***We did it! We're Married! My 3/28 wedding review...

Hi Ladies! First of all, thank you to everyone who has made this such a great planning experience. I have gotten so many ideas and most importantly support from these boards. I'm so glad to have found them and all of you.

We were very lucky. Not only did we have gorgeous weather, but we had fabulous vendors and really nothing went wrong all day! Everyone is still saying how outrageous it was.

So onto the good stuff....


Ceremony and Reception
Land's End A+

I can't possibly say enough about Land's End. From the first day we spoke with them to the minute we walked out the door after the reception everyone was accomodating, thoughtful and genuine. I never felt like we were just another wedding to them. The food is everything people have said and more. Our one regret is that we didn't get to eat anything at the cocktail hour!! Each course was delicious. And the cake took my breath away. It was exactly the picture I gave them and it tasted so good!

We dealt with Jennifer in sales who always made me feel important. Even when I called to ask her if they had Cherry Coke for my sister, she didn't make me feel silly. She immediately offered to go out and buy some.

Marietta was my amazing maitre' d. My dh and I never wanted for anything. Our drinks were always fresh and cold even when we were away for awhile. She was right there when I needed to get up or sit down. She really covered every base and kept everything running smoothly. I never had to think of anything.

Roberta was our bridal attendant. We had a ceremony rehearsal the night before and she walked us through every little detail. Nothing was missed. One of my bridesmaids even said to me --'She just called me by name!' She really took care of me, my girls and my dh. Without her, I don't know if I would've been bustled!

I really don't think the wedding could've been everything I wanted without Land's End.


DJ
LI Sound A+
We dealt with Chris at LI Sound. He is fantastic. He listened to everything we wanted and more importantly, everything we didn't want. I was kind of picky and he did everything I wanted from the processional to the last dance. Even our guests commented on how good the DJ was -- not intrusive but really kept the party going. The music really fit us and the party. I heard people say more than once 'Great song!' Our dance floor was never empty. And he even got people up who don't dance! I'm so glad we found them.

We also had a piano player from their establishment play our cocktail hour. It was kind of a whirlwind but I remember it being a nice background and added something to the atmosphere.

congrats! Im glad to hear you had such a wonderful day

Florist
Flower Michele A+

All I have to say here is OH MY GOD!! John is fabulous. The flowers were an absolute dream. I can't believe what an awesome job he did. I brought him pictures and ideas and he completely brought them to life and then some. I cried when I saw my bouquet it was so perfect! The girls bouquets, centerpieces and other arrangements were breathtaking. I can't even think of enough adjectives. My MIL had a gorgeous nosegay of cream roses that are still alive and perfect. Everyone was talking about the beautiful roses we had. And John was so great to work with. He's easy going, creative -- he listened to me and my ideas and really made me feel so comfortable. I never had any doubts in him at all.

Ceremony Officiant
Judge Ohlig A+

Judge Ohlig actually married my mother and stepfather 2 ½ years ago so it was nice to have him marry us. He’s a very sweet and professional man. He walked us through everything and made sure we knew what we were doing. He offered us 9 different ceremonies that we could use or manipulate however we wanted. We also included our own two reading and we wrote our own vows that we repeated.

Bridal Gown and Bridemaid’s Dresses
Park Avenue Bridal B-/C+

This salon is in New Jersey so I doubt anyone will being going there. But just for reference. Their salespeople are wonderful – helpful, sweet and knowledgable. That’s where the good review ends. The front desk staff are not very nice and the seamstress I dealt with and the one my sister dealt with were rude and did not do a good job. It took four fittings to finally fit the bust area on my dress correctly and the hem. She kept yelling at me for losing weight. In one week how can you lose so much weight that you need to take in 2 inches? In the end it did fit perfectly, but it did take quite a bit.

Also, they lost the shawl that came with my dress. It was there for my first fitting but then it was missing on the third. When I asked about it, they told me the dress didn’t come with a shawl. Then once convinced that I had seen it and it did come with a shawl, they called me at home to say that the seamstress said I took it home. What?! In the end, I had it and it was perfect so all’s well that ends well.

Headpiece and Veil
Patchogue Floral Fantasyland A

I wanted something simple for both the tiara and the veil. The tiara was rhinestones and pearls and a headband shape that I wore like a u on my head. Simple and just what I wanted. I borrowed an elbow length veil from my sister that I wore all night. But I also wanted a long, chapel length one for the ceremony and pictures. We found exactly that and it was really inexpensive.

YEAH congrats mrs. suz!!! best wishes to you and your hubby!

Tuxedoes
Roger’s Tuxedoes A+

I really can’t say much personally about them since I wasn’t involved. But DH had a good experience with them. DH says the sales staff is very nice and worked with him on what he wanted. We bought the guys nice shirts to wear so they gave us a discount since we weren’t renting them. And when DH went to pick up his, the jacket was too big. They tailored it and had it done and perfect for him in two hours. He was really pleased with that.


Invitations
Favorite Things A+

Rebecca is an absolute doll to work with. We went to her with a definite idea of what we wanted and she made that come to life. We found a similar invitation and she made it work. She really worked with us and the company to make the invitation, wording and even the spacing exactly what we wanted. And she is so nice and gets excited with you over the little things. I really enjoyed working with her.


Makeup
Merle Norman A+

Helen did my makeup for the wedding. She is very professional and knows what she is doing. I completely trusted her and felt comfortable telling her when I didn’t like something. She didn’t make me feel like I was insulting her. I went for two trials. One of which was the day before the wedding. She didn’t mind at all and I even changed one thing the day of and she just went with it. She even applied a few fake eyelashes for me that came out great. Their price is much more reasonable then the other makeup artists I looked at.

Bridemaids’ Gifts
Carrie Mader Jewelry A+

I found Carrie from weddingchannel.com. Her work is beautiful. I wanted something personal and unique and she made gorgeous bracelets for my girls. Once I have a picture I will post it. I told her the stones I liked and what I was looking for and she worked with me to develop the bracelet I wanted. They came out perfect. I highly recommend her for unique hand made jewelry.

I also got the girls little red leather wallets by Maxx and silver jewelry boxes from Fortunoff. Don’t need to review them. J

We bought the guys monogrammed shirts to wear from Brooks Brothers. They worked out very well. The staff was very nice.

I think that’s it for now. Once I see my pics and video I’ll post on them.

Thanks ladies!!

I'm working on shrinking a couple of flower pics to show. I'll be back.

Congratulations! What a wonderful day!!

(Lands End and Flower Michele - sounds like my wedding all over again )

Congrats. Glad you had such a wonderful day

Hooray! Congratulations!

Here's our centerpiece doubling as an aisle decoration. They also sprinkled red rose petals all over the runner.

Congratulations !!!!

LisaT -- You are the one who inspired me to go see John. And thank god you did!!! How great is he??

Here is our dais towards the end of the night with the bouquets on it.

(Sorry its a bit fuzzy.)

And here are the bouquets earlier that day.

congrats!! so glad you had an awesome day!!