My 8/29/04 North Ritz Club Review w/Pics.

My August 29, 2004 Wedding Review at The North Ritz Club

The Wedding was Perfect, I could not have asked for anything better. I would like to thank everyone on LIW because I could not have planned this wedding without all the research and experiences that we all share on this site. I will try to keep this to the point and since I tried to keep my overall budget low, I will include some prices for some cost cutting items that I am very proud of. Okay here we go:

Invitations: Simply Elegant, Gail: A+, she was very quick and pleasant to work with.

Favors: Lindt Chocolate, Roosevelt Field: A+, I was debating if I should have favors, but felt that I should, I’m glad that I did. I ordered a trio truffle box with customized ribbon that the store assembled and stored in their backroom (temperature control), we picked them up the day before the wedding and dropped them off at NRC. Very easy and efficient and the truffles were AMAZING!

Wedding Dress: The Bridal Building in NYC: A+, price $300 (alterations $150). – I actually bought this dress that was off the rack as is one month before the wedding. I originally bought a simple white slim strapless dress from Cache (Roosevelt field) a year ago, but when I went with my friend to look for her dress, I tried on the dress that I ended up buying that day. It was gorgous.

Veil: A+, I made it for $23. I bought the tulle for $3, It was floor length with a fingertip blusher that I hand sewed to a jeweled comb that I bought also at the Bridal building for $19. I loved how it came out.

Jewelery: Cache (Roosevelt Field) A+, they have great accessories and I loved my necklace and earrings I got, it also matched the beading on my dress.

BM Jewelery: Full line Accessories, NYC A+, $20 sets for my BM which included necklace, earrings, and bracelet. This is a wholesale store that carries tons of accessories for wholesale prices, the sets I bought matched the BM dresses perfectly.

Wedding Rings: Elsa Jewelery: A+, Custom designed bride and grooms rings. They were great to work with and they really care about their customers. They really sit with you and explain their service and the quality so that you are an educated customer. Our rings were completed in about a month and a half. I had a unique shaped engagement band and wanted my wedding band to sit flush next to the engagement ring, my husband wanted the Jeff Cooper ring (w/squares and diamond in each square) replicated and it came out amazing!!

Bridesmaids Dresses: Loehmann’s: A+, I loved these dresses and they were $50!! I was very lucky that I got everyone’s sizes and they all fit, the color was amazing, I shipped two out of state to my BM and everyone liked them.

Shoes: MJM designer shoes: A+, $19, I bought my shoes and my bridesmaids shoes there for $19, I picked out everyone’s size and sent them to my BM. The store is great because they will get you sizes from the other stores with no obligation to buy.

Flowers: Tributes Floral Company: A+, Lisa Otis did an amazing job, my flowers came out beautiful. I met with all the popular and not so popular florists on the island and she was the least expensive without sacrificing quality and beauty. She was very pleasant to work with.

DJ: High Voltage Sounds: A, Vinny was great to work, easygoing and affordable. I didn’t want an over the top DJ/entertainer/MC or anything Cheesy. He delivered what I wanted and I have no major complaints, the only reason why I’m not going to give an A+ is because I gave him a lengthy song list and he played a few songs that I had never heard of or really cared for, but I did give him my final list a week before the wedding so maybe he didn’t have enough time to find the songs. He did play a lot of my other songs, so Overall, he was great!

Hotel: Best Western-Woodbury Inn: A, Overall the Hotel experience was a lot of fun for us and our family and friends that chose to stay there the night before the wedding and after. We all had rooms next to each other about 7-10 rooms and the night before we all just hung out. We had a bar set up in one of the rooms and talked and got to know each other, since it was warm out we had the doors open and hung out outside, it was great! It was also right down the road from North Ritz, so it was very convenient and affordable. We all got ready there the next day, the girls in my room and the guys in another room. The only problem I had was the initial booking of our block of rooms because, there was some error with the booking manager and the initial reservation wasn’t booked and I didn’t find out about it until two months before the wedding when I went to reserve rooms for my husbands family. The original manager was replaced in the meantime so maybe that was the problem. Then checking into my room the day before, they misspelled my name in the computer and freaked me out because they couldn’t find my reservation, uurghhh not what you need a day before the wedding, but it was straightened out. After the wedding, we all went back to the hotel and relaxed by the Pool had drinks and then ate the leftover dinners from the wedding. It was a lot of Fun and one of the best memories from our wedding.

Spa Gift: Escazu Spa, Roslyn: A+, my Sister who was my MOH treated the bridal party and Mother in Law to a Spa Day the day before the wedding where we had massages and floral foot soaks. It was really great! We had the whole spa to ourselves, the owner Wendy is very calm and Sweet and she really puts 100% into relaxing everyone. The spa is wonderful, you feel like you are in Bali or Thailand. We were there for about 4-5 hours.

