DIVABRIDE'S October 9th wedding review!!

It all started with a kiss. A Hershey kiss that is!! Chris proposed to me at Hershey Park on a brisk but sunny autumn day in November of ‘03. He gave me a large personalized Hershey kiss that read “Jenn, will you marry me?” He presented me with the biggest ruby ring I’ve ever seen. But alas, it too was made of candy!! Since that fateful day its been a whirlwind of planning.

We had a pretty long engagement so I wanted to start from the very beginning to include as many vendors as possible in hopes that it may help a fellow bride. I will also include various projects that I worked on myself. I am a stickler for perfection, so I will be completely honest with my ratings on a scale from 1-9. A rating of 10 will ONLY go to those that went above and beyond my expectations. These are vendors that did much more than what they were contracted for. Also, please keep in mind that for the most part my criticism is only out of nitpicking and striving for perfection. Oh, and I apologize for the length of this, but its more of a story than it is a review. Enjoy!!

Good Old Gold – Engagement Ring – 10
I heard through the grapevine that this guy Jonathan knew his diamonds and he wasn’t about ripping people off. Matter of fact he has an educational website that explains EVERYTHING you need to know about diamonds. They also have extensive tests to insure a proper appraisal. Once we became educated, we told him what we were looking for and he gave us exactly what I wanted. We went into the store and they spent as much time as was needed to show us a selection of diamonds. They also showed us each diamond with various magnifications and tests done right before us. There was no hiding anything here. I’ve never dealt with such wonderful customer service like these folks. They really went above and beyond what you would expect from a jeweler. www.goodoldgold.com

For various reasons, we decided not to announce our engagement until Christmas. We made special Christmas postcards announcing our engagement and sent them out Christmas Eve. On Christmas Eve, we made the announcement to my our parents and then to the rest of our family. By midnight the whole family had heard the good news.


In anticipation of the big announcement, I all ready knew I wanted to ask my sister, my two cousins, my FSIL and my best friend to be in my bridal party. I purchased small ornaments of a white bear dressed in a wedding gown. They were less than $5 each and I purchased them at Michaels. With a label printer I typed up “Will you be my bridesmaid?” I attached the banner to their arms and I wrapped each one up and presented two of them to my cousins that night. Not only were they surprised about the announcement, but here I was asking them to be in my bridal party. Tears flowed, champagne glasses clinked and the Christmas spirit was in the air. It was one of many moments during our engagement that I’ll always cherish.

PickQuick Paper Superstore – Various Stationary - 8
We wanted to design our own save the date magnets, and we ended up purchasing the magnet sheets at pickquick. I shopped around at all the major office supply stores and found the best price with pickquick. They also had a clearance aisle of all sorts of stationary for only $2. I ended up purchasing 100% linen paper in ivory and matching envelopes for various thank you notes at $2 a pack. I also tried to purchase envelopes for my BM newsletter, but since I was only purchasing 5 of them, the nice lady at the counter insisted I take them at no charge. I purchased 4 shades of pink paper for the various bridal shower games. I also purchased the paper for my directional cards and programs and menus. They didn’t have enough cover sheets for my programs and they ordered more for me. They have a huge collection of high quality colored paper with every conceivable size envelopes. They charge by the weight of the paper and not the quantity of sheets. I can’t rave enough about this place, and I plan to use them for ANY paper needs in the future. My only complaint is that they have limited store hours and they are closed on the weekends.



Crafterspaperandsupply.com – Save the Date – 6
I fell in love with a sparkly paper called metallics. Since our STD’s were black and white, we were looking for a metallic grey paper for the insert. Although I found the paper at Pearl Paint & Craft Store, I needed about 50 sheets with matching envelopes. I placed two separate orders. The first order came less than 5 days, which was quicker than I anticipated. The second order I needed in a rush and paid extra to have them sent in 3 days. After 8 days and numerous calls and emails, I found out there was a back order. They never emailed me to tell me this, which is why they got a 6.

Bridesmaid Newsletter – DIY project
I mentioned above that I fell in love with the Metallics paper. I decided to use the burgundy cover sheets as the cover for my bridesmaid newsletter. This was one of the easiest projects I did. I formatted it into a small booklet. Using Microsoft Word, I changed the layout to portrait, changed the margins around, and split the page to two columns. Other than figuring out the page order to print it correctly, this is fairly simple. Since it was just a couple of sheets, I just purchased the paper at Pearl Craft and Paint. The girls loved them. I highly recommend sending these out. It covered all the information they needed to know. I started off with a description of the bridesmaid dresses, pricing, ordering information and pictures. I also detailed what I expected of them as far as hair (updo, their choice), makeup (optional), nails (my treat) and shoes (dyed, their choice). I also listed important dates such as the bridal shower, bachelorette party, rehearsal dinner, mani-pedi GTG, and wedding day meeting time. Last, I included all the addresses, emails and telephone numbers of each bridesmaid so they could get in touch with each other. FM me if you have any questions or need any help!




