10/29/06 - Our Wedding (Duet, Dalsimer, Heart and Soul, Temple Avodah and more). Some non-pro pics added.

I was not a big poster on LIW’s, but did browse the site all the time. Many of my DIY’s came from the site, including my guestbook, slipper basket, and photo box. I also found my photographer, band, and where to get a veil on this site. I also found support when others moaned about bridesmaid drama, wedding nightmares and many of the other stressors that only brides could fully appreciate.

The reviews were very helpful as I looked for vendors, which is why I wanted to give back. I hope this review provides others with assistance as they start planning their wedding. I tried to be as thorough as possible and if anyone has any questions, please feel free to contact me.

I’ll begin with the major venders – all of whom were amazing.

Band: Heart and Soul, Franklin Wayne (A++++) – We booked Heart and Soul from the recommendations on LIW and from a friend’s cousin. We did not have the opportunity to hear them because most of the showcases were out in Suffolk County and we reside in Brooklyn. We did watch a DVD. I was worried because they were the only vender that I did not have any face to face contact with prior to the wedding. In fact, as we were taking our pre-wedding pictures, my only momentary worry was – will the band show up (they did call to confirm – I just didn’t have a face to look for in the crowd)?? They did show up and not only were they incredible, they exceeded all expectations. I continue to hear from friends and family that they could not believe how amazing the band was. We requested that they read the dance floor and I think they really did an incredible job. My only issue is that I didn’t have any contact with the band before the day of to discuss a few details. The bridal party was not introduced at the party because the band didn’t have anyone’s name – oh well. (If there are things that are important to you – just communicate with the band – that was my error). Overall – they made the party. We danced all night – slow songs, fast songs, old songs, new songs, they even did the Monster Mash during dinner because it was close to Halloween – they rocked!

Photographer and Video: Duet (Alberto and company – I blocked on the other names sorry!). Before and during: (A+++) / Proofs: (?) (Haven’t seen the final proofs or the video). We looked at several photographers in various price ranges and found that Duet offered all that we wanted in one package for a reasonable price – formal pictures, photojournalism, video, etc. We had our e-pics with Alberto and found his approach to be gentle and warm. We enjoyed the experience of taking the e-pics and were thrilled with the proofs when they came in. Friends couldn’t believe the pictures. Going into the wedding – I wasn’t concerned. I knew that Alberto’s presence felt right and we loved his work from the e-pics. On the day of, four people showed up including Alberto. They were not intrusive, and were consistently respectful and helpful. They went out of their way to take every photo on my list, until finally I decided I could no longer smile and told them to not worry about the list. Alberto still pursued some of the requested pictures (the ones without me), which I appreciated. Overall, I enjoyed working with all of them and gave each of them a hug at the end of the night (they probably thought I was insane!), but I really appreciated their hard work. I have no doubt that the proofs will be great.

Florist: Dalsimer – (B+) - The flowers were amazing. They could not have been more beautiful. They were whites, ivory, and champagne – everything looked beautiful. The chuppah, the centerpieces, the entrance piece, the bouquets – each and every flower arrangement they did ‘wowed’ the crowd. We were able to break apart the centerpieces and give everyone flowers to take home (thanks to the caterer and Dalsimer). I loved the idea of high and low centerpieces, which created a different look for the room. We decided to use Dalsimer because of their experience working with Temple Avodah. We met with two other florists before Dalsimer, although Dalsimer’s was the most expensive, they offered everything we wanted (reusing centerpieces during the ceremony and reception and breaking up the centerpieces at the end of the party). The day we went in to pick the final arrangements – I was not thrilled by the color palate. David suggested the variation on whites and quickly rearranged a centerpiece, which was very helpful and I loved the new colors. My complaints: the issue with how tipping was handled felt irritating. In my opinion, you tip if you would like to tip because you are satisfied with the services provided. Tipping should be optional and at the discretion of the customer. It also felt like a pressured sale. My advice – be very clear about how much you want to spend and be very clear about your ideas on tipping. Regardless of my complaints, Dalsimer did an outstanding job.



