February 28, 2009 Review

Fairfield Center Jewelers, Fairfield, Connecticut
(engagement ring and wedding bands)

My husband bought my engagement ring here and they did a great job. He had the setting custom-made and he chose the specific diamond also. We went back to get our wedding bands because he loved the service and we both loved the quality and workmanship of my engagement ring. Ask for Bill.

Staples, online store
(save the date magnets)

I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on Save the Dates and I couldn’t find a company that fit my budget. I wasn’t sending out that many, so I figured I could try to make them myself and that is when I got the idea to check out Staples online. They have a section where you can customize magnetic business cards, so I just played around with the templates until I found one I liked. They were cheap and they came out nice.

Target, online store
(invitations)

I couldn’t bring myself to spend a crazy amount of money for something that people hardly look at and throw away, so I wanted to make my own invitations. I searched online at different sites, but Target was the cheapest and they seemed pretty from the pictures. I’m so glad I bought them. I only needed like 65 invitations, but I had to buy two boxes (50 each). It cost me about $50 total for the blank invitations and I printed them at home on my computer. They came out great and I got a lot of compliments.

Mauricio’s Orlando’s II, St. James
(rehearsal dinner)

I wanted an Italian restaurant so the food at the rehearsal dinner wasn’t exactly like the food at the reception. I needed a place that wasn’t too far from the hotel. I read some reviews about Mauricio’s on this site and figured I would check it out. They offered a great deal for the food and it included unlimited soda, beer, and wine. The food was delicious and the service was great. Very friendly and very professional.

The Knot, online store
(bubbles for ceremony, cufflinks for groomsmen gifts, pocket knife for jr. groomsman)

I bought the skinny tube bubbles and tied a thin white ribbon around the wand. They looked really nice and blew good bubbles. I was able to get them on sale. The Knot offers sales quite often so if you know what you want in well in advance, you can wait until you see it on sale and then buy it. I bought the rectangle cufflinks and had them personalized. They looked nice and the groomsmen loved them. The only problem I had was that they do not come in a box. They come in little plastic bags, so I had to buy cufflink boxes for proper presentation. It wasn’t too bad because the cufflinks were cheap enough that buying boxes wasn’t a big deal. I bought the cufflink boxes at an online store called Novel Box Company. The sell wholesale stuff so there is a small charge if you order less than a certain amount. It didn’t mind because the price for the boxes was so inexpensive that it was worth it. I also bought a personalized pocket knife for the junior groomsman. It came out nice and he liked it. The Knot has a good customer service division too. I ordered the cufflinks and then two days later they went on sale. I called customer service to ask if they would credit me the difference and they agreed to give me money back.

David’s Bridal, Lake Grove
(bridesmaids’ gifts)

I bought white pashmina-type wraps for my bridesmaids as part of their gifts. The staff was friendly and the items came in in a reasonable time. The wraps were nice and the bridesmaids liked them.

Things Remembered, Queens Center Mall, Elmhurst
(bridesmaids’ gifts and ring bearer gift)

I wanted to buy personalized compact mirrors for my bridesmaids. When I picked up the mirrors I noticed they didn’t look good; not the personalization part, but the mirror itself. They were poorly made. The sales associate offered to re-do them and I agreed. She ordered more mirrors for me and when they came in, I checked the quality of them before she personalized each one. The new mirrors looked much better and she went ahead and personalized them for me. The final product was nice. I also bought the ring bearer a personalized train bank. My nephew loves, loves, loves trains and this was the perfect gift. It looked really nice and needless to say, he loved it.

Polished: The Skincare Lounge, Bayport
(maid of honor extra gift)

I wanted to get my Maid of Honor a little something extra since she helped out so much with everything and did such an amazing job with my shower and bachelorette party, so I gave her a gift certificate to Polished. She brought me to the spa for a facial about a month before the wedding and it was fantastic. The spa is great and the staff does a great job. I’m sure she loved the gift because she goes there on a regular basis. Ask for Kerri.

