6/12/2010, Riviera, Black Forest, Absolute Entertainment, Rappa Photography, Chris LoBello Videography, St. Rose of Lima, Camelot and More!

Like everyone else, I LOVED our wedding day. We had so much fun! I was very detailed oriented and organized leading up to the day, which meant I could relax day of and not stress. Let it go, enjoy and soak it up ladies!

Weather, B+. It didn’t rain, which was my primary concern, however it was very humid and super windy. Overall though, it could have been much, much worse!

Engagement Ring, Wedding bands, Good Old Gold, A++++++++

This jewelry store is fabulous, every time I walk in I feel warm and fuzzy and know that I am in good hands. It’s a family owned business, and I initially stumbled across them on a diamond website when I was “browsing” aka freakishly researching wedding rings, shapes and styles. Once I realized that GOG was on Long Island, we decided to go down and check them out.

They were so friendly and knowledgeable, DH and I looked at a ton of rings, different stones, settings, etc. and they really took the time to educate us about diamonds, settings and what really makes a ring pop. I fell in love with oval solitaires, specifically set in the vatche x-prong setting. From that point on, DH was on his own and I waited… and waited… and waited… lol. Six months later he proposed with the most amazing ring. He raved about GOG and the help they gave him while selecting a stone, modifying the setting and finalizing the deal. We went back to them for our wedding rings and found gorgeous rings. When our house was broken into just a month before our wedding GOG was great in replacing our rings as quickly as possible.




Engagement Party, A+

My parents asked if we wanted an engagement party, and we gladly accepted, but requested a backyard party instead of something more formal. It was fabulous! They used Fairway to cater most of the food. We had about 50 people, and everyone really enjoyed themselves. It was a great way to introduce everyone and kick off our engagement and wedding plans. I would definitely recommend Fairway for catering a party like this, they really worked with us regarding menu, budget and taste and everything was delicious.

STD, Vistaprint A, Cardsandpockets.com A+

A close friend who is an amateur photographer agreed to take some pictures of DH and I for our magnets, we weren’t doing formal engagement pictures so this was a great alternative. Once we found the right picture, the same friend helped to design the layout for our magnets, I uploaded it the vista print and they shipped quickly. The quality of the magnets was good, I got cardstock to back the magnets and envelopes from cardsandpockets.com, customer service and shipping was great! I was really happy with how they came out!

Rehearsal Dinner, Palmer’s American Grille, A++++

Palmer’s was fabulous. The aesthetic of the room was great and they had a really nice, large bar that was right next door. The pricing was reasonable, the staff was great and extremely attentive and the food was soooo good. They really made our rehearsal dinner pleasant from booking and negotiating through the end of our meal.


Limo, Camelot Limo, A+

Like many brides before me, I met with Joe, thought he was awesome and we booked on the spot. He worked within our budget and we were able to get a limo and the party bus. Joe also provided a car service from DH and I to and from the airport for our honeymoon. To our surprise a stretch limo showed up Monday morning to take up to JFK!

Flowers, Black Dahlia Florist, A+++

Sheryl works out of her home and she is AWESOME. I had met with another popular LIWedding vendor and while she was sweet, she just wasn’t getting my vision. Sheryl immediately understood the vibe I was going for, and went through several dozen flowers with me to help shape our bouquets and look for the wedding. I didn’t want floral centerpieces, and she was able to give me the amazing candle centerpieces I was after. The day before the wedding she texted me with a photo of our bouquets and I was in love! When they arrived the next day I was thrilled, the yellows, creams and greens really popped and looked so fresh and summery. Day of she went above and beyond with the set up and break down of our reception décor. I would recommend her without hesitation.



Church, St Rose of Lima, A+
St. Rose was great, they welcomed us even though we weren't parishnor's. We really enjoyed our pre cana experience and the Church was gracious enough to allow our friend, who is a priest, to perform our ceremony which was really, really special for us.

