My 8/19 Wedding: Vineyard Caterers, 12th Nite, Mittermax, Skyline, Bridal Reflections, and more NOW WITH PROFESSIONAL PICS!

CHECK OUT MY COMMUNITY ALBUM FOR MY 12TH NIGHT PROOFS :)


Okay, somehow I managed to accidentally delete my review about a third of the way through so I'm a little annoyed but here we go again


Like so many others, I'd first like to start by thanking LIW and the many brides who offered tons of feedback, advice, and ideas. It is because of this site that I found many of the wonderful vendors I was lucky enough to have dealings with, and it made the enormous task of planning a wedding in 8 months (while being a full-time student and working full time as well) pretty effortless and for the most part, pain free


So now on to the review:



Lets start with the weather. We were planning an outdoor ceremony, so we desperately hoped for a nice day. The extended forecast showed rain Saturday night into Sunday, and it was a little too close for comfort to our 12pm ceremony that Saturday morning. Then the week of the wedding we had the heatwave so then we were worried about baking in the sun. Day of the wedding was perfect, 80's and sunny. Perfect.


Caterers: Vineyard Caterers-A+
www.vineyardcaterers.com

The Vineyards was the first place we went to see, and fell in love immediately. It felt like home, very inviting and cozy. The gazebo in the back where the coctail hour was held won us over immediately with the wooden deck flooring and the gorgeous view overlooking the waterfall and vineyards. Even though it was January and full of snow, we could definitely see the potential.

It didn't hurt that the staff was incredible as well. Johnny, the maitre'd, is absolutely adorable and was constantly sneaking us bottles of wine to take home with us. He makes you feel like family right away. We sat down with Bill, the manager, and were sure right away that we wanted to book. You get SO MUCH for your money, the amount of food they include is almost offensive, and they offered great upgrades...we got the extra seafood presentation, and upgraded to a dessert tray with tartufo, wedding cake, chocolate covered strawberries, a canoli, and some pastries, all of which were delicious. DH also made sure we had the chocolate fountain as well, which the guests loved.

The day of, they handled everything so smoothly and efficiently that I did not have one worry in the world other than the irrational fear that I was going to trip and fall down the aisle during the ceremony, which thankfully never happened. Johnny and the bridal attendant, Christina, were so helpful, following us to make sure that we always had a drink while taking pictures in the hot sun, helping me with make-up touch ups, and rounding up family for pictures.

Johnny set us up a little table at the CH and brought us plates of food so we wouldn't have to walk around. He also made sure that we had a few minutes of privacy to taste some of the food before going around and greeting everyone. He was there to cater to my every need, and helped calm me during the more nerve-wracking moments. Every single person has said to me that it was the most memorable and fun wedding they've ever been to, and although I am a little biased I would have to agree!


Save the Dates: Ebay Seller Designs By Heidi-A+
(designsbyheidi)

My STD's came out great and were a real bargain. I used designsbyheidi, an Ebay seller, and within a few days, she emailed me a proof. Once she recieved my approval, she shipped them quickly and I have no complaints. They came packaged nicely in a fold of plastic which I threw right into an envelope. I definitely recommend. Pic in my community album



here


Gown: Bridal Reflections Carle Place-C+

I give them a C+ because they are a bit overpriced, and they screwed up the delivery of my gown. I ordered it in Dec, and they said I'd get it in May. 5 months seemed like a long time to me, but what did I know? I was only engaged 4 days! Well, May came and went and I heard nothing. I called in the first week of June, when they told me that it would be in in about a week and they'd call me. Two weeks later I called back and the same thing. This kept happening until 2 weeks before the wedding!! I was panicking towards the end, I thought I'd be without a gown! Needless to say, I did not use them for BM gowns, or alterations after that. However, I adored my gown, a simple and classic Paloma Blanca, with little beading on the bodice. It was a lot less flashy than I had thought I'd liked, but it was flattering, it made me feel like a princess in it, and was very comfortable. My aunt did all my alterations and used the extra beading to make my veil for me.



