** DUET VIDEO ADDED! ** My October 9th 2009 Review: Giorgio's, Duet, FM Entertainment, Elegant Limo, and more.

We had the perfect day and I pretty much gave it one giant A+. All the work was so worth it and the day was perfect. I know everyone says that but I really cannot think of anything I would have changed, except maybe the rain in the morning :) I got so many compliments on everything. I wouldn't have had nearly the details and creative touches if I had not found this site, so THANK YOU!

ENGAGEMENT PARTY:

We had a Luau themed eparty at Dan’s parents house. We made most of the food ourselves. Everyone had a great time!



ENGAGEMENT PHOTOS: Jay from Duet at Raphael Vineyards

I used to be the bridal attendant there and the place is gorgeous. I loved that we got to take our pics there.









BRIDAL SHOWERS: A + Soundview Restaurant in Greenport and Dan’s parents house

Soundview was beautiful and they did a great job. My mom and bridal party really went all out. They did such a great job and I am so lucky to have such great friends and family. I had perfect showers!



BACHELORETTE PARTY: A+ Claudio’s in Greenport

As a north fork local, it’s a must do. We went to Vine first for apps and wine, then went out dancing at Claudios. They had a band and we had the BEST time!





REHEARSAL DINNER: Cooperidge Inn, Sound Ave, Baiting Hollow A+
The food is amazing and the place is gorgeous! We had a private room to ourselves and we loved the cozy feel of it. I can’t say enough about how AMAZING the food is there. We had a great time at the rehearsal dinner. Everyone raved about the food.

One of my favorite gifts was a signed copy of our wedding song by Gavin Degraw...SIL's boss lives next door to him so she managed to track him down!



HOTELS: A+ Best Western, Holiday Inn, and Hilton Garden Inn in Riverhead

Best Western and Holiday had a free shuttle to everyone for to and from the reception, and it worked out perfectly. We all met up for breakfast at BW the morning after, which was fine because they had bagels, juice, toast, etc, and it was free. No complaints, our room was very nice, although we said after we should have just saved the money and gotten a regular room instead of the suite, because we were only in it for a few hours lol. It was very nice though!


Ok, now for the wedding stuff!

MOTHER NATURE: B The morning of the wedding it was cold, dark, and dreary. It started raining around 10 and continued to rain as we were getting ready. Around 3 the rain stopped just in time for us to get in the cars. During the30 minute drive to the church it was getting lighter and lighter, and we saw blue skies ahead!! As we pulled up to the church the sun came out- incredible. During our ceremony my father had a sort of religious epiphany, while the priest was saying something about how what God has put together nothing will separate it, the sign shined through the stained glass window directly onto us. The weather continued to hold up all through photos and cocktail hour, and once everyone was inside for dinner around 8, it rained again for most of the evening. It could not have been more perfect timing.

CHURCH: St. Isidore RC Church, Pulaski St, Riverhead A+

As bad as it is to rate a church, I’m only giving it a grade because we loved it. This church is gorgeous. Fr. Robert Kuznik is wonderful, very laid back and down to Earth. The church was also great to work with- they had no restrictions as far as who we used for music, or throwing rose petals afterward, as some churches I’ve heard restrict this. The secretaries were always very pleasant, knowledgeable and helpful when I called with my random questions! So many people told us how gorgeous the church was. We are so happy we got married there.

We had friends of ours play the strings, so we had a quartet. I LOVED it and it made the ceremony SO magical.



RECEPTION: Giorgio’s A+

From when we walked in, we were blown away by the view and the gorgeousness of this place. We met with George Sr., who made us feel right at home and like we’ve known him for years.My dad and his nephew actually were state troopers at the same station for 25 years so we knew we were in good hands. During the process, Dawn was very nice and helpful and always answered my silly questions throughout the process. After a false-alarm panic post on LIW about hotel blocks, I got a phone call THAT NIGHT from George Jr. asking what the problem was with the hotels, and asked if I wanted him to “rattle them a bit.” I guess they read the boards! I had resolved the issue by then but I thought it was hilarious. I also wanted to have a particular signature drink that involved white cranberry juice. They normally don’t have this stocked in the bar but George Jr. ordered it especially for our wedding no problem.

