mayersha
Wedding Newbie
Member since 8/04 34 total posts
Wedding Date:
5/15/2005 12:00 PM
Wed. Location:
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My 5/15/05 Woodbury Country Club Wedding Review
I want to thank all of the other LIW brides who have shared their reviews, experiences and insight on this board. I never would have made it through to our big day without the information that you all shared about EVERYTHING. Thanks so much. I hope that this review will be helpful. Sorry that it's a little late but we just got back yesterday from our honeymoon in Hawaii.
My dress -- my dress was a Eugenia dress that I purchased at a trunk show at the Bridal Couture of Manhasset. It was FABULOUS!!! It was an ivory, strapless A-Line dress with handpainting and swarovski crystals. My colors were yellow and orange and Eugenia agreed to use orange swarovksi crystals on my dress. In the midst of making the dress, she called me to tell me that using only orange crystals did not give the dress any depth so she recommended that she mix the orange stones with clear stones. I deferred to her and in the end, I was so very happy. I also bought the matching cathedral length veil, which overlaid over the back of the dress and had the same handpainting and swarovski crystals. It was unique and original and I absolutely loved it. The final product was beautiful and I felt and looked great on my big day. Eugenia gets an A+ all the way.
As for Bridal Couture, some of you may have noticed my earlier postings about issues relating to the price of my veil. Long story short, they quoted me one price and then tried to charge me a higher price at a later date. In the end, they gave me the price originally quoted but only after several rounds of aggravation. On the positive side, the sales person I dealt with also worked with my headpiece designer in getting me a good deal on a headpiece (more on that below). But the real star there was my seamtress, Connie. She was great and an absolute pleasure to work with! I ordered my dress a size or two smaller than I was last year at the trunk show. Despite working out and eating better, I was really nervous at my fittings. The dress fit perfectly once Connie hemmed it and bustled it. Even my dad commented on the day of the wedding that the dress truly looked like it was made for me. In the end, because I have a big chest, Connie made me some spaghetti straps for the dress. They were perfect and gave me the support that I needed to feel and look comfortable. Connie gets an A+. Truth be told, if it weren't for Connie and the fact that Eugenia's dresses are only sold at a few locations in NY, I probably would not have bought my dress from Bridal Couture. The whole veil price issue caused me unnecessary stress. Thank goodness it worked out. I give them a B.
Headpiece -- I worked with Denise Leli, who also had a trunk show at bridal couture. I wasn't sure how I would wear my hair and also did not want to spend $500 on a headpiece. So my Bridal Couture salesperson asked Denise if she could make me hairpins. Excellent idea, particularly as the pins can be used again. I gave Denise the orange swarovski crystals from my dress and veil and she made me two matching silver hair pins with clear and orange stones. They were beautiful and as I had my hair pinned up, they really looked great -- both beneath the veil and after I took the veil off. A+ also to Denise. I highly recommend her.
Mother's Dress -- My mom bought her Montage dress from Lestan's in Brooklyn. She had a great experience and the alterations were excellent. Seeing my mom and how beautiful she looked made me want to cry on the morning of the wedding.
Flower Girl Dresses -- I bought dresses for my two flower girls from flowergirldress4less.com. I spent about $135.00 on both dresses, with hair accessories. The dresses were white with yellow flowers and they looked so cute! I highly recommend this vendor.
Flowers -- We signed on with Flowers by Brian later in our process due to difficulties with our first florist. We worked with Lisa. My bouquet was mango calla lilles and my matron of honor's bouquet was all roses (leonidas, konfetti and lipstick). The bouquets, boutinierres, and corsages were all lovely and I received lots of compliments on them, especially my bouquets. The centerpieces were lovely, too, except that I requested no greenery in them and paid a bit extra for 2 dozen roses and 4-5 lilies in each centerpiece, and in the end, got some greenery. They told my coordinator that they needed to include the greenery to keep the pieces together but I don't believe it. My DH and I went to the store on the day before the wedding to view the flowers, as is Flowers by Brian's policy. They only had my bouquet and my matron of honor's bouquet ready, and no centerpieces. I thought that was odd, as the salesperson always told me that I'd see one of the centerpieces on that day as well but she was out and they said it wasn't ready. In hindsight, I wonder if they'd already decided to include some greenery. Also, they used some red roses on the cake and in our dais arrangement, when we only discussed yellow and orange roses. Of course, the guests thought the flowers were stunning and gorgeous and had no clue about these minor issues so they don't really matter but I was a little annoyed, given that I paid extra for the "close clustered" look. For that reason, they get a A-.
Woodbury Country Club -- To all of the WCC brides who may be worried about the changes in banquet managers, rest assured, you will be take caren of and will have a fabulous event. We had our ceremony and cocktail hour outside by the gazebo and we had the Garden Suite for our reception. Our family and friends have not stopped raving about the food and service at our wedding. My DH and I are sad that we missed the cocktail hour because we were taking pictures. Everyone keeps talking about how good the food was and how wonderful the presentation was...I can't tell you how many compliments we received on the various food stations, as well as the entrees. Tina was our maitre d and she was EXCELLENT!!!!! She even helped one of my friends clean a stain out of her dress when she spilled some tomato sauce on her yellow dress. Sarah was my bridal attendant and she took great care of me. The bartenders and wait staff were very, very helpful. The only minuses were that at our ceremony rehearsal, they did not allow the ceremony musicians to rehearse even though they assured me that they would be allowed to do so. That caused me to have to pay the musicians for showing up to do nothing. I was not happy about that. Also, the microphones or the speakers on the podiums need to be replaced. They weren't working well and fortunately, my family caught that before the festivities started so it wasn't an issue. Those are the only minuses. Woodbury is great. A+ for them, too.
Day of Coordinator -- We used NV Consultants, which is based in NJ. The owner Sabrina and her colleague, Jenine, were absolute angels (and wedding consulting isn't even their full-time job). I do not know how I would have gotten through the day without them...and I am an organized person. They met with my DH and I a month before the rehearsal, stayed in constant touch and reminded me to take care of details that we brides sometimes forget. They sent me checklists, showed up at the rehearsal and ran it, and then took control on the day of the wedding. I am sure there are lots of things that went wrong that I still don't know about and will never know about because of them. My parents are eternally grateful for their help because they really allowed us to enjoy the day. I completely trusted them and was very happy to have them. Their price was incredibly reasonable and I highly, highly recommend them. They get an A+++.
Smooth DJ Rus -- I read reviews about Rus on this board and on the knot and gave him a call early in our planning. He was one of the most professional people that I have ever met, both personally and professionally. He checked in consistently, sent me song list paperwork, discussed our final selections with us, and was on the ball for the entire time. The day of the wedding, the music was exactly what we asked for and the guests thoroughly enjoyed dancing and listening to the music. Rus and his wife are excellent and I highly recommend them as well. A+++.
Honeymoon -- We went to Hawaii on 5/16 and just returned yesterday. We spent some time in Maui at the Ritz Carlton, the Big Island (we stayed at the Hilton Waikoloa Village), and Kauai (we stayed at the Sheraton Kauai in Poipu. WE LOVE HAWAII!!! If any of you want any additional info, please fm me and I will share our experiences and reviews.
That's it for now. As you can see from the time that I am sending this, we are still on Hawaii time. :)
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