LizandG's** Fairy Tale** Black & White** July Wedding at Land's End with Patken Photography, Lovin Ovin Florist, Long Island Sound DJ, M*i*a, Father Joe DeVincenzo & more! Lots of Pics!!

First off, I want to thank all the other brides for their wonderful reviews on this site. They really helped me so much & I don't know what I would do without their posts & photos. Also all the 2010 brides and 2009 brides - thanks for your opinions & advice. I don't know what I would have done to plan my wedding without this site. From my save-the-dates to my invitations & actual reception, it helped me every step of the way.

I want to especially thank Nicole (Future Mulligan) for her awesome wedding review & beautiful photos - it helped me so much!

I also have to thank J (mrsjpc3) & Jenise (ilovebrian2008) for their great reviews!

And I want to thank Deidre (Takeoutcook) for her posts about the name change - it really helped!!

So here is the review....I hope it helps future brides as much as the reviews of the other brides on this site have helped me....

Proposal
A+
DH proposed to me while on a Royal Caribbean cruise in Jan 2009, he really surprised me with rose petals on the bed & a bottle of champagne...I thought he was just being romantic until he got down on one knee & asked me to marry him!! :)







Engagement Ring, Wedding Bands & Groom's wedding gift to bride - JRM Jewlers, Great Neck, NY
A+
Joseph designed my engagement ring, our wedding bands & a beautiful diamond 'journey' necklace that DH gave to me as a wedding gift. He was very patient & informative. He doesn't advertise, so if interested send me a FM & I will get his contact info.



Engagement Party
B
Well - my aunts, uncles & grandparents threw us a very very small party at my grandma's house - with only about 10 people total. It was a surprise & they gave gifts & a cake, but if I had to do it again I would have had a large party at a restaurant. I feel like DH and I missed out on a 'real' engagement party with all our friends + family. But it was sweet for my aunts & uncles to at least surprise us with a cake!

Bridal Shower - Bevanda Restaurant, Great Neck, NY
A+
My mom & MOH threw me an awesome party! They decorated the room adorably & my mom even had a 'bride to be crown' for me to wear. The food was great - really good Italian. And they had a Napoleon cake - which was also excellent. I was so surprised when I walked in - and even DH's mom was there, from FL, who I was very surprised to see, and my grandmother came as well. We played 1 game which was bridal bingo - to guess what I was receiving as gifts - it was fun because everyone was really focused on what gifts I was opening up, and my great aunt was ecstatic when she won bingo!!






Bachelorette Party - Sex & the City Tour, Sushi Samba Restaurant, The Soho Grand Hotel & Club Element in NYC - Manhattan
B+
The Sex & the City tour was a lot of fun, and The food at Sushi Samba was great! but my MOH didn't look at a map before planning & at one point 4 of my BM's / friends walked 20 blocks to our next destination while 3 of us took a cab....(after a few drinks they wanted to walk). After that they were so tired 3 of them left early while we were at the Soho Grand,& 1 of my BM's invited her boyfriend to crash my party :( after I specifically told her not to. We then went to Club Element - which was good, but I would have preferred to skip the loungy Soho Grand (by DJ I thought it meant it was going to have some dancing...) & have gone to Club Element earlier for the Male Strip Show - after all it was my bachelorette party! It was a good night out with the girls, but I was a little disappointed with the way things turned out....



Rehearsal Dinner - Luigi's Restaurant, New Hyde Park, NY
A++
DH & I threw the Rehearsal Dinner for ourselves. The food was excellent - I love this restaurant!! We had an awesome time!! And the Tiramisu is the best I've ever had! We brought our framed rehearsal dinner invite & had that on our table & we even had a few shot glass favors for people to take home! We had the whole back room to ourselves & we invited close family & our bridal party plus people coming from far away - it was awesome!!!




Rehearsal Dinner Invitations - Shutterfly
A+
They had really cute invitations on shutterfly that you could edit & order online. They were inexpensive too. After debating on whether or not we needed invites I ended up ordering them after seeing what a cute selection they had!

