**Our July 3, 2011 Wedding: East Wind, Memento Photography, Fade to Black, Prestige Events, FM Entertainment, A Fresh Approach, CosmoNY, Glam Me Up, Pastor April, Audrey's & More**

UPDATED 1-18-12 with Floral Preservation and Video

Advice

There is so much advice I can give because I am an experienced event planner, but now I have seen what it is like to be on the other side. Of course, planning your wedding is probably one of the most stressful times you will go through in your life. However, it will also be one of the happiest times in your life and you should enjoy every minute of it and not stress the small stuff.

If you can, try and do pictures before your ceremony. It was sooooo much easier and we actually had time to eat, mingle and have fun.

Put as many vendor payments as you can on a credit card. That way, if a vendor screws up or does not give you the services you paid for, the credit card company will give you the money back and go after the vendor. This did not happen to me, but I know others that have gone through it. Businesses close shop and they paid cash that they never saw again. Not trying to scare anyone, but just being realistic. Also, don’t pay for things in cash unless you are receiving it right away. If it is a service to be performed on the day of the wedding, give them cash that day when they arrive at your venue.

There is a difference between being cheap and being frugal. We were frugal and did not compromise classiness. Make sure you and DH sit down and discuss what the most important aspects of your wedding will be before you start planning. For example, our most important was our photographer. We did our research and found one that was affordable without compromising what we wanted. Also remember, there are other vendors that are not promoting themselves on this website and they are just as good, if not better, than the ones paying to advertise here. Do your research and go with your gut. There is a DJ that was one of the house DJ’s for our venue, as well as a vendor that advertises on LIW. DH and I met with them and saw right through them. They were trying to give us a run for our money and we were not having it. The wedding business is harsh and some of these vendors will do anything for money. Be careful!!!

Don’t wait until the last minute to register. We registered a month or two before our engagement party and got tons of gifts. Just remember to include the information on the invitation. Also, you don’t have to have your engagement party right away, so take your time. We got engaged in March and did not have ours until August.

Invite everyone on your list and don’t worry about over-inviting. There will always be some no-shows, cancellations, and family members who you think will say yes, but instead say no. We invited 200 ppl and about 113 actually came to the wedding. I ended up paying for 9 extra seats that just went to waste when I could have invited people that were on the bottom of the list. Sad!! Granted, it was a holiday weekend, but just have a backup plan.

Write the name of the person you are sending the invite to on the back of the RSVP card. You would be surprised as to how many people send them back and don’t write in their names. Luckily, I wrote their last name and first initial to easily identify them. ::phew::

Choose your bridal party wisely. Don’t just ask someone to be in your bridal party because you have known them for xx amount of years or because it is your sibling, or because you want to have a huge wedding party. Ask them because they are truly happy for you and want to help you plan one of the most important days in your life, the day you have been dreaming of ever since you were a little girl - Your Wedding Day!!! When you ask them to be a part of your special day, be honest with them. Let them know your expectations before they give you an answer. For example, attendance at wedding related functions, monetary responsibilities such as throwing a shower or bachelorette party, attire for the day of the wedding etc. Ask them to be honest about whether or not they can handle the responsibility, time and financial commitment that comes along with being in a wedding party. I learned this the hard way. I assumed that people were aware of the etiquette of being in a wedding party; however, not everyone was as educated on the subject. As a side note, some of the girls were married and have been through their own weddings.

From the time you start planning your wedding to the day you leave for your honeymoon; you will realize who the important people in your life are and who could care less about you. Just remember in the end that things happen for a reason and if you have lost a friend during this happy time in your life, you are better off without them. Now that I have given you my advice, let’s get on to the review.

Long Island Weddings - A+++
Thank you to all the ladies on this site that keep it going and for all of your creativity that you share on the site. It is great to have a place to go where you can ask questions and receive feedback in a split second. I got so many ideas from the site and it really made a difference because all of the little personal touches at the wedding are the things people will never forget.

The Proposal - Red Rock Canyon, Las Vegas, NV - A+++
On March 5, 2010, we were in Las Vegas on vacation. I own timeshare there and we were at the tail end of the trip. One morning, we woke up very early and drove to Red Rock Canyon to watch the sunrise. As the sun was rising, he proposed to me. It was so romantic!!! I was dying to tell my family, but when I tried to call them, there was no service in the canyon, so I had to wait 20 minutes or so before I could even make a phone call. When I got through to my family at home, I told them that I hit the jackpot in Las Vegas and they asked me what I won --- I told them an engagement ring.



The Ring - Elsa Rings - Farmingdale, NY - A+++
My FH, now DH, went to Elsa and she helped him design a fantastic engagement ring. He apparently was going there a few months before and I had no clue. He even had dinner with my Father to ask him for my hand in marriage and called my Grandfather in Georgia to get permission without me finding out as well. DH was pretty sneaky...








The Hunt for a Venue and Wedding Date
After the engagement and our arrival back to New York from Las Vegas, we immediately started shopping for a venue to have our reception and ceremony. We did not exactly have dates in mind because it depended on pricing and we did not want to commit to a date and venue we could not afford. A million phone calls later, we checked out 5 places, one of them being East Wind Caterers in Wading River. DH and I met with Penny in sales. We took a tour, when through pricing and availability and were actually shocked at how affordable they were. We were getting quotes way out of their range in some other places and they did not even offer half as much as East Wind. We had one more place to visit, so we asked Penny if she could hold the date for a few days until we saw our last venue. She agreed and did not pressure us at all. I guess she knew we would be back because the last venue was not our cup of tea, so on the way back from that venue, I immediately called East Wind to let them know I would be there the next day with a deposit for our July 3, 2011 Wedding.

