My 9/5/08 yellow wedding** Swan Club, Sabrina and Carolyn, Katrina Photography**

Our wedding was such a blast! We had the best time, but it is true what they say.. it just flew by. I wish I could go back and do it over b/c it was so fast. Everything went so well and I would not change a thing. My advice to every couple is when comes to be the day of the wedding just let everything go. Little things may go wrong, but at that point not a whole lot can be done about it. So let it go and enjoy your time with the most important people in your life. I did and it was the most relaxing and stress free day I had in a long time. Hope you find this review helpful. More pics to come soon!


Mannions- A+++
We had my shower at JJ Mannions in Yonkers. The owner is my cousin so my review may be a bit biased, but it was fabulous as always. The food is great and they have the perfect room in the back for a shower. Highly recommend it!

New Rochelle Jewelers- A+
DH bought my engagement ring here and we also got our bands here. DH’s mom is friends with the owners and they are just wonderful. He went in with a picture of exactly what he wanted and when they didn’t really have what he wanted they had it made for him and shipped it to us in Georgia. We loved the ring so much we went back for our wedding bands. They were able to find exactly what I wanted, a vintage looking etched band without any diamonds. And DH got exactly what he wanted, a completely plain white gold band. Their prices were great! I also bought my day of earrings here and a cameo for my sister, which she loved.

Fontana Bridal- A for my dress B for alterations b/c of price
I love my wedding dress. I tried on so many, but didn’t find one I really loved until I went to Fontana in Eastchester. The woman who helped me was so nice and patient with me. I lucked out too b/c they were having a 50% off sale when I went just after Christmas. The only reason I gave them a B for alterations is b/c of the price. They charge a ridiculous amount of $ and my dress didn’t need much done to it at all. They still made me come 3 times for alterations though. In the end it turned out great, but getting there 3 times from Georgia was more difficult than I thought it would be. Every time I would call to make an appointment for a fitting they would say, “it’s too soon.” They I would have to explain that I live in Georgia and I am coming into town for a few days so I had to have it done then. Oh well. It worked out great in the end.

Tully Travel- A+
Tully travel is on McLean Ave in Yonkers/Woodlawn (right on the boarder). They were wonderful. I told them exactly what we wanted and they did their best to find us the best hotels at the best prices in the best locations in Italy. Everything turned out wonderfully. I will write a honeymoon review soon. Italy was so so amazing!

George Washington Mannor- A
We had our rehearsal dinner at the GW Mannor b/c it is so close to the Swan Club and the Glen Cove Mansion. They were very accommodating and the food was great. No complaints at all. They even put up with us being late b/c the rehearsal ran late.

RK Bridal- A for pricing and shipping, C for sizing
It is hard to beat RK bridal prices. I found a bridesmaids dress that I loved (actually I let my MOH and 2 bridesmaids pick out the dress) at another bridal store. At the other store it was $175. At RK bridal it was $120! My bridesmaids were all over the country so I ordered them from the store and had them shipped to the girls. The girls all got measured and sent me their measurements. But when they got their dresses some of them were gigantic and needed major major alterations. I was really upset b/c I was so careful when I used their sizing chart. I checked it like 5 times to make sure. The staff there is not allowed to help you with the sizing chart unless the girls are getting their dressed fitted there. That is why I gave them a C for sizing. It all worked out in the end though. Cant beat the prices and the dresses all made it to where they needed to go.

Nordstrom- A+
I ordered yellow Lacoste flip flops for my bridesmaids from Nordstrom. They were great. Matched the dresses perfectly and the girls can definitely wear them again. They shipped all 7 pairs to me and there were no problems.

Etsy.com- A+
If you don’t know this website you must check it out. It has the most unique hand made items. I bought my day of necklace from a seller called lecollezione. It is a locket made of oxidized silver. I think it looks kind of vintage looking which went with my look very well. I really wanted a locket so that I could put in a picture of one of my best friends who passed away. She would have been a bridesmaid. It meant a lot to me. I looked at so many lockets, but this one stood out. It also had a little bird charm and a little pearl on it. So so unique and pretty.

