My July 22, 2006 Review (The Woodlands, Sherwood-Triart, Heart and Soul, All-Star, Melarosa, Gorgeous Faces)

Ok, so finally almost a year after our wedding, here is my review. Most of the pictures were taken by friends and family (we're lucky to have some great photographers in our lives). There are four professional proofs by Sherwood-Triart at the bottom. I should note that I am a perfectionist, so I pick apart every little detail. So, some of my reviews may seem like I’m nit-picking- I apologize in advance. Here goes:

LIW: A+
I did not use LIW to chat all the time, but I researched the heck out of vendors and I found LIW extremely helpful. Thank you all for your honest reviews. I hope this is as helpful to future brides as the reviews I've read on LIW were to me.

Mother Nature: C+

I started checking weather.com about 10 days before our wedding and watched our wedding weekend go from beautiful and sunny to three storms converging on NY at once. I tend to have bad luck, so this really was no surprise. The night before the wedding there were horrendous thunderstorms that knocked out the power in half our town, including my husband’s house. His family didn’t get power back until the next day (our wedding day) at noon, our wedding was at 3:30. My house, the rehearsal dinner and our church are all in the same town, but luckily they never lost power. The morning of the wedding I woke up and it was drizzling which continued through the morning and early afternoon- so no pictures outside. The one miracle of the day is that it had stopped raining by the time I was leaving for the church. After the ceremony they opened the doors to the church and the sun had come out. It was beautiful for about an hour so we got to take some pictures outside (unfortunately at the church instead of at the Woodlands where we really wanted outdoor pictures). By the time we travelled from the church to the Woodlands it had started to rain again (we got a few pictures outside) and it poured all night long, so unfortunately our cocktail hour had to be moved inside. Of course by the next day, it was gorgeous. Just my luck…

Invitations: Have You Heard, Inc.:- A+
Bellmore, NY

My cousin and my sister also got their wedding invitations here so I did not look anywhere else. Ginny was wonderful. She was a pleasure to work with. She is very patient and knowledgeable. Our invitations arrived beautifully wrapped. They also gave us a discount. We had one problem when we opened our response cards and the ink from the envelopes had rubbed off on the back of other envelopes. And the bows on our invitations had globs of glue on them. This was Encore’s fault, not Have You Heard's. Ginny took them back and offered to get us new ones or give us a credit for our thank you notes.

sample:



Wedding Programs: DIY and A friend of my in-laws

I won’t rate them since they were printed as a favor and we didn’t pay for them. In the long run, they’re not a big deal. They wouldn’t print them how we wanted (we wanted square programs to match our invitations- they would only print them as rectangles) and at the time I was upset. But compared to everything else in the wedding, this was a minor detail.

Place Cards: www.paperstyle.com and calligraphy by Have You Heard - A+

They were Anna Griffin. I loved them but they took FOREVER to asemble.

Menus and Rehearsal Dinner Invitations: DIY

I bought Anna Griffin menu cards and invitations at Michaels and printed them on my computer. They came out beautifully- you would never know they were DIY.

Samples:



Favors: DIY CD's

I purchased labels from www.myweddinglabels.com and paperboard cd cases from www.blissweddingsmarket.com. I would recommend both of them. Especially the labels- they were gorgeous. We burned cd's and assembled them ourselves, they turned out really well- sorry I don't have a picture.

Bridal Hoodie: www.customglamgirl.com A+
Loved it!

Unity Candle, Toasting Flutes and Cake Serving Set: Fortunoff- A+
Westbury

I didn't really look around much. They had exactly what I wanted so I bought them there. We got an ivory unity candle set with an ivory bow (which matched my dress and our invitations) and the Vera Wang love knots flutes and serving set. I was really happy with all of them.




Table Runner: Filigree Monogram Designs- A+

My mom ordered our table runner from here (www.filigreemonogram.com) I think it took a while but it came out beautifully.



Rings and Jewelry: Fortunoff- A+
Westbury, NY
My husband bought my engagement ring there. They had a great selection and very friendly and helpful service. We also went back to get our wedding bands. We looked a few times before we actually made up our minds. Only once did we have an unfriendly salesperson. I wanted an eternity band with princess cut stones to match my engagement ring. The only eternity band with princess stones was in white gold. They contacted the jeweler and had them make it in platinum for me. It came out beautifully. I also went back with my parents to pick out my wedding day jewelry- a pearl bracelet and a pearl ring (the rest of the jewelry I wore were pearl earrings from my husband and a pearl necklace from my grandfather). I guess my husband had the same idea as a wedding gift for me because he also went to Fortunoff and ended up picking out the same ring I had bought with my parents.



