May 9th 2008, Russo's on the Bay, SPE, Gorgeous Faces, Tony Ferrari,

Wedding Day Weather: F-

When I woke up at 6am the morning of the wedding I just about cried. Outside it was gray, gloomy, rainy and just plain awful. The weather could only have been worse if it were snowing. The rain made it so difficult to get around that day, there was traffic everywhere, and needless to say no pictures could have been taken outdoors. I think for me the most disappointing part was not being able to take pictures on the steps of the Church, and have bubbles and my balloon launch. I guess the one thing you can’t control on your wedding day is mother nature.



Florist: Teddy’s Florist, Astoria A+++

I absolutely cannot say enough about the staff at Teddy’s. Claire is an absolute doll to work with, and everything was perfect. Originally when I went into her I wanted light peach roses in my bouquet, and she suggested that I use a deep pink instead. At first I didn’t realize why, until I saw the pictures, they came out absolutely GORGEOUS!!! My bouquet consisted of pink and white roses, mini calla lilies, and stephanotis with crystals. It was absolutely the most breathtaking display ever. The 9 girls bouquets were peach roses and white astromariums, which looked beautiful against their aqua dresses. The best part is that the girls who took their bouquets home said the flowers still look great even today which is 12 days later! The only thing we did not get from Teddy’s were the centerpieces at Russo’s, as they were a gift from my aunt and she made them from scratch! I would recommend Teddy’s without reservation to anyone who wants beautiful flowers at a great price. In fact the flowers came in $900 under what I budgeted after speaking with three other florists.

Wedding Photography /Videography: Tony Ferrari Studios: A

This is probably the most difficult for me to write about as I have not seen my video or proofs yet. However, I absolutely knew from the minute I started planning the wedding that I wanted to use Tony. My cousin had used him for her wedding in February and I loved her proofs. The fact that he was a house vendor at Russo’s made it even better. I, as well as my mother in law, am a person who loves pictures, and to me the more the better. Since Mother Nature was not cooperating with us that day it made it very difficult to get pictures the way we wanted them, but Tony improvised completely. He arrived at my home promptly and took his time with us, yet still keeping us on schedule. He worked very patiently with my mom, who absolutely hates taking pictures and did not want to smile in any of the shots. By the time we were ready to leave for Church my mom was smiling and laughing with him, making the pictures look wonderful. Tony makes sure that he gets the job done to make the bride and groom happy with the end result no matter what it takes, and it is this that I love about him. He takes charge of the situation and keeps you on schedule.



Wedding Gown: Demetrios: A+++

I cannot say enough about Demetrios, however, since the gown was purchased in Florida where I reside, I’m not sure it would be of much help!

Day of Hair: Denise (Personal Hair Dresser) : A+++

I was lucky enough to have Denise take off the day of my wedding to do all 8 of my girls and me. She was promptly at my house at 7am, and worked on me first. I must say that my hair turned out better than I imagined and the curls held not only through the rain of the day itself, but for the next day as well. All of my girls loved her and their hairstyles and the fact that she was priced less than they were expecting to pay. I could not have been happier.

Day of Make Up: Gorgeous Faces by Jillian A++++++++

Jillian is an absolute doll. She did our makeup for my cousins wedding in February and I just had to have her. She arrived promptly at 9am, with a smile on her face and ready to get to work. My mom was probably her most difficult customer as she never wears make up and hates it. She didn’t even want make up to begin with, so I asked Jillian to make her look at natural as possible. Well, I have never seen my mom look better. She looked amazing. All of the girls looked amazing, and the make up lasted until we washed it off the next morning. Jillian knows her stuff and it really shows in the work that she does.

Maid of Honor, Bridesmaid & Flower Girl Dresses (& FG headpiece): Jordan Fashions @ Macy’s Bridal Salon, Manhasset - C

I don’t want to put anything too negative in my review so I will just say it was a difficult experience dealing with this store, especially from out of town. The gowns we chose were absolutely gorgeous, and the quality was excellent, however, the customer service and knowledge of the sales associates could have been better. In the end, Josephine the store manager took over our account and everything went fine from that point, however, the beginning of our dealings with them was a nightmare and every gown came in the wrong size and cost hundreds dollars more to be altered causing it not to be a very pleasant experience for my girls either.


