My AMAZING, WONDERFUL 6/5/10 WEDDING REVIEW!!!!!! NRC, CAMELOT, PROLINE, CODE BLEU AND SOOOOOOOOO MUCH MORE!!!!!! LONG WITH LOTS OF PRO-PICS!!!!!!!!!! Now with Hotel review and HM review!!!!

LIW – A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Let me just say that my wedding never would’ve been what it was without LIW. I received awesome ideas, support, and advice from many of you girls, and I made some really great friends out of it too. So Ron, Kim, and the rest of the LIW crew – thank you. It wouldn’t have been the same without you all.

The Proposal
During an intense game of Rock Band, Michael asked when we were exchanging Christmas gifts and told me mine was under the tree. It was a beautiful hand-crafted Disney centerpiece with Mickey Mouse and Pluto riding a sleigh. Now, a little backstory. We had recently moved into our new house, and we were using a spare bedroom for storage. A friend of ours had spent the night the day before, so while I was at work, Michael cleared out the bedroom so we could accomodate our friend. Little did he know, his Christmas gift was in a box in that bedroom's closet. When I went to get Michael's gift out of the closet, I noticed he had piled all of boxes that were being stored in the bedroom on top of the box with his gift in the closet!. I asked him to help me move the boxes, and as he put one of the boxes down, it had a ring box on it. I stopped in my tracks, saw the box, and said 'What's that???' Michael told me it was nothing. I responded with 'No seriously, what is it.' He told me to open it myself and find out.

I opened it and immediately said 'Are you serious???' Michael said no and took it back. He took the ring out of the box, and began to put it on my finger, but I noticed he was putting it on my right hand! I quickly corrected him, and after he put the ring on the correct finger, I started hugging and kissing him. It was then that he suddenly said 'So you haven't answered me.' My response was 'You haven't asked me anything.' He looked me dead in the eye and said....'So, you wanna?'







Engagement Party

Invites - VistaPrint - A+
I wanted simple yet nice invites for my e-party invites and I certainly did not want to spend a lot of money. I checked out Vistaprint and found a nice design with a picture of an e-ring on it. Figured it was perfect. I set it up, placed the order and then realized a mistake I had made. Unfortunately with Vistaprint, you can’t cancel or change an order online once it’s been placed. So I called and they were able to cancel my order and credit me, so I could replace it with the correct wording. My invites came in about a week or so, and they were exactly what I wanted.



Favors - A Fresh Approach - A++++++
Their truffles are absolutely amazing and delectable, but I can never go in there again! My mom and I found out about them at a bridal expo when I first got engaged. They were giving out samples of their truffles and they were incredible. So when we were deciding on favors for my e-party, again we wanted something simple but enough to say “thank you.” We made an appointment to go to A Fresh Approach. Well we get there, and don’t you know there is this HUGE platter sitting on the table waiting for us to sample. We sit down and taste test, and Jeanne (the owner) walks us through each flavor. We place our order for 50 plastic jars with red ribbon and a label with my and DH’s name and Wedding Date on it, and 3 truffles in each. As we are getting ready to leave, Jeanne tells us to wait a minute. She takes the remainder of the platter in the back and puts them in a box……..She sends us home with a 2 pound box of truffles! Just what I needed when I first got engaged! Everyone at my e-party loved the favors, and when I saw Jeanne at another bridal expo the following September, she remembered me by name! I couldn’t believe it. She thanked me for posting such nice things on LIW and offered me more samples. I quickly declined, laughing telling her she was going to make me fat again, lol. But if you’re looking for quality chocolate combined with great customer service, definitely go talk to Jeanne at A Fresh Approach

Rockville Links Country Club - A+++++
This is my father’s country club. He’s been a member there for over 30 years, and my family has done several functions there. My father originally wanted me to get married there, but I wanted somewhere different, being that I’ve been there so many times. So I compromised and had my e-party here. We decided to have a brunch, because we wanted it to be a little less formal and DH LOVES brunch. So my father gave me the contact info for the banquet manager and told me to set everything up. I contacted the BM, Steve, and he sent me all of their brunch packages and seating styles. Everything was set to go, and then my DH threw me for a loop. He kept talking about how he wanted tator tots at this thing. Here I am, planning a nice brunch with omlettes, crepes, carving stations……..and he wants tator tots! So I email Steve, and explain that I have a rather odd request and can he get me tator tots for our brunch. If he couldn’t, I explained that I’d buy them and just bring them to be cooked. He told me no worries, and he would take care of it. For music, I made a few mixed cd’s and we had them played over the house system. Being that it was a brunch, I didn’t really want anything too loud or heavy, so this was perfect. Well we finally get there the day of, and everything is perfect! Music was perfect, the favors were set up perfect, and of course, there were the tator tots! Everyone had a wonderful time and thought the brunch was a great idea. I know we’ll be going to Rockville Links for years to come, for holidays, and simple dinners, and I can’t say enough about how well they treated us.




















STD’s - MagnetStreet.com - A+
I knew I wanted magnets with a picture on them, but I also knew I didn’t want to spend too much money. So I was searching online and came across Magnetstreet.com. The price was right, and everything was customizable. I found one template that fit perfectly with my color scheme, and fell in love with it. I added one of our e-pics, put together the info, and ordered them. The shipping took a while, but I wasn’t in any type of rush. When I finally sent them out, I got so many compliments on them. The quality was great, size was perfect, I couldn’t be happier.




