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Wedding Forums > The Brides' Review > Our 9/20/13 Wedding- Larkfield, AJ Ingoglia, Gail Chatelain, Hidden Essence, Once Upon an Event, +++...
Our 9/20/13 Wedding- Larkfield, AJ Ingoglia, Gail Chatelain, Hidden Essence, Once Upon an Event, +++...
lauren1802 Posted: Oct 11, 2013 10:30 AM+
lauren1802 MEMBER SINCE: 10/11 TOTAL POSTS : 5335 WEDDING DATE: Sep 20, 2013
Posted: Oct 11, 2013 10:30 AM bride-minus.png

Our 9/20/13 Wedding- Larkfield, AJ Ingoglia, Gail Chatelain, Hidden Essence, Once Upon an Event, +++++

12/13/13 - updated with photographer review and trailer vimeo link



Overall- A+++++++

Our wedding was amazing. All our hard work really paid off!!! Our “Team” was the best possible!! From our Bridal Party, to our Vendors… our choices ROCKED! We planned for 2 solid years… off & on but mostly ON! We scrimped & saved. We did a lot of DIY (as much as we could without flipping out).

Websites we used

LIW - A+++
www.liweddings.com
By far the BEST forum website on line for long island brides-to-be! The friendships, advice and ideas were amazing. Our wedding would not have been the same without LIW! Thanks to all the brides & groom(s), Kim & Ron!

Wedding wire – A+
www.weddingwire.com
We hosted our website on here, very easy: good layout and user friendly! It was also helpful as a tool to help us stay on track—especially for the guests/ seating chart!

Wedding party app- A++
This APP is a wonderful idea. A bunch of guests told me how useful it was—and about 20-25 people actually downloaded it. We got around 125 pix and it was super easy to download to my computer afterwards. It lets guests comment too, which is a lot of fun.

Pre-Parties!

Engagement party – A
We half planned this and half let our parents plan it. It was at Meghan’s parents house and it was a great party- just the BP and close family (proximity and relations). Medford Pastaria catered it, and as usual they were great! The theme was “Beach” (where we got engaged) and we made smores favors to go with it (see my album).

Bridal Shower – A
Our moms & BP set up a wonderful bridal shower at Sonoma Grille. The food was great, the decorations were wonderful (went with our bird theme). The only downside was that it was a little rushed—they only give you 3 hours and it was a “surprise” (we ruined that!) so we had less time once we got there. We didn’t even get to finish opening gifts before time was up. You need 4 hrs!!

Registries

BB&B – A+

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/
Great! Fun to register, they have almost everything and people love shopping there. Returns were also easy! A couple leftover items were hard to find, we may just order online eventually. We have enough gift cards left over to buy Kcups for the rest of our lives… haha. Maybe we will invest in some new drapery!

Target – A-
www.target.com
OK. Convenient for a lot of things that we preferred certain brands that BB&B didn’t offer. We also registered here for our guest’s convenience. Returns weren’t as “nice” (ie. No cash back and the dummy at the register almost put it back on my friend’s visa!) -- they allowed someone to buy a 2nd of 2 items… 3 months after our shower (an out of towner as a wedding gift) but overall nothing bad to say! Also… we never did get those tray tables (says it’s off the registry)

Liberty Travel A-
We looked into honeyfund and signed up, but when we booked our honeymoon we were able to get gifts towards our honeymoon directly thru Liberty! Very convenient, but our shower invites excluded this registry, so we didn’t get too, too much. Also, our final payment was due in July, so we weren’t sure if we could still get gifts after that. Our representative had a medical issue and was out for a few months, which was annoying because her email wasn’t forwarded so people would try to buy off the registry and never get a response. Some guests don’t like phone conversations!

Bachelorette Party A++
Our bridal party did such a good job! One of our BM’s family has a house on Water Island, Fire Island. They took us there for a long weekend, and they all brought food & drinks and had a cooking schedule. They decorated the house and introduced PHYLLIS the rubber – balloonish- boob. She also attended our wedding (via a fake out on one of the bouquet tosses) . Friday night, we hung out at the house with the bridal party and they all ended up getting really close! Saturday night, we took a water taxi to Cherry Grove, where we hung out at Cherries all night. There was another bride there and we made friends with her, and about 10 other people LOL . We spent a lot of time on the beach (by the house) as well. It was an amazing weekend!!!



Rehearsal dinner – TgiFriday’s A+
We originally wanted to have this at my mom’s house, right by Larkfield. We had to wait until our final meeting (a month before our wedding) to confirm what day we could do the rehearsal. We waited until then to figure out who would be invited (stupid!) and then realized we had way too many people !! Then again, the OOT-ers put us over We ended up having it at TGIFriday’s I Hauppauge. It was great! We got the 2/$12 (app + meal) deal + $2 for unlimited soda. Kids were cheaper and they had a special on beer. That Fridays is nice because they have a separate area for a large party. They had a little screw up on # of tables, but it was quickly fixed. The servers were really, really good – especially for a chain restaurant!

The big stuff- vendors

Invites- nmiphotocreations on etsy- A
http://www.etsy.com/shop/nmiphotocreations
Kim was really easy to work with. We fell in love from our first sample. We asked for a vellum overlay (which she hadn’t done before) since we weren’t doing an inner envelope, we wanted a POP. It came out perfectly (you can sorta see it in the picture)! Communication was slightly delayed during her “busy” times of year, but nothing was delayed too much—but we gave a ton of notice. Great quality & price!


Calligraphy- Wedding Ink – A+++
http://weddingink.net/
Nicole is AMAZING and AFFORDABLE! She got our envelopes back to us so quickly and we picked them up to save on shipping. We also had her do our escort cards--- and she was able to make a few new ones- last minute- within hours of asking! This is so much easier than doing anything yourselves, I think even cheaper due to the cost of ink, and it looks great !!