Groom, Best Man & Groomsmen Tuxedos: Bell Formal Wear: C

At first we thought this was a dream come true. DH’s friend owned a store in Syosset that we were supposed to use, however, it closed the month before the wedding. We wound up using this family owned store that my father in law’s family used for years. The price was a little high, however, he had the colors we wanted available and DH loved the tuxes for the groom. We didn’t experience any issues until the day before the wedding when everyone was picking up the tuxes. The out of town groomsmen’s tux was the wrong size and when it was noticed, the owner’s comment to us was “This is why I don’t like taking out of town measurements”. At this point my DH had been aggravated enough, because initially we told him that we had one groomsmen in California and one in Connecticut and he said it would be no problem for them to send in the measurements, which they did. Instead of complaining that the measurements were inaccurate, it would have been nice for him to just accommodate the request. The second run in we had was with my father and grandfather’s order. My dad has a rather small foot, and when he looked at his shoes in the store they were completely scuffed and dirty. My father requested a new pair and he would not give them to him. He said because of his shoe size he didn’t have them in stock. When my dad pointed out that there was a box sitting behind the counter with his size, he proceeded to tell him they were for someone else’s order. Well long story short after about 20 minutes of arguing my dad left the store and bought new shoes to wear the day of the wedding. Luckily we had no problems returning the tuxes.



Invitations: Invitations by Dawn- A

Invitations By Dawn is an online retailer of invitations and favors. At first I was skeptical of using an online site to order invitations, however, Invitations by Dawn allowed us to order as many free samples as we liked to decide on an invitation. This was very helpful in actually seeing the quality, because what you see on a computer screen may be deceiving. Well in this case it absolutely was not. I found the perfect, simple invitation on the website, and after receiving the sample of it I requested (for free) I placed the order almost immediately. The cost for 175 invitations was less than $400, which was great! The invitations literally arrived 4 days later. I could not believe how fast they shipped and how perfect everything was in the box. The quality was awesome and everyone complimented us on them.

Maid of Honor/Bridesmaid/Parents/Groomsmen Gifts: Things Remembered, Personalization Mall, Exclusively Weddings, Wrap with Us, and Wedding Channel Rating: A+++

I knew almost immediately that I wanted to get the girls something they could wear the day of the wedding as well as everyday. The perfect item for this purpose was a pave crystal heart necklace inside a matching jewelry box with the girls name engraved on the outside. The problem was this item usually costs $50 and having 9 girls that was a little out of budget. Luckily I caught them on a Valentine’s Day sale for $29.99 each plus the $6 for engraving. I immediately ordered them online and also got free shipping because the order was over $100. The hearts arrived beautifully packaged about a week later. It was worth every penny to see the looks on the girls faces as they opened the boxes at the rehearsal dinner. Everyone thought they were beautiful and that it was a great idea because they could wear the hearts with everyday clothes and remember my wedding as they wore them.
The groomsmen gifts were a bit more difficult. We had so many different people with different tastes it was hard deciding what to give. Finally after surveying the groomsmen it was decided to do money clips. In my constant online searching I found the money clips on clearance in the Wedding Channel Store for one weekend only. Well I got the money clips engraved with the guys initials for only $8 each. Talk about a bargain! This allowed us to also get an engraved Zippo lighter for the best man ($12) and cufflinks for the groomsmen ($10). It was perfect. Everyone loved the gifts. The only thing that we did not find accommodating with the shipping was that the boxes were not labeled with the initials so we had to open each one individually to determine who they were for.
Our parent’s gifts to us were by far the most important. We decided to give them personalized frames from Personalization Mall, an online retailer. The frames are glass and can hold an 8x10 picture on the left side, and are personalized on the right side with a poem. The poem that we chose is “To my parents on my wedding day”, which we took from their collection of verses. The frames arrived in about 10 days and were better than pictured online. The glass sparkled and they were heavy. My dad, who is usually not pleased with anything, remarked what a great gift it was. DH’s mom already has hers up in the living room anxiously awaiting a picture from the photographer! In addition I also ordered personalized handkerchiefs from Wrap with Us in Syosset for the parents. When going to pick up these items I walked in and found a wedding decoration wonderland. For anyone that is looking for bargains in gifts, decorations, etc, for any occasion, they will definitely love this store.
In addition, my dad received a special frame from Exclusively Weddings. I purchased the double frame and had “Always Daddy’s Princess” on the top and the dates on the bottom. He loved this frame, and it arrived quickly and neatly packaged. It was perfect.