DIY Stuff- Invitations, Programs, CDs, Bridesmaids Jewelry- A++++
To cut corners I made a bunch of stuff for the wedding. I couldn’t find invites that I liked that weren’t super expensive. So I decided to make my own. It took some time and was kind of a pain, but it worked out in the end and save a bunch of money. The programs were the same design as the invites, but I got them printed at Kinkos. That was more expensive than I thought it would be. The CDs were a list of important songs from the day of the wedding and some other love songs that we like. I printed a pic of us on the CD and the covers of the CDs doubled as place cards for the reception. It was a big hit. I love to make jewelry and so it was a given that I would make my bridesmaids necklaces and earrings. I had 7 girls so it took quite a while, but they came out great and everyone loved them. FM me if you are interested in having jewelry made for your bridesmaids.

Happy Nail- A
I always go to happy nail when I am home in Yonkers. It is on McLean Ave near St. Paul’s Church. Right across from JJ Mannions actually. Their prices are great and they are a no fuss salon. In and out without much trouble.
Mrs. O’Leary’s BBQ- (the name of my nail color) A+
I couldn’t resist adding in my nail color. I loved it. The ladies at the salon couldn’t understand why I didn’t want a French manicure. I was the bride afterall. But French manicures are totally not me. I really like dark rich nail polish and when I found this one and it was called Mrs. O’Leary’s BBQ I thought it was perfect. The name of an Irish woman and BBQ (since I am now a southern girl) It just seemed to fit. ?

Men’s Warehouse- The Westchester White Plains- B
Service was nothing special. Oh and it is not called Men’s Warehouse in that mall. It is called After Hours. The place is crazy small and it was hard to accommodate a bunch of people at once. DH and I went with our parents to order his tux and our dad’s and just having the 6 of us in there was way too many people. It was sort of chaotic. DH and I left and just let our dad’s order theirs and we ended up going to the one down in Savannah where we live to order his. The one in Savannah was much better. No major problems except that they ordered the wrong size jacket for my dad, but they ended up getting the right one in time.

Sabrina and Carolyn- A+++
They are soooooooo awesome! I cannot say enough about how great they were. They did so great and had a lot of work to do b/c there were 7 bridesmaids, me, my mom and my cousin. Sabrina did a great job on my makeup especially and really gave me what I wanted. Carolyn is a wiz with hair. All of the girls looked so amazing. Their hair was perfect and so was mine. She did exactly what I wanted. They were so nice and laid back. I felt like I had known them for years. I highly recommend them! Their prices are extremely fair and you get perfection.

Big Town Productions- Joe Cherra- A+
Joe is a friend of ours from college. He does some DJ work on the side and he did a fabulous job. Everyone was up dancing all night and had a great time. He is not flashy and he will do what you want. We were not into lazer lights or fog machines. We wanted to keep it simple and just have some really great music and Joe did that for us. He did not make it a show about himself, which I see DJs do so often at weddings.

North Fork Trolley- A
Great company to work with. Really nice driver. On time and really flexible. No complaints.

American Florist- A
This florist doesn’t usually do weddings. FIL works for a funeral home and does business with them. They did us a favor and gave us a great deal. They are located on E. Tremont Ave. in the Bronx. The owner Frank really worked with us and gave us beautiful fall colored flowers. He couldn’t give me exactly what I wanted for my bouquet, but I ended up going with yellow and white callas and they were perfect…even better than what I had originally wanted.