DOC- Once upon an Event – A+
http://www.onceuponanevent.org/
We met with Mara back in Feb or March, after we won the free DOC at the LIW bridal shower. It was a great meeting, we really liked their package and personality!! Kristyn ended up being our actual day of coordinator, and she helped us so much with questions and opinions here & there along the way. When we found out in June that our venue had made mistakes, we increased the time to a full day (had won a partial day) because we knew she would be able to help with any mishaps that the venue contract breach would cause. Hiring a DOC is the best thing we could have done- she was there for us all day, helping us and the photographers and videographer with little & big tasks. You don’t realize how many little things you have to worry about !! Example-- We forgot our bouq’s on the bus, but Kristyn went to get them so we could continue to take pictures during our limited time downtown. You don’t have anyone from the hall (bridal attendant) helping you get dressed and take pictures!! At the hall, she was there to discuss all the little (and big) issues that came along all day. The Maitre D and bridal attendants helped make us comfortable, but that’s it. We highly recommend Once Upon an Event!!

Dresses
http://paradisebridals.com/ -
Lauren- PARADISE BRIDAL: A
I expected to have a bad experience here. I went in thinking “I am only getting their price on this dress and then leaving!!!” Well, a great price led to a change of heart… but each time I thought “today’s the day they will mess up” (I had a bad experience there with a bridesmaid dress years ago). Although they took my hollow to hem measurement 3 times… and came up with a different one each time…. This was an easy fix when the dress came in too long. -- Higher shoes (as expected). Other than that, I really had a good experience at Paradise! Hint- order your dress for a month before your actual wedding!

Meghan- PARADISE BRIDAL: B-
I, also, was hesitant about paradise bridal based on things I’d read and heard about other brides/bridesmaids experiences. I had found a dress I really loved at another store and was pleased to find essentially the same dress for HALF the price at Paradise (it had POCKETS!)- my attendant was Stephanie and she was super helpful and very pleasant to work with. The dress I chose was somewhat plain so she assisted me in finding a “belt” detail that worked with the design and could be sewn on. I found the rest of the staff to be helpful throughout the process but over the phone they were dishonest, confused and impatient. The seamstress, Maria, was incredibly sweet but ended up screwing up while sewing on the belt ultimately making my dress SMALLER (she cut the belt fabric too short and had to compensate by tightening the dress)- a detail that could’ve potentially DESTROYED our wedding. I am not a big girl so this was a definite set-back… but thankfully, nothing a pair of spanx couldn’t fix.

Village Bridal (MOB)- A+
http://www.villagebridals.com/
I went with my mom to Village Bridal to look at dresses a couple of times- once for me (they were SO helpful, but I didn’t find “the one”) and once for her. They gave her a great deal for the dress AND we had a coupon! My mom’s review: I told them when I picked up the dress that I had an excellent experience. The store was beautifully decorated, had a large selection of mother of the bride dresses, clean and comfortable. The customer service was excellent – on time, friendly and helpful. The alteration person was great to work with and gave great feedback. I have already recommended them to other people.

David’s Bridal (MOB)- B-
Very unhelpful and misinformed—took several trips to get the dress she wanted in the color she wanted, when it was available all along. Did not get altered here.

Bridal Elegance (BMs)- A
http://bridaleleganceli.com/
They are so great to work with , from Judy who helped us order the dresses and get our samples for shoe dying (they didn’t have the dresses there, it was special order) to Phyllis in alterations- everyone looked amazing thanks to them!!

Ebay FG dresses - A
http://www.ebay.com/usr/designerkidsfashion888
These came out great and were less than $20 each!


Shoes
Craft (lauren & BMs) – A

Very easy transactions and all shoes came out great. Some are a little expensive, but most of our bridal party was able to get cheap/ clearance shoes for $20-40. Mine were $20! And dying is included (depending on the number of people). Our MOH was dying hers brown, so she was able to use shoes she had from a previous wedding and dye them for only $20!

Davids Bridal (Meghan) - A
Great price and the style name of the shoe was “Meg”- match made in heaven!

Tuxes- Rico’s – A+
http://ricosclothing.com/ricos/
They were very helpful, and easy to work with . A few snags in sizing, but quickly and easily fixed. They had tuxes in all price ranges, and ours was low priced but looked great. I have to give props to any tux place that can fit a tux to a 4’ 11” girl!!!


Make up
( Meghan) Christine Martin Faces – A+++

http://www.cmartinfaces.com/#!
Christine was great to work with- she made me feel comfortable about some of my flaws and the end result even had me breathless. She got it right in one shot at the trial and was able to duplicate and far exceed for the day of. Due to the “dress scare”- I was freaking out the day of, she provided the added bonus of on-the-spot therapy and kept reminding me to breathe… her and Dusti together was like watching a sitcom and ultimately, I could not have made better decisions for hair and makeup!

(Lauren) Makeup by Lauren – A+
Great job! Lauren is a friend from high school who does makeup for weddings on the side. She had done my make up before for a wedding I was in, so I booked her for my big day ?

Hair
(Meghan) Dusti, Fire Monkey- A+++

http://www.firemonkeyhairdesign.com/
Dusti was awesome! She was very patient with scheduling conflicts while planning the trial and she is so creative and entertaining! She took everything I said and made me feel like an absolute princess (which is really saying a lot since I usually wear hats to cover up my rat’s nest of hair). Additionally she did my mother and sister-in-law’s hair which both came out phenomenal. Dusti also provided me with a referral for Christine Martin for makeup.

