The Venue

After going out and looking at every possible venue location on Long Island from Suffolk to Nassau to Queens, we finally decided on Carlyle on the Green in Bethpage State Park. Its a beautiful location which sits on the golf course that was the site of the 2009 US Open. The club house boasts the largest ballroom on Long Island which is fully enclosed with glass windows and doors on three of four sides overlooking 1500 acres of idylic green grounds. A newly buit gazebo aside one of the greens will serve as the ceremony site, weather permitting, otherwise it will be held indoors infront of the fireplace in the Lenox room.

We've picked September 3rd, 2010 as the date we'll become Husband & Wife in front of all our family & friends. Save the Date!

The Engagement Party 10.3.2009

So the party went off without a hitch! With lots of help from family & friends especially Mom, Aunt Donna, Mrs. Mongan, Sabrina, & my Sissy everything was set up and looking beautiful before I even got to the restaurant! They are my magical elves.

My parents as well as my future in-laws hosted over 100 family & close friends for a fun & festive lunch & cocktail party at The Riverview Restaurant which is located on the water in Oakdale here on Long Island. Everything was FABULOUS!

The decor was perfect. All the runners & napkin rings my mom had made looked awesome! And the homemade floral centerpieces opened up nicely. My magical elves placed pictures of Mike & I on each table which guests were able to take home with them if they wanted. They also set up an alcove where we displayed collages of our families lineage and past wedding photos as well as photos of our wedding party. A separate table displayed the homemade favors in the beautiful white bags with blue bows.

Guests were greeted with passed hors'devours & cocktails which got the party started! Everything was so delicious and the service was great! The staff was extremely friendly and accommodating. We hired a photographer to chronicle the event and take journalistic photos as the guests enjoyed themselves. You can see all the photos by clicking HERE. After everyone arrived we invited the party into the dinning area where Mike & I thanked everyone for joining us and our parents toasted us as well. Then we dug into the open buffet!! Yum!

After plenty of "Family Group Photos" to record everyone who was there; we had dessert which consisted of vanilla & chocolate cupcakes!!! They were topped with white butter cream frosting and dressed with black cupcake wrappers and a blue jewel on top!! So Cute! They matched the decor perfectly. The cupcake wrappers were some chore to acquire!! After days of Mike & his Mom searching store after store to no avail I ordered the solid black wrappers from Etsy and had them shipped overnight so they made it in time for the party. I wanted everything to match!

During the festivities we were able to announce our wedding party. We gave out small gifts and asked each person if they would support us by being our bridesmaid or groomsman. The girls got guava & mango scented candles, while the guys got cigars in leather cases. Just a small gesture preempting the possible stressful times that may be ahead during the wedding planing process...

The Wedding Party:

Maid of Honor.........Sabrina Fuchs

Cousin of the Bride. A NYC school teacher, amateur comedian, and fashionista. She'll make me laugh when I want to cry and she'll make sure I look good doing it.

Sister of Honor........Michelle Collins

Sister of the Bride. Yes. I need a maid of honor team, and Michelle fits the bill. She knows what I like and she'll make sure I'm happy!

Bridesmaids

Marissa Mongan.....Sister of the Groom

Studying to be a teacher. She knows how to party! And will totally tell you like it is.

Melissa Petrini.......Cousin of the Bride

We went to college together & are also sorority sisters!!! How great is that? She has traveled the globe with her Army Capt. Tom and is mother to lil Ella.

Victoria Tobin........Best friend of the Bride

We've know each other since H.S. and cheered together all the way through college. We eventually both became members of the NYPD and remain good friends. She'll be getting married July 22nd 2010 where myself & Megan VanValen will also be her bridesmaids.

Megan VanValen...Best friend of the Bride

We've also know each other since H.S. and had many good times together while attending college. Megan was married last month and had a beautiful reception at the Venetian. Vicki & I were her bridesmaids!

