December 4, 2010- Fox Hollow, SSPJ, Proline Studios, Flowers by Brian, Hawaii and more!!!

In the spirit of LIW, I’d like to start off the review with a little wedding story for other brides- I’m a huge emotional mess about 75% of the time. I’m a crier- especially at weddings. Even if I don’t know the person, I’ll be sobbing in my seat. I had 2 very large fears about the wedding day: Being an absolute train wreck, and crying a lot during the wedding. I was afraid I’d be sobbing so hard that people would think I did not want to be there! The anticipation of the day really got to me at times.

The morning of the wedding I woke up absolutely calm. I had a great time with my girls- getting ready, having mimosas, laughing and having just a good time. Even when putting my dress on and taking pictures with my dad, I was the picture of calm. I couldn’t wait to see my future husband. Once I got to the church I had a huge smile on my face and it NEVER left my face all day. No tears; just complete bliss. People said they’d never seen a bride who was absolutely beaming as much as I was.

Point of the story being- Don’t get all caught up with worrying about how your wedding day is going to be. I know all brides get nervous about crying too much, ruining your make up, falling, your hair not being perfect or whatever it may be. Just go into the day with 1) a lot of sleep and 2) an open mind and your day will be fantastic. If you’re anything like me, you really may surprise yourself!

Enjoy your day and the whole wedding experience. Before you know it, it will all be over and you’ll have just your memories. Stop and look around from time to time. Enjoy your husband!! DANCE!

Now with that…my wedding review:

LIW- A+
I can’t say enough about LIWeddings. If I never stumbled upon the site, I wouldn’t have had half of the things I did at the wedding, nor would I have found such amazing vendors. I wouldn’t have had a DOC, wouldn’t have gotten such amazing advice and wouldn’t have made such great friends with girls I never would have met without it. I truly appreciate everything the site gave me and I really do recommend it to every engaged girl I know!!

Save the Dates- www.magnetstreet.com A
We ordered our save the dates a little less than a year out from the wedding. Magnet Street was easy to use and definitely had a quick turn around time. I found a coupon code online so the cost of the save the dates was very reasonable. The quality was nice and they served their purpose.

My Backyard Shower:
All food & décor courtesy of my family & bridesmaids.
I knew I wanted to utilize my dad’s amazing backyard for my shower. I wanted something casual and fun. They did an amazing job!








Favors: Three Sisters Cupcake Company- A
The owner of the company is my maid of honor’s cousin so it seemed natural that she’d do my favors. These cupcakes were a huge hit!! So tasty and cute. We had s’mores, vanilla chai with butter cream, banana with cinnamon butter cream, and red velvet. So delish! She even boxed them to match the shower theme. I would recommend Three Sisters Cupcake Company to anyone looking for super cute favors!







Our Rehearsal Dinner
Maureen’s Kitchen – A+
I’ll start by saying that Maureen’s Kitchen is an icon in our town. Everyone goes there, there is always a wait, and the food is fantastic. My dad is a regular there and he is very friendly with the owners so we threw the idea out there about having our Rehearsal Dinner there. They’re only open until 3pm each day so I wasn’t sure how they’d feel about doing a private party, but let me tell you- they went crazy! It was their very first private party and everything went off without a hitch. They went absolutely above and beyond for us and everyone had an amazing time. It was the perfect casual setting we were looking for.






Wedding Vendors
Invitations, Menus, Table #s and Place Cards – e v e n s t a r p a p e r i e.com (Tessa) A+
I loved Tessa’s work the minute I saw it. I emailed her the idea inventory and the fun began. A bit over a week after I sent in the form, she emailed me 3 proofs. We didn’t like any, so she emailed me 3 more…. We still didn’t like any so we looked through her previous work and found a design we liked from an “unused” design album. She edited it to match our colors and the font we liked and we were sold.

I went back and forth about whether or not I 1) wanted the rhinestone slide 2) if I wanted it to be a circle. Tessa did a lot of research and found a snowflake option for me. I loved it but decided I didn’t really have any snowflakes in my theme even though it was a winter wedding, so we ultimately went for the circle.

I had my invites long before I needed to send them out. I loved the quality, the inner envelopes (red inners to match- awesome) and the addressing she did. We got so many compliments on the invitations- so much that people wouldn’t even send back the actual response card because they wanted to complete the set. It really annoyed me, but truthfully it was nice to know that the invitations we had invested so much in were well liked.




I had Tessa do my menus, table #s and place cards as well. I was hesitant about this because I had heard that she really brings you down to the wire with stationary. I told her I needed them by a certain date and I did have a few moments with her where she wasn’t responding. I told her I didn’t want to order them unless I knew I’d 100% have them in time. She still didn’t respond too much, but in the end, she came through and I had my stationary in time for my reception hall’s drop off deadline. They all looked great and everything matched perfectly.