DJ, Absolute Entertainment & Boppa (percussionist), Rocco (cocktail hr guitarist) A++++

Absolute was great, I worked with Kevin to set up our package, and specifically requested Jeff as my MC and Boppa as our percussionist. The week before the wedding Jeff called me and we ran through the timeline of the reception, then day of he and DH reviewed the Croatian music that we had burned for him. I think our DJ’s name was Alex and he was fabulous, he truly read the crowd and played music to keep everyone out of their seats and on the dance floor. He was also able to lace in the Croatian music really well without breaking the flow of the music. Finally, at the end of the night he played the best 90’s dance music (knowing I’d love it), which was perfect for me and our friends, we were dancing fools, lol.
Boppa was also great, we had seen him at a showcase and really liked the idea of having some aspect of live music without using a band. He also read the crowd really well and his drum kit totally enhanced the music.

Absolute also provided Rocco for our cocktail hr guitarist, he was a nice guy, took his role in our reception seriously and sent me a comprehensive list of songs he could play for us. DH and I picked out about 20 songs and he played them beautifully during our cocktail hour.







Photography, Rappa Photography, A+++++++

Rosemary Rappa is a close family friend, and has been a wedding photographer for several years, so she was the obvious choice for our photographer and she has blown us away with her talent. Leading up to the wedding she was kind enough to answer all of my insane questions, she showed up day of to the hotel, and starting clicking away. She was great at directing our huge bridal party and moving us quickly and efficiently through our formals at Pearsall Park. Then we moved to the Riviera and took some more pictures outside, all in time for us to attend our cocktail hour and for Ro to change into her cocktail dress and become a guest.
She turned our pictures around so quickly, less than three weeks from the wedding we have our proofs in hand, Thanks Ro!

Since Ro was always going to be a guest, she got Sherri Jackson (www.sherrijackson.com) to be our reception shooter and sherri was awesome. She arrived right on time and got to work, snapping all of the details I worked so hard to perfect before the wedding. Then once the reception kicked off she was constantly moving around the reception and dance floor, snapping away. Finally, she remembered at 11 pm that I hadn’t yet gotten photos with my grandfather, thank god she remembered! So, off we went for a formal shot with him.










Videography, Chris LoBello A+

Originally we weren’t going to have a videographer because it wasn’t in the budget. After some unforeseen circumstances and me repeatedly begging DH, we finally agreed on a miniscule budget 2 weeks before the wedding and I set out to find a videographer. The problem was, that I loved the cinematic, movie like wedding videos which were all clearly out of our budget. Finally, I stumbled upon Chris and he was able to work within our budget to develop a package that would really work for us. Chris was great, he was very unobtrusive on our wedding day, yet I know he was always in the right spot. We haven’t gotten our video back yet, but so far I would highly recommend him.

Bagpiper, Darius, A+

We stumbled upon Darius online, DH spoke to him, checked out his music and we thought he was great! While we wanted to have him play as I walked down the aisle, the church wouldn’t permit it, so instead, he played greeting our guests and also played after we were married and everyone exited the church.

Cake and cupcake favors, Black Forest Bakery, A+

We had two options for our wedding cake, Black Forest or Campbell’s. After visiting both, Black Forest was very clearly our pick. They were professional, fairly priced and most important, their cake was amazing! We had two flavors, chocolate with peanut butter mousse filling and vanilla with raspberry mousse filling, all with cream cheese frosting. YUM! I gave Christina my inspiration pic and she matched it perfectly, I loved our cake.

We also ordered our cupcakes for favors from Black Forest, to save time DH picked them up and we boxed them at my parents house the day before the wedding. I bought the cupcake boxes online, printed the Thank You stickers and cut the ribbons myself, and one quick assembly line later, 130 cupcakes were boxed and ready to go.





Invitations, Friends, Self and Cardsandpockets.com, A

So, a friend offered to design our invites, long story short, it was a lot of work and it was really hard to rely on someone who didn’t do this professionally, but, we finally got the invitation suite to look like our vision. I then used Cardsandpockets.com for all of the paper, printing and some cutting. I assembled most of the invites myself with help from my sister and DH. Overall I loved our invites and they were worth the stress of designing them ourselves.

Bridesmaids Dresses, J Crew & Pea in a Pod, A+ for both
I told my bridesmaids to choose any navy blue cocktail length dress from J Crew, and it worked out really well. Most used a code or waited for a sale. My sister and another bridesmaid had babies within a month of our wedding date. Since the J Crew dresses were really uncomfortable for them immediately post-birth, they both found a great navy alternative at Pea in a Pod, and it blended in well with the J Crew dresses. I asked the girls to wear whatever gold heels they wanted and to choose their own jewelry.