Bridal Party Gifts & Parent Gifts - Coach, Invicta & Swarovski
A+
After reading a lot of posts from other brides & what they gave as gifts, I decided on Coach wristlets for all of the girls. My mom had a coupon & went to the outlets to buy them for me. Everyone loved them!
DH decided to get all the guys bracelets from Invicta on the shop NBC website. DH loves Invicta watches, so we thought it would be a nice gift. We picked a different one for each groomsman & also bought them for our fathers.

We did a special part of the ceremony where we both gave gifts to our moms to thank them for all they have done for us. I bought each of them a Swarovski crystal swan & packaged it in a clear box with a silver bow. They both loved it!





Weather
A++
We couldn't have asked for better weather. There was not a cloud in the sky, and it was about 80 degrees. We had the weekend right before the 95 degree heat wave started. I think my grandpa was up there looking out for us....

Hotel - Land's End Motel, Sayville, NY
B-
First of all - this is a Motel - so there is no Lobby & front desk. We booked this hotel for the convenience of it being adjacent to Land's End Reception Hall - there was no need for Limo's or transportation. The problem was - we all had to call ahead & ask them to leave our keys in our rooms, because we were arriving after 5 and the office was closed when we arrived. One of my BM's could not get into her room because her door was locked, and my brother did not book a room in advance & was flipping out that he would have to sleep on the floor & the office was closed so he could not ask for a cot. So after I spent the night before my wedding in Target with my mom & BM buying an aerobed for my brother .......we got there and my BM's room was locked....so DH went across the parking lot to Land's End (who was having another wedding at the time) and asked for the key to my BM's room & if they had an extra room for my brother. They said they had been holding the key there for my BM (even though it was supposed to be in her room with the door unlocked) and they did have a room for my brother - so after all that - we didn't even need the aerobed! What a fiasco! Besides that the rooms were clean & neat and we did enjoy the bridal suite with a small terrace right near the water.

Save the Date Magnets - Magnet Street
A+
We ordered a save the date magnet with our photo on it. They were adorable and very easy to order online. One of my friend's was getting married the month before us & hadn't gotten her save the dates yet - she saw ours & also ended up ordering hers from magnet street. Everyone loved it!




Invitations - The American Wedding, Michaels & Ebay
A+
I ordered my invitations from The American Wedding online - definately order samples first, because what I thought I liked in the catalogue and when I saw them in person were two different things. I looked at a lot of photos online & on this site to figure out what I wanted. I really loved the invitations with the ribbon & diamante buckle, but could not afford to pay $8 per invite for someone else to make them. So I decided to do them myself - with the help of my MOH. I ordered monogram invites from The American wedding, then I bought black satin ribbon and diamonte buckles from Michael's & ebay and we put each ribbon through each buckle & glued each one together. It took forever, but they came out fabulous!!


Menus, Programs, Table Names (Numbers) Escort (Place) Cards & Card Box - For The Modern Bride
A -
I heard so much about the cardboxes at For the Modern Bride & when I saw them I fell in love with them. I ordered mine in January & was very excited about it. Later on, after seeing some of their samples, I decided to also order matching programs, and then added on menus, table names (we did names instead of numbers with an ocean theme- starfish, seahorse, etc.) & escort / place cards. Stella designed them all for me. She was great - we were constantly emailing back & forth - I think I was driving her crazy! I had a black & white theme with white orchids as my flowers, and also a secondary ocean theme (our cake had starfish & seashells on it & Land's End is right on the water). So our menus, programs & table names were all black & white with orchids, and Stella added light blue as an accent color (DH's idea). For our escort cards she designed them blank with a small orchid design & a hole punch, which I requested. I printed the names & table numbers on the perforated sheet she gave me at home on my printer. Then I individually hand tied each one to a starfish or sanddollar with ribbon - which I had seen at a Land's End wedding showcase. They came out great!! I didn't think I would have enough time if I had let her print them for me, since we didn't submit the seating chart until 2 weeks before the wedding. I didn't think I would end up spending the $$ on all this stationary, but it really did look great at the wedding! (and I did save by doing the escort cards with the sanddollars & starfish myself).