Donation Cards and Church Programs- a LIW friend A+
I didn’t want to use Tessa for everything, and I knew this friend was quite talented so I sent her a facebook message and we got the ball rolling. I can’t say enough good things about her- she sent me countless designs and really worked with me since I was a huge pain in the arse and had no idea what I really wanted. She is a saint!!! I cannot tell you how many times I changed my mind!
Since I took so long deciding on designs for programs, we didn’t know if everything would be ready the two days before the wedding like I had initially wanted. I offered to help her assemble since it was my fault we were behind and she refused. She said that no blushing bride of hers would be doing any work for her own wedding!!! In the end, she really worked overtime and got me everything I needed in plenty of time. I love her!!!



Band- Peat Moss & the Fertilizers A
My dad is friends with a few of the band members and I grew up with those guys at my house on Sundays ordering take out and watching football. I knew that when I got married I had to have Peat Moss play the wedding. The lead singer Joe (who was one of my dad’s friends) left the band over a year ago and I was nervous about having a new lead singer live up to Joe’s standard. Boy, I was wrong. We went to the bars a few times to listen to them prior to the wedding and I loved them each time.

I found out about 3 days before the wedding, that the the “new” singer had actually left the band. At this point I was flipping out but my dad spoke with one of the members and they said they were bringing back the former lead singer for our wedding. My confidence was back! The day of the wedding Peat Moss did not let us down. They played all our must-play songs, were very respectful of requests and really had everyone dancing all night. It was a bit loud in the room, but I guess that is to be expected with any band.

Florist – Flowers by Brian/B*rtons - A-
Leading up to Wedding- I originally booked with B*rtons back in November 2009. They gave us a great price and the guy we booked with was really nice. He did try to sway my opinion on low vs. high centerpieces which bothered me, but it only cost $50 to hold the date so we put the money down. After reading the reviews on the board and speaking with my DOC, I knew we had to look elsewhere. Although B*rtons was reliable for a bunch of 2010 girls, I was too uncomfortable to keep my business with them.

I had the hardest time finding another florist. I looked at least 6 florists before ultimately deciding to go with Flowers By Brian. From the minute I sat down with her, I knew I loved Stacey. She really worked with me to come up with my vision (which was almost non existent at the time of booking). I couldn’t find a picture of anything that I liked, all I could do was describe little bits of things. Stacey and I worked together to pull it out and after seeing 2 samples, we found what I liked.

Day Of- the flowers were gorgeous. My bouquet was absolutely HUGE (and heavy!!) and all my girls loved their bouquets. The only reason they do not get an “A” is because there were a few minor issues on the day of- My bouquet had an off-colored rose in it (no one saw it but me and my DOC) and DH’s grandmother’s corsage was the wrong color. Other than that, they did a great job and I would absolutely recommend them.







Limos – LI Elite
This is my dad’s company so I can’t rate it, but everything was great. No problems. Thanks Daddy :)




Photography- Proline – A
I found Proline from a recommendation from a fellow LIW-er. I only visited one photographer, and it was Proline. Looking back I feel like I should have made appointments to meet with other photographers, but at the time of booking, we were both so tired of vendor appointments. When their work looked nice and they gave us a good deal so we went for it!

John was our photographer and he really was great. He followed my must-take list exactly and was constantly asking me if I wanted any specific pictures. The proofs came back within 2 weeks as promised. The pictures could have been a little more artsy and a little less standard, but overall we were very happy with the results and we ended up with some really nice shots. We met with the album designer and it was so difficult to pick only a select few pictures since he really took so many great ones. I’m really excited to see how our album turns out!








2nd Photographer- Chris Rosenman www.thisischristoph.com A+
Chris is a very good friend of my brother’s with a VERY artistic eye. He offered to take some photos of our pre-wedding events and when I asked if he wanted to come to the wedding and shoot as a 2nd photographer, he jumped at the chance. It wasn’t in our budget to have a 2nd photographer from Proline so we asked Chris to go to the hotel with the guys and take all the “getting ready” photos. Chris did an amazing job and he truthfully took some of my favorite shots from the wedding. He also shot video for us, but I haven’t seen it yet! If anyone is looking for a photographer who wont cost an arm and a leg but has a fantastic eye, definitely contact Chris.







Video- Ray O’Connor
I got this videographer through one of my dad’s business contacts. We got a good deal, so we used them. The videographer was very unobtrusive, as per our request- Truthfully I don’t even remember him being there much. I haven’t even seen the un-edited version of the video so I really can’t rate their work.

