My 11-4-06 Wedding Review - Atlantis Marine World - Edited 2-14-07 to Include Non-Professional Pics at Atlantis

I vowed to myself when I first joined this site a year and a half ago that I would write a wedding review. I can't believe the time has finally come! I tried to include all the vendors I used. I did a lot of DIY and didn't include those items.

Overall, I had a wonderful day! I have no major complaints and probably wouldn't change a thing. It was the best day of my life. Please FM me with any specific questions. I've included wedding pictures and honeymoon pictures in my albums.
Wedding Pics

Honeymoon Pics

Save the Dates – www.savethedatestickers.com: A+

I found exactly what I wanted on their website, easily placed the order online and got a proof emailed to me from them right away. My STD’s came on time and I loved them. They even emailed me to tell me I had chosen a different font than the recommend but then assured me it would look great too. And they did.

Invitations – Invitations by Dawn – A+

I ordered a fall themed invitation from Invitations by Dawn. They were super quick, came out beautiful and were pretty inexpensive. You can order a free sample too, before you place your order.

Re: My 11-4-06 Wedding Review - Atlantis Marine World

My Dress - Macy’s Salon at Smithaven Mall – A

You hear mixed reviews about Macy’s and although I wasn’t thrilled with the woman who first helped me, I found my perfect dress there and decided to order it right away anyway. I can’t say that they ever treated me differently once they had my money. They weren’t super friendly but they weren’t horrible either. I got my alterations done there as well. Rosalie was wonderful and fixed every little thing I complained about. I was very happy with how my dress turned out.

BM Dresses – Macy’s Salon at Smithaven Mall – A

I decided to have a few of my BMs check out Macy’s for dresses because you get a discount when ordering your bridal gown there. It turned out that my MOH and one BM found a Jordan Fashions bridesmaid dress there that they loved. The dresses were in Cranberry. A few girls had their alterations done at Macy’s. I figured it would be expensive, but convenient. Again, Rosalie did a wonderful job and the dresses looked great. Plus, the alterations at Macy’s were cheaper than some of the other places.

Re: My 11-4-06 Wedding Review - Atlantis Marine World

Veil and Tiara – Barron’s at the Tri-county Flea Market – A+

I can’t say enough good things about Barron’s. Everyone there was so helpful and took so much time with me when selecting my veil. It turned out exactly like I envisioned. It was perfect. Plus, it was MUCH cheaper than the bridal salons. I searched so many places for a tiara. I originally didn’t want one but saw a few (expensive) ones online and decided to get one. Barron’s had exactly what I wanted and of course it was much cheaper than other places I looked.

Wedding Rings – Bailey Banks and Biddle – A+

I love this jewelry store. They have such wonderful customer service and were a pleasure to work with. I know they are not the cheapest around but they always give a discount and the quality is worth every penny.

Place card Holders – Favors by Lisa – A+

I saw these cute pumpkin ornament place card holders at Floral Fantasyland but they were too expensive. DH found them online for less than half the price. They came quick and in perfect condition.

Favors – Wrap With Us – A+

I waited too long to order the ice cream scoop favors I wanted and most places were out of stock. Wrap With Us had just enough left in their warehouse for my order and at a discounted rate. I ordered online and picked them up there. No complaints.

Re: My 11-4-06 Wedding Review - Atlantis Marine World

Favors – M&Ms – A

We put personalized M&Ms inside the ice cream scoop favors. Everything was fine with the order but I didn’t give them an A+ because there were quite a few M&Ms that had messed up writing. We ordered extra so we had plenty for the favors.

Hair – Tapestry Salon, Centereach – A+

I had my trial about a month before the wedding and thought it came out great. Suzanne spent so much time making sure every curl was right and it was only a trial run. On my wedding day, she was even more meticulous. She was very pleasant and I was very happy with her work. All my BMs got their hair done at the salon as well. They had us in and out (6 total) in under an hour and a half! The girls were pretty pleased with their updos.

Makeup – Denise with Angel Eyes – A

I will start by saying that Denise did a wonderful job with my makeup and my BMs makeup. Everyone looked great. However, she was half an hour late. No big deal because she made up for it and we were all ready right on time. But no phone call or anything! Now, being a bride on my wedding day, you always think the worst – she’s not showing up. A phone call would have been great to calm my nerves. And then I got no apology when she finally arrived. But like I said, we were all ready on time so I let it go.