My engagement ring:


My wedding ring:




Veils: www.weddingveil.com A+
I was a little skeptical about buying my veils over the internet, but their prices were incredible and they had a return policy. So I decided to give it a shot and it was well worth it. I got two veils- a cathedral veil for the ceremony and pictures and a shorter veil for the reception. They arrived quickly and beautifully wrapped and they matched my dress perfectly. They have a wide variety of different styles and they only cost a fraction (less than 1/8) the price of what it would have cost had I bought the veils from a salon. I couldn’t recommend them more.



Shoes:- Rhea Nichols -A+
Rockville Centre, NY
My mother, my mother-in-law, sister-in-law and I all got our shoes there. They were extremely helpful. I decided to dye my shoes turquoise as my something blue and to match the bridesmaids dresses. I think they thought I was a little crazy, but they dyed them free of charge. They came out beautifully. Unfortunately, the rain on our wedding day caused the dye to run so now they look tie-dyed, and my feet were blue for a few days after but they looked great for a while.



Bridesmaids’ Gifts: www.bluenile.com A+

I got all of the bridesmaids beautiful pearl and blue topaz earrings. I was very happy with them, and I think the bridesmaids were too.

Groomsmen’s Gifts: Several different vendors

My husband decided to tailor the groomsmen’s gifts to each individual guy. Most got poker sets with their initials engraved on the box. One guy got personalized cufflinks from things remembered and the best man got an ipod shuffle, also with his initials engraved on the back.

Aisle Runner: The Original Runner Co. (originalrunners.com) and Me

I always knew I wanted a personalized runner but I waited too long to order it. So, I ordered a plain ivory runner from the original runner co and then I hand painted it myself. It came out beautifully. Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures of it. (No one took a picture of it- I can’t believe it).
You can see the aisle runner a little bit in the background of these pictures:


Makeup: Jillian- Gorgeous Face- A+

Jillian was a pleasure to work with. She did an amazing job. She was upbeat and cheerful and also calming. She came to my house, which was wonderful. She did me, my mother, and all of my bridesmaids. I think we were all very happy with how our makeup turned out. Everyone looked gorgeous.




Hair: Maria- Michelangelo- A+
Rockville Centre, NY

Maria has been my hair stylist for thirteen years so there was no question that she would do my hair for my wedding. She also did my sister’s and my mother’s hair. She came to my house, which was nice and she did an incredible job. I absolutely loved my hair.
Maria doing my mom's hair
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Maria doing my hair while I hold my cousin's baby (I swear I normally look more comfortable holding a baby but I was so scared she would get hairspray in her face)


Bridesmaids’ Hair: Sarah and Bridget- Gorgeous Faces- A+

They also did a phenomenal job. All of the bridesmaids looked gorgeous. And they were also fun and easy to work with.



Bridal Gown (Alvina Valenta): Bridal Reflections-A+

My cousin, my sister and I all have gotten our dresses at Bridal Reflections and we’ve all had wonderful experiences. I was the last of the three of us to get married, so by the time I got engaged we knew the women at Bridal Reflections very well. They were always very friendly and extremely helpful. When we gave them a budget, they never strayed from it. In fact, one of the consultants was consistently showing me dresses much lower than our limit. They were always very patient with me. I looked at a TON of dresses (even though I knew mine was the one, I had to make sure), and they were always very honest about what worked on me and what didn’t. They even helped me with suggestions as to how to alter dresses to personalize them for me. I bought my dress in Carle Place because we were able to get it for the trunk show price. Once it came in (early) I had them ship it over to Massapequa because we already knew and liked the seamstress there. Every time we came in they were very friendly and helpful. In the end my dress was a little big on me, but that’s because I lost too much weight before the wedding. I couldn’t have been happier with them.


BM Gowns (Watters): Bridal Reflections A+
Massapequa

Another wonderful experience. They were nothing but friendly and helpful. Their service was always great. The dresses arrived earlier than expected and as far as I know none of the girls had any difficulty with them.


