Finally! My 7-10-08 Wedding! Westbury Manor, 12th Night, Mittermax, Alexis Limos, ***** @ ***********************, Flower Michelle...

How We Met
Will and I met each other working for the USPS. He was introduced to me as my union steward, and I thought he was arrogant. He made me feel like a freshman and was always picking on me about anything and everything. It wasn’t until we sat down at lunch one day and actually had a real conversation that I saw he wasn’t the meanie I thought he was…he began turning eyes by helping me at work (We do physically demanding work, and when I first started I had a really hard time keeping up) and people began pointing out that he must like me because he’s not into helping ANYONE…we hit it off and got close…the rest is history (and yes we still work together)


The Engagement
We used to surf Zales.com and look at rings…design rings…He would call me into the room and say “What about this one? Would you wear this?” So one day I was cleaning up my house and he was in my bedroom looking at Zales website. I was washing dishes and he kept calling me to come look at rings, which after the fifth and sixth time got REALLY annoying, so I was ready to kill him when he called me again, but I walked in the room and the screen was blank. I’m standing in my room with soapy hands and a WTH look on my face…he tells me to look harder, and I see a ring box ontop of my monitor, scream, and go right back to washing dishes. He caught me totally off guard.

Help from Online…Ebony Bridal Planner, Long Island Wedding & Ebony Brides
I got most of my ideas and vendors from the ladies on these sites. I discovered LIW through one of it’s lesser mentioned sister sites, EBP. I never thought I would gain support and friendships from a group of ladies I had never met. I never thought I’d be close enough to someone online to put them in my wedding. To all of the ladies that ever helped me, whether it was on LIW, EBP or EB, and to those who were supportive, I Thank You! I wouldn’t have made it through any of this without my girls. PS…EB for life!


My Bridal Shower-
I had a Hollywood themed Bridal Shower at Mateus Restaurant & Bar in Queens Village.
The food was delicious, the staff was friendly and the service was great! Unfortunately I had to step up and do a lot because my MOH didn’t do ANYTHING (I fired her the next day). My girls and my parents stepped up and helped out a lot and it was a success.






My Dress
I had no idea of what kind of dress would look right on me. I didn’t know where to start, so I went to RK Bridal to try on different styles…Mistake! I had a horrible experience, and it made me dread picking a dress! I came across Beautiful Brides in Lynbrook while I was looking for a certain designer, and was thrilled that they had so many plus size dresses available to try on. The ladies there are soooooo sweet and helpful. I ended up picking a Bonny Bridal – Unforgettable design…






Hair and Make-up- MissMia- b*r*i*d*a*l*l*o*u*n*g*e
This woman is a magician!! I don’t usually wear make-up, and she did a good job at not making me look overdone. She is an absolute sweet heart! She was on-time, professional, and very helpful (she was brave enough to crawl under my dress and buckle my shoes for me, she applied false eyelashes for my Mom, who said she wanted them at the last minute, helped me put on my jewelry, was the ONLY person who could get my smallest flower girl to stand still to fix her tiara, gave driving directions to my family over the phone…etc.) Everyone was over the moon about my make-up. She definitely helped me look the part, and I would highly recommend her!







My Accessories
I purchased my earrings and bracelet at local stores, I don’t remember the names of them.
I got my veil and tiara off ebay. My first pair of shoes came from DSW Shoes, and I loved them, but I noticed during my fittings that they were not going to work because I had a cut on my toe, and they hurt like hell, so I ordered another pair from Zappos.com and had them overnighted





The Bridal Party Attire
The boys got their tuxedos from The Mens Warehouse in Valley Stream. With some “creative suggestions” from me, I allowed DH and his best man to pick out the tuxes. We ordered a mini version for DH’s son at a local suit shop. My father also ordered his “looks” from there… We had few complaints…they were crowded when the boys went in for fittings (it was prom time) and they kept giving DH what my Mom called “Steve Urkel pants”, but they fixed it.



I picked out three dresses for my girls to decide on, and when they picked one, I gave them options on where to get them. They decided on Bill Levkoff #355. I was hoping that they would all pick one store and order them, but they went all over the place, three ordered online from Netbride, one ordered in person at RK Bridal, and one ordered from a local bridal shop closer to her house Upstate. My flowergirl’s dress came from Bestbridalprices.com, and it was shipped within two weeks of ordering. Of course I should have known better than to not include my flower girls little sister, so at the last minute I gave her a part in the wedding…her Mom picked up her dress at The Childrens Place.




