Our Fall-Rustic Post Hurricane Wedding! 11/4/12

I want to start by saying that a lot of things about our wedding had to be changed at the last minute because of Sandy. Originally, we had booked Three Village Inn over a year ago as our venue. We had a room block there, and a room block at the Danfords in Port Jefferson. Our RH did not regain full power before our wedding, and the Danfords got hit very hard due to Sandy and we had to cancel all of our reservations there as well. Because of the power outages, hotels were at full capacity and we were not able to accommodate a large group of our out of town guest and they were unable to make it. We also had to change Florist at the last minute as well, because our original florist was in Long Beach. Luckily, we were able to book a new florist 4 days before our wedding (Hidden Essence) and a new venue 2 days before our wedding (East Wind - The Cottage). It wasn't what I had dreamed and imagined for 15 months, and it was pretty devastating to have to change venues...but I could not wait any longer for Three Village Inn to regain power and I had to either post pone our wedding or make a quick change. Sandy really effected so many aspects of our wedding. It was an insane week with no power, having to get new vendors, and having so many OOT guest cancel..but everything worked out for the best and our day was perfect.

Engagement:
DH proposed to me on the beach in Montauk on August 11, 2011 while we were there celebrating our 6 year anniversary. We started officially planning our Fall '12 wedding in September!.

Kay Jewelers: A+++
DH got my ring at Kay, almost a year before he finally proposed to me!. He also had my grandmothers diamond from her engagement ring put inside of my setting. We got our wedding bands there as well, I got two to go around my curved e-ring and DH's is Tungsten, he loves it.

Engagement Party: A+
We had a Christmas themed engagement party last December at my parents house. We got delicious catered food from Cow Palace in Rocky Point. We ordered a cupcake pull-apart cake, diamond engagement ring cupcakes and personalized diamond ring sugar cookies all from Cookie Dreams Company. Google her, she's amazing and her baked goods are so delicious!. Our favors were Christmas themed cake pops by Popped by KT! (a fellow LIW bride!) and they were a huge hit!!.

Bridal Shower - The Cooperage Inn: A++++
The Cooperage Inn in Baiting Hollow was absolutely perfect! they were so friendly and accommodating, and the food was so amazing. Perfect setting for my summer/sunflower themed bridal shower and all our guest loved it. We got a delicious two tiered floral cake from Cookie Dreams Company, which was again, a huge hit and our favors were again, sunflower cake pops by Popped by KT! also, as usual, a huge hit!.

Rehearsal Dinner - J and R's steakhouse: A+
Again Sandy messed this one up too! we were supposed to have a big catered event at our parents house, but without power, that wasn't going to happen. At the last minute we decided on our local J and R's in Calverton and they were fantastic especially since it was so last minute. They accommodated all 35 of us and the food was great.

The Dress - RK Bridal: A+
I really put off getting a dress, I just wasn't feeling happy about my body and kept procrastinating. Finally, in February 2012 I started my hunt for THE dress. After searching on Long Island and not finding the wide variety that I was hoping for, I ventured into the city. They aren't your typical bridal salon, but they had a HUGE selection and I had a great bridal consultant there. In just an hour, I had picked out my dress, my veil and my belt for my dress!. I chose a Maggie Sottero dress named Lorie. RK Bridal was so quick- I ordered my dress on the last day of February and it was in by mid May!!!. They also have a really great plus size selection, being a plus size bride is hard enough but RK Bridal made it so easy and fun. My one complaint about RK Bridal is that I tried on a size 16 dress, and it fit perfectly. Once I went to get measured, my body sizes were 18 bust, 16 waist and 20 hips. So, they ordered the largest size..which I understand why. But, when I went to try my dress on, it was huge on me. I think their alterations department did a good job with my dress, but on my wedding day it still felt a little loose and didn't really tighten up and pull in where I wanted it to. It was a corset back and lace, so it had to be almost completely rebuilt.

