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A perfect day in May! 5.29.15 LONGGG review w/ pics of The Aquarium, Ken Hild Photo, Moriches Main S...
alyssawish Posted: Jun 24, 2015 08:54 AM+
alyssawish MEMBER SINCE: 3/13 TOTAL POSTS : 30 WEDDING DATE: May 29, 2015
Posted: Jun 24, 2015 08:54 AM bride-minus.png

A perfect day in May! 5.29.15 LONGGG review w/ pics of The Aquarium, Ken Hild Photo, Moriches Main Street Flowers, Wedding Cinema, A Beautiful Bride Hair&MU, Fantasia Bridal & More!

Our wedding was the most beautiful Friday I have ever seen. May 29th, 2015 is the day and it was absolutely perfect and I truly feel it wouldn't have been without our vendors. Here's our review!


Moriches Main Street Flowers -- Judy and Staff -- A+++

We met and booked Judy over two years before our wedding. We loved her from day one. Over the course of our engagement we met with Judy several times to discuss the big day. She overflowed with knowledge of the aquarium being that she is one of their preferred vendors and had so many helpful hints we used for our day. The day came and Judy and her staff were incredible. My bouquet and the bouquet's for the bridesmaids arrived and were stunning. Even the boutonniere's had simple, unique touches for each of the guys, which showed so much heart was put in to the work. Our dais was laid out with flowers and petals and shells. It was perfect. It wasn't until we saw pictures of our day did we really see the beauty of the work that had been done. We did not use floral centerpieces, we had purchased driftwood candle holders, but she filled them with sand and shells and covered the tables with flowers. She also designed and crafted for us our own seating arrangement table, because we did not want to have traditional seating cards. Our tables and the guests at them were listed on shimmery card stock attached to beautiful miniature sail boats, seashells, bottles and other wonderful nautical things in a big sand box at the front of the reception. It was perfect. Every table, the staircase, the ceremony space, everything, had been lovingly embellished with flowers and elements of our aquarium theme. My husband and I have no other words for Judy and her staff than absolutely wonderful. Her beautiful work was extremely affordable and we paid her in increments over the course of our engagement. I would recommend her to literally anyone that asks.






Ken Hild Photography – Ken Hild and Assistant Ken – A+++

We met Ken about 2 years before the wedding and booked because after seeing his work, I wanted to make sure we had him for our day. He is beyond professional, courteous, and truly so much fun. (Not to mention, affordable. Which mattered to us a lot, as well as beautiful photos) Hub and I were both extremely nervous for our engagement shoot, which we also did with Ken. We were worried we would be awkward and ruin the pictures. But within the first few minutes with him we were in hysterics. The most genuine smiles and beautifully unique style Ken has lead to, of course, absolutely stunning photos. Our wedding followed suit, with a sense of seeing an old friend after some time apart, and astounding photographs. Ken checked in with us throughout the time between booking and the big day, ending lastly a week or so before the wedding. As soon as Ken and his assistant Ken (which we have lovingly nick-named Mini-Ken) arrived, their work began. They were incredibly efficient, professional, hysterical (which calls for the most genuine smiles from family and friends) and knowledgeable. I felt as though they truly led the day for us. They both kept us all laughing while we took photos in the most beautiful places in Riverhead, all of which we wouldn’t have known of without them. They even grabbed us for a few moments during the reception, to take pictures in the absolutely stunning, dimly lit, back area of the aquarium. Even though we were away from our party for a little while, we didn’t feel like we missed anything at all because of how much fun they are. Ken squared worked SO efficiently with Pete, the videographer, we didn’t have to do anything twice. They worked off of each other you would think that they were the same company. We have only received our sneak peek of photos so far, but we literally were blown away by them. The overall magnitude of the experience we had with them that day, plus the beauty of the photos we have received, we absolutely could not have picked a better photographer.




