My 05/15/2011 Wedding Review- Lessings Vanderbilt Mansion, FM Entertainment, Esquire tuxedos, Flower Michele, Renates Boutique

Thanks to all of you lovely ladies for all of your help and to LIW for providing such awesome resources! I wanna start off by saying my wedding was absolutely amazing everyone raved about everything- food, dj, flowers, photographer and videographer….(people thought they were super nice). In terms of the actual wedding I had an amazing time and everything was great, but in terms of vendors I have to say I was a little disappointed with a couple of key vendors but the one vendor I can absolutely rave about, that really exceeded my expectations was my reception hall Vanderbilt Mansion and Lessings Caterers.

Wedding Day Weather A++
On the morning of my wedding it poured all morning, then when it was time for us to leave for the church it was slightly drizzling, we took pics with no problem, we got in the limo and it rained again. When I got out of the limo to go into the church it had completely cleared up and we had overcast until like 4:30 when the sun came out. This worked out awesome for pictures and for me since I am a hugee squinter and I personally do not like super sunny days because of my squint issue!!!

Bachelorette- AC/ Ceasers/ Buddakan –A++
we had a bachelor/bachelorette party we spent most of our time at ceasers. We all had dinner at buddakhan and then ended up splitting up guys and gals. The guys did some gambling and us girls hit up the clubs. We had an awesome time I would definitely recommend AC for a bachelorette or bachelor/bachelorette there is so much to do and buddakhan is the best restaurant everrrr.


Engagement Ring- Larrys Fine Jewelry- Diamond District- A++
My engagement ring it is the most amazing thing on the planet. My husband had searched a number of different places for a cushion cut center stone that looked like a picture I had shown him, he went to a number of different very reputable jewelers that claimed what he was looking for was very rare and they would have to pool all their resources to find it and it would not be in his price range. He then happened to stop in Larrys just a couple of minutes before they were closing and they just happened to have the perfect diamond for a perfect price! They also custom made a setting exactly what my husband described to them. He dealt with a guy named Mike and they really gave us exactly what we wanted.


Wedding Bands-Jewelry Exchange/Forever Diamonds A+
We got our wedding bands here, both were custom designs and they really worked with our budget. They were very honest did not get the scammy kind of feel you get at a lot of exchanges. Lifetime warrantee on both rings.

Invitations - Exquisite Events/ Spark- A-
Our invitations were a custom design by the brand spark, which we got through Elaine at Exquisite Events. Overall it was a good experience, though there was a miscommunication in our original request that she made up for by throwing in free matching place cards!


Dress- The White Gown (Brooklyn)- C-
My dress was Baltimore by Blue by Enzoani. I have soo many issues with this place if you care to read. Originally I purchased my dress from them about 1 year and a half before my wedding, when they called me and told me the dress was in (3 months later) I made an apt to see it. I arrive at the salon and tell them I’m here to see my dress, they dilly dally around for about 10 minutes then finally the manager comes out and explains that the dress is not here and that they were mistaken it was another girls dress who came in not mine. So basically we drove an hour to Brooklyn for nothing. On top of that it was clear by the way the manager was speaking (we were sitting a foot away and could barely hear her) that she was not confident in what she was saying and lying, it’s likely that they sold my dress being that it came in so early and re-ordered it knowing they would have time….which would have been fine if they had not called me and told me to come in to try it on. They also have the most horrible customer service I’ve ever dealt with. On another occasion I made an apt specifically to speak to the seamstress, when I got to the shop it turns out she is sick and they “tired to call me” but I got no call. At my second dress fitting after I had had a hair and makeup trial, I called them to give them the courtesy of letting them know I was running late…already in the car for 40 minutes, the receptionist basically said “don’t come we cant see you if your more than 15 min late” ….just terrible, most places will tell you okay you might have to wait a bit. The woman proceeded to literally yell at me on the phone telling me not to come, even after I apologized for being late and explained that I had a hair and makeup trial. Then we get to the salon, she talks to the seamstress and what do you know…it’s no problem. This happened again…the day I was picking up my dress, they failed to mention until the night before (when there was no other option to pick it up if we wanted to see the seamstress that day) that it was the day of the Brooklyn bike tour….the whole area around the shop was blocked off for 10 blocks in each direction….so naturally with every other street blocked off we get there an hour late (left two hours early ontop of that) and had to walk 10 blocks to the shop…we get there and the receptionist says “we tried to call you because you were running sooooooooo late” in the snottiest attitude…once again she talks to the seamstress and we are invited in within 10 minutes. So basically it was a lot of aggravation, sooo not worth the trip, please do not even look there. The only reason I went there to begin with was they were the only shop closer than NYC that carried more than 3 dresses from my dress designer. Seriously avoid it, but the seamstress Siobhan was absolutely amazing she knew exactly what she was doing and I had a chiffon dress with a lot of rouching and she changed the neckline and did the hem and it came out amazing, so that’s the only reason it is a C and not an F, I did loveee my dress! oh and she made my veil, very pretty!




