~*MY DREAM WEDDING* June 2, 2011*- Lots of pics and Recap Video: Villa Lombardi's, Patken Photographer, Tommy's Tunes, Flowers by Burton, Legend Limousines, Christy Ann Cosmetics & more!*~

After our 2 and half year engagement, I cannot believe I am sitting down to write my review. The whole day was an absolute dream, we were truly blessed. The entire process was really. A few things here and there will always not go as planned, but we really did not encounter any serious problems at all. Without this site I don't know what I would have done to help keep me sane. It has been so nice to meet alot of the girls and form such close friendships. Thanks Ron, Liz, and Kim for everything!!!


Our Engagement:

Christmas Day 2008-
Frankie had his niece give me a 'special present'. When the top fell off, it was an ornament with our names, the date and said 'From this day forward, Will you Marry Me??' I could still cry thinking about it because it meant so much to have our family around us as we took this next step in our lives together.







Engagement Ring & Wedding Bands: JARED: A+
They were fantastic to deal with and DH liked the idea that if anything went wrong, we could always go right back to them since we live close. Now anytime we need to purchase jewelry we go there. We really cannot say enough about their wonderful staff, our experiece was great. They do the appraisals right there so it was very convenitent.



Engagment Party: THE ELK'S LODGE SMITHTOWN, Catering: SEVEN BROTHERS in EAST NORTHPORT A+ for both!

I kept going back and forth with the idea of having a party or not, and came to the conlusion and if we didn't I felt I would regret it. So we did what we could cost effectively. Because we added a liquor package, it definitely ended up costing more than originally planned and we pretty much broke even. It the end, we had a great party, and we celebrated our engagement since it was a long one. The room was so pretty and the food was great!













Bridal Shower: THE GARDEN GRILL-SMITHTOWN: A+
This has always been our favorite restaurant. The staff and food were great, very attentive and everything I have ever put in my mouth there is excellent! The cake was great as well! My mom worked very hard to give me that shower, and I will never forget it. My girls were great decorating and helping my mom anyway she needed.











Invitations: yourinvitationplace.com:MEDIA PLUS online: A+
I tried to keep this cost down since we were on a budget, and I was pretty happy with the turn out. Price was way low and presenations was just enough, I was very happy with them.



Gown, Veil, & Headpiece: PARADISE BRIDALS- A+
In regard to my gown, I had no problems what so ever. I will be grading them seperately a few times since we used them alot. I had been to so many bridal stores, and I ended up staying with Paradise because of how they made me feel. I was very rushed, spoken nasty to, and felt like 'just another bride' everywhere else I went. Barbara my consultant was the best. She helped me as long or as many times as I needed, and found the perfect matching veil and headpiece. By the time our wedding came around she had left, but I still had loved all of the women I dealt with there. I was a nut and bought my dress 2 years, yes 2 YEARS before my wedding. So glad that I did, because I am still so in love with it to this day. I needed to know what I was wearing to plan the rest around it. I purchased it 2/09 and it was shortly after discontinued. Totally felt like it was meant to be. It arrived in May of 2010, and it was stored there. It was absolutely perfect just need it to be taken in since I had ordered a hallow to hem originally, nothing would come off the bottom. My seamstress Roaslie was so adorable I loved her. I had changed the shoes I was originally wearing, so that plus losing weight, it fell low to the ground. Rosalie worked with me to add tulle and poof out the bottom a few times until it was perfect. I did not even max out the alterations, which I was afraid of, it was not bad at all. I really had a great experience.







My Jewelry:
SWAROVSKI: A+: Necklace, C: Bracelet,
From the moment I saw this set I knew I wanted it for my wedding day. I was in love with it, until my bracelet flew off during my reception. Since this was not cheaply made, I was really upset. One of my friend's hunsband's fixed the clasp with a knife somehow, but even if I wear it today I can see it still does not close properly.



MACY'S: Earrings: A+
I loved how the earrings had the same crystal look as the ones scattered on my dress. That little irredescent sparkle was just enough!


