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My SUPER LONG 3/22/09 2 PAGE Review: Russo’s on the Bay; Flower Michele; 12th Night Photography; M...
fabulousmady Posted: Apr 17, 2009 10:55 AM+
fabulousmady MEMBER SINCE: 1/08 TOTAL POSTS : 3381 WEDDING DATE: Mar 22, 2009
Posted: Apr 17, 2009 10:55 AM bride-minus.png

My SUPER LONG 3/22/09 2 PAGE Review: Russo’s on the Bay; Flower Michele; 12th Night Photography; Mittermax; StyleDJ’s; M*I*A; & MORE (With PICS)!!!

LIW A+++++
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU Ron, Liz, Kim and all the LIW Staff!!! I am the first of my friends to get married. There hadn’t been a wedding in my family in over 8 years and my family is from New Jersey so I had NO CLUE where to start with wedding planning when I got engaged. I found this website doing a google search and immediately became intrigued. I had only discovered the Brides Helping Brides section and couldn't stay away from the site. I think I would have gotten fired if my internet time on this site would have been tracked at work! I eventually learned about the ’09 boards. I don’t know WHAT I would have done without all the ideas/suggestions/help and advice from this website. This site not only helped me have a FABULOUS WEDDING but because of this site I have met such wonderful girls that I know I will remain friends with forever (you know who you are)!


I was so anxious to write this review. I hope I didn’t miss anything!
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fabulousmady Posted: Apr 17, 2009 10:56 AM+
fabulousmady MEMBER SINCE: 1/08 TOTAL POSTS : 3381 WEDDING DATE: Mar 22, 2009
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Re: My 3/22/09 Review: Russo’s on the Bay; Flower Michele; 12th Night Photography; Mittermax; StyleDJ’s; M*I*A; & MORE (With PICS)!!!

STD’s
MagnetStreet (magnetstreet.com) A+
Great price and the magnets looked great!


Invitations
T*E*S*S*A (e v e n s t a r p a p e r i e.com) A++++++++
I started working with T-e-s-s-a long before she became “popular”. I saw an invitation she did for an 08 bride (NappaValleyGirl) and fell in love! She responded to all my emails, was patient with all my changes and gave me a great price compared to what other vendors wanted to charge me. My invitations were BEAUTIFUL and everyone RAVED about how wonderful they looked!



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fabulousmady Posted: Apr 17, 2009 10:56 AM+
fabulousmady MEMBER SINCE: 1/08 TOTAL POSTS : 3381 WEDDING DATE: Mar 22, 2009
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Re: My 3/22/09 Review: Russo’s on the Bay; Flower Michele; 12th Night Photography; Mittermax; StyleDJ’s; M*I*A; & MORE (With PICS)!!!

Day of Jewelry, Wedding Rings, DH’s Cufflinks A+++++
All courtesy of DH’s jeweler. They have been doing business together for years.


Day of Hoodie Embroidery
Embroidery Creations (Level 2 of Queens Center Mall) A+
Done in about 40 minutes and only $40!


Custom Aisle Runner
Certainlychic (Etsy) A
The runner itself was a little thinner than I expected but it still turned out beautiful and at a great price!

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fabulousmady Posted: Apr 17, 2009 10:57 AM+
fabulousmady MEMBER SINCE: 1/08 TOTAL POSTS : 3381 WEDDING DATE: Mar 22, 2009
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Re: My 3/22/09 Review: Russo’s on the Bay; Flower Michele; 12th Night Photography; Mittermax; StyleDJ’s; M*I*A; & MORE (With PICS)!!!

Cake Topper
Wedding Factory Direct (weddingfactorydirect.com) A
I didn’t want anything fancy on top of my cake so I decided to order a monogram letter. I ordered a Vintage Style letter from the wedding factory after seeing another 2009 bride had ordered one and loved it. A few days after I placed the order I was told it was on back order and would arrive two weeks before my wedding date. I decided to wait on it since it was the one I wanted. A week before the wedding it still hadn’t arrived and I decided to order the Crystal Covered style instead and they were nice enough to overnight it to me at no extra charge. It was only about $30 and it looked GREAT!