(Lauren) Christina S. , friend – A +++
After a few changes/ trials, we finally got the perfect ‘do! So perfect that even my makeup artist took pix to use as inspiration for future events. Bonus- she ended up giving me, my mom & my sis our hairdo’s as a wedding gift!! Also, she did my cut & color prior to the day ?

Florist- Hidden Essence- A++
http://hiddenessence.net/
Michelle was amazing to work with. She worked within our budget (saved us at least $1000 under other quotes) and was very helpful all along- from grasping our ideas to our sample (perfect!) to last minute changes for drop off locations & # of tables. Our pictures don’t do them justice!




Photographer- Gail Chatelain- B-
http://www.gailchatelain.com/
We booked Gail almost on the spot after having a glowing review from a close friend and meeting with her. This was about 15-16 months prior to our wedding.

Gail is very artistic and her photos came out great. However, we did have two major issues with the overall experience and final outcome:

1) Our Day of Coordinator called Gail to confirm, the week of our wedding. At this point, we found out that she had to leave early due to a family function the same night... Being 3 days prior to the wedding, there was nothing we could say or do and we did not want to stress out about it. Her 2nd photographer would shoot the rest of the wedding. She left VERY early- just after our entrance/ first dance. His pictures came out totally amateur- blurry and we only got about 1/3 as the rest were so bad she just deleted them. We later found out this was his SECOND WEDDING EVER. (and first with her)

2) In the weeks leading up to our wedding we discussed specific photographs that were to be taken. There were several, very important pictures that were not taken. We feel that our list was basically disregarded based on the extensive list of missing pictures. Some of these were discussed from the first day we met.

Videographer- AJ Ingoglia A+++ so far and (TBD) for final product
http://vimeo.com/ajfilms
Not only did AJ keep us laughing and make our interviews easy and stress free, but he also kept our OWDY group of “17 (thousand?) kids” and their ROWDIER parents on target. He especially helped after our photographer left and her assistant wasn’t pushy enough (see above). We cannot WAIT for our trailer AND full video (HEY AJ ARE YOU READING THIS !! LOL)

OUR TRAILER!!

Officiant- Tracy Adamo , Ceremonies of Love- A+++
http://ceremoniesoflove.wordpress.com/welcome/
LOVE LOVE LOVE her. She took a quick questionnaire we wrote and turned it into the most amazing ceremony! ALL of our guests told us how much they loved it, some even booked meetings for their own ceremonies!! Tracy also helped quickly & quietly calm me down after the music fiasco. She was so attentive throughout the process, and so efficient afterwards—we got our marriage certificate before we even got back from our honeymoon!!


JMG Entertainment – A
This is a friend’s company. Our friend was invited as a guest, so she had her associates Rob & Greg do the MC and DJing. It turned out better than we could have ever imagined. Everyone danced, everyone raved about how much fun the wedding was. The only thing we did have an issue with is that the wrong version of our processional song was played, which we believe was a miscommunication between our friend & the DJ last minute.

Party Bus- Transtar Exec- B+
http://www.tranexec.com/
GREAT price, great service leading up and after our initial trips! Our original contact left, but getting in touch with another was easy. I think they upgraded their busses, because it was not the same bus we looked at (a year before) but seemed to fit everyone better than the smallest bus, so we were OK with it. They also offered us a towncar to the airport for our honeymoon up to 30 miles. We were 55 miles from the airport, but they didn’t charge us too much extra (like almost nothing!) Great company! The only downside was that the driver was a maniac on Meghan’s trip downtown, and sort of bad (slammed on brakes) on Lauren’s trip downtown.

Shuttles- Mayfair Limo, East Northport NY- A
After our hotel shut down (that had shuttles included), we had to book a shuttle. This was mostly for the BP, so we just booked one way. The shuttle was a 14 passenger van. We chose Mayfair for the proximity to larkfield & they only required 2 hr min (most were 3-4hrs). They were easy to work with, but a little less “formal” with paperwork than most wedding vendors. No biggie. The only complaint I have is that we were supposed to have the shuttle from 1130-130 approx. No one knew he was there until about 1215—to the point where I was about to call Mayfair. But, no one was ready to go until 1205/1210 so it wasn’t that big of a deal—and we only needed 2 runs so we were within our 2 hrs still!