Bridesmaids & Flower Girls Dresses: PARADISE BRIDAL: B-
It is very hard for me to give them this since I really loved going there, but I feel that what I went through days before my wedding was unnecessary. While all orders were placed in a timely manner, in February I added a flower girl and bridesmaid. Rush fees were a must as it was past the cut off date, and they were paid. My sister's dress and my fourth flower girl's did not show up until we caused a scene on May 24th (My mother's 50th Birthday, mind you this is not where we had planned to spend it.) DH met us down there as well. I was pretty much given the run around again and again, over the phone and not given a tracking number. So we decided to go there. When I tell you we had such a long engagement, I was not stressed out at all..UNTIL NOW! I really was offended when I had a breakdown, and they tried to say it was my nerves, no I want the dresses because they still need fittings as my wedding was 9 days away with Memorial Day thrown in between! Low and behold they miraculously came in the next day.. As I looked at the contracts later on, both did not have a WEAR date written, so of course it would not have been rushed. I guess there was an overnight rush?? It made no sense to me. Especially since first it was coming from China, then NYC. Bottom line, they were there finally.
Also when they went to pick up dresses, a few of my girls were told they were not ready yet, and had to make trips back which I thought was very rude. After all of that was taken care of, I was extrememly happy and everyone looked beautiful. Then there was the reception. My niece's dress came apart at the seam where they had it taken it in. My sister in law waited to tell my when I got back from my honeymoon, why she was in her PJ's so early. A few of the girls' bustles broke, as they had a small train. So for the reception and that was pretty annoying for them. Like I said, everyone looked beautiful in the end, I was just very disappointed with what happened.




Tuxes: PARADISE BRIDAL: B
All tuxes were great everything looked nice and we were very happy. But along with the bridesmaid issue, was DH's tux. It did not show up until the DAY BEFORE THE WEDDING...while they kept trying to make it like it was no problem, it would be there in time, our wedding was memorial day week so we lost a few days there. I'm sorry, but the groom not having a tux is kind of a BIG DEAL! What if it didn't fit right etc??It came, it was fine, and he looked perfect, but I thought again that was totally unnecessary considering it was all ordered on time.



Mother of the Bride Dress: PARADISE BRIDAL A++++
I cannot say enough about Elaine in the MOB Room. She went crazy for weeks looking for a designer that my mom would fit into so that she did not have to have it custom made. Also, all of the alterations were just perfect. My mom looked beautiful I was so happy she found a dress she loved!


Rehearsal:
Church: STS. PHILIP AND JAMES in St. James: A- I was kind of taken back how people who run a rehearsal don't know what is going on. They had us rehearsing for a regular ceremony, when we were having a mass. Also, one woman was a little rude about the kids. One of the women made a comment 'What are you going to do if they run up on the altar??', in regard to the two younger ones who were very good at the rehearsal mind you. I said they are my nieces it will be fine! I thought that was out of line and not her place to say.

Dinner : Also was at the Garden Grill since it was so close to the church. I would say A- on this one, only because the food seemed to take a really long time to come out. Different room than my shower but it was also great.





Groomsman Gifts: Macy's A+ Wallets

Bridesmaids Gifts: Macy's A+ Neckacle and Earrings

Make-Up: CHRISTY ANN COSMETICS: A+++++++++
I don't even know where to begin to describe how much I love this company. I was all set to do my own makeup for my wedding, because I have such OCD with it, and then a few days before our E-Pics I saw a girlfriend of mine from college had gotten married. When I saw the makeup she had I was floored. I had to have her! I called Christy and she was available so I went for my trial the day of our E-Pics. I was very pleased. When I walked through the door my sister loved it and couln't wait to have hers done for the wedding.


