Our amazing wedding! 9/30/11 Bridgeview Yacht Club, Duet, After Hours, Bella Flowers, etc

Our wedding was so great, as far as I know nothing went wrong that day. The weather was beautiful until around 6:45pm then it down poured but we had time to get pictures in outside and then the reception started.

I am rating vendors from A+ through F

Hair and Makeup – Studio B, Garden City NY – A - The day started at 9 am with hair and makeup appointments for me, my BMs, and my mom. Everyone’s hair and makeup came out great. Stephanie did both my hair and makeup and she did an amazing job. I did my trial a few weeks before and she did exactly what I wanted. The girls each had different people doing their hair and makeup. My sister’s hair looked nice when it was done but by the time the ceremony was over her curls were practically out, which was her fear because she has naturally very curly hair and they asked her to straighten it before she got there in the morning. We were all out and done before 1pm.

Flowers – Bella North Shore Flowers, Huntington NY – A+ - When I met with Cristina she really helped me to decide what I definitely wanted. I knew I wanted hydrangeas everywhere but no other florists told me that if I did them alone that they would wilt in a few hours. She made some suggestions about adding roses to the BMs bouquets and they came out so nice. The centerpieces were ivory and green hydrangea, they were small but that is what was in my budget. They looked great and they lasted until after I got back to my mom’s house after the honeymoon. The flowers were all delivered on time, they were at the house before me and the girls got back from the salon. Everything looked so great! I had no problems with them at all.

Photographer/Videographer – Duet Photography, Huntington NY – Jay’s Team – A++ - I loved Duet as soon as I met with them, in fact they are the only photographers we met with and because of all the great recommendations from LIW girls. We chose Jay because I loved his work as soon as I saw it. Jay was awesome on our e-pics shoot, we went to Eisenhower Park in East Meadow and Jay went there ahead of time to scout out locations for the perfect pictures. We were so impressed with his professionalism and he even took all the shots we suggested. The day of the wedding Jay and his team arrived early and started shooting right away. They spent the whole day with us and we didn’t even know they were there half the time. We have so many amazing shots it will be hard to decide which pictures we want for our album. They were so great with us and I would recommend Duet and Jay to everyone.

Limos – Camelot, New Hyde Park NY – A+ - I knew I wanted the 1940’s Cadillac and Camelot was one of the only limo companies that had it. When we met with Joe he told us that it was the only classic car they had left for the day, I knew we had to choose them because other limo companies in that area I have or have known people that had bad experiences. We had the 14 passenger white navigator as well. Not only did they show up early they were nice and friendly to everyone. I’m sorry I don’t remember the driver’s names but they were amazing. They even helped bridal party get down the aisle in a timely manner and fluffed my dress before I walked down the aisle. Joe sent us a town car for the end of the night to take us to our hotel. I could not be happier with Camelot, they were great. Highly recommended, but book early because they book up fast!

St. Catherine of Sienna Roman Catholic Church – Franklin Square NY – B-
I am giving St. Catherine’s a B- only because of the experience the day of the wedding, everything up to that was great. We had a great couple for pre-cana and I was able to call and speak with the music director about all my choices with no problem. The priest that originally was going to do the ceremony retired a few months before so we were given the option to choose another priest. We chose a family priest from another parish and that was ok’d. The day of the wedding that priest was running a few minutes late, and the priest from the parish freaked out on DH saying that if he wasn’t here in 5 minutes he was going to do the ceremony, this priest only met us once and knew nothing about us. And I found out after it was because they scheduled another wedding at 5pm, our ceremony was supposed to start at 4pm, which left no time for anyone to be late. That really upset me because we booked this date in 2008 before they even had a 2011 book made and they went and scheduled another wedding an hour after ours. Our priest Father Fonte was amazing he had people laughing and really walked us through the ceremony knowing that we were nervous.

Dress – David’s Bridal Carle Place, NY – A - I found my dress here after checking out a few different bridal salons in the area, even drove to PA to a truck show, that wasn’t for bridal dresses…long story. My MOH said let’s try David’s Bridal, I had been hesitant but went. After showing the sales woman the dress I really thought I wanted she made me try on the one that I finally got. I knew as soon as I tried it on. It looked great and was the style I wanted. It was on sale, and my mom surprised me and bought it for me. Once it was ordered it came in fast. I had no problems with this store, even though girls in the past had.

