My 7/23/11 Wedding! JUST ADDED PROFESSIONAL PICS! ~Fox Hollow~ Pastor April~ Duet~ Infinity~ Flower Michele~ Prestige~ Camelot and more!

PROFESSIONAL PICS!! I'm absolutely in LOVE! :)

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.714497993312.2183151.18100165&l=8d5e9ff80d&type=1

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.714699928632.2183194.18100165&l=24937255e5&type=1


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PICS ARE IN MY ALBUM UNDER WEDDING!! They are from weddings guests only but I'll put professional ones up when I get them!

My wedding colors were purple and white and since I love polka dots, I had splashes throughout my wedding!

Luigi’s A+ (Engagement Party): Amazing Italian-style restaurant and very nice private space for a small party.

VistaPrint.com A+ (Save the Dates): I designed postcards as our save the dates with our engagement pictures. They came out so professional and we received 100 postcards for $20 (including the shipping and handling).

Only You A+ (Invitations): They were gorgeous and exactly what we were looking for! Prices are slightly high but because we ordered our engagement party invites from them, we received a discount so the price was less than we were expecting to pay. They also have a good selection of favors and other wedding products.

Shiro of Japan A+ (Rehearsal Dinner): We wanted to do something different and since we were only inviting family and guests in the wedding party, we did a hibachi-style dinner. The food was delicious and the set up was great! Everyone had a great time!

Demetrios B+ (Wedding Dress): Good selection of choices, they were very helpful when we were looking to buy a wedding dress but when it came to alterations, not so much. They only do alterations on Mondays and Fridays and my dress was taken in at the wrong spot so when I tried it on at my last fitting, it did not close (and the gown was corset so that was a HUGE problem). They were only supposed to take the dress in at my waist but they also did it at the top. Since the wedding was only 1 1/2 weeks away at this point, the seamstress was going to work her magic and she wanted me to pick the dress up on a Thursday (a day where the seamstresses are not in the shop so if I had a problem w/ fit, no one would be available to help me). I ended up speaking with the manager at Demetrios and she was so nice and understanding- she told me to come in on Monday and she will make sure I don’t leave without the dress fitting correctly. Thank goodness everything worked out after that point.

Demetrios A+ (Veil): Loved my veil.

Bridal Elegance B- (Bridesmaid Dresses): I ordered the dresses in July 2010 and was told they would arrive in Sept. I called in Sept and was told that it would be a little longer. I later called and spoke with another woman who admitted that the store forgot to order the dresses. This was not a big deal to me since the dresses would still be in way before the wedding date so I didn’t have to stress. Although they said it would take a couple months to get the dresses in, they came in just a few weeks later. No big deal.
ALTERATIONS: 4 out of my 5 girls do not live on LI but all traveled to LI to get measured and were planning to travel back for alterations. However, the store was not accommodating at all with their alteration days/ times. I asked several times when I should make an appt for my bridesmaid’s fittings and was told not to worry, to call when I found out what day they would all be able to make it. I called the end of May for a June appt but they had NO OPENINGS on any weekends to fit 3 dresses for the girls who traveled in. My 4 traveling bridesmaids took their dresses home and did the alterations with other places. They all looked amazing in the end so I was happy.

Bridal Elegance B- (MOB dress): No problems with ordering my mother’s dress but after the alterations, she took the dress home the week of the wedding to find that it wasn’t pressed well at all- there was a full crease down the front of the dress. She ended up returning the dress to the store to be pressed and when she picked it up the next day, there was a large stain on the front of the dress. She took the dress back again and they were able to remove the stain and everything worked out well.

Esquire Tuxedos A+ (Groom and Groomsmen Tuxes): We dealt mostly with the owner Mike and he was very personable and helpful. He made the groom and groomsmen look so nice! We had no problems at all with the tuxes and Mike also allowed us to leave the tuxes at the Inn after the wedding and sent one of his staff members to pick them up for us. It saved us a trip after the wedding and we thought that was so nice!!

