Hi ladies! DH and I are back from our mini-moon and I couldn't leave my LIW ladies hanging too long. The wedding was absolutely wonderful, way too short, and very emotional, but we wouldn't have had it any other way. I only have some amateur photos so far, so I'm going to put the link to them at the bottom of my review.
You'd think after reading a bazillion of these I'd know where to start...let's see...
Dress: David's Bridal, Paramus, NJ: A-
I ordered my dress from them after finding it in Texas while visiting my sister. I literally walked in, told them I wanted to order the dress, and walked out. They said the dress would take 10-12 weeks, but it came in after 4. When the dress came in, they said I had to pick it up within 10 days. Since they're closed on Sundays, my parents and DH's mom had to run out there immediately on the Saturday it came in, and it turns out we didn't need to rush. It was badly wrinkled when I got it and there was some stitching that needed to be redone, which should never be the case on a brand new dress. I wound up leaving it with them to clean, press, and fix up any loose stitches. I left it there for another 2 months and there were no problems after that, but I wasn't thrilled about the few small issues I had. Other than that, the dress was perfect.
Alterations: Fashions by Vidalia: A-
Considering she had only a few weeks to work on the dress, she really came through for me. We had some communication issues at one point and the week before the wedding, she was supposed to have my final fitting with me and I wound up having my first major bridezilla moment because 1) she lied about getting a phone call from me and then got caught in it, and 2) my dress was not ready yet and she completely forgot what day my wedding was. All in all, there was a misunderstanding on both of our ends, so I won't really fault her too much for that. The alterations were perfect and she wasn't ridiculously expensive.
Shoes: Sandy's Shoes: A
They have a fairly good selection and it only took 2 weeks for them to dye my shoes. My only complaint was that you could see the dye on the bottom of the shoe and it didn't match perfectly to the huge swatch I gave them, but they were comfortable and I wore them ALL day with no stockings and my feet were none the worse for it.
Tuxes: Dante's Tuxedo in Westbury: A+
DH got his tux there as did my father. My FIL and BIL got their vests and ties there, but since FIL lives in Florida, BIL just ordered the same size as him and it didn't fit. Luckily, FIL carried his own with him since he owns his own tux, and it wasn't a problem.
Hair: The Hair Genie (Jenn): A+
Jenn's work was wonderful! She did both my hair and my sister's hair and she got them both perfect! My sister's hair she did off the cuff, having no idea what my sister looked like beforehand or what she was going to do. My hair lasted all day (except for one small little bit that I couldn't keep up once I started dancing) and came out exactly the way I wanted it. She's also a ton of fun and really helped me to feel at ease. I trusted her implicitly and knew that she was going to make my hair look amazing. Anyone else using her has nothing to worry about!
Makeup: Makeup by Oksana: A+
Another truly amazing vendor! Oksana knows makeup and knows what will make you look and feel like a princess. The way she kept looking at me when she would step back to check how my makeup was coming out almost made me cry. She made both my sister and me look better than we've ever looked and also put me at ease. Between her and Jenn, I was laughing the entire morning and felt like I was just being pampered. She also stopped downstairs to tell DH that I was one of the most beautiful brides she's ever worked on, which, whether she was just blowing smoke up my a$$ or not, was an incredibly sweet thing to do. Another vendor that I would not hesitate to reccommend to anyone!
Photo and Video: Glenmar: TBD
We changed our plans with Glenmar at least 3 times before finalizing everything and they were amazingly easy to work with. We had Tom as our photographer and my only complaint was that he called everyone 'Friend.' I mean, EVERYONE. At one point he said, 'Friend, get in closer next to the bride,' but he was talking to my mother!
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I haven't seen pics yet, but he was really helpful and a pleasant person to have around.
I have no clue who the videographer was. We only had video of the ceremony and a little beforehand, and I never got his name, since the only time I saw him was once we started taking pics and whatnot and it was crazy. He also left without saying goodbye, so DH and I never got to tip him or thank him or find out any info about when we could get a copy of the video. I'll let you all know how everything comes out when we get the pics and video.
Flowers: Flowers by Mom: A++++
What can I say? My mother, for all her motherly faults, is an absolutely amazing human being. Despite the fact that her own mother is dying and her youngest daughter was getting married, she insisted on doing all of the flowers for my wedding. Not only did she make all the personal flowers and all the centerpieces, she and my father built my chuppah and worked themselves to the bone the days before my wedding and that morning. The flowers all came out beautifully and all the guests got to take home smaller versions of the centerpieces for themselves. My mother used to be a professional florist and her work hasn't suffered in the 15 or so years that she's been out of the business. A friend of hers helped out as well and they really made the wedding colorful and beautiful. It was so much more special having flowers made by my mother than any other florist and I knew I was only getting the best.