The day of the wedding Christy and Vicortia were prompt and brought such excitement to my day. They are such sweethearts and I feel like I've known them forever. They did a flawless job as usual. I was most worried about my mom since she is highly allergic to everything, but we bought her own makeup and Vicortia applied it for her. I was so nervous that I would cry my entire face off since my family and I are big criers. An emotional ceremony, first dance, sibling dance, parent dances, and it all stayed in place. I have been told what a 'messy crier' I am so I was not sure I could control this. I also danced the night away, definitely breaking a sweat and everything stayed put. Between the airbrush makeup and gel eyeliner, I was good to go! All the girls that used them said it was the best makeup they had ever had done for a wedding, which I was really happy about. My one BM booked her and we will be using her for her wedding this September.







Limos: LEGEND LIMOUSINE: Smithtown- A
We were so happy with the pricing we received as well as the cleanliness and courteous drivers. We booked the 20 Passenger Escalade for transportation to and from the church. Then for us we booked a 10 Passenger Cadillac DTS so we could have a private trip to the hall. The company called said the Escalade over heated and they were sending a new one. The same one ended up coming I'm pretty sure and all was fine. My pickup was a half hour late therefore I was a half hour late to the church. I called to complain after we got back from our honeymoon, but Bobby assured me his driver was there and ready it was the guys themselves who who waiting on people to leave. Which on our end I still have not gotten a straight story to this day but I missed half my cocktail hour didn't have time to fix my hair, stuff like that so I was upset. But he was willing to show me records and I confirmed with my brother that they were infact there in time. Definitely should have allowed more time in between but because the wedding was on a Thursday, I wanted everything to be close in time for convenince. We had booked a town car to take us to East Wind after the wedding and Bobby surprised us as upgraded us to the Bently. We also used Legend as transportation to and from Newark Airport for our honeymoon and again both drivers were a pleasure to deal with. We highly recommend them.




Photographer and Videograpy- PATKEN PHOTOGRAPHER:
Photo: Jessie
Video: Tim

Overall photo and video day of and outcome A+
Editing department B-

My sister in law made me fall in love with Patken when I first met DH when I saw her proofs and album. I loved the style photojournalistic, yet traditional at the same time. It was definitely beneficial to have the engagement shoot since it was included in our package along with save the dates to get comfortable with our photographer.






Jessie was so awesome to work with. She called the week of the wedding and we spoke over the phone. I actually was so confident in her, that I did not give her a must take list. There were only a few things I requested, and left the rest up to her. She nailed EVERYTHING. We were so blown away when we got them back I just still couldn't believe they were ours. She is so atristic and under the time limit we encountered, she really worked so well. There is not one picture I can say that I am missing. Tim was also so great to work with, my parents loved talking with him. He made the day so much easier becasue you didn't feel like you had a camera in your face constatly. He also is so talented and once our video was perfected, I really am in love with it he did a great job capturing our day so wonderfully.

Proof Album

Our video recap (excuse the quality it's off the TV):

































I gave the editing department a B, because things that are just basic were wrong. Pictures were left out of my original proof, and the date was wrong every single email I received about 5 I would say. It was very frusrtating, but I did not make a big deal. Also on the video the sound was off one time, date was wrong at the end of recap and there was a misunderstanding about what type of video we wanted. We made them fix it and the third one is perfect. As is our album when it went to print, and we just picked it up it is beautiful. I just feel this was negligence. They are such a great company, and their work is phenominal, but when it comes to the editing whoever is doing it behind the scenes needs to pay more attention.

DJ: TOMMY'S TUNES A++++++
They were out of this world!!! Let me start off by saying I had the lowest expectations of people dancing because it was a Thursday night. Dan our Mc, was great totally got the party going and Dominick our DJ was right there with him. We were able to choose both after seeing them perform at a showcase at our RH and were really excited to book with them. I loved each meeting we had with Dan. We were there for hours at our first one, feeling like we knew him forever. The final meeting was memorable too, just how he took his time to go over everything with us. Anytime I had a question or wanted to make a change he was right there to answer or call me back and help. I love that guy. We booked the uplighting which added a modern aspect to our room it looked great. Also we had the video montage played during dinner which was perfect, and the zapshot photographer. I did not know what to expect from a zap shot photographer, but let me tell you John is so talented! He got some beautiful shots. From start to finish the reception was absolutely perfect! They kept that dancefloor packed all night long!
!ZAP SHOT PHOTOS


