DONEGAL419's 2/17/07 Review: UPDATED with Video Review! Stewart Manor, Good Clean Fun, Video Express, Lillette's, and more!!!! OUR BIG FAT IRISH WEDDING!

Donegal419’s February 17th, 2007 Wedding Review!

Almost 2 months after my wedding, I am finally getting around to writing a review! I hope other brides will find it helpful since most of my major vendors were NOT ones used by the majority of brides on LIW, yet they were still good quality, and for someone on a small budget, they were very reasonable and affordable.

To start, I would like to say thank you to Ron and Liz for creating this site! I actually found it by doing a search on Google for affordable places on LI to have a wedding. . . . Many posts from LIW came up and I became addicted to the informative and enthusiastic help I was getting on the site. When I first got engaged, I didn’t think DH and I would be able to afford a wedding (we have a very large family and are blessed with many friends). I refused to go in debt to pay for a wedding. We even debated not having a wedding at all or having it at a very low key place like at an American Legion or something similar. However, thanks to so many helpful people on this site, we were able to get ideas that helped us have a wedding that was perfect for us… and one that didn’t break the bank either! ?
My wedding was truly the best day of my life… sure there were a few hiccups, but I didn’t let it bother me. My vendors did a fantastic job and everyone had a great time. I married the love of my life and my best friend and all of our friends and family were there with us. I have never felt so happy and blessed. It doesn’t get better than that!

My review is very long. . . I couldn’t help it! But feel free to scroll through to find information on the following vendors and services:
Lillette’s, Stewart Manor Country Club, Video Express Productions, Good Clean Fun Band, Imperial Florist, Defusion Hair Salon, Afterhours Formal Wear, The Wingate Inn, The Wantagh Inn, Royalty Limo, Rhea Nichols Shoes, Estelle’s Dressy Dresses, David’s Bridal and various Do-It-Yourself Projects.

Please feel free to FM if you have any questions or want any more information!

Part I: THE WEDDING ATTIRE

Lillette’s Bridal Shoppe, Merrick Road, Baldwin
Bride’s Dress: A+
Bridesmaid’s Dresses: B

I have heard varying views on Lillette’s on this site, but I have nothing but good things to say about them. Since I grew up down the block from the shop, it was the natural place to first look for a dress. From the minute my mom and I walked in there in December of 2005, they were fabulous to work with. I was one of those brides that had no idea what I wanted in a wedding dress (I was definitely not one of those girls that had been dreaming about their dress since they were 5 years old!) In fact, when Anne (the owner of the shop and our salesperson) asked me what I thought I might want in a dress, I said, “I have no idea. I just know it needs to be white!”


Sales:
Anne took one look at me and brought out several dresses for me to try on. ALL of them flattered my body type, which was a big relief to me. Being a size 14, I was really worried I would look fat and ugly on my wedding day, but Anne was a pro and everything looked great! In fact, I was shocked to discover that a strapless dress was the most flattering on me. I also appreciated Anne’s ability to be brutally honest, but not pushy. My mom and I never once felt pressured to purchase anything from there nor did Anne ever push a more expensive dress on us. In fact, she was gracious enough to find a sample dress that she could sell me for $500.00 because she knew I was on a budget. In the end though, the second dress we tried on was it, even though it was a little more than we anticipated on spending…. Both Mom and I cried when I tried it on. Anne found the perfect veil to accompany it….the veil was my biggest “splurge” on the wedding. At the first fitting, we discovered that the veil that was ordered was too “white.” (Each designer has their own version of diamond white and the veil was a much starker white than my dress). Anne then ordered another veil in ivory and it was a perfect match! We probably could have found a cheaper veil, but it was just too perfect with the dress. I didn’t look around too much for my gown because it was my dream dress. However, the only other shop that I found it at was Bridal Reflections in Massapequa. It was $200.00 cheaper at Lillette’s.
Finding a bridesmaid dress was one of the hardest decisions for me during the whole planning process. At first, I thought I would just let my sister pick out something she liked, but in the end, I ended up choosing it. Lillette’s carries several of the major designers, but I actually found the dress (it was a two-piece) on the internet. It was an Alfred Sung. Lillette’s had the sample in a cranberry and I ordered from them in navy (Alfred Sung calls it midnight).

Fittings:
The seamstress that worked on my dress was named Leila. Anne said that she was the head seamstress and the best one there, which was a big relief to me. Thankfully, I did not need a lot of work done to my dress. It only had to be taken in slightly and hemmed slightly. Leila was kind enough to let me try it on pre-fitting so I could lose weight. Well, hahaha….for the first fitting, I actually gained weight! (Story of my life! ;) But it still fit and at the last fitting, it fit like a glove. The week or two before the wedding, I was so busy and stressed, I think I lost a little weight so the top was a little big, but that was no fault of theirs. I always seem to lose weight from my chest first! The best part of my alterations was that my bustle was perfect! It was a simple bustle, but the good news was that it held up all day!!! I hear so many brides say that their bustle fell in the middle of their reception. I had NO problems with mine…. And I danced a lot at my reception and wore the dress for about 15 hours!




Bridesmaids Dresses: B
The only reason Lillette’s didn’t get an A here was that I found that it was difficult to work with them in terms of having out-of-town bridesmaids that wouldn’t be able to come to the shop for a fitting. The three girls who were able to get to Lillette’s and get measured by them, their dresses fit perfectly and only needed minor alterations like hemming. My two out-of-town bridesmaids (one in Europe and one in Virginia who called in their measurements…their dresses came in way too big. I guess that’s better than too small.
The other comment that I got from my girls was that it was a pain to deal with Lillette’s because they do not accept credit cards. The girls had to mail in their payments via a check. Another negative was that Lillette’s does not ship their dresses. You have to come in personally to pick up the dresses. It didn’t bother me too much since I lived so close to it, but for brides or bridesmaids that don’t live close to the shop, it’s annoying. I ended up shipping the dress to two of the girls. None of my girls used Lillette’s for alterations, but it is my understanding that they charge $70.00 as a cap for bridesmaid’s alterations.




Estelle’s Dressy Dresses: Route 110, Farmingdale
Mother of the Bride Dress: A+

Mom and I walked in there in the summer of 2006 just to “look.” It was the first place we looked and we really didn’t think we would find anything there as they typically specialize in prom dresses and other junior dressy outfits. We were anticipating having to pay at least $300-$500 for her dress at either a bridal shop or a department store. She is hard to fit being only five feet tall and a breast cancer survivor and having had multiple surgeries. However, we found the perfect outfit: A beautiful champagne colored dress with a matching jacket. It also had some beading, but not too overly ornate, which was perfect for my morning wedding. They had a great selection of petite sizes. The best part was the dress was only $140.00!! It fit just about perfectly and Mom got it slightly altered by a wonderful seamstress. (I can find out her contact info. if anyone is interested.)
The only disclaimer with Estelle’s is that you must be positive you really want the dress because they do not allow returns on dresses with beading or sequins and if you do return, it must be within 3 business and even then you only receive store credit. However, the price was so good we took it anyway and figured she could always wear it to something else if we found something she liked better. However, any mother of the bride's dresses we saw were either much too matronly or way too expensive. We ended up sticking with the first choice and Mom was very happy and received several compliments at the wedding.
I suggest you take a look at Estelle’s. You might be pleasantly surprised!


