Review of Kings Point, Town and Country Florists, Dan Wagner Photography and Sound Explosion DJ's
My husband and I got married last June and I have been meaning to give some rave reviews to all of the vendors who made our wedding so great but am just getting around to it now! First and foremost, if there is anyone out there who is planning a wedding in the Long Island area and has any connection to the US Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, you HAVE to have your wedding there. We couldn't have been happier. There is chapel right on the grounds and it is beautiful and newly renovated. It is also situated right on the Long Island sound! It has a rotating altar and can accommodate several religions. The chapel staff was very easy to work with and very laid back. We were able to communicate mostly via phone. They were fine with us bringing in our own priest and were happy to coordinate with him as well. What makes this location so nice is that once the guests are there, they are there! The chapel is about 400 feet from Melville Hall, the reception area. We were able to walk from our ceremony to the cocktail hour, which was outside. The outdoor space is beautiful- there is a new canopy and lots of green. It overlooks the Long Island sound and has breathtaking views of Manhattan and all of the bridges. They keep a bar outside during the reception as well so that people can flow between inside and out. The hall, while not huge, was spacious enough to accommodate our 185 guests and lots of dancing! IT is all glass and looks out again onto the water and Manhattan. Richard Stancotti has been running the hall for 30 years and he is truly a pro. If he tells you you will have a spectacular wedding, he can guarantee it. He promised me no rain and a sunset and I got both! He is very easy to work with, requires few meetings, and is incredibly reliable. You will not find a better deal in terms of pricing anywhere else on Long Island or in the NY/NJ area. The food is out of this world. He knows how to set up the cocktail hour just right so that there is enough to tempt their palets, but it isn't overwhelming. He even accommodated my husband's last minute request to have a Groom's cake in the shape of the Rolling Stones Lips! He knows this business and knows how to coordinate everything to make your day perfect.
Besides the actual location/food, we decided we wanted to put our money into the music and photos and we weren't willing to pay a lot for flowers. We got lucky in all three areas. My brother in law is a DJ and recommended Sound Explosion DJ's to us (they are based on Staten Island but are willing to travel). They did a tremendous job. They were very reasonably priced, were easy to work with, were willing to play all of our requests and also threw in some of their own that they knew would keep everyone dancing. They brought a 2 man team and one of them, much to our delight, was a dancer who led us all in some dances and then started a break dancing contest where he spun on his head! Everyone danced the whole night and at the end, everyone wanted to know where we found them!! We still get friends calling for their info. to use for their own weddings. We went with Town and Country Florists because Kings Point recommended them as someone they worked well with. Robert at Town and Country could not have made it any easier for us. We knew nothing about flowers, and didn't want to spend a lot of money or time on them. We called once and he was willing to give quotes right over the phone which no one else would do. We booked him for the date and then didn't have to go back until about 4 months prior to the wedding to pick out the flowers. I told him my colors and what we sort of wanted (soft flowers, nothing too lavish, and nothing that was too big for the tables). He put some bouquets and centerpieces together, and was easily willing to remove things to lower the prices for us. He brought the flowers first to my hotel room for my approval, then took some to the church, some to the reception hall and some to the groom/groomsmen. They were all beautiful and just what we wanted. We had family members take home centerpieces at the end of the night and they said that even a week later they were all still beautiful.
In searching for a photographer I first met with a few of the bigger chains that have several photographers workinf for them but I wasn't comfortable not meeting them until the day of. And they seemed to be focused on the unimportant things, like how much makeup I should wear, as opposed to what was important to us, which was capturing all of our friends and family throughout the day. I found Dan Wagner Photography online and he was convenient for me as he had an office in Manhattan and one on Long Island. Living in Manhattan, it was an easy subway ride to go and meet him. He has a nice sized studio downtown and I met him there one afternoon. His young son was there too and we hit it off because I am a teacher and we talked about school. Dan showed me some of his work and I explained to him what we were looking for. While we certainly wanted photos of the two of us, we also wanted photos of everyone, lots of candids, family shots, etc. My mom, who rarely gave her two cents, insisted that we get someone who was not intrusive. She said she had been to too many weddings where the photographer is always in your face. Dan gave me a variety of packages to choose from and I found one in our budget. He was willing to communicate throughout the year via email and was always very accommodating. He gave suggestions and ideas but always with our best interests in mind. We sent him a list of shots we wanted to have taken ahead of time so that he made sure we got them. The morning of the wedding I changed where I wanted my pre-wedding photos taken and he had no problems with that. He was very accommodating to my dad who himself insisted on taking about 500 pictures! He always let him get the shots too. Throughout the day I didn't really even know Dan was there. A few times he pulled us aside to suggest a shot (like at sunset) and he was always willing to go take any photo we wanted. My husband and I left for our honey moon a few days after the wedding. When we checked our email at the hotel, the photos were already online. When we got home, the proofs came in the mail along with a CD of all of the photos. I placed my first photo order with him a few weeks later and it came back in a few days. One thing I really liked about him was that his reprints were very inexpensive, and I knew I'd be making a lot. When we had the list of photos ready for our albums, they were done within days.