The only problem I had with For The Modern Bride was the shipping of the card box. The card box didn't arrive until the day before the wedding, and I was going crazy waiting for it!! I emailed Stella several times, but she said there was no way to get it faster. It did look great when we finally got it though, even though most of the guests ended up handing us cards instead of using it........ My suggestion would be to put down an earlier date when ordering it if you really need it more than 2 days before the wedding.








Hair Cut / Color - Darren's Hair, Sea Cliff, NY
A+
Darren is great - he made sure DH & I looked great for the wedding!

Manicure & Pedicure - Dashing Diva Nails
A+
The girls at Dashing Diva Nails were great! I ended up getting the UV gel nails, and I went every 2 weeks to get them done. The day before the wedding, I had all the bridesmaids go with me for a mani-pedi. They even gave us free Cosmos while we were being pampered!







Photographer - Patken Studios - Jared
B+
After looking at 3 different photographers we decided on Patken. They were very professional & we really liked their photos & albums. There are a few reasons I gave them a B+ instead of an A.

Engagement Photos - B-
We really didn't like our engagement photos. First of all, we had a random photographer, because they didn't assign us a specific photographer until a few months before our wedding. They did a number of generic posed shots in thier studio - which they do with everyone. We couldn't get specific shots that we wanted unless we paid extra $$ for a photo shoot with a specific photographer. I would have liked to do a more fun & personal photo shoot with DH - as I have seen other brides on this site do for their engagement session; maybe at the beach or another location besides the studio. And I would have liked to work with our actual wedding day photographer. After all the $$ spent on the photographer & the rest of our wedding though DH and I decided not to spend extra on an additional photo shoot.






Wedding Photos with Jared - A-

Our wedding photos came out better than I expected, after then engagement photos I told them I wanted some fun modern photos, not all the typical traditional shots. They assigned us Jared. He took some beautiful photos, but he did miss some crucial shots. As I said - he did mostly pre-planned shots, it was not like working with an individual photographer who is emotionally connected with you. I did not give him a specific photo list, and I do regret this, because there were some shots he missed. For example - we had our wedding near the beach - I thought there would at least be 1 shot of DH & I facing the camera, smiling, with the beach in the background. Alas, there was not. He did take a lot of romantic, modern type photos though, and my mom for one was very impressed. Also, me & my MOH had asked him to take a shot of us showing our shoes - and he took just a closeup of our shoes without 'us' in the photo....so he just did not get certain things that day. I know I am nit-picking, but you can't go back & retake shots of your wedding, so make sure you know what you want.




We still have not gotten the Album or Video yet, so I have not reviewed it here.

Makeup & hair - M*I*A (from the B*r*i*d*a*l-L*o*u*n*g*e)
A
M*I*A did a wonderful job with my hair & makeup. I was impressed at the hair trial - I showed her a photo of how I wanted my hair & she did exactly what I wanted. I wasn't sure about the makeup - I wanted a smoky eye, but a little more natural - and she was perfect! I booked her on the spot for my wedding.

The day of the wedding M*I*A arrived on time (9am for a 3 pm photo shoot) but only brought 1 person to help her to do 3 of my bridesmaids & my mom, including me, so we ended up being late, which I think always happens at weddings. She set my hair first, but did my hair & makeup last, so I was getting a little stressed, because as soon as I sat in the chair, the florist came in to drop off flowers & then the photographer came in, & I felt that she was rushing. But in the end everything came out perfect, & my MOH & I agree - that we all felt like models that day - we never looked more gorgeous in our lives! (wish we knew how to make ourselves look like that every day!) Plus, she even gave me a lip gloss to keep for touch-ups during the wedding!





Headpiece / Tiara - Dion at The Wedding Salon of Manhasset
A+
Dion at The Wedding Salon of Manhasset custom made my tiara. It came out gorgeous!!

Bridal Veil - The Wedding Salon of Manhasset
A
My mom helped me pick out my veil. At first I wanted something sparkly, but after trying on a plain one with a tiara I decided that is what I wanted. It really is nice to have - if you are undecided - it looks great in a lot of the photos. And for the ceremony, at first I didn't want to wear it as a blusher when I walked down, but at last minute I decided that I did & I am glad I made that choice.

