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Kerie
Member since 1/05 3957 total posts
Wedding Date:
11/12/2005 7:00 PM
Wed. Location:
Temple Chaverim
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11/12/2005 VERY DETAILED REVIEW of MY BIG FAT JEWISH WEDDING!!!!! Temple Chaverim, Niteflight and more, with PHOTOS!!!
5/30/06 review of video updated!
Ok, here are my vendor reviews. I loved the majority of my vendors!!!!! Some of them really deserve A++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (extra pluses) but I did not write out the extra plus signs because all of my A+ vendors were equally incredible. Any vendor that I gave an A+ to was really superb. FM me for any more details. My wedding was spectacular and the details were all noticed! At the end of each vendor’s review, the last sentence or 2 sums up how I would feel about recommending that vendor or using them again in the future.
The vendors listed in this review are not listed in any particular order.
Invitations, Noteworthy in Woodbury A+
--I got gorgeous invites from them!!! They were by C'est papier. The people at Noteworthy were quick and attentive. They carry some great lines there!! They were so nice to me and FH and we got the invites very quickly. Also, we went to some other invite stores that were more pushy to try to get us to use their calligrapher. Noteworthy gave us the information about their calligrapher but were not pushy at all. As an added bonus, one of the girls who worked there made helped me carry my invites to my car. For those who have kids, I noticed some really cute stationery, especially the “letters home from camp” type. I would definitely shop there again.
Mary's Corsetiere (also Woodbury) A
--They really know what they are doing there. The woman just looked at me and knew that I have a short torso and long legs--which means that I needed a corset that is made for a shorter body. I went there once in the summer, they noted a style number and size, then I went back in September to make the purchase. The only reason they did not get a plus is because they were a little bit rushed when I went back and I got less attention than the first time. Before I went to Mary’s, I also tried Georgettes but I felt more comfortable with the fact that Mary’s understood my body type, sized me correctly and did alterations. I will be recommending Mary’s and I would go back if I had a dress that needed a special bra or corset.
Temple Chaverim (Reception and Ceremony there, located in Plainview) A+
Jewish brides, you owe it to yourselves to check out Temple Chaverim. The place is incredible. Even before the wedding, they were on top of things, answered questions and generally just catered to me and my FH.
On the day of the wedding, they delivered on every detail we had discussed, plus they added some surprises. It was a very lively wedding and not one thing went wrong. H and I had a great time and it showed. We were our crazy, silly selves and we could be that way because Temple Chaverim managed the wedding so well for us and all we had to do was have fun.
My friends and family are still raving about the food, the service and the beauty of Temple Chaverim.
I totally believe in the idea of hiring a wedding coordinator, but with Temple Chaverim, it was simply not necessary. The Banquet Manager did everything a coordinator does and more. In fact, there were 3 Banquet Managers and a bridal attendant at my wedding. They had started to set up the ballroom for my wedding a few days before and we got to see how great it was coming together. A few days before the wedding, when the owner of the catering service saw the Indian Tapestries that I was using in the center of the tables, he called me to see if I wanted to make a change in my tablecloth selection, because he had ones that were a better match to the tapestries. I think that many caterers would have just thrown down the tapestries and not really cared! I took his suggestion and the tables were so beautiful. They did everything I asked for, such as putting out the favors and table tapestries, lighting, etc. We showed up early for pictures, and they gave us great service from the moment we arrived. The florist and the band both commented that this was an easy place to work with.
After the ceremony, we had a martini line in the front hallway of the temple, with some smaller stations and passed hors d’ ouvres (Sp??) . I just found out today that one of my friends thought that the front hallway area was the whole cocktail hour. There was so much food there but that was not even the main cocktail hour. So, when she got to the cocktail room, she was shocked to see all the stations and the huge bar. I knew that this caterer has a reputation for amazing gourmet food but I did not know that there would be so much of it
I attended most of the cocktail hour and it was amazing. There was a vodka and caviar station complete with an ice shot slide (H is known for his summer ice block parties on Fire Island). There was Asian food served in Chinese food containers. There was tempura, penne alla vodka, eggplant rollatini, seared tuna with sticky rice, a whole soup station, a whole pasta station and more passed hors deovres than I have ever seen.