Veil – Barron’s, Tri County Flea Market – A+ - My grandmother wanted to pay for my head piece and I brought her first to Barron’s because I had heard such great things from girls on this site about them. I found a beautiful veil with beading and scalloped edges, it matched my dress perfectly. I also found a clip for the back of my hair that I had wanted. Everything looked great together and well made.
Shoes – website (can’t remember) – A+ - I ordered colorific shoes from a wedding website and I love them they went with my dress so well. I needed to get really high heels because DH is 6’4” and I am 5’. I ordered them early because they were on back order, but to my surprise two weeks later my shoes were delivered!! They looked great, but after a while my feet were killing me, my MOH gave me credit for wearing them as long as I did.

DOJ – Macys (earrings and necklace) – Bracelet (Tri-county) – A+ - I loved the earrings and necklace from macys (then again I love everything from Macys) they went so well with my dress. I needed to find a bracelet that fit my wrist because it is so small and I hate when a bracelet moves up and down. I found a wrap bracelet from Tri-county it was exactly what I was looking for.

MOB Dress – Estelle’s – B+ - My mom found a dress at Estelle’s that didn’t look great on the hanger but my mom wanted to try on anyway. When she tried it on it looked great, we decided on a color (dark plum color) and she ordered it. A few weeks later she got a call that the color she ordered was discontinued. My mom panicked because she wanted that color, and she couldn’t find a dress in that color that she liked. I suggested platinum silver because it would go nicely with the girl’s dresses. She loved that idea and re-ordered the dress in that color. He dress came in 10 weeks instead of 8 like promised but she still got it with enough time to get it altered.

BM’s dresses – Belsoie – Bridal Suite of Bayshore – B+ - I knew I wanted a cobalt colored BM dress, the girls were hesitant with that color but I knew it would look good with all their skin tones. They ordered a strapless a-line/empire waist long dress. They all got to try it on in the store and it looked great. They capped the price of alterations for all 4 girls which was nice considering two of the four had to order larger sizes because of their proportions. All the dresses looked great, except the MOH dress kept shifting the whole wedding day. The color looked great on all of them and in pictures.


Invitations – Mygatsby.com – A+ - I ordered my e-party invites from them and they came out great. The invitation place I went to wanted to charge me an arm and a leg for invitations that were simple and not what I wanted. So I went back to mygatsby and custom made my invites for a great price. They came out amazing, and all my guests thought I spent way more than I did on invitations. I even ordered card stock for the table numbers and menu cards in the same colors as the invites. I would highly recommend this site, they have great prices and if you sign up for emails they send you discount codes.

Reception Hall – Bridgeview Yacht Club – A+++ - They were beyond amazing. We worked with Kathy even though Eric was there the day of the wedding. Both of them were very professional and great to work with. I brought all our stuff there a few days before and Eric and Bridal attendant were there to take notes about where everything goes. When we arrived after the ceremony the Bridal attendant was right outside the limo helping me out. We walked in and we were taken up to our private bridal suite. We wanted to do pictures so we would be able to make it to the cocktail hour. Even if we wanted to stay upstairs they had some private stations there for us and the bridal party. We didn’t get to eat much at the CH but everyone tells us that the food was the best they had ever had at a wedding. There was so much food. They gave us an extra station because we didn’t have our minimum of 150 guests. The Coney Island station was a huge hit as well as the mussels and fried calamari (my grandmother says the best she is ever had and she is the best cook I know)! The main room was decorated the way I wanted and the food for dinner was amazing. I had the Orange Roughy, it was the best fish I ever ate in my life! Bridgeview even packed us up boxes of food and had all our stuff packed before we left for the night. I am sooo happy we went with them. We had an absolute great experience at Bridgeview, future Bridgeview brides have nothing to worry about your wedding will be amazing. O and there are amazing places outside to take pictures.


Cake – The Sweet Peace Bakery – Lynbrook NY – A+ This is the house baker for Bridgeview and it was amazing. Meeting with Allison, I immediately knew that she would be able to make a beautiful cake. She got my vision right away. For the cake tasting she gives you mini cupcakes, so cute and delicious. The cake was so beautiful she was able to even do fondant, as opposed to buttercream. The cake tasting went so well we ordered the rehearsal dinner cake from her. Lemon cake with Raspberry filling…so amazing I wish I could have had more than one piece.

DJ – After Hours – Phil – A++ - DH was in charge of choosing DJ he really liked Phil’s energy when we saw them at a showcase and we made an appointment to meet with them. We booked Phil to MC and we also got uplighting from them. Phil is amazing, he is so high energy and kept the dance floor packed all night. Guests are asking us for his info to book him for their parties. We were so happy with after hours and the uplighting really made the room look great, such a good investment.