Wedding Dress - Amsale - The Wedding Salon of Manhasset
A+
After shopping around at multiple places for a dress, I finally found one at The Wedding Salon of Manhasset. I didn't want the typical strapless princess dress that so many other brides have, & I didn't want a huge puffy 'cupcake' dress - (in the words of the bride in 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding') or a heavily beaded or lace dress. I wanted something sexy, elegant and unique that reflected my personality. And after trying on some sexy, cropped and slim fitting dresses, I realized that I still wanted it to look & feel like a wedding dress, not a cocktail dress that I would wear on any other day. I finally found The Dress - made by designer 'Amsale' at this salon. It had just enough sparkle - with crystal encrusted straps & was a beautiful ivory satin material that flared out in a slim A-line, with a beautiful train, and not too big or puffy. It happened to be a sample on the rack and was several sizes to big on me, but the dress fitter, Sue, did an excellent job & after 4 fittings it fit me perfectly!



I did have a dress STAIN mishap on the day of the wedding. Now the dress had been dry cleaned before my last fitting, and I cannot place the blame on the Wedding Salon.....but I was supposed to take the dress out of the bag the night before the wedding & remove the pins. Now, with the whole room fiasco at the motel and with all our guests hanging out at the bridal suite until almost 1 am the night before, I never took the dress out of the bag. The day of the wedding I was so excited & nervous - that I forgot. And my mom did not think of it either.

So the photographer came in while M*I*A was still doing my hair, and he started taking the dress out of the bag so that he could photograph it. Well as I was sitting in the chair, I and one of my BMs noticed a dark RED spot on the bottom front of the dress!! It couldn't be a STAIN!! but it was!! Now I blame the photographer & videographer for this (and myself for not taking the dress out the night before. ) But no one would admit to it. It appeared someone poked themselves with one of the pins, and it was a spot of blood on the dress. I tried to remove the stain with my handy Tide pen, just turning it brown. I was flipping out!!

The photographer may have felt guilty, because he then went over to Land's End & got the Maitre D' & bridal attendant to come over & they bleached out the stain with a Clorox pen & saved the day!

I could not believe that happened to my dress the day of the wedding!! I will never know for sure if it was the salon or the photographer - but my guess is that the salon did not send it that way. One of my good friends got her dress their with her wedding the month before & had absolutely no problems. But thank god, that after the treatment with the Clorox pen no one really noticed it.

Wedding Jewelery - Ebay & Claire's / The Icing
A
I bought several earrings & bracelets from Claire's / The Icing & Ebay before deciding on what I wanted. There is one seller on ebay - 'megamade' who has beautiful crystal earrings & that is what I decided on for the wedding day. I also bought my larger crystal bracelet on ebay & a necklace, which I ended up not wearing, since DH bought me a necklace as a wedding gift. I wore 1 bracelet from Claire's, and the rest of the things I bought I wore for my Bachelorette party, rehearsal dinner & ended up lending one set to one of my BM's for the wedding.



Shoes - Nina - from DSW
A
I heard a lot about Nina shoes & how comfortable they were. I decided on Silver shoes instead of ivory to match my dress & I found a pair of crystal encrusted sandals with 3' heels at DSW. I scuffed them up a few days before the wedding so I wouldn't slip on the dance floor. I loved my Nina shoes & I kept them on all night! I had bought flip flops on ebay, but didn't end up wearing them. The next day I discovered that 1 of my toes was numb from leaving them on for hours & hours, but it went away after a few days. But of course - I will be wearing these shoes again!


Wedding Flip Flops - Ebay
A
I bought sequin Ivory 3' platform flip flops on ebay. They were very comfortable, but I didn't end up wearing them since I kept my Nina shoes on all night.

Garter - Advantage Bridal
A
I ordered a few different garters before deciding on which one I would wear for the wedding. Advantage bridal had a large selection of different designs & colors.

Wedding Day 'Bride' outfit - Victoria's Secret
A
I know a lot of girls wear 'Bride' embroidered clothes on the day of or day before / after their wedding. I wasn't going to do this, but after seeing the photos of my friend's wedding & her 'getting ready' pictures in her cute little bride outfit, I decided to do the same. When else will you be the Bride ?? I got a white hoodie that said 'Sexy Little Bride' from Victorias Secret - I loved it!! & white sweat pants from their 'Pink' line - very cute. And while you are ordering from VS - you might want to buy something for the wedding night too...(if you didn't get it at your shower) haha.