My Bridal Shower - Palmer's American Grill – A+++++++++++
My mom and MIL apparently looked at numerous places for my shower and finally decided on Palmer’s. It’s literally two minutes from my house and we had only been there once ever for dinner. So for them to throw the shower there was a complete surprise. They did a brunch buffet and everything was phenomenal. It was actually the weekend of the HUGE thunderstorms we had out here where people lost power for a few days. But they made it work and were extremely helpful when it came to loading up the car.
















My Bachelorette Party – Awesome 80’s Prom – A++++++
My bachelorette party had potential to be a complete disaster. There was a TON of drama surrounding it and it had gotten to the point where I almost wanted the girls to call the whole thing off and just stay at home with a couple of bottles of wine. But I have to say, the day of, my girls came through big time. We started with pizza, sandwiches, and drinks at my house. Next we went to the Awesome 80’s Prom which was absolutely hilarious. I’m an 80’s prodigy and LOVE everything 80’s, so this was perfect for me. Then when that was over, we went into Webster Hall for a bit and then ended the night singing karaoke at some small karaoke bar. The funniest part though was my mom snuck in the back of the limo as we were leaving. She scared the ever living crap out of us but it was hysterical. We drove around the block and then dropped her off before heading on our way. The girls used Camelot for our limo and our driver Richie, was so awesome that I requested for him to drive for our wedding too (more below).
















Rehearsal Dinner – Pelligrini’s Catering & Sweet Karma Bakery – A+++++++
We decided we wanted a casual and relaxed rehearsal dinner, so my IL’s offered to have it in their backyard and do a catered bbq. It was great. The food was catered by Pelligrini’s in Floral Park and everything was wonderful. I knew from day one though that I wanted to get a groom’s cake for DH. Originally, a friend of mine was going to make it for me, but those plans fell through a few weeks before the dinner. I frantically started calling bakeries and finally found Brian at Sweet Karma. He was able to make exactly what I wanted, at a very reasonable price, and even gave me the red velvet upgrade for free! DH was certainly surprised when he saw all of his favorite things on one cake!








Boudoir Pictures - Kamila Harris – A-
I went in a group of four, and we drove to Philly to take bpics. We had such a great time and the drive wasn’t bad at all. Kamila made us all feel very comfortable and really helped us get into it. I was the first of the four to be photographed, so I was ridiculously nervous, but Kamila was so professional. I was worried I wouldn’t have my pictures in time, but she assured me I would. She took a little longer than she told us to get us our proofs, but when I got them, I was floored! I never expected to like them, and out of 100 pictures, I loved about 50 and liked about 75! I thought I’d have a hard time picking 20 that I like for my album, but I actually had a harder time narrowing it down to 20! I have to say, I loved my pictures, but it certainly was concerning that the proofs and album took longer than I was told. I was worried I wouldn’t have the album in time for my RD to give to DH. But Kamila pulled through and my album was delivered the night before the RD. I gave it to DH after our RD when we got home and he was floored.


Invitations – E V E N S T AR P A P E R I E – A++++++++++++++++++++++
When I started looking for invitations, all I knew was that I wanted pocketfolds with some bling, and that I’d need approximately 150 of them. I went to two local stores, and was quoted $1200 and $1500, without addressing services! That’s when I decided to email Tessa.

From the beginning, Tessa was a doll. It took about 8 weeks from when I sent in my idea inventory until I got my first mock up. From there, I’m sure I was a nightmare to work with! I knew I wanted pocketfolds with some bling, but that was all I knew. She ended up giving me 12, that’s right, 12 mockups!!!!! Then she made me 7 proofs! When I was finally able to decide on one, I felt like I almost flew through the process. What was even better was the price. I was able to get 150 pocketfold invitations, with ribbons, rhinestone slides, three inserts, and all addressing services for under $1,000! That was unheard of with the other places.

She was ridiculously patient with me, as I must’ve changed things a hundred times. The number of emails I sent her was insane. But each time she answered me, no matter how annoying I was.

Finally, about 6 months after I decided on a design, my invitations were completed and in my hands. They were PERFECT! They were even better than I had remembered from the sample and just absolutely amazing. I couldn’t have been happier.

In March, I realized there was a mistake on the RH address (totally the RH’s fault, not hers). She made new insert cards for me at the drop of a hat, and even covered the cost of materials for me!

While the process did take a while, it was well worth the wait. I had perfect, custom made invitations, that were nothing short of beautiful. And since I had started early and wasn’t in a rush, the timing wasn’t an issue for me.










Attire
Lillette’s – A++++++++++++++++
My dress - Eve of Milady – A++++++++++++++
I went for my first dress appointment at Lillette’s and worked with Gerri. Let me start by saying, I LOVE Gerri! She is so patient and such a sweetheart, I can’t get over it. I was there for about 2 hours, and must’ve tried on at least 15-20 dresses. She even took a dress off the mannequin for me that I knew wasn’t the right dress. But my sister kept bugging me to try it on, so she went ahead and got it. I found a dress that I liked, but still had an appointment elsewhere. She gave me the style numbers and prices and I went on my way. I went to my other appointment where I found the dress. I knew it was the one, but I also knew I didn’t want to buy from that store. I wanted to buy from Lillette’s if they could get me this dress. I called, with a very vague description of the dress (as the other store wouldn’t give me a style number), and Geri called Eve of Milady to find out if they could get the dress, and how much it would cost. Well she called me back immediately and told me they could order and gave me a price of $500 less than the other store! I went in about a month later to order.

