BCM2009's August Royalton Wedding, Code Bleu, M*I*A, Royalty Limos, Stefans, and MORE

I know everyone says this but its so crazy that I’m doing my review already! I really can’t believe after all that planning my wedding is already over! It was a great great day and I was really lucky with everything. I wasn’t a huge poster, but I really appreciated the reviews so I wanted to pay the favor forward ;) All of my pics here are not professional. It's way to complicated trying to get those pics off the site to post!

Shower – CrabTree’s Floral Park, NY - 10
I really had no part in planning my shower. This place was a great find by my mom and sister and they deserve all the credit for the day. They did a Sunday morning brunch. The place was beautiful, the food was great. The best part was that a patio was attached to the room. The day of my shower was one of the only beautiful days in June 2009 and we opened the French doors so people could wonder in and out. We had about 60 people. It was perfect for a nice shower, nothing to crazy or overdone.







Invitations/Programs/Menus – Invitations and Beyond – 10

This place was a great find! I actually just walked in to see what they had one day for invitations. I found exactly what I wanted and they beat the prices of the other two places I was looking at. I was so happy with their service, product and location that I ended up having them do my calligraphy and also my menus and church programs. They always gave me the best deals and they did such a great job. They were willing to communicate via email or phone which I loved b/c I’m much more of an email person.


Hotel Block – Holiday Inn Express Lynbrook/RVC – 6

I picked this place because it was very close to the church and the rehersal dinner. We did not have a lot of OOT guests so it wasn’t a huge deal for my wedding. The hotel was nice, brand new and the customer service at the front desk was average. I never really had a problem with them I just didn’t think they were great. When I was trying to originally block the hotel rooms it was EXTREMELY difficult to get in touch with the person in charge of hotel blocks. Once he gave me his email ( and I didn’t have to rely on him answer my voicemails) communication got better. Overall the whole process was just very unorganized. Toward the end when I was trying to get a list of my guests who had booked I was constantly finding that people were missing from the list. It was a pain but no major disaster.


Coach Bus/Shuttle Bus for Guests – Hampton Jitney – 10

No issues with this company. I picked it because I thought it would be cute to have my OOT guests travel on The Hampton Jitney. Also in my pictures I am glad that a nice green bus is in the background because it looks very pretty. From what I heard the driver was nice and on time. Also they let us leave champagne and glasses on the bus which the guests could then drink while driving from the church to the reception.

Limo – Royalty Limo Franklin Square, NY – 10

For us this company was great. I thought they gave us a fair deal for the Rolls Royce and a 20 person escalade. I changed pick up times and locations a few times and they were with me and helpful every step of the way. On the day of both Limos were early and the drivers were professional and very friendly. I didn’t spend any time in the escalade but my driver was incredibly nice. One of my guests handed me a card literally 5 minutes before I was about to walk down the aisle (she was leaving early and wasn’t going to see me again). I didn’t know what to do with the card and our driver was nice enough to take it for me. I then completely forgot about it…. He was honest enough to find my mother at the cocktail hour and make sure she got the card before leaving for the day. One warning for summer brides: I got a beautiful wedding day for August. It was sunny and 80 degrees. I do not think the airconditioning in the Rolls Royce would have been able to make it on a really hot day. IMO





Florist – Stefan’s – 10
I know there have been mixed reviews on the florists for the Royalton. I had a fabulous experience. I worked with Paul and he totally got my vision right away. He LISTENED to me which is so key, and he gave his opinions too (many of which were great ideas). I really didn’t want a ball of flowers for my centerpieces or any of my bouquets (just my style). I said I wanted asymmetrical centerpieces, for them to be unstructured, and I wanted them to tower over the tables. My sample centerpiece was even better than anything I could have thought of. We pretty much continued like this throughout the entire wedding planning process. I was in love with my flowers, they were great quality, and they too were at the royalton early that day setting up. The non-professional pics really don’t do them justice… but it’s the best I can do for now.









