my PERFECT 8/6/11 wedding - CHCC, Thomas Paul, VJ Entertainment, Sandra Baldini, Mya-Cosmetic Artistry, Flowers by Brian, Lilette's, *her*

First off i have to say how amazing this site and all you ladies are!!! I think my wedding was so amazing because of all of your help and support. Not only did you provide info on vendors, dresses, colors etc but it was a place to vent and have people relate to what you go through as a bride....sutff single friends and guys dont want to hear about lol
My review has the good and the bad of the wedding and planning process so be prepared it is longgggg....
I will work backwards since I know most people only want to hear about the wedding day things…

My day truly was perfect and I would not change a thing!!!

Weather: A+
we had a 6:30pm ceremony start time at CHCC and debated on having the ceremony and cocktail hour inside or outside. At 4pm we were told we had to make the decision and Dan (my husband) said it was up to me. He had his heart set on outdoors for both but I just couldnt bring myself to being ok with that....it was humid and got windy. I said indoors and felt bad that I said it but he agreed. Well we walk into the cocktail hour room and look out the window and it was raining! i couldnt have been happier. i know it sounds crazy but it just made us certain we made the right decision and now we cant have regrets. plus they say rain is good luck on your wedding day

Crest Hollow Country Club

pictures of the plaza room set up for my ceremony & reception; also cocktail hour station pics

We had an amazing day!!! Everyone loved the food and thought the dessert was fantastic (we added in 30 mins of vienesse and a chocolate fountain). People were impressed that the cocktail hour stations (included the cold seafood) were constantly replenished even before they were empty. My bridal attendant and maitre’d were so helpful!!! They kept checking on us and made sure we had enough food while taking photos and during the wedding. They served us our entrees first which allowed us to go to the tables while they ate to see all of our guests. The bartender, willie was amazing...he made sure we ALWAYS had a drink in our hands!!! I was so happy we booked with CHCC - they took care of everything and went above and beyond to make sure very detail was perfect! We had a bunch of stuff we brought in (wedding programs, ketubah, flip flop baskets, toasting flutes, cake knife etc) and they had it all set up perfectly and packed up for us at the end of the night...i didnt have to worry about a thing!

The one thing we did not know is that they table shapes differ when you get the larger sizes (14 to 16 i think)....they were long ovals instead of rounds so our room looked a little odd. i assumed they were all rounds - my mistake. but its something only i noticed.

My one problem with CHCC is that they have beautiful grounds and they tell you they are on 22 acres and you can take photos outside etc…but you really can’t. You can get there up to 2 hours prior to your wedding without having to pay extra. Then they limit you to one or two areas (that are within walking distance – right near the pools) for photos. Granted the area is nice (at least the one space we went to) but it is still limiting. They thought they got us permission to go to another garden area but when we got there another bride was there using it so we had to use the pool area. I am sure my pictures came out great, but knowing they have so much space being limited to one area is a bit disappointing to me.

It ended up raining so we had everything indoors…they transformed the reception room into the ceremony room and it looked amazing! I don’t think people even realized it was the same room. The indoor cocktail hour was good too except that there were not enough seats for the 200 guests. They used our centerpieces during the ceremony and cocktail hour and I thought that was such a nice touch - kept the rooms looking consistent and also made me feel better about all the money i spend on flowers lol.

Aside from the photo locations being limited I would highly recommend CHCC. They do an amazing job and everyone loved it!!!! You have nothing to worry about if you booked at CHCC - and you do NOT need a DOC...their staff is so amazing and professional they handle every last detail!
Ps – any brides in the plaza room…be careful when tossing your bouquet – I hit the chandelier and broke some glass…oops! Thankfully no one was hurt and my maitre’d was right on it and cleaned it up.

Photographer: Thomas Paul
who doesnt love TP?!?!? He is the best! had a great time at our e-pic shoot (in dumbo) and knew he would do a great job at the wedding. What impressed me even more about him, is when he called me just about 4 months before the wedding to 'check in'. he just wanted to see if i had any questions and tell me i will hear from his studio manager when the date gets closer. None of my other vendors call to check in...i didnt hear from them until I called or until the wedding was less than one month away. Its the unexpected call that makes you realize how great he really is...he does amazing work and has superb customer service. that is a combination that is hard to find these days!
He got to the hotel with Jackie, Tara and mike on video. They were so amazing! I felt so relaxed with tom and loved how involved he is in his work…he was down on the floor with me taking photos and just having fun. Definitely considering Tomas Paul for your photography (some of the pis below are from his assistant…she was just shooting randomly as he set up and took photos…look how amazing she did - I can only imagine how wonderful his came out!)


DJ: VJ Entertainment
He had everyone on the dance floor the entire night!!! This was DH favorite vendor. He had the crowd going all night – people of all ages. Even though he is not written about on here much (which admittedly had me concerned with my decision) he was fantastic! He offered a great package with thomas paul and was def worth it.

