*7/29/11* Flowerfield, Pedestals, LI Sound, 'her', Cassarino Studios, Steel Impressions, Capriccio Ensemble, Glam Me Up, Angela's Hair Design, Kleinfeld, B*urtons, Advance Formal Wear

For starters, I think it is very important to understand my grading system… FutureJOC posted this in February 2011 and I agree so I’m using it!
A+ Went above and beyond even my wildest expectations!
A Excellent
B Great (minimal issues)
C Okay (lots of issues)
D Bad (major issues/advise against using)
F The Worst (stay far, far away)

****Links to facebook pics at the end because many of my pics are too large to upload!*****

Engagement Party at the Irish Coffee Pub in Central Islip: A
My MIL through the engagement party for us and really she deserves an A+ since it far exceeded all my expectations. She did a lovely job with the balloon centerpieces, surprise DJ, and favors. I was pleasantly surprised with everything! And if there were any issues, by MIL handled them because I wasn’t aware of any! Though I was in a nice room upstairs I didn’t see all the rooms at the Irish Coffee Pub, and I understand there are a lot. The room we were in was very pretty and elegant looking. The food was good too! FH and I added some of our own favors to the party as well and also purchased pins for all those in the bridal party.

Bridal Shower at PapaRazzi in Carle Place: A
Always loved this restaurant and it was the first date restaurant for FH and I! My mom did such an amazing job with the details of the day to make it perfect only issue was with the food being served out very slowly to each table…would have been better if they served each table at the same time.

Rehearsal Dinner at Lombardi’s on the Sound: B
The food and amount of food was incredible. My only gripe was the space in which they provided us for the rehearsal was very small and made it difficult to speak to everyone, etc…