Bridesmaid Cookies - Before The IDO’s - A+
I used these to ask the girls to be my bridesmaid. I thought it was a cute idea. I was able to personalize them with their names and also my color scheme. I presented it to them after taking them out to dinner.


Engagement Party - A++
We had our engagement party in my Mom’s backyard. It was in August and it was a beach themed pool party. It was nice not to have to pay for a venue. My mom is in the food and beverage industry, so we got all the food from a food distributor (J Kings) that she deals with and we hired waitresses and a grill person from my friends company, Tip Top BBQ and a lifeguard DH knows to watch the kiddies.


Engagement Party Invitations - Vistaprint - A+
I designed the invites myself and ordered them on vistaprint. It was so much cheaper to do it this way than to buy invitations. I designed the invite using Microsoft publisher. I purchased envelopes on eBay that would fit the card and go with the theme.


Engagement Party Favors - Craigslist - A+
I was searching on craigslist for wedding related stuff and came across someone selling these cute frames with sand and shells on them. I ended up buying them from the girl and we printed out some of our engagement pictures, put them in the frames, and gave them out to everyone who came to the party. It was a nice parting gift.

Engagement Party Cake - Jacqueline’s Pastesserie, Babylon, NY - A+++
We had a cake that was beach themed with blue fondant that made the cake look like the ocean and crushed graham crackers that looked like sand. She also made sand dollars and starfish out of sugar to decorate the cake and put flip flops in the middle. The cake was delicious. It was yellow cake with cannoli cream filling. Yum!



Macy’s Registry - C
I honestly had a hard time finding things to put on our Macy’s registry. Everything we originally had on the registry ended up being alot cheaper at Bed Bath and Beyond, so we ended up switching alot of things over. We did keep some items on there, but not many.

Bed, Bath & Beyond Registry - A
We actually registered everything online with BBB. We did go to the store during a registry event, where we added and changed some items, but the majority we did online. The registry event is worth it because you get some free stuff to take home, so that is always a plus. Everybody loves BBB because they have the 20% coupons. If you are going to register in person, I suggest you go to the huge one in Westbury because they carry items that other BBB’s on the island do not carry. For example, luggage. We were able to pick out our luggage at the registry event because they had alot to choose from. The only reason I don’t give them an A+ is because when you return things for store credit, instead of giving it to you on a gift card, they give you a paper receipt, which alot of people would probably lose. I think they do that on purpose and hope you do lose it so they keep your money.

Save the Dates - Magnetstreet.com - A+
I had a coupon code for 20% off the site, so I made our save the dates on here. They also came with the envelope. We actually gave these out at the engagement party so we did not have to mail alot of them. The site was easy to use and they shipped rather quickly.

Wedding Website - Wedsite.com - A+++
Loved this site. It is not a free wedding website, but it was totally worth the $60 or so I paid for it. It looks so professional and our families loved it. I also liked that I have the option to purchase a CD with the website on it as a memento. www.thefuturedavids.wedsite.com

Bridal Shower Venue- Sonoma Grille, Holbrook, NY - A
I love Sonoma Grille, but I totally was not expecting my shower to be there. I did not even know they had a private room!!! My shower was great. Everyone said that the food was delicious. I know the punch was really good ::wink wink::: We got so many nice gifts. The even bigger surprise was that my grandmother from Georgia came up for the shower, which was unexpected. My DH actually called my Grandparents and told them how much it would mean to me if she was there and offered to pay for her airline ticket. So sweet!!! My bridesmaids did an outstanding job!! They helped open gifts, record gifts, manage games with my loud family and did everything they could to make it the best for me.

Bridal Shower Favors – The Cookie Jar, Staten Island, NY – A+
The favors for the shower were cookies from a place in Staten Island called The Cookie Jar. They were delicious!!! There were also lollipops in the shape of wedding cakes made by a friend of the family and Sky Vodka, courtesy of my Mom and her food and beverage connections.





As you had probably guessed from my advice in the beginning of my review, some bridesmaids/friends needed to be cut out of my life. The falling out was a few weeks before my Bridal Shower. In reality, the whole falling out was about my Bridal Shower and details that I should not have found out (but in the end, I am glad I did). So, after the fallout, I lost 2 bridesmaids, which was not a big deal to me. At that point I would have only had 2 bridesmaids -- still, not a big deal to me. However, after two of my friends found out what had happened, they actually asked for my MOH’s phone number so they could call her and offer their assistance with anything wedding related. I was so taken back (in a good way) that these girls actually cared about me enough to offer their assistance with things. After talking to DH, we made a decision that we wanted to ask these lovely ladies to be in the wedding. One of the girls we have known for a few years now, but the other gal I actually met right here on LIW and we became very close through planning our weddings. To top it all off, it turns out that I knew her husband years ago and it was nice to re-connect with him and be able to make good friends though this website. God works in mysterious ways and she was definitely a gift from God. <3 Thank you, CantWaitMrsH!!!!

Bachelorette Party - A+
One of my bridesmaids drove us into the city and we went to Exotic Dance Central for a Pole Dancing Bachelorette Party. It was alot of fun. They had cake and champagne set up for us and gave us props to learn sexy dance moves and pole dancing. They actually had me do a whole routine at the end. It was so much fun. The studio is big and they have a changing area, which worked for us because we went out afterwards and did not want to wear our work out clothes. The only thing that annoyed me was that we started late and that the different studio spaces are not sound proof...so there was a party in one of the rooms next to us with like 30ppl and it was so loud that half the time, we could not hear the instructor. After pole dancing, we went to a burlesque show at Duane Park in Tribecca. They offer a prefix menu and reservations are a must. The drinks were good there, but pricey. The food was awesome and the show was hysterical. The girls and I had an awesome time!!






