My Amazing Oct. 1, 2006 Wedding At Westbury Manor w/ Photos: Pastor April, Designs By Rose, Sachiko, Wingate, Duet, High Voltage (now with pro photos!!)

A few photos:

photos

Ok, so here goes... I wonder if my review will make record for faster review ever posted? I try not to give A+ unless I love the vendors but I have to admit all my vendors really came through for me. I LOVE them. Wedding vendors need a certain amount of professionalism and thanks to LIW I was able to find all of them!

I have to admit my wedding day went by flawlessly thanks to all the great vendors and these few tips:

You can't please everyone when planning a wedding. The most you can really do is just try to plan a wedding that would reflect you and your DH’s taste and personality. Only your opinion should count and it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t live up to other people’s expectations. What matters is that the day is memorable for you and for those few who truly matter.

Be overprepared and delegate wedding day tasks a day before. On the wedding day I was actually OVERprepared for the wedding. I printed all the documents (schedule, processional, song list, task list, seating chart, etc.) and stuffed my tip envelopes and wrote all my vendor checks. My MIL even complimented me on how everything came out so lovely and how I could be a wedding planner if my fulltime job doesn’t work out. :D

Don’t sweat the small stuff. On the day of the wedding there was a fire at DH’s hotel room, DH lost his watch, it rained all the way up to the reception, we didn’t bring out wallet, my bustle came undone, and some of my wine favor fell on the floor and broke … Just some of the many small problems that arose. My bridal attendant was amazed how calm and composed I was despite all this. I didn’t let anything unravel me and was able to delegate all tasks to everyone else so DH and I would have the time of our lives… And that WE DID!

Here goes the review! :D

LIW: A+. Hands down the best website out there for wedding information. I couldn’t have planned my wedding w/o the girls here and this incredible website. Thank you LIW!

Mother Nature: Big Fat F
I was very disappointed in the weather ‘cus even though we were able to take some outdoor shots, it rained during the ceremony and cocktail hour so we had to do both indoors. Then right after the cocktail hour finished at 1pm, the sky finally cleared! :P

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SERVICE VENDORS

Tin Alley Grill: A
We had our rehearsal dinner at TAG the night before the wedding. Tin Alley is just a few minutes walk from the Wingate Hotel where we stayed so it immediately won us over just by location alone. But besides the convenience, it’s a very family friendly kind of place that serves great food for great prices. The service is also wonderful.

Wingate Inn at Garden City: A+
I worked with Mikeda and Jessica and they are both wonderful to work with. Micada helped with the shuttle service and even got us a great deal on our limo over to Westbury Manor.

I can’t say enough about what a wonderful choice Wingate is. They had complimentary continental breakfast, free shuttle service, proximity to Roosevelt Field Mall and other great room amenities. Some of our guests said they even offered food at night! We didn’t notice this but must admit Wingate is a wonderful choice. All the OOT guests loved it! One of our OOT guest had to stay at the nearby Marriot for 40 bucks more and said they didn’t get any of these great perks that Wingate offered!

My bridesmaids and I stayed at a bridal suite and the suite is so very comfortable and roomy. There was a French door that separated the bedroom from the living area so the girls who woke up later were able to sleep in the bedroom.

On the morning of the wedding, we checked out of the bridal suite and moved my things into the room that DH shared with the groomsmen. DH and I would stay in that room for the night after we come back from the wedding.

That wasn’t meant to be. We heard from a guest that there was a fire on our floor after we left for photos. We didn’t get to hear more about the fire until we got back… Apparently, it was a fire that started in DH’s room! The same room we were staying at the wedding night! Wingate apologized and moved us to the bridal suite that I and the bridesmaids had vacated just that morning for the regular room rate. :D

They even treated us to complimentary champagne and chocolate when we got back! What a nice touch!

Sachiko Yanase: A+
Sachiko is a wonderfully sweet stylist and makeup artist who came at 4:50am in the morning to help me and the girls with hair and makeup. Despite being 8 months pregnant and all, Sachiko came and was ready to work right away! She’s so patient, very sweet and accommodating. I forgot to pay her in the chaos of that wedding so I owe her big time for her wonderful professionalism.

Designs By Rose: A+++
I absolutely LOVE my flowers! Rose and Doris are absolutely amazing as a team. Rose is very creative and has wonderful vision, while Doris is very professional and accommodating. I changed the color of the roses on the centerpieces 2 weeks before the wedding and Rose had no problems with it! They make a wonderful team and I would use them again in a heartbeat.

I visited Flowers by Michelle, Flowers by Brian and Florisan 7 months before the wedding and they quoted me a dozen to 18 rose centerpieces for the price I was looking to spend. Well, I was very disappointed to hear how much flowers would cost and how little I can get for my budget so I decided to do them myself.