Tuxes: Dante Zeller- B
Westbury, NY

We wanted turquoise vests and ties to match the bridesmaids and we found them at Dante Zeller. They also had a good selection of tuxes and my husband chose a nicer one that would be cooler for all the guys in the church (it was july and there was no air conditioning). We had a little bit of trouble because they didn't have what we wanted in stock- they had to order it from another store. My husband wanted to do a trial because he couldn't decide what he wanted to wear, so we set up an appointment. They didn't call to tell us that they couldn't get what we had asked for. I can't remember if we did a second trial or just made a decision based on what they could get us. When all of the guys picked up the tuxes a day or two before the wedding most of them had problems. Most of their tuxes were too big on them. They also gave some of the groomsmen black vests when they should have been turquoise. In the end everything worked out and the guys looked great, but we could have done without that stress a day before the wedding.


Cake: La Favorita - B
East Rockaway, NY

This is the vendor that the Woodlands uses and the cake was included in our package. Had the cake not been included, we probably would have gone elsewhere. The Woodlands told me to work with someone (Tom, I think) but La Favorita told me that I couldn’t work with him, instead they said I would work with Sal. I went to my meeting with them prepared with some pictures but I expected them to have books to show me of the work they had done. They had nothing. But they assured me that whatever I wanted they could make it. Using the pictures I brought, I described the cake I wanted. I even gave them the pictures. They told me that it would be no problem, they could make exactly what I wanted. As soon as I saw the cake at the Woodlands I was disappointed. The detail work was terrible compared to what I had requested. I could have done a better job (I’ve decorated cakes before). The monogram also had all three letters the same size, instead of our last initial larger, as it should be. Had I known how it would turn out, I would have requested something much simpler. The reason that their rating is this high is that the cake was delicious- their only saving grace in my eyes.

The cake should have looked like this but square with turquoise icing and a bow on top:

Instead it looked like this (I still don't know who put the flowers on it or why but I suspect they were to cover up some problem):


Church: Holy Trinity Lutheran Church- A+
Rockville Centre, NY

This is the church that my husband and I grew up in and where we originally met (as kids) so there was no question that we would be getting married there. The pastor was very accommodating. He allowed us to make additions to the service where we wanted. The only problem is that the organist made a mistake during the processional- he didn’t change the music between the mothers and the bridesmaids and started the bridesmaids music when the second to last bridesmaid was walking down the aisle. He played the song in its entirety even though everyone had finished walking- so there was a long dramatic pause which caused my husband’s grandmother to yell out, “I think she changed her mind!” The organist felt terrible about it. Other than that, and the lack of air-conditioning in the summer, the church was wonderful.


Flowers: Melarosa- A+
Oceanside, NY (www.melarosa.com)

Melanie was probably my favorite vendor. She couldn’t be more fun to work with. She also worked on my cousin and my sister’s weddings, so I also knew that I would use her. She does absolutely amazing work. Since I didn’t look anywhere else, I can’t say how her prices compare to other florists. She also did the flowers for the rehearsal dinner, then picked them up and reused them in some places in the Woodlands. We got so many compliments on the flowers. She really did an incredible job.







Limo: All-Star- A+

We loved All-Star. They were always very friendly to work with. The cars arrived early and were very clean. The limo drivers (unfortunately I can’t remember their names anymore) could not have been nicer. We got a Rolls-Royce and two ten passenger Lincolns. One of the Lincolns wasn’t available that day so they sent a twelve passenger instead, which was fine by us. The driver who drove the Rolls came to my house with a list of questions to go over and asked to speak with the maid of honor (so he didn’t bother me). He wanted to make sure that I had eaten, to see if I had any medications that needed to come with us, and some other questions. As soon as we got in the limo on the way to the church my parents told me how impressed they were by them. They were also very helpful at the church. Our driver fluffed out my skirt so I could walk down the aisle. They were all very friendly and helpful. Although they were a little more expensive than some other limo companies, they were well worth it. I highly recommend them.





