My Review - Our 09-17-11 Black & Ivory - Flowers & Feathers, Douglaston Manor

Our Wedding was awesome! The Douglaston Manor did a great job and we were very happy. The day flew by so fast. Some of it is a blur ! I am sad that all the planning is over and I enjoyed following everyone on this site even though I am not a frequent poster.

So, as far as the Douglaston, everything went smoothly. Chris was our Banquet Manager, and if anyone had him during their planning, you know how wonderful he is. Very easy going and accomodating. My bridal attendant was Ashley and she was very good. The poor girl was running up and down all night, fetching us drinks, fixing my train, running up to the Bridal Suite to get my shoes, etc...

Our ceremony was outside on the back patio. My only complaint (and I didn't even realize this until my mom told me the other day) was that there were golfers on the golf course, putting, and that you could hear when they hit the balls. She said when you get your video, you are gonna hear it. So, we shall see . . lol

Anyway,as far as cocktail hour goes, I heard the cocktail hour food was very good. One minor problem was they kept running out of the calamari because it was so good and our guests kept eating it up so fast, they couldn't keep up. We only had 100 guests. So, in my opinion, maybe they should have brought out more than one tray at a time. My husband and I did not make it down to cocktail hour because we were taking photos. But our bridal party did attend. After photos Matt & I relaxed in private in the bridal suite for a little bit and we were able to taste some of the food.

We did a signature drink the 'MJ Sour' becuase we love whisky sours. This was made with Jack Daniels, sour mix and a cherry. Chris asked us to make a little poem so they could post it at the bar, but we actually were crazed with last minute stuff, that we forgot to do it. But they were a big hit. They also came around serving them on trays.

Our ice carving was of the corpse bride from a Nightmare Before Christmas. They did a great job on the carving. Everyone was talking about how great it was, even the staff ! They brought it back out again during the Viennese. We had the Viennese table and all the deserts looked awesome. I actually did not get a chance to taste anything.

They did a great job with setting up the ballroom and it was just as I envisioned during the planning. It was beautiful with the chair covers and lighting.

Again, I heard the food at dinner was real good. Matt and I did not eat a thing at dinner. We were pulled in all different directions. I mentioned to Ashley to please wrap up our food to go, so we could have it later. Unfortunately, we got home the dinners were not in any of the boxes, so I'm not sure whose fault that was so I can't lay blame on anyone. Not sure if she forgot to put it in a box or if whoever loaded the limo on the way home forgot it. So, we were starving when we got home !! LOL - I ate a bagel.

We used Cress Florist and I absolutely loved my flowers and centerpieces. We wanted a black and white theme, with a splash of red and ostrich feathers. Tom from Cress got the idea! I brought him a picture of the centerpiece I wanted and he made them up perfectly.

The bakery for the cake was Francesco's Bakery in Hicksville. We did a nice tasting with them. Franco, the owner, was very helpful. We chose chocolate cake with cannoli and raspberry filling (at Franco's recommendation). (As a side note, The Douglaston used to use Cascone, but a week before our tasting with Cascone, Chris contacted me to advise that they had changed bakers and went back to using Francesco's who previously was their house baker.) Anyway, we had a four tier octagan, buttercream, black & white with roses and white ostrich feathers. We brought Franco a photo of the cake we wanted at our tasting and he said they could duplicate it. The week of the wedding, the bakery called to confirm the order with me and go over everything. When we cut into the cake at the cake ceremony, the cake was vanilla and not chocolate !! But no biggie, I didn't get upset and it still tasted great and we got a lot of compliments about the cake. It was moist and the filling was real good.

We used Ariana Studios for photos, highly recommended by the Douglaston. We tried to get most of our photos done before hand, but we wound up getting pulled out of the reception for family photos, which we were not happy about. I felt as though I missed a big part of the reception by having photos taken during it. We had originally chosen another photographer from the studio who we clicked with but unfortunately a few days before our wedding we got a call from another photographer from the studio that he would be shooting our wedding. We later learned the the photographer we originally chose is having a personal family medical issue. I was worried about the photos, but we just got our proofs and I like them alot. So I worried for nothing, but I still was not happy about being pulled out for family photos, but I know both our mom's really wanted family shots.

We also used Gram as our DJ from Ariana. He was a pleasure to work with. He and his assistant played all the songs we had on our list. They also played for our ceremony and cocktail hour. They did a great job. My husband and I are paranormal investigators (ghost hunters), so we decided - well I decided really, but he liked the idea - that we should use the song Ghost Busters (who ya gonna call - lol) as our entrance song for the reception. A few days before the wedding, my husband thought it would be real funny to have fog when we walked in. So he texted Gram and sure enough, Gram said he had a fog machine and would bring it!! It worked out perfectly. Everyone got a big kick out of it and he played the whole song so Matt & I could dance to it before we went into our first song for the slow dance, which was Never Gonna Be Alone by Nickelback.

I put some photos in my album because I'm not sure about uploading here, so feel free to view them.

That's about it for now. Still can't believe its over. But I still have to pick out the thank you's and pics for our photo albums and oh lets not forget the video !! Can't wait for that.

Re: My Review - Our 09-17-11 Black & Ivory - Flowers & Feathers, Douglaston Manor

I can't believe I forgot to add this:

I got my gown at Bridal World in Baldwin. I had a good experience with them. After trying on gowns both at David's Bridal and at Bridal World, I narrowed it down to two - one from each store and ultimately picked my gown from Bridal World. The designer is Sincerity. We ordered it in February and it came in sometime in May. The seamstress is very good, but alterations were very expensive ! But no problems at all with the gown. I would definitely recommend Bridal World. It was conveniently located so thats another reason why I chose them.