We also had a station that was a replica of the old style Jewish delis. That was so popular. We had a great mix of traditional Jewish foods and the more modern dishes. For anyone who is unsure about whether their traditional ethnic foods will be popular with the guests, go for it. I am so glad that we had those foods. I found out later that a friend of mine who is Catholic received an entire lesson on Jewish foods from an Aunt of mine who I hadn’t seen in years! My friend tried Dr. Brown’s soda, stuffed derma and all kinds of other foods and loved it. The Jewish deli also had pastrami, and hot dogs. It was a real ice breaker for my guests. Other Jewish style foods were lox, falafel, hummus.
After the cocktail hour, as the guests made their way to their seats in the ballroom, the banquet manager sat my husband and I down at a table, put smocks over us to protect our clothes, and served up a feast of the cocktail hour food. He had told me ahead of time that he likes to do this, and it was nice to know that I would have a chance to eat after mingling at the cocktail hour. I would recommend that other brides request this. It was nice to pause before the reception.
At the reception, the staff escorted people to their tables. That was a big hit with my girl friends. The service was incredible. I had made slipper baskets and Temple Chaverim had staff members carrying the baskets from table to table and offering each lady a pair. And they helped the ladies find the sizes they needed. Then they put the leftover slippers up near the band and some people got them later. I think there may have also been some slippers placed in the bathroom. Almost all the slippers went and that was a big hit. I loved having them “served” this way.
The dance floor was bustling all night (more about that in my review of Niteflight), everyone was lively and smiley and taking notice of the wonderful details that made it such a great event.
The desserts were incredible. The dessert carts, egg creams, ice cream, international coffees, cordials, pre-plated chocolate dessert, cake and bakery to go were huge hits! The bakery to go is at the end of the wedding. When people are waiting for their cars, they could treat themselves to a “bakery-to-go” with sweets, pretzels, s’mores, roasted chestnuts, Halvah and all kinds of other goodies. They provided bags. I have some friends with small children and they brought these goodie bags home to their kids.
I would highly recommend Temple Chaverim, obviously. I think that some of our guests are now interested in having events there. I hope so, as I want to go back!!!
Bella North Shore Flowers (in Huntington). A+
They use very high quality flowers and their designers are so talented. I loved my flowers. My chuppah was incredible, probably the nicest I have ever seen. When they took it down at the end, they gave me the flowers from the chuppah. The roses on the chuppah were huge. I also loved my bouquet and wish I got to hold it more. I had it walking up with aisle with my parents, but when I walked back down the aisle with my husband, I forgot my bouquet. I went too fast for anyone to hand it to me. And when I was introduced to the reception, my bouquet was already set up in the room. The banquet manager offered to get it for me, but for some reason I suddenly got nervous about dropping it and I told him to just leave it on my table. I would recommend for future brides that if you love your bouquet, hold it a lot and don’t forget it. For all of my flowers, I asked for no greenery. I wanted just flowers with little or no filler. That was exactly what I got. When I first asked for that, Cristina, the owner of Bella Flowers showed me how my centerpieces would look with some filler and how they would look without. She wanted to make sure that I knew what I was asking for. The centerpieces would have been twice the size if I had told her to use filler, but I had my heart set on the understated elegance of the low centerpieces with all colorful flowers. I thought it was very nice of her to show me the difference to make sure of what I wanted.
I’ve seen Bella Flowers’ work at another wedding and at some parties. Each time I see a piece they have made, they outdo the last one I saw. They are so creative! Bella is more expensive than some other florists, but they use more expensive materials, pay attention to every last detail and provide top notch service. I will be highly recommending them and I can’t wait to buy flowers from them again!
Niteflight (band) A+
They rocked our wedding! My FH and I have become big fans. I am so glad that we found this band. Our wedding would not have been the same without them. We got complements all night about the band and we are continuing to get complements. People kept asking where we found such an awesome band. I hope that no one takes this the wrong way, but I do not know how anyone can see Niteflight and then go hire another band. I truly believe that they are the best and most talented band that does weddings on Long Island. I don’t understand how people can pay $1,000 more for a band that has less pieces and does not sound as good. I don’t even think it’s a matter of style because Niteflight is so versatile and can do anything! At least 3 of their members did vocals at my wedding. The big horn section gives them an awesome sound.
