Bourne Mansion Review (Elaine Deluca, Dnasty, Flower Michelle, and more)

This is long i warn you

I had a great day even though it was 95 and 100% humidity. We had fun and tried to stay in the shade.
I will preface this review that I am very detailed orientated and I am very blunt. I expect a lot out of others. On the day, I was very laid back (nothing was worse than the bar 2 weeks before) – I did not let anything that went wrong bother me and I had a ton of fun – I am a perfectionist but I told myself everything won’t be perfect and enjoy the day, and I did

SonicStef – A+
Save the dates, brunch invites, signature drink menu and program covers
I loved how the save the dates came out – they were a great introduction to our “love for all seasons” wedding – she printed them for use and they came out perfect. We also had her design our martini menus and program covers – both of which she printed and she made our ambiguous into exactly what we wanted. She also did a great job at our after brunch invites, and was lots of help in trying to get everything printed ourselves. Stef also gave us the monogram that was used on the save the date and program and we used it on the dinner menus we made and on the funkin.





Funny buggy - A
Invitations
I really wanted pocketfold invitations, with a seal or sticker on the outside. I did not see anything in any of the stores. Shawna help me custom make the pocketfolds to fit the theme. The main invitation had the 4 symbols of the seasons, and then each of the 4 cards had one of the symbols on top. Then out the side there was a small square in red – “love for all seasons.” They came out perfect. Only problem was I received them a little later than I wanted but that had to do with one card was printed wrong by the manufacturer. Shawna would have assembled everything for me, but I wanted to number the rsvp cards. But she did put the label on the inside and glued all the invites on the pocketfold. My cousin also called less than 2 weeks before my shower and got the front piece to but on boxes for my shower favors.

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Bridal Reflections – B
Wedding Dress – I wore an Ines Di Santo dress- it was a fabulous dress – I loved meeting the designer and getting a sketch of the dress. I had a few problems with the order – the dress was supposed to be ordered with a silver sash but came with a gold one. On the 3rd try, they got it right and it was perfect. Also, my dress was ordered hallow to hem but came in way too long, but bridal reflections was good and did not charge me for the hem. Lee did my alterations and my dress fit perfect – but looking back at pictures my bustle was wrong, I paid for a French bustle – I bought the dress loving an “Apron bustle” – which is a form of a French bustle – that is split on the sides – But I got a 9 point over bustle instead –it stayed fine – but one of the main reasons I bought the dress was that bustle. I had my first fitting at the end of May and Christina DeMarco pinned this bustle. But when I tried it on for my second fitting in August, it had a 7 point over bustle – I did not realize it was wrong because I was so happy to have the sides taken in and that the sash was right, but in the back of mind I knew something was wrong – I should have spoken up but Christina Demarco was not in that day. It is so hard to see the back of the dress and when I brought my camera, it screwed up and I didn’t get any pictures. I just regret not having to bustle because it was so unique and made the dress even more. I wish I had brought Elaine to the 1st fitting because she would have remembered it better than me and she was better speaking up then me. The bustle they did stayed perfectly though.



Tiara – I bought a Denise Leli tiara at bridal reflections– it matched the dress perfectly and looked really good with the hair style I picked – I picked what I wanted to do with my hair first and then went looking for a head piece – a little backwards but worked well for me


Veil – just simple silk cathedral and fingertip – I had trouble with the veil staying in my hair – I should have had the comb changed – but did not realize it was a problem till the day of the wedding – but no big deal it was too hot for a veil most of the day
Also one more thing, every time I went I had to wait 15 to 30 minutes to try dresses on or for a fitting – I was on time and expect others to be close – but this was every time which is unacceptable to me
Georgette’s
Bra – there prices are average and they were very helpful in helping me find a proper bra for my dress.

