7-27-07- My MORE COMPLETE (PRO PICTURES ADDED) Wedding Review- Fox Hollow, Rev. Nick, Cactus Salon, FM Entertainment, Golden Moments (video and photo), Scotto Bros. Florist

I am getting there... I have added Pro pictures now. I got sooooo many proofs and sooo many good pictures that I can't post them all.

There are some non-pro pictures at the bottom of the page. The pictures in the review are pro pictures. If all the pictures don't load, I have all of them in my album.
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What can I say about my wedding? In my mind it was absolutely perfect because I married my best friend. Everything else about that day was just icing.

My most important piece of advice for you guys is to… relax and enjoy the day. Everything goes by way too fast and in the end you remember bits and pieces. My wedding was a little over a month ago and every time I see a guest I remember something else new about the day.

LIW and the posters Thank you for the support and advice. I was lucky enough to have a couple of friends who were already married, and they gave me a lot of advice. But it was this board that allowed me to bounce ideas, get ideas and realize how crazy I was sometimes. Thank you everyone.

Fox Hollow and the Inn at Fox Hollow (Ceremony and Reception)
A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Oh, my gosh, completely amazing. We originally chose to do the wedding at Fox Hollow because I fell in love with the Winter Garden Pavilion and then they gave us the best deal of all the places we looked at. I am so happy that we went with them. They far exceeded any of my expectations. From the planning stage, they were always on top of things, and letting me know when I needed to do things. All the employees were very helpful, and I don’t know how many times I went back with a different family member or friend to show them the place. Each time some member of the staff was very willing to help us out.

On the day of the wedding they were more amazing. Karen was my Maitre’d and Megan was my bridal attendant. I believe that my day ran so smoothly because of the two lovely ladies. I know that the bridal attendant is suppose to be there for you, but Megan and Karen went beyond my expectiations. They met me less than 5 minutes after I got to the Inn at Fox Hollow. At that point they had already met with my photographer and videographer and had checked in with everything else too. The bridal party and I had arrived back at the Inn at 2:30 and Karen and Megan were ready to go. Megan was so sweet and took care of everyone in the bridal party. She was running back and forth between the Inn and the catering hall carrying all our random junk, and still always asked if we needed anything else. At one point I broke the flower that was in my hair and she quickly ran over to Fox Hollow and got me a brand new one. She must be Superwoman because she was back before I even knew she was gone! For the rest of the evening she took care of everything, making sure we had food, drinks and everything else we needed. She even got us q-tips, extra hair spray, I mean everything. I could keep gushing about her, but I think it would take up the entire review. Karen was also awesome keeping the night running smoothly, and always adjusting the schedule based on random things that DH and I needed. She looked like she had everything under control and she never broke a sweat. She took care of everything and could anticipate anything we needed and even some things we didn’t know we needed. They even got me the outdoor ceremony that I really wanted!

Fox Hollow itself was amazing. The ceremony was gorgeous (the location, the flowers) It was as beautiful as usual and the food was amazing. Every one we spoke to after the wedding gushed about the food and how amazing it was. We also got compliments on how great the service was. I think most of my guest ended up tipping the waiters and bartenders extra because they thought the staff was so awesome!
The Inn was beautiful, and we actually took a good number of pictures on the grounds of the Inn. The room was clean and beautiful. I reserved the regular one bedroom (vs. the honeymoon suite). The main difference between the two seems to be decorations. The honeymoon suite has crystal lamps and italian silk hangings. They surprised us with a rose and some champagne in the room. My bridal party and I got read in the room, which was spacious enough for us. The room also has a full kitchen, not that we used it.

Reverend Nick Montaninio
A+
One of my biggest surprises. Honestly, I didn’t really expect much from our officiate. It wasn’t because of him, I just didn’t expect to be amazed by any officiate. He and his wife were great! We booked Rev. Nick because he was a recommended vendor from Fox Hollow. Also, the PWP told us that he performed the Scotto Bros. personal functions, so I figured that was a pretty strong recommendation. He was very easy to work with, didn’t require us to do any “jumping through hoops” type of thing. He advised us on the ceremony, and followed our wishes for a short but sweet ceremony. Our guests loved Rev. Nick. We got a lot of compliments on Rev. Nick, because he was “entertaining” without making it into a show. I think he hit it perfectly, funny and lively but there was still the special-ness of it being a wedding. I would recommend him to everyone.

