The Brides' Review - my amazing 7/16/11 wedding! swan club, bravura, pedestals, and more!

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my amazing 7/16/11 wedding! swan club, bravura, pedestals, and more!

lucieandchris Posted: Aug 21, 2012 10:10 PM+

lucieandchris MEMBER SINCE: 8/10 TOTAL POSTS : 137 WEDDING DATE: Jul 16, 2011

Posted: Aug 21, 2012 10:10 PM

my amazing 7/16/11 wedding! swan club, bravura, pedestals, and more!

Hi ladies! A year later here's my review! ENJOY!

LIW: A+ This site was so helpful. Any question I had I came right to the site and had many wonderful women ready to share their thoughts. I some of my vendors from this site as well after seeing the great reviews.

The proposal: A+++ My hubby and I were on the North Fork doing our favorite thing, wine tasting. It was Valentine's Day. We were exchanging gifts in the morning over mimosas. I gave hime a gift, he gave me a gift. He made me a cookbook out of a photo album. Each insert had an index card so I could write out a recipe. He decorated it and made it so cute. I cried because that was great enough! Then I turned a few pages and it said Will You Marry Me? Then the waterworks!! Love him :) Now I have that forever!

Engagement Party: Chalet in Roslyn A-, The Chalet is a lounge and it is so nice and was perfect for our party. There was an outdoor rooftop deck and spacious inside. I did simple colorful roses in bowls of water. The food was soooo yummy. Our ONLY issues was that it was a hot summer month and it didn't really seem to get cool.

Shower: North Hills Country Club: A+ This is a place we had gone to for many parts of my life. It is beautifult here, the food is great, and my mom and family did a GREAT job making is an unforgettable day.

Bachelorette Party!! Borgata, AC A+++ Best weekend with my girls. Amazaing dinners, clubs, laughs, decorations, and games!

Rehearsal Dinner: La Parma Williston Park A+ If you've ever been here you know how great their food is. They don't need my review! Yummy x 10 great venue! My MIL worked SO hard to give us the most adorable and personalized party. She wrote me a welcome letter to the family and framed it with photos. Also, she got the Dr. Seuss book 'Oh the Places You'll Go' and had all guests sign. So cute!!

Ceremony: St. Marys in Roslyn A+ Beautiful small and sweet church. The deacon was wonderful.

Ceremony Music Capriccio Ensemble A+ I got a harp and 2 violinists. It was beyond beautiful. They are so talented I couldn't begin to tell you. I got SO many compliments!!! Natalie was wonderful and professional.

The wedding venue! SWAN CLUB A++ We searched a bit before choosing our venue. But when we saw the amazing grounds, met the nice people, saw the beautiful cocktail hour garden style room, and ate the DELICIOUS food, we were sold! The day of DID NOT dissapoint. Joe was our matre'd. He was there every step of the way. He had everything under control at all times. My bridal attendant was Christina. WOW. She was amazing! So attentive to every person that I love. A+. The room was perfect, NO ISSUES whatsoever, food was impeccable. Everyone ranted and raved on every little thing. Thank you Swan Club!

My Dress: Priscilla of Boston in Manhasset:A+ Ladies, if you have a great group then go shopping for your dress with them! That day was SO fun! My dad got us a limo (he's the best). We all went there, giggled, rated dresses, then had a nice lunch. When I finally found 'the dress' we popped champagne and I cried (of course). The women there were wonderful, the dress and veil were everything I could've asked for. I also got my jewlery there.

Makeup: Divine Artistry: A Donna is so sweet and talented. She made myself and all my closest girls look flawless. Her makeup studio is so cute and she was very professional!

Hair: Hair Designs by Angela East Meadow A+ Angela did SO much for me. 2 hair trials, very responsive and the biggie: I had SO many girls getting their hair done. Including me I think it was about 10 girls. She got it ALL done right in time and BEAUTIFULLY. I couldn't believe it!! The best part is her prices are affordable and you do NOT lose the quality. HIGHLY RECOMMEND HER!!

The Bridesmaids Dresses: The Wedding Plaza Floral Park: A- I love the dress I picked out. It was a blue color. I also got my flower girl's dress here. The store served it's purpose. It wasn't anything special but it had a great choice of dresses. OH! And my MIL got her beautiful dress here too!

Groomsmen: A Mens Warehouse- They have great prices and depending ont he location you can find great service. I had NO issues and was completely happy with everything! Also, because we had 10 men renting they gave us so many extras!!!

Flowers: A+ Pedestals Garden City Park: The flowers were GORGEOUS!!! I mean, wow. My bouqet was better than I expected, the girls' bouqets were amazing. They exceeded my expectations and lived up to their rave reviews.