When I ordered, I was told to expect my dress in March. Well in December I got the call! I went in to see it and try it on, and it was perfect! It was THE dress. I started fittings in April and it needed to be taken in. On top of that, my bustle was ridiculous. With the cathedral train, I had a 20 point bustle! But Angel, the seamstress was absolutely wonderful and numbered all of the ribbons underneath. She also helped show my sisters what needed to be done. At my second fitting, I was worried that it was still a little big up top. Angel didn’t want to bring it in more because it would show my “arm fat” lol, so instead, she put two additional hooks inside the zipper on the bodice, at no charge!








Bridesmaids Dresses - Jasmine Belsoie – A+++++
When we started looking, I took my two sisters (MOH’s), and my FSIL only. I knew if I brought all seven girls we wouldn’t get anywhere. I knew from the start I wanted them in full length, chiffon gowns, in a dark red color. So they tried on upwards of around 50 dresses between the three of them and narrowed it down to two. I emailed pictures of both dresses to the rest of the girls and had them vote. The winner was Jasmine Belsoie’s L1009 and the color was Berry. However, the color Berry was only available in the B2 line, but since Jasmine dresses are interchangeable, they could get the B2 color at an additional cost. The girls were receiving a 10% discount on the dress since I got my dress there, so it pretty much evened out.

The girls’ dresses came in around April and they were perfect! Some took their gown elsewhere for alterations, but most of them were altered there. Everyone looked gorgeous the day of.






Totally You – A
This was the third store my mom went to in search of her dress. She knew she wanted something A-line with a bolero or jacket, and that was about all she knew. The women there were great. They took my mom and I to the back and let us search through their dress selection as they helped us pick out dresses. She must’ve tried on another 10 dresses or so there. The saleslady even let me take pictures of my mom in each dress, but told me to be careful because they don’t normally allow pictures. Eventually, my mom found her dress. It was a Macis dress, and well below the budget she had allotted for it. We ordered the dress and were told it would come in about three months. Well approximately a month later, my mom got a call that her dress was ready! However, we went to the store only to find out that they had called her by mistake, and her dress would take another few weeks. Ok, it was inconvenient, but nothing major. A few weeks later, it came in for real, and it was PERFECT. However, I had heard horror stories of their alterations department, so we decided to go elsewhere to get it altered.






Kim’s Childrenswear- A-
When I went to Tri-County to look at veils at Barron’s, we came across this vendor who had racks and racks of dresses for little girls. Some were very detailed, others very simple. I knew I wanted something relatively simple, as my FG is not even three years old. I saw a dress up on the top rack, simple satin and organza, which I thought would be a perfect match to my dress and my BM’s dresses. The lady was nice enough to take the dress down and let my FG try it on. The second she put it on, we knew it was perfect. Even SHE didn’t want to take it off! The dress she tried was in ivory, but Kim was able to order it for us in white. It was absolutely adorable and came in just a few weeks later. The best part was the price….only $60!




Barron’s Bridal Boutique A++++
Everyone here on LIW raved and raved about Barron’s, so I knew I had to check it out. I also knew I didn’t want to spend too much on my veil because I wasn’t sure if I’d be wearing it all night or not. My mom and I went to Barron’s and immediately I saw exactly what I wanted. Two-tier, fingertip, with rhinestone trim. I worked with Yanna, who was an absolute sweetheart. I tried on the veil and got chills. I tried on about 5 or 6 more, but knew that the first one I tried was the one I wanted. She then took me to the other side to look at headpieces, and I found the perfect one immediately. I put down the deposit and as I was getting ready to leave she told me that now I have my something new, and then handed me a blue and white garter and said “here is your something blue.” I thought it was so sweet of her.

My veil and headpiece came in about 6 months later, because I told them I wasn’t in any rush. I went with my mother to pick it up, and saw Yanna again. She took the veil out of the box, along with the headpiece, and let me try them both on. My mother and I were both in tears, and suddenly I saw Yanna start crying! Everything was becoming so real. She made me promise her one thing though - that I bring her pictures of me with the headpiece and veil on my wedding day.




Men’s Wearhouse – B
I knew from day one that we’d have trouble with MW, but DH insisted we get tuxes from there. The order process was great, quick, and easy. However, when the tuxes were picked up two days and the day before the wedding, they were all wrong! DH’s sleeves were too long, BIL’s pants were too big and his jacket too short, and some of the GM’s were wrong too. They all had to go back and get fixed. I even had one GM who had to go back the day of the wedding! NOT what you want to hear the day before the wedding. But I can’t complain too much. They all went back, got fixed, and looked great the day of.







Hair – Lisa at Fox & Company Salon and Spa – A++++++
I’ve been going to Lisa for over 10 years now, so it was a no-brainer that she’d be the one doing my hair the day of. I don’t trust anyone else with my hair. I went for a trial about a month before the wedding, and we tried out three different styles. On the third one, she nailed it. Lisa knows me, my personality, and exactly how I like my hair done, so it was easy. On the day of, I was extremely happy with my hair and couldn’t believe the curls held in all night.










