LIJuneBride
Jesse's mom!
Member since 9/03 2152 total posts
Wedding Date:
6/26/2004 11:30 AM
Wed. Location:
Areca
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My Areca Wedding review - 6/26/04 ETA: Proofs from 12th Night on bottom of page one 8/22/04
Aloha everyone! I am back from Hawaii and things are getting back to normal. DH is at work so now I can do my review without him complaining that I am on this website again. We were both extremely pleased with everything at our wedding. Of course, things happen over which you have no control and it happens to almost everyone, so on your wedding day, try not to let anything bother you. We had a morning wedding, and it had rained the night before so everything outside was still wet (so much for my outdoor photos that I wanted). It even rained during our ceremony but by the time we finished photos in the church, the rain had stopped and the sun actually came out for the rest of the day. My two nephews were the ring bearers - the older one was sick the night before, and was still throwing up on my wedding day. He was a real trooper though, and walked down the aisle with a smile. He slept through most of the reception, when he wasn't throwing up in his little puke bucket. His brother, the other ring bearer, started throwing up with about 30 minutes left of the reception. One of my nieces, who was a flower girl, fell outside the church on the steps and we thought she knocked her tooth out. Luckily, she was fine. Now for the vendors...
Rehearsal dinner - Villa Monaco's in West Islip - we had the rehearsal on Thursday night (which I highly recommend - gave me a day off before the wedding). The food is delicious but the service was so slow - there was only fifteen of us (including five children) and we were there over three hours.
Manicure/pedicure - Paradise Spa in Deer Park - even without an appointment, the three of us were able to walk right in. It was so relaxing - just what I needed the day before the wedding. We had had a bridal luncheon earlier in the day, so this was the perfect way to end the day. They are a little pricey though.
Church - St. Joseph's in Babylon - the priest had our mass done in 45 minutes, just like he promised. You can't throw anything inside or outside the church, and they don't allow a church runner or excessive decorations. The organist was good but I noticed she did not play the music I chose for the bridal party entrance, and it was one of my favorite songs so it really bothered me. Everything else went smoothly.
Make-up - Denise from Angel Eyes - she was on time and well prepared. I got the traditional make-up (no airbrush - didn't care for the airbrush at my trial but she does do the airbrush). She did an excellent job and everything but the lipstick stayed all day.
Hair - Carol from Carol's Hair Creations in Kings Park - Carol is my normal hairdresser and has done updos for me many times in the past. She was at my house before I was even out of the shower. She did a great job for me, my two MOHs and three flower girls. My hair started to come down in the back a little near the end of the reception but I think that was because when my MOH put my veil on, the comb pulled some of the bobby pins loose - just something to watch out for on your day.
Limos - Dynasty Limos - they were wonderful! On time, clean and they knew where they were going. Dave was the Rolls driver, and he gave good instructions on when to get out, how to get in and how to sit without wrinkling my dress. I don't know the name of the stretch limo driver, and he was also good but I was told a little bit curt. They gave us a ride home from Areca after the reception, and sent a stretch limo for that. We also used them to go to and from the airport for the HM, and they gave us a stretch limo for the price of a regular town car. Again, they were on time and very helpful.
Flowers - Flowers by Liz - Everything was beautiful. There were more roses in the bouquets than we had discussed and the colors were perfect. Everything was as I had imagined. Everyone loved the rose petals that were all over Areca - in the fountain, on the card table, the reception tables, cake table, etc. It adds a very elegant touch and it's not that expensive.
Bridal gown - Princess Bridals - I had purchased my gown there without doing any research (my mistake) and after reading some reviews I was worried. I found the perfect dress there and everything was fine until it arrived - it was the wrong color. They did put a rush on a new one and it arrived in plenty of time to be altered. Pietra was the seamstress and she did a wonderful job. The people there are fairly pleasant but can be rude at times. Overall, my dress looked perfect but there was some stress involved.
Headpiece - PrincessBrideTiaras on e-bay - it was beautiful and very well made, and you can't beat the price. Excellent customer service - after I had the tiara for a few weeks, I noticed a rhinestone missing so they told me to send it back and they'd send a new one. They also sent a gift (a bracelet) for my trouble and paid my return postage.
Shoes - Myglassslipper.com - Watters and Watters beaded sandals with a three inch heel. Very comfortable until the very end. I ordered my shoes and they arrived within a week.
BM dresses - Pearl's Place - the dresses arrived on time and they got a good prices. However, the dresses were a little different than the ones the girls tried on in the store. We know we had the correct style number, yet the beading around the waist was not as elaborate or pretty as the one in the store. I don't know if the manufacturer changed the design or if what they supply to Pearl's is different since you get a better price.
