My 3/25/12 Wedding!!! Fox Hollow, DBR, North Island, Camelot, FM Entertainment & more

I had a 3 year engagement so needless to say I had a lot of time to spend on LIW, and I am so glad that I found this site! I was not the biggest poster but loved reading the boards, especially the reviews, and always found them so helpful!
My tips ladies are do not sweat the small stuff! It’s a large party with a lot of components I’m sure a detail here or there will be missed, but as long as its not huge it will not ruin your day. Do not sweat the weather, why worry yourself over something you cannot control! If you have some DIY items, try and get them done as early as possible. Just due to schedule and whatnot I spent a lot of nights after work up really late working on DIY stuff. Wish I was able to get this out of the way sooner.
Most importantly, stop and take time throughout the day to just take it all in. All the other girls are not lying when they say the day goes fast. It goes incredibly fast! Our reception felt like 45 minutest to me not 4 hours!

SAVE THE DATES: SHUTTERFLY A
I wanted to make STD’s b/c I loved our engagement pictures, but absolutely did not want to spend a lot of money on them. I selected a style I liked on shutterfly, which matched my color scheme as well, uploaded the pics, and was done. I think they were $1 each. I wished the paper was a bit thicker, but they were fine for me and I received a ton of compliments on them!


BRIDAL SHOWER: AMAZING!!!
I had a small bridal party, just two MOH’s, my SIL and my best friend. They threw me the most amazing Bridal Shower. I wanted to be surprised, but kind of figured it out as it was getting close to the wedding. However, I was surprised by the fire! I walked in, everyone jumped up and yelled surprise and then said we had to evacuate. I saw it was smoky when entering but thought it was just from the kitchen. Apparently a small fire started in the heating unit just as I walked in. We all waited outside while the fire dept. came and made sure all was safe to return. We were all laughing and they made me take a pic with the firemen. We were able to return and continue with the party, so it was definitely memorable!
They held it at Bob’s Place in New Hyde Park which was excellent! The food was amazing, I ate everything! The service was great as well. I was blown away how my girls went through all this trouble on decorations, making a candy buffet, etc. My aunt provided book mark favors which were awesome, and a cousin provided all the centerpieces. Our family and friends were so incredibly generous and we love them all to pieces.




RINGS: JAMESALLEN.COM A+ (PER DH), MACYS (A FOR PRICE, C FOR SERVICE), JUSTMENSRINGS.COM A
DH purchased my e-ring from James Allen and it is perfect! I always wanted a solitaire diamond on a platinum band. That is exactly what he picked out for me, LOVE IT. He said they were great to work with, it comes with appraisal, and their quality is amazing. They work with Jeweler’s Mutual for insurance so we did that and they are fantastic as well.
I purchased a half diamond wedding band at Macy’s. I wanted a diamond band but was trying to find something that would not break the bank. During Christmas time I saw a band advertised in a Macys Super Sale catalog and we went the next morning to check it out. It ended up working nicely with my e-ring and the price was GREAT! The lady helping us was not so friendly, but we just made the purchase.
DH picked out a two-tone ring he liked on justmensrings.com. It came quickly and so far no issues.


INVITES: DIY BRIDES KIT FROM MICHAEL’S A++++
I refused to spend a lot of money on invitations, as they just end up thrown out. I actually ended up finding invites I LOVED from the Bride’s DIY kit. We had a kind of rustic / love bird theme so these fit perfectly. I stocked up on Michael’s coupons and we went one day and bought 4 boxes, 120 invites for about $110.00. They were pretty easy to set up, print, and assemble. Loved the finished product, and received a lot of compliments on them.


TUXES: MENS WEARHOUSE A
We used Mens Wearhouse as it just seemed the most convenient. Myself, DH, and 2 of the GM’s went to the location on Wall Street as this is right near their jobs. I don’t like the process as you can’t really see much in person or try anything on, but that’s how it is for tux rental. We made the selections, they arrived the day they said they would and made any last minute adjustments needed. My brother ordered his through the Brooklyn store and did not have problems either. Overall good experience and the guys looked great.


MOH DRESSES: RK BRIDAL A+
We had such a hard time finding a dress for my two girls. We went to so many stores and they tried on a ton of dresses. It was just hard finding something they really loved. We decided to go to RK where I bought my dress as they had a huge selection. We found a gorgeous LOVE brand dress there that they both loved. The color was great and they both felt good in it. It was between this one and a pretty plain chiffon Jim Hjelm dress. The LOVE dress was very expensive but they decided that was what they wanted and were getting. Dress came in when directed and alterations were easy. Those dresses looked fab on them!