Undergarments - Blums in Patchogue: A
After spending nearly $200 in there on Spanx, panties, a nice corset, bra and a few other items...I went for my first fitting and found out that my corset did not fit under my dress (it popped out in the back) and the bra did not look good under my dress either. I ended up going bra less, and just wearing Spanx underneath my dress. Something I never thought I would do!!. Blums was great though, nice selection and friendly helpful staff.

Bridesmaids Dresses - RK Bridal: A++
RK Bridal was great for BM dresses, especially brides with out of town bridesmaids. Their No-Frills Program is awesome and because three of my BM's were upstate and unable to make frequent trips to the city and another was in Florida, this program was ideal for us. We decided on Bill Levkoff style 193 in the color Wine, and they were absolutely stunning on the girls. They got so many compliments and matched perfectly with their gold heels. They ordered their dresses in early June and they were all in by mid September, again..RK Bridal is fast!.

Bridesmaid Alterations - Rosie's Tailoring: A++
Two of the girls did their alterations closer to their homes at two different places, but the other two went to Rosie's Tailoring in Centereach. She was great, quick and affordable! the girls were happy with her.

Flowergirl Dress - Etsy: A+++
The FG dress was huge for me because our Flowergirl is our daughter!. I fell in love with a gorgeous handmade organic cotton dress that I saw on a wedding blog. The Etsy seller is OliviaKateCouture, they're fairly priced dresses but it took a very long time to get to me (which I expected). She was great to work with though. We ordered August 1st and received our daughters dress about two weeks before the wedding! so don't wait too long to order!. Her dresses are gorgeous and have been featured in so many different wedding blogs!!. It fit our daughter perfectly and looked so adorable on her. It was a little chilly on our wedding day so we paired the dress with a little ruffled cropped cardigan that I found in ivory at Target.

Shoes: A
First I purchased Mischka Badgley - Salsa heels in vanilla satin..they were sooo uncomfortable!. Returned those and went with GLINT radiance pumps in ivory. I purchased them on Nordstrom, they shipped super fast and they were so gorgeous and even more pretty in person!. Order true to size, they run a tad large. I'm not used to wearing heels at all, so they did get uncomfortable throughout the day.

Day Of Jewelery: A++
My plan was to wear chandelier earrings and a bracelet. I purchased gorgeous tear drop like earrings from Macy's, but was unable to wear them because my ear piercings were infected (my hair ended up covering them for the most part anyway). I ordered a STUNNING bracelet from Kirsten Kuehn! the Cameron bracelet is gorgeous and matched my belt on my dress almost perfectly. Great price and shipped fast.

Groom and Groomsmen Tuxedos - Men's Wearhouse: A++
DH went with their nicest tux, the Vera Wang black tuxedo. All the guys wore the same tuxedo, the only difference was that DH's vest and bowtie were a different black design than the groomsmen. We ordered my dads tuxedo there as well, a pinstriped Calvin Klein tux that he looked great in!. One thing to remember, if your dress is ivory (light ivory, not the yellow kind of ivory) go with a white shirt for the guys. Their ivory shirt was too yellow-ish, someone warned me of this and I'm glad we chose the white!.

Invitations & stationary - Wedding Paper Divas: A++++
We got our engagement party invitations, bridal shower invitations, wedding invitations, place cards and menus from Wedding Paper Divas. They were amazing!. Unfortunately, because of Sandy, the venue on my wedding invitations was not where the wedding actually ended up being, and I had to toss all the menus because of the last minute venue change..of course, the menu was not the same!. That was a little annoying.

Calligrapher - Mary Ellin Kurtz: A++++
Mary Ellin is amazing!. My aunt used her for all her stationary for her June '11 wedding and loved her. Her prices are reasonable, she's very friendly and has great communication. She did our inner and outer envelopes along with our response cards and place cards. We were extremely pleased with her work.