Rehearsal Dinner - La Famiglia, Smithtown, NY - A
We were limited on choices for restaurants for the Rehearsal dinner because we were having it the night before our wedding, which was a Saturday night and it was fourth of July weekend and we did not want a typical pre-fix boring menu. After calling tons of places, we finally settled on La Famiglia, and we are soooo glad we did. We met with Jon, the owner, who customized our menu for 25 people and the food was absolutely delicious. Our families raved about how good the food and service was. The only drawback was that they don’t have a private room, so we think the people in the room were getting bothered, but I did not give a hoot. lol.

Dress for Rehearsal Dinner - David’s Bridal - A+
This dress was actually the same dress as my bridesmaids in white and it was on clearance online. It fit great and it was so comfy.


Wedding Invitations - Indianweddinginvitations.com - A-
I knew that I wanted fancy invitations, but I did not want to spend a mere fortune. The year before I got engaged, my brother got an invitation to his friends wedding (who was also an LIWer) and I fell in love with it. It looked like a keepsake that you would not throw away. I stalked her on facebook to ask her for information on where she got the invite after I got engaged. It turns out that she custom designed hers and ordered it from India. So, of course, I contacted the same company, designed our invite and ordered all through indianweddinginvitations.com. The owners name is Tanmay, and he was right on top of everything. We literally must have had over 200 email exchanges going back and forth with design, font and other specifics. He was patient and the invites looked stunning. The reason for the A- is because the return envelopes for RSVP’s had a hart time getting back to us in one piece because they handmade the envelopes from glossy paper and they did not hold up well. My advice would be to get your own envelopes at paperandmore.com or paperpresentation.com.



The Dress - Private Label by G Style #1305 - A
I pretty much knew what I wanted going into dress shopping. I only tried on about 10 dresses. It was between Maggie Sotero’s Mona Lisa or Private Label by G Style #1305. I went with the Private Label. Unfortunately, it was hard to see what the dress would look like on me because the bridal shop had a size 10 to try on, but I am a few sizes too big. So, I did not know what it would really look like, but I got an idea. When I tried on my dress for the first time, I loved it. It is a beautiful and well made dress. However, looking back at my pictures, I just wish the seamstresses actually knew what they were doing with the alterations because I feel it did not fit me right in the torso. But that is a whole other story (see below).



Wedding Dress and Veil - Paradise Bridal - C
I don’t even know where to begin with this one. I will start with the fact that I would not recommend this bridal shop to anyone. Let me explain in detail. We started looking at dresses and I knew exactly what dresses I liked, so I had a list with me of the designer and style numbers. So, I made an appointment to go here because it was recommended to me by a friend and I had a certificate to get a free veil with the purchase of my dress. My bridal consultant was Cherise. If I could give her a grade, it would be an “A”. She was attentive and found most of the dresses I wanted to try on. After finding my dress, I called other stores to see if I could get it cheaper. I did find stores willing to get it for me cheaper, but I kind of felt obligated to purchase it from there because she was so helpful. BIG MISTAKE!!! After I purchased the dress, it went all downhill from there. I purchased the dress in August of 2010. I got a call in January of 2011 to let me know it was in. When I asked when I could come in and try it on, they told me I could not come in unless I do a fitting and that it was too far out from the wedding to do a fitting. I was pissed because there is no way someone is going to tell me I can’t look at my dress or try it on while it is just sitting there in the store. So, I fought with them and got my way --- I was able to go there in February just to try the dress on. Then, we made an appointment for a fitting in March. Every time I went for a fitting appointment there, I waited over an hour to be seen or there was problems with alterations. My second fitting appointment, they told me that they forgot to do the alterations from the first fitting appointment. The third fitting appointment, they totally messed up the skirt of the dress and it was not symmetric because they removed the skirt to take up the hem and it was crooked. The fourth fitting, they forgot to take out a part of the dress that I had asked them to take out. The last fitting, two days before my wedding, it still did not look the way I wanted it to, but I was just so fed up with waiting and frustrated by the alterations department that I just settled. I don’t think my dress looked right on me and the seamstress blamed it on my chest, saying that the built in bra was not enough and that my chest was pushing down the material. Whatever lady!! So, in conclusion, don’t go to Paradise Bridal.


Dress Hanger - Gift from a Bridesmaid
One of my girls got me a hanger for my dress as one of my shower gifts. I loved it!! It was from Etsy and it had my married name entwined in the hanger.


Shoes - Zappos.com - A+
I purchased a few pairs because I was not sure what would look good and what shoe would be comfortable enough etc. I bought from zappos and they have free shipping and free returns, so I lucked out and went with Colorfics style Avalon. They pretty much lasted the whole day, but then I changed into flip flops I purchased from a bride here on LIW that were the same height as my shoes (“3 inch heels).


Something Blue - “I Do” shoe decal – A+
These were great. I got this idea from another LIW bride. I was in the city and scouted out the store called Good Things Wedding Favors – 39 W. 14th St., Suite 204. It is mostly an Internet based company, but they have a small store in a commercial building on the second floor. I paid less than $4 for them and they were definitely worth it.


Headpiece - Glam Gal Designs Bridal- A+++
I had went to a well known shop in Brooklyn (I wont say the name) that specializes in headpieces and wedding jewelry. I fell in love with this headpiece and I could not rationalize spending $300 for it. Lucky enough, I posted a pic of it here on LIW and a bride helped me find it on GlamGal.com (Style #AA2296) for only $59.00!!!!!!!!! I was sooooooooo happy. I ordered it right away, got it in the mail and it looked just as stunning as the overpriced one.