Hair – Debbie- B
A few of my friends (and their moms) have been getting their hair done by Debbie for years and she had done one of my best friend’s sister’s wedding so I gave Debbie a shot. She was so much fun to work with- she cracked me up the entire trial. I ended up doing 2 trials with her- one up and one down and really had trouble deciding what to choose!! In the end I ended up doing the up do and I really liked it. Debbie really works efficiently and is a great hairstylist. I’m giving her a B since a piece of my hair was falling down even before the reception and one of my BM’s had to have her hair done twice before she liked it. Other than that, she was great!!




Make-Up – Jennifer Haley Rasa – www.jennhaley.com A+
If there was ever a vendor that I was 100% sure of before even speaking to them- it was Jenn! She’s my brother’s best friend’s wife and she is so amazing. Not only is she super talented, but she’s truly great to have with you the morning of the wedding. She will keep you calm and keep you smiling!! (She has quite a few famous clients so she is always good for a story about them!)
I had done a trial with Jenn and loved it. When I sent the pictures of my trial around to my bridesmaids and family, everyone wanted their make up done! I had so many people between the bridesmaids and all the mothers wanting make up that Jenn had to bring an assistant with her the morning of the wedding to get everyone done. Everyone looked absolutely flawless.
Jenn’s prices are reasonable, and she always includes airbrushing and lashes in the cost. She uses great products and really takes her time. I will absolutely use Jenn for any time I need my make up done and I would recommend her to ANYONE.







Cake- Francesco’s Bakery B
We met with Francesco about 4 months before the wedding. He did a tasting for us and we looked at some pictures and threw out some ideas. We told him that we wanted to upgrade to fondant and do some sugar roses and we told him what our budget was. He worked with us and gave us some really great quotes for the upgrade. Since I wasn’t sure which design I wanted, we decided to go home and think about it.
Fast forward to about a month before the wedding when we realized we STILL hadn’t chosen a cake. We went in to Francesco’s to finalize the design and flavors and when we told him what he initially said he’d charge, he said no way would he ever quote that low… well after some talking to him, we got him to agree to his initial price. We ended up getting fondant with dark red sugar roses.

The day of the wedding when I saw the cake I was truthfully disappointed…. I thought the cake looked totally crooked and instead of dark red sugar roses, they almost looked hot pink (with sparkles) to me. Everyone said how great the cake looked and it tasted delicious so I didn’t really complain. (We had marble cake with vanilla custard with banana, and chocolate mousse)



Day of Coordinator- Chrissi, Fairy Tale Events A+
I truthfully cannot say enough about Chrissi. We met her a little over a year before our wedding. She was great from the start. I thought I’d have to really convince DH to let me get a DOC, but once he met Chrissi he was the one who told me that we were 100% booking her. Chrissi was always fast to respond to emails and what I loved most about her was that she was honest. She was completely no bullsht and I really think that’s so important in the DOC/bride/groom relationship. If she thought I’d have a problem with a vendor, she’d always tell me and we’d figure out a way to make it work. I wish I had booked Chrissi before any other vendor so she could have given me guidance when choosing them!

The day of the wedding Chrissi came to my house and really took it from there. I have no idea if anything even went wrong the day of the wedding because if it did, she took care of it. She was there anytime I needed anything and really kept the entire wedding (and me) in control.

I can honestly say that to me Chrissi was more of a friend than a vendor. On the day of our final meeting we ended up sitting in her office for 3 hours just talking. DH and I both love her and agree our wedding would not have been the same without her.

Wedding Day Attire:
Dress, Ilyssa by Demetrios
Adrienne’s in east Islip A
My mother had gotten her wedding dress at Adrienne’s so I knew I had to check it out. It was the 2nd store I had gone to in one day and I was in rare form after a very pushy saleslady nearly made me cry at the first store. We worked with Chris who is an absolute doll. She was so patient with me and so kind to everyone I had with me. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted, but I knew I didn’t want a ball gown and I didn’t want anything to trendy or form fitting. I knew I needed something classy and understated.

I tried on a few dresses there and then I put on the Ilyssa gown. I liked it, but I wasn’t sold..so I tried on another. This dress had a sweet heart which I really liked, where the Ilyssa gown did not. Chris told me that they could change the neckline on the Ilyssa and that’s all it took. I put her back on and said “I want this one.”
We found out when we went to order the dress that the dress was a sample so we ended up getting it nearly 60% off! When I went back for my fitting the seamstress changed the neckline to a sweet heart and did a great job with alterations. The dress was perfect.





Veil – Adrienne’s in East Islip A
I ended up getting my veil from Adrienne’s as well. The beading on the edge of the veil matched the beading on my dress perfectly.



