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Wedding Forums > The Brides' Review > My 5~26~13 Review- Sand Castle, Gina Esposito, AJ Ingoglia, Jessie Leigh Paperie, Cheeky Details and...
My 5~26~13 Review- Sand Castle, Gina Esposito, AJ Ingoglia, Jessie Leigh Paperie, Cheeky Details and...
b2b2013 Posted: Jul 14, 2013 12:20 AM+
b2b2013 MEMBER SINCE: 12/10 TOTAL POSTS : 1443 WEDDING DATE: May 26, 2013
Posted: Jul 14, 2013 12:20 AM bride-minus.png

My 5~26~13 Review- Sand Castle, Gina Esposito, AJ Ingoglia, Jessie Leigh Paperie, Cheeky Details and more! Lots of pics!!!

I want to start off with a HUGE thank you to LIWeddings!! I found most of my vendors on here and met some great people along the way as well :)

Engagement Ring & Wedding Bands: Diamond Jewelers of Port Jefferson: A+

DH's friend (Scott) works at this location and helped us out a lot!! We were very happy with the service and quality of both of our rings



Bachelorette Party, Midtown 1012 at Sutton Place- A++

I may be bias because my cousin co-owns the bar, but Midtown is amazing!! 3 floors and so much fun!! Definitely check it out :)



Bridal Shower- Amici's in Mount Sinai- A++

Food was excellent and the atmosphere was beautiful. I obviously was not a part of the planning, but it all came out great!!




Rehearsal Dinner- Shiro of Japan, Carle Place- A

Food was great, atmosphere was great. It was a nice change from the formal, sit-down dinner. It felt a bit disorganized and we probably could have benefited from an extra hibachi table, but all of the staff were tons of fun and it was very reasonably priced.




Hotel Block- Hyatt, Garden City- B+

Our wedding was Memorial Day weekend, so we expected that it would be crowded. It was a bit frustrating checking in, as we tried to check in 30 minutes early and had a problem. Also, we were getting ready in the rooms and I called for an extra chair and they gave us a hard time. Overall the rooms were nice, clean and spacious. Also it was the best price in the area for that weekend.

Save the Dates, Invitations & Church Programs: Jessie Leigh Paperie: A

Jess is a true artist. It took us a while to get it right (by no fault of hers, I was so indecisive!!) but Jess worked with us the entire way and everything came out exactly how we wanted it. There were a few miss-communications towards the end with minor things, but it all worked itself out.




Day of Coordinators: Cheeky Details: A+++

What can I say about Heather and Jamie that everyone doesn't already know, even if you haven't worked with them!!! They truly were live-savers before and during the wedding. Our wedding day was not without hiccups (even ear piercing!! Thanks again Heather lol), but thanks to Heather and Jamie you would never know because they kept everything moving and everything was how we wanted it! All of my family members raved about how helpful they were and we were truly happy to have them there. For anyone who is thinking about getting a DOC, I would HIGHLY recommend Cheeky Details!!

Sand Castle Caterers: A++

We saw two other venues before getting to the Sand Castle and we knew it was the one the second we walked in the door!! There was never a moment that we felt unattended to, which was very important as we planned the last year from afar. From the first day we booked to our wedding day, Sand Castle ensured that everything was exactly the way we wanted it!! We booked in 2011 and the amount of upgrades from then to our day was astonishing!! Everyone continues to rave about the service, food and beauty of the venue 2 months later. For any future Sand Castle bride you are definitely in good hands... wish we could do it again! I will update after the Crete honeymoon :)











Cake- Buttercooky Bakery Floral Park- A+

Our cake was included with our venue and they were fantastic! The cake was sooo good and they designed it exactly like the picture we gave them. We decided to order our cupcakes for our rehearsal dinner from them as well and they were delicious as well!



Cake Topper- MudCards, Etsy: A++++

Probably my favorite detail at the wedding!! Keren did such an amazing job capturing our vision. We really wanted to incorporate our babies (fur babies, that is) into the wedding and this was the perfect way! The detail blew our minds; I'm definitely keeping this forever!!



Church- Saint Joachim Cedarhurst, NY: D

I can only say that I am beyond thankful that my uncle is a priest and performed the mass, because Saint Joachim was the absolute worst!! I was never able to get in touch with anyone and if my uncle didn't let me know about all of the things I needed to do it wouldn't have gotten done! I wish I could have given the donation to his church. On a positive note, it was recently renovated, which made for nice pictures.




