LINK TO PHOTOGRAPHER'S PROOFS ADDED! I just wanted to post reviews of my fairytale wedding vendors to help other brides in planning their weddings

Hello Everybody-

I never joined LI Weddings during my planning process, but I just wanted to post my experiences working with different vendors for the benefit of other brides in the planning stages. There is no particular order to all of this, it's just the order I happen to think of it all:

Venue: Woodbury Jewish Center (Morrell Caterers)
Ok, as far as the physical venue-the place is GORGEOUS! It is such a classy atmosphere, so elegant. The food was absolutely amazing-everybody keeps calling my mom and me to rave about it. The food is Glatt kosher-and totally not what you would expect of kosher food. Everything looks like artwork and tastes as good as it looks. My guests ate so much during the cocktail hour, and this must be a regular thing-they could barely eat when they got to the dining room. The waitstaff was amazing, and they offered to wrap up the guests' meals-and I saw many leave with doggie bags at the end of the night. I cannot say enough about the service, the quality of food-and the presentation was beyond any expectations my husband and I could ever have had.
I do have to warn though, while our experience with the caterer was overall fantastic, we did get hit with quite a bomb just over a week before the wedding. My husband was calling to ask about a few random things, and then they tell him 'Oh, by the way, there's going to be a Hebrew School event in the sanctuary 2 hours before your wedding.' This was going to be a HUGE problem-our Chuppah was going to be set up, our centerpieces were supposed to be on pedestals down the aisle in the sanctuary, and we were supposed to be taking pictures in there at that time. Needless to say-this really didn't go over very well with us. After my husband called me to tell me about this, we both kept trying to call the caterer, nobody would return our calls, we kept getting the runaround-I was hysterical crying. All I could think about was 50 toddlers using our Chuppah for a jungle gym, running into me in my white gown-I was devastated. Finally I got a guy named Randy on the phone-he was such a jerk to me. He kept telling me the event wouldn't effect me, I was overreacting, etc. Please-even the macho men I work with couldn't believe when I told them this. He was so nasty to me, and just by the way he spoke to me I had a feeling-so I asked him 'You're not married are you?' He answered just as I expected, 'No.' My response-'No $h!t' The next day I asked somebody else 'He doesn't have any sisters either, does he?' No surprise-he has no sisters-2 brothers. The next morning I dealt with a management level guy named Tom Cataldo-I was only able to get him on the phone because I said I wasn't going to work that day, and I'd come over there to make sure this got resolved-that got someone on the phone. He was also a complete slimeball. He without having a clue what he was talking about comes at me 'How could you talk to Randy that way?' He was so nasty-defending that character whose entire life I was able to figure out everything about that jerk without ever meeting him-says a lot. I was so upset and felt like I couldn't trust them to do right by us the day of the wedding, my mom called them to say how wrong they were to speak to me like that (it's not like her to get involved in any remotely confrontational manner), and then my husband (who is not remotely confrontational) went into the caterer's office to yell at them for how they spoke to me. He also demanded that they not have Randy at our wedding. We didn't have the kids in the sanctuary or Randy at our wedding.

Again, I have to say that the day of the wedding, they truly did right by us. They threw us a wonderful party. I would still recommend having your wedding at WJC, but I would just caution against dealing with Tom Cataldo or Randy. I would recommend dealing with a woman named Melissa, a gentleman named Shawn (who actually was the only one who handled the fiasco above in a courteous, professional & accommodating manner) or Scott Morrell himself. Whenever we dealt with him, he was incredibly helpful and accommodating. Randy was replaced with William who was an amazing Maitre D. He was so sweet, attentive, a total pleasure to work with (he knows how to speak to women-he's married and has a sister).