MY DRESS: RK BRIDAL A++
After trying on many many dresses, I was growing frustrated. My MOH suggested we go to RK as all her other friends all ended up getting their dresses there. We met Sat. morning right when they opened and were served right away. The store does get crowded on Sat. so I suggest early morning or weekdays. We picked some dresses from the many racks and tried on, and my consultant pulled some for me as well. I ended up selecting one my friend picked, the Enzoani Dabra. I loved the fit of the dress as it was very flattering to my figure, and it had lace and buttons down the back, but with a modern look as well. I was very intimidated by the length at the back of the dress. It had a huge train of layers of tulle. It felt like a lot to me, as I never envisioned myself in a very full dress. My consultant, I believe Jackie, said they could cut off length during alterations if needed. I ordered the dress, and it came in right when they said would. I went for my try on and then fittings and all went smoothly. I ended up cutting off about 14” from the back of the dress. I was super nervous but the lady who did my alterations was amazing! When I came for my next fitting, it was perfect and you would never even know that I messed with the dress. Very happy with my experience here and would definitely recommend.


SHOES: LORD & TAYLOR, CAPPAROS A+++
I already had a pair of shoes when I was with my friend at L&T. I saw these and fell in love! I knew I wanted blue shoes and these were the ones. I bought them when they were having 25% off sale so there were very reasonable. They were comfortable, wore them the whole day!


DAY OF JEWELERY: MISC. A
I bought my earrings at Lord & Taylor as well and loved them.

My hair clip I ordered from Bella-Tiara.com. My hair trial took place in a bridal salon, so I tried their headpieces while there. I loved one but they wanted $200 for it, which I was not paying. I was searching this site and found the EXACT same comb from the salon for $65!

I ordered my veil from Lotus Bridal which is a local bridal shop in Brooklyn, very popular. I didn’t originally want one, but glad everyone talked me into it. I got a single layer, elbow length veil and got for about $50.

RECEPTION DRESS: EBAY A
I wanted a 2nd dress b/c my skirt was quite full and thought I wouldn’t really be able to dance. I didn’t end up changing into it until pretty late but still glad I did. I did not want to spend too much and found a Sue Wong on Ebay for cheap which I loved. Was perfect for the end of the night, and the after party my family made in the hotel bar!


CARD BOX: ETSY – DOOR COUNTY WOODWORKS A+
This went with our love bird theme and thought it was a great keepsake. I ordered this early on so no issue with delivery time. Vendor was easy and great to work with!


GUEST TREE: ETSY – MODERN KEEPSAKES A+
I love the guest thumbprint trees but felt it would be messy and inconvenient to the guests. This was perfect as each guest can just write their name on a leaf. Vendor was great to work with and loved the final product! I bought just the print and then we purchased a frame from Ebay.


GM GIFTS: NFL & POTTERY BARN
DH got his 3 guys a NFL jersey of their fave team/player, and an engraved beer mug from Pottery Barn.
MOH GIFTS: BLISS, MACYS, IDEELI
I got my 2 girls Bliss gift cards b/c they love their massages. I also bought white robes from Macys and brought them to Tri-County to have their names embroidered on them. I bought them an IZAK tote set from Ideeli which had a tote, compact, and travel coffee cup.

REHEARSAL DINNER: NORA’S PARK BENCH CAFÉ (BROOKLYN) A+
This is one of our local spots we love and my family has been going here for years. They have a small back room which can be used for private parties. The price was very reasonable, food is always great, and it included beer, wine, and soda. Had a great night there!

GROOMS CAKE: THE BUTTERCOOKY – NEW HYDE PARK A+
I wanted to surprise DH with a Jets grooms cake. He’s a huge fan and figured best to do it at the rehearsal since there will already be a big cake at the wedding. He loved the cake and everyone was so impressed by it.


DIY: A+++ I’M NOT USUALLY CRAFTY SO I’M PROUD OF THESE
Escort Cards: I did not like the Fox Hollow escort cards. One of my first wedding purchases were bird escort cards that sit on the rim of a glass. I loved them! When I started to write them out the week before the wedding they were just too small, you could barely read the names. My friend and I spent the week finding templates online. We found this one; I typed all the names, and printed on cardstock.


Programs: I went back and forth with doing these, but just decided to do them the week before. I made it from various templates online, added my own graphic, and tied with ribbon.


Favor Tags: I hated the favor tag process. I tried 3 different favor tags before ending with these, which I loved. I bought the digital file from Etsy then printed them on ivory cardstock and adhered to navy cardstock.