Ceremony and Reception at Flowerfield in St. James: A+++++++
Originally I wanted a “beachy” kind of wedding and looked at various places on Long Island but nothing was really hitting the spot for us! When my DH and I walked into Flowerfield we had that gut feeling that THIS was THE place for us! I even cried! It is just soooooo different! I loved it because it wasn’t your typical catering hall or country club – been there done that! And I’m not your typical girl! Flowerfield does very little advertising (probably because they don’t need it), caters to one event at a time, and is part of the parent company Lovin’ Oven (Lands End has the same owners) which is known for the BEST food out of all the catering facilities on Long Island and Flowerfield in particular is known for impeccable service as well. The cocktail hour space is a HUGE atrium surrounded by plant life and flowers – Gorgeous! Even a huge koi pond and bridge inside this atrium! I loved that they have 40 cocktail tables that can seat up to 6 people…this means no one during cocktail hour had to stand and juggle a plate and drink! I also heard that this atrium used to be an airplane hanger –so you can understand how large it is! This also means that the cocktail hour foods are very nicely spaced out and I also much mention that there is a really beautiful glass bar in this space as well! Flowerfield has a nice sized bridal suite and a separate cordial lounge that the groom and groomsmen can use prior to the wedding in order to keep away from the bride! The reception is in a large room with two fabulously large bars, huge dance floor, and tulle drapery from the ceiling – beautiful. Flowerfield sits on 15 acres of land with orchards, vineyards, reflecting ponds, etc…. so the grounds are spectacular for pictures. The ceremony space can be either inside in the atrium or outside. You reach the outside ceremony space by walking over a bridge to this little “island” where there is a beautiful gazebo and approximately 18 beautiful benches (I liked that my guests wouldn’t be seated in those typical white folding chairs seen at outdoor ceremonies). I almost forgot…for the half hour leading up to the ceremony the guests at treated with drinks and little finger foods while they wait – fabulous touch!
Our wedding day was raining most the time but luckily the sun came out for a few hours just in time for the outdoor ceremony and a few pictures before pouring again! Everything was perfect the staff was amazing and all my guests raved about the wedding and that it was the best wedding they ever went to…I have to attribute some of that to myself being as detailed oriented as I am.
Banquet Manager – I worked with Maryann who I thought was fantastic. She was so helpful and tried her best to work with our budget (and Flowerfield is not cheap especially in July!). Because I wanted to ensure priority service, I made it a point to check in from time to time, attend the bridal shows, make payments in person, etc… so that the staff knew who I was. A month before the medding I learned Maryann was promoted and moving to NC where they have a new location opening and was handed over to Kerry. The transition went smoothly.
Food tasting – I want to specifically mention the manner in which they conduct food tastings…I’m not sure what is typical since this is the only food tasting I’ve ever been to but I was impressed! They do a food tasting for approximately 15 couples and their families at one time. Each couple sits with their family at one table. They do this, I believe, so you can get a feel for how mass food preparations would taste so it is exactly how it will be on your wedding day. They bought out about 6 or so appetizer plates and then main entrée plates so you share each with your family at the table. The chef comes out during dessert so you can ask questions. They even set the ballroom up formally just like a wedding with the sweetheart table and centerpieces with all their linen color choices. They even have 3 tables set up in each size (round, oval, square) with the different napkin set ups and menu placement, etc… so you can see exactly what a table would look like on the day of your wedding. I thought this was magnificent! You will also meet the maitre’d and we picked his brian and I felt much more confident going into my wedding knowing who was running things behind the scenes the day of my wedding! The day of the wedding the food was awesome though I didn’t eat as much as I would have liked but they did send food home with us! Everyone raved about all the food. The filet mignon is so delicious you could cut it with a butter knife.
Bridal Attendant – My bridal attendant, Joelle, was very attentive and helpful. She was at my side with everything and anything. She was just fabulous and kept me at ease and comfortable throughout the night!
Maitre’d - Andy was absolutely amazing! He is the backbone of the entire day and was magnificent at keeping order and he knew the ins and outs of my entire day. He acted like a DOC and was perfect.
Cake – I used their cake company, Audrey’s fine baked goods and I swear to you the cake was the best wedding cake I have ever tasted. Everyone said the same thing. I did a tuxedo cake with vanilla and chocolate with alternating mouses…..AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS. My one disappointment was that the pearl dots on two tiers of my cake were supposed to be in pink and green not plain white so I was unfortunately highly disappointed that they did not do that. I also used them for my grooms cake which cake out exactly as I designed it so I was quite please!

Cake Topper and Cake Serving Set from TopperswithGlitz: A
Saw this woman’s work and thought it was fabulous! Yes, it’s more expensive than say DIY or other sites/stores but I love that you can totally customize the font, size, and colors. When it came in I was impressed with the quality. Especially the cake cutting/serving set – it was absolutely gorgeous with our names and wedding date engraved on the knife! She also said it would take 5 weeks to come in but it actually arrived about 2 weeks early!


Invitations by ******** Paperie (otherwise known as *her*): A++++
All I can say is WOW. I kept hearing about “her” and so I wandered onto her website to check out her work and I liked what I saw and what I read. She makes each design based on what you tell her your style, theme, colors are and she works through it all with you and within your budget. I loved that I was able to tell her what I liked and didn’t and what I wanted to change. You pick the colors, the font, the paper, the sheen, everything! It makes me feel like I made these invites myself! I also loved that she KNOWS her stuff when it comes to proper invitation etiquette and she understands proper grammar and tenses and all that stuff that you may not realize yourself! I wanted by invite saying to say something slightly different but she informed me how it wouldn’t make sense and I understood and left it as she had it. The process takes a while but it was 100% worth it. I was so stinking excited when my invites arrived and let me tell you that her packaging is even fabulous! I also LOVED the way she did the addressing on the envelopes. That little extra touch makes every penny spent worth it because I know that my invite (and all other girls’ invites that use her) will be the most impressive wedding envelope when arriving in the mail! I just cannot express how happy I am with the final product. I sent away for samples online from websites but nothing compared to “her”.

