First off .... Happy New Year's to you all. Warm Hawaiian wishes for a wonderful & joyous New Year!!
Well ... where to start?! Such a wonderful day ... truly magical. It was everything I ever dreamed of & MORE! There were bumps along the way, but definitely manageable & not worth getting frazled over. It all goes by soooo fast .. I wanted to soak every moment in, and NO TEARS all night (well, maybe just a few).
The weather held out nicely ... we were sooo glad!
The church was beautiful ... like a dream! Decorated so beautifully for the holidays. We didn't do a thing! Wait till you see the pic's!
The Hamlet ... OMG! I can't say enough how great it was. They treated us like family & were there to help out w/the problems that came up ... I'll tell that story later.
Afterward, we invited guests to the member's bar for another 2 hours of drinks, which was great b/c it extended the night for us ... then we were all picked up by bus & went back to the Wyndham Hotel. I was still so wound up at 4am that I was just getting out of my dress (I would have slept in it if I could have) ... didn't get to sleep until after 5!
Here's the review: (I hope I don't leave anything out)
Flowers: A+++
Laskaris & Farrell ... the Hamlet's florist was unbelievable. The bouquets were stunning, the bout's held up fabulously & our Christmas tree (at the Hamlet) was to die for!
Band: A+++
Naked Truth ... you thought you were hearing the real thing! Such a great band and so reasonable.
Photo's & Video: A+++++++
IMAGINE ... speaks for itself ... I'll only say ... It was worth it! I'll post when the proofs come in. We can't wait to see them! Everyone raved about them.
Reception: A++++++++
The Hamlet Golf & Country Club:
The food, the presentation, the service was unlike any other place I'd ever been to. Everything we asked them to do they did & then some. I was not a believer at first, but WOW! I'm so glad that's where we wound up. A first rate choice. They helped us out w/our limo problems & even arranged for a driver for my SIL who was very sick & had to go back to the hotel!
Limo's: C-/ F Here's the problem for the day.....
Camelot Limos:
Our contract with the company was for a rolls, a 14 pass. & a minibus for the day. The rolls came w/no prob., although the driver we asked for did not. He showed up early actually, which was good. The 14 pass & bus were supposed to meet Vinnie & his family out at the Wyndham at 2pm. The ride would take 35-40 min and and then the limo would come & get the girls at my mom's. The limo arrived on time but the bus (for the family) was nowhere to be found. Finally, they found out that he was at the MARRIOT somewhere else!! They hadn't gotten to the church yet & it was going on 2:45! Then our limo driver radio's in to find out what's happening & they told us that it was the groom who had a problem w/his tuxedo. I was having a heart attack ... thinking that Vinnie was freaking out & worrying about all of those people waiting in the church & no ushers or groom in sight! I was relieved, however when I realized that the choir was singing & what a treat that would be for everyone! We finally got rolling & pulled up to church about 3:25. B/C of this, we weren't able to get pic's in church afterwards, with my students or the choir. They were rushing us out b/c 5:00 mass was starting right away! I was sooo dissapointed about this! :( The limo nightmare continued later on ... I'll finish that part later.
Makeup: A+++++
Lori Ann Santarpia .... I've recommended her b/f & would do so in a heartbeat again!! After the bachelorette fiasco, I knew it would be great, but everyone complimented me all night!
Hair: A++ for me & mom, but I had an issue w/her none-the-less.
Hair by Marlene
There are some great shots of my hair on pic's I got back already ... those will be coming & everyone raved about it. At the end of the evening, everyone said how beautiful it had stayed & still looked fresh.
Our problem was this: We booked her to do several of the girls ... including Vinnie's best friend's fiance. They came in from Jersey ... & I booked her w/ Marlene for 12:30. My flower girl canc. at the last minute & decided to have her hair done in Staten Island, there was a gap in the time. Marlene said that she wouldn't wait for the hour ... Nicole was not able to be there any earlier, they timed it for 12:30. She was very upset b/c she was relying on us & didn't bring anything w/her to do her own hair for the evening.
I was very upset b/c I felt responsible & she wasn't very understanding ... she thought it was my fault .... probably was ... we timed it badly ... but she wouldn't even greet us in the receiving line. We tried to straighten it out later on, but it still effected me. It wasn't right of Marlene to leave w/o fulfilling her commitments.
Limo prob con't:
The same bus was supposed to go back and get the guests at the Wyndham later on starting @ 6:00 and bring them to the reception. Well b/c they got back from church late, the 1st run didn't go until almost 6:20. He was supposed to make 2 runs ending at 7:00, but b/c of the timing, he didn't go back & make the second run! Guests were left waiting at the hotel & had to find their own way to the Hamlet ... which defeats the purpose of having a bus in the first place!!!!! The Hamlet reamed them when they found out, b/c I was worried that we weren't going to be picked up later on. We were, thank goodness! Our maitre' d who was excellent ... dealt w/them on our behalf.
All in all ... it was a wonderful day! We knew things would go wrong, so I tried to let the problems go, & have a wonderful time. Everyone said that they had a great time, the food was terrific & everyone looked beautiful. What more could you ask?! We had breakfast in the morning with everyone who stayed at the hotel & then took off to the Plaza Hotel for the night. Mon. morning we left for HAWAII! I still can't believe we're back!
Honeymoon review to follow ... I'm still decompressing!!! :) Tons of pic's ... getting them developed this week.
![]()
PS Thanks to all who thought of me & posted on Sat, 12/21!!! :) :) I couldn't wait to get to my computer to touch base w/you all & catch up!!
