A Theatrical Matrimony

The Hippodrome has an incredible history in Baltimore. Originally built on the site of the Eutaw House hotel, it opened in 1914 as a grand movie palace with seating for 3,000. Over the years, its stage welcomed legendary performers including Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Dean Martin, but after decades as one of the city’s great entertainment venues, the theatre eventually closed in 1990.

The Hippodrome became part of Emma’s own family history when her dad, Mark, served as president of the Hippodrome Foundation during the major fundraising and restoration effort that brought the theatre back to life, reopening in 2004. As a child, Emma visited her dad at work, helped lead tours through the construction site, and even had the opportunity to help paint a portion of the theatre’s ornate ceiling. The Hippodrome became a place filled with memories of her dad and a particularly meaningful place in Baltimore for her family, so the opportunity to come back years later and get married on that same stage felt incredibly full-circle.

To give our guests a unique experience at the theatre, we intentionally chose not to seat anyone in the traditional audience. Instead, we transformed the stage into the setting for the entire ceremony experience, beginning with a pre-ceremony cocktail hour featuring champagne and theatre popcorn. For the ceremony itself, the view from the stage looking out over the theatre’s empty velvet seats became the backdrop. Guests entered the theater as the curtains on the stage raised to reveal the ceremony décor. Guests began a short cocktail hour pre-ceremony on stage and were greeted with popcorn to enjoy during the show.