Wedding Cake - The Rolling Pin: A+++
I didn't want the typical wedding cake, so when our RH had us look from a book to chose a cake, we decided to go directly to The Rolling Pin and talk to them about what we wanted. We tried quite a few samples and loved them. Communication was a little spotty, we did the majority of our communicating via email and when Sandy hit, it screwed everything up. The Rolling Pin was without power, but assured us that they did have a location to make our wedding cake that weekend. We paid a little extra to have an upgraded cake, and it was so worth it. Luckily when we switched venues, East Wind also worked with The Rolling Pin and took care of communicating with them for us and making sure the cake was what we wanted!. Our cake was gorgeous and delicious!

Hair - Roseanna Amador of Cosmo NY: A++
I had two trials with Roseanna and absolutely loved her work. She has a way of making those big soft romantic curls so perfectly!. She's a little pricey, but worth it in my opinion. On the day of, she showed up and set my hair and started working on the girls..she worked fast and did an amazing job..they all looked SO stunning..I couldn't believe it. She did extensions for my mom and she looked so gorgeous. My hair was exactly as I wanted it and the curls stayed in for the most part, despite it being a little windy outside that day (aftermath of Sandy). She was great, I don't have any complaints!.

Makeup - Anne DeMarco's Cosmetics - Valerie McHale: A+++++
I was a little bummed at first that Anne DeMarco herself could not do my makeup because it interfered with the ING NYC Marathon but once I had my trial with her outcall artist Valerie- I was sold!!!. First of all, she is just one of those people that you really want around the morning of your wedding. She's funny, upbeat and does a phenomenal job. I really could have seen myself being friends with her in real life, we got along so great!. Everyone's makeup looked FLAWLESS..I had never seen my sisters and mother look that stunning before. I got airbrush makeup and did a heavy smokey eye, it was perfect. My makeup stayed pretty much perfect all day, she even gave me a lipstick and gloss to take with me for touch ups!. She did an outstanding job.

Cheeky Glam Events: A+++++++++++
What can I say that hasn't been said about Cheeky Glam? they are amazing!. I'm patting myself on the back for booking them so long ago..they are those vendors that you want to sneak extra tip money in at the end of the day because of how amazing they are. We had Jaime and her assistant Gina and they were so great. First off, I met with Jaime just a few days before the wedding...at that point, my venue was still without power and we had no backup plan, my family and friends were talking about postponement and I was a wreck. I was in tears on and off all day that day until our meeting. Jaime cheered me up and got me in the mindset that this wedding WAS still going on and was going to be perfect. In the next few days we kept in close contact and I updated her with our venue change and she contacted my vendors and made sure that everyone was on the same page!. Jaime is just so sweet and we meshed so well, I want to get married again just to have Cheeky there to help again!. They really were one of the best investments we made for our wedding. Book them NOW!!!

Officiant - Pastor April: A++++
Pastor April was awesome. We booked and met with her over a year ago and DH and I automatically loved her. She is so good and so passionate about what she does and focuses to closely on you both as a couple. We communicated great via email for the next year figuring all the little details out and on the day of she showed up early, did a run through with the wedding party and delivered an amazing ceremony. Had us in tears a few times and when I looked out at the guest, they were all balling their eyes out. Everyone was so impressed with her, I had guest coming up to me during cocktail hour saying how great she was!.

Photographer - Gina Esposito Photography: A+++++
Gina is so sweet and her work is so incredible, not to mention her prices are great as well. She's again just one of those people you want around on your wedding day!. DH and I were so impressed with her work and her assistant and it's a plus that she's good friends with Cheeky Glam!. We haven't gotten our pictures back yet, so I can't comment on those, but I have a feeling they will be amazing!!!.