Photographer: Sherwood-Triart- A-

Photography was one of my biggest priorities so I did A LOT of research before I picked a photographer. I was blown away by their studio and all of the albums that we looked at. Even though they were pricey, I thought they would be well worth it. Everyone we worked with was wonderful. However, there are a few things that I am unhappy about. I wish we had been able to choose our photographers. At my final meeting with them a month before the wedding I asked to meet with our photographers and they told me that Brian would be our main photographer and that Dana would be our photojournalist. I met with them both and I was thrilled. I had seen both of their work and I was very happy. However, on the day of the wedding Brian showed up with a different photojournalist (I can’t remember her name right now). While some of our proofs are phenomenal, there are a lot of shots that I had been looking forward to that were never taken. For example, there are a ton of pictures of me with my parents both before and after the ceremony and there are pictures of my husband with his parents, but there are no pictures of both of us with our parents. There were also only two pictures of my husband by himself, and no pictures of my husband with the best man. There are also a ton of detail pictures that were missed. There is no picture of our first kiss and no pictures of the reception room. Part of this is my fault, there was a miscommunication between me and my sister about giving them a shot list. However, some of these pictures should have been taken with or without a list from us. We are still waiting on our album, but since we’re living out of the country now, we’re not really in a rush. Overall, they did a great job and were wonderful to work with, but I’m a little disappointed.

Videography: Sherwood-Triart- A-

Dennis was our videographer. He called me before the wedding to make sure we were on the same page. He couldn’t have been nicer. The day of the wedding he extremely unobtrusive. I barely knew he was there. My problem is with our video. First of all, we had very little input in the video, other than choosing the songs. We made a mistake with one of the songs. We choose “All Night Long” to play over what we thought were the highlights of the reception. Instead, it plays over the highlights of the entire wedding and is the song that plays on the title page of the DVD. When I reviewed the songs with them before it went into production, I wish they had told me how prominent this song would be in the video because we would have chosen something else. There are also things that they included in the video which I would have cut. It has more of a cheesy vibe to it than I wanted. My only other issue is that Dennis, our videographer, must have had a fascination with one of the singers in the band because way too much time is spent on her in the video. At one point I was dancing with my twin brother and my dad asked him to film us. We were filmed a little bit, but then he went back to the band. I wanted to see the guests at my wedding, not the band we’ll never see again.

Band: Heart and Soul, Franklin Wayne Music- B+

From the minute we heard Heart and Soul on Frank Wayne’s website, we knew we wanted them. We went to a showcase and we loved them. As we were planning for the wedding, they were one of the things that we were most excited about. A few weeks before the wedding Frank Wayne called me to tell me that Jill, one of the singers, was on a reality show and may not be able to make it to the wedding. He promised that her replacement would be excellent. He was right, she was great. Before the wedding they sent us a song list to mark off or must-plays and no-plays. We also filled out our special songs including who we wanted to be included in our first dance and how much of the songs we wanted them to play. The night of the wedding the band was wonderful. They sounded great and we got a lot of compliments on them. They are a really fun and energetic band. People were up dancing all night. There are just a few things that I had problems with. First- they asked the bridal party to join in on our first dance (which we had requested that they did not do) which created some awkward situations that we had tried to avoid. Second- they cut my dance with my father short by one verse (we had requested the full song) which left off the most important verse to us. Third- and most important in my eyes. I had crossed out all of the audience-participation songs on their song list. So, they made up their own audience-participation song. I HATE audience participation. Worse, they made my husband and I come up and “shake our booties down to the ground.” Anyone who knows me know that I hate things like this. But worst of all, the singer made comments about us consummating our marriage not once, but three times. I was mortified. It totally threw the elements of class and elegance that I wanted to portray out the window. I also thought they could have played more slow songs and that they could have done a little bit of a better job reading the dance floor (at one point they played “Buttons” and the floor nearly cleared). Overall, they sounded wonderful and were a lot of fun, there are just some things I wish they had done differently.





Reception Hall: The Woodlands- A

From the minute we drove up to the Woodlands we knew it was were we wanted to get married. Its absolutely beautiful and it totally embodied the romantic elegance that we wanted for our wedding. The service there was incredible. Maureen was our banquet manager. We loved her. Max was the maitre d. He also did a wonderful job. Nicole was our bridal attendant. I can’t rave enough about her- she was so helpful, and calming and wonderful. She even had the cake moved into the corner so I didn’t have to look at it all night. And the food was amazing. We couldn’t’ decide what we wanted for dinner, so Nicole brought us both all three entrees (filet mignon, long island duck and red snapper) all were delicious. Nicole also made sure that we got five minutes alone in the bridal suite (which was so nice to have some quiet time to talk to each other and soak in the moment) and that we ate during the cocktail hour. There are only a few minor problems that I had with the Woodlands. First, there were a lot of personnel changes from when we booked the Woodlands to our wedding which was pretty unsettling, but it worked out in the end. Second, we had handed in our place cards in alphabetical order but someone must have dropped them when setting them up and they didn’t bother to re-alphabetize them because all of the place cards were randomly organized. Third, we had agreed that they would only pass out our signature cocktail and champagne during the cocktail hour but they were also passing out their trendy martinis- they fixed this immediately when we said something. We had also agreed that they would not place bottles of wine on the tables (waiters would serve it) but they were putting bottles on the tables (which just didn’t look as nice), again they fixed this as soon as we brought it up. And for the cake cutting they had us face one side of the room with our backs to the other side- which didn’t make much sense. Overall though, the Woodlands was a pleasure to work with. We are so happy that we got married there. And we are so happy that we can go back to the restaurant for our anniversaries in the future to relive the experience.