Jessica Barravecchio A+ (Hair): The first salon we booked with called to cancel when they realized their main stylist was on vacation the day of the wedding but my bridesmaid’s friend Jessica is a hair stylist at a few salons. My bridesmaids and I all got our hair done together at the salon- we were able to bring in our own music and they had bagels and mimosas for us. We had a great time just relaxing before the craziness of the day and Jessica did an AMAZING job on our hair. She is currently in the Ronkonkoma area but is willing to travel to do hair!

Makeup A+: my MOH’s stepmother does makeup so we hired her. She did an amazing job especially because none of my BMs (or me) wear makeup on a daily basis. She made us look so natural and pretty!

Pastor April A+ (Officiant): When we met with April to write our ceremony, she made us feel so comfortable and we loved how she made the ceremony so personal. We had been to many family weddings last year and we wanted to find a way for ours to stand out from those. Pastor April was the perfect choice!

PerfectGarter on Etsy A+(Garter): I asked for a purple polka dot garter. It looked perfect and arrived so quickly!

Gemnation A+ (Rings): We used a jewelry store in Brightwaters for our wedding bands and my husband designed and bought my engagement ring through them. They were great!

DSW A+ (Shoes): I bought purple heals for a splash of color under my wedding dress. Perfect!

(Cannot remember the website :( A+ (favors): We bought our glass favors through this company. When we received them in the mail, a handful were broken or damaged. I e-mailed the company and these were replaced with no questions asked. We were so happy with the company and would recommend to anyone since their prices were the most reasonable!

Infinity by Franklin Wayne A+(Wedding Band): They were ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!! I asked them for a “club feel” with mostly recent music and they listened completely! Of course we had some of the traditional songs mixed in (ie- Journey, Sweet Caroline) which I asked for. Our guests were on the floor all night long and people were talking about how amazing they were after the wedding. My mom went to a wedding the week after ours and they also used this band and they had a completely different feel- they really tailor themselves to what the bride and groom ask for which is amazing. We also asked for them to learn a song for a dance for me and my grandfather and it sounded exactly like the recording we requested. They are AMAZING!!!

Duet A+ (photography): We booked with Danny and he did our engagement shoot in March 2010. He was so nice and since we did not know how to pose, he told us what to do. At the wedding, we had Danny and Julius- we loved them both! Again, they were so nice and helpful! Danny was 45 minutes early to my mom’s house for the getting ready pictures and instead of just hanging around, he went straight to work taking pictures of my jewelry, dress, programs, etc. I highly recommend Duet- all their photographers are amazing and I have only heard great reviews from them (we had several people at work recommend them to us). Also, their prices are so reasonable! We booked in 2009 so we received 2009 prices for a 2011 wedding- always a plus!

Camelot A+ (limos): We booked 2 limos for my bridesmaids and I and my family to get from my mom’s house to the reception hall. Joe was so helpful during our meeting and the service we received was great! Both limos were early to the house and drivers were very personable. My husband and I also used a car to get to the airport when we left for our honeymoon and that was great as well.

Francesco’s Bakery A+ (Grooms Cake and Wedding Cake): Go for the cake tasting at the bakery! They have so many flavors to choose from and give you a nice size piece to taste (and coffee too!). There was so much to eat we actually brought the samples home and ate them all week! Our wedding cake was just what we asked for! We brought Francesco a picture and he matched it perfectly! The cake was red velvet and it tasted amazing! It was so moist and rich- yum! I also surprised my husband with a groom’s cake at the rehearsal dinner and again Francesco did not disappoint! We asked for our college’s mascot on the cake with a few changes and he made it look great! The cake was half cannoli and half raspberry filling with buttercream- again, so moist and yummy!! What I loved the most about Francesco was that he treated us like family. Since I had to send him pictures of the school’s mascot, I was in contact with him discussing what we wanted. He gave me his cell phone number and was attentive to what I was asking.