Florist: FLOWERS BY BURTON: A
First of all I don't even know how flowers could be so low in price and so beautiful. When they were delivered I cried lol They were just gorgeous!!! MY only complaint, is that there was baby's breath in the bouteneirs which I did not want or ask for, and my bouquet was gigantic. I did not want any stems showing but with the cuff I gave them I said if you can't use this wrap it in this white satin from the FG's alterations. They did both so I carried around a tree all day lol. It was beautiful but these are my only complaints all flowers were really perfect the centerpieces were so pretty I was so happy with them and the bouquets also.







Channa Plaque: MY SWEET MEMORIES - A+
Channa was wonderful to work with emailing proofs back and forth until it was just perfect!


Cake Topper: Toppers with Glitz A+++++
These toppers had been featured on Platinum Weddings, but I can't remember how I found it. I'm pretty sure I was just googling crystal cake toppers forever and stumbled upon it. WOW. Even more beautiful when it arrived in person. It was so eye catching, I received so many compliments on it. You can choose the color of crystals and font and email back and forth. It was another great vendor to work with.



Unity & Memorial Candle: A+- ETSY vendor Wreathartist
A pleasure to work with emailing back and forth the turn out was just beautiful!



Bouquet Cuff: ETSY Vendor BRIDALBLING: A-
I absolutely loved the bling cuff, the only problem was as the day went on the crystal wrap was lifting but it was gorgeous and did the job!

Bouquet photo memorial charm: ETSY Vendor YUM YUM PENDANTS: A-
These beautiful charms were so meaningful for me to have on my bouquet so that I could see my Grandparents' faces the day of my wedding. My only complaint was the one of my Grandma came unglued before the reception and thankfully one of the staff at Villa found it on the floor :( Not sure what happened but I was just happy it was found.


Church: STS. PHILIP AND JAMES CHURCH, St. James -A
I went to elementary school here and had so many memories. I have to say other than the rehearsal women, I love this church, always have and always will. Our Pre-Cana was a weekend of Friday night, Saturday morning, and Sunday morning followed by a mass. It was such a great experience, and I'm not going to lie I was kind of dreading it. The group discussions and questions we bounced off eachother back and forth really brought out so many issues that may not always be discussed. The last day before we went to mass, DH and I wrote eachother a letter that the church keeps and will mail to us on our first anniversary. That was something I had never heard of before but loved the idea. Another thing I enjoyed was during the mass, they had us all go up on the altar face our spouse to be and they blessed our engagement rings and hands. I still get emotional thiking about this all, because it was so put into perspective for us that weekend. It was truly an amazing experience. The church itself is just beautiful and will always hold a special place in my heart. Father Tony who married us, was the best he was so entertaining not boring at all and his personality is so uplifting. I am really happy that he was able to perform our ceremony.

And last, but not least..
Reception Hall: VILLA LOMBARDI'S- E!!!!!! beyond A++++++++++

