My wedding 9-22-01 (really long)

Our wedding was a wonderful event and except for a few glitches everything was perfect. I was very satisfied with my vendors. We tried to balance budget and quality and I feel like we succeeded. Here are my thoughts: Stay away from Bridalshoes.com (The Next Step store in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn). I wear a 6 ½ wide and thought this would be the place to find shoes. I made a special trip to the store and the clerk acted like she was doing me a favor. They have one pair in 6 ½ wide in the whole store and it was a plain pump. I ended up at Money Savers on Flatbush Avenue and Ave. R in Brooklyn. They are reasonable and had a selection of probably 100 different dyeable styles. I have never seen so many dyeable styles in one place! They were patient with me as I tried on probably 10 styles. They also have dyeable handbags. My shoes locked lovely. I went to Bridal Suite of Huntington for my dress. They were fabulous and never tried to up-sell me. Aida is great and Effie did the alterations. It was a very intricate dress with lots of lace on the bodice so the alterations were difficult – she basically had to redo the bodice to accommodate my bust and she did a flawless job. They have a max. fee for alterations so there were no hidden charges and they were a pleasure to work with. I searched the Internet and all over LI for a bra that had: a low back, with straps, in a 40DDD Several bra shops told me that manufacturers don’t make them in that size and that I would either have to go strapless with a low back thus sacrifice support or go with straps and a high back.... Hogwash! I went to Georgette’s of Hicksville. She helped me and I got the perfect bra. The ceremony and reception were held at Flowerfield in Saint James. There were no hidden fees or overhead charges (like a chef fee or valet fee) so compared to some other facilities in the end it was really only slightly higher or not at all. The standard menu is so complete that we did no menu upgrades. We paid one per person fee and that it. They were very professional. We missed our minimum headcount by 11 and they only charged us for those who attended. They were so professional. I received 4 notes so far from guests saying it was the nicest wedding/setting/food that they had ever been too. The service and food were impeccable. I can not say enough about Flowerfield at its staff including our maitre’d and bridal attendant. The manicured grounds are a dream for the ceremony and photographs. We went through Cruise Control Limo for transportation. We had a 22 person party bus for the ride to Flowerfield. Going home we were supposed to have 2-10 passenger limos but they gave us a 10 passenger and an 18 passenger Escalade. My husband and I ended up taking the 10-passenger limo alone  My in-laws were also picked up in Brooklyn on Friday night and dropped off in Brooklyn on Saturday night. They were so professional and always early and they knew where they were going in Brooklyn and around Hicksville. They were patient with us because we had several schedule changes. I had a great experience with them. Island Classical Ensembles did the ceremony and cocktail hour music. They were wonderful and Jordan was very receptive to my requests since I was meticulous with the music selections. Rhapsody was our band for the reception. They were awesome and tailored the tempo perfectly to the crowd and the food courses. They really came through for us by learning an obscure Jim Brickman song as our wedding song three days before the reception. For photographer/video we used Jardin. We haven’t received our proofs yet but Jake (photographer) his assistant and the videographer were always professional. Jake took so many shots that I’m positive we got our ‘600’ shots worth. I was impressed with our engagement photos and Jake’s perfectionist nature was right up my alley. Rev Joan Schauer was our officiant. Our ceremony was perfect and she did everything we asked. She delivered a wonderful spiritual service. She was very interested in customizing our ceremony and made our day SO special. She really was wonderful. My husband still talks about how wonderful our ceremony was. We used Sugar Magnolias as the florist. Heidi gave us the most beautiful flowers I have ever seen and really worked with us to incorporate our autumn theme in a unique way. The centerpiece’s stayed fresh for 8 days after. My mother-in-law cried when she saw the flowers. We had the rehearsal and dinner in my parent’s back yard. Sebastianos was the caterer and the food was fabulous. It turned out perfectly because we weren’t subject to restaurant hours or service staff. Also, it was more laid back. We had a tent by NY Tent. They too were great. They gave us a light string to light the tent and one light was out so they delivered a second string of lights on Friday before the dinner so we would be satisfied. For the Sunday ‘after’ brunch we used the tent from the rehearsal dinner. The caterer was Handstedt Deli. They don’t deliver on Sundays so we had to pick up food for 50 people at 9AM but the food was great. For registering: Macys was okay. Fortunoff was professional and I would recommend them. Things came undamaged and were sent promptly. My registry was always accurate there. For the honeymoon we used Liberty travel and got a great price. I have heard people say that and also say the exact opposite before about Liberty. We did research and knew what the standard price was so I guess we went in ‘armed’. I couldn’t get a better price on-line or with another travel agent. We flew non-stop on Air Jamaica and stayed at Sandals Halcyon in St. Lucia. Everything was perfect and we could not have picked a better location because it is unspoiled and the island is not developed. For favors we did simple jordan almonds at the reception. I gave personalized votives in the Japanese Maple design as favors at the rehearsal dinner and they were a hit. Look at www.chandlerscandle.com/ for ideas. I ordered ceremony programs from www.paperdirect.com for approx. $100 for 200 programs. I printed the text on my laser printer in colored ink. I was impressed with the quality of the paper and they looked great. People thought I had them done professionally For hotel blocks Holiday Inn Centereach was awful and I could never get anyone to return my calls about my block. I finally canceled it. Econolodge Smithtown was a reasonable economy choice where some guests stayed but the manager would not give me a block there even thought they had rooms for the weekend. Wyndham Windwatch quoted me a very reasonable rate but required all guests to stay both Friday and Saturday night and I had to guarantee 10 rooms with my credit card, no way! Marriott Islandia and Sheraton Smithtown were the hotels of choice. The people that stayed there enjoyed them and their amenities. We used Zeller for tuxedos. It was a disappointment. The guys all wore morning coats. They picked them up at different times and locations and ended up getting neckties with different patterns. Some were stripped and some were paisley. Some of the shirt buttons were broken and my father-in-law had a bow-tie collar instead of a regular collar. My father was supposed to pick up his tux at the Farmingdale store. When my mother called to confirm the store hours on Thursday morning she was told the Farmingdale store didn’t exist. Eventually they got the tux to the Wantagh store but no one called us to apologize. Check the BBB website for every vendor. If you have any questions ask away. I found all of my vendors on theknot.com, liweddings.com or weddingchannel.com. You can see some pictures at: http://communities.msn.com/Huei/photoalbums.msnw

