Nov. 28th Milleridge Cottage review w/ link to pics.

It's a longey.

Hello to all! I finally am able to write a bit about my extremely smooth, fun wedding at the Milleridge Cottage. There was not one thing that went wrong that day - other than torrential rains in the a.m. and the flu bug keeping away a handful of loved ones. These are big exceptions and I wish my loved ones hadn't been ill, but of the things that I could control, all was perfetto.

Milleridge Cottage (Nadine Greenstein BM): A+
She was on top of her game, always confirming details with me. Sometimes her matter of fact nature got me nervous b/c I was more emotional about my day than she was, but for the most part, her calmness and self-assuredness kept me feeling calm/self-assured. My maitre d' was Samir and, although many told me to try to get Steve - who is wonderful - Samir was stupendous! He was making sure everything went as planned while looking out for myself and DH (making sure that we ate, had a drink, that my dress was being handled properly...etc.) I loved him and our attendant, Jeanie (Jean?). It was decorated for Xmas very classily (that's the adj. all are using - it was such a classy wedding) w/ green pining, white lights, wreaths and a tree that were above & beyond what I expected. The stairwell had pointsettias going all the way up. It was festive, warm and inviting. Just what we wanted. Can't believe it was already 4 wks. ago today.

Food: A+
I was very concerned about the food at the Cottage, b/c our tasting showed the chix could be dry and we weren't sure about the cake (from past weddings my parents had gone to there). I tasted all 3 entrees at my wedding b/c DH ordered the chix florentine (it was juicy!) &, after waffling over whether to get the swordfish or the chateaubriand bordelaise, I was offered to get an entree and then a side dish of what was left over (i.e., the 3rd entree choice could be served to me as a side so I could taste everything). I loved all of them! Our pasta was delish, the salad and sorbet, as well...all were yum.

Cake - Milleridge Bakery: B-
Unfortunately, the one bite I took tasted as dry as we feared - seems to be their signature there, somehow. HOWEVER, we had the 3 star, w/ Venetian hour, so no one had the cake. We all got generous portions of pastries, ice cream, cookies, etc. and what a beautiful display! We feared it being too much, but it was a raving hit.

Dress: Eve of Milady - Bonaventure Bridal: A+
They accommodated us everytime and did such great work on my dress, our BM's dresses and the GM's tuxes. I trusted them implicitly, which helped when it came down to requests or concerns. They're grade A pros and highly recommend them. Daisy, Carol, Heather are all great, but INES, the seamstress, is a goddess. BM's dresses are Watters & Watters. Lovely colors-the 'wineberry' that I chose flattered all.

Headpiece/tiara: A+
Believe it or not, I found mine at Claire's Accessories. It was the prettiest I found and whenever I looked at others, I just preferred this vintage comb everytime. Under $20! Also got my purse there.

Limos: Royalty: A+
Great service/driving. On time and safe. Perhaps it's b/c my father knows someone who works there, but even before anyone knew that I was his daughter, they treated me respectfully/professionally. We got a 14 passenger limo for relatives/BP and got an Excalibur for my parents & myself. Unfortunately, no pix of that b/c it was raining far too much!

Photog: Great Neck Photography: A++
Lucy Marzocchi is the rep. there and she's genuinely excited about weddings and pleasing people. Julio, our photog., is a gentle, kind, fun individual, yet assertive and hard-working at my wedding - making sure my dress was perfect and that I looked my best all day. He was wonderful and I look forward to picking up our proofs on Wed., 12/29! They were ready 2 wks. ago, actually - they were ready in a jiffy. See his work - he's great at what he does and a great person to be around. (My one regret - we gathered all prior to the ceremony, which was onsite at Milleridge - also beautiful in the gorgeous atrium!!, so that we could party the rest of the day w/out thinking about posing for pix. Julio pulled me away a lot and I regret not saying, at least once, 'It's ok. I'd rather just dance now...')

