Our Beyond Amazing Wedding! (Pics)Chateau Briand, LovemorePhoto, Couped Up, Ultimate Sounds, M*I*A, Elsa Rings, Wedding Center of Commack,Hidden Essence, Barrons,Fairy Tale Events, Bridal Elegance

I can’t believe it’s my turn to give a review! I have been a member of the boards for almost 3 years and loved every moment. This website is so ADDICTING! I hope my review helps future brides that are researching their vendors and need some advice:

Remember to enjoy your day.

1. BREATHE (You will be so stressed out but I ASSURE you it will all be worth it in the end.)
2. Sometimes if you want things done…and the right way…you have to do it yourself.
3. Sometimes... the people that you thought will be there are not and the ones that you didn’t come through for you all the way. Appreciate those that stand by your side and remember to tell them how appreciated they really are
4. Last but not least….It is you and the love of your lives day! Remember to take a moment and look into his eyes and remember the feeling that you have at that very moment. After the gown has been worn and flowers have died….. that’s what you will remember from your wedding day. Not matter what happens, do not forget the two people that matter the most.

So here we go! I will rank my vendors on a scale of 1-10.

Some information on Ronald and I:

We met at Nassau Community College in 2003 and have been together ever since. He IS the love of my life and I could not imagine my life with out him. We became engaged on 01/06/08 and shortly after that; the planning for the wedding of my dreams began.

Wedding Date: September 1, 2011
Theme: Pearls, Pearls, and Pearls…lol
Colors: Eggplant and Gold
Gown: Mori Lee Style # 3038
Bridesmaids Gowns: L3009

Bridal Elegance – Average 6.5
Customer Service 4
Alterations 9

Where do I begin…I found my DREAM gown online and I searched until I found a bridal store that had the sample gown in stock. I found the sample gown @ RK Bridal but did not purchase it there because I did not want to travel to the city for every fitting. So I called Bridal Elegance at was quoted by Nancy at the store. I really liked her over the phone so my Mom and I went to the store to order my gown. Everything was fine until the dress came in. Now, please keep in mind I ordered my gown 1 ½ years from my wedding. The gown came in about 1 year before the wedding. When I ordered my gown, I was told that the balance of the gown was not due until alterations begin. My receipt even stated this. I even double checked with Nancy upon ordering the gown and was advised that the balance is due before alterations. Fast forward…I get a call that my gown has arrived @ the store. I was SO excited, I went to the store the same day. The gown was perfect and it came in so fast. Upon leaving the store, the young lady asked how we will be paying for the gown. My Mom and I looked at her like she had 5 heads. First, the balance of the gown was not due until alterations began which was another year and second, I was NOT paying for my gown in full when they were going to have my gown at the store for another year. It did not make any sense. So upon leaving the store, we simply advised that the balance of the gown would not be paid that day…and they were fine.

Later I saw a post on LIW where a fellow bride was asking about their experiences @ Bridal Elegance. I reviewed the store from my experience. I don’t believe I said anything harsh…just my experience with the store. See thread…

http://www.liweddings.com/chat/topic-749758-1.html

Flash forward I called the store to get prices for bridesmaids dresses I was interested in. I knew their store carried the line and IU thought it would be easier to order my and the girls dresses all in one location. So I call the store and was speaking to someone on the phone. They took all my information and I advised them that I actually ordered my bridal gown from them. There were like “Ok that’s great…let me look up your information.” They place me on hold and Phyllis comes on the phone. She sounds sort of pissed off and they took me back some. She quotes me the rates and then goes into telling me how she did not like the post that I replied back to on LIW. She then goes into reading damn near word for word what I wrote on LIW. I really do not think I said anything bad. If they want full payment when the gown arrives, they should have it in writing on the receipt. No where in the store does it state that.