String Quartet (Church), Innocenti Strings- C-

The process with Innocenti was pretty confusing; everything was online and it felt really disorganized. None-the-less, there demos were good and the music was good the day of. The low score came from the unprofessionalism the day of; THE CELLOIST WAS FALLING ASLEEP!!! I was pretty pissed; it was 1 hour and it was 3:30pm- seriously?!?!

Photography (Engagement Shoot & Wedding)- Gina Esposito: A++

Gina is a true professional. We met with one other photographer besides her prior to booking, but we knew from the second we saw her work that she was exactly what we were looking for. Gina was so personable from the moment we met her and made us feel like we knew her forever. On both the day of our engagement shoot and our wedding we were SUPER late; Gina was able to get beyond amazing pictures that you swore would be hours and hours of work. The day of the wedding (beyond the family pictures) you would never know that she and her assistants (who were also fabulous) were there. We never felt interrupted and were so ecstatic when we saw the final product, which got to us much quicker than we had anticipated. Now the hard part; picking pictures for the album (there are just too many good ones!!). Here are some engagement shoot pics (all of the other pictures on here are from Gina).





Videographer- AJ Ingoglia: A+ for day of (awaiting video)

What can I say... AJ is amazing!! I originally wasn't going to have a videographer, until I saw AJ's work. Then we had the great scare of 2011 where all of us crazy-early brides had to wait to see if AJ was moving (yes, it impacted us that much AJ!!). Thankfully he stuck around and we booked him on the spot. AJ was so much fun that day and made us laugh non-stop :) Can't wait for our video!!!

DJ & Photobooth- Genesis Entertainment- A++

For anyone who has been on here a while, I was dead-set on a band; I felt that DJ's reminded me of a block party and didn't feel that they were really wedding appropriate. I went to a band's showcase and wanted to book them immediately, but DH asked me to wait for Sand Castle's showcase before making any decisions. We saw Genesis and my mind totally changed. Fabio and Joe were so great, entertaining and fun that I decided that DJ was the way to go (although I let DH think I gave him that one ;) ). When we booked Genesis we also got the the percussionist (thanks for letting us play!!) and photobooth; both the best ideas ever! I also wasn't a huge fan of the photobooth originally, but I was so glad we did! I loved seeing all of pictures and video messages everyone took (we got a really nice book and DVD of everything!). The dance floor was never empty and Fabio made it very personal by giving DH and I a few surprises (DH sang 'My Girl' to me, unbeknownst to him lol).







Florist- Flowers by B*urton- A++

We worked with John and it was a great experience. I know NOTHING about flowers or how to make them look nice together and John took all of that stress away. We basically told him colors we liked and he put together beautiful bouquets and boutonnieres that lasted all day! We were very happy we chose them and I would highly recommend them to anyone.







Limousine and Antique Car- Camelot: A++

Joe was the best!! We had a really bad experience with another limo company who is a vendor on here so I won't name, and Joe and his Camelot team were the complete opposite. The cars (Audi Q7 and a 1947 Cadillac) were clean and nice and the drivers were very friendly and professional. My sisters booked Camelot for my Bachelorette party as well (party bus) and it was a great experience (Andrew was our driver and he was the best!!).





Tuxedos- Men's Warehouse, Lake Grove (inside the Smithaven Mall): A+

I was a bit skeptical because I have read horror stories about Men's Warehouse. I went into the mall location and it was pretty small, which made me more nervous. However, as soon as we walked in the door we were greeted and all of the staff seemed extremely knowledgeable. I had a pretty specific vision and they helped me bring it to life. They were all clean and looked great. The only problem was one of the GM's jackets was too small, but they tell you to come in a few days before to make sure everything is okay so that if you run into problems they can overnight it and have it in the next day, which they did. We were even a day late returning them and they didn't charge us. Overall it was a great experience.