Sand Ceremony Vases - Wedding Mountain
A
We ordered sand ceremony vases & had them engraved with our initials. We are very happy with them.


Cake Toppers - Wedding Mountain
A
They had a great selection of cake toppers. I ended up picking 2, one that I liked, and one DH liked. We put one on the top of the cake & one on the lower tier.

Wedding Favors - Favor Favor , The American Wedding & Favors by serendipity
A-
I had a difficult time deciding on favors. DH wanted something plain without our name on it. I ordered frosted glass candles that said 'Love' in black & white on them. Then I also ordered match boxes from The American Wedding with our names & dates.
I really wanted a shotglass with our names on it for the favors, so I ended up ordering 40 of them from Favors by Serendipity & using them as favors for our rehearsal dinner.

Bridesmaid Dresses - The Wedding Salon of Manhasset & Macys
A -
The only one who wore the bridesmaid dress from The Wedding Salon of Manhasset was my MOH. I had everyone else buy there own dress. 2 of my BM's bought them at Macy's. I do regret not making everyone have matching dresses, since I didn't totally love everyone's dress (and as you can see one BM wore a long dress instead of the tea - length I asked for), but they look good in the photos anyway. And they all wore silver shoes, which I asked them to do. (Even though 1 BM did not do her hair or makeup!! - Argghhh!!)



Groom's Tuxedo & Groomsmen's Tuxedo's - Tuxedo Park, Carle Place, NY
A
The Tuxes from Tuxedo Park fit the men great. We spent an evening there picking out the Tux for DH, & he looked fantastic in it. We had several groomsmen come from out of state & send in there measurements & we had no problem.



DH Wedding Gift - Tourneau Gotham Chronograph by Tourneau Time Machine - NYC
A+
I wanted to get DH something special for his gift, and he loves watches. We went to Tourneau in the city around Christmas time, and he tried on a few different watches. I wanted to surprise him, so I called later to order it. He was surprised & he absolutely loved the watch!!


Wedding Cake - Audrey's Bakery, Sayville, NY
B+
We got a chance to taste a few different flavors of cakes at the Land's End showcase. This is when we had the chocolate chip cake with espresso cream filling that DH & I loved. My only complaint is that we had to order & pay for 2 full size cakes to taste a few different flavors (tiramisu cake& almond cake with cappucino filling), and some of the people at the bakery were very rude when there was a snowstorm & we were not able to pick up our tasting cake for a few days & had asked them to hold it for us . We did look at another bakery, but ended up staying with Audrey's because they were the bakery for Land's End.

In the end we settled on a chocolate chip cake with espresso cream & raspberry filling & we were very happy with the flavor. We wanted something different. I did ask them to make a special cake for my mom - vanilla with the espresso & raspberry filling, since she is allergic to chocolate, but the day of the wedding it was no where to be found & she was not able to eat the wedding cake. The cake did come out beautiful though, we chose the one with starfish & seashells. We did save a piece in our freezer - so we will see if it still tastes delicious a year from now!



Officiant - Father Joe DeVincenzo
A+
We found Father Joe after we had already booked another officiant that we weren't happy with. Our first officiant was a female (which my mom was not happy with), but more importantly she did not return any of my calls or emails. And I need someone who is going to answer my questions & concerns about something as important as my wedding ceremony! After we cancelled her, she did not even refund our deposit! :(

So that is when I started looking on the boards & we found Father Joe. He is so nice & really knows what he is doing. He went through the entire ceremony with us on our first meeting at his house, and also asked us questions about how we met & our relationship to get to know us. He always answered all of my calls & got back to me when I had a question. He even called to remind us when to go get our marriage license. At our two week meeting we went through the entire ceremony again & he was very informative & made us both feel comfortable about the ceremony.

At the rehearsal dinner Father Joe really took charge of the situation & was loud enough so that our families listened. Growing up in an Italian family - that definately comes in handy! He is funny too, and everyone loved him.

