UPDATE: Our Day After Album Layout on page 4!!!: My July 29, 2007 Wedding Review is Finally up for our red-Hot Gerbder Daisy studded Nuptial! BEWARE! It is a monstrously long one!

Ok. DEEP breath here... I think this is first I have taken in a few months! Before the wedding I was sure that once it was over, FH and I could exhale just like Whitney Houston and her crew, but no one ever mentions the post wedding breath-holding! AKA running around and putting AWAY all the gifts you get, cashing checks, mailing thank you’s, making new moves…etc. Yet finally we find ourselves sitting at home and staring one another in the eye with nothing to do except write what will undoubtedly be a ridiculously long review that will hopefully prove a wee bit helpful to other ladies who are trying to plan a big fat beautiful wedding on a budget, while simultaneously ducking neurotic relatives (and pacifying them when plan A fails), kicking unsupportive “friendzilla’s” to the curb, sticking fingers in different pies, cakes and buffets during food tastings (where you both get food poisoning) and elbowing other brides out of the way in search for THE dress. What I have learned during the planning of our wedding is that it is a WAR out there where you will laugh, cry and undoubtedly threaten to hurl a few frozen chicken cutlets along the way, but in the end, there will be peace and your love will only grow once you’re out of the wacky land of OZ and into the home you create with your new hubby.

I know many brides love BIG reviews, and hoping this one will NOT disappoint. I have taken a great deal of time making this up, and went into as much detail as possible. If you have any questions, please feel free to FM me. Now I am going to take this time to give background and tell you a little about us...because...well....because I can!

The Romance:
My DH, Pete, and I met, during a time in my life, when I was not looking for a boyfriend. Yes I was surfing internet dating sites but I was not looking for a “the one.” Having left the nasty pieces of several numerous bad relationships behind me like the proverbial trail of bread crumbs, I took up the challenge in the winter of 2003 that a friend at the time put to me; sign onto Match.com for their freebie trial. I figured, what the hell? I mean here I could check out other equally socially awkward-and-therefore-looking-for-romance-through-a-little cyber-envelope-announcing-YOU’VE GOT MAIL, folks, while sitting at home in my Hello Kitty PJ bottoms. So I joined and after filling out the rather asinine profile requirements, I sat back and waited…and waited and waited… until the floodgates opened and sent my way not the tall dark and studly fling I was looking for, but page after page of the short, the stodgy, the pudgy and the PERVY!

I had one guy say he would give anything to be the “porcupine to my Snuggles…” I kid you not. Wish I could. In my profile I had said that I loved the smell of fresh laundry so Mr. CEO of a major company, decided to quote commercials to me… Oh and did I mention the guy who was an “artist” who would spend an hour with me on the phone deviating between various octaves of sighs and groans which were meant to convey the “deep tragedy” of his life which was full of such trial as still living with his mom at age 32 because he was a lazy ***?

No, my prospects were not looking good until I decided to be proactive. On a whim, I wrote to a man much finer than any I had ever allowed myself to interact with, spurned by the humor of his profile. Within a day I received a FOUR PAGE email from him stating that it was a FORM LETTER he sent to every woman who contacted him, informing them of his little foibles beforehand so they knew what they would be getting within the attractive packaging. Well I was stunned; HOT AND eloquent? Hmm. Needing to investigate further I sat down and sent him my own 4 page letter of all my various neurotic tendencies and other choice reasons we probably shouldn’t be together. He wrote back asking me to call him but because I was raised “not to chase” I chose the higher ground- I hid. For 2 weeks. And for every day of those two weeks, Pete sent me an email, asking me to write him because he hadn’t met another girl yet who was as open as I was. So at long last (I promise the story is coming to an end soon!) we exchanged numbers and talked on the phone every night from then on till our first date for hours at a time with no uncomfortable lags at all. Our first date was a month later due to em being a chicken and breaking dates we planned. But after he broke a date with someone else to go out with me, I bit the bullet. We have been together ever since. We had good days and bad days but we always worked it through with the grace of God and patience. And last year on Holy Thursday, he proposed at the same restaurant where we had our first date! And after a year of planning, we are finally Mr. and Mrs. L part deuce! (I call my in-laws Mr. &Mrs. L)

One more Moment!
First and foremost I want to say that it took my DH and I over a year to plan & pay for this wedding. Although we had originally thought to have a destination wedding, this was the first time that any of the younger crowd on my side of the family was getting married so I decided I wanted it to be an affair in which all of our loved ones were present. I am the only girl as well, and did not want to deprive my father of giving me away. The entire planning process had it's ups and downs, but in the end, I married the man who is and always will be my Superman, a person who has his weaknesses but is always there to catch me when I fall off a building or get stuck on a runaway train.