My husband: A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

During the planning process everyone always told me that at least I had chosen my husband and that was the most important thing. And they were right. The only thing that really mattered was that the two of us were going to spend the rest of our lives together. From the very beginning my husband wanted to be involved in the entire wedding process. He even had opinions on the flowers. He was adorable. We planned our wedding as a team, so the day was exactly what we wanted, not just what I wanted. Now, almost a year later, while there are some things that I would change about our wedding, I would never change him. I feel so lucky to have found such an amazing man to spend the rest of my life with. Every day I look over at him and I think about how happy he makes me. And that really is the most important thing of all.

The images below are professional proofs by Sherwood-Triart:

Image Attachment(s):

Message edited 1/3/2008 11:45:44 AM.

Re: My July 22, 2006 Review (The Woodlands, Sherwood-Triart, Heart and Soul, All-Star, Melarosa, Gorgeous Faces)

You look beautiful! I love your dress!!! Congratulations!

Re: My July 22, 2006 Review (The Woodlands, Sherwood-Triart, Heart and Soul, All-Star, Melarosa, Gorgeous Faces)

Omg, I didnt mean to put , lol I meant to put

Re: My July 22, 2006 Review (The Woodlands, Sherwood-Triart, Heart and Soul, All-Star, Melarosa, Gorgeous Faces)

wow your wedding was beautiful! Congrats! That dress is amazzzing!
Great review, makes me really look forward to my Woodlands wedding in 15 days

Re: My July 22, 2006 Review (The Woodlands, Sherwood-Triart, Heart and Soul, All-Star, Melarosa, Gorgeous Faces)

Wow you are beautiful!!!
Amazing pics, Congrats!

Re: My July 22, 2006 Review (The Woodlands, Sherwood-Triart, Heart and Soul, All-Star, Melarosa, Gorgeous Faces)

Thanks! I LOVED my dress. I'm still obsessed with it (I wish I could wear it again). Maybe for an anniversary party in the future (that is if I can ever fit into it again).

Message edited 6/28/2007 8:59:16 PM.

Re: My July 22, 2006 Review (The Woodlands, Sherwood-Triart, Heart and Soul, All-Star, Melarosa, Gorgeous Faces)

Everything looked beautiful! Congratulations

Re: My July 22, 2006 Review (The Woodlands, Sherwood-Triart, Heart and Soul, All-Star, Melarosa, Gorgeous Faces)

OMG I love everything!! And your gown and veil! WOW! Just gorgeous!!!! Congratulations!!

Re: My July 22, 2006 Review (The Woodlands, Sherwood-Triart, Heart and Soul, All-Star, Melarosa, Gorgeous Faces)

Gorgeous! Loved your colors! I had the same BM dresses only in sage

Re: My July 22, 2006 Review (The Woodlands, Sherwood-Triart, Heart and Soul, All-Star, Melarosa, Gorgeous Faces)

thanks for your review, you look beautiful

Re: My July 22, 2006 Review (The Woodlands, Sherwood-Triart, Heart and Soul, All-Star, Melarosa, Gorgeous Faces)

great review congrats!

Re: My July 22, 2006 Review (The Woodlands, Sherwood-Triart, Heart and Soul, All-Star, Melarosa, Gorgeous Faces)

You look beautiful, great review

Re: My July 22, 2006 Review (The Woodlands, Sherwood-Triart, Heart and Soul, All-Star, Melarosa, Gorgeous Faces)

bump for my anniversary

Re: My July 22, 2006 Review (The Woodlands, Sherwood-Triart, Heart and Soul, All-Star, Melarosa, Gorgeous Faces)

You looked beautiful! Congratulations and HAPPY 1ST ANNIVERSARY!!!