mariedsgn’s • 7/24/2010 • Hamlet Willow Creek Wedding Review, with lots of pictures. Hamlet Willow Creek • Duet • Body Heat • Helen’s Bridal • Camelot• B urtons Bridal and Florist • Glam Me Up Makeup

LIWeddings.com
I want to start by thanking Ron, Liz and Kim for this amazing website, without this website we would still have a klunker of a TV.
Ron, Liz and Kim THANK YOU for creating this amazing website that has brought many brides together to share their share this very special time with each other. As I said to kim the first time I met her “this is the facebook for brides, but better” The past year and a half has been amazing and this site has helped me so much. I’m so happy that my DH found it for me!



2010 liw girls
I am so grateful to have found this website, and to be part of the 2010 board. If you had asked me 2 years ago if I would be part of a message board I would have said “NO WAY”. I am so happy to have met most the 2010 girls. The 2010 Bridal Shower and G2Gs were so much fun. I can not thank you 2010 girls enough for all of your wonderful advice and encouragement through the whole wedding planning process. I love the 2010 Brides!!!!



How We Met
My DH and I met in high school and even danced at Anthony's senior prom (1997). We kept running into each other over the years (on college breaks and such), after running into each other at a bar one night we joked that we should go on a date and we did in February, 2004 – and have been inseparable ever since!

The Proposal
On Christmas day, after I opened all of my gifts Anthony told me that he had an ornament for me and to find it on the tree. I looked and looked and finally spotted my BEAUTIFUL engagement ring hanging from a branch.

Engagement Ring / Wedding Bands
Libutti Jewelry – A++++
My DH picked out my engagement ring and wedding band and I am so in love with them. He that he had the best shopping experience at Libutti That that the gemologist (Paul) had the most knowledge about diamonds from all the the Jewelry stores he went to. We also got my DHs wedding band from Libutti and I also got a plain band that matches my DH band and we had them engraved. The have been amazing to work with and I love my rings!!



Engagement party click here

Save the dates
DIY / magnetstreet.com
I knew that I wanted a magnet for our STDs, but I also wanted a card or something for the magnet to go in. So I designed a pocket fold, printed, and put together for the magnet to go in. I designed the magnet and uploaded the design to magnet street.

Magnetstreet.com – B
I was happy in the end with my STD magnets, but I had to have them re-printed. The first time they printed the type was all fuzzy and the magnets had a bunch of yellow dots all over them. I called as soon and I received them and I sent them back samples, they were really apologetic and reprinted them for free since it was their mistake. But I had to wait another week to send them out. In the end they were perfect, I LOVE them and we received so many complements on them.



Bridal Shower click here for review

Rehearsal Dinner
Orlando’s Commack A++++
Good food for a great price, everyone was happy!

Grooms Cake
The Cake Gallery A++++
After calling almost every bakery on long island. One of the liw girls posted about “The Cake Gallery” I called and spoke with Tom, he was super nice and gave me some great pricing. The cake looked and tasted amazing! my DH LOVED it and could not stop talking about it!


Bridal Party Gifts – A++++
My DH and I realized how much people spend to be in a bridal party and we really put a lot of though into the gifts for our bridal party.

Matron of Honors / Bridesmaids / Jr. Bridesmaid
For the MOHs, BMs and jr. BM we got them all Vera Bradley “Miller” tote bags (rulala.com) and filled them with; a Vera Bradley beach towel(verabradley.com), Havaianas flip flops (macys), Philosophy shower gel,(Philosophy.com) and diamond and pearl earrings (kohls). As and extra for the MOH’s I got them charms for their Pandora bracelets and Lily Pulitzer candle (costco). For our jr. BM, I got her a different pair of pearl earrings (TJ Maxx) and a heart shaped silver jewelry box that said her name (the knot).


Bestmen / Groomsmen
For the BM and GM we got the drivers (rockbottomgolf.com) and coolers (Stop & Shop) and had decals of their monograms made from decalzone.com to personalize them.




Flowergirls
For the Flower girls I ordered them Pearl necklaces and bracelet sets from etsy.com and heart shaped silver jewelry box that said her name on them. Cabagepatch kids doll and we also got them Savings bonds.


Readers / Gift Givers / Singer A++++
For the female readers, gift givers and singer we gave them the Coach wristlets (coach outlet) and a Lily Pulitzer candle (costco) . For the male readers and gift givers we got them BBQ tool sets from ***** Sporting goods.

