The Brides' Review - amazing Bourne Mansion Wedding 3/24/2012

Evan820 Posted: May 24, 2012 12:03 PM+

Evan820 MEMBER SINCE: 10/10 TOTAL POSTS : 737 WEDDING DATE: Mar 24, 2012

Posted: May 24, 2012 12:03 PM

amazing Bourne Mansion Wedding 3/24/2012

Wedding Review

I am so excited to be reviewing my wedding! The whole thing was amazing! Planning would not have been the same if it were not for LIW and all the great brides (and grooms) that have helped along the way!

Now for the review!

Location: Bourne Mansion –A

So the location itself was perfect for my vintage/glam wedding. I loved that you used the whole house. Each room was beautiful and guests are still talking about how entertained they were with going into each of the rooms and finding some new surprise. They had done some major renovations from the time I booked to the time of my wedding and I have to say I really loved them all. The renovated Ballroom and bathrooms were my favorite changes. Everyone was raving about the food. They could not believe it was so delicious and how many options there were. We extended the cocktail hour by 30 mins and I am so glad they had this option. This gave everyone time to really walk around and see the rooms and taste all of the many options we were given. We also decorated the hall with photos of my fam and DH’s fam, so people had time to go around and see all of those too. The Ballroom is really an impressive space. It has an incredibly high ceiling that pictures just don’t do justice. We added a small light package for the stage around the band. This added a glow to the room. The downside to having such high ceilings is that is does get a little loud in the room, but truthfully, at the time I didn’t even notice this- but I have gotten this comment. Steve was scary but great at what he does. He made sure things ran on time and that we always had everything we wanted. He was even there with cool damp clothes to wipe out foreheads after a long dance set. The planning was a little difficult with getting the timing to be what I wanted but on the day I was thrilled with how it all turned out. I did not give Bourne an A+ because after the wedding I found out that the decor (candles and picture frames) that I had left with the Bourne, they did not set up. If I had not had a DOC I do not know what I would have done and would have been really upset. Also, we were a little mislead when we booked there. We were told that the Ceremony room could sit 170 people. 4 days before the wedding I come to find out that only 155 can fit. The option was to sit the remaining guests in the coat room. I had them stand outside the ceremony room. Not ideal, but they said it was not bad. All in all I would not have wanted my wedding anywhere else.

DOC- LA Productions- A+
Laura was amazing through the entire process. The day would NEVER have gone as smooth as it did if it had not been for her and her asst. She did everything from my decor to making sure the timeline was what i wanted to getting my drinks while we were taking pics. She also added the most adorable extras to our headtable! She was wonderful and I can not recommend her more highly!

Brides Cake- Rolling pin Bakery- B
For the taste alone I would have given them an A, but the problem was the cake came crooked. It also got more crooked as the night went on, so obvi it wasn’t constructed properly. Also, I did not like that I had to pay for samples (though they were entire cupcakes, so I was able to share with my fam and we all tasted them)

Grooms Cake-Sweet Alchemy by Amelia- A++
I could not have been happier with how my Burger cake came out. Everyone at the wedding was sooo impressed and most importantly my DH was/is in love. He liked it so much, he refused to serve it at the wedding so we could keep it in the freezer and he could keep eating it! My Maître D’ liked it so much he asked for the bakers contact since it was one of the best he had ever seen. It was delicious, and fabulous looking and I could not thank Amelia enough!

Rehearsal Dinner Location- Mauricio’s Orlando’s II, St. James- A
My family always goes to this restaurant. The food is delicious and the prix fix is a great deal. The only down side was that the room was really too tight to mingle. We had 40 people and it is really comfortable only up to 30-35. Once everyone sat down though it was fine. They gave us a lot of options, but that also made the time between the salad and the entrée a little long. I was really happy with how it came out and would def recommend it for a slightly smaller party

Photography – Matthew Sowa Photography- A++
When we started looking for a photographer I knew I wanted something a little more artsy and Matthews stuff just popped cannot say enough great things about Matt. He is like a photo magician. He was everywhere, and when he wasn’t there, his second shooter was. I knew I loved my E pics but cannot get over how much I love my wedding pics! His excitement about what he does is infectious. He is great to work with and though his work speaks for itself I can’t stop talking about it! All the photos of the wedding in the review are his!