Two months before the wedding I read on LIW about DBR so I went to visit them. From the minute I met with DBR I felt comfortable with them. They had wonderful ideas and although I didn’t give them a budget they gave me extremely reasonable prices. For the same price that other florists quoted me for just red roses alone, DBR offered me orchids, roses and bear grass in a beautifully classy arrangement. The centerpieces were so gorgeous that despite my centerpiece giveaway game, people who didn’t win helped themselves to them anyway! :P

My bo-k is also gorgeous! Rose mixed pink orchids and roses with white freesias to make a very timeless and elegant bo-k that reflects me. I have a picture of this in my photo album.



Duet: Epics - A+, Day of Wedding Service – A+, Quality – n/a
I met with Lina Jang before I booked with Duet. Lina is a wonderful photographer but for 5k I wanted more than just photos. I wanted the albums, epics, videos and all the other stuff too. After reading about Duet on LIW I went to visit them and was immediately won over by the many wonderful albums I saw. They also have great prices so I booked them on the spot.

A few weeks after I booked Duet, I had second thoughts, but that was quickly erased after seeing my epics with Alberto.

Here's my favorite (there are more epics if you
click here).



Alberto took about 200 great shots. They were so many good ones that we had trouble narrowing it down to one for the signboard!

We finally went with this one:


On the wedding day, Alberto and his team arrived at the hotel at about 7am while I was only half done with my hair & makeup! I should have been finished with hair and makeup by the time they arrived but they were very professional in the way they worked around me in order to take some still photos of things like my ring, dress, bo-k, programs, etc.

We went to take some pictures at the gazebo by Hilton and Stewart in the drizzly weather then to WM’s studio for family photos. Alberto and his team are accommodating and such a joy to work with.

During the cocktail hour, the sun came out so I asked to take some photos of the wedding party with matching umbrellas. Duet has no problem with this, then they went even further and got some shots of DH and I in garden after the rain. I’m sure they will come out beautiful. I can’t wait to see them!

I can see why so many girls rave about Duet! They are so very professional! I would definitely use them again! :D

Pastor April: A+++
All my vendors are great but I have to say my two favorites are Pastor April and Designs By Rose. I absolutely LOVE Pastor April. She’s the most amazing woman – great sense of humor, great orator, great writer and exceptional woman! I can’t praise this woman highly enough. My MIL loved her so much she went over after the ceremony to find her and thank her for a truly unique ceremony.

From day one Pastor April was great, I spoke to her on the phone after speaking to two others and knew I had to book her on the spot. Of course I didn’t tell her ‘cus my DH had to meet her too! DH is Presbyterian and wanted someone who’s also of the same church or something similar.

Well after we met I was won over, I had to have her perform our ceremony! Pastor April said she would send us some sample vows and after we saw that both DH and I agreed she’s the one!

High Voltage: A+
Vinny and his two assistants are both wonderful. They played great music and despite having a very diverse crowd, they were able to play a good mix of songs and got some of our dance phobic guests to unglue themselves off their chairs. :D We didn’t have an MC so Vinny did all that work. He even helped us play a game with the centerpiece giveaway. Wonderful, wonderful guy, I would not hesistate to recommend him.

Ballroom Dance NY(Wedding Dance By Kerensa): A+
DH and I both love to dance but haven’t had much chance to learn so we decided upon a friend’s advice to take swing lessons and dance a number during the wedding. What a great tip that was!!!

We took both waltz and swing dance lessons with Kerensa in NYC. She’s a wonderful teacher and so patient. DH and I didn’t get much chance to practice after class so at the start of every class we would have Kerensa repeat a lot of the moves to us and she’s always very patient. :D

We got progressively better and by the 10th lesson we had the waltz and swing pretty much down to a point that Kerensa showed us off. She asked us to demonstrate both dances to two of her new students ‘cus they didn’t know what type of dance to practice. What better form of flattery is there? :D

During the wedding we shocked the hell out of our guests when we started the waltz to Bryan Adams “Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman”, then we pretended we didn’t like that so stopped the song after 1 minute. Then DH walked over to the DJ and cued him to play ‘Goody Two Shoes’ by Adam Antz. You should have seen the look on people’s faces when we started swinging to “Goody Two Shoes.”

I think it was such a pleasant and refreshing surprise to us that we danced so well. We were actually flawless for both songs! Just an hour before I was tripping all over my dress during the dance rehearsal ‘cus it was the first time I danced on 3 inched heels, in my 4 layered satin dress and on a newly waxed floor!!!

Waltzing:


Swing dancing:


Angela Gong at G&G Cleaners (alterations): B
I went to Angela ‘cus she was recommended by Metronewyork.com. Well she’s good but very pricey I thought. It cost me $250 to take in the bodice (not all girls have C cups!), hem 4 layers and put in a button for the bustle. Angela said there’s so much beading on my bodice that it’ll take her a whole day to do that part alone hence the alteration cost. :P

The button for the bustle broke off 1 hour after I put the dress on. :P

Westbury Manor: A+
Ok, so I had second thoughts about Westbury Manor ‘cus I really didn’t see too many other places beside WM before booking it. All the places I’ve seen are in NJ and Westchester which really can't be compared to the LI reception halls. They definitely don't offer nearly as many amenities!