Flash forward to June when my alterations began. My alterations went fine with no complaints with the work. I had a total of 4 fittings. I split my payments for alterations into 3. At each fitting, I paid a part of my alterations. At the 3rd fitting, I did not want to apply payment because I still had 1 more fitting and I was not leaving that day with my gown. Once again, I bumped heads with the store because they wanted me to make final payment even though I was not leaving the store with my gown. Phyllis advised that I HAD to pay for the alterations that day; even though I was advised that final payment for the alterations was due before I leave with the gown. I never had a problem paying for the gown or the alterations. My problem with this store is that they make their policies as they go along. They really need to have their store policies in the store where customers know what they are, and that they can make the decision if this is a store they would give their business to.

As far as the alterations, Phyllis did a great job on the gown! As a plus size bride, I had to find a gown that would accentuate the positives and hide the negatives and I found that in my gown. My gown was by Mori Lee and I loved it the first time I saw it. I am BLESSED in the breast department, so I needed a gown that would minimize and lift..lol. During the alterations process, I had Phyllis add straps to the gown which she added appliqués to hide the seams (free of charge). I loved my bustle design for my gown, even though like many brides….it broke during the reception :C If I could do it all over again, I would have considered ordering my gown elsewhere due to the lack of customer service.






Wedding Center of Commack -9
(Bridesmaids Dresses, My Veil/Blusher, MOB Gown, Cake Topper)

So after deciding to not order my bridesmaids gowns from Bridal Elegance, I took my business to the Wedding Center of Commack. Initially, I was really freaked out by the reviews but their prices were the lowest. Ordering the gowns was not a problem and they came in pretty fast as well. All my bridesmaids’ dresses were exactly what they ordered. I gave my girls the option of having their alterations done at the store or on their own. They opted to have their alterations done elsewhere. I also ordered my MOB gown from them. The gown was A LOT more than what we wanted to spend but it was a beautiful dress. My Mom had a lot of surcharges because she is plus sized and a large bust. The only issue I had with them was they had my Mom order the sooo large and she had to have MAJOR alterations done to the gown. She also was advised to order to the gown with extra length and the gown was too long. The seamstress ended having to cut the dress because it was so long. At the end of the day however, the seamstress there did an AMAZING job on my Moms gown.

I ordered my veil from them as well. I initially saw a fingertip veil that I fell in love with. I really wanted a chapel length veil. They were able to order the custom veil from the manufacture and it was beautiful. I also had The Wedding Center make the blusher for my veil and they did a really good job. I also bought my cake topper from them and worked on a little DIY project. (I added a veil to the bride on my cake topper).

Halene was amazing help, if you are going there…ask for her. :D







Barron’s -10
(Head Piece and Gown Accessory)

So my gown came with a flower attachment that I really did not care for so I went to Barrons and they created a flower design to attach to my gown. It took about 2 weeks for them to complete and it was exactly what I wanted. Since I’m not a tiara kind of girl, I just wanted a nice hair piece to wear in the back of my hair. I ordered a hair brooch from them. Since my theme was pearls, the brooch went perfect with my jewelry. It was a bit more that what I wanted to spend but it was really worth it.



Hidden Essence – 8 1/2

I loved Michelle the moment I met her. She is genuine, warm and so friendly. When I first met with Michele I already had the flowers that I had my heart set on. I wanted dark purple (eggplant) carnations in balls with gold accents throughout. I knew that I wanted my bridesmaids to have white carnations and for my Maid/Matron of Honors to have purple carnations. Michele was very easy to work with and responded easily to emails. Michelle worked up my first sample. The only problem was the carnations were in the wrong color. They came in more like a pinkish color. Michelle advised that she would be able to order the correct color for the wedding. We also worked up with the idea of adding gold aspid leaves and gold baby’s breath to the centerpiece. I had Michelle work up the second sample and it was PERFECT! Since my theme was pearls…we added pearl strands hanging from the vases. I LOVED it!