All the best to you & your hubby! I'll see Jordan Sunday! :) *NM*

They make you put in a password to see album :( *NM*

:-(

Sorry about that. I'll put them on a public site when I get a chance.

question about georgette's in hicksville...

what is the phone number and how were they priced??? thanks and congratulations!!

georgette`s in hicksville...

964 S Broadway Hicksville, NY 11801 Across from the old Grumman plant on Rt 107 (S Broadway) 516-433-7207 I think I paid $50 for the longline bra and girdle - it was comparable to other places.

Question about St Lucia

First off, Congratulations!!!! It sounds like you had a perfect day! :) Did you visit the Golf and Spa on St Lucia too? was it too big? Did you feel you had enough to do for a week? Thanks for the info, and continued happiness to you and your new hubby!

ChrissyMac

Yes, there is a shuttle that runs every hour between the two Sandals resorts so you can eat at all the restaurants and spend time at the other pools, spa etc. We prefered the Halcyon enviornment and the staff seemed to cater to us more. It's much more low key. There were times when we were on the beach at the Halcyon and we were the only couple around. There seemed to be alot more loud music and drinking going on at the St Lucia. If you like that it's perfect but we just wanted to relax and spend time together. The accomodations at the Halcyon are different. There are single story bungalows and 2 story buildings. You can walk around the whole resort in about 10 minutes. The St Lucia is much bigger and has a shuttle within the resort because alot of rooms are not in walking distance to the pools and restaurants. There is a spa at the Halcyon although they don't advertise it in the literature so we got massages right on the premises. When we ate at the other resort people who were staying at the St Lucia seemed to echo our thoughts that the Halcyon was more intimate and the staff catered more to you there. But both were lovely and it would be a great vacation either way. One thought - Air JAmaica's service/food was great but if you take Air Jamaica 'non stop' you have a 45 minute stop in Barbados. What we didn't know it you have to get off the plan with all your carryon bags. Then the ride from the airport to either Sandals is 1 1/2 hours. If you fly American Airlines you have to switch in San Juan but that airport is only 10 minutes from either Sandals. It retrospec we should have taken American Airlines. It would have taken the same amount of time and we would have avoided that long drive on the windy mountain roads.

ChrissyMac

Sounds wonderful! Thanks for all the helpful info...I can't wait to book it! Enjoy married life! :0)

FYI - Got my proofs today!!

I just picked up my proofs from Jake at Jardin photography and I was overwhelmed. We did get approx 600 shots and there are so many good ones. I'm not sure how I will pick 50 for the album. He did a mix of candid and posed and a mix of color and b/w. I really was stunned at how good they came out. I can't wait to see our video after he edits it.

FYI - Got my proofs today!!

Sound like you were very pleased with your photographer. Who are they and where are they located? Can you please give me an idea of how much it cost and do they give ~600 proofs per wedding or does that depend on the type of package?

Jardin - Jake

I used Jake from Jardin. He is the principal photographer and works out of his home - 516-937-0100 He tailors packages to your needs but I found his prices lower than most. We paid $4500 for: a photographer and assistant 600 shots a 50 picture leather album 100 thank you cards 20 copies of pictures in various sizes a videographer video editing 3 copies of the video Good luck!

My wedding 9-22-01 (really long):Rhapsody

Andrea- Congrats! I was wondering if you could tell me a little more about Rhapsody. I am planning my wedding for next year. I live in San Diego and our wedding will be on LI. I found Rhapsody's info. on this website and everyone said they were great. I called and the price was great too. My mom and bro-in-law went to check them out and said they were great! Can you tell me what you liked about them and what made you pick them. Who else did you see? Thanks so much!!! Dee

My wedding 9-22-01 (really long):Rhapsody

Hi. I saw them at a friends wedding at Giorgio's in Baiting Hollow and loved them. The price was right also!! I did go to a showcase and saw Phoenix at the same showcase as Rhapsody but frankly didn't like their energy or sound...too loud for me and they didn't look like they were enjoying themselves. We did see a video for 'Full House' and they were pretty good but about twice the price. I didn't see other bands because I've been to so many weddings, seen SO MANY wedding bands. For whatever reason Rhapsody just stood out for me, regardless of price, but it was nice that they were reasonable too. Whatever you choose, good luck.