4-28-12 My gatsby-esq wedding w/ PICS! UVS, Cheeky Glam, CRESTWOOD, B*urtons, Dynasty, Village Bridal, etc

A note to all my fellow brides: I live out of state and unfortunately did not get to attend and G2Gs or TWOTY. I got so much advice and support from this site I honestly don’t know what my wedding would have been like without it. The 2012 girls’ def have had some drama going on and (IMHO) some very silly stuff went on. Take LIW for what it is worth, a site full of support and ideas! I am so happy that I got to share this experience with all my LIW brides!



To my budget brides: I honestly didn’t think I would be able to afford my dream wedding because DH and I relocated and it took him quite a while to find a job in MD where we live now. If you are smart and willing to take chances and make compromises you can have the wedding you want on a budget. It is possible!

On the day of your wedding and leading up to you wedding just stop and take it in. It goes by fast so don’t get caught up in any drama be in the moment and keep those memories forever. Little things may go wrong but laugh and move on, you can deal with it after the wedding, don’t let anything spoil you day!

Hair and Makeup: Hair Review (Judy) and Make up by LuLu. A for both services. Both Judy and Lucile arrived to my hotel on time and did a fantastic job. My hair and makeup stayed all day and even when I stopped and looked in the mirror to touch up I didn’t have to! The only reason they don’t get an A+ is because I felt they rushed me through my trial but did an amazing job the day of.

Dress: Village Bridal A+ : I looked everywhere before finding the perfect dress, Maggie Sottero Christina. The staff at village bridal was amazing and their seamstress Teresa is a miracle worker! She made me a beautiful bustle that held up all day, she altered my mother’s dress which did not fit her when she got it, and she took by BMs dress for my size 4 bridesmaid to fit her baby bump (she didn’t know she was pregnant when we ordered the dresses) I Highly recommend them to everyone! They did a fabulous job.






Tux: Joseph A Banks D: We used multiple locations since we had groomsmen in DC, NY(Comack location) and Boston. All three locations measured the pants wrong. 5 out of 7 tuxes had to be sent back and re ordered for new pants, 3 needed new shirts because they were to short or stained, and they did not include the pocket square for3 of the tuxes so we obviously had to scratch all the poket squares so that they would all match, they also gave us clip on bow ties when they said they would be regular bow ties. My grandfather rented a tux from a location in FL and it did not come in on time. Luckily, he owns his own tux which he wore but he was very upset that he didn’t ‘match’ the other tuxes at the party. I was very displeased with the quality of the tuxes, My bothers jacket has stains on it that my mother removed the night before the wedding and there was a tear in my father’s pants at one of the side seams. One of the salesmen t the store explained to me that they get their rental tuxes through another company and their customer service is poor since they receive very little repeat business. No matter who was at fault, JoS A Bank is on the bill and so I hold them and their reputation responsible. The tuxes the day of looked OK, but not great.


Hotel: Hyatt Regency Windwatch: F- : I do not want to go into too many details (FM me if you would like to know) But I was basically told that this hotel could not accommodate me 4 days before my wedding after I had booked a block of rooms over a year ago!

Marriott Islandia B+: This hotel did a great job of squeezing me, and all my guests into their hotel just a few days before check in. They were very kind and understanding. I asked for a few things that were not delivered to my room, also the restaurant and bar service were very slow and a little off but considering the nightmare I went through with my first hotel, the Marriott was a pleasure to stay at.

Shuttle: Dynasty Limo: A + :The driver came on time and did a great job. When I called them to tell them they were coming to a different hotel than expected they felt so bad about the whole ordeal they upgraded me to a limo bus for the same price. They were very sweet and even called me to reconfirm and make sure I was happy with the new hotel.

Photography: Unique Visions Studio: Leading up to and day of: A As of now I have only received my teasers so I can’t comment on the entire photo experience but Unique Visions has been AMAZING thus far! My DH and I were drawn to UVS style of photography and when we met with Nina in person we booked on the spot. Nina and Alex are a wonderful couple who truly care about capturing the special moments of you big day. Nina was so wonderful to work with leading up to the wedding. She let us mix and match options from different packages to get what we wanted within our budget. She also shot my B pics and did a great job with them. When I had all my hotel drama she was wonderful about adding an extra location to my day of photos. The picture I have seen so far have been amazing and I can’t wait to see the rest!