LIWeddings.com:
Without this website, I don't know how I would have been able to create the personalized affair that my DH, Pete, and I will remember for the rest of our lives. We wanted the wedding to reflect both of our eprsonalities, incorporating a good time into the tradition of holy matrimony and with some brainstorming and the help and support of all of the LI Ladies especially MrsQ-in2007, diva7531, leena07, Jkiesel, Mooshyboo and Portjeffbride among soooo many others, we got it done! And in style to boot! Although I was a NJ bride and therefore most vendor recommendations didn’t help me, the ability to come on here any time of day and just vent and find an outlet for all of that bridal energy really helped keep me sane and I am more grateful to everyone , than I can ever express. And so is Pete because a sane Me equals a saner him! So from us both, thank you!
Overall: A++++++++++++++++++++

**All photos were taken by Al Ojeda unless otherwise noted**

Bridal Shower
All these pictures were taken by my SIL, Erin who took our e-pics.

Bridal Shower

This was great LMAO. Basically my best friend and I were getting married 2 weeks apart and we had her shower first so I KNEW mine had to be around the corner. I was waiting for it an yes I even kept hawk eyes on my registries lol sooo bad I know. But I wanted to wear a certain dress and not look like the mess I am on the weekends. Anyway I was living in NJ at the time-had just moved but all my friends and family are in NY so I KNEW they would make it up in NY and was constantly suspicious of any ply to get me to go up and visit.

Anyway, loll after weeks with nothing going on, my MOH mentions in casual convo a friend of ours who is a leukemia survivor is being honored at some special cancer function and has to give a speech. So we agree to go to the dinner and all and this is weeks in the planning lmao. So the day of, I am all suspicious right because my mom had called a few days before to “see how I was doing” and when I told her about the function she “casually” asked what I was wearing and then told me we were having a barbecue the following weekend at my aunts. So now I’m all suspicious of both the cancer event and the barbecue.

But the day of the event, LMAO my MOH shows me the actual invite and I felt like SUCH a cheeseball because it was all official looking. I was like OMG Jenn HOW could you think they would lie about CANCER! You suspicious bad girl. You need to go to church and light a few candles for yourself girl because not everything is about you.” Yes I berated and chided myself all the way to the hall.

LOl anyway we get there and my MOH almost hits a damn tree while parking. I raised a brow like WHY are you so nervous because there’s no one around us. But she just laughed it off and we went inside. I wasn’t suspicious anymore because the hall was nice, we saw a sign for cancer event etc. But as we were walking up the stairs lmao the Hostess says “Oh are you here for the Breast Cancer Awareness function?”

I stopped and said what? My MOH ran ahead of me and I heard myself say, “Breast ancer? Jessie? Sheila doesn’t have breast cancer. She had Luke…”

That’s as far as I got because she ran ahead and when I followed, everyone yelled SURPRISE!

LMAO they got me soooo good with the fake program. I should have saved it lol because it was classic. Anyway, here are some pics of that. I’m wearing our colors!

Surprise! (me and mom)




My poor MOH telling the saga of how hard it was to fool me.


MOH and her twin sis


DH and I




My mom and MIL












Mind you the nightie was from my MIL! She gave DH silky briefs too because she said “the textures feel nice against the skin when they rub together!” -just dead- Mind you, this woman who I love but who will drive me to drink, lmao, is the one who told me her wedding dress had a pale yellow ribbon through it because she couldn’t feel “right” about wearing an all-white wedding dress if I knew what she meant….

-dies- I did…and I have had much therapy since


PRE WEDDING VENDORS:

Save the Dates Magnets:
STAPLES
Because I am artistic I always have a hard time when it comes to purchasing “creative” items from vendors because they never quite meet “my vision.” After reading about some of the work ladies here did, I attempted to make ours myself. We used several different ones due to the fact some of our relatives had never met us or not seen my DH and I since we were kids. For those closer to us we used the baby picture STDs and for others who would not appreciate them for whatever reason, we sent the ones of us as adults. I designed them all in Photoshop then printed them out on magnetic paper at home. In hindsight we should have used something like Vistaprint, but they were still FAR cheaper than if I had had paid someone else a design fee to make them for us.

These are the ones we sent out of us as kids. I got the idea from a website I saw but due to the HIGH prices they were charging, we decided to do our own. I think they cam out pretty good!
Overall: A









This was the one we sent to the guests who had A) never met Pete or I or B) not seen us since we were kids and therefore needed to be reintroduced to us so they wouldn’t be at the wedding looking for only a white dress and a tux!


Cards & Envelopes:
AC Moore
Found some simple cardstock to print out a design I did to accompany the STD magnets. Very inexpensive and easy to use!
Overall: A+


Return Address Labels
Superior Labels.com
Found this site on a random search on Ask.com; since my DH and I never had any labels done with both our names on it. We received 60 labels from them for around $4.50 or so. They came exactly as we designed, and I thought they were a great deal!
Overall: A+


Invites
Done by: Me Myself and the DH!

