Official DeSeversky Center Thread

hi all- i just held my sister's bridal shower at deseversky this past weekend and everyone had a great time. feel free to ask me specifics

Hi girls:

Wow I haven't been around in a while, y'all have been busy!

Just wanted to throw in another suggestion for bakeries- we're going to use Coppenhagen Bakery in Northport. They were so professional. They packed up a huge box of cake, custard and frosting samples for us and everything was so tasty. They're on the reccommended list for Deseversky too. The lady who I spoke to was Carol, she couldn't have been nicer.

here's the website:
http://www.copenhagenbakery.net/

What else is everyone up to?

I am at a slow point right now - 97 days left to go. At 100 days I have begun my workout/diet I figured if celebrity fit club could loose weight in 100 days so could I. I have been so lazy the last couple of months.

Finalizing my invites...

Going to meet with Debbie next Saturday to solidify some stuff 3 months beforehand - any suggestions girls? What should I consider, or ask for, etc.

Also, what is the deal with the gazebo? Will it be there this summer?

Some of you girls the date is coming up - so exciting. A lot of us have been on this thread for about a year now.

Happy Holidays!

i just wanted to respond re: my sister's bridal shower at the deseversky. keep in mind these were my thoughts/observations for a daytime affair, seated luncheon, so an evening affair will obviously be different.

the location/room- we used the terrace room for cocktails/HDs and the ballroom for the shower. all the ladies could not stop telling me how beautiful the place was. they were going on an on about how nice the location was. her shower was on 4/9 so the weather was somewhat chilly, but if you are lucky enough to have a sunny/warm day and your guests can have cocktails outdoors, that would really be something special.

the food- so so. i thought the HDs were ok. same about the lunch. we had a mixed salad w/gorgonzola to start- very good. then there was a choice of oven roasted beef, herb salmon or cornish hen. i had the salmon and it was just ok. my sister had the hen- the stuffing was very good. i thought in general the food was acceptable for a lunch but nothing great. the flourless choco cake we had for dessert was delish though! and a friend who we had set up a vegetarian meal for ahead of time told me her meal was fantastic- i had asked for a roasted vegetable lasagna.

the service- very good. the staff asked numerous times if they could get us drinks and were very accomodating with whatever we needed. based on comments on this site, i was actually worried about the service and comfortable about the food, but it turned out to be the other way around. we had planned on mimosas and wine and they were free flowing during cocktails and during the lunch. the only negative was that our guests were going straight into the ballroom on arrival even though they should have gone to the terrace room first. the staff wasn't telling them to go into the other room. but if you have a DOC, i'm sure she'll take care of this. otherwise, the service was very good.

the cake- i ordered a cake from leonetti's. it was fantastic! it was a chantilly cream with fresh berries and it was incredibly fresh tasting and really yummy. the negative was that they were supposed to deliver at 11am (the shower started at noon) and they didn't deliver until 1! i had even confirmed the delivery time the day before! i thought that was very unprofessional considering that it was a nice cake that i wanted displayed during the shower and leonetti's didn't know we were doing a cocktail hour first. for all they knew, the shower started at 12. it was annoying b/c it was stressing me out during the shower b/c i had read on these boards that leonetti's did not deliver a cake once. anyhoo, the delivery issue was annoying to deal with, but the cake was probably hands down the best i have tasted. one other thing- i had asked them to combine two different designs in the cake and they ended up just doing the one design.

other than that, not sure what i can comment on. debbie was really responsive during the planning. we showed a video photo montage during the shower of my sister and her fiance and debbie actually provided the tv/dvd for that which saved me having to go out and rent it. the only thing if you decide to ever do a dvd presentation like that- make sure you test the unit and the dvd in the unit b/c for some reason it wouldn't play on the dvd player but i had brought one as backup and we ended up using that.

let me know if you have any questions!

Hi Ladies!

The fun starts!!

I am putting together my invitations, and I was wondering if we had to put menu choices down, or if that's something our guests decide at the reception. I was going to email Debbie, but I figured I'd get a faster response from you all!!

Still haven't booked a honeymoon!

what are you all up to?

Hey girls - what are your entree selections? Have you heard good reviews of certain dishes over others?
We were thinking of the salmon, grilled breast of chicken and Roast tenderloin.

Our entrees are:

Fillet of beef & chicken breast sampler (guests can have both or choose either beef or chicken), Tilapia (not on the menu, Debbie recommended it because I didn't want salmon or grouper), and Spring Risotto (my FH and I are both vegetarian).