Temple Avodah – Kombert Caterers (A++++) Let me start by saying, if you ever thought about a temple wedding, please check out Temple Avodah – they know how to throw a party. Initially we wanted an outdoor wedding but once I realized that my anxiety could not handle the unknowns of an outdoor wedding, we started looking at indoor venues. I never thought I wanted a temple wedding, but once we began going to temples I realized that it was important for me to be married in a temple. My husband was not thrilled with the idea and with each temple; he became less and less enthused. Luckily, when we went to see Temple Avodah, it was in the middle of major reconstruction. I say luckily, because each of us that visited Avodah that day under the dangling light fixtures and exposed wires were able to create our own vision and fantasy of what it would actually look like upon completion. It seemed silly that after leaving, we knew this was the place. We were familiar with the food and service at Avodah because my sister had her Bat Mitzvah there several years before but we truly had no idea what the final product would look like. Every few months we would stop back and walk around. Nothing prepared us for the final product – the place is beautiful! There are too many things to say about Avodah, so I will bullet some of the things that I found amazing. My words will never do this place justice, all I can say is, hope that you’re invited to an affair at Avodah and then you will understand.
•The food – the quantity, the quality, the attention to detail, the flavors – basically everything about the food exceeded all expectations. The cocktail hour featured a vodka bar, with the vodka poured in frozen orange and lemon peel “cups”, delicious! There was an endless amount of food, which I think friends and family would more easily recount. There was a mashed potato bar, a pasta bar, a cold bar with caviar, etc. The entrees were delicious; they pass around extra servings of the entrees and vegetables. The dessert was out of this world. We had cheesecake lollipops, Haagen-Daz bars, frozen fruit bars, funnel cake, halvah, warm pretzels, egg creams, chocolate covered strawberries, and much more. One friend stated, “when you thought all of the fireworks were over, there were more”.



•The maitre’d Linda. She always had a drink for me – water, soda, wine, etc. She actually cut my meat for me at the cocktail hour so that I could eat and schmooze with ease. She made sure I ate. She magically appeared when someone handed me a card and secured all of the cards in the catering office (I made a card box but Linda was even more efficient than the card box). She helped with my crazy complicated bustle. She was always there providing any little bit of assistance, it made such a difference.
•Kenny Kombert – the caterer was also amazing. One of my guests mentioned that when one of the lines at the cocktail hour had one too many people, Kenny was there serving food. My husband had a coughing fit moments before going down the aisle, Kenny shouted for water. He was a pleasure to work with, very straight-forward and direct. He allowed us to have the Temple the entire day and it never felt like we were being pushed out. Between Linda, Kenny and the other Avodah/ Kombert staff, I truly felt like a princess.
•All and all – the service. When we arrived in the morning we were given a walkie-talkie to call for anything we needed. Within moments we had rolls, cold water and hot coffee. Another friend mentioned that she went to the bar to get a drink and a staff member wouldn’t allow her to carry the drink back to her table. They packed up samples of the food for us to take home, which we devoured the next day.
•I almost forget to add that the price was reasonable.

Rabbi Uri Goren from Temple Avodah (A+++) – We met with Rabbi Goren two times before the wedding. We were both nervous going into the first meeting because we are not affiliated with a temple. After our first meeting with Rabbi Goren I felt like we skipped out of the office. He made us feel accepted and he brought romance and enthusiasm to the experience. My husband’s favorite part of the wedding was the service. The Rabbi’s words touched both of us, which I had not anticipated (I figured I would be in a daze). We received endless comments on the Rabbi. Several people commented that they would join the Temple if they lived closer to have him as their Rabbi. My husband and I felt similarly.