LA Productions – Invitations – 8
Laura is an absolute doll to work with. What more can I say that hasn’t all ready been said about Laura? She is such a sweet person and a wonderful vendor to work with. I all ready had an idea of the invitations I wanted to order. When we met up for our appointment, I was pleasantly surprised to see she had ordered a sample for me. She was quick to point out though, that the invitation was falling apart. She could have easily made a quick buck by selling them to me, but she truly does look out for her customers. So we decided to look through her library of invitation books to see if we could find an alternative. She showed us the Koza line, and we fell in love. With a 25% discount it came within our budget. When they came in, Laura immediately got in touch with me and she was as excited about it as I was. She also ordered extra envelopes for me and had them sent to my house directly, when I desperately needed them in a hurry. I wish I could have used her for more, because she’s such a breath of fresh air. Unfortunately she loses one point because I had based a portion of my decision based on the fact that she told me the invitations would cost the same as a regular invitation ( .60). This was not the case and I cant blame it on adding more paper into the invitation. I condensed all the hotel, church and reception information into one directional card to reduce clutter and the postage was still high (.83). Because I only had limited postage choices, I ended up having to use a VERY UGLY postage stamp. Not a big deal in the long run, but we ended up going over our budget for invitations.

Ebay – Directional Cards – 9
Unfortunately the vendor that I use no longer designs maps. I found her under ebay.com/wedding and she was listed under invitations. I paid for the design only and she made a map that included the hotels, the church, and the reception hall. It listed all the major highways and was very easy to read. I planned to make my own directional cards so I saved some money by not paying for printing. I also used the map as part of my program in case anyone misplaced theirs and were heading to the reception hall after the ceremony. I highly recommend this to all the brides as it reduces clutter in the invitation, and you can custom print it to match your invitations. Although my vendor no longer lists, rest assured there are other vendors on ebay that offer the same services.

The Printer’s Ink – Return Address Embosser – 9
This vendor was recommended to me by Somethingblu (Thanks sweetie!). The envelopes for the invites were some kind of 3 dimensional paper. Because of this, return address printing was not available. I wasn’t looking forward to handwriting this, and figured the embosser was an easy way out. What I didn’t take into consideration was the thickness of the invitation envelopes. I had FH emboss the envelopes, but even with all his strength, the embossing was very faded. Not their fault, and I ended up using it to emboss everything else such as the bridal shower thank you’s and any other notes I sent out.


Wrap with us - bridal shower favors – 5
This place is the mother of all favor stores. They have a HUGE variety of all things wedding. After going over their website, I made a special trip to purchase extra favors for the shower. When we got there, I couldn’t find the specific favor so I asked for help. Customer service was very lax to say the least and I finally got someone to help me. She lead me to the area where they would be found and upon barely looking around, she said they were out of stock. She said I could call tomorrow and have shipping and receiving “look in the back” and see if they could find it. I was a bit put off by this because here I was in person and she wouldn’t take the time to look, but she wanted me to call back and bother someone else. Whatever. I picked up a few extra cameras that I needed and left. It’s a good place to shop around, but I wouldn’t go there looking for anything specific and keep in mind, you’ll be doing your own searching for favors.

After months and months of planning, my wedding was just around the corner. The rehearsal dinner was two days before the wedding, and I found myself running around doing too many errands. I would suggest to all the brides to be that if you can give yourself that extra day, do so. I would have been even more stressed had my wedding been the next day!!

Rehearsal Dinner Invitations - Very easy!! I used ivory paper, organza ribbon and premade Anna Griffin wax seals.




Sergio’s – 7
Although this is my favorite restaurant, I was a bit disappointed. We booked two events there, my bridal shower and the rehearsal dinner. They double booked the bridal shower, but instead of saying anything they crammed my guests into the regular dining area and still took in walk-in customers. There was no border or anything seperating my guests and regular customers. For the rehearsal dinner we were placed in the party room, but there was another rehearsal dinner party there too. It was very akward, especially when people tapped their glasses for the bride and groom to kiss and we didn’t know who it was meant for. I would still recommend this restaurant because the service and food are wonderful, but I would state that the private room be booked for one occasion only.

Swarovski Store (Roosevelt Field) – Bridesmaids gifts – 9
Although it can get a bit busy at times, customer service was great. She took the time and showed EVERY SINGLE PIECE I was interested in. She never hurried me, gave me honest opinions, and was an absolute doll. She even took the time to individually wrap each one to make them all look pretty and presentable. I purchased charm bracelets for each bridesmaid. My tiara was also made by swarovski. The crystals and pearls matched perfectly with my dress.



Liquors – Groomsman Gifts – 9
Husband and I really didn’t want to go the usual route with the groomsman gifts. He had all ready been in a bunch of weddings and has his fair share of beer steins, swiss army knives, and money clips. I remembered a while back the guys having a conversation about how cool it was that Johnny Walker had a sampler collection. I mentioned this to my husband and the thought it was a great idea. Since he bought so many sets, the guy gave him a discount. We didn’t even ask for one he just offered. Now that’s great customer service.



Tiffany – MOH Gift – 9
What more can you say about Tiffany? They have top notch customer service and great jewelry. Since my sister was my Matron of Honor and she really went out of her way to help me, the least I could do was get her something she’s always wanted. The look on her face as she opened her gift said it all. It was sheer joy and excitement rolled up into one big smile. Priceless!!!



Macys – Best Man Gift – 9
To compliment his JW set, we also purchased a crytal decanter and glass set. He loved it and mentioned it was a perfect piece to compliment his home wet bar. Macys had exactly what we were looking for at a reasonable price.