Bridesmaid Dresses – Bridal Reflections Massapequa – 5

I liked this place because they have a TON of dresses… in every style, shape, color you name it. I went with this place because I found the dress that I liked here (Dessy, After Six in color Mocha) and because they gave my girls a discount because we were ordering 7 dresses. I had a few of my girls try on the dress first to give me the OK and the ordering process was easy. All of the girls got fitted. THE BEST THING I DID was I gave them a fake wedding date. I told them my wedding date was a week earlier to be on the safe side. Thank god I did this because alterations at this place were a disaster. I clearly listed that none of my girls dresses should have a train… yet 3 days before my “fake” wedding date one of my girls picked up her dress and it still had the train on it. Another of my Bridesmaids found a hole on the seam of her dress. And a third girls dress simply did not fit. I was lucky because my girls got this all fixed without telling me (they didn’t tell me about the problems until after I got back from my honeymoon). But they said that the customer service was terrible, some of the women were just full out rude, and obviously the alterations did not go well. The good news is that I think everything looked fine the day of and I thought the dresses looked great. Soo… everything was fixed by real wedding date :)



Tuxedos – Men’s Warehouse – 7

This place was exactly like everyone said it was so I was prepared for a complete disaster… and a disaster never really happened. Just a few small things went wrong and that’s about it. Two weeks before the wedding they called my fiancé and told him that one of the groomsmen never got fitted. My fiancé nicely explained that there was no way because he and that groomsman had actually gone together… basically Men’s Warehouse refused to accept responsibility and just keep repeating “well his measurements are not in the system” like a robot. Luckily that groomsman kept his receipt, so he had to show up at the store and clear it up. Annoying for him but atleast things got fixed. Then when the tuxes came in atleast half of them just didn’t fit… and none of these people grew. Again that was fixed it just required a lot of the guys come back a few hours later to pick them up. A hastle for them but actually didn’t affect me at all lol. I thought they looked great. I wanted the classic bow tie tuxedo look and that’s what I got. I would recommend just stay on top of this vendor and just be prepared that there will be some kind of hitch with the tuxedos.



My dress and veil – Kleinfelds – 10

This was another vendor I heard mixed reviews about but I lucked out. I really liked every single person I met there. The girl who showed me dresses was awesome. She listened to me and was not pushy at all. She also stayed within my price range. The veil specialist was very nice and gave me some great ideas on how to bustle. I LOVED the woman who did my alterations. I wanted it tight tight tight and she just said yes ma’am to everything I wanted. The dress looked exactly how I was hoping and the bustle held up all night. This was my favorite store of all the stores I visited mainly because of the huge selection. I hated going to small boutiques and only seeing like 4 dresses I wanted to try on. So for me, this place was perfect.




Bridal Shoes – J.Crew – 10

I got the cutest gold and white shoes from J.Crew that I will totally wear again. I actually wore them to my shower too because I wanted to test them out and see if they would hurt so I could be prepared. They were a little more expensive than my usual shoe but since they are very wear-able again I think it was a good buy. The pictures below is the shoe except the ones I ordered had a white folded strap instead of the pink one you see.

Re: BCM2009's August Royalton Wedding, Code Bleu, M*I*A, Royalty Limos, Stefans, and MORE

Garter – Michael’s Craft Store – 10?? I guess

Bought the garter at Michaels a week before the wedding for $5. Glad I didn’t go all out b/c we did do a garter toss and I haven’t seen it since!

Day of Jewlrey – AdornBrides.com – 10

I decided to rent my jewelry for my wedding instead of buying. We don’t have any expensive family jewelry and for whatever reason I really wanted to wear real jewelry for my wedding. I also wanted to wear diamond chandaleir earrings and I would be crazy to buy those since I would never wear them again. I got earrings worth about 7K and it cost $140. For me it was totally willing to do it. I also rented a very expensive diamond bracelet but I think it looked great too. I was also happy because I went to one of their showcases on Long Island and I got to see all of the jewelry before I rented it so I would be sure to love it.
The jewelry arrived at my house (insured through UPS) two days before the wedding. A box to send it back with and very clear instructions on what to do were also included. Additionally someone from Adornbrides.com called me the day it was supposed to arrive to confirm that I received it and to make sure that I didn’t have any other questions. The day after my wedding, I just sent it back. Everything was prepaid and easy. Sorry these aren’t the best pictures!




Make-up – M**I**A – 10

I loved my makeup for my wedding and it was a long road for us. I went to my trial in February (my wedding was in August) and I loved my makeup so I booked on the spot. July comes along and I was much tanner and much blonder so I decided I wanted another trail before the wedding. At the end of this second trial I was not happy. With the darker skin (lol I am very pale so its all relative) I didn’t think the makeup looked as good. I called M*I*A the next day and explained that I just had too much makeup on. In our conversation we decided I was not a lipstick girl and that I didn’t want my eyebrows colored in at all. I told her I still wanted another (3rd!!!) trial because I was nervous and she very happily scheduled me in. At my third trial we went very light on the makeup and used more white around my eyes to brighten them up. This time I LOVED it and it came out even better on my wedding day. I’m not a big makup girl so I wanted to stay away from browns, purples etc and go natural. M*I*A totally got it and adapted




Card Box – Forthemodernbride.com – 9

I thought the box looked great and a lot of people commented on what a cute idea it was. Basically I got exactly what I was expecting and I was very pleased.