Burton’s Bridal
Bridal Gown and Bridesmaids dresses
A
My friend used Burton’s for her wedding and I thought things went very well then, so I used them too. I got a Demetrious wedding gown. Everyone else was trying to charge me $400 more than Burton’s did. Everyone else also told me that I was going to have to rush the order (I was ordering in late December for my late July wedding). Carol was great, got me the dress in plenty of time and for a better price. The alterations weren’t expensive, and the seamstress came up with the prettiest bustle for my dress. My dress had a top layer of embroidered organza. She ended up tucking the under layers (the crinoline, and satin) up and under the gown and then had the top layer of organza come up on the outside of the gown. So it looked like a light layer for my bustle and looked like a cloud.
They were also accommodating. I had some problems with my long line bra, so I had to go try the dress on with a new bra at a last minute moment. They squeezed me in to their busy schedule just so I could make sure the bra wasn’t popping out.

My bridesmaids seemed fine with Burton’s. They too got their dresses for less than others were asking, and had their alterations capped. I will say that I’ve heard other brides and bridesmaids complain about Burton’s. Sometimes the staff can be a little abrupt and aren’t into the cheesy “wedding voice-y super smileiness” that some bridal stores are into, but I could live without the cheese. And they usually are just telling the truth and are straight about things.


My Cheong Sam (Qi pao) - Eastern Helen the Flushing Mall
I had my Chinese gown custom made in flushing. She took my measurements and sent them to China. There it was handmade and sent back to NY. Originally the factory had messed up and sent the wrong dress. Helen did an amazing job in getting me my real gown as quickly as possible. This is not the best picture but you can see the whole dress.


FM Entertainment
B+
They did a great job and they were a great price. They did all the music for my ceremony, cocktail hour and reception. We had Mike and I was originally a little apprehensive. I read a ton of reviews about FM Entertainment but they were all about Frank. I had nothing to worry about. Mike did a great job and everyone was up dancing. He played a great mix of music and even our older family members were up and dancing. DH and I had gone to a showcase and saw Mike there and felt comfortable with him as our DJ but he was better than we expected. The only thing DH wasn’t happy about was that we requested Classical music during our Cocktail Hour and got jazz instead. This wasn’t bad but not what we wanted.

Golden Moments- Photography and Videography.
Save the date Video, E-shoot and Wedding
A++++
I can only comment on what I’ve seen so far, but I know I will be extremely happy with the final products. Dan and Pat are great guys. From the beginning they were very laid back and easy to be around. DH hates taking pictures and I really wanted to make sure that both of us were comfortable with the photographer and videographer.
Price was also important. Dan and Pat worked with me to get the package that I wanted and had the most competitive prices for the work I wanted. I do have to say that I decided not to go with a 'bigger' studio (which might have meant cheaper prices) for a couple of reasons. The bigger places I went to gave me a bad vibe, and I really didn't like that I didn't get to meet with a specific photographer. After all, you spend so much time with the video and photo people during the day that you really don't want to get someone annoying. I knew once I met with Golden Moments that we would get along well. Plus the fact that one of my friends had used Pat for her wedding video, and another close friend had booked Dan for his wedding---so two highly trustworthy recommendations from them. So I knew they would be easy to work with. In addition with the bigger studios you never know whos work they are showing you and if you are getting their ace photographer or their junkie guy. Not to trash all big studios, I just felt that way about the studios I met with...
Dan and Pat came up with an idea for a video save the date for us and it came out awesome. I wanted something that was a little different and something that others hadn’t seen before. We did the video while we did our e-shoot. The photos came out gorgeous. When you see the pictures, it is even more amazing because we took them in the middle of January--not exactly pretty picture time! We got so many compliments on the STD video...my guests really felt it was something memorable. It gave our guest some background on us. Even our closest friends hadn't heard all the stories in detail (like who mad the first move on who). And for those family members that lived far away or hadn't seen us for a while it brought them up to date about who we were.

Here is the link to our Video Save the Date.
SAVE THE DATE VIDEO

Here the Actual STD cards that we sent out- We had two. One more conservative for older family

and one a little younger




Here is the link to our E-shoot photos-
E-shoot photos

I picked up our raw footage for the video the other day and I got to see some of my photos. Oh my, what a tease…the few that I saw were amazing. I can’t wait for the rest. My friends loved Dan and Pat too. Everyone thought they were very easy to work with and even on the dance floor they weren’t intrusive.
What also made me choose Dan and Pat was that they were willing to do shots that were a little different. I wanted some traditional shots, but some things that were different. They can handle both. They both worked for a big studio before so they know how to do all the traditional stuff, but it was their other shots that really got me. And I loved that still seem excited and passionate about their work.


Bonniebelle Garter
A
I ordered it online through eBay. The seller was Bonibelle Garters. I got a Mets garter to surprise DH. It came very quickly and was really pretty. It was a great price and I had absoulutely no problems with it.


Cactus Salon- Syossett- hair dresser
B
My friend used Vera for her wedding, and I started using Vera as my hair dresser. So naturally I used Vera for my wedding. I wanted something classic looking, but just a little different. She did an up-do that was medium height, and it was all curled or twisted. It came out beautiful. A few weeks before the wedding Vera called to say that she couldn’t do my hair anymore but arranged for another hair dresser at the salon to do it. Everything worked out fine, and my hair came out more beautiful than I expected.