The most helpful advice I can give if you get married at a Morrell facility-demand to have Chuck as your bridal attendant/butler. The man is FANTASTIC! He truly kept on top of everything from the second we arrived until the moment the trunk of our car was shut. No bride should ever have to get married without Chuck. We actually got to eat at our own wedding (he literally fed us at the cocktail hour), he was so attentive to my million food allergies, he helped me dress (you just get the dress in place, then he comes in and knows all of the tricks to make everything work), he bustled my dress-he pinned me up when my bustle broke, he got a stain out of my dress. He was so amazing. We really got to experience our wedding, live in the moment and enjoy every second of it-all because of CHUCK. He is actually retired, but brides fly him up from time to time. I was lucky, the bride who got married the night before me flew him up. He truly made our day the best day of our lives. I would recommend asking Morrell to get you in touch with the other brides from your weekend-that way you can all split the cost of bringing him up. When you're spending all that money already-the added cost is a drop in the bucket and SO WORTH IT!

Officiant-Rabbi Arthur Rulnick
Rabbi Rulnick is amazing. My husband and I are more into the cultural/family oriented aspects of Judaism than the religious-we never expected to connect with a Rabbi on the level that we did with Rabbi Rulnick. We needed the Kleenex at our meeting with him-he is such a special man. He performed (along with Cantor Cohen-who has an amazing voice) such a wonderful and meaningful ceremony. Our guests thought that one of us must have known him for years-not 6 weeks. He truly captured how my husband and I feel about eachother, and what brought us to this point in our lives.

Band-Body Heat Productions
They were amazing! They are such a pleasure to work with. They were so accommodating, they learned songs for us no problem. They are so talented. Their manager/drummer, Bob Meyers is so wonderful. He was always quick to return calls, such a pleasure! We used just the keyboard player for the ceremony and cocktail hour-that was perfect. The gentleman learned songs for us, since we were not using traditional music. We used Suddenly by Billy Ocean for the processional, Betcha By Golly Wow by The Stylistics when my mom walked me down the aisle, and Together Forever for the recessional. They even let us practice our dance with them while our guests were in the cocktail hour. They learned Sweet Love by Anita Baker for when we cut the Cake. They play lots of current music that you hear on the radio today-and they sound amazing doing it. I cannot say enough wonderful things about them-our guests were blown away by their talent, just like we were. Also, they don't play the games that a lot of the other bands do-everybody that was listed on the contract showed-all 9 of them.

Photography/Videography-Neal Bloom
Neal is amazing. He did my sister's wedding, and we were blown away. It's funny, a lot of people we know used him-everybody loved him. We actually booked everything around him-because after the wedding is over-the marriage, album & DVD are all that you have (that's plenty ). I called him to find out his availability before we went venue shopping, and we are so happy we did. He just sent us our proofs & unedited DVD yesterday (only 10 days after our wedding). He also puts the pictures online now so that your guests can see and purchase if they like. Those should be up in a day or so, and when they are I'll add pictures to my reviews.

Florist-Spitz & Peck
The only thing that went wrong that day were our flowers, but they were still beautiful. My bouquet was gorgeous, and exactly what was discussed. My sister's bouquet was entirely wrong-it was pretty, but totally clashed with the other flowers at the wedding. Her bouquet looked like a Thanksgiving centerpiece-crayola orange, reds, yellow-don't ask. The flowers were supposed to be shades of peach/pale shades of orange, cream, pale greens-it sounds crazy, but you'll see in the pictures when I add them, it just works-absolutely gorgeous. Our Chuppah was supposed to have the colors I just described-but instead they did it the same colors as my bouquet. They got the fabric parts right though-it was ivory silk with a sheer gold overlay-gorgeous. The Chuppah actually probably worked better the way they did it. The sun was streaming into the sanctuary, and with the Chuppah being shades of blush-it looked like it was glowing. It gave it a very ethereal look. The centerpieces they got right, but they looked a little sparse. As soon as I said that they got more flowers and filled them in-they were PERFECT! It was funny-I said all along that flowers were not on my list of priorities-because people remember and enjoy the band, place & food-but people were calling the next day to rave about how classy and tasteful the flowers looked. They were so elegant in these stands made of antique crystal and brass lamp parts. We loved the way it looked. I wouldn't say not to use Spitz & Peck-what I would say is to get the descriptions from the samples put in writing-we had the initial color scheme and details in writing at the time we contracted with them, but didn't get the more detailed version made at the sample viewing. Maybe things weren't written clearly by the person we dealt with, I don't know. Maybe his handwriting was unclear-if we saw a copy of that, who knows-in the end, if the only thing that goes slightly wrong are flowers-who cares. It all looked gorgeous (except the flowers on the cake-they were also the wrong colors-we don't know if that's the florist's fault or the caterer's-we didn't even notice until we saw pictures after the wedding).

