I'm a MRS. !!! My 10/19/03 Wedding Review

I've been back a while & started this, until LIW logged me off. Sorry for the delay, but here we go....

I first have to again say a big THANK YOU to all my girls who helped me through every stage of the planning. I would not have had the wedding, or kept my sanity without each and every one of them.
Felicia, Mary and Denise- you guys are my rock. Life is full of many people that we must meet, its just fate. I thank God for my fate, I'm a lucky person!!!! I'm just sad I didn't meet you all earlier! You guys are the best!
Lauren, my wedding twin!!!! Congratulations and thank you for everything along the way. I can't believe we got it all done! Demetra, Christine and Irene, thanks for everything! I hope to see you all soon and catch up on everything!

What I can say is, I couldn't have enjoyed my wedding any more! We had sacrificed, saved and worked hard for 3 years for this wedding (1 year prior to being engaged & the 2 years we were engaged), there was no way I wasn't enjoying every minute of it! Pictures to soon follow to show you all... (Am I the only bride who ever danced on the tables???)

I did have a Murphy's Law wedding, whatever could go wrong did. I had always wanted to have the attitude that whatever was going to go wrong, wasn't going to upset me, and it didn't. It all was fixed, taken care of - and the day went on w/out a hitch.

For those of you who haven't read my posts, or know me, my Mom was sick. She's fought breast cancer and ovarian cancer while I was engaged. Nothing would matter to me if my Mother couldn't be there to celebrate with me, but we almost cancelled everything due to $$. Doctor's bills are still being paid off.
First a sincere thank you to all my vendors. From the bottom of my heart, I appreciate everything each and every single one of you for helping me have the wedding of my dreams.

I had picked all my vendors banking on perfection, and I received nothing less from all of them. Where to start? I'll go in order of the day....

Fox Hollow Inn- Great
The grounds are really nice. The rooms are all suites (not really necessary for a wedding, but the night before was nice). Not the best in the customer service dept. IMO. The morning of my wedding, my Maid of Honors zipper BROKE on her dress. It was a Sunday, so all dry cleaners were closed. Not their problem, but the front desk barely helped at all. They couldn't send a sewing kit to the room, we had to go to the lobby to get it & that's all they did in that matter. Prior, I was arranging a dinner (not RD) there for Sat. night- small, just for the hotel guests, and they were less than helpful. I wonder if I was a Fox Hollow Bride, I would have received more care? My flowers arrived and they called the other bride first- not knowing who I was? Why would I have a bridal suite? They were really nice though.

Flower Michele Florist- SIMPLY PERFECTION
John Feeney puts his heart and soul into his business and it shows. I've gotten more compliments on my flowers than anything else so far! They were fall colors, arranged perfectly. When the bouquets showed up at the Fox Hollow Inn, the other bride there even said, I wish those were MY flowers! My bouquet ROCKED!!!!! I loved it so much, I never put it down!!! My budget was limited and I couldn't have asked for more!!!! Thank you John- you're the best! I think 2 of our friends are booking you for their upcoming weddings!

My dress- LOVED IT
I had this custom made thinking I would cut corners and save some money. It's a Jim Hjelm knock off w/ different crystals and beading on the front. We have a family friend who makes dresses for a few celebrities and she did me a HUGE favor. If I had to do it again, I wouldn't change a thing. I had a vision of what I wanted my dress to be, and this was IT. I'm a simple person who wanted sexy, yet a sophisticated look. My dress was sooooo ME.

Bridesmaid dresses- Netbride.com
The service was great! Got the dresses 2 weeks prior to the guarantee date! The broken zipper had nothing to do with them (obviously) that was the seamstress taking in her dress too much. I had Bill Ledkoff style #205- loved them.

Mark Kauffman Studios- LOVED MY PHOTOGRAPHER
I'm on pins and needles b/c I get my proofs tonight. I can't wait to see them. Roy and Jackie were my photographers for the day who went above and beyond any expectations I had. I was slightly disappointed in my 'engagement' shoot. I can't call it that, since to me, that's not what I got. Roy took it upon himself to come to me early that day, and stay till the end! I'm sure I'll love every single one of my proofs! I can't wait to share them.

Coachman Limos- OUTSTANDING
First, Claudia is a GEM to work with! She knew exactly who I was every time I called. I had a few changes along the way, and nothing was ever confusing. We had added limos for our out of town guest to bring them to and from our RD. On the way, one of the new cars had broken down. A new car was there within minutes & we were upgraded for our wedding. Not because the car broke down, but b/c she didn't want to take the chance with that car. The limos were brand new 2003, clean- drivers were great, even when asked to throw pedals on the runner b/c I didn't have a flower girl! Highly recommend them for anyone!

The Crest Hollow Country Club- PHENOMENAL
What can I say, I couldn't have been in better hands! I didn't care if there was more than one affair going on at the same time. I loved the French Butler style. I can honestly say, I felt like royalty! I had so much & the executed everything better than I could've ever done it myself! I had pictures of DH and I growing up on all the tables of the cocktail hour. I had pumpkins for the name tags, but they had to insert the wires and name tags for me. I had a memory table in the reception. The night was ABSOLUTELY PERFECT! I had a Martini bar the entire night, compliments of the Crest Hollow! What a huge hit that was!!! ( I also knew in advance I was having about 10 no shows from my final head count) I had read time and time again that if the bride and groom are having a fun time, the rest of the party will follow suit. I seriously couldn't have had a better time!

bringing me to:

Spin Around Sound- SPECTACULAR!!!!!!!!!
Tom and gang really know how to get & KEEP the party going!!!! I think one of our friends was ready to have a contract sent on the spot! Never did I have any doubts about anything. They're professional and on top of it!
Here are a few pictures from friends so far....

One moment please, while I work on the rest...