My 7-17-10 Wedding Review

LIW: A+
Without this website my wedding would have not been as amazing as it was and I wouldn’t have met some really great people.

Engagement Party: Knights of Columbus in Centereach –C+
The Knights of Columbus is a nice place, but they do not give you much time to set up for the party. The food and the service was okay. I didn’t really like the fact that at the end of the party they are basically pushing you out, they barely give you a chance to say good bye to people and collect your things.




Weight loss-A+
I started gaining weight when my husband and I started dating, we would go out to eat or order out all the time. I honestly did not even realize how much weight I gained till I saw the pictures of myself at my engagement party and I was disgusted. After seeing those pics I changed my eating habits completely and started working out almost every day. I lost a total of 50 pounds.
Before
After

Engagement Pics: Marco Photography- A
We took our e-pics at Adventure land. Marco himself took them, he was very nice to work with. I was a little nervous because Marco is known for his sunset beach pics so I wasn’t sure how he was going to do taking e-pics in such a different place. I was very pleased with the way they turned out.



Bridal Shower: Crystal Gardens- B+
My mom through me a surprise bridal shower, she did such an amazing job. I have been to crystal gardens many times for lunch and dinner and there food is always good. The thing that was great about this place is they let you bring in your own food and drinks. Not everyone likes Chinese food, so my mom and MIL brought in food for those who did not like the food at the place. The only problem we had with this place was the size of the room. They said it held up to 100 people we only had 65 and it was really tight.




Bachelorette Party: A
My bridesmaids and friends surprised me with a bachelorette party at Lucky Chengs. I had a blast there, the food and drinks were good and the lap dance was amazing.





Invites: E v e n s t a r P a p e r i e - A+
I originally didn’t care what my invites looked like since everyone always throws them away anyways, but when I saw Tessa’s work I just had to have a custom invitation made. Tessa is such a sweetheart and easy to work with. I thought it was going to be a long and difficult process but I was wrong the first proof she sent me I feel in love with. People were calling me up just to tell me how beautiful my invitations were. If you’re looking for gorgeous invitations for a good price then defiantly look into E v en s tar Pa p e r ie.
(Marco)


Rehearsal Dinner: My mom’s backyard- A+
My mom did a really good job hosting the rehearsal dinner. She rented a huge tent, tables and chairs and had it set up in her backyard. She had the food catered by Mama Lombardi’s; there food is awesome.

Gifts
Maid of Honor – Coach wristlet, diamond tennis bracelet, personalized Christmas ornament and a tote bag.
Bridesmaids- Coach wristlet, personalized Christmas ornament and tote bag
Jr. Bridesmaid- Personalized ornament, necklace, a jewelry making kit and tote bag.
Best Man – Lenox flask set and visa gift card.
Groomsmen –Lenox flask set
Jr. Groomsmen- Rangers jersey
Flower girls- bracelet and earring set, hair accessory kit, bride Barbie, flip flops & tote bag.
Ring Bearer- Personalized Christmas ornament and a toy truck.



(this style but in all black)



St. Margaret’s of Scotland- A+
We were originally suppose to get married in another church but we found out about a month before our wedding that it was going under construction and we needed to find another church. Many churches don’t let you get married there unless you are member but luckily St. Margaret’s felt bad because of our situation and agreed to let us get married in their church.
(Marco)
(Marco)

Unity Candle: Etsy vendor –B+
I can’t remember the name of the vendor I got it from, but she did a good job on making the candle. I was just a little disappointed because it wasn’t exactly what I wanted. She forgot to add the silver ribbon I wanted.

(Marco)

Picture Location: Bayard Cutting Arboretum – B
The arboretum is beautiful, but there was geese crap everywhere. If you plan to take pictures there bring extra shoes.
(Marco)
(Marco)
(Marco)
(Marco)

RH: Portuguese American Center in Farmingville- A+
My husband and I didn’t even look at other reception halls we both knew that we wanted to get married at the Portuguese American Center. We liked the idea of having so much freedom to do whatever we wanted.



Caterer: Sol Mar –A+
Sol Mar is a Portuguese restaurant from Jersey. My in-laws recommended that we use them, and I am glad they did because they were excellent. I didn’t really eat much the day of the wedding, but our guests raved about the food. Sol Mar also surprised me with a sangria fountain and wine barrel which was awesome!




(Marco)

Attire:
Bridal Suite of Bay Shore –A
The staff at the Bridal Suite of Bay Shore were all very friendly. My dress did not need any alterations but my bridesmaids and MOH needed there dresses to be altered and I think they did a pretty good job on them.