Photo/Video: A+ Glenmar Studios, Roslyn: Glenmar did an amazing job!!! The photos were so good I couldn't choose for my album! They got a great variety of shots, and the video captures the best of moments. If you question whether you should get a video, get one!! It makes the photos come to life and I will treasure that. They included the engagement shoot and thank you cards with photos so I was VERY pleased! The studio itself is so adorable and relaxing. The staff is super friendly. Big thing I wished I did: Tell your photographer any important people/events you want. I didn't do this and none of the pics were taken of the boys enjoying their cigars during dessert time!!

Day of Coordinator: Fairy Tale Events CHRISSI A+ Boy am I happy I had her!! She eased all my pre-wedding worries. She laid out the schedule for the day so everything was clear and I knew what I did and didn't do. The day of she was essential. I had he until' about 9pm (it really isn't as expensive as you think). She helped in the little dilemmas so that I had no idea anything was ever wrong. You need that the day of your wedding! It helped me enjoy my day to the fullest! If you are thinking of having one, call them and get Chrissi!

Limos; Camelot A+ They need no review! Everyone loves them because they are professional and do a grat job. Joe was great and because my husband is in FDNY they threw in a limo ride to our honeymoon (so perfect)!! We got all different vehicles and they were all beautiful!

DJ: Bravura Woodbury: A+ I picked Bravura for 2 reasons: I went to a wedding expo (so fun in the beginning of planning to go with your girls for drinks, food, and some vendor info) and Bravura was doing a short segment. They had all of us dancing and into it! The second reason was they ONLY do weddings. So I knew that this was their thing. THEY, TOO, DID NOT DISAPPOINT. HERE'S THE BEST PART: When I met with the owner, Tony, I wanted him to be the MC. Unfortunately he couldn't be there that day. Then on the day of he was there! He surprised me and it was so great! He had the best energy! They played all my favorites and kept us dancing all night long (my favorite!). Dancing is my thing so music was super important. We also did uplighting, SO worth it! For the cocktail hour we had a calypso band because we feel it always puts everyone in that vacation kinda fun mood. They did such a great job and so many people told me it was so nice for cocktail hour and had a great vibe! Thanks Bravura!!

The Invitations: Sir Speedy of Plainview: A+, My great friend Ali (he is the owner) did our invitations. I have to find a way to put them on here!! He did an INSANELY beautiful job!! He did our engagement invites, save the date, wedding invites, menus, envelops, everything. Not because he is my friend! They made us the BEST invites I've seen, hands down. They customized to what we wanted and blew me away.

The little things: I did a lot of things myself. Instead of a guestbook I got mason jars. I hot glued a cute ribbon. Each jar had colorful pieces of paper and pencils. I made my own sticker online (can't remember the site maybe zazzle or 123print sorry!) and it said 'Please leave your wishes for the new Mr. and Mrs.' It was so cute and now I have a great display in my home of all the little papers in a bowl. For the hotel rooms I got little bags with waters, advils, North Fork potato chips (since we got engaged there) and a personalized door hanger. My MIL made the most amazing signs to personalize the wedding decor. I also got little wedding dress and tuxedo bubbles for the ceremony from oriental trading.

Favors: Gooseberry Patch A+ Since my hubby proposed in a cookbook and we love to cook I got mini gooseberry patch cookbooks. They are the best cookbooks and the cutest. They worked out an awesome deal with me and the guests kept complimenting the idea! I wraped them in cute 'Happily Ever After' ribbons.

Card box: Door Country Woodworks etsy A+ You have to get this!!! It is the cutest cardbox and he personalizes it with your colors, names, and date. It is a great piece in my home now and is very true to my style.

Hotel: Viana Hotel and Spa A+ Westbury, The hotel is new and beautiful! I chose it because the bar was open after the wedding and that was important to me! Rooms were soo nice! Stayed there night before wedding too.

HONEYMOON!!!!! The Veranda Turks and Caicos A+++++++++ If you could go anywhere, go here!!! Flight from NY is SUPER short. Jet blue, can't go wrong. They pick you up for free @ the airport, a short ride later you arrive at a drop dead gorgeous all inclusive heaven. The water is turqoise and the sand is white. It is not your typical all inclusive. It has top notch food and top shelf liquor. The grounds are beyond breathtaking. I still dream about their asian/indian restaurant. The bartenders always made my favorite frozen drinks and yummy shots. They had so many fun excursions locally and the staff helps you set it up easily (we did horseback riding on the beach *amazing, parasailing, champagne sunset cruise, and party snorkel boat). I can' say enough good things about this resort.

Ladies if you have questions about ANYTHING feel free to contact me! I am so grateful and it so exciting! It is important to do your research, smile the whole time, put your personal touch/ be creative, treasure the pictures/video, appreciate all those who support and help you along the way and love every single minute!!

HAPPY PLANNING!
XOXO
LUCIE

lucieandchris Posted: Aug 21, 2012 10:12 PM+

lucieandchris MEMBER SINCE: 8/10 TOTAL POSTS : 137 WEDDING DATE: Jul 16, 2011

Posted: Aug 21, 2012 10:12 PM