At the ceremony Father Joe did an awesome job- we were both so happy we chose him! The ceremony was beautiful and also had a bit of humor to it. We performed the sand ceremony, which I love - because as the grains of sand can never be seperated, neither can a bride & groom & their families after they are married. Father Joe added a personal touch by sprinkling some of the sand from the beach on top of our sand. He also did a wine ceremony & a special ceremony for the moms - which they loved & were surprised with. Then DH & I each read a small speech to each other to make it more personal, which was DH's idea. It was very emotional & a lot of our guests came up to us later & told us how beautiful it was and that they couldn't help crying.



Florist - Lovin' Ovin Florist - Keyth , Sayville, NY
A++
Keyth was absolutely amazing! He did all our flowers - ceremony, reception, cocktail hour, bouquets & boutenniers & he also decorated the cieling of our RH with these beautiful paper lanterns.

I knew I wanted a black & white theme & I love orchids. I had been told by others that orchids were insanely expensive & I would not be able to afford them for my wedding. Keyth told me that wasn't the case. He got exactly the orchids I wanted & showed me lots of samples of different flowers. I brought Keyth several photos of what I was looking for & he also showed me photos of what he had done before. I had no idea what kind of flowers I wanted for the ceremony - gazebo & chairs, but Keyth helped me with everything.

The thing I loved about Keyth, was that he really worked with me & really 'got' all of my ideas. When he came up with some samples - everything was exactly how I imagined it or better. A few weeks before the wedding I totally changed what I wanted for centerpieces & Keyth had no problem. He made up more samples to show me & again - he came up with exactly what I wanted.

We had so many compliments on our centerpieces for the wedding. Keyth did a fabulous job! He even made me a centerpiece to keep with artifical flowers after the wedding. I love Keyth!!



DJ - Long Island Sound DJ, Bohemia, NY
MC - Chris
A+
Long Island Sound did the music for our ceremony, cocktail hour & reception. I wanted spanish guitar for the ceremony instead of string instruments & a guitar version of the bridal march & we walked out to Queen's 'My best friend'. We gave the DJ a disk of music they didn't have & they excecuted everything perfectly. For the cocktail hour we had originally wanted a steel drum band, but we were over budget, so we chose a variety of island & reggae music - which was great.

For the reception we had wanted to have a drummer or some live music, but opted out of that. It turned out perfect - we chose Muse to play as the bridal party & our entrance songs & our first dance song was 'You and Me Together' by Dave Matthews. The rest of the night they played a variety of music & kept everyone dancing all night long! They played all the songs we asked for & went with what kept the guests dancing. We had also asked for some Spanish & Italian music for our families & he mixed it in perfectly so it wasn't too much - and played some classics like the tarantella for us which everyone enjoyed. We really danced the night away.

The MC Chris was phenomenal. He did all the introductions perfectly & did a great job of announcing everything - from the garter, bouquet & garter toss to the cake cutting & parent dances; to keep the party going all night long.

The lighting was also great! We chose kinetic uplighting which changed the room all different colors - I am so glad we added that! and we had changed to an updated light package at last minute which came with 2 lighted towers. It was perfect! They also handed out glow sticks for us (which I purchased online from amazon.com) throughout the night & the guests loved that.

Reception Hall - Land's End
A++++++
Consultant - Jenny DePalma
Maitre D' - Marianna
Bridal Attendant - Kim

What can I say - Land's End was perfect. The grounds are gorgeous, the RH itself is beautiful inside. Their website really does not do justice to show just how beautiful this place really is. It is right on the water where the fire island ferry goes out & has its own small beach & it is only 1 wedding at a time, which was important to DH and I.

We loved it from the first time we saw it. It was actually the first place we looked at & when we left we both knew that is where we wanted our wedding. From the fact that it was right on the water to the gorgeous architecture and interior design.... We did look at a few places after that just to be sure. We booked our date 1 1/2 years in advance & we were glad we did, because it really books up fast.

Jenny helped us through the whole thing, picking out our menu, the food tasting, my millions of questions about everything - from the time of the wedding to the size of the frames for the table numbers. The food was phenomenal by the way. The tasting was gourmet. DH is known by many of my friends to be a 'foodie', and he was satisfied.