The day of we pulled up and George and Mal were waiting for us. Melissa was our bridal attendant and she was so attentive. Guests were raving about the food and telling us all night it was the most incredible wedding reception they’ve ever been to. I could go on and on. They took care of every detail and at the end of the night Melissa packed up all our stuff and gifts and helped us put it into the car. We could not have picked a better place. If you are considering them, you will have no regrets. They are so good at what they do. I love how they really care about your day and don’t make you feel like just a number, as some other places we visited did. They were just incredible. I want to do it all over again. Now I want to go to someone else's wedding there so I can drink and eat like crazy!! We didn't eat much, we both weren't hungry, but they packed us up some doggie bags and we chowed down at 2 in the morning in our hotel room haha! And it was GOOD! Two suggestions- get the Chateau Briand and the poached pear salad (in the photo). Everyone raved about the steak and the salad was very impressive and delicious.



PHOTO/VIDEO: Duet (Jay) A+

From the first meeting with Eric, we loved Duet’s work. We knew our photos would be a work of art! We had Jay’s team. We took our e-pics at Raphael Vineyards, and after we saw them, we were even MORE excited for our wedding photos!

The day of we had Jay, Brian and Uno for video. Everyone dubbed them the ninja triplets, they were everywhere!! Our photos are AMAZING. They captured things I don’t even remember happening, and I love their photojournalistic style.

WE LOVE OUR VIDEO!!!

VIDEO TEASER LINKS ADDED! Formal, Prep, and Highlights


Growing Up Photos and Preparation

Formal

Highlights





DH's face when he saw me :)



DJ: FM Entertainment A

Ok, this was an interesting turn of events. We booked Frank as our MC 15 months prior to the wedding. The day before the wedding , an hour before we are going to the rehearsal, we got a call from Frank saying he couldn’t do our wedding because of a miscommunication in the scheduling- basically they double booked us and didn’t catch it until the day before. Long story short and after much arguing, from their point of view it was more fair for Frank to be at the other wedding so he said Paulie would be MCing our wedding. He swore up and down it was the first time it ever happened, and I’m sure they won’t make that mistake again! We had never met Paulie and had booked FM because we liked Frank, so of course we were upset and nervous, but there was nothing we could really do at that point so we just took a deep breath and decided to roll with it. Now Frank did compensate us to make up for the major screwup.

The wedding day we met Paulie and he apologized again and quickly went over things with us to make sure it was perfect. After that we felt completely comfortable, and you know what, Paulie did a PHENOMENAL job. We also had Pat Davis as our percussionist and people RAVED about him. I loved how it added a live feel to the music. Paulie was out on the floor dancing and getting people up and having fun. He can definitely bring the party and that’s what we wanted. We were really so happy with him and loved the energy he brought. They played every song on our list and added their own great choices that had the dance floor packed.
I didn't give them an A+ bc of the unnecessary stress the night before our wedding, but we were both really very happy with the way they handled it, and we really were SO happy with Paulie. I realize screwups happen, and we just wanted them to make it right, which they did. We both said we think it actually worked out for the best- Frank is an awesome MC, but Paulie seemed to be more our type of personality, so I think it was actually a blessing in disguise. It ended up working out perfectly. If Frank is booked for your day, ask about Paulie, he really was great.



FLORIST: Ivy League Flowers in Southold A+

The first meeting went great! Ginger got so excited about putting together my vision and they are so nice and a real family-run business. They can do ANYTHING and the price was amazing! They’re work is beautiful. I went in for a follow-up meeting to drop off my BM’s dress swatch for the bo-k ribbons, and Ginger surprised me by having a CP sample there waiting, and I was BLOWN away! Simple yet GORGEOUS, exactly my vision! A lot of times you go to a hyped up wedding vendor and they really overcharge. I decided to go to our local florist because they do beautiful work and much more affordable.