Stickers for Souvenirs
SweetPaperie (Etsy) A+
I wanted to put stickers on the souvenirs because I wanted people to have some sort of reminder of the wedding on the actual souvenir. Lol I saw some on etsy and this vendor was such a pleasure to work with. She emailed me proofs and had the stickers shipped to me in 2 days!


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fabulousmady Posted: Apr 17, 2009 10:57 AM+
fabulousmady MEMBER SINCE: 1/08 TOTAL POSTS : 3381 WEDDING DATE: Mar 22, 2009
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Re: My 3/22/09 Review: Russo’s on the Bay; Flower Michele; 12th Night Photography; Mittermax; StyleDJ’s; M*I*A; & MORE (With PICS)!!!

Programs
Sargegrl (Etsy) A+
This vendor has so much patience! I kept emailing and changing things and it was never a problem. I got quick responses every time. The price was great and the finished product looked awesome!


Menus, Placecards, Petal Cones
Lisa of Elite Affairs (eliteaffairsllc.com) A+++
Talk about me and my last minute changes. The week before the wedding I wasn’t happy with the menus and placecards I had and I FORGOT to order petal cones so I emailed Lisa and she was more than happy to help me. She had everything done and even hand delivered everything to me at my rehearsal! I don’t know how she did it but she did and everything looked GORGEOUS!

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fabulousmady Posted: Apr 17, 2009 10:58 AM+
fabulousmady MEMBER SINCE: 1/08 TOTAL POSTS : 3381 WEDDING DATE: Mar 22, 2009
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Re: My 3/22/09 Review: Russo’s on the Bay; Flower Michele; 12th Night Photography; Mittermax; StyleDJ’s; M*I*A; & MORE (With PICS)!!!

Wedding Dress
NY Bridal Couture Staten Island A+
During the initial ordering; C the day I picked it up.
This store closed down the week before my wedding. I heard about the closing back in November. The owner of the store spoke to me and assured me my dress would be in and altered before my wedding date. When my dress finally arrived I was too scared to leave it there so I decided to take it and have it altered elsewhere. The store was always nice to me except the day I picked it up the manager got such an attitude with me when I asked her if I could take it to another bridal store for alterations. I imagine the stress of losing her job made her flip out because she was always the sweetest person. They did however refund the money they had charged me for alterations.

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fabulousmady Posted: Apr 17, 2009 10:58 AM+
fabulousmady MEMBER SINCE: 1/08 TOTAL POSTS : 3381 WEDDING DATE: Mar 22, 2009
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Re: My 3/22/09 Review: Russo’s on the Bay; Flower Michele; 12th Night Photography; Mittermax; StyleDJ’s; M*I*A; & MORE (With PICS)!!!

Alterations
Zuly (please fm me for her contact information) A+
No bridal shop would touch my dress since I had purchased it at another bridal store. I called about 10 stores and only one would do it but wanted to charge me $800! So 2 weeks before my wedding I still had no idea who would alter my dress.
I remembered NY Bridal Couture had given me the business card of the woman who did all their alterations who was now working out of her home. I called her and she said she could do it (and the price was very reasonable). She did a terrific job! I had lost a lot of weight from the first time I was measured for the dress so it had to be taken in quite a bit and shortened. Not an easy job with all the detailing my dress had but Zuly did it! My dress fit PERFFECTLY! She also had the most amazing technique to bustle my dress. That was definitely not an easy thing since my dress had so many layers in the back but she added the strings for the bustling and numbered everything so that my Coordinator would have an easy time bustling it. I picked up my dress the Friday before the wedding and it was steamed and ready to wear! She is great!




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fabulousmady Posted: Apr 17, 2009 10:58 AM+
fabulousmady MEMBER SINCE: 1/08 TOTAL POSTS : 3381 WEDDING DATE: Mar 22, 2009
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Re: My 3/22/09 Review: Russo’s on the Bay; Flower Michele; 12th Night Photography; Mittermax; StyleDJ’s; M*I*A; & MORE (With PICS)!!!

