle, life-size coach, glass slippers and even our staff in costume, including stepsisters.” she says.
Reverting to weddings, Brown notes changes over the years go beyond the wedding gowns, which are more abbreviated than in the era of long sleeves and high necklines. “The music is different than when our present anniversary couples married,” she says. “”˜First waltz. What”™s that?”™ Traditional wedding cakes have given way to elaborate cupcakes.
“We only do one wedding at a time, so the bride is like a princess,” she says. “We do smaller parties simultaneously with weddings but never two weddings at once.”
Brown says she is grateful that she has not had to deal with any crisis while at the Crowne Plaza. She shudders recalling one on an earlier job. “It involved 250 chair covers,” she says. “They arrived wrinkled. There was no time to send them back. The staff and I labored to wash and iron all 250 before festivities started.”
The Crowne Plaza covers all bets, the catering director says. “We have a pergola garden for outdoor ceremonies. But, we always also prepare an indoor room in case of bad weather,” she adds, recalling with horror a mid-Hudson Valley outdoor wedding at which the guests were issued umbrellas to tough it out. An indoor koi pond and waterfall garden provide settings for a cocktail hour and keepsake photos. A ballroom provides dancing for 360 guests.
With 230 rooms, the Crowne Plaza has adequate space for guests to remain on the premises after festivities without need to drive. “Take the elevator home,” Brown says. And, there is a bridal suite.
Raised in Brooklyn”™s Marine Park section, Brown earned a bachelor”™s degree in communications from St. Francis College. She moved to Florida in l989, entering the hospitality business. She later became director of outlets for the Westin hotel there in Southfield, Mich. She then went back to New York City to work at the Hilton and later as banquet manager of the Downtown Athletic Club. Prior to joining the Crowne Plaza, she spent five years with the Ramada Conference Center in Rochelle Park, N.J.
All is not work in the Brown”™s life. An avid tap dancer, she has taught tap dancing. A volunteer for Special Olympics, she also serves on the Art and Environmental Committee at St. Anthony”™s Parish in Hawthorne.
Challenging Careers focuses on the exciting and unusual business lives of Hudson Valley residents. Comments or suggestions may be emailed to Catherine Portman-Laux at cplaux@optonline.net.