Sadly about 2 days before the wedding, Michele calls me and advised that the flowers came in the wrong color. Half were correct and the other half was the wrong color. They weren’t as pink as the original sample but they just weren’t the correct color either. Michelle was very apologetic and sincere for the mistake. My Mom was very upset however because from our initial meeting, she knew the color and flowers that we wanted and that never changed. She offered to give a discount but my Mom and I just did not feel right accepting a discount. We looked at it like even though the flowers were the wrong color, they still were beautifully designed and she did an amazing job. We had enough to do the bouquets, boutonnieres and my bouquet. The centerpieces however, were in the pinkish color. Michelle however did provide a beautiful tree chandelier to make up for the mistake. Overall, I was happy with the design and service of Hidden Essence. :D










Elsa Ring 10

Ronald and I began band shopping about 4-5 months before the wedding. I knew that I would need a custom band for my engagement ring and Ronald just want a simple but unique band. We took a trip to Manhattan and started to get pricing for the bands. We made an appointment with Elsa and we liked her immediately. We met for about 1 ½ hours and she was so patient in finding the correct band design that would compliment my engagement ring. And she really works with your budget. We had a set price that we wanted to spend on the bands and she stayed within that range. I had a second appointment where they created a molding of the band with my engagement ring. The next appointment they had the mold in white gold but with no diamonds. My final appointment I was sooooo in love my band. They did a perfect job in fitting the band with my engagement ring. I highly recommend Elsa Rings if you are looking for a unique wedding band/ring and great customer service.



Tuxedo Park -10

We were referred to Tuxedo Park by our bestman. We initially went to Tuxedo Park and meet with Harry. He was super funny and very knowledgeable. Ronald and I picked out the tuxedo that he would wear for the day of the wedding and also for the guys. Everything was pretty simple to complete and we did not have any issues at all. All the groomsmen loved their tuxedos and I definitely recommend Tuxedo Park.








*M*I*A* 9

I really liked M*I*A from our first meeting. I looked high and low for a makeup artist that knew how to handle African American skin and tones. I found her on LIW and knew that I wanted her for my special day. After doing research on her, I was confident that I found the right person and I was right. I had my makeup trial with M*I*A about 2 months before the wedding and I loved how I looked. She played with the color on my eyes and we found the perfect look that I wanted. The day of the wedding, she was about 30 minutes late which threw us back some but I was so happy with the outcome, I could forgive her….lol . M*I*A also covered up my tattoos that I had on my shoulders and you really could not tell that I had one. I started my makeup around 10:00am and it looked great the entire day. Overall, I was very pleased with M*I*A’s work and definitely recommend her.









Fairy Tale Events (Chrissi) - 9

I found Chrissi on LIW and meet with her shortly after and loved her. She is super sweet, funny and really has the best intentions. My amazing sister in law gave Chrissi to me as a gift. Any one considering not having a DOC should really reconsider. I was so happy to not have to worry about every aspect of the wedding and making sure that everything was perfect. The day of the wedding, Chrissi was very helpful and took care of any issues that arose. It was important to make sure that all the little details were looked into and Chrissi insured that everything was perfect. The only issue I had was the mix up during the bridal party entrance. As the coordinator, I felt she should have ensured that everyone was lined up correctly and everyone came out to the correct songs. Other than this mishap, Chrissi was great!

Legend Limo -10

Legend Limo was awesome. The booking process for them was very easy. Since we were having the ceremony and reception at Chateau Briand, we wanted to most affordable vehicle that would accommodate our bridal party. We booked the shuttle and the Phantom Rolls Royce for my Mom and me. The day of the wedding they upgraded us to the party bus for the bridal party. I was SO happy that they did this! My bridal party loved the ride to the museum and to the Chateau Briand. Our drivers were very nice and I have nothing but wonderful things to say about Legend.





Chateau Briand 10

We started looking for reception halls shortly after becoming engaged and Chateau Briand was the first place we visited. Ronald FELL IN LOVE with the place. He really didn’t want to look anywhere else but me being Miss. Negotiator, I wanted to look around. We checked out about 8-10 reception halls and none of them compared to Chateau Briand. Our BM was Susan Bria. She is AMAZING! We loved her from the very moment meeting her. Whenever I had a question or a problem….she had the answer. The planning and finalizing of the wedding was pretty easy. I wanted to have the wedding at my child hood church but Ronald thought it made more sense to have the ceremony/wedding all in one place. In the end, we agreed to have the ceremony and reception at Chateau Briand. We were able to have the ceremony in the Leonardo room upstairs, and for cocktail hour we had the Europa room and the AMAZING outdoor area for cocktail hour. We had our reception in the Normandy room and I was SO happy we picked that room. When we were lead into the room prior to the guests coming in…everything looked just as I envisioned.