DOJ
Engagement Ring/Wedding Band: Jonro Jewelers- Jewelers on 5th, NYC A
I knew I wanted a circle stone with small diamonds along the band and I wanted to use the small diamonds from my mother’s engagement ring in my wedding band. On a recommendation from a co-worker, we went to Jonro. They took the stones and made the band to match the engagement ring DH had chosen. The stones from her engagement ring were a weird size and are a tad bit larger than the side stones on my engagement ring but it still looks great. We were very happy with the service there. I think it only took about a week to make the engagement ring and custom band.



Earrings – www.saks.com A
I saw these earrings when another LIW-er posted them and I knew I had to have them. I ordered them on Saks.com since they didn’t sell them in the store. They came so quickly and I absolutely loved them!! I thought that they were heavy and that I’d need a 2nd pair during the reception, but I ended up keeping them on all day. They weren’t nearly as heavy has I anticipated and they really looked great.


Necklace- Commack Jewelry Exchange A+
Like my wedding band, the stone from my necklace came from my mother’s engagement ring. We found a setting we liked and it was ready a week later.



Headpiece- www.weddingfactorydirect.com A
I wanted something that would tie together the white beading on my dress with the crystals & diamonds in my jewelry and this was perfect! It was very affordable and the quality was great.


Shoes
Sandy’s Shoes A
I found my wedding shoes at Sandy’s. They weren’t the friendliest staff, but I got what I wanted at a good price. They were comfortable and that’s all I really cared about!


Craft Shoes B
I wanted a 2nd pair of shoes for the reception to match my bridesmaid’s dresses. I found a pair on clearance at Craft Shoes in Commack and I had them died to match the bridesmaids dresses. I ended up wearing them for all of 20 minutes since they were so much less comfortable than my first pair. I never took any pictures of them either so looking back it was pretty much a waste of money! The idea was good though…

Garter- www.sewuniquegarters.com A
A friend of mine got me a standard white garter for my shower, but part of me still wanted something a little more fun to go with it. DH & I are huge Ranger Fans so I googled “ranger garter” and came up with this side. Affordable, good quality, fast shipping! I would absolutely recommend them!



Fur Shawl- Etsy seller sewudesigns A
I wanted a fake fur shawl to wear on my shoulders to at least attempt to keep me warm on the day of the wedding. Sewudesigns was great to work with- they sent me an invoice and within a few days I had my shawl. Great quality and it really made for some great shots!

Note for girls who are ordering the shawl on Etsy- they ask you to take measurements of your shoulders for the shawl length. Make sure you put the tape measure around you at the exact point you’d want the shawl to fall. At times I felt like my shawl was too high up since I probably didn’t measure right!



Bridesmaids Dresses, Bill Levkoff 101 and 591 in Euro Red
Dresses- A
Macy’s Smithhaven - D
I told my girls they could choose any Bill Levkoff satin dress in Euro Red and they all (with exception of MOH) chose the same one. They liked how it was A line, but a-symmetrical so it pulled in their waistlines and flattered them all. I looked a few places prior to booking with them, but ended up booking with Macy’s for two reasons. 1) They had the dress we liked at a decent price and 2) they were running a great deal that gave us 10% off plus an additional $10. The girls ended up getting the dress for $157 with tax.

The dresses came by October (4 months), and then my issues began….
o MY MAID OF HONORS DRESS WAS NEVER ORDERED. I found out about this and I flipped. They told me they’d “rush” the order and I’d have her dress in by the end of November. The problem with that was that 1) it was a week before my wedding and 2) it was Thanksgiving week. No way would we get a seamstress in to alter her dress. Well after my aunt called and went “mom-zilla” on them, they really did accommodate us. They rushed her dress and it was in by Mid-November. There was plenty of time to have the alterations done and they made sure that the seamstress was available whenever my MOH wanted to come in.

o When I called to make an appointment for one of my bridesmaids, I was told on the phone that they only do alterations on Mondays and Fridays until 7pm. That did not work for myself or all but 2 of my girls. Many of them are out of town and wanted to take a weekend trip out for altering. When I complained about the inconvenience they explained to me that they only have weekend alteration appointments during busy season. If they had told me this before I booked, I probably would have thought twice about going there.

o One of the girls had her dress altered there and a few days before the wedding, all the stitching was coming out and the boning was jabbing her in the waist. She ended up taking her dress to another tailor to have it fixed last minute.