Headband- Etsy Feathers and Frills-A++++
I had done a lot of looking at headpieces I knew I wanted a headband and they had recently become popular, my headband cost around 100$ and for the price and quality it was one of the nicest I had seen. I knew I did not want to spend 500$ on a headpiece and from what I looked at this one was definitely comparable to the more expensive ones I had seen. The thing about this headpiece that I really liked and maybe also on her other pieces was that it was not made of those fake looking bright white stone, they shined and sparkled so much, a lot costume jewelry is a very bright white color which ends up looking dull and fake, my headpiece was very natural looking, I loved it! If you do get one I would recommend that you get a colored ribbon; do not try to match your dress…chances are you will be unsuccessful ( like me) and then have to hide the ribbon in your hair!


Shoes- Menbur-A+
Pretty comfy as shoes go, though they did come off around 9pm( I hadn’t broken them in) I can’t remember what website I got them from.
Advice when looking for shoes- if you find a pair that you love, do a search on Google shopping you can almost always find them for cheaper… I got these shoes for around $110, all of those fancy bridal websites had them listed for $160!

Hair- My regular Hair Stylist- A+++
My mom has been going to her for the longest time and I have followed since I was in 8th grade. She is amazing, every haircut looks like a style not a cut ( I hate that freshly cut look) and I loved my hair on the day of.

DOJ-Totally You-Merrick RD – A+
I only got my day of earrings from here but I think they are worth mentioning for their jewelry because they had an awesome selection of costume jewelry that was really reasonably priced for some great looking stuff.

Bridesmaid Dresses- Renate’s Bridal Boutique- Lindenhurst A+++
This place was so low maintenance, in a good way. When we went in there they let us try on whatever and didn’t bother us, they didn’t push us to buy anything. The dresses came in right on time and everything was the right size and altered quickly and correctly! Definitely recommend if you don’t mind someone not waiting on you.

Tuxes- Esquire Tuxedo- Merrick A++
Wow I don’t know if I am raving about the actual place or just the tuxedos, but all I know is my husbands tux was the most gorgeous thing. Haha. The suits were clearly brand new and did not have that rental look or heavy material about them. We also bought our groomsman 5 black silk skinny ties from here and the owner –Mike(I believe) gave us a great deal. We also had 3 of our 5 groomsman out of towners as well as DH’s father and though he gave us a little bit of a complaint about getting them in ASAP he really worked with us and gave us exactly what we wanted. The weekend of the wedding when the boys went to pick up their tuxes they did end up being a little more off than expected in some of their measurements and in DH’s tux, but luckily everything worked out beautifully.


Reception Hall- Lessings Vanderbilt Mansion at Dowling College- A++++++
Our reception hall did an amazing job, down to the finest details they were really ontop of things. A couple of things were placed wrongly and they didn’t even flinch when I mentioned they should change it, everyone did more than expected, they sent us home with a ton of food and dessert! Originally I booked with Lessings with a woman named Jennifer, about 6 months before the wedding I learned that Jennifer was no longer employed there and that I would be working with someone named Jason. Originally I thought Jason was a little fake so I had some reservations about things going smoothly and him directing us all day. On the day of everything was perfect, Jason was awesome, extremely nice and so helpful, just like the rest of the staff! Their positive attitudes added a lot to my experience, they were all amazing! My bridal attendant Lucy was absolutely awesome!!! Any favors I asked she took care of without hesitation. She was such a wedding expert…my dress had a really complicated bustle, not only did she do it correctly but she did it better than my seamstress. My bustle created what I called “dutchess butt” and my dress was a very flowy kind of dress which the “dutchess butt” bustle kind of ruined for me, Lucy bustled my dress so elegantly it did not poof up like the ugly “dutchess butt” my seamstress had done so many times. She also repinned all of the Groomsman’s boutonnieres, before I even had a chance to notice, which if you see in my church pictures….the silly boys did not know what to do with and put them in their pockets!! She knew how to handle everything and had a great attitude! Everyone raved about the food especially cocktail hour I personally loved the stuffed mushrooms but I know everyone was dying over our sliders!