Cake Topper: My FH is a good artist, and I really wanted him to paint our cake toppers instead of ordering them. I ordered the kit from etsy which came with the plain wood figures and paint. He drew and painted them himself and I loved them! I had adhered a flower to the front of the bride for a bouquet, but guess it fell it off before it made it to the cake.


Table Numbers: My friend and I found inspiration for vintage table numbers online and decided to make these. We bought inexpensive frames from just about every discount store in Brooklyn and Long Island. I bought wood numbers from Michael’s and painted them, and used cardstock as the background.


HAIR & MAKE-UP: EMBELLIR ARTISTRY A++++++
I was having trouble finding someone as I live in Brooklyn and most of the LI vendors would not travel to me. My MOH remembered that her friend from high school on fb did hair and make-up. She is based in Brooklyn and did her trials from Lotus Bridal Salon which is 10 minutes from my house. I went to the trial and loved what she did for my hair and make-up. The day of she arrived early with her assistant and got right to work setting up. Loretta and Angela were so sweet and their work is amazing. I was so happy with my trial but the day of I was blown away! I loved my hair and make-up and it stayed all day. My girls looked fab as well! She created this vintage look on my one MOH, I was in love with it. One of my favorite vendors and I whole heartedly recommend them!



LIMOS: CAMELOT A+++
We booked Camelot based on all the great reviews I read. They were slightly less expensive than a Brooklyn vendor we visited so decided to go with them. We went with the 1950 Cadillac as we loved the vintage cars! Our driver arrived on time the day of and the car was great! Everyone was going crazy about the car. Our driver had us girls cracking up on the way to the church, and actually gave FH and I a recommendation for our Aruba honeymoon, & it was one of our fave tours. All the buzz you hear is true, they’re a great vendor to work with.


FLORIST: DESIGNS BY ROSE A+++
Rose was the first florist we met with based upon the rave reviews I had read and her location was great for me being from Brooklyn. Her and her mom are so sweet and really do their best to work with your budget and vision. I love flowers but we put the bulk of our budget toward the hall and photo, by the time we got to flowers our original budget had shrunk. I spoke with Rose that I had wanted blue hydrangea and cream rose low centerpieces and what we could afford, and asked if she could work with it. And she did, and everything was beautiful! I found other vendors who were willing to offer centerpieces for the same price, but when they sent their examples they were just sad looking. When I saw the sample centerpiece from Rose it was exactly what I was envisioning from the start. She never made me feel like a bother constantly emailing her with questions and adding cake flowers, and church flowers at the last minute. She delivered the personal flowers herself the morning of the wedding early and I loved the bouquets!!!!!! When we arrived at the hall all the centerpieces & cake flowers were set and beautiful! Go visit Rose, you will not be sorry!






DJ: FM ENTERTAINMENT A++
Music, Food, & Photo were the 3 most important aspects to us for the wedding. We did a lot of research on various DJ’s, went to some showcases, and then narrowed it down to meet with formally. Frank from FM was our first appointment and we he did his private showcase which was great, we booked him on the spot! We got so much for our money! Frank was our DJ/MC, we had a lit DJ booth, 4 truss lights, and the GOBO name in lights and the price was fantastic! Frank was all set up when we arrived at the hall and did a great job the entire night, the dance floor was packed! In the very beginning when the toasts were going to be made, it seems he had a little trouble with one his mics, but he pulled out a spare and all was taken care of before anyone could even notice. He played great music that had our mixed crowd going all night! We had some last minute changes with the entrance announcements and my uncle was going to give a speech that he did not know about, but he just said no problem to all and did not miss a beat. He played all of our must-plays, and left out all from our Do not play list. I would highly recommend him to anyone and would definitely use for any future events.

CEREMONY: ST. EDMUND’S CHURCH – BROOLYN, NY
I’m not going to rate our church, but our ceremony was beautiful. My parents were married in this church, I attended the school affiliated with the church, and made all of my sacraments here, so it meant a lot for me to be married here as well. Father Brophy was great throughout the whole process, and performed a beautiful ceremony for us.