Rehearsal Dinner: Mama Sbarro’s Pizzeria, Syosset: A+, It was very casual and fun, we had a Pizza party, I figured it was simple, inexpensive, nearby and everyone likes Pizza. We went two weeks before the wedding discussed with the manager that we had a party of 30 people and wanted to pre-order the menu. We selected a variety of pies in addition to salads and drinks. Anyone that didn’t want that could order off the menu that day. They set up the tables and the service was great and it was down the road from the hotel so we didn’t have to deal with OTG getting lost or driving.


Hair: Mya: A+, She was very nice and quick, she came to the hotel at around 6:30am and had all of our hair done by 8:30ish, we all had different hairstyles and types and everyone was happy with their hair.

Makeup: Me A+, I had a few trials and experimented with some makeup I bought and I did a fabulous job. I used MAC eye shadow, foundation, fake eyelashes – very easy to use and I love the look, Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick for that nice shimmer to the face, lipstick and gloss.

Limos: Cruise Control Limos: A+ & B, I’m giving them two ratings, first the A+ is for the day of, limo pick up was on time, very polite and helpful. The drivers knew where they were going. The B is for after the wedding day, the customer service was not very pleasant when we wanted the drop off at the airport.

Rev. James Wentz: A+, He was pleasant to work with. We emailed the ceremony back and forth, met with him, he offered us templates to work with and our ceremony was simple and to the point. He was also very affordable, under $400 so that was great.

Florist: Tributes Floral Company, Lisa Otis A+, She really did an amazing job on my flowers, I loved everything the bouquets, my cascade bouquet, the head table, the centerpieces, the ceremony decoration everything. She was very nice and easy going. Her prices were the best, I was very very happy with the results.

The North Ritz Club: A+, The place is just Beautiful, the staff so professional, the day flowed smoothly. George the Maitre d’ is a professional and so pleasant, he really is on top of every detail and always has a smile. Everyone was raving at how wonderful North Ritz Club was, it really was everything that I wanted, classy, elegant and exclusive. We had the most amazing weather and the ceremony by the gazebo was everything I dreamed about. There is anything else I need to say except - It was perfect!!

Photo & Video: Artisan Photography and Media Group: A+, Chuck our Photographer was amazing, from day one Artisan has been so Pleasant and fun to work with. The day of Chuck impressed us with his personality and professionalism. Everyone had a lot of fun with him and he makes you laugh. He’s calm and focused on getting all your pictures. I can’t express how impressed we are with him. Everyone was saying what a great photographer he was. We already picked up our proofs and video and they are great!

I don’t think I left anything out, Wow, it will be one month that we are married!!
I will try to add some pictures that friends have sent me. I will also post my Honeymoon review (Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora) on another post. Enjoy and if you have any questions, FM me!!
Rehearsal Dinner: Mama Sbarro’s Pizzeria

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Re: My 8/29/04 North Ritz Club Review w/Pics.

I can't seem to bold text. Here's more pics...

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Re: My 8/29/04 North Ritz Club Review w/Pics.

Jess, You look beautiful!! Those BM dresses are stunning! And for only $50!!! ??? I need to hire you as a planner. EVerything you did was so afforadble and gorgeous! I am now very much looking forward to my wedding at North Ritz.

Re: My 8/29/04 North Ritz Club Review w/Pics.

congratulations! you did an amazing job with managing your budget. everything looked great. wonderful job on your make-up too, you looked beautiful!

Re: My 8/29/04 North Ritz Club Review w/Pics.

Here's a link to some more pictures.
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/share/view?i=EeANnDly0ctmrEnA&pg=0&sm=0&sl=0

I hope it works.

Re: My 8/29/04 North Ritz Club Review w/Pics.

Thanks for the great review! You looked beautiful, I can't believe you got that gorgeous gown for $300, you're a good shopper!

Re: My 8/29/04 North Ritz Club Review w/Pics.

congrats...

glad to hear everything went well...your pics look great... we are also using Vinny and ar so excited!

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Congratulations. I love your bridesmaid flowers - beautifuL!

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YEAH For the north ritz club!!! YAHOO!!!
CONGRATS!! You look beautiful!!! Did NRC do your cake?! It looks beautiful!! Everything looks so lovely! congratulations!

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What an amazing job you did on your makeup-WOW!

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Congratulations Jess. I love your dress. Nice find.

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Congrats on your wonderful wedding!!!!!!! You looked wonderful!

We had a few similar vendors and glad to see they all had the same great reviews - nearly 2 years later. Simply Elegant, NRC and Artisan (I used Chuck when he was with another company and so glad to hear great reviews of him!!)

Re: My 8/29/04 North Ritz Club Review w/Pics.

Everything looks perfect! Congratulaions!

Re: My 8/29/04 North Ritz Club Review w/Pics.

Thank you all for the compliments, I'm still glowing from the day!!

Re: My 8/29/04 North Ritz Club Review w/Pics.

Jess-thanks for sharing your pics! I have never seen the NRC set-up for a ceremony so I was happy to see its looks beautiful!! Congrats!