Cake- Black Forest Bakery A++
We used Black forest bakery as a part of our package with Lessings, but they were awesome they showed us a giant book of their cake pictures and all their typical wedding cakes (the ones you didn’t pay extra for) all had the same design on them, so I figured even if I showed them a picture I’d probably end up with the same design either way, but I figured I’d give them a picture anyway, they did a really amazing job recreating the design I wanted! Also don’t hate on the bow, it’s not their fault I couldn’t find a topper and didn’t want to deal with it haha.

Flowers-Flower Michele- B-
First off as many of you know one of the owners John who I originally booked with passed away in between the time we booked and the time of our wedding. I was then redirected to joseph. In our original meetings I was under the impression Joseph and I were on the same page, he had offered to show me another sample but after we had met it seemed we both had the same idea and it seemed unnecessary. While Joseph was seemingly working off of Johns original notes on the day of there seemed to be a number of discrepancies. The only reason this is a B and not lower is because while I was personally hugely disappointed with what was promised to me vs. what I received, I know that the flowers looked beautiful to anyone who hadn’t known the details of what I requested. After the wedding I met with joseph to try and get some of the issues resolved. Long story short Johns notes spelled out the exact types of flowers that should be in the centerpieces along with the exact # of each individual flower, and Joseph concluded that if Flower Michele were to have followed those #’s I would have had a $500 centerpiece instead of the $200 something one I paid for, hence my obvious disappointment in seeing this so called “$500” centerpiece as my sample and expecting mine to match on the day of. Joseph also told me he would bring this issue up to the owner Alex and get back to me hopefully with a monetary refund. …I followed up and they never returned my calls.


Limos- Camelot – A++
Camelot was great, we had the new infinity truck it was hugee inside, and originally Joe told us we would have a town car take us to the hotel, but it ended up being a limo which was pretty awesome at the end of the night when we were exhausted and got to stretch out!

DJ- FM Entertainment- A
everyone said the dj(Frank) was awesome and my parents said the floor was always packed but I felt as if he missed a couple of key requests I had made in terms an entire genre of songs we wanted played and I also really stressed that our 1st dance song start immediately after we made our entrance because we didn’t want that awkward moment where it’s just DH and I dancing to our upbeat entrance song for like 5 minutes, which happened anyways. Other than that everything was great and Frank really has that not in your face approach which is awesome!


Photography- Jadore Love-A
We got a great price with Jadore and loved our engagement pictures. I’m not really sure this is their fault, it may have more to do with technology in todays day and age, but I was a little disappointed with our pictures from the day of the wedding. I guess because 5 billion people tagged me in their pictures on Facebook by the time I had gotten my wedding pictures from the photographer I kind of felt like I had seen every picture….My bridesmaids pretty much captured a lot of our pro pictures (literally ended up looking the same) So I guess I was just super excited to see hundreds of new pictures….when in reality there were probably only 200 pictures that someone else hadn’t already captured. They are beautiful pictures and I definitely understand especially the ones my bridesmaids captured are all because they set us up that way, but I was just hoping for more in quantity.














Videographer- A+
I literally found my videographer two days before my wedding on craigslist, he was a videography grad student at a school in nyc. I met with him before the wedding and he was so professional through the wedding day. I didn’t originally want a video, but after we had gotten free dance lessons I realized I wanted the ceremony and a couple other things on video. Originally I had said we wanted around a half hour video, our video came to 1 hour and it was everything we wanted! For someone who had never shot a wedding he did an amazing job. I worried he would get in the way of things but he is definitely an experienced videographer and our final product was much more than we expected. I would definitely recommend him to those people who, like me, do not think video is a necessity and definitely do not want to spend a fortune on it.