Hilton Garden Inn, Ronkonkoma
(bride and groom and guest accommodations)

I was looking for a hotel that was near my church and the reception site. I was going to choose between the Hilton Garden Inn and the Holiday Inn on Vets. Hwy. in Ronkonkoma. Holiday Inn was more expensive so I looked at Hilton first since I have stayed at the Holiday Inn before and knew what the hotel and rooms looked like already. I was really happy with Hilton Garden Inn. The hotel was newly constructed and everything was nice and clean looking. The group rate was a great deal. My husband and I stayed in the hotel the night before the wedding and on our wedding night. I stayed in the bridal suite the night before and got ready with my bridesmaids in the room the day of the wedding. The rooms were modern and clean. My husband and I stayed in the suite the night of the wedding too. Since we had so many rooms booked, the hotel gave us the two nights in the suite free. The staff was very friendly and everything was great. We even had the bar stay open for our guests after the wedding. If you pay $100 the hotel will keep the bar open until 2 am. Our guests seemed to enjoy it and the hotel didn’t have any problems with them staying in the lobby and drinking until about 4 am after the bar was closed.

Bridal Reflections, Massapequa
(bridal gown)

I had a great experience with Bridal Reflections. I bought my dress from the sales associate named Darnell. She was so nice and helpful. She only brought out gowns in my price range until I asked for more expensive gowns because the ones in my price range weren’t quite what I was looking for. Darnell explained that what I was looking for would be more expensive, but she would show me some if I wanted to see them. She brought out the perfect dress. It was a James Clifford Collection dress. It was beautiful and exactly what I was looking for. The seamstress did a great job with my alterations. I was very happy.

As a side note, I want to caution some brides about weight loss before the big day. Some people say that you lose weight before the wedding and that was very true for me. It was very unintentional. I must have lost a few pounds between my final fitting and my wedding day because my dress was loose. I wish I would have realized I was losing weight because I would have made an effort to eat a little bit more just to keep the dress fitting the same way. Not that the dress looked bad or anything, but I could tell it was a little looser than when I last tried it on.

Jos A. Bank, Woodbury
(groom’s tuxedo, bow tie, braces (suspenders), and pocket squares for groom, fathers, groomsmen, and ring bearer)

My husband wanted to buy his tuxedo because he wanted it to look nice and tailored. We looked at Syms and Century 21, but ended up buying it at Jos A. Bank. They were having a great sale so we went in to check it out. The tuxedo looked really nice on and it was a good quality. We also wanted to give personalized silk pocket squares as presents to the fathers, groomsmen, and ring bearer. My husband had one too. I was able to get them for 20% off online. They were nice quality and just what we were looking for. We had them monogrammed somewhere else, which turned into a disaster, but I will talk about that later. Everyone liked them and thought they were a nice touch. We also used them instead of boutonnieres, so if you are looking for something different you can think about using pocket squares instead of flowers. My husband had a boutonniere to set him off from everyone else.

Brooks Brothers, NYC
(groom’s tuxedo shirt)

My husband wanted a fitted tuxedo shirt and we couldn’t find one anywhere except at Brooks Brothers. The shirt was on the expensive side, but it was well worth it. It fit him perfectly and it looked great. The shirt was also great quality, so I guess it is like they say—“you get what you pay for;” well, in this case anyway. My husband said the customer service was great too.

Pzaz, Centereach
(mother of the bride dress)

My mom didn’t want a typical mother of the bride/groom dress, so we were looking for stores other than bridal salons. Also, she didn’t want to spend too much and we needed an off the rack store because she waited until close to the wedding to find something. We looked in Pzaz as a starting point and not expecting to find anything there. The dress was very pretty and inexpensive. I also printed out a coupon from their website, so that was great to save a few extra bucks. The customer service was average, but it was also a day when a ton of high school girls were in there looking for prom dresses so I think that was their main focus. You can definitely find something nice in there for a reasonable price. There are dresses that are too young and inappropriate, but they carry more classy stuff too.

David’s Bridal, somewhere in Connecticut
(mother of the groom dress)

My mother in law bought her dress from David’s Bridal somewhere in Connecticut. She said the service was good and she really liked her dress. She looked very beautiful in it and it was fairly inexpensive.

