Very Overdue review Feb 9th, 2008: BOURNE MANSION w/ FLOWER MICHELE, PRIMO LIMO, BODY AND SOUL, THOMAS KNOELL and many more! WITH HONEYMOON PICS TOO!

Wow... its almost been 6 months! I was never a big poster on LIW but I have to say all you brides helped me out a lot. I would peek at all your reviews and ideas and found a lot of helpful hints and vendor suggestions. That said, my day was so wonderful and vendors so fantastic I figured I owed it to them to give them good reviews and a plug for the winter wedding! It may not be the dream of many, but it was actually quite fantastic to do! The real thanks goes to my MOM, MOH, Bridesmaids, family and friends for getting me through all this. My Dad for standing by my side and being my dad. And of course my Husband who is so wonderful and so often we get so busy worrying about the planning that we forget what its all about. And now being married just the short 6 months we have been I appreciate that so much!

So I'll try to keep it short with lots of pictures like I know we all like! I'll stick to mainly the main people.... but if you see something and have any questions just let me know! Good luck to all you future brides and congrats to all you newlyweds!

Rehearsal Dinner: Just wanted to give a big A+++++ to The Garden Grill in Smithtown, NY! The food and service perfect.... its a great quaint place. They gave us the whole upstairs even though we were 5 people short. AND... they were much much more reasonable than the 50 other places we looked for a full sit down meal and open bar! Fantastic for my big Irish Catholic Family


Accomodations: Hilton Garden Inn Macarthur Airport
A+++++++++++++++++
We have nothing but great things to say about this hotel. My family called them constantly because we are huge and all over the place and had 55 rooms booked friday and sat. night. They gave us a great deal, threw in breakfast for everyone every morning the whole week, and did not forget to give a single person their out of towner bag! We had the bar open late friday and sat. night and they did a great job. They even shuttled some people on short notice to and from places even though we had service with the limo company too!

Flower Michele AAAAA++++++++++++++++++

What can I say that hasn't been said about John. Everything was perfect, my flowers were just what I asked for and incredibly reasonable! At the Bourne you have all these mantles you can decorate and he knew exactly how do do it within a budget! My Bouquet stayed beautiful all day and so did the bridesmaids. All to boutinniers stayed great but one.... however John new that was a possibility and gave us an extra one too! Everything was exactly how we discussed from the church flowers to the centerpieces to the flowers in the bathroom. The only thing that wasn't perfect was there were supposed to be rose petals around the centerpiece. However, I may have noticed but lord knows I did not even blink or care at all. It looked perfect either way!









Photographer: Steve Worth Photography: www.steveworth.com
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA- (Sorta)
Steve and his wife Kira and just awesome! They are photojournalistic/Fine artstyle. I can't even begin to express how easy and awesome they were to work with. I give them a bit
AAAAA AAAAAAAAAA- for the whole experience. I give them a
B+++++ for the Day of and A+++++++ for pre and post service. The only reason they get a B++++ was because I think we could have used a bit more direction for the few posed shots we had. Also, (and this is mainly my fault) there are a few shots I wish I'd gotten but I didn't Ah what can you do. My pictures are gorgeous. If anyone wants to look at the huge lot of them drop me a note and I'll give you the password. A HUGE plus... we picked out album in april and WE GOT IT ALREADY! Who else is that good. I HIGHLY recommend him. Him and Kira were Fantastic and worth every Penny!



















Band: Body and Soul.. www.bodyandsoulband.net

A++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Absolutely amazing! Not only fantastic and I still get insane raves about them from everyone... but just the most fun people to work with. Tim, Tom and Steve were so great and Tim even would give me how to stay calm wedding advice in the sweetest way. They are unbelievable and play everything. We had some pretty accomplished musicians at the wedding and they were all impressed. DEF check them out! You can tell by the pictures they appealed to everyone! They also did the cocktail hour music and played the piano at the Bourne. It was amazing and really set the tone for the night!
