We went a few days ahead to drop off our things. They let us put photo frames of ourselves around the hall to decorate & make it feel more personal.

On the day of the wedding the weather was perfect. I was so glad, because our ceremony & cocktail hour were going to be outside. (with a plan B of everything being inside).

DH & I saw each other before the ceremony - we were set up outside near the gazebo. After the whole disaster with the stain on my dress I just couldn't wait to see him. We were both so so happy!!
After we saw each other Kim the bridal attendant brought us both some champagne to celebrate. Kim was attuned to my every need & helped me throughout the whole thing. As I said before, Marietta & Kim saved the day when my dress was discovered to have a stain on it.

After our photo shoot with our parents & bridal party, we had a break before the ceremony. They set up a small buffet of appetizers just for us in the back room. They had mozzarella, grilled veggies, pasta & antipasto. Then DH & I relaxed with champagne in the bridal suite & were waited on hand & foot.

We had our ceremony outside in the gazebo. Everything was just perfect. Land's End provided someone to hand out our programs for us and set up all the chairs on the lawn near the gazebo. The ceremony was perfect. We then went back in to the bridal suite to celebrate being married & enjoy some hors d'oeuvres before meeting our guests back at the cocktail hour.

The cocktail hour - it was phenomenal. Our guests raved about it for weeks after our wedding. There was so much food, not to mention the delicious passed around hors d'oeuvres ( a gourmet succulent lamb chop comes to mind...)!! The cocktail hour was both inside & outside. After enjoying some time to ourselves in the bridal suite and then taking a few more photos, DH & I stayed outside on the deck near our swan ice sculpture & 'seafood treasure buffet' featuring oysters, jumbo shrimp, clams, mussels - all excellent - and did not even have a chance to go inside & see the rest of our cocktail hour! (which we had added an extra half hour to - so it was actually an hour & a half). That is my 1 regret - that I did not get to even see half of the food we picked out - there just was not enough time... but the guests enjoyed it & hopefully it is on the video!

The reception - again the room was gorgeous, the maitre D' Marietta was there with us the whole time & made sure everything was perfect. We sat at our own sweetheart table & were brought champagne for our toast - which MOH - did an excellent job & the Best Man's - was very funny. We were brought our appetizer & salad, & had a selection of the 3 dinners we chose - Filet Mignon, Pork chop & Scallops with Shrimp. The bridal attendent made sure I was covered with napkins so nothing spilled & kept bringing us whatever we wanted all night.

After the cake cutting, they served us our wedding cake with chocolate covered strawberries & had apple struedel with ice cream & canolis for all the guests.
They even boxed up several meals for us to take home the next day & enjoy.

All the guests raved about Land's End. The service for them was great as well. A few asked for special meals and had no problems at all. For weeks afterward they still talked about it as our 'Fairy Tale Wedding'. I don't think we could have picked a better place.



Some of the photos appear grainy, because I had to scan them in.

Re: LizandG's** Fairy Tale** Black & White** July Wedding at Land's End with Patken Photography, Lovin Ovin Florist, Long Island Sound DJ, M*i*a, Father Joe DeVincenzo & more! Lots of Pics!!

your revie is amazing and you looked amazing on your wedding day! congrats!

Re: LizandG's** Fairy Tale** Black & White** July Wedding at Land's End with Patken Photography, Lovin Ovin Florist, Long Island Sound DJ, M*i*a, Father Joe DeVincenzo & more! Lots of Pics!!

LOVED your review! I'm printing out photos of your hair so I can give them to my hairstylist!

Re: LizandG's** Fairy Tale** Black & White** July Wedding at Land's End with Patken Photography, Lovin Ovin Florist, Long Island Sound DJ, M*i*a, Father Joe DeVincenzo & more! Lots of Pics!!

Great review! Thank you so much!!

Re: LizandG's** Fairy Tale** Black & White** July Wedding at Land's End with Patken Photography, Lovin Ovin Florist, Long Island Sound DJ, M*i*a, Father Joe DeVincenzo & more! Lots of Pics!!

You are a STUNNING bride... Ugh I cannot get over how fantastic your hair is lol! Thank you so much for the review!!!

