John Anthony's - Day weddings!

Hi girls. We are having our reception at John Anthony's on a Saturday DAY, in May. Our church is at 10:30 in Massapequa Park. Then our cocktail hour starts at 1:00 p.m. at JA's in Babylon. We are only having the simple ceremony (no mass), so I am figuring with receiving line, maybe leaving the church at 11:15-11:30. Is that a good estimate? Then we travel to Babylon (another 1/2 hour). So now its 12:00. We have an hour or so for pictures. My question is where can we go. I have heard not so nice things about Argyle Park (where I actually planned to go). I think it would be out of the way to go to the Oakdale Arborteium. Are there anyother JA's brides out there who can recommend some nice landscaped areas and who are or have been in the same time constrictions I am in? I am sure we will also take pics at JA's on the water, but I wanted some greenary too. Any help would be sooo much appreciated. P.S. Our church is in Mass. Park but its right near the Southern State, so maybe if we hopped on that we could get to the Oakdale Arbortium. Hmm.. What do you guys think?

Belmont Lake State Park!!!

This beautiful park is always forgotten about. It is right on Southern State. The lake sits on the north side of the parkway. If you exit at 37N, and park in the administration parking lot, there is an old mansion there, it faces the parkway, with the lake to the east of the building. The mansion, combined with the lake, make for beautiful pictures. I know, because we used Belmont for our wedding pictures. Our reception was at John Anthony`s, and the plan was to stop at Belmont after the ceremony. However, since it rained, we went back a few days later. We originally didn`t want to go through the hassle of getting all done up again, but decided to just go through with it ... and the pictures we got back were so incredible, we are now glad we did. I truly can not say enough good things about this park. The permit is easy to get, and the ladies there are so helpful and nice. You would apply for the permit right in the administration building, by the state park police office, and the permit comes back quickly after you apply. Oh, and it`s free. From the administration parking lot, there is a road that circles in front of the mansion. On our originial permit, they gave us permission to have a limo pull around on this road, which is a restricted road. But, the walk from the parking lot to the front of the mansion is very short, and along paved walkways. Since goose/duck droppings are always a concern, I have to say .. I did not notice any in this area. But, once we walked down to the trail by the lake, there was some. My photographer was great though, he carefully picked out spots before setting us and allowing me to lower my train. Please take a look, I don`t think you`ll be disappointed, and it sounds like it would work perfectly into your journey. Leaving the park, you would continue your journey to John Anthony`s by getting back on Southern State, continuing east to exit 39S, and simply take Rt. 231 down. The trip couldn`t be easier! Good Luck! If you want, feel free to email me: [email protected]

Belmont Lake State Park!!!

Thanks so much Kel. We are using Steve from Patken. I am going to find out if he is familiar with Belmont Lake State Park. I am sure he is, he said he does John Anthonys a lot. Did you have a day wedding? I am sorry it rained. But as they say, rain brings good luck! :-) Thanks once again for the suggestion. I will go check it out.

Our Wedding

was at 4:00 on Deer Park Ave. (Rt. 231) and our cocktail hour was slated to start at 6:30 (at the end of September). Because of the rain, there were a lot more guests that arrived early for the cocktail hour than we thought might happen, and from all the 'reports' John Anthony`s took good care of everybody, particularly the wedding party. Our photographer was Michael O`Neill, and he wasn`t familiar with Belmont, but when he saw the mansion and the surroundings, his face beamed, and he seemed so excited about the place. He has become a house photographer for John Anthony`s within the past year or so, and the park really is convenient.