Makeup – Wendy at Fox & Company Salon and Spa – A++++++
Again, since I’ve been going to Fox & Company for years, it was assumed I’d be getting my makeup done there as well. Wendy was awesome. I went for a trial with her the same day as my hair trial, and she nailed it immediately. The only change was that she was going to put a darker lipstick on than she did for the trial. It came out perfect and stayed the entire night. I couldn’t have asked for anything better.









Holy Name of Mary – A+++++
This is my childhood church so we pretty much knew from the beginning that we’d be getting married here. My favorite part about it is the aisle……130 feet long! So after we found a hall that we loved, we made an appointment with the priest to discuss everything. We were concerned though because FH isn’t Catholic, and we live together. But we were completely honest about everything and they didn’t give us any problems. We had to sign a permission slip to get married and get it approved by the diocese because it’s technically an “interfaith” marriage, but other than that, no worries at all. Father Rob put us in the calendar, gave us our paperwork, and we were on our way.

We went to pre-cana in April 2009. It was 3 2-hour sessions on Thursday nights. So simple and quick. No FOCCUS test, no mass after, the easiest thing ever.

The church was great the day of. I’ve never laughed so much at a wedding ceremony. Father Robert was exciting, entertaining, and humorous. Everything we needed in a priest. He even gave DH and I high five’s during his homily! Everyone was raving about him, and my IL’s even sent him a letter thanking him for his wonderful service.














Programs – An LIW friend – A+++++
I wanted something simple and not too expensive, and she delivered. Gave me exactly what I wanted and they looked great.




Cradle of Aviation Museum – Nunley’s Carousel – A+++++
When DH and I were both little we used to go to Nunley’s in Baldwin all of the time. It was part of our childhoods. When I found out they had restored the carousel and put it over on Museum Row, I knew right away that’s where I wanted us to take pictures. I called up and apparently I was the first to ever call about wedding pictures, because they didn’t even know what to tell me. We finally agreed on a price and did all of the paperwork via mail. They were friendly and very accommodating. The day of, we had so much fun over there and the pictures on the carousel are just awesome.
















Florist – Personal Family Friend – A+++++
My very first friend growing up happens to be in the florist business, and as soon as we got engaged, he told DH and I that he wanted to do our flowers. I jumped at the opportunity, as I knew he used to work as the floral designer at the Waldorf Astoria. Everything was just amazing. Granted, his communication skills are lacking, but since we’re friends too, I let that go. If I really needed him, I knew where to find him. But he gave me everything at wholesale price and did a phenomenal job the day of. I told him from the beginning that I wanted nothing but red and white roses everywhere. He thought I was crazy and said he could do much more complicated pieces, but I said no. Just big red balls of roses. And he delivered.
























Photography / Videography - Proline Studios – A++++++++++++++++++++++++
I knew from the beginning I’d be using Proline for two reasons. First, they are an NRC house vendor, which means they eat for free. Second, the owner, Ed, is an old family friend who grew up around the block from me and went to school with my sister. As soon as I got engaged, my sister called him to let him know and he told her to have me come in. I can’t say enough about Ed, he’s such a sweetheart. DH and I went to meet him, and I think we were there for around 2 hours! But most of the time we were just BS’ing and only about a half hour of the meeting was real business talk. He and DH got along great, and I knew that was the deal maker. Ed threw a ton of extras into our package and even reduced his price on video for us. We took our e-pics in studio in March, and most of them came out great. Especially considering they only took about 10 minutes! I used one for our STD, and gave enlargements to immediate family. Ed also offered for us to take a second set with the photojournalist, since they were beginning to delve into more photojournalistic pictures.

About a month or so before the wedding, I had my final meeting with Georgia to go over all the specifics. She was great and so easy going.

The day of, we had Tony and Damien as our photographers, and Chris as our videographer. Let me just say that those men are nothing short of amazing. They were very easy to get along with and very patient with me, my DH, and our bridal party. Especially considering it was a hot, humid day, they were wonderful. Actually, it was funny, DH and I were watching our unedited video the other night and he suddenly said 'Wow, Damien’s a ninja!' I asked what he was talking about and he said at one point during the video he just saw Damien’s (photojournalist) head pop up, snap a picture, and disappear, lol. They were so much fun the day of and made us feel so comfortable. Our videographer was Chris. He was quiet and very subtle. Half the time I didn’t even realize he was there, which is exactly how I wanted my videographer to be. The unedited video is hilarious; I can’t wait to see the edited one.

We went on our honeymoon and our proofs and unedited video were waiting for us when we got home. I picked them up two days later and have been going through them ever since. They came out awesome and I can’t wait to make selections for my album.




















































Camelot Limos – A+++++++++++++++++++
From the very beginning I got a good vibe from Joe, the owner of Camelot. We played phone tag back and forth for about a week before we actually got a chance to speak to one another. When we finally did speak, he was more than willing to help me plan my day and give me price quotes over the phone. We made an appointment and went to visit them and see the cars the following week. When we arrived, Joe was finishing up with another couple, so his secretary took us to see the cars. They were gorgeous! She was very friendly, let us sit in them and check every little thing out. We went back and sat with Joe and knew we’d be booking them immediately. He loves his LIW girls, and even keeps binders full of reviews in his office. I was reading through some of them, when I even came across one of my own posts! DH and I spent a decent amount of time there, but most of it was planning the day and just small talk. He stuck to the price quote he gave me over the phone, and we booked the stretch Navigator and Party Bus.