Gown / Veil / headpiece
Helens – Wedding Gown Enzoani Blue A++++
After trying on over 100 wedding gowns at almost every bridal salon on long island, I stumbled across Helens thanks to some LIW girls, it is actually right around the corner from my job and I never knew. One day I decided to go in on my lunch and I met Liz and Ashley, possibly two of the nicest people that I ever met. I had explained to them what I was looking for and they told me that they just put an order in for some Enzoani Blue Samples. So they showed me the ones that they ordered and said that they would not be in for a few months, when I saw the “Columbia” dress I said that I had to try that dress on, so they made some calls and they got the dress in less then a week for me to try on. My gown came in right when they said it would and it fit perfectly. For alterations I only needs a bustle and I worked with Christina she did an amazing job. I also ordered my veil from Helen’s it was perfect, looked amazing with my dress.







Headpiece clip and headband
Barrons Tri-County A++++[B/]
I went to Barrons looked around found what I wanted and I was very happy with the quality, price and it look beautiful with my dress.



Tuxedo’s
Rogers Tuxedo Smithtown A++++[B/]
We went to Rogers to try on tuxes we worked with Ray. The whole staff was very accommodating and patient with us. They met with us numerous times and never got bothered that we couldn’t make a decision on which tie to chose. We had absolutely no problems with the tuxedos on the wedding day. Everyone’s tux fit perfectly and nothing was missing. The day of my DH and the GM looked AMAZING!!!!!!





Bridal Shoes
Zappos – Kate Spade - A++++
After searching for shoes, I finally decided to order some from zappos, it was great free shipping and free returns! I ordered about 9 pairs before I picked my wedding shoes. These shoes are beautiful and matched my dress perfectly.






MOB Dress & MOG Dress
Bridal Suite of Centereach A
Both my mom and MIL ordered their dresses at Bridal Suite, the both looked amazing the day of the reason why I give them and A is because my mothers dress came in later then they said it would, since it came in later my mom had her dress altered at another seamstress. My MILs dress came in on time and she had it alerted at bridal suite and everything was perfect.





Bridesmaid Dresses
B urtons – Bill Levkoff – A++++
Since I had a big bridal party and all of the BMs were different heights and body shapes I decided to let them pick their own dress style. I knew that I wanted Bill Levkoff – Euro Eggplant and long dresses and the rest was up to them! After visiting a few bridal shops we received the best price from B urtons. B urtons is a “No Frills” type of Bridal Solon but they have the best price and I saw no reason for the BMs to spend more money for the same dress. The dresses came in on time, and everyone was happy! My BM decided the have their dresses altered by their own seamstresses.





Flower Girl Dresses
B urtons – US Angel – A++++
We went flower girl dress shopping a few times and I fell in love with this US Angel petal dress. Again, B urtons gave us the best price and the dresses came in on time. The FGs looked super cute and I was happy!






Hair
Anissa’s Hair Studio – Kings Park – Anissa A++++
I had a few hair trials and I was not WOWED by them so I decided to go to the salon where I have been going for years to have a trial and as soon as she did the first style I knew that I wanted to have Anissa do my hair for my wedding.






Makeup
Glam Me Up – Kelly - A++++
I had also had a few makeup trials, and when I had my trial with Kelly I knew that I wanted her to do my makeup the day of, I loved her personality and she totally got the look I was going for on my wedding. The day of she was right on time and kept everyone moving on time. She did my makeup along with 5 of my bridesmaids and my mother. I am still getting complements on my makeup the day of.




Limousine
Camelot – Joe - A++++
Everything that is said about Joe is true, he was the most professional and personal limo company we met with. On the day of the cars arrived on time, the drivers were super nice and the cars were very clean inside and out. The drivers helped the wedding party line up in the church and they were a huge help when we got out of the church with taking photos by the car. We also used Camelot for our drop off and pick-up at the airport for our honeymoon, our driver was Kenny and he was super nice, next time we go on vacation we want Kenny to drive us to the airport!








Guest Accommodations / Day After Breakfast
Hyatt Regency Hauppauge - A+
We had stayed at this hotel before and even thought it is a bit farther from our RH, we really wanted to book it. When I first talked to the Hyatt Regency the rate was incredibly high. After looking at other hotels we were able to negotiate the room rate, I was very happy with it until a few other liw girls received way better rates. When I called to se what could be done about it, I was finally able to get them to come down a bit more – but it was nothing like the rates other people received. . . . I’m still not sure if we should have waited a bit longer to block our rooms from the beginning. The day after breakfast was great. The terrace ballroom is beautiful and sunny and made a great breakfast spot. The food and service was very good as well. The only complaint we had was that the coffee was cold, but it was quickly fixed by the staff.