We wanted to have pretty invites but despite loving the look of the elaborate pocket-fold invites we saw everyone using, we couldn’t see ourselves spending that much money and time because 9.10 invites get dumped in the garbage anyway and our budget was REALLY tight. So we did our own and though it was a lot of work and time, I think they came out nicely-not as fancy as some but they fit our relaxed, laid back theme. We purchased 2 boxes of DIY invites that came with everything; invites, response cards and the envelopes for both. We purchased the fleur-de-lis pattern by either Gartner or Wilson. I do not have the box anymore and can’t remember which one, but we got them at AC Moore and because we had coupons AND they were on sale, both boxes cost us 26 bucks total! SAVE those coupons lsdies-they will save YOU a bundle!

We printed the invites in black ink and our names in color, and then glued little scrap-booking accents on them to personalize them a bit more. We got those at AC Moore as well.
Overall: A

Envelope Addressing
Done by: Me Myself and my Momma! (Thanks Mom!)
Ok so I know that many ladies consider calligraphy a must but I’m a modern girl and honestly, too darn busy to worry about formalities. I grew up in a household where we te our spaghetti with ketchup, have company come over and hang out all night in the kitchen, and were so up one another business all the time people thought we were one big amoeba. No, formality was not big on my side of the family and DH and his immediate family are laid back as well. So we went the easy route and bought clear labels and then I created the document in MS Word and my mom printed them out at work. They were neat and presentable so easier for the post office to read (though they STILL LOST HALF!) and it was quicker than spending all day on an envelope that would be thrown away anyway. No one complained.
Overall: A

Engagement Pictures
Done by: Erin McCall (my future sis-in law!)
We were originally not going to do engagement pics because we were on a tight budget but my future sister-in-law is actually a photographer on the side and offered to do them for us. So we took her up on it and they came out awesome! You do know whose door we will be knocking on for christening pictures, first portraits, family portraits… . She does have a website. If you are interested in info, FM me.
Overall: A++++++











E-ring & Wedding Bands
Isabella Jewelry Inc, NJ
The Jewelry Exchange- Booth #59 973.237.9100

I love antique jewelry so DH did the best he could and I loved my e-ring though it wasn’t as antiquey as I had imagined. But Nick at Isabella’s has been our jeweler for the entire time we have dated and worked with DH even before then. So the prices rare always great. We got my bands from them as well. DH had them customized. Though I feel they don’t match perfectly because my e-ring seems more yellowed than the bands supposedly due to the fact the diamonds are set differently, and more metal shows. I'm not convinced about that and I am not 100 percent happy with it. I wanted the bands more rounded and delicate looking. Jewler claimed it was because they used bigger diamonds which is nice and all but I deliberately chose a delicate band with smaller stones for a reason. But again the prices were good and DH was so pleased with himself I couldn’t complain. He takes it as a personal insult that he 'didn't do it right' so it will be a silent gripe till an anniversary or something in a few years when we can justify ordering me a truly vintage looking ring set.

DH got his from a company online that sells titanium rings. He paid 140 for his plus shipping. It isn’t titanium but tungsten carbide which is supposedly a manufactured blend of titanium and other metals that stay eternally shiny and are hard as diamond. We orded a second shiny band tested it because that’s how we are lol-cynical. DH took a power tool and tried to resize it himself since it was a bit tight. He ended up getting the tool so hot it burned his hand but the ring was a stubborn sucker-didn’t even scratch! If your FH doesn’t like fancy jewelry like mine, go for it. He wears the wedding band that’s two toned on his left and shiny on his right.
My rings overall: B- for the jeweler
For the FH for trying: A++++
DH’s band: A






OFFICIAL REVIEW:

I am going to do my best to structure this well. Forgive me for it’s length but I love details so will pretend everyone else does to! Hope it is of some help!

Details: The look

Hair color/cut(pre-wedding=3 days before. They did such a great job they need to have their horn tooted too.) Evangelista beauty salon in White Plains.: http://www.evangelistahairsalon.com/team.html. 914.428.0100.

My mom has used them since they opened in 1978 but I never have because they are $$. But after my fiasco with a home dye kit that left me looking like a good wine and my desire to look more like Eva Mendes on the big day, I made an appointment. I was not very hopeful because all you ladies with dye experience KNOW how hard it is to get red out without processing your hair to the point it abandons you in protest, but they did it! AND my hair looked and felt great afterwards. Oh and did I mention I did this THREE DAYS before the wedding! When I went in I was a home-dyed burgundy headed mess. (Ladies, some advice, don’t buy hair dye on a whim!) and when I came out I was a bronzed goddess a la Eva Mendez look-alike (erm sorta!) .Monica did the job but Maryann helped mix the colors. They are $$ but everyone I have met since I colored my hair has complimented me, including my best friend’s stylist who did our hair for HER wedding last week! LOL Best money I spent on this wedding.

