My May 1st, 2004 wedding review!

First of all I need to thank LIW for creating this site; without it I would've gone crazy. DH and I live in Virginia so it would've been pretty stressful trying to plan a wedding from there. And thanks to all you ladies for sharing your stories and advice!

Ok, here we go:

Rehearsal Dinner – The Carltun: A

I didn’t have a hand in planning the rehearsal dinner, so the only thing that I can comment about is the food and the place itself. We all had a great time. MIL did a Mardi Gras theme, so they had beads hanging from the chandeliers, Mardi Gras masks for the bridal party to wear, and crowns for me and DH (the King and Queen!). They played zydeco music and they had Cajun food as well as regular food (oh and we had a cocktail hour too – our rehearsal dinner was more like a mini wedding reception!). I thought that the food was excellent and the service was good too. The Carltun is a beautiful place.


Tuxedos – Men’s Wearhouse, Carle Place: A-

We only had a couple of minor problems with Men’s Wearhouse – one of the Groomsman’s shirts was about 3 inches too short in the sleeves, and one of the tuxes didn’t have shoes in the bag (DH had thought he checked all the bags before he left the store, but oh well…) so the guys had to go back to the store the day before the wedding to get those problems fixed.
I really liked the tuxes that we picked for the guys. I think they looked sharp. I also really loved DH’s tux. He looked really handsome in tails and a white bow tie.

My gown – Macy’s Bridal: A-

I got my gown from the Macy’s here in Virginia, but I also tried on the gown at the Macy’s in Manhasset so my mom could see it. Both places were very nice and accommodating.
I have two gripes though, and I don’t think it matters since they both have to do with the Macy’s here in Virginia, but I’ll mention them anyway….
The first thing was that when I decided on my gown, I had to wait for my mom to see it before I could order it. But Macy’s took all my info and all I had to do was put down the deposit. Shortly after that, just for kicks I e-mailed Netbride (where I eventually got my BMs dresses from) to get a quote for my gown. They wrote back with a price and said, “oh by the way, do you know that your gown is being discontinued at the end of this month?” The end of the month was just over a week away! And Macy’s hadn’t told me this when I tried the gown on a couple of weeks earlier! So I called them and asked them if they knew that my gown was being discontinued and they said, “oh yes, we were just about to call you”. Yeah right! I would’ve been devastated if that gown had been discontinued. I ordered it just in the nick of time. And then I called Macy’s back to confirm that the order was placed just to be sure.
The second thing was that my parents drove all the way down from New York to pick up the gown for me and take it back home with them. Well when they got to Macy’s, it wasn’t even pressed yet! So they had to wait around for over an hour for Macy’s to get the gown ready. (My sister had called in the morning to see if it was ready yet, but Macy’s hadn’t opened yet so my parents just went over there expecting it to be ready).
Anyway, I LOVED my gown!

Bridesmaids’ dresses – Netbride.com: A

I think the quote that Netbride gave me on my Bill Levkoff dresses was like over $100 less than Macy’s. I can’t remember the exact difference, but it was a lot. Using Netbride was really easy and I had no problems at all. The only thing that worried me a little was that brides who have used them before (from LIW) have said that their BMs got their dresses way before the expected delivery date that Netbride had given them. Well, my BMs got their dresses almost right AT the delivery date (which was a little over 2 weeks before the wedding). So they had just enough time to get them altered.

Crinoline slip – angelsbridal (eBay seller): A

My slip was perfect – it had 3 flexible and adjustable hoops and an adjustable waistband. It was only like $30 plus shipping, and I received it in about 2 days.

Makeup – Oksana: A+

Oksana did a fabulous job. I gave her an A+ because my mom, who is almost 70 and wears no makeup most of the time, looked fantastic when Oksana was done with her. My mom had gotten her makeup done by a makeup artist for my sister’s wedding and that woman put so much makeup on her it looked garish. Oksana is awesome at picking out colors, highlighting your features, and blending! I’m VERY picky about how my makeup is done and almost did my makeup myself. But I’m glad that I had Oksana do it; I was really impressed with her work. She was also timely and sweet, and doesn’t charge the bride more just because she’s the bride. She spent probably about an hour on me too, so I really feel like I got my money’s worth.

