Our Mother's Day wedding at Temple Beth El in Cedarhurst- vendors include Renegade, Visions Fine Photography and Pedestals
Where to begin???... Like everyone says, it was the best day of our lives and it went by incredibly fast. There was not one vendor that disappointed us----they were all incredible.
Weather: A+++++++
I seriously STALKED the weather forecast for the 10 days leading up to the wedding, despite the fact that I know that meteorologists are almost never right and that their forecasts change every 30 seconds!!! The weather on my wedding day was better than anything I could have ever hoped for for a May wedding. I HATE the heat, and the temperature was a perfect 60 degrees. There was not a cloud in the sky, and the wind was blowing just enough to lift my veil a little for pictures, but not enough to ruin hair! I could not have ordered better weather!
Temple Beth El, Cedarhurst: A++++
My husband’s sister got married at Temple Beth El in 2002, and I fell in the love with it back then. We worked mostly with Gayle, and she was an absolute pleasure to work with. She did not nickel and dime us, and even when we were picking out stations for the cocktail hour, there were a couple of things that we couldn’t decide between and she just threw in both. She and her husband who both own the catering company were away the weekend of our wedding and their daughter and son-in-law oversaw the whole wedding, along with the Maitre’D. I have to say, the one person who really stood out was Roz, the bridal attendant. We got to the temple at around 9:30 in the morning and she greeted us with all smiles and so much energy. The wedding didn’t end until close to 11pm and she kept the same level of energy all the way through, and she did not stop running around the entire day. She helped EVERYONE in my family with whatever they needed, including my grandmother who is wheelchair-bound. She was just fantastic. The food was incredible, and there was SOOO much of it. In fact, some people thought the cocktail hour was dinner, because we had about 10 stations in addition to passed hour ‘devours. I can’t wait to see the video because I never made it around the cocktail hour so I don’t even know what the stations looked like!!! I am still getting compliments today about how classy the reception hall was and how good the food was.
Pedestals: A++++++
We worked with Robert and there’s really not much that I can say that would do his work justice. The chuppah was breath-taking. He did the entire chuppah in cherry blossoms---there was no fabric at all. The bridesmaid’s flowers were very different---all dark greens and cymbidium orchids. They looked incredible. The CPs, the arrangement for the table with the seating cards and my bouquet were gorgeous. The flowers lasted the entire night and everyone raved about how original his creations were. They were not typical of what you would see at a wedding, and he’s an incredible artist, not mention, extremely nice.
Renegade: A++++++
My husband used to work for a photographer and worked at a lot of weddings. Once we started planning, he suggested that we go see Renegade at a showcase because he had seen them at a couple of the jobs he worked at and he said they were great. I went with a friend of mine and we were both really impressed. They had incredible energy and they were playing to a seated audience! I booked them and could not have been happier with my decision. I know everyone says this, but they literally had the dance floor packed all night. One of my dad’s friend’s is a professional musician and spent about 20 minutes just staring at them while they were performing because he was so impressed with their musicianship. They ROCKED the house with Livin’ On A Prayer which was a definite hit! One of my friends is getting married in August and she had already booked a band for her wedding. After my wedding, she fired her band and hired Renegade. They’re awesome!!!!
Visions Fine Photography- A++++++
I cannot say enough about David and his team. My husband used to work with David when he was a photographer for Pace Photography. David now owns Visions Fine Photography and his work is incredible. He started shooting at 12:45 in the afternoon and he and his assistants didn’t stop shooting until the last minute of the party. We had three photographers (one traditional, one candid and one black and white) and I am beyond blown away by my proofs. I kept stressing how important it was to us to have very artsy/candid looking pictures and his work was amazing. My husband and I now have the daunting task of picking our favorite ones for the album which will be incredibly difficult because each picture is better than the next.