2nd Dress
David’s Bridal, Queens, NY A+++++
I toyed with the idea of a second dress but thought after I had spent so much money on my wedding dress I wanted to wear it all night. After all the alteration trials I knew I wouldn’t last all night in my dress since it was so heavy! So the DAY BEFORE the wedding I went to David’s Bridal with my mom to look for a second dress. When I get there I realized I had grabbed the wrong purse and I literally only had $200 in cash in my pocket! I had no time to run back home since the store would be closing in 2 hours and I still had to get my nails done! I thought about just giving up until a wonderful sales lady asked me if I needed help and I explained my situation. I basically said, I need a dress, I want it to be simple and long and it has to cost under $200 including the tax!
LUCKILY they were having their $99 dollar sale at that time and she ran over to that rack and pulled out this stunning dress! The price tag said it was $500 and I told her I was serious about my $200. She said just try it on! Its on sale! Well I did and it fit PERFECTLY! And it was $99!!!!!!!!!! I couldn’t believe it! I had no time to alter it (it was a little long) but that didn’t bother me one bit! I had a 2nd Dress!!!!
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fabulousmady Posted: Apr 17, 2009 10:59 AM+
fabulousmady MEMBER SINCE: 1/08 TOTAL POSTS : 3381 WEDDING DATE: Mar 22, 2009
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Re: My 3/22/09 Review: Russo’s on the Bay; Flower Michele; 12th Night Photography; Mittermax; StyleDJ’s; M*I*A; & MORE (With PICS)!!!


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fabulousmady Posted: Apr 17, 2009 10:59 AM+
fabulousmady MEMBER SINCE: 1/08 TOTAL POSTS : 3381 WEDDING DATE: Mar 22, 2009
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Re: My 3/22/09 Review: Russo’s on the Bay; Flower Michele; 12th Night Photography; Mittermax; StyleDJ’s; M*I*A; & MORE (With PICS)!!!

Bridesmaid Dress
RK Bridal B
The dresses were in 4 weeks after we ordered them even though we were told it would take 4 months! The price was great but the color was a lot lighter than the swatch and initially I wasn’t happy at all when I saw the dresses. The dresses needed major alterations because they were all so big and long! The day of the wedding though, my girls looked GORGEOUS!


Alteration for Girls
Used personal tailor D
I used this person who was recommended by a friend and the girls were not happy with their work. The dresses still fit loser than they were supposed to and even when the girls asked her to take the dresses in more she just said the dresses were fine.
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fabulousmady Posted: Apr 17, 2009 11:00 AM+
fabulousmady MEMBER SINCE: 1/08 TOTAL POSTS : 3381 WEDDING DATE: Mar 22, 2009
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Re: My 3/22/09 Review: Russo’s on the Bay; Flower Michele; 12th Night Photography; Mittermax; StyleDJ’s; M*I*A; & MORE (With PICS)!!!

Headpiece and Veil
Barron’s Bridal Boutique at Tri-County Market A++++
Eve of Milady wanted $2,000 for the matching veil to my dress! I took a picture of my dress to Barron’s and he created the exact veil for A LOT less money! My veil was ready in November and I was instructed to take it out of the box and hang it but I never did. 3 days before the wedding I took the veil out and noticed that one of the crystals had caught to the veil and made a hole in the veil that was too noticeable to walk down the aisle with. I thought I was going to die! I called Mr. Karen at Barron’s and brought the veil back to him. He explained this is why he wanted me to take it out of the box. Needless to say he told me not to worry that the problem would be fixed by adding more rhinestones to cover the hole and creating the same design on the other side of the veil so everything looked even.
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fabulousmady Posted: Apr 17, 2009 11:00 AM+
fabulousmady MEMBER SINCE: 1/08 TOTAL POSTS : 3381 WEDDING DATE: Mar 22, 2009
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Re: My 3/22/09 Review: Russo’s on the Bay; Flower Michele; 12th Night Photography; Mittermax; StyleDJ’s; M*I*A; & MORE (With PICS)!!!

I stressed that my date was 3 days away and I did not have time to come back to long island to pick up the veil again. When I told him I lived in queens, he offered to meet me in queens the day before the wedding since he also lived there. This was so nice and sweet of him to do especially since it was my fault the veil had a hole in it. AND, he did this at no extra charge!