Jr. Bridesmaids Dress- David’s Bridal, JB2532 in black A
My cousin was sort of a last minute add on to our bridal party and she lives in Texas so it wasn’t really plausible for her to get her dress through Macy’s like the other girls. Since she was a Jr. Bridesmaid, I didn’t feel it was necessary to have her in the same color, so we went with the basic black dress from David’s and then made a shawl for her waist with the extra fabric from one of the bridemaid’s dresses. She looked fantastic. The shawl pulled her dress together so nicely! My cousin said the dress came quickly from David’s and it was very affordable.


Tuxes – Bonaventure Tuxedo C
In the words of my DOC, my DH is a “tux” guy. He wanted everything to be perfect and he made it a point to tell each guy that he was going with them when they picked up their tuxes to make sure they looked perfect.

With that in mind- the journey to find a tuxedo vendor that was up to DH’s standards was long! We went to 3 or 4 places and then found Bonaventure based on recommendations here on LIW. When we first visited Bonaventure, Andy was great. He gave us a great price and DH really liked the tuxedo that he was offered. After checking out a few more places, we booked Bonaventure.

Fast forward to the time of the wedding- we all went, everyone tried on their tuxes and all was fine. That evening, DH went to try on his tuxedo to make sure that it was fine, since the next day would be the only day he could get it fixed if something went wrong, and sure enough there was a huge hole in his pants! We didn’t know why no one had seen it in the store, but it was very large and needed to be fixed. When DH got to the tux place the next day, he was told that there were no more pants in that size and he would have to have a pair rushed from another store and they’d be there the next day. Since the wedding was the next day, we had the best man in charge of picking up the pants the morning of the wedding.

That morning, the pants were not ready, our best man got in an argument with the owner and it was a big mess. In the end, DH got his pants, everyone looked great and Bonaventure really came through, but not without some real grief and aggravation.




DH’s Wedding Band: Unusual Wedding Rings- Diamond District, NYC A
DH knew he wanted a white gold band and no designs. We had looked a few places, (Zales, Kohls, Commack Jewelry Exchange), but he didn’t find anything he liked. We walked around the diamond district and lunch and stumbled upon this place that specializes in wedding bands. They had more of a selection than anyone and they were very reasonably priced. We were there for about 45 minutes picking out rings and the husband and wife team were great. They were so patient and kept us chatting the whole time. I would recommend them to anyone looking for a band!!

Cufflinks- Tiffany A
I knew I wanted to get DH cufflinks for his wedding gift and I figured Tiffany’s was the place to go. We were given great service at the men’s counter since it isn’t too popular. I let him pick out his own cufflinks and he ended up choosing the Metropolis cufflinks. My only complaint (and it’s our fault for going so late, really) was that there wasn’t enough time before the wedding to have them hand engraved and we didn’t like the fonts on the machine engraving. DH said he’ll just get them hand engraved another time.

Our Ceremony & Reception:
Church- Saints Phillip & James RCC, St. James
Prior to Wedding: C+, Wedding Day: A
This has been my church since 1st grade and I knew I wanted to have my wedding ceremony happen there. My brother goes to elementary school there so I thought that I would have an easy time getting everything squared away. I was dead wrong. I couldn’t get anyone to call me back even though I had left multiple messages. Finally my stepmother wrote a letter to one of the priests complaining that she gives all this money in tuition each month and no one can even return my phone call. After that letter was written, the priest called us right away, met with us, and put us in the book without a problem. They even let us have a past priest come back and perform our ceremony for us.

We did pre-cana there a month before the wedding (they only do pre-cana twice a year so that was the spot they gave us- really annoying to have to wait so long) and enjoyed the experience. It took a weekend of our time and was pretty painless.

The day of the wedding went well- the coordinator got on our nerves at times, but she ran the ceremony without problems and everything went well. The ceremony was great and it meant a lot to be able to have the priest I grew up with perform our marriage ceremony. I can honestly say that it was my favorite aspect of the wedding day. I didn’t stop smiling the entire time.




Reception- Fox Hollow A
DH and I saw probably about 10-12 reception halls with Fox Hollow being one of the first. We liked a lot of places but as cheesy as it sounds, we didn’t get the same “feeling” with the others that we did when we walked into Fox Hollow.

Since we were having a December wedding, we wanted something cozy and my #1 requirement was that it had to have a fireplace. Fox Hollow was everything we wanted and more, and on top of that, they gave us an affordable price. Our banquet manager, Ken, was always available to answer any questions we had and always returned phone calls in a timely manner. He treated us to not one, but THREE free dinners at the Fox Hollow’s restaurant and whenever we went in to bring a payment, he’d always treat us to a drink at the bar. He truly gave us great service.