After dinner we invited the entire bridal party (sans the old folks and children) to our local watering hole. Fun was had by all and it gave us time to just chill with our family and friends over a few dozen rounds. It took our minds off all the fussing and running around and we were able to truly thank our bridal party. It was really like another bachelor/ette party with everyone together.

So after plenty of running around the following day, I was finally done at about 10pm the night before the wedding. Nervous about the upcoming day, I called it a night at 11pm, excited about what would be the best day of my life………

With the help of one ambien the night before, I woke up alert and refreshed at 6am. I had planned to sleep until 7, but I took the opportunity to get a head start. I looked outside the window to see that it was still dark out, but that the sun was coming in. It had rained the day before, and there was still a heavy overcast looming in the sky. No matter though, this was my wedding day and I wasn’t about to let anything ruin it. I thought I’d be a lot more nervous, but I wasn’t. I felt very relaxed and calm. I peeked into my parents room to see the both of them sleeping. I imagined that 35 years from now, I too would be like them, sleeping side by side with each other, husband and wife. I snuck downstairs to see my aunts. They were all sleeping, exhausted from flying in as far as Guatemala. To think I hadn’t seen some of my aunts in more than 10 years, and here they were just for me. I was so happy to know that my wedding brought my whole family together after so many years and so many miles apart. This was not only a wedding, but a well needed family gathering.

Since I had woken up so early, I was able to take a long hot relaxing shower. With my maid of honor in tow, we snuck out of the house to buy fresh bagels and coffee for everyone before they woke up. My MOH received at call at 7 in the morning from her brother who was staying with my FH. Seems Chris had been up all night and didn’t get to bed until 4am. At 7am, he had just gotten up for the day. I was very worried about him, but he reassured me that that my groom was ok. We were able to make it back home, just as everyone was getting up. We gathered around the kitchen and had our bagels with coffee, all of us filled with giddiness and clucked it up like a bunch of hens. All of a sudden I see a strange car pull up in front of the house. I realized my hectic day was just about to begin. But surprisingly, I was still calm…..

Jenn the Hair Genie – Hair – 10
I contacted Jenn at the end of December 04. We made a trial run that I had to cancel due to illness. Jenn was happy to rebook. Because I had gotten in touch with her before the new year, she honored her 2004 pricing. Since I was also interested in booking Oksana, she set everything up so I could conveniently get my hair and makeup trials done on the same night. . As any past bride who used the girls will attest to, I was there ALL NIGHT!!!! I had such a blast with them. It was like hanging with a bunch friends doing each others hair and playing with makeup. My hair looked fabulous that night, but as expected with my thick hair, my curls didn’t last too long. I mentioned this to Jenn and I added that as thick as my hair was, it just didn’t look full enough. She said she’d take care of everything, and not worry. Fast forward a few months later, I noticed a considerable amount of split ends and called Jenn to see if she could give me a quick trim. She was more than happy to. I was only expecting to get a hair cut, but to my surprise, Jenn had hair extentions waiting for me to try on!!!! This girl spent a good hour just playing with my hair and trying to figure out how we’d work it. After all was said and done, she then washed, cut and blow dried my hair. It gets even better. Jenn took my hair piece by piece and blow dried curls into my hair. This was very tedious, but throughout the whole thing, she was a sport. When she was done, my hair looked AMAZING. Again I was worried the curls wouldn’t hold, but because she blow dried them, they held well into the next day. This girl knows hair!!!! The day of the wedding, I was so comfortable because there I was hamming it up with the girls. Jenn even went so far as to help the bm’s with their hair, even though they didn’t use her services. My hair looked fabulous!!!!! Very divalicious and exactly what I wanted!!!! She is the absolute best!!!

Makeup by Oksana – Makeup – 10
The same thing that was said about Jenn, can be said about Oksana. She just has this calming effect over you, and you feel comfortable in her presence. Unlike the bridal makeup that is often used to get that natural glow, I wanted just the opposite. I wanted the Diva glam look. Oksana was happy to oblige and was eager to stray away from the natural look. It came out exactly how I wanted. We spent the whole morning together doing my hair and makeup schmoozing it over with bagels and coffee. Seeing how emotional I could have gotten, the girls kept my mind off the wedding and it had a major effect on my mood throughout the morning. My makeup lasted until the very end of the night with only a few reapplications of lipstick. Great makeup with a great personality….. what more could you ask for?

As the girls were working on me, little by little the bridesmaids came trickling in. They were all very excited and gushing over each other. They were all getting ready, and I just loved their dresses. They all looked perfect and the color complimented everyone.

Gownfind.com/Bridesmade – BM dresses – 8
On the recommendation of LIW brides, I called Phyllis to get a quote on the Bill Levkoff dresses. I wanted to find the best possible price for the BM’s, and you wont believe the quotes that I got. Bridal Reflections wanted $210, Burtons $168, Rkbridal $160. We also got a quote in Florida for $230. Phyllis gave me the best price at $138. I ran into a problem with one of my plus sized BM’s. There was a possibility of having to order extra fabric and adding panels to the dress for it to fit. This would have made the dress cost double the amount. Although I ended up canceling the order and having the dress made from scratch, Phyllis was nothing but understanding through the whole thing. The only thing I have to mention is that one of my bridesmaids had a tough time. Phyllis told her that her dress was in and my BM paid an extra $15 to have it sent to her. 3 weeks later my BM called me frantically inquiring about her dress. I called Phyllis to find out that she still hadn’t sent the dress out and that there was miscommunication between the both of them. My only advice to is give Phyllis all the bm’s information including phone numbers and addresses to avoid any complications.



