New England Brides

[zoebartlett]

I know we''re a small group here on PS and I just wanted to check in and see how things were going with your planning. I just noticed that Rainbowtrout''s getting married in Dunstable, MA (although you live in Morocco now, right?). I''m near Nashua. Selkie is also from this area but I''m not sure where. If there''s a particular vendor, etc that you''re using in the area, I thought it might be good to share thoughts and ideas of resources that are local to us. I''m actually getting married in York, Maine, but I''m looking at a few bridal salons in this area. If there are any Maine brides here, I''d love to hear recommendations of DJs, hair salons, florists, and photographers. I have a few already but I''m open to other suggestions.

So...how''s planning going?

 

[neatfreak]

I was going to be a New England bride until I decided to abandon for the west coast instead!!!

For photography I was going to use http://www.rodeoandco.com/ she is very very reasonably priced and super nice. She's in NH but will travel anywhere!

 

[zoebartlett]

That''s right neatfreak. I did remember you jumping ship so to speak and going off to the west coast. I''ve been following your thread(s). Your wedding in SF sounds fantastic, and the restaurant you''re having the reception at sounds great. It''s called Greenbeans or something similar, isn''t it? I''ve never been there (or to SF) but it sounds yummy!

 

[rainbowtrout]

Yep, Dunstable. Have a few caterers I will go check out; but I am torn between the Nashua area and the Boston area--Boston ones sound better+I haven't been to ONE good restaurant around my grandparent's house--but they are also more expensive.

caterers I am thinking about:
http://celebrationsmenu.com/index.htm
http://www.countrytavern.org/GHCC/index.html
http://www.wildflourwest.com/home.htm
http://www.quincebistro.com/cateringmenus.html
http://www.seasontotastecatering.com/food.html


rental people:
http://www.specialeventsofne.com/
http://www.allstarpartyrents.com/tents_for_rent.html

 

[hikerchick]

I live in MA and am really close to signing with Castle in the Clouds in NH. Right now I am really getting stressed out because I cannot find a reliable Indian caterer. They are all irresponsible to difficult to pin down or won''t answer emails and phone calls. Add to that the fact that there are only about 5 in all of New England and I keep hoping FI will agree to elope.

I wish I could find a wedding site with more Indian brides . . . I need help bad

Zoe, you are so ahead of me in planning . . . . . . you are like the wedding energizer bunny . . . hahaha.

 

[basil]

I live in PA, but we''re getting married in RI. I think So_Happy and Hudson Hawk are RI brides as well.

I''m still a long ways away (9/20/0 but I''ve got the ceremony/reception, florist, photographer, caterer, and make-up artist. Yeah, booking a make-up artist a year and a half ahead of time is sort of an indulgence, but I''m really clueless about make-up so I just wanted to get the most highly recommended person from the Knot girls so that I wouldn''t have to worry about it.

My next projects are a DJ and an officiant. Finding a good DJ intimidates me more than anything else. I''m not too concerned about the officiant, cause I basically just want someone to read the script and make sure people know where to stand and such.

After that, I''m looking forward to picking the menu, doing our own little wine tastings to find something affordable and tasty, purchasing my dress, etc.

 

[Selkie]

I grew up in Georgetown and am getting married in Gloucester. We live in Los Angeles, though, so its sort of a destination wedding for us. I might be the closest to my wedding of the New England group, mine''s 7/28/07 (yipe yipe yipe!!!....OK, sorry, mini-freakout over

). We are getting married on a wooden schooner, the Thomas E. Lannon. They charter the boat for private sails, and since my fiance and I met on a similar boat, we decided to take a sunset sail with our family and closest friends. It''s a little different, but it''s very "us."

Zoe, have you gone to Marry and Tux bridal in Nashua? It''s not a huge shop, but as I remember they had a good range of sizes, and relatively reasonable prices. My dress was 50% off ($400).

My other vendors are:
Creative Buffets (John Capriole) in Haverhill (creativebuffets.com. Great prices, we''re feeding 50 people for $1100.
Bobbie Bush Photography in Salem, MA. She is NOT cheap, but I LOVE her work. www.bobbiebush.com.
Cakes by Barbara, in Gloucester. Our cake will be 2 tiers, ivory buttercream with cobalt blue ribbon around the bottom of each tier, a scroll pattern, and frosting seashells. Your classic beach wedding cake.