Father Tom McCormick: A+
We decided not to get married in the church for various reasons from the rigidity of the church to logistics on a Friday afternoon! Father Tom was a priest for 21 years before leaving the church and getting married. He is part of an organization of married priests. So even though we weren’t getting married in the church we could still have a religious ceremony by a priest! After my first phone call with Father Tom for availability, he invited us to his home and we met with him for 1 hour. We got to know him and he got to know us. We were highly impressed by him and felt very comfortable. On the day of the wedding he was fantastic, funny, religious, spiritual…all in one. He was outstanding!

Ceremony music of a Harp and Violin Duo from The Capriccio Ensemble: A
Natalie, the artistic director, is absolutely fabulous. She was so responsive to my many emails and was such a pleasure to deal with! Natalie is just as detailed oriented as I am so I really appreciated that. She is very professional and really knows her stuff and it also very accommodating. I just loved her! She really worked with me and gave me some great ideas, plus their music is simply beautiful! Everyone thought they did a wonderful job! They played for a half hour leading up to the ceremony (prelude) and for the processionals and recessional.

Cocktail Hour music from Steel Impressions: A
Ever since I could remember I have wanted steel drums for my cocktail hour. Steel Impressions comes recommended by Flowerfield and they attend all the bridal shows there and at Land’s End. They have a facebook page where you can watch videos of them performing which is great so you get a good idea of how they sound. There manager is Angela and she was a pleasure to deal with. We booked a 3 person steel drum band and everyone at the wedding thought it was a great touch and that they were awesome!

Photography & Video from Cassarino Studios: A so far
It was a no-brainer that we would go with Cassarino Studios since a friend of mine co-owns the studio. Our photographers were very easy to work with and listened to us when we said get through the pictures as soon as possible so we can get to cocktail hour! Dominic and Razz were the photographers and so much fun! So, so far so good…let’s see how the proofs come out!

Flowers from Pedestals: A+++
The minute I met Nadia at Pedestals I was highly impressed with her. Not only does she know her flowers but she is so awesome to work with! She and I jived right from the get-go and she just ”got” me; She understood my vision. She also understood that it is hard to sell a boy on why flowers are important and why they cost a pretty penny, so she prepared a sample for me a week later so I could have him see. It came out gorgeous though we made some changes. I also really appreciated that she would respond to my emails even when she was on vacation if I had a thought or question. I was blown away with our centerpieces and the outdoor ceremony décor. They did such an amazing job and the bouquets and everything was just perfect!

DJ was LI Sound: A+++++
When we met with Chris (the owner) we were absolutely blown away. Not only did we have a great meeting and felt comfortable with him but he took us into another room where he had his whole set up of the white system and the lights. He told us to take a seat on the leather couch and them he shut the lights and got busy! He played music for us, showed us the how the lights worked and then I asked if he also MCs, he then proceeded to introduce us as if it was our wedding night and I told him I want him in my contract! She were so impressed. Yes, LI Sound is a bit more expensive than others. (it’s probably b/c they carry much more overhead then other places if you see his show room!) but worth every penny. The dance floor was packed all night. You can tell the DJ and MC love their jobs and have a blast doing it! I gave them a bunch of play and do not play songs lists but told them to ultimately feel the crowd and play whatever works….and boy did they!

Make-Up by Glam me Up (Kelly Stanger): A
I only used referrals from LIW when trying to determine who to schedule a trial with and I didn’t see the point in scheduling trials just for the heck of it so I wanted a trial for my engagement party. Kelly was the only one that was available to do a trial on that specific day. I was highly impressed with Kelly and thought she was fabulous. She has a great personality! My make-up (airbrushed) for the engagement party stayed on all night and looked gorgeous. I contacted her the next day to book. Now I must say, I am not the type to get 5 trials done with different people…not my style. If I like you, I book you. Done! She did a fab job on my mom and myself keeping in mind we like the natural look…she’s just fab!