Makeup: Sandra Baldini
LOVE her!!!! she is so amazing! Not only is she an extremely talented MUA, but she has excellent communication skills and she has an amazing personality. She had me and my girls looking beautiful! The makeup lasted all night with the exception of lipstick (obviously). It looked so natural and felt comfortable – not like I had stuff layered on my face. One of my bridesmaids took her info bc she wants to refer her to a friend getting married in April. She is great - def get in touch with her. she knows her colors and all my girls had a diff look based on their complexions etc.


Hair: Mya from Cosmetic Artistry
LOVE her too!!! sooo sweet and did a great job on me and my BP. She knew exactly what i wanted and during my trial she was so patient since i was indecisive! She even got my niece’s hair to stay allll night – half up with curls. My sister was hesitant to do that style bc she has gotten it done in salons in the past and it never lasted…but Mya knew exactly what to do and it stayed the entire night…through the summer humidity and rain! I even slept with my hair pinned up and with the exception of one curl it all stayed in!


Flowers: Flowers By Brian (Joseph)
again...AMAZING! Met with him twice, once when i had no idea what i wanted, then again when i figured out what i was looking for and got a quote and signed him on the spot. very creative and great customer service. I went to see my bouquet the day before and wasn’t thrilled with it but wasn’t sure why…joseph came and made one tiny change to the bouquet and it was perfect! I love that he took his time to help even though he already was paid. The centerpieces looked amazing too – full and great color.

Invitations: 'Her'
As everyone else on here has said, she is fantastic. She came up with a few designs for me, emailed me a ton of fonts to pick from. She sent me a sample with diff paper swatches and i requested two more samples and it was no problem. her pricing seems great and i couldnt be happier with the invites. she got them to me before her date promised in the contract...and they are perfect!


Dress: Lilettes
Love Love Love Gerri!! She is fantastic! cant not recommend her enough. she was very patient with me - i tried on probably all the dresses in the store that were in my budget and she didnt rush or pressure me at all. After one or two dresses she was able to really understand me and what i was/wasnt looking for with my body type and picked out the maggie i wore right away. i continued to try on but she was right...the maggie was the one! the downside is they tell you the dress comes in 6 weeks before the wedding which seems to be a bit of a rush...but mine came in 3 months prior. I went for my first fitting with Laura and she was great! They take their time getting the dress right. Some of my BM got their dresses there and were very happy with the price and service.

Tuxedos: Men's Warehouse
I would not recommend them unless you have OOT people that need to get the tuxedos. We used them bc of this (my dad was in VA, he had 2 people in upstate NY etc). We went to pick up his tuxedo 3 days prior to the wedding and the shoes were scuffed and the jacket and pants didnt match - you could tell the pants were worn more so they were more faded than the jacket - they almost looked navy blue! Thankfully they were able to reorder everything and we got it perfect for the wedding. 1 of the groomsmen had pants that were too short for him and my father's vest and jacket were HUGE! they were not able to fix the groomsmen or my dads bc they picked them up the day before the wedding. if you do use mens warehouse i would suggest everyone picsk up at least 2 days prior in case they need to reorder parts of the tux.


Save The Dates: Vistaprint
Attempted to order them from totallyweddingmagnets.com...good price, good quality but the photographs we used printed red. I had to fight with them to finally get a refund (even though it says total satisfaction guarantee). Ended up ordering large size magnets from vistaprint and loved them! Also ordered from vistaprint were postcards for the OOT guest bags, menus, photo sharing site and flip flop basket. All of the postcards I got free (i only needed to pay shipping) so def keep on the lookout for their sales. Pics of these items are in my DIY album.

My DIY projects:
Michaels, Joann Fabric, AC Moore and fabric.com all amazing places to get what you need for your DIY cardbox or any other DIY project. I made my cardbox for under $30 and it was so easy! use adheisve spray to attach the fabric to the boxes and you are set. i used a glue gun for the ribbons and rhinestones. very easy and saves a ton of money. I even made my own veil to save money and it looked great!


Congrats if you made it through this entire thing lol.
Thanks again ladies!
Now off to vacation for a few days

Re: my PERFECT 8/6/11 wedding - CHCC, Thomas Paul, VJ Entertainment, Sandra Baldini, Mya-Cosmetic Artistry, Flowers by Brian, Lilette's, *her*

thanks for the heads up about taking pictures at CHCC; thomas paul told me that also, which is why we're taking pictures elsewhere.

enjoy your honeymoon!

Re: my PERFECT 8/6/11 wedding - CHCC, Thomas Paul, VJ Entertainment, Sandra Baldini, Mya-Cosmetic Artistry, Flowers by Brian, Lilette's, *her*

Sounds like an amazing day, congrats!!!!

Thank you for the heads up about the pictures--good to know! I hope we can get some great pictures on the grounds, even if it's limited.

Enjoy your honeymoon!!!!!

Re: my PERFECT 8/6/11 wedding - CHCC, Thomas Paul, VJ Entertainment, Sandra Baldini, Mya-Cosmetic Artistry, Flowers by Brian, Lilette's, *her*

congratulations!!! can't wait to see some pics soon!

Re: my PERFECT 8/6/11 wedding - CHCC, Thomas Paul, VJ Entertainment, Sandra Baldini, Mya-Cosmetic Artistry, Flowers by Brian, Lilette's, *her*

Thanks for the review! I can't wait to see pics. I have been waiting for a new, current CHCC review! Glad you had an amazing day!