DIY
I surprised myself with the DIY’s. I’ve always been “crafty” so I had a lot of fun.
-Invitations
I got the idea for my invitations in a wedding magazine. I wanted simple elegance. I ordered the paper from Invitationpaper.com, and used a font on my computer to mimic calligraphy for the envelopes. The worst part was hand gluing rhinestones on each and every single one.





-Ring Box
I wanted something besides a pillow, so I got a book shaped box and painted it. Unfortunately I don’t think anyone saw it at the ceremony because our precious son wanted to “carry it like a business man”


-Aisle Runner
This was my project from hell. I ripped when I finished it, so I admittedly rushed to get another one done. Looking at it now, it should have been taped down better and I should have made the words bigger, but oh well.



-Ribbon Wands
I cringed at the idea of people throwing stuff at us. I saw how ugly this could get at a friends wedding, so I was happy when I saw this idea. We spray painted the wooden dowels gold, and used ribbon in our wedding colors. Everyone loved them.



-Programs

-Table Numbers

-Save The Dates
We decided to make save the date magnets. Our save the date picture cards came from 12th Night, but we designed a simple card to put them in. The original idea for the magnets was to use concert tickets from Blissweddingmarket.com. People at work were calling our wedding the event of the century, so we figured we’d have a little fun with the theme. I ordered a few to see what they were like, and in typical me fashion, changed my mind about the color, so I ran them through a photo program, changed the color and printed out my own. I did the calligraphy on them myself, and learned that I wasn’t about to do it again for the invitations.



-Card Box
We had to include our Postal roots in the wedding somewhere. With help from cardboard, tape, a glue gun, and some blue paint our drop box was born. When I was finished painting it, I honestly hated it, because it wasn’t perfect, but at the end of the day I said so what and left it alone. I’m glad I did, because everyone loved it! (Especially everyone from our job) Unfortunately someone decided to carry it using the card slot and it ripped after the reception, but it did it’s job.





-Seating Chart
A last minute DIY…I typed it up on my computer and had it printed at Staples. I actually had two at the wedding, because the girl messed up one printing it at Staples and decided to re-do it, she gave me the messed up one, which wasn’t bad at all, it just had a wrinkle in the plastic laminate.



Ceremony- Our Durham AME Zion Church Family
My husband is the organist/music director at this church, and when we announced we were getting married they said we could have whatever day/time we wanted. They made our ceremony unique and memorable for us. We had a member of the congregation perform a liturgical dance at the beginning of our ceremony, another performed a song, and another played the organ for us. They all said it was an honor to participate in our wedding, and refused to be compensated for it. They are truly our family.





Limos
Alexis Limousines did an excellent job. They were a pleasure to work with, from the moment we booked until the end of the night. We booked two cars, a Chrysler 300, and I believe it was a Lincoln Navigator. My only complaint was that the jeep was not the one we were shown and told we were getting. On the day of, it was one of our “Oh Well” moments. Some of you might remember that DH’s Mom, Aunt, and three cousins were involved in a really bad car accident on the way to our reception. We arranged for our pick up limo to take them all back to their hotel out in Suffolk, because their car was totaled. The driver had no problem with it, and said it would be his pleasure. It wasn’t in our contract, and he could have easily said no, especially since he was only supposed to be driving us five minutes up the road.





Flowers
We had a good experience with Flower Michele throughout the planning phase. John was a dream to work with, very attentive and very creative. I was disappointed on the day of, because my bouquet was not as big as I thought it should have been, and our centerpieces weren’t set up the way I wanted them. He was the one who reminded me throughout the whole process that the tables at WM were long and not round, and made sure to adjust the candles and rose petals when we came in for our sample centerpiece to fit this, so I don’t know what happened the day of. People loved it regardless.





12th Night Photography
Hands down, Dominic and his ENTIRE STAFF were my favorite vendors. I saw weddings they did and HAD to have them! When we met them at the studio it was a done deal. They are so laid back and absolutely love what they do. On the day of Dominic and Geraldine blended in with everyone, people hardly knew they were there. The posed shots were extremely comfortable, and they kept us all laughing, even with everything that was going on. We find ourselves coming up with reasons to take more pictures now.


















Mittermax Video-
Of course Travis came recommended by 12th Night. At first I didn’t want a video, and when DH saw Travis’ sample video he talked me into it. Travis was also a pleasure to work with, another vendor that was hardly noticeable. This was very important to me, because I didn’t want photographers and videos taking over everything. I hate going to a wedding where there are camera guys in the way.