Shuttles
All Star limo A++++
They were great, they arrived on time and the buss was clean.

Flowers
B urtons – A+++
We met with a few florists, they all seemed to have great ideas and the prices were all over the place. I was a little nervous about meeting with B urtonsbecause of the mixed reviews, but I met wit Mary and I fell in love. She had so many great ideas and the price she gave us could not be beat. The day of some of my BM bo-ks were missing some flowers, I told the driver and they sent 2 floral designers to come and fix the bo-ks. I was sOOoooooOOO happy with the customer service and So in LOVEEEEEE With all of my flowers!





Reception Hall
Hamlet Willow Creek A+++++++++++++++++++++++++
We have been getting nothing but compliments from everyone! Hamlet Willow Creek did the most amazing job and completely surpassed our expectations by 1000000%. The food was absolutely delicious and the service was amazing. Hamlet Willow Creek was the first RH we looked at out of 15. Every RH we visited after we would compare to Willow Creek. We fell in love with the classic romantic décor and the view of the marvelous golf course. And Barbara, the catering manager, there are not enough words to describe her. Before we booked we requested to taste the food, since no one we knew had ever been to a wedding at Willow Creek. So Barbara was happy to set up a ”mini” tasting – we were so impressed with the food and the tasting was not “mini” we had 2 appetizers, a salad each, 5 entrees and 5 desserts for 4 people. We left with take-home bags. Through the whole wedding planning process, I would email or call Barbara and she would get back to me in minutes. The day of Barbara and my Bridal attendant Daniele made our day run so smoothly.















Wedding Cake A++++
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVEEEEEEEED our wedding cake! Once again Barbara from Hamlet Willow Creek was AMAZING!!!!! I worked with her to have the cake of my dreams. Not only did the cake look Beautiful but it tasted sooooooo good! I feel like I keep saying this but people are still talking about our desserts at our wedding. I bought the brooch from a seller on etsy.




Dance Lessons
Arthur Murray – Commack Danielle A++++
We knew that we wanted to take dance lessons for a few reasons. My DH does not feel comfortable dancing, and we did not want to stand there and sway. We called a bunch of places and Arthur Murray told us to come down and take a free lesson, so at the free lesson we learned 3-4 steps and we were able to do them in 45 minutes!!!! We signed up for a beginner dance package, which included 4 private lessons, 2 group lessons and 2 practice parties. We liked it so much that we decided to sign up for a larger package that included 20 private lessons, 20 group lessons and 20 practice parties. We learned a lot and had a ton of fun at the lessons and our wedding we looked great and my Dh felt confident on the dance floor. I would love to continue with the dance lessons but they are Big money $$$$$!!






Photography/Video Wedding & Engagement photo’s
Duet – Jay A++++
When looking at photographs I knew right away that I wanted to book Duet. The photos that they take are AMAZING!!! And they are super friendly!! Honestly I don’t think that you can go wrong with any of Duet’s photographers, but I do LOVE Jay! When we met with Duet we had a hard time choosing our photographer but Eric helped us with our decision and boy was he right!!! When we met Jay at our engagement shoot we were impressed and even more impressed with our e-pics. The day of the wedding they were early and started shooting from the time they showed up to my parents house. Jay, Brad and Uno, I can’t thank them enough for capturing our memories.





































Band
Body Heat - A++++
Picking the band was so easy, my in-laws offered to pay for the band. When my brother-in-law got married they used Body Heat and they were AWESOME, we went to a showcase and booked them on the spot. Body Heat didn’t disappoint at our wedding. The music sounded great and they played a wide range of songs from different eras. They had the dance floor packed all night. Our only suggestion would be to stay in close contact with the band. As it closer to the wedding we had not heard from the band. It was a minor miscommunication and everything ended up being great.









Barattini Productions: A++++
www.djmedic.com
Floor monogram



Birdcage /Card Box A++++
I was walking around TJ Maxx and I fell in love with this bird cage and said that I NEEDED it for the wedding!