Prestige Lighting A+ (Glenn- Uplighting): Another very personable vendor- Glenn was so nice and helpful! We met with Glenn at Fox Hollow to discuss the uplighting since Fox Hollow removed the Briar Fox room from their website. While there, I was kinda disappointed in the room- it seemed so outdated to me (I had never seen the room when we booked since there was a party in there but I fell in love with everything else at Fox Hollow). I wanted to look at the new Somerley room and Glenn agreed to go with me since he had a future wedding booked in the room and wanted to see the set up. Mike (the operation’s director) just happened to walk through the room and he is a friend of Glenn’s. Glenn knew how much I loved the Somerley room and asked about changing rooms. Mike was able to make that happen! So Glenn uplighted the Somerley room for us in purple LED lights and it looked great!! His prices were very reasonable and he does amazing work!

Ideal Entertainment DJs, Tim Brown A+ (Ceremony music): We were looking for a DJ to play music before the ceremony and for the processional/ recessional and could not find anyone who would play for just an hour (and at a reasonable price)!! I e-mail Tim and he was quick to respond with of course he would do our ceremony and he charged exactly what we were willing to pay. The DJ was there on time, played everything we asked and was great to work with!

Flower Michele D- (Florist): We booked with John and were so happy with what he offered us in our contract. Unfortunately, he passed away unexpectedly. I received a phone call from Joseph stating that he was taking over John’s clients and to set up an appt to go over the contract and see our sample centerpiece. I went in and fell in love again with our centerpiece- it was perfect and just what I had discussed with John- a glass square vase with purple Dutch hydrangeas and rose stems. Fast forward to our wedding day- first we did not receive our throw away bouquet (and had to sacrifice my mom’s bouquet for the toss) and Dutch hydrangeas for the cake decorations. Next, our centerpiece was purple hydrangeas- they were purple because they were SPRAYPAINTED purple!! I’m so happy I didn’t notice this until the next day (since I took a centerpiece home). You can see the paint on the stems of the hydrangeas, on the glass on the vase they were in and the spots where the flower petals overlapped. Also, I remember hugging one of my friends at the end of the night and pointing out that she had something purple on her arm- she said a flower had gotten stuck to her. I now know it was the paint rubbing off on her skin from carrying the centerpiece! I am so embarrassed!! I cannot believe a florist would do this!! I felt like my family and I poured so much money into having a beautiful elegant wedding and then had SPRAYPAINTED flowers as centerpieces!! There’s more- we left for our honeymoon early Monday morning so I asked my mom to call the florist (I left a message on Sunday as well warning them that I wanted an explanation and saying that I was extremely unhappy about this). After leaving messages and calling several times- she was told through another worker that the owner Alex said that I saw the spraypainted centerpieces when I went for a sample and that I APPROVED THEM! This is not true at all and I actually have pictures of the sample showing that they were truly Dutch hydrangeas. Alex then said that we did receive the tossing bouquet and the cake flowers but Fox Hollow lost them. I did not feel like fighting him on this since I did not have any proof on whose fault it was but that does not excuse the centerpieces. When I arrived home from my honeymoon on Friday, I called Flower Michele and spoke with Rich. He told me his was not familiar with what happened at my wedding but did hear from other workers that I received spraypainted flowers. He told me that I needed to speak with Alex and that Alex would be in the next day starting at 10am. I called the next day (Saturday) and was told Alex had just stepped out and he would call me right back. A few hours later I called again and this time Alex was just finishing a meeting and would call me back. Sunday I called and was told by a worked that Alex was not in but he would be speaking with Alex later in the day and will pass on the message. I called Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and each time I reached the answering machine. I called Thursday and finally spoke with Rich again- I was pissed! Granted, Rich was very nice from the beginning and in this conversation and he understood why I was pissed. He explained that he told Alex personally to call me back and he was not sure why he did not call but Alex is now on vacation until next week. Rich said Flower Michele did order Dutch hydrangeas for the centerpieces but when they were received, they were all dead. They placed an order somewhere else but that fell through as well. So someone decided to spraypaint white hydrangeas purple. I told Rich I did not know why I wasn’t called when these problems were occurring because we could have come up with a solution together instead of me being blindsighted. When I told him my mom was told I approved a sample of spraypainted hydrangeas and I felt the store was trying to blame me for the mistake, he apologized and said the worker my mom spoke to was wrong and he has since been fired for several mistakes. Although they would not give me a refund, Rich offered a $200 gift certificate (which still does not make up for the money spent on the flowers and the stress of what happened) for future purchases and promised to make sure they are better than what I order. I told him I would be posting my review here and he wanted to let brides know that if they want to book with Flower Michele to ask for him. He will make sure this problem does not happen again. DO NOT TRUST ALEX! I doubt I will ever receive a call back from him.
SEE PICS IN MY ALBUM OF THE CENTERPIECES!