The day of the wedding everything (to my knowledge) was great. The guests absolutely loved the cocktail hour and raved about how great the food was. The reception room was set up nicely- they didn’t set the tables how I had asked or decorated the mantle the way I requested, but it was so minor and my DOC fixed it right away. We got multiple compliments on how great the appetizer was- we choose the grilled vegetable royale, so if it’s a choice, I would definitely recommend it! Everyone loved their dinners (and the fact that they had 7 choices). Those that had the filet were amazed at how tender it was.

The waitstaff was totally on top of keeping everyone’s drinks full and, with the exception of one of my tables not getting champagne at the beginning of the night, everything went fantastic. (It was also resolved when the Maitre’d found out that the table was missing champagne- he brought them bottles to make up for it mid-wedding!)













The Viennese Hour was fantastic- they had cordial shots to be taken out of chocolate shot glasses, a chocolate fountain, mounds of pastries and cookies, even an ice cream sundae bar! My only complaint was that it was rolled onto the dance floor and it really did cut out the amount of space for dancing. Thankfully everyone had lots to drink so no one really cared!!



Our bridal attendant was amazing- she kept my bridal party full and drunk all night and was so sweet. She and the Maitre’D packed up all the extra food from dinner and the Viennese hour and walked it down to our hotel room. She really went above and beyond and I loved her.

Hotel Block – Inn at Fox Hollow A+
We were given a discount on rooms for our guests and also comped 2 free nights with our package. (We got 1 with Fox Hollow and 1 for creating a room block- if it is in both your RH and Hotel contracts, make sure you get both nights!!!) I was worried about the cost of the hotel (discounted rate was $169) but no one complained. We had originally only blocked 10 rooms, but when people found out the hotel was actually next door to Fox Hollow, everyone wanted to book. We ended up blocking out 25 rooms and everyone that stayed at the hotel absolutely loved it.


Breakfast was supposed to be from 7-10 am, but given the fact that our wedding ended at 1 am, very few people got down to breakfast before 10. The hotel kept the buffet open until about 11:30 which was fantastic. We had such a great time just sitting in the lobby with our guests, chatting about the night before.

Miscellaneous
BP Gifts:
Girls: (A for Gifts, A+ for SamDesigns22)
I got my girls Coach Wristlets, Custom Wine Glasses, Pashmina’s and Swarovski Christmas Ornaments. The wristlets and Christmas ornaments I had gotten at Woodbury Commons over a year before our wedding. We really got great deals on them. I bought the pashmina’s on the street of NYC for $5 and they really didn’t feel cheap at all. My favorite gift for the girls was their custom wine glasses that I had found on Etsy.com. SamDesigns22 was the seller. I sent her pictures of my girl’s dresses for her to copy (MOH and Jr. BM had different dresses than the rest of the bridesmaids), and I also sent her pictures of dresses for my Stepmom, Godmother, Grandmother and Mother of the Groom. Steph hit the nail on the head. They were PERFECT. The dresses looked so close to their actual dresses and the girls absolutely loved them. In total Steph ended up making me 14 glasses between my BMs, all the mothers and myself. She was a doll to work with!!!!









Guys: A+ for All
I have to say, my DH really went above and beyond when it came to his groomsman gifts. DH is really into suits and looking put together and he did not want his groomsmen to look anything other than perfect (as said before in my tux review). He first got the guys shirts from Charles Pyrwhitt and had them monogrammed. The whole process took about a week and they really did come out amazing. He bought them black ties to go with it since he wasn’t crazy about the ties from the tux place. He finished off by designing custom cufflinks for all the guys from “cufflinkmaker” on Etsy.com. He put so much thought into the whole process and really found an image that was meaningful to each GM on some level. Jaime (cufflinkmaker) was very patient with him, being that he started the entire process only a few weeks before our wedding. DH made each image on Photoshop and then Jaime put them into sterling silver cufflinks. The quality was great- They were even packaged in a nice way. I would absolutely recommend them to anyone who is looking for custom cufflinks!

Edited: I recently found out Jaime took herself off etsy. Her website is http://cufflinkmaker.ecrater.com/




Kids: A
For my two younger brothers (6 & 10) we found red mini camcorders on amazon.com. The kids took video nearly the entire rehearsal dinner and were upset when they couldn’t take them with them down the aisle at church! Great choice if you’re looking for a non-standard bridal party gift!

Cake Topper- www.weddingfactorydirect.com A
I found this online, bought it; it came within a few days. Very affordable, good quality- overall it was worth it.


Name Plaque- Channa from www.my-sweet-memories.com A
I love Channa- she’s so sweet and patient and she takes a lot of pride in what she does. Channa must have made me 20 different proofs with the different color combinations and fonts. The plaque came quickly and it looked great!


Card Box – DIY (via my Aunt) A
I wanted a fancy card box from For the Modern Bride, but I knew it wasn’t in our budget. My Aunt is quite crafty so she thought she’d give it a shot. I was very happy with the results!