Day of Hair/Makeup: Fedora with Marlene Kurland Makeup Agency, On Location.
http://www.marlenekurland.com/Weddings/weddings.html 888.818.5995

Although I was VERY hesitant and hell reluctant to pay good money to have someone do my hair and makeup the day of, I am so glad I went with Fedora. She was professional and easy going and did a great job. I wish that she had applied more powder because I shine up easily, but otherwise definelty an A. She also did the makeup for three of my BMs and kept their age in mind and they looked great. Unfortunately no pics of me getting done up ? Too much rush but I’ll “appear” later. LOL. Marlende herself also followed up with me after the wedding which I thought was a nice touch by the company. I recommend them.
Products: Loreal Tru Match foundation, Bare Escentuals Mineral veil powder, various NARS eye shadows, Nars blush in ******, lip liner in ******, etc. Hey, being a blushing bride doesn't come easy!
Overall: A

The Attire
Gown: Designed by Allie Renee for Mon Cheri Bridals
Bridal Salon: (RK Bridal in NYC)

Although my dress was beautiful I had sooo many issues with it! First, when I bought the dress at RK, the sample I tried was strapless yet when I received my dress, it had straps! After some questions they unapologetically told me “someone” must have removed the straps but that dress came with straps. I was like ***! Ok so wouldn’t have been a disaster EXCEPT that without the straps, it didn’t sit right so they needed to do more work and ended up going OVER said “cap.” I was livid. Even after 3 fittings, it took two more to get it to the point I was satisfied but not happy.

Oh and did I mention this was my second dress? The first came in STAINED AND the wrong color and they wanted to charge ME for replacing it because they lost my request for ivory. I was like WHAT? I mean they needed to order me a new dress ANYWAY so why would there be a problem ordering it in ivory? The staff and manager treated me HORRIBLY until after a tip from a young salesgirl, I whipped out my credit card and called the company right there in the store. ALL of a Sudden, the manager’s tune changed and he made the changes free of charge of course and then had the nerve to act like he had done it out of the kindness of his heart! NEVERMIND he made me cry earlier and told me “We can’t always have what we want.”!! Go if you must for the prices but deal with them as little as possible.
Bridal Gown itself: A-
RK Bridal: D







Mrs. L Underwear:

Advantage Bridal.com. SO NOT HAPPY with this! First off, it was supposed to be my something blue but obviously did not happen that way. They somehow got the color AND size wrong so for the pic had to hike it up so I didn’t show evidence that I was a plumber in another life! They were supposed to say Mrs. L Too and that didn’t happen either. When I complained they said they would not exchange them since they were customized and only after I threatened to revoke my payment did they offer to let me order a new pair for half price (STILL OBSCENELY expensive) and they would waive shopping. I declined because it was so close to the wedding and the first pair had been so pricey. In hindsight, I should have just gone to AC Moore and gotten the iron-on crystals that said Bride or Mrs. and then added the L myself onto a pair of VS undies.
Overall:F


Garter: Eyecatchingcreations.com. It was customized for me to match my wedding heels-red and white polka dots and ivory lace. The vendor was great. The first one she sent me had some minor issues but as soon as I contacted her she sent me a new one free of charge. Great lady to work with and everyone LOVED it. I was asked to flash it all night! My shoes I ordered from a vendor on Ebay; a knockoff of a GUESS shoe I couldn’t find anywhere. SOOO much cheaper but by the end of the night like all high heels, they crippled me.

My dress was so simple and traditional that I really got to go wild with the accessories especially my shoes. Our entire wedding was actually structured around the color of my shoes and DH actually bought red doc martens to match me! It was great.
Shoes Overall: A+ for look but F for comfort
Garter: A++++









Veil:

RK Bridal. I forget honestly which company made this veil but it was BEAUTIFUL. I didn’t love my dress but adored my veil. I wanted it to match both my hairpiece and the dress and by chance after a frantic last-minute search that ensued when I realized I would be sans veil my big day, I found it. The appliqué pattern mimicked the dress and the beading matched the hairpiece. LOVE IT. I think SYMPHONY makes it. I did find it cheaper online but due to time constraints couldn’t order it.

Ladies, here is some advice: If you find something you like in a bridal store (accessories like tiaras or veils, jot down the vendor and then look it up online. I could have saved a bundle had I ordered the hair comb and veil online.
Hair comb:

No name (Bridal Salon-Park Avenue Bridals) I didn’t want a tiara and found this by chance when I went shopping with my MOH for her dress (her wedding was two weeks after hours). She tried it on so I did too and fell in love. She bought it for me as a gift. It was perfect with the dress; added drama and a unique touch.
Hair comb: A++++
Veil: A++++










Jewelry:
Earrings (gift from hubby), bracelet (Carolee from Ebay seller for a PHENOMENAL steal of a price!), necklace (Emitations.com)



Jewelry overall: A++++


Bridesmaids' Gowns
Bari Jay: BM’s wore #703 in red, tangerine and boysenberry in Jolie satin and MOH wore #310 in boysenberry Jolie Satin trimmed in ivory ribbon.
Purchased at RK Bridal, NYC

Trying to coordinate my 4 bridesmaids’ schedules was nearly impossible, so I decided to hunt on my own and then just offer them a selection. The three younger ones are my cousins and each is under 20 so they can fit into anything and look fine. I started by looking through bridal magazines and getting an idea of the designers I liked. Then I moved to searching online before heading to RK Bridal to check them out in person. I gave the girls a choice of wearing the same dress in diff colors or different dresses in the same color and they chose diff colors much to my delight! All the dresses with the exception of my MOH’s, fit right away.