Earrings - Great Day Bridal - A+++
The bridal salon wanted $98 for these earrings, but of course I found them cheaper online at greatdaybridal.com for $48. I actually purchased two pairs of earrings because I was not sure which one I wanted, but ended going with the ones DH liked in the end. They matched my dress and headpiece perfectly.


Bracelet - My Something Borrowed - A+
One of my co-workers let me borrow this bracelet for the wedding. It was simple yet elegant and matched everything perfectly.


Bridesmaid Dresses & Shoes - Davids Bridal - B+
My girls absolutely loved their dresses. They were black and tea length, so they can wear them again for a special occasion. They also wore pink belts that are detachable. I had my MOH wear a different color to stand out from the rest of the gals. They also got their shoes from David’s Bridal, but they complained about how uncomfortable they were, but kept them on until a little bit into the reception. I am giving them a B because a few of my girls had problems with the sashes. They all went to different DB stores, but yet all of them messed up on the size and/or color. However, they were able to get them in the right size/color in time for the wedding, so that was a relief.


Tuxes - Men’s Warehouse - A
Tuxes were probably the easiest thing to get throughout the whole planning process. DH knew what he wanted and Men’s Warehouse made it easy to match colors with David’s Bridal because they work together. I also had a coupon -- bonus!! The only complaint I have is that the store in Bay Shore is totally understaffed. If you want to go to a Men’s Warehouse, go to the big ones like the one in Massapequa, where we originally ordered DH’s.



MOB Dress - The Wedding Center, Commack, NY - A-
My Mom is a plus size gal, and it was really hard finding her a dress that she could try on in the store. I actually think that my Mom had more trouble finding her dress than I did. She definitely tried on more dresses than I did. Her dress was La Perle Mothers Dresses - Style 7460.She found her dress in NYC at RK Bridal, but because we live on Long Island and the cost of going into the city for fittings and alterations would run a mere fortune, we asked The Wedding Center in Commack if they would do a price match, at which they agreed to do. RK Bridal has the best prices, but I knew TWC does a price match guarantee. So, we ordered her dress from there. The dress came in and my Mom went to get her alterations done a few times because there were minor alteration mistakes, which they were working on 2 days before my wedding, but everything turned out fine and Mom looked glamorous.


Venue - East Wind Caterers - A
I loved the East Wind!!! It was gorgeous. The buildings are beautiful, the grounds are nice, it was affordable, it was convenient because we had everything there - getting ready, pictures, ceremony, and reception. The cocktail hour was like nothing I have ever seen. The food was delicious. The salespeople, Penny and Mike, were extremely professional and always responded to my calls/emails. My bridal attendant, Mary Lou, was a doll and so helpful all day. She was always there when I needed her. We were supposed to have our ceremony outside, but Mother Nature did not cooperate. We were fine with that though. Our cocktail hour and reception were held in the Northampton Ballroom, which is so beautiful. There are two reasons I am not giving them an A+. One is because my maitre d' and I clashed. It was a woman and she really did not pay attention to what I asked her to do with certain aspects of my day. She never even came to check on me to see if I needed anything when I was getting ready. The first time I saw her was when we made our way to the ceremony after group photos. Also, I had DH’s grooms cake delivered there and I called her 2 days before the wedding to let her know and I left a message. She never called me back, so I assumed she got the message --- I should have known better. During my cocktail hour, she came into the bridal suite while DH and I were eating and whispered to me “you should have told me about the cake, I needed to know about that” in a nasty tone. I was so upset and DH kept asking me why, but I just swept it under the rug and did not let it ruin my day. She was very pushy. So pushy that my whole family told me that they did not care for her and I told my bridal attendant to keep her away from me -- which she did. Another thing that bothered me was that they don't let you take pictures in certain places because they have multiple brides at one time...so I could not take pics on the grand staircase, which is a staple to this venue, because there was another wedding going on in the Southampton Ballroom. Overall, I would have my wedding there again -- just with a different maitre d’ and I would also have them put in my contract that I can take pictures on the main staircase.












Photography - Memento Photography, St. James, NY - A+++
DH and I must have visited about 7 or 8 photographers before making up our minds. However, after seeing Anthony Ranieri’s work, we knew that we wanted him as our wedding photographer. He is the owner of Memento Photographer and his sister, Lisa, runs all things on the business end. We had not actually met Anthony until our engagement shoot, but his work speaks for itself. He made us feel so comfortable when he shot our engagement pictures. He is really fun to work with and pretty laid back, but his creativity is just breathtaking. When we received our engagement pictures back, we were so thrilled. We got so many compliments on them. We ended up printing some photos and giving them out as favors at our engagement party and using one as our thank you card.
On the wedding day, Anthony and his assistant were right on schedule. There were alot of details at my wedding and I am 100% positive that he captured every single one of them. The wedding party and my family absolutely loved working with him. I gave him a huge list of family portraits to take and he made sure he went down that list and checked off every single one. He was there until almost the very end of the wedding and DH and I am looking forward to making our album. Our proofs look phenomenal!!!!