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Pearls Place – A+
Bridesmaid Dresses - I ordered 6 jasmine Belsoie dresses from them. They had great prices and came in early. The dresses were perfectly pressed. Definitely recommend giving them a call for a price quote. I got the recommendation from Elaine – the prices are similar to RK Bridal and House of Brides


Gownfind - A
Flower Girl Dress – I ordered the flower girl dress in April and came in August. She was away so I thought she was going to have trouble fitting the dress to my flower girl but it looked perfect on her – my cousin bought her shoes, earrings and hair pins from her too – it all matched well

Tuxedo Park – A-
Groom, Groomsmen and fathers attire – We went because my husband loves clothes and wanted a nice tux. They have good selection and the tuxedos looked good and fit right. We had a few problems in getting measurements. They lost one of the groomsmen measurements twice. It was very annoying. We had a few problem with missing pocket squares, and wrong ties. But all but one was fixed, I never noticed my dad did not have a pocket square till he told me the day after so they had no opportunity to fix – they did fix the pocket square for one of the other groomsmen.

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Maureen Pedala – A+
Makeup – my makeup came out great. Maureen is easy to have around, and knows the perfect colors for everyone. The airbrush stayed perfectly. It was so hot and I was sweating so much, I thought it was all coming off, but it was still there. I loved how natural I looked but still was made up. She did a great job on my mom and my bridesmaid too.

Cosmetic Artistry – A+
Hair – Mya did my 6 bridesmaids, my mom, my flower girl, and my hair in 4 hours. She is very friendly and moves very fast. She was great at doing different styles for each of my girls. Some gave her ideas others let her do what she thought would be good. They all looked beautiful and lasted all day.

One point – it was so relaxing having hair and makeup at home. I got to relax with the girls and just hang out till it was my turn – definitely worth doing it at home or in a hotel room

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Limos
A Class Act- A
We had the silver rolls. It gets a lot of notice and so nice to take pictures next to. The driver, John, takes care of the car, which was important to us just in case there was a problem. The car is in great condition. He was on time and very friendly and always making sure I have enough water. It was a hot day. Only problem was the AC only works ok when it is 95 and 100% humidity. It is in the package shelf behind seats so it blows on the back. We ended up just using the open windows and it worked better.


Dynasty A
Bachelorette Party –My parents hired a limo for me, my bridesmaids, my mom and my aunt to tour the wineries. We had a great day. We had a 14 person limo, and he found my parents house without a problem. We had no real plan and stopped where ever. The driver did not know where specific wineries were but I had a map that he followed. On our way out, my mom spelled something wrong with the car. While we were at the 1st winery, they sent a second limo and were trying to fix the first. We decided to take the 8 person because we only had 8 people and it was easier to talk in. We went to about 6 vineyards and then dinner at the frisky oyster (great restaurant). We were only supposed to have the limo till 6 but were fine with us extending to 10.

Dynasty – B-
Day of wedding – We had an escalade, and 2 ten person limos. The escalade was about 15 minutes late in picking up my husband and the groomsmen. The other limos were on time or early. One problem also with the escalade is that the driver did not know where my parents house and we had given them a map, and we told them not to use computer map and they did. The limos were clean and stocked with soda and champagne. The reason for the low grade is the escalade was 45 minutes late. We were supposed to take the escalade to the hotel but the driver of the 10 person limo could not find out where the escalade was so we took the bus to the hotel. One other problem, was the driver for my parents limo asked my dad for more money when everything was fully paid ahead of time. They did not have any directions for anywhere. We were directing them everywhere
Airport rides – one the way to the airport, the driver did not have the house phone number or my cell phone number. The driver did not follow the map that we gave them. He sat at the wrong house for 45 minutes. I had to go out and find the limo.
The pickup from the airport, the driver did not come in to find us at baggage claim. The driver did not have my cell phone number. When I called looking for the driver, they could not find our reservation at first. After about 30-45 minutes we get a call from the driver and we got picked up. The driver again did not have directions to the house and he didn’t really want to go the way we were directing him. But we got home.

Bus
Alert Coach – A
They seemed on time and no major problems. They knew where everything was. They even turned around to pick some people who missed the bus to the reception. It did take one bus a while to return but it ended up working out fine because we took it to the hotel.