Guest Book –Shutterfly book A
I got this for free when they were running a deal. It came quickly, was easy to make and everyone loved it. If I had to pay for it, I probably would have omitted the guestbook entirely since so few people signed it


Out of Town Bags- (Courtesy of my Mother-in-law) A
My mother-in-law made these for us last minute and they were a huge hit!! She included bottles of water with custom labels (labels bought on www.orientaltrading.com), small bags of cookies, chips, mints, Tylenol and Tums. She also found these great door hangers on www.123print.com and had them custom made for our wedding. Everyone loved them and said they couldn’t bear to leave them! We wrote a welcome letter and printed it on cardstock to include in the bags. These out of town bags aren’t necessary, but they are a nice touch if you have the budget/time.

Matchbooks- theknot.com A
We had 3 different colors, 2 different designs. We displayed them on the bar in a fish bowl at both cocktail hour and the reception.


Pastry Boxes for Viennese Hour- www.papermart.com A
I wanted to-go boxes for the Viennese hour because I figured everyone would be either too drunk or too full to eat the extra desserts. I got them on papermart.com and got about 250 of them for $60 with shipping. I am inclined to say these were a huge waste of time and money because hardly anyone used them. If you are planning on getting to go boxes, make sure they either put them at each place setting or an announcement is made so people know what to do with them! (also, if anyone wants them I have about 100 left, FM me)
Stickers for Pastry Boxes- ETSY seller MAUpromos A+
They were so cute and their served their purpose. So cheap, came quickly and I loved them!!!


Honeymoon
Hawaii- A+ to infinity
Travel Agent- Paula Finn, Tyree Travel A+
Paula has been helping my family out with vacation planning for years. She always goes out of her way for her clients and will really work with you on pricing. I contacted Paula and told her we wanted to do Hawaii, but didn’t think we could afford it and we gave her a budget. Paula came up with the perfect honeymoon, within our budget and made it fantastic. DH and I both work in the city and her office is in Bethpage, so we planned the entire honeymoon over email and phone. (huge plus if you ask me!!) Paula sent us a gift at each hotel and really made it special for us. I would recommend her to anyone looking for a great T.A.

Kauai- A+
Hotel: Grand Hyatt Kauai A+
If you are going to Kauai, this is the place to stay. Our first stop in Hawaii and it truly was paradise. The staff was great- we were greeted with a flower lei and from the moment we walked into the hotel, everyone treated us like we were VIP. The staff was so friendly, always chatting with us and asking about our day.

The grounds on this hotel are absolutely unreal. Everything is open and everywhere you look there is some sort of tropical greenery. There are parrots in the lobby, which make for fantastic pictures and there are huge coy ponds throughout the grounds. The pool is HUGE with lots of waterfalls and coves and there is even a salt water lagoon to swim in since you can’t go in the ocean near the hotel.

The restaurants (particularly Tidepools and Dondero’s) were absolutely fantastic. The food was out of this world and the atmosphere topped even that.
I would highly highly highly recommend the Hyatt!!

We did a helicopter ride through Blue Hawaiian helicopters and a kayak tour here. If you go to Kauai, you absolutely have to do the helicopter. Most of the island you can only see from the air so it was truly and amazing experience.







Maui- A+
Hotel: Westin Maui A
This hotel was gorgeous too! Maui is completely different from Kauai, so this hotel was much more of the “beach” hotel that you think of when you think of Hawaii. The hotel itself was nice, nothing too fancy, but the grounds were amazing. The lobby was filled with waterfalls and flamingos and the pool area was incredible. There were multiple pools, a huge waterslide, a great pool bar and most importantly, a lot of lounge chairs with bar service J

We loved Maui. We did the Road to Hana, which is a must, drove up Mount Haleakala (also a must), went to the Feast at Lele Luau (obviously a must) did a whale watch, and had some relaxing pool/beach days. We ate at a bunch of great places including Cool Cat Café (casual dining- great for lunch), Mama’s Fish House (best meal ever- an absolute splurge but a MUST), and Leilani’s on the beach. Check them out!















Oahu- A
Hotel: Marriot Beach Resort B+
I didn’t have high hopes for Oahu since most people said they didn’t enjoy it, but DH and I actually really liked Honolulu. It was a great beach town, they had tons of bars and restaurants and it was a great end to our 2 week honeymoon.

The Marriot was nice- nothing really special, but definitely nice. The room was huge (we had a giant balcony overlooking the ocean) and they had a great pool bar. The only complaint for me was this hotel could care less that you were on your honeymoon. The other two hotels had champagne sent to our room and we got cute “honeymoon” perks, but the Marriot really didn’t mention it. They gave me a $5 drink coupon when I told them we were on our honeymoon. I guess its better that nothing!