When I was in elementary school, SSPJ had a rating on our report card higher than an A, it was an E. E meant OUTSTANDING, and that is exactly what I have to grade Villa. As a 12 year old girl, I had modeled in a fashion show there. I thought...'Wow I want to have my wedding here!' Who thinks of this that young?? Me! lol When we got engaged we knew we would be on a budget, and were pricing out different ways and places to save money. I did not want to go anywhere near Villa knowing it was my one dream, and I could not have it. A family member of my SIL's works there and she talked us into 'just checking it out' I wanted to cry the second I walked in because now I wanted it that much more. Our expereince from start to finish was flawless. They worked with us on a price and surprisingly were giving us the most for our money. They still were the lowest out of all the halls we went to see, to book this random Thursday night in June we had chose. That was it we signed the contract in January 2009, and we booked for June 2, 2011. Which seemed a lifetime away. Time just flew by and before we knew it, it was time for our final meetings. Still smacking myself how am I having my wedding here?? I still could not get over it. My parents worked so hard to help us and they truly gave my DREAM WEDDING. Everything in the end up to the planning was great. We worked with Annemarie, and she was such a sweetheart. My parents loved going in to meet with her because they all related to eachother so much. We really felt so welcomed by all of the Lombardi's staff. The day of went off without a hitch, the food was excellent as usual and there was so much of it! The grounds were beautifuly manicured and the hall itself was spotless. When we walked in to preview the room, it literally took my breath away how gorgeous everything looked. We are still hearing how it was one of the best weddings everyone has been to, which is the highest compliment that we could have received. I must add that we had an unfortunate death a week before the wedding of our friend's sister. There was a grace period that we would receive a refund and we did receive it a few months ago. I thought that was something very honorable that I needed to share. They surpassed their motto in our book 'Reputation is Everything.'





Special thanks to Mother Nature A+++++++++++++ I could not have hoped for a more perfect day! 74, sunshine, and a little breeze.

I think back to the planning from the engagement, all the way through the day. It really goes so fast. I enjoyed every minute of it, and that is my advice to all of you. Do not let anyone bring you down or take the joy out of anything during this process. I still can't believe what a hit our Thursday night wedding turned out to be, after it was so negatively looked down upon by people that were not even invited. We were really able to acheive everything we could have wanted and more. I expected it to pour rain, no guests to come, or dance and it was the complete opposite. We had to guarantee 125, and I just accepted that we would have to pay for alot of extras. We were blessed with 140. I sat back a few times, and took it all in. Once at the church, and once at the reception and just said, wow we did it, and all of these people love us so much they did not care what day, time, month etc, they are all here for us. I was just told last week by someone, they had never seen a bride smile so much. It was truly the best day of my life, because not only did we have this beautiful perfect wedding, but I found my husband that I will spend the rest of my life with. Seeing his emotion, the tears all throughout the day, just confirmed how thankful we are to have found eachother. I hope you all enjoyed my review as much as I enjoyed writing it! BEST OF LUCK TO YOU ALL!

Re: ~*MY DREAM WEDDING* June 2, 2011*- Lots of pics and Recap Video: Villa Lombardi's, Patken Photographer, Tommy's Tunes, Flowers by Burton, Christy Ann Cosmetics & more!*~

Great review. Your dress and flowers were beautiful, thanks for sharing.

Re: ~*MY DREAM WEDDING* June 2, 2011*- Lots of pics and Recap Video: Villa Lombardi's, Patken Photographer, Tommy's Tunes, Flowers by Burton, Christy Ann Cosmetics & more!*~

Thanks for the review. Everything looked perfect and you were beautiful.

Re: ~*MY DREAM WEDDING* June 2, 2011*- Lots of pics and Recap Video: Villa Lombardi's, Patken Photographer, Tommy's Tunes, Flowers by Burton, Christy Ann Cosmetics & more!*~

Great review! You looked amazing and I LOVE the Xmas proposal w/the ornament!!!!

Re: ~*MY DREAM WEDDING* June 2, 2011*- Lots of pics and Recap Video: Villa Lombardi's, Patken Photographer, Tommy's Tunes, Flowers by Burton, Christy Ann Cosmetics & more!*~

Great review!! Thank you for sharing. You looked beautiful!

Re: ~*MY DREAM WEDDING* June 2, 2011*- Lots of pics and Recap Video: Villa Lombardi's, Patken Photographer, Tommy's Tunes, Flowers by Burton, Christy Ann Cosmetics & more!*~

Wonderful review--everything was so beautiful!! Congratulations!

Re: ~*MY DREAM WEDDING* June 2, 2011*- Lots of pics and Recap Video: Villa Lombardi's, Patken Photographer, Tommy's Tunes, Flowers by Burton, Christy Ann Cosmetics & more!*~

Great review! Everything looked fantastic Congratulations!!