Rhea Nichol’s Shoes: Sunrise Highway at Park Avenue, Rockville Centre
Service: A+
Shoe Comfort: A+

Mom and I went in there during the summer of 2006 and received wonderful service. We also went during the week (I’ve heard others say it’s too busy in there on the weekends). We met with a wonderful salesperson who took the time to really help me try on a myriad of shoes. I have flat feet and it’s hard for me to be in high heels for too long, so for me, comfort was most important. That said, I didn’t go with some crazy pair of shoes… they had a heel of about 2 inches and were open-toe. They were so comfortable and I wore them the entire day and throughout my reception. I think I finally took them off at 8:00 PM after first putting them on at 9:00 AM. Mom also found a perfect pair of shoes that matched her dress.
We were very pleased with the very personal and attentive service we received. I paid about $60.00 for my shoes and my mom also paid about the same for hers. Overall, I thought their prices were reasonable (I found the SAME exact shoes in wedding stores and they were more expensive). Another added bonus: Rhea Nichols dyes all shoes purchased there for FREE. I did this about 2 weeks before my wedding (I could only get a swatch from my dress after the first fitting) and they had my shoes ready in 2 days.

Great Shapes: Merrick Road, Merrick
Sales and Service: A+
Bra: A+

Strapless dress = strapless bra. Mother from Ireland = very particular and “old school” when it comes to me “having the proper undergarments.” ? Me hating everything about bra shopping typically used to = DISASTER! However, Mom and I had a great experience at Great Shapes in Merrick. They specialize in bras, underwear, and custom swimwear. We had great service when we walked in and told her we needed to find a long-line bra that would not peek out from under the dress (my gown dipped slightly in the back) and that would suck in my size 14 in nice and tight without causing me to pass out!
The salesperson who worked with us was wonderful! She helped me get in and out of several bras and found the perfect one for me. It fit perfectly and really smoothed me out. We spent $62.00 on the bra, which to me was well worth it because it really made me feel more confident in my dress and really slimmed me out. They were great with Mom and helped her find a strapless bra for her dress and even found her some everyday bras. Because she has had a double mastectomy, it is hard for her to find bras that meet her needs and fit well. We both walked out with 2 bras each in addition to the “wedding bra.” I recommend the place highly and will be back.
They have other locations on Long Island and I know of another one in Roslyn Heights on Willis Avenue.

David’s Bridal: The Source Mall, Old Country Road, Westbury
Service: A+
Flowergirl Dress: A+
Flowergirl Headpiece: A+
Bridal slippers: A

I did not use David’s Bridal for my dress or the dresses for the bridesmaids. I personally didn’t like their selections and/or colors. However, my flower girl lives in the Bronx and I wanted to choose a store her and her mother would have easy access to so she could look in person and on the internet. Her mom and I found several dresses we liked on-line and we went in to look. I was a little nervous because my flower girl was 9 years old and I didn’t want anything too young looking and full of tulle and poof. However, we found the perfect dress! It was a diamond white like mine with an ivory waist. It also had some small crystal-like beading on it and the white buttons down the back just like mine! It was perfect! ? She looked stunning. It also fit like a glove and not one alteration was needed.
While there, I found the perfect headpiece for her. It wasn’t a tiara, more like an elaborate headband. It had goldish crystals and pearls on it, which also matched the beading on my own dress. It was perfect!
I have to say I was very pleased with their service. A disclaimer though: although we walked in without an appointment, it was one of the Fridays before Christmas and there was not a soul in the store. We got four-star service which my flower girl loved. The saleswoman kept bringing her dresses and she had a great time! I was nervous that the dress wouldn’t arrive in time, but they called me in less than a week, a week before Christmas no less, to tell me it was in. It came in perfectly and looked great! Many brides have had issues with David’s but they were great with us!



After casually looking for bridal slippers or socks with the grip on the bottom in a cream or off-white for a long time, I didn’t find anything and forgot about it until 4 days before my wedding! I was worried that my feet would hurt in my shoes and wanted something to wear at the reception if needed. Mom ran in there last minute and bought me ballet-type slippers. They were perfect! The only reason they didn’t get an A+ for those was that I thought they were a bit expensive… I think they were almost $25.00. Even though I didn’t end up wearing them at my reception, I wore them at the after-party and I was so glad to have them. I also wore them on my honeymoon because they match the lingerie/PJ set my Mom got me at my shower.

Afterhours Formal Wear: The Source Mall, Old Country Road, Westbury (next to David’s Bridal)
Sales/Service: C-

I have to say DH and I were disappointed in this store. We had groomsmen from all over the place so we needed to choose a place that they would all have access to a location. When DH initially went to inquire about the tuxes, he went to the location in Roosevelt Field. He found them to be very rude and unhelpful so he went to the location at The Source. While they were nicer, the service was still poor.
When my mother went in with my father a couple of weeks before the wedding, they were completely not helpful and he ended up with the wrong vest; it was black, which was the most important thing, but it wasn’t as “dapper” as I wanted it to be. They said they didn’t have anything else to offer us. I got the sense that the salespeople in there clearly have either never been to a black-tie event because they seemed to have no idea what my mother was talking about when she tried to explain what we wanted my Dad to wear (i.e. morning formal wear as opposed to evening formal wear) or they are just selling a product without understanding it.
The worst thing that happened with them was the morning of my wedding. I almost started crying when I saw my brother the morning of the wedding on his way to meet the guys at the hotel in the wrong pants! They were black pants but DH ordered morning suits which is a black coat with a slight tail and gray pin-striped pants. The morning suit was the look I really wanted and I was really upset. However, thank God, DH and the other groomsmen had the right pants. There were only a few pictures of the bridal party where my brother’s mismatched pants were too visible. To the store’s credit, they did refund my brother’s money when he returned the tux and told them it the pants were wrong.
Overall, the selection is good, and everyone looked very nice. However, the quality and knowledge of their salespeople is severely lacking and it was a bit pricey. (I think my father paid almost $150.00 for a rental.) It is convenient if you have a lot of out-of-town groomsmen, but that’s about it.

Bride’s Hair Pins: Tri-Country Flea-Market, A+
I found the perfect hair pins here. I knew I didn’t want a tiara so I wanted a little something in my hair. Since my dress was not a stark white, I found the perfect pearl hair pins… they were off-white in color and had pearls and crystals in them. They were PERFECT! They were $3.00 each at the booth that sells all the veils. I pushed them into my up-do the day of the wedding.