My bridesmaids dresses were from David's Bridal and again, no problems at all. My best friend lives in Florida so she purchased her dress in Orlando. All went well with everyone as far as alterations.

We got the tuxes from Foxhurst Tuxedos in Oceanside and had no problems with them at all.

Re: My Review - Our 09-17-11 Black & Ivory - Flowers & Feathers, Douglaston Manor

great review...post some pics

Re: My Review - Our 09-17-11 Black & Ivory - Flowers & Feathers, Douglaston Manor

I have posted Pictures in My Album on my Profile here.

Re: My Review - Our 09-17-11 Black & Ivory - Flowers & Feathers, Douglaston Manor

Thanks so much for the review! my sister used Ariana studios for their pictures as well

Re: My Review - Our 09-17-11 Black & Ivory - Flowers & Feathers, Douglaston Manor

A word of caution to ALL brides!

Nice review. I got married at the DM in May 2010 and procrastinated so I never wrote mine and now I fear too much has changed. For example, no more Cascon bakery, which may be a good thing. BTW, I also had Chris.

I saw some of your photos which look great. One thing about them pulling you aside at the reception, you may be glad! Perhaps they could have taken those family pics prior so you could enjoy your reception but let me tell you, the trend has been those photojournalistic, candid shots which I do love but I think we have to curtail our love affair with this style to some degree. Too much of any trend can be bad, esp when you're older and looking back on your big day. I think many brides years from now will say, 'what were we thinking'? Stick to SOME tradition and time tested rituals.

My photographer didn't get ANY of us posing. Too much emphasis on candid and when you go to frame these pics, they look awkward. I only have my mom and sister helping me with my dress but NO SHOT of the three of us formally posing. My sister's back is to the camera, my mom's side-you get the idea. Very annoying. My sister in law made my photographer take family posed photos during the reception. She pulled us out into the DM lobby and I am so glad she did now. These are the photos you will actually frame! Trust me.

So, be glad that your photographer took the time to take these kind of photos. They will come in handy. Don't consider portraits too old fashioned.

Re: My Review - Our 09-17-11 Black & Ivory - Flowers & Feathers, Douglaston Manor

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Posted by piscescutie2002

A word of caution to ALL brides!

Nice review. I got married at the DM in May 2010 and procrastinated so I never wrote mine and now I fear too much has changed. For example, no more Cascon bakery, which may be a good thing. BTW, I also had Chris.

I saw some of your photos which look great. One thing about them pulling you aside at the reception, you may be glad! Perhaps they could have taken those family pics prior so you could enjoy your reception but let me tell you, the trend has been those photojournalistic, candid shots which I do love but I think we have to curtail our love affair with this style to some degree. Too much of any trend can be bad, esp when you're older and looking back on your big day. I think many brides years from now will say, 'what were we thinking'? Stick to SOME tradition and time tested rituals.

My photographer didn't get ANY of us posing. Too much emphasis on candid and when you go to frame these pics, they look awkward. I only have my mom and sister helping me with my dress but NO SHOT of the three of us formally posing. My sister's back is to the camera, my mom's side-you get the idea. Very annoying. My sister in law made my photographer take family posed photos during the reception. She pulled us out into the DM lobby and I am so glad she did now. These are the photos you will actually frame! Trust me.

So, be glad that your photographer took the time to take these kind of photos. They will come in handy. Don't consider portraits too old fashioned.

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Thanks for the advice and congratulations!

Re: My Review - Our 09-17-11 Black & Ivory - Flowers & Feathers, Douglaston Manor

Thanks for sharing your day!!!

Re: My Review - Our 09-17-11 Black & Ivory - Flowers & Feathers, Douglaston Manor

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Posted by jtbride2012

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Posted by piscescutie2002

A word of caution to ALL brides!

Nice review. I got married at the DM in May 2010 and procrastinated so I never wrote mine and now I fear too much has changed. For example, no more Cascon bakery, which may be a good thing. BTW, I also had Chris.

I saw some of your photos which look great. One thing about them pulling you aside at the reception, you may be glad! Perhaps they could have taken those family pics prior so you could enjoy your reception but let me tell you, the trend has been those photojournalistic, candid shots which I do love but I think we have to curtail our love affair with this style to some degree. Too much of any trend can be bad, esp when you're older and looking back on your big day. I think many brides years from now will say, 'what were we thinking'? Stick to SOME tradition and time tested rituals.

My photographer didn't get ANY of us posing. Too much emphasis on candid and when you go to frame these pics, they look awkward. I only have my mom and sister helping me with my dress but NO SHOT of the three of us formally posing. My sister's back is to the camera, my mom's side-you get the idea. Very annoying. My sister in law made my photographer take family posed photos during the reception. She pulled us out into the DM lobby and I am so glad she did now. These are the photos you will actually frame! Trust me.

So, be glad that your photographer took the time to take these kind of photos. They will come in handy. Don't consider portraits too old fashioned.

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Thanks for the advice and congratulations!

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I should write an wedding advice review in lieu of my wedding review!! :) Tx

Re: My Review - Our 09-17-11 Black & Ivory - Flowers & Feathers, Douglaston Manor

Thanks for the review! Congrats!