Did anyone see the article in today's Newsday about weddings on LI?*NM*

Re: Did anyone see the article in today's Newsday about weddings on LI?*NM*

I guess it was in today's paper, I haven't gotten it yet. Too busy on here

Re: Did anyone see the article in today's Newsday about weddings on LI?*NM*

No but thanks for the info....I got to go out and get it

Re: Did anyone see the article in today's Newsday about weddings on LI?*NM*

Yes, I read it. I thought it was an advertisment for the Huntington Townhouse! LOL

But seriously, did you read the comment from Bob, from the Wedding Center?!! That he rents his little granddaughter out as a flowergirl?! And that she likes it! So hope he was kidding!

Re: Did anyone see the article in today's Newsday about weddings on LI?*NM*

yeah, disappointing article.

here is the article

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Princess Brides
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On the big day, not detail is too small, no expense too large for many on LI

By Katie Thomas
STAFF WRITER

July 27, 2003

Many little girls dream of a Cinderella wedding, and Michelle Batz was no different.

As an 8-year-old growing up in East Islip, she and her sister would dress up in old flower-girl dresses and dream of the day Prince Charming would whisk them away to a spacious castle.

But while some girls tuck those dreams away like a dried prom corsage, not so for Batz, now 26 and very much a grown-up.

When she and her fiance, Robert Cocco, leave the church as husband and wife on April 23 next year, a glass-domed carriage and two white steeds will ferry them to their reception at the Watermill in Smithtown. Once there, trumpeters clad in Renaissance-inspired attire will herald the couple and their guests. But there's more.

A nine-piece band will play their first song, the Cinderella classic 'A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes.' The guests will receive glass-slipper bottle openers and picture frames in the shape of a castle. And when the ball is over, Batz and Cocco will board a plane for, yes, Disney World.

Batz and Cocco, of West Islip, acknowledge their wedding is a little over the top. But since 26-year-old Cocco, who owns a potato chip sales route, recently inherited a house, they decided to spend what would have been a down payment on a huge party. 'We just wanted to do the big wedding,' said Batz, an Aer Lingus reservations agent. 'You feel like, if you're going to do it once, do it right.'

Welcome to the world of Long Island weddings, where the cakes are a little taller, the music a little louder.

In places like Dubuque or Topeka, many brides would be satisfied with a DJ spinning CDs in a corner. On Long Island, DJs come with a tuxedoed master of ceremony, professional dancers and sometimes even a crooner for the dinner hour.

In Boston or Seattle, open bars last an hour or so. On Long Island, free-flowing liquor - all top-shelf, of course - comes standard at most catering halls.

On Long Island, kids can be rented out as flower girls and horse-drawn carriages can deliver a dainty bride from her doorstep. On Long Island, cocktail dishes are as big as dinner plates and wedding parties arrive in stretch Hummers.

Of course there are low-key weddings here, too, where newlyweds are toasted at a backyard barbecue. But for those seeking the creme de la creme, there's no place like Long Island, where experts say a multimillion dollar industry is thriving - catering to events that usually last no longer than eight hours.

'Long Island is unlike any other wedding market in the United States,' said Stuart Freeman, publisher of the Long Island Wedding Pages, a local bridal magazine. 'The average amount people spend here is higher than anywhere.'

Richard Markel, president of the Association for Wedding Professionals International, an industry trade group, said nationwide, couples spend an average of about $22,500 on their weddings. On Long Island, Markel said, the number can easily shoot up to $45,000.

But it's not simply the money spent that distinguishes a Long Island wedding, not in a land of $300,000 split-levels and $4 lattes. On Long Island, you don't have to be rich to require a little bit of luxury on your wedding day.

That's where the Huntington Townhouse and other catering halls come in. Townhouse owner Rhona Silver claims the 148,000-square-foot facility, set on 20 acres, is the biggest catering hall in America, hosting about 1,000 weddings a year.

Like many halls on Long Island, the Townhouse - which sits on Jericho Turnpike in Huntington Station, alongside car washes and Chinese restaurants - was never a shipping magnate's mansion or a Manhattan banker's estate. Instead, its sole purpose has been to serve as a picturesque backdrop to the most important moments in people's lives, from bar mitzvahs to proms to weddings.

But while couples can dance under twinkling chandeliers while Silver's husband, Elliott Hurdy, hands out cigars, wedding packages average a relatively modest $50 a head. Despite the lower-than-average price (most Long Island couples pay more than $75 a person, Freeman says), 'we like to make each bride feel like she's at the Plaza,' Hurdy said.