Ceremony/ Catering hall- Larkfield Manor
http://larkfieldmanor.com/new/
Overall – B+
Ceremony- C
Reception – A++++
Our list of “must haves” prior to really looking at venues went like this: Champagne @ beginning for guests (check) // Food: salmon & good vegetarian option (I liked the tilapia better and Meghan stopped being vegetarian but YES they were good)// Outside area for ceremony option-- also if inside/rain- separate area from reception + cocktail (At first Larkfield did not provide a separate room, but with the renovations they would have, outside area was better PRE Renovation, but still nice) // Outside area for pictures (wasn’t so great after renovation, will be better in March I hear…) // Outside area for cocktail (yes but this wasn’t AS special after the renovation, the outside bar I loved got taken out) // 2 Bridal suites! & an option to separate prior to ceremony (Larkfield promised this, but then took it back, then gave it back again—see below) // Dance area in the middle of the reception space (CHECK!)// Venue with an existent bar as opposed to bringing in a mobile bar (YES, AMAZING bars), WINDOWS – if a hall (sort of, but not noticeably lacking & definitely better POST RENO – in cocktail space)// Stairs (WAY Better after RENO— I got my stair pictures!)// Curb appeal (YES!)
When we initially booked at Larkfield, we went on a whim because we were nearby and loved the venue!! Even pre-renovation and a little 80’s, it promised us almost everything we were looking for an a staff that seemed GENUINE as it was a family business! Harry let us in on a little secret- they would be renovating. He told us that we were the first to know this and to keep it off the internet (this may be true as he told us this about 5 more times over the course of 2 years that we were the first couple to know). They were not put off or confused about our specific needs, due to being 2 brides. The communication was great and we were totally pleased. I raved all over LIW about them! Our contract included our 2 bridal suites and that we would be the only wedding- 2 brides is enough for one day!! And Pete was helpful- for quick questions, a younger point of view on decisions, and Facebook encouragement.
Fast Forward to June 30, 2013. This was the day of our bridal shower AND Larkfield’s grand opening! At our shower, we were told by a relative that she was invited to another wedding, at Larkfield, on September 20 at 6PM!!! (same time as our guests were arriving) . Of course, this ruined not only our shower, but also the party for us later. We had to confront Harry, but make sure not to make a big scene and still enjoy ourselves. We agreed to meet later in the week. We had to contact them to arrange this. The remainder of the “negotiations” meetings to repair the breach of contract was completely initiated by us. We agreed to a few stipulations, mostly to protect us AND our guests on our day: Our guests wouldn’t be inconvenienced by their guests, we wouldn’t see the other bride, we agreed to different suite arrangements (which made sense based on the new layout of suites), their cocktail hour music would not impact our ceremony, they credited us some for our extra expenses and threw in a raw bar, etc. We even saw the other couple’s contract (minus their pricing) which confirmed that they would not be sharing any rooms with us.
On the Monday before our wedding, when we dropped off our items, it “slipped” that they had re-sent invites to all the guests of the other wedding. Their cocktail hour would now start at 530PM. Which meant their reception would start at the SAME TIME as our ceremony. We didn’t realize this until our DOC pointed it out, and it was obviously too late.
The day of: We were told that we couldn’t take pictures in the lobby until during the reception because “this was normal” – BAD idea when you want them WITH the bridal party!! I now believe this was due to the other party’s (guests?) arrival. During our line up (we didn’t know until afterwards) our guests were RUSHED into their seats, and even sat at PATIO TABLES due to the other party’s cocktail hour being in OUR CEREMONY SPACE!!! So they had no time to set up properly! There was also no time for programs or bubbles to be handed out. Finally, the straw that broke the camel’s back--- their F***ing DJ played “Blurred lines” during our I DO’s -- so loud that EVERYONE- including ME—turned their heads. My video will be forever ruined (well maybe AJ’s magic can help) AND SEVERAL guests got up to complain. Our Maitre D told us we needed to speak to the owner , but Harry basically hid the rest of the night, which is fine because we wanted to enjoy the reception, but TO THIS DAY HE HAS NOT CALLED OR EMAILED TO APOLOGIZE. I really feel like they made a genuine mistake, but in trying to correct it and “save face” for themselves, they hurt our wedding (the larger party, who had booked 17 months sooner).
Cocktail hour & Reception: Absolutely AMAZING. The amount of food seemed crazy, even though we had seen the list a million times, in person it was so much more. Out of towners thought the cocktail hour was a buffet dinner! Dinner was so good- NO ONE was disappointed in their food, even the filets- which is hard to get that much red meat cooked perfectly! Then they came around with seconds. Our guests felt so special & impressed. This is exactly what we were looking for in a venue! Our Maitre D, Meghan, was so helpful! The timing of everything was perfect! She helped with anything little that came up- cake cutting confusion, my mom’s special dessert, getting our pictures set up during the reception. Felipe, our main attendant was very helpful, but the second attendant (Maria) was a little “green”. Still good but you could tell she was new. They brought us the perfect assortment of food during cocktail hour to our suite! Everything we brought was set up even better than we had imagined (especially our memorial pictures).

Cake – Included, provided by Blackforest Bakery- A+
http://www.blackforestbakeryli.com/
We went to Blackforest on a random weekday that I took off in April ’13. I had called several times and they told us that we had plenty of time. We ended up going very unprepared – forgot our pictures, etc (so unlike us!). When we arrived, the lady at the regular bakery part was sort of rude…. And then our meeting with the baker was a little odd- mostly because we were clueless. However, we tried 3 cakes and 3 or 4 fillings and they were sooo yummy!! We chose choc cake w/ cookies & crème filling and vanilla cake w/ cappuccino filling. Meghan is a baker/ makes custom cakes- so we were disappointed to find out pretty much EVERYTHING costs extra (but understood why!) We ended up only upgrading the flowers – which didn’t cost too much and they came out WAY better than we even expected!! The night of the wedding, I got the chocolate cake… but ran around to find someone’s plate that I was comfortable stealing bites of the vanilla off of (ended up being my sister’s)!


After the Big day

Hotel(s)
#1 Wingate by Wyndham, Brentwood- F

We booked this hotel in May of 2012. The suite was beautiful, the rooms were nice & they provided a shuttle and continental breakfast. No bar/ restaurant, but that’s hard to find in our venue’s area. In April of 2013, we found out that the hotel was closing IN FOUR DAYS!!!! They offered us the same rate at the Holiday Inn Plainview (way nicer hotel with restaurant & Bar)—but their shuttle was too small and it was far…. We didn’t think that would work for a Friday night wedding (rush hour!!) MOVING ON!!

#2 Hampton Inn, Commack- A
Maryann was very helpful (**note – her hours are only 9-4!) and got back to us very quickly. They offered similar amenities/pricing/deals, but a smaller suite and no shuttle. We found an inexpensive shuttle company and booked it up! They were great about providing our guest lists and adding people on after the block closed ? And… they put up with our crazy crowd post wedding (til 5 am I heard….) They also let us check in whenever we wanted the day of (basically).