Lenny DiSalvo (videographer)- no rating yet because I haven’t gotten my video (due to my laziness!),
Lenny is also from Visions Fine Photography- though I can’t rate him yet, I expect it to be amazing based on the rest of the pictures! Lenny had the video-camera on his shoulder the entire night and I’m sure he caught every important moment!
Kleinfelds- A++++++
My least favorite part of the wedding planning process was finding a dress. I’m 4’11” and I knew that I couldn’t get a big poofy dress because I’d get lost in it. I also knew that I couldn’t get anything with a lot of detail because once again, my size just couldn’t carry it. I had first gone to Macy’s in Manhassett and saw a dress by the designer Marisa that I really liked. I went to Kleinfelds and tried on another dress there that I liked but my mom hated. I asked them if they carried the Marisa dress and they told me no, but they told me that I could go through their racks in their “discount room” and my friend actually found the same Marisa dress as a sample dress in the back there for $1100!!!!! The only problem was that it was a size 14! I bought it anyway and my seamstress Josephine worked tirelessly to take it down to my size. The end result was perfect. It was the classic, simple dress I had envisioned from the beginning.
Barron’s Tri-County- A++++++
Let’s just say I waited until the last minute to look for a veil. I tried a few on at Kleinfelds but their veils were WAY too expensive, and quite honestly, I wasn’t looking for anything outrageous. I wanted a simple two-tiered veil with nothing on it. I couldn’t see spending the hundreds of dollars that Kleinfelds was asking for. Based on the recommendations of other brides on this site, I went to Barrons literally ONE month before my wedding. The owner has to be the sweetest woman alive! She was a pleasure to work with and my veil came out perfect. I also bought my hair pins there and they were $3 each and were perfect!
Proper Paper- A++++++
We got our invitations from Proper Paper in Plainview and we worked with one of the owners, Rhoda. She really went above and beyond my expectations. I didn’t love anything that I saw in the hundreds of books that they had, so she helped me pick different papers out and we designed the invitation together. The invitation was gorgeous and all of the invitations at the store are 25% off. I highly highly highly recommend that you use them. We got everything on time. The only downside is that they don’t take appointments and the place is a mad-house on the weekends. If you can go during the week, you’ll be better off.
I promise to add pictures soon!!!!
Weather: A+++++++
I seriously STALKED the weather forecast for the 10 days leading up to the wedding, despite the fact that I know that meteorologists are almost never right and that their forecasts change every 30 seconds!!! The weather on my wedding day was better than anything I could have ever hoped for for a May wedding. I HATE the heat, and the temperature was a perfect 60 degrees. There was not a cloud in the sky, and the wind was blowing just enough to lift my veil a little for pictures, but not enough to ruin hair! I could not have ordered better weather!
Temple Beth El, Cedarhurst: A++++
My husband’s sister got married at Temple Beth El in 2002, and I fell in the love with it back then. We worked mostly with Gayle, and she was an absolute pleasure to work with. She did not nickel and dime us, and even when we were picking out stations for the cocktail hour, there were a couple of things that we couldn’t decide between and she just threw in both. She and her husband who both own the catering company were away the weekend of our wedding and their daughter and son-in-law oversaw the whole wedding, along with the Maitre’D. I have to say, the one person who really stood out was Roz, the bridal attendant. We got to the temple at around 9:30 in the morning and she greeted us with all smiles and so much energy. The wedding didn’t end until close to 11pm and she kept the same level of energy all the way through, and she did not stop running around the entire day. She helped EVERYONE in my family with whatever they needed, including my grandmother who is wheelchair-bound. She was just fantastic. The food was incredible, and there was SOOO much of it. In fact, some people thought the cocktail hour was dinner, because we had about 10 stations in addition to passed hour ‘devours. I can’t wait to see the video because I never made it around the cocktail hour so I don’t even know what the stations looked like!!! I am still getting compliments today about how classy the reception hall was and how good the food was.
