Before I start my review I wanted to write a few things that I’ve learned throughout the wedding process… that I hope future brides will take with them…
1. Use registered vendors. The reason I say this is because they have A LOT to lose if something goes wrong. I made the mistake of not using one and it has hurt us greatly. Things got resolved however, not without stress, anxiety and a lawyer.
2. Do not stress over the small things. I know…it’s said all the time! But towards the end I did the same and then I stopped and it made that week/day that much calmer.
3. You only live once. Life is short. Do not have any regrets and go with your heart in every decision you make about the wedding. Do not take family members to heart, as most of the time, they want to control the wedding. That’s fine, just learn to say “Thank’s for your advice but we have it under control”. TRUST me, it’s something I learned to do fairly early in wedding planning.
4. Pretend your wedding is the MONTH before. The reason? Because then all the last minute run arounds, are done with time to spare. I did this, and got to relax the few weeks before the wedding. DH and I were able to actually stay calm! The day before actually we were able to have a picnic in the park!
**All photo’s are Twelfth Night Pictures unless otherwise noted***
Our wedding day: A+++
We knew it would rain on our wedding. The reason? Well, every single special event we have ever had… it rained on! So, we expected it and just, went with the flow. It cooled things down that day, so who cares! We can’t change mother nature now can we?
Plus, check out some of our shots!!
Our Theme: Tea By The Sea (DH and I often to go the beach with a thermos of tea… so we incorporated the theme of Rain, Beach and Tea into our wedding)
Playbill: DIY- Illustration- DIY
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12th Night Photography- A+ and beyond
I can not even begin to explain the fun that I had with Viki and Rachel. I wanted my wedding to be relaxed and fun and that is exactly what they did for us. They were able to capture how much fun I love to have, and that made me so beyond happy when seeing these pictures
Not only did they capture every small element that was important to me and DH….
But…they also worked with us and families personality. Noticing my father gave the thumbs up in every picture, I got to mock him a little during the family photo’s!
Pictures taken : In Coney Island: A+++
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The Floral:
Flowers: Dyker Florist, George: A++
George went above and beyond with my boquets. I have a severe allergy to most flowers and when I explained this to him, he said “NOT a problem” I wanted daisy’s because they are our favorite, and he matched the colors I wanted to be displayed perfectly. I did not want a traditional boquet, and he knew exactly what to do. They stayed throughout he week, and all of my bridesmaids also said they were able to keep them in a vase for a very long time after!
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Dresses:
Dress one original: Davids Bridal Jersey: F FFF FF (They somehow were part of my stolen identity scam –someone in the store)
Dress One Revamped:
(Picture of dress, and me in dress)
Personal Seamstress: Maureen Kramer: A+++++
After purchasing my dress (It was supposed to be for a destination wedding) plans changed and I disliked it so much. They ordered me three sizes too large, leaving me looking like I was wearing a sack. A friend of mine told me about Maureen, and I went straight to her…
She not only RELACED, RESHAPED, REBEADED my dress, but she turned it into a vintage looking dress that I could have only imagined spending a lot more than I did on.
Although the alterations ended up adding up, every single little element that she helped me to achieve made me love the dress despite it weighing a ton.
That leads me to Dress Number Two:
Maggie Sottero Destinations: A
Since I have a slipped disk in my neck, the first dress caused me to have extreme pain… so I opted for the second dress… to party the night away in… which I am so glad that I did.
Again, I loved the dress, but I am short, and the dress had a beautiful funk to it on top which Maureen revamped again. My only suggestion is to replace the ribbon or tie it a different way. Although she had it ironed the right way, within ten minutes of putting it on it sagged with the pin on it. I don’t think anyone noticed, as the dress was stunning.
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The “Somethings”
Something Old:
My Tiffany starfish bracelet. I have not taken it off since my mother originally gave it to me six years ago, and was not planning on taking it off now! It fit in with the theme perfectly and was a nice addition to the “Beachy Theme”
Something New:
Earrings by Aya: A+++++
(Picture of earrings)
The week before the wedding, I was fixing the bed when I saw a little bag under the sheet. Thinking that it was just something of Vinnie’s, I placed it on the nightstand.