Florist- Bella Flowers – A+
Flowers were not the important to me. I wanted very small BoKs and candelabra centerpieces. Christina was very knowledgeable and helpful in the planning process. She sent me pics of the flowers she was going to use and alternate BoK ideas. She worked in my budget and was willing to alter the contract after we signed to remove the chuppah. When I went in for final payment, I told her about an issue I was having with my chuppah standing, and she lent me her chuppah stands at no charge. Her Staff, who actually put together my sample centerpiece, was also very friendly and easy to work with. On the day, the flowers came and were beautiful. They were exactly what I wanted. We took them all home at the end of the night and they lasted almost 2 more weeks!

Videographer-Lighthouse Productions

no grade- no comment

Band- Time Square Orchestra- A++
There are not words for how great this band is. The dance floor was packed the whole time! They were able to learn our African first dance song, and actually gave us options on which version we wanted. They gave us all sorts of advice on how the reception should flow and they were perfectly on point. They even learned a tango song for DH 3 days before the wedding. If you are considering a Band, this should be at the top of your list

Limo/ Antique Car- Sir Oliver Limo- A-
On the day I was very happy with the quality of the cars. They were on time and got everyone where they needed to be, when they needed to be there. I was a little disappointed to know that my antique car, that I paid to use for 3 hours, left after 1.5 hours. None of my family, BP, or guests got to see it. I wanted it not only for my ride and pics but to add a bit of authenticity to my theme. Otherwise the owners we very nice to work with and the drivers were very professional.

Hair and Make-up -Sachiko Yanase- A++
She is amazing at what she does!! I loved my look- a modern take on 1930’s. She totally got it. I booked her for the whole day and once she had finished with all my girls, she came and touched everyone up all the way through the ceremony and cocktail. She could have done everyone’s hair and make-up but since I did not want to start too early, I ended up using her for all the hair and make-up for me, MOH, my Mom, and to touch up some marks on my Dads face. I have to say, during my trial I had a lot of problems with my eyeliner making my 2 different sized eyes very noticeable (you can’t really tell until I put on eye make-up) On the day, she brought a tape product that is used in japan to add a second lid to the eye. She was able to make my eye lids the same size! And help my mom who has the same problem! The eyes looked flawless the whole night. Her price includes airbrush and lashes for everyone also

Make-Up -Tereza Hamdan- A ++
I cannot thank Tereza enough for stepping in last min. About 3 wks before my wedding I realized that my day was going to have to start really early since I only had one person doing all the hair and make-up for 6 people including me. I did not want to start 10 hours before my ceremony. I asked my H/M person for suggestions on someone to do some of the make-up and Tereza was free on the date and more than willing to come out to LI from queens to do it! She did a beautiful job and was a pleasure to work with. I would def recommend her!

Dress- Kleinfelds- A++
I could not have loved it more. My consultant pulled it and when I put it on my mom started crying and I did not want to take it off. The consultant we had was not sweet- she was no-nonsense, but she knew her stuff. I went back a few weeks after I ordered the dress to try on veils and take pics. When my dad saw the pics he said the fit was wrong (he used to work in the garment industry). I had originally been told that I did not need a hallow-to-hem and that they would be able to alter the bottom layer off to shorten it. He said the bodice would have been too long if they did that. They held the order till I could come in and try it on again with the director of fittings. We agreed and asked the designer to raise the waist of the skirt, not make the layers of the skirt shorter, which is what he would have done with a hallow-to-hem. My fitter Ellie was WONDERFUL! I think she specializes in lace applique and the work she did was outstanding. On the day the dress looked like it was made for me!