As Im still in the process of getting did up, I hear the bm’s getting all excited. Hearing all the oooh’s and ahhh’s, curiosity got the best of me and I had to go see what the hubbub was about. There they were, each bouquet sitting individually in its own vase.

LA Blossom – Flowers – 10+
Laurie has been a blessing in disguise to me. She is not only my favorite vendor, but I also consider her my friend. I’m not one for flowers but Laurie helped me envision flowers that represent the true diva in me. I had my heart set on these centerpieces, and she made it happen. They were a great alternative to your typical flower arrangement, but they were also “high” centerpieces. She was very helpful with ideas for my autumn theme and helped incorporate them with the centerpieces. She made this all possible and came well under my flower budget. But as I mentioned before Laurie isnt just a florist, she’s a friend. When I was still undecided about my gown, Laurie sent me pics of diva dresses that I LOVED!!! When I needed a swatch of my bridesmaid dress, Laurie was quick to call me and let me know she had plenty of samples from past weddings. And even on my birthday, Laurie made me a breathtaking floral arrangement that lasted more than a week!!! As we came closer to the wedding I fell short with guests and realized I ordered more centerpieces than I would actually need. With any contract you are obligated to pay the price. Without asking, Laurie deducted the extra centerpieces and floral arrangements. The morning of, my flowers arrived on time. They were gorgeous and the bouquet was just the right size. I know its customary to have a big heavy bouquet, but because of the crystals on each bud and the crystal wrap, I wanted something small. I wanted it to be just a few more roses more than the bridesmaids. My bouquet was sparkly and pretty and yet not overwhelming. The girls bouquets complimented their dresses and the whole look all together. I had a Matron and Maid of honor, and three bridesmaids. The Matron and made had dark red roses with ivory roses on the outside. The bridesmaids had just the opposite with white roses on the inside and red roses on the outside. I was very excited to see the centerpieces and was confident they would look good. But I had no idea just how beautiful they were. If your interested in booking Laurie, know that you are not booking a florist, your making a friend.

Jenn the hair genie was putting last minute touches to my hair and Oksana started in with me right away. Just then I see two people coming towards me. As I made eye contact with them, I felt at ease, and I knew everything would be perfect. Again, I was still calm. But I also realized, this is all becoming very real, very fast……

Duet – Photography and Video – 10+
Again, another recommendation by LIW’s. We met with Eric who was such a pleasant person and willing to accommodate our every need. We perused through a couple of albums and were impressed with their work. He also showed us a video, which embarrassingly enough, made me teary eyed. Although we were interested in the “promotional package”, we needed to make a couple of adjustments. Eric gladly changed a few things and was willing to work with us. Included in our package (I believe it is no longer available in the package) was a local casual day shoot. Months later I realized that I had my heart set on having my engagement shoot done in NYC. I called Sue to see if this could be arranged and that I was more than willing to compensate for the change. They gladly changed our site at no charge and the casual day shoot was more than I expected. Our pictures came out wonderful and our photographer Alberto was so cool to hang out with. Our proofs were ready in 3 weeks and as requested, they were transferred to a cd for projects we intended to use with the pictures. The day of, they were right on time and ready to work. My team consisted of Alberto, Geo, another photographer that I didn’t catch his name and Eric. I was so happy to work with Alberto and Eric since I had all ready developed a relationship with them. They seemed to be everywhere and yet I never felt that they were in my way. By far these were the hardest working vendors I had that day and it showed. Everyone joked about me having my own paparazzi following me everywhere. But enough about Duet, all the wedding day pictures are their work!

After placing the tiara on my head, I raced to get into my dress. I was able to sneak away from Duet, because Lord knows I didn’t want them taking pictures of my fat a$$ getting into my dress. I put my dress on and admired all the fine beadwork. I was running my fingers throughout the bodice and was pleased with my decision. I looked up and there stood my cousin, tears building up in her eyes. I smiled at her and said “No tears…..You don’t want to make me start crying. I’ll be a hot mess if I start to cry now”. Quickly she changed her tune and got to fussing with the dress.



Burton’s Bridal – Wedding Dress – 7
I went to them on the recommendation from plenty of brides from work and LIW. I originally went there to try dresses on and discuss their policies. I took my maid of honor with me. As I was discussing prices with the saleswoman, I was told (MOH witness) that if I purchased my dress there, the bridesmaids would get an additional 20% off the $168 quote they gave me. Because of this, I decided to order my dress there and come back in a couple of weeks to order the girls’ dresses. When I called to arrange appointments for the girls, I again wanted to confirm the price at $135. The sales manager told me that I was mistaken and that the lowest price she could give me was $168. I wasn’t about to fight with the manager because they had all ready ordered my dress and I didn’t want to start problems knowing I still had to get alterations with them. I ordered my BM dresses elsewhere and made them well aware of the fact. I would still recommend them, but I would be sure to tell anyone that whatever price quotes they get, to have the saleswoman write it down on paper. Other than this mishap, the customer service was good and the people there were always helpful. My first fitting went perfectly and I was in an out within an hour. My second fitting also went well and the alterations were perfect. Still, the seamstress thought I should add Velcro to the dress so it would sit well against my ginormous chest, so I appreciated the extra work from the seamstress.