Video - Fade to Black NY - B-
Gil was probably the 3rd vendor we met with for video and we booked him on the spot. We literally talked to him, thanked him, walked outside, looked at each other and DH said “do you just want to book him”, and I was like “yes”, so we walked back in. Now, we are very picky people and for us to book someone on the spot like that is not normal for us. But, we felt so comfortable with him that we just didn’t want to waste our time. I saw his work and a lot of ladies here on LIW recommended him, so I felt good about it. I showed him a specific trailer that I liked and he was totally cool with adding it to the package. On the wedding day, he was great. He and my photographer worked wonderful together. He is also a pretty laid back guy...and humorous. we became friends on facebook and he would tease me every time I asked him a question and he was like “oh, your wedding is the 3rd?” as if he forgot, but he was totally messing with me. When it came time to give us the video, there were a few issues. The contract said that the video would take 4-6 weeks to produce, however, we did not receive our video until almost 6 months later. The trailer was not even produced until about 3 months later and I was unhappy with it. Also, we paid for HD, but the video does not look like HD quality. We also felt that it was lacking that creative edge you would want in a video. We know that it must take alot of time and effort to edit a video, and we are appreciative that we have a video that is decent, but I was not 100% impressed.

DJ - FM Entertainment - A+++
DH and I are very picky, especially with music. FM Entertainment was actually our second choice, but our first went out of business after we booked, so we called up Frank and booked them right away. Frank was our MC and he was so easy to work with. He has a great voice and has been in the business for a while, so he knows his stuff. The name of the DJ escapes me, but he was fantastic!! He played everything on my play list and also made sure he did not play alot of oldie music and stuff on my do not play list that guests may have asked for. DH and I were dancing all night and he kept the party going strong. The dance floor was never empty. People were even dancing during dinner!!! I would highly recommend them.


Makeup- Glam Me Up - A+++
I absolutely love Kelly!!!! She does amazing makeup that lasts all day and night. She made me, my girls, and my Mom look so good. I definitely was thankful for airbrush makeup because you need that in July. It did not look cakey and did not come off my face until I washed it off before bed. I loved my eye makeup. She really knows how to make eyes pop. I also used her for my engagement party and my Boudoir photo shoot. She was so helpful on the day of and so patient. My mom must have changed her mind bazillion times about her makeup, but Kelly kept going until my Mom was satisfied. She is a saint!!



Hair - CosmoNY - A
Roseanna Armador comes highly recommended from alot of girls on here. She is very pricey, but the quality really shows. My hair held a curl from 12 in the afternoon all the way through the wedding, which ended at 11:30pm. My hair still looked as good as it did in the beginning of my pictures as it did in the end of my pictures. On the day of, she gave me a nice little emergency kit that really came in handy.


Officiant - Pastor April Gismondi - A+++
Pastor April is a breath of fresh air. She is just so professional and she speaks so eloquently that everyone wants to stop and listen. Our ceremony was awesome. DH and I are very spiritual. We grew up in catholic households, but we both converted to Christianity, so we did not want a long drawn out church-like ceremony. We went back and forth many times with edits, additions, subtractions etc. She was always patient with us and made us feel comfortable. Our ceremony was about 25 minutes. We incorporated a sand ceremony, which is similar to a candle ceremony, but instead, you pour sand to unite each of you as husband and wife. We received so many compliments from our guests on what a beautiful ceremony we had and how they thought Pastor April did a great job.


Favors - A Fresh Approach - A+++
DH and I were having a really hard time trying to pick out favors. We did not want something that would sit in someone’s house and collect dust. I had the idea of something edible, but we wanted it to be practical and cost effective. I saw alot of the girls on here talking about A Fresh Approach. I cannot say enough nice things about Jeanie. I actually went to school with her daughter, so I recognized her name and decided to make an appointment to go see her and Skip, her husband. They make the best truffles!! DH is not really a sweets person; however, he kept asking to taste more samples when we were deciding on favors. I was in shock!! We ended up ordering tiny apothecary jars with 4 different truffles and assorted chocolate hearts that doubled as our place cards. Everyone loved the favors. The good thing about the jars is that you can use them for something else after you eat the chocolate. I made labels to go on the jars that said “Thank you for making our day so sweet”, along with our names and wedding date.


Wedding Cake - Audrey’s Fine Bake Goods, Sayville, NY - A+++
There is a bakery which East Wind uses as their house bakery and it was included in our package, but after tasting quite a few samples, we were not impressed. We also were not happy with the fact that we had to buy samples (we got 2 samples free, but the rest you had to purchase) and that they don’t offer a tasting. On top of that, they wanted to charge us an extra $600 to upgrade to fondant icing. We were like “absolutely not”. So, we made an appointment with Audrey’s Bakery in Sayville about 3 weeks prior to the wedding. We met with Nancy and told her what we were looking for and the design we wanted and she asked us if we would like to try some samples. Sure enough, they came out with a tray of the different cake flavors and fillings that we were thinking about having. Everything was absolutely delicious. To top it all off, the price was beyond reasonable and we paid just a little more for a cake we wanted rather than paying for a cake we did not like. Our cake was Chocolate Devil’s Food with cookies and cream filling and the top tier had peanut butter filling for us to enjoy on our anniversary next year. Our guests raved about the cake and we had enough to take home for our bbq the next day, where the family ate the rest.


Groom’s Cake - D’s Delicious Delights - A+++
I wanted to get DH a groom’s cake, but did not want to spend a fortune. An LIW bride posted her facebook page a while back and I saw her work and how amazing it was. I asked her to re-create a photo that I found on the Internet of a basket of fruits and vegetables. DH is a very healthy eater, so I wanted it to look like a little vegetable garden in a basket with a sign that said “Groom’s Garden of Eatin”. Sure enough, she did an amazing job. Our guests could not believe it was a cake and DH was so surprised. He loved it. The cake itself even tasted good. It was chocolate cake with mocha filling.



