Our Amazing Day 9.20.2012: Leonard’s of Great Neck, St. Pat’s, Lancelot, Modern Photobooth, Viana Hotel, Wedding Cinema, AYW Photography, In the Mix DJ and more

Liwedding was one of my most valuable resources throughout the wedding planning process. I carefully selected all vendors based on hundreds of reviews I read. My wedding day was magical. Its only right that I share my experience with the vendors that all helped to piece it together. I hope you enjoy and find it useful.

Venue- Leonard’s of Great Neck*****A
Leonard’s was fantastic to work with from the planning process to the day-of. Don’t let any old negative reviews sway your opinion. At first I was a little bit skeptical about booking with them by a few biased reviews that I read but I was in love with the venue so I focused on the good ones. I am a review freak. Never did I have any major issues booking with them for my wedding of over 200 guests. We had the penthouse floor locked off for our event for both cocktail hour and the reception. It’s my favorite room in the place. It was beyond amazing and my guest four months later are still raving about the food, the place, the drinks and the fun they had at our wedding. Leonard’s recently installed lighting on the penthouse floor and boy does it make a difference. After all of the décor and flowers were put together, the room was magical. I also had a photo booth put in the bar area which was phenomenal (see review below). Leonard’s has a very particular process in place to ensure efficiency and good service. It is true that you always get a receptionist when you call, but the ALWAYS call or email you back about your concerns. The preparations department was great and the bridal attendant the day-of was a sweetheart. Wish I remembered her name. We were lucky to have our wedding on a day when no other events were booked so I can’t speak for the place when multiple events are occurring at the same time. Leonard’s is a true gem otherwise and they lived up to every single one of my expectations including excellent bar service. Don’t be afraid to ask questions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They will accommodate you the best they can to make your day special!

















Church: St. Patrick’s Church- Glen Cove****A

What an amazing Catholic church to have a wedding at. We were blessed as non-parishioners to have an opportunity to be married here. We had to switch the location of our church only about four months before the wedding, due to a change at my current parish. Father Daniel was more than accommodating. He was unable to do the ceremony himself so we had Reverend Nash do it. The grounds of this church are amazing as you can see in the photos. At times it was a little bit difficult to deal with them regarding paperwork, but we learned that Father Daniel had been in the hospital so we forgave them. I wouldn’t have changed the decision to get married here for the world. The ceremony was perfect.



Photographers: As you Wish Photography*******A
Chris and Dollie were an awesome team to work with on my beautiful wedding day. They truly care about their clients and they helped to make my wedding day go by smoothly. I was totally comfortable around them and they were not overbearing like some photographers. They delivered as promised and paid close attention to my must-have photos list. My bridal party loveddd them. They went above and beyond for us the day of my wedding even bringing in a third photographer and taking some special photos I truly did not expect to have. If you are looking for an excellent team of photographers who allow you to truly personalize a package even if you do not want to pay for albums up-front, please give them a call. I promise you will not be disappointed, because what they provide is simply exceptional value. They are super cool too. So far we have over 600 of the edited photos. Cant wait to get the rest!


Videographer: Pete Galgano of Wedding Cinema**** A+
Pete from Wedding Cinema is simply the BEST! If you are looking for a great cinematographer that will not charge you $3k, please sit down with Pete. He offers exceptional quality and he is very professional. I wouldn’t have changed this decision for the world. I read hundreds of reviews and visited several videographers before I made this decision. He is genuinely a nice person as well and worked well with the rest of my vendors. He was not intrusive at all. We were totally comfortable being filmed by him. So far I received my wedding trailer and it is truly amazing. He did an excellent job of putting the highlights of the day together. I didn’t cry on my wedding day, but I did cry when I saw the trailer for the first time. Can’t wait to get the video ?

Here is a link to our trailer:


Limos: Lancelot Limousine*****A+
Rob was fantastic to work with and he’s an awesome person in general. For our wedding we used the Bentley Flying Spur along with the Infiniti Stretch. Everything was delivered as promised clean and on-time. My family loves him. Me, my sister and my cousin all got married last year and used Lancelot. I had the opportunity to be driven in both the Bentley and the Infiniti and I was not disappointed at all. He works with a great team of people and I couldn’t ask for me. On your day, he will focus on you and getting you where you need to be on-time. If you are looking for a genuine company you can trust on your big day, call Rob!