Georgette’s – Bridal lingerie – 9
At the very last minute I raced over to Georgette’s mere hours before my first fitting. I had heard some weird stories about Georgette’s, but I went there with an open mind. The moment I walked in I was greeted and asked what I was looking for. Within minutes the little old lady was measuring me and feeling me up!!! I didn’t mind though, because I felt very comfortable. I tried on a few things and with honest opinions, I was able to pick out a perfect long line bra and control top panties. I found the experience to be delightful, but I can see what the ladies where talking about when they said the women are a little crazy in there. My only advice is to keep an open mind and don’t get so self conscious about your body. These women are in the boob business and they know what they are doing!!

Sandy’s shoes – Bridal shoes – 9
Another LIW recommendation! I called beforehand to see if they had this particular shoe in stock. When the saleswoman told me she did, I went there immediately after work. I tried them on and they were pretty comfortable, but since my feet were all ready swollen from a days work, they looked a bit tight. To my surprise, the woman brought the same size out for me in a wide width. Yes, I have big fat feet among other things! When I tried them on, they were perfection. Her prices were also comparable to the internet prices I found. I also told her that I was concerned the shoes were too “shiny”. I was warned this might clash with the color of my dress. She told me to bring the shoes back after the fitting and that she would use a process to make the material “matte”. Although it’s a small store in aesthetics, they have a huge selection of just bridal shoes. Dyeing is free and they offer a discount if your bridal party orders their shoes from her. Great customer service!!



Shoe Initials – I penciled in our initials and lined it up with glued dots. Next, I carefully lined up each crystal. It was my back up “something blue” in case I didn’t find the garter I was looking for.

Glamgal Designs – Silk Oganza Veil – 4
I cant begin to describe the stress I dealt with not knowing if I would receive my veil in time for the wedding. I ordered it in August. Before I even ordered, I asked them if they had enough time to make the veil. Mind you, all I ordered was an elbow length silk organza veil. No embroidery, no beading, nothing. Before I ordered, my inquiries were answered quickly and customer service seemed great. Once I placed my order, I didn’t here boo about it. A month after placing my order I receive a call from Ann asking what color I ordered it in. I couldn’t believe this, a month passed and your just now asking me what color? I sent email after email and left several voice mails asking when I was going to receive the veil. My calls were never returned. Thank God I lied about my wedding date and gave her a date a week before my wedding. I was making calls days before the day I told her my wedding was. I received the veil 5 days before the supposed date. She took it upon herself to add a satin cord finish, when I specifically asked for a pencil rolled
edge. I wasn’t crazy about it, but after trying it on with the dress, it was a perfect match. The beauty of the veil is the only reason why it got a 4 and not a 1. If you plan to order, which I wouldn’t recommend, then save yourself some stress and lie about the true wedding date.

I took a step out the bedroom and calmly exclaimed “IM READYYYYYY” Everyone looked at me and for a flash there was nothing but silence. What I experienced was sheer joy and it was one of many great feelings that day. Its one thing to look pretty and its another to feel pretty. As all those faces stared back at me with nothing but pure smiles, I truly felt beautiful, inside and out. One of my bridemaids let out a screech and they all ran to me, twirling me around, and gushing over me. It was great!!! Duet started snapping away. After a few posed pics, it was finally time to head over to the church. The limobus had arrived and the girls were ready to depart. My matron of honor, my sister Julie was flying out the door. But I saw her hesitate outside. She came back in and said to me “Are you ok?” I looked at her confidently and said “Ya, Im doin all right” With that, she said she’d meet me at the church. Oddly enough, I was still calm.

Meanwhile, just one block away, my groom was getting ready. He was a bit tired, but in good spirits none the less. After taking a few pictures with his groomsmen, they were ready to head to the church. But not before having a few beers and a shot of JD.

Tuxedos – Ginos Tuxedos – 7
We had our hearts set on one particular tuxedo and Ginos advertised that they had it. Low and behold, when we got there, they no longer had them in stock. I wanted a charcoal grey shirt with matching ties and vests. They tried to pass off something that didn’t match. They lost one point for that. When we booked with them, we told them ahead of time we had quite a few people coming from florida and that they would have to be measured just days before the wedding. They said no problem. But one month before the wedding they were hounding us for the missing sizes. After making frantic calls to florida we were able to get everyone’s measurements within a week. Still, they shouldn’t have told us it could be done days before the wedding. They lost another point for that. Other than those two complaints, customer service was great. Unlike many tuxedo stores, you cannot leave with the tuxedo until you try it on. On the spot alterations are done if it doesn’t fit. This is a real plus since you hear such horror stories of people finding out things don’t fit the day of the wedding.