Wedding Dress, Maggie Sottero’s Milana, purchased at Helen’s in Commack, A++++

I really loved my wedding dress. When I started shopping I thought I wanted a simple, simple dress. But as I kept trying them on I was gravitating towards lace and some beading. I saw the Milana online on another bride and knew that was my dress. I found it at Helen’s and the staff there was great, Ahsley helped me the day I purchased my dress and she was a real sweet heart. I was also able to get 10% off from an upcoming trunk show.
Alterations were also good at Helen’s. My mom got her dress altered there, after purchasing it at Totally You, and they did a great job with her dress. With mine, I only need a bustle and some cups. Thula really went above and beyond to help me figure out what type of bustle would work. I know she did more work than she needed to make me happy and for that I really appreciate it. I would definitely recommend this shop.





Veil, Barrons at Tri-County, A+
I realized the original cathedral length veil I’d purchased from veilshop.com wasn’t the right color and I wanted a little bit of beading. So, with two weeks to the wedding I headed to tri-county and thankfully they had a veil in stock that worked perfectly. They were willing to negotiate the price with us and we walked away happy.




Shoes, Caparros, Elope bought from DSW.com, B+
I think these shoes are gorgeous, and they were comfortable for the first 5 hrs, then my feet were killing me. This probably would have happened with any shoes though.

Jewelry, Etsy.com vendor, Lulusplendor, A++++
This vendor was really great to work with, she responded quickly to my questions and really helped to make me feel comfortable in ordering jewelry online. My headpiece, bracelet and earrings were all from her.



DH’s Suit, Jos A. Banks, A+
DH wanted a navy blue suit and we found it at Jos A. Banks. The price was right, the tailor was a hot mess so we took it elsewhere and everyone was happy.

Hair and Makeup, originally ***, D
I originally booked with M*I*A, and at the trial I thought she did a good job. There were some extenuating circumstances that were annoying me, but that wasn’t her fault at all. The makeup looked great, and she readily changed anything I asked for. I booked her and felt good about it.

As time passed I began to read reviews about her that were making me nervous, this, coupled with her “bookers” inability to respond in a coherent or timely manner was really frustrating. About 6 weeks out I need to nail down a start time because my girls wanted to make other appointments. I wasn’t able to get a straight answer, and finally, decided to not use her, and I honestly think if I hadn’t made that choice, she would have dumped me as a client.
In my opinion, her work product is great. But her reliability and communication skills are not. For this reason I decided to go in another direction.

Theresa from Bellasposa, A

I ended up booking with Teresa and she was great. She nailed the trial and then day of was really prompt, got started right away and true to her word, we were all done on time. Day of, I loved my hair, she really understood what I was looking for. I liked the makeup, but I did change the lipstick she used and substituted one of my own. Now looking at pictures, while I liked the concept of my hair, I didn’t like that there were a lot of visible bobby pins and my makeup could have been blended more. Oh well, still had an awesome day.





Hotel, Courtyard Marriott, A
This hotel was great, the rooms were nice, clean and spacious, especially the two suites that DH and I had booked. The bar stayed open late for us, and there was another wedding there that evening that also used the bar. We all had breakfast the next morning at their buffet that was surprisingly really good. I would definitely recommend this hotel, and make sure you negotiate your hotel block rate!

DOC, Abby Willow, A+

Abby is a great DOC who is just starting out in the business, she was reasonably priced, attentive and did a great job. I found her through a friend and was so glad to have her in our corner for the planning of our wedding. We met a few times leading up to the day, and I always felt like I was in good hands. Initially DH was dead set against having a coordinator, but after meeting her, he was Team Abby.

She helped to layout and print our menus, programs and escort cards. She also made sure that everyone was running smoothly the day of. This included at the hotel, running between my suite and DH’s suite, at the church and at the Riviera. She swept up the flower petals outside the church, made sure our venue was set up exactly how we wanted and was a liason between us and Michelle as well as our other vendors. She touched up my makeup for me prior to the reception and just made me feel so calm, knowing that she had things under control. I would recommend her to anyone looking for someone to really help facilitate a smooth, calm wedding day. If there were any major problems that day, I never found out thanks to her. If you are interested in her information, FM me and I’ll pass it along.