Guest book
shutterfly.com A++++
Since we are so in love with our engagement photos we decided to make a guest book on shutterfly.com and have our guests sign it like a yearbook. I waited or a coupon to order the book, it came out amazing, it is a GREAT keepsake. . . . The only thing is that only about 20 people signed it.

Invitations / Menus / Place Cards / Shutter Cards / Cry Packs / Programs / Table Numbers / Monogram
All DIY A++++

Invitations A++++
Since I am a designer, I had always told myself that I would NEVER design my wedding invitations!!!! Well, after looking at invitations and not seeing anything that I LOVED, I decided to design them. I had reavesengraving.com thermography print the invitations, response card and reception card. I bought the cardsstock from paperandmore.com I cut and glued a million pieeces of paper and it was worth all the work – I LOVE my invitations and I received so many complements on them. People are still talking about our invitations.


Programs A++++
DIY
I ordered the paper from paperandmore.com, designed and printed and assembled my programs and I LOVE them!!! I placed them in baskets that I bought at the Christmas Tree.



Cry Packs A++++
DIY
I never saw a cry pack. Thank you LIW!!! I thought they were are really cute touch and I knew that I wanted them, I was trying to figure the best way to make them. Decided I wanted vellum envelopes with out monogram printed on it and a saying about your tears of joy. I designed them and a printer that I used actually printed them for free for me!!! I LOVE they way they came out and a received a million complements on them. These were placed in a basket that I bought at the Christmas tree shop also.


Menus
DIY A++++
Again I designed my menus. To save some of my time I sent them out to be printed, I used overnightprints.com and they came out perfect.



Place cards A++++++++
DIY



Table Numbers A++++
After receiving our engagement photos, I knew that I wanted to use the photos for our table numbers – I designed and printed the table numbers. And got cheep frames at target. And I LOVED THEM!!!!



Streamers - A++++++ I bought them at Michaels they are wilton pop out streamers. they look like this I made wraps for them.

More DIY / detail photos.












DOC
It was a nightmare – F
I honestly would not have had a DOC if I did not win - a full DOC!!! I was so, so, so excited about it, But my DOC was awful. Here are the reasons: • leading up to the wedding, I may have emailed her 2 times and she never got back to me (I just figured it was because I was not a paying bride) • she was late for the RD and the Wedding; I had 2 hiccups the morning of my wedding and she was not there for them, but I guess a full DOC should show up at 1:30 when my wedding started at 3 • the DOC and her assistant were dressed like slobs on the day of the wedding - I have some photos to prove it – all I have to say is shorts!!!!! • she was not much help • she pulled apart one of my flower girl baskets (my sister told me this after I got back from my HM) her reason was to give my FG just a basket of petals - I PAID for 3 FG baskets and not to have one pulled apart - my sister put it back together and then the flowers were falling out the rest of the day. • she gave my BM and BA(Who both were AMAZING) a major attitude right in front of me • she sat in the bridal suite when we were taking photos on the golf course. • she left some of my stuff at the church • It was so bad then when we lined up to make out entrance - she was no where to be found. My DH and I decided that we did not need them to be there. So we told our BM that we were going to ask her to leave that she was stressing us out. My BM (I love Barbara) said that she would take care of it for me and she did. It is sad that something that I was so excited about caused my biggest stress on my wedding day. In my opinion there is not need for a DOC at Hamlet Willow Creek they do such a wonderful job, along with all my vendors, Duet, Camelot.

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Honeymoon
Travel Agent – Cruising The Ocean Blue – Rae A++++
I have never used a travel agent before, and we were going back and forth about where to go on the HM. So I posted on “Vendors Helping Brides” and I got a few responses and about a week later I got a response from Rae from Cruising the Ocean Blue and we went back and forth on the phone email and FMs to get the best price for our HM. She saved us some money on the trip and she helped us pick out the rooms.

St Lucia



Airfare: JetBlue A+++++++

JetBlue has yet to disappoint us. Their planes are clean and the TV’s make time fly. In addition because St. Lucia was a new destination for JetBlue we received an unbelievable rate.

Sandals Regency

Airport Transfer:
We had read horror stories about the hour and twenty minute bus ride from the airport. I would have to say it was not that awful. The van ride is long and you are driving through the mountains so it is possible to get a little car sick. My DH often gets car sick but he was okay because we chose to sit up front instead of the back of the van.

Resort Grounds:
Upon arrival at the Regency or any sandals your bags are taken to your room while you go to a brief orientation to sign papers and get your room keys. After about ten minutes you are on your way to the room.