Coachman Limos – Limobus and limousine – 9
Both Limobus and Limousine came early. The limobus picked up the guys first and dropped them off at the church. It came back and picked up the bridemaids. All the chauffers were super nice and extra helpful. Lucky for us, the Groom was only a block away from us and we were all centrally located to the church which was only 5 minutes away. The limousine was strictly for my father and I, and we rode together to the church.
When we first booked with Coachman, we first called to get price quotes. We were given a really good quote and decided to go and leave a deposit. Unfortunately, we forgot the quote at home and we were given a higher quote. The man we were dealing with really gave us the run around and I hesitated to book them. But the following day, FH called and we were given our original quote. Because of the price confusion, they lost a point.
When we were picked up the following morning for the airport, we realized we were missing a number of suitcases. Another reason why you should have your DOC at your home in the morning. Im confident my DOC wouldn’t have overlooked this. Our chauffer was more than willing to go out of the way and stop by to pick up the rest of our luggage. Not only was he early, but we were upgraded to a stretch limo. For this they earned an extra point. PS - The bridal party absoltely loved the limobus. It was soooo roomy and really comfortable!




I warned my father ahead of time not to get sentimental on me. As horrible as this sounds, let me explain. The love for my father is like no other. I adore my father, I idolize him, he is my hero. Just the mere thought of him can make me cry. Im tearing up as I type, because my dad truly is my first love. And this whole wedding is bittersweet because my parents are moving to florida after the wedding. I knew it would be one of the last moments I ‘d be able to spend with my dad alone. I couldn’t bare to even hear any encouraging words from him, because the waterworks would start and I feared I wouldn’t be able to stop. But just as I asked, Dad joked around with me, and told me not to sweat the small stuff. Too many things had gone wrong back at the house and they were just about to take a toll on me. But he made me realize, there’s no changing it and to just go with the flow. With that we arrived at the church. With a little bit of excitement cooking in my belly, I was still pretty relaxed.

Having no sense of time, I found it odd that so many people were still outside lingering. I greeted a few guests from the limos and people started snapping away. But there she was in the distance, my Dooodles!!! I was so glad to see Donna, and I was touched that she would be part of my day. Her words were comforting and her smile as warm as ever. She took a few shots and headed into the church. As I stared down at my dress, I noticed a huge gap and realized as I sat there that my dress was caving in. HOLY CRAP, I forgot to put my slip on!!!!! My cousin Jackie raced back to my house to retrieve it. As calm as I was the entire day, I now just wanted to get things going. It was all ready 3:15 and the ceremony was running late. Finally at 3:20 Jackie came back with the slip on hand. With a little maneuvering and great balance, my DOC was able to put it on me in the limo. Thank God no one took a pic of that!!! All the guests were escorted into the church and I finally made my way out of the limo. All of a sudden the priest is walking towards me. Uh-oh, I thought to myself, this cant be good. It was a good thing I forgot my slip. Seems the singer I asked for (Gina) forgot about the ceremony and never showed up. They called her and she was racing to the church. She had just gotten there. But the priest wanted to keep me informed that everything was ready and that we would start any moment. I kissed my dad and we proceeded to the closed doors. Still calm, still calm.

St Martin of Tours Church – It’s a very lovely church located in the heart of Amityville Village. But had I known the problems I would have had to deal with, I would have thought twice. Getting in touch with someone proved to be difficult and their calendar is only done just a few months in advance. I took precana early, hoping I could ensure my choice in rehearsal, but that just backfired on me. I found myself calling them constantly, just to be turned away. When I finally gave up, they called me and low and behold the time I wanted for the rehearsal was all ready taken. The ceremony itself was lovely, but to my horror, the priest never announced that we were man and wife. He just said, you may kiss your bride.

Programs – I was inspired by a design I saw on WhiteAisle.com using a crystal as the focal point of the program. Using glue dots and a tweezer, I carefully placed each crystal on a preprinted cardstock. I then rounded off the edges and finished it off with black ribbon.



Baskets – I purchased these from a fellow LIW bride. I threaded different threads and beads in it. Very easy!!

Ribbon Wands – I don’t have too much info on these. My sister made them, and they came out great!



Cry Packs – I purchased a few small vellum envelopes and threaded ribbon around it. I sealed it with a silver foil heart.



The music started to play, and the it elegantly floated in the air. I opted not to use the wedding march and instead used watermusic. As I walked down with my father, I felt like a princess. I was overjoyed to see all my family and friends surrounding us. Everywhere I looked, I made eye contact with someone, and their expressions were filled with joy. I was just so happy to see everyone, I wanted to cartwheel down the aisle. But I was going to leave the shenanigans for later. Here I was looking at everyone, but then it hit me. Where’s my groom? I looked up at the altar, and there he was. He was looking at me, like he’s never looked at me before. I could swear he was tearing up, but the opaqueness of my veil left me uncertain. From there on, I never took my eyes off of him. Here was my groom, my love, my best friend, my soulmate. Seeing him made everything melt away. I had no other thoughts than to just be with him. My father and I made our way up to the aisle. With tears in his eyes, he gave me away. We finally got up to the altar and took our seats. To my right was our best man, standing proud, but with tears flowing down his face. To my left was my sister, poised and confident, always my pillar of strength. Then came the vows. As I said them I finally lost my strength and I got very emotional. I made sure not to recite my vow, but to actually mean each and every word I said. With every promise I made, I looked at Chris and clutched his hand. With my eyes, I wanted him to know I meant every word, and that I vowed to keep each promise. I came very close to crying, but I looked up, batted my eyes, and fought the tears back. I cant say the same for everyone else. I looked across to the groomsmen and was surprised to see a few crying. I looked to my left and all the bridesmaids were crying too. It was all good. We chose to carry out a few traditional Guatemalan customs and incorporated the lasso and exchange of coins into the ceremony. We finally kissed and words cant even describe how perfect it was. All these months of planning for this one moment. I don’t know how to describe it, but you too will know that feeling when you kiss your groom. Its what the finest art portrays, what the musical symphonies sing, and what the best poetry describes.
After a whirlwind of kisses and hugs we finally made out way out of the church and headed to the reception.