Band – Code Bleu – 9

Code Bleu and I actually had very limited interaction. I sent them my request list and they played most of the songs (not all though). It was OK with me because many people kept coming up to me saying that they loved the band. And the dance floor was packed all night. They even played a VERY new song that I requested that had just come out. Since my wedding a few people have asked me for their name so they could book for their weddings. I thought the band members were a pleasure to work with and I would definitely recommend them. The only reason I give a 9 is b/c they did not play all of the songs I requested (and I only requested 11 songs). Also some vendors completely blew me away that day ( like my makeup, jewelry and florist) so I’m reserving the 10’s for them! But Code Bleu was excellent and everyone loved them.

Photographer – Modern Wedding Photography

I don’t want to give an official rating until I see the final product, my album. Denise was a pleasure to work with. She responded to me quickly, was on time and I liked her a lot. She is a photojournalist which is exactly what I was looking for. She is not in your face all day, and really had the mentality that this is your day to enjoy and she is just there to quietly capture it. One of the things I loved about her was that a link to all of my photos was in my email box the day I got home from my honeymoon. Instant gratification! Also she puts together a cute 2 minute slideshow of the pics from the day which I got to send to all of my friends and relatives. Its so fun to get a quick glimpse of the day in an organized manner without having to shuffle through 800 pictures. Here is the link to my slideshow until in expires in October.

http://www.modernweddingphotography.tv/barbarabrian/


The Royalton – 10!!!

Just like every Royalton bride I was in awe of how professional and perfect the Royalton was the day of my wedding. They are extremely detail oriented and take a real pride in their work. And oh boy does it show! Everyone thought the place was georgous, the food was AMAZING, the ground were beautiful, the waiters were attentive, the bartenders were friendly, just everything was perfect!
From my perspective the bridal attendant went above and beyond. Everytime I turned around she was getting me a drink, bringing me food from cocktail hour, bringing food from the Viennese, fluffing my train, fixed my hair when a piece fell out… really you name it. She never stopped working for me from 11am til midnight. She was cool, funny and I almost felt like she was one of the bridesmaids hanging out. A lot of my guest commented on how attentive the waiters were. Actually this was probably one of the comments I heard most after my wedding. They said everytime they got up their napkins were re-folded. Also the waiters wrote down what everyone was drinking at their table and just made sure to keep it coming. One of my guy friends was drinking Guiness all night and he said at one point his waiter found him on the dancefloor to give him another drink.
Throughout the entire planning process the Royalton was great. I stopped by all the time to show people the place and they never seemed to mind. I found Gerard and Mike T to be very welcoming. It was clear that they were busy, but still happy to have us visit. Even when I started going crazy over details and DH thought I was insane, Gerard acted like my small requests were important. I requested a raspberry be placed in each campagne class for the toast… and sure enough it was done the day of the wedding. They were great. The only small hitch was that my cake wasn’t exactly what I asked for. I requested chocolate cake and got vanilla. I also wanted chocolate frosting with white trimming and I got the reverse. (white frosting and chocolate details). It was a beautiful cake and it tasted really really good. I didn’t make a big deal out of it b/c everything else was sooooo perfect that day and they were doing such an incredible job. They seemed upset when I told the it was wrong (basically b/c they are perfectionists which I love) and I told the it was no big deal because I’m pretty chill… and honestly I was too happy with the day to care.
Anyone considering the Royalton should book b/c you won’t be disappointed!

Re: BCM2009's August Royalton Wedding, Code Bleu, M*I*A, Royalty Limos, Stefans, and MORE

Honeymoon – Athens and Greek Islands (Mykonos & Santorini) – 10!!!!

The Greek islands are even prettier than I ever expected. I have done a fair bit of traveling (Australia, all over Europe, Caribbean etc) and no place is prettier than Santorini. I would recommend going to Santorini last if you are going to a few island because everyone says it is by far the best. Our hotels were the following:

Athens: Periscope Hotel – 8
Brand new hotel and clean. It was a good location in the city. It did not have a pool or gym and the rooms were a bit small. I only spent one night here so it was fine. They included a free breakfast for us.