Wedding Cinema – Pete Galgano – A+++

Nick and I met Pete through Ken Hild Photography. We actually had an appointment with Ken and while we were waiting for him, we spoke and got to know Pete a little bit. (They share an office building! So convenient!) COMPLETE HONESTY: We did not know if we could afford both photo and video. We paid for this wedding mostly ourselves and were unsure if it was worth it. Pete made us an offer, was so genuine and kind and pretty much said I get it, no problem, you let me know. Months went by and it had almost left our minds until I received a very sweet email from Pete, asking how we were and wishing us the best. Hub almost attacked me. He said book that guy right now—he’s the most genuine guy I’ve ever met. We need him. So we did. I honestly am SO glad we did. He was the definition of professional, but still SO much fun. He was my dress “fluffer” pretty much the entire day, he was always making sure I looked best for all of Ken’s and his shots. He taught me how to pick up and carry my dress so I could walk as quickly as I could (we got a TON of photos in a TON of different places in Riverhead and were moving quickly). (( Even though he ended up doing it for me more than half of the time because well, he was amazing. )) He works SO well with Ken Hild Photography; they work off of each other and bounce ideas off one another. It’s truly an incredible thing to watch and be a part of. A lot friends have asked if they were one company because of how seamless the three were together. We received our wedding “trailer” from Pete and to be honest with you, I’m sure every bride says this, but I can’t watch it without crying. I truly felt I could SEE every emotion I had, and Hub as well. It is so beautifully and uniquely crafted, it brings us instantaneously right back to that day. We CAN NOT WAIT for the wedding video. I already know it’s going to be perfect. Pete is incredible.

Trailer - https://vimeo.com/130054861



Absolute Entertainment – Kevin & Staff – A+++

Another vendor we booked almost two years in advance. They are an aquarium preferred vendor and I LOVE their white “Blizzard” DJ equipment. Hub and I thought it was fantastic. We didn’t deal with them after booking pretty much at all until the month of the wedding. We met with Kevin to go over the flow of the day, the song selections and we ended up booking their SuperBooth photo booth last minute. Some of our song selections were I guess a little unusual, Kevin told us he wasn’t sure of where they would fit, but if he could, he would. The day came and the ceremony was perfect, (Absolute equipment). But then the reception. Oh my gosh, I don’t think I’ve EVER had so much fun in my life. Kevin’s introduction for the bridal party literally BELLOWED into the aquarium halls. His voice is literally the BEST DJ voice ever. They fit EVERY single one of our ridiculous song choices into the night, but never once did they come in on a time that would slow the party. People that I never see dancing at other weddings were up on the dance floor rocking it out to Absolute’s set. It was incredible. – ALSO! The SuperBooth? SUCH A HIT. It’s not a traditional booth but more of a lights, wind, camera and screen set up in front of a Hollywood-esque backdrop. We received a disc with all the photos from the superbooth and its hysterical. People we never thought would use it used it. And every single person looked like they were having an AMAZING time. So worth the money, so many guests have raved about it.




Atlantis Banquets & Events -- Long Island Aquarium – Craig, Jayme & Staff – B+

Let me start this by saying, I LOVE the Long Island Aquarium. I think it is astounding on its own. Hub and I went here first as our first option. It was a little pricey at the time as we were paying entirely on our own, so we kept looking. Every place we went to paled in comparison. Although the Sea Star ballroom, attached to the Aquarium is also beautiful, it is a wedding hall. Every venue including the Sea Star just did not match up to the unique, beautiful style of being inside the Aquarium. We booked. Craig was our salesperson and he was absolutely a doll. Every question I had for the two years before the wedding he answered quickly and kindly. He checked in on us frequently and chatted at the showcases. We love him.
Next we met Jayme about maybe 4 months before the wedding? She handled literally all the details. We met with her, picked out food and linens, discussed cake details and ceremony and all the little stuff. She is EXTREMELY professional, courteous, and SO accommodating. My dad had just completed chemotherapy for his throat cancer and needed either very soft bland food or puréed food. Jayme told us not to worry about a thing, and that they would make my dad whatever he needed (which they kept to and was so amazing). She handled everything and all of my ridiculous questions. Loved her so much.

COMPLETE HONESTY! : We were on cloud nine ALL day the day of our wedding. I’m pretty sure someone could’ve punched me and I would’ve been fine with it. We did not find some of these little negatives until AFTER the wedding. We looked at pictures, talked, and realized what had happened.