Traditional Guatemalan custom referred to as the lasso.

We arrived at the hamlet and were quickly ushered to the greens for the formal pictures. What drew us to this hall was the amazing view. With all the lush trees it was just rolling hills of green with hints of color. Since the day was cloudy with chances of rain, we wanted to take pictures as quickly as possible. But the cloudiness actually gave the greens more of a mystique. It worked out in our favor and we headed back into the hall. Our guests were entering the cocktail hour and we wanted to greet as many people as possible in order to give ourselves extra time to enjoy our reception. With the advice of Gtsgirl( Thanks Stacey!) We opted to have mini burgers served at the cocktail hour. We didn’t think this would be such a big deal, but can you believe every one of my guests raved about them. I was huge hit and people couldn’t get enough of them. I finally got a chance to sneak into the bridal suite just to find the majority of my bridal party waiting. They weren’t served anything to eat or drink. When I questioned this, the bridal attendant was quick to serve them. Point is, I shouldn’t have had to ask. Duet asked that we take a few formal shots of the ballroom before the guests entered. Plus I just wanted to give it a once over. What was set up before me was the true vision I always had the second we saw the reception hall. The lighting was dim and had a warm orange/yellow glow to it. I walked in and in my husband’s words “You let out a small gasp” I had never seen anything more beautiful. The candles in each centerpiece twinkled at me and the room had a warm glow to it. A sudden feeling of satisfaction overwhelmed me. Laurie (LABlossom) had done right by me and my true vision was now staring back at me. What a great feeling!!!! Funny thing is, as our guests entered the ballroom, I too heard that gasp. People not only gushed over the centerpieces, they wanted to know where I found them, who sells them, and how they could purchase one. I was more than happy to tell them about my wonderful friend Laurie. The mantle had hand carved pumpkins courtesy of my sister, who knew I had my heart set on them, but I just didn’t have the time to do them myself. It all came together perfectly.





Pumpkins – While we were apple picking, unbeknownst to me, my sister picked up a few pumpkins and loaded them up into the van. The pumpkins all had different designs. She used an electric drill to carve them. Although this made it easier, it was still VERY time consuming. But I have to admit, the pumpkins came out great.



At this time our guests were being directed into the ballroom, but first they were asked to sign our board.
Pottery Barn – sign in board – 6
Three times the charm. First time I tried to order online, and they wouldn’t accept my gift certificates. You can buy gift certificates online, you just can use them. Second time I called their catalog customer service line. Same story – I can buy gift certificates by telephone, I just cant use them. Third time I went to the store and as luck would have it, they accepted my gift cards. Woohoo!!! With all this aggravation, I had to give them a low score. The frame itself was MUCH bigger than I anticipated, but it was gorgeous!!!! It exceeded my expectations. Unlike the ones found in target or Michaels, this frame had A LOT of room to write in. If your going to order one, don’t use gift certificates!



Next, our guests were asked to pick their fresh apple placecards which would direct them to their table.
Apple placecards – Hand picked the smallest apples we could find. We visited Wickham farm in Cutchogue and made a day of it. I also picked up a few small pumpkins and a bunch of goards to decorate the lobby of the hamlet. This is where my sister picked the pumpkins she would later carve for me. The “stems” were printed on metallic green cardstock and individually cut. With sequin pins we attached the name to the apple. I thought this project was going to be relatively hard, but surprisingly it was simple. The apple placecards were a huge success. I was surprised to see that people saved them and took them home at the end of the night.

Table numbers – We took our engagement pictures and added numbers to them. We mounted them on Burgandy coverstock and used a puncher to round out the corner. They added a personalized touch to each table and everyone loved them. At the end of the night, people were looking to take them form other tables, but low and behold they were gone.




I DO letters – I took a different approach to the I DO letters and took it upon myself to bedazzle them. With some glue, flat back rhinestones and a tweezer, these came out exactly how I wanted them to be. It added a really nice touch to the cake table.



Menus – A fellow LIW bride (Jenniesunshine) posted a picture of the Martha Stewart menu stand. I did a variation of this menu and made 3 separate menu sheets (appetizer, main course and dessert) and placed them in the menu stand. Since I had oval tables and had one on each end and two in the middle. It worked out perfectly!

We finally made our grand entrance and after dancing, we were able to sit at our own table. That’s when I realized two huge mistakes. My only concern with the hamlet was that I didn’t like the way they set up the tables. They had two tables behind the sweetheart table and I asked that they correct this so that the tables were in front of us. This would give us the opportunity to see our guests and not have to worry about looking over our shoulders to see the other two tables. As you can guess, this was not addressed and two very important tables, one of them being my parents table, were behind us. To add insult to injury, our wedding cake was a disaster. I knew this would be an issue since I had butted heads with the banquet manager before. But from horror stories that I’ve read here on LIW, I knew my concerns were not nearly as bad as they could have been. I also didn’t let any of this bother me the day of because I was enjoying my day and absolutely nothing would change that.