My 2 bridal attendants were awesome also. They were very helpful and really paid attention to the needs of the BRIDE (which was great for me…lol) The food was SO GOOD. The only thing I wish that we didn’t do was go down to the cocktail hour. I REALLY wish we would have stayed in our suite and ate. We were starving ALL DAY and just wish we would have had our cocktail hour away from the guests. As soon as we entered the cocktail hour room, we were rushed by our guests and I wish we would have just stayed upstairs. I think that’s my only complaint but that’s our fault...lol.

The only real issue I had with Chateau Briand was the bridal party entrance. Some how the order of the bridal party got all mixed up so some bridal party members came out to the wrong song. Also we started coming up from the floor while the flower girls were being introduced. Some where things became crazy and we really did not enjoy our entrance as husband & wife the way we were looking forward to.

Ultimate Sounds DJ – 100,000

All that I can say about Ultimate Sounds is…THEY ARE BEYOND AMAZING. If you are looking to have your guests on the dance floor for the whole night…you need Ultimate Sounds. We found Ultimate Sounds on LIW and LOVED Frank from the first time meeting him. Since Ronald is SO into music so he and Frank clicked instantly. We went to a showcase that they were having in Queens and booked them that night. For Ronald and me, the DJ was first most important. We booked the top package that they had and was not disappointed at all. Frank was our MC and we had Juan for DJ with the help of another young lady (For the love of God…cannot remember her name…lol). Ronald is Haitain/Venezuelan and I’m African American, so we knew for the wedding that we needed a DJ that could play Bachata, R& B, Hip Hop, Kompa, to Reggae. Our package also came with a photo montage. Ultimate Sounds completed the montage and we loved it! At the end of the night they provided a copy of our montage. Ultimate Sounds far exceeded our expectations and we appreciate Frank and his staff for the excellent service provided to us on our wedding day.













Couped Up Productions – TBD
Day of the Wedding: 10

We met with Rob and we liked him immediately. He is very warm, funny and has a love for his craft. It’s hard for me to grade him right now because I don’t have my video yet so I will say a few comments on his service so far.

We also communicated with him mostly through email. He was also fast in responding. The day of the wedding he was a little late but due to an accident on the parkways that had traffic backed up or miles…so I understood. As soon as he came into the suite, he went right to work. I was in the process of having my makeup completed to he filmed that and then headed to the guys suite to film Ronald and his crew. Rob was every where and he and LoveMorePhoto worked really well together. Overall the day of the wedding, he did a great job.

LoveMorePhoto -100, 000 (I know my scale was suppose to be from 1-10...lol)

Arek, Ilona and Sylvester were beyond AMAZING! When we first met with Arek & Ilona, they were such a sweet and honest couple. Arek is extremely perceptive and down to earth. Ilona is sooo sweet and they really make such a great team. They were very easy to work with. We mostly communicated through email and they always responded very fast with any stupid questions that I may have had. We decided to add an extra photographer for our wedding because it was very important to have pictures of Ronald and crew getting ready and them acting like complete fools...lol!
Sylvester was a great addition to Arek & Ilona. He was quite but he was everywhere :D.

Personally, my pictures were the MOST important thing to me. I checked out about 10 photographers and when I came across their photographer in a past brides wedding….I knew I wanted them. I love every one of my photographs. We are taking our TTD with them November 12 and I can’t wait!
















http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/295754_1870247336266_1843599668_1274545_1374012362_n.jpg





































This past Saturday, we had our TTD the dress with LoveMorePhoto and I love every photo!!!