Day of Stuff:
My Dress Macy's Salon Tyson's Corner, VA
C++++/B--------

I had a lot of issues with them. They got a C+/B- because my dress was still beautiful and they had a few great girls there. Not a dream experience though. My dress was Demetrios and the quality for the price was fantastic and it held up great. The alterations were done well, just a lot of issues buy hey it was in VA so most of you won't have to worry about it.
Bridesmaids dresses: Bill Levkoff C+/B-: Same place, Same story!









Hair: Lisa at Through the Looking Glass Salon in Ronkonkoma
A++++++++++++++++++++++++

First let me start by saying that Lisa and her assistant did all the bridesmaids hair and mine. I have known lisa since I was 7 and she came to my wedding. No words can describe how wonderful she was. Mimosas waiting when we got there.... which would have been there if we knew her or not. She will come to you, or you can come to her. She will even close the shop and follow so many requests. She has books and books of hair she has done and as you can see from how different all my bridesmaids hair looked, she can do anything. Absolutely wonderful and my hair made it from 9 am to 4 am in the morning! Pretty impressive





Makeup- Thea Smithhaven Mall Lancome CounterA++++++
She is a friend of Lisa and from the moment I met her I was in love. She took me, a nurse who NEVER wears more than some moisturizer and mascara and made me look as good as I was going to look! Again will go anywhere, very reasonable and absolutely a doll to work with! Swing by the counter there if you are thinking about wedding makeup and just do the free trial! You will be hooked!!!

Jewelry: Thomas Knoell
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Fantastic Service and jewelrys great. Not a plus just because its so expensive... however... it is very worth it. I got my little lace headpiece (which I had been totally against by the way) and my earrings from him. I've already worn my earrings twice since the wedding which is fantastic! The bridesmaid jewelry and my bracelet were made by a friend!




Guest Book: Jennibookbinders.com A: Bought online and great!

Menus, Programs and Save the Dates... We made them because we started getting cheap :)! A decent amount of work and we are not at all crafty. Very worth it though. My mom and Dad deserve a lot of the credit too as they did a lot of work also! Then on the bottom of the menu we did an in lieu of favor and donated to the homeless shelter in D.C. near where we live!








Tuxes: Men's Warehouse/Jos A Banks: No real grade because most of the issues were easily resolved although made me nervous! I'd probably only give them a C, but a lot of the groomsmen had their own tuxes and were only getting vests and pieces and I think that is why things got a little messy! My Hubbie got his a Jos and they were great so give them an A!





The Rosary was my something old.... my grandmother had given it to me. She passed away a few years ago (the picture of a Bride on one of the mantles is her)

The mink little number I wore despite 'not being into it' and kinda being forced to........ and then realizing it was beautiful was my greatgrandmothers! It actually sorta made my whole ensemble stand out :)! She would have been 103 during the wedding!!!!!!








Primo Limos AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-------
Wow did Ed put up with a lot. We were not easy... that is for sure! We had a shuttle to and from the hotel and the Bourne. We had a huge navigator and at 1939 Cadillac. Everything was clean, the staff was great and things went smoothly for the most part. I was quite late (15 minutes later than the ceremony was supposed to start) and it was not me running late.. they got a lil lost on the way back to us. Didn't matter though.. it actually worked out perfectly but that is why not an A+++++! Ed was truly fantastic too!





Ceremony Holy Cross Church, Nesconset and Father Bill
Since its a church and person I can't really grade them other than to say they are so wonderful and everything was so perfect. Father Bill did the most memorable homily and it meant the world to us! I had gone to Holy Cross my whole life and it meant a lot that they made everything easy for us despite not being in the parish anymore and my FH not being catholic! Father Bill also isn't the Pastor their anymore but they were very good about letting him perform the ceremony! Brian did the music there and he was fantastic! He was at times difficult to get a hold of, but I really didn't need to have him be told anything honestly, he was perfect without any instruction











Audreys AAAAAAAAAA
They were great and it was exactly what I asked for! It was easy since we did it through lessings, but had a few communication errors...actually all because the person we originally met with left! It was still perfect and so incredibly yummy. I'm a cannoli freak so we did vanilla cake with cannoli filling YEAH!