We bought them at RK but again, I had an issue. They have this weird policy where if you measure your BP yourself, you get the dress for the best price through their “no frills” program. BUT if you might need alterations, they charge you 65 bucks per girl for the “privelege” of using their seamstresses plus whatever the alterations cost. It is non-refundable even if you end up not needing alterations, as happened to us. The only great part of my overall RK experience was Ginny-my saleslady who was FABULOUS! A+++++ for her!
Bari Jay Dresses- A+







Wedding party:


My beautiful MOH (and best friend )
I LOVE her so much-without her the day of, my poor DH would have had his hands full. She helped organize everyone and really made the title of Maid of Honor proud. Thank you Jessie!



Tuxes
AfterHours
www.afterhours.com

They are affiliated with David’s Bridal but the service here was 100x better. Not a lot of choice in colors for vests and ties unless you are matching them to DB gowns, but the prices were moderate and it was fairly simple to order. My only beef with them was they couldn’t find me in the computer when I went and after I produced the discount I had been given at a Bridal Expo, they still said they couldn’t honor it because they didn’t offer that discount anymore. LIVID! But the tuxes all fit and my dad looked great so I will be kind and give them a better grade than they deserve.




Overall : B+

Bridesmaid Gifts:
TheWeddingChanelStore.com
Bagettes.com

I didn’t want to go overboard because except for my MOH, my girls were in it to appease the family. They are good girls but very young and they didn’t help me at all with anything. Never even ASKED me about the wedding till the day of. But mom insisted they get a gift (though WE had to pay for their dresses) so I got them simple engraved mirrors from TheWeddingChannel.com when they had a sale and I got free engraving.

For my MOH who is like a sister to me, I got several small things that suit her interests. She got a mirror inside of her customized makeup bag from Bagettes.com (that she LOVES btw and carts everywhere). I also got her a cookbook she wanted, her day-of necklace for my wedding and blue undies and a nightgown for her own wedding night two weeks later.
Both the Wedding Channel and Bagettes were affordable, professional and quick with shipping.
Overall grade for both: A

Venue
The Brownstone House
www.thebrownstone.com

Venues were the first thing we started looking into because we wanted to have an idea of what price range we might be looking at. We went into IMMEDIATE sticker shock! Most places in NYC wanted 200+ per head and in NJ the prices were not much better. My hopes of an outdoor wedding went RIGHT out the window! But I kept at it and found a few possible locations ina copy of the NJ locations Wedding Guide I bought at Borders. I fell in love with a room at The Brownstone House but becauseit was in Paterson (not a great place in NJ) DH immediately nixed it.

So we looked into The Manor which is right behind his parent’s home but I felt uncomfortable because it was very stuffy feeling and though their grounds were amazing, we had to have a SUPER high minimum. We booked but then after going to see our florist who encouraged us to try The Brownstone House because the food was amazing, we went. They offered us a GREAT price if we booked un a Sunday morning and since I’d always wanted a sunshine bright ceremony, we booked with them and canceled at The Manor.







The Brownstone House was phenomenal in terms of the beauty of the hall, the fantastic food and the extras they threw in at no cost like upgrades to colored linens, upgraded to our menu, a full desert buffet including waffle station, chocolate fountain, and zeppoli station, (DELICIOUS!) They also made our cocktail hour a buffet at the last minute which was awesome. We worked mostly with Charlie in the beginning and we LOVED him. He was so efficient and pleasant to work alongside. We also got the room I fell in love with, for the reception-The Grand Conservatory which is BEAUTIFUL. Unfortunately our ceremony had to be moved inside due to the weather? So that was disappointing but it happens.

DH waiting for me!


Grand Conservatory: All glass but since it was raining they pulled down some of the drapes.


A sink in ladies room-its decorated with the Sleeping Beauty legend and the carpet has an abstract rose shape on it.


Cake:


Cake detail:


Cocktail Hour: We got sooo many free upgrades here. I can’t remember everything but if you book here, make sure to get the cocktail shrimp because they are HUGE. The beefsteak on toast was delicious as was the calamari and coconut shrimp and DH swears by the scallops wrapped in bacon.