My Dress: Private Label by g style 1254 – A+
I tried on about a total of 15-20 dresses. Once I put on my dress I couldn’t take the smile off my face, that’s how I knew it was the one. It was perfect I loved everything about it.
(Marco)
(Marco)
(Marco)

Day of Jewelry: Macys - A+
I didn’t plan to go to Macys and find jewelry because they can be expensive, but I was there shopping one day and I figured I would look to see what they had. I landed up finding jewelry I really liked and I had a family and friends coupon plus I signed up for a charge card that gave me additional savings.
(Marco)
(MRG)

Garter: Ebay - A
My husband is a Giants fan so I wanted to surprise him by wearing a Giants Garter. I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on one so I looked on ebay and found one for a really great price. The only thing was that the material the garter was made of was very uncomfortable, but I only put it on right before the garter toss so it wasn’t a big deal.
(marco)

Shoes: www.shoes.com - B+
I wanted shoes that would give me a little bit of height since I am only 5’1, but still really comfortable. Since I do not do well walking in heals I got wedged shoes, they were not as comfortable as I thought they would be; my feet were killing me after being in the shoes for only a short time.


MOH dress: Bill Levkoff Style 454 – A+
My MOH looked gorgeous in her dress, it was perfect.

(Marco)

Bridesmaid Dresses: Bill Levkoff Style 423 – D
The bridesmaid’s dresses were beautiful; they were long strapless dresses with pick-ups. I gave them a D because on all of the girls dresses the pickups fell. One of my BMs dress fell even before we left the house to go to the church. I felt so bad that my bridesmaids spent so much money on these dresses and they were destroyed by the end of the night.
(MRG)
(Marco)

Flower Girl Dresses- Burlington Coat Factory - A
Since we had to pay for the flower girl dresses and didn’t want to spend too much money on them, we decided to look at stores that held communion dresses. We found dresses we really liked at Burlington and luckily they were on clearance. We were able to get two of the exact same dresses for under $40.
(Marco)

Tuxes: Lake Shore Formals - A+
The men in my family have been going to Lake Shore Formals for years and there service is always great, so we decided to use them for our wedding. They did an excellent job they dressed the groom, groomsmen, ring bearer, FOB, FOG and some family members that attended the wedding. We had no problems at all, and there prices are pretty good.
(Marco)
(Marco)

Mother of the Bride Dress: Paradise Bridal - C+
At first this place was wonderful they helped my mom find the perfect dress. But once the dress was ordered there whole attitude changed. They were rude and had my mom almost in tears (and my mom never cries).My mom had to fix her dress herself the day before the wedding because alterations did not take enough off the bottom and my mom was stepping all over her dress. At her fitting she told them that it felt to long but they kept insisting that its suppose to be that length.
(Marco)

Mother of the Groom Dress: Bridal Suite of Centereach - A+
My mother in law loved this place, the staff were all really nice and helpful. The alterations department did an excellent job; her dress looked perfect on her.


Rings: Zales - A+
We got my engagement ring and both our wedding bands at zales. I love zales there jewelry is beautiful and the quality is great. I go there every few months to get my ring cleaned and checked to see if there are any diamonds loose (free). If by chance one of the diamonds fall out they will fix it no charge.
(Marco)

Make-up: Jackie from JDN Cosmetics - A+
My hairdresser who got married in the summer of 2009, recommended Jackie to me. She was really great to work with. When I went in for my make-up trial, she took one look at me and said she had a vision of what she wanted to do, so I told her to go for it. She did an amazing job. On the day of the wedding she showed up early, she did my make-up just like the trial and she gave me a lipstick and lip liner so that I could touch up my make-up throughout the day. I was so happy with the way my make-up turned out and the fact that it lasted all day long from 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 a.m.

Hair: Tapestry Hair Salon & Spa – A
I have been going to the same hair dresser (Dora) for the past 4 years, so there was no need for me to look anywhere else. I did one hair trial with her, she did two different styles on me and I loved the first one she did and everyone else at the salon loved the second one she did. I decided to go with the one I really liked and I am glad I did because the second hair style she did would have not gone well with my dress.

Decorator/floral: Creations de Belle - A+
Décor was the most important aspect for me, so I really wanted a company that would be able to wow me. I saw creations de belle at a wedding I went to and I knew I had to have them do my wedding. Isabel is the owner of creations de belle. She was my absolute favorite vendor; she was so sweet, patient and overall great to work with. What I really like about this company is they will do as little or as much as you want. I used them for pretty much everything, linens, chair covers, chargers, flowers, seating chart, menus, programs, favors etc. When I first walked into the reception hall my mouth dropped, I never seen anything so beautiful. It was everything I wanted and more. If décor is very important to you as well then you should defiantly check out creations de belle.