Bride’s Jewelry: Berne’s Jewelers, Merrick Rd. in Merrick (in the Waldbaum’s Shopping Center) A+
My dress had slight pearl accents on it and since I was going for a simple, elegant look, I knew that I would want to wear pearls on my wedding day. Years ago, before she died, my grandmother gave my mother one of her pearl necklaces. As a poor woman in Ireland she never had much, so even though it was just costume jewelry, it meant a lot to my mom to receive it. A few Christmases ago, my mom brought the necklace to Berne’s to put one of the pearls on a chain for me and my sisters so we too would have a piece of Grandma’s jewelry. I decided I wanted my sisters to wear those matching chains as their jewelry for the day. However, as the bride, Mom and I thought I needed something a little more than just one pearl. We bought Grandma’s necklace back to Berne’s. They took off three more pearls and put them on a beautiful gold chain. The chain was perfect! The pearls lay perfectly in the center of my neck (it was pearl-chain-pearl-chain-pearl-chain) and it looked fantastic! It also meant a lot of me to have a piece of Grandma with me on my wedding day and my mom’s wedding gift to me will be something I will always treasure.



Bridesmaid’s Jewelry:
Tri-County Flea Market, A+.
Unfortunately, I am not remembering the name of the booth that my mom bought the bridesmaids’ jewelry from. (All I remember was that he was an Indian man and his booth was on the first floor, not upstairs with the other jewelers). However, I wanted a single pearl on a chain to match the chains that my sisters would be wearing. My mom went hunting for them and found the nicest man who had one exactly like we wanted. He was kind enough to order 2 more and call my mom when they were ready. They were perfect and the other 3 girl bridesmaid’s loved them. I included the jewelry as part of their gift.



Bride’s Cape, Flowergirl’s Cape, and Bridesmaids’ Wraps:
My wonderful cousin Veronica, Seamstress Extraordinaire! A++++++++++
Fabric Store, Voice Road, Carle Place, A+
When I first got engaged, my cousin offered to make my wedding dress for me. I ended up finding the dress that I wanted in a store and deep-down I knew how time consuming it would be for her to make a dress. However, once she found out that it was going to be a February wedding, she offered to make capes for me and my flower girl and wraps to match the bridesmaid’s dresses.
I bought the fabric store in Carle Place on Voice Road (across from the Bass shoe store, etc.) They were wonderful to deal with as I walked around with my swatches trying to find the exact shade of navy velvet. We also bought a navy satin lining. The girls ended up wearing the velvet part close to them because it was so cold and the lining side out, which didn’t matter because the navy satin was an exact match. I also bought an off-white heavier type of fabric for my cape. Veronica put a beautiful pearl clasp on it to tie it together. With the leftover fabric, she made a matching cape for my flower girl! To make it look young and cute, instead of a clasp she made an adorable tie with pom-poms on the end. These gifts meant so much to me because they didn’t come from a store, but rather from a dear cousin and friend who love and kindness was evident in every stitch!



Part II: Wedding Stationary, DIY Projects and Other Accents

Invitations: Invitations and Beyond, Long Beach Road at Waukena Ave., Oceanside

Mom and I had a wonderful experience here! They were so friendly, helpful and found the exact invitation I was looking for! Jessica (PreshusSmurf here on LIW) and another saleswoman at the store were fantastic to work with! Many other places we went into cringed when I told them I didn’t want to spend more than $400.00 on my invitations. However, because they offer 25% off what is in the book, we were able to find the perfect invitation and a price that was workable for us.
I told them I wanted something elegant, yet understated. I liked the idea of having an “Irish” look to the invites, but that said, I did not want a claddagh, shamrocks or anything like that on them. Jessica helped me find a beautiful ivory invite with a pearlized border that had a Celtic weave design around the border. We loved them! They were so helpful with getting the order together. We even purchased the matching thank you notes with our monogram on the front. With 125 invites (invite, reception card, reply card and envelope (address printed on them), inner envelope and outer envelope (return address on it) and 125 matching thank you cards, we spent about $425.00. This included all shipping and tax. The proof was perfect the first time and the whole order came in about 2-3 weeks.
I highly recommend them and rumor has it, that Jessica offers LIW girls a discount. Definitely check them out! They were half the price of what I was quoted for the same exact invitation at a shop in Merrick, and she didn’t even offer the matching thank you cards. They also offer the option to calligraphy the outer envelopes for you and/or stuff your invites for you. I did my own labels for the outer envelopes (I found the same font that was on the invite on Microsoft Word and printed out my addresses on large, clear labels). Highly recommended!




DIY: “Do It Yourself!”

To save money, there were a lot of projects that I did on my own. Let’s just say I was in Staples and Michael’s stores often during the wedding process. I will try to post some pictures of my attempts at being crafty. Here is a list of some things that I created on my own. Feel free to FM if you would like more information.

Save-the-Date Cards/Letters: I first got the idea of Save-the-Date cards from girls on LIW, but I didn’t want the cost of using a professional printer. Instead, I want to Staples and bought Save the Date cards. Gartner Studios makes them; they were your typical wedding white with a pearlized border. At this point, my invitations were not chosen, so I couldn’t be OCD and have them match/be similar to my invites. Using the template the company gives you right on the box, I just typed them out in Word and printed them out on my computer. Because we were having a lot of overseas and out-of-town guests, we also wrote a letter telling everyone about the wedding: we gave them the hotel information, airport and train information, etc. We got a lot of compliments on the letter and it helped give us an idea of who was going to be able come to the wedding before we even sent out the invitations.

Out-of-Town Bags: I bought brown paper bags and navy tissue paper at Michael’s. We went to BJ’s and bought bottled water, potato chips, candy, juice boxes, chewing gum, cookies, etc. to stuff the bags with. I bought favor tags at Michael’s also and printed out our names and the wedding date on them (on the computer) and tied them to the handle of the bag with a ribbon. Our out-of-town guests, particularly our guests from overseas loved them and appreciated the snack! Kudos to the hotel for handing them out to everyone!

Memorial Candle: I bought a large pillar candle in ivory and hot glued textured navy ribbon and a ribbon with pearls all the way around the top and bottom. I also stuck in pins to the back to ensure that the ribbon wouldn’t fall out. I bought a sheet of vellum paper from Michael’s and printed out the names of our parents, grandparents, etc. that are deceased on it. I taped it on with double-sided tape. Unfortunately, for some reason the candle didn’t make it from the church to the reception hall, but what can you do? I had wanted it to sit on the place card table at the hall or on the mantle of the fireplace. It served its purpose at the church where we left it burning in front of Mary’s altar where we brought flowers to during the Mass in memory of DH’s mother.