Lilletes: (A++)/ Alterations: (B) Lydia was amazing! I had no idea what I wanted and was very sensitive to feeling pushed into anything. Lydia found beautiful dresses that fit my body and gave me the look I wanted for the wedding. After my first experience we had narrowed the search down to a few dresses. She recommended that I shop around and then come back to see the dresses, which was very helpful because again I did not like feeling pushed into buying anything. After a few weeks or maybe months, I went back and was able to comfortably make a decision. The entire experience felt almost magical, as I had hoped it would. Let me add that I went to Macy’s in Manhasset, the Bridal Salon in Manhasset and Kleinfelds. Kleinfelds was too overwhelming for me and Macy’s in Manhasset was not the experience I was hoping for. I would definitely recommend the Bridal Salon, but for me Lillete’s had a better feeling (I’m not a fancy gal!). The alteration experience was great but on the day of the wedding there were several problems. The dress was definitely a bit too long and I found doing the hora was a serious challenge. The bustle was also VERY complicated and needed many attempts to get right. In retrospect, if you have a difficult bustle, make sure that the person responsible does it themselves after being shown. We just watched while the bustle was being done but on the day of – we couldn’t find the buttons and other things.

Bridesmaid Dresses - David's Bridal (B-) I thought the dresses were beautiful but they need to work on their costumer service.

Veil and headpiece: (A++) Baron’s at Tri-County – I thought they were wonderful. I was assisted by almost everyone there between my multiple visits and they were always patient and accommodating. The veil was beautiful, simple and affordable. They even shined the headpiece for me when I picked up the veil.

Tuxedos – Men’s Warehouse . No complaints. There were some errors, so definitely pick things up a few days before the wedding if possible.

Shoes: (A) Pamela’s shoes in Merrick – They were very sweet! I knew what I wanted when I walked in (the shoes with the knot that everyone raves about because they are so comfortable). My shoes were not very comfortable because it was a 3” heel, which is a difficult adjustment for someone who wears flats most of the time. The women in the shop were excited to hear about my wedding and knew all about Temple Avodah. Overall the experience was brief but fun.

Insolia – (A) High heel inserts. Sure the dance instructor laughed that it was a placebo effect, but I really think these made a difference. I started wearing my wedding shoes during our dance lessons and thought that they were a little uncomfortable. I added these inserts and felt much better (although after many hours of taking pictures before the wedding… not so comfortable anymore). www.insolia.com

Dance Instructions – (A+++) http://www.biljonsdance.com/. We started with a package of six lessons about 3 months before the wedding. We loved the lessons so much that we continued until the wedding. This was actually my favorite part of the wedding planning because it is something that we will have for a lifetime. Richard Jones was our instructor and he always greeted us with a big smile and great ideas. He does not teach a routine but several moves that allow you to dance to any song. He gave us an entrance and an exit for our first dance and lots of different moves. We did foxtrot and swing – which was fun! Richard was great and I highly recommend him. The classes were given in a studio on 54th and Broadway. There were other people in the studio during our lesson, but that allowed us to feel comfortable with others on the dance floor.

Our dance moves

http://www.liweddings.com/mywedding/album/i/99222.jpg

Invitations and Beyond in Oceanside: (A-) We ordered our invites six months before the wedding which coincided with my brother being hospitalized (please see favors for more details). They were pleasant, responsive and helpful. I have two complaints. One was that we did not realize that the vellum was not attached to the actual invitation, it was just a cover. This was hard to tell from the book. Perhaps if there was less going on at the time, we might have thought to ask more questions – but we were surprised to see that when the invites arrived. Also, many of the vellum covers were messed up. This was the company’s error and not Invitations and Beyond. There were enough vellum covers that were good, so we didn’t even bring back the ones with errors back. All in all, everyone that I dealt with was friendly and always helpful. I would definitely recommend using them!

Wedding Bands: Mine was custom made. I’m not sure I would recommend the jeweler but the ring is beautiful. My now husband’s ring was from bluenile.com. That’s a great site. The first ring was too big and he exchanged it for a smaller size. The ring is great and he loves it!

