My 11/18/05 Wedding Review! Chateau La Mer, 12th Night, Mittermax, Jacqueline Nicole, Burtons, Four Points by Sheraton and more! UPDATED with link to 12th Night proofs and review, Mittermax review

First of all, let me say that this day was a LONG time coming and that wedding planning began way before the engagement. LIW helped me SO much with all my planning and gave me so many wonderful ideas! I have made some wonderful friends and I want to thank you all for everything you have done to help us in the past two years!! I have to say that my day was perfect- stressfree and calm! Everything went smoothly and I feel as though I had the absolutely perfect day!

Mother Nature: B
It was a beautiful sunny day but very cold... Not to scare any future brides but whoever says you can't feel the cold is not telling the truth!!!

Church- St. Kilian Roman Catholic Church in Farmingdale: A
St. Kilian is not my parish, but I work at the Catholic School there and thought it was be nice to have our wedding there. We chose the priest we wanted (Father Todd) and he did a terrific job. The Church is absolutely gorgeous! I was a little nervous about precana but the couple we had was wonderful and it was not an uncomfortable experience at all. The best part was how many of my students came to share in my special day!! Two of my students were altar servers and three of the boys even stood out in the freezing cold playing their trumpets as guests walked in... Adorable!







Rehearsal Dinner- Bella Napoli in Farmingdale: A
Our rehearsal dinner was right down the road at Bella Napoli. Everything was fantastic. They give you a lot of food at a reasonable price and everything was delicious! They worked with us on the time and we were able to use the private room. Definitely recommended!!

Rehearsal Dinner Favors- Krispy Kremes: A
We worked with Alex at the Krispy Kreme in Melville/Huntington. We went in about a month before the wedding and he was great to work with. We ordered 35 boxes of two donuts as favors for the rehearsal dinner. We picked them up that morning (they also deliver) and they were great!

Invitations- Carlson Craft: B
We ordered our invitations through someone Vinny's mom works with... They had a decent selection and we chose something a little different. We sent in the order and never received a proof. Well, sure enough there was a mistake in the font and they had to be reprinted. Otherwise everything was great. We were even able to keep the ones in the wrong font which was perfect to give my students to invite them to the Church!



My Gown and veil- Paradise Bridals in Patchogue: B+
I am VERY picky. I thought it would take forever to find a dress. On my third store, Paradise Bridals, I found it! Exactly what I wanted. The person who helped me, Marge, was great and we ordered the dress in September of 04. They cut the tags out of the dress was I don't like. I was told it would take about 8 months to come in... about 10 later I was still waiting so I gave them a call. Few days later I got a call back that the dress was in. I asked if I could come in to try it and they said they don't really like that because girls get makeup on the dresses and then want them to clean it. I explained that I had ordered the dress a long time ago and wanted to make it sure it fit, and they didn't give me a problem at all. Good thing I went cuz I had apparently gained some weight and the dress was a little snug. I went back in October for my first fitting and ended up having to go back for two more. Biggest complaint here was that every time I went we had to wait quite a bit before our turn. I needed a lot of alterations but when I got my dress in the end it fit perfectly and I was very happy.



Moms Dress- Macy's Bridal in Lake Grove: B
My mom had her heart set on a dress that was very expensive and was going to order it at Burtons but needed the code... so they told her to go to Macys. Turns out while she was at Macys she found an even better dress at a great price! The only problem there was that the dress came in pretty late and she had to rush with the fittings. They charge a lot for alterations. In the end the dress looked great and everyone was happy!



MIL's Dress- Totally You in Merrick: B+
The only time I went with my MIL was to pick the dress out. The lady was so-so when it came to helping, but did help my MIL find a dress she loved! I am not sure how anything else went because I wasn't there!



Bridesmaids Gowns- Jessica McClintock in Roosevelt Field: A
I had eight bridesmaids and it took a while to find something everyone would be comfortable in! I had narrowed it down to two dresses but once everyone tried on the Jessica McClintock they loved it! They were almost a perfect fit other then length on most as well. My only problem, which was by no means their fault, was that my bridal party took too long to get measured and they ran out in two sizes. Luckily, they were recutting the dress for the next season and gave it to us for the same price as the older ones (which were on sale!). All the girls had their dresses within a week or so except the two who had to wait for it to be recut, but they all matched perfectly and looked great on everyone! My sister (MOH) was even able to get the same dress but strapless to make her a little different.