BM dresses: Bridal Elegance Deer Park (Phyllis)-A+
www.gownfind.com

My girls found a Bill Levkoff gown they liked in Bridal Reflections, and through LIW I found Phyllis who got me the gowns for a significant discount and shipped much more quickly. She was incredibly helpful, when I picked up the BM gowns during the whole fiasco with Bridal Reflections, she gave me wonderful advice as to how to resolve the situation. I followed her advice and my gown finally arrived a few days later! Lavender was definitely not my first choice color-wise, but Levkoff had a limited selection of summery colors and the gown itself looked so good on all the girls that it didn't matter. The day of the wedding though, I thought the lavender looked perfect with the bouquets and the surrounding flowers and greenery at the Vineyards. It fit perfectly and looked beautiful.




Flowers: Westchester Florals-A+
www.westchesterflorals.com

Danny was recommended by a coworker who was a good friend of his. I had seen his work because he had also done the flowers at my coworkers wedding a year prior. The quality of his work and reasonable prices overrode the fact that he was located in Westchester. It actually wasn't even too bad a ride, and his store is beautiful. I went in there not really having any idea what I wanted, and he started rambling off all these names of flowers I had never heard of before, but his enthusiam and excitement was infectious, and I was grinning and nodding in no time. I was definitely not disappointed. He was like an artist, making an already beautiful surrounding even more breathtaking with bright and sunny looking flower arrangements. It was gorgeous.




Officiant: Rabbi Frank Tamburello-A+

I found Rabbi Frank through LIW also. He was recommended by another vendor on this site, because we were looking for something a little unique, a Greek Orthodox-Jewish wedding ceremony. The GO church forbids GO/Jewish interfaith marriages, and in order to get married in church DH would have to convert. We were against this, and instead decided to have the ceremony at the Vineyards and started looking for an interfaith officiant. Rabbi Frank seemed to be tailor made for us, as his parents were Greek Orthodox and Jewish, and he was a GO priest who then went on to become a Rabbi. It couldn't be any more perfect. He knew exactly what was important to us...blending a few customs from each faith into one unique ceremony. We did not want to take away from each others faith, but to complement it and Rabbi Frank did exactly that. Everyone was impressed with him and loved the individuality of our ceremony. We hope to keep him close to us and our future family, as he has a peacefulness about him that is very comforting and calming.




Makeup: Happily Ever After~Carmela-A++
516-770-6665

Carmela gets many many from me because she came to my rescue! I originally was using a family friend against my better judgement and partly due to my mom's pushing. I call 10 days prior to the wedding to go over final details as I hadn't heard from her since the trial a few months before. She says there's a family emergency and she must leave the country and won't be back in time for my wedding. I frantically post a message on the boards to see if any vendors are available last minute and Carmela emailed me the next day. I quickly set up a trial, and we hit it off immediately. She does airbrush makeup as well, and we decided to go with that since I have oily skin. She made me look so natural yet polished. I loved the way I looked and the makeup held up for hours. All I needed were blotting pads a few times throughout the day. What I thought was a disaster ended up being a blessing in disguise. Carmela was a lifesaver, and an extremely pleasant surprise! None of my girls were going to get make up done but once they say mine, they all changed their minds and got it done as well. She was quick, efficient, and very friendly.

Photographer: 12th Night (Mike & Vicky)-Day of A+ Proofs: A

12th Night was the first vendor we booked after the catering hall. I loved the pics I saw on a review here on LIW and met with Dom. DH and I immediately clicked with Dom and Vicky, and soon it felt more like we were hanging out with friends instead of booking a vendor. We didn't meet Mike until the day of our engagement shoot, but he was just as cool as Dom and as an added bonus, by coincidence, Mike ended up growing up down the block from me and used to hang out with us and the rest of the neighborhood kids way back in elementary school. Too funny. Anyway, DH and I were looking for a photojournalistic style to our pictures, so we added on the photojournalist, Vicky. They were great the day of, we had fun with them, and I saw Mike grinning and getting a lot of great candid shots on the dance floor, so I am completely confident that our pictures will be amazing. UPDATE: It took 3 months but we finally got our proofs back and they're beautiful! We have 1800 pics to choose from, we absolutely love them! Check out the pics in my album HERE




Videography: Mittermax-Day of A+
www.mittermax.com

We found Travis through Dom at 12th Night. He had a dvd of his work, and once DH saw the Resevoir Dogs style introduction of the groom and his groomsmen, he was hooked. When we met with Travis we liked his unique style. His videos were different than the norm, and we were impressed. He was a little tough to get on the phone, but he returned our calls quickly and was easy to deal with. The morning of, him and Mike helped keep me laughing and calm. They even helped carry down things to the limo. Again, I am confident the end product will be great.