Dance Lessons-New York Body Rhythms- A++
We won free dance lessons at TWOTY with Diane, we used them for our first dance. Diane was super patient and didn’t seem like she was teaching below her level (even though she probably was) she makes you feel very comfortable, like you’re a pro! Lol. I would definitely recommend dance lessons, after taking them you realize how much you actually need them. It definitely added something to our guests experience as well!

MOB Dress-Bridal Reflections-Massapequa – A++
Lots of people said they were snooty but I went to look for dresses there and mom bought her dress from there and we never had that experience. My mom’s dress was gorgeous and the seamstress did a great job. They had a great selection and most dresses were between $300-500, we literally saw the same dress priced in another store for $400 more than we bought it for.


Linens- the Finishing Touch-B+
I worked with Joy, I was very disappointed with the customer service that comes along with these EXPENSIVE linens. At one point in our conversation she had quoted me a price for a custom napkin color and it seemed that once I had decided that I wanted them she raised it and claimed the original quote was a mistake, I was not fond of that but they were really the only choice for what I wanted on Long Island. We also had an awkward phone conversation where instead of saying “how can I help you” or something along those lines she said “you called yesterday?………” and silence, I thought this was rude considering the message I left made it clear I called to book the linens. The linens were really an amazing touch though, I loved the look of it!

Favors- Zugar Haus-A++
I found them on wedzu.com and ordered some samples of their butterball cookies, they were amazinggg and I instantly booked them for my wedding. Everyone loved them! I got customized ribbon color and little tag with our initials, and they were delivered 2 days before and stayed fresh for a very long time, we got them in all 3 flavors I think it was chocolate strawberry and raspberry.


Bridesmaids and groomsman gifts –
Macys/ The cosmetics store(tanger outlets)/ TJ maxx/ Esquire tuxedos

I really wanted to get our bridal party things they could use for the wedding and after, I hate those gifts that are like “great…this is for your wedding and your wedding only”. I got the girls these awesome earring from macys, they were charter club brand, I knew I wanted hanging earrings for the girls but not chandelier so I saw these and they were perfect, originally I only found 4 pairs when I needed 5 and I was about to buy them cause they were on sale and I’d hopefully find a fifth at another macys. Two seconds before were about to purchase FH and I just searched every counter over and over for a 5th pair, I literally say like “oh well I guess ill just get these and return them”, im leaning on a counter, I look up and theres a 5th pair right next to me! So wierddd! I also got the girls a MAC lipgloss set from the cosmetics store in tanger outlet. Then at TJmaxx we found awesome watches for the guys for under $50 a pop and these super cute patterned jewelry holders. As I mentioned earlier we also gave our guys the ties they are wearing at the wedding.





Hotel Block- Huntington Hilton-A+
No Issues, Danielle was a pleasure to work with, would definitely recommend them. The suite we stayed in was very nice!

Honeymoon- Excellence Playa Mujeres- Rivera Maya Mexico A++++
OMG our honeymoon was seriously the best time of my life. When we were driving in the cab to the resort there was a little thunderstorm that completely cleared up when we got there. The employees told us it had been raining for the past couple of days but when we got there is was soo beautiful, 90 something everyday and no humidity which is apparently rare for Mexico, it was gorgeous. The food was amazing they have like 9 different restaurants to choose from and our room was soo nice also. Everything about this place was so luxurious and relaxing and we ate sooo much amazing food and constantly had a drink in our hands (all inclusive) it was the best time of my life I can’t wait to go back and would definitely recommend!

Re: My 05/15/2011 Wedding Review- Lessings Vanderbilt Mansion, FM Entertainment, Esquire tuxedos, Flower Michele, Renates Boutique

Great review! I love all your pictures!!!! What a beautiful wedding! Congrats!

Re: My 05/15/2011 Wedding Review- Lessings Vanderbilt Mansion, FM Entertainment, Esquire tuxedos, Flower Michele, Renates Boutique

Re: My 05/15/2011 Wedding Review- Lessings Vanderbilt Mansion, FM Entertainment, Esquire tuxedos, Flower Michele, Renates Boutique

great review!!! Congrats!!

Re: My 05/15/2011 Wedding Review- Lessings Vanderbilt Mansion, FM Entertainment, Esquire tuxedos, Flower Michele, Renates Boutique

amazinggggggggg!!!! you looked gorgeous!!!