Tuxedos- Gino's Fashion Tuxedos in Farmingdale: A
Vinny and I went in one Saturday and Nick helped us... he was great and very patient. They had everything on site and do their own alterations which was really good as well. My only complaint is the ring bearers tux (a 7 year old) was the same price as the adult tuxes. Although a lot of alterations were done when the tuxes were picked up, everyone looked great and the vests matched the girls dresses perfectly!!





Hair- Josephine's Cutting Edge (Connie) in Farmingdale: A+
Just our regular hairdresser. We had our hair done at 8:30 in the morning and the wedding wasn't until 5. Not a hair moved! Most of my bridal party got their hair done througout the day and everyone looked gorgeous!! There were no stresses, no worries and they were very reasonable!





Makeup- Jacqueline Nicole: A+
Jacqueline did 6 out of 8 bridesmaids, myself and my mother. She started around 10AM and lasted about 30 minutes per bridesmaid. We had a last minute addition and she was easily able to accomodate us. I was the only one who had a trial but she picked the right colors for everyone and they looked GORGEOUS! Everyone really liked her, and her work. Highly recommended!!







Limos- Executive Limo in Bellmore: A-
We have used Executive in the past many times for airport transfers and they have always been more than accomodating, as they were for the wedding. I called the night before and had them change the pickup time and it was not a problem. We had a Rolls Royce and two ten-passenger limos. Everything was in great condition and the drivers were so helpful. After the ceremony we had the limos drop as at the hall and go to the hotel to pick people up. Here's the reason they didn't get an A... they took the LONG way back from the hotel to the reception and those guests were about a half an hour late to the cocktail hour (including our parents). We also hired to vans later in the night to bring guests back to the hotel. They were there and waiting and did a great job! Overall, very happy!





Photography- Twelfth Night (Dominic and Michael): Day of: A, Proofs: A
Dominic was the last photographer we met with when trying to find someone. We had pretty much been set on another but once we met Dom we knew we wanted to use his company. We were happy because of the way he does things because we were able to afford two photographers, including photojournalistic prints, and because my DH is a graphic designer, he is putting together our album and saving us money that way as well. We took our engagement shoot with him last year and every shot he took was gorgeous! Him and Michael were great the day of, made everyone feel comfortable but still remained professional. Barely noticed they were there, but yet saw them catching every important moment.

Got my proofs and they are amazing!! My only disappointment was a few pix I would have liked that aren't there... my own fault since I never gave them a formal list of things to take. But the shots and the amount of them was amazing! 1368! If you want to view them, log on to www.winkflash.com... set up an account and then 'view friends albums'... my user name is GOINGNUTTY and the password is WEDDING. There are 10 albums full of Twelfth Night's work. Love them!!


Videography- Mittermax: Day of: A, Video: A
After deciding on Twelfth Night we asked Dom to recommend a videographer and he suggested Travis. We saw his video sample and we were sold! Reasonable price and SO great to work with! Again, barely noticed he was there but saw him catching every important moment. Looking forward to seeing our video soon!!

3/11- We received our video this week and Travis' work amazed us!! We enjoyed watching the video so much, he caught all the important moments and knew exactly what to include in the edited video. AWESOME job!!

Flowers- Flowers by Burton in Melville: A
We booked Burtons after going to several weddings in a short amount of time that had all used them. Every meeting we had with them went smoothly, and at our first planning meeting when we brought in a picture of what we wanted they gave us a few of the flowers as a sample. When we went to make a payment they had a sample centerpiece and it was beautiful! I was thrilled when I saw how the bouquets come out- even better than I had expected! Everything I asked of them they did and more- they do beautiful work!





DJ- Variety Music: A+
We knew our MC Bill which is why we chose to go with Variety. We had also seen them before and they always do a great job! Bill was nothing less than phenomenal the day of our wedding! I've never seen so many people up and dancing before dinner! He kept everyone going and played a great selection of music! We've already had lots of people ask for his name and number! Terrific job!