Lighting - Prestige Events - A+++
DH and I were totally debating whether lighting would be worth it in the Northampton Ballroom at East Wind because of the skylight and all the natural light in the room. However, I saw another bride on LIW had the same room I did and she had lighting and I loved it. I was apprehensive about spending the money, but after seeing the way it looked that night and in the pictures, DH and I were so glad we spend the extra $$. We did not want to go with a DJ company because we felt that if we were going to spend money on lighting, we want it done right. So, we went with Glen from Prestige Events. He was fabulous and he totally knows how to make a room look perfect. He even had a guy stay in the room the whole night to control the lighting because we had it changing colors all night. Glen also did our monogram in lights on the dance floor, which I customized, and it came out perfect!!! Definitely worth the investment.



Florist - Flowers by B+U+R+T+O+N+$ - A+
Bur^t^ons is great. They totally got my vision. DH and I had extra decor (seashells we collected from the beach and hand painted) we wanted incorporated in our centerpieces and they set them up at no charge. They were the most reasonably priced florist and they did exactly what I wanted. I gave them diamond wrap to put around my bouquet, as well as a bouquet charm that I purchased from Michael’s (on clearance and decorated with crystals) and made in memory of my Grandmother.







Hotel Block - Marriott, Islandia - A+
What is great about the Marriott is that you do not have to pay any money up front to hold the rooms and if they do not sell, you are not responsible for them. They accommodated my guests who wanted to check in early and leave late and there were absolutely no problems.

Hotel Block - East Wind, Wading River - B+
Rooms are way overpriced here, but I guess they can do that because it is convenient. I did not like that we had to put a 10% deposit down to hold the block of rooms. Also, because the rooms did not sell, I could not get my deposit back. I think that if you are paying enough money to have your wedding there, they should accommodate you in every way possible. However, it is a business and I understand. I checked into East Wind the day before the wedding so I can get ready there the next morning. Some of my BM’s came with me and we just relaxed. The suite that they gave us as the bride and groom was rather small. My bridesmaids had a huge room, so we got ready in their room instead. There was just no way I would have been able to get ready in the hotel room they gave me. They also were really strict in getting you out of your room at check out. On the positive side, we did get free brunch and a free night for having the wedding there.

Aisle Runner - Above & Beyond Events - A-
I went to TWOTY this past January and was fortunate enough to win a free table runner from Above and Beyond Events. I ended up paying extra and put the credit I got toward an aisle runner. It came out great, but the reason I am giving them an A- is because the aisle runner was rolled the wrong way, so we had to take it out of the box, unroll it, and re-roll it. Thank goodness our Maitre D’ noticed this beforehand. We also used this as our “guest book” and had people sign it. We are planning on framing this as a memento.



Established Plaque - MySweetMemories.com - A+
DH and I purchased one of these for our table in the reception. We plan to hang this on a wall in our new home. We went back and forth with Channa over colors, fonts, sizes etc. But she was soooo patient and the plaque came out great!! I purchased the stand online from consumercrafts.com.


BM Gifts - Flip Flops from Old Navy, Bridesmaid Tank Tops from the Knot, Buttons from Etsy Seller Spool of Plenty, Jessica McClintok purses from Ideeli, Coach purse for MOH, earrings from Kohl’s, purse valets from Kohl’s, beau coup gift boxes for the earrings, bridesmaids bags from consumercrafts.com



GM Gifts - Lands End travel bag monogrammed, assorted travel toiletries, McDonald's gift cards.

Beverage Napkins and Coasters - The Knot.com - A+




Something Blue and Mrs. Underwear - Ebay Seller OneStopBlingShop - A+
Fast shipping and great quality. I would definitely order from her again.



Bride Tank - The Knot.com - A+
I got a black one and a white one. The black one I wore at my bachelorette party and the white one I wore to get ready the day of the wedding and for my B-Pics.


Love Candy Dishes - LIW Bride - A+
I purchased colored M&M’s from AC Moore and had the dishes placed on the candy table with the M&M’s in them for decoration.


Toasting Flutes and Cake & Knife Set - Gifts from our BBB Registry - A+
Lenox Opal Innocence


DIY -
Alot of our DIY stuff was from a combination of cardstock we already had at home (from scrapbooking and such), Paper Presentation in NYC and several other different retail stores.

Our Monogram - Me!!!


Flip Flop Size Tags
Menus

Program Fans


Place Cards


Reserved Signs



Do Not Disturb Signs


OOT Programs
Template available upon request

Table Numbers
I printed the numbers and designed them myself. We purchased 8X10 frames from Kmart.


Flip Flop Basket - Old Navy, Home Goods


Mint Matchbooks


Sand Ceremony Vases - AC Moore, LIW Bride


OOT Boxes - Mr. Take Out Box.Com


Day of Timelines - with some help from CantWaitMrsH


Water Bottle Labels - www.labelsbythesheet.com


Cardbox - Consumer Crafts, AC Moore, Fabric Store


Cake Topper, Crystals, Diamond Wrap - Koyal Wholesale




Seashells - Collected from Robert Moses State Park (Field 5)



Assorted Frames w/ Our Pictures and Family Photos - The was DH’s project. He gathered frames, photos and a label maker and made all these photos for our guest to view during cocktail hour and they were allowed to take them home at the end of the evening. Everyone loved the idea.