Check out my album for some DIY photo's on:
Invitations
Aisle Runner
Flower Girl Baskets
Programs
Here Comes the Bride Banner
Table Numbers

I hope you enjoyed reading my review on my September 1, 2011 wedding!!! FM me for any questions and good luck to any future brides!!!!


Some DIY Projects and Items from the Wedding:












http://www.liweddings.com/mywedding/album/i/416663.jpg

ITEMS FOR SALE!!!!
Hi fellow brides!!! I am selling a few items from the wedding. FM me if your interested. I have desriptions of each item below.

5 Small Frames and 8 Large Frames
All the frames have pearls on the top left and right cornors. I used them on the tables and they are in good shape :D







2 Flower Girls Baskets
These baskets are ivory with eggplant/dark purple flowers on each side. The petals are a greenish/gold color. Both baskets are in good shape :D







1 Thank You Parasol -DIY
I used this parasol the day of thew wedding. Unfortunately I put a small hole near the top of it. I still used it for my pictures and you could never tell it had a small whole. (I fixed it with tape)







(18) 2 inch Floating Candles

These candles are brand new and excellent condition








(26) 8 Inch Pillar Candles
These candles were used for my reception and once lit, you could never tell they were pre-used :D








100 Eggplant Satin Napkins

100 Organza Eggplant Sashes

The napkins and sashes were used from my wedding and have been professionally cleaned and ready for re-sale.
They are in good shape and perfect for someone's special day. :D





If you have any questions, shot me an FM :D

~Tiffany~

Re: Our Beyond Amazing Wedding! Chateau Briand, LovemorePhoto, Couped Up, Ultimate Sounds, M*I*A, Elsa Rings, Wedding Center of Commack,Hidden Essence, Barrons,Fairy Tale Events, Bridal Elegance

Congratulations!

Re: Our Beyond Amazing Wedding! (Pics)Chateau Briand, LovemorePhoto, Couped Up, Ultimate Sounds, M*I*A, Elsa Rings, Wedding Center of Commack,Hidden Essence, Barrons,Fairy Tale Events, Bridal Elegance

Your dress and flowers were so beautiful and your RH looks very nice too

Re: Our Beyond Amazing Wedding! (Pics)Chateau Briand, LovemorePhoto, Couped Up, Ultimate Sounds, M*I*A, Elsa Rings, Wedding Center of Commack,Hidden Essence, Barrons,Fairy Tale Events, Bridal Elegance

Congratulations, everything looked beautiful!

Re: Our Beyond Amazing Wedding! (Pics)Chateau Briand, LovemorePhoto, Couped Up, Ultimate Sounds, M*I*A, Elsa Rings, Wedding Center of Commack,Hidden Essence, Barrons,Fairy Tale Events, Bridal Elegance

Gorg Pics! Great review! Looked like a blast, thanks for sharing!

Re: Our Beyond Amazing Wedding! (Pics)Chateau Briand, LovemorePhoto, Couped Up, Ultimate Sounds, M*I*A, Elsa Rings, Wedding Center of Commack,Hidden Essence, Barrons,Fairy Tale Events, Bridal Elegance

Great review and lovely pictures! Everything looks beautiful.

Re: Our Beyond Amazing Wedding! (Pics)Chateau Briand, LovemorePhoto, Couped Up, Ultimate Sounds, M*I*A, Elsa Rings, Wedding Center of Commack,Hidden Essence, Barrons,Fairy Tale Events, Bridal Elegance

Great Review,and even though all your flowers weren't the 'right color' they were stunning. and gorgeous photos. Congratulations !!

Re: Our Beyond Amazing Wedding! (Pics)Chateau Briand, LovemorePhoto, Couped Up, Ultimate Sounds, M*I*A, Elsa Rings, Wedding Center of Commack,Hidden Essence, Barrons,Fairy Tale Events, Bridal Elegance

great review!!! you are a beautiful bride! loved the TTD shoot! amazing pictures!!