Cactus Salon- Syossett- makeup by Louisa She did an awesome job. I had my makeup airbrushed since it was so hot and humid, and I needed my make-up to not run on my wedding day. She also did individual false eyelashes which made my eyes pop. I wanted to keep them on forever.

Florist- Scotto Bros. Florist
A for the flowers, B for the service
In the end they did a great job and all the flowers were beautiful. I went to a number of florist with what I wanted (basic calla lilies in a vase for my centerpieces) and Scotto Bros gave me the best price. Richard was very accommodating with my requests. For example Fox Hollow provides ceremony flowers but all in white. I asked the florist to put in some color because I didn’t want all white flowers and without any question he changed the flowers to have some color.
The process of getting the flowers was aggravating. Richard is a very nice and sweet guy but just a little forgetful. He is very flexible with brides and their decision making. But he was the vendor that gave me the most problems. But I was lucky and didn’t have any problems with any of my other vendors so he had a lot to live up to. Either way, the flowers were absolutely beautiful and better than I expected. I would still recommend them to anyone because Richard was so accomadating and the flower were so pretty.
**my throw bouquet was actually a break away fortune bouquet. Richard wrapped individual flowers with ribbon. I then added a ribbon with a fortune on it. I didn't want to single out single women so the DJ invited every female on to the dance floor and I did the bouquet toss. I made the fortunes possible for a single women and for women in relationships. I colored one ribbon differently and that was the flower that indicated who would do the garter. It also allowed me to discreetly ask the girl if she wanted to do the garter toss. I got this idea from a post on this site and it was originally a Martha Stewart idea.

You kind of can see how the bouquet seperated in this picture.



Wedding Favors
Wrap with Us
They did a great job with our favors. We got “LOVE” coffee mugs through them. We went to the store and took a look at all their favors (they have a ton) and chose the mug. The best thing about the place is that you can pick up your favors at the store as opposed to having to pay for shipping.. I saved a ton on shipping. I had found one website that had the mugs for cheaper, but than shipping was almost $200. So we went with Wrap with Us. They arrived quickly and were beautiful.



Bridal Party Presents
I got the ladies in my bridal party a jewelry box, a piece of jewelry from Macy’s, and some bath products. My aunt knitted a wrap for each of them. I also got personalized flasks for each girl. The flasks were wrapped in blue leather, (the blue leather matched their blue dresses) and each had a “name” plate on it. I loved the flasks! They were beautiful. I put it all in a bag that I personalized with their initials.


The Groomsmen all got hats, gift certificates, personalized boxer shorts, and personalized money clips. I made the boxer shorts by buying regular black boxer shorts and “spray painting” the butt with a stencil. They said “Best Man”, “Groomsman” and of course hubby’s said “Groom”

Our Sign in Sheet My cousin was in China and brought back a traditional Chinese sign in silk sheet. I was lucky enough that he designed it himself and had it made. Here's a picture of it...


Wedding Invites- Perfect Wedding Planner

DIY-
Programs,
Petal Cones (my Matron of Honor made them),
Votive Candle Holders Placecards - I put a picture from our engagement shoot on the vellum papaer and wrapped it around a pedestal like votive holder. I used tea lights in them, I wish that I had used regular sized votives. They catering hall had a little bit of a problem lighting some of the tea lights...


Honeymoon- St. Lucia Sandals Regency A+++++
It was my honeymoon what else can I say?


Here are the pictures!

Re: 7-27-07- My Incomplete Wedding Review- Fox Hollow, Rev. Nick, Cactus Salon, FM Entertainment, Golden Moments (video and photo), Scotto Bros. Florist

I am soo psyched about your review!!! I am getting married at fox hollow in august, using FM, and meeting with rev. nick tomorrow night. I am so glad you had such a postive experience with all of them!!!

Re: 7-27-07- My Incomplete Wedding Review- Fox Hollow, Rev. Nick, Cactus Salon, FM Entertainment, Golden Moments (video and photo), Scotto Bros. Florist

congrats to you and ur new husband! Thanks for the great review! Im looking forward to seeing pictures!!!

ETA: Your dress is stunning!

Re: 7-27-07- My Incomplete Wedding Review- Fox Hollow, Rev. Nick, Cactus Salon, FM Entertainment, Golden Moments (video and photo), Scotto Bros. Florist

Great review! Reading it makes me so excited to work with Dan and Pat. I'm dying to see your pics!

Re: 7-27-07- My Incomplete Wedding Review- Fox Hollow, Rev. Nick, Cactus Salon, FM Entertainment, Golden Moments (video and photo), Scotto Bros. Florist

I am so excited that you have this up! Yippee. My favorite comment is that 'you could live without the cheese'.