RECEPTION: FOX HOLLOW – SOMERLY ROOM A+++
I always loved the Fox Hollow and we had visited in 2010 when we were originally planning a 2011 wedding, and loved the Garden Pavilion room. We had pushed off booking the wedding until 2011 for early 2012. I knew I wanted to have our reception here from the start however we were concerned with our current budget if we could make it happen. We started looking into less expensive options and I was not getting that “this is it” feeling. The last day we decided we were going to see one place that had a winter package Jan-March that we had a price we could afford, and then meet with Fox Hollow. I told DH that if Fox Hollow could not meet the price we needed then we’d go with the alternate hall. Well we were thrilled when David our BM gave us a quote that actually matched the previous hall and booked right then! The Somerly room was under construction at the time but we were confident from the renderings that we were going to love it and it that Rustic look I was going for. We didn’t have too much interaction with them until about a month or so before the wedding other than making deposits. Anytime I had to visit though they were always friendly and accommodating.
The day of the wedding we arrived and met Zack our Maitre’d and I believe Clarinda was our bridal attendant. Both were great throughout the night bringing us food to try and make sure we ate and seeing if we needed anything. A lot of our guests arrived early and they opened the cocktail hour early to accommodate them. We didn’t make it into the cocktail hour being we were taking pictures, but everyone was raving about the food! We did not eat our entrees during the reception being too busy, and we had 8 people that cancelled on us a couple days before the wedding. They wrapped up all those dinners for us to take home and we ate every single one of them, the food was fantastic, even microwaved the next day! At the end of the night, they gathered all of our things on a cart and wheeled us over to the hotel and got us settled. I highly recommend the Fox Hollow, the food and service were fantastic and our guests were raving about it. Our MD had put the blue uplighting on for our party which was not originally included, it gave a really nice effect to our room!








HOTEL BLOCK: FOX HOLLOW INN A++
We received a complimentary room for booking with them and for the convenience to our guests being right across the street, blocked 10 rooms. We were concerned at first b/c you have to guarantee 60% of the rooms blocked, but ended up we actually had to add a few more on. I know the rooms here can be a bit more costly than some other nearby hotels, but I highly recommend it. The rooms are all suites and are beautiful! Our wedding was Sunday night, and I was shocked that they had the hotel bar open after our reception ended at 10:30. I was so glad they did b/c our family and friends continued the party in there and it was a blast! The complimentary breakfast the next morning was really good as well! Very nice hotel and our guests kept talking about it!

CAKE: FRANCESCO’S BAKERY A FOR EXTERIOR B- FOR INSIDE
Our cake was included in our package with Fox Hollow and I read on the boards that Francesco’s was the bakery used. I made an appointment with them for a tasting so that we could select our fillings, which was very nice of them to do and the staff was very friendly. We live in Brooklyn so it’s a bit of a ride out there for us, but we got there and they actually had about 12 different samples for us try, I thought maybe there’d be like 3 choices. We selected the vanilla cake with hazelnut mousse, b/c it was delish! I provided them a picture for what I wanted the cake to look like and they said no problem. The day of the cake looked exactly like the pic, and I loved it! Later that night when we actually ate some of the leftover cake we realized the filling tasted like plain vanilla, not the amazing hazelnut we picked. We were upset b/c we thought everyone would really love that filling and we never would have picked vanilla on vanilla. But if that was the one mistake in the wedding we considered ourselves lucky. They were nice to work with and it was probably just a simple error we were just disappointed.


PHOTO: NORTH ISLAND PHOTO A+++ TO INFINITY!
My favorite vendor!!! Michael and his team are extremely talented and incredibly sweet on top of it! Photos were the most important aspect to us. I did a TON of research before even looking to schedule meetings with vendors. We narrowed it down to NIP and one other vendor, and made appointments to meet both. Needless to say we never made it to the 2nd appointment. DH who was not as into the photos as I was, felt all pictures were the same, did not feel the same after meeting Michael. They instantly clicked and as soon as we got in the car we said we’d just call when we get home and book. He offered us a generous package that was within our range, which included an engagement shoot. We live in Brooklyn and really wanted our E-pics in Coney Island. Michael is over an hour away from us and when we mentioned Coney Island he was so excited about the shoot! Never charged a fee for having to drive out so far! I’m always so awkward in pictures and hoped for one or two pics I would like. When we saw the E-pics (posted next day on FB) I almost fell off my chair, I loved them all! And he also included a video short, which was so awesome! That was a surprise we didn’t even know we’d get.
Michael was always responsive to any questions I had and never made me feel like I was a bother. The day of the wedding Michael and his team arrived on time and got right to work. They were fantastic the entire day, and after the posed shots at the hall I didn’t even notice them the rest of the night snapping away. My package included a short video, which was posted 3 days after the wedding, and was so beautiful! Our friends and family were blown away by it! About 2 weeks later we received a call our proofs were ready, and being they know we do not live nearby, they mailed them to our house. We love ALL of them; the album selection is going to be extremely difficult! If you are looking for a photographer, please do yourself a favor and go meet Michael, you will not be disappointed! The majority of photos in this review are those taken by NIP.