Re: Our Beyond Amazing Wedding! (Pics)Chateau Briand, LovemorePhoto, Couped Up, Ultimate Sounds, M*I*A, Elsa Rings, Wedding Center of Commack,Hidden Essence, Barrons,Fairy Tale Events, Bridal Elegance

Congrats...everything looked great!! Great review!

Re: Our Beyond Amazing Wedding! (Pics)Chateau Briand, LovemorePhoto, Couped Up, Ultimate Sounds, M*I*A, Elsa Rings, Wedding Center of Commack,Hidden Essence, Barrons,Fairy Tale Events, Bridal Elegance

so pretty! love the boks!

Re: Our Beyond Amazing Wedding! (Pics)Chateau Briand, LovemorePhoto, Couped Up, Ultimate Sounds, M*I*A, Elsa Rings, Wedding Center of Commack,Hidden Essence, Barrons,Fairy Tale Events, Bridal Elegance

what a great review! everything looked beautiful and i love that flower picture! so pretty! congrats!!

Re: Our Beyond Amazing Wedding! (Pics)Chateau Briand, LovemorePhoto, Couped Up, Ultimate Sounds, M*I*A, Elsa Rings, Wedding Center of Commack,Hidden Essence, Barrons,Fairy Tale Events, Bridal Elegance

Congrats!!! Great review and you looked beautiful!!

Re: Our Beyond Amazing Wedding! (Pics)Chateau Briand, LovemorePhoto, Couped Up, Ultimate Sounds, M*I*A, Elsa Rings, Wedding Center of Commack,Hidden Essence, Barrons,Fairy Tale Events, Bridal Elegance

wonderful review!! Congrats!

Re: Our Beyond Amazing Wedding! (Pics)Chateau Briand, LovemorePhoto, Couped Up, Ultimate Sounds, M*I*A, Elsa Rings, Wedding Center of Commack,Hidden Essence, Barrons,Fairy Tale Events, Bridal Elegance

Re: Our Beyond Amazing Wedding! (Pics)Chateau Briand, LovemorePhoto, Couped Up, Ultimate Sounds, M*I*A, Elsa Rings, Wedding Center of Commack,Hidden Essence, Barrons,Fairy Tale Events, Bridal Elegance

Beautiful! Thanks

Re: Our Beyond Amazing Wedding! (Pics)Chateau Briand, LovemorePhoto, Couped Up, Ultimate Sounds, M*I*A, Elsa Rings, Wedding Center of Commack,Hidden Essence, Barrons,Fairy Tale Events, Bridal Elegance

Great review! You looked beautiful!

Thanks for the review on the dj. Im looking for a dj who can play some good spanish music as well as all tne other genres. Ill be checking them out.

Re: Our Beyond Amazing Wedding! (Pics)Chateau Briand, LovemorePhoto, Couped Up, Ultimate Sounds, M*I*A, Elsa Rings, Wedding Center of Commack,Hidden Essence, Barrons,Fairy Tale Events, Bridal Elegance

awesome review! congrats you looked beautiful!

Re: Our Beyond Amazing Wedding! (Pics)Chateau Briand, LovemorePhoto, Couped Up, Ultimate Sounds, M*I*A, Elsa Rings, Wedding Center of Commack,Hidden Essence, Barrons,Fairy Tale Events, Bridal Elegance

congrats

Re: Our Beyond Amazing Wedding! (Pics)Chateau Briand, LovemorePhoto, Couped Up, Ultimate Sounds, M*I*A, Elsa Rings, Wedding Center of Commack,Hidden Essence, Barrons,Fairy Tale Events, Bridal Elegance

beautiful beautiful wedding and review!!!! loved every part of it!!! congrats!!!!!!

Re: Our Beyond Amazing Wedding! (Pics)Chateau Briand, LovemorePhoto, Couped Up, Ultimate Sounds, M*I*A, Elsa Rings, Wedding Center of Commack,Hidden Essence, Barrons,Fairy Tale Events, Bridal Elegance

Omg love love love!!!!!!! Great review!!!!!!! Congrats!!!!!