Can't wait to see your pics!!!!!!!!!!! You looked gorgeous though so I'm sure they're beautiful!

Re: 7-27-07- My Incomplete Wedding Review- Fox Hollow, Rev. Nick, Cactus Salon, FM Entertainment, Golden Moments (video and photo), Scotto Bros. Florist

congrats. thanks for your review!

Re: 7-27-07- My Incomplete Wedding Review- Fox Hollow, Rev. Nick, Cactus Salon, FM Entertainment, Golden Moments (video and photo), Scotto Bros. Florist

Re: 7-27-07- My Incomplete Wedding Review- Fox Hollow, Rev. Nick, Cactus Salon, FM Entertainment, Golden Moments (video and photo), Scotto Bros. Florist

thanks for the review!! i am also getting married by rev. nick. and i was so happy to read that you loved him!!! and ill be at fox hollow also!! congrats to you !!

Re: 7-27-07- My Incomplete Wedding Review- Fox Hollow, Rev. Nick, Cactus Salon, FM Entertainment, Golden Moments (video and photo), Scotto Bros. Florist

Some photos from my friends and family. I picked up my pictures from Golden Moments last night. I will upload them later this week.

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Re: 7-27-07- My Incomplete Wedding Review- Fox Hollow, Rev. Nick, Cactus Salon, FM Entertainment, Golden Moments (video and photo), Scotto Bros. Florist

Our first sighting picture




And with the cake that Fox Hollow provided and that Richard decorated.

Re: 7-27-07- My Incomplete Wedding Review- Fox Hollow, Rev. Nick, Cactus Salon, FM Entertainment, Golden Moments (video and photo), Scotto Bros. Florist

bump for the addition of PRO- Pictures.

Re: 7-27-07- My MORE COMPLETE (PRO PICTURES ADDED) Wedding Review- Fox Hollow, Rev. Nick, Cactus Salon, FM Entertainment, Golden Moments (video and photo), Scotto Bros. Florist

Wow..great review!! Your wedding had so many beautiful touches..I love the sign-in silk, and both of your dresses were beautiful!! You looked beautiful, and so happy!! Congratulations!

Re: 7-27-07- My MORE COMPLETE (PRO PICTURES ADDED) Wedding Review- Fox Hollow, Rev. Nick, Cactus Salon, FM Entertainment, Golden Moments (video and photo), Scotto Bros. Florist

Beautiful! Thanks for the review. I'm getting married at The Fox Hollow next year.

Re: 7-27-07- My MORE COMPLETE (PRO PICTURES ADDED) Wedding Review- Fox Hollow, Rev. Nick, Cactus Salon, FM Entertainment, Golden Moments (video and photo), Scotto Bros. Florist

I love your pictures and everything looked so pretty!!! Congrats and thanks for sharing!

Re: 7-27-07- My MORE COMPLETE (PRO PICTURES ADDED) Wedding Review- Fox Hollow, Rev. Nick, Cactus Salon, FM Entertainment, Golden Moments (video and photo), Scotto Bros. Florist

Congratulations! Everything was so beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

Re: 7-27-07- My MORE COMPLETE (PRO PICTURES ADDED) Wedding Review- Fox Hollow, Rev. Nick, Cactus Salon, FM Entertainment, Golden Moments (video and photo), Scotto Bros. Florist

GREAT review! I LOOOVED your dress and the pictures of you and your hubby on the staircase were fabulous shots. Really unique. Many congrats!

Re: 7-27-07- My MORE COMPLETE (PRO PICTURES ADDED) Wedding Review- Fox Hollow, Rev. Nick, Cactus Salon, FM Entertainment, Golden Moments (video and photo), Scotto Bros. Florist

Great review, beautiful pictures!

Re: 7-27-07- My MORE COMPLETE (PRO PICTURES ADDED) Wedding Review- Fox Hollow, Rev. Nick, Cactus Salon, FM Entertainment, Golden Moments (video and photo), Scotto Bros. Florist

Great review.. you looked beautiful..

i also in the WGP! the room looks beautiful..

love the votive placecards too...


congratulations !!

Re: 7-27-07- My MORE COMPLETE (PRO PICTURES ADDED) Wedding Review- Fox Hollow, Rev. Nick, Cactus Salon, FM Entertainment, Golden Moments (video and photo), Scotto Bros. Florist

congrats! you look GORGEOUS!!!!!

Re: 7-27-07- My MORE COMPLETE (PRO PICTURES ADDED) Wedding Review- Fox Hollow, Rev. Nick, Cactus Salon, FM Entertainment, Golden Moments (video and photo), Scotto Bros. Florist

i love the cultural aspect!