Re: ~*MY DREAM WEDDING* June 2, 2011*- Lots of pics and Recap Video: Villa Lombardi's, Patken Photographer, Tommy's Tunes, Flowers by Burton, Christy Ann Cosmetics & more!*~

Great review!!! you looked gorgeous!

Re: ~*MY DREAM WEDDING* June 2, 2011*- Lots of pics and Recap Video: Villa Lombardi's, Patken Photographer, Tommy's Tunes, Flowers by Burton, Christy Ann Cosmetics & more!*~

Great review....everything looked beautiful!!!

Re: ~*MY DREAM WEDDING* June 2, 2011*- Lots of pics and Recap Video: Villa Lombardi's, Patken Photographer, Tommy's Tunes, Flowers by Burton, Christy Ann Cosmetics & more!*~

Beautiful pics, you were a gorgeous bride! Everything looked amazing! Thanks so much for sharing!

Re: ~*MY DREAM WEDDING* June 2, 2011*- Lots of pics and Recap Video: Villa Lombardi's, Patken Photographer, Tommy's Tunes, Flowers by Burton, Christy Ann Cosmetics & more!*~

BEAutifullllllllllll!!!!!!

Re: ~*MY DREAM WEDDING* June 2, 2011*- Lots of pics and Recap Video: Villa Lombardi's, Patken Photographer, Tommy's Tunes, Flowers by Burton, Christy Ann Cosmetics & more!*~

Awesome review! Your wedding was gorgeous!

Re: ~*MY DREAM WEDDING* June 2, 2011*- Lots of pics and Recap Video: Villa Lombardi's, Patken Photographer, Tommy's Tunes, Flowers by Burton, Christy Ann Cosmetics & more!*~

You made a gorgeous bride!! Congrats!

PS I LOVE the little tux on your dog!

Re: ~*MY DREAM WEDDING* June 2, 2011*- Lots of pics and Recap Video: Villa Lombardi's, Patken Photographer, Tommy's Tunes, Flowers by Burton, Christy Ann Cosmetics & more!*~

Amazing review! You looked stunning and your wedding looked like so much fun!!

Re: ~*MY DREAM WEDDING* June 2, 2011*- Lots of pics and Recap Video: Villa Lombardi's, Patken Photographer, Tommy's Tunes, Flowers by Burton, Christy Ann Cosmetics & more!*~

Wonderful review!! Everything was beautiful!! Im so happy to finally see a video from Patken. Looked great!!

Re: ~*MY DREAM WEDDING* June 2, 2011*- Lots of pics and Recap Video: Villa Lombardi's, Patken Photographer, Tommy's Tunes, Flowers by Burton, Christy Ann Cosmetics & more!*~

Great review! Thanks for sharing!

Re: ~*MY DREAM WEDDING* June 2, 2011*- Lots of pics and Recap Video: Villa Lombardi's, Patken Photographer, Tommy's Tunes, Flowers by Burton, Christy Ann Cosmetics & more!*~

Wow you are a gorgeous bride!!! Great review!!! congratulations!!!

Re: ~*MY DREAM WEDDING* June 2, 2011*- Lots of pics and Recap Video: Villa Lombardi's, Patken Photographer, Tommy's Tunes, Flowers by Burton, Christy Ann Cosmetics & more!*~

So beautiful!! I love your centerpieces!!

Re: ~*MY DREAM WEDDING* June 2, 2011*- Lots of pics and Recap Video: Villa Lombardi's, Patken Photographer, Tommy's Tunes, Flowers by Burton, Christy Ann Cosmetics & more!*~

Absolutely gorgeous!!!

Re: ~*MY DREAM WEDDING* June 2, 2011*- Lots of pics and Recap Video: Villa Lombardi's, Patken Photographer, Tommy's Tunes, Flowers by Burton, Christy Ann Cosmetics & more!*~

Your pictures are the reason I picked Jessie! She did an amazing job. It looks like you had the most perfect day! congrats! Great review