Rings - Argyle Jewelers in Babylon - we bought my engagement ring and all four wedding bands from Joe at Argyle. We both got diamond bands, which we altered slightly from the original designs and two plain gold bands. The prices were very reasonable. For the e-ring, we told him what shape and price, and he brought in stones from the diamond district for us to look at. He also rhodium-plated my e-ring a few days before the wedding for free so it looked brand new for all the photos.
Tuxes - The Tux Shop at Flowerama - I don't know too much about them, but they have a large selection and decent prices. All the tuxes fit fine with no problems or extra alterations needed.
Video - Bellarino - Phil is wonderful. He was on time and very professional, and properly attired. We barely knew he was there except when he needed us to do something specific for the video. I was disappointed that Kate was not there, as I was told she basically chooses locations and angles. He did have someone with him who I think was his son, but he only opened doors and held bags and not much else. I'll add more once I see the video.
Photo - Twelfth Night - again, I haven't seen the photos so I can only comment on their work that day. They were all on-time at my house and took tons of photos (mid-way through the day, I was told they already took over 400 photos, not including the digitals). Michael (Dominic's brother) was the photojournalist, and he was great. I barely knew he was there, except of course when he asked me for a specific pose. He took a lot of different photos than the main photographer. Cynthia was the main photographer, and she came with an assistant (can't remember his name). The assistant was very pleasant, but I think he needed more practice. Cynthia was always asking him for things and he wasn't ready. She also turned around to look for him a couple times and he wasn't there. I've seen Cynthia's work so I know I like it. I know she has to get certain shots and at times seemed a little pushy trying to get those shots. They did have my list of must-have shots, and they were checking them off as they got them. Near the end of the reception, they all checked with us to see if there were any particular shots we wanted them to get. I have not seen the proofs yet but I was happy with them on that day.
Reception - Areca - absolutely fantastic!!!! They gave us the restaurant for our cocktail hour at no extra charge (would have been $10/person extra) and our guests loved it. We were not there when the guests arrived (they let them come in 30 minutes early without a problem) but we were told their jaws just dropped when they entered the cocktail hour. Andre was our BM and he was wonderful. The service was excellent - the empty glasses and plates were cleaned up quickly, and everyone was always asked if they needed another drink. Since we missed most of the cocktail hour, they brought whatever we wanted to our suite - even made more coconut shrimp for us. The A/C in the suite didn't seem to be working, and my nephew was not feeling well, so they brought him to another room with a couch and A/C, and had someone sit with him. When they brought out our entrees, we were not at our table so they kept them warm with the plate covers. Everyone absolutely raved about the food - both the quantity and quality. We asked our vendors what they thought of the food, since they eat at so many receptions - they all loved it, and one of them told us that it was the best food he's had at a reception in years, and I know he's been to several of the top reception locations recently. We had extra cake, and they had it ready for the guests to take home. They also packed up the extra chocolate-covered strawberries for the guests to take home. They gave us a bottle of wine to give away for the anniversary dance at no charge. I cannot say enough about Andre and his staff, and everything about Areca - they are new management, about two months before our wedding, and I am so happy they took over. There's really nothing I can think of that I did not like at Areca. Without a doubt our best vendor - no complaints at all.
Cake - this was provided by Areca and we went to the baker in Port Washington (can't remember the name right now) to discuss the cake and give him a photo of what we wanted. The cake was delicious, and the cake and fillings are what we ordered (four layers of cake and three layers of filling per tier - yellow cake with two layers of chocolate mousse and one of raspberry preserves). The outside of the cake was pretty but it did not look like the photo we gave him. It was buttercream frosting but looked like fondant because it was so smooth - very impressive. But the decoration on the cake was too plain and not what we wanted. I know everyone thought it tasted good because every single extra piece which was packed up to go was taken - we didn't even get to take any except for our top tier!
DJ - WGJP Sounds - Glenn Passarelli - He did an excellent job. He was on time, professional and did not make himself the star of the party (which some DJ companies did, which we don't like). He had to make some quick changes (like when my nephew couldn't do the entrance) - he still was able to include him in the introductions. Even though it was an afternoon reception, the only time the floor was empty was when we were eating. People were always dancing. If someone requested something, he would always check with us first. We discussed giving away the centerpieces, and he was going to give it to the person with the birthday closest to the wedding, but I decided to give it to the person with the birthday closest to mine (in November - I never got to take the centerpiece home because almost everyone gets married April thru September, so I thought I'd give us fall/winter people a shot).