Bridesmaids Dresses and Bridal Gown- Bridal Reflections of Massepequa: Bridal- A+, Bridesmaids B/A

This was a hard review for me. To start, I really loved Bridal Reflections. I tried on a lot of dresses before coming here, as they were the only one willing to find the dress that I literally could not find anywhere! Bridal Reflections accommodated my schedule for fittings for me and my bridesmaids and alterations were great. We did, however, hit one HUGE snafoo. When I picked out the bridemaids dress, I knew that I wanted yellow. It was really hard to tell what color the yellow was from the little swatch, so I ordered a yard of fabric (which I planned to used for a lot of the DIY stuff anyways). I ordered the color SUNRISE to see if I liked it. When it came in I loved it and had my girls order their dresses. Little did I know that the yard of fabric I received was actually YELLOW; not SUNRISE, so all of the girls ordered their dresses in a color I had never seen. Due to scheduling, the girls fittings were not until 2 weeks before the wedding, so when we saw the color was wrong I was a bit shocked, to say the least. Thankfully everything worked itself out and I ended up loving the color (Thank God!!!). Bridal Reflections was very apologetic and compensated the girls on their alterations and they are going to do my dress preservation free of charge.






Bridal and Bridesmaids Jewelry- Swarovski, Albany NY: A

Loved all of the jewelry. A bit pricey, but it all looked great!




Bridal Flower Hairpin- ShellsandBlooms, Etsy: A+

Loved the pin and it came very quick! Easy to work with and I was able to customize it with crystals and pearls to match my dress.



Wedding Hanger- Grinsngiggles12, Etsy- A+

I loved the hanger!! I got it on sale at a great price, although the shipping took a long time (glad I ordered it in 2011!! lol). Great touch for pictures



Bridal Shoes- Parisxox, Etsy- B+

My shoes looked great and I loved the 'I Do' stickers that came with them. In retrospect, they were pretty expensive for a pair of shoes to wear for one day (not even; I took them off as soon as I got to the Sand Castle!!) but they looked great.



DIY- Wedding Bubbles & Flip Flop Basket- A++

Wedding Bubbles I got from Party City for $10 for 75 bubble wands and my mom wrapped them in ribbon from Michaels ($1 a spool). Flip flop basket was a huge hit- there were none left!! I bought 60 pairs of all white from Target for 79 cents a pair with free shipping. My mom wrapped them with ribbon to match our colors.



Seating Board- A Fairy Tale Affair- A+

We won this seating board at TWOTY and it was beautiful!! It was such a nice, unique touch and all of our guests loved it!



Day of Make-up, Make up by Oksana: A++

Beyond her amazing make up, Oksana is a great person overall. I spend all morning/afternoon with her and she was a lifesaver! I was pretty nervous and anxious with everything going on and she kept me grounded. Everyone looked stunning and the make up stayed all day and night!






Hair- Jenn the Hair Genie- A+

Jenn and her assistant did a great job!! Everyone's hair looked great and stayed all night. She was so much fun all morning! None of us brought pictures and she still made all of our visions come to life :)




Wedding Favors, Bellissimo Favors (online)- A+

We loved our favors and they came in 2 weeks (we ordered 175 of them). No issues at all and everyone loved them ('The Perfect Pair' Salt and Pepper Shakers).




Thanks so much for reading and I hope this was helpful!!! If I can end with anything, it's this:

After all of the planning, stress, nerves, excitement and chaos (at times) remember that whatever happens happens. I planned this wedding for such a long time and was determined to make everything PERFECT. We had some glitches and some things did not go as planned but it didn't matter; what mattered was that I got to marry the best man in the entire world and I get to spend the rest of my life with him. The day goes by in a second, but it's the rest of my life that I look forward to :)






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boridizzy Posted: Jul 14, 2013 01:27 AM+
boridizzy MEMBER SINCE: 3/13 TOTAL POSTS : 256 WEDDING DATE: Aug 01, 2014
Posted: Jul 14, 2013 01:27 AM bride-minus.png

My 5~26~13 Review!!!

Pretty rings!
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b2b2013 Posted: Jul 14, 2013 03:12 AM+
b2b2013 MEMBER SINCE: 12/10 TOTAL POSTS : 1443 WEDDING DATE: May 26, 2013
Posted: Jul 14, 2013 03:12 AM bride-minus.png

My 5~26~13 Review- Sand Castle, Gina Esposito, AJ Ingoglia, Jessie Leigh Paperie, Cheeky Details and more! Lots of pics!!!

Okay... I think I finally fixed all of the pictures!!
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sandr325 Posted: Jul 14, 2013 08:02 AM+
sandr325 MEMBER SINCE: 7/12 TOTAL POSTS : 1599 WEDDING DATE: Jun 01, 2013
Posted: Jul 14, 2013 08:02 AM bride-minus.png

Re: My 5~26~13 Review- Sand Castle, Gina Esposito, AJ Ingoglia, Jessie Leigh Paperie, Cheeky Details and more! Lots of pics!!!