Hair by Angela’s Hair Design: A
I was impressed right off the bat with Angela because she is very responsive – something I appreciate. She text messages and emails quickly! I took a BM with me for the trial out of her house and I found her to be very professional. I provided her a picture of what I wanted and she a great job and then also showed me an up-do. I was on the fence with my hair in the front and decided that I would go back for another trial at a later date but booked her. On the day of the wedding she gave me the exact style that we agreed upon on at my second trial though I think I would have don’t something different altogether (not her fault – mine!)She really is fabulous and easy to work with!….She also did a great job on my mom and two of my bridesmaids.

Wedding Dress, Veil, and Headpiece from Kleinfeld: A
I absolutely loved my experience with Kleinfeld! My consultant was Debbie (she’s on the SYTTD show!) and she is such a doll! I gave her some info about me, my style, my wedding, and my budget and she pulled dresses that I wanted to see and some she thought would look good on me. She had a really good eye and this picture that I brought with me of my dream dress she flat out said why it wouldn’t work for me (it was too new anyway and they didn’t have it in yet). Then Randy came in and he has such a great eye for bridal gowns too. I showed him the picture of the dress I liked and said the same thing as Debbie a few minutes prior. Then he left and came back in and said, some girl is trying on that dress in the picture you showed me that and we didn’t think we had it yet! The dress apparently was purchased and returned but none the less they were right that it wasn’t the right dress for me. Debbie then asked me to try on a totally different silhouette because she thought I would look great in this dress. I tried it own and was WOWED! It was completely different than what I thought I liked or would want and certainly not what I thought would look good on me! But she said that I had all the right curves for the dress! We ordered it!
I made a separate appointment for Accessories to try on veils and headpieces. Kim, the assistant headpiece manager, helped me and she was fantastic! We started with veils and I knew I wanted a cathedral after Debbie put one on me when I bought the dress. We tried on a few and found one with such a WOW factor. Then we tried on headpieces and found a perfect one to go with the dress!
I know a lot of the girls on LIW will purchase veils and headpieces from cheaper online sites but I just couldn’t do that! I couldn’t purchase blindly like that! I loved that I was able to stand there in my dress and try on veil after veil and headpiece after headpiece. Yes, it may be more expensive but knowing the exact look of it all put together BEFORE purchasing is well worth it in my opinion.
My veil and headpiece was purchased in January and I had a scheduled hair trial in 2 weeks and the headpiece wasn’t scheduled to be in until April – EEK! So Kleinfeld allowed me to borrow the headpiece for my trial! I loved that! And again, I really believe it is very important to do your hair trial with the actual headpiece you will be using – very important!

Bari Jay Bridesmaid Dresses from B*rtons: C
Because I didn’t want too many opinions and all my BMs have crazy schedules I decided I would simply choose a dress and store. I knew I wanted one shoulder but wanted something less whimsical and more sophisticated. I knew it needed to be hot pink and so I searched for dresses that fit my criteria online. While visiting my BFF/MOH in Pennsylvania one day we ran to a bridal shop nearby and they had the dress. She tried it on and thought it was comfortable for a July wedding in terms of material and that it was easy to move and dance in. They had a swatch of the color (and they also had my FG dress there and I was able to match the swatch to the pink sash in the FG dresses). I went home and called around to all the bridal shops on long island to see who would give me the best deal. B*rtons beat out all prices and even by as much as a $40 difference. I was VERY happy. I’ve been in too many weddings to know that asking your bridesmaid to spend $250 plus on wedding dress plus accessories, hair, etc…. is a little ridiculous! B*rtons is a super small shop, it’s a no frills kind of place. If you want a “foo foo” kind of place look elsewhere. Girls measurements can be called in or they will measure you – no appointment was needed and they were in and out in 5 mins. HOWEVER, all of my bridesmaids had terrible experiences with the staff at the shop. All were in agreement that they were rude and unhelpful with terrible attitudes. I’m very disappointed in their customer service and would not recommend them.

