As if they didn’t already know it, Brooklyn Heights residents
Neil Sloane and Carolina Rivera began to understand this fall
what good neighbors are – and that they are here in Brooklyn.
The engaged couple had planned for eight months to hold their
wedding reception at Fort Hamilton, the U.S. Army base in Bay
Ridge, at the 100-year-old reception facility called the Community
Club.
But in the days following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the
United States, the fort became off-limits to civilians – including
Carolina, Neil and all of their wedding guests. The couple had
just one month to find a new location for their wedding reception.
Moving the date was out of the question as the invitations had
been sent out and both bride and groom had guests flying in from
out of town, explained Carolina. Delaying further would have
meant having a reception during the holiday season.
Other Brooklyn facilities were extraordinarily expensive or unavailable.
The reception forecast looked bleak until the frazzled couple
talked to Kino partner Reem Al-Zahawi at Kino Restaurant in DUMBO.
"Up until Sept. 11, everything was about the wedding,"
said Neil, who is managing editor of The Brooklyn Papers. "But
then our thoughts were focused on the horror. It was like everything
stopped.
"About a week later, we realized that there was going to
be no way to still hold our wedding reception on a military base.
And we weren’t complaining," he added, "we knew the
importance of what the men and women stationed at the base were
prepared to do, and we were just counting our blessings that
we did not personally know anyone who died in the tragedy. But,
of course, we had already mailed out the invites."
"We had dined at Kino before and loved it," said Carolina,
"but our initial guest count was 80 to 90 and we thought
Kino would exceed our tight budget. We also weren’t sure whether
it would be big enough. But after our numbers dropped – in the
wake of the World Trade Center attack – we only had 50 guests
and Kino could accommodate that easily.
"Reem said you have to have your wedding reception here,"
said Carolina. "We can’t let this thing stop us. She was
very enthusiastic about doing it. She said we have to have as
many celebrations and good things happening now as we can. I
was crying as she said it. I was so touched by that."
Neil recalled how enthusiastic and persistent Al-Zahawi was at
their first meeting.
"She made us feel like it was very special, also, because
we had wanted to have our entire wedding, from ceremony to reception,
basically in our own Brooklyn neighborhood," he recalled.
"The church where we were married that afternoon [Assumption
Church on Cranberry Street] was just a couple of blocks from
our home and Kino is really just a five-minute walk."
"We were all crying [at that first meeting]," said
Al-Zahawi. "It turned out to be one of the best parties
we’ve ever thrown here. They were just such a great couple and
it was stupid to let this tragedy get in the way. So we did whatever
we could to accommodate them and make the reception the best
it could be."
Al-Zahawi and her partner at the 1 Main St. eatery, Karim Raoul,
agreed to match the affordable package the couple had been offered
at Fort Hamilton. Kino hosted a reception for 49 guests on the
second level of the restaurant that has a view of the twinkling
lights of the Brooklyn Bridge and lower Manhattan skyline.
"When Fort Hamilton fell apart, Reem stepped in and took
it upon herself to make sure we had our wedding without compromise,"
Neil said. "Every one of our guests raved about the quality
and portion of the food and the outstanding service – and also
the outstanding view."
The cocktail hour was filled with warm passed h’ors deouvres
such as mini quiches, teriyaki chicken on skewers and spring
rolls as well as a cheese station and a crudite station.
The wedding guests enjoyed vegetable puree soup or mixed green
salad with pine nuts and parmesan cheese as a first course, a
second course choice of steak au poivre or 12-spice chicken over
mashed chickpeas with vegetables followed by Kino’s award-winning
hazelnut creme brulee or chocolate mousse both made on the premises.
The guests also enjoyed a wedding cake with lemon curd filling
from Just Cakes by Paulette Martin, an independent pastry chef
who was referred by one of the chocolatiers at Jacques Torres’
DUMBO chocolate factory. Each guest had a box of two milk chocolate
passion-fruit-filled hearts from Jacques Torres waiting at their
place setting.
Al-Zahawi’s waitstaff provided top-notch, flawless service for
the guests, according to Neil, while Al-Zahawi herself doubled
as an unflappable, gracious hostess and banquet manager.
"We honestly feel they went above and beyond to make sure
our wedding reception was perfect," said Neil. "We
expected less because they worked out such a great deal with
us, but they just worked so hard to make sure that everything
was special for us and really seemed to care that that was the
case."
And so, on Oct. 20, a wedding tinged by the sorrowful events
of Sept. 11, was turned into a love-filled, fall evening with
friends and family.
"We would recommend anyone have their reception there,"
Neil said. "The place looked beautiful, and like I already
said, Reem was especially dedicated to making everything perfect
for us – as if it was her own affair."