Make-up-Janet Bari
I cannot say enough wonderful things about Janet. She is amazing. She is a true professional. She really knows what works well in pictures too. She does everything with the pictures in mind. She air-brushed us all, and I felt like we all looked the best we had ever looked. Also, she works at Lancome in Bloomingdales, 59th Street in NYC, so you can book an appointment with her there for your trial-she'll do your eyebrows (she is a true expert) & you buy 3 products (that's the fee for the trial). It's great because then you pay and actually have something after the trial. This way you also have stuff for touch-ups (she also gives you a little kit with touch-up make-up. She is a wonderful make-up artist, and a truly phenomenal person.

Hair-Donna from Two Stephen Street in Plainview
Donna is amazing! We all have curly hair in my family, and she tackled our heads no problem! She is known for her wedding hair, and for good reason. She did such a wonderful job on all 3 of us (mom, sis & me). She does stuff that is fancy, tasteful, and natural looking. A lot of hairstylists do those silly looking lined up curls, where you can practically see how they just go across your head with a curling iron-not Donna-she is so talented.

Wedding Jewelry-Forever Diamonds
Albert and the others at Forever Diamonds are wonderful! We first met them by accident, when my husband was shopping for my engagement ring. We were looking for another store, ended up there by mistake-the best mistake we ever made. They are very fair & reasonable with their pricing, they are very honest, they have beautiful items in stock, and they can find anything you want. I love my engagement ring/wedding ring set. People's eyes pop out of their heads when they see it. Forever Diamonds did such a wonderful job on my rings. My husband's ring is gorgeous, they were so patient with us as he was picking it out. They are always such a pleasure to work with. When they didn't have quite what I was looking for as far as wedding day earrings, I emailed them some pictures, they got in a bunch for me to pick from, and I absolutely love what they found me! They also do wonderful repair work at fantastic prices-I had these pearls that I never loved the length of-they did such a wonderful job re-stringing them. I wear them all the time now.

Stationary-Proper Papers in Plainview
We loved working with the women there. They are all so helpful, knowledgable and sweet. I couldn't believe how quickly they got our stuff in. They were very helpful with wording and ways that we could trim the price without compromising the look of our stationary. The manufacturer was William Arthur-so classy & timeless. We loved it!

Tuxedos-Men's Wearhouse
My husband is thin, so he's a hard fit in stuff like tuxedos. I took him all over the place when he needed a tux for another wedding, and I actually bought him a tux in Century 21 made by Kenneth Cole. Kenneth Cole tends to cut well for thinner guys, so Men's Wearhouse is the only place that rents Kenneth Cole. They were great there. It was very convenient because we had guys from all over the place, and there are Men's Wearhouse locations all over the place. The guys can order anywhere and schedule the pick-up at their local location or at the location closest to the event. They also have the best prices. The one drawback to MW-they don't have a great color selection of accessories.

Tuxedo Accessories for Men in Bridal Party-Town & Country in Wantagh
The staff here was wonderful. My husband & I got our guys' jacket sizes, and they were able to determine the vest sizes and make recommendations about how to make my husband's attire different from the others. They had the most extensive collection we saw anywhere. Our wedding color was brown-we could barely find 1 option anywhere else, we had plenty to choose from at T&C.