Florist: B*rton’s A: As I said before I was on a budget and flowers were not at the top of my list. I knew B’s would have the cheapest quote and they did. They will not give you the same experience of a boutique florist but if you are on a budget, I highly recommend them! John, was professional and help me pick out the exact CPs and BoKs I wanted. I wanted feathers and I ordered them in line because they were cheaper that way and they did a great job of incorporating them in to my flowers. I paid extra for no fillers and when I saw how big a gorgeous my CPs were I was floored! My Boks were AMAZING! I seriously almost cried when they started to die a few days later because they were so perfect. The one little glitch was that they put purple flowers in the CP when I wanted all neutral colors. However, I said something to the delivery guy and he had someone from the shop there in 15 min changing it. The fixed it on site and apologized for the mistake. The florist did not leave until she found me and revealed the new ones to me to make sure they were exactly what I wanted. I’m sure mistakes can happen, but I am still giving them an A because they rectified the mistake so quickly and perfectly.


Officient: Judge Louis Ohlig A : DH and I are not religious and are also of mixed religions so we wanted a secular ceremony that had elements of our heritages in it. Judge Ohligs prices were more than reasonable compared to other officients I looked into. He also allowed us to write our own ceremony (which other people told me they could not do) and our own vows. He showed up early so that we could have time to rehearse and he did a great job.


DJ: Absolute Entertainment Day of A+, leading up to the wedding C: I booked with absolute after our first DJ closed down its business. They had decent reviews and when I spoke to the owner (Kevin) it seemed that they could give me exactly what I wanted. After booking I had to deal with the manager there who was a little bit rude and disorganized, she could not confirm to me that that they had received my payment, I asked for confirmation several times and she could not provide this until I asked for the owner. She also forgot to forward my do not play list to my DJ but I was able to give it to him in time. My DJ the day of was Kevin (not the same Kevin that owns the place) He did a phenomenal job. He played all the songs DH and I wanted to here and got the crowed up and moving. He made a special mix of the Hora and the Tarentella (Since I am Italian and Jewish) that he called the Lauren Mix and played it at the beginning of the reception to get people going.

Cigar Roller: La Casa Grande B: This really was DHs thing. My father and him really wanted cigar roller and they did most of the leg work. La Casa Grande was recommended to us my Cheeky Glam. My father called them and he said they were very professional on the phone. They have an advertisement that states they will beat any competitor’s price by 100$ but they were not able to do so. My mother got a quote for another place that was 50$ less than the La Casa Grande quote and they said they could not beat it but match it. I personally have a big issue with businesses that cannot live up to the words they put on their advertisements and so that is why I am giving them a B. They did a great job the day of for a reasonable price. All the cigar aficionados (the men at the wedding lol) said they were great cigars.

Bakery: Rolling Pin: A: This was the bakery that came along with my contract from my hall. I sent them a picture and I sent them ribbon. My cake looked amazing the day of. I am not a big fan of bakery caked as I myself am a pretty serious baker. I will say it was the best tasting bakery wedding cake I had ever tasted.

Reception: Crestwood Manor: A +++: I looked at a lot of places and I fell in love with Crestwood Manor as soon as I saw it. Their grounds and rooms are absolutely pristine. DH and I wanted something with a roaring 20s feel and we literally felt like we were walking into the Great Gastsby mansion when we saw the cocktail room. The ballroom was just as beautiful and the grounds are immaculately kept. There prices were reasonable compared to the other halls I looked at, and they were willing to work with me to get the price down by taking away a few things away from the cocktail hour. I could not have picked a more perfect place to have my wedding. I know that Crestwood Manor is not one of the popular places on LIW to get married, and I think that may be because it is small but if you are looking to have a wedding of 150 or less, I really don’t think there is a better place in all of NY than Crestwood.
They are owned by the same company as VYC and their food is similar. Our tasting was absolutely delicious and the day of everyone (even my friend who is a chief) complemented on how good the food was. Even though I had scaled back the CH there was still plenty of food for everyone, some of my DHs relatives thought that the cocktail hour was the dinner there was so much food!
Angelo (BM) and his team were so accommodating and professional. He spent so much time going over the floor plan, ceremony, and all other details of my wedding with me. He was there the day of the wedding and he helped me handle my flower situation.

Day of Coordinator: Cheeky Glam A +++ : I was skeptical towards hiring a wedding coordinator because I love to plan and I can be a bit of a control freak, I viewed it as an unnecessary expense. However, when DH and I moved to Maryland in the middle of the planning process I decided to hire a coordinator. Jamie and Heather were absolutely amazing. They made sure everything ran smoothly the day of and also checked in with me about 100 times before the wedding. The crossed every T and dotted every I. They seriously did not stop moving all day. They did chair sashes, programs, menus, ribbon wands, rose petals, moved flowers, and put out favors around all before my wedding started, they also filmed my ceremony and kept track of all the pictures that had been taken. The helped me with my dress and shoes all day and oversaw everything that was happening. Leading up to the wedding and the day of, they made it much easier for me to relax and enjoy being a bride. I actually enjoyed every moment of my wedding and did not run around all day getting things done like many brides do. If a problem arose, big or small, I knew they could handle it for me so that I could enjoy my day with my husband and guests.
Jamie and Heather have a true gift in that they are sincerely excited and concerned for the happiness of every couple they work with. I know they probably work one or two wedding per week but they made me feel like I was the only bride that mattered to them from the second I booked with them all the way on to my wedding. I highly recommend Cheeky Glam to any bride who is considering a planner/coordinator. Some more of my pics are on their website under love stories Lauren & Peter: http://www.cheekyglamevents.com/stories.html