4 weeks from yesterday ladies!!!

RSVPs are pouring in.
Honeymoon is booked - We're going to Thailand and Malaysia for 3 weeks.
We've got mostly everything covered just working on our ceremony now and the final details.

Are you all going with the house wine (Walnut Crest?) or upgrading? We're thinking of doing a Long Island wine and Virginia (FH is from VA) wine instead and paying for the upgrade...not sure that Walnut Crest is premium enough - any thoughts?

Hey girls!

Pam, I can't believe it's only a month away for you!!!

We sent out our invites this week, so now we're waiting for the RSVPs to start coming in.

As for the wine, we're leaving as is...I don't think we have a huge wine crowd so the house selections are fine. I don't even know if our guests would recognize another brand.

We met with Debbie to finalize our selections and I am very excited with the way everything is going.

I had my first fitting and I can't wait for the next one.

We are meeting with the florist and DJ this week to finalize the song list and centerpieces.

At some point I think we need to meet with the priest again to review the ceremony.

Then it's down to the small details...

We are going to leave the wine as is as well. My fiance's parents reviewed the selection and they were happy with it and they are big wine drinkers - so if they like it then we were fine with it.

We were thinking about the beef and chicken dish as well - any reviews of this dish? At first I thought this dish sounded weird, but now I am leaning towards this selection.

There are so many of us that are getting married within the next few months - it is so exciting!

Oh - Debbie did not mention needing to ask quests for their food choices beforehand so I did not think we needed to do this, is this a correct assumption?

OK, I think I'll relax a little on the wine issue. Thanks for your input!

Because we're offering a vegetarian - I think the chicken/beef combo offering is great because it ensures that we're covering all the meat eaters! Everyone should be happy. I really wanted to do the duck - but so many of my meat-eating friends were opposed to it. So, now reviews of the chicken/beef - but I would think it's hard to go wrong. But, I'll let you know!

And no, Ireigada, you don't have to submit guest's food choices ahead of time. Or at least, Debbie never mentioned that to me either. But there's no way that's the case. I'm going to put together a really pretty menu to put at each person's seat.

Oh my gosh Pam... only 27 days away!!!

How exciting!!!! I cannot wait!!!!

I'm going to the Mother's Day Brunch this weekend. I'm really looking forward to it and I'll let you know how it goes.

Will anyone else be there?

There was sooo much food, it was all really good. Here's what we tried:

Crabcakes - delicious
Tomato Mozz - delicious
All Salads - delicious
Pasta - delicious
Veggies - delicious
Omlets - delicious
Bacon/Sausage - delicious
Waffles/French Toast - delicious
Roast Beef - a little too pink for my mom, but a lot of people like it that way.
Chicken Marsala - just OK
Salmon - good
Shrimp - delicious
Fruit - delicious
Desserts - delicious
Duck and Pork looked good but I didn't try.

The servers/chefs were really nice.

Only weird part was that you (that doesn't apply to weddings) is that you had to pay first as soon as you walked into the foyer. So there were tons of people standing there trying to pay while people with plates of food were trying to walk by to get to their tables. Food was set up in Terrace and Library. People were seated in Ballroom, Dining Room and Garden Room. It was packed! The Ballroom did get loud, there were probably over 200 people in the room though. And because of all the people the bathroom line was long. There is an accessible bathroom that we were able to use too, by the mens room.

Debbie was there and we were able to chat with her for a bit so that was nice.

It was just cool to see it filled with people because it's always empty when I go.

The mansion and grounds were looking very nice too. A lot of flowers outside.

Thanks for the detailed review. Sounds like a nice mothers day

OK ladies, I know this is a personal decision, but I wanted to see what you are doing about tipping.
I know the service charge is included in the cost, so are you still tipping:
Maitre'D
Valet
Waiters
Bartenders

I just had this conversation with my DOC.

What I'm told is typical:

Maitre'D: $250
Valet: $25 each
Waiters: $50 each
Bartenders: $100 each (especially if you request no tip jars)

Though of course you tip at the end of the night and based on performance. Maitre'D does nothing...you give nothing...etc.

We have to tip the waiters!?!?!?

Isn't that what we are paying the 18% for?

Now... I am NOT cheep at tipping especially b/c I was a waitress for about 5 yrs... BUT... 18% is a NICE TIP.

REALLY??? Is everyone doing this?!?!?!