Wedding Gown, MOB Dress, matron of Honor Dress-Bridal Reflections in Carle Place
My reviews here are mixed. I was happy with the girl who helped me choose my gown, her recommendation for a veil & their prices. We got a great deal on my mom's gown, and she looked amazing in it. We found my sister's dress somewhere else, but then they had the sample at another location, and they ordered it for us. My only problem with Bridal Reflections was about the alterations. My mom's & sister's dresses were perfect in the end. My dress-first they made me flat chested (I'm naturally far from that), then they fixed that, then there were problems with the neckline, there were problems with the lining of my dress being too long, I was stepping on it the whole time, and my bustle was weak-it just wouldn't hold. Chuck (my bridal attendant) had to keep putting more & more pins in to keep my bustle up.

Dance Lessons-Ballroom Dance Long Island (John Mazzei)

John was fantastic. I wanted to do this so that my husband would be more comfortable on the dancefloor. John taught us so much, made it so easy for us to learn. In the beginning my husband was so against going-he LOVED it! He got so into it, and we've had a great time tearing up the dancefloor at every wedding we've gone to since we started lessons. John is so calm and reassuring. He teaches you how to dance, not just how to do a routine. When the version the band played of our wedding song was slightly different than the one we were used to practice-we were able to just roll with it and nobody knew the difference.

Yarmulkes-Weinfeld Skull Cap Mfg Co (yarmulkes.com)
They were fantastic. They have a huge color selection, they got them to us in less time than promised. We were very happy with them. We did the lined 6-panel satin yarmulkes in brown, and then we got 1 doz. w/gold trim for the men in the bridal party. I also did a lot of research-they have the best prices by far. I definitely recommend using them.

Rehearsal Dinner-Piccola Bussola in Huntington
The food was fantastic, the prices are great, the atmosphere is wonderful, the staff is phenomenal. We were so happy with Piccola Bussola. It's always been a favorite of ours, and the staff there is always so sweet. We had a private room off to the side. Everything about the dinner was perfect. Our guests absolutely loved it, as did we.

Favors-http://www.weddingcd.cdbyme.com/
They are very reasonable, sent us the labels in a matter of days, and they were beautiful. We opted for the couple's photo label, and they customized the design to our specifications. They came out great, our guests loved them.

Judaica-Zion Lion
We purchased our Shardz (colored glass to break during ceremony) glass there as well as a gift for the Rabbi. We were happy with them up until then. We went back to get Kiddush Cups for our ceremony, that's where we ran into problems. They couldn't deliver on time, we had to call them to find that out, then they gave us a hard time about getting our money back. They said their credit card machine doesn't do returns, then they said they would mail us a check, then we had to hound them for weeks to get the check (we got the runaround and hung up on), then after my husband threatened to call the Better Business Bureau, we finally got our check, mailed in an open envelope. My advice-if you can walk out of the store with the item, that's fine. I would NEVER order anything from them. Their customer service is hideous.

I hope these reviews help, if anyone has any questions, I'll check in and respond. I'll also add pictures as soon as I get them and a list of contact information. Best of luck to you all!

Re: I just wanted to post reviews of my fairytale wedding vendors to help other brides in planning their weddings

i'm technologically retarded (for lack of a better word) when it comes to these things, but someone should try to link this to the 'bride's review' board.

Re: I just wanted to post reviews of my fairytale wedding vendors to help other brides in planning their weddings

Thank you for your review! Do you have a # for your makeup artist? I live in the city and I'm looking for someone who can do my makeup here. Thanks so much in advance

Re: I just wanted to post reviews of my fairytale wedding vendors to help other brides in planning their weddings

Congrats! Thank you for the GREAT review!

Re: I just wanted to post reviews of my fairytale wedding vendors to help other brides in planning their weddings

Great review! Can't wait to see pics!

Re: I just wanted to post reviews of my fairytale wedding vendors to help other brides in planning their weddings

Janet's phone number is (718) 423-4066. You will love her! I will post pics very soon and you can see how wonderful she is.

Re: I just wanted to post reviews of my fairytale wedding vendors to help other brides in planning their weddings

Great review, congrats!!!!!!!!!