They were great to work with and helped us pick ceremony music. They do not book through an agency, so that’s why they can charge less (agencies take a big cut). Also, when we planned with them, we were talking directly to one of the members who would be playing at our wedding.
Since we hired Niteflight, we’ve gone to see them play at clubs (under a different name but it’s the same band members). They are incredible. We once went to see them at a club that they had never played before and some girls in the bathroom were raving about what an awesome band had come to their hangout. When I told them that they were playing my wedding, they girls were totally wowed and asking if they could crash my wedding!
I will be highly recommending Niteflight, will continue to go see them at clubs and I wish I could have another party and hire them again.
Laurie Studios (photography) A+
I will give even more info after album finished.
The owner has a lovely personality and his portfolio immediately impressed me. I had been to see several photographers and I was getting discouraged before I found Laurie Studios. He has an a la carte menu--no packages. We pay for them to come shoot the photos, then order as much or as little as we want. They offer the digital coffee table book albums that FH and I love. They give the bride and groom the digital files (and we own them, no restrictions). He is a very skilled photographer and a high class guy, but not pretentious like some of the other photographers that I talked to. We love our proofs and there is such a great variety within them.
After I booked Laurie Studios for my wedding, I also hired the owner (Ken) for a professional photography job that I needed for my business. He was wonderful on that project. For all you moms and dads, they have some great baby photo deals and a nice studio. They were great at our wedding. They were patient with me as I was a bit high strung right before the wedding started and they were great with the groomsmen, who were a lot more interested in drinking than taking pictures! I will give more information as I continue to work with them on my album. I am sure that I will use Laurie Studios again for any photography needs and I am considering giving their “Baby’s First Year” program as a gift when friends have babies. I’d recommend them. If you live in Suffolk, go see them before you waste your time traveling to Nassau to see photographers.
Classic Video Productions (The one in Commack) A+ (and the A+ score stays the same after getting the final product!!)
DH wanted a great video. The owner of Classic Video is a professional with a film school degree. He is very meticulous about editing. They were willing to show us many videos that they did. We also hired them to do picture montages that were shown during the wedding. They were set to music and they were great. We also hired them for zap shots (candid photos taken during the wedding and reception, to be shown on screens at the reception). The zap shots were a big hit and we now have over 300 digital photo files from the zap shots. It was like having an additional photographer. For the zap shots, they used a high quality professional camera (my husband knows the specs if anyone is interested).
5/30/2006--So we got our video and--wow!! It was all magnificent. I could not wait to see my whole wedding, but especially my ceremony. The video did not let me down. There is something wonderful about being able to watch my ceremony while dressed in sweats on my living room floor! I remember a lot about my ceremony and wedding but it is great to see it on a day when I'm not overwhelmed with wedding bliss, or nervous, or whatever! SO GIRLS WHO ARE UNSURE--- GET A VIDEO. It is priceless. The opening, hilights and recap were all incredible. The quality of this video is almost too good. Between the video and the TV that we won from Ron and Liz, we can really see every detail! Our videographer asked us if we wanted him to do interviews (where he hands the mike to people). We told him to just interview our parents, bridal party and whoever else wanted to speak. Some people don't like any interviews and I almost considered not doing any. I am so glad we had some. People were really sweet and funny. And one reason that I opted to have some interviews is that my sister's video, from the 1980s, has an interview with my grandmother, who is now gone. That interview is priceless! A friend of mine had her wedding videographer do interviews at every table, though. Unfortunately, he missed almost anything else that happened at her wedding (No, she did not use Classic Video Productions). So, I guess I'd advise to do what I did and at least have key people interviewed. Just some advice!
Back to my review of Classic Video Productions---They were wonderful. My videographers were probably the last vendors to leave my wedding! They did not miss a thing. I had asked them early on not to get in the way. And I stopped to watch during the reception. They were so careful to stay in spots where no one would feel pushed away or surrounded by cameras. It took a few months to get edited video back. But I did not want a video that was thrown together. I got a true masterpiece and I know that Steve at Classic Video Productions spent a lot of hours on it! Also, I added to the delay by not picking songs fast enough. He waited on me for a while.
I wish I could show everyone my video. I'll find a way!! I watched tons and tons of videos in my search for a videographer. I was so happy to get one that is just as much a tear jerker and just as well done as all of the great ones I have seen. Of course, I like my own video THE BEST! We got a perfect video that captured our personalities.
