Bonniejd's 6/10/07 Wedding Review: Twelfth Night, Heart and Soul, Denise Venti, Priscilla of Boston and tons more with TONS of PICS!!! UPDATED WITH HM REVIEW

Weather: A+
The weather forecast had said it was going to rain every day for a week before the wedding, and it hadn’t rained a drop, so I was pretty nervous it was all going to happen on our day. I woke up and it was cloudy and looked like rain, then it started to drizzle... but, by 10 or 11am, the sun came out and the day was beautiful. It was a bit humid, but I certainly wasn’t complaining!

LIW: A+
What can I say, LIW was a life saver when I needed ideas, research, a place to vent or just to be brought back to reality. I don’t think I would have made it without you guys.

Save the Dates, Programs, Placecards (DIY):
These were the only things I did myself and I was happy with them. The programs were a huge pain, but I loved the way they came out





Invitations: JBink.com, Invitations by Encore: A+
I fell in love with these Encore invites, but they were way more than I wanted to spend. I found Joan through another bride on LIW and she was able to give them to me for over $700 less. She worked with me on the layout, going through many different drafts and everything was perfect. I loved that I could do everything over email



Dress: Priscilla of Boston, Roslyn, NY, Dress by Melissa Sweet: A+: My dress was an entire saga for me. I knew I didn’t want a poofy dress or one with a lot (or any) beading and (just not my thing, I think it looks beautiful on others) and every dress shop thought I was insane. Then, I ordered a completely different dress first (slight A-Line, side rouching, silk/satin) and then came across this beautiful Melissa Sweet dress. After much agonizing I decided to purchase a second dress and it was the best decision! I felt great in the dress and was so happy. The POB store was very helpful and did a great job on alterations. I loved that they only do a couple of appointments at a time, so it was peaceful and quiet without all of the chaos of some other shops. It was also $400 cheaper than at Kleinfeld so that made me happy.

Veil/Hairpiece: Ambiance for the Bride, NYC: A: I went into this store as I was passing by one day on Broadway. They made me the veil I was looking for and helped pick out a hairpiece. They were very reasonable and everything came in fine.




Bridesmaid Dresses: Jenny Yoo Collection, NYC: A+: I wanted my bridesmaid dresses to be a little different, and I found that at Jenny Yoo. She makes amazing dresses in great fabrics and a ridiculous array of colors. I went with raw silk, which I thought looked and fit great. The dresses were flattering on a wide range of body types and I got SO many compliments on them and the color. I also loved that they carry the styles in each size, so you can try on the actual size you will be ordering. It makes everyone feel better and I got a sense of what they would actually look like. The dresses were a little pricey, but were honestly worth it for the beautiful material.


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Shoes: Zappos, shoes by Stuart Weitzman: A+: My shoes were really comfortable, and kitten heeled which is what I was looking for. I ordered 10 pairs of shoes from zappos (free shipping and returns) and picked in the comfort of my own home- it was a great decision!

Hair: Denise Venti: A+: Denise was incredible. I had seen so many pictures of other brides on here that had their hair done by Denise and they were all spectacular. She did my hair and 5 others and everyone looked so beautiful. I wanted someone who did softer looks, not too bridal and she was perfect! She is also the sweetest person ever and takes great pride in her work. After one of BMs hair was done, Denise decided she didn’t like the way it looked and took it down to do a whole different style. The second style looked even better than the first and my BM was so happy with it.


Makeup: Jennifer Rousse: A+: She was SO great, I am so happy I went with her. Jen did my makeup and 7 other girls and everyone looked flawless. She is a family friend who works for Estee Lauder and does wedding and magazine shoot makeup on the side. She is awesome and was really reasonably priced, which my BMs were happy about. FM if you want info!

Rings: Daniel K, NYC and Fortunoff: A+: My rings (both engagement and wedding band) were custom made by Daniel K. I love them, couldn’t ask for anything better. DH didn’t really want to wear a ring because it is heavy, so his was just a titanium band. We bought it at Fortunoff, nothing complicated.

Tuxes: Dante Zeller: A: They all came in fine and were what we wanted.




Band: Heart and Soul : A+: Heart and Soul is so talented! Everyone was up dancing the whole night. This was the area I spent the most time researching and was so happy with them.




Photographer: Twelfth Night (Mike and Ray) A+: Amazing. I posted some proofs below so you can see for yourselves. They came early, were a pleasure to work with, so fun and made everyone feel comfortable. They managed to do an amazing job capturing our day and we cant wait to work with them on our album. (see tons of pics below)

Video: Wedding Cinema (Pete) A+: Pete was so great to work with. Our video is excellent and was very reasonable. Pete really accommodated our inability to make it all the way to his office and we did a lot of the planning over email. The day of, he was everywhere, but nowhere to be seen at the same time.