Wedding Bands – Gordon’s Jewelers - A

This was probably the easiest task we had since we both love shopping for new jewelry. We went to our local jeweler when they were having a diamond trunk show. Basically what that means is they brought a company that designs their rings to show new designs. Well, the designs were amazing. DH found a beautiful two tone ring with diamonds, and I found the perfect match for my engagement ring setting, a white gold band with pave set diamonds. DH’s ring is engraved, although mine couldn’t be because of the diamonds. The cost was so much less than we anticipated spending, and the quality is amazing. I don’t think that there are Gordon’s up north yet, however you can visit them online for the same bargains.

Hotel for OOT Guests – Hilton Garden Inn - JFK: A+

The rooms here were great. Although we only stayed the night of the wedding, our oot guests raved on how clean the rooms were, and how great the service was. Maria was our assigned coordinator and she was great to work with, prompt in returning calls and resolving issues. The shuttles arrived on time and there was not one complaint from any of the guests. We had a brunch there the following morning and the food was absolutely delicious. I was more than impressed with this hotel.

Bridal Shoes: Shoebuy.com: A+++

So I was skeptical of ordering shoes online, however, I had to try this website because of the free shipping, low prices, and amazing selection. I found about 5 pairs that I absolutely fell in love with online. I immediately ordered all 5 and had them shipped to me. After receiving them I was glad I did that, because some of them were very uncomfortable to wear and it was obvious that I would not make it through the ceremony with them. I picked a pair that I fell in love with and sent the other 4 back. Within two weeks I received a full refund for the 4 returned pairs on my credit card. There are no restocking fees, and Shoebuy paid for me to send them back. The only money I wound up spending was the $55 for the pair that I selected. It was great! The only thing that I found annoying was when calling to try to get the labels to return the shoes the lines were busy multiple times. Other than that I highly recommend this website. I have since ordered shoes for work from them and experienced the same speedy shipping and high quality.


Ceremony /Reception Hall: Russo’s on the Bay: A+++

As a little girl my uncle worked across the street from Russo’s and I used to sometimes pick him up. On those days as I waited for him I would sit and watch all the brides go in and out, and dream of having my wedding at Russo’s. I was about 5 then, and fast forward 23 years and my dream came true!
When DH and I were looking for places I wanted a castle, totally forgetting my dream of Russo’s. When DH suggested Russo’s I almost fell out of my chair. How could I forget my childhood dream? We immediately called my parents and sent them to see Toni Ann who just so happened to be a friend of my DH’s from high school. My parents had already checked out a few halls and were impressed with the price. When they got to Russo’s that following Sunday to meet with ToniAnn, Russo’s floored them. The price was way out of our budget, however, my dad would not hear of us having our wedding anywhere else after meeting with ToniAnn and Mr. Russo. Even though it was way out of budget we agreed on Russo’s and the Elements of Style package. Now keep in mind I had never set foot in Russo’s, tasted the food, or knew anything about it other than my experience when I was 5 and my parents going there. I was going solely by their judgment and boy am I glad for once in my life I did. The first time I ever set foot in Russo’s was July of 2007, three months after we booked them. I was blown away. ToniAnn was an absolute angel. If it weren’t for her and Kelly I may have about lost my mind. She kept me sane, and assured me everything would be wonderful. She was right.
She is the sweetest person I have worked with in the whole process. She returned every phone call, and answered every question assuring me no question was stupid. We had a lot of out of town guests at our wedding, and one guest from Texas ran up to us during the Venetian hour and exclaimed that he could not believe his good fortune to be invited to a wedding such as ours. Everything was flawless. When presented of an issue of a table being not set up due to some last minute seating changes, they handled it professionally, and promptly. No one even noticed. Everything ran on time without any problems or issues. Our guests thought they were on platinum weddings. The elevator entrance in the Tivoli room was spectacular. The cake from the Elements of Style package was the most beautiful cake I could have ever imagined. The food was amazing; I probably will not have food like that ever again. The staff was great. My favorite part of the Russo’s experience had to be the Venetian hour. Any dessert I could imagine was there, and I got to walk through it with a waiter and point to everything I wanted. Sure enough by the time I got back to my table one of everything I pointed to was there waiting for me. I do not have one bad thing to say about Russo’s, and in fact hope someone else will invite us to a wedding there very soon!