Music by Michael: A+
Unfortunately, I didn't get to dance all day, as planned - got caught up in photos and guests - but Michael was wonderful. I was pretty anal about song choices and was complimented on our taste in music, plus was told by folks of diff. ages that the music was eclectic enough to please all and was never too loud or obnoxious, even for those sitting right near it. Michael knows how to gauge the mood/choose which song to play. We had tangos to hip hop and all were dancing! He passed out a lot of bus. cards after the event. Good sign.

Hotels: Holiday Inn in Plainview and Floral Park Motor Lodge in Floral Park: A for both.
I didn't really deal w/ them too much after blocking rooms, but for those that did, seemed they accommodated any changes necessary. For e.g., w/ the flu rampant Thanksgiving weekend, my out of town cousins changed from the Holiday to the F.P.M.L. 3 times, at least - always w/out a problem. The change was due to distance to my parent's house and the hospital (yes, one of my cousins had to be hospitalized on Thanksgiving day! She was extremely dehydrated, prob. from the flight, plus very ill. We feared we'd all get it and have a sick wedding day and possibly honeymoon, but we were so blessed. Got ill my first day back!) DH & I had a suite at Holiday Inn wedding night which was lovely. A jacuzzi in the room made all the difference. Our tired bodies (esp. feet!) welcomed those jets. Our BP actually brought in a HUGE floral spray that sat before the dais, along w/ 3 centerpieces and other flowers whose petals they scattered everywhere...including the toilette bowl! LOL. We loved it. We love them.

Favors: Luisa - family friend. If you want info., FM me. She did favors for my sis's wedding in '93, as well. Great stuff and really accommodating/affordable.

Rain Day Spa: A+
I treated my BP gals, plus mothers, to a 1 hr. massage and manicure. Not cheap, but they gave me 10% off for a large party (7 of us total, including myself). They were great.
WARNING - For anyone who's never had a massage before or who's thinking of treating someone who hasn't ever had one, reminder to be vocal during the massage. If it's too soft, speak out about needing more firmness or vice versa. My mother was displeased b/c the woman hardly massaged her - that upset me but I couldn't do anything about her timidity. Now I'll know for the future.

Hair: Andrea, a family friend. Please FM if you want more info.

Makeup: Dina from Beautiful Possibilities: A+
Dina came to my home twice! She did a trial and I wasn't sure how I felt about it...until I saw the pix. Folks on this site all agreed her makeup was the best. She came back another time to use oil-based makeup on me (I have Rosacea so she tried water-based the first time). The way she did my eyes sold me, plus her down-to-earth nature. I loved my makeup the day of & it lasted the entire event - including lipstick! She used a stain so that really stays. I still use the gloss she gave me as a gift.

Shoes: Bridal Shoe Boutique: A+
Valerie always remembered us and our names! She was fluid, got us our shoes on time, gave sound advice. They do dying AND dye your shoes to black after the event for FREE, if you choose. I LOVE my sexy/sassy shoes and will wear them again.

I think this is long enough and can't think of anything else right now...except for PHOTOS! My bro-in-law took a ton and I've uploaded them to Shutterfly. I don't know if you can also see my shower album at this link, but the amateur wedding pix can be found here:

http://share.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=EeAt2LFw1at3FA

I had such a great day. Oh! Our honeymoon in New Orleans and Cancun were relaxing and fun. The Fairmont Hotel in N.O. is comfortable and friendly. At Cancun, we stayed at the all-inclusive Royal Sunset, but we spent one day at the Sunrise Palace (part of the Moon Palace resorts) and HIGHLY recommend THEM. Sunset was so-so. Friendly staff but not much in the way of all-inclusive. The Palace resorts truly have all-incl. so you never have to leave the resort, if you don't want to. They had a dance club and several nice restaurants on site plus a kick-*** pool (pools, really) w/ bridges and the bars were right in the pool. It was like a paradise, being surrounded by palm trees and sun.

Thanks for reading. Any questions, I'll be happy to answer if you FM me. Love, Annette




http://share.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=EeAt2LFw1at3FA

Re: Nov. 28th Milleridge Cottage review w/ pics.

sounds like you had a wonderful day congrats

Re: Nov. 28th Milleridge Cottage review w/ pics.