(Marco)
(Marco)






My-Sweet-Memories.com – A +
Channa was amazing to work with and the process was so easy and quick. I told her my wedding colors, she sent me a few different proofs and the only hard part was choosing which one I liked best.
(MRG)


Toasting Flutes: Things Remembered - A+
When I saw the toasting flutes in a bridal magazine I fell in love. I went to the store to look at them in person and they were even more gorgeous, unfortunately there were a little more then I wanted to spend on toasting flutes. My maid of honor landed up buying them for me for my bridal shower.
(Marco)
(Marco)

Favors- Oil and Vinegar Bottles – A
I had the hardest time choosing a favor I wanted something that people would actually use. I landed up choosing the oil and vinegar bottles because my husband side of the family is Portuguese and my side is Italian and they all pretty much use oil and vinegar in their homes all the time. I purchased and had them wrapped by creations de belle.




DJ: MRG Production - A+
I saw MRG Productions at one of the many bridal expo’s I attended. Entertainment was a very important aspect for my husband and I. My husband is 100% Portuguese so we really wanted a DJ company that could provide both Portuguese and American music. At the expo we spoke with Robyn which I might add is a sweetheart; she assured us that providing Portuguese music would not be a problem. We went home that night and we both knew they were the DJ Company we wanted for our wedding. We met with Marty (who is awesome) about a week later to go over what we wanted. Marty provided us with everything DJ, MC, Up lighting, Plasmas, Gobo, Zap Photographer, Percussionist.
A few days before the wedding our MC called us up personally to go over everything, from the music we wanted played to making sure he pronounced everyone’s names right in the bridal party. The day of the wedding we got to the reception hall about an hour early and MRG was already set up and ready to go. They were all so nice; they came up to my husband and I and introduced themselves. The dance floor was packed all night long, thanks to our awesome MC, DJ and percussionist. The zap photographer was amazing; he took so many great pictures. The lighting was awesome thanks to the light technician. I cannot say one bad thing about this company. They were defiantly one of our favorite vendors for our wedding.






Photog/video: Marco Photography & Video - A
I saw Marco Photography at a bridal expo that I went to, I thought there staff was really nice and their work was really good. My photographer for the wedding was Joe and my videographer was Tony. Both were really nice guys and worked very well together. I received my proofs back within 2 weeks. There was about 700 pictures taken, which made it very difficult to only choose 90 for my album. We landed up choosing 104 picture for our album. We received our album proof 2 months after the wedding and we loved it, we only made one small change to it. We received our video 3 months after the wedding which is much quicker then we thought. We absolutely love our video, it is amazing. My husband and I both got teary eyed watching it. (Marco)
(Marco)
(Marco)
(Marco)
(Marco)

Limo: Camelot – A+
We used Camelot for our wedding and transport to and from the airport for our honeymoon. When we met with Joe we loved his honesty. Joe told us straight out since he had to send the Rolls Royce out so far that he would have to charge us a little more and that we would defiantly get a better price somewhere else. We heard so many good things about this company and about Joe that we decided it was worth the extra money. We were so glad we went with them, the cars were on time and clean, & the drivers were really nice. For the honeymoon we thought we were going to get picked up in a town car, but Joe surprised us with a stretch limo. Also on the way back from our honeymoon my husband told them the time our plane was going to depart instead of arrive, but luckily Camelot realized the mistake. If you are looking for a professional company who is reliable, then Camelot is the way to go.
(Marco)
(marco)


Ice Sculptures: Ice Sculpture Designs - A
The ice sculptures turned out amazing, we had three of them. One for the seafood table and two for the venetian hour Mickey & Minnie and two doves on a heart. The only thing that stunk is about time the venetian hour started the ice sculptures had melted quite a bit. (Which is not ice sculptures designs fault).

Cakes: Audrey Bakery - A+
Audrey’s bakery made the cake for both my bridal shower and wedding. The cakes were so beautiful I didn’t even want to cut them. They both also tasted amazing. My bridal shower cake was red velvet with cream cheese and my wedding cake was yellow cake with chocolate chip cannoli and chocolate fudge with butter cream icing.

(Marco)

Cake Topper: Wedding Factory Direct - A
They had the cheapest prices around for a letter cake topper covered in crystals. The quality was really good for the price.
(Marco)

Photobooth: Partybooths - A+
When I saw party booths at TWOTY I knew I had to have them for my wedding. All of our guests loved it and most of them have never seen anything like that before at a wedding.



DOC: Chrissi from Fairy Tale Events – A+
I met Chrissi at the Bridal Extravaganza which was only about a few months before my wedding. She was so sweet and her price was really great, so as soon as I got home I emailed her really hoping she would have my wedding date open. I really lucked out because she did. I originally wasn’t going to hire a doc but I am glad I did, there was a few things that went wrong that Chrissi was able to fix. If I didn’t hire her I probably would have been stressing the whole day, but because I did I was able to enjoy myself with no worries.