I loved our wedding. However several things went wrong including the “disappearance” of my expensive diamond necklace from a supposedly locked bridal suite, the moving of our things from said suite to a CLOSET with a moldy wet carpet that ruined my MOH’s purse, a very bossy, bordering on rude Maitre D and the wrong wedding cake. I would have let most of those things go because nothing ever is perfect, but after trying to speak to the owner in a civil way about being reimbursed for the necklace since our things were moved by them to a non-secure location, and being given a complete run-around, I can no longer give them the A+ I wanted to. They do have amazing prices and FABULOUS food which my guests are STILL raving about, but my advice is trust only yourself and your BP. Period.
Overall: B

Toppings for our waffle station:


BEAUTIFUL fruit for dipping in fountain-strawberries were enormous!


Officiant
Reverend Eileen Brosko

We wanted a non-denominational wedding because though DH and I were both raised Catholic, neither of us is practicing but we are still spiritual people. We found Reverend Brosko through a colleague of my MIL. Her daughter had gotten married by this woman so she referred her to my MIL and in turn, to us. We booked her immediately after meeting her because she was just so down to earth and easy to talk to. We met her in her home and it was just a good home if you know what I mean; nicely furnished but nothing fancy. Just felt like a house full of love. Reverend Brosko conducted a beautiful ceremony that received compliments from both sides of the family. Our mothers loved the rose ceremony.












Overall : A+

DJ
DTM Productions
DJ: Mike
www.dtmproductions.com

GREAT DJ!!! We were referred to them by The Brownstone House and from the getgo, Mike was the absolute BEST to deal with. We didn’t actually meet him till a week before the wedding because we got a special dela if we didn’t get out DJ till the week before, but he called me as soon as he was assigned and kept contact. On the day of he was there running everything to a T and he waited on us hand and foot till we shooed him away. ? He got all our guests who wanted to dance dancing and was just fantastic to work with. Really outstanding and not bad on the eyes if you know what I mean HEY! I am married not dead! I totally recommend them.

Our First dance: We danced to Rascall Flatt’s “God Bless the Broken Road”, the same song I walked down the aisle to. DH grabbed my tushy!


Father/Daughter dance: We danced to HeartLand’s “I loved her First” and we made everyone bawl including my bug lug of a dad.




Mother/Son dance: They danced to “A Song for My Boy.”

Overall: A

LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!
My side of the family got down lol and dragged out DH’s fam. We all had a ball.
Girls trying to teach me to do Beyonce’s “Uh Oh” booty dance.


Conga line: Whic my dad started btw :loL:


We're all just nuts lol!


My brother losing his mind and using napkins in place of glow sticks.


Florist:
Accents with Flowers
800.232.0705.

Ok so this was the biggest headache of all but I cannot blame it on Dan who runs Accents with Flowers. The problem was me-I am a hands-on bride and he has been in the business so long he just goes on auto pilot and that bothered me so much in the beginning I wanted to go with another florist. But thankfully after seeing how cheap looking and poor quality other less expensive florists were, I stuck with Dan. BEST choice ever! The flowers were AMAZING. He orders his gerbers from Canada so they are humongous and beautiful and that was important as gerber dasies were our main wedding flower. Everyone who sees our pics comments on our bouquets and as a testament to how fabulous they were, not one of my BM’s wanted to donate her bouquet to me to toss! They all held fast to them, WE also got the daisies for our DIY centerpieces from him and they were beautiful as were the corsages for our mothers. Thank you Dan for putting up with a loopy bride!
Overall: A++++






















Photographer
Al Ojeda with ACANDIDIMAGE.com
www.acandidimage.com
www.alojeda.com

UPDATE:: Photography was very important to me because I love pictures. They are a link to our past and so I really wanted someone amazing. Unfortunately people like Angelica Glass and Blue Daisy though fantastic, were waaaay out of our price range so we went with a company called A Candid Image who works with free lance photographers under a sort of umbrella. There is a main company in Boston and then district offices everywhere else. You meet with the district manager who assign you a photographer based on availability and what you are looking for and then they are your liason between the corporate Boston office and the photographer until the wedding.

Al was professional from our first meeting as was his wife who works with him. He did a wonderful job, capturing the vibrancy of our day. My only regret is that we did not get there on time so we were unable to take all of the pictures we wanted and there are very few of DH and I. We had a hard time doing our thank you’s because most of our formals left something to be desired because it was hot out and I had forgotten to bring my compact with me. So I am the shine Queen and its sooo upsetting. I have shed many tears over the lack of pictures because it was the most important thing to me, aside from marrying my hubby of course! But life happens-sometimes in ways we do not expect and although the pictures were not perfect, our relationship is stronger than ever so I say it is a fair trade.