So the day came and we did the thing! We shot our first look and were heading back to the aquarium to get ready for the ceremony at 6:30. The bridal attendant had to hunt us down because Ken had taken us back by the river, she was not happy and was being pretty mean but I don’t blame her as we were getting pretty close to being very late.
We were walking passed the ceremony space and Hub realized…… the chairs for the guests took up the ENTIRE space for the bridal party to walk. We were told we could walk on the short version of the dock because we didn’t want my dad to have to walk too far. The Maitre’d was brought over who was AWESOME. She was so professional and quick and reminded me of Jayme’s awesomeness. She let us know unfortunately it could not be changed because of the size of the wedding. Totally fine, we’ll go the long way, Dad was fine. Cool. No big.
The ceremony was beautiful on the dunes. We left the ceremony where my bridal attendant was supposed to help bustle my dress….. She did not bustle my dress. Truthfully I am surprised she didn’t rip the tulle right off. She was so rough I could feel it. My matron of honor had been taught how to properly bustle it and I wanted her to do it, but the bridal attendant insisted and I guess she was offended when I suggested my MOH do it. Low and behold, she broke one of the buttons and ripped it off of my dress. She broke some of the strings underneath in the bottom bustle. Again, I was on cloud nine so I said, “as long as it doesn’t fall off!! Hahahahahha !” (Not one sip of alcohol, just love drunk.)
The cocktail hour was wonderful; all of the food was amazing. We sprung for the mashed potato martini bar and every single one of our guests seemed to have one, and they all absolutely loved it. I only got a quick bite, but I could’ve eaten that alone for dinner. SO good.
Reception seemed to have gone off without a hitch. The food was absolutely AMAZING. We had all of our food brought to us and it was all so freaking good. I don’t think I had one bad thing to eat. All of our guests have told us they heard the food wasn’t that good at the aquarium, and they were blown away by how amazing it was. We also heard that every single waiter in that place had a smile on, was kind and helpful, but never overbearing. We loved to hear that.
The cake came out, and dear heaven, it was out of this world. We didn’t pay for the extra designs or specialty cake. We went with the cake that came with our per-plate rate and it was so damn good haha. MIL surprised us by booking and paying for the Viennese desert hour, and that also, was so heavenly it was out of this world.
The end of the night came and although I wish it hadn’t it did.
The ONLY thing that got to me this night was the silly bridal attendant. The night is just about over, and she rushes up to me, gets right in my face and practically yells “WHAT AM I SUPPPOSED TO DO WITH THESE FRAMES THAT WERE LEFT IN THE BACK???”
..
Me – “I’m sorry, what frames?”
B.A. – “THE ONES THAT WERE JUST THROWN IN THE CAFETERIA.”
Me – (figuring out what happened – we had pictures of our loved ones that had passed on ceremony chairs so they could be with us in memory for the ceremony, I was told they would be brought in and set up on a table for the reception)
“The ones with older people in them? Like maybe deceased people? They were supposed to be brought in for the reception. I guess that wasn’t done, huh?”
B.A. – (awkward oh **** silence.) “Oh. I’ll put them with your stuff.”
Me – “Thanks so much!”


All of our stuff was brought over to our hotel room on a cart. We even got some leftovers for a midnight snack.

Looking at pictures after the wedding, we realized the linens were the wrong colors. (LOL! I didn’t even notice that night!) Just a silly issue that didn’t even get noticed. So that was no big either.

Overall, the aquarium is BEAUTIFUL and the staff is WONDERFUL. The food was AWESOME. I just wish I had a bridal attendant that wasn’t so spiteful. She truly was the only negative in that entire day. Later on, my bustle had fallen down completely and my MOH realized the bridal attendant broke almost ALL of the bustle strings. Thankfully my MOH is a master of craftiness and she pinned my dress to itself with safety pins and hid them nicely so no one could see. But the bridal attendant really didn’t help me at all, and she took down their score a lot because of how poorly she treated me. Naturally; this could’ve just been someone having a bad day, and I wouldn’t say anything bad about the aquarium because of it. I did have to factor her into their final score, but if I had a different bridal attendant, I probably would’ve given them an A+.