Honeymoon: Sandals Royal Bohemian –A+
My husband and I originally were going to Negril Jamaica on our honeymoon, but we made a last minute change do to the drug war going on there. We were so glad with our choice the Bahamas was the best trip we have ever been on. Since it was our honeymoon we splurged a little bit and booked a room with a butler. Best decision ever! We received a private transport from the airport to the resort, which was wonderful the driver told us a little bit about the Bahamas and some places that he recommended we visit during our stay. When we arrived to the resort our butler was waiting to greet us and show us around the resort. If you plan to go to sandals and if you can get a room with a butler, it’s worth it. Every morning our butler would reserve two lounge chairs for us by the pool so we didn’t have to get up early to get them, our butler also took care of all our dinner reservations, booked all our tours, every night he would do a little set up in our room etc. The resort was beautiful, very clean, the food was really good, the service was amazing, and the staff were all very friendly.





Some things I learned in this process that may be helpful for future brides:
1. Only send out save the dates to the people who you defiantly want at your wedding. I sent out my save the dates really early and a few people I sent them to I lost contact with but I still had to send them a wedding invite because I had already sent them a save the date.
2. Don’t jump to pick your bridal party right away, wait it out and be sure on the people you are choosing. My maid of honor, who is also my sister, did nothing but give me a headache. She did not help with the bridal shower, bachelorette party or rehearsal dinner. On the wedding day she did not help me at all, she did not give a speech and we never received a gift from her. There was also a bridesmaid and groomsmen I regret putting in the bridal party
3. Do what you want to do, don’t let family and friends influence your decisions about your wedding. Remember it’s your day! I went through a lot of stress in the beginning of the planning process because I was trying to please everyone else. Not everyone is going to like every detail of your wedding; people always have something to say. In the end all that matters is that you love it.
4. If a vendor is not mentioned on this site does not mean they are not a good company. I booked most of my vendors before finding this site. I got really worried about some of my vendors because they were rarely ever mentioned. I got myself all worried for no reason.
5. The morning of the wedding make sure to drink and eat something. I did not eat or drink anything and I felt so nauseous for most of the day because I didn’t get to eat anything until we got to the hall.
6. Make sure to give your photographer a must take photo list. I didn’t and I never got a picture taken with my nana and she was so upset.
7. And lastly the day goes by really quick so enjoy every moment of it.

I hope you enjoyed reading my review, if you have any questions FM me and I’ll try my best to answer them for you.
(MRG)

Re: My 7-17-10 Wedding Review

WOw, you look FABULOUS!!!! I loved how you included your transformation as part of your review.

Thank you for sharing the review!

I had my 25th birthday at lucky chengs crazy stuff!

Congrats!

Re: My 7-17-10 Wedding Review

Beautiful wedding and great review! I love the way your head table and cake tabnle were lit up!!

Congrats!!

Re: My 7-17-10 Wedding Review

I love your review and I pick a lot of my vendors who are not LIW, so I understand. Great pictures and thanks again for doing a review.

Re: My 7-17-10 Wedding Review

What a beautiful wedding! Loved your dress- especially the bodice and your flowers!

Re: My 7-17-10 Wedding Review

Beautiful wedding! You are a beautiful bride! I love your color scheme

Re: My 7-17-10 Wedding Review

you look great!!! and i actually know one of your bridesmaid and groomsmen,,, small world congrats!!!!

Re: My 7-17-10 Wedding Review

Thank you for this review!! You looked beautiful.

Re: My 7-17-10 Wedding Review

Congratulations everything looks beautiful!!!!!!

Great review!!!

Re: My 7-17-10 Wedding Review

Congrats on your wedding! Everything looked beautiful! Love that blue color!

Re: My 7-17-10 Wedding Review

Thanks for the review. Your details were all great. I loved the way your candy table came out and your invites are so gorgeous!

Re: My 7-17-10 Wedding Review

You looked gorgeous!! Great review and congrats!!!!

Re: My 7-17-10 Wedding Review

You look gorgeous!!!!!!!!!!!! Congrats!!

Re: My 7-17-10 Wedding Review

Great review..congrats

Re: My 7-17-10 Wedding Review

Theresa, your wedding was seriously... so, so VERY amazing. Bill and I are still talking about it. We had the best time. All of the little touches were BEAUTIFUL.

You did a great job putting everything together.

<3 <3 <3

Re: My 7-17-10 Wedding Review

Great review! Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: My 7-17-10 Wedding Review

Great review congrats!!

Re: My 7-17-10 Wedding Review

Thank you for sharing. What a wonderful review!
Congrats!

Re: My 7-17-10 Wedding Review

Your Review is great. You looked beautiful. Hope I See You Around the Club.

Re: My 7-17-10 Wedding Review

Love your review :) Everything looked beautiful!