Favors: DH and I made a donation to the American Cancer Society. After speaking with them, I discovered I could make my own and they would copy it on the paper color of my choice and send them to me. I just typed up what I wanted to say in Word (using the same font as my invites, menus, etc.) and e-mailed it to them. They copied it for me and sent them back. My sister and I rolled them up (it was a regular 81/2 x 11 piece of paper) into scrolls and tied navy ribbon around them. The Cancer Society also sent us a card to display at the hall stating that we had indeed made a donation, but they spelled DH’s mother’s name WRONG so we didn’t display it. I hope people took our word for it! ;)

Menus: Again, very simple. I found a bunch of this really cool textured construction paper in a closet in my school that no one was using so I cut them into 6”x9” pieces and used a laser printer to print the menu on them. Because the paper was thick, my sisters and I hot glue-gunned navy ribbon onto the bottom and top of each menu.

CD Labels and Cases: I got this idea from another LIW poster! In lieu of table cameras which were going to be expensive to buy and then develop, not to mention, most people don’t use them or finish the roll and/or the pictures come out poor, we decided to put out CD’s. These days everyone seems to have a digital camera, so we thought we would capitalize on that. I found a CD label maker program (Maxell, the cassette, CD and videotape company makes it) on sale at the dollar store for $2.99. I knew I would torture myself trying to figure out the dimensions for a CD and case on Word so I bought it. It came with the CD labels and all sorts of templates and art for your label. I created the design for the label and printed out about 25. We put the label directly on the CD (the label had our names, wedding date, and directions on what to do with the disk.) We bought blank CD’s at Staples (50 for $8.99). I found the perfect CD cases at the dollar store (6 for $1) and they were the round ones, not the square ones) to fit the CD so I wouldn’t have to worry about a label for the case as well. I wrote a short note next to the basket of CDs (this was put on the place card table) explaining that they were to use the CD to upload pictures from the wedding…this was also on the label. All the CDs were gone at the end of the night. Unfortunately, we haven’t received any of them back. I am hoping most people will eventually upload their pictures for us. That said, only a handful of people e-mailed us pictures either, so we’ll see if we get any pictures from this. I thought it was a good idea, but maybe not. . . .

Baskets: A friend of the family recently got married and his mother gave me all the white baskets she had bought and spray painted white for her son’s wedding. She lent them to me and all I did was wrap navy ribbon around the handles and added some fake white flowers that hung off the sides. I used the baskets for my programs at the church and to hold the CD’s at the reception.

Pew Bows: My mother has some crafty friends! The same friend that made the baskets also made the wedding bows for her son’s wedding and I borrowed those. They had a large white ribbon at the back to tie around the pew. The front was a larger bow made out of tulle and she had some fake white flowers cascading down. Unfortunately, she wanted to put on some real ivy from her garden, but the weather didn’t allow that to happen! My mom’s friend that put them up on the pews even got them professionally pressed so that they would look neater as they were wrinkled from being stuck in a bag from the last wedding.

Picture Collage: We bought a large picture frame with spots for about 15 photos of different sizes from Wal-mart. I put different pictures of DH and me as children inside the frame. I also bought a smaller frame with room for 5 4”x6” pictures. In that frame, I put pictures of DH and me as a couple. Both collages were left on the fireplace mantle in the cocktail hour room. We got a lot of compliments on the pictures. I think people thought it was a cute idea.
Rehearsal Dinner Invites: These were just invites that I bought from Staples with a design around the border that I liked. I just downloaded the template from the company’s site and printed them out on my computer. I also printed out my address labels in the same font and color and they were done. Quick and easy!

Church Program: This was the mother of all the DIY projects for me. It was the most important thing to me and I wanted it to be perfect. At Staples, I bought program paper (I think it was Gartner Studios). This paper was a little lighter than card stock, but heavier than regular paper. I bought about 4 packs (50 sheets in a pack). When folded, the front cover had an ivory-pearlized border. The program paper served as my front and back covers and I used the inside back cover as an “In Loving Memory” page. I then bought copy paper in a light ivory color (to match the cover of course!) This was regular paper that I printed on both sides- First page: Wedding party, Insides (pg.2 and 3): outline of the Nuptial Mass, Back page: our thank you. All together it looked like an 8-page booklet. I got so many compliments on my program. Both priests that participated in the Mass said it was one of the nicest programs they ever saw while being liturgically accurate and appropriate. I was very proud of them! Of course, being OCD, the font was the same as it was on my invites and all other wedding related stationary. To add a bit of an Irish touch, I found a nice plain version of the Trinity Knot (represents the Holy Trinity as well as infinity) on Google images and put that on the cover after our names and before the date and location so it sat in the center of the cover. The programs took a lot of time, but it was worth it. I printed out both sides of the cover on my own printer, but once I had a copy of the inside sheet, that went through a copy machine. When all that was done, it was a lot of folding and stuffing. I initially was going to add a ribbon and wrap it around the inside, but in the end, I liked the simple elegance of the simple cover.



Other Accents:
Of course there are lots of little things you want and need at your wedding. Here are some things that I used. Some were gifts, others I bought myself. Here I was able to add a little bit of DH’s Irish background to the wedding in a subtle way.

Unity Candle: www.celticcandle.com

Thanks to chellynyc, I ordered my unity candle from this site. They have a variety of designs to choose from. DH and I chose the ivory candle with gold paint. On it, a Celtic cross was painted with our names and wedding date under it. On the top and bottom of the candle, was a Celtic-knot design border. I was very pleased with the candle… it was very unique and elegant. Matching tapers came with the unity candle. Each taper had the Celtic-knot design on it.

Unity Candle Holder: My mom is the best and found the perfect accent for our unity candle. For an engagement gift, she got us a large pillar candle holder that is Galway Crystal with a cross on the front of it. This held the unity candle. For my shower, she also bought me Waterford taper candle holders which I used to hold the two tapers.



Toasting Flutes: My godmother got us these as an engagement gift and they were gorgeous! They are Waterford crystal; I believe they are from the “Joy” collection. We loved them; very elegant and classy.



Cake Cutter and Server: We registered for this set by Lenox and Fortunoff and I received it as a shower gift.



Guest Book “Frame”: We bought this at Michael’s. Instead of a guest book, it was a picture frame where the guests signed the wide border around the picture. It will be nice to hang up when we put a picture from the wedding in there. Needless to say, not everyone signed it! ;)

Miscellaneous Items:

Groom’s Gift: I bought DH a beautiful Citizen Watch from one of the jewelers upstairs at Tri-County Flea Market in Levittown. He loved it and they engraved it with my initials and the wedding date. Definitely check out Tri-County… I didn’t think I was going to be able to afford to give DH a really nice gift because we spent a lot of money on the wedding, but their prices were very reasonable.