Band: Skyline of Skyline Orchestras
www.skylineorchestras.com

We went to a bridal showcase and heard a band, Code Bleu, play. We really liked them a lot but when I spoke to their manager, Sean, they were booked for out date. Sean recommended another band he manages and actually played at his wedding, Skyline. I went to the showcase without DH because he was taking an exam at school and booked them that same night without even consulting DH! Although he was a little peeved at first, when I took him to a showcase a month or so later, he completely agreed! They have such a great energy and knew exactly what to play to keep the crowd going the whole day. The dance floor was packed until the last possible song, and a lot of guests took their business cards which tells me they were impressed too They even learned to play Zorba the Greek for me! Although more expensive than a dj, worth every single penny without hesitation!

Invitations: Invitations and Beyond, Oceanside-A
www.invitationsandbeyond.com

A vendor on LIW, we were very happy with our invites, we got them at a decent price. Jessica was a pleasure to deal with, even though DH and I were arguing back and forth about what we wanted. Invites, for some reason, was one of the most stressful parts of planning for us. We both wanted different things and what we really liked was way out of our budget. In the end though, we were happy with what we chose, and got many compliments.

Re: My 8/19 Wedding: Vineyard Caterers, 12th Nite, Mittermax, Skyline, Bridal Reflections, etc with non-prof pics

the pics dont really do them justice!

Hair: my hairdresser, Judy-A+
Happy Beauty Salon, Carle Place
516-741-9320

I only trust Judy with my hair and I've known her long enough that I don't have to tell her what I want, she just does it. Although she was against me having the 1/2 up 1/2 down hair because of the heat, she finally relented and gave me the simple and polished look I wanted. Plus I paid a fraction of what some of the inflated wedding hair stylists ask for.



Wedding rings: Maia Kaizer-A+
Diamond District

Maia is the personal jeweler of my boss, a doctor's wife whose family were all jewelers in the Diamond District as well. She's obviously a hard woman to please when it comes to jewelry and doesn't trust anyone except Maia. I've always admired her jewelry and when it was time to ring shop, my boss gave me her number. We bought the setting I loved from a retail store, and Maia recreated it using much better quality stones. I am absolutely in love with both my rings and her prices are terrific which is hard to believe when you see the quality of diamonds she carries. She's completely trustworthy and fair, which is rare in this kind of business. My e-ring

Tuxedos: VIP Formals, Commack-C

The customer service was average at best, the tuxes looked good but one or two of the guys said they had problems with the salesguy regarding alterations. No problems with the returns. It wasn't a negative experience, I guess, but I wasn't thrilled with them either.

Limos: Serenity Limos-F

DH took care of booking the limos, so my dealings with them is limited to the experience I had with the limo driver the day of. We were scheduled to leave the hotel at 9:30am. The limo arrived 8:50 while we were still getting ready. The driver then proceeded to warn my bridesmaids that he had another wedding pick up booked at 10:30am and if we didn't leave right away, he'd have to charge us an extra hour! My MOH came up to tell me that in the room, even though it was only 9:15. We ran down to the limo and the driver rushed us into the car, leaving behind my mother and MIL! He was rude and it was an overall bad experience. The only positive thing I can say is that the driver that picked us up after the ceremony in the towncar was extremely nice and apologetic for the earlier experience.

Well, it's obscenely late right now, so I'll have to continue this tomorrow. I'll add on a review from the HM in Disney/Aruba with some pics. I hope this review is helpful to all future brides. A piece of advice, don't stress about the small stuff, try to enjoy the whole process because it goes by quicker than you think and it's true what they say, the day goes by in a second so savor every moment. Cheers!