Beautiful wedding and bride.
I give you a lot of credit, the bridesmaids dresses would have been so stressful. I'm glad Bridal Reflections did the right thing.
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dariamarie2 Posted: Jul 14, 2013 01:00 PM+
dariamarie2 MEMBER SINCE: 4/13 TOTAL POSTS : 1425 WEDDING DATE: Oct 10, 2014
Posted: Jul 14, 2013 01:00 PM bride-minus.png

My 5~26~13 Review- Sand Castle, Gina Esposito, AJ Ingoglia, Jessie Leigh Paperie, Cheeky Details and more! Lots of pics!!!

Great review! The pictures and everything look amazing!
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boridizzy Posted: Jul 14, 2013 03:53 PM+
boridizzy MEMBER SINCE: 3/13 TOTAL POSTS : 256 WEDDING DATE: Aug 01, 2014
Posted: Jul 14, 2013 03:53 PM bride-minus.png

My 5~26~13 Review- Sand Castle, Gina Esposito, AJ Ingoglia, Jessie Leigh Paperie, Cheeky Details and more! Lots of pics!!!

Everything looks great!!
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Lisa and Steven Posted: Jul 14, 2013 08:25 PM+
Lisa and Steven MEMBER SINCE: 2/13 TOTAL POSTS : 1273 WEDDING DATE: Jun 20, 2014
Posted: Jul 14, 2013 08:25 PM bride-minus.png

My 5~26~13 Review- Sand Castle, Gina Esposito, AJ Ingoglia, Jessie Leigh Paperie, Cheeky Details and more! Lots of pics!!!

Great review. I can't wait to get married at the Sand Castle. I'm glad everything worked out with your bridesmaid dresses.
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Simonenarissa Posted: Jul 14, 2013 11:08 PM+
Simonenarissa MEMBER SINCE: 12/12 TOTAL POSTS : 1047 WEDDING DATE: Oct 11, 2014
Posted: Jul 14, 2013 11:08 PM bride-minus.png

My 5~26~13 Review- Sand Castle, Gina Esposito, AJ Ingoglia, Jessie Leigh Paperie, Cheeky Details and more! Lots of pics!!!

Great review!!!!
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SoonToBeMrsRickyD Posted: Jul 15, 2013 07:09 AM+
SoonToBeMrsRickyD MEMBER SINCE: 7/13 TOTAL POSTS : 41 WEDDING DATE: Jun 14, 2014
Posted: Jul 15, 2013 07:09 AM bride-minus.png

My 5~26~13 Review- Sand Castle, Gina Esposito, AJ Ingoglia, Jessie Leigh Paperie, Cheeky Details and more! Lots of pics!!!

great review!!!! bravo
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brads girl Posted: Jul 15, 2013 09:17 AM+
brads girl MEMBER SINCE: 4/12 TOTAL POSTS : 828 WEDDING DATE: Apr 25, 2014
Posted: Jul 15, 2013 09:17 AM bride-minus.png

My 5~26~13 Review- Sand Castle, Gina Esposito, AJ Ingoglia, Jessie Leigh Paperie, Cheeky Details and more! Lots of pics!!!

great review! everything looked beautiful!
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lauren1802 Posted: Jul 15, 2013 10:13 AM+
lauren1802 MEMBER SINCE: 10/11 TOTAL POSTS : 5335 WEDDING DATE: Sep 20, 2013
Posted: Jul 15, 2013 10:13 AM bride-minus.png

My 5~26~13 Review- Sand Castle, Gina Esposito, AJ Ingoglia, Jessie Leigh Paperie, Cheeky Details and more! Lots of pics!!!

great review!
i loveeeee your centerpieces and the fruit display (peacocks)!
Did AJ post your trailer yet?
Gina's pix are so wonderful!!

I also ordered our hangers from Grinsngiggles12 during the sale that was posted here. I'm glad you got yours (as did I) -- a lot of brides didnt and she closed shop shortly afterwards!!
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katnwill Posted: Jul 15, 2013 12:04 PM+
katnwill MEMBER SINCE: 10/11 TOTAL POSTS : 2405 WEDDING DATE: May 26, 2013
Posted: Jul 15, 2013 12:04 PM bride-minus.png

My 5~26~13 Review- Sand Castle, Gina Esposito, AJ Ingoglia, Jessie Leigh Paperie, Cheeky Details and more! Lots of pics!!!