Riviera, A-

This review is hard to write, I wanted to give them an A, DH a B+, so, we compromised with an A-. The Riviera overall was great. From the moment we walked into the building when we were looking for a venue, we knew we had found the right place for us. It has a great rustic feel, while still being on the water which is exactly what we wanted. Leading up to the wedding day their communication was great and things ran smoothly. They also threw in a lot of extras, and I continually made sure this was noted in our contract. We were also able to negotiate a great price for a June wedding with them. DH did go to make the final drop off of all of our stuff the day before our wedding and got into a small argument with the owner. Despite the continual promises made to us during during booking that if we were under our minimum, the vendors would be rolled in as guests, he refused to budge on this point. We had to eat the cost of 5 guests when we had 6 vendors who could have easily slid into their spots. Based on all of our interactions with him, I honestly don’t think customer service is really suited for him, but his staff is great.

Day of, we arrived about an hour before our cocktail hour and took photos outside. Michelle was our Maitre D’ and she was amazing all night. Despite being really sick, she made sure that she did everything she could for us. As soon as we arrived she pulled DH and I aside to tell us that she felt it was too windy outside (no rain in sight, just windy and in the 70’s) to set up the outdoor cocktail hour, as she felt the sterno’s wouldn’t stay hot and the food would be cold. We were hugely disappointed by this as we really, really wanted an outdoor cocktail hour on the water. But, we decided to let it go with the compromise that a bar would be set up outside to encourage guests to mingle both in and outdoors.

Turns out the outdoor bar was never set up, so the majority of the guests (especially the older guests) stayed inside for the cocktail hour. Finally, I decided to park myself outside with the thought that if people want to see the bride, they must come out, about 30% of our guests (primarily the younger crowd) made it out to the gorgeous patio area on the water.

The cocktail hour food was amazing. Our guests are still raving about it to us, the quality of the food was fantastic and there was SO MUCH. I am still disappointed that I didn’t get to eat as much of it as I would have liked. It’s true, you are constantly greeting people, making sure they are comfortable and generally just don’t have time to enjoy your venue as you would if you were a guest. The entrée’s were also fabulous, we opted to have a plate full of everything and overall, it was SO GOOD. There was also a Viennese table, but I honestly didn’t even see it. We consider this a plus, as we didn’t want to have an over the top Viennese hour, but instead a discreet table.
Our bridal attendant was really hit or miss, she was attentive for the first 45 minutes and then disappeared. Our guests were served before us which was annoying, and only after we brought it to her attention did she get our meals.

Also, the bridal suite could use some revamping, it was a bit small, although we did have a very large bridal party. I have only been in the bridal suite of one other venue (Fox Hollow) and it was HUGE. So, maybe my expectations are askew.

Overall, I would definitely recommend the Riviera. It’s a beautiful place, the value is amazing. For the price we paid per head, we got so much back. I think that if you are going to book this place, make sure you get all of your agreements in writing, and continue to confirm and follow up with them as your day approaches.













We honeymooned in Maui and LOVED it. When I get time I will post a review on our trip!

Re: 6/12/2010, Riviera, Black Forest, Absolute Entertainment, Rappa Photography, Chris LoBello Videography, St. Rose of Lima, Camelot and More!

Congratulations! Thanks for the review, your flowers look wonderful, I'll look into that vendor. I'm looking forward to seeing more pictures. Sorry about the outdoor cocktail hour.

Re: 6/12/2010, Riviera, Black Forest, Absolute Entertainment, Rappa Photography, Chris LoBello Videography, St. Rose of Lima, Camelot and More!

Beautiful!!! Thank you so much for the review!!

Congrats

Re: 6/12/2010, Riviera, Black Forest, Absolute Entertainment, Rappa Photography, Chris LoBello Videography, St. Rose of Lima, Camelot and More!

Congrats and thanks for the review, love your colors and sorry for the mishap.