DJ - After Hours Entertainment: A
We met with Phil twice before our wedding and DH and I really liked him a lot. Phil DJ'd our wedding, and while he did get all of our 'big' songs correct (ceremony songs, first dance ect ect), I felt like he disregarded our do-not play list. DH and I are huge on music, it's our lives. I heard songs and bands that I know we asked him not to play, but he did because my father requested them. I think a few songs to my fathers liking are great, but when it's over and over again classic rock and even some disco, it got annoying. DH and I are 21 and 23 and we really dislike those genres. I just didn't feel like my guest got a feel for what DH and I are in to. I'm glad that he could make my father happy, but my father was not the one paying. Other than that, Phil was great. I can't go back and do anything about it, and I was definitely a bit of a picky bride when it came to music, but I felt like my request and the request of my younger guest should have been honored a little more. There was a point when I walked back into the reception and heard such bad music that I ran straight to my bridal party and told them to go up there and have him change it. Nothing I can do now, but I just wanted to pass along the my experience so other brides can be a little more thorough!. Phil is great either way and my dad is still talking about him lol.

Limo - Tran-Star Executive: B
We originally got a limo so that we could go somewhere to take pictures, but when we had to change venues, the place we wanted to take pictures was too far away and also destroyed by Sandy. We had a hard time finding a place we loved as much as Avalon Park (which we're doing our TTD shoot there!) so we didn't need the limo for pictures anymore. Instead, we used the limo for transporting the guys from our house to the venue that morning. Now, I made the decision THAT morning to not use the limo for pictures off site...but yesterday, DH and I put X amount of money into an envelope for Tran-Star Exec. The morning was crazy, and communication with the groom/groomsmen was bad..as us girls were all scrambling to get ready, and DH gave Tran-Star $300 instead of just the $50 for pick-up/drop-off. So, we paid for 3 hours when we really only got 15 minutes. We tried to get our money back but of course, we weren't able to. I wish so badly we could have because that could have been more tip money for other vendors. Nothing we can do about it now though. I never even saw the limo, but the guys said it was nice.

Favors - California Caramel Company: A++++
We did caramel apple favors in flavors of chocolate, white chocolate and apple pie!. They were so incredible. A little pricey (esp. because they came all the way from California) but they were absolutely amazing and beautiful and all the guest raved about them!!!.

Florist - Santos Floral Designs: D / Hidden Essence: A+++++++
This is a little messy. Santos Floral Designs was our original florist, we started meeting with her about six months or so before our wedding. Some things that really bothered me- 1. She didn't have any contract for us to sign. 2. She didn't require a deposit. All we had to go off of was her word that she was doing our wedding. We met with her twice before actually even getting a proposal (which took a lot of emailing and calling and bugging her about it). We finally got a proposal about 3-4 weeks before our wedding. It was pretty annoying because up until then, I couldn't really even picture what the floral arrangements were going to look like. A week before the wedding we were supposed to be driving out to Long Beach (over an hour long car ride for us) and literally at 12:30am that morning, she emails me saying that she can't make our appointment. We were supposed to have this appointment so that we could see sample centerpieces and mockup arrangements and pay her in full. I had called and emailed a day or two prior to our appointment to confirm and hadn't heard back from her, I really think if it wasn't for me emailing her the night before, she would have never even told me about not being able to make the appointment. She said we could reschedule for Monday, ah..Sandy was due to hit Monday, and Long Beach was going to get slammed so I knew that was NOT happening. I told her I could do Friday morning (2 days before our wedding) and she agreed. I haven't heard from her since. I know that her home and business was badly affected by Sandy, and for that I am very sympathetic. I just wish she could have contacted me or something that week to let me know that she could not do our wedding. Luckily, we had not put a deposit down and I quickly searched for a new florist. I called Michelle at Hidden Essence the Wednesday before our wedding, she was amazing from the start and really wanted to help us in any way possible. I forwarded her my original proposal with Santos Floral Design and she called her flower provider and found out that she was able to get just about everything. We met that night and booked her. She is so talented and so sweet, she wrote out a contract for us to sign and in a random Dunkin Donuts at 7pm four days before our wedding we booked a new florist. The morning of our wedding her and her awesome assistant Liz showed up bright and early to start setting up!. I was AMAZED by our bouquets and the centerpieces, every little thing was amazing. Michelle really went above and beyond for us, she was such a great vendor to work with and I wish I would have booked her a long time ago. Everyone loved the flowers and she executed my image perfectly. I couldn't be happier with Hidden Essence!