FH and I especially can't wait for EPM!!! So excited to go

Re: My 05/15/2011 Wedding Review- Lessings Vanderbilt Mansion, FM Entertainment, Esquire tuxedos, Flower Michele, Renates Boutique

love your review lena!!!



I'm sorry about the issues with the flowers, but honestly, they look freakin awesome!!!! Everything looks beautiful!!!!

Re: My 05/15/2011 Wedding Review- Lessings Vanderbilt Mansion, FM Entertainment, Esquire tuxedos, Flower Michele, Renates Boutique

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Posted by kshea23

love your review lena!!!



I'm sorry about the issues with the flowers, but honestly, they look freakin awesome!!!! Everything looks beautiful!!!!

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Re: My 05/15/2011 Wedding Review- Lessings Vanderbilt Mansion, FM Entertainment, Esquire tuxedos, Flower Michele, Renates Boutique

Great review!! Your dress is gorgeous!!!

Re: My 05/15/2011 Wedding Review- Lessings Vanderbilt Mansion, FM Entertainment, Esquire tuxedos, Flower Michele, Renates Boutique

Congratulations! You made a beautiful bride.

I'm getting married at St. D's in a bit over 5 weeks. Love seeing pics of the church and Father, who we are actually meeting with on Sunday. So now I'm wondering who you're related to or friends with because I have no doubt we know people in common, being Greek and all.

Re: My 05/15/2011 Wedding Review- Lessings Vanderbilt Mansion, FM Entertainment, Esquire tuxedos, Flower Michele, Renates Boutique

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Posted by Joyful1016

Congratulations! You made a beautiful bride.

I'm getting married at St. D's in a bit over 5 weeks. Love seeing pics of the church and Father, who we are actually meeting with on Sunday. So now I'm wondering who you're related to or friends with because I have no doubt we know people in common, being Greek and all.

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i actually have a super small greek family, lol, and i loveee father nikiforos he is so amazing.

Re: My 05/15/2011 Wedding Review- Lessings Vanderbilt Mansion, FM Entertainment, Esquire tuxedos, Flower Michele, Renates Boutique

wonderful review Lena!!!!

Re: My 05/15/2011 Wedding Review- Lessings Vanderbilt Mansion, FM Entertainment, Esquire tuxedos, Flower Michele, Renates Boutique

You looked GORGEOUS!!!! Im going to Riviera Maya for my honeymoon as well and now Im even more excited!

Re: My 05/15/2011 Wedding Review- Lessings Vanderbilt Mansion, FM Entertainment, Esquire tuxedos, Flower Michele, Renates Boutique

Great review! you looked gorgeous!!!

Re: My 05/15/2011 Wedding Review- Lessings Vanderbilt Mansion, FM Entertainment, Esquire tuxedos, Flower Michele, Renates Boutique

great review!! You looked amazing!!

Re: My 05/15/2011 Wedding Review- Lessings Vanderbilt Mansion, FM Entertainment, Esquire tuxedos, Flower Michele, Renates Boutique

love your dress, beautiful wedding, congrats! Thanks for the review

Re: My 05/15/2011 Wedding Review- Lessings Vanderbilt Mansion, FM Entertainment, Esquire tuxedos, Flower Michele, Renates Boutique

I absolutely LOVE your centerpieces & wedding colors! Thanks for sharing your review!

Re: My 05/15/2011 Wedding Review- Lessings Vanderbilt Mansion, FM Entertainment, Esquire tuxedos, Flower Michele, Renates Boutique

Every detail of this is amazing!!! From your shoes to your cake to your BM dresses to your favor!!! So amazingly beautiful!!!

Re: My 05/15/2011 Wedding Review- Lessings Vanderbilt Mansion, FM Entertainment, Esquire tuxedos, Flower Michele, Renates Boutique

Everything looked beautiful. Congrats!

Re: My 05/15/2011 Wedding Review- Lessings Vanderbilt Mansion, FM Entertainment, Esquire tuxedos, Flower Michele, Renates Boutique

you looked great! love the review :)

Re: My 05/15/2011 Wedding Review- Lessings Vanderbilt Mansion, FM Entertainment, Esquire tuxedos, Flower Michele, Renates Boutique

You looked amazing! Thanks for the great review! How soon before your wedding did you order those cookies. They seem like a great favor..and info would be greatly appreciated! Thanks