8-22-10 Greentree, FM DJ, Imperial Florist, Hair Diana, Twelfth Night, etc.

Thank you LIWeddings for all the help in planning our wedding!!! This post is my way of giving back. I hope it helps someone!

Overall, our wedding was AMAZING, but it was nothing in comparison to our first 6 months of marriage. :) It's so wonderful!

Ok, for the good stuff....
(I put 4 pics in an album, cuz I couldn't figure out how to put them in here!)

Here is my one bad review first...(The rest are good! YAY!)
Hair: Hair by Diana Avella (hairavella)
D
I don't want to give a bad review, but I will in hopes that it will help someone decide...

As a disclaimer, I used Diana because she was recommended by a friend and I had gone on another trial that I didn't love and I liked the way Diana did my hair in the trial. Trials are so expensive so I didn't want to try anyone else. Bad chioce.
I don't want to be rude, so I'll just give the facts. First, she told my sister that she couldn't curl her hair because it was humid out. Seriously?! And then my friends that got their hair done at Two Stephen Street came in with curly, gorgeous hair. My poor sister. All she wanted was nice curly hair. I felt so bad for her.
Then my mother... Her hair looked terrible and not at ALL what she asked for --- Diana did re-do the hair, but then of course we had a timing problem (and it was her fault).
My other sister ... Diana had to re-do her hair too because it was lop-sided and messy the first time around. I was so upset by this point and so nervous about my own hair. This should not be a problem on the morning of my wedding!

So then she got to my hair. FIRST of all, at the trial, we took pictures. We asked her if she takes pictures, but she said she doesn't -- that she'll remember and use her notes. Then on my wedding morning, she asked to see OUR pictures. And then she did it wrong!!! Luckily my sister was looking and happened to see it was NOT what I wanted at all!! So she re-did my hair.
It did end up looking nice -- on the third try!! We lost time for pictures, and I was so upset (and still am) that my sisters and mother didn't have the hair do's they wanted. Hair is extremely expensive, and it shouldn't be a problem to do something that can be done easily in a salon.

Aside from all this, Diana's personality is a bit, uh, abrasive. Let's just say that my family is very easy going, and we were a frustrated and annoyed. My best friend said she wanted to tell her to shush.
But again, there is a chance it was an off-day for her, since she came recommended by a good friend. I don't know. I still get upset thinking about it, but at least it was just the morning-of and then it was over!


Date: 8/22/10
We chose August to have good weather. It rained. Oh well!

Dress: Filene's Basement Running of the Brides!
A++
Wow -- I never thought I'd get my dress there! Or that I'd wear a $7000 dress to my wedding that I paid $700 for -- yay!

For anyone interested in doing this, I have some pointers:
1. It is only once a year. Either the timing has to work, or you have to hold your dress for awhile. I bought my dress in March for my August wedding.
2. I didn't 'run.' I actually went after work just to see if anything was left. I didn't expect much, but there were still 1000+ dresses and only like 10 girls walking around calmly! It was perfect.
3. Do a bunch of dress shopping beforehand. It really helped that I knew what styles I like and good names. I knew what it meant when I saw names like Amsale and Jim Hjelm for $700! I grabbed those.
4. You buy the dress you see. Make sure there aren't stains and make sure it fits or can be altered to fit. Seamstresses are on hand to consult.

My dress was amazing. I thought I'd buy a trumpet-style dresss, but I ended up going with a natural-waisted pricess dress. I loved it, and my husband loved it even more. He said it's how he dreamt of seeing me! It was a $7000 dress that was a sample in the salon, so they tried to sell it at 50% off. When they didn't sell it, they sent it to Filene's.

I love my dress story, and I can't tell you how many compliments I got! I put a few pics in my album.

Ceremony Veil & Headband: Tri-County, Barron's
A+
I had expected to use my mother's veil, but at the last minute I decided that I really wanted to wear a flatter veil (not much rouching at headband). They were able to get it made quickly and beautifully. I also bought my headpiece (headband) there and I LOVED it. He added small pearls to it to match the beading at the waistline of my dress. I LOVED it.

Reception Veil: my sister!
A++++
My sister made my reception birdcage veil. I LOVED it!!!

PINK shoes: zappos - Menbur
A+
I am SO happy I wore my pink shoes. Awesome, comfy, and reasonably priced ($95 I think).

