We got married at Mallard Island Estate in April 2026. My guests are still talking about how incredible the food and the staff were. We absolutely loved going to the food tasting and we enhanced and personalized our menu after it. My husband is Brazilian and we were able to add foods from his culture and they were executed perfectly. It was my dream wedding, and I wouldn’t have changed a single thing about it.
Kelly M.
Hi Laura,
Happy Sunday! I just wanted to reach out as derek and I are on our honeymoon reminiscing on the best day we’ve ever had. You and the those at merrimakers were absolutely fantastic and made us and all of our guests feel welcome and special. Thank you for all of the hospitality and coordination of everyone it was truly perfection. I also wanted to say we had the absolute best experience with Patti and her staff. From start to finish she catered to our preferences and throughout the whole prooces made us feel like we were truly the guests of honor. Just thank you thank you thank you to you all and Patti/team.
Thank you!!
Cristina and Derek
Laura,
Caitlin and I just wanted to thank you for everything over the past 14 months. The day could not have went better and you were so instrumental in helping us throughout the way.
Besides the fact that obviously the ashford is beautiful, the staff is unbelievable. I have never been treated so great in my life. I kept telling them, I swear we are not spoiled!
I did want to give one particular shout out to Megan. She was so amazing. She did such a good job and the day ran so smoothly (obviously because of others too) but she really was the head of the snake. She was thoughtful, responsive, kind, and amazing to be around.
Thank you again!!
Rob and Caitlin
Hi Jeanne!!
Wow it is tough to get back to reality!!!
I can’t thank you enough for everything you did to make our wedding absolutely amazing! You made the entire process so easy and stress free and we had the ABSOLUTE best time working with you! Everything turned out perfect and we still can’t believe it is over. My family could not get over how amazing and dedicated you are and how you make everything feel like it is so easy and no big deal!
Of course, we didn’t spend as much time with Nicole, Kristi, Kayla and Jillian but they were also amazing to work with and really kept everything on time and really made it so I didn’t have to think or stress about anything.
Every single person at the wedding was amazed by the staff, from moving the bars inside so quickly, to when someone dropped a drink on the dance floor and they cleaned it up in 10 seconds, to how they placed down the meals, everyone could not stop talking about how amazing it was.
Thanks,
Julia
Dear Gianna,
I wanted to take a moment to sincerely thank you for the extraordinary job you and your team did in planning and executing Marc and Alondra’s wedding on April 11. From beginning to end, every aspect of the event was so thoughtfully designed and flawlessly delivered. It was truly an exceptional experience, and you and your team exceeded every expectation.
The venue was absolutely stunning, and the food was nothing short of superb. Guests are still raving about how delicious everything was, from the cocktail hour through to the desserts. Every course, every presentation, every detail reflected a level of care and precision that is increasingly rare to find.
As a former foot and ankle surgeon, I always taught my sons (who followed in my footsteps) that the procedure itself doesn’t always determine the outcome. What truly predicts success is an obsessive attention to detail throughout the surgery as well as throughout the entire patient experience. What stood out so remarkably at this wedding were exactly those kinds of details…the ones that often go unnoticed but make all the difference!
From our private reserved table, thoughtfully stocked with abundant selections of the food, to the way your staff greeted Stephanie and me as we left the ceremony with our favorite drinks already in hand – these moments were not only impressive, but deeply appreciated. Your team seemed to anticipate every need before it was even expressed. They were attentive, gracious, and quite literally at our beckon call for even the smallest details. Not the least of which was how they assisted in the execution of the best man speech, for which I hope you NEVER see evidence of! 😉
These are the subtle, often transparent elements of service that define excellence. And they did not go unnoticed. Experiences like this are rare, and it was truly refreshing and meaningful to be part of something so meticulously and professionally executed.
Gianna, you are a top-notch event planner and an outstanding leader. Thank you for making this celebration so memorable for our family.
Best Regards,
John
Hi Laura,
We want to thank you so much for an outstanding wedding weekend! It was the memorable wedding we dreamed of for Shelby and Andrea!
I cannot rave enough about Megan, Christina, all the bridal attendants and the entire staff. Lori ran the show impeccably and the food was out of this world delicious. Comments like, best coctail hour we have ever been to!
All the vendors you recommended were amazing professional and the top of their game.
We have received so many rave reviews it’s getting embarrassing lol! Maybe you had a hand in the perfect weather as well 😀
Thank you for your excellent guidance this past year you made the planning so much easier.