Jordan’s Sweet Beginnings Flowergirl Dresses from House of Brides website:A
I was so over the white FG dresses! I wanted something different and unexpected and knowing my colors were pink and green, FH and I fell in love with these dresses! FH and I decided we would play for our 2 FG dresses and so I priced them out at shops on long island and it was a bit more than I would have liked. I then searched online for reputable and legitimate dealers of the Sweet Beginnings line and found House of Brides which was a little bit less expensive than in the shop.

Tuxedos from Advance Formal Wear in Rockville Centre: A
My hubby was very impressed with Brian, the owner of Advance Formal Wear. We spent ALL day searching tuxedo shops and hubby fell in love with what one store had to offer (Tuxedo Park) but after learning that their prices were the most expensive we’ve seen and that they don’t even give the groom his for free and the ring bearer would have to pay full price (mind you we were renting a total of 10 tuxedos so not a small group) we ran out of there unable to justify using them. Don’t get me wrong, Tuxedo Park is beautiful a real show room. So we went in and out of shops that just didn’t do anything for us, but when we went to Advance Formal Wear we were blown away by the owners willingness to work with us. He was able to get my hubby’s exact suit, tie, vest, and shirt that he fell in love with at the more expensive place. I can’t even begin to tell you how knowledgeable he was too! He knew all the designers and how they cut their suits and how they run and what looks good and what is comfortable. I mean, this guy was awesome! The prices he gave us were fabulous. I highly recommend checking them out regardless of where you are on Long Island! They are worth it!

Now for all the little things!

Fans from Oriental Trading: A
I got a great price for 70 fans (prob ordered a bit too many) and after reading reviews I was concerned a little because some people complained that each package of fans has varying sizes. I could understand that if being placed on a seat this may look funny but I had them all in a basket and it didn’t bother me one bit.

Card Box: B
My card box/bird cage was a Cinderella Coach made out of wire just like the bird cages. My mom really liked this style and she offered to buy it so whatever she wants! I do not remember where we purchased it from (do a search online). I thought it was unique and different but I do wish it was a bit larger. I did love the way my mom and I “jazzed” it up a bit with the ribbon!

Baskets for programs and fans from Christmas Tree Shop: A
Purchased in February at great prices. After looking online and in other stores (like Michaels) the prices and quality from The Christmas Tree Shop is just perfect!!!

Flowergirl Baskets from Christmas Tree Shop & DIY: A
I found these super cute baskets at the Christmas tree shop for just a couple of bucks! I then bought spray paint and ribbon from Michaels and mom and I got busy! I love the way they came out!

”Here Comes the Bride”/”Just Married” Sign: B
I love this idea! I see no point to a “ring bearer/pillow boy” b/c the rings on there are fake anyway! I wanted something unique and thought this was perfect. I again, cannot remember where we purchased this from but it was fairly inexpensive. I didn’t like that on one of the scroll handles the plastic was chipped but I planned on “jazzing” it up a bit with bling and ribbon so I didn’t mind too much.

Kissing Bells: A
I think having kissing bells is a cute touch for the tables rather than the knife to the glass! I can’t remember where I ordered the bells from (all those wedding favor sites have them) but I ordered enough for about 2 per table. Every site that I checked had silly sayings that came with bells on cheesy paper and cord. So I ripped off the cord and tag that each bell came with and made my own saying on favor tags myself and secured it with pretty ribbon that I selected from Michaels. Score!

Kid’s stuff: A
I always wanted an “adult reception” however we couldn’t do it. Aside from 1 flowergirl and 1 ring bearer from my family, my DH had 6+ kids on his side that we had to invite. Love them but I was very concerned that my formal wedding would turn into a kid party. So I actually created a table and had a sign made called “Kid Fun Zone” and on that table I provided crayons and made personalized activity/coloring books for all the kids. I also picked up some leggos and other inexpensive crafty items to keep the kids busy. I was hoping that this would keep them all occupied so their parents can enjoy themselves. I was a success!