Flowers: Stefans: A: My flowers were gorgeous. The chuppah was breathtaking and my orchid centerpieces were incredible. There was a slight mistake in the ceremony decorations, but nothing major. The person we worked with was a bit obnoxious, but they are great at what they do. It took me awhile to convince them that I didn’t want roses in any of my centerpieces or bouquets and that I wanted my flowers to be all white. They didn’t seem to agree, but in the end, they executed my vision perfectly.


Ceremony/Reception: Temple Beth-El of Cedarhurst: A+++++++++: For anyone considering a temple wedding, you must check this place out. The food was incredible (or so I hear) and the place is just breathtaking. I was completely against a temple wedding until we went to Temple Beth El to appease our parents. It has a great old-world mansion feel and Gail and Bob, who run the caterering are fantastic. They are really laid back and I liked that. We didn’t have to decide on anything until a few months before which I also liked. Our contract was basically just for the number of people and the time/date. This gave me a lot of time to think about things and I didn’t feel pressured which for me was really important. In all I had a great experience. The bridal attendant, Roz, kept everyone laughing all day, and made sure we were always taken care of. Everything at the caterer went off without a hitch and they really made our day perfect.
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Honeymoon: Egypt A+++++++++++++++
When we decided on our honeymoon location we got quite a few comments about it being too hot, not romantic enough, too out of the box, etc. The best decision we made in wedding planning was to ignore all of this and go with our gut. It was very hot, but the trip was amazing. We had a great mix of adventure, sightseeing and relaxing, which for us is perfect. This is definitely not the trip for two weeks of relaxation, but for us it worked. We are both really active and couldn't imagine sitting still for 2 weeks. Plus we have traveled extensively and been to lots of the typical HM spots (Hawaii, Caribbean, Aruba, Costa Rica, etc)

Cairo: We stayed at Le Meridien Pyramids (C) which was definitely the least impressive hotel of our trip. I wouldn't really recommend it except for the fact that our view from our windows was the pyramids which was a pretty amazing thing to wake up to. We both got food poisioning from one of the restaurants at the hotel. We ended up back in Cairo at the end of our trip for 2 days before flying home and stayed at the Grand Hyatt Cairo (A++++++) which was amazing. All of the rooms have a Nile view and we were only upset we didn’t stay there at the beginning of our trip. Cairo is an amazing place, we saw the pyramids and the sphinx and went to the Egyptian Museum where you get to see the tombs, the mummies (actual mummies- it was insane), and the artifacts taken out of the tombs. This was incredible! We went to the old town of Memphis and saw additional ruins and pyramids and to the Citadel which houses the largest mosque in Africa (I think). It was all incredible there are no words!

Our view from our hotel:

The Citadel

Nile Cruise – Sonesta Star Goddess(A+): From Cairo we flew to Luxor and boarded a boat which would sail the Nile to Aswan for 4 days. We stopped at the Valley of the Kings, various temples and saw some of the oldest obelisks. The boat we were on was great, it was the newest one at the time all suites, with room for about 60 passengers. There were only about 20 (off season) and it was awesome. Again, pretty hot, but we did sightseeing in the morning and spent the afternoon in the roof pool. The food was good, but not great. In Aswan, we sailed on a Felucca (sailboats that have been on the Nile for thousands of years) and it was incredible, amazing!
Sharm El Sheik – Ritz Carlton Sharm El-Sheik (A+++++++++++). We relaxed in Sharm on the Red Sea for about a week at the end of our trip and it was fantastic. Sharm was one of the most beautiful places we have ever seen. The whole town is only about 30 years old which is an interesting parallel to everything else we saw in Egypt which was ancient. We just relaxed, ate at the fabulous restaurants, went scuba in the clearest water I have ever seen (even clearer than Maui, I couldn’t believe it!). The hotel is built on a reef and you walk out on a jetty to the other side of the reef and there are just billions of fish. The service at the hotel was fantastic, the restaurants were great, and the grounds were beautiful. We went into Naama Bay (the town) which was a ton of fun, with outdoor cafes and hookah bars, and a great scene. We also hiked Mt. Sinai over night to watch the sunrise which was incredible!

Re: MY 6/10/07 Wedding Review: Twelfth Night, Heart and Soul, Denise Venti, Priscilla of Boston and tons more with TONS of PICS!!!

BEAUTIFUL review... I love your flowers... CONGRATS!!

Re: MY 6/10/07 Wedding Review: Twelfth Night, Heart and Soul, Denise Venti, Priscilla of Boston and tons more with TONS of PICS!!!