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fabulousmady Posted: Apr 17, 2009 11:00 AM+
fabulousmady MEMBER SINCE: 1/08 TOTAL POSTS : 3381 WEDDING DATE: Mar 22, 2009
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Re: My 3/22/09 Review: Russo’s on the Bay; Flower Michele; 12th Night Photography; Mittermax; StyleDJ’s; M*I*A; & MORE (With PICS)!!!

Tuxedos for Groom, Groomsmen and Fathers
Dante Zeller Tuxedos in Forest Hills, Queens A+++++
Everything was perfect. They took care of everyone and even some last minute changes with no complaints. They gave Lee a great deal on his purchased tuxedo and were always willing to accommodate his hectic work hours.

Groom’s Shirt, Vest and Tie
Saks Fifth Avenue A++++
No hassles, no fuss. He told the salesman what he was looking for and walked out 10 minutes later with everything in hand.
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fabulousmady Posted: Apr 17, 2009 11:01 AM+
fabulousmady MEMBER SINCE: 1/08 TOTAL POSTS : 3381 WEDDING DATE: Mar 22, 2009
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Re: My 3/22/09 Review: Russo’s on the Bay; Flower Michele; 12th Night Photography; Mittermax; StyleDJ’s; M*I*A; & MORE (With PICS)!!!

Hair and Makeup
M*I*A A++++++++
I’m sure everyone on this board has heard of M*I*A. She is truly talented and amazing at what she does! She arrived at 6:30 am on the dot with Theresa and Claudette. I still don’t know how they did Me, 5 BM’s; 2 little girls; my mom; my mom in law; my grandmother in law and my friend Judy and we were still ON TIME! Everyone looked beautiful! MY BM’s are diva’s and I had warned M*I*A about them but she knew exactly how to handle everyone! She is worth EVERY PENNY!


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fabulousmady Posted: Apr 17, 2009 11:01 AM+
fabulousmady MEMBER SINCE: 1/08 TOTAL POSTS : 3381 WEDDING DATE: Mar 22, 2009
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Re: My 3/22/09 Review: Russo’s on the Bay; Flower Michele; 12th Night Photography; Mittermax; StyleDJ’s; M*I*A; & MORE (With PICS)!!!

Florist
John at Flower Michele (flowermichele.com) A++++++++
I can’t say enough about John’s talent! My flowers looked great! I never gave him any pictures of what I wanted. I just told him I wanted my bouquet to be calla lilies and stephanotis with rhinestones inside and that I wanted white flowers for the girls. I wanted everything simple and elegant. I gave him a general idea of what I wanted for centerpieces: BLING!
2 weeks before the wedding I went to see John and mentioned how I was afraid there was too much white and how I was worried there wasn’t enough blue since all of my flowers, tablecloths and chair covers were white. He told me about adding LED lights to the inside of my centerpieces.
This was the final product: STUNNING!!!:

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fabulousmady Posted: Apr 17, 2009 11:01 AM+
fabulousmady MEMBER SINCE: 1/08 TOTAL POSTS : 3381 WEDDING DATE: Mar 22, 2009
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Re: My 3/22/09 Review: Russo’s on the Bay; Flower Michele; 12th Night Photography; Mittermax; StyleDJ’s; M*I*A; & MORE (With PICS)!!!

Photography
E-Pics
Dominic of 12th Night Photography (twelfthnightphoto.com) A++++++++
Within five minutes of sitting with Dominic I was sold! He has such an easy going and fun personality its hard not to love him right off the bat.
The day of our engagement shoot I watched how he interacted with DH. DH can be a difficult person to open up. He’s pretty quiet and not very social but Dominic had him going after about 2 minutes. I LOVED THAT! The first thing I told Dominic the day of the engagement shoot was not to take me to a park. I told him I didn’t like grass and pretty flowers and there was no way I was walking in heels through a park. He laughed. I think he thought I was joking because we went to a park! LOL After about 10 minutes we drove over to a nearby train station and my mood changed immediately. Dominic said he was surprised that I was all dressed up but not afraid to lean up against the wall of the train station. I loved how our e-pics turned out.