Hair – April from Hairsay in New Hyde Park: A

April did an awesome job on my hair. I was a little annoyed that I was charged $75 for a very simple half-up/half-down, but what can you do. My hair and veil stayed all day so I was very happy.

Limo – Royalty: A-

Both the Rolls and the H2 were on time and the cars were clean (although DH said that some of the gadgets in the H2 didn’t seem to work). Strange thing though; DH said that the driver of the H2 was asking him how to get to my house. Uh, aren’t you the limo driver? So DH told him he kind of knew directions, but wasn’t sure. So the limo driver was like, ok, no problem, I have directions in the car. Huh? He seemed kind of flaky. He was also the one who at the church told me and my dad to start walking down the aisle before the music even started. I was like, “the music hasn’t started yet!” and he said “don’t worry, it’ll start any second”. Pfft.
Oh, and one thing about the 1948 Rolls – don’t get it if you have to be somewhere in a hurry. The thing is slow as balls!
All in all I had a good experience with Royalty. They have a great selection of vehicles and they were all in pristine condition.


Photographer – Steve from Patken: TBD

Well, I’m just crossing my fingers about this because I was VERY specific with Steve about the fact that I did NOT want very many posed pictures (I HATE the way I look with a phony smile plastered on my face). I wanted mostly photojournalistic, but on the wedding day I felt like he did too many posed pictures of me and DH at Old Westbury Gardens. I almost said something but we had gotten there late so Steve was trying to get in as many shots as possible and I didn’t want to interrupt him. I’m just praying that he took a lot of photojournalistic shots at the reception. I know he took a few at my house and I’m sure they’ll come out awesome. Steve is a talented photographer and is also really nice. He was great to work with.

Photo location – Old Westbury Gardens: A+!!!

OMG this place is gorgeous. I’m surprised that all those years of living 15 minutes away I had never been there. It was VERY expensive to reserve a slot though. You only get an hour and a half to take pictures, and if you’re late, too bad. So we were late, and I’m not sure if that was my fault or Steve’s - he being the photographer, I kind of felt that he should’ve kept us on schedule. Our families had asked to take a few extra pictures at the church after the ceremony though and I totally forgot that we were supposed to be at Old Westbury Gardens at 4:00 (I wasn’t wearing a watch either). We didn’t get there until 4:45! So we only had 45 minutes to take pictures. I think Steve said something to the girl there because they let us stay for an extra 15 minutes.
Anyway, like I said, the place is gorgeous and so worth the money. There’s the mansion, the beautiful gardens, fountains, huge stone statues, arbors, etc. The next time I go home to New York I’m taking the tour!
*If you want to take pictures at OWG, just make sure that you call a few weeks ahead of time to reserve a slot.

Videographer – Wild Rose: TBD

Ok, this was a little strange, but Marie called me I think a day or two before the wedding to tell me that she was bringing another videographer with her. So I got worried because I had told the GW Manor that we had X number of vendor dinners and now Marie was bringing this guy with her? But she said not to worry; she actually left after the cocktail hour and he stayed through dinner. So anyway, Marie (who is the sweetest person, by the way) had the little video camera and Pete, the guy she brought with her, had this humongo video camera. That didn’t bother me though until the reception where Pete did all the filming and had this big camera with the light on it, filming people. Ok, so it’s kind of dark in the GW Manor, but I thought Wild Rose’s whole thing was “non-intrusive, no bright lights, etc. Hmmmm……. well, anyway, Pete was really nice and the guests didn’t seem to mind the light, and I totally trust Wild Rose. I know my video will be phenomenal. And the way I look at it, I got 2 videographers for the price of one. I never got around to asking Marie why she brought Pete along, but that’s over and done with.