Reception Hall- Chateau La Mer in Lindenhurst: A+++++++++++++++++++
Could not have asked for anything more. From day one we felt important and never less than that. If we went in to make a payment our banquet manager Nick was there to say hello and remember every little detail about our wedding. Him and his staff made our reception absolutely perfect. Nick also worked as our maitre'd and made a little speech at our reception. They did so much for us it was amazing!! Monika was our bridal attendant and basically did anything before I could even think of it. My flowers would disappear out of my hands, she carried my train, they even ran down to the bridal suite to get my slippers and garter. Our glasses were never empty and all of the bartenders seemed to know what we were drinking. The food in the bridal suite was great, although we didn't get to see much of the cocktail hour. We actually did eat most of the food and it was delicious! We were the only party there that night and basically had use of the whole building for pictures and whatever else we needed. Everyone loved the place and commented on how terrific everything was! I cannot wait to go back to CLM for the WOTY!!







Cake- Black Forest in Lindenhurst (done through CLM): A+
Gave Nick a picture from the Black Forest website of what we wanted and it was perfect the day of! We had yellow cake, with milk chocolate and cookies and cream mouse with rolled fondant icing. I only had the one bite Vinny gave me but it was delicious, and it looked gorgeous!!!



Part of Favors- Air Fresheners from ScentUSA.com: A
Decided at the last minute to order air fresheners for the valets to hand out as people were leaving. Ordered 150 in vanilla scent. They were a little strong but so cute! Everyone loved the idea!



Everything else...
We did a lot of DIY things, WE DO letters, programs, menus, bathroom baskets, unity candle, memorial candles, OOT boxes, CD favors, etc. Here are some pix- and thank you to all the LIW girls who helped with ideas!















B]Hotel for Night of Wedding (Us and OOT Guests)- Four Points by Sheraton in Plainview: A
We looked at three hotels and were most impressed with the Four Points by Sheraton in Plainview. It was newly redone and a whole new addition was put on with a new lobby and bar. Even from the time we dropped off our OOT boxes they were very helpful, running out to help us before we even got in the door. Our room, the bridal suite, was gorgeous. The bar stayed open late and we had a lot of guests come back to keep the party going. Most of us went for breakfast in the bar the next morning which was okay... everything else was fantastic!






Honeymoon- Carnival Fantasy out of Port Canaveral, FL: B-
Some of you may know we were supposed to go to the Moon Palace Resort in Mexico, but due to Hurrican Wilma, it was closed until later this month. So a week and a half before the wedding we were looking for somewhere else to go. We decided on the Carnival Fantasy since we enjoy cruising and truly enjoy the Carnival ships. It happened to have been an older ship and was much smaller than the last two we had been on. The ship was recently redone and was beautiful... Here were our problems, most of which were not Carnival's fault... Because of booking late we got a fantastic price... however there was a lack of choices for rooms and we ended up in the front of the boat on the Upper Deck. I never realized how much more you feel the motion in the front, and got pretty sick the first night within ours of sailing (which on three previous cruises has never happened). We enjoyed our tablemates who were celebrating their first anniversary and the staff was great. We went to Freeport and Nassau in the Bahamas. Due to weather, both of our excursions on the islands were cancelled. It was sunny both days, but very windy with rough water in Nassau. We made the best of both days and did some local shopping. Visited the Atlantis in Nassau and had a lot of fun. It was very cool though and we barely had on our bathing suits an hour the whole trip. It was nice to get away and we made the best of it. Just was not our best trip by far, and we are looking forward to our second honeymoon in June, when we go to the Moon Palace!















I hope all of this helps future brides! Please feel free to ask any questions and I will post professional proofs ASAP!!

Re: My 11/18/05 Wedding Review! Chateau La Mer, 12th Night, Mittermax, Jacqueline Nicole, Burtons and more!

CONGRATS, Love the air freshner idea!!

Re: My 11/18/05 Wedding Review! Chateau La Mer, 12th Night, Mittermax, Jacqueline Nicole, Burtons and more!

Everything looks great!
Congrats!