On a recent Friday night, three weddings, one Sweet 16 party and a 1950s-style sock hop were unfolding within the hall's cavernous ballrooms, which bear names like Crystal Gardens, The Governor's Room and The Penthouse.

For Kim Brown, her wedding night was the culmination of a romance that began six years ago, when she spotted Brian Brown, an old high school acquaintance, at a local bar. That night, Kim 'won' Brian in a pool game, and the two went on a date (Brian claims he let her win). Although neither had been looking for a serious relationship, 'two weeks later, he never left,' she said.

Like the butterfly tattooed over her left shoulder, Kim flitted from guest to guest at her cocktail hour at the Townhouse. The 29-year-old bookkeeper from Hicksville had insisted on getting photographs taken before the ceremony so she wouldn't miss any of the fun. 'Before you know it, the night is over,' she said.

Once the cocktail hour had ended, the couple, their family and their 13-member bridal party lined up in a narrow hallway outside the Governor's Room, where the guests were waiting.

Inside, emcee Rich Harris was already warming up the crowd. 'Are you guys ready to have a good time tonight?' boomed Harris, with all the polished glee of a morning radio host.

At Harris' signal, the young guests - crowded three deep at the bar - moved toward the entrance to catch the show. Older aunts, uncles and grandparents looked up from the assigned tables where they were already seated.

Then Harris, dressed in a Regis Philbin-esque black tie and black shirt, called out in a rhythmic sing-song:

'I'm gonna start out with 'Hip, Hip' and you're going to say, 'Hooray.'

'Hip, Hip!' Harris cried.

'Hooray!' the crowd responded.

'Hip, Hip!' he yelled again, louder now.

'Hooray!' they called back.

Then, one by one, Harris began announcing the bridal party, introducing each member ('Come on down!') as if he or she were the lucky contestant on a daytime game show.

Finally, the music stopped and Harris paused for dramatic effect.

'They started out a long time ago, and they decided to tie the knot,' Harris bellowed. 'It is my pleasure to introduce ... the brand-new Mr. and Mrs. Brian Brown!'

Kim and Brian charged through the door, hands clasped high, and the crowd erupted.

Such dramatic - and professionally orchestrated - productions are rarer in other parts of the country, said Tom Quiner, who owns Breakthrough Marketing, a market research firm based in Des Moines, who has several clients in the Long Island wedding industry.

Quiner said the Long Island style - complete with party games, dry ice and pass-around maracas - can seem 'almost foreign and unacceptable' elsewhere.

'I've talked to some Long Island DJs who have moved to other parts of the country,' he said. 'They try to bring the Long Island style, and it's not the sort of thing that everyone wants.'

Kim Brown attended to every detail herself, from the high-energy DJ to the red-rose centerpieces, to the ribbons and tulle that she used to wrap two Hershey's Kisses given to all 200 guests.

Kim first saw the Kisses being sold as a party favor and said, 'I can do that myself' - though it took her three weeks, she confesses.

But though all couples want their wedding day to be perfect, not everyone wants to toil over tulle.

Enter Bob Wellner, proprietor of The Wedding Center in Commack, a sort of bridal superstore that arranges for gowns, rings, flowers, invitations, limos and photographers. Wellner boasts he sells everything but the catering hall and the church or temple.

He's even rented out his granddaughter as a flower girl. She goes for $100 a day. And he's not kidding. 'She loves it,' Wellner insisted.

As the Browns rocked to Billy Idol and Billy Joel, guests from another wedding, the DiBartolos', began to wander into the Townhouse's central lobby to smoke. Outside the Crystal Gardens ballroom, Cara DiGregorio, Maura Fiore and May Johnson chatted about the wedding so far of their friends Michael and Michelle DiBartolo.

'Did you see him during the first dance?' asked Fiore, who along with DiGregorio and both DeBartolos is a volunteer for the Farmingdale fire department. 'He was singing to her.'

'She had tears in her eyes as she was walking down the aisle,' swooned DiGregorio, a self-proclaimed wedding fan. 'I love the closeness. You just feel like it's all one family.'

Weddings may be a time to reconnect, but on an island populated by families that headed to the suburbs in search of a better life, they are also a way to show off. 'People are very status-conscious,' said Freeman, of Wedding Pages. 'They don't want to go out there and look bad for their friends.'

Silver, the Huntington Townhouse owner, recalls how one couple touched down at their reception in a hot-air balloon. On at least two dozen occasions, a horse with carriage has pranced into Silver's largest ballroom to deliver a bride and groom in grand style.