A few months later, a bride posted a negative review about Camelot, but would not say what went wrong. She only said they “ruined her day.” I responded, asking what had happened, and before she could even respond, Joe was calling me to explain his side of the story. I was very appreciative that he did that and thought it was awesome that he personally called me to tell me.

I ran into Joe at the LIW Bridal Expo in September, and started joking around with him for not remembering him. He mentioned that he had a new 2010 Navigator in, and that I should see it. I began joking with him saying he should upgrade me for free since he didn’t remember me (like he was supposed to remember me out of the hundreds of brides he works with). But he did! He told me to email him in the morning and he’d give me my free upgrade! When I emailed him the next morning he kept his word!

In January, Joe got a new limo bus in stock, a white one. He called me twice to see if I wanted a free upgrade to the 2010 white limo bus, as opposed to the black one, but I decided to stick with the black one as FH wanted a black car.
My BP used Camelot for our bachelor and bachelorette parties, and everything was great. DH didn’t remember enough to tell me details about his driver, lol, but my driver was Richie and he was awesome. My mom actually snuck in the back of the limo (which he knew about) so he drove around for a bit until she surprised us and then dropped her back home. As we were on our way into the city, some of the girls needed to stop to pee, so he pulled over and they ran into a Chinese restaurant, lol. He was just so great the entire night that the next morning, I emailed Joe and asked him if Richie could be one of our drivers for the wedding.

On the day of, who showed up to pick me up from the hotel??? Richie!!! Joe honored my request to have Richie drive one of our wedding cars. Again from the second he said hi, he was awesome. We even forgot to bring the ring bearer pillows, so he stopped at a Catholic supply store on the way so we could buy one. We also had Jeff, who drove the party bus. Another awesome driver. He stopped at a Mobile station for us so one of our GM’s could go pick up a case of beer, since DH forgot to put it in the bus.

The best part was that Joe surprised me at my church with a Bentley for my dad and me to take pictures with!!!!










Code Bleu – A+++++++++++++
From the moment we saw them at a showcase, we knew we had to book them. Actually, DH said to me midway through the showcase “Book’em.” From that day on, Sean, the owner of Code Bleu, was just an absolute pleasure to work with. I had some special requests for music, one being a rare Father/Daughter dance song that was apparently new and very few people knew about it. I sent Sean the lyrics and a cd with the song and he said they’d learn it without a problem.

They were absolutely phenomenal the day of. They played everything I wanted and more, and the songs that they had to learn for us came out amazing. I’ve been getting non-stop compliments on them since that day.










Favors
The Christmas Tree Shoppe
If you know anything about my wedding planning, you know the worst part of this whole thing for me was picking out favors. It took me about 6 months to find something I was happy with. I wanted something practical, unique, functional, yet still affordable. I didn’t want to waste money on something I thought people would just throw out or chuck in a drawer. I had originally saw an adorable cheeseboard and knife set, but it happened to be discontinued. Fast forward, I found two more, and they were both also discontinued. Finally I found yet another one, but it they were $10 each and really tiny. I was on the verge of giving up when my mother and I went to the Christmas Tree Shoppe in the Deer Park Outlets one day. We were browsing around when suddenly my mother came across a display rack with 12” glass pizza server and cutter sets. They were absolutely adorable and came in two different designs. One design I really didn’t like, but the other caught my eye. The catch - I needed 130 of them! So I brought one to the front desk to ask if they had boxes of them in the back. Unfortunately they didn’t. So I asked if I could order them. I couldn’t. I was told that whatever was on the floor was it. So I grabbed two shopping carts, and my mother and I literally got down on our hands and knees in the middle of the store, and managed to find 133 of these pizza sets all in the design I liked! People were stopping us like crazy asking why we were buying so many. We must’ve looked like lunatics! We finally pushed our ridiculously heavy carts up to the checkout and went to the customer service desk. We explained to the cashier that we had 130 of them in the carts, and she could either believe us or count them all. She immediately said “I’ll take your word for it.” They even had the shipping/receiving guys bring us some empty boxes to help load into my truck. The best part……..they were only $4 each!!!

Gifts International Inc.com
Now that I had my favors, I had to figure out how I was going to wrap them. I figured the best idea would be organza bags. But I thought it would be really difficult to find something big enough to fit these pizza sets. I came across this website, and they happened to have silver organza bags that were 20” - perfect for my 12” pizza sets. Shipping was pretty quick too - they came in about a week.





North Ritz Club – A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
DH and I knew from the second we walked in, that this was where we were going to have our wedding. We had gone to a few other places, but came home with a ton of “what ifs.” We didn’t have that with NRC. We met with Maryann and she was a complete sweetheart. She gave us a tour of the place, sat with us, and went over pricing. She even threw in the Viennese Hour (an extra $10pp) for free! We asked for the available dates, and went on our way, but I knew as we left that we’d be booking there. We wanted to book the church first however, so I made an appointment with my priest that weekend. Maryann said she’d hold the date for us until the end of the weekend when we could get the ok from the church. We went to the church, booked the date, and immediately called NRC back to book it. We went in the following weekend with my dad and DH’s parents to show them and book it. Everyone fell in love when they walked in.