DOC – Simone Summers- Coordinated 2 Perfection-
I went to HS with Simone, but reconnected with her on Ebony Bridal Planner. I had to have her as my DOC! She made sure I stayed on track throughout the planning process, and was available to answer my questions whenever I needed her. The day of, her and her assistant were on top of things, and did the screaming and organizing so I didn’t have to. Mind you…she did all of this VERY pregnant!



DJ – A Family Friend
One of DH’s best friends is a DJ, so we decided to give them a try. We went to a few events they did and were satisfied with them. Let’s just say that by the end of the night I was ready to kill him. Now naturally since this is one of his best friends he was actually in the wedding, so his brother was acting as DJ. Before hand he sent us a song list to fill out, along with a ton of other info, which we submitted…I asked him if he needed any of the music, he looked at it and so no problem it was “easy stuff” to find. Cut to the day of…we’re inspecting our room before the guests are let in and he asks me what our first dance song is. Ummm I put it on the sheet! He then informs me (with a napkin and pen in his hand)that he left it at home, and needs a quick rundown of the entrance music and other songs we want played. Un-#$%&%*#- believable. I name two instrumentals for entrances…he tells me “there are no instrumentals to that.” Yes, indeed there are, and I know this because I have both of them, which I would have gladly brought with me had I known you weren’t going to be prepared. He had to find and download our first dance song, which obviously took him forever, because after we were introduced we had to stand on the dance floor in uncomfortable silence while we waited for the song to start.

We made the best of it, and started turning to everyone and making photo ops, cheering and waving, the turning to the next side and so on and so forth until they were ready. I was also extremely unhappy when I look up and see one of my groomsmen behind the DJ booth working. I thought that was why you brought your brother??? I know everyone was eating their appetizers when I hear my Father/Daughter song being played as filler music…people get up and start dancing! I got up and ran across to my father, who was already dancing, screamed “THIS IS THE FATHER DAUGHTER DANCE” in the hopes that they would either cut it off, or make an announcement, but to no avail, I danced with my father anyway, but I don’t think anyone realized it was “our dance”. My last straw was when I heard profanity during one of the songs. I specifically said NO PROFANITY whatsoever!! I was soooo embarrassed! The only reason I didn’t kill him was because he’s DH’s best friend, but I let him know I was NOT Pleased AT ALL!






Westbury Manor-
I heart this place. Words cannot describe how impressed I was with Westbury Manor, before we even said a word to anyone there. After a bad experience with Jericho Terrace, I had given up on finding a reception hall that I liked. I have to thank Katrina, (AkaMrsT.) For telling me to go to WM. There was no way we would have ever even thought of it. We always joke that we were destined to have our reception at Westbury Manor…the intials match ours (Willie & Monica) and the entire color scheme matched ours. The food is to die for!!! They give you seven menu choices, ours were, filet mignon, shrimp and salmon, some type of chicken (lol), duck, lamb? And I think sea bass, oh and a vegetable dish for the vegetarians. Our appetizer was the Blue Hawaiian…I wanted to taste this but didn’t get a chance. (sad face) We worked with Ian and Inez the day of, and they were both ontop of everything. I hated that I had to leave! The grounds are beautiful, the staff is on point…Everyone loved it! My only complaint was that they were clearing food away wayyyyy to fast. I would turn around for a picture and my food would be gone! A lot of people told me they wished they had more time to finish their food. Had I known this was going on with everyone else I would have said something. I would definitely recommend them!!!!!
They also supplied our cake, I believe they use Erga Bakery in Bethpage. It was marble cake with cannoli and strawberry filling…very yummy!







Favors
I wanted the favors to be something everyone would use/enjoy, and what could be better than candy??? I loved the idea of the candy buffet, and decided this would be our Thank You to our guests. We bought most of the glassware at Walmart, ordered the take-out boxes from Papermart.com and stuck our own labels on them. I started stocking up on candy after Valentine’s Day, when it went on sale at Walgreens, (Mostly lollypops). The rest we ordered from Nostalgiccandy.com and Bulkfoods.com. I finished it off by making a sign that said “How Sweet It Is”. I figured that most people would have seen or heard of this idea, but I was shocked that a lot of people had never seen a candy buffet, and thought it was a great idea. I thought I ordered TOO much candy, but it makes the display look fuller, and people will be greedy!










Okay…I think I’m done.
Hope you enjoyed reading!

Re: Finally! My 7-10-08 Wedding! Westbury Manor, 12th Night, Mittermax, Alexis Limos, ***** @ ***********************, Flower Michelle...

great job!!!!!!! the review was fabulous! I loved all your pics...you were a beautiful bride!!! and your son is adorable!!! congrats!