BM Gifts: I bought everyone bracelets from Fortunoff’s, the saleswoman was very helpful. For the junior bridesmaid’s I picked up bracelets from bluenile, they loved them. I also made everyone chocolate chip cookies that I put in customized jars that I bought at Ikea. I printed the labels from myownlabels.com and they were beautiful.

Groomsmen Gifts: My husband bought them personalized robes from Lands End. They were very plush. He bought his best man an IPOD Shuffle that was engraved.

Favors: Six months before the wedding my brother was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. It was a very scary and upsetting time for my entire family. This changed his life and has had an impact on my entire family. We felt the most appropriate favor was a donation to the American Heart Association. They were easy to deal with and let you donate any amount (they recommend donating what you would have spent on favors). They sent me personalized scrolls that I had to roll up and tie with a ribbon. We both felt good about starting our marriage with an act of giving and especially giving to a cause that has impacted my family and now I can say - our family.

Slipper Basket: mysisterusa.com. I called a month before the wedding and the slippers arrived the following day. My fiancé, now husband, called me because he was confused that we received 72 Kung-Fu slippers in the mail. It was very funny! I ordered a case of 72, all black. I ordered wine size organza bags from papermart.com – they arrived without a problem. I printed the size and a little saying “to keep you dancing all night long” on business cards from staples that matched the programs I purchased there as well.

Programs – I bought tri-fold paper from Staples and printed them myself. Wonderfully easy and cheap! We were very creative with our programs. In addition to the Jewish traditions, we wrote a little saying about each member of the bridal party. Such as: Debbie, friend of the bride. She lived with the bride for four years and they were frequently mistaken for twins. We also put a little Bride and Groom timeline – writing funny things about our relationship.

Yarmulkes – Oy vey, is all I can say. We ordered these from yarmulkas.com. We were not thrilled by our yarmulkes, which may have been our fault for ordering the paisley design. The order came without an invoice and did not include the clips we ordered. We had a very bizarre experience with their customer service when we called to complain. As the yarmulkes were customized, it was understandable that there was nothing they could do, but they were very rude and inappropriate. I would recommend not ordering on-line if you’re getting anything different, such as a paisley design. It would have been helpful to see a sample.

Yarmulka

1800ketubah.com: We love our ketubah! It was not exactly what we thought (we didn’t realize it was mounted on white) but it’s beautiful and different, which we love!

Registries – BB&B - great, love the return policy and most people have the coupons to buy your gifts – so it’s great for everyone. I actually switched my china from Fortunoff’s to BB&B because of the 20% off coupon that everyone gets in the mail (FYI – they don’t really expire; you can still use them after the expiration date). Fortunoff’s – my dream was to register there, seemed like a rite of passage – sadly, it wasn’t so great. Specifically, I thought the website was terrible and if they don’t have it in stock it could take 10 weeks. I also received broken china, went to return it and then had to go someplace else to pick up – just annoying. Crate and Barrel – no complaints. If I could do it again – I would do everything at BB&B (cash – for those ugly things that you didn’t ask for but family thought you might like). One more shout out for BB&B – they let you return things, no questions asked. I hated the vacuum we picked but I was worried that we had used it. I prepared my “I hate this vacuum” speech but all I needed to say was I don’t like it – they were willing to take my used (and very crummy) vacuum back, no questions asked.

Expedia.com – Yup, no travel agent, just expedia.com. We researched sandals, Hawaii, Greece, cruises, and Italy and than we saw pictures of Nevis on someone’s review on LIW’s and thought it looked beautiful. The first hotel that came up on Expedia for Nevis was the Montpellier Plantation Inn (www.montpeliernevis.com). We looked it up on tripadvisor.com (our favorite travel site) and were shocked that Montpelier was the number one place on the island, even better than the four seasons! The hotel had everything we wanted – complete relaxation, no thinking, seclusion, a beach, a pool and most importantly good food. We really couldn’t believe our luck finding Montpelier. I would write a full review but just check tripadvisor.com, those reviews are very accurate. Our review is on there as well, it’s titled, “Honeymoon Bliss”.