Re: my PERFECT 8/6/11 wedding - CHCC, Thomas Paul, VJ Entertainment, Sandra Baldini, Mya-Cosmetic Artistry, Flowers by Brian, Lilette's, *her*

Congrats on your amazing day and thanks for the great review! I'm glad that it was all that you wanted it to be! I can't wait to see pics!!

Re: my PERFECT 8/6/11 wedding - CHCC, Thomas Paul, VJ Entertainment, Sandra Baldini, Mya-Cosmetic Artistry, Flowers by Brian, Lilette's, *her*

Congratulations. Thanks for taking the time to write your review!

Can't wait to see pictures!

Re: my PERFECT 8/6/11 wedding - CHCC, Thomas Paul, VJ Entertainment, Sandra Baldini, Mya-Cosmetic Artistry, Flowers by Brian, Lilette's, *her*

Thank you so much for your review and thank you for the heads up about taking pictures on the grounds at CHCC.

My photographer/cinematographer said the same thing when I met with them.

Thanks again ! Have a great vacation !

Re: my PERFECT 8/6/11 wedding - CHCC, Thomas Paul, VJ Entertainment, Sandra Baldini, Mya-Cosmetic Artistry, Flowers by Brian, Lilette's, *her*

glad it all went well!!
Have a great honeymoon and make sure to come back on here

Re: my PERFECT 8/6/11 wedding - CHCC, Thomas Paul, VJ Entertainment, Sandra Baldini, Mya-Cosmetic Artistry, Flowers by Brian, Lilette's, *her*

Thank you so much for this review.
When I met with Sharon, this was one of my IMPORTANT QUESTION to her...she said we were not limited and can take pictures anywhere on the grounds. I am a little dissappointed this isnt the case. Again thank you for your review :)

Re: my PERFECT 8/6/11 wedding - CHCC, Thomas Paul, VJ Entertainment, Sandra Baldini, Mya-Cosmetic Artistry, Flowers by Brian, Lilette's, *her*

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Posted by heidijames

Thank you so much for this review.
When I met with Sharon, this was one of my IMPORTANT QUESTION to her...she said we were not limited and can take pictures anywhere on the grounds. I am a little dissappointed this isnt the case. Again thank you for your review :)

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THIS:

My BM said the same thing at Crest Hollow and I am now looking into other options for taking pictures elsewhere. I do not want to run into a problem with pictures that day.

Re: my PERFECT 8/6/11 wedding - CHCC, Thomas Paul, VJ Entertainment, Sandra Baldini, Mya-Cosmetic Artistry, Flowers by Brian, Lilette's, *her*

thank you for a great review!!!

im a plaza room bride how dare you break my chandelier! just kidding

thanks for the heads up about my photos - ill try to get something written into my contract that i'm the only one in those areas that day.

Re: my PERFECT 8/6/11 wedding - CHCC, Thomas Paul, VJ Entertainment, Sandra Baldini, Mya-Cosmetic Artistry, Flowers by Brian, Lilette's, *her*

Thanks for the great review, I'm a CHCC, TP and FBB bride too!!!

Congratulations

Re: my PERFECT 8/6/11 wedding - CHCC, Thomas Paul, VJ Entertainment, Sandra Baldini, Mya-Cosmetic Artistry, Flowers by Brian, Lilette's, *her*

here is a picture of my bouquet toss followed by my reaction when i turned around and saw that i hit the chandelier!

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Re: my PERFECT 8/6/11 wedding - CHCC, Thomas Paul, VJ Entertainment, Sandra Baldini, Mya-Cosmetic Artistry, Flowers by Brian, Lilette's, *her*

Re: my PERFECT 8/6/11 wedding - CHCC, Thomas Paul, VJ Entertainment, Sandra Baldini, Mya-Cosmetic Artistry, Flowers by Brian, Lilette's, *her*

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Re: my PERFECT 8/6/11 wedding - CHCC, Thomas Paul, VJ Entertainment, Sandra Baldini, Mya-Cosmetic Artistry, Flowers by Brian, Lilette's, *her*

flowers by brian - amazing job!
i got the basic cake from CHCC - no upgrade
FBB did the cake decorating with flowers for free

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Re: my PERFECT 8/6/11 wedding - CHCC, Thomas Paul, VJ Entertainment, Sandra Baldini, Mya-Cosmetic Artistry, Flowers by Brian, Lilette's, *her*

also ordered these custom rose petals from theinkedrose.com
had them on the place card table and the cake table and got a ton of compliments. seems like most of our guests took pictures of them so i guess they liked them

Re: my PERFECT 8/6/11 wedding - CHCC, Thomas Paul, VJ Entertainment, Sandra Baldini, Mya-Cosmetic Artistry, Flowers by Brian, Lilette's, *her*

Sounds amazing!

Re: my PERFECT 8/6/11 wedding - CHCC, Thomas Paul, VJ Entertainment, Sandra Baldini, Mya-Cosmetic Artistry, Flowers by Brian, Lilette's, *her*

Congratulations! What a beautiful couple! I love your dress. Who is the designer?