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fabulousmady Posted: Apr 17, 2009 11:02 AM+
fabulousmady MEMBER SINCE: 1/08 TOTAL POSTS : 3381 WEDDING DATE: Mar 22, 2009
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Re: My 3/22/09 Review: Russo’s on the Bay; Flower Michele; 12th Night Photography; Mittermax; StyleDJ’s; M*I*A; & MORE (With PICS)!!!

WEDDING DAY
Dominic and Geraldine at 12th Night Photography (twelfthnightphoto.com) A++++++++
A few months before the wedding Dominic called me to discuss our wedding day photoshoot location. He joked about going to a park. He said he went to a location and wanted me to check it out. I did, and new that was exactly where I wanted to have my pictures taken.
Dominic and Geraldine were two of the coolest vendors I worked with. They knew when and how to take charge of my crazy family to get them together for family portraits. Lol There is no way you can NOT laugh around Dominic. He is so down to earth and has such an amazing personality. He is very passionate about his work and it shows!
I couldn’t even tell Geraldine was following us around most of the time. She was never in the way but always had her camera shooting! I loved that! I had Dominic for 5 hours and Geraldine for 10 hours. Since I had never met Geraldine prior to the wedding I was worried about Dominic not being around for the first dance and other important moments of the wedding. He knew this and stayed around for more than his scheduled five hours. He probably thought I didn’t notice but I did! I can NOT wait to see all of my pics! Even the ones he would show me in the camera after he took some shots looked so HOT!
(see some pro-pics below)
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fabulousmady Posted: Apr 17, 2009 11:02 AM+
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Re: My 3/22/09 Review: Russo’s on the Bay; Flower Michele; 12th Night Photography; Mittermax; StyleDJ’s; M*I*A; & MORE (With PICS)!!!

Videography
Travis at Mittermax (www.mittermax.com) A+++++++++
Travis was recommended to me by Dominic of 12th Night Photography. I knew Dominic would not recommend anyone who wasn’t as passionate about their work as he was about photography so I decided to book him and I am so glad I did! He is EXTREMELY talented at what he does! I cried when I saw the trailer he played at the reception for everyone.
I think this trailer he did DURING the wedding reception speaks for itself!

ORIGINAL VERSION

REVISED VERSION

P.S. Travis is HOT!
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fabulousmady Posted: Apr 17, 2009 11:03 AM+
fabulousmady MEMBER SINCE: 1/08 TOTAL POSTS : 3381 WEDDING DATE: Mar 22, 2009
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Re: My 3/22/09 Review: Russo’s on the Bay; Flower Michele; 12th Night Photography; Mittermax; StyleDJ’s; M*I*A; & MORE (With PICS)!!!

Limos
Silver Star Limos (www.silverstarlimo.com) A++++++
Limo’s were PERFECT and ON TIME. What more could I have asked for! I had an antique Rolls Royce for me and DH and an 18 passenger escalade for the bridal party. They rolled out the red carpet every time I got into the limo! Our driver Manny was a sweetheart! He always made sure we had champagne! At the end of the night Manny returned in a Mercedes Benz to pick us up!



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fabulousmady Posted: Apr 17, 2009 11:04 AM+
fabulousmady MEMBER SINCE: 1/08 TOTAL POSTS : 3381 WEDDING DATE: Mar 22, 2009
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Re: My 3/22/09 Review: Russo’s on the Bay; Flower Michele; 12th Night Photography; Mittermax; StyleDJ’s; M*I*A; & MORE (With PICS)!!!

DOC
Francesca of Dazzling Affairs (dazzlingaffairs.com) A++++++++
I emailed Francesca constantly prior to the wedding and she always responded quickly.
I cannot imagine my wedding day without Francesca and her team! There was NOTHING that these ladies could not do! They took care of decorating the church, making sure everything at Russo’s was in place and made sure we were on schedule at all times. Every time I turned around Francesca or one of her assistants (there were two) were taking care of something I had no idea needed taking care of! Before I could even ask for something I had it! I had no clue Francesca spoke Spanish and it was such a treat to hear her talking to my mom. It definitely put my mom more at ease. When my MOH’s dresses were falling down because the straps were loose, Francesca had her needle and thread and fashion tape in hand keeping everything in place!
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