Bridal Party Gifts: A
For the bridesmaids I bought pink Swarovski crystal huggie type earrings, customized tote bag, flip flops, and beach towels. Half the girls got green tote bags with pink towels and the others got the opposite!
For the groomsmen, they all got engraved drinking boots (DAS boot??), engraved sterling silver bottle openers, and personalized BBQ branders.
All gifts were loved!

Channa Plaque: A-
I never heard of such a thing but I jumped on the bandwagon with all the other LIW brides and “had to have one” too! Big plus is that the price really is good and you could pick out your colors and font and sayings. The only thing I didn’t like was that the wood around the edges wasn’t finished so you see the oak colored wood around it! I can’t remember if that was an option I could have changed. So the “minus” is for that but if it’s my fault then I take it back.

Customized Postage from Zazzle: B/C
I purchased customized postage for our Save the Date envelopes, Wedding envelopes, and RSVP envelopes. All was perfect with the Save the Date postage, however we had to send the wedding/RSVP postage back twice because the way they printed it was NOT the way it showed it would be posted online, nor was it the pay the picture had it shown on the packing slip! Basically my problem was with the RSVP stamp…which is 1.8x1.3. It was supposed to be printed, per the picture of the design, horizontally meaning that the longer side on the bottom. Now you know how small those RSVP envelopes are! Both times it was printed, it was printed vertically with the shorter side on the bottom which means that it was too long and therefore covering our names on the envelope! This was cause of much stress! BUT b/c I did my invitations early, I at least had enough time to work this all out (I would have freaked out if I waited to get my invites printed any later). So the B is because I loved the designs we made and the C is because of the incompetence of zazzle.

Save the Dates from Dtour Design: A
I thought of the idea for our save the dates based on a picture I saw. My MOH/BFF has a friend (whom I’m acquainted with) that was starting up her own business (she’s formerly a graphic designer) and was just getting into wedding invites. So, I had a family friend take the pictures (she’s at FIT for photography) and then had Dtour Design put it together for me. I was happy with the way it came out and everyone who received it thought it was so nice and different. (My recommendation: Save The Dates should really go out 1 year prior to the wedding…anything after that in my opinion is just silly)

Gable Boxes for OOT guests: A
Our gable boxes came out awesome! White boxes with green and pink ribbon tied around with a black and white tab with our names and date. We included two bottles of water, pretzels, chips, chocolate bar, almonds, crackers/cheese, mints, granola bars, etc… along with a cute day of timeline for the guests and instructions for shuttle service and brunch the next day!

Room Block at Hyatt Regency in Hauppauge: A
First off, I have to say that the Hyatt Regency is big, beautiful, clean and updated! I wanted to make sure that my guests who opted for a hotel would be very comfortable and so I went and checked out all the different kinds of rooms! I stayed in the Presidential Suite the night before and night of the wedding since I would be getting ready there and the room is a nice big size (but expensive). The rooms for the guests were actually a really great price! Laura Quaranta was the person I dealt with and she was so helpful and accommodating especially when Hyatt’s new computer system had a glitch but all was worked out! I HIGHLY recommend this place. And it was only about 15 minutes from Flowerfield!

Honeymoon in Tahiti: A+++++
Our itinerary: One night in Los Angeles (Sheraton), One night in Papeete, Tahiti (Manava Suites), 4 nights on Moorea (Hilton), 4 nights on Bora Bora (Hilton). I have hundreds of pictures on facebook if anyone is interested. It was an incredible honeymoon. We relaxed, swam with sharks, played with sting rays, went to the spa, snorkeled…it was a blast.

LINKS to pics on facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2282822507623.135291.1160648711&l=15aaa7739c&type=1

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2313773081368.136770.1160648711&l=1d80c2f0bd&type=1

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