Zion Lion (Ketubah) B
Their selection is great. They have gorgeous ketubahs. The prices are higher than on some of the internet sites that sell ketubahs. The reason I did not give them an A or A+ is because they weren’t very quick to return calls and the calligraphy took a lot longer than they promised. We got the ketubah about 8 weeks before the wedding, but we had ordered it 6 months before that. The calligraphy was gorgeous. I was hoping for better service because I paid more than I would have by ordering online. In the future, I would definitely advise people to shop at the Zion Lion and see the ketubahs in person, but then see if you can find the same one online.
All-type (Calligraphy) A+
We had envelopes done there. They looked fantastic and they matched the champagne ink from our invites. This was not an easy color to match but they did it. We also had them make up beautiful cards to inform guests of our OOT room blocks. They did a great job and gave us a great price.
Bridesmaid dresses ---Phyllis Limmer, gownfind— C (maybe a C+)
Phyllis’ prices were the best I could find and I looked everywhere. The negative is that she is so busy and is doing so many things at once. When she books appointments, she often falls behind schedule. She cancelled a few bridesmaid appointments because alterations were not done in time for the appointments, I would have bought my veil from her, but she really didn’t have the time to show me her samples and I wanted to get out of her way so that she could take her next appointment. Her shop is small, so not many people can shop there and try on at once. The worst problem was the bridesmaids’ shawls we ordered from her. She originally promised them in August. Then she said September. She stalled on them a few times and we finally got them on the weekend before the wedding after I told Phyllis that if I did not have them that weekend, I would have to start to shop for something else. The situation was very upsetting because my Rabbi requires that the bridesmaids have a shawl on during the ceremony. When we got them she told me that she always waits until the last minute to get shawls ready because otherwise they would get creased before the wedding. If that is the case, she should have told me that from the beginning instead of promising them to me in August! Also, my bridesmaids could not just alter their schedules to get the shawls when Phyllis finally had them, or when she changed appointments on them. One of my bridesmaids picked up all the shawls and brought them with her to the wedding. In the week before the wedding, my bridesmaids were upset that they had not seen what the shawls looked like and I had not had time to see them either. In the end, the BMs had lovely dresses at a great price. I tried to save them money, but I’m afraid that I caused them stress instead. There were also several other minor things that happened, so the grade is not just based on the few things I mentioned here. I am also basing my review on a dress that I bought from her for myself to wear to a wedding in June (again, great price, so-so service). I’d recommend Phyllis only if price is your biggest concern.
Mom’s dress -- Eva’s (Sayville) A+
My mom went to a few other stores and kept seeing the same dresses over and over. Although Eva’s carries some of the same designers as the other stores, their selection was very different. It was more like a boutique, where every sample dress was hand picked for something about its style. We all loved my mom’s dress. The alterations were very expensive, but my mom loved how the alterations were done. She even took the seamstress’s phone number so she could use her for future alterations. We would recommend Eva’s.
Groom’s mom’s dress-- Centereach Bridal Suite.
It was gorgeous and she was happy with it. I probably don’t have enough info to give them a grade, though. I could ask her if someone needs more info!
Macys, Manhasset—My gown—A
Gown came in on time with no problems. The manager helped us with anything we needed and she was always there to oversee everything. Also, Macys is somewhat negotiable on pricing, especially for a dress that you see elsewhere for less. I found that the manager was the most attentive person there and that I did have to ask her to resolve a few problems that I had (like when the seamstress said something could not be done, the manager took care of it, etc). I will recommend Macys but I will tell people not to be afraid to ask for the manager! She is so nice and she works her butt off.
Macys, Manhasset---My veil—B+
I did have a minor incident regarding my veil. I fell in love with a veil there, but did not buy right away. I later learned that the style was being discontinued. I made arrangements with Macys to go in and buy the sample. They were supposed to put the sample aside for me. They never did. My parents went to pick it up. The sales people could not find it at first and then my dad looked through all the samples on display and he found it. They did sell it to me, as promised, at a discount because it was a sample. As I said above, the manager makes sure that everything is going well, so she helped my parents that day. I was just annoyed because I told them that I live an hour away from the store and I wanted to make sure the veil was being held if my parents were to make the trip.