The Modern Photobooth as Wedding Favors******A+
The best decision of my wedding. Everyone had a blast in the booth. This is not your typical 2-3 person cramped photobooth with blurry pics. This is a top of the line photobooth that holds 20 people with a professional camera and very bright lighting. I ended up using this as my favors. Every photo was printed with our wedding logo and everyone can’t stop talking about the fun they had with it. It’s also great to visit friends and family and see the photos posted up in their living rooms. It’s what I call the “non-useless favor” ? www.themodernphotoboothinc.com
















Hair Stylist/Makeup Artist: Janice Balgrove*****A
Everything in life happens for a reason. My make-up artist bailed out on me two weeks before the wedding and Janice came to my rescue. She was initially only supposed to do my hair, but I asked her the favor of also doing my make-up. She is a celebrity stylist and she also has her own make-up line. She did not disappoint. She was on-time, very professional and she did an amazing job on both my hair and my make-up. I couldn’t ask for anything more. She also did my sisters hair for her wedding five weeks before mine and hair for the bridesmaids at my MOH’s wedding three weeks after my wedding. At my sister’s wedding, my 2 year old daughter totally messed up her hair and she fixed it without a problem. Same at my wedding. She was glad to help out when she was done perfecting the bride. I’m glad she was my makeup artist and hair stylist!



Harpist- Katharine Saxton******A
Katharine did a great job at my wedding on the harp. It was always my dream to have a harpist at my wedding. When I initially met her and she played for me, I fell in love immediately. If you are looking a professional quality harpist, please meet with her. She’s amazing. As her to play “From This Moment On” by Shania Twain for you ? !


DJ and Zap Photographer: In the Mix Professional DJ Service Mineola, NY******A+++

Choosing In the Mix was one of the best decisions of my wedding. At first my MOH wasn’t too happy with the price I was paying, but sometimes you have to pay a little more for quality and professionalism. I’ve seen bad DJ’s/MC’s at weddings and I did not want any nightmares the day of. After the wedding, so many people were asking where I got those guys from. They were David and Evan. A great team who knows how to control a party. I originally wanted Kevin to DJ and they guaranteed that he would be available, however he did not show up the day of the wedding. My only issue with them was that they never advised me of this change, however I was not disappointed because I had seen hundreds of reviews on David and Evan which were always exceptional. When they opened the reception doors so we could get a reveal Of the room before our guests entered, my husband and I were both happy to see the team that was there. They were already having a good time, their equipment was setup very professionally and they were even enjoying the photo booth. This brought a smile to our faces and we were ready for the party to start. My guests had a BLAST, so I guess everything happens for a reason. Definitely opt for the kinetic frontboard, the lighted towers, and the plasmas if you are displaying a slideshow. In addition, the zap photographer was also great. He took pics the whole night that were displayed immediately on the plasmas as the party was going on. If you are looking for a great dj company, please visit In the Mix. You will not be disappointed!

Wedding Website and Guestbook: Wedmedo.com***A
It was difficult for me to select a wedding website that was truly unique and accepted flash technology. Wedmedo.com was the only website that allowed me to truly customize my wedding site. I highly recommend it and the cost is pretty reasonable. Check out the samples on the site.

The dress: Essence of Australia D1273 purchased from The Wedding Plaza on Jericho Turnpike*****A-

Girls don’t be afraid to try on dresses that don’t initially look good to you. I tried this dress on only because Nelly from the Wedding Plaza recommended it. I knew it was the one immediately and it was only about the 3rd or 4th dress I tried. If you have the option to choose a corset dress, do so. You likely eliminate the need for any alterations besides the bustle which surprisingly cost me another $300 last minute. I had no issues with the Wedding Plaza. I gave them a fake wedding date two weeks before the wedding just to ensure there were no last minute issues. The staff that I came into contact with was great.