That’s when he said “Jen, open it!”
When I realized what it was I began to cry. I had wanted the earrings for a very long time, and before I knew it, time had flown and I forgot about them. So, one of my wedding gifts from DH were the earrings I wore for our wedding.
He wanted my “Something New” to be something I could wear every anniversary as well as weddings, and something I could treasure forever. He knew I would never purchase anything like this for myself, so he decided to take the initiative!
Something Borrowed:
My mothers first gift from my father before they were married. I thought it was perfect since it was a heart and my engagement ring was a heart as well!
Something’s Blue:
I ended up with two “Blue Items”
The traditional Blue Garter was from beaucoup.com
The Stallion Zales: A+ (I used to call my dh the “Italian Stallion” when we first met- since he was “Vinnie from Brooklyn” and thought he would be a… well…”Jersey shore” type boy lol)
Starfish Pin: ShopIrish.com
The pin fit the theme so amazingly I couldn’t get over it. The blues and the pearl… perfect!
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On to attire:
Groom and Groomsmen Suits:
Landsend: A++++
Originally, DH wanted to wear kakhi pants and a polo for the wedding (Destination) Since we knew July would be muggy and sticky, we wanted the boys to be as comfortable as possible.
After searching for suits and tuxes from shops, a friend of mine mentioned he had a nice “Summer” suit from Landsend. If you are looking for an amazing, light weight suit- go for it! The color is wonderful as well.
Ties and Shirts: Geoffery Bene: A++
When they say Non- Wrinkle, it means non wrinkle. We ordered directly since we needed so many ties and we are truly glad that we did. Beautiful colors and lightweight shirts were the perfect addition.
Ring Bearer suit: The Childrens Place:
We got really lucky with finding him a light weight suit- and he seriously looked so adorable in it. We couldn’t see him renting one for so much!
Bridesmaids: Watters Wtoo A+
Bought from : RK Bridal: A+
We had a sizing issue (They ordered the wrong sizes) at first, but their customer service was beyond amazing, and worked it all out super fast. Not one problem!
Since none of my bridesmaids live close to me, we figured that it made more sense for us to place a large order to RK and have them all ordered to size. Their sizing chart was perfect and the dresses were a stunningly beautiful blue.
(Bridesmaids)
Jr Bridesmaid: Watters Wtoo : A
The dress came a much different color for some reason than the rest, but you can barely notice. She fit in so well with the rest it didn’t matter.
Flower Girl:
www.flowergirldressforless.com A+
I wanted her dress to be closer to the Ring Bearers dress, and found a Kakhi, plaid mixture. I loved this dress!
We ended up taking it to Maureen to get the exact look we wanted (Daisy instead of rose etc) but in the end her colors were perfect!
Flower Girl Basket: DIY, Basket from Michaels
Mother of the Bride Dress:
Davids Bridal- Source Mall A+++
Loved loved loved this place. We found the dress last minute, and it wasn’t even on the website!
Mother of the bride… PRICELESS
Anyone who has a mother who is an amazing woman, please make sure that you hold on to her for ever. We had a scare where my mother was diagnosed with cancer 8 months before the wedding… and honestly… it was a wake up call for me. DO NOT TAKE GOOD MOMS FOR GRANTED!
Fathers Suit: Custom made A++
Grandmother Dress:A++
Hair and things:
Salon Gio for all. (Although my sister, MOH, and mother’s hair came out EXACTLY how they wanted)
My Hair: Antonella (Please FM me for information/details on what happened)
Hair Piece: DIY
Sworvarski hair starfish: haircomesthebride
Mom’s Hair: A+++ (Different Person)
Day Of Jewelry and Accessories
Our Rings!
Engagement Ring & Grooms Band: Blue Nile A+++
I had my husband write about Blue Nile, and his experience ring shopping for you ladies:
Blue Nile has one of the top selections of diamonds. After going to many, and I mean many different stores, including Tiffany’s, and being “talked out” of a heart diamond (Because of the precise clarity, color etc I wanted would take “too long” for them to find) I researched other companies. Blue Nile actually had beat out Tiffany in Diamond Quality (Which surprised me greatly) but once I began to work with them, I understood why.
