My 8/5 Wedding @ Milleridge! - PART II (very long)

Continued... HOTEL for OUT-OF-TOWNERS: My husband is from Tenneessee so all his family and some of our friends needed rooms. I used the Huntington Country Inn on West Jericho Tpke in Huntington. I had found this property by luck, and we had at least 15 rooms. HIGHLY recommended. Guests commented on how nice the rooms were. My husband and I spent our wedding night in their suite. A little expensive for the suite but stop by the property and take a look at the suite. Totally worth it. We had a bubble bath in the huge jacuzzi on our wedding night! I suggest going there and taking a look at the rooms. It's only about 15 minutes from the Milleridge and it's so simple to get between. TUXEDOS: Town & Country Tuxuedo in Wantagh. Great, everything worked out. All of our groomsmen were from out-of-town, we just gave them their measurements and picked them up the day before the wedding. INVITATIONS: Have you Heard in Bellmore on Merrick Rd. Our invitiations were very afforable and beautiful. FAVORS: www.wrapwithus.com - AWESOME site, we got frames at a great price! IDEAS FOR SPECIAL GIFTS: www.weddinghankies.com I ordered hankerchiefs a week before for my mother-in-law, grandma, dad, aunt, and had a groomsmen hand them to each of them at the reception. They were worth it and highly appreciated. Very beautiful too. REHEARSAL LUNCHEON: This was one task that was pretty difficult to coordinate but we were lucky enough to find Pomodorino's on West Jericho Tpke. in Huntington (1/2 block from the hotel) and it was PERFECT. They were very easy to deal with and we had a great time. We had the entire restaurant and it was reasonably priced for lunch. GENERAL INFO/ADVICE/SUGGESTIONS: We had a pretty low-key daytime wedding which was perfect for us. The Milleridge Cottage was absolutely the best and we couldn't have asked for a better place. They worked with us and I highly recommend it for the ceremony and reception! Truly beautiful. My advice for any Brides-to-Be, is do all your planning as far in advance as possible. Don't run yourself crazy the week before (as I did) if you can avoid it. Most importantly, once the day arrives, let it all go. Don't worry about anything. Whatever happens will happen. I truly let go of all control once the day arrived. I also decided ahead of time that if any vendors didn't work out the way I had hoped or anything had gone wrong, I wouldn't make it a big deal at the wedding and waste my time. I'm so glad I took that approach. Although my husband and I did feel truly rushed and busy the entire time at the reception, we truly didn't notice anything other than each other and our guests. We took about 10 minutes after the ceremony to just sit in the bridal suite alone which I suggest. We didn't worry about time, or anything other than enjoying each other. It's one day out of your lives so be Happy! Stress as much as you want beforehand but that morning, wake up, smile, and get excited! Guests commented on how relaxed I was and I was very proud of that. I had given envelopes to my brother for tips to give to our vendors and really didn't worry that day about it. My bustle took 1/2 hour to figure out so I spent 1/2 hour in the bathroom but I didn't get upset. It's the day you've all been waiting for, the day we've all worked so hard for, so enjoy every minute of it because although it goes fast, the memories will last a lifetime! Again, THANK YOU ALL For all your advice over the last 9 months. I will definitely check back on this board and will get my website up soon so you can see pics. This board has been very helpful and supportive, so any advice I can dispense I'd be happy to. I do have some other tidbits of advice, so I'll post more sometime soon. Thanks Again, Linda

So happy for you

LInda I am so happy that your day turned out so perfect--so glad you had Steve as your maitre'd-- I cant wait to see your pics--let us know as soon as you update the site-- how was Aruba? did you love it? are you totally relaxed now? I could totally feel the high you are on when i read your posts!!! So happy for you Laura

So glad it was wonderful! : ) *NM*

congrats sounds great! *NM*

Happy you had a great day!! Enjoy your life together *NM*

Any advice on Aruba??

we are going there at the end of setember? congrats and good luck!

Sounds like a wonderful day... Congratulations! *NM*

Sounds Amazing! Congrats & Best Wishes! *NM*

My 8/5 Wedding @ Milleridge! - PART II (very long)

Thanks for the great descriptions & advice! Next - please tell us about your Aruba honeymoon! We'll be there in 19 days!. Congratulations & be happy!!

