August 2, 2003 Vendor Review with Pics!
Hi, I’ve been meaning to post my vendor review but seem to be so busy since the wedding! Anyway, I want thank everyone on these boards for suggestions and guidance. I didn’t post a lot but certainly read a lot! Our wedding day was fantastic. The day started out gloomy and turned into a sunny day! Here are my vendor reviews with pics that people have sent me:
Venue – Ceremony and Reception – Queen’s County Farm Museum
First of all, month wise, I think the farm is prettiest in the months of July - October. June is okay also depending on the weather. When I visited in June the flowerbeds weren't planted (on the side of the stairs in pic below) and it wasn't as pretty. I had 70 guests but the venue would probably fit about 90 comfortably with dancing, maybe a little more. It's beautiful inside, wide plank wood floors, lots of windows and the place was spotless, they cleaned it up really well. The lights are on dimmers so you can adjust them to your liking and it is air conditioned (very important!). The farm also has a pavilion and we used that for our ceremony. It's just a basic wood structure with a cement floor and basic benches. When I first saw it, it was filthy but again, spotless the day of the wedding. Here are some pics:
I made the hanging cones and Elaine hung them along with the garland on the poles. Very basic but a nice touch.
The one downside is that there is no 'wedding coordinator' to help you set up the place or make sure you are okay. So, I hired one. Which brings me to my next vendor:
Elaine DeLuca of Exquisite Events, (516) 292-3338 - she is wonderful! I don’t know what I would have done without her (probably would have had a nervous breakdown). Elaine set up all of my decorations from the wreaths to the cones in the pavilion to the lanterns on the trees and on the stairs. She kept checking the candles in the lanterns to make sure they were still lit, she was there whenever someone gave me a gift to put in a safe place, informed me whenever something was going to happen, i.e. parent dance, cake cutting. I felt so at ease knowing Elaine was there and that I didn’t have to worry about one thing, literally. I can’t say enough fabulous things and fully recommend Elaine. She also helped me before the wedding with researching vendors and dealing with contracts. Elaine even came to my dress fittings so she knew how to bustle my dress. Fantastic!
Caterer - Effie's Kitchen, 718-852-7308 . I thought they did a fantastic job with the food and they also helped set up but Elaine did the table decorating. We had Cajun style food since my DH is from New Orleans. Everyone said the food was delicious. They are reasonably priced and the staff was very pleasant at the wedding. I had Effie order me chairs, linens, china, silverware and cocktail tables. The farm doesn't provide any of that. All in all, I was pleased with the job they did and definitely recommend them, especially if you’re not looking for typical catering.
Photographer - Something in Blue, 718-302-0499
Margaret and Jack were wonderful! So unobtrusive at the ceremony and party yet they were everywhere. People keep telling me about details they saw them photographing. My sister used them for her wedding in May and her proofs were amazing. I highly, highly recommend Margaret and Jack and cannot wait to see the proofs.
DJ - Carol Moore, A Starry Night Elegant Disc Jockeys, [email protected], 718-565-1610. Another one of my favorite vendors, Carol was wonderful, played exactly what I wanted without talking too much yet got people up dancing. Also, she is such a doll to work with. Her husband, Beledo, played our ceremony music and he was wonderful as well. My friend used Carol back in January and loved her.
Videographer - Classic Video, www.classicvideoprod.com, 973-429-1123. My mother and sister surprised me with a videographer which was so nice and completely unexpected. Bernard and Maria run the business, they're married. Bernard was wonderful and again so unobtrusive. He hooked Cole up with a wireless mic and apparently some very funny things were said before I came down the aisle. Definitely want to see the rough cut. He's really nice and I can't wait to see the video!
Florist – Doris, Imperial Florist, 516-223-3364 (in Baldwin). Doris was a dream to deal with. She was very sweet and understood exactly what I wanted. Her prices were reasonable and I was thrilled with the flowers the day of the wedding. The bouquet’s were beautiful and the flowers very fresh. I was really pleased and everyone who could get one took home a centerpiece. Here’s a pic:
Dress/Veil – Kleinfeld’s. My dress consultant was Renee Pinto and she was so great to work with. Unlike some of the other consultants there, she took me through the racks and told me to pick out whatever I wanted to try on. She would give me advice on each dress and the one she said looked much better off of the hanger was the one I bought. I fell in love instantly and never had any doubts. Christos designed the dress and it was fantastic. My fitter was Maria Molinaro and she did a wonderful job as well. I got lazy and just ordered my veil from Kleinfeld’s, simple circle veil with crystals. I wound up not using my original headpiece and opted for hairpins. I loved the way my veil and pins looked.
Hair/Make-up, Bouchelle, 973-744-2599. Bouchelle is such a doll and did a fantastic job on my hair and makeup along with my two BM’s and my Mom. She even did my sister’s hair over because she wasn’t thrilled the first time. My hair stayed in almost all night. The bottom piece fell out but I was dancing a lot and that always happens to me. My make-up was great until I washed it off. Besides doing a great job and hair and make-up, Bouchelle is sweet and calming to be around.
Invitations, Papel Paper and Press, 323-464-7363. Based in CA but so easy to deal with. Susan was wonderful and did exactly what I wanted for our letterpressed invites. They were stunning and we received so many compliments on them. I’ll post a pic once we get our proofs. Highly recommend Susan as she also worked on my sister’s invites and they were lovely as well.
Officiant – Reverend Gillmeister. Such a nice man to deal with and he did such a wonderful job on our ceremony. All of our guests were complimenting him. I highly recommend Rev Gillmeister.