Travel Agent & Honeymoon
Liberty Travel – Selden, NY - A
We thought they were great! The best part is that they have special contacts and extra perks at the hotel when you book through them. This was very convenient as it helped minimize risk in a foreign country. We upgraded everything since it was our honeymoon, which they probably should have advised us against but it was nice to have them for our honeymoon AND it was our idea to have it all- private transfers from airport (didn’t really NEED this as the cars were only built for like 6 – we thought it was the open aired 40 passenger excursion types and that it would stop at 400 hotels), Excellence club (VIP) which gave us upgraded mini bar (we barely drank here), a private lounge that was nice for in between snacks and was air conditioned, private beach area (nice if you like the beach, we preferred the pool). And, the Junior Swim up suite – our building was private & quiet, but didn’t provide a hammock and was not very close to any pool beds—I think they should have recommended a specific building, which I now know for next time. Sorta their job tho….

Excellence, Punta Cana DR. – A+++
http://excellence-resorts.com/caribbean-and-mexico-destinations/excellence-punta-cana
We were SO happy with our entire experience. The food was good and the drinks were better. It was relaxing – adults only- swim up bar, amazing staff & great activities. We had horseback riding on the beach included, which was a nice little treat. Their shows were soooo good!!!! I almost thought MJ came back to life! The rooms were great, so romantic. They gave us a little honeymoon package (champagne in room, romantic breakfast in bed, romantic dinner) which was sweet. We did excursions (not included) which were so much fun- ziplining & snorkeling/party boat tour. We would go back in a heartbeat (and may do so!!) The only downside is that it is the furthest hotel from the airport, but it is totally worth the trip (on roads that aren’t actually paved yet….) because it is truly the best hotel there- as we were told by other visitors we met on excursions! If you are going here, please let me know we have some good tips that will help!






Along the way… winnings & etc

Hotel Indigo Riverhead- A
after one of the many Party 105 Hitched on the house events we attended, Hotel indigo gave us gift bags including a free night stay. We took advantage of this and had a nice dinner, wine, etc night out. It is a beautiful hotel with great food and I always recommend it to people!

The Look Spa Salon- A-
http://thelookspasalon.com/
I won a free trial makeup & hair (along with a bunch of 2014-ers) from LIW. I loved both, but already had my makeup booked and had a really tough time trying to contact the look salon to find out about the hair pricing/ arrangements. The day of the trial, I also won a free spa day- got my nails done, a facial and a massage! I would highly recommend them for facials and massages!!

Awesome 80s Prom -
http://www.awesome80sprom.com/ - A
We won tickets at the LIW bridal show. It was so much fun!!! We loved dressing 80’s- chic & nerdy! It was the city, so drinks weren’t cheap, but definitely worth looking into for a bachelorette party!

Team Extreme – B+
http://teamextremeli.com/
We won this at the Party 105 hitched on the house competition (door prize) it was a lot of fun, and definitely a good workout but I apparently cannot workout outside in the summer… I feinted and stopped going. (but continued on the day I feinted!)

Michelle Bianco, Life Coach – A
http://www.coachmichellebianco.com/#!
We were lucky enough to sign up for a free group session through LIW. It was very interesting, we learned a lot and reaffirmed our love!! Michelle is a great gal and coach!

Custom Table Runner – Above All Events – A-
I won this at the LIW bridal shower. It was OK- it was basically a runner that someone (hand) stenciled the letter “K” on in our color. (I also won a DOC from here but passed it along… to about 4 brides before one finally got in touch with them…. FAIL!)

The little details & purchases

E rings, wedding rings
Zales – A
amazing to work with – easy and great prices/ deals! Cleaned our jewelry up perfectly for the big day!
Sears- A
A random find for the 2nd wedding ring – great deal & black Friday special!

Ring cleaners/ appraisers – Marinelli Jewelers (Eastport NY)- A+
we love this little shop! Have always gotten Pandora from them, and they did such a good job appraising our jewelry and cleaning it!

VistaPrint (STDs, engagement cards, stickers for engagement favors, programs) - A
www.vistaprint.com
Great service, and cheap prices. I combined retailmenot deals with Groupons and we pretty much got everything super cheap (I don’t think you can do this anymore, they cracked down)


The knot shop- A
http://weddingshop.theknot.com/
Overall, very nicely made items, came timely and were inexpensive! (during sales) we bought our salt & pepper favors, bridesmaid + bridesmen + RB/FG bags, Gifts for BM- engraved glasses (champagne and football), matchbooks. (PS we hated the knot site for a forum, those girls are harsh. We were done after one post!) (see some pix @ end)

Cake topper- bungalowglow on etsy- A+
http://www.etsy.com/shop/BungalowGlow
We had looked for a while on etsy for a cake topper that was light but big enough to see. We went back & forth between a “Mrs & Mrs” or love birds to go with our theme. I must have contacted 5 vendors to try to get both on one topper. When that didn’t work out, we went with the vendor who was the most responsive and friendly, and it turned out she was a fast shipper and the product was perfect!


DOJ & veils & BM earrings – weddingfactorydirect – A
www.weddingfactorydirect.com
This is a great site for these items, as we didn’t want to spend a lot of money on things that would be worn for one day. The veil I liked @ paradise was like $300 and I was able to find one for $50ish that matched my dress so well that one of the consultants at paradise commented on it! Our jewelry was great – just enough bling at a cheap / costume jewelry price? The only downside is that you can’t SEE what you are ordering, so, Meghan bought 2 veils before she got the “right” one. The website is a little confusing, seems like you need a tax ID and to be a wholesaler to buy from them, but you don’t!

Sand kit- Michaels – A
We got the picture frame one, it was a little expensive, but I think we used a coupon. We liked that it closes so very little risk of spilling! Also, it was “personal” because it has our picture on it. We had seen something similar on four weddings and pretty much HAD to have it !