Mykonos: Kouros Hotel – 10
This hotel was beautiful. The lobby and the pool area was georgous!!! We spoke with a few locals while there and they actually said this was their favorite hotel. A very very good breakfast was provided every morning and the service was excellent. They left us a complementary bottle of wine in honor of our honeymoon. It was a 6 minute walk to the center of town and the view from every room is breathtaking. One huge perk was they offer free internet access to guests in the lobby. I LOVED this b/c I was dying to go on facebook and see everyone’s wedding pics!! We did not get a suite or anything but our room was very nice… nothing crazy. I loved this hotel.






Santorini: Ikies Houses – 10
This place had a totally different feel then our hotel in Mykonos because it was more of a bed and breakfast. They served us breakfast on our patio everyone morning and the views were to die for. We also had a hottub on our private balcony which rocked. The only negative was that the pool at this hotel was on the small side. It was never crowded (and we were there at the end of August which is their busiest time) but if you like to spend your days at the pool this would probably cramp your style a bit. Some didn’t like that they didn’t have a restaurant but this hotel was sooo close to the town of Oia that I really would prefer to walk to town each night and eat at a restaurant and shop ?

Re: BCM2009's August Royalton Wedding, Code Bleu, M*I*A, Royalty Limos, Stefans, and MORE

what a great review you looked amazing congrats

Re: BCM2009's August Royalton Wedding, Code Bleu, M*I*A, Royalty Limos, Stefans, and MORE

Awwwwwwwwww.....You looked beautiful. Congrats!!! Thanks for the review!

Re: BCM2009's August Royalton Wedding, Code Bleu, M*I*A, Royalty Limos, Stefans, and MORE

wow- everything looked amazing!

Congrats

Re: BCM2009's August Royalton Wedding, Code Bleu, M*I*A, Royalty Limos, Stefans, and MORE

Great Review!!! you look amazing!!!!!!
Congrats on the wedding!!!

Re: BCM2009's August Royalton Wedding, Code Bleu, M*I*A, Royalty Limos, Stefans, and MORE

Great Review!!! You looked gorgeous in your dress!!!

Re: BCM2009's August Royalton Wedding, Code Bleu, M*I*A, Royalty Limos, Stefans, and MORE

I got married @ the Royalton also. You both look beautiful..

You look like you had fabulous time on your honeymoon. I'm greek and I'm yet to make a trip over there. LOL Someday.

Re: BCM2009's August Royalton Wedding, Code Bleu, M*I*A, Royalty Limos, Stefans, and MORE

Congrats! Awesome review! I am using Royalty Limos, too, so it's nice to hear your story about the card! :)

Re: BCM2009's August Royalton Wedding, Code Bleu, M*I*A, Royalty Limos, Stefans, and MORE

Your honeymoon pics are to die for! You made a lovely bride, congrats to you and DH! I just went to a wedding at the Royalton and I can also vouch for the waiters - impeccable service. Congrats!!!

Re: BCM2009's August Royalton Wedding, Code Bleu, M*I*A, Royalty Limos, Stefans, and MORE

Congratulations!!!! Everything looks beautiful - especially you! Love your shoes!

Re: BCM2009's August Royalton Wedding, Code Bleu, M*I*A, Royalty Limos, Stefans, and MORE

Congrats!!! Everything looked amazing and you were a beautiful bride!!

Re: BCM2009's August Royalton Wedding, Code Bleu, M*I*A, Royalty Limos, Stefans, and MORE

You seriously are a gorgeous bride!!! Everything looked so classy and elegant- I loved your dress/hair/makeup!! The BM's dresses are beautiful as well!! Congratsss

Re: BCM2009's August Royalton Wedding, Code Bleu, M*I*A, Royalty Limos, Stefans, and MORE

THank you for the great review! You looked so beautiful and your honeymoon looked gorgeous!! Congrats!!

Re: BCM2009's August Royalton Wedding, Code Bleu, M*I*A, Royalty Limos, Stefans, and MORE

Looks like everything turned out just about per-fect! You look awesome. Congrats!

Re: BCM2009's August Royalton Wedding, Code Bleu, M*I*A, Royalty Limos, Stefans, and MORE

you looked great and I am glad to see a review of MWP. I am using Denise also.

Re: BCM2009's August Royalton Wedding, Code Bleu, M*I*A, Royalty Limos, Stefans, and MORE

BEAUTIFUL!!!!! Great review!! Congrats!!!

Re: BCM2009's August Royalton Wedding, Code Bleu, M*I*A, Royalty Limos, Stefans, and MORE

CONGRATS! you look beautiful!! your shoes are so cute!

Re: BCM2009's August Royalton Wedding, Code Bleu, M*I*A, Royalty Limos, Stefans, and MORE

beautiful, congrats!