Let me begin by first saying thank you to all of you LIW ladies for all of your advice, support, and assistance in planning what was the HAPPIEST day of my life to date. Although I was never a huge poster, I read pretty consistently and when I did post I always received honest and valuable feedback. A special thank you to 'table six girls,' Wanda, Richsbride, Jenhos, and Curly. Your sincerity, interest and good tips stood out and I definitely needed and appreciated it. You have no idea how helpful you've been along the way.
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I have a few pictures that I’ll scan(for the first time) this evening. I’m also dropping off the other table camara’s so I’ll post the good ones when I get them too.
Now on to the good stuff:
It was the happiest and most exciting day of my entire life. It was everything that I'd hoped for and so much more.
Remembering the advice that you ladies provided, DH and I gave ourselves a few minor rules that we stuck to for the wedding day and was so happy that we did.
They were:
1) Make time to EAT. We did and DELICIOUS about sums it up.
2) Don't sweat the small stuff. There were two very little things that technically were not perfect but no one knew except me (and FH after I told him) and in the end no harm was done so we weren't bothered at all.
3) Don't separate for too long. Naturally there were instances when we were not together but we always found each other after a minute or two and we ENJOYED our day together immensely.
4) HAVE FUN! You would have thought that the Milleridge sat on top of cloud 9 because happy and fun do not do justice to the feelings and euphoria that we had on March 1st, 2003. The world could have been crumbling around the Milleridge Cottage on that day but no one (myself and DH included) would have known the difference.
MILLERIDGE COTTAGE: A
We had every confidence in our hall and was not dissappointed in the least. Our banquet manager, Selena, was an angel. She dealt with our frequent visits, endless questions, and did her best to accomodate all of our requests. She made things so much easier for us. We ate and the food, just like the tasting was outstanding!!!! Our families are going on and on about it. We arrived back to the States yesterday to numerous messages complimenting the food, music and details. Thus far everyone we've heard from LOVED the Milleridge. I'd given Selena and my appointed Day of Coordinator about seven typed pages detailing how things should look and where things should go. As requested, there were candles and rose petels everywhere you turned and EVERYTHING from the ceremony to the cake was gorgeous. My MOH picked us up from the airport and one of the first things she said was that our cake was the best she had ever tasted. Another thing that we heard right away from several people was 'there was SO MUCH FOOD.' For dessert we had apple pie a la mode, wedding cake, and the grooms 'rum' cake, as well as the international drinks and coffee/cordial bar. Looking back I could smack myself for even considering the viennese. As for the service, it stood up to the white gloves worn! I'm told that napkins were always folded, glasses were full and my guests (to my knowledge) never heard the word no. ...Not to second helpings, a kind of drink, or anything else!
A couple things though to explain the A rating instead of an A+: Somehow I had left off my instructions pages that I wanted the doors to the atrium room which adjoined the ball room closed. I know that I mentioned it before but on the day of they were open. The Milleridge is a one wedding at a time place so it's not like we were opened up to other peoples guests. Also our DJ was so darn good that no one left the dance floor to go anywhere but the bathroom. The second thing was, as beautiful as (IMO) my cake was, when it first came out, my cake topper wasn't on it. I don't know how that happend but as soon as I got the words out of my mouth, the topper was where it should be. Those are the ONLY two minor negative things and like I said, though it didn't bother us in the end I thought I'd mention it because I want to give a complete and honest recount of the day and it's vendors. The maitre d, Steve, fussed over us and my bridal assistand, Anna was awesome! Any Milleridge brides out there, exhale because you and your guest will be impressed with the food, caliber of class and sheer elegance of this place. WORRY NOT!
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JIM LOWE, CEREMONY PIANIST: A+
He was very professional. After a little phone tag we had one 30-minute conversation and we were set for the big day. He played Ave’ Maria for our Moms entrance, Canon in D for the BP and the good ole’Bridal Chorus for me. In our ceremony (which was my most favorite part of the day) we also had a musical interlude where Mr. Lowe sang and played my father’s favorite song, which he always sang, AMAZING GRACE, in his memory. It was beautiful and I cried happy tears because I knew he was there and felt his presence. Mr. Lowe has a beautiful voice and is a very talented musician. He’s easy to work with, beautiful ceremony music (and pre-ceremony music) and affordable. I highly recommend him. …He can bring his keyboard but the Milleridge allowed him to use their Grand Piano. It was all just beautiful
INVITATIONS - LA PRODUCTIONS: A+
Laura was one of my favorite vendors to work with. Her work is impeccable!! I wanted something different than what I saw in the big books but didn't want to spend a million dollars on invites that most would throw away either. I told her my vision and she brought it to life. I couldn't have been happier with them. We received SO many compliments on them. They really set the tone for what was to come. A funny thing is, everyone assumed that they were a fortune. Oh, if they only knew. EMO3: From just sending out my invites, I got so many requests for Laura's contact info. One thing.... one of the types of paper that I originally wanted was discontinued. To make-up for it, I provided laura with my address list and she printed all my mailing envelopes out for me. I was SOOOOO happy!!! She also gave us a framed invite as a gift. It's beautiful! She found an almost identical paper to the one we wanted and the gift and printed envelopes more than made-up for the the original paper. I fully recommend her to anyone looking for something customized.
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EBONY ENTERTAINMENT: A+++
(Steele Band, DJ & MC)
Honestly, I was slightly nervous about this vendor because I know that food and music just about make or break your day. All I can say is thankfully; I wasted my time worrying unnecessarily. AWESOME is NOT the word!!! Okay, maybe it is. For cocktail hour, I had a Steele Band, though we were taking pictures, I could hear them and they sounded so cool! Our families (who are both of Caribbean background) just loved them and I am so glad that we got them.
In terms of the reception, we wanted a full-blown celebration with music to match and that's exactly what we got. I had given them a list of songs and artists that we wanted and they matched it and then some. EVERYONE from the youngest to the oldest was on the floor dancing and having a good time. My photographers and videography staff were overjoyed with the shots that they were able to get as a result. The music was PERFECT and accommodated everyone. DH made CD's with a collection of 19 of our favorite songs a