BM DOJ (gifts)- A
– Lia Sophia – we had a party as my sister was an advisor. We got 6 free basically and a bunch of other jewelry cheap (FG necklaces included). Totally the way to go!
- Macys – MOH jewelry – Black Friday sale = amazing deal! It was a nice set and my sister really liked it, and liked standing out ?

Mothers gifts
Handkerchiefs- inspiredstitches on etsy- A

http://www.etsy.com/shop/InspiredStitches
These came out really nice and we got them really fast. They were exactly what we had wanted/ planned for months. (recommended by a fellow bride on here!)
Blanket –exclusively weddings- A
http://www.exclusivelyweddings.com/
(Lauren’s mother) – you can only customize the name(ie Love, Lauren) but the saying was very sentimental, so it worked. Good quality & arrived quickly!
Willow Tree Figurine- Amazon- A
Mother hugging daughter- ordered on amazon, meghan’s mom collects these so it was an easy choice!

Fathers gifts
Print for picture surround - goodnightowldesigns- etsy – A-

http://www.etsy.com/shop/GoodNightOwlDesigns
(Lauren’s dad )- came as ordered but not really worth it at the price, you have to buy the frame which works out to so much more $$ - would have been better off getting 2 of the one we gave Meghan’s dad!
Framed picture – yourpicturestory- etsy – A+
http://www.etsy.com/shop/YourPictureStory
(Meghan’s dad)- we loved this one! It’s a bit heavy, so I hope it’s not a pain to hang. This is a “board” with 2 pictures you attach (today a bride, tomorrow a wife). It’s a little expensive but totally worth it! You can choose the colors ( a little hard to see online) and saying.

FG gifts- A
(mostly included in knot & lia Sophia reviews) we also bought water bottles and put their names and “flower girl” on them (from the dollar store), added candy & some activity books (also from the dollar store)

RB gifts – A
http://www.stickyj.com/
same as the girls except we ordered the boys dogtag necklaces from StickyJewelry --They were a little small (we knew this beforehand) but so are the boys and we got a great deal online ? They came as a set of 2 charms + 1 necklace so we had to buy an extra necklace to split the tags.

Each other’s gifts
Lauren to Meghan – A
Tee shirt crazy dog tshirts on etsy- quick, good quality, great job… Watch from Macy’s – good service, great deal, sizing included !
http://www.etsy.com/shop/CrazyDogTshirts


Meghan to Lauren- A+++
Lauren & I have always talked about how important timing has been in our relationship, we both know if we had met earlier we probably would’ve been immature and not taken it seriously enough to pursue anything significant… in an effort to kind of “play” on this idea, I decided to go back in time… if we had met when we were 5 I would’ve pushed her on the playground to tell her I liked her:

if I had met her when I was 12 I would’ve written about her in my diary:

if I had met her when I was 16, I would’ve made her a mix cd:

but since I met her when I did I only have the rest of my time and heart to give her:

cheesy, but it’s US…

Name Plaque- Bosheree on Etsy- A++
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Bosheree
We chose her because her prices were great & she had many plaque designs that matched our theme (love birds & branches). She also does all hand paint, no stick-ons. Great job!


Hangers- Grinsngiggles12 on Etsy- A-
LINK N/A
Someone on LIW said they were doing a great sale, so a bunch of girls ordered. They were VERY delayed, but at least we got ours and they came out great! Which is more than most of the girls can say. Shop has since closed.


I do stickers- I do bling on etsy – B
http://www.etsy.com/shop/IDoBling
Misshipped and only received 1 at first, very quick to respond and resend 2nd, HOWEVER one of them did not stick on our shoes and pretty much fell apart—most likely whichever was sent during a heat wave…. You are better off finding these in person!


Address stamp- savethedate on etsy - A
http://www.etsy.com/shop/savethedate
We used this for our return address & RSVP cards. Came out great! (not actual pic)


Afresh Approach- A+
http://afreshapproachllc.com/
Jeanne is great!!! We went one Saturday morning at 11 am when they just opened. We thought we were going to get brittle (I’m a HUGE fan) but we loved the packaging and the taste of the truffles. We tasted a bunch! Mmmmm! Jeanne also helped us out last minute by putting only non-alcoholic ones on the kids tables. I recommend her highly!

DIYs - all A+++ !

Programs

I wanted Fan Programs, so we ordered the piece with the words on Vista Print. They came quickly but were very light. We figured people would be able to see them anyway because it would be light out still during the ceremony. I tried to attach popsicle sticks and cardstock… but due to the shape, when you held them, they flopped over and broke. So, we ditched the sticks and just made our programs matted. They came out pretty nice!

Here Come The Brides Sign
Meghan made this. We bought the wood from Michaels and painted the words on ?


Table Numbers
We found these cute wooden birds on sale at Michaels. They stood on their own and went with our theme. The worst part was taking the UPC stickers off!!! Then, we spray painted half brown and half blue. We “stamped” numbers on (with paint). It was tough to get the right materials to make it work and look good. We made 20. When people started RSVPing we got worried and bought more (didn’t make them). Our final table count was 15 + ours. LOL. We later also found out that all the even numbers @ larkfield are on one side… and all the odd are on another… so basically half the room had brown & the other side had blue birds. Oh well!!


FG Baskets
We rummaged the house for baskets, spray painted them brown & tied ribbon to then. Done.

Card Cage
We found one at Home goods, used wire cutters & pliers to make the openings @ the top bigger, and put a ribbon and a sign on it, easy enough!