DJ – Spin Around Sound: A

Tom was the emcee and he brought along a guy with him (can’t remember his name) who played the music. They did a phenomenal job. I was a little worried at first because a few days before the wedding I hadn’t heard from Tom and nothing was confirmed. So I called and left a message for him and he didn’t call back. The next day I called his home phone and left a message and he STILL didn’t call back. I started to freak out a little. But, long story short, we hooked up and confirmed everything and all was fine. A lot of the guests commented on how awesome the DJ was, and people were dancing and going nuts all night. (DH’s cousin was doing back-handsprings on the dance floor!)
Tom played exactly what I asked, and honored my “do not play” list also. Funny story – my sister tried to request “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynrd Skynrd (because DH is from Alabama) but Tom told her no! Ha ha! That’s because I had told Tom that we didn’t want that song played because we don’t like it. He DID unfortunately let my Dad request the Electric Slide… grrrrr. But, Dad was paying the bill so that’s probably why!

Florist – Flower Michele: A (surprise surprise!)

There was no doubt in my mind that John would do a fabulous job. Aside from all the rave reviews from the girls here on LIW, John gave me a good feeling from the moment we started discussing my flowers. I didn’t really have too much of a clue what I wanted, other than a couple of types of flowers that I liked and some color schemes, but John just whipped up these flowers that were exactly what I was thinking but couldn’t verbalize. It was like he was reading my mind! The girls’ flowers were gorgeous, and I loved my elegant little centerpieces (The GW Manor has small round tables, so I didn’t want any big, overpowering arrangements). My bouquet wasn’t exactly what I had asked for (I had sent John a picture too). It was missing some spray roses and the colors weren’t quite right, but still, I loved my bouquet. I have to say that my favorite thing though was the throwaway bouquet. At the reception, next to the sweetheart table was this gorgeous flower arrangement and I had no idea what it was. Our maitre’ d’ told me it was the throwaway bouquet. I was shocked! Usually throwaway bouquets are tiny and plain… oh, and round too. But since I wasn’t going to throw it (we did the anniversary dance) John made it like one of those bouquets that you cradle in your arms – I don’t know what to call it. But I had no idea that he was going to do that. I’m glad he did though! And my aunt, who was the recipient of the bouquet, was so surprised. She loved the flowers. Also, the moms and grandmas got little nosegays instead of corsages and they loved them!
I would definitely recommend Flower Michele to anyone! Their prices are reasonable, and John is totally the flower master (not to mention a sweetheart).

Reception Hall – The George Washington Manor: A-
Ok, a few gripes here, but I’m a little anal plus I’m a real food snob, so this is what happened:
Firstly, I hadn’t discussed with my BM where the signing mat should go. I just assumed that it would be placed on an easel and put someplace where the guests would see it so they could sign it. Well, you know you should NEVER assume. The signing mat wound up on a table (that was too small) in the cocktail area over by the stairway that lead up to the dining area. NOBODY saw it. I had to start going around to guests to tell them to sign it. Only about half the guests signed it.
I also had not discussed with my BM where the votive candle placecards should go. Again, I just assumed that they would go on a table in the dining area. And again, I shouldn’t have assumed. They instead were put on a little table by the stairway where the signing mat was. I saw a server lighting them at the start of the cocktail hour too, so I had to stop him and tell him that they weren’t supposed to be lit until right before dinner (they should’ve known this). Also, later on I noticed that a bunch of the candles were missing! Guests had taken them before they were lit! So unless they had matches, they had no way to light them. So the maitre’ d’ had a server stand there and make sure nobody else took the candles.
Also, my table numbers, which doubled as menus (that I spent HOURS making) were shoved in the middle of my little centerpieces. Again, I had assumed that they would just be placed on the table, but whoever set the tables just decided to stick these big table numbers in the flowers. It looked so tacky and I was so mad because since they were stuck in the flowers, the guests didn’t know that they were menus too. So the maitre’ d’ told the servers to let the guests know that they were the menus.
And lastly, (this is my biggest gripe) DH and I weren’t too thrilled with the choice of appetizers, so we asked our BM if we could get lobster bisque. She asked the chef, who said sure, no problem. They didn’t even charge us extra which I was surprised about. Well, here’s why: we didn’t get lobster bisque. What we got was fake crab chowder!!!!! I couldn’t believe that the chef had the BALLS to try to pass off fake crab as lobster! I guess he thought I wouldn’t notice???!!!!And it wasn’t like there were just a few tiny pieces of fake crab; there were big chunks! And there was broccoli in there too! Since when does lobster bisque have broccoli in it?!! But, oddly enough, my mom said that guests were raving about that soup. And I agree that it WAS very good, but it’s NOT what we asked for.
Also, one of the entrées (chicken) was supposed to have diced tomatoes and artichokes, but the tomatoes were missing, so it was a very plain looking dish. It was still pretty good though.

