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