UPDATE: I started doing our album and realized that ALL of the formal portraits are fuzzy. They did not show on the small 4x6 shots but in larger format for the album and reprints, they are all visibly low quality. I contacted the photographer who assures me these are the high res shots. They look Awful...I noticed it in our parent albums but thougt I screwed up so I checked our CD of proos and sure enough, All the formals are awful. Its upsetting because I ddint get pics with my mom alone, my dad alone etc and now the few pics we do have cannot be reprinted larger than a 4x6. And though Al yes was great. HE IS A PROFESSIONAL and should have KNOWN better. He also should have told me because I trusted him and didnt notice till now. I mena CRAP i even wrote hima good review...Im SOOOO UPSET!
Overall new grade: F!!!!!




































DIY:
DH, FIl, Dad & ME!!

I can say that aside from bringing out my insanity, this wedding brought out the crafty side in me and brought me back to my artistic roots. DH, his dad, my dad and I worked very hard to make my vision complete! I could not have done it without them and thank them all for their creativity, hard work, and patience with my sometimes loopy requests, FIL and Dad created the card box for us-my dad made the lid, his dad painted it and DH and I added the garlands of gerbers, It was a group effort so MANY MANY MANY THANK YOUS! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Table Numbers: These were a hit-not one remained at the end when we went to collect them! Thanks Yesi for posting these directions!





Place cards:
Simple white cards that I printed with colored ink. We also used the remaining scrapbook daisies from our invites on these to add pizzazz.



CardBox: Really loved this. We bought a planter JKiesel told us about at AC Moore on sale and then cut out the middle, created a top with a slit and then painted and decorated it.



Unity Candle:


Memory table: This was very well received-people on both sides enjoyed seeing that our grandparents were gone but not forgotten. It made for good reminiscing.


LOVE letters for our cake table:


Silk gerber hair combs for BM’s: These were cheap cheap to make and super easy yet really tied in our theme.


Guestbook: Of all my DIY this was the biggest waste. Even after the DJ asked people to go sign it, we recieved 5 signatures out of 110 people including the DH and I. In hindight, I'd rather have done a wishing well that would have been easier to make and the little papers could have been more easily stored. Or maybe those sign in frames.


Wedding reception table centerpieces: To save money we did a variation of GinaZ’s centerpieces and they worked out great and were super inexpensive yet impactful.





Final Thoughts:
At last you reached the end of this monstrosity! LOL. Now that it is all over I can say this: Nothing will be completely as you expect it to be. Things WILL go wrong. You WILL freak. But in the end, none of it will matter because you will marry the man you love and the rest can stay by the wayside. It will be perfect for you even while its all falling apart if you just remember to take a breath and then smile at your Dh and say “I love you.”

My wedding was not perfect but it was MY wedding and I wouldn’t change that for the world.

1. Enjoy planning but enjoy the actual day even more because it whips by you. My MOH made me stop and breathe and I am so glad I did.
2. Remember to laugh because it is always better than crying when things get tough and you feel the need to throw something. This includes being kind to your DH because though there may be times when you doubt it, he only wants to make you happy as do your well meaning but wacky family and friends. Give em all a break-weddings make everyone nuts.
3. Trust your vendors! Had I trusted Dan from the beginning I would have had fewer headaches. Remember this: You hired them because they are professionals, so let them do what they do best.
4. Lastly, relax, have fun, and smile on the big day because god knows you planned for it. So have a glass of champagne and a BIG piece of cake (Screw the diet!!) and enjoy! Pete and I send our best wishes to all. Send us a piece of cake!

Re: My July 29, 2007 Wedding Review is Finally up for our red-Hot Gerbder Daisy studded Nuptial! BEWARE! It is a monstrously long one! Get a coke and skim at your leisure. LOTS of pics but all NJ vend

Congratulations!!!

Everything looked beautiful. You look so incredibly happy in every picture Thank you for sharing

Re: My July 29, 2007 Wedding Review is Finally up for our red-Hot Gerbder Daisy studded Nuptial! BEWARE! It is a monstrously long one! Get a coke and skim at your leisure. LOTS of pics but all NJ vend

Jenn, GREATTTTT REVIEW!!! I LOVE reading detailed reviews and seeing pics along with it, and your added humor just made it fun to read!

Your pictures came out beautiful - even though you were not 100% happy with your dress, you DID look gorgeous in it. And I love that your wedding really reflected your and Pete's personalities and that you stayed true to yourself in all the planning (i.e., not putting in extensions - your short hair and the style you did looked amazing on you!).

And thanks so much for the shoutout! You've been a wonderful help to me too!

CONGRATULATIONS again! You did it!

Re: My July 29, 2007 Wedding Review is Finally up for our red-Hot Gerbder Daisy studded Nuptial! BEWARE! It is a monstrously long one! Get a coke and skim at your leisure. LOTS of pics but all NJ vend

Congrats!!! You looked gorgeous and your pics are all beautiful!!

Re: My July 29, 2007 Wedding Review is Finally up for our red-Hot Gerbder Daisy studded Nuptial! BEWARE! It is a monstrously long one! Get a coke and skim at your leisure. LOTS of pics but all NJ vend

Your pictures are so beautiful Jen!! I LOVE your colors and you were a beautiful bride!! Congratulations!!!