Guest Book- Groupon on Picaboo
This didn’t cost much and worked out nicely. We had a lot of people sign at the hall, and a few family members sign the day after (yes --we cheated!)



Ring Bearer Pillow
This was DIYd by a relative for our shower. Loved it!

OOT Baskets
We found “tubs” at the dollar store and bought a bunch of candy. Added water bottles (sale @ Stop and shop), power bars (coupons + sales @ Shoprite), a brochure I made with the “schedules” and some food ideas, etc. one of our BMs (SIL) made “recovering from Lauren & meghans wedding” door hangers. We got packets of motrin from staples. People loved them!


Escort Cards, Favors, bubbles, programs, matches
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Alimm729 Posted: Oct 11, 2013 11:02 AM+
Alimm729 MEMBER SINCE: 8/13 TOTAL POSTS : 1781 WEDDING DATE: Oct 25, 2014
Posted: Oct 11, 2013 11:02 AM bride-minus.png

Our 9/20/13 Wedding- Larkfield, AJ Ingoglia, Gail Chatelain, Hidden Essence, Once Upon an Event, +++++ - Long Island Weddings

What a great review, love all the details! How disappointing about what happened during your ceremony though. Hopefully AJ can work some magic and no one will be the wiser! Congrats!!
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MarryTheNight24 Posted: Oct 11, 2013 11:12 AM+
MarryTheNight24 MEMBER SINCE: 12/11 TOTAL POSTS : 1622 WEDDING DATE: Sep 21, 2013
Posted: Oct 11, 2013 11:12 AM bride-minus.png

Our 9/20/13 Wedding- Larkfield, AJ Ingoglia, Gail Chatelain, Hidden Essence, Once Upon an Event, +++++ - Long Island Weddings

Great review! Can't wait to see you trailer and pro pix! Congrats again!!
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Soon2BMrsPortz Posted: Oct 11, 2013 11:14 AM+
Soon2BMrsPortz MEMBER SINCE: 9/12 TOTAL POSTS : 339 WEDDING DATE: Mar 29, 2014
Posted: Oct 11, 2013 11:14 AM bride-minus.png

Our 9/20/13 Wedding- Larkfield, AJ Ingoglia, Gail Chatelain, Hidden Essence, Once Upon an Event, +++++ - Long Island Weddings

Great review! That's unfortunate what happened during your ceremony but at least you still had a wonderful day. I'm going to Excellence Punta Cana for my honeymoon and would love to hear any tips you have :) Congrats!
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luckyerialc Posted: Oct 11, 2013 11:18 AM+
luckyerialc MEMBER SINCE: 3/13 TOTAL POSTS : 1440 WEDDING DATE: Jun 07, 2014
Posted: Oct 11, 2013 11:18 AM bride-minus.png

Our 9/20/13 Wedding- Larkfield, AJ Ingoglia, Gail Chatelain, Hidden Essence, Once Upon an Event, +++++ - Long Island Weddings

Great review! Your day sounded amazing - congrats!!
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cupcakegal930 Posted: Oct 11, 2013 11:38 AM+
cupcakegal930 MEMBER SINCE: 1/13 TOTAL POSTS : 591 WEDDING DATE: Dec 27, 2013
Posted: Oct 11, 2013 11:38 AM bride-minus.png

Our 9/20/13 Wedding- Larkfield, AJ Ingoglia, Gail Chatelain, Hidden Essence, Once Upon an Event, +++++ - Long Island Weddings

LOVE your review! You know my issues with Larkfield since we've FM'd about them before.. Hopefully everything will go smoothly! Glad you had such an amazing day!
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dariamarie2 Posted: Oct 11, 2013 11:44 AM+
dariamarie2 MEMBER SINCE: 4/13 TOTAL POSTS : 1425 WEDDING DATE: Oct 10, 2014
Posted: Oct 11, 2013 11:44 AM bride-minus.png

Our 9/20/13 Wedding- Larkfield, AJ Ingoglia, Gail Chatelain, Hidden Essence, Once Upon an Event, +++++ - Long Island Weddings

Great review! Your gifts to each other were so creative and awesome. Congrats!!
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Pinkisles Posted: Oct 11, 2013 11:56 AM+
Pinkisles MEMBER SINCE: 1/12 TOTAL POSTS : 1297 WEDDING DATE: Mar 15, 2013
Posted: Oct 11, 2013 11:56 AM bride-minus.png

Our 9/20/13 Wedding- Larkfield, AJ Ingoglia, Gail Chatelain, Hidden Essence, Once Upon an Event, +++++ - Long Island Weddings

Great review Lauren!! I had no idea that Larkfield pulled all that stuff with you. You seemed so calm and collected during your planning. Congrats again!
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lauren1802 Posted: Oct 11, 2013 12:10 PM+
lauren1802 MEMBER SINCE: 10/11 TOTAL POSTS : 5335 WEDDING DATE: Sep 20, 2013
Posted: Oct 11, 2013 12:10 PM bride-minus.png

Our 9/20/13 Wedding- Larkfield, AJ Ingoglia, Gail Chatelain, Hidden Essence, Once Upon an Event, +++++ - Long Island Weddings

Thanks everyone!
We really thought the issues were solved until the actual day. :(
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Melissa211 Posted: Oct 11, 2013 12:17 PM+
Melissa211 MEMBER SINCE: 6/13 TOTAL POSTS : 262 WEDDING DATE: Jun 20, 2014
Posted: Oct 11, 2013 12:17 PM bride-minus.png

Our 9/20/13 Wedding- Larkfield, AJ Ingoglia, Gail Chatelain, Hidden Essence, Once Upon an Event, +++++ - Long Island Weddings