Wedding Website: My brother Kevin made a website that helped link my registries, hotel information and allowed us and others to post pictures. He is an amazing web designer, www.chasetheweb.net. I would be more than happy to share the web address, just send me an e-mail.

My wedding day felt magical and I didn’t want it to end and I wish the same for all brides. Enjoy the experience!

I am having trouble adding pictures because the files are too large - pictures to be added as soon as I figure out how... Still waiting for pro-pics.

Centerpieces
http://www.liweddings.com/mywedding/album/i/98915.jpg
Chuppah Flowers Walking down the aisle

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Re: 10/29/06 - Our Wedding (Duet, Dalsimer, Heart and Soul, Temple Avodah and more). Some non-pro pics added.

You looked beautiful. I love the detail review and the flowers. Congrats.

Re: 10/29/06 - Our Wedding (Duet, Dalsimer, Heart and Soul, Temple Avodah and more). Some non-pro pics added.

Congrats.. You looked so beautiful. Great review

Re: 10/29/06 - Our Wedding (Duet, Dalsimer, Heart and Soul, Temple Avodah and more). Some non-pro pics added.

You look so beautiful. I love your centerpiece.

Congrats!!!

Re: 10/29/06 - Our Wedding (Duet, Dalsimer, Heart and Soul, Temple Avodah and more). Some non-pro pics added.

It is so great to see another happy Avodah bride. I told you you would have an amazing day!!! Congratulations!

Re: 10/29/06 - Our Wedding (Duet, Dalsimer, Heart and Soul, Temple Avodah and more). Some non-pro pics added.

congrats

Re: 10/29/06 - Our Wedding (Duet, Dalsimer, Heart and Soul, Temple Avodah and more). Some non-pro pics added.

If I could do it over again, I would definitely still return to Avodah. Everything was incredible - I wish i had more pictures to share.

Re: 10/29/06 - Our Wedding (Duet, Dalsimer, Heart and Soul, Temple Avodah and more). Some non-pro pics added.

Mazel Tov!!! I'm going to a wedding at Temple Avodah in September. Based on your review, I can't wait!!!

Re: 10/29/06 - Our Wedding (Duet, Dalsimer, Heart and Soul, Temple Avodah and more). Some non-pro pics added.

mazel tov! you look beautiful in your dress.

Re: 10/29/06 - Our Wedding (Duet, Dalsimer, Heart and Soul, Temple Avodah and more). Some non-pro pics added.

congrats!!!

Re: 10/29/06 - Our Wedding (Duet, Dalsimer, Heart and Soul, Temple Avodah and more). Some non-pro pics added.

Congratulations! You looked beautiful. Glad to hear you had such a great day.

Re: 10/29/06 - Our Wedding (Duet, Dalsimer, Heart and Soul, Temple Avodah and more). Some non-pro pics added.

We're picking up the proofs next Tuesday - so hopefully I will be able to post them!

Re: 10/29/06 - Our Wedding (Duet, Dalsimer, Heart and Soul, Temple Avodah and more). Some non-pro pics added.

you looked beautiful!! thanx for the review! loved your registry vaccum story!

Re: 10/29/06 - Our Wedding (Duet, Dalsimer, Heart and Soul, Temple Avodah and more). Some non-pro pics added.

Mazel tov! You look so beautiful. I really love your centerpieces. so gorgeous!

Re: 10/29/06 - Our Wedding (Duet, Dalsimer, Heart and Soul, Temple Avodah and more). Some non-pro pics added.

Re: 10/29/06 - Our Wedding (Duet, Dalsimer, Heart and Soul, Temple Avodah and more). Some non-pro pics added.

I wish you both all the best. Congrats

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