Great review date twin!!!!

You were a beautiful bride. I love all your details and your centerpieces were gorgeous!
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dmlentz Posted: Jul 15, 2013 03:28 PM+
dmlentz MEMBER SINCE: 2/12 TOTAL POSTS : 1034 WEDDING DATE: Aug 10, 2013
Posted: Jul 15, 2013 03:28 PM bride-minus.png

My 5~26~13 Review- Sand Castle, Gina Esposito, AJ Ingoglia, Jessie Leigh Paperie, Cheeky Details and more! Lots of pics!!!

Amazing review !!!! Glad you had the wedding of your dreams!!
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b2b2013 Posted: Jul 15, 2013 09:52 PM+
b2b2013 MEMBER SINCE: 12/10 TOTAL POSTS : 1443 WEDDING DATE: May 26, 2013
Posted: Jul 15, 2013 09:52 PM bride-minus.png

My 5~26~13 Review- Sand Castle, Gina Esposito, AJ Ingoglia, Jessie Leigh Paperie, Cheeky Details and more! Lots of pics!!!

Thanks everyone!
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b2b2013 Posted: Jul 15, 2013 09:52 PM+
b2b2013 MEMBER SINCE: 12/10 TOTAL POSTS : 1443 WEDDING DATE: May 26, 2013
Posted: Jul 15, 2013 09:52 PM bride-minus.png

My 5~26~13 Review- Sand Castle, Gina Esposito, AJ Ingoglia, Jessie Leigh Paperie, Cheeky Details and more! Lots of pics!!!

Still waiting on my trailer but I think I'm next! :)
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b2b2013 Posted: Jul 15, 2013 09:52 PM+
b2b2013 MEMBER SINCE: 12/10 TOTAL POSTS : 1443 WEDDING DATE: May 26, 2013
Posted: Jul 15, 2013 09:52 PM bride-minus.png

My 5~26~13 Review- Sand Castle, Gina Esposito, AJ Ingoglia, Jessie Leigh Paperie, Cheeky Details and more! Lots of pics!!!

Omg! I knew people were waiting. I hope they got a refund!
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lauren1802 Posted: Jul 16, 2013 09:20 AM+
lauren1802 MEMBER SINCE: 10/11 TOTAL POSTS : 5335 WEDDING DATE: Sep 20, 2013
Posted: Jul 16, 2013 09:20 AM bride-minus.png

Re: My 5~26~13 Review- Sand Castle, Gina Esposito, AJ Ingoglia, Jessie Leigh Paperie, Cheeky Details and more! Lots of pics!!!


Posted by b2b2013

Omg! I knew people were waiting. I hope they got a refund!



me too. funny the girl who found this deal isnt even on LIW anymore, she got in some drama with other brides. I missed it, they took it down within 6 hrs or something.
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Eunified Posted: Jul 16, 2013 12:23 PM+
Eunified MEMBER SINCE: 8/11 TOTAL POSTS : 1480 WEDDING DATE: Sep 01, 2013
Posted: Jul 16, 2013 12:23 PM bride-minus.png

Re: My 5~26~13 Review- Sand Castle, Gina Esposito, AJ Ingoglia, Jessie Leigh Paperie, Cheeky Details and more! Lots of pics!!!

Beautiful review!!!! Loved everything! Thanks for posting it!
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Soon2BeMrsPy Posted: Jul 16, 2013 09:48 PM+
Soon2BeMrsPy MEMBER SINCE: 5/12 TOTAL POSTS : 3591 WEDDING DATE: Jan 18, 2014
Posted: Jul 16, 2013 09:48 PM bride-minus.png

My 5~26~13 Review- Sand Castle, Gina Esposito, AJ Ingoglia, Jessie Leigh Paperie, Cheeky Details and more! Lots of pics!!!

Gorgeous! Congratulations!!
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minibride123 Posted: Jul 17, 2013 07:15 PM+
minibride123 MEMBER SINCE: 10/12 TOTAL POSTS : 49 WEDDING DATE: Jul 12, 2014
Posted: Jul 17, 2013 07:15 PM bride-minus.png

My 5~26~13 Review- Sand Castle, Gina Esposito, AJ Ingoglia, Jessie Leigh Paperie, Cheeky Details and more! Lots of pics!!!

LOVE your review, everything look beautiful!! I was wondering if Sand Castle provided that tree with the hanging flowers in the entrance of the venue, or was that from your florist?
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