Flower Girl..........Kiera Collins

My lil cousin Kiera is the younger sister of the triplets. She is the sweetest thing and will look just perfect tossing petals down the aisle! I cant wait to get her a lil mini bride's dress!!!

Best Man..............Best friend of the Groom

Dan & Mike met while in the NYPD Academy in 2006. They became partners upon graduation and have been inseparable ever since. Their many adventures both amuse & scare me on a daily basis. I have little faith that they will keep each other unscathed until the ceremony. Least we forget the eyebrow burning incident of 2007....

Groomsmen

Kelly Mongan.......Cousin of the Groom

Kelly recently moved back to Washington state with his family. He attends Central Washington University and is a lifeguard during the summer. Rumor is: he's single.

James Herrera.....Cousin of the Bride
Relocated to Long Island from Miami. He teaches at Stony Brook University and tours Madagascar, South Africa, & Latin America in his "spare time".

Michael Fuchs......Cousin of the Bride

All around fun guy, Mike & Mike have shared many heterosexual times together. Including but not limited to Skins vs Shirts Pong Tourney. Both are avid fans of the Man-Hug.

Dave Burgos.........Best friend of the Groom

Dave works with Dan & Mike. Mike and Dave shared a special bond from the beginning as Mike puts it, because neither could make it over "the wall" in the academy. Sorry Dave, you two are spazes.

Kevin Serafine.....Best friend of the Groom

Kevin & Mike went to H.S. together. He currently resides in Las Vegas. Good times include pushing the Mustang an inch past the 140 max down William Floyd Hwy and losing Kev's truck in the desert. Kevin has been teasing Mike with false hopes of moving back to NY for some time now.

Ring Bearer..........Ricky Ray

Ricky is my next door neighbor. His mom used to babysit me when I was little. Ricky loves my mom Lynda & walking my dog Mia. He is the perfect match for our flower girl Kiera!

After the party everyone was invited back to my parents house to wind-down with some more coffee and celebrating. We received so many beautiful & generous gifts from our family & friends. We took turns opening cards & showing off the items that we look forward to using just as soon as we get a house!

Thank You so much to Everyone who came to celebrate our Engagement. It was the BEST party ever & I am so happy and really excited to start planning the actual wedding. I cant say thank you enough. Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! I'm the happiest lil Bride-to-Be Ever!

Lynda Collins & The Chocolate Factory

So a lot of hard work has been put into this engagement party to make it really special. And I have to recognize my Mom because she is awesome! Not only did she hand make all the beautiful damask runners that will be on the tables, she also made me 0ver 100 royal blue napkin rings to bring a little splash of color to the table settings. I think everything is going to look so fabulous!

Since we are having over 100 guests at the party, the manager said it would be best to have place cards for arraigned seating. So I decided to made matching damask place cards myself! I was able to do it on my own computer at home. I just googled imaged of damask borders and adjusted the size in Microsoft paint. Then I put the image in Microsoft Word and added every ones name & table number in a pretty blue color. I printed the place cards on card stock from the craft store and then cut them out myself. I added a royal blue jewel at the top for an additional sophisticated detail. The card stock was about $3.95 and a pack of jewels was $1. So for less than $5 I made these pretty Place cards. What do you think? I love them!!!

As a thank you gesture, Mike & I wanted to send everyone home with a little goodie bag that would reflect our interest & taste. So we decided on beer & pretzels!

So Mom went to work and hand-dipped 300 pretzel rods in chocolate & about 3 dozen chocolate chip cookies as well!!! It was like Willie Wonka & The Chocolate Factory up in here!! She tied them up in clear bags with little ties at the top and then we paired them with a Spaten Oktoberfest beer for the adults and Organic Chocolate Milk for the kids. I made the Thank You labels for the bags & Mike glued them onto each bag, then Aunt Donna & Mom tied blue bows on each bags handles...and Viola! The perfect parting gift! Checkout everyone's hardwork.