Destination Weddings and Honeymoons

Empire State Building Celebrates Equality

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This year's wedding season just got even better. Huge congrats are in order to New York State for passing same-sex marriage legislation on Friday night! The law — which goes into effect July 24 — makes New York the sixth and largest state to pass equal marriage rights. We couldn't be happier that every New Yorker now has the option to marry in great locales like Niagara Falls, Hudson Valley, the Hamptons, the Finger Lakes and, of course, the Big Apple. Even better? The Empire State doesn't have a residency requirement, so it's a premier destination-wedding spot for all couples. To celebrate, here are four amazing specials to ring in this history-making occasion.

W Hotels of New York
The newly launched Right to Unite package provides suit-press and shoe-shine service or dress cleaning, private car service to whisk you to and from City Hall, Flip cameras to document the big day, a custom wedding cake and champagne, and suite accommodations at one of W Hotels' four New York locations.

Couples looking to throw a bigger bash can book a wedding at W New York or W Union Square before Dec. 31, 2011, and receive a free two-night honeymoon at W Retreat & Spa, Vieques Island, in Puerto Rico.

The Skylight Group
This Manhattan-based venue-management group is offering a 20 percent discount on all weddings for the remainder of 2011. The brand owns three properties: Skylight West, a three-story space featuring the largest rooftop available for private event use; Skylight Soho, an 18,000-square-foot renovated gallery space with 20-foot ceilings; and Skylight One Hanson, a historic Art Deco venue in Brooklyn complete with marble floors and mosaic-painted ceilings.

Le Parker Meridien New York
The famed New York hotel is going all out with not one but two wedding specials.

The Born This Way (thanks, Gaga) brunch package includes a 30-minute reception with butler-passed hors d'oeuvres, a 2½-hour sit-down brunch with a wedding cake, and a photo booth featuring souvenir costumes. The package is $125 per person and requires a 25-person minimum.

The Love Knows No Boundaries package includes a ceremony room and certified officiant, a one-hour cocktail reception with butler-passed hors d'oeuvres, a five-hour sit-down dinner with a champagne toast, open bar and wedding cake, and a stay in the Presidential Suite equipped with personalized "Mr. and Mr." or "Mrs. and Mrs." monogram robes. The package is $25,000 for 100 people and $225 per each additional guest.