No DJ, we are using an iPod, our friend is officiating, and my flowers will be DIY.

My friends in LA are throwing us a Bon voyage party at the end of this month, with a Cuban theme (my FI was born in Cuba). We''ll have mojitos, salsa, and a music jam with our musical friends.

What else...Oh yeah, there''s a little salon in Rockport that I am taking 5 of my friends to on the morning of the wedding. We''ll get massages, manicures, etc, and I''ll get my hair done there. We''re going to bring brunch and some wine, and make a little party of it. I''m really looking forward to it.

I''m getting pretty nervous! And excited!

 

[zoebartlett]

Date: 6/19/2007 6:42:29 PM
Author: rainbowtrout
Yep, Dunstable. Have a few caterers I will go check out; but I am torn between the Nashua area and the Boston area--Boston ones sound better+I haven''t been to ONE good restaurant around my grandparent''s house--but they are also more expensive.

caterers I am thinking about:
http://celebrationsmenu.com/index.htm
http://www.countrytavern.org/GHCC/index.html
http://www.wildflourwest.com/home.htm
http://www.quincebistro.com/cateringmenus.html
http://www.seasontotastecatering.com/food.html


rental people:
http://www.specialeventsofne.com/
http://www.allstarpartyrents.com/tents_for_rent.html

My mom can highly recommend Greenhouse Catering, which is part of the Country Tavern I believe. We were considering doing a tented wedding in my parents'' backyard and the Greenhouse is who we would have gone with.

I''ve never used Celebrations but I''ve heard good things about them.

 

[zoebartlett]

Hehe hikerchick! It seems like Basil is the REAL energizer bunny! We just have the venue so far.

 

[zoebartlett]

Date: 6/20/2007 12:44:06 AM
Author: Selkie
I grew up in Georgetown and am getting married in Gloucester. We live in Los Angeles, though, so its sort of a destination wedding for us. I might be the closest to my wedding of the New England group, mine''s 7/28/07 (yipe yipe yipe!!!....OK, sorry, mini-freakout over

). We are getting married on a wooden schooner, the Thomas E. Lannon. They charter the boat for private sails, and since my fiance and I met on a similar boat, we decided to take a sunset sail with our family and closest friends. It''s a little different, but it''s very ''us.''

Zoe, have you gone to Marry and Tux bridal in Nashua? It''s not a huge shop, but as I remember they had a good range of sizes, and relatively reasonable prices. My dress was 50% off ($400).

My other vendors are:
Creative Buffets (John Capriole) in Haverhill (creativebuffets.com. Great prices, we''re feeding 50 people for $1100.
Bobbie Bush Photography in Salem, MA. She is NOT cheap, but I LOVE her work. www.bobbiebush.com.
Cakes by Barbara, in Gloucester. Our cake will be 2 tiers, ivory buttercream with cobalt blue ribbon around the bottom of each tier, a scroll pattern, and frosting seashells. Your classic beach wedding cake.

No DJ, we are using an iPod, our friend is officiating, and my flowers will be DIY.

My friends in LA are throwing us a Bon voyage party at the end of this month, with a Cuban theme (my FI was born in Cuba). We''ll have mojitos, salsa, and a music jam with our musical friends.

What else...Oh yeah, there''s a little salon in Rockport that I am taking 5 of my friends to on the morning of the wedding. We''ll get massages, manicures, etc, and I''ll get my hair done there. We''re going to bring brunch and some wine, and make a little party of it. I''m really looking forward to it.

I''m getting pretty nervous! And excited!

Selkie, Marry and Tux is where I actually found three dresses. I hesitated to name the place yet but since you mentioned it...
I began a thread about being a plus size (and petite --4''9", go figure) bride and followed that up with my experiences going dress shopping. I haven''t been to too many salons but so far, Marry and Tux had been the best. The girl who is helping me put my mind at ease about finding a dress, and she''s been extremely helpful. The prices are actually much lower than I was expecting too.

Your wedding sounds SOOO romantic. Will you post pics afterwards?

 

[Selkie]

Date: 6/20/2007 6:47:29 AM
Author: zoebartlett

Selkie, Marry and Tux is where I actually found three dresses. I hesitated to name the place yet but since you mentioned it...

I began a thread about being a plus size (and petite --4''9'', go figure) bride and followed that up with my experiences going dress shopping. I haven''t been to too many salons but so far, Marry and Tux had been the best. The girl who is helping me put my mind at ease about finding a dress, and she''s been extremely helpful. The prices are actually much lower than I was expecting too.