Bridal Suite of Centereach, Centereach
(bridesmaid dresses)

We went to Bridal Suite of Centereach because I know a few people who have used them before. I chose a Bill Levkoff dress for the bridesmaids. The service was great and the prices were great too; cheaper than other stores that I looked at. The dresses were very beautiful and my girls looked beautiful in them. The girls liked them from what I heard. The dresses originally had a small train, but I had them cut off the train except for my maid of honor. She had her train bustled, which turned out to be a good idea because she said the train was annoying. It was a beautiful touch, but not practical.

Men’s Wearhouse, various locations
(groomsmen, fathers of bride and groom, and ring bearer)

Choosing the tuxedo at Men’s Wearhouse was quick and easy. We chose Men’s Wearhouse because the groomsmen live all over the place and we wanted it to be easy for them. Some of the stores were better than others. The one in Connecticut where my father in law, junior groomsman, and ring bearer went had some problems with the sizes they ordered. My father in law’s shoes were too small, the junior groomsman’s shirt was two sizes too small, and the ring bearer’s shirt sleeves were too short. The store did fix the problem right away, so it wasn’t really a problem. We chose one of the cheaper tuxedos and I thought they looked nice. I don’t think we needed to rent the most expensive ones because the cheaper ones looked just as good and saved people money.

FlowerGirlDressForLess.com, online store
(flower girls’ dresses and flower girls’ gifts)

I found the online store from doing an internet search. I didn’t want my sisters in law to have to spend so much for a dress and I was confident I could find a beautiful dress for under $75. FlowerGirlDressesForLess had exactly what I was looking for. I also ordered white faux fur capes as gifts for them too. The dresses were nicely made and looked beautiful. The girls looked like little princesses. The capes were adorable and good quality. Everything was really affordable. I was really happy with the items. They came in like 2 or 3 business days, plus I got 10% off for spending over $125.

Barron’s Bridal Boutique, Tri-County Flea Market in Levittown
(veil and hair comb)

I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on a veil that I knew I would only wear for like an hour. I wanted a plain, one tier, raw edged, cathedral length veil. I went to Barron’s because of all the reviews I saw on this site. The place is just like everyone says—good quality and cheap. My veil was $60 and it was perfect. I also bought a rhinestone hair comb, which I love and want to wear every day. That was inexpensive too. I think it was like $25. I think I read somewhere on this site that rhinestones show up black in photographs, well that is not true. My hair comb sparkled like you wouldn’t believe and it showed up in the photos just fine.

Nicole D’Angio
(hair for bride, mother of the bride, maid of honor, and some bridesmaids)

Nicole does fantastic work. She is such a sweetheart and she is very professional. I loved my hair; she did a great job. My mother’s hair came out great too. My mom was very excited about her hairstyle because she has thin hair and was nervous it wouldn’t come out good; but it came out great. My mother and I were very pleased. My maid of honor and two bridesmaids got their hair done too. They all looked so beautiful. One of my bridesmaids has really curly hair and was nervous her hair wouldn’t look good, but it came out great. Nicole specializes in curly hair, so if you have curly hair you have nothing to worry about. Nicole went above and beyond what she was paid to do. She stayed around to make sure everyone’s hair looked great when it settled and she even stayed until I got in my dress so she could put on my veil. I really appreciated all those extra touches. She was great.

Marie Katz
(make-up for bride and maid of honor

Marie does fantastic work. She is such a sweetheart and very professional. My make-up came out great. I loved it. I normally wear only eyeliner and mascara, so a full face of make-up scared me at first. Marie uses airbrush foundation, which is great. I couldn’t even feel it on my face and I liked the way it looked. Marie made me look so beautiful and accentuated my blue eyes, which was perfect. I was very happy with the result. I looked like me, only more glamorous. She took her time and waited for me when I had to go back to Nicole and have my hair adjusted.

Rendezvous Wedding, Great Neck
(photography)

Having great photographs was very important to me, but I had sticker shock from a lot of other photographers. Rendezvous’ packages were very reasonable and the work I looked at was great. We had two photographers and they were great. They were at the hotel on time and they were with us the whole day. I don’t know how the pictures came out because I didn’t get my proofs yet, but the service was very professional and it seemed like they were getting all the shots I wanted them to.