Re: Finally! My 7-10-08 Wedding! Westbury Manor, 12th Night, Mittermax, Alexis Limos, ***** @ ***********************, Flower Michelle...

gr8 review monica, very creative card box & STD's!

Re: Finally! My 7-10-08 Wedding! Westbury Manor, 12th Night, Mittermax, Alexis Limos, ***** @ ***********************, Flower Michelle...

Everything came was so beautiful Congrats!!

Re: Finally! My 7-10-08 Wedding! Westbury Manor, 12th Night, Mittermax, Alexis Limos, ***** @ ***********************, Flower Michelle...

Great review. I love all your DIY -- especially the card box. So clever and creative!

Re: Finally! My 7-10-08 Wedding! Westbury Manor, 12th Night, Mittermax, Alexis Limos, ***** @ ***********************, Flower Michelle...

I don't even have to tell you everything was fabulous
I've been telling you that from the beginning of your wedding planning
congratulations on a great review.

Re: Finally! My 7-10-08 Wedding! Westbury Manor, 12th Night, Mittermax, Alexis Limos, ***** @ ***********************, Flower Michelle...

great review love your photos

Re: Finally! My 7-10-08 Wedding! Westbury Manor, 12th Night, Mittermax, Alexis Limos, ***** @ ***********************, Flower Michelle...

Great job on your wedding and Congrats!!!!! You worked really hard, and it shows.

Re: Finally! My 7-10-08 Wedding! Westbury Manor, 12th Night, Mittermax, Alexis Limos, ***** @ ***********************, Flower Michelle...

great review! I love your dress! Everything looked great!!!

Re: Finally! My 7-10-08 Wedding! Westbury Manor, 12th Night, Mittermax, Alexis Limos, ***** @ ***********************, Flower Michelle...

Cograts on such a beautiful wedding. Can you tell me where you got your programs from. I think you said you did them yourself. I am trying to do mine but am having a bit of difficulty.

Please help.

Re: Finally! My 7-10-08 Wedding! Westbury Manor, 12th Night, Mittermax, Alexis Limos, ***** @ ***********************, Flower Michelle...

Seeing your pro pics has me so excited to see my proofs! I love your colors and just everything! Great review! I love the mailbox! What great personal touches!

Re: Finally! My 7-10-08 Wedding! Westbury Manor, 12th Night, Mittermax, Alexis Limos, ***** @ ***********************, Flower Michelle...

Thanks for the great review!!! I am getting married at the WM in 2010!! I LOVED your candy bar!! I might have to borrow your idea!! Congrats

Re: Finally! My 7-10-08 Wedding! Westbury Manor, 12th Night, Mittermax, Alexis Limos, ***** @ ***********************, Flower Michelle...

Great review!!

Re: Finally! My 7-10-08 Wedding! Westbury Manor, 12th Night, Mittermax, Alexis Limos, ***** @ ***********************, Flower Michelle...

Great Review! Congrats


Everything looks like it turned out amazing!!!!!

I love your dress!


Your son is soooooo cute!!!!!

Re: Finally! My 7-10-08 Wedding! Westbury Manor, 12th Night, Mittermax, Alexis Limos, ***** @ ***********************, Flower Michelle...

Oh my gosh, beautiful photos and that wedding dress is gorgeous!

Re: Finally! My 7-10-08 Wedding! Westbury Manor, 12th Night, Mittermax, Alexis Limos, ***** @ ***********************, Flower Michelle...

Great review. Your DIY stuff looked amazing.
Congrats and your pics look great.

Re: Finally! My 7-10-08 Wedding! Westbury Manor, 12th Night, Mittermax, Alexis Limos, ***** @ ***********************, Flower Michelle...

Great Pics you looked amazing Congrats

Re: Finally! My 7-10-08 Wedding! Westbury Manor, 12th Night, Mittermax, Alexis Limos, ***** @ ***********************, Flower Michelle...

Fantastic job. Love the photography, classic but caught everyone's personality. You looked beautiful!

Re: Finally! My 7-10-08 Wedding! Westbury Manor, 12th Night, Mittermax, Alexis Limos, ***** @ ***********************, Flower Michelle...

What exactly did they do for your centerpieces? I loved the look especially for the long tables but cant figure out if there are flowers with the candles...were they costly?

Re: Finally! My 7-10-08 Wedding! Westbury Manor, 12th Night, Mittermax, Alexis Limos, ***** @ ***********************, Flower Michelle...

Congrats!!! everything looked great!!!