The Brides' Review - My 4th of July Wedding Review (Long)

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My 4th of July Wedding Review (Long)

CathyB Posted: Jul 17, 2003 12:39 AM+

CathyB MEMBER SINCE: 12/01 TOTAL POSTS : 1105 WEDDING DATE: Jul 04, 2003

Posted: Jul 17, 2003 12:39 AM

My 4th of July Wedding Review (Long)

We just got back from our honeymoon, and finally have time to write my wedding review. It was even better than we had imagined it would be. It had been pretty hot earlier in the day (including when we went to Planting Fields to take pics beforehand) but it really cooled down for the ceremony and was absolutely beautiful. Scott and I both loved our wedding, and neither of us would have changed anything. We had a lot of confidence in our vendors, and were not disappointed.

For my review, I’m not going to do the rating thing. Everyone’s level of expectation varies, and my 10 may be your 8, etc. I think it’s more useful to hear what I liked or didn’t like, rather than an arbitrary letter or number grade. JMO.

RD: We took OOT guests & BP to a LI Ducks game instead of a RD at a restaurant. We rented out the picnic area and ordered a bunch of food off their catering menu. Everyone had a great time. It was very relaxed, and gave everyone a chance to get to know each other before the wedding.

Makeup: Wendy of Urban Faces. She did me, MOH, MOB & MOG. Everyone was really happy with their makeup. I didn’t feel like I had makeup on, which was a big deal for me, since I wear very little on a daily basis.

Hair: My co-workers sister did my hair, MOH, MOG and my brother’s girlfriend. She worked very quickly, and everyone felt really comfortable all day. My updo stayed up all night with no problems, and was not at all uncomfortable.

Dress: Lestan’s. I was very impressed with the sales staff. I had six girls looking for a specific dress that I wanted to try on with my mom after seeing it in a shop in New Jersey. The alterations were a mess. It took them 3 times to get my hem (the ONLY alteration needed) right, and I still think it was slightly uneven. Plus, the bustle fell out anytime I moved. My matre’d said it was the worst bustle she’s ever seen. They also screwed up my mom’s hem. Going to be talking to their management to let them know my displeasure.

Tuxedos: Men’s Warehouse. They mis-measured my brother, and his tux was WAY too small. They did some quick alterations, but refused to give him a new tux out of inventory. He couldn’t close his tux jacket. They also ordered the wrong vest size for DH (he owns his tux, just wanted the vest to match BP). We got the money back for DH’s vest, not sure about my brother, I forgot to ask him. They got the rest of the BP right. Don’t think I would use them again.

Flowers: Simply Elegant. I am so happy with them. They created my bouquet based on a photo I found online, and it was exactly what I wanted. I got a lot of compliments on the flowers. They put up with my mom and MIL waiting until two weeks before the wedding to decide what they wanted their corsages to be. Would recommend them to anyone, and plan to use them again in the future.

Photo/Video: Spelman Studios. What can I say. I love Christine. She is so easy to work with. Extremely professional. It was Christine, her assistant Karen and the videographer. My brother had been in a wedding the weekend before mine, and kept telling me how different my photographer was versus the one his friend had. We did the formals at Planting Fields before the ceremony, and then Scott and I took a few after the ceremony at Sans Souci and by the water. She works very quickly, and Scott and I were able to join our guests for the cocktail hour, which was important to us. We never felt like she was intruding on any of our special moments, yet I noticed she was there for everything. I can not wait to get my proofs back. I loved our engagement photos, so I have no doubt that my wedding pics will be just as beautiful. One of my favorite vendors to work with.

Officiants: Deacon Frank Barone of St. Killian’s and Rabbi Michael Erhlich. We got a lot of compliments on our ceremony. It was a great combination of the catholic & jewish faiths, and we were able to involve a lot of our family members in the ceremony, which was really important to us. Deacon Frank was a last minute stand in for my deacon, Bob O’Donovan of St. Frances de Chantal, who had a last minute business trip to Ireland. He did a great job of working with us to create the ceremony, and then really got Deacon Frank up to speed so that it was a seamless transition.

Ceremony Musicians: Raffa Entertainment’s Metropolitan Strings. They did a beautiful job, played exactly what I asked for in the ceremony and worked well with the officiants to stop when needed. We gave them free reign over what to play at the cocktail hour, and I heard no complaints from our guests. Would recommend.

Reception: Sans Souci of Sea Cliff. So many of our guests had not heard of the hall, but were blown away. The food was amazing, and the room looked just beautiful. Nargis, our Matre’d and Carol went out of their way to make sure that my wishes were all filled. I was a bit of an anal bride, and showed up with a separate bag for each table with the favors, menus, etc. already counted out for them. They never made me feel ridiculous. The staff was extremely attentive, not just to DH and I, but to all of our guests. I know of at least one other person who is considering having a party there. Scott and I were so happy that we decided to have the wedding there. We hope to go to a wedding there so that we can see it from the guest’s perspective.