DJ – Tommys Tunes – 9
Because of the reputation Tommys Tunes has, they were one of the first DJ’s we wanted to meet with. Since we were booking so far ahead of time, I was able to meet with their most popular MC, Joe E. We hit it off and booked him immediately. A lot of people come down on TT because of their price, but I was glad I booked them because it gave me piece of mind knowing I had one of the best. A month before the wedding, I filled out all the song lists they asked and I burned a few cd’s that contain Spanish songs they didn’t have. Although they played most of the music I asked, the cd’s were never played and they didn’t play one freestyle song (my fav music). I also requested reggaeton and found myself asking the DJ to play it. It was an hour before the reception was to end and by the sound of it, they weren’t planning on playing any reggaeton. Because of this, I would have given them a 7. But it all didn’t matter, because I had Joe as my MC. He was absolutely wonderful. Because we are dancing fools anyway, he never had to drag anyone up. He partied like he was one of the guests and everyone loved him! He went through all the traditions seamlessly and everything went perfectly because of him. Because of Joe, I cant think of one reason not to give him anything below a 9.

Day of Coordinator - Ur day Ur way - 9
Chris was an absolute Godsend. My original DOC bailed out on me with a few short months before my wedding. I really didnt stress it too much since I was handling everything for the most part. I really just needed someone to come in and put the personal touches that I woulnt be able to do myself. Chris did this keeping my eye for perfection in mind. Not one single detail was out of place, not one thing went wrong. Every time I asked her to do something, she was always one step ahead of me. I completely confided in her and she handled everything seamlessly. My only regret was not asking her to come to the house to take care of things there. The morning was hectic and I sure could have used her take command attitude.

Favors – I wanted to go along the “different” route and opted for a breakfast to go for all the guests. This would include to a packet of coffee with two bagels, butter, cream cheese, and jelly. Although my guests appreciated them and I got tons of compliments, I would have opted for the easy way out and gotten a regular favor. You’ll see what I mean as you read on.
Gable boxes – Veripak – Quick, affordable, and painless. They have a variety of colors and they are sold by the 100. What a PIA these boxes were. The took forever to assemble and an eternity to hot glue not one but two separate ribbons and a label. Had I known it would be so much work, I would have rethought it
Coffee Packets – Bought a “lot” of nonlabeled coffee packets from ebay. DH designed a label that matched the gable box label and we printed them out and slapped them on. These were to accompany the bagels in the favor box
Bagel Boss – I called a few stores and when I mentioned my idea, people had no idea what I was talking about. After all most calling it quits, I gave bagel boss of northport a try. They were very accommodating and were easy to work with. I told Lisa exactly what I wanted and she was more than obliged to do the job. I told her the boxes would all ready be assembled with the coffee packets all ready in place and that all she had to do was add the condiments and bagels. She agreed to this and even put it in the order form. This was discussed 6 weeks before the wedding. 4 days before the wedding, the called up to tell me that the boxes could not come into the store if the coffee wasn’t Kosher. Shouldn’t they have mentioned that to me beforehand? Another stress that could have been avoided had this been mentioned to me earlier. Bagels and condiments came exactly as I asked and the bagels were great!



OOT boxes –. I took the left over boxes from the favors, slapped a label on them and called it a day. I placed two mini sodas, a mini water, a bag of North Fork potato chips, and a bag of cookies.

Dinner was delicious and it far exceeded our expectations. The filet mignon was soft enough to cut with a fork. And the swordfish was a crowd favorite. After all was said and done, out came the chocolate fountain. I wondered why the dance floor suddenly emptied out, but I looked over and there it was in ALL its glory. Not only were they served cake, but the guests were also given individual crème brulee dishes and they had their pick of dippings for the chocolate fountain. A great way to end a perfect night!!

OMG Jennifer!!! I am sitting here sobbing.. That was the most beautiful review I have ever read. Stephen thinks you put the chocolate fountain at the end to torture him.

Amazing Review!!!!

I miss you.. The holidays are offically over.. CALL ME!!

What a wonderful review!!! Jenn you looked absolutely STUNNING and everything about your day was truly DIVA in a very classy way. Your flowers were gorgeous, your hair, your makeup, your CPs, just everything!

OH and the 'shoe picture' -- I LOVE IT!!! The first thing I thought was DAMN! I should've worn an ANKLET!!! Yours is beautiful!!

I love that picture of you in the limo with your Dad's reflection in the window.

CONGRATULATIONS on your day, I'm so glad that everything went so well - your day was truly beautiful!! And I wish you and your DH an equally beautiful and long happy marriage!!!

Great review! Congrats

Congrats

OMG!!! What a GREAT review!!!! My mom is Guatemalan so it is great to read how you incorporated the customs!! You looked absolutely gorgeous!!!

Wow Jenn, no words! It looks like you had a magical, love-filled day - there's no better kind! I am so happy for you and your husband and wish you both a lifetime of happiness and all of God's blessings.

Your review will certainly help future brides. It was detailed, funny and informative - perfect!

You looked amazing...I'm beyond happy to read that everything was perfection!

Best wishes (and thanks for the shout out! )

Sasha