Bianca & Michael | Glen Island Harbor Club | New Rochelle, NY

“Absolutely Gorgeous”

Bianca: I gave my friend a FaceTime call and Mike, who I never met before, was out with her and her boyfriend and picked up the phone. I was laying in bed with my hair in a bun and pimple cream all over my face and I hung up on him. Then Mike was interested in me. He started looking at my pictures on Instagram and said he wanted to go on a date with me. It was crazy. My girlfriend convinced me to go on that date and I did.

Mike: We met at Modern Barn in Armonk. At the time I was working for a casket company and she made a little joke, asking, “How was work today? Dead?” Right then I knew she was special. We sat down for dinner and ordered appetizers. We’re both of Italian descent and during our date I ordered calamari and pronounced it as “calamad.” Bianca said, “What’s wrong with you? It’s calamari.” We were going back and forth and she kind of put me in my place and I fell in love right then. I knew something was coming out of this.

Bianca: Mike is now a firefighter for Yonkers and I told his mom that my dream was to have Mike come off the firetruck in his full outfit and sweep me off my feet. My dad was in town and I got my mom together with his parents and we were waiting for Mike to come from work and meet my family. A firetruck pulled up and all of a sudden Mike is there with his full firefighting outfit and his fellow firemen and he comes over and proposes. I started laughing hysterically because this was so great. He kept saying, “Say yes” and finally I did. We were at Rosie’s Italian Bistro in Bronxville.

I had five venues I truly liked. I mapped it out by distance so we could look at everything in one day. The first one we went to was Glen Island Harbour Club. Mike and I immediately fell in love with the scenery and the water in the background. It was absolutely gorgeous. When we went in, the first person we met was Rocco Agostino. Then we fell in love with Rocco and everything the venue had to offer. We left there that day and said this is it!

Mike: Rocco was over the top and so helpful and professional. I grew up fishing on the Long Island Sound and we had the room with the windows overlooking the water. It was just magical.

Bianca: I knew Glen Island doesn’t offer a pasta dish as an appetizer, but I asked Rocco, “If we end up going with you, could you add a pasta dish as part of the second course?” He said absolutely. He also gave us a beautiful martini ice sculpture and one for the champagne and let us pick multiple cocktail hour hors d’oeuvres. He listened to everything we wanted and made it all happen. The bridal attendant, Mia, kept everything in check for us. She was there whenever I needed her and Rocco was paying attention to every little detail. People say some things do not go your way on your wedding day, but ...

Mike: ... We didn’t experience that at all. When we got to the cocktail hour, we were in awe. Rocco went above and beyond. He had an ice sculpture with champagne bottles in the entrance where0 our guests could see our place cards. Our bridal suite had little sandwiches because Rocco knew we had such a long day. It was something he just threw in. It was a rainy day, but when we set foot in there we felt at home.

Bianca: We had great feedback about the Asian food, the Italian assortment, and the antipasto station. The ballroom was perfect. We had long oval tables and long beautiful arrangements with anesia roses, hydrangeas, and rustic sticks. I loved the look of Glen Island’s ballroom, it was simple and elegant. We had over 200 people and so many told us the food was the best they ever had at a wedding. Their short ribs were phenomenal. They had the best pasta for that second course. They brought us a sample of every dish we had: the short ribs, the chicken, and the fish.

Mike: The cake was provided by Glen Island. We chose a very elegant cake design. It was absolutely delicious. We also had a dessert hour in the room where we had our cocktail hour. They had everything: cannoli’s, sfogliatellas, Italian lemon ice, and little pastries and cakes. We had a cigar table with cigars for our guests and they staffed up a table for our bourbons and scotches along with our cigars, cigar cutters, and match books.

Bianca: & Mike: First and foremost we want to thank Rocco. If it wasn’t for him I think my head would have exploded. He took all the stress away from me. Yes, if you don’t have Rocco, you’re going to be stressed!

My DJ happens to be my cousin’s husband. I told him what I was looking for and he kept everyone on the dance floor. My dad steered the way for us and was a big help and support in making this all happen, along with my mother and Michael’s parents as well.

Glen Island Harbour Club, New Rochelle NY 914.636.6500, www.gi-hc.com