Mid-2009, there was the big issue in the news about the girl from Connecticut that was abducted and murdered and supposed to get married at NRC. There were rumors going around that NRC was asking for the balance due on the wedding, even though the girl was found dead the day before the wedding. Instead of believing the rumors, I called NRC and Maryann directly to get the truth. Maryann was actually pleased that I called directly, instead of just buying into the stories, and clarified everything for me. I felt even more confident in my choice with NRC after hanging up the phone.

In February, while looking at my invitations, I realized NRC had changed their address (big long story). I called up complaining that I had already gotten my invitations made with the old address and now needed to get new inserts. They offered to reimburse me for the new inserts, and I was satisfied.

We went for a tasting in March and were thrilled with our choice at NRC. The food was absolutely wonderful. In May we went for our meeting with George to discuss the details of the wedding and pick our menu. He was awesome. He threw in an upgraded station at CH and a Martini Luge! Even more so was the stupid ice sculpture. DH was set on having our ice sculpture be the Incredible Hulk. So we brought George a poster and he told us he’d have it done.

The day of……they were ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. George had everything taken care of, and the Hulk ice sculpture was AMAZING. They had a ton of CH food waiting in the bridal suite for us, so we all went up to eat a bit before going out to take pictures. While we were taking pictures, our guests began arriving early, so they opened CH a half hour early. Monica, the bridal attendant was phenomenal. She was always a stone’s throw away throughout the entire night. As soon as we arrived, she sat me down with a napkin and prepared two plates of CH food for me. Then she prepared one for DH when he finally decided to come up. She carried my train around while we were taking pictures, and then helped my MOH bustle my dress. She even held my dress up while I went to the bathroom!!!!!!

The days following the wedding, we received a ton of phone calls about how great everything was, including the food. Specifically, people couldn’t get over the VH.







































Miscellaneous
Leder’s Jewelers
FIL uses this place all the time, so DH knew from the start that this is where he’d go for my e-ring. It was custom made and exactly what I wanted; a marquis center stone with two side stones. DH hit the nail on the head with this one. They were great for my e-ring, but when I went to go for my wedding band, I told them exactly what I wanted and the jeweler kept questioning me. Then he finally said he’d look into it an call me back. Well that was the last I ever heard from him.

Zales
When I was looking for wedding bands, I happened to stop in Zales Outlet one day. I originally thought I was going to need something custom made to match my e-ring, but low and behold, they had a ring that fit perfect. I brought DH back a few weeks later to see it, and we bought it on the spot. Unfortunately, we had to place a special order, because I have unusually small fingers (size 3.5, lol). It took about 5 weeks to come in, but when it did, it was perfect. Even better was the price. It was less than half the cost of what we were planning to spend!

Overstock
DH wanted a Tungsten band and realized he could get them on Overstock for really cheap. We ordered one, and he loved it, but it was too small. So we returned it and got the next size up. Again, too small. We then returned that one as well, and the next one finally fit. It was exactly what he wanted, very inexpensive, and Overstock customer service was great to work with for returns.



Ballroom Dance LI – Dance Lessons
My mom bought us a package of dance lessons as our Christmas present because she knew I wanted to take lessons and this would be the only way DH would take them too. Another LIW girl recommended John so we went with him. He was friendly and fun to work with and made our first dance awesome.












LIW member – S cake topper
When I first joined LIW, there was an ’09 bride selling a crystal S cake topper. I knew that was exactly what I wanted for mine, so I immediately FM’d her to see how much she wanted for it. She sold it to me for $10 and it was in perfect condition!




Before the I do’s.com – Bride and groom cake topper
One night while sitting at home doing wedding research I came across this cake topper. If anyone knows my DH and me, you know that this is extremely appropriate for us so I just had to buy it. I never told DH about it and he got such a kick out of it the night of the wedding.






Papermart.com - pastry boxes
I wanted to put pastry boxes out by the Viennese hour so that people could take pastries home with them. Papermart seemed to have the best prices and sold everything by the case. I was able to get 250 boxes for around $60.

Buy merchant.com - Chinese slippers
I went to a wedding a few years ago that put out flip flop baskets. I thought this was such a great idea for women who can’t be in heels for long. After that wedding, I always said I’d do that. After thinking about it, I knew I didn’t want to do flip flops because if women were wearing stockings, they couldn’t use them. So I decided to go with Chinese slippers. I needed around 100 pair, and knew I didn’t want to spend too much money on them. I asked around at Tri-County and Shopper’s Village, but the cheapest price was around $1.50 per pair. I went looking for wholesale sites online and came across this site. They ended up costing around $1.40 per pair (after shipping) and came in a box of 96, all assorted sizes. Just what I needed.




Mysweetmemories.com - Channa Plaque
Let me just say, Channa is an absolute sweetheart. I found out about her through LIW and saw some of her plaques and fell in love. I think she made up about 10 proofs for me before I was able to choose one. Even DH loves the plaque! When it came time to think of gifts for our parents, I immediately knew that I was going to get one for my IL’s. My MIL was raving about ours that I knew it would be the perfect gift for her. Channa was more than accommodating again and made another one for me. Unfortunately, when it came in the mail, it was chipped. I sent Channa pictures of it, and she sent out a new one at no charge that week! The second one came perfect and MIL loved it.