Bridesmaid dresses: Nordstrom
A+
I didn't want traditional bridesmaid dresses. They were fuchsia, chiffon, 1-shoulder, $180, available online, and gorgeous. I think my bridesmaids liked them (and they can shorten and wear them again!! HAHAHA).

Invites: With Love, Plainview
A++
Wooo! We LOVED our invites. We had chosen them in an invite shop in Westchester, and I happened to find With Love online and met with her in her home. She was able to do 20% off the quoted price for us!! It really helped that she worked out of her home -- no store overhead expense.
There was a snafu when our invites came in originally -- the envelope writing was a different color than the invites! Beth immediately contacted them and made them rush another set to us! It actually really helped to have an extra set of envelopes, since I did the calligraphy myself. :)
THANKS, BETH!!

Ceremony: Fordham University Church
A
Breathtaking. We met at Fordham and it was halfway between our families (LI vs. CT), so it was perfect.

Reception: Greentree CC, New Rochelle
A++
I would HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend Greentree! The room was gorgeous (fit 600) with high ceilings and all windows looking out to the water. We dealt with the owner, 'Uncle' Mike, from the beginning. He helped us with every little request (e.g. we not only went to the cocktail hour tasting, but they also set up an entree tasting for us and my parents!!). We were having a fairly large wedding (~250), but I'm sure the service would have been impeccable for a 50-person affair. Our maitre d', Anthony, was extremely attentive and sweet. Really -- if you're thinking of doing this area, check out this place. AWESOME
THANK YOU GREENTREE!!
The pic in my album is of only HALF the room!

DJ: FM Entertainment
A
I would definitely recommend FM. We had Frank as our MC and another DJ spinning. They were very accomodating, considering we gave them a VERY long list of requested songs. :)

Florist: Imperial, Baldwin
A+
Anne Marie is THE BEST. She is almost like a friend of the family now, since she does almost all our weddings and family events. Her work is beautiful. She got my vision, and when there was a miscommunication about the centerpieces, she did another sample (which most don't do). She actually travelled to Greentree in Westchester to see the space and give me her opinions about centerpieces. The flowers were gorgeous, the arrangements were beautiful, and they lasted a long time.

Photo: Twelfth Night (12th Night)
A
We loved them. We had Dominic and Vanessa. The pics are gorgeous and we love the way he retouches every picture. The price is very reasonable and worth it. We really think they were great.
There were just two issues that caused me to give an A instead of an A+. First, Vanessa was late to get to the church and thus didn't have any time to photograph my husband and his groomsmen before the ceremony. They said it was because of traffic, and it was because they didn't take the route we had told them to take. Second, Dom didn't take a picture of me with my 3 sisters/MOHs. You would think that would be a given -- the 4 sisters (I don't have any brothers) -- but no.
But other than those two things (which we can't do anything about now, so whatever), they were great and the product is great. The girl who works in the office all the time (I forget her name!) is reallllly sweet and always so nice when I call.

Video: Mittermax
unrated yet
Travis is connected with Twelfth Night, and we really liked his work. He is very nice and seemed great day-of. We're waiting on our video, so we reserve judgment for now!

Makeup: Jennifer Dame
A++
Jen is a family friend, and she did an AMAZING job with all our makeup. I can't say enough good things. She is such a sweetie, and really has a talent. I never wear makeup, and she was very good about not making me feel 'caked-up.'

THANK YOU!!

Limo: Silver Star, Yonkers
A
Great service, exactly what we wanted, nice people, good directions, on time, affordable. Can't ask for much else!! THANKS!

Tuxes: Men's Wearhouse
B
Generally good service, widespread stores (very helpful for guys in many locations), reasonable prices.
Rating drop because the Best Man's shoe fell apart on the day-of!!! My father-in-law had to wear his own shoes and give the BM his tux shoes!
Also, the shirt for one of the groomsmen was too small. Always check when you get the tux!!

Other Vendors: Radisson Hotel - New Rochelle (A), Rehearsal Dinner at Pasquale Rigoletto on Arthur Ave (A+ and YUM!)

Re: 8-22-10 Greentree, FM DJ, Imperial Florist, Hair Diana, Twelfth Night, etc.

Great Review, and you looked so pretty!

I went to my cousins wedding in Sept. at Greentree, the food was great and it is a beautiful place!

Re: 8-22-10 Greentree, FM DJ, Imperial Florist, Hair Diana, Twelfth Night, etc.

Thank you!!