Absolutely gorgoues review!
Your flowers are really breathtaking, i love the BM boq-k's! Simply stunning and your Chuppah was beautiful! I loved your dress, so elegant

Re: MY 6/10/07 Wedding Review: Twelfth Night, Heart and Soul, Denise Venti, Priscilla of Boston and tons more with TONS of PICS!!!

So pretty! You looked great!

All the best & Congratulations!

Re: MY 6/10/07 Wedding Review: Twelfth Night, Heart and Soul, Denise Venti, Priscilla of Boston and tons more with TONS of PICS!!!

What a beautiful wedding. Thanks for sharing.
Congratulations.

Re: MY 6/10/07 Wedding Review: Twelfth Night, Heart and Soul, Denise Venti, Priscilla of Boston and tons more with TONS of PICS!!!

Great review! Your dress is breathtaking!

Re: MY 6/10/07 Wedding Review: Twelfth Night, Heart and Soul, Denise Venti, Priscilla of Boston and tons more with TONS of PICS!!!

Beautiful pics! Love your dress! Congrats!

Re: MY 6/10/07 Wedding Review: Twelfth Night, Heart and Soul, Denise Venti, Priscilla of Boston and tons more with TONS of PICS!!!

Fantastic review!!!
Congrats to you and DH again! You looked beautiful and everything was gorgeous!!!

Re: Bonniejd's 6/10/07 Wedding Review: Twelfth Night, Heart and Soul, Denise Venti, Priscilla of Boston and tons more with TONS of PICS!!!

THANK YOU! I AM USING HEART AND SOUL, I AM SO HAPPY WHEN I SEE AN A+ FOR THEM-DID YOU HAVE JILL TOO?

I LOVE THE PICTURE OF YOU AND YOUR DOG-SO CUTE!!

CONGRATS!!

Re: Bonniejd's 6/10/07 Wedding Review: Twelfth Night, Heart and Soul, Denise Venti, Priscilla of Boston and tons more with TONS of PICS!!!

Thanks, and yes, we did have Jill (and she was VERY pregnant!)

Re: Bonniejd's 6/10/07 Wedding Review: Twelfth Night, Heart and Soul, Denise Venti, Priscilla of Boston and tons more with TONS of PICS!!!

beautiful! congrats to you and your hubby!

Re: Bonniejd's 6/10/07 Wedding Review: Twelfth Night, Heart and Soul, Denise Venti, Priscilla of Boston and tons more with TONS of PICS!!!

Congrats! Your dress was breathtaking!! And your flowers were beautiful!! Great job!!!

Re: Bonniejd's 6/10/07 Wedding Review: Twelfth Night, Heart and Soul, Denise Venti, Priscilla of Boston and tons more with TONS of PICS!!!

wonderful review!
Congrats!!! you look great!!!!

Re: Bonniejd's 6/10/07 Wedding Review: Twelfth Night, Heart and Soul, Denise Venti, Priscilla of Boston and tons more with TONS of PICS!!! UPDATED WITH HM REVIEW

Bump for HM Review

Re: Bonniejd's 6/10/07 Wedding Review: Twelfth Night, Heart and Soul, Denise Venti, Priscilla of Boston and tons more with TONS of PICS!!! UPDATED WITH HM REVIEW

beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: Bonniejd's 6/10/07 Wedding Review: Twelfth Night, Heart and Soul, Denise Venti, Priscilla of Boston and tons more with TONS of PICS!!! UPDATED WITH HM REVIEW

Your wedding looked amazing! and Egypt! WOW that must have been fabulous!

Re: Bonniejd's 6/10/07 Wedding Review: Twelfth Night, Heart and Soul, Denise Venti, Priscilla of Boston and tons more with TONS of PICS!!! UPDATED WITH HM REVIEW

Everything looks gorgeous!!!

Re: Bonniejd's 6/10/07 Wedding Review: Twelfth Night, Heart and Soul, Denise Venti, Priscilla of Boston and tons more with TONS of PICS!!! UPDATED WITH HM REVIEW

Great review!!!!!!

Re: Bonniejd's 6/10/07 Wedding Review: Twelfth Night, Heart and Soul, Denise Venti, Priscilla of Boston and tons more with TONS of PICS!!! UPDATED WITH HM REVIEW

OMG...your honeymoon review was amazing!! Your wedding looked beautiful!!!

Re: Bonniejd's 6/10/07 Wedding Review: Twelfth Night, Heart and Soul, Denise Venti, Priscilla of Boston and tons more with TONS of PICS!!! UPDATED WITH HM REVIEW

Beautiful!!! Great review - love your flowers and your dress!!