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Cakes
Rehearsal Dinner
Audrey’s Bakery – A
The cake looks like our school symbol with all the places that were important when we started dating. The cake was supposed to be red and white, but was more of a brown. The cake tasted delicious. It was chocolate cake with peanut butter mouse – soooo good.


Wedding Cake
Audrey’s Bakery – A-
I really wanted a cake with a lot or presence and my cake fell short of that. I am an engineer so shape is important, so I really wanted distinct tiers and the bottom two tiers were not distinct. I would have rather been told that 4 tiers would have that shape and cut one tier out. Also, the cake was melting that day and did not have the distinct look of having fondant. I also did not love the flowers, I really wanted the cake match my light blue and did not like the green on the flowers- but this could all me just being too picky – I was ready to spend what was needed on my cake and I didn’t and I regret it. However, the cake taster so good – it was vanilla cake with orange cream like a creamsicle.


Cookie Favor
Audrey’s Bakery – A+
We had four cookies – one for each season – they were delicious and tom gave me a good price on them.

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Flower Michelle – A+++++++
A typical great review for John. He went above and beyond. I told him about my “love for all seasons” wedding and he ran without it. He also was so understanding about my allergy to flowers and would always try to clear the area out for me. I had to use silk flowers because of my allergies, but I wanted high quality and for them to look real. He really understood that and went with it. I loved the pew bows as I walked down the church. My bouquet was beautiful, and looked just like I wanted it to. He did a beautiful job decorating all the rooms of the mansion. The centerpieces were amazing. John worked really hard building the branch and hydrangea centerpieces at the sight. I could go on and on about it.
my flowere



church flowers - i loved the pew bows



the spring room




Fall room



Summer



Winter - ball room

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Elaine Deluca – A+++++++
Day of Coordinator – Elaine went above and beyond. I had a lot of little details because of my theme and she kept track everything. We met with her for flower appointments and went to fitting with me. She helped me when I got dressed and gave me some good names for vendors too. Her lists of everything going on are amazing. She was so helpful planning tips and figuring out the timing for the reception.

Bourne Mansion – A+++++
Lessings ran a great wedding. We had so much fun. Isias was our Maitre-D and he ran a great party. Lessing was very flexible. They rented us Guinness because we are Irish and needed it on tap. Also they allowed us to create our own raw bar so that it had all my favorites and my husband. We had a raw bar with lobster, crab claws, shrimp, oysters, and clams. It was so tasty – lobster was delicious and it was always stocked even though there was a line. The bridal attendant Danielle and Isais made sure we always had what we wanted. They had food in the bridal suite when we showed up and brought us exactly what we wanted. We went to the cocktail hour and the crepes were delicious and so were the martinis. We added the martini bar for the whole night – we also change there standard menu for our signature martinis for each season. We gave them the recipes we wanted and they found all different garnished to use for them. It was a huge hit. They did a great job decorating all the rooms for each season they way I wanted (I had a huge list, Elaine and Isias were great and making sure it was all perfect)

Martini bar

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Leli Photography –

Leli Videography – the guy was nice and seemed to nicely direct people into place. I have not seen the video so no rating yet. But I am disappointed that he left early also when I paid for the whole day.

Current Affair – A+
We heard about them from friends. They did a great job about getting the party going, especially between courses. The singers are phenomenal. It is actually funny because you think you know who is singing and then you look and it is who you do not expect. They played the few songs that we really had to hear. My only problem is I wished they played a little less funk (70s) – we told them not too and played more dance music at the end – I wanted to dance more but they were probably reading the crowd. But my directions to the band, were not much because my DH would not let me direct them at all – he used to be a DJ and does not like getting told what to play.

Kings Brass – A+
We hired two trumpeters and a bag piper for the church and a bagpiper to greet guests at the mansion. The bagpiper at the church was very friendly and great way to show something is going on at a church with air conditioning – the doors have to stay closed. I loved walking to trumpets voluntary with the trumpets playing – it was really nice. The bagpipers sounded great outside as greeters.