Bridesmaid Gifts - Etsy & Wedding Chicks: A++
I purchased four double gold chained necklaces with a pearl and initial pendant on them for my bridesmaids, the Etsy seller was OtisBWeddings and they were beautiful and came in cute little thank you boxes!. I also got the girls Maid of Honor/Bridesmaid tote bags and tank tops. I filled the tote bags with little goodies like lotions, body sprays, mints, ect.

Groomsment Gifts - Things Remembered: A+
DH got his groomsmen personalized flasks and beer mugs, they were a little pricey but they guys all loved them!.

The Cottage at East Wind: A++++++++++++++
As I posted above, we originally booked with Three Village Inn. We fell in love with Three Village Inn because of it's fall-rustic style and all the history that is there. Also, it's walking distance for a lot of my family and is in the town where my father grew up. We were going to do our ceremony and reception there and take our pictures at Avalon Park up the road. Of course all of this changed when Sandy hit. I had to toss out our menus and OOT boxes (since we no longer had hotel rooms for guest) and so much more. I'm not going to lie, as amazing as East Wind was, I was still very sad about not being able to have our wedding at Three Village Inn. I loved their reception room and everything tied in SO perfectly with our theme...I visited 3VI monthly, stayed the night there once, went to all the showcases, in my mind for 15 months, that was where we were getting married. When Sandy hit, they had a little flooding & they lost power. We had our final meeting there Thursday and there was still no power. We decided to wait until Friday evening to make a move on whether or not we were postponing or finding a new venue (which seemed impossible). My sisters were freaking out and desperate to find me a new venue, one of them called up East Wind and found out that they did have availability that Sunday morning in their Cottage!. We were thrilled because East Wind is only minutes from our house. We met with Mike there on Friday and decided to break out of our contract with Three Village Inn, and they allowed it and gave us a refund. We chose a menu and handed in all of our contracts by noon on Saturday, and that was that. East Wind was sooo accommodating. They tried to match most of our menu selections, agreed to do our signature drink, and even let us go into the bridal suite at 6am to start getting ready with hair and makeup since we still did not have power at our house. I can't say enough good things about East Wind. I really felt like they had our back more than Three Village Inn ever did. Of course, Three Village Inn called me on Saturday afternoon to tell me they had partial power back on and wanted to offer us our honeymoon cottage suite for the night of our wedding. We declined because I don't think I would be able to emotionally handle going back there. East Wind ended up having one cancellation that Sunday night for a King suite and gave it to us!. Judy, my bridal attendant was AMAZING. She was incredible! and so was Suzanne. Mike, Judy and Suzanne at East Wind were simply amazing. They really all came together to make our day special and turn a disastrous week into my dream wedding. The reception wasn't what I picture, and wasn't really my 'style' but we made it work with all the decor that I had purchased and everything ended up looking great. We improvised and all of our vendors came together with East Wind to really make our day perfect. Sandy cleared the weather up for us too, it was a gorgeous 55 and sunny fall day. I can't say enough good things about East Wind. They really are so incredible and really made our day so special. All of our guest were raving about the cocktail hour food and loved the ceremony area, I really think they did a phenomenal job!!!.