Shoes- Nina/ Figgie Shoes A/A++
The art on my shoes was unbelievable. It was so much more then I had expected. It really blew me away. I am so glad I decided to do it. I am a shoe-aholic and this is the perfect wedding keepsake for me. As for the shoes themselves, they were beautiful. I ordered them DIY from Nina and the color was great. Green is my fav color, so the heels and soles were exactly what I wanted. The only little problem I had was that they were slightly big. I usually wear a 6 ½. I tried on like 10 pairs of Nina’s at DSW to be sure I was a 61/2 and that is the size that fit me in all their open-toe shoes, so that is why I ordered in that size. I don’t totally know if I can blame them though, because for the past few mnts every 6/12 I have tried on has been a little big…

Bridesmaids Dress
I knew, after finding my dress, that I wanted the BM’s dresses to compliment the style of mine. I was looking for mermaid/ modified A-line, sweetheart, strapless, and NOT satin. The other thing I needed was the three jewel tone colors. Considering all these things, my options were limited. We found a great chiffon dress at Jenny Yoo. They were elegant, and fit all my girls well. They were also one of the few designers that I was able to find the right color green in. There was a little debacle with ordering the sizes, but thankfully their fit expert called each of girls after they got measured and confirmed the correct sixe to order. They were not the most cost efficient dresses, but the girls all felt that if they wanted, they could comfortably wear it again.

Tux- Sarar- A
They were a great quality for a good price. The tux looked wonderful on DH and he could not have been happier

Wedding and RD invites - Wedding Paper Divas- A++
I knew I wanted thermography. I had starting my search looking for gilt edged invitations but found out quickly they were just too expensive. When I learned that Wedding Paper Divas used the same paper as my favored designer, I was intrigued. After receiving a few samples I was sold. The price was right and the quality was there. They were extremely helpful when making the changes I needed and quick in their delivery.

MOH gift- B-Pics shoot with Hair and Make-up, Jimmy Choo gold and silver shoes (for the wedding) A++
BM gifts- Tiffany “Lock” necklaces is silver and rose gold- A+
GM gifts- Knicks Game (first “Lin Win”) pocket squares, socks

Hotel Block- Hyatt Regency Long Island A/ A+
They were very helpful throughout the whole process. I chose this hotel not only for proximity but because I liked their suite (which is where I got ready) and they had a lot of options for our first meeting. When we realized we were going to need more rooms they easily let us put them on at the blocked price. They also allowed us to extend some of the reservations to beyond the blocked dates for the blocked price.

Etsy-A+ garter, Pins

DIY- My mom and sister were amazing in helping to put together all my DIY projects. In the end we did the programs, menus, card box, yarmulkas, chuppah, escort cards, entry wreaths, bathroom baskets, lighting, photo frames and the whole fam pitched in to do the favors!(which were the chines containers wrapped in ribbon and filled with gummy candy)

this is my WONDERFUL fam!

Honeymoon- St. Lucia, 10 days- 5 days Ti Kaye Village, 5 days Ladera- A++/A++
For anyone looking to go to St. Lucia I could not recommend these two hotels more highly. We started at Ti Kaye and staying in a room/ house with our own pool. The outdoor shower had an awesome view over a cliff out to the Caribbean Sea. The food/ drinks/ excursions were all great and really reasonable priced for the island. They have a beach there with some of the best snorkeling on the island. Ladera was a bit more commercial, but would be described as more luxurious. We got upgraded to the one bedroom suite. It was one of the only rooms of this level with 3 stories and 2 bathrooms. Coming from out 500sf apt that we live in, this was a palace. The main attraction of this resort is the 3 wall rooms. The fourth wall is open to nature. We had a large plunge pool with amazing Piton views. Our bed was also tucked away at the top, so it did not get too bright in the mornings. They tools really good care of you here. When we found out we had missed the cooking class with the chef, something DH really wanted to do, they arranged for us to have a privet class. Since the restaurant there is one of the best on the island, this was a real treat. I will def be going back!