Reception Music: Tom Gordon. He is a DJ out of Brooklyn. He has a guy with him who works the turntable, a girl who sings during the dinner portion, and Tom is the MC. He spent the whole night walking around talking with our guests. He asked us before playing songs that were requested by our guests, and since he wasn’t working the cocktail hour, he took a bunch of pics. He sent the disc to my mom’s house, so I won’t have it until tomorrow. Everyone loved him, and he told us that he gave out info to a lot of our guests for parties they are holding later this year or next. He played a really nice mix of music, and the dance floor was always packed. He is a genuinely nice guy, and one of my favorite vendors.

Limos: Concord Limousines. All of the cars were clean and on time. I didn’t realize that the Rolls Royce had no air conditioning to speak of, and it was REALLY hot in there. But have no problem recommending Concord to anyone.

Wingate Inn: We stayed here the night of the wedding. They were very good to us, as well as to our guests. All of the guests got the basket we left for them, and told us that the staff was very professional.

Honeymoon: We did a 7 day Alaskan cruise on the Norwegian Sun, round trip from Seattle, and then we added on a few days in Seattle. It was great. We were a little nervous, since it was our first cruise. The scenery was beautiful, and we saw a lot of wildlife, which was a huge plus for me as I’m a huge animal lover. It was the perfect trip for us, as we could be as involved as we wanted to be. We spent most of the time hanging out together on our balcony, but there were a lot of options if we wanted to do other things. There was a nice mix of people, from newlyweds to families to seniors. It was mostly large family reunion type groups, which surprised us. We had a great time, and are very sad to be home.

AtticaQT Posted: Jul 17, 2003 12:41 AM+

AtticaQT MEMBER SINCE: 5/03 TOTAL POSTS : 6197 WEDDING DATE: Jan 09, 2005

Posted: Jul 17, 2003 12:41 AM

Re: My 4th of July Wedding Review (Long)

Congrats! I am so happy everything went so well and that you thoroughly enjoyed your special day! Do you have pics?

CathyB Posted: Jul 17, 2003 01:00 AM+

CathyB MEMBER SINCE: 12/01 TOTAL POSTS : 1105 WEDDING DATE: Jul 04, 2003

Posted: Jul 17, 2003 01:00 AM

Re: My 4th of July Wedding Review (Long)

Here are a few pics I uploaded to Shutterfly. Two of Scott and I and one of my & my mom walking up the aisle. My mom's friend cut my dad out of the pic (still bitter over the divorce, lol)

Hope this works Wedding Pics

swags1016 Posted: Jul 17, 2003 01:16 AM+

swags1016 MEMBER SINCE: 3/03 TOTAL POSTS : 12228 WEDDING DATE: Jul 26, 2003

Posted: Jul 17, 2003 01:16 AM

Re: My 4th of July Wedding Review (Long)

Very pretty!! Congratulations!

MarciaD Posted: Jul 17, 2003 01:42 AM+

MarciaD MEMBER SINCE: 5/03 TOTAL POSTS : 1707 WEDDING DATE: Nov 01, 2003

Posted: Jul 17, 2003 01:42 AM

Re: My 4th of July Wedding Review (Long)

I love the dancing photo... Your hair looks soooo amazing!!!

Beautiful bride....

Jodi73 Posted: Jul 17, 2003 06:54 AM+

Jodi73 MEMBER SINCE: 10/02 TOTAL POSTS : 2147 WEDDING DATE: Nov 22, 2003

Posted: Jul 17, 2003 06:54 AM

Re: My 4th of July Wedding Review (Long)

Congrats and beautiful pics!

kelswiss Posted: Jul 17, 2003 06:59 AM+

kelswiss MEMBER SINCE: 2/02 TOTAL POSTS : 2304 WEDDING DATE: Sep 27, 2002

Posted: Jul 17, 2003 06:59 AM

Re: My 4th of July Wedding Review (Long)

Congratulations!!!!

tracyg Posted: Jul 17, 2003 07:15 AM+

tracyg MEMBER SINCE: 1/03 TOTAL POSTS : 5129 WEDDING DATE: May 09, 2004

Posted: Jul 17, 2003 07:15 AM

Re: My 4th of July Wedding Review (Long)

Beautiful!! Congrats.
I love the touch of blue inthe bouquet! so pretty

babybride Posted: Jul 17, 2003 07:46 AM+

babybride MEMBER SINCE: 12/02 TOTAL POSTS : 2966 WEDDING DATE: Jun 19, 2004

Posted: Jul 17, 2003 07:46 AM

Re: My 4th of July Wedding Review (Long)

Glad to hear everything went well. You made a beautiful bride. My friend just used Tom Gordon also and I thought he was great. I especially liked the singer during dinner.

Nanjoe Posted: Jul 17, 2003 08:51 AM+

Nanjoe MEMBER SINCE: 9/02 TOTAL POSTS : 1464 WEDDING DATE: Oct 25, 2011

Posted: Jul 17, 2003 08:51 AM