Re: My July 29, 2007 Wedding Review is Finally up for our red-Hot Gerbder Daisy studded Nuptial! BEWARE! It is a monstrously long one! Get a coke and skim at your leisure. LOTS of pics but all NJ vend

So much fun to read! Your pics are so beautiful!

Re: My July 29, 2007 Wedding Review is Finally up for our red-Hot Gerbder Daisy studded Nuptial! BEWARE! It is a monstrously long one! Get a coke and skim at your leisure. LOTS of pics but all NJ vend

Everything looks so gorgeous. thanks for sharing your wedding experiences!

Re: My July 29, 2007 Wedding Review is Finally up for our red-Hot Gerbder Daisy studded Nuptial! BEWARE! It is a monstrously long one! Get a coke and skim at your leisure. LOTS of pics but all NJ vend

Everything looks absolutely beautiful. Thanks for sharing such a great review.

Re: My July 29, 2007 Wedding Review is Finally up for our red-Hot Gerbder Daisy studded Nuptial! BEWARE! It is a monstrously long one! Get a coke and skim at your leisure. LOTS of pics but all NJ vend

gorgeous review. the colors you picked were beautiful. very bright and cheery

Re: My July 29, 2007 Wedding Review is Finally up for our red-Hot Gerbder Daisy studded Nuptial! BEWARE! It is a monstrously long one! Get a coke and skim at your leisure. LOTS of pics but all NJ vend

omg...well written review. i love the pink and orange..they were so bright and bold. you and your hubby looked beautiful

the place where you had your reception looks amazing....

Re: My July 29, 2007 Wedding Review is Finally up for our red-Hot Gerbder Daisy studded Nuptial! BEWARE! It is a monstrously long one! Get a coke and skim at your leisure. LOTS of pics but all NJ vend

I LOVED reading your review...it was like reading a novel. You looked gorgeous and I LOVE the flowers...so pretty.

Congrats

Re: My July 29, 2007 Wedding Review is Finally up for our red-Hot Gerbder Daisy studded Nuptial! BEWARE! It is a monstrously long one! Get a coke and skim at your leisure. LOTS of pics but all NJ vend

Congratulations! You look beautiful & SO HAPPY! I love your venue.

Re: My July 29, 2007 Wedding Review is Finally up for our red-Hot Gerbder Daisy studded Nuptial! BEWARE! It is a monstrously long one! Get a coke and skim at your leisure. LOTS of pics but all NJ vend

Thanks everybody! I tried. -chuckles- i write o n the side so it comes out in these things. We hada great day overall and I wish the same for all you ladies getting married this weekend and in the future. Make the most of every minute.

Re: My July 29, 2007 Wedding Review is Finally up for our red-Hot Gerbder Daisy studded Nuptial! BEWARE! It is a monstrously long one! Get a coke and skim at your leisure. LOTS of pics but all NJ vend

congrads. . again I Love your heels!! I wish I could wear heels!

Re: My July 29, 2007 Wedding Review is Finally up for our red-Hot Gerbder Daisy studded Nuptial! BEWARE! It is a monstrously long one! Get a coke and skim at your leisure. LOTS of pics but all NJ vend

Thanks for the review!!!
Beautiful Pics you looked like you had a GREAT time!!!

Re: My July 29, 2007 Wedding Review is Finally up for our red-Hot Gerbder Daisy studded Nuptial! BEWARE! It is a monstrously long one! Get a coke and skim at your leisure. LOTS of pics but all NJ vend

great great great review

Re: My July 29, 2007 Wedding Review is Finally up for our red-Hot Gerbder Daisy studded Nuptial! BEWARE! It is a monstrously long one! Get a coke and skim at your leisure. LOTS of pics but all NJ vend

Thanks for the review! congrats

Re: My July 29, 2007 Wedding Review is Finally up for our red-Hot Gerbder Daisy studded Nuptial! BEWARE! It is a monstrously long one! Get a coke and skim at your leisure. LOTS of pics but all NJ vend

Wow just amazing and by the way you really do look like Eva mendez but better if I may add.

Just lovely. Glad you enjoyed your day.

Re: My July 29, 2007 Wedding Review is Finally up for our red-Hot Gerbder Daisy studded Nuptial! BEWARE! It is a monstrously long one! Get a coke and skim at your leisure. LOTS of pics but all NJ vend

Great review. What a different take on it. Love it. You are a beautiful woman and your dh is adorable. I wish tons of smiles forever

Re: My July 29, 2007 Wedding Review is Finally up for our red-Hot Gerbder Daisy studded Nuptial! BEWARE! It is a monstrously long one! Get a coke and skim at your leisure. LOTS of pics but all NJ vend

What an amazing review. It was so awesome seeing how everything came together- GORGEOUS!!! you looked amazing! CONGRATS!