The day of the flowers were PERFECT, exactly what I had envisioned. I don’t think I would have changed a thing. Everyone asked if my BM boks were fake because they were so different- but they were real!!



LIMOS: Elegant Limousine A+

Great reputation and great price! Our drivers were awesome, they took care of everything at the church, told the ring bearers what to do, even had my dad practice lifting my veil haha. I feel terrible but I can’t remember their names, but I really wish I did because both our drivers were so nice and helpful. They also gave us a limo to the airport for our honeymoon for no extra because we booked them from Giorgio’s bridal show- that was SO nice to have otherwise my parents would have had to drive 2 hours to JFK at 3 in the morning and back!



HAIR/MAKEUP: Katy Smith and Dina Rizzo Reilly, from New Beginnings Salon in Southold A+

I loved my hair and makeup! This was another vendor I decided to go local. I saved a lot of money instead of using a LIW Vendor and they did a great job. They came to my house the morning of, Katy did all the girls hair, and Dina did my mom, me, and my BM Alley’s makeup.





GOWN: Maggie Sottero, New York Bride A+

I was living upstate while planning my wedding so I ordered my dress up there at New York Bride in Syracuse. The girls were so nice, not pushy, and let me try on dresses over and over and were always happy to do it. They were helpful with helping me decide what size and custom length to order. My dress itself- Maggie Sottero Lavina Royale- LOVE it!! I loved that I had the princess pickup skirt without being overwhelmed with fabric on my petite figure. The alterations were perfect. I won’t go on too much since its in Syracuse but I had a great experience!





VEIL: Etsy, Bella Bridal Veils A+

I didn’t plan on wearing it all night so I didn’t want to spend a ton of money. Connie made it custom to the length and edging I wanted and it was BEAUTIFUL. I had a 2 tier fingertip with crystals and beading on the edges. I loved it and the price was great!




SHOES: Davids Bridal and Isotoners
My shoes matched my dress perfectly and they were pretty comfortable. I changed into platform flip flips for most of the night for dancing and I’m glad I did, and I wasn’t tripping over my dress.



JEWELRY: My earrings were from AnnaBellagio.com. Bracelet was from Macys. Hair comb from weddingfactorydirect.com! I loved it all!

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BM DRESSES: Dress Bill Levkoff #420- A+

Ordered from New York Bride- these women are great. They matched the lowest price I was able to find on the BM dresses (which ended up being $25 less than even the discounted price b/c I bought my own gown there). The girls all filled out their online form and they waited until they were all in to place the order. Everyone loved this dress and it was flattering on everyone! I thought they all looked gorgeous!

Part of their gift was a matching beach glass necklace, handmade from Jacob’s Jewelers in Greenport. They matched perfectly, everyone loved them, and it was a little ‘taste of home’.




TUXES: Rico’s Clothing, Center Moriches A+

They were so knowledgeable and the process was so easy! We were also so happy to hear they tailored the tuxes, even rentals! Most of the guys have giant shoulders/chests and small waists so all the rentals hung straight on them and looked awful. They needed a European-cut jacket (which we didn’t have any luck finding in rentals) or some tailoring and we had a hard time finding a place that would do it. Men's Wearhouse said no place would do tailor, and if they did they were 'stupid'. Real professional, right? Well, Rico's tailored anything you needed! DH's tux was free, I think it's a free tux for every 5 rentals or something. When Dan went to pick up his tux the vest was a little big around his waist so they tucked it up in about 2 minutes and it was perfect! All the guys looked great!! We LOVED this place. Those boys know their stuff and they’re so helpful. DH actually has pretty good taste in clothes and knows what looks good on him, and he was so happy with the tuxes and with this place. Oh, and they even gave DH a pair of expensive dress socks for free when he asked to have a pair to buy. They just gave them to him and said 'It's on us.'