Inn at Fox Hollow A+ (night before and after the wedding): Beautiful rooms and was totally worth the price!! I stayed the night before the wedding with my bridesmaids- the rooms are so spacious!! You receive a free room when you make a room block and also a free room when you book with Fox Hollow so we didn’t need to pay for anything ourselves. My college roommates got to the Inn early and went swimming since our ceremony didn’t start until 7pm. The complimentary breakfast the next day had a good selection and the staff was helpful when we were booking rooms.

Fox Hollow A+: We used the outside ceremony space then had the cocktail hour in the Winter Garden Pavilion, and reception in the Somerley (after changing rooms from Briar Fox). I cannot say enough nice things about the staff and atmosphere. I fell in love with Fox Hollow when I walked through the front doors. We had looked at Giorgio’s, Swan Club, East Wind and Westbury Gardens knowing we wanted an outside ceremony and a garden-like feel. Everything was so green and the weather was so hot that day but I didn’t care because it didn’t rain!! We took pictures on the grounds before the ceremony, the ceremony started at 7pm and everything was perfect! My bridal attendant Courtney was AMAZING and she was always there to help. My only complaint would be that I heard from guests that during cocktail hour, they didn’t see many hors devours being passed around. Also, (I mentioned this on another topic thread) I wish the foods were separated by ethnic stations. We ordered the seafood boat and had a lot of compliments about that. The Somerely was absolutely gorgeous! Dinner was great and I would highly recommend Fox Hollow to anyone in the future who is looking for a beautiful reception hall with helpful staff and great food!

My DIY
Cardbox, Program fans, Petal cones, table #s, Kissing Bells, Escort Cards, Memory Frame, Memory Candle.

HONEYMOON- Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora- I can go on forever talking about how awesome our honeymoon is but I won’t. All I can say is GO THERE!! We stayed at the Manava Suites in Tahiti 1 night to adjust to the time change. We then took a ferry to Moorea where we stayed at the Hilton Moorea in a garden bungalow for 4 nights followed by flying to Hilton Bora Bora Nui to stay in an overwater bungalow for another 4 nights. We have nothing to complain about!!! We booked all our excursions before leaving for our honeymoon which was PERFECT because we were able to do everything we wanted to (we used Jack from Tahiti Tours and he was great- we booked the following excursions: Moorea- Tiki Village, swimming w/ sting rays and sharks w/ motu picnic, Safari Tour, sunset catamaran cruise; Bora Bora- snorkeling w/ lagoonarium tour, dinner at Bloody Mary’s, swimming w/ sharks and sting rays). We registered on Honeyfund.com and received a lot of our excursions as gifts at the bridal shower.
I highly recommend using Cory ****** as your travel consultant if you are planning to go to the French Polynesia!

Honeymoon pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.699232315852.2178948.18100165&l=3c1ab5973b&type=1

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.699245878672.2178959.18100165&l=3cf4f720e0&type=1

Re: My 7/23/11 Wedding! Fox Hollow~ Pastor April~ Duet~ Infinity~ Flower Michele~ Prestige~ Camelot and more!

Great review!

Sorry about your flowers

Re: My 7/23/11 Wedding! Fox Hollow~ Pastor April~ Duet~ Infinity~ Flower Michele~ Prestige~ Camelot and more!