Before I talk about the Bourne... I know I did not mention lots of stuff. Its just too much!!!! Plus, some of it was purchased outside of the NY area! If you see anything you like and I did not mention where it came from etc feel free to ask!


So the Bourne and Lessings A+++++++++++++++++++++
Growing up my whole life on LI, I had never heard of either...little did i know. I could go on for hours about the amazing job they did. Steve our Maitre D was PHENOMENAL!!!! Everyone I know has commented on how the service at our wedding was the best they had ever had, that there drink was never empty and that the food was perfect. That the staff literally anticipated everything they wanted and it was there before they needed to ask. Nicollette was my bridal attendant and treated me like gold, even pinned my bustle as I danced when someone ripped it . That's what you get when you are swing dancing at your wedding!

The food was so good. And they went out of their way to make sure we ate. They boxed up tons of stuff for us and also kept bringing us food during the Cocktail hour. We elected to do the extra hour option and did an hour and a half cocktail hour, and then a four and a half hour reception. It still flew by. This turned out great though because we still got to enjoy mingling and got lots of pictures too. We then chose to do the Duet instead of appetizer and salad because we wanted everyone dancing. The dinners were AMAZING. The steak was perfect and everyone said theirs was cooked perfect whether ordered rare or well, and some people told me the salmon was the best salmon they had ever had! Even the coffee was yummy!

They went above and beyond to make it perfect. The planning was easy with them! Ben was great to us and put up with constant emails from my mom and dad!!!! I recommend lessings and all their locations so highly words cannot describe. What an amazing day we had there! Now we are pretty easy going people... some past reviews have found steve abraisive and ben tough to deal with. I completely disagree but can understand. Also, we were lucky that most of our vendors were very familiar with Steve and the Bourne so things went off without a hitch. I really can't think of anything that truly went wrong that night at all!!!!!Plus the Bourne with its many rooms and fireplaces made for a perfect winter wedding!!! It really was very fairytale like!

















LOTS OF FUN PICS


















STEVE THE AMAZING MAITRE D IS ON THE RIGHT!
LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!





So thanks for listening and GOOD LUCK! YOUR DAY WILL BE AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: Very Overdue review 2/9/08 Bourne Mansion Wedding with Flower Michele, Primo Limos, Body and Soul

great review, looks like you had a wonderful time. i love the colors you used...i'm using audreys bakery as well...happy to hear the cake was tasty
CONGRATS!!

Re: Very Overdue review 2/9/08 Bourne Mansion Wedding with Flower Michele, Primo Limos, Body and Soul

thanks for the review...everything looked great

Re: Very Overdue review 2/9/08 Bourne Mansion Wedding with Flower Michele, Primo Limos, Body and Soul

wonderful review, all the pics look gorgeous...congrats!

Re: Very Overdue review 2/9/08 Bourne Mansion Wedding with Flower Michele, Primo Limos, Body and Soul

congrats on a beautiful wedding! Everything looked great and just perfect!

Re: Very Overdue review 2/9/08 Bourne Mansion Wedding with Flower Michele, Primo Limos, Body and Soul

Beautiful wedding and great review! U look goregous. I love the bouquets! Congrats!

Re: Very Overdue review 2/9/08 Bourne Mansion Wedding with Flower Michele, Primo Limos, Body and Soul

great review, you look beautiful!

Re: Very Overdue review 2/9/08 Bourne Mansion Wedding with Flower Michele, Primo Limos, Body and Soul

You looked beautiful!! Everything was beautiful...girls dresses, flowers. Oh, and I loved your mink stole and that it was your great-grandmother's! Great review!

Re: Very Overdue review 2/9/08 Bourne Mansion Wedding with Flower Michele, Primo Limos, Body and Soul

Thank you so much ladies for all the kind words! It means a lot!
The Mink Stole was beautiful so thanks for the compliment!!!! I was lucky my great grandmother had such great taste

Re: Very Overdue review Feb 9th, 2008: BOURNE MANSION w/ FLOWER MICHELE, PRIMO LIMO, BODY AND SOUL, THOMAS KNOELL and many more!