Our Honeymoon
All Inclusive Outlet - Secrets Wild Orchid: A+++++++++
We booked our honeymoon through an online site called All Inclusive Outlet. At first, we did think it was a little sketchy but their price was unbeatable!. We booked our airfare, shuttle to and from the resort and our ocean view suite. Secrets Wild Orchid was incredible, it's an all inclusive adults only resort in Montego Bay Jamaica. I've been to Jamaica once before when I was 15 and I loved it, DH had never left the country so this trip was really exciting for him!. When we arrived we were greeted with mimosas and cool towels and escorted to our room where there was a honeymoon sign on our door and a bouquet of flowers and bottle of champagne waiting for us!. Our room was amazing, the most comfortable king size bed, large flat screen tv, dining and living room area, a large jacuzzi tub right next to the bed, a rainfall shower and a gorgeous balcony overlooking the pool and ocean. Everything there was like a dream! the food was great and we ordered room service probably about 3 times a day!. The restaurants were nice but had a somewhat limited menu, although there were a lot of different style cuisines to choose from. The beach and wait service on the beach were incredible and the water sports were a blast. On our last night there we did a romantic candlelit dinner on the beach where we had wine, roasted duck, bacon wrapped filet mignon, lobster tail and a delicious red velvet torte with coconut frosting. Everything was to die for and even DH said it was the best meal of his life!. Everyone there was so insanely friendly, the staff was amazing..I really don't think you can find such nice people anywhere else!. Overall we were so pleased with our stay, and even in the airport we received a voucher to go to a VIP departure lounge where they had free food, a full bar, snacks, a play room for kids, free wifi, TVs and couches and even showers. We were so impressed with everything about our honeymoon and we had the best time of our lives!!!!

Our Fall-Rustic Post Hurricane Wedding! 11/4/12

Thanks for the review! So glad you were able to get married at the Cottage at East Wind. Happy things came together on your big day. CONGRATS!

Our Fall-Rustic Post Hurricane Wedding! 11/4/12

So glad everything worked out for you. You looked amazing!!!

Our Fall-Rustic Post Hurricane Wedding! 11/4/12

So glad it worked out, it must suck not being able to go with your original plans but it's good to hear that you made it work and it turned out great... Congrats!

Our Fall-Rustic Post Hurricane Wedding! 11/4/12

this is a great review. makes me so glad we are using michelle. im so glad things worked out for you!

Re: Our Fall-Rustic Post Hurricane Wedding! 11/4/12

omg! val is one my dearest friends and she is AMAZING make up artist! i made sure she was free for my wedding like immediatly after getting engaged lol, i did not even think to have a trial with anyone else. im so happy to hear you had such a good experience with her! yay!

Re: Our Fall-Rustic Post Hurricane Wedding! 11/4/12

Omg!! how cool!! she was amazing, you're going to look SO stunning on your big day!!! my sisters and I are still talking about how gorgeous we all looked, definitely one of the best vendors I booked!!

Our Fall-Rustic Post Hurricane Wedding! 11/4/12

I'm so sorry to hear about the stress Sandy brought to you on your wedding. I was so looking forward to reading your review of Three Village Inn since that's where I'm getting married next year. I'm glad that a venue stepped up and you didn't have to postpone.

Our Fall-Rustic Post Hurricane Wedding! 11/4/12

Congratulations on your marriage and on making it through the storm! So sorry for your stress, can not imagine the anxiety you must have felt in the week leading up to the storm. BTW, we had the same experience with Santos in Long Beach and did not book even though they did a lovely job at a friend's wedding. We could not get a quote out of them! Very unprofessional.

Our Fall-Rustic Post Hurricane Wedding! 11/4/12

Congratulations!!! Glad to hear that everything worked out despite all the stress and devastation Sandy caused.

Re: Our Fall-Rustic Post Hurricane Wedding! 11/4/12

loved your review so so glad everything worked out for you

Our Fall-Rustic Post Hurricane Wedding! 11/4/12

So glad to hear everything worked out for you in spite of Sandy! I am DYING to see how you looked in Lorie!!!

Our Fall-Rustic Post Hurricane Wedding! 11/4/12

I'm so happy everything worked out! Can't wait to see pics!

Our Fall-Rustic Post Hurricane Wedding! 11/4/12

Congrats! I was right there with you, my wedding being 11/2. Glad you were able to have a great wedding!!