RINGS: Diamond District(Raymond & Winnie) & JCPenney

FH bought my e-ring in the Diamond District from Ray. He created a masterpiece! DH was able to pick out the stone and then design the band and the setting how he wanted. It is so unique and I feel like it was made just for ME, which it actually was! And he paid a fraction of the price as he would have elsewhere. DH’s family has been using him for YEARS, so I think he cut him a crazy good deal.

Wedding rings were bought from JCPenney, they were having a crazy pre-Christmas sale AND we had great coupons, so we got both our rings for an insanely low price. Mine has diamonds halfway around to match my band, FH has a plain stainless steel band. Great quality, just what we wanted and we got a great price! I could have gotten a higher ct size for the price, but I actually thought the thinner band matching the width of my ering band looked much better.



Odds and Ends: Mostly DIY

INVITATIONS: These were my pride and joy! I made these all by myself. I give myself an A+. I was so proud of these babies.

Invite pocketfolds and silver matting were bought from cardsandpockets.com. The actual invite I bought at exclusivelyweddings.com. The inserts I designed myself in Word and FH printed them at work (industrial high quality printers). The printing department didn’t charge him as a ‘wedding gift’! Total cost was about $250 for 125 pocketfold invites! My father-in-law did the calligraphy.



















RD Invites- from Vistaprint.com

I saved this picture before I realized I had spelled 'Cooperage Inn' wrong. I did fix it before sending them I thought they were SO cute!




Mrs. Est. Hoodie: Ebay

I asked for baby blue lettering and it almost looked grey. I also thought it would be a fancier font. Oh well- it was only $24 and I still thought it looked cute.




FAVORS: Candied/Caramel Apples: DaffyApple.com

We bought candy apples with crunchy topping and caramel apples w/ peanuts and the cellophane bags from Daffyapple.com. I made the tags myself to double as escort cards. Guests loved them- they were delicious!! The best part - they were only $1 each! They beat the price every other place we checked by ALOT, and they were Big and DELISH




CHURCH PROGRAMS: DIY
Program materials were bought at Michael’s, you can get the template online and use word to design them. They were by Brides in the wedding aisle. They were pretty easy and fun to make, and I really liked how they came out.




RING PILLOWS: Ebay

Only pic I have of them- they were satin knotted pillows and were really pretty, but only $10.



MENUS/SIGNATURE DRINK SIGNS: DIY

Menus and Drink Sign I designed myself in Word. The menus I just put two to a regular portrait 8.5x11 sheet printed on marble paper and added a adhesive crystal I bought at Michaels and cut in half.

Guests loved the sig drink idea, and I saw the majority of people drinking them all night!





CAKE APRON: DIY- bought the apron from walmart and some paint and stencils from Michaels.




GUEST BOOK:

We bought the ‘guestbook frame’ at Michael’s and used one of our Epics that I enlarged at Walmart. It came with a pen and everything.

It's now hanging in our living room.





'I DO' LETTERS: I bought the wood letters from AC Moore and spray painted them, and added some adhesive crystals for a little decoration to the gift table.

CARDBOX: DIY

Got frames at Walmart. The top is a piece of foamboard covered with batting and fabric. We put in nails to make the 'pillow top' look and covered the nailheads with adhesive crystals. DH put together the frames with L brackets.Total cost about $20. I have better pictures of the top in my DIY album






SLIPPER BASKET- I bought like 40 pairs of flip flops from Dollar Tree in various sizes. I designed the tags myself and had a couple different poems on them. They were snatched right up!






UNITY CANDLE: Ebay $12 - just search 'floating unity candle'. There's tons.




CAKE TOPPER: Weddingfactorydirect.com
Our cake topper was $18 and gorgeous!





CHAMPAGNE FLUTES/CAKE CUTTERS: Vera Wang Love Knots- I'm a little obsessed with these.






BATHROOM BASKETS- Baskets from Michaels, items from various drugstore dollar aisles. The sewing kit in there actually came quite in handy as my SIL had dropped a little too much weight right before the wedding and they had to sew the straps on the dress in the bathroom bc it kept falling down.


