My Saturday, 06-19-2010 Garden City Hotel Wedding Review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals, Imagine Studios, Jacqueline Nicole, Roseanna Amador, GREECE, and more!

Our wedding was on the evening of Saturday, June 19, 2010, and it was the best day of our lives. It truly was incredible, and I have my parents to thank for this first, as they paid for our entire wedding. They are extremely generous people, and I am extremely grateful for them. Second, I must thank our wonderful vendors. Each one was fabulous and really put together the wedding of our dreams. My father-in-law told me, “When any of my friends ask me how the wedding was, I tell them ‘If I ever attend a wedding at the White House, the only difference would be the location.’” Everyone told us it was the best wedding they had ever been to. The décor was stunning, the food and service to die for, and the music kept the party going all night long. Every person there was on their feet! Here is my preliminary review. Stay tuned for my full review which will include pictures, as well as a full review of Imagine Studios.

Weather - A+! Mid 80s and brilliantly sunny all day.

The Garden City Hotel – A+ and beyond

The Garden City Hotel far exceeded my expectations in every way. The Garden City Hotel is stunning. The décor in the Grand Ballroom area is gorgeous and over the top. The gold and crystal everywhere is breathtaking but still tasteful. I must pay special homage to our banquet manager, Mr. Joseph Borbely, who has been with The Garden City Hotel for 28 years. He is a true professional, and he is the best at what he does. His portfolio speaks for itself. Photos of him with Prince Charles, Andrea Borcelli, Gov. Pataki, Sarah Jessica Parker, and many more prove that this man can please even the most discerning patrons. (There is also a photo of him on the cover of Fortune 500 in his office.) Furthermore, he is pleasant, kind and genuinely enjoys what he does. Our maitre d’, Atef, was also a pleasure to work with on the day of our wedding, and he made sure everything ran smoothly. The Garden City Hotel has the motto “Long Island’s leading hotel since 1876” for a reason – they are among the best at what they do. The service was amazing, the décor was brilliant, and the food was to die for. In my opinion, this is the best place to get married on Long Island. The following items made up our menu:

Cocktail Hour (1.5 hours):

Signature Drink (created by me): Santorini Sunset (named for our honeymoon to Greece)

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Re: My Sat. June 19, 2010 wedding review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals and more!

Side note: I highly recommend extending your wedding to six hours. Ours was six hours – 1.5 hrs for the CH, 4.5 hrs for the dinner/dance. Regardless, the night seriously FLEW by. DH and I missed the first 30-45 minutes of our CH taking pictures, and then we were still able to enjoy 45-60 minutes of it afterward.

Passed hors d’euvres:
- Seared scallop with roasted red pepper and horseradish cream on pumpernickel
- Goat cheese with roasted red pepper on focaccio
- Smoked salmon rosette on pumpernickel with fresh dill
- Miniature crab cakes
- Brie and raspberry in croustade
- Petite beef on crouton with mustard bearnaise
- Chicken quesadilla
- Skewered sesame chicken

Stations:
1. Pasta station: penne with fresh tomato basil sauce; cheese tortellini primavera; made to order and served with assorted garnishes
2. Tuscan table: grilled vegetables, imported cheeses, stuffed grape leaves, antipasto platter, sliced Italian meats, roasted peppers, artichoke and olives, cold Mediterranean salads including caponata, bruschetta, cariofi ala tuscana, sundried tomato tampenada, pasta salads, and olives
3. Crudite presentation: cucumbers, tomatoes, celery sticks, peppers, cauliflower and broccoli buds, black/green olives, assorted dips
4. Georgian chafing dishes: grilled salmon filet over saffron risotto in tomato-fennel broth; grilled marinated chicken breast with roasted garlic demi and straw potatoes
5. Meat carving station: roast sirloin of beef; roast loin of pork
6. Iced seafood bar: assortment of shrimp, crab claws, oysters and clams served with appropriate condiments
7. Sushi and sashimi bar
8. Peking duck station: Peking-style duck breast and skin, cucumbers, scallions, plum sauce, hoisin sauce rolled in crepes
**Last two CH pics by Imagine Studios**

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Re: My Sat. June 19, 2010 wedding review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals and more!

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Re: My Sat. June 19, 2010 wedding review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals and more!

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Re: My Sat. June 19, 2010 wedding review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals and more!

Dinner (4.5 hours):

Appetizer: lobster sampling plate: mini lobster roll, panna cotta with sliced lobster and caviar, fennel-citrus salad and a lobster tail

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Re: My Sat. June 19, 2010 wedding review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals and more!

Salad: field greens, apple cinnamon chutney, roasted shallot vinaigrette

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Re: My Sat. June 19, 2010 wedding review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals and more!