And for a price, Silver will wow guests with a pyrotechnic display at the Viennese hour, the dessert buffet that is nearly de rigueur at Long Island weddings.

While lavish Long Island weddings may seem extravagant or even tacky to outsiders, the celebrations are often a deep expression of love, a reaffirmation of the strong ties felt among Long Island families.

'It's not always just the size of the bank account that determines how much money people spend,' said Quiner. 'It's the family values.'

As the DiBartolo guests shared wedding stories, downstairs in the Presidential Suite Liza and David Butler prepared to dance to their first song. The Far Rockaway couple were actually married in a city hall ceremony a year ago but decided to wait a while before throwing their 'reaffirmation' party.

Like the Browns, the Butlers have known each other since high school, but it wasn't love at first sight. They first met in 1990, at a homecoming dance at Beach Channel High School. 'He was interested, but I didn't become interested until a year later,' Liza recalled. 'Then, he no longer was.'

Eventually things worked out, and at 26 they tied the knot. Liza, who is studying to become an insurance broker, said she decided to get married last year because she wanted to wed on the 10th anniversary 'of the day we decided to be together.'

As The Four Tops began to sing 'I Believe in You and Me,' David drew Liza close, and they danced, forehead to forehead, his hands clasped lightly behind her back. 'I believe in miracles,' they sang. 'I believe in you and me.'

As they danced, David and Liza talked softly to each other, laughing every once in a while. His head briefly dropped to her shoulder, hiding his face behind her veil. Her hand, with the train looped around her wrist, gripped his tightly.

Then the song ended and the crowd paused. Suddenly, the room erupted in applause. 'Yeah, baby!' someone yelled.

Re: Did anyone see the article in today's Newsday about weddings on LI?*NM*

Guess I gotta get the paper now

Re: Did anyone see the article in today's Newsday about weddings on LI?*NM*

I was disappointed too - I was hoping it would cover more than 1 catering hall, rather than being 1 big ad for a place that has a lot of complaints!!!

Re: Did anyone see the article in today's Newsday about weddings on LI?*NM*

Well, I thought that it could have mentioned other reception sites as well. I think focusing on one kind of made it one sided. And yes, I HOPE THAT GUY WAS KIDDING ABOUT HIS GRANDAUGHTER! Imagine people asking, 'Oh, your FG was so cute! Who is she?' What do you say to THAT?

Re: Did anyone see the article in today's Newsday about weddings on LI?*NM*

Sick what people do for money, he should be ashamed of himself!!!!!!!

He's even rented out his granddaughter as a flower girl. She goes for $100 a day. And he's not kidding. 'She loves it,' Wellner insisted.

Jerk!!!! That wedding center

Re: Did anyone see the article in today's Newsday about weddings on LI?*NM*

That is a sick, sick man

Re: Did anyone see the article in today's Newsday about weddings on LI?*NM*

yup.... it definatley seemed like it was an ad for huntington town house, the article included pictures of brides at huntinton townhouse too..

Re: Did anyone see the article in today's Newsday about weddings on LI?*NM*

my mom joked that we should do that with my neice to earn some extra money

That is disgusting

Why would you want someone in your pictures that you do not even know!!!

Re: Did anyone see the article in today's Newsday about weddings on LI?*NM*

I just read that It's ashame what some people will do for money! Crazy man.

Re: Did anyone see the article in today's Newsday about weddings on LI?*NM*

aside from how horrible that is to rent out a child, WHY would you want a stranger in your wedding party??!!!

It's all fine and dandy when it's your neice or cousin, but a stranger, just so she'll look cute in a small gown? That's pathetic if you ask me

Re: Did anyone see the article in today's Newsday about weddings on LI?*NM*

That is completely ridiculous

Re: Did anyone see the article in today's Newsday about weddings on LI?*NM*

wow...I can't believe he put that in print...and that he thought it was OK!!!


but tell me where you can buy a house on LI for $300K? I'm sure many want to know...

Re: Did anyone see the article in today's Newsday about weddings on LI?*NM*

I second that 300K!

I mean, but back to the FG issue, this man owns a business that depends on brides, etc, and to put a comment like that in a large circulation newspaper, HELLO!

Re: Did anyone see the article in today's Newsday about weddings on LI?*NM*

Yabbo LMAO!!!!

Re: Did anyone see the article in today's Newsday about weddings on LI?*NM*

That is horrible. How could someone do that???

Why would you rent out your grandchild????

ok so if he gets 100 bucks for a grandchild, how much do you think I can get for renting out FI???

OMG I should stop....i am KIDDING!!! I would never..

i cant believe someone would do that...