Ladies And Mens Room Baskets, Keepsake Frames At Rehearsal Dinner, OOT Box Contents, Tissue Packs, Hand, Sanitizing Lotion, Labels - Dollar Tree

My Wedding Gift to DH - Boudoir Photo Shoot & Album - Leslie Simmons Photography - A+++
I am a plus size gal with voluptuous curves, so I was a tad nervous about doing b-pics, but I wanted to do it to prove that you do not need to be a stick figure to pull off these pictures. Leslie Simmons was recommended to me by a few LIW girls - Thank you LoveyDovey and Colcas!!! I had scheduled a B-pic party with a few of the girls in April, but I came down with the flu and could not even get out of bed. I was so worried that I was going to loose out on the money I spent. However, I called Leslie and explained the situation and she was totally understanding of my situation because she actually heard how bad I sounded. So, we rescheduled the shoot a week before my wedding. I knew I would not be able to get an album made in time, but I had to wait because Leslie was pregnant with twins, which she had in May and needed some time to recover. So, what she did was printed me teasers and sent them to me so I could make a little “preview book” for DH to enjoy. The pictures came out fabulous!! She is a great photographer. I am thinking of doing a trash the dress shoot with her. When I got back from the honeymoon, she mailed me a CD with all the images on it and I showed DH --- he was floored. He was like “My Wife is Hot” lol. Then I made my own album on Mixbook because I bought a groupon. It came out awesome!!!









DH’s Wedding Gift to Me - Hot Stone Massage at Drew Patrick, Bay Shore - A+
What can I say? This was the perfect gift. We actually used it the weekend we returned from our honeymoon and it was a great way to spend the last leg of the honeymoon before returning to work.

Honeymoon - Hawaiian Islands - A+++
Our honeymoon was beyond amazing. Every day, DH and I were saying how we felt so blessed to have found each other and to be able to experience this wonderful feeling of love and happiness in such a beautiful place. We were fortunate to be able to spend 15 days and 14 nights in Hawaii. We were very fortunate that 7 of the nights were free courtesy of Marriott Reward points that I had racked up over the past few years. The other 7 nights were also at a discount due to my Marriott Reward points as well, except they were spent on a cruise rather than on land.

We took a direct flight on Continental Airlines from Newark to Honolulu. Neither DH nor I have ever been on that long of a flight. The most was to California. But, we braved it out and it was not that bad. We were supposed to get there in 10 hours and 40 minutes, but ended up getting there an hour early because of tail winds and traffic patterns, which was great.

We then headed via cab to our first hotel, the JW Marriott Ihilani Ko Olina Resort & Spa on the island of Oahu. This was not anywhere near Honolulu or Waikki because we wanted to stay away from those parts and explore the island rather than the city. The views from our hotel balcony were breathtaking. They had a private lagoon and a huge pool. The breakfast buffet was simply amazing. My favorite was waffles with coconut syrup and macadamia nuts with coconut shavings. While at this hotel, we visited the spa the day after we got in and indulged in a nice couples massage. It was fantastic. The spa facilities were probably the most amazing I have ever seen, and I have been to alot of spas. Another day, we rented a car and drove around the whole island of Oahu, making stops at the Pearl Harbor Memorial, whites sand beaches, parks, and the famous Turtle Bay Resort, where the show, LOST, was filmed.

After staying there for a few nights, we went back to Honolulu to embark on Norwegian Cruise Line’s Pride of America. This was a 7 day cruise that took us to all of the Hawaiian Islands. It was like our floating hotel room and a great way to see all of Hawaii. We visited Maui, Hilo, Kona, and Kauai. On the Islands of Maui and Kauai, the ship docked overnight, so you could pretty much do whatever you wanted and did not have to rush back. We snorkeled in Maui, went to Volcano’s National Park in Hilo, parasailed in Kona, and went zip lining in Kauai among many other ship activities and things to do on all the islands. It was great!!

After the cruise was over, we went to stay on the Big Island of Hawaii in a village called Waikoloa at the Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa where we stayed for the remainder of our trip. Similar to our fist hotel, the Marriott had a private beach with all types of water sports and rentals. We spent alot of time at the pool just relaxing. We also rented a car on our last day and drove around the whole island. We stopped at some local restaurants that were fabulous, saw the sunset on top of a mountain and had such an amazing last day.

One thing to note -- the Frommers Guide to Hawaii really helped us alot with choosing sites to see as well as restaurants to eat at. We used that book religiously.












Floral Preservation - Keepsake Floral - A++
This is an LIW vendor that preserves your bouquet and makes it into a memento for you to keep and showcase if you would like. They send you a package to put your bouquet in and send next day air to them so they can preserve the bouquet right away. When you are back from your honeymoon, you schedule a telephone consultation to describe what exactly you want done with your bouquet. I had my bouquet put in a shadow box frame along with my program and invitation. It turned out AMAZING!!!



I hope you enjoyed our review!! If you have any questions, feel free to FM me. Ill be glad to help.

Re: *****Our July 3, 2011 Wedding Review: East Wind, Memento Photography, Fade to Black, Prestige Events, FM Entertainment, A Fresh Approach, CosmoNY, Glam Me Up, Pastor April, Audrey's & More*****

Thanks so much for the review... the grooms cake is A-MA-ZING!!!

Re: *****Our July 3, 2011 Wedding Review: East Wind, Memento Photography, Fade to Black, Prestige Events, FM Entertainment, A Fresh Approach, CosmoNY, Glam Me Up, Pastor April, Audrey's & More*****

Wow you had such a beautfiul wedding. Every detail is just phenomenal....

Re: *****Our July 3, 2011 Wedding Review: East Wind, Memento Photography, Fade to Black, Prestige Events, FM Entertainment, A Fresh Approach, CosmoNY, Glam Me Up, Pastor April, Audrey's & More*****

beautiful! Absolutely gorgeous, thanks for sharing

eta: Love your b pics~ bootylicious aren't we

Re: *****Our July 3, 2011 Wedding Review: East Wind, Memento Photography, Fade to Black, Prestige Events, FM Entertainment, A Fresh Approach, CosmoNY, Glam Me Up, Pastor April, Audrey's & More*****

Great review!! Sorry that happened to you at Paradise, I had a bad experience too with alteractions. But you looked beautiful! That pic with the rh room and uplighting looks amazing!