Love the OOT tubs! Great idea!!
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Percz2418 Posted: Oct 11, 2013 01:55 PM+
Percz2418 MEMBER SINCE: 5/13 TOTAL POSTS : 735 WEDDING DATE: Oct 03, 2014
Posted: Oct 11, 2013 01:55 PM bride-minus.png

Our 9/20/13 Wedding- Larkfield, AJ Ingoglia, Gail Chatelain, Hidden Essence, Once Upon an Event, +++++ - Long Island Weddings

Awesome review!! LOVED your gifts to each other! You both looked beautiful and the wedding looked gorgeous!
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butrfly1rm Posted: Oct 11, 2013 02:26 PM+
butrfly1rm MEMBER SINCE: 8/13 TOTAL POSTS : 1037 WEDDING DATE: Mar 15, 2014
Posted: Oct 11, 2013 02:26 PM bride-minus.png

Our 9/20/13 Wedding- Larkfield, AJ Ingoglia, Gail Chatelain, Hidden Essence, Once Upon an Event, +++++ - Long Island Weddings

Oh man! Getting married in a church, but have my reception at Larkfield! Hope I don't come across any issues!
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simba301 Posted: Oct 11, 2013 02:35 PM+
simba301 MEMBER SINCE: 3/13 TOTAL POSTS : 1370 WEDDING DATE: Mar 08, 2014
Posted: Oct 11, 2013 02:35 PM bride-minus.png

Our 9/20/13 Wedding- Larkfield, AJ Ingoglia, Gail Chatelain, Hidden Essence, Once Upon an Event, +++++ - Long Island Weddings

Congratulations! You both looked beautiful! And what a fantastic review with so much awesome detail--thanks for taking the time to write this!
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aiavaro1 Posted: Oct 11, 2013 02:41 PM+
aiavaro1 MEMBER SINCE: 8/11 TOTAL POSTS : 291 WEDDING DATE: Nov 27, 2013
Posted: Oct 11, 2013 02:41 PM bride-minus.png

Our 9/20/13 Wedding- Larkfield, AJ Ingoglia, Gail Chatelain, Hidden Essence, Once Upon an Event, +++++ - Long Island Weddings

What a great review!! I absolutely love your table number idea!!!!!!!!

I am also traveling to Punta Cana for my honeymoon but staying at Majestic Elegance. We are looking into do excursions especially the ziplining and snorkeling like you did. can you please give me some information about these like who you booked with, how were they and the cost? That would be amazing! Thank you.
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nella20005 Posted: Oct 14, 2013 09:50 AM+
nella20005 MEMBER SINCE: 8/12 TOTAL POSTS : 630 WEDDING DATE: Oct 19, 2013
Posted: Oct 14, 2013 09:50 AM bride-minus.png

Our 9/20/13 Wedding- Larkfield, AJ Ingoglia, Gail Chatelain, Hidden Essence, Once Upon an Event, +++++ - Long Island Weddings

Great review! Hiding... lol he was going over details with us after your ceremony upstairs... lol Lets see what happens with me on Saturday.
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lauren1802 Posted: Oct 14, 2013 10:13 AM+
lauren1802 MEMBER SINCE: 10/11 TOTAL POSTS : 5335 WEDDING DATE: Sep 20, 2013
Posted: Oct 14, 2013 10:13 AM bride-minus.png

Re: Our 9/20/13 Wedding- Larkfield, AJ Ingoglia, Gail Chatelain, Hidden Essence, Once Upon an Event, +++++


Posted by nella20005

Great review! Hiding... lol he was going over details with us after your ceremony upstairs... lol Lets see what happens with me on Saturday.



hahaha. he's still hiding.

ETA and it was during the ceremony :(
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katnwill Posted: Oct 15, 2013 10:55 AM+
katnwill MEMBER SINCE: 10/11 TOTAL POSTS : 2405 WEDDING DATE: May 26, 2013
Posted: Oct 15, 2013 10:55 AM bride-minus.png

Our 9/20/13 Wedding- Larkfield, AJ Ingoglia, Gail Chatelain, Hidden Essence, Once Upon an Event, +++++ - Long Island Weddings

Congratulations! Great review. I love the gifts.
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Soon2BMrsJameson Posted: Oct 20, 2013 07:18 PM+
Soon2BMrsJameson MEMBER SINCE: 5/11 TOTAL POSTS : 33 WEDDING DATE: Sep 13, 2013
Posted: Oct 20, 2013 07:18 PM bride-minus.png

Our 9/20/13 Wedding- Larkfield, AJ Ingoglia, Gail Chatelain, Hidden Essence, Once Upon an Event, +++++ - Long Island Weddings

Great review! I had similar issues with larkfield which I will include in my review!
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Soon2BMrsJameson Posted: Oct 20, 2013 07:18 PM+
Soon2BMrsJameson MEMBER SINCE: 5/11 TOTAL POSTS : 33 WEDDING DATE: Sep 13, 2013
Posted: Oct 20, 2013 07:18 PM bride-minus.png

Our 9/20/13 Wedding- Larkfield, AJ Ingoglia, Gail Chatelain, Hidden Essence, Once Upon an Event, +++++ - Long Island Weddings

Great review! I had similar issues with larkfield which I will include in my review!
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Soon2BMrsJameson Posted: Oct 20, 2013 07:18 PM+
Soon2BMrsJameson MEMBER SINCE: 5/11 TOTAL POSTS : 33 WEDDING DATE: Sep 13, 2013
Posted: Oct 20, 2013 07:18 PM bride-minus.png

Our 9/20/13 Wedding- Larkfield, AJ Ingoglia, Gail Chatelain, Hidden Essence, Once Upon an Event, +++++ - Long Island Weddings

Great review! I had similar issues with larkfield which I will include in my review!
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