Don't know if I'm forgetting anyone. All in all, we had an amazing day. It went by so fast, which in a way is good because to me that means I know everyone is having a good time (if it went slow, I'd have been worrying that nobody was having a good time). We left early the next morning for Hawaii....
flew on American Airlines. They were okay. They only upgrade to the next class (usually business class) not to first class anymore. It didn't really matter because the flights were so booked we never got upgraded. Our flight from Hawaii to LA was about 45 minutes late - we almost missed our connection. We were actually those people you see running through the airport to make the plane - we did make the plane, but our luggage didn't. They had actually already removed us from the passenger manifest and had to add us again. Trying to track down the luggage and get it to our house was a complete hassle. DH saw Joan Rivers in JFK but I missed her - I was in the ladies' room.
We stayed in Oahu for two nights at the Halekulani. I cannot recommend them enough! You feel like the rich and famous when you stay there. There is a welcome fruit plate and box of chocolates (which sells in their store for $22), robes and slippers to use and they will shine your shoes every night complimentary. The closet had doors on the bedroom side and bathroom side, and if you open both you can see the ocean from the shower. We had an oceanview room, and could even see Diamondhead. The balcony is a nice size, with a bistro table for two and a chaise lounge with a table. We could see the nightly hula show from our balcony. The service was wonderful here and although Honolulu was right outside the lobby, the Halekulani is like an oasis of calm right inside the city. We could also walk to numerous stores and restaurants. We had dinner one night at Room Without a Key, one of the hotel's restraurants. The food was delicious and the price was not bad.
Since we were only there one full day, we took a day tour of the island. Kenn was our tour guide (ex-NYer) and he was great. We went to Pearl Harbor, Diamondhead, Dole Pineapple Plantation, beaches to see the sea turtles (they are huge - come right up to you. You can feed them but not touch them). We went to highest point on the island to see the waterfalls and the view. We also saw a macadamia nut farm and lots of historical areas. Kenn was great with the explanations of the areas and history. I'd definitely recommend the tour.
We flew to Maui for a week. That trip did not start off well. When we arrived at our hotel (Hyatt) DH didn't like it - wanted to go back to the Halekulani. I told him he couldn't compare the Hyatt mega-resort to the Halekulani, voted the best small hotel in the country (I don't know by whom, but we were told that by several people). The front desk told us we could upgrade to a suite for $125 more per night, so we asked to see the rooms. We got keys for the room we booked and two different suites. We saw our room and a suite, and were on our way to another suite when they lost power - no elevators, no A/C, no lights. The power came back on about twenty minutes later. We didn't like any of those rooms, so they offered us the same room we booked, but on the Regency Club floor. We took this room - we could see Molokai and the ocean while in bed. Great view and we had the Regency Club room for drinks and snacks. As we were on our way up with our luggage, the power went out again. DH was not happy, so we went to look at four other hotels to see if they had availability. The Sheraton was nice, but we had to walk for about fifteen minutes, through buildings and up and down elevators and across breezeways, just to get to the room. The Grand Wailea wouldn't let us look at a room because it was too late - looked like a nice place, but it is huge. The Fairmont Kea Lani (I think that's the name) was also very nice but only had mountainviews available - the room we looked at actually overlooked the parking garage. The front desk clerk said it was a mountain view, which I guess it was because you could see the mountains behind the parking garage. Then there was the Ritz Carlton - we would have moved there if they had the suite available. The suite was $20 more per night than our room at the Hyatt. The suite had two bathrooms, a huge living room and a huge bedroom, and two balconies. The difference was the ocean view was in the distance, not as close as the Hyatt. In the end, we were happy with the Hyatt, but would have liked the Ritz because it was quieter and more romantic.
The breakfast at the Hyatt was delicious - definitely get it included if you're staying there. We also ate at Spat's in the hotel which was good. It was difficult finding good places to eat - the food is just not like in NY. Lahaina is a great little town. We also went on a catamaran cruise for sunset, dinner and the 4th of July fireworks. We went to the Hyatt luau because the Old Lahaina luau was sold out for every night we were there. The Hyatt luau was very good though - they do dances from all the different Polynesian islands. They gave us a video of the luau to take home. We took a drive around the north side of the island (not the road to Hana) - I would NOT recommend this unless you are into extreme sports or have a death wish. Although it is very pretty and we stopped and saw some beautiful things (Olivine pools, blowhole, Dragon's Teeth lava formations) this is a very dangerous road. It is one lane for most of the drive - very twisty and turny, and it's on the side of a cliff with no guardrail. At one point, we were going up a mountain and another vehicle was coming down. We almost had a head-on collision, and then we had to decide who was going to back up to let the other pass. DH was driving, and was not happy with my choice for this drive. We also went to Wailea, which is nice but I prefer Ka'anapali, where the Hyatt is.
OK that's it! No photos yet but as soon as I have I will post. FM with any questions - I wish you all the best!!! 
Message edited 8/22/2004 5:08:44 PM.
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