The bridesmaid dresses: Jim Jhelm from RK Bridal New York, NY******A+
When I originally tried on this dresses for the girls in black I fell in loveeeeee. The only problem was that it was $300 almost everywhere I went. I thought it would be a little hard to tell everyone they had to buy a $300 dress. I decided to keep searching for dresses, but never found anything that could compare in quality and style. I decided to do as much research as possible and found out about “RK Bridal” online ordering program . This is how it works: You see a dress you like, they give you an online price, you place the order using their form and all dresses are delivered to you. I was able to save $75 per dress and the dresses arrived in perfect shape three weeks early. Alterations were done my local alterations place for approximately $20- $30 each on 2 of the dresses.




Flowergirl, Candle Girl and Junior Bridesmaid Dresses
Do not spend an arm and a leg buying theses dresses that will be worn once. I was able to buy both my daughter and nieces dresses on ebay for about 20 bucks. That might sound crazy to you, but don’t knock it unless you see it. The dresses are brand new and you can select whatever you want (white or ivory and the color of the sash). Check it out! I must advise that they do come from China tho #shrugs. The junior bridesmaid dress was the hardest dress for me to find. I was able to order from www.lightinthebox.com for approximately $130. You just have to give them accurate measurements. The dress came in a little too long so we just had it altered. I think they do this purposely to avoid it being too small. Altering it cost me only 30 bucks so it was a win-win.

The Tuxes (groom, groomsmen, dad and the ring bearer)
All tuxes and shoes were rented from Di Re. No issues at all. We had to go to about 10 tux places before we could find the brown that I liked. For the ring bearer and junior groomsman I was able to order the tuxes right off of amazon for $50. They matched the groomsmen tuxes perfectly and they were of exceptional quality. ? Renting it for each of them would have cost me $130. I also purchased the tux shoes on amazon for the boys.



The Invites, Programs, Table #s, and Menus DIY : Cardsandpockets.com, Michael’s
I took on the bold idea of creating my invitations myself. All supplies were ordered from cards and pockets to complete the task of about 100 invites. All supplies ordered from CardsandPockets is top of the line quality material. I wouldn’t have changed this decision of making them myself for the world. It was still expensive but It was fun and I had a team of 10 people helping for them to turn out exactly like I wanted.


DIY Flowergirl basket, ring bearer pillow, unity candle, Guest seating chart, etc.
I had a blast going to Michael’s to put these together just as I wanted. It was very time consuming, but well worth it. A hot glue gun and patience goes a long way.

Bridalpartytees.com
Purchased tees for all female members of the bridal party here. super cute and reasonable prices.







Day-of Coordinators: Cheeky Details (formerly Cheeky Glam Events)****A++
The Cheeky girls are fabulous. We hired them as day-of coordinators and they did not disappoint. They helped to ensure that everything went by smoothly the day-of. During their interview, you will be asked questions that you never thought of, so I was glad to have them to think about those things for me. At first my husband did not understand why we were hiring them. In the end, he totally did and didn’t regret the decision. My entire bridal party loved them and they did a great job with the little ones in the party including our daughter. They kept them busy which was great. After my wedding my cousin/moh who was getting married in three weeks also hired them. Having a day-of coordinator is a must and these girls are the BEST and worth the investment.

Florist- family friend***A+
I cannot begin to describe how beautiful he made the reception room. He did a combination of different highs and lows that were exceptional. I trusted him to do a great job just setting a few requirements including mango calla lilies on the boys. He also did my cousin and sisters weddings. AMAZING!



Rehearsal Dinner: Page One Restaurant Glen Cove, NY***A
Our rehearsal dinner took place at Page One Restaurant in Glen Cove. For all of you St. Patrick’s brides, this is an excellent restaurant literally two minutes from the church. They accommodated us in every way. We were even able to bring our own wine which we only had to pay a corkage fee for. I chose this restaurant based on its proximity to St. Pat’s and the excellent reviews on yelp and google. The chef did a fantastic job and everyone enjoyed their meals and dessert. Oh and I had my sis and sister in-law decorate the private room they gave us for about 30 people. It was classy just the way I like it

Guestbook
I wanted something very different from the ordinary guestbook, so I purchased this wooden guestbook from a sketch artist on etsy.com. She sketched one of our favorite pictures. I wanted something that we could hang in our home for years to come.