Not once was I laughed at or spoken to like someone who had no sense of taste when I explained I wanted a heart. I understood that they were uncommon, but I was also willing to wait until they found what I wanted. Be very specific when buying diamonds. They can talk you into things you do not want.
The band is in Platinum, as well as the engagement because I wanted something durable with Jen being a teacher. We already sent it back once for a cleaning and they fixed the prong that “got loose” (aka jenny threw it) haha…
Wedding band: Custom- Onofrio D’Oro (Brooklyn) A+++++
I needed a band that would look great with the engagement ring. Heart shapes are hard to work with and the band Vinnie had chosen was thick, so when I came to them with my “wave” pattern, it was easy for them to make it. I highly recommend them for any designs you are interested in making.
My Boquet Charm:
My boquet charm meant a lot to me. It was a gift from one of my bridesmaids. It is a piece of pottery that is broken, and placed on a clasp. It looked perfect with my theme having the starfish on it ?
My Earrings: Were the AYA Starfish earrings
Bridesmaids:
Jewelry:
Macy’s- C
The reason I give Macy’s the “C” is because they gave me a very big problem to order so many of the starfish necklace in bulk. I needed 7 and they sent them, unboxed at first. Then when I went to the store, I had to go to different Macy’s to get boxes for them, all resulting in different sizes. I don’t think its that big of a deal , but I had never had an experience like this with Macy’s… very odd lol
MOH Zales: A+
I bought my MOH’s necklace almost a year before the wedding. Originally when it had come, the clasp was broken, however, they quickly sent a replacement. Not a problem and the swarvorski crystals were truly beautiful in the necklace. It wasn’t as gaudy as I had been afraid it would be.
Groomsmen:
Cufflinks:
Zales: A++
Grooms Cufflinks: Nautica (He wanted the sail boat!)
The Shoesss!!!! Touch Ups: A++++
Dyed at: Sposabella A-
The shoes were amazing. The reason that I give them the A- is because after looking at them, we noticed there was a completely missed spot of white. It was the day of the wedding we noticed so we couldn’t do much about it… but the color was on point!
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Hall:
Gargiulos Restaurant and Catering Hall, Coney Island NY- A++++++++++ and beyond
We had decided on a small wedding from the beginning, and wanted it here from the day we were engaged. We had gone to two other weddings, and the fact that the room was so “Organic” (Waterfall in the background, live plants lining the river rock walls, constellation lights on the ceiling) we knew this would be the place for us.
Nino Russo is Amazing. He worked with us from the beginning and threw in tons of extras, and catered to our needs. From the moment we sat down with him it was calmness, rather than being hectic. We had a few No-Shows last minute, and Nino did not make us pay for them (Which I thought was so entirely amazing)
The food- amazing as ever. If you like traditional Napolitano Italian, you would love this.
At the end of the night, he came over to us and asked when we were leaving for the honeymoon- when we told him that we were leaving two days after, he asked what we wanted for dinner… TO bring home! He said “No one should have to cook the day after their wedding”
Again, Amazing.
CAKE: Mona Lisa Bakery
Taste: A++
Cake: F
This was not what we ordered. We ended up with someone elses cake for our wedding, they must have delivered it to the wrong place….
We ended up with a “Traditional” wedding cake three tiered.. (We ordered two large tiers)
Ours was supposed to be a plain buttercream ivory cake with NO roses (Obviously didn’t go with the theme) and starfish chocolates….
But… who cares… It was good and no one noticed lol So yay to the WHITE TRADITIONAL ITALIAN CAKE lol
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The Church: Saint Ephrems, Brooklyn NY
Officiant: Msgr Kaine
Limo:
Apollo Limo: A+
Our limo drivers were amazing, and the price was absolutely perfect for our short ride. I highly recommend any BK brides to them!
DIY’s
Cardbox:
Boxes: Michaels
Starfish: Pottery Barn
Aisle Runner:
Actual Runner: Save- On Crafts . com
Printmaster Silver (From staples) for the monogram A+
Favors: Beaucoup Tea Caddy Holders & Personalized tea bags: A+
(Picture to come)
Favor boxes and starfish stickers all DIY
Thanks for reading!