Re: LizandG's** Fairy Tale** Black & White** July Wedding at Land's End with Patken Photography, Lovin Ovin Florist, Long Island Sound DJ, M*i*a, Father Joe DeVincenzo & more! Lots of Pics!!

You were a very glamorous bride ! Your beach photos are beautiful and the interior of Land's End looked fabulous !!
Congrats !!

Re: LizandG's** Fairy Tale** Black & White** July Wedding at Land's End with Patken Photography, Lovin Ovin Florist, Long Island Sound DJ, M*i*a, Father Joe DeVincenzo & more! Lots of Pics!!

You look gorgeous! I love your hair and dress!

Re: LizandG's** Fairy Tale** Black & White** July Wedding at Land's End with Patken Photography, Lovin Ovin Florist, Long Island Sound DJ, M*i*a, Father Joe DeVincenzo & more! Lots of Pics!!

beautiful review!!!!!!! u looked amazing n both so happy! <3

Re: LizandG's** Fairy Tale** Black & White** July Wedding at Land's End with Patken Photography, Lovin Ovin Florist, Long Island Sound DJ, M*i*a, Father Joe DeVincenzo & more! Lots of Pics!!

Very Beautiful!!! Congrats

Re: LizandG's** Fairy Tale** Black & White** July Wedding at Land's End with Patken Photography, Lovin Ovin Florist, Long Island Sound DJ, M*i*a, Father Joe DeVincenzo & more! Lots of Pics!!

Wonderful review... Beautiful bride.

Re: LizandG's** Fairy Tale** Black & White** July Wedding at Land's End with Patken Photography, Lovin Ovin Florist, Long Island Sound DJ, M*i*a, Father Joe DeVincenzo & more! Lots of Pics!!

You made a gorg bride!

Re: LizandG's** Fairy Tale** Black & White** July Wedding at Land's End with Patken Photography, Lovin Ovin Florist, Long Island Sound DJ, M*i*a, Father Joe DeVincenzo & more! Lots of Pics!!

great review, you looked amazing.

Re: LizandG's** Fairy Tale** Black & White** July Wedding at Land's End with Patken Photography, Lovin Ovin Florist, Long Island Sound DJ, M*i*a, Father Joe DeVincenzo & more! Lots of Pics!!

Thank you everyone for the Compliments!! And good luck on all of your weddings. We just got our wedding video & are still waiting for the album!

Re: LizandG's** Fairy Tale** Black & White** July Wedding at Land's End with Patken Photography, Lovin Ovin Florist, Long Island Sound DJ, M*i*a, Father Joe DeVincenzo & more! Lots of Pics!!

It's so great to see a Land's End review thanks for sharing.

Re: LizandG's** Fairy Tale** Black & White** July Wedding at Land's End with Patken Photography, Lovin Ovin Florist, Long Island Sound DJ, M*i*a, Father Joe DeVincenzo & more! Lots of Pics!!

You looked absolutely amazing!!! The wedding looks like it was a dream! I was reading your Patken review and wondering if you could tell me the reasons you gave them a B and not an A?? I just booked with them but I am worried if I made the right choice or not!!

CONGRATS!!

Re: LizandG's** Fairy Tale** Black & White** July Wedding at Land's End with Patken Photography, Lovin Ovin Florist, Long Island Sound DJ, M*i*a, Father Joe DeVincenzo & more! Lots of Pics!!

LOVE LOVE LOVE your hair!!! You were one hot looking bride!!

Congratulations! Looks like you had a beautiful day!! Much happiness to you!

Re: LizandG's** Fairy Tale** Black & White** July Wedding at Land's End with Patken Photography, Lovin Ovin Florist, Long Island Sound DJ, M*i*a, Father Joe DeVincenzo & more! Lots of Pics!!

Beautiful review! I love your dress!!!

Re: LizandG's** Fairy Tale** Black & White** July Wedding at Land's End with Patken Photography, Lovin Ovin Florist, Long Island Sound DJ, M*i*a, Father Joe DeVincenzo & more! Lots of Pics!!

I am so glad I saw this!!! I am getting married @ Land's End in June, and just had the Tasting yesterday! Your wedding looked amazing!!!! Congrats! Thank you for sharing your special day. I hope to have the same weather