Re: My 8/19 Wedding: Vineyard Caterers, 12th Nite, Mittermax, Skyline, Bridal Reflections, etc with non-prof pics

Congratulations! What a beautiful ! Thank you for the great review.

Re: My 8/19 Wedding: Vineyard Caterers, 12th Nite, Mittermax, Skyline, Bridal Reflections, etc with non-prof pics

Congratulations! Thanks for posting your review. Your pictures look beautiful! Sounds like an amazing day!

Re: My 8/19 Wedding: Vineyard Caterers, 12th Nite, Mittermax, Skyline, Bridal Reflections, etc with non-prof pics

Thank you so much for posting your review.

You looked fantastic and everything looked perfect

I am using Rabbi Frank as well for my Wedding and it was so nice seeing that you were happy wit him

Best of luck to you both

Re: My 8/19 Wedding: Vineyard Caterers, 12th Nite, Mittermax, Skyline, Bridal Reflections, etc with non-prof pics

Congrats!! great review and beautiful pictures!!!!

Re: My 8/19 Wedding: Vineyard Caterers, 12th Nite, Mittermax, Skyline, Bridal Reflections, etc with non-prof pics

Congratulations! You looked gorgeous and the Vineyard Cateres looked amazing.

Re: My 8/19 Wedding: Vineyard Caterers, 12th Nite, Mittermax, Skyline, Bridal Reflections, etc with non-prof pics

Congrats looks like your day was perfect

Re: My 8/19 Wedding: Vineyard Caterers, 12th Nite, Mittermax, Skyline, Bridal Reflections, etc with non-prof pics

congrats on your big day..u looked beautiful

Re: My 8/19 Wedding: Vineyard Caterers, 12th Nite, Mittermax, Skyline, Bridal Reflections, etc with non-prof pics

congrats on your wedding, you look beautiul

Re: My 8/19 Wedding: Vineyard Caterers, 12th Nite, Mittermax, Skyline, Bridal Reflections, etc with non-prof pics

Congratulations!

Re: My 8/19 Wedding: Vineyard Caterers, 12th Nite, Mittermax, Skyline, Bridal Reflections, etc with non-prof pics

congrats, great review

Re: My 8/19 Wedding: Vineyard Caterers, 12th Nite, Mittermax, Skyline, Bridal Reflections, etc with non-prof pics

Congrats!!!

Re: My 8/19 Wedding: Vineyard Caterers, 12th Nite, Mittermax, Skyline, Bridal Reflections, etc with non-prof pics

Love your pics!!

Re: My 8/19 Wedding: Vineyard Caterers, 12th Nite, Mittermax, Skyline, Bridal Reflections, etc with non-prof pics

congrats!

Re: My 8/19 Wedding: Vineyard Caterers, 12th Nite, Mittermax, Skyline, Bridal Reflections, and more NOW WITH PROFESSIONAL PICS!

bump for K

Re: My 8/19 Wedding: Vineyard Caterers, 12th Nite, Mittermax, Skyline, Bridal Reflections, and more NOW WITH PROFESSIONAL PICS!

Hey Dina...I'm friends with your husband! I don't think you know me...I'm Diana...I grew up with Evan and Mark. I heard you wedding was beautiful. I actually got engaged that day! Congrats!

Re: My 8/19 Wedding: Vineyard Caterers, 12th Nite, Mittermax, Skyline, Bridal Reflections, and more NOW WITH PROFESSIONAL PICS!

Hi, of course I know who you are! Congrats on your engagement, please feel free to email me if you need any help with the wedding plans, I'd be happy to help! Happy planning!

Re: My 8/19 Wedding: Vineyard Caterers, 12th Nite, Mittermax, Skyline, Bridal Reflections, and more NOW WITH PROFESSIONAL PICS!

you looked beautiful!
Your proofs are gorgeous...great review!

Re: My 8/19 Wedding: Vineyard Caterers, 12th Nite, Mittermax, Skyline, Bridal Reflections, and more NOW WITH PROFESSIONAL PICS!

beautiful