Officiant: Rabbi Paul Kushner: A+
Rabbi Kushner is a lovely, personable, funny, warm rabbi and he made our ceremony just perfect. Since my grandmother couldn't be there physically, and since we moved the wedding to the date it was because she was supposed to be here visiting, it was really important that she be part of the ceremony and feel like she was there. We set up a conference phone right under the chuppah at the table and she was able to hear the entire ceremony as if she was there, and the Rabbi made a wonderful statement about it and allowed her to feel like she had a front row seat. It was great to be married in our religious tradition and to have a person like him marry us.
DJ: Music by Michael: A+
Michael is a class act through and through. He really worked with us through everything and made himself available to do our wedding after we changed the date. He was concerned about us, personally, and was always in great contact with me about everything. I never once had any doubts about him and his abilities. Since we had such a small wedding, I was concerned that people wouldn't dance or the music would be too loud, etc., but Michael made sure that everything went perfectly. He asked beforehand if there were certain things I wanted played and I told him only if needed to get people moving, and when he felt it was necessary, he played those things. He was dancing behind the booth and having a good time as well, which was really important. He made his presence known to DH and me when he needed to go from one room to another in order to provide music for us, but was very much in the background and not in any way intrusive. He simply added to our wedding and helped make it feel like a wedding should feel. He did nothing to detract from 'our' day and just elevated everything to a better level. And he's one of the most gracious and kind people I've had the pleasure of knowing.
Reception: Garden City Hotel: A-/B+
This is a difficult one for me. We booked the GCH a month and a half before the wedding. They worked with us on a lot of things, but there were some things that bothered me a great deal and actually made me unhappy on my wedding day. They knew that my mother was doing the flowers and went out of their way every time I met with them to tell me that they were giving her zero help and were treating her no different than any other florist. I was also told that she was crazy for doing the flowers AND being the mother of the bride, and while I agree that she had a lot on her plate, it was in poor taste for them to mention that to me...more than once.
They did go out of their way to help make the day special for my guests and my guests never saw any of the stress that DH and I saw, but there was very little direction from the Maitre 'D on a lot of things and they really treated DH and I rather shabbily for what we were paying them, even though it was a small affair. DH had to actually leave our wedding to check into our room for the night, even though I had a room the night before and told them to just use my credit card on file. They refused and actually forced DH to leave in the middle of the wedding to check in.
They were super generous and extended our open bar from just the cocktail hour to the entire day, but gave me hell about putting leftover fruit from the cocktail hour, which we paid for and which there was a ton leftover, on the tables with dessert for our guests, some of whom are diabetic. All I asked was for 4 plates of fruit to be put out (one for each table) and they refused and said they would only do it if an individual requested it. Come on...it's fruit...it's leftover...and it's paid for. It was, in my opinion, petty of them to give me crap about it when I asked for it.
So, although my guests would never have known that there were any problems and they all were blown away by the food and the decor, my DH and I were actually made to feel stressed and backed into a corner about certain things at our own wedding. The hotel is beautiful and for the most part everything was wonderful. We received a free suite for the night of the wedding and loved it. I'm sure if things were done a little less rushed on our part and if we had more people there (read: paid a lot more money), there would have been less grief for us, but overall, it was the most wonderful day of my life and I can't be happier.
Mini-moon: Cape Cod: A-
We stayed at the Daniel Webster Inn in Sandwich and give them an A. It was a great place and we loved our room, but were disappointed by Cape Cod on the whole. I think we were both expecting a little more of something. It was almost deserted, which we didn't expect this time of year, and the weather was sort of blah the last two days, but we desperately needed to get away and just unwind a little and this was a great place to do it.
OK, if I forgot anything, please let me know. I never realized how much work goes into writing a review and I'm sure I've forgotten to mention something I wanted to mention or should have. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask me.
Edited: Try cutting and pasting these links...sorry it didn't work with a web link from LIW.
http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=r1fsohx.3fjdqvx5&x=0&y=-hlpc8o
http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=r1fsohx.bbul1mqx&x=0&y=-xq198g
http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=r1fsohx.ak4vsdbd&x=0&y=-hxcxtm