Thanks again for everything,
Rose and Scott
Hi Laura,
First, I want to thank you personally for all of your help and support throughout the wedding planning phase as well as the actual wedding day. Your knowledge, level of engagement, availability and reassurance was excellent as you supported Nicole and I. You kept telling us that everything would go very smoothly, not to stress, and that was indeed true. Your engagement across all of the vendors and ability to stay on top of so many details was impressive. I don’t know how you do it when the wedding season is in full swing and you have multiple events in one weekend! As a long term career mom myself, I know what you juggle and we thank you for all that you stayed on top of for Nicole’s wedding day.
The Ashford property was stunning in all aspects. We were very appreciative that the fountain was running and the grounds were freshly mulched, being it was March and 11 days after a major snowstorm. The barn was beautiful as were the main and reception buildings. The rooms for overnight stays were beautiful, meticulous and comfortable. I appreciated the additional hour on Sunday in light of daylight savings time. We were the last to leave with Nicole and DJ after packing everything up and we definitely needed that time.
The staff and service on the wedding day (and overnight), including yourself, was exceptional. A special shoutout to Megan who was extremely helpful and very on top of things. We very much appreciated the VIP tables at the cocktail hour, food for Nicole and DJ in the salon, the service at the reception and the team keeping us on task throughout the day leading up to the ceremony. Everyone was very respectful and courteous and I hope they experienced the same from our families and the wedding party. The staff throughout the day and night made our experience very calm and happy!
The food was outstanding! We are still reflecting on all elements of the food experience. The cocktail hour and the stations were delicious and creative. I would say the most highlighted items were the tomahawk steak, cold seafood bar, nonna’s meatballs. crabcake and beef sliders, lobster and shrimp rolls and tacos. But all were excellent. All courses of the dinner were also outstanding which is not typical with wedding venues. The desserts were very good including the blueberry cake from Bakeworks. The afterparty food was also well received and I believe devoured. Merri-Makers truly delivered an exceptional experience, many of our guests (and us) thought it was the best overall wedding food experience we have experienced to date.
Laura, our experience was stellar all around. The only thing that could have been better would have been having a sunset, but we did ok with the weather and didn’t have any rain or snow thankfully!
Please share my feedback with everyone involved, and let me know if you would like any testimonials done online.
My sincere thanks,
Nancy M.
Mallard Island Estate is absolutely stunning. The waterfront setting, the estate itself, and the grounds are all picture-perfect and feel truly special from the moment you arrive. The staff was organized, professional, and genuinely helpful throughout the day, which made everything feel smooth and stress-free. If you’re looking for a venue that feels elegant, unique, and unforgettable, consider Mallard Island Estate.
Jason G.
Hi Gianna,
Thank you so much for all of your hard work at our event — it was so much fun working with you and your team.
Couldn’t have pulled off this event without the flexibility from you and your team, so thank you. You all made the event more fun and seamless, and we’ve heard nothing but great things so far. The feedback from the guests has been overwhelmingly positive, so that’s always good to hear, and we have our internal post-mortum at the end of this week and will share if anything comes out of that.
Looking forward to hopefully working together again in the future!! Thank you again for everything <3
Sam
Hi Gianna!
We’re a few weeks behind in our thank you’s but we just wanted to reach out and express our gratitude for everything you did to make our wedding day so wonderful. You truly went above and beyond; thank you for your kindness, patience, and for handling every little detail with such care. Everything was absolutely perfect and we know that wouldn’t have been possible without you.
We were especially touched by the surprise egg cream station that you and my mother worked on. I know I cried when we added sfogliatelle to the dessert menu, so you should have seen my reaction to the egg cream station lol. It was incredible and also was a big hit with our family and friends. Moments like that are a perfect example of how extraordinary you are at making couples feel genuinely special.
Please also extend our heartfelt thanks to the entire staff. Everyone was so warm and caring; everyone also had levels of attentiveness we didn’t even know were possible, from a lovely gesture of a post-ceremony glass of champagne to going above and beyond in making sure our parents were taken care of during cocktail hour. It’s clear how much pride your whole team takes in creating unforgettable experiences, and it made such a remarkable difference throughout the day. We were truly able to enjoy every second and be in each moment with each other.
We’re incredibly appreciative and will always have the most wonderful memories to look back on from our wedding. We hope we get to see you at some point in the future; until then, we’ll just keep waving and say “Hi Gianna” every time we drive past the Mallard going onto the island 😊 — sorry if that’s weird but we do that every time lol.
Thank you again for everything!
Dan & Elizabeth