I would recommend Macys and I would highly recommend Demetrios gowns. I didn’t like many Demetrios gowns in their ads, but it paid to go and try them anyway. I found a gown that I loved, with sleeves. That was not an easy task, as many gowns I saw were strapless.
Tuxes, Roger’s Tuxedos, Smithtown A+
We had a lot of groomsmen, some local and some out of town. Rogers handled our party with ease. The selection was great and they have the tuxes right there in the shop, to try on, or easily swap sizes. They helped both my husband and my dad find styles and colors that looked great on them. With so many groomsmen, I would have expected some small mistakes, but there weren’t any at all. My nephew had grown a little bit since his first fitting, and his pants were a little short when he went to get the tux. They fixed it on the spot.
My husband had rented a tux somewhere else a few months ago for a Saturday wedding. The tuxes were due back on Sunday morning. Our tuxes were not due back until Monday and that was much easier on everyone. When he rented the tux a few months ago, he loved the shoes. Rogers had the same shoes available.
Another huge plus—My husband has Juvenile Diabetes and he has an insulin pump that is about the size of a beeper or small cell phone. He asked Rogers to sew in an extra pocket so he could comfortably carry the pump. They remembered to do that, didn’t charge for it, and the pump didn’t show through the tux.
We would recommend Rogers and my husband would certainly rent from them again.
Limousines-- Cloud Nine Limos A+ (631) 423-3559
This is not one of the bigger limo companies but they offer a great, personalized service at great prices. The owner, Bobby, has a beautiful Rolls Royce that we used. He arrived early, dressed in a tux and was willing to stick around as long as we wanted him to for taking pictures with the limo. FH and the GM took another of their limos to the Temple and that worked out great. The price was less than most of the bigger companies and at the end of the night, Bobby gave us a bottle of champagne when he dropped us off at the hotel.
For my bachelorette party, Cloud Nine had all their limos booked, but recommended a friend’s limo company that did a great job.
I knew of Could Nine because I hired them a few years ago to pick me up at the airport. My flight was changed at the last minute and it came into Islip instead of JFK. The limo driver went to JFK first, found out about the change, then raced to get me on time in Islip, then it turned out they had to wait a long time with me for my luggage and they still gave me a great price. I think that some other limo companies may have either left me stuck or charged me a ton of money because of the flight change and because I had no time to notify them before they were at JFK. Also, because I was flying for business, I was entitled to extra pay for the delays. Cloud Nine helped me out by documenting that I was later than we had originally planned.
I always remembered what they did for me and I remembered that the owner had a photo of his beautiful Rolls Royce on his business card! So, I hired them for my wedding.
I would use them again and highly recommend them.
Table Linens—www.taraexports.org B+
My hall provided beautiful ivory satin tablecloths. However, I had seen an idea at another wedding. I wanted Indian beaded tapestries that were square shaped, to be placed on the center of each table, over the tablecloth, beneath the centerpieces. An Indian bride, Riniko, here on LIW, recommended someone who makes them. They were gorgeous and I got tons of complements on them. I dealt with Tara Exports, a company in India that makes them custom. Dealing with a company in India had more ups and downs than I expected. Production of my order was delayed because of flooding in India, but I had ordered early so it was not a real issue. The owner of the company (name: Shivani Shukla) speaks English but we did not always understand each other’s expressions. The good thing is that she did not start to fill my order until she asked me very specific questions about what I wanted. So, once everything was delivered over to the US, it was perfect. She did check up that I received my shipment and that I was happy with it. Quality and workmanship were great. I would recommend her and just advise that you get in touch with her early and be prepared to talk a few times so she can clarify what you want.
Riniko gets an A+ for coming to my office and showing me samples of items she had from taraexports!!
BM Gifts—Red Envelope C-
The items are great but customer service is totally lacking. They simply do not know how to track an order or how to look at their own order history! I was supposed to have free shipping on the order (coupon code). They made a mistake and only shipped part of the order. It took 5 phone calls for them to determine that they just forgot about the rest of the order. When they finally shipped the second part of my order, they charged me shipping, even though those items should have been included in my free shipping coupon order. They said that since they already sent me part of the order, they can't just eat the cost of shipping another box. Well, it is not my fault that they did not ship it all when they were supposed to. There was also a mix-up about gift boxes. I paid extra to have them for all the items I ordered. They did not send me enough, and when I called to follow up—guess what—they wanted to charge me more to ship out additional gift boxes. I would not recommend Red Envelope and now I throw out their catalogs without looking at them. They e-mailed me a survey and I told them this!