Thank you!

Tried to post some pix here from my harddrive but they're tremendous.

Hope you all had peaceful and happy holidays! Happy New Year, too.

Re: Nov. 28th Milleridge Cottage review w/ pics.

Annette!!!!!!!! Everything came out beautifully!! I have been checking for you the past couple of days, thanks so much for coming back with the review and the pictures. You were a beautiful bride and I LOVE the tuxes, I've been trying to convince FH to go with an ascot and vest and seeing your pics he's agreed to at least try it on . And the ceremony was gorgeous!! Congrats!!

ETA: I just linked your review on the official thread, hope that's ok!

Re: Nov. 28th Milleridge Cottage review w/ pics.

Congrats
Looks like you two had a great time. You were a beautiful bride.

Re: Nov. 28th Milleridge Cottage review w/ pics.

Everything sounded great! Great pics!

Re: Nov. 28th Milleridge Cottage review w/ pics.

Great pictures!!!

Re: Nov. 28th Milleridge Cottage review w/ pics.

I'm so psyched to share things w/ y'all.

Eogara!! I'll FM you, but THANK YOU for posting to the Milleridge site. I was trying to find it and got tired from being online so long. You saved me the step and I appreciate it.

Thank you all for visiting the site. We're picking up proofs by the pro. this Wed. Looking forward to that! Enjoy!

Re: Nov. 28th Milleridge Cottage review w/ pics.

Congrats...you looked very beautiful and happy....

Re: Nov. 28th Milleridge Cottage review w/ pics.

Congratulations! You're dress is/was beautiful! Everything looked great!

Re: Nov. 28th Milleridge Cottage review w/ pics.

You were a beautiful bride! Congrats on your wonderful day!

Re: Nov. 28th Milleridge Cottage review w/ pics.

Yay! Congratulations!

Samir was my Maitre D' too & I loved him! Did you have yellow cake? I had chocolate & didn't think it was dry. In general I find yellow wedding cakes dry.


We had the Chateau Briand too-it was excellent!

Re: Nov. 28th Milleridge Cottage review w/ pics.

Yes, yellow cake b/c I can't have chocolate (caffeine, really). Which was silly now that I think about it b/c it was just a bite. I guess I expected to eat a full slice. We are freezing the top portion of our cake, though. Let's see if it overcomes freezer burn.

Heard the choc. cakes are good. Got news from a friend last night that she loved our cake, though. 'It was REAL cake, not a processed taste.' That was a good one to hear.

Thanks for your reply!

Re: Nov. 28th Milleridge Cottage review w/ pics.

Thanks so much for posting your review! Your ceremony in the atrium looked incredible!!!

Did Milleridge's florist do your flowers???

I've got a million questions for you -- I'll have to compose a separate FM.

congratulations!

Re: Nov. 28th Milleridge Cottage review w/ pics.

congrats

Re: Nov. 28th Milleridge Cottage review w/ pics.

Congrats!!! You looked beautiful!!!!! Isn't a winter wedding at the Milleridge just the perfect place?!?! I got married there too last December and I also used Great Neck Photographers!!! Lucy is the best...and Dante too!

If you can, post some of your proofs...I'd love to see more of Great Neck's awesome work!!!

Re: Nov. 28th Milleridge Cottage review w/ pics.

congrats...

Re: Nov. 28th Milleridge Cottage review w/ pics.

Jen! I read your FM before I saw your post here so I asked whether Julio was your photog., but sounds like it was Dante. I'll try to scan my proofs somehow (we didn't use digital). I tried to place the 'amateur' pix in the review, itself, and even resized them, but they still came out too large, so I put in the link. Thank you all for your encouraging words!

Yes, Milleridge looks extremely romantic and classy and very comforting at the same time during winter. Yay!

Re: Nov. 28th Milleridge Cottage review w/ pics.

I sent you an FM!

Re: Nov. 28th Milleridge Cottage review w/ link to pics.

gorgeous!

Congrats!