Hotels: Day-of Wedding and Night of Wedding*****A
I got dressed at the Viana Spa and Hotel in Westbury. This is a beautiful hotel with great staff. We had zero issues there. I booked the kitchenette suite which was huge and able to accommodate everyone spaciously as we got ready. The boys prepared at the Hilton Garden Inn in Westbury which was a five minute drive away. After the reception we headed to the Andaz Hotel on 5th and 40th across from the NY Public Library. This was another exceptional hotel and great for the night of the wedding. Highly recommended.

Honeymoon: Curacao and Aruba*****B+
Our main goal for honeymoon was to relax and stay OUT of the hurricane belt. We did just that honeymooning on these two beautiful islands. My husband is a consultant who stays at hotels frequently. We were treated royally at the Hilton in Curacao and the Marriott Stellaris in Aruba. We also wanted to go away only for a week since we have a small daughter at home. Any longer and I would have died #justkidding. Maybe for our one year we can go to Hawaii and take her along ?

I hope this review helps and you enjoyed it. I have tons of photos to post, however the site is giving me a problem with the file size. Will try again later.
Mrs. Thompson

Our 09.20.2012 Wedding: Leonard’s of Great Neck, St. Patrick’s Glen Cove, Lancelot, Modern Photobooth, Viana Hotel, Wedding Cinema, As You Wish Photography, In the Mix DJ and more

Our 09.20.2012 Wedding: Leonard’s of Great Neck, St. Patrick’s Glen Cove, Lancelot, Modern Photobooth, Viana Hotel, Wedding Cinema, As You Wish Photography, In the Mix DJ and more

Congratulations!!!

Our 09.20.2012 Wedding: Leonard’s of Great Neck, St. Patrick’s Glen Cove, Lancelot, Modern Photobooth, Viana Hotel, Wedding Cinema, As You Wish Photography, In the Mix DJ and more

Congrats - I love the guest book idea! Looks great... can't wait to see the Wedding Cinema trailer too (doesn't seem to have a link on there yet). We booked with Pete immediately :)

Our 09.20.2012 Wedding: Leonard’s of Great Neck, St. Patrick’s Glen Cove, Lancelot, Modern Photobooth, Viana Hotel, Wedding Cinema, As You Wish Photography, In the Mix DJ and more

yay!!! another st patricks bride!!! so glad you loved them as much as we did! just posted our review yesterday (we got married there Nov 23rd). such a fantastic parish.

congratulations - beautiful wedding!!

Our 09.20.2012 Wedding: Leonard’s of Great Neck, St. Patrick’s Glen Cove, Lancelot, Modern Photobooth, Viana Hotel, Wedding Cinema, As You Wish Photography, In the Mix DJ and more

love the guest 'book'!

Our Amazing Day 9.20.2012: Leonard’s of Great Neck, St. Patrick’s Glen Cove, Lancelot, Modern Photobooth, Viana Hotel, Wedding Cinema, As You Wish Photography, In the Mix DJ and more

Thanks for sharing!

Our Amazing Day 9.20.2012: Leonard’s of Great Neck, St. Pat’s, Lancelot, Modern Photobooth, Viana Hotel, Wedding Cinema, AYW Photography, In the Mix DJ and more

Congratulations! Beatiful pictures!

Re: Our Amazing Day 9.20.2012: Leonard’s of Great Neck, St. Pat’s, Lancelot, Modern Photobooth, Viana Hotel, Wedding Cinema, AYW Photography, In the Mix DJ and more

Congrats! such a beautiful bride.....

Our Amazing Day 9.20.2012: Leonard’s of Great Neck, St. Pat’s, Lancelot, Modern Photobooth, Viana Hotel, Wedding Cinema, AYW Photography, In the Mix DJ and more

Congratulations! You and your husband look amazing!

Our Amazing Day 9.20.2012: Leonard’s of Great Neck, St. Pat’s, Lancelot, Modern Photobooth, Viana Hotel, Wedding Cinema, AYW Photography, In the Mix DJ and more

Beautiful! Congratulations!