Re: I just wanted to post reviews of my fairytale wedding vendors to help other brides in planning their weddings

GREAT REVIEW, POST SOME PICS FOR US

Re: I just wanted to post reviews of my fairytale wedding vendors to help other brides in planning their weddings

congratulations....and thanks for sharing the review

Re: JUST ADDED LINK TO PICS! I just wanted to post reviews of my fairytale wedding vendors to help other brides in planning their weddings-link to wedding proofs

I tried scanning some pics and nothing did the pictures justice-but here is a link to our wedding proofs-the proof of Neal Bloom's talents are (cheesy to say this, but anyway) in the proofs.

Hi everybody! Our wedding photographer has posted our wedding photos-here are the directions to get to them:

First, go to www.opicture.com

Next, click on 'Guest'

Enter the following information:
photographer ID - photobyneal
password - 12

Click on 'Katz'
Then, enter the event password 'eliseeric'
Then click on enter (not using the 'enter' key, but clicking on the word 'enter' on the screen).


And I do promise to add all of the contact information within the next day or so.

Re: I just wanted to post reviews of my fairytale wedding vendors to help other brides in planning their weddings

Beautiful pics, you look absolutely lovely!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: I just wanted to post reviews of my fairytale wedding vendors to help other brides in planning their weddings

Thanks for your review-I'm getting married at Woodbury next summer, and I'm seriously considering flying Chuck up too! I'd love to hear more about WJC, if you have any helpful tips,FM me!

Re: I just wanted to post reviews of my fairytale wedding vendors to help other brides in planning their weddings

Great review cant wait to see your pics!

Re: I just wanted to post reviews of my fairytale wedding vendors to help other brides in planning their weddings

First of all, congratulations. You and your guests will absolutely love everything about WJC. I have to say flying Chuck up is definitely the way to go. You can see in the pictures (I posted the link to above) that we truly got to enjoy every moment of our day, and we owe that to Chuck. He organized our ceremony, he fed us, he played seamstress when my bustle was not working right, he kept our entire day running smoothly. He is amazing! I'm of the belief that nobody should ever have to get married without Chuck! He should truly be an advisor to a wedding magazine or one of those wedding TV shows-I cannot say enough about him. I don't know how much it costs to fly him up, I was the lucky beneficiary of the fact that the Saturday night bride flew him up. You contact him via Morrell Caterers, and they do it all for you. I would also recommend asking them to contact the other brides from your weekend, or ask if they will let you contact the other brides-maybe you can share the cost. We just got lucky, but honestly knowing what I know now-I don't know how they function without him there. He was so present-he did EVERYTHING from beginning to end. With what you're paying for your big day-I'm sure it's nominal compared to the overall cost. Consider it your wedding gift to yourselves. He handles all the little stuff while you get to concentrate on the commitment you are making to your husband and the love you share.

Re: I just wanted to post reviews of my fairytale wedding vendors to help other brides in planning their weddings

I'm sorry, I'm technologically spastic, so I posted the info above (on 9/27) that links you to my proofs from Neal Bloom-photographer extroidinaire (i know I goofed that spelling). Neal's info (I've gotten a few requests) is (631) 754-7578. He is amazing.

Re: LINK TO PHOTOGRAPHER'S PROOFS ADDED! I just wanted to post reviews of my fairytale wedding vendors to help other brides in planning their weddings

Great review - thanks for posting it! You and your husband are a beautiful couple. Congrats!!

Re: LINK TO PHOTOGRAPHER'S PROOFS ADDED! I just wanted to post reviews of my fairytale wedding vendors to help other brides in planning their weddings

Congrats!

Re: LINK TO PHOTOGRAPHER'S PROOFS ADDED! I just wanted to post reviews of my fairytale wedding vendors to help other brides in planning their weddings

Congrats!!!

Re: LINK TO PHOTOGRAPHER'S PROOFS ADDED! I just wanted to post reviews of my fairytale wedding vendors to help other brides in planning their weddings

How much did Spitz and Peck charge you?

Re: LINK TO PHOTOGRAPHER'S PROOFS ADDED! I just wanted to post reviews of my fairytale wedding vendors to help other brides in planning their weddings