Thank you so much for posting your review. There aren't too many Bourne Mansion reviews and it's so exciting to see how happy you were on the day of. You and your wedding were beautiful!!! Congrats!

Re: Very Overdue review Feb 9th, 2008: BOURNE MANSION w/ FLOWER MICHELE, PRIMO LIMO, BODY AND SOUL, THOMAS KNOELL and many more!

looks like it was a fabulous day!! and the mink wrap is AMAZINGLY fabulous!!!

Re: Very Overdue review Feb 9th, 2008: BOURNE MANSION w/ FLOWER MICHELE, PRIMO LIMO, BODY AND SOUL, THOMAS KNOELL and many more!

Thanks again for the compliments on the Mink! And Bourne Mansion was great... you will love your wedding there!

Re: Very Overdue review Feb 9th, 2008: BOURNE MANSION w/ FLOWER MICHELE, PRIMO LIMO, BODY AND SOUL, THOMAS KNOELL and many more!

great review!

Re: Very Overdue review Feb 9th, 2008: BOURNE MANSION w/ FLOWER MICHELE, PRIMO LIMO, BODY AND SOUL, THOMAS KNOELL and many more! WITH HONEYMOON PICS TOO!

Here is HONEYMOON INFO YEAH!!!!

Honeymoon: ANGUILLA

We flew into St. Maarten and spent 2 days there, but the real honeymoon was in Anguilla for 7 days. AMAZING. Its this hidden jewel of an island that is 35 sq miles and has almost 100 amazing restaurants and 30 beachs with quite a few that are tops in the world. It is most noted for where Jen aniston and Brad Pitt went on vaca just before they broke up (horrible explanation) It is very secluded with minimal nightlife so it was perfect after a very long and busy couple months before. PURE RELAXATION. St Maarten is fantastic too, but we had been there before so we went out and shopped while we were there. I Highly recommend this island for a quite vacation... or if you are in st. maarten, ferry over for a day or two to experience the beauty! Our resort was great, on the nicest beach there. Food was alright but we went out everyday because so many restaurants were recommended to us for must go tos!

Re: Very Overdue review Feb 9th, 2008: BOURNE MANSION w/ FLOWER MICHELE, PRIMO LIMO, BODY AND SOUL, THOMAS KNOELL and many more! WITH HONEYMOON PICS TOO!

congratulations on your wedding...I think it was beautiful that you had your grandmothers rosary and wore your great-grandmother's mink..Everything looked wonderful! great review

Re: Very Overdue review Feb 9th, 2008: BOURNE MANSION w/ FLOWER MICHELE, PRIMO LIMO, BODY AND SOUL, THOMAS KNOELL and many more! WITH HONEYMOON PICS TOO!

congrats!!!!!

Re: Very Overdue review Feb 9th, 2008: BOURNE MANSION w/ FLOWER MICHELE, PRIMO LIMO, BODY AND SOUL, THOMAS KNOELL and many more! WITH HONEYMOON PICS TOO!

great review! you are a beautiful bride and your wedding reflects that! love your bok! its stunning!! congrats!

Re: Very Overdue review Feb 9th, 2008: BOURNE MANSION w/ FLOWER MICHELE, PRIMO LIMO, BODY AND SOUL, THOMAS KNOELL and many more! WITH HONEYMOON PICS TOO!

Your wedding was so ELEGANT! I loved every pic.

Re: Very Overdue review Feb 9th, 2008: BOURNE MANSION w/ FLOWER MICHELE, PRIMO LIMO, BODY AND SOUL, THOMAS KNOELL and many more! WITH HONEYMOON PICS TOO!

thank you for the review, everything looked great and I am drooling over your cake!

Re: Very Overdue review Feb 9th, 2008: BOURNE MANSION w/ FLOWER MICHELE, PRIMO LIMO, BODY AND SOUL, THOMAS KNOELL and many more! WITH HONEYMOON PICS TOO!

Thanks again... I might throw a few more pictures up soon if I get the chance! And yes the cake was amazing so def. drool, I'm excited for my 1 year to eat it again!