A Beautiful Bride – Sally Biondo & Assistant – A+++
I had originally done a trial with another MUA and I felt so cakey and disgusting. Everyone I saw after my trial asked if it was really me, because I looked nothing like myself. I don’t normally wear makeup at all. I don’t even know how to use it! But I wanted to look flawless for my wedding photos, which I couldn’t have done myself. Even though I was terrified, after reading Sally’s reviews I gave her a try. Thank goodness. She was perfect. My trial was done at her beautiful little studio. It was warm with a Parisian feel. I absolutely loved it. She came to my hotel room for the day of the wedding where she and her assistant did the hair and makeup for my mom and a few of my bridesmaids, all of whom looked stunning. She modeled my hair after Khaleesi (game of thrones, I’m a loser, that’s fine) with a more elegant formal feel. The braids and curls looked PERFECT. My makeup lasted all night and I never looked greasy or shiny. I didn’t even feel it on my face after so many hugs and kisses and dancing. I love Sally and will most likely use her for literally any excuse I can to get my makeup done.




Fat Cat Paperie – Tara, Katie, & Staff - A+++

We met with Tara of Fat Cat Paperie because our florist recommended them and we are SO glad we took the advice. They designed a beautiful, unique and stylish invitation suite and we absolutely adored it. It matched our colors and had a long island/ nautical/ water feel. They were so wonderful throughout the entire process and kept us up to date on every change. Katie emailed us for literally every step of creating the invitations; we got proofs and proofs and proofs! They made sure our invitations were literally perfect. They even taught me how to tie the rope that held our suite together myself, so we could save some money from having them do it, and they still came out perfect. Love these gals so much and their Moriches office is ADORABLE. The whole place is pink! And filled with fat cats ? We LOVE these people and highly recommend!





Hyatt Place East End -- A++
This hotel is the one that is literally attached to the aquarium. It is stunning. Every single room has a beautiful view. Hub and I booked rooms for Thursday night so we could wake up with our bridal parties, have breakfast, and get ready without a hitch. It was a great plan and worked out wonderfully for us and we highly recommend if you don’t have a sentimental place you’d like to get ready before the big day. Photo, video, and florist was able to come right up to our rooms and do what they had to do and since the hotel is relatively small (only 100 rooms) it didn’t take long to bounce back and forth between rooms.
They comped our room for Friday night, the night of our wedding, and then we stayed Saturday night as well. (which we had a mix up while we were checking out, they forgot to comp the room, but realized the mistake, apologized a hundred times over and comped us Saturday instead which was the most expensive night. Amazingly sweet) It is SO convenient with Jerry and The Mermaid (bar/grill) right next door, it’s amazing amazing food and service, and the hotel has an outdoor bar/restaurant that is REALLY good. We had a mini-moon at the Hyatt that weekend and we absolutely loved it. We would’ve went kayaking on the Peconic, which the marina is in the parking lot of the Hyatt, but Long Island is having their nasty algae thing going on so we couldn’t go in the water. No big! We had a wonderful relaxing weekend.
Some of our guests complained about the room rate being expensive but we had our wedding the weekend after memorial day, in riverhead, next to a huge tourist attraction (LIA) .. We checked almost every single hotel in the area for better rates and unfortunately it was just the common ball park . A couple of our guests booked outside of our block but with their AAA and got a slightly better rate, but not much. It was an expensive time of year, and the Hyatt is an incredibly beautiful hotel. You get what you pay for!


Black Tie Tuxedos – Mark & Staff - A+++
We used Black Tie in Selden, and one of our groomsmen went to the Smithtown location because he lives further out west. Overall we had no complaints about the experience. The guys in the shop are efficient and to-the-point. They were extremely accommodating of my dad, who was still going through chemotherapy at the time of fittings, and had been losing a tremendous amount of weight. They had him come in to get fitted at literally the very last minute to make sure he had a tux that fit him properly and he didn’t feel like he was swimming in. I really appreciated that a lot. Loved the tuxes, they were such good quality and the guys loved them. Def recommend these guys!