Your wedding sounds SOOO romantic. Will you post pics afterwards?

i''ve been keeping up with your thread on dress shopping, and I don''t remember if I recommended M&TB. I''m glad to hear they were helpful there! Who is helping you? I worked with Stephanie, who was very nice. She found me a Maggie Sottero that I TOTALLY would have bought except I was looking for something very light.

I''ll absolutely be posting pics afterwards! I''m getting all the pro photos on CD, plus I have an amateur photographer friend who I''m sure will take a bunch as well.

 

[basil]

Date: 6/20/2007 6:41:45 AM
Author: zoebartlett
Hehe hikerchick! It seems like Basil is the REAL energizer bunny! We just have the venue so far.

Ha! Not really...I just had a month (April) where I happened to be in RI doing a project, so I tried to get as much done as possible. Since then, I''ve been busy and I haven''t done a thing, aside from reading this board.

I forgot to mention, I have a dress picked out, but I need to get measured and actually order it.

 

[LauraLoo]

Hi Girls, I am from SE MA and planning to get married next August. Still trying to pick a venue though. We''ve looked at a few places. One of them I love, but its a golf club and I am looking for something a little more interesting. Its hard finding a place that is not just a banquet hall, is in our budget, can hold all of our guests and has ceremony space.
I have been looking for a neat barn, but so far I haven''t found one that is air conditioned, can hold about 160 ppl and does Sat. night weddings..... It is getting frustrating.

Have any of you girls ever been to Zorvino? I think I want to check that out next.
Thanks!

 

[zoebartlett]

Date: 6/20/2007 10:28:39 AM
Author: Selkie

Date: 6/20/2007 6:47:29 AM
Author: zoebartlett

Selkie, Marry and Tux is where I actually found three dresses. I hesitated to name the place yet but since you mentioned it...

I began a thread about being a plus size (and petite --4''9'', go figure) bride and followed that up with my experiences going dress shopping. I haven''t been to too many salons but so far, Marry and Tux had been the best. The girl who is helping me put my mind at ease about finding a dress, and she''s been extremely helpful. The prices are actually much lower than I was expecting too.


Your wedding sounds SOOO romantic. Will you post pics afterwards?

i''ve been keeping up with your thread on dress shopping, and I don''t remember if I recommended M&TB. I''m glad to hear they were helpful there! Who is helping you? I worked with Stephanie, who was very nice. She found me a Maggie Sottero that I TOTALLY would have bought except I was looking for something very light.

I''ll absolutely be posting pics afterwards! I''m getting all the pro photos on CD, plus I have an amateur photographer friend who I''m sure will take a bunch as well.

I''m glad you liked M & T also. I''m working with Brittany -- she''s great! I''ve only been there for one appt. and one quick look around the shop so far. I''m excited to go back with my mom and show her what I found. I can''t wait to see your pics!

 

[zoebartlett]

Date: 6/20/2007 1:43:05 PM
Author: LauraLoo
Hi Girls, I am from SE MA and planning to get married next August. Still trying to pick a venue though. We''ve looked at a few places. One of them I love, but its a golf club and I am looking for something a little more interesting. Its hard finding a place that is not just a banquet hall, is in our budget, can hold all of our guests and has ceremony space.
I have been looking for a neat barn, but so far I haven''t found one that is air conditioned, can hold about 160 ppl and does Sat. night weddings..... It is getting frustrating.

Have any of you girls ever been to Zorvino? I think I want to check that out next.
Thanks!

Hi Laura,

I looked at a bunch of places up in the white Mountains and I came really close to booking an inn in Jackson. We decide on coastal Maine instead, for a few reasons. We didn''t want a banquet hall either when we were looking. We focused on inns, hotels, and finally chose a restaurant that does weddings. I''m sure you''ll find something -- just keep looking.

I''ve never heard of Zorvino. I''ll look up the website and check it out.

 

[So_happy]

If you need any specific recommendations from Rhode Island let me know!

As I only have about 9 weeks left until my wedding day, all major vendors are booked and I''m now just working on the details.

 

[Munchkin]

I''m a Boston Bride. I live in CT now, but the wedding will be in my "home" state of MA.
The wedding is (gulp) 38 days away! Ack!!!
We LOVE our photographer. She did an e-pic shoot for us that was amazing. her website is www.alirosaphotography.com. I wanted a female so I would feel comfortable in the getting reasdy shots the day-of. Ali is a doll! She is super easy to work with and the finished product is beautiful.