Other BM gifts Exclusively Weddings and Weddingchannel.com A
The items at Red Envelope were a little better in quality but Exclusively Weddings and Weddingchannel.com gave me no problems with orders and they were very fast. I would recommend them. I especially loved the personalized bridesmaid gift bags. I put their gifts in there, plus some toiletry items for each girl.
Programs Hubby and I did them ourselves and we get an A+
We used a template from a budget wedding website. For the covers, hubby put our invitation into photoshop and made a program cover that matched our invitation. He also matched the champagne ink and went shopping to find just the right paper.
TIP: If you are making programs and having a slipper basket, put a note in the programs, indicating that the slippers are available. My programs had one line that said, “We have provided slippers for the ladies. We hope this keeps you dancing through the night.”
Another thing we did with the programs was to provide our e-mail address and mailing address at the end, and we asked that guests share their digital photos with us.
ANOTHER TIP: Consider not making menus. We decided not to because if our hall made any last minute changes, I did not want to deal with my guests asking me about why the food served was different than what the menu said. And I knew that if my menu said “mashed potatoes” and my uncle got shredded potatoes, he’d actually stop and ask me what happened! As it turns out, my hall surprised us with extra food and extra choices that would not have been on a menu! And, the intermezzo was a little different than we planned. They gave a choice of bon bons and a few types of sherbet and all we had planned for was one type of sherbet. I’m glad I did not print up a menu that might have discouraged my hall from doing these amazing things!! I had read a post where a girl was upset that her hall made a last minute menu change and she had already paid a lot for menus.
Favors—A+ for me, hubby and AnniesSS
I purchased picture frames and we wrapped them ourselves. AnniesSS, another bride here, worked in my office for a few weeks and, using the giftwrap that I bought, she determined what kind of ribbon was best, wrapped about half the gifts and showed me how to do the rest. She gets an A+ and so do hubby and I!
Slipper basket A+ for Annie and me! I highly recommend having a slipper basket.
Bathroom baskets A+ for me and for Bella Flowers
I provided the items for the baskets and Bella Flowers provided the baskets and arranged the items. I provided items for both men’s and ladies rooms and people did make use of them and did comment that I thought of everything. The sewing kits were used, so I guess someone had a seam rip or something. I provided little cups for the mouthwash and that got used also. My name is Kerie, and everyone noticed that there was Keri lotion in the bathroom baskets at the wedding and in the OOT bags. I wasn’t sure anyone would pick up on that!
OOT bags-- A+ for me and H
We made our own labels and put together the bags ourselves. Someone recently posted saying that there were a lot of last minute people that booked the hotel for her wedding. The same was true for my wedding. Buy extra items ahead of time. The actual bags that we used were from a Dollar King in Ronkonkoma. They have great bags! Many of the items in the bags were from Harmon Cosmetics. They have a lot of sample size items. We provided water, Advil, cookies, pretzels, direction cards for the hall for people who checked in early and may have forgotten their cards, the Keri lotion and some other little things.
OOT rooms Holiday Inn, Plainview A
Everything went well and the price was the best I could find. The only reason for not giving an A+ is that they didn’t do anything spectacular, the way that my A+ vendors did. It was a good hotel to use, was clean, there was no problem with the reservations and they gave the special rate even when people booked after the cutoff date.
Hair, Mary (my regular hairdresser, who comes to the house, FM me for number) A+
I have known Mary since I was 18 (long time ago). She used to do my hair at LeCrimp in Walt Whitman Mall. She does my hair and my moms. She is now a mom and she doesn’t work in a salon, but goes to people’s houses. We had lost touch for a while and I was very upset that I did not know how to find her for my wedding. Then, one day, my mom happened to bump into her and told her I was getting married. It was perfect. She colored and cut my hair in advance. On the day of the wedding, she did a great job on my hair and on mom’s. I wanted her to come to the wedding but she felt funny and had no babysitter for the night. However, she did get a babysitter for a little while and came back to the hall to touch up our hair during the night! That was really awesome. She is great with long hair and curly hair. My hair is not curly but hers is and she does a great job making her own hair look amazing all the time. I loved my wedding day hair and I love this cut and color!