Pedestals: A++++++
We worked with Robert and there’s really not much that I can say that would do his work justice. The chuppah was breath-taking. He did the entire chuppah in cherry blossoms---there was no fabric at all. The bridesmaid’s flowers were very different---all dark greens and cymbidium orchids. They looked incredible. The CPs, the arrangement for the table with the seating cards and my bouquet were gorgeous. The flowers lasted the entire night and everyone raved about how original his creations were. They were not typical of what you would see at a wedding, and he’s an incredible artist, not mention, extremely nice.
Renegade: A++++++
My husband used to work for a photographer and worked at a lot of weddings. Once we started planning, he suggested that we go see Renegade at a showcase because he had seen them at a couple of the jobs he worked at and he said they were great. I went with a friend of mine and we were both really impressed. They had incredible energy and they were playing to a seated audience! I booked them and could not have been happier with my decision. I know everyone says this, but they literally had the dance floor packed all night. One of my dad’s friend’s is a professional musician and spent about 20 minutes just staring at them while they were performing because he was so impressed with their musicianship. They ROCKED the house with Livin’ On A Prayer which was a definite hit! One of my friends is getting married in August and she had already booked a band for her wedding. After my wedding, she fired her band and hired Renegade. They’re awesome!!!!
Visions Fine Photography- A++++++
I cannot say enough about David and his team. My husband used to work with David when he was a photographer for Pace Photography. David now owns Visions Fine Photography and his work is incredible. He started shooting at 12:45 in the afternoon and he and his assistants didn’t stop shooting until the last minute of the party. We had three photographers (one traditional, one candid and one black and white) and I am beyond blown away by my proofs. I kept stressing how important it was to us to have very artsy/candid looking pictures and his work was amazing. My husband and I now have the daunting task of picking our favorite ones for the album which will be incredibly difficult because each picture is better than the next.
Lenny DiSalvo (videographer)- no rating yet because I haven’t gotten my video (due to my laziness!),
Lenny is also from Visions Fine Photography- though I can’t rate him yet, I expect it to be amazing based on the rest of the pictures! Lenny had the video-camera on his shoulder the entire night and I’m sure he caught every important moment!
Kleinfelds- A++++++
My least favorite part of the wedding planning process was finding a dress. I’m 4’11” and I knew that I couldn’t get a big poofy dress because I’d get lost in it. I also knew that I couldn’t get anything with a lot of detail because once again, my size just couldn’t carry it. I had first gone to Macy’s in Manhassett and saw a dress by the designer Marisa that I really liked. I went to Kleinfelds and tried on another dress there that I liked but my mom hated. I asked them if they carried the Marisa dress and they told me no, but they told me that I could go through their racks in their “discount room” and my friend actually found the same Marisa dress as a sample dress in the back there for $1100!!!!! The only problem was that it was a size 14! I bought it anyway and my seamstress Josephine worked tirelessly to take it down to my size. The end result was perfect. It was the classic, simple dress I had envisioned from the beginning.
Barron’s Tri-County- A++++++
Let’s just say I waited until the last minute to look for a veil. I tried a few on at Kleinfelds but their veils were WAY too expensive, and quite honestly, I wasn’t looking for anything outrageous. I wanted a simple two-tiered veil with nothing on it. I couldn’t see spending the hundreds of dollars that Kleinfelds was asking for. Based on the recommendations of other brides on this site, I went to Barrons literally ONE month before my wedding. The owner has to be the sweetest woman alive! She was a pleasure to work with and my veil came out perfect. I also bought my hair pins there and they were $3 each and were perfect!
Proper Paper- A++++++
We got our invitations from Proper Paper in Plainview and we worked with one of the owners, Rhoda. She really went above and beyond my expectations. I didn’t love anything that I saw in the hundreds of books that they had, so she helped me pick different papers out and we designed the invitation together. The invitation was gorgeous and all of the invitations at the store are 25% off. I highly highly highly recommend that you use them. We got everything on time. The only downside is that they don’t take appointments and the place is a mad-house on the weekends. If you can go during the week, you’ll be better off.
I promise to add pictures soon!!!!