Main entrees:

1. marinated grilled swordfish steak topped with Mediterranean salsa
2. grilled filet mignon topped with melted maître d’ butter and perigoudine sauce

**Both served with au gratin potatoes in a potato nest; and stuffed zucchini boat vegetable ratatouille**

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Re: My Sat. June 19, 2010 wedding review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals and more!

Open Bar with Top Shelf liquors including:

Tangueray, Absolut, Stoli, Ketel One, Grey Goose, Belvedere, Chivas Regal, Johnny Walker, Jack Daniels, Crown Royale, Bacardi Silver

Champagne Toast: Moet and Chandon – Imperial (and served throughout affair)

Specialty French wines served with dinner:

White: Pouilly-Fume Les Cris Produit de France
Red: Chateauneuf-du-Pape – Domaine De L’harmes

Dessert:

Elaborate Viennese hour
Haagen-Dasz ice cream sundae bar

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Re: My Sat. June 19, 2010 wedding review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals and more!

Wedding cake: Four-tiered, fondant covering entire cake; filling – red velvet
**Second cake pic by Imagine Studios**

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Re: My INCOMPLETE Sat. June 19, 2010 wedding review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals and more! (non-pro photos... stay tuned for pro photos!)

Our food was absolutely incredible. World renowned Executive Chef Steven DeBruyn, who trained in Europe, is a main reason The Garden City Hotel has such spectacular weddings. Their food is to die for.

Our penthouse suite on our wedding night was breathtaking. It was massive, with a living room, dining room, a bathroom, master bedroom with another bathroom, and two separate balconies. They did a beautiful rose petal presentation on our bed, and my amazing husband arranged for a bottle of Dom Perignon and chocolate covered strawberries to be in our room upon arrival at the end of the night. The Dom was out of this world and we had such a perfect wedding night.

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Re: My INCOMPLETE Sat. June 19, 2010 wedding review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals and more! (non-pro photos... stay tuned for pro photos!)

Grand Ballroom set up, photo taken by DH's aunt...

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Re: My INCOMPLETE Sat. June 19, 2010 wedding review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals and more! (non-pro photos... stay tuned for pro photos!)

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Re: My INCOMPLETE Sat. June 19, 2010 wedding review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals and more! (non-pro photos... stay tuned for pro photos!)

In our suite - after breakfast the next morning with our parents and siblings

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Re: My INCOMPLETE Sat. June 19, 2010 wedding review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals and more! (non-pro photos... stay tuned for pro photos!)

Re: My INCOMPLETE Sat. June 19, 2010 wedding review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals and more! (non-pro photos... stay tuned for pro photos!)

Food looks amazing!! Congrats and thanks for the review! Can't wait to see more pics!

Re: My INCOMPLETE Sat. June 19, 2010 wedding review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals and more! (non-pro photos... stay tuned for pro photos!)

Awwww you're so sweet!! Thanks so much!! I still have lots more to review, including all my vendors, but DH and I have an appt this afternoon so I will have to finish it at a later time.

Re: My INCOMPLETE Sat. June 19, 2010 wedding review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals and more! (non-pro photos... stay tuned for pro photos!)

Code Bleu (of Skyline Orchestras): A+

Code Bleu was absolutely spectacular. We chose the additional singer and additional brass player, so our particular band was ten pieces. Every single member is a lead singer and they are all AMAZING. Everyone danced literally the entire night, and the evening FLEW by. I truly cannot say enough about them. Sean was wonderful to work with from the get go, and he even went out of his way to have his band learn “Brucia La Terra,” a Sicilian song from The Godfather, so that my father and I could dance to it. It sounded so good that for a split second, my dad and I thought it was the soundtrack playing. They are all supremely talented and I would recommend them to anyone. They really made our wedding a PARTY! We are still receiving a ton of compliments. Highly recommend!!!

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Re: My INCOMPLETE Sat. June 19, 2010 wedding review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals and more! (non-pro photos... stay tuned for pro photos!)

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Re: My INCOMPLETE Sat. June 19, 2010 wedding review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals and more! (non-pro photos... stay tuned for pro photos!)

Mindy Rosner: A+

Mindy does flawless work. Our invitations were gorgeous, and her calligraphy was stunning. She did the calligraphy for our invitation addresses and our placecards. She also did my wedding AND bridal shower invitations! She is so sweet and personable, and I am so glad we chose to work with her.

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Re: My INCOMPLETE Sat. June 19, 2010 wedding review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals and more! (non-pro photos... stay tuned for pro photos!)

wow very detailed review! Everything looks amazing-food looks so yummy!!