FAVORS: AFRESH APPROACH A++++
I was having a hard time finding favors. First DH and I could not agree on anything. I really wanted an edible favor and finally DH advised he would leave it up to me. One Saturday my friend and I made a day and visited shops that make edible favors all day. Afresh Approach was our last stop and so glad we made it there! First off, Jeanne is a complete sweatheart and her work is amazing. She showed us all the different favor options, gave us prices for each option, and had a tray of a dozen truffles for us to try. They are to die for! And she had the best prices out of anyone I met earlier in the day and a far superior product. We decided on the glass jar with 4 truffles and 6 chocolate hearts to be given one per couple. We chose truffle flavors: Jack Daniel’s Bailey’s, Cookies & Cream, & Latte. She supplied the ribbon as well, and I supplied just the favor tags. Everyone seemed to LOVE them. My brother was like where did you get those awesome chocolates and do you have extras!


I'm sorry, I did not intend for this to be so long, thanks for reading. I always found the reviews so helpful, and hope anything here can help another bride. Happy Planning!

Re: My 3/25/12 Wedding!!! Fox Hollow, DBR, North Island, Camelot, FM Entertainment & more

Congrats!! You looked beautiful!!!

Re: My 3/25/12 Wedding!!! Fox Hollow, DBR, North Island, Camelot, FM Entertainment & more

Congrats, you looked beautiful. Thank you for the great review.

Re: My 3/25/12 Wedding!!! Fox Hollow, DBR, North Island, Camelot, FM Entertainment & more

You looked amazing!! Congrats and thanks for the review!!!!

Re: My 3/25/12 Wedding!!! Fox Hollow, DBR, North Island, Camelot, FM Entertainment & more

very nice pictures.. you looked beautiful & seems like you had a great day! congrats!!

Re: My 3/25/12 Wedding!!! Fox Hollow, DBR, North Island, Camelot, FM Entertainment & more

Congratulations! You look beautiful and you had great ideas

Re: My 3/25/12 Wedding!!! Fox Hollow, DBR, North Island, Camelot, FM Entertainment & more

Congratulations!!!!! Beautiful wedding and such a great review!

Re: My 3/25/12 Wedding!!! Fox Hollow, DBR, North Island, Camelot, FM Entertainment & more

Congrats borough, venue, and DJ twin! Everything looked amazing!

Re: My 3/25/12 Wedding!!! Fox Hollow, DBR, North Island, Camelot, FM Entertainment & more

Great review! Thanks for sharing. Congratulations

Re: My 3/25/12 Wedding!!! Fox Hollow, DBR, North Island, Camelot, FM Entertainment & more

You had a beautiful day! Congrats!

Re: My 3/25/12 Wedding!!! Fox Hollow, DBR, North Island, Camelot, FM Entertainment & more

Congrats!!

I was thinking about doing STDs through shutterfly and yours came out great!
ahh I love Nora's park bench! I live in Brooklyn and it's a local favorite
I'm a huge jets fan- that grooms came is awesome!
I've heard so many wonderful things about designs by rose.

Re: My 3/25/12 Wedding!!! Fox Hollow, DBR, North Island, Camelot, FM Entertainment & more

Great review! Congrats!

Re: My 3/25/12 Wedding!!! Fox Hollow, DBR, North Island, Camelot, FM Entertainment & more

Beautiful congrats

Re: My 3/25/12 Wedding!!! Fox Hollow, DBR, North Island, Camelot, FM Entertainment & more

Re: My 3/25/12 Wedding!!! Fox Hollow, DBR, North Island, Camelot, FM Entertainment & more

Everything looks beautiful!!

Re: My 3/25/12 Wedding!!! Fox Hollow, DBR, North Island, Camelot, FM Entertainment & more

You look stunning and everything looks beautiful! I am also using Michael and North Island and your photos make me even more excited!! Congrats!

Re: My 3/25/12 Wedding!!! Fox Hollow, DBR, North Island, Camelot, FM Entertainment & more

That was a great review. Everything looked wonderful and you looked beautiful. Congrats!!!

Re: My 3/25/12 Wedding!!! Fox Hollow, DBR, North Island, Camelot, FM Entertainment & more

Everything looked great!

Re: My 3/25/12 Wedding!!! Fox Hollow, DBR, North Island, Camelot, FM Entertainment & more

congrats you look stunning

Re: My 3/25/12 Wedding!!! Fox Hollow, DBR, North Island, Camelot, FM Entertainment & more

love your dress! great review!