DH pulled these out from under my dress during the garter removal!!


HONEYMOON: Excellence Playa Mujeres, Mexico A+

We had the BEST time. We were blown away by this place and got a great price. We got the 2 story rooftop terrace. The weather was great, we did so many things, saw the Mayan ruins, went ziplining, We already are planning a trip back. We LOVED this place. The food was also incredible, and it was all inclusive!

Here's bits of our video from the Corona Rally excursion we did. Skip to 2:15

Selvatica

Re: My Review: Giorgio's, Duet, FM Entertainment, Elegant Limo, and more.

OMG! Great Review! I am getting married there in Feb! Can not wait!!

Contgrats!

Re: My Review: Giorgio's, Duet, FM Entertainment, Elegant Limo, and more.

Great review! And if it makes you feel better, I can't see anything wrong with the side of your dress in any of the pictures!

Re: My Review: Giorgio's, Duet, FM Entertainment, Elegant Limo, and more.

great review and GORGEOUS pictures!
the pic of your DH when he sees you for the first time made me get teary-eyed...
congratulations!

Re: My Review: Giorgio's, Duet, FM Entertainment, Elegant Limo, and more.

What an absolutely beautiful wedding you had!!! Everything about it was breathtaking! I am in love with your church....it's gorgeous, and kinda reminds me of mine

Congratulations and much happiness!!

Re: My Review: Giorgio's, Duet, FM Entertainment, Elegant Limo, and more.

Your photos are amazing! You were a beautiful bride, great review!!

Re: My Review: Giorgio's, Duet, FM Entertainment, Elegant Limo, and more.

OMG! You look absolutely gorgeous!!!!1 I am in love with your dress by the way!!
Everything looks so nice! i'm glad everything worked out well for you!

Re: My Review: Giorgio's, Duet, FM Entertainment, Elegant Limo, and more.

GREAT REVIEW AND WONDERFUL PICTURES!!!!

Re: My Review: Giorgio's, Duet, FM Entertainment, Elegant Limo, and more.

The photographs are amazing. It looked like a beautiful wedding!!! I loved to read good things about Giorgio's. It looks like you were able to enjoy the new area.

Re: My Review: Giorgio's, Duet, FM Entertainment, Elegant Limo, and more.

Great review, everything looked great. Love the photo of DH when he first saw you walking down the aisle. Congratulations.

Re: My Review: Giorgio's, Duet, FM Entertainment, Elegant Limo, and more.

Beautiful!!!! Great review congrats!!

Re: My Review: Giorgio's, Duet, FM Entertainment, Elegant Limo, and more.

you looked stunning and your pics are fabulous!

Re: My Review: Giorgio's, Duet, FM Entertainment, Elegant Limo, and more.

Absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!!!! everything was gorgeous!!! Congrats!

Re: My Review: Giorgio's, Duet, FM Entertainment, Elegant Limo, and more.

Beautiful, I loved how you did you invites. Thanks for sharing.

Re: My Review: Giorgio's, Duet, FM Entertainment, Elegant Limo, and more.

Beautiful review!! Love the pictures and the BM dresses! Congrats!!!

Re: My Review: Giorgio's, Duet, FM Entertainment, Elegant Limo, and more.

Beautiful and congrats!

Re: My Review: Giorgio's, Duet, FM Entertainment, Elegant Limo, and more.

Great review and congrats!! You looked amazing!!

Re: My Review: Giorgio's, Duet, FM Entertainment, Elegant Limo, and more.

Great Review!! Your pics are gorgeous!

Re: My Review: Giorgio's, Duet, FM Entertainment, Elegant Limo, and more.

great review!!!!!!!! you look so beautiful and the wedding looked so amazing!!!!!!! congrats

Re: My Review: Giorgio's, Duet, FM Entertainment, Elegant Limo, and more.

I loveeee this!! and I love your 'if you throw cake in my face disclaimer' lol