Re: 4-28-12 My gatsby-esq wedding UVS, Cheeky Glam, CRESTWOOD, B*urtons, Dynasty, Village Bridal, etc

Trying to make pictures bigger ... will post asap!

Re: 4-28-12 My gatsby-esq wedding UVS, Cheeky Glam, CRESTWOOD, B*urtons, Dynasty, Village Bridal, etc

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Re: 4-28-12 My gatsby-esq wedding UVS, Cheeky Glam, CRESTWOOD, B*urtons, Dynasty, Village Bridal, etc

Great Review...Congratulations

Re: 4-28-12 My gatsby-esq wedding UVS, Cheeky Glam, CRESTWOOD, B*urtons, Dynasty, Village Bridal, etc

congrats! you looked beautiful. cant wait to see more pictures. i'm a little 'gatsby-esq' too :)

Re: 4-28-12 My gatsby-esq wedding w/ PICS! UVS, Cheeky Glam, CRESTWOOD, B*urtons, Dynasty, Village Bridal, etc

Looks like you had an amazing day. Congratulations!
Great review.

Re: 4-28-12 My gatsby-esq wedding w/ PICS! UVS, Cheeky Glam, CRESTWOOD, B*urtons, Dynasty, Village Bridal, etc

So sorry to hear about the hotel, but glad everything worked out! You looked gorgeous! Thanks for the great review!

Re: 4-28-12 My gatsby-esq wedding w/ PICS! UVS, Cheeky Glam, CRESTWOOD, B*urtons, Dynasty, Village Bridal, etc

congrats, thanks for the review

Re: 4-28-12 My gatsby-esq wedding w/ PICS! UVS, Cheeky Glam, CRESTWOOD, B*urtons, Dynasty, Village Bridal, etc

Everything looked beautiful. Congrats!

Re: 4-28-12 My gatsby-esq wedding w/ PICS! UVS, Cheeky Glam, CRESTWOOD, B*urtons, Dynasty, Village Bridal, etc

Congratulations!!! Beautiful review; thanks for sharing.

Re: 4-28-12 My gatsby-esq wedding w/ PICS! UVS, Cheeky Glam, CRESTWOOD, B*urtons, Dynasty, Village Bridal, etc

Congratulations - you look beautiful and i love your dress :)

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Re: 4-28-12 My gatsby-esq wedding w/ PICS! UVS, Cheeky Glam, CRESTWOOD, B*urtons, Dynasty, Village Bridal, etc

Congrats!!!! Love your review of Cheeky Glam

Re: 4-28-12 My gatsby-esq wedding w/ PICS! UVS, Cheeky Glam, CRESTWOOD, B*urtons, Dynasty, Village Bridal, etc

congratulations! pictures are beautiful, and i love your dress!

Re: 4-28-12 My gatsby-esq wedding w/ PICS! UVS, Cheeky Glam, CRESTWOOD, B*urtons, Dynasty, Village Bridal, etc

congrats! cant wait to see the pro pics

Re: 4-28-12 My gatsby-esq wedding w/ PICS! UVS, Cheeky Glam, CRESTWOOD, B*urtons, Dynasty, Village Bridal, etc

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Posted by vppjzv

Is this Lauren, from Babylon?? Congrats you looked beautiful!!!! Great review, and best wishes!!

-Jessi

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Oh Hi! Congrats to you!

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Re: 4-28-12 My gatsby-esq wedding w/ PICS! UVS, Cheeky Glam, CRESTWOOD, B*urtons, Dynasty, Village Bridal, etc

Congratulations!

Re: 4-28-12 My gatsby-esq wedding w/ PICS! UVS, Cheeky Glam, CRESTWOOD, B*urtons, Dynasty, Village Bridal, etc

Congratulations!!! You look amazing!!!

Re: 4-28-12 My gatsby-esq wedding w/ PICS! UVS, Cheeky Glam, CRESTWOOD, B*urtons, Dynasty, Village Bridal, etc

Congrats! What a beautiful wedding!!