Congrats!

Re: *****Our July 3, 2011 Wedding Review: East Wind, Memento Photography, Fade to Black, Prestige Events, FM Entertainment, A Fresh Approach, CosmoNY, Glam Me Up, Pastor April, Audrey's & More*****

What an excellent review! Everything looked so beautiful. I love all your little details!

Re: *****Our July 3, 2011 Wedding Review: East Wind, Memento Photography, Fade to Black, Prestige Events, FM Entertainment, A Fresh Approach, CosmoNY, Glam Me Up, Pastor April, Audrey's & More*****

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Posted by mybabylovesmoi

beautiful! Absolutely gorgeous, thanks for sharing

eta: Love your b pics~ bootylicious aren't we

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I totally laughed out loud at the bootylicious comment. And yes, its a big one..haha.

Re: *****Our July 3, 2011 Wedding Review: East Wind, Memento Photography, Fade to Black, Prestige Events, FM Entertainment, A Fresh Approach, CosmoNY, Glam Me Up, Pastor April, Audrey's & More*****

Awesome review! Thanks for all the details!

Re: *****Our July 3, 2011 Wedding Review: East Wind, Memento Photography, Fade to Black, Prestige Events, FM Entertainment, A Fresh Approach, CosmoNY, Glam Me Up, Pastor April, Audrey's & More*****

thanks for posting everything looks great...and nice bpics!!!

Re: *****Our July 3, 2011 Wedding Review: East Wind, Memento Photography, Fade to Black, Prestige Events, FM Entertainment, A Fresh Approach, CosmoNY, Glam Me Up, Pastor April, Audrey's & More*****

You gave an excellent review! Love all your pictures!! Congratulations and thanks for sharing...

Re: *****Our July 3, 2011 Wedding Review: East Wind, Memento Photography, Fade to Black, Prestige Events, FM Entertainment, A Fresh Approach, CosmoNY, Glam Me Up, Pastor April, Audrey's & More*****

WOW!!! What a review! Awesome advice, and even better review! So happy for you, everything looked incredible!!

Re: *****Our July 3, 2011 Wedding Review: East Wind, Memento Photography, Fade to Black, Prestige Events, FM Entertainment, A Fresh Approach, CosmoNY, Glam Me Up, Pastor April, Audrey's & More*****

What a GREAT review! Thank you for sharing. I love how your b-pix came out. Being a plus size/curvy woman myself I have been thinking if taking b-pix would be something i'd be comfortable with. But I know my FH would LOVE it if I surprised him with b-pic photos. Your photographer did such a great job. Also, thanks for you review on Hawaii.. that is on the top of my list for our honeymoon location!

Re: *****Our July 3, 2011 Wedding Review: East Wind, Memento Photography, Fade to Black, Prestige Events, FM Entertainment, A Fresh Approach, CosmoNY, Glam Me Up, Pastor April, Audrey's & More*****

Love it.. Love it... You did a great job everything looked amazing!!!

Re: *****Our July 3, 2011 Wedding Review: East Wind, Memento Photography, Fade to Black, Prestige Events, FM Entertainment, A Fresh Approach, CosmoNY, Glam Me Up, Pastor April, Audrey's & More*****

your review is EXCELLENT, how long did it take you to write it?

Re: *****Our July 3, 2011 Wedding Review: East Wind, Memento Photography, Fade to Black, Prestige Events, FM Entertainment, A Fresh Approach, CosmoNY, Glam Me Up, Pastor April, Audrey's & More*****

Wow!!! Beautiful review!!!!!! Congrats!!!!!

Re: *****Our July 3, 2011 Wedding Review: East Wind, Memento Photography, Fade to Black, Prestige Events, FM Entertainment, A Fresh Approach, CosmoNY, Glam Me Up, Pastor April, Audrey's & More*****

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Posted by Stefie22

your review is EXCELLENT, how long did it take you to write it?

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It took a loooonnnggg time. Over a week!!

Re: *****Our July 3, 2011 Wedding Review: East Wind, Memento Photography, Fade to Black, Prestige Events, FM Entertainment, A Fresh Approach, CosmoNY, Glam Me Up, Pastor April, Audrey's & More*****

awesome review and your bpics looked HOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: *****Our July 3, 2011 Wedding Review: East Wind, Memento Photography, Fade to Black, Prestige Events, FM Entertainment, A Fresh Approach, CosmoNY, Glam Me Up, Pastor April, Audrey's & More*****

love your review and all the awesome pics!!!! congrats you looked stunning

Re: *****Our July 3, 2011 Wedding Review: East Wind, Memento Photography, Fade to Black, Prestige Events, FM Entertainment, A Fresh Approach, CosmoNY, Glam Me Up, Pastor April, Audrey's & More*****

to my friend for life ... your wedding was amazing and that is coming from one sickly bridesmaid the day of <3 the crackers (tee hee), the sprite, the music, the love - every detail was well thought of and planned. just perfection! we couldnt have thought of a better couple to celebrate ... and we cant wait to grow old with the two of you! newlywed bowling? love you lady!

Re: *****Our July 3, 2011 Wedding Review: East Wind, Memento Photography, Fade to Black, Prestige Events, FM Entertainment, A Fresh Approach, CosmoNY, Glam Me Up, Pastor April, Audrey's & More*****

Love the review -- thank you so much!! I have to go check out some of these sites that you used for the DIY now.

I'm going on the same cruise as you guys and I'm so excited -- so happy you enjoyed it!!