Our reception is at the Fairmont Copley Plaza if anyone wants info about it. Things have gone very smoothly in the planning process. They have been great to work with.

I will also happily chime in about dress salons, mob dress places, band, bagpiper, honeymoon, etc. Feel free to ask!

 

[Selkie]

Munchkin, I didn''t know you were getting married in MA too. Where did you find your bagpiper?

 

[Selkie]

ZoeB, where is your honeymoon going to be?

 

[rainbowtrout]

Oooooh, Copley Plaza! Fancy!


If it helps anyone, I bought my dress on sale at L''Elite in Boston, great selection of unique designers, mostly very high end stuff but good sales.

What are you doing about ceremony musicians?

 

[Lil0818]

Another New England bride here!

Getting married at a resort in the Berkshires (western MA) this summer. If anyone has heard of Tanglewood (summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra) - the site is just down the road. Though the wedding is not near Boston, I purchased my dress at a place in Waltham called Yolanda''s - kind of an interesting crowd there, but I found a great deal on a beautiful Amsale gown.

Most of my vendors are local - we tried to limit ourselves to people that knew the area and could provide other referrals and recommendations.

Personally, I think New England is the most beautiful part of the country. Though FI are currently living in PA, I can''t imagine getting married anywhere but New England!

Best of luck to all the other New England brides. It sounds like you all have beautfiul days planned!

 

[Selkie]

I remember when you were looking in western MA, Lil. Which place did you end up deciding on?

 

[zoebartlett]

Date: 6/20/2007 9:32:53 PM
Author: Selkie
ZoeB, where is your honeymoon going to be?

We''re not sure yet. That''s the short answer. If you want the longer answer, read below.

At the moment, we go back and forth all the time between Hawaii, northern Italy, and Canada (Quebec, most likely). If we did Canada, it would probably be for maybe 4 days or so -- just enough to get away without spending as much as we would for 1-2 weeks elsewhere. My parents would love to go to Portugal with my sister, my BIL, my FH, and me as a family vacation within the next few years. My dad''s father''s family is from the Azores and we''ve never been there. I don''t know how my FI and I would be able to save for our wedding, a honeymoon for the length of time we''d ideally like in a more expensive location, AND a trip to Portgual in a few years. If we opted to do a low-key honeymoon instead, we''d be able to save more for our family vacation.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

I''m still actually a LIW but we''ve started picking out places to look at seriously in the RI/MA area. I''m from NH, my bf is from upstate NY and our families are scattered all over the place. So we''re having an at-home wedding for us and a destination wedding for everyone else. We''ve LOVED the following places:

The Towers in Naragansett, RI-Every time I go to the beach I stare wistfully at it from afar...looking at 100 ppl if we do it here and we''d have to plan a full wedding and bring in a caterer.
The Public House in Sturbridge, MA-Old Sturbridge Village is a special place for both of us and we love this little historic inn nearby. looking at 100-125 ppl if we do it here. A lot of the planning is already done for you and they provide fresh flower centerpieces, favors etc. I''d basically just have to get flowers for me, the BMs and the boutinners for the GM
Cav Restaurant, Providence-This is a fascinating restaurant set in an antique store/gallery. It''s in an old loft-style building and has great archetecture. Combing that with the Antiques and it''s a fabulous venue. Seriously, this place is so packed with stuff to look at that we could get away with just votives on the table for centerpieces. Looking at 75-100 people here.

I''m not sure which place is my favorite, I love them all in their own way and I can picture getting married/having out reception at each. I honestly think it''s going to come down to price.

 

[Munchkin]

Selkie: We are using Scott Fletcher. It is $250 for a half hour before the ceremony, piping us back down the aisle and the duration of our receiving line. He is willing to play any time during the ceremony, but we only wanted the recessional. His website: http://bagpipesanddrums.com. (It isn't linked...I don't know how!)

If you are looking for a piper, you are more than welcome to listen to him play at our ceremony. That is how he "auditions" for people. He tells you of gigs and you go listen. I wouldn't be bothered at all. (I was always worried the couple would be mad I was auditioning their talent on their dime!)