Hidden Essence, Deer Park
(florist)

I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on flowers because they get thrown out, so I was looking for someone who was cheaper than a lot of the big named places. I found Hidden Essence on this site. The owner, Michelle, did a great job. She worked with me a lot to find the perfect flowers for my budget. She even threw in a lot of extras, which was totally appreciated. Everything came out great. The bouquets were perfect, the ceremony baskets were exactly what I was looking for, and the centerpieces worked with the décor of the reception site perfectly. I think she did a great job. She is very nice, easy to work with, and very professional.

Camelot Specialty Limos, New Hyde Park
(limousines)

We had two Lincoln Navigators and an antique Rolls Royce. The vehicles were very clean and in great condition. The drivers arrived early and waited for us to be ready. The drivers were very professional. In our contract we had one Lincoln car limo and one Lincoln Navigator, but a couple of days before the wedding they called and asked if I would like two Navigators instead because their other Navigator was freed up. I agreed and thought it was nice of them to offer me a free upgrade.

I do have one minor complaint. When we signed our contract we paid the deposit by credit card and then when we got home we noticed a charge added to the contract. I called back to see what it was and I was told that it was a credit card fee. If they would have mentioned that in the beginning I would not have used my credit card. I guess they forgot and I didn’t even think to ask if there was a fee associated with using a credit card. However, every time I spoke with them after that they did mention the credit card fee, so I guess it was a mistake the first time. But just be aware that you will have to pay a fee if you use your credit card.

As a side note, if you have large groomsmen, you should make sure they will fit in the limo size you would think they fit in. We had a 14 passenger Navigator and supposedly it was “tight” in the limo. We had my husband, his parents, 7 groomsmen, 1 junior groomsman, and one ring bearer in the 14 passenger Navigator. I didn’t think about the possibility that it would be tight when I booked the limos. Most of the men are over 6’ tall and they aren’t rail thin, so they took up a little more than the designated seat. It was fine because they were only going 5 minutes down the road to the church and then after the ceremony they could split up between the two limos and alternate with the girls, but it is just something to keep in mind.

St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church, Lake Ronkonkoma
(ceremony)

The ceremony was beautiful and it was perfect because this is the church I grew up in. I will caution you about two things. The church doesn’t really like you to take pictures inside the church after the ceremony, so if you take a lot of photographs you will be told to hurry up. Also, we had bubbles for the guests to blow as we exited the church and it was a little windy at times, so some of the bubbles were blowing in the doors. Out of nowhere, this lady comes yelling at everyone and being very nasty because the bubbles are going on the floor and could make the floor slippery. I think she was overreacting, but just be prepared for these things.

Timber Point County Club, Great River
(reception)

Timber Point was fantastic. It was better than I could have imagined. The place looked so beautiful and the food was so delicious. All of our guests were amazed at everything too. Everyone couldn’t get over how delicious everything was and how huge the strip steak was. Steve, the maitre‘d, and Nicolette (I forget her position) were fantastic too. They were there to help with everything. Nicolette brought up to the bridal suite all of the cocktail hour food for me and my husband because we didn’t go to cocktail hour. She was always making sure we were okay and had a drink if we wanted one. Steve was great at making sure we knew when certain events were going to happen—toasts, cake cutting, etc. He even fixed my bustle when one of the loop because loose from someone stepping on the back of my dress. The service was above and beyond.


FM Entertainment, East Rockaway
(DJ)

FM was great. The price was great and the service was even better. We had Mike who was our DJ/MC combined. He did a great job at reading the crowd and playing a variety of music which we wanted. He played all the songs for the special events like we wanted—cake cutting, garter, etc. We only had about 3 songs on our must play list and of course he played them, but when he played them was perfect. My husband loves Con Te Partiro and it is such a grand song, so it was so perfect that it was the last song of the night (well that is before one of the groomsmen convinced him to play New York, New York). Mike did a great job; we were very pleased. It is always nice to get great service without breaking the bank.

Black Forest Bakery, Lindenhurst
(wedding cake)

Our wedding cake was included with the reception package. The cake was beautiful and delicious. I love cannoli cake and that is what I wanted. Everyone loved the cake too and they thought it was such a great idea. A lot of them have never heard of cannoli cake (I don’t know where they are from! Haha) but they loved it.

