My 1/3/04 Wedding Review (Now with a few pictures from guests)

Well we're back from our HM and totally freezing! We had 80 - 85 degree weather for the past 10 days and have not yet adjusted to the cold.

The wedding went SOOOOOO fast.I still can't believe its over. All the hard work was completely worth it. People really do notice the little details. My mom has gotten so many calls from people telling her what a wonderful day it was. So many of our guests were convinced I had a wedding planner put the whole thing together and were shocked when I told them my DH and I did it ourselves. Looking back I wish I had a wedding planner I whould have saved my a lot of headaches (will save for a subsequent post)

On to the reviews... (I'm going to give each review a score out of 10)

Mother Nature: (10 out of 10)
The weather was great. When I woke up (at 5:00 AM (UGH) and ran out to get bagels and juice it was lightly raining but by the time we left for the church it had stopped raining and was in the mid 40's. Not to bad for January! It was a bit overcast but compared to how it could have been (snow, sleet, ice, bitter cold... I'm not going to complain)

Christ the King Church in Commack: (8 out of 10)
The ceremony went beautifully (but Soooo fast) We had a ceremony only, not a full mass. Father Sean was great. Kept both Matt and I calm and smiling through the whole thing.
But...
I guess the church's cleaning staff isn't that great because after the ceremony was over and we went into the minister's room to wait for the guest to leave the church I looked down at my trainand the hem of my dress and they were FILTHY. Full of dust, dirt and lots of other gross stuff. At that point there really wasn't anything I could do but it really annoyed me.

Kevin Connolly - Bag Piper: (10 out of 10) We hired Mr. Connolly to play before and after the ceremony. He was fantastic. The pipes really added that special touch to the morning.

Joyce Reardon - Flutist: (10 out of 10)
Fantastic musician. We hired her last minute for the cermony and I am glad we did. I walked down the aisle to Canon in D and the flute sounded wonderful.

congrats!!! Cant wait to hear more

reviews continued...

All Star Limo: (10 out of 10)
Arrived early. Cars were clean and sparkling. Drivers were really helpful at the church bringing in the rose petals, programs, etc. They were practically my bodyguards as one driver blocked me from view while the other fixed my veil and train before I walked down the aisle. HM transportation worked fine also. Will continue to use them in the future.

Kim from Cactus Dix Hills - Hair: (10 out of 10)
Kim's been cutting my hair for little of two years now. She came with a co-worker and they did my hair, 3 BMs and my mom. All looked great and stayed all night (I took me FOREVER to take my updo down at the end of the night). They were both a blast and kept everyone laughing and calm all morning.
TIP: If you plan to wear your veil all night like I did, don't bother with an elaborate hairdo. Noone will see it and it will take forever to take down at the end of the day. Go for a simple but elegant bun or french twist.

Jacqueline Nicole - Makeup (10 out of 10)
What can be said that hasn't already been said about this artist. She came early, was ready to go when she said she would and everyone's makeup looked perfect. I got the airbrushing and my makeup looked as fresh at the end of the night as it did when she first applied it. All I needed was to freshen up the lipstick.
TIP: Go for the airbrush. It's a bit more expensive but totally worth it.

Flower Michele - Florist (10 out of 10)
Flowers were beautiful as I expected from hearing all the raves about John's work on this board. I loved my bouquet and the BMs bouquets (except for how they were tied - I should have shown him a picture of what I wanted and the FG headband was made with baby's breath instead of red roses as I thought it would be - but I guess I did not specify so that's my fault) John really played up my rose theme by sprinkling red roses petals EVERYWHERE...even in the ladies bathrooms. He's a gem!

Music by Michael - DJ (10 out of 10)
Played all of out requests, none of our do not play songs and kept the party rolling. He's a pro!
TIP: If you want your guests to dance, get your butt on the dance floor. We were so busy going around to tables greeting of guests that we didn't get to dance much and I think that kept a lot of people from going out onto the dance floor. If we had gotten the party going people would have followed our leading more.

continued....

Bridal Suite of Bay Shore - Wedding Gown: (7 out of 10)

Good select and service when buying your dress OK after they've already gotten your money. OK prices but I probably could have done better online.
But...
When I went to pick up the gown the Monday before the wedding I looked at it to make sure it was ok and I found a red spot on it. When I showed it to the sales clerk she said: 'Don't worry, you can hardly see it' Huh? I wasn't leaving there with a spot on my wedding gown. So they took it in the back to see if they could get it out and when they bought it back out the spot was stilll there! Again I said I could still see it and I wasn't taking it unless it was gone, One half-hour later! they finally got it out. All in all I was ok with my dress but looking back I wouldn't have gone stapless.
Tip: Beware of dresses with a lot of beading on the bodice especially around the arm area. The insides of my arms were RAW at the end of the night from rubbing on the beads on the sides of the bodice.

Burton's Bridal - BM Gowns: (7 out of 10)

Similar review to the one above but they problem with Burton's was with the alterations. When we bought the dresses they failed to mention that they closed down the last two weeks of December and that all laterations would have to be down before then. Of course that wouldn't have been bad if they weren't telling me this in NOVEMBER and also that most of the fitting apointments in November were already taken! One of my BMs was coming in from NYC and this last minute rushing for appointments must have been a pain for her. Luckily it worked out but not without giving me some headaches.

VIP - Photography: (? out of 10)
Have not seen any proofs yet so I'll hold this till later.

Wild Rose - Video: (? out of 10)
Same as above but I'm sure it will be great. (A little worried about not that many people dancing and having a video with an empty dance florr but we'll wait and see....not that Wild Rose could have done anything about that!)

VIP Tuxes - Tux (8 out of 10)
Tuxes looked great. the only problem was with my Dad's tux at the Roosevelt Field store. Not the best service and the jacket sleeves were too long. My Dad's a former marine so he set them straight real fast and everything worked out in the end.

Brennan's in Hauppauge - Rehersal Dinner (9 out of 10)
Great food and service. We had the Celtic room in the back to ourselves. It was still too noisy from the bar in the front and some guests didn't like that.

Island Shores Travel - Honeymoon (10 out of 10) Jan got us a great rate at Sandals Grande St. Lucian and steered us to the best places to eat. Glad we found her. She's a doll!

The Estate at East Wind - Reception (10+ out of 10)
Absolutely fantastic. We got so many compliments on our choice for the reception. I wish I could have seen the cocktail hour because people raved about the food! The staff was so accomidating and helpful and I am so glad we picked East Wind. I wouldn't have changed a thing!

Sandals Grande St. Lucian - Honeymoon - (10+ out of 10)

OK...I want to go back! It was absolutely gorgeous. Great weather, beautiful beaches, fantastic food. All-inclusive is th only way to go. No hassles to money everything you want a drink or something to eat. Much better than the cruise we took last year. I can't wait to try some of the other Sandals resorts.

All was not perfect....a few things did go wrong (bridal jewelry not being delivered on time, being late to the church, dress too tight, drunk, psycho guy on HM airplane but I'll save that for another day!)

congratulations!!!

Congrats! Thank you for such a great review with tips !

Can't wait to see your pictures.

Congratulations and welcome back!

Thanks for a great review!

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Posted by kidlibny

TIP: If you want your guests to dance, get your butt on the dance floor. We were so busy going around to tables greeting of guests that we didn't get to dance much and I think that kept a lot of people from going out onto the dance floor. If we had gotten the party going people would have followed our leading more.

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soooo true!

Congrats!!!! I can't wait for pics!!!

can't wait to see the pics!!! congrats!