We really liked Pearl Harbor, I just wish we could have spent more time there. We were on a tour and I think we only had 2 ½ hours there. Definitely worth taking the trip.

Dukes is a great place to go for a drink or dinner- great live music and right on the beach. Also check out the pool bar at the Moana Surfrider Hotel. Great time!




Well…that’s the wedding & honeymoon in review. I hope you enjoyed it!! FM me if you have any questions!!

Re: December 4, 2010- Fox Hollow, SSPJ, Proline Studios, Flowers by Brian, Hawaii and more!!!

Wonderful review. Everything looked great and you were beautiful !!!

Re: December 4, 2010- Fox Hollow, SSPJ, Proline Studios, Flowers by Brian, Hawaii and more!!!

Thanks! So helpful! I'm gonna checkout Maureens for my events (I'm a Smithtown girl too!)

Re: December 4, 2010- Fox Hollow, SSPJ, Proline Studios, Flowers by Brian, Hawaii and more!!!

such a great review! I love maureen's kitchen btw!!! you looked amazing and the MH looked great! Thanks for the advice in the beginning also!!!

Re: December 4, 2010- Fox Hollow, SSPJ, Proline Studios, Flowers by Brian, Hawaii and more!!!

I have to admit this is one of the first reviews I have read every word of. You looked amazing!!!!!!!!!! I am so glad that Fox Hollow was good to you!!

Re: December 4, 2010- Fox Hollow, SSPJ, Proline Studios, Flowers by Brian, Hawaii and more!!!

Re: December 4, 2010- Fox Hollow, SSPJ, Proline Studios, Flowers by Brian, Hawaii and more!!!

great review, thanks!
congrats!!!

Re: December 4, 2010- Fox Hollow, SSPJ, Proline Studios, Flowers by Brian, Hawaii and more!!!

Great review! You were a gorgeous bride. I will most likely be sending you an FM to pick your brain about Hawaii.

Re: December 4, 2010- Fox Hollow, SSPJ, Proline Studios, Flowers by Brian, Hawaii and more!!!

What a great review!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You were stunning!

Thanks again for all the Hawaii help!

Re: December 4, 2010- Fox Hollow, SSPJ, Proline Studios, Flowers by Brian, Hawaii and more!!!

Great review Jeanmarie!

Re: December 4, 2010- Fox Hollow, SSPJ, Proline Studios, Flowers by Brian, Hawaii and more!!!

Great review! Everything looked amazing!

Re: December 4, 2010- Fox Hollow, SSPJ, Proline Studios, Flowers by Brian, Hawaii and more!!!

love your pics!!!!!!!!!!!!! and the cufflinks were awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: December 4, 2010- Fox Hollow, SSPJ, Proline Studios, Flowers by Brian, Hawaii and more!!!

What a great review! You made such a stunning bride!!! Congrats!

Re: December 4, 2010- Fox Hollow, SSPJ, Proline Studios, Flowers by Brian, Hawaii and more!!!

Great review Jeanmarie!!!

Re: December 4, 2010- Fox Hollow, SSPJ, Proline Studios, Flowers by Brian, Hawaii and more!!!

amazing!! thank you so much for all the details and pictures! i love the BM glasses you got from Etsy's and i have to totally check out the 'cufflinkmaker'!!!!

Re: December 4, 2010- Fox Hollow, SSPJ, Proline Studios, Flowers by Brian, Hawaii and more!!!

Hi I love your review!! Your wedding looked amazing as did you!!!

I just emailed your makeup artist... love the work she did!
Also going to look into those boxes for Viannese hr. Thats been on my to do list... Thanks for sharing the link!!

One last thing was I am obsessed with your honeymoon spot!! can you FM me approx. how much that all ran for the honeymoon and was it all-inclusive??

AND.,, CONGRATS!!!

Re: December 4, 2010- Fox Hollow, SSPJ, Proline Studios, Flowers by Brian, Hawaii and more!!!

what a great review! i am getting married at the fox hollow and am so excited!

you looked beautiful!!

Re: December 4, 2010- Fox Hollow, SSPJ, Proline Studios, Flowers by Brian, Hawaii and more!!!

Great review, thank you! You looked beautiful!

Re: December 4, 2010- Fox Hollow, SSPJ, Proline Studios, Flowers by Brian, Hawaii and more!!!

Great Review!!! Thanks

Re: December 4, 2010- Fox Hollow, SSPJ, Proline Studios, Flowers by Brian, Hawaii and more!!!

thanks for all the Hawaii info, i will def meet up with Paula Finn your T.A.