Makeup
Mom’s makeup—Theresa Wittman, Mary Kay artist (631) 586-0105 A+
My mom and I both had trials with Theresa. Even though I did not use her for myself for my wedding day, I have to say, the trial was great. We found Theresa at the last minute and I was afraid to change my plans for what products I was going to use. I had practiced so much to do it myself and I was kind of excited about doing it myself. I may have her do my makeup for a future event and I will definitely go back to her to buy Mary Kay. She lives in Deer Park and has a nice makeup studio in her house, but she comes to you for your wedding!
My mom’s trial was great and on the day of, her makeup came out even better. Theresa did an amazing job and she applied the false eyelashes. My mom looked incredible.
My own, by Me A+
Yeah I did my own makeup. I had taken tons of time and spent a lot of money on trials. In the end, I had purchased everything I needed and figured out what I liked and what I was not allergic to. I have a lot of allergies. Most of my makeup was from Lancome, but there were a few other things as well. I let Mary take a lot of time with my hair, so there was less time for makeup. I did my makeup quickly, but I felt that I knew how to do it well and it didn’t even need to be touched up after I cried at the ceremony. I had considered using fake eyelashes because I cannot wear mascara. I was afraid to use them on the day of the wedding, but my mom ended up using a pair that I bought. It was a bit of a challenge to do my own makeup without using mascara and still look made up, but I think I pulled it off. One of H’s friends (a woman) asked me if I had my makeup airbrushed. She said my skin looked great and there were no creases in my foundation at all! I do wish that I’d found a better lasting lipstick, but the long lasting ones seemed so drying and flaky on me.
Here are some comments on various products I tried and used:
Stila Smudgepots eyeliner—stays right were you put it all night. I used a very thin eyeliner brush from Harmon Cosmetics. I’m sold on the Stila Smudgepots!
Makeup brushes—Brushes and applicators are key to doing your own makeup. I really liked one brand of brushes that I found at Harmon Cosmetics, called Beauty Strokes. I bought one from Lancome that was great, but no better than the Harmon ones, even though it was more money.
Lancome foundation—I found a great match to my skin tone and it looked very natural and felt great. Mary Kay also found a good match for me but I used the Lancome one. At the rest of my trials, they did not get it right.
Concealer—I used one from Lancome that did not crease or come off, but the coverage was not the greatest. I have dark circles that are hard to cover.
Eye cream—Clinique—It was called All About Eyes—I used for several weeks and the night before to make sure I had no swelling, which I get, being an allergic person. It worked and wasn’t irritating.
Skin Cream—I used Renergie Microlift from Lancome. It is supposed to fill in fine lines. I didn’t put it on the day of my wedding but I had been using it for a few days before and loved it. I think that is part of the reason my foundation went on so well. (Probably not necessary if you are younger, but I am 37).
Lipliner from Lancome—this is the one Lancome item that I did not like. Soon after I bought it, I wasted the whole lipliner trying to sharpen it. It kept breaking off in my sharpener. Even when I bought a new sharpener, it kept breaking. I used another lipliner that from Fresh that I got from Sephora that has a different color on each end of the pencil. I also used a few other things that were from Fresh and sold at Sephora.
Fake eyelashes—I thought that the spiky ones would look very fake, but they didn’t at all. I tried several types but ended up not wearing any. I do plan to use them once in a while now that I tried them. I just decided that my wedding day was not the time to start wearing them. My mom used them and loved them.
Well, now that my wedding is over, I have a great makeup collection from doing this!!!!!!
Honeymoon
Travel Agent, Micris Travel (located in Commack) A+
My husband worked with Barbara at Micris Travel. She spent a lot of time with him, at least 3 full days going back and forth, putting together the perfect package. We had tried to book online and we were not able to match what Micris Travel did for us. We didn’t even think that we would be able to afford the Maui Fairmont, but Barbara got it for us!
HM hotels and airlines (I gave comments only for the major ones):
Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas
American Airlines
Aloha Airlines
Fairmont Resort and Suites, Maui—A+ . Amazing, unmatched service. We also checked out other hotels while in Maui and all were very nice but I love the Fairmont best.