Glen Cove Mansion- D for planning part and B for actual event
Ugh. I dealt with a lot of BS from them in the planning stages. I don’t think anyone in that place communicates. No one seems to have a clue what is going on. Their computer systems constantly break down, or so they say. After my invites went out I called to check on the rooms I had blocked off and to add some more. They told me there were no more rooms! I couldn’t believe it. I was so upset! I called so many hotels to see if they had any rooms and it was really hard to find one that had some b/c it was the weekend of the US Open. The Mansion told me they would call me by the end of the week to let me know if there were any cancellations, but they never called. So I called them again and the woman I was dealing with was not there. So I called the front desk to ask if they had any cancellations and they told me they were only at 60% capacity! I was like WHAT the F! So I asked to speak to a manager and they ended up making everything right. They blamed it on their computer systems and then the original woman I was working with called me like 3 days later and said that there had been a huge cancellation and that was why there were more rooms. I think that was BS. They just couldn’t get their story straight. It all ended up working out in the end. Jay at the front desk is amazing and really worked with me. I give Jay an A+. The only other problem is that my aunt, uncle and cousin had an ant infestation in their room. They told the front desk and they were switched to another room. Oh and the bar closed strictly at 2am the night of our wedding. They kicked us out. The bar was full of people and they made everyone leave. They lost out on a lot of money.

Swan Club- A+ Maitre D-Sandra- A+
The Swan Club was amazing. I had some reservations about having the ceremony there. They had booked a ceremony immediately before mine at 6:30. Mine was at 7. I was freaking out b/c I was scared that the other couple might run late and make my ceremony late. Michael at The Swan Club guaranteed me that it would work out fine and it did. Everything ran so smoothly. We had a blast. Everyone raved about the food. The only thing we regret is that we didn’t get to eat more. There just was not enough time. If only we could go back and eat. Our Maitre D, Sandra, was awesome as was our bridal attendant. I can’t remember her name. I’m so sorry, but she was fantastic. We were never without a drink in our hands and never went to the bar once. My other concern was the cake. I wasn’t sure they would be able to do something really creative like I wanted. I wanted a yellow cake and all of their cake pictures were white. But they pulled it off and the cake was delicious. I cannot say enough nice things about the Swan Club. They were so accommodating and everything turned out perfectly.

Irish Dancer- My cousin Kerri- A+++++++
My cousin is a champion Irish Dancer. I taught her everything she knows. Just kidding. She performed at the reception and she was amazing as always. It meant a lot to us. She was also in the bridal party so she was doing double duty. Thanks Kerri!

Fr. Sal Umana- A
Fr. Sal was a great choice for us. He is a member of the order of married catholic priests. After some issues with my parents about not getting married in a church, Fr. Sal was a great compromise. He did a great job and was funny even though he is a Red Sox fan. ?

Katrina Photography- A++++
When I was a wedding photographer in NY I did some weddings with Katrina. I loved her style and thought she was extremely talented. So she was a natural choice for us. She shoots in a photojournalistic style. She does formal posed pictures too, but her candids are really beautiful and artistic. She is really laid back and will do whatever you like, but won’t hesitate to tell you if she thinks something won’t work as to not waste time. She took so many pictures and they are all amazing. We are so so so happy with them. I cannot recommend her enough. She absolutely rocks!

Honeymoon- Italy- A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
We flew Eurofly-check out euroflyusa.com
We went to Rome, Siena, and Sorrento.
I will write a full honeymoon review soon
FM me for more info

Re: My 9/5/08 yellow wedding** Swan Club, Sabrina and Carolyn, Katrina Photography**

Congrats. Can't wait to see photos.

Re: My 9/5/08 yellow wedding** Swan Club, Sabrina and Carolyn, Katrina Photography**

Congrats and thanks for the review!

Re: My 9/5/08 yellow wedding** Swan Club, Sabrina and Carolyn, Katrina Photography**

Congrats!! Thank you for posting a review!

Re: My 9/5/08 yellow wedding** Swan Club, Sabrina and Carolyn, Katrina Photography**

congrats!! great review!!

Re: My 9/5/08 yellow wedding** Swan Club, Sabrina and Carolyn, Katrina Photography**

Congrats.. I cant wait to see pictures

Re: My 9/5/08 yellow wedding** Swan Club, Sabrina and Carolyn, Katrina Photography**

Thanks for the review! Congratulations! Can't wait to see some photos!

Re: My 9/5/08 yellow wedding** Swan Club, Sabrina and Carolyn, Katrina Photography**

great review! Congrats!! Cannot wait to see your pics!

Re: My 9/5/08 yellow wedding** Swan Club, Sabrina and Carolyn, Katrina Photography**

thank you !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! great review