Bridesmaids Gifts: I bought the girls matching tote bags from LLBean with their monograms on them. I bought the bags in the cream canvas color with navy straps and monogram. I also bought navy flannel blankets (also from LLBean) with the matching monogram. I got a great deal from LL Bean and I used a free shipping coupon I had from their catalogue. I also threw in two Yankee votive candles (one Vanilla and one Blueberry, to match my Navy and cream theme, of course!) I put each candle in a sheer navy bag (sold at Michael’s in the favors section). The girls loved them! They also received the wrap that my cousin made to go with their dress and my 3 non-sister bridesmaids got a chain with a pearl on it. Overall, I probably spent too much on bridesmaid’s gifts, but overall, the girls loved everything!

Groomsmen Gifts: DH ordered beer mugs from the Wedding Channel.com. They at first messed up the order and the initials were out of order. Unfortunately, they have a no return policy on personalized items. It may have been our fault because we entered the initials as how they would appear in a monogram (i.e. last initial in the middle) and they re-ordered the initials and so for three of the men, it was no longer correct. We ****** it up and ordered them again. They came in quickly (2-3 days from when we ordered them). The boys even started drinking from them at the rehearsal dinner!



Other Gifts:
For my readers and Eucharistic ministers, I bought bottles of Pindar’s Winter White wine (to go with our winter wedding) and included a poem about thanking them for sharing in our day and participating in our Mass.
For my altar boys we put cash in cards and got each of the boys a T-shirt: an NYPD shirt for one boy who’s Dad is an NYPD cop and an Ireland T-shirt for the other boy. I got both of these at Steve and Barry’s at the Source. Both T-shirts together were under $15.00!
For my flower girl, I got her an American Girl book set (she loves to read and the American Girl dolls) and a cute necklace and earring set I found at a Claire’s type place in the city. I also gave her the cape my cousin made to wear outside and in church. It was perfect with her dress!
For the priests: One is a huge Mets fan and we bought him a pennant clock for his office. The other one mentioned when we first met with him to talk about our wedding how he loves Yankee candles. When DH and I were up at the Yankee Factory Store in Massachusetts we bought him a ton of votives and put them in a basket. He got a kick out of some of the candles I put in there for him; he loved the one that was called “Frankincense and Myrrh.”
For my parents: For both my Mom and Dad I bought them the traditional handkerchief with the poem that comes with it. I found these at Kathleen’s of Donegal in Rockville Centre. Dad’s came with a cute shamrock pin and Mom’s came with flowers embroidered in it. I also got them a beautiful framed poem titled: “On My Wedding Day”. It basically is a short letter written from a daughter to her parents thanking them for everything throughout her life and for making her who she is today…. They loved it! Mom cried when she read it! I also found this at Kathleen’s of Donegal in RVC.
For DH’s father, he bought him a money clip with his initials engraved on it. I believe he also bought this on-line.

Part III: The BIG Day – Major Vendors

Church: St. Christopher’s Church, Merrick Road, Baldwin
A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I know you can’t really rate a church… it’s not a business. However, my Mass was so perfect in everyway, I can’t help but sharing that part of the day! The Church was also extremely accommodating of our many requests; we were not the typical wedding as we had a visiting priest, visiting altar servers, and visiting musicians. In addition to our readers, we also had friends participate in our Mass as Eucharistic Ministers and our godparents brought up the gifts. I was very particularly with how I wanted my Mass to go and Fr. Brian worked with us on everything!
From the first time we met with St. Christopher’s, Fr. Brian was great! We explained that DH’s friend is a priest and we wanted him to say the Mass, however, his health is not good and we wanted to be sure a priest from St. Christopher’s would be there just in case he would not be able to make it. He made sure he was available and actually did a lot of the moving around and walking during the Mass because our friend has mobility issues. The con-celebration was beautifully done and Fr. Brian was gracious enough to have DH’s friend be the one to witness our vows, to say the homily and lead the Liturgy of the Eucharist, which made our Mass extra special for us.
I am lucky enough to have friends that are professional musicians that shared their gifts and talents at the Mass. I sing with the Chorale at St. Agnes Cathedral in Rockville Centre and so I recruited 5 of my friends from there to sing as well as a good friend from high school who is a singer. Michael, the Director of Music at the Cathedral who is also a friend of mine, played the organ. I have been singing in church since I was 8 years old and so choosing the perfect music was so important to me. Michael and my friends from St. Agnes sang and played everything to perfection. It was exquisite and it meant so much to me because of the personal connection I have with each of them. EVERYONE commented on the music at the Mass and how beautiful it was. Everyone loved how it was a small choir singing and not just a soloist and how different that was.
I also had two good friends from college that are flutists play music during my prelude. I told them I wanted some Irish music during the prelude since I wasn’t having any of it during the Mass. They got together and arranged some Irish airs like “Raglan Road,” “The Sally Gardens,” “She Moved through the Faire”, etc. to be played as flute duets. It was gorgeous! They also played with Michael during the bridesmaids’ entrance as the piece that I used, “Sheep May Safely Graze” by Bach calls for two flutes along with the organ. It was GORGEOUS!
After the wedding, St. Christopher’s was much more flexible than I thought they would or could be. I had explained to Fr. Brian that we had a very tight turn-around between the end of our Mass and the cocktail hour. He graciously allowed us to take some pictures inside the church after the wedding even though there was a baptism coming in at 1:00 (Our Mass ended at noon). He also allowed me to take the two flower arrangements that I brought for the altar out of the church. (There were a lot of flowers from a wedding the night before and there was another wedding the next day. We had explained at our last meeting with him that we would love to take some of the flowers with us if we could. Because we were on a budget, I did not go with centerpieces or anything extra flower-wise for the hall.) It was great to have the two arrangements from the church with us at the hall to spruce things up a bit.
Our Pre-Cana experience at St. Christopher’s was great. We had a sweet older couple and we were done in 4 weeks (1 Friday night per week). If anything, I would have liked Pre-Cana to be a little more intense than it was as Sean and I did not feel like anything came up that we hadn’t already talked about; although I guess that is a good thing!