Re: My 11-4-06 Wedding Review - Atlantis Marine World

Tuxedo – Lake Shore Formals – A+

I love this place. We visited a few other popular tuxedo rental stores and were very disappointed in the customer service. We decided to check out Lake Shore because they are around the block from our house. As soon as we walked in, we were greeted and they explained to us the different types of tuxedos. They spent at least a half hour with us and we decided to use them right away. We had several OOT GMs and they were great about that too. Everything worked out perfect. I have never seen a tux fitting like these! They spent so much time making sure the tuxes fit perfect. I thought the guys looked sharp. The bonus with Lake Shore is that their entire stock of tuxes is on site. They do not have to ship in from other states.

Limos – Sir Oliver Limo – A

I really liked everyone I met at Sir Oliver. They were honest with us about what was available for our date (we booked late) and even gave us a lower price because only a more expensive SUV limo was available, when we wanted a cheaper one. We got the excursion and it fit our 14 person bridal party perfectly. We actually had 15 people in it and still had the very back row left open. So you could probably fit a few more people in it. The driver we had, Joe, was awesome.

Re: My 11-4-06 Wedding Review - Atlantis Marine World

He got to my house early and loaded up the limo with all the BMs stuff – and there was a lot! He even took a few pictures for us before we left with the BM’s cameras. He was with us the whole day up to the reception and was a big help with my dress! We used Sir Oliver to take us back to the hotel at the end of the night and they were right on time. We also used them for our HM airport trips. I was not as thrilled with them for this service. But overall, we were very happy.

Flowers – Bayport Flower House – A+

I loved my flowers! I brought plenty of pictures with me to all the meetings. I met with Joann and really enjoyed working with her. She knew exactly what I wanted my flowers to look like and they did! I use Bayport Flower House for all my other flowers and were thrilled that they gave me the best price out of all the places I met with for my wedding.

DJ – High Voltage Sounds (Vinny) – A

I decided to book with Vinny because we met with him and felt he was exactly what we were looking for. We used High Voltage Sounds for my sister’s Sweet 16 party and thought they did a great job. They really kept the party going. So, we were very confident they would do a good job for the wedding. The only issue I had was the confusion that arose when Vinny was late to the wedding.

Re: My 11-4-06 Wedding Review - Atlantis Marine World

Although he had plenty of coverage and the fact that he was late was NOT his fault (got into a minor car accident on the way there), the fact that his coverage had no clue what was going on stressed me. They even had the wrong wedding song! But as soon as Vinny got there, everything fell into place and was perfect. They did not announce the song my mother specifically requested for me and I missed it. But that was about it.

Photographer – David Pigate Photography – A+

David was my DH’s co-worker when we booked him. We really liked his manner, as well as his photography. We wanted traditional photography and got just that. He spent the entire day with us, which turned out to be 10 hours, so it’s important that you “get along”. David was very efficient with his photography; he is a no funny business kind of guy, yet very pleasant. I have over 500 proofs and still got to my entire cocktail hour. I just received my proofs this weekend and am thrilled. He did a wonderful job. And he was very conscious of the fact that it was 45 degrees and the girls were wearing strapless dresses. The only complaints I had were that I had to pay upfront and I paid for an assistant, which I didn’t get. He didn’t need the assistant and because he owns his own business, I let that money go for his tip.

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Videographer – Video Specialties of New York – B+ so far

VSNY is a recommended vendor of the aquarium. DH felt strongly about using them, loved their work, so we went with it. One of our main objections for video is the big blinding light. Hate it! They assured us they use a light that would not even be noticeable. Wrong. But I understand that the aquarium is dark so as long as the video came out good, I dealt with it. I did avoid them on the dance floor though. Very annoying to have this spot light on you. We just got our raw footage this weekend. They told us we would have it 2 weeks after the wedding. So, it was 2 weeks late. We are pretty happy with the raw footage. There were a few things that we know happened and they did not catch it on video. But you can’t get that back now. They did get my Nana on video. She only came to the church and passed away 2 weeks ago. I am so grateful to have her on the video! The other complaint I have is about the photo montage. I inquired about this after we signed our contract and they told me they would do it for us. We had a friend offer to make one up for us but after finding out it was included in our package, we told her not to worry about it. Well, 3 days before the wedding, VSNY calls me to tell me that we submitted so many pics that they are charging me an extra $200.

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Well, of course 3 days before my wedding I will agree to it! But the montage turned out great!