Rainbow trout: For our ceremony, we are using a woman by the name of Nancy Gustafson. She is the cantor at a Catholic church in Brockton, but will do weddings anywhere as far as I know. (We are not getting married at her church.) She also has a harpist, an organist and trumpeter she works with. It is up to the couple if they want just her singing, just her and a trumpet or any other combo you can come up with. She will do all the direct communication with the other musicians and makes sure everyone learns the necessary music, etc. Basically, she functions as both a soloist and a musical director. It made my life easy! She was also helpful with choosing responsorial psalms and even showed us examples of programs from previous weddings so we could see how they were set up.

ETA: Selkie, I guess you can disregard what I wrote above. It will be difficult for you to audition my piper as we are getting married the same day!!

 

[rainbowtrout]

Shoot. I''ve got my heart set on someone singing "Amazing Grace" for the processional, probably acappella. It''s one of the few things I DO have my heart set on, oddly enough.


So someone that classical probably wouldn''t work...

 

[zoebartlett]

Date: 6/21/2007 7:27:27 AM
Author: Hudson_Hawk
I''m still actually a LIW but we''ve started picking out places to look at seriously in the RI/MA area. I''m from NH, my bf is from upstate NY and our families are scattered all over the place. So we''re having an at-home wedding for us and a destination wedding for everyone else. We''ve LOVED the following places:

The Towers in Naragansett, RI-Every time I go to the beach I stare wistfully at it from afar...looking at 100 ppl if we do it here and we''d have to plan a full wedding and bring in a caterer.
The Public House in Sturbridge, MA-Old Sturbridge Village is a special place for both of us and we love this little historic inn nearby. looking at 100-125 ppl if we do it here. A lot of the planning is already done for you and they provide fresh flower centerpieces, favors etc. I''d basically just have to get flowers for me, the BMs and the boutinners for the GM
Cav Restaurant, Providence-This is a fascinating restaurant set in an antique store/gallery. It''s in an old loft-style building and has great archetecture. Combing that with the Antiques and it''s a fabulous venue. Seriously, this place is so packed with stuff to look at that we could get away with just votives on the table for centerpieces. Looking at 75-100 people here.

I''m not sure which place is my favorite, I love them all in their own way and I can picture getting married/having out reception at each. I honestly think it''s going to come down to price.

Me too! My FI is as well, and our parents (and his whole family) still live in the same towns we grew up in. I''m curious where you''re from but I don''t want you to feel like you need to broadcast that on the Internet.

 

[zoebartlett]

Date: 6/21/2007 7:27:27 AM
Author: Hudson_Hawk
I''m still actually a LIW but we''ve started picking out places to look at seriously in the RI/MA area. I''m from NH, my bf is from upstate NY and our families are scattered all over the place. So we''re having an at-home wedding for us and a destination wedding for everyone else. We''ve LOVED the following places:

The Towers in Naragansett, RI-Every time I go to the beach I stare wistfully at it from afar...looking at 100 ppl if we do it here and we''d have to plan a full wedding and bring in a caterer.
The Public House in Sturbridge, MA-Old Sturbridge Village is a special place for both of us and we love this little historic inn nearby. looking at 100-125 ppl if we do it here. A lot of the planning is already done for you and they provide fresh flower centerpieces, favors etc. I''d basically just have to get flowers for me, the BMs and the boutinners for the GM
Cav Restaurant, Providence-This is a fascinating restaurant set in an antique store/gallery. It''s in an old loft-style building and has great archetecture. Combing that with the Antiques and it''s a fabulous venue. Seriously, this place is so packed with stuff to look at that we could get away with just votives on the table for centerpieces. Looking at 75-100 people here.

I''m not sure which place is my favorite, I love them all in their own way and I can picture getting married/having out reception at each. I honestly think it''s going to come down to price.

I''ve been there, and it is a great place! Very unique! I think we went there when my sister graduated from college in Providence. I''ve heard great things about The Towers and The Public House.

 

[Lil0818]

Selkie - we decided on Cranwell Resort in Lenox, MA. If you know the area, it is at the top of the hill as you drive up Lee Rd. from Lee to Lenox, just past the left turn down to Shakespeare & Co. It''s where I''ve wanted to get married ever since I was kid!

 

[zoebartlett]

Lil, I just looked up Cranwell Resort and it''s gorgeous! I''ve been to western MA many times but I don''t know the area well. I know how beauiful that part of the state is, and I can see why it''s special to you.