BP gifts
Dawnsdesignerjewelry.com - Bought custom made FG jewelry from here. It was perfect and came in a timely manner.
Mele jewelry company – FG jewelry box
China Connection - This is where I ordered my BM’s their Swarovski jewelry. My mom is friendly with the owner, so they gave me 25% off all of the pieces.
Kohl’s - I ordered Totes Isotoners ballet slippers for all of my BM’s here. They came in a timely manner, and were great when I had to do exchanges in the stores for sizing.
E.L.F. - I ordered makeup brush kits and bath and body kits from here. They were great, except one of the bath and body kits came opened. I called and they told me to keep what I could and they’d send another immediately at no charge.
Myweddingreceptionideas.com – jewelry pouches
Topnotchgiftshop.com – Lolita wine glasses
Americanbridal.com – tote bags
I bought the tote bags while they were having their $5 sale. What a great idea! They were such better quality than I expected, and for $5 they were awesome!
ETCtrade.com – RB & FG picture frames
LillianVernon.com – RB duffel bags
Amazon.com – Citizen Eco-Drive Watches


Four Points Sheraton - A
We used them for just about everything: our hotel room, OOT guests, hospitality hour, shuttle, after party, and brunch. For the most part, they were great to work with very easy. There was a slight mishap with the hospitality hour when we were trying to arrange it, as the girl who I was making arrangements with was let go and apparently some of the things she promised were not feasible. But after speaking with the hotel manager in person, we were all very comfortable and happy with our choice. Also, many of my guests decided to wait until the last minute to book their rooms, and when they called they were told the block and hotel were both booked up (which I knew they weren’t.) After speaking with the sales manager, she offered to extend my block for 5 more days so that more people could book up rooms. The night before and day of they were great. They let my florist in without a problem, my mom’s boyfriend came in to drop off food for us, and all of the guests got their OOT bags without a hitch. They even transferred all of my stuff from the night before and the morning of to the bridal suite for that evening. To my knowledge there were no problems with the shuttle, and apparently on one of the trips after the reception, it stopped at a gas station so my parents, DH’s parents, and some of our BP could get cigarettes and beer. The after party at the bar was awesome. Everyone continued the party through the night and then we finally decided to pow-wow outside, lol. Eventually, by the time DH and I got to our room, it was almost 5am! DH and I had the bridal suite which was gorgeous. They put rose petals on the bed and in the Jacuzzi, and chocolates and champagne in the room. Brunch was great too, and VERY much appreciated by all of our guests who took advantage of it.










Honeymoon – Celebrity Equinox 11-night Mediterranean Cruise – A+++++++++++++++++++
We had an absolutely amazing honeymoon. We booked the cruise through Creative Travel International, and Bobbi, the travel agent was extremely helpful throughout the process. We also used an Italian travel agent for our couple of spare days in Rome and she set us up with a personal tour guide who was incredible. I have to say, if you want to see several places in one trip, this is the way to go! We made two stops in Italy, three in Greece, and two in Turkey. The sites were spectacular and unbelievable. The food on the ship was phenomenal, and the staff were top notch. We didn’t have any complaints at all and are contemplating booking another cruise sometime next year. It was just amazing; I have no other words for it.











































Hope this was helpful for you!

Re: My AMAZING, WONDERFUL 6/5/10 WEDDING REVIEW!!!!!! NRC, CAMELOT, PROLINE, CODE BLEU AND SOOOOOOOOO MUCH MORE!!!!!! LONG WITH LOTS OF PRO-PICS!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks Laura, love your review and I am as bad as you with the invites and favors. Since we have the same colors I was really looking forward to your review. You just gave me some more ideas.

Re: My AMAZING, WONDERFUL 6/5/10 WEDDING REVIEW!!!!!! NRC, CAMELOT, PROLINE, CODE BLEU AND SOOOOOOOOO MUCH MORE!!!!!! LONG WITH LOTS OF PRO-PICS!!!!!!!!!!

absolutely beautiful Laura

Re: My AMAZING, WONDERFUL 6/5/10 WEDDING REVIEW!!!!!! NRC, CAMELOT, PROLINE, CODE BLEU AND SOOOOOOOOO MUCH MORE!!!!!! LONG WITH LOTS OF PRO-PICS!!!!!!!!!!

Great review Laura! I always love seeing NRC pictures

Re: My AMAZING, WONDERFUL 6/5/10 WEDDING REVIEW!!!!!! NRC, CAMELOT, PROLINE, CODE BLEU AND SOOOOOOOOO MUCH MORE!!!!!! LONG WITH LOTS OF PRO-PICS!!!!!!!!!!

Great review!!! Your cake was phenomenal!!!!

Re: My AMAZING, WONDERFUL 6/5/10 WEDDING REVIEW!!!!!! NRC, CAMELOT, PROLINE, CODE BLEU AND SOOOOOOOOO MUCH MORE!!!!!! LONG WITH LOTS OF PRO-PICS!!!!!!!!!!