We still get compliments on the photos.
If anyone would like more information on any of our vendors, please feel free to respond to this posting. We couldn't have been happier with our wedding, and compared to a lot of what we saw, it was very affordable.
Besides the actual location/food, we decided we wanted to put our money into the music and photos and we weren't willing to pay a lot for flowers. We got lucky in all three areas. My brother in law is a DJ and recommended Sound Explosion DJ's to us (they are based on Staten Island but are willing to travel). They did a tremendous job. They were very reasonably priced, were easy to work with, were willing to play all of our requests and also threw in some of their own that they knew would keep everyone dancing. They brought a 2 man team and one of them, much to our delight, was a dancer who led us all in some dances and then started a break dancing contest where he spun on his head! Everyone danced the whole night and at the end, everyone wanted to know where we found them!! We still get friends calling for their info. to use for their own weddings. We went with Town and Country Florists because Kings Point recommended them as someone they worked well with. Robert at Town and Country could not have made it any easier for us. We knew nothing about flowers, and didn't want to spend a lot of money or time on them. We called once and he was willing to give quotes right over the phone which no one else would do. We booked him for the date and then didn't have to go back until about 4 months prior to the wedding to pick out the flowers. I told him my colors and what we sort of wanted (soft flowers, nothing too lavish, and nothing that was too big for the tables). He put some bouquets and centerpieces together, and was easily willing to remove things to lower the prices for us. He brought the flowers first to my hotel room for my approval, then took some to the church, some to the reception hall and some to the groom/groomsmen. They were all beautiful and just what we wanted. We had family members take home centerpieces at the end of the night and they said that even a week later they were all still beautiful.
In searching for a photographer I first met with a few of the bigger chains that have several photographers workinf for them but I wasn't comfortable not meeting them until the day of. And they seemed to be focused on the unimportant things, like how much makeup I should wear, as opposed to what was important to us, which was capturing all of our friends and family throughout the day. I found Dan Wagner Photography online and he was convenient for me as he had an office in Manhattan and one on Long Island. Living in Manhattan, it was an easy subway ride to go and meet him. He has a nice sized studio downtown and I met him there one afternoon. His young son was there too and we hit it off because I am a teacher and we talked about school. Dan showed me some of his work and I explained to him what we were looking for. While we certainly wanted photos of the two of us, we also wanted photos of everyone, lots of candids, family shots, etc. My mom, who rarely gave her two cents, insisted that we get someone who was not intrusive. She said she had been to too many weddings where the photographer is always in your face. Dan gave me a variety of packages to choose from and I found one in our budget. He was willing to communicate throughout the year via email and was always very accommodating. He gave suggestions and ideas but always with our best interests in mind. We sent him a list of shots we wanted to have taken ahead of time so that he made sure we got them. The morning of the wedding I changed where I wanted my pre-wedding photos taken and he had no problems with that. He was very accommodating to my dad who himself insisted on taking about 500 pictures! He always let him get the shots too. Throughout the day I didn't really even know Dan was there. A few times he pulled us aside to suggest a shot (like at sunset) and he was always willing to go take any photo we wanted. My husband and I left for our honey moon a few days after the wedding. When we checked our email at the hotel, the photos were already online. When we got home, the proofs came in the mail along with a CD of all of the photos. I placed my first photo order with him a few weeks later and it came back in a few days. One thing I really liked about him was that his reprints were very inexpensive, and I knew I'd be making a lot. When we had the list of photos ready for our albums, they were done within days.
We still get compliments on the photos.
If anyone would like more information on any of our vendors, please feel free to respond to this posting. We couldn't have been happier with our wedding, and compared to a lot of what we saw, it was very affordable.