Bridesmaid’s dresses – Custom made by Helena of Gabriels. Helena did a wonderful job on the dresses, the girls all looked beautiful. She also made my Grandmother’s dress. Unfortunately, Helena is moving soon to Brazil, so I don’t think she’s taking on any more clients.
I have recommendations for a limo and bus, just don’t have the info on me. I’ll post soon! Hope this helps other brides!
Here are some other pics for fun!
Venue – Ceremony and Reception – Queen’s County Farm Museum
First of all, month wise, I think the farm is prettiest in the months of July - October. June is okay also depending on the weather. When I visited in June the flowerbeds weren't planted (on the side of the stairs in pic below) and it wasn't as pretty. I had 70 guests but the venue would probably fit about 90 comfortably with dancing, maybe a little more. It's beautiful inside, wide plank wood floors, lots of windows and the place was spotless, they cleaned it up really well. The lights are on dimmers so you can adjust them to your liking and it is air conditioned (very important!). The farm also has a pavilion and we used that for our ceremony. It's just a basic wood structure with a cement floor and basic benches. When I first saw it, it was filthy but again, spotless the day of the wedding. Here are some pics:
I made the hanging cones and Elaine hung them along with the garland on the poles. Very basic but a nice touch.
The one downside is that there is no 'wedding coordinator' to help you set up the place or make sure you are okay. So, I hired one. Which brings me to my next vendor:
Elaine DeLuca of Exquisite Events, (516) 292-3338 - she is wonderful! I don’t know what I would have done without her (probably would have had a nervous breakdown). Elaine set up all of my decorations from the wreaths to the cones in the pavilion to the lanterns on the trees and on the stairs. She kept checking the candles in the lanterns to make sure they were still lit, she was there whenever someone gave me a gift to put in a safe place, informed me whenever something was going to happen, i.e. parent dance, cake cutting. I felt so at ease knowing Elaine was there and that I didn’t have to worry about one thing, literally. I can’t say enough fabulous things and fully recommend Elaine. She also helped me before the wedding with researching vendors and dealing with contracts. Elaine even came to my dress fittings so she knew how to bustle my dress. Fantastic!
Caterer - Effie's Kitchen, 718-852-7308 . I thought they did a fantastic job with the food and they also helped set up but Elaine did the table decorating. We had Cajun style food since my DH is from New Orleans. Everyone said the food was delicious. They are reasonably priced and the staff was very pleasant at the wedding. I had Effie order me chairs, linens, china, silverware and cocktail tables. The farm doesn't provide any of that. All in all, I was pleased with the job they did and definitely recommend them, especially if you’re not looking for typical catering.
Photographer - Something in Blue, 718-302-0499
Margaret and Jack were wonderful! So unobtrusive at the ceremony and party yet they were everywhere. People keep telling me about details they saw them photographing. My sister used them for her wedding in May and her proofs were amazing. I highly, highly recommend Margaret and Jack and cannot wait to see the proofs.
DJ - Carol Moore, A Starry Night Elegant Disc Jockeys, [email protected], 718-565-1610. Another one of my favorite vendors, Carol was wonderful, played exactly what I wanted without talking too much yet got people up dancing. Also, she is such a doll to work with. Her husband, Beledo, played our ceremony music and he was wonderful as well. My friend used Carol back in January and loved her.
Videographer - Classic Video, www.classicvideoprod.com, 973-429-1123. My mother and sister surprised me with a videographer which was so nice and completely unexpected. Bernard and Maria run the business, they're married. Bernard was wonderful and again so unobtrusive. He hooked Cole up with a wireless mic and apparently some very funny things were said before I came down the aisle. Definitely want to see the rough cut. He's really nice and I can't wait to see the video!
Florist – Doris, Imperial Florist, 516-223-3364 (in Baldwin). Doris was a dream to deal with. She was very sweet and understood exactly what I wanted. Her prices were reasonable and I was thrilled with the flowers the day of the wedding. The bouquet’s were beautiful and the flowers very fresh. I was really pleased and everyone who could get one took home a centerpiece. Here’s a pic:
Hair/Make-up, Bouchelle, 973-744-2599. Bouchelle is such a doll and did a fantastic job on my hair and makeup along with my two BM’s and my Mom. She even did my sister’s hair over because she wasn’t thrilled the first time. My hair stayed in almost all night. The bottom piece fell out but I was dancing a lot and that always happens to me. My make-up was great until I washed it off. Besides doing a great job and hair and make-up, Bouchelle is sweet and calming to be around.
Invitations, Papel Paper and Press, 323-464-7363. Based in CA but so easy to deal with. Susan was wonderful and did exactly what I wanted for our letterpressed invites. They were stunning and we received so many compliments on them. I’ll post a pic once we get our proofs. Highly recommend Susan as she also worked on my sister’s invites and they were lovely as well.
Officiant – Reverend Gillmeister. Such a nice man to deal with and he did such a wonderful job on our ceremony. All of our guests were complimenting him. I highly recommend Rev Gillmeister.
Bridesmaid’s dresses – Custom made by Helena of Gabriels. Helena did a wonderful job on the dresses, the girls all looked beautiful. She also made my Grandmother’s dress. Unfortunately, Helena is moving soon to Brazil, so I don’t think she’s taking on any more clients.
I have recommendations for a limo and bus, just don’t have the info on me. I’ll post soon! Hope this helps other brides!
Here are some other pics for fun!