You had the most beautiful wedding with an incredible attention to detail!
Everything from the bridesmaids' dresses, to the flower girl dress, to the centerpieces were so lovely and perfectly expressed your theme.
I also LOVE your dress. It is exquisite and you couldn't have looked more beautiful in it.
Thanks for the detailed review and congratulations on being married !!!!

Re: My AMAZING, WONDERFUL 6/5/10 WEDDING REVIEW!!!!!! NRC, CAMELOT, PROLINE, CODE BLEU AND SOOOOOOOOO MUCH MORE!!!!!! LONG WITH LOTS OF PRO-PICS!!!!!!!!!!

great review!! everything looked amazing!!

Re: My AMAZING, WONDERFUL 6/5/10 WEDDING REVIEW!!!!!! NRC, CAMELOT, PROLINE, CODE BLEU AND SOOOOOOOOO MUCH MORE!!!!!! LONG WITH LOTS OF PRO-PICS!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks so much for the great review. Everything looked incredible!

Re: My AMAZING, WONDERFUL 6/5/10 WEDDING REVIEW!!!!!! NRC, CAMELOT, PROLINE, CODE BLEU AND SOOOOOOOOO MUCH MORE!!!!!! LONG WITH LOTS OF PRO-PICS!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats Laura! Everything looked beautiful.........

Re: My AMAZING, WONDERFUL 6/5/10 WEDDING REVIEW!!!!!! NRC, CAMELOT, PROLINE, CODE BLEU AND SOOOOOOOOO MUCH MORE!!!!!! LONG WITH LOTS OF PRO-PICS!!!!!!!!!!

Great review..you guys look great
Congrats

Re: My AMAZING, WONDERFUL 6/5/10 WEDDING REVIEW!!!!!! NRC, CAMELOT, PROLINE, CODE BLEU AND SOOOOOOOOO MUCH MORE!!!!!! LONG WITH LOTS OF PRO-PICS!!!!!!!!!!

Great review!! You look absolutely stunning, and I LOVE your bridesmaid dresses!

Re: My AMAZING, WONDERFUL 6/5/10 WEDDING REVIEW!!!!!! NRC, CAMELOT, PROLINE, CODE BLEU AND SOOOOOOOOO MUCH MORE!!!!!! LONG WITH LOTS OF PRO-PICS!!!!!!!!!!

Great review! Everything looked beyond amazing and you looked absolutely gorgeous!!

Re: My AMAZING, WONDERFUL 6/5/10 WEDDING REVIEW!!!!!! NRC, CAMELOT, PROLINE, CODE BLEU AND SOOOOOOOOO MUCH MORE!!!!!! LONG WITH LOTS OF PRO-PICS!!!!!!!!!!

YEA LAURA!! I love it all ! Congrats again!!

Re: My AMAZING, WONDERFUL 6/5/10 WEDDING REVIEW!!!!!! NRC, CAMELOT, PROLINE, CODE BLEU AND SOOOOOOOOO MUCH MORE!!!!!! LONG WITH LOTS OF PRO-PICS!!!!!!!!!!

WOW WHAT A GREAT REVIEW!

Re: My AMAZING, WONDERFUL 6/5/10 WEDDING REVIEW!!!!!! NRC, CAMELOT, PROLINE, CODE BLEU AND SOOOOOOOOO MUCH MORE!!!!!! LONG WITH LOTS OF PRO-PICS!!!!!!!!!!

Great Review !!!!

Re: My AMAZING, WONDERFUL 6/5/10 WEDDING REVIEW!!!!!! NRC, CAMELOT, PROLINE, CODE BLEU AND SOOOOOOOOO MUCH MORE!!!!!! LONG WITH LOTS OF PRO-PICS!!!!!!!!!!

O.M.G!!!!! amazing review!!! Thank you so much!!!

Re: My AMAZING, WONDERFUL 6/5/10 WEDDING REVIEW!!!!!! NRC, CAMELOT, PROLINE, CODE BLEU AND SOOOOOOOOO MUCH MORE!!!!!! LONG WITH LOTS OF PRO-PICS!!!!!!!!!!

Your review kicks a$$! Awesome details and pics, thank you for posting!!

You guys look so happy, congratulations

Re: My AMAZING, WONDERFUL 6/5/10 WEDDING REVIEW!!!!!! NRC, CAMELOT, PROLINE, CODE BLEU AND SOOOOOOOOO MUCH MORE!!!!!! LONG WITH LOTS OF PRO-PICS!!!!!!!!!!

Your pictures are amazing!! You are a gorgeous bride and the review was so informative. Thank you!

Re: My AMAZING, WONDERFUL 6/5/10 WEDDING REVIEW!!!!!! NRC, CAMELOT, PROLINE, CODE BLEU AND SOOOOOOOOO MUCH MORE!!!!!! LONG WITH LOTS OF PRO-PICS!!!!!!!!!!

What an amazing review!!!! It looks like youhad a wonderful day. Congratulations

Re: My AMAZING, WONDERFUL 6/5/10 WEDDING REVIEW!!!!!! NRC, CAMELOT, PROLINE, CODE BLEU AND SOOOOOOOOO MUCH MORE!!!!!! LONG WITH LOTS OF PRO-PICS!!!!!!!!!!

You looked beatiful and happy. I loved your review.