Reception Hall: Stewart Manor Country Club
Service: A+++++
Affordability: A+
Food: B+

Overall Information:
Working with Stewart Manor was probably one of the most enjoyable parts of our wedding planning. Initially, we did not think we would be able to afford a wedding on Long Island. Prices for most catering halls around here were just way too expensive for us. We really did not know what to do and were almost in the process of throwing out the idea of having a standard wedding reception at all. Stewart Manor Country Club came to the rescue! My mom’s best friend recommended it as she looked there when her daughter was getting married. The minute we walked in, we knew it was the place for us! We loved the cozy atmosphere on the inside, the dining room had a large dance floor and a fireplace and the gazebo outside would be perfect for pictures! We also loved the fact that we would be the only wedding that day. June (who is now no longer there) and her son James, the maitre’d, made us feel so comfortable and at ease. They were generally interested in helping us create a nice wedding, while being cognizant of our budget restraints. They never tried to push anything on us and after our experiences with some other halls that made us feel like we couldn’t have a nice wedding on our budget and they acted like used-car salesmen, this was a refreshing change. We booked right on the spot! What I liked about Stewart Manor was that we did not have to pay towards our balance every month. We left a reasonable deposit (only $750.00) to book the date and we paid nothing until about 6 weeks before the wedding where we paid 2/3 of the balance. The remaining balance was paid the day of the wedding. This worked out great because we were able to save money as well as pay off other vendors as we went along without all the money going to the hall.
After booking the hall in December of 2005, I didn’t interact with Stewart Manor much until about 1-2 months before the wedding. In every instance, they were helpful and answered all our questions. At our meeting about 6 weeks before we gave our anticipated number (I went a bit below) and paid 2/3 of that. We also decided on our menu at this meeting. They were great about being flexible with the menu and while using the set menu as a guideline, that menu was not set in stone. We chose our own soup and chicken dish. At this meeting we also chose our linens for the tables and flowers for the centerpieces. We also decided to add an hour to our reception! Financially, we were in better shape than we thought we would be in and less people were coming than we anticipated, so it was a go! It only cost $5.00 per guest for the extra hour. WELL worth it--- that was probably the best money I spent on the whole wedding. Everything was a whirlwind that day so it was nice to have the extra time. I added a half-hour to the cocktail hour and a half-hour to the reception.
I then met with James about a week before the wedding where I dropped off my favors, place cards, table numbers, list of guests and where they were sitting, etc. James was great with all my little extras like the favors, photo collage, the CDs, etc. and everything was placed where I wanted it on the day of the wedding. After that meeting, I felt very much at ease and I knew everything was going to be fine.
Two-three days before the wedding, we had a few people call us and say that they were not going to be able to come. This was about 5-7 people. . . they had NO problem with this and let us remove them from the tables, they made the right changes and we were NOT charged! Many halls charge if you make any changes the week of. That was a big relief to us because that would have cost us a few hundred dollars, so it was a relief that we didn’t have to pay that.

Service:
Pre-Wedding, A+
Day of Wedding, A++++

On the day of our wedding, I was extremely impressed with the service we received at the Stewart Manor. The minute we walked through the door, we didn’t have to worry about a thing. James took care of everything! By the time Sean and I arrived with our bridal party, the cocktail hour had begun and everything was in full swing! We were escorted to the bridal suite where we had a chance to relax for a few minutes. We used this time to have a bite to eat (James made sure we all got the drink of our choice and brought up food from the cocktail hour for us to munch on). Sean even dropped off a case of Guinness a week before. . . that’s his favorite and it wasn’t an option for the reception. James remembered and anytime Sean wanted a drink, his Guinness was waiting for him! James even got a few pints of Guinness to the people that Sean designated.
We then went down to the dining room to take more pictures and to get the family shots. James was great in keeping everyone calm and moving. During the reception, he was on top of everything. He was right there before I even knew I needed him. He got us all ready for our entrance, let me know when it was time for the father-daughter dance, the cake, etc. etc. I felt so calm and relaxed!
The wait staff was phenomenal! Everyone commented on how they were never without a drink or a coffee or an extra portion of something if they wanted it. People that wanted their prime rib more well done were able to send it back without a problem. I was worried that my Dad’s crowd would sit at the bar in the cocktail hour room the whole time and miss the reception, but the staff was so good about getting the drinks to everyone quickly people stayed in the dining room which was a big relief to me and our family that enjoys their pints!
At the end of the night, James was right there. He even packed up the bridal suite for us and got everything together for us including my cathedral length veil which I removed before the reception. He made sure that all my menus, table number frames, and all my extras for the tables were packed up for me. He even helped my brother pack up the car! EVERYTHING was accounted for and nothing was missing.
When we were waiting for the shuttle to come pick us up, he even got Sean and I a few drinks. . . . I was so busy the whole reception, I hardly had the chance to sit down and James waited on me even thought the wedding was over!
He also gave my mom a few of the baskets of flowers that were in the centerpieces to take home. When I called later that night from the hotel realizing we forgot the cake, James said, “No problem! It’s already in the freezer!” We finally picked it up two weeks AFTER the wedding!
In addition, James added valet parking for FREE for us the day of the wedding. The ice storm was over, but the ground was still icy in spots and there was still snow on the ground. When we first booked, they said it would be a $100.00 per valet parker, but it cost us nothing the day of, which was really great of them to do for us.

Food: B+
Overall, the food at the Stewart Manor was really good! The cocktail hour food was incredible!!! Everyone commented on it. Unfortunately, the only cocktail hour food Sean and I got to eat was the finger food type things, but they were amazing! We missed the pasta bar, ham, etc. because of pictures. Stewart Manor even let us choose our own dish and we asked for a Shepherd’s Pie, which went over very well. All the Irish people agreed that it was delicious!
The main courses (prime rib, filet of sole oreganata and the stuffed chicken breast) were fantastic! I had the fish and it was incredible. I had a bite of Sean’s prime rib = YUMMY! I was disappointed in the soup. We thought we do a soup instead of a pasta appetizer because it was winter. They custom made a potato-leek soup for us; I wasn’t that impressed. Partly, it was cold by the time I got to it (I was too busy walking around) but I thought the texture was a bit too thick. I was also disappointed in the potato which was a side for the entrée. My Irish mother had a 20 minute conversation with them about how important the potato was… hahaha. We decided to go with a twice-baked potato. I didn’t like it… I thought it was dry and I don’t like yellow potatoes as much. But that said, this is coming from someone who grew up with potatoes at every meal, so it could be just me being picky.
I was also a little disappointed in the cake. It looked fantastic, but I expected a raspberry fruit-filling and it was a raspberry cream filling. Oh, well. It was also a little dry, but over all it tasted great. FYI: Stewart Manor provides the cake as part of your cost. They work with a bakery in Lindenhurst. You get to choose whatever you want and you can upgrade (i.e. spend more) on your cake if want that option. We chose a very standard cake that didn’t cost anything additional. Stewart Manor also provides an additional dessert and people kept raving about how good the peach melba was… Unfortunately, I didn’t end up eating much of anything except the fish because I was too busy running around and talking and dancing.