Entertainment Company – BPN – A+

We hired BPN Entertainment to set up 2 tv screens in the aquarium dining room, which is separated from the dance floor. They took live video coverage of the dance floor and showed it on the tv screens. We are so glad we paid the extra money for this. Everyone was so grateful to be able to talk at the wedding but still be able to see the first dance, cake cutting, etc. Plus, they followed our photographer and took digital pics all day. They showed these on the tv screens during dinner. We received the digital pics on CD so now I have an extra 200 pics to print and share! The only complaint I have is that we paid for 2 tvs in the dining room and they set up one in the dining room and one on the dance floor. Luckily, one tv was sufficient in the dining room.

Hotel Rooms – Courtyard by Marriott, Ronkonkoma – A+

We decided to use Courtyard because it is around the block from our house and close to the church. This way our bridal party would be close to us during the few days before the wedding. DH stayed at the Courtyard the night before the wedding and we stayed together on our wedding night. We stayed in the largest suite they have.

Re: My 11-4-06 Wedding Review - Atlantis Marine World

It’s beautiful – 2 separate rooms, full kitchen area, Jacuzzi bath tub, the works. It was nice having so much room because we had a ton of stuff with us. Courtyard let us check out late the next day too. Overall, we were happy with the Courtyard. The room was clean and everyone was very nice.

Rehearsal Dinner – Irish Coffee Pub – A+

My ILs selected and hosted the RD. They had a tough time finding a place that would give us a separate room on a Friday night. So they booked ICP. We had about 20 people and got our own room with a fireplace. The room was very cozy and the food was delicious. I made a groom’s cake for my DH and they were very cooperative with it. They let me drop it off the night before and set up a table to bring it out on. ILs loved the place so much, we are going back for FIL’s birthday next week.

Reception Hall – Atlantis Marine World Aquarium – A+++++

I can’t say enough great things about AMW. We worked with Bob up until the wedding and he was always available to answer any questions we had. They threw in a ton of stuff for free (chair covers, chocolate fountain, ice cream sundae bar, shrimp cocktail and many others). They truly went above and beyond my expectations.

Re: My 11-4-06 Wedding Review - Atlantis Marine World

I brought them a lot of decorations the week before and they set up everything even better than I had envisioned! The food was delicious! I did not get to taste much at the cocktail hour but did get to try a few treats in the bridal suite. The coconut shrimp were so good. For dinner, the bride and groom got all 3 selections. And I tried it all! We had the filet mignon, sea bass and chicken with artichoke hearts. All very good! I was pretty pleased with the cake. For some reason it looked a little short to me. But tasted yummy. We are going to eat the top layer tonight – can’t wait! We also had an ice cream sundae bar and pastries on the tables. I did not taste the pastries that night but AMW wrapped them up for us. They were okay, nothing outstanding. And I did not get to taste the chocolate fountain but everyone said it was great. I definitely recommend AMW for anyone looking for a different wedding. We didn’t want the usual type of wedding and DH is an aquarium buff. I definitely had my concerns along the way. But everything turned out better than I could have ever imagined.

Honeymoon – Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island, Bahamas – A++

We had such a great time at Atlantis. The place is huge both inside and out.

Re: My 11-4-06 Wedding Review - Atlantis Marine World

There is everything you could think of to do there – shop, eat, drink, gamble, comedy shows, movie theater, plenty of aquariums, water slides, beach, pools and so much more. We stayed in the Beach Towers with a water view. The room was just okay. We loved having the balcony and sitting there at night. Everyone was so friendly, the food was delicious (we had the Gourmet Food Plan) and the place was gorgeous. I’ve heard that it can get really crowded with kids/families but we were there in the off-season so it was nice and quiet. We kayaked and snorkeled and went on the water slides, went to the comedy show and even saw a late night movie. We had a blast!

Re: My 11-4-06 Wedding Review - Atlantis Marine World

great review, thanks!

Re: My 11-4-06 Wedding Review - Atlantis Marine World

Great review and Congrats!

Re: My 11-4-06 Wedding Review - Atlantis Marine World

Great review - I loved hearing about AMW - we REALLY wanted to have our wedding there but they were out of our price range. Can't wait to see more pics from there!!

Re: My 11-4-06 Wedding Review - Atlantis Marine World

Great review!!!! Thanks for posting.

Re: My 11-4-06 Wedding Review - Atlantis Marine World

Great review. Congrats!!!!

Re: My 11-4-06 Wedding Review - Atlantis Marine World

EXCELLENT!

Re: My 11-4-06 Wedding Review - Atlantis Marine World

congrats!!!!

Re: My 11-4-06 Wedding Review - Atlantis Marine World - Edited 2-14-07 to Include Non-Professional Pics at Atlantis

Bumping for the new Atlantis brides. Congrats! I added some non-professional pics at the aquarium.