Music – SPE (Sound Perfect Entertainment) – A++++++++++++++++++++++++

I cannot say enough about Anthony and his crew. When I walked into our room for the first time and saw the trusses they set up with the Plasma’s and 100 different color lights I almost cried. Then when we were coming up in the elevator and the smoke, lights and music were surrounding us it was truly amazing. Anthony created a custom introduction for us and the bridal party timed with the Russo’s elevator to come in. It was great to hear the music change as we came up and see people pumping their fists like they were at a concert. It was a moment I wish I could relive over and over again and it looks great on video. Anthony is a spectacular MC. I honestly well up with tears thinking about what an amazing job he did on our wedding. The lights operating in tune with every song, the lively music, everything was perfect. As a surprise to us, he even brought his own photographer to take pictures throughout the night and play on his plasmas. It was great because now we have over 1000 pictures of moments that we would have otherwise missed through the night. We also have some great pictures of ourselves J I would highly recommend SPE to anyone to use for their wedding, or any party in general. They are truly the best I have seen in years!

Re: May 9th 2008, Russo's on the Bay, SPE, Gorgeous Faces, Tony Ferrari,

very detailed review!!! I hope you'll post pictures, it sounds like you had a lovely day (except for the weather)!! congrats!

Re: May 9th 2008, Russo's on the Bay, SPE, Gorgeous Faces, Tony Ferrari,

congrats you looked beautiful!! and what a fantastic cake.

Re: May 9th 2008, Russo's on the Bay, SPE, Gorgeous Faces, Tony Ferrari,

thank you for the wonderful review! Congrats to you and your new husband! I'd love to see pics when you get them!!

Re: May 9th 2008, Russo's on the Bay, SPE, Gorgeous Faces, Tony Ferrari,

You looked beautiful. Love the big entrance at Russo's

Re: May 9th 2008, Russo's on the Bay, SPE, Gorgeous Faces, Tony Ferrari,

Thanks everyone...Tony Ferrari just called yesterday to let me know my proofs are done. I can't wait to see them!

Re: May 9th 2008, Russo's on the Bay, SPE, Gorgeous Faces, Tony Ferrari,

From one Russo's bride to another I'm glad that you're day was a spectacular as mine was!

PS- Just wait until you see the picutres from Tony Ferrari! You're going to flip!

Re: May 9th 2008, Russo's on the Bay, SPE, Gorgeous Faces, Tony Ferrari,

congratulations! love your entrance.

Re: May 9th 2008, Russo's on the Bay, SPE, Gorgeous Faces, Tony Ferrari,

So nice. You had a big BP and I love the girls dresses!

Re: May 9th 2008, Russo's on the Bay, SPE, Gorgeous Faces, Tony Ferrari,

Thank you for such a detailed review! You looked beautiful and such a lovely Bridal Party!! Everything else looked amazing, despite the weather! CONGRATS!

Re: May 9th 2008, Russo's on the Bay, SPE, Gorgeous Faces, Tony Ferrari,

congrats and the review was very thorough!

Re: May 9th 2008, Russo's on the Bay, SPE, Gorgeous Faces, Tony Ferrari,

congrats!!!!!!!!