Music: Good Clean Fun Band: www.gcfmusic.com
A++++++
My wedding would not have been the success it was if it wasn’t for the band, Good Clean Fun. They were absolutely AMAZING!!!! People are still talking about what a great band I had at my wedding. They kept everyone up and dancing all afternoon!
Initially, Sean and I thought we would have to go a DJ due to budget restraints. I don’t mind DJ’s but as someone that has always been active in singing and music my whole life, a DJ was not what I really wanted. I wanted live music. On my wedding day, I wanted a band that could play the Irish music I grew up with, yet play the pop music that one would expect to hear at a wedding. I needed a band that could give us a balance of both. A recommendation for an Irish band was my first post on LIW and I was not led astray. Good Clean Fun was recommended and they were by far our favorite vendor. When they were able to give us a 50% off deal because we were a Saturday afternoon wedding, we booked immediately. We developed a good relationship with them and went to see them several times play at local pubs. One night, I even got up there and sang a song with them. I knew they were a good band, but they really were at the top of their game at our wedding.
On the day of the wedding, they played every single request I had given them prior to the wedding and dedicated the songs to the people I requested. My dances with Sean and my father were perfect. They also coordinated with my friend Paul who played the bagpipes to bring us in for our grand entrance. It sounded awesome! They also just went with Paul and the crowd when he randomly came out with the bagpipes and played a tune. It was awesome!
Sean and I also have cousins that are Irish stepdancers. At every party, they get out there and dance and our wedding was no exception. Sean’s cousins actually had a CD with them because they had a set routine that they wanted to perform. (They even wore their outfits and everything!) But after hearing how good the band was playing all the reels and jigs, they ditched the CD and Good Clean Fun played the tunes that they needed. Everyone loved the Irish music. My American friends got such a kick out of all the jigs and reels and everyone danced the “Siege of Ennis” and encouraged all the dancers in the family to get up there! We had a blast!
If you are looking for an affordable and very high quality band, look no further. Although they are big on the Irish-American scene, if you are not Irish and/or have no desire or need for Irish music at your wedding, it doesn’t matter. They kept the place rocking with everything from the B-52’s, disco, Frank Sinatra, Barry Manilow and Pink. Their musicianship is great and the lead vocalists are awesome. You will not be disappointed.




Bagpiper: Paul Boland, family friend
I’ve know Paul my whole life; we grew up together. At all the family parties, Paul comes out with the bagpipes. ? Right when I got engaged I asked Paul if he would play the bagpipes at our wedding. He did an amazing job. He even wore the kilt and the whole thing, even though it was a very cold February morning! He piped outside the church as people were coming in. When I got out of the car and heard him playing, I started to cry. It was so special. He also piped as people were leaving the church and he played as Sean and I made our entrance into the reception as well as another time at the reception just for fun! He and his bagpiping friends even serenaded us at the hotel!
I am going to contact Paul and see if he would like me to add his contact information here on LIW. I will edit this section with his contact information if he is comfortable with that.
If any of you are thinking of having bagpipes at your wedding, do it! It adds such a different touch to the day. For me, because the bagpiper was a life-long friend made it even more special.




Photography and Videography: Video Express Productions, East Meadow
www.videoexpressproductions.net some of my wedding photos are on his website! Scroll down to the bottom of the page; my pictures are the last 4 rows of pictures.

Photos: A-
Video: A++++++++++++++++++++++

VIDEO UPDATE 11/1/07
We just received our video and all I can say is WOW!!!!!! Mike went above and beyond for us, and for that I am truly grateful! The video captured the day so perfectly! The EDITED copy was almost 5 HOURS of coverage! (on 2 chaptered DVDs). He even gave us 3 copies of each DVD set... I thought our package only included 2 copies.

He captured everything! The opening montage was amazing and the recap was so touching. I felt like a movie star... everything was so flawless. The clarity was amazing... he captured every important moment and filmed the Mass in its absolute entirety which was very important to me as we had so many family and friends participating in the Mass. He captured every important part of the reception as well as all the special moments like when our cousins Irish step danced for us and my friend played the bag pipes on a whim! All the Irish dances were included and all the funny moments too!

He also put in our baby pictures as well as an awesome honeymoon montage. It will be posted on his website soon, I will post as soon as I know it's up there.

I know a lot of people spent a LOT of money on video. I've seen videos that people spent a lot of money on and the quality was terrible. Mike is extrememly reasonable in pricing... ours was part of our total package as we did photo with him too, but I believe he averages around $1300.00 for video. PLEASE give him a call and look into him. He owns the business and does amazing work for much less than the big 'wedding factory' studios. I cannot praise him enough....

_______________________________________
We were very pleased with our choice for photo and video. At first I was a little nervous because Video Express only charged us $3500.00 for photo and video. I kept seeing on the site girls paying anywhere from $4,000-7,000 for their photo and video. I started to worry that maybe we should have looked around more and maybe his price is good because he’s terrible.
I worried for nothing! From day one, Mike (the owner of the company) was great to work with. He truly understands what goes on at a wedding and where he and his photographer needs to be and when. His photographer, also named Michael was on time and prompt. He arrived at my house at 9:00 AM and took several pictures of me getting ready, my bridesmaids and me with my parents. He then went to the church and got photos of Sean with his groomsmen. After the Mass, he took several pictures at church and all our family portraits in the dining room at the Stewart Manor.
The proofs were in our hands less than 2 weeks after the wedding! They were absolutely stunning! Mike said that Michael is the best photographer that he works with and that I truly believe. He caught every moment… most of the pictures I didn’t even realize he was taking! 99% of the proofs are useable; I am already having a hard time deciding what is going to go in our album. The only thing I was upset about was that I feel that he missed some shots. He did not get pictures of every table of guests at the reception (I only have shots of the two head tables) and I don’t have any pictures of the musicians performing at my Mass. I would have like a formal portrait of me and Sean with my godparents and a few more with me and my siblings, but all major shots that I wanted with family were taken. It’s hard to remember everything on the day because your mind is going a mile a minute. Some of those missed shots may have been my fault because I forgot about them. Unfortunately, because it was so cold, I didn’t get a lot of pictures outside. Ideally, I would have had a lot more outside the church and at the gazebo at the Stewart Manor, but it was just too cold and icy to make that feasible. Overall, I was very pleased with the photographs we received. I am hoping to be able to get the disc at the end of the whole process. I regret not adding full access to the CD as part of my package, but at the time I didn’t think we could afford it.



Florist: Imperial Florist, Merrick Road, Baldwin
B+
Flowers were one thing that did not have a priority in my wedding planning. Due to budget constraints, I decided not to have centerpieces at my wedding. Stewart Manor provided candelabra with a simple floral arrangement on top in the cost per person so I do not see a reason to spend more money on flowers. That said, I still wanted high-quality flowers for the bridal party and the church. Upon a recommendation from a friend, we walked into Imperial Florist in Baldwin and met with the owner, Anne Marie. She was great to work with and seemed to understand what we were looking for. For about $600.00 I received my bouquet, 5 bridesmaid’s bouquet, a flower girl bouquet, and all the boutonnières for the men and fathers, a bouquet for Mary’s altar at church, 2 large arrangements for the church and a throw-away bouquet.
The only reason that the florist did not receive an A was because the morning of the wedding, the petals that we requested for the cake table were not delivered and flowers were falling out of the bridesmaids’ bouquets! However, one of my bridesmaids called the shop and someone came over with the petals which we brought with us to the hall. They also adjusted the bouquets. (The bouquets were in a holder and a few were falling out. This was not what I envisioned exactly, I had said I did not want that very tight look and to achieve that, she put them in holders.) Anne Marie did a nice job of incorporating a pair of my mom’s rosary beads and a piece of my Mom’s veil from her wedding day into my bouquet.
Overall though, the flowers were beautiful. They looked perfect against the dark navy blue of the dresses. I loved my bouquet and how although there were some white in it, it was full of color. I did not want only white or cream flowers in my bouquet. The flowers held up all day and at the end of the night, they were still fresh. I would recommend this florist. The price was definitely right and the quality was great!