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Masterpiece Pumpkin - www.masterpiecepumpkins.com
Pumpkins –A+
I ordered two funkins. They both look so real. I sent him our monogram that we have used on other things and he carved it into one of the pumpkins. It looked great – so many people thought it was real – looked great in the fall room


Finishing touches – A+++
Chair Covers and table clothes
They went out of the way to meet with us because we only had one day to decide and Friday is not there normal day for appointments. We rented light blue shimmer overlays, satin white table cloths, white satin napkins, and white chair covers with matching bow. This made my winter ballroom it was great. They folder all the napkins and put our menus inside of them and tied the bottom with a matching bow to the chair. My favorite is that I bought pine cones and they wrapped each one around the bow on the chairs. It looked so nice.

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Melville Marriott – A
OOT accommodations and our wedding night hotel
We did not have any problems. All the OOT guests received there OOT boxes. The suites are nice size. We did not hear of any problems with any of the guests. Only little things that reduced the grade, we were not told the hotel is under construction, and you cannot get the bar to stay open late. So we got in a lot of trouble when we partied after the wedding in one suite.

Buff Brides – A+
I did it at Boston Sports Club. It was definitely worth the money. My second trainer was great at kicking my butt and I had to have my dress taken in 3 or 4 inches on the waist – where it was really important for my dress to have skinnier waist. I really did not eat all that well so I did not loose weight, but I was tinier because weighs more than fat. I got lots of compliments on how I looked at the wedding, which is also great encouragement to keep working out. One word of advice – make sure the trainer pushes you really hard so that you get your money’s worth – my first trainer was good but my second worked me harder in our sessions and also encouraged me to get back into running, which I think works a lot better than the elliptical to lean down.

Wedding tracker – A+
www.weddingtracker.com – wedding website
the site was so user friendly. It was a great way to keep track of the guest list, all the gifts, rsvps in one place. It worked really well because me and my DH did not live in the same state before the wedding, so it was great way to put all the info in one place without emailing spreadsheets all over the place. The website was great – it was nice having www.shannenandrj.com because it was easy to put on the STDs and the invitation – a little less wielding then the knot web address. Also had lots of space to put all our information on it.

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Spool of Design – A
Hoodie – I ordered a white with blue lettering sweat set – it was very comfortable. I did not take my DH’s last name so I had them put “Luck Him …” he thought it was funny, and I can still wear it if I want to. I just wish the writing was bigger.



Projects
Ribbon Wands – my mother in law made them and they came out great

OOT boxes – www.myweddinglabel.com and boxes from www.buygiftbox.com/gablebox.htm
We bought most of the supplies from Costco – water, chex mix, cookies, and mints. Plus I put in a moisturizer from bath and bodyworks (from semi annual sale) and aspirin from (www.minimus.biz) and I printed a two sided sheet with things to do and time line and directions for everything. It all went over well. Word of advice – tape the bottoms with clear packing tape before filling – some are not that sturdy for the weight of the waters.


Menus – paper from www.paper-source.com and www.paperpresentation.com
We just printed it on the blue paper – 2 two a sheet and cut them in half and put the snowflake vellum over it. I tied them with a bow – Not the fasted way but it worked.

Favors - Pindar - A
we did the Season wines from Pindar. We ordered them by the case and got a great price. We did not like the labels they came with so we bought bags from puchmart.com and tags from mywedding labels.com - it was a big hit - the winter white went the fastest - most nyers know which one is the best of the 4

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Great review, you pics are beautiful!!
I LOVE the pumpkin with your initials!!!!

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Beautiful pictures! I love the four seasons theme.

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Gorgeous!! Love your theme!!

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Congratulations! Everything was stunning!

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love the themed weddings!!! great review

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Congrats!!!

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BEAUTIFUL..i love the different rooms you had..very clever...you looked magnificent!!!!

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Great, detailed review. Thanks.

Your theme was wonderful and everything looked amazing. Congrats