Overall our day was amazing! Everyone keeps saying do it again…and I keep saying pay for it and we will do it tomorrow!!!

I know I am missing something but the main vendors were all included.

I will post pictures in my album because they are not attaching here.

Thanks and good luck planning!

Remember to breathe, don't let the small things freak you out, and most importantly it is your and your FH day let it be about you and really take in the moments spent together that day.

Re: Our amazing wedding! 9/30/11 Bridgeview Yacht Club, Duet, After Hours, Bella Flowers, etc

congrats!!!

Re: Our amazing wedding! 9/30/11 Bridgeview Yacht Club, Duet, After Hours, Bella Flowers, etc

that dress fits you prefect
Congrats

Re: Our amazing wedding! 9/30/11 Bridgeview Yacht Club, Duet, After Hours, Bella Flowers, etc

Great review and I love your pictures!! Congrats!

Re: Our amazing wedding! 9/30/11 Bridgeview Yacht Club, Duet, After Hours, Bella Flowers, etc

I have been looking forward to your review ever since you mentioned you were writing one!!! I'm a future Bridgeview bride, and I cannot WAIT for my day to arrive (10 months from today!!!) We are also using Phil from After Hours, he really is amazing! What color uplighting did you use? And do you think the room needs it?

Congrats! I'm going to look at your pics now :)

Re: Our amazing wedding! 9/30/11 Bridgeview Yacht Club, Duet, After Hours, Bella Flowers, etc

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Posted by micheleelyse

I have been looking forward to your review ever since you mentioned you were writing one!!! I'm a future Bridgeview bride, and I cannot WAIT for my day to arrive (10 months from today!!!) We are also using Phil from After Hours, he really is amazing! What color uplighting did you use? And do you think the room needs it?

Congrats! I'm going to look at your pics now :)

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We switched colors between green, blue, and purple. If definately made the room look more amazing then it already looks. That spluge was definately worth the money. Maybe Phil can work with you on the price since you are using him as your DJ and he is a house vendor for Bridgeview.

Re: Our amazing wedding! 9/30/11 Bridgeview Yacht Club, Duet, After Hours, Bella Flowers, etc

Congrats! Everything looked amazing :)

Re: Our amazing wedding! 9/30/11 Bridgeview Yacht Club, Duet, After Hours, Bella Flowers, etc

Congrats!! You looked amazing!! :)

Re: Our amazing wedding! 9/30/11 Bridgeview Yacht Club, Duet, After Hours, Bella Flowers, etc

Congratulations!!

Re: Our amazing wedding! 9/30/11 Bridgeview Yacht Club, Duet, After Hours, Bella Flowers, etc

Congratulations on a wonderful wedding day!

Re: Our amazing wedding! 9/30/11 Bridgeview Yacht Club, Duet, After Hours, Bella Flowers, etc

thanks everyone!

Re: Our amazing wedding! 9/30/11 Bridgeview Yacht Club, Duet, After Hours, Bella Flowers, etc

Beautiful!

Re: Our amazing wedding! 9/30/11 Bridgeview Yacht Club, Duet, After Hours, Bella Flowers, etc

Thank you so much for your review! I needed some reassurance of Bella Flowers after some negative feedback of a B2B. So glad you had a positive experience! It looks like you had a beautiful wedding. I hope you are enjoying married life!

Re: Our amazing wedding! 9/30/11 Bridgeview Yacht Club, Duet, After Hours, Bella Flowers, etc

Thanks for the great review!!! Congrats!!!

Re: Our amazing wedding! 9/30/11 Bridgeview Yacht Club, Duet, After Hours, Bella Flowers, etc

Beautiful and congrats!

Re: Our amazing wedding! 9/30/11 Bridgeview Yacht Club, Duet, After Hours, Bella Flowers, etc

Did anyone from your guest list need accommodations?

Re: Our amazing wedding! 9/30/11 Bridgeview Yacht Club, Duet, After Hours, Bella Flowers, etc

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Posted by KristaMArmiento

Did anyone from your guest list need accommodations?

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I blocked rooms at the Holiday Inn Express in Lynbrook. I didn't stay there but my guests said it was a nice hotel. Of all the hotels in the area it gave the best price for booking a group of rooms.

Some of my guests stayed at Alegria Hotel in Long Beach, it's pricey but nice if you want an ocean front hotel.

Re: Our amazing wedding! 9/30/11 Bridgeview Yacht Club, Duet, After Hours, Bella Flowers, etc

Congratulations!