Hyatt, Kauai—A+ We knew several people who’d been there and recommended it. We loved it, loved the pools and loved the spa (definitely book treatments at their spa if you go).
Another travel tidbit, not related to my honeymoon. Last year we took Air Jamaica to Antigua and I would never travel with Air Jamaica again (and never recommend them) even though I plan to visit Antigua again! Air Jamaica was awful (long story and I won’t bore you any more). In Antigua, we stayed at a wonderful, small hotel called Siboney Beach and I would highly recommend that hotel and I’d recommend Antigua as a safe, casual Carribbean honeymoon or vacation.
Bride’s rings Bailey Banks and Biddle, Smithhaven Mall A+
This location is closing so I will keep the review short. They are wonderful and carry the designers that I love. Both my rings are from there. The jeweler and some of the salespeople will be going to the Roosevelt Field store.
Groom’s Ring, Firenze Jewels, diamond district A+
Price and selection is wonderful. My husband got a great ring. We looked there for me, but I wanted a pave band and I only liked the way certain designers make pave. They also run some great e-bay auctions.
Registries—I got great gifts and most people did shop my registries. My experience with the stores was not the greatest, as you will read. For future brides, I would recommend Bed, Bath and Beyond and maybe Bloomingdale’s. I also had a registry at Crate and Barrel, but it was not enough items for me to really rate them.
Fortunoff-- C
At the beginning, they did not remove any of the purchases form my registry, even the ones that were bought through weddingchannel.com, and when I went to do it online, the changes did not go through! H and I both called customer service about this. They tried to refuse to remove the items from my registry unless I gave them the names of the people who bought the items, and for each item, they wanted to know whether it was purchased online or at the store. I told them that I should not have to provide them with names of my friends and family members and that it is really not up to me to keep track of how the purchases were made. I honestly do not know whether the people who brought Fortunoff’s items to my shower had bought them in the store or online. Fortunoff told me that this was the fault of my friends and family for not requesting to take the items off the registry. I would have believed this if it was 1-2 items, but this was every item purchased at Fortunoffs. I reiterated my request to have the items removed form my registry. When the customer service rep refused, I finally threatened to just delete my whole registry and not use Fortunoffs. A manager finally called me back and straightened it out, but I see no reason for the way that FH and I were treated by 2 different customer service reps. It’s not so much that they made a mistake, but that they gave us a very hard time about fixing it.
Bloomingdale’s— B or B- unsure which
My china was on backorder for over 6 months. Even if I don’t blame Bloomingdale’s for that, I do think they handled it very poorly. I called customer service and I was told that for the people who ordered items that were backordered, Bloomingdale’s did not charge their accounts right away, but sent them e-mails, asking if they still wish to give me the item and saying that if they did not respond, the order would be cancelled. Well, lots of people do not open e-mails from Bloomingdale’s and some of my family never checks e-mail. So, people had no idea that the orders were going to be cancelled. I felt funny telling people to make sure that they were still ordering me a gift. The only way it was rectified was because there was some word of mouth information in the family, and one person who realized what was happening told the others and they made sure that I eventually got my gifts. I almost got no gift from people who had every intention of giving me a gift! And I felt funny telling them.
Bloomingdale’s does give lovely gifts just for registering there (a nice photo album, makeup and cologne samples, catalogs of companies in the registry and even chocolates). I registered at the Huntington store. The store was nice and quiet and the selection was great. Sometimes it was hard to find anyone in the department.
Once when I went to the store, I asked the salesgirl to add something to my registry. Her computer was down, but she said she’d take my info and get it in ASAP. The item never was added and I could not add it online because it is an item that is not listed online. I never had a chance to call Bloomingdale’s about this.
All of the stores seem to have items that are in the stores but cannot be added online (and vice versa, some things are online but not in the stores).
Bed, Bath and Beyond A-
This was the best of my registries and people like to shop there. It is convenient to anyone on Long Island and people love their coupons. The only problem is that they carry my everyday pattern, but it is not sold in any of their stores. It can be ordered online or at the stores but there is nothing in the stores in that pattern. I registered for it online, not knowing that this was the case. When people did order it for me, they shipped it very fast.
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Message edited 7/15/2006 2:47:15 AM.
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You looked beautiful! Thanks so much for sharing (not only the review and professional pics, but the amatuer pics at the GTG!)