Great review! Sorry about the flowers, but I am so glad that you called persistently and did not give up.

Re: My 7/23/11 Wedding! Fox Hollow~ Pastor April~ Duet~ Infinity~ Flower Michele~ Prestige~ Camelot and more!

Thanks for your wonderful review!

Re: My 7/23/11 Wedding! Fox Hollow~ Pastor April~ Duet~ Infinity~ Flower Michele~ Prestige~ Camelot and more!

Great Review!!!!!! Love your BM dresses!!!!

As for the flowers, I am so sorry you had to go through that...so not fair...

Re: My 7/23/11 Wedding! Fox Hollow~ Pastor April~ Duet~ Infinity~ Flower Michele~ Prestige~ Camelot and more!

Thank you for the review! I'm so sorry about your flowers.

Re: My 7/23/11 Wedding! Fox Hollow~ Pastor April~ Duet~ Infinity~ Flower Michele~ Prestige~ Camelot and more!

It sounds like you had a beautiful day. I want to go on your honeymoon. We are going to inquire about there in a few months!!

Re: My 7/23/11 Wedding! Fox Hollow~ Pastor April~ Duet~ Infinity~ Flower Michele~ Prestige~ Camelot and more!

thanks for your review. i just booked my tahitian honeymoon (staying at hilton moorea too) and looking at the pics - WANT TO GO NOW.

Congrats!!

Re: My 7/23/11 Wedding! Fox Hollow~ Pastor April~ Duet~ Infinity~ Flower Michele~ Prestige~ Camelot and more!

Congrats on your wedding!

Re: My 7/23/11 Wedding! Fox Hollow~ Pastor April~ Duet~ Infinity~ Flower Michele~ Prestige~ Camelot and more!

I am so happy to hear wonderful things about the fox hollow its making me more excited!

Re: My 7/23/11 Wedding! Fox Hollow~ Pastor April~ Duet~ Infinity~ Flower Michele~ Prestige~ Camelot and more!

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Posted by pixietina

Great review! Sorry about the flowers, but I am so glad that you called persistently and did not give up.

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This exactly! Great job!

Re: My 7/23/11 Wedding! Fox Hollow~ Pastor April~ Duet~ Infinity~ Flower Michele~ Prestige~ Camelot and more!

Beautiful wedding, sorry about the flowers.Its definitaly a huge difference between the sample and what they gave you, a credit would not satisfy me on that one!

Re: My 7/23/11 Wedding! Fox Hollow~ Pastor April~ Duet~ Infinity~ Flower Michele~ Prestige~ Camelot and more!

Great review! I can't wait to see your pro pics!!

I'm so sorry to hear about your flowers! I don't know what is going on with Flower Michele... i've heard some pretty negative things as of late. :(

Re: My 7/23/11 Wedding! Fox Hollow~ Pastor April~ Duet~ Infinity~ Flower Michele~ Prestige~ Camelot and more!

Sorry about the flowers! Looks like your honeymoon was a blast. I so want to go there.

Re: My 7/23/11 Wedding! Fox Hollow~ Pastor April~ Duet~ Infinity~ Flower Michele~ Prestige~ Camelot and more!

Great review! Everything looked lovely! Congrats!

Re: My 7/23/11 Wedding! Fox Hollow~ Pastor April~ Duet~ Infinity~ Flower Michele~ Prestige~ Camelot and more!

I want to go on your honeymoon!!!

Re: My 7/23/11 Wedding! Fox Hollow~ Pastor April~ Duet~ Infinity~ Flower Michele~ Prestige~ Camelot and more!

You look beautiful, love ur bm dresses

Re: My 7/23/11 Wedding! JUST ADDED PROFESSIONAL PICS! ~Fox Hollow~ Pastor April~ Duet~ Infinity~ Flower Michele~ Prestige~ Camelot and more!

Bump- Added the professional pics to my facebook. I LOVE DUET!! They did an amazing job!!