So happy for you - to Laura

I just have to thank you so much for ALL your tips, advice, and for always replying back to me (and I'm sure so many other brides). YOU were extremely helpful, and I truly appreciate it! P.S. - I know how you feel now about wanting to go to a wedding at the Milleridge. I hope someone I know gets married there someday so I can experience it as a guest! :)

Aruba Feedback for Jillian, Shelby

Where are you all staying at in Aruba? Below are some details, suggestions, and advice... I would HIGHLY recommend Aruba. (I've been to Jamaica and thought Aruba blew it away). It's a very nice, safe island. The food is fantastic. Lots of adventerous stuff to do if you're into that - which we were, and you can also relax and shop and just chill too. It is, however, quite expensive in my opinion. Some things were just ridiculously expensive, i.e. we had to buy sunscreen at the gift shop in our hotel and it cost 20 bucks for a bottle... HOTEL: We stayed at the Hyatt Regency. We are very glad we stayed there for our honeymoon because the grounds are just gorgeous. However, a few things we did think could be handled better and just so you are aware... There are huts on the beach. These are great b/c for us, the sun was so hot last week we really couldn't lay out for too long. It was wonderful to be able to relax and have lunch delivered to our hut. Problem, the Hyatt's policy is that guests can 'reserve' these huts starting at like, 7 am. My husband (who thankfully gets up early anyway) had to stand in line at 7:30 am each morning just to get 2 chairs and towels under a hut. The silly thing about this is that you can have this hut without occupying it for hours. So if you come to the beach at 11 am, all huts will be taken even though hardly anyone may be using them. Very silly. In Sept. and Oct. it may not be as crowded though so you may have no problem at all. :) Rooms are nice, we didn't really have a balcony but had a nice partial view of the ocean and land. We got a bottle of champagne our 1st night and got a complimentary picture taken w/a free frame which was nice. The Ruinas Del Mar restaurant is beautiful looking at night but we tried to make reservations late in the week and ended up cancelling b/c we rented a jeep to explore the island more. RESTAURANTS: The Flying Fishbone. It's worth the drive and it's not hard to get to. Beautiful and on the beach. If you go to our website, www.robandlinda.com, we have a silouette pic up with a sunset. This was taken at that restaurant. It's well worth it. Amazonia Restaurant. For a meat-lover. Lots of fun, great vibe, very close to the high-rise hotels. Tango Restaurant, fun restaurant, good food, close to hotels. ACTIVITIES: The 1st full day we were there, we went on an 8-hr off-road jeep tour. This is if you're into an adventure. It's incredible, but you'll be hot and sticky but to us it was worth it. You get to see EVERYTHING and the Natural Pool is something NOT to be missed. I purposely saved some info for you girls so I could make suggestions when I got back so here it is... Jeep 'N' Eco thru WIX Tours - Full Day Tour. For a private jeep, it's about $75 per person. You get a great lunch, and get to see everything. Otherwise, it's $57 per person for 4-person jeep. Now the jeeps were totally beat up but these little things made it up off-road hills and it was just incredible. Horse-back Riding w/Rancho Notorious. We did a 2-hour beach tour. This was my first time on a horse. I have to say that although I had fun, I was definitely sore for a few days so you may want to hold off on this if you've never done it before. I was walking funny for 2 days. OTHER ADVICE: Tell everyone and anyone from waiters to hotel staff that you're on your honeymoon. We did encounter some kind people who gave us a free drink or dessert and it's worth it to mention it. We found it was worth it to rent a jeep instead of take taxi's. The island was easy enough to navigate and we had the freedom of driving to/from and whenever we wanted. Lastly, I'm not sure how other people handled this but I have to repeat that we did find the island, particularly the hotel, very expensive. Most restaurants already included a 15% service charge on our bills and we weren't certain if we should include an additional tip. I would have been sure to pack my own sunscreen and some munchies had I been prepared that most amenities are pretty overpriced. I will try and have many pics from Aruba posted on my website soon so you girls can see them! It will be a wonderful time and if it rains for 5 minutes 1 day, it's a lot. We had a perfect honeymoon there and I wish you both the same. :) Pls feel free to ask any additional questions... Thanks, Linda

Congratulations, Linda!! All the best!!! :) *NM*

Thanks for the great advice! Congratulations. *NM*

Congratulations!!!!! *NM*

Congrats!! Question re: Huntington Country Inn

Thanks so much for sharing your day. Great advice about letting all the stress go. I am staying at the suite the night before the wedding, since I am from NJ. Is it large enough for my 3BM's to get ready and for pictures? I am glad to hear that you liked it. Thanks so much! -faith

Best Wishes to you and Rob :-) *NM*

My 8/5 Wedding @ Milleridge! - PART II (very long)

I am getting married at the Milleridge next August! Thanks for the great info, so happy you had a great day! Congratulations!

Question re: Huntington Country Inn to Faith

The suite is absolutely big enough for you and your BM's to get dressed. When you walk in, it has a small kitchenette area, table, a large livingroom. Plenty of closets, the bedroom is very beauiful and large as well. The bathroom is a tad small but there are mirrors in the bedroom so I think it will be perfect for you and your girls on your day. Good Luck!

Congratulations !!!!!! Can't wait for the pictures *NM*

Congratulations!!

Linda, As a soon to be Milleridge bride, I was very happy to hear you had such a wonderful day. Can't wait to see your pictures!! Best wishes to you and your new husband. Helen