Re: 6/12/2010, Riviera, Black Forest, Absolute Entertainment, Rappa Photography, Chris LoBello Videography, St. Rose of Lima, Camelot and More!

Beautiful! Congratulations!

Re: 6/12/2010, Riviera, Black Forest, Absolute Entertainment, Rappa Photography, Chris LoBello Videography, St. Rose of Lima, Camelot and More!

Congrats! How did u get st.rose to let u throw rose petals?

Re: 6/12/2010, Riviera, Black Forest, Absolute Entertainment, Rappa Photography, Chris LoBello Videography, St. Rose of Lima, Camelot and More!

You look BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!

Re: 6/12/2010, Riviera, Black Forest, Absolute Entertainment, Rappa Photography, Chris LoBello Videography, St. Rose of Lima, Camelot and More!

We were told that if we cleaned them up, we could throw them. Abby, our DOC was awesome and cleaned them up for us. I LOVE those pictures so I was really happy we could do it.

Re: 6/12/2010, Riviera, Black Forest, Absolute Entertainment, Rappa Photography, Chris LoBello Videography, St. Rose of Lima, Camelot and More!

Congrats!!! Your flowers look AMAZING!

Re: 6/12/2010, Riviera, Black Forest, Absolute Entertainment, Rappa Photography, Chris LoBello Videography, St. Rose of Lima, Camelot and More!

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Posted by IrishCro

We were told that if we cleaned them up, we could throw them. Abby, our DOC was awesome and cleaned them up for us. I LOVE those pictures so I was really happy we could do it.

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thats fantastic i know my DOC would probably do that if I ask her I dont want rice AT ALL

Re: 6/12/2010, Riviera, Black Forest, Absolute Entertainment, Rappa Photography, Chris LoBello Videography, St. Rose of Lima, Camelot and More!

I love it all !! Congrats!!
awesome pics and you look great!

you have FM in regards to Chris LoBello

Re: 6/12/2010, Riviera, Black Forest, Absolute Entertainment, Rappa Photography, Chris LoBello Videography, St. Rose of Lima, Camelot and More!

Kelly, you look BEAUTIFUL!! I love your pics!!!!! yay

Re: 6/12/2010, Riviera, Black Forest, Absolute Entertainment, Rappa Photography, Chris LoBello Videography, St. Rose of Lima, Camelot and More!

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Posted by laurendaqt

Kelly, you look BEAUTIFUL!! I love your pics!!!!! yay

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Thanks Lauren!! I can't wait to see your pictures, you are so close :)

Re: 6/12/2010, Riviera, Black Forest, Absolute Entertainment, Rappa Photography, Chris LoBello Videography, St. Rose of Lima, Camelot and More!

Gorgeous! You looked so pretty and I LOVE YOUR DRESS!

Re: 6/12/2010, Riviera, Black Forest, Absolute Entertainment, Rappa Photography, Chris LoBello Videography, St. Rose of Lima, Camelot and More!

Congratulations, everything looked beautiful (esp. YOU, your cake, and those flowers!). I also had my wedding at the Riviera--I loved it, but also found it weird that they served everyone else before us. I wonder if that's just something that they do?

Re: 6/12/2010, Riviera, Black Forest, Absolute Entertainment, Rappa Photography, Chris LoBello Videography, St. Rose of Lima, Camelot and More!

Beautiful flowers!!!! Thank you for sharing!

Re: 6/12/2010, Riviera, Black Forest, Absolute Entertainment, Rappa Photography, Chris LoBello Videography, St. Rose of Lima, Camelot and More!

great review, congrats!

Re: 6/12/2010, Riviera, Black Forest, Absolute Entertainment, Rappa Photography, Chris LoBello Videography, St. Rose of Lima, Camelot and More!

Great review... you looked gorgeous!!!! Congrats!

Re: 6/12/2010, Riviera, Black Forest, Absolute Entertainment, Rappa Photography, Chris LoBello Videography, St. Rose of Lima, Camelot and More!

Congrats! ...... great review!

Re: 6/12/2010, Riviera, Black Forest, Absolute Entertainment, Rappa Photography, Chris LoBello Videography, St. Rose of Lima, Camelot and More!

Congrats!!!!! GREAT REVIEW!!!!!