The resort is beautiful. The open lobby allows you to look out onto the ocean from the front desk. The landscaping and beach are beautifully maintained. The Regency layout is great. The resort is built into cliffs that give spectacular views of the ocean from the entire resort. The Regency has three pool areas. The main pool with the swim up bar is nice, but a little loud and not as relaxing as the others. I guess this is a personal preference. We really enjoyed the two smaller pools up the hillside. We were often in the pool with a few couples and sometimes all alone, which was great. The beach was great also. The beach was not a popular spot while were there. Most people were at the pools. I don’t really know why because the sand and water was beautiful. The water was not crystal clear like you see in the photos but that was because the waves are quite big. If you want crystal clear water and zero waves go to the Grande.

Room: We booked a full balcony ocean room for our stay at the Regency. When we arrived we were upgraded for one night to an ocean view suite. It was beautiful, but unfortunately we were only upgraded for one night. I believe this is because our room was not ready. We were a little bummed when we got to the room we booked because it wasn’t quite as nice. The room was still beautiful but we missed having the suite, with separate living room, larger bathroom, and fully stocked bar. Although our room did not a stocked liquor bar it was fully stocked with juices, water, soda, and beer. It was refilled every afternoon with whatever we wanted.

Restaurants: The Regency had 7 restaurants. We had no complaints about any of the restaurants. The food isn’t NYC 4 stars but definitely tasty. The portion sizes aren’t huge, but they are adequate and you can order as much as you want. My DH often ordered two appetizers. Every restaurant serves different types of food and some are better than others. Considering that I really only eat chicken I was not limited to any one restaurant. All the restaurants offered a one or two chicken dishes. The only complaint we had was the lack of options for a late night snack. We got in the habit of grabbing some cookies during the breakfast buffet and putting them in our fridge in the room for later.

Excursions: While at the Regency we went on the sunset cruise, Martinique day trip, and horseback riding. The sunset cruise was a definite must do. It’s a beautiful ride on a 60 foot catamaran with free drinks. The trip to Martinique was fun as well, although a little expensive. The ride to Martinique is in a high powered jet boat. While in Martinique you can explore the city and do some shopping. The horseback riding was fun as well, but a little long. You ride the horses down to the shore where you get the opportunity to take the horses into the water which is really fun.


Sandals Grande:

Grounds: The sandals Grande was beautiful. The resort is a little newer so the grounds are a little more spectacular. Like the regency everything is kept clean and neat. The layout of the Grande is much different from the Regency. The resort is completely flat and the beach has zero waves but a spectacular view of the mountains around the bay. The Grande has a lot of pools and plenty of areas where you can be alone while lounging at the pool. The main pool has the same atmosphere as at the regency. It could be a little loud and a party atmosphere. The beach at the Grande is nice and the water is crystal clear because of the lack of tide or waves.

Room:

Our room was great. We had a swim up pool room. The room was similar to our room at the regency minus the view of the ocean. In exchange for the view of the ocean we were able to walk out our sliding glass door directly into a private pool shared by only 5 other rooms. So, it was like having your own private pool. Many nights and afternoons were the only people in the pool. For two days we had a few neighbors who were more interested in partying than being on their honeymoon. So it was a little loud outside our room one night. The other perk with our room was that it was a concierge level room. This allowed you to go to the concierge room at anytime and ask questions. They would also book all your restaurant reservations and handle any issues that arise.

Restaurants:

The restaurants at the Grande were similar to the regency. Based on our likes and dislikes of food, I feel the options were better for us at the Regency. The Grande had better late night entertainment. They had a dessert buffet and a band in the lobby every night. They also had a street fair where you could shop and eat buffet style food. Including specialty items like steak and grilled lobster tails. We did the dinner for 2 on the beach and it was AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!

Excursions: While at the Grande we went on the excursion to the Pitons. It wasn’t the best excursion we went on, but it was still fun. The pitons are a must see and we had fun at the sulfur springs. My only recommendation would be to not book this excursion through sandals. The Joes knows tour would have been much better. In that tour they take you on a high speed boat which gets you to the pitons in a third of the time. They also take you to a waterfall to swim. While at the Grande we also did the zip lining. This was awesome. The view of the jungle was spectacular. The zip lining is very safe and extremely exciting. The zip lining was definitely our favorite excursion.











Wow! now that is a long review

I hope that you enjoyed it