Fantasia Bridal - A+++
Let me just start this off by saying I LOVE this place! I came in and found my dress almost exactly one year before my wedding, and they made me feel right at home. I wrote a review of them back then, and it still holds true. All of my fittings were done in the 4 weeks prior to the wedding and I won’t lie, I was pretty nervous about it being so close to the wedding day, but these girls know what they’re doing. The dress fit like it was made just for me. They taught my mom and MOH how to tie the double bustle and were SO kind and sweet during every single fitting. As I was being pinned during the fittings I was able to watch other girls with their dresses and the staff all around just seems to love what they do. They pressed my dress and veil and when I picked it up and brought it to the hotel, I let it out to breathe and oh my gosh it was even more perfect that when I bought it, because it was 100% mine. LOVE FANTASIA ! Would recommend them for Bridal 100% ?




Bridesmaid Dresses- Etsy – A+++
I happened to come across Infinity Dresses on Etsy and I fell in love with them. They came in pretty much every single color you could think of, and were shipped with a bandeau in the same color, for modesty. I loved them right away because they were so cheap ($50-80!) and because they could be wrapped in so many different styles (my MOH and I found 27!!!) they could look good on anyone. Let me just tell you, they were a huge hit. Everyone complimented my girls and the girls loved the versatility of the dress. I’m not sure if you could get these at a physical store, I just so happened to find them on Etsy and went with my gut and purchased them. The seller was super quick and really awesome. Love!!

My flower girl’s mom made her tutu dress, and honestly I don’t know where I would’ve bought a better one. She’s been thinking of making an Etsy shop, so I’ll def share if she does lol!




Favors – Kohls / theknot.com shop - B
We made our own favors via Christmas ornaments on super crazy sale after Christmas and ribbon from The Knot. I LOVE these ornaments and didn’t mind making/boxing them, but the ribbon I purchased from the Knot seemed to have a very short life span. I realized quickly I couldn’t run my fingers over the lettering, it almost immediately would smudge and wipe away. I was disappointed with that but once I learned how to make them without touching them (? I know. Haha) they came out pretty perfect.










My day was absolutely wonderful and I am so blessed to start the next chapter of my life with such beautiful memories!! So that's my review! I am totally open to questions if anyone wants more info or anything like that! :)
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rcotter90 Posted: Jun 24, 2015 12:20 PM+
rcotter90 MEMBER SINCE: 10/13 TOTAL POSTS : 2464 WEDDING DATE: Aug 26, 2016
Posted: Jun 24, 2015 12:20 PM bride-minus.png

A perfect day in May! 5.29.15 LONGGG review w/ pics of The Aquarium, Ken Hild Photo, Moriches Main Street Flowers, Wedding Cinema, A Beautiful Bride Hair&MU, Fantasia Bridal & More!

Great review, thanks for sharing! Seems like you had a wonderful day!!!
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alyssawish Posted: Jun 24, 2015 09:29 PM+
alyssawish MEMBER SINCE: 3/13 TOTAL POSTS : 30 WEDDING DATE: May 29, 2015
Posted: Jun 24, 2015 09:29 PM bride-minus.png

A perfect day in May! 5.29.15 LONGGG review w/ pics of The Aquarium, Ken Hild Photo, Moriches Main Street Flowers, Wedding Cinema, A Beautiful Bride Hair&MU, Fantasia Bridal & More!

Thank you!! I definitely did :)
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FutureMrsGomez Posted: Jun 25, 2015 09:33 AM+
FutureMrsGomez MEMBER SINCE: 2/15 TOTAL POSTS : 562 WEDDING DATE: Jan 16, 2022
Posted: Jun 25, 2015 09:33 AM bride-minus.png

A perfect day in May! 5.29.15 LONGGG review w/ pics of The Aquarium, Ken Hild Photo, Moriches Main Street Flowers, Wedding Cinema, A Beautiful Bride Hair&MU, Fantasia Bridal & More!

Thanks for sharing !! Your day sounds amazing!!! love the superhero picture
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alyssawish Posted: Jun 25, 2015 03:34 PM+
alyssawish MEMBER SINCE: 3/13 TOTAL POSTS : 30 WEDDING DATE: May 29, 2015
Posted: Jun 25, 2015 03:34 PM bride-minus.png

Re: A perfect day in May! 5.29.15 LONGGG review w/ pics of The Aquarium, Ken Hild Photo, Moriches Main Street Flowers, Wedding Cinema, A Beautiful Bride Hair&MU, Fantasia Bridal & More!

Thank you!!! :)
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