Miscellaneous

Tiffany & Co., Midtown—I bought my husband cufflinks as an engagement present and he bought me a necklace for a wedding present. He loved them and I loved the necklace. It’s Tiffany, so it pretty much speaks for itself. Haha.

Zappos, online store—I bought my shoes from Zappos. They were Liz Rene Couture, style Melissa. They were cheap and very pretty, but the asymmetrical peep toe rubbed a little bit on my big toes. I put Foot Petals thin pads in there to stop it but they didn’t work. Zappos is great because they have free shipping and returns, plus the shoes came like the next day or so and you have 365 days to return them for a full refund.

Godiva, Queens Center Mall, Elmhurst—I bought the favors at a Godiva boutique. I bought the 2 piece favor with the white box, white ribbon, and the pearl cluster charm. They were so beautiful and elegant looking. They were a hit. Not one was left behind. I was also able to use a 20% off coupon when I placed my order so that was great and saved me a lot of money.

E-Bags, online store—I bought my clutch purse from E-bags. It was a silver La Regale purse. It was good quality and it was inexpensive. I paid like $20 for it. It came fast.

J.C. Penny, Queens Center Mall, Elmhurst—I bought my earrings at J.C. Penny. They were on sale for $9.99. They looked so great and matched my dress perfectly. You can’t beat the price. I forget what brand they were and I threw away the plastic card they come attached to.

Embroidery Creations, Queens Center Mall, Elmhurst—Like I mentioned earlier, we wanted to get the silk pocket squares embroidered with our groomsmen’s initials so I went to the mall near where I work and they had an embroidery kiosk. I can’t really get into what happened for other reasons, but I am advising you not to use them for anything. I had to re-buy the pocket squares and find another embroiderer called Embroidery Place, on West 30th in Manhattan. They did a good job and were professional.

Royal Plantation, Ocho Rios, Jamaica
(honeymoon)

Jamaica was beautiful. Royal Plantation was beautiful too. It is an all inclusive resort that is owned by the guy who owns Sandals. It is a more upscale resort than the Sandals properties. There is a Sandals resort next door to Royal Plantation and as a guest of Royal Plantation you can use everything on the Sandals resort, but they cannot come over to Royal Plantation. Royal Plantation is a smaller resort. It only has 74 rooms. Even though the resort was at about full capacity, you couldn’t tell because it seemed like there were only a few people there, which is exactly what we were looking for. It may not be for everyone. The service there is unbelievable. The food was great and the view from your hotel room is amazing. The color of the water is so beautiful and it is so clear. It was definitely worth the extra money. We even got to sunbathe with Tommy Hilfiger. He was staying at the resort for a few days for a wedding and he sat on the beach with the rest of us. He was even on our plane home. The resort is also the place at the end of the movie License to Wed with Mandy Moore and Robin Williams. The movie says it is Sandals because the name is more recognizable, but it is actually Royal Plantation.

I hope you enjoyed my review and best of luck to all future brides!

Re: February 28, 2009 Review

Congrats!! Hope to see some pics

Re: February 28, 2009 Review

Woohooo...great review!

Re: February 28, 2009 Review

great review!!!

pictures?

Re: February 28, 2009 Review

Great review! Hope to see the pics soon!

Re: February 28, 2009 Review

Congrats! Cant wait for pics!

Re: February 28, 2009 Review

wonderful review! Thanks for sharing!

Re: February 28, 2009 Review--UPDATED with PICS

bump

Re: February 28, 2009 Review-- Added PICS in my album

Great review!! You were a beautiful bride!! congrats!!!!

Re: February 28, 2009 Review-- Added PICS in my album

Thank you for the review, you looked stunning. !!!

Re: February 28, 2009 Review-- Added PICS in my album

RH twin...i need more deets on Timber Point!!! is there anything i need to look out for???

you look beautiful and congrats!

Re: February 28, 2009 Review-- Added PICS in my album

congrats!!!

our bridesmaids wore the same dress!!!

Re: February 28, 2009 Review-- Added PICS in my album

Great review...pretty cake.