I had my heart SET on getting married at St Killians, b/c ALL of my aunts/uncles, adn cousins and my parents were married there, but it was too much of a ride to Giorgios


I Love that all your kiddies came!
so cute!

Re: My 11/18/05 Wedding Review! Chateau La Mer, 12th Night, Mittermax, Jacqueline Nicole, Burtons and more!

WONDERFUL, WONDERUL REVIEW!!!!! The detail that you put into your wedding was amazing! Thank you for sharing!

Re: My 11/18/05 Wedding Review! Chateau La Mer, 12th Night, Mittermax, Jacqueline Nicole, Burtons and more!

thanks for sharing..Im glad to see another happy customer with CLM!!

Re: My 11/18/05 Wedding Review! Chateau La Mer, 12th Night, Mittermax, Jacqueline Nicole, Burtons and more!

You were a stunning bride!! such wonderful pictures. Congrats again

I used Variety Music too loved them! Ray was our MC, he was fantastic!

this is an awesome review! I love all your DIY projects, they look amazing!

Re: My 11/18/05 Wedding Review! Chateau La Mer, 12th Night, Mittermax, Jacqueline Nicole, Burtons and more!

Great review!
You were such a pretty bride! I loved your make-up!!!!
CLM treated you very well with all those throw-ins!!

Re: My 11/18/05 Wedding Review! Chateau La Mer, 12th Night, Mittermax, Jacqueline Nicole, Burtons and more!

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Posted by Kerrycec

CONGRATS, Love the air freshner idea!!

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Post the site where you got them, please.

Re: My 11/18/05 Wedding Review! Chateau La Mer, 12th Night, Mittermax, Jacqueline Nicole, Burtons and more!

YAY thats GREAT jennie!!!

SOOO happy for you.

Re: My 11/18/05 Wedding Review! Chateau La Mer, 12th Night, Mittermax, Jacqueline Nicole, Burtons and more!

Great review

Re: My 11/18/05 Wedding Review! Chateau La Mer, 12th Night, Mittermax, Jacqueline Nicole, Burtons and more!

You were such a lovely bride! I loved your dress! Thanks for the review and congrats to you and DH!

Re: My 11/18/05 Wedding Review! Chateau La Mer, 12th Night, Mittermax, Jacqueline Nicole, Burtons and more!

Beautiful review, beautiful wedding!! Congrats again Jen!!

Re: My 11/18/05 Wedding Review! Chateau La Mer, 12th Night, Mittermax, Jacqueline Nicole, Burtons and more!

Oh my gosh, Love everything all of your projects came out amazing!!! You looked beautiful!!! CLM is great!!

Re: My 11/18/05 Wedding Review! Chateau La Mer, 12th Night, Mittermax, Jacqueline Nicole, Burtons and more!

Congratulations Jennie!! You and your husband look so happy! You were stunning!

Re: My 11/18/05 Wedding Review! Chateau La Mer, 12th Night, Mittermax, Jacqueline Nicole, Burtons and more!

Congrats!!!

Re: My 11/18/05 Wedding Review! Chateau La Mer, 12th Night, Mittermax, Jacqueline Nicole, Burtons and more!

Congrats Jennie thank you for that great reveiw it looks like you had beautiful wedding day

Re: My 11/18/05 Wedding Review! Chateau La Mer, 12th Night, Mittermax, Jacqueline Nicole, Burtons and more!

Congrats again!!

Re: My 11/18/05 Wedding Review! Chateau La Mer, 12th Night, Mittermax, Jacqueline Nicole, Burtons and more!

CONGRATS!

You looked gorgeous!!

Re: My 11/18/05 Wedding Review! Chateau La Mer, 12th Night, Mittermax, Jacqueline Nicole, Burtons and more!

OMG what a gorgeous wedding!!! You looked beautiful!

Re: My 11/18/05 Wedding Review! Chateau La Mer, 12th Night, Mittermax, Jacqueline Nicole, Burtons and more!

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Posted by PeterNChris

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Posted by Kerrycec

CONGRATS, Love the air freshner idea!!

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Post the site where you got them, please.

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www.scentusa.com, or a link from there... they were great to work with!!