Royalty Limos, Franklin Avenue, Franklin Square
B+

We had a great experience with Royalty Limos! Since we were on a budget, we only booked one limo. They told us it would fit 12-14 passengers. The limo picked the men up at the hotel, dropped them off at the church and then picked up the girls at my parent's house. Little did I know that Daddy surprised me with the 1967 Rolls Royce! I was so surprised! :) The bridesmaids and flower girl went in the limo and my parents and I drove to the church in the Rolls. Sean and I drove to Stewart Manor in the Rolls. The drivers were great! They were courteous, on time and friendly. The cars were very clean and stocked with beverages! The only reason they didn't get an A was because my bridal party (10 adults and flower girl) told me that there was it would have been a VERY tight squeeze if Sean and I were in it too! They told me that we wouldn't have had a problem... thank God Dad got the Rolls too! Thanks, Daddy! :)



Hotel Accommodations: The Wingate Inn, Stewart Avenue, Garden City
A+
The people at the Wingate Inn were fantastic to work with! I worked with Makeda in the sales department and she followed through on everything we agreed upon. They were great with working out a fair price for the rooms. At first they quoted me $139.00 a night per room. I asked if they could do better for a weekend in February and we got a room rate for $119.00 per night! Because we booked 45 rooms we received FREE shuttles! They drove our overseas guests who did not have cars from Garden City to Baldwin for the Mass. We also had two shuttle vans meet us at the Stewart Manor after the reception to drive our guests without cars back to the hotel. This also worked well for most of the bridal party because we did not have to pay for the limo to come back and get us. In addition, because we booked so many rooms, they gave us $150.00 off the bridal suite for Sean and me.
I also confirmed with the Wingate that their hotel bar would be open for our guests to use after the reception. We all arrived at the hotel around 7:30 and my wedding kept the bar open until midnight! People drank and socialized until about 1:00 AM; it was great! The best part was when my friend Paul who played the bagpipes at the wedding showed up with 3 more of his bag piping friends (his friends were playing a wedding at the Chateau Briand that night) and the four of them blasted out the hotel with the sound of the bagpipes and drums! It was AWESOME! Guests were coming out of their rooms to check it out! However, the Wingate management didn’t

Re: DONEGAL419's 2/17/07 Review: Stewart Manor, Good Clean Fun, Video Express, Lillette's, and more!!!!

Wow great review, thanks for sharing your story!!!!! I used Lillette's too and had Leila as my seamstress...you should check out my review - she kept me from having a total meltdown!

Re: DONEGAL419's 2/17/07 Review: Stewart Manor, Good Clean Fun, Video Express, Lillette's, and more!!!!

Thank you for a great review....You looked beautiful

Re: DONEGAL419's 2/17/07 Review: Stewart Manor, Good Clean Fun, Video Express, Lillette's, and more!!!!

great review! congrats!

Re: DONEGAL419's 2/17/07 Review: Stewart Manor, Good Clean Fun, Video Express, Lillette's, and more!!!!

Your review is soooo nice! Very thorough Your makeup came out fabulous

Congrats to you and hubby

ETA: Thanks for posting about the watch you got for DH. That is exactly what I am looking for!

Re: DONEGAL419's 2/17/07 Review: Stewart Manor, Good Clean Fun, Video Express, Lillette's, and more!!!!

Great review!!! I love your band I saw them at a wedding 3 weeks ago and you're right for an Irish-American wedding they are perfect!!!

Re: DONEGAL419's 2/17/07 Review: Stewart Manor, Good Clean Fun, Video Express, Lillette's, and more!!!!

Great detailed review, loved the pics too!! Thanks for sharing all the info!!!

Re: DONEGAL419's 2/17/07 Review: Stewart Manor, Good Clean Fun, Video Express, Lillette's, and more!!!!

Great review!! Sounds like you had a beautiful wedding and you looked amazing!

Re: DONEGAL419's 2/17/07 Review: Stewart Manor, Good Clean Fun, Video Express, Lillette's, and more!!!!

I love your review, you looked amazing!

Re: DONEGAL419's 2/17/07 Review: Stewart Manor, Good Clean Fun, Video Express, Lillette's, and more!!!!

You looked gorgeous! Great Review

Re: DONEGAL419's 2/17/07 Review: Stewart Manor, Good Clean Fun, Video Express, Lillette's, and more!!!!

Awesome review Karen!!! I'm so glad your day was such a success!!! You were such a beautiful, glowing bride!

Re: DONEGAL419's 2/17/07 Review: Stewart Manor, Good Clean Fun, Video Express, Lillette's, and more!!!!

Congrats!!!!! great review!

Re: DONEGAL419's 2/17/07 Review: Stewart Manor, Good Clean Fun, Video Express, Lillette's, and more!!!!

Great review Karen. Also, thanks for the great advice.

Re: DONEGAL419's 2/17/07 Review: Stewart Manor, Good Clean Fun, Video Express, Lillette's, and more!!!!

thank you for the great review!!! Looks like you had a beautiful wedding day!!!

Re: DONEGAL419's 2/17/07 Review: Stewart Manor, Good Clean Fun, Video Express, Lillette's, and more!!!!

Karen,

You looked beautiful and I am glad your day was so perfect, you deserved it!! Now, more pictures please.

Re: DONEGAL419's 2/17/07 Review: Stewart Manor, Good Clean Fun, Video Express, Lillette's, and more!!!!

Excellent review- great info.
I'm your hall twin so I have been waiting for this review!!!!

Re: DONEGAL419's 2/17/07 Review: Stewart Manor, Good Clean Fun, Video Express, Lillette's, and more!!!!

beautiful. so glad that everything went well at Smcc. there is really nothing they won't do for you.

Re: DONEGAL419's 2/17/07 Review: Stewart Manor, Good Clean Fun, Video Express, Lillette's, and more!!!!

Great review!!! Thanks!!! And congrats on your beautiful wedding!!!

Re: DONEGAL419's 2/17/07 Review: Stewart Manor, Good Clean Fun, Video Express, Lillette's, and more!!!!

Great review hall twin! You looked beautiful! I'm so glad you had a good experience with Stewart Manor.

Re: DONEGAL419's 2/17/07 Review: Stewart Manor, Good Clean Fun, Video Express, Lillette's, and more!!!!

I really enjoyed reading your review. Thanks for sharing!