Sara & Paul | Bourne Mansion | Oakdale, NY

"Top-Tier Service"

Sara and I met in middle school and it has been a long time since our first movie-theater date! Our parents picked us up and dropped us off, and we became boyfriend and girlfriend. We didn’t go to the same school, but lived in towns right next to each other. As kids do, we drifted apart, but by my third year in high school, and her second, we were back together for good. I went to school in North Carolina and shortly after Sara moved there with me. After graduating, we lived in Manhattan for a few years before settling down in our home on Long Island, NY.

Sara was working as a nanny and I was in financial services when we went to Greece for her birthday. I planned an ATV ride down the beach to a perfect spot, but there were crowds of people. It didn’t feel right to have a public setting for such a personal moment. On our ride back I saw a beautiful cliffside overlooking the sea, turned us around to “go take pictures,” and proposed to her with the Santorini sunset behind us.

We’ve attended weddings at Bourne Mansion and had seen how beautiful it was, how delicious the food tasted, and how top-tier the service was. We wanted to get married near our family on Long Island and knew right away we would have our wedding at Bourne Mansion, which gave us something elegant and formal, with a view and an outdoor ceremony space. Bourne Mansion overlooks the Great South Bay and we got a happy blend of everything we wanted. Miriam Aronson, the director of catering, was fantastic. We told her the style and food we wanted and she gave us a million suggestions. She was so attentive, we felt she was our personal wedding planner. She helped with everything, from invitations to seating cards to food selections.

Our ceremony was in the back courtyard of Bourne Mansion. The sounds of the birds mixed with the pianist, who played into the cocktail hour, which was a blur of celebration. I remember so much food and champagne being passed on trays. We had a raw bar with clams, oysters, and sushi. We had an Asian wok station, an antipasto station, a taco station, and more! A crowd favorite was the magaritas in mini Patron bottles accompanied by passed mini tacos. An added bonus was a cheese and crackers tray that was brought to the bridal suite for Sara and me.

For our ballroom décor, we went with a white and light Carolina blue color scheme, basing everything around our amazing flowers. The gorgeous centerpieces were exactly what we’d pictured. The ballroom itself was very elegant with its lofty, 32-foot ceilings, its detailed architecture, and its beautiful lighting.

For our reception, we loved the mini grilled cheeses passed among our guests so they didn’t have to leave the dance floor. For dinner, we chose pan-seared filet mignon, pecan-crusted chicken breast, wasabi swordfish, and a vegetable entrée. We had our wedding cake, passed mini cheesecake martinis, and chocolate mousse. For a final late night snack we had Chick-Fil-A catering. We found an amazing hybrid of MC, DJ, saxophone, and piano. We initially wanted a band, but thought a DJ would be great for playing the hits everyone knows. We also had two performers playing alongside the DJ and they really enhanced the night all around.

We’d like to give a special thanks to Sara’s parents, Jimmy and Laurie Hahn, as well as to my mom, Debra Piscitelli. You’ve all done so much for our wedding, and always. Thank you to our florist, Christine, for blowing us away with our arrangements. Thank you Miriam for all your help and we give a shout out to everyone at Lessing’s who made our night perfect. Steve Melita, our maître d’, ran a great night and a great reception from start to finish.

Bourne Mansion, Oakdale, NY, 631.277.7800
www.lessingsweddings.com