Ok, so on to the good stuff – aside from the lobster bisque bait-and-switch, the food was awesome. I had originally scoffed at some of the finger foods that were passed butler-style during the cocktail hour (I told you I’m a food snob!). They served pigs in blankets, mini egg rolls, mozzarella sticks, etc. But they were actually SO good! They were some of my favorite things. The cocktail hour was not your traditional feeding frenzy; the GW Manor doesn’t offer as many food choices as some places, but everything was EXCELLENT. DH and I and the bridal party were served plates of food in the bridal suite so that we didn’t have to wait on line, and drinks were handed to us all night without us having to say a word. George was our maitre’ d’ and he did a great job; he kept us informed of everything that was coming up and waited on us hand and foot. We felt like a King and Queen for the night.
The prime rib was definitely the best entrée. It was a fairly large and thick portion of meat, and it was very tender. (DH and I were given a portion of all the entrees so we could taste them). Dessert was awesome as was the wedding cake (from the Milleridge Bakery). Even the cookies that were put on the tables were awesome. The place is really pretty at night too. A lot of guests commented on how quaint and intimate it was. It’s the perfect place for a smaller wedding. We had 113 guests. The room supposedly holds up to 140, but I think that would be too cramped.
All in all, I would highly recommend the GW Manor. Oh, and Danielle was our BM. She was fantastic to work with, and I don’t blame her at all for all the little mishaps. I should’ve been clear on where I wanted my things placed.

Here are a couple of wedding pictures: Wedding pics

Honeymoon – Greece
We had a nice, relaxing honeymoon in Greece. We went to Santorini, Crete, and Athens. FM is you want any details!
Here are some pictures:

Honeymoon pics

YAY for May 1st!! Sounds like everything was great. Congrats!!

Pictures, pictures, pictures ...


Sure, post pictures while I'm typing!! Anyhooo, pictures are great!!!! Congrats again!

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Posted by wc0143

YAY for May 1st!! Sounds like everything was great. Congrats!!

Pictures, pictures, pictures ...


Sure, post pictures while I'm typing!! Anyhooo, pictures are great!!!! Congrats again!

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Man, you're quick! You must've read my review before I even had a chance to post my pictures!

Annie! your pictures were amazing! Now I wish we booked our honeymoon to Greece!!

What beautiful architectural ruins! You take amazing photographs. When Matt and I wnet to Rome I took 12 rolls of film for just ruins and architecture. I guess its because I'm in the field.

Anyway, Looks like you had a great time.

Thanks for the review.

thanks for a very thorough, detailed review! Despite some minor mishaps here and there, it sounds like you had a beautiful wedding day! And you looked just amazing !!

Congrats!!

congratulations - fantastic review.

Thanks for sharing.

Whatever the name of the big room was is the one we had!
You'll have a wonderful wedding there

Annie - your wedding looked beautiful!

Congratulations!

Rachel

(PS, we're moving to Delaware between Jan and March)

congratulations!
sounds like an amazing day!!!