I had my eyes on a beach wedding and the Crescent Beach Club would have been great but it was way too pricey! We did get a great price for a cancelled date but it would mean planning everything within 5 months and that was just too stressful for us.

WM proved to be a great choice though. They have a beautiful garden for pictures, 7 choices of entree, and a few wonderful rooms for weddings ranging from 50-300 guests. Unlike many other reception halls where if you have less than 150 guests, you're relegated to the dungeon room or the awkward shaped room that's not nearly as nice as the main room.

Another clincher is that WM is well knowned for their professionalism in handling weddings. On every visit there we were treated kindly and were tempted with wine and liquor. :D

On the day of the wedding we realized we had made a great choice. WM had two weddings going on that day but they were very adept at preventing the brides from seeing each other. :D I had made a task list for my wedding party but it was really not needed. My Maitre D’, Susan, handled everything to the last detail, including the rehearsal. And my bridal attendant, Victoria, took care of the rest, including the missing button for the bustle.

My wedding day really is amazing, we had the best day of our lives thanks to WM. I felt like a princess throughout the whole day. We would definitely recommend WM for anybody’s wedding. They are truly impeccable in the way they handle weddings.

Here's a photo of the garden:


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PRODUCT VENDORS

Wedding Ring Originals: A
DH and I bought our weding rings here. Mel is the owner and such a great guy. He got us a good deal for the tungsten platinum ring DH fell in love with. Who knew guys care so much about rings? Apparently my DH did! Here's a photo of my DH's wedding ring made of tungsten carbide and platinum inlay.



Well, his ring is truly a knockout and so is mine. Mine is engraved with one big cherry blossom and 2 small ones on either side, the ring came out really nice! A small diamond is embedded into the middle of the largest blossom to give it the pop. Mel did it perfectly, and it's truly an original! :D

Netbride.com for Wedding Dress: B
I have a truly affordable wedding dress that’s really pretty and has a lot of beading and a lot of detail on it. My MIL actually broke out in tears when she saw me wearing it ‘cus it was so pretty and so flattering on me! :D

I tried it on at a shop at the bridal building it sold at retail for almost $700 so I went to Netbride.com and bought it for half price. :D The dress came in 2 months before the wedding but delivery time could have been quicker. It was ordered in April and I didn’t get it until August. :P

I found out later that Phyllis at Gownfind have the same dress for a similar price and she could have gotten me the dress and cap my alteration cost at $150. I paid $250 for alterations after getting it back from Netbride.com

Payless Shoes: A
I got a cute pair of closed toe wedding shoes here that were very comfy and perfect for the first dance as I didn’t want anything too high and wanted closed-toe in case DH steps on me. :D For 20 bucks the shoes were a great deal even though I didn’t get to use ‘em. My dress was too long. So I had to wear my 3 inch heels to dance swing!

David’s Bridal: A
I had no problems here buying the bridesmaid dresses from them. I won’t use them unless I truly need to though. Whoever heard of a shop where you buy a dress but can’t return it? It’s not like they custom fit the dress to your measurements! :P

Men's Warehouse: A-
DH and the rest of the male wedding party rented the tux here. We got a great deal from a bridal show - 59 bucks for each rental if we have 4 or more. The groom would get his tuxedo of choice free! Two days before the wedding we went to pick up the tuxedo but found that the sleeves on DH's tux was too short! They repaired it on the spot but we has to come back and pick it up near the end of the day. :P

I think the guys who do the measuring really rush through the process. I was there when DH and my dad got measured on separate occasions and noticed they really rushed through the measuring! So I would say be careful and make sure you get them to measure your men carefully! This way you don't waste time with a badly fitted tux!

ShopBriarPatch.com: A
I got my flowergrl dresses at very affordable prices - $43 per dress – and they came in within a week of ordering them! I didn’t give an A+ ‘cus for two of the dresses the petals on the flower of the dresses kept falling out so we had to glue them on. :P I would order from them again though. They are very prompt in their responses and the price and quality is great!



Overstock (wedding day necklace): A
I bought a cherry blossom shaped tourmaline necklace that was perfect for my cherry blossom theme. :D Hey if you can’t have real cherry blossom flowers (it grows in April) everything else will be cherry blossom themed! :D



Ebay’s Honeymoon Eve: A+
I got my veil here for under 30 bucks. It came within a week and I was even able to have the veil lengthened for no charge! The material is soft and it’s a great deal! :D

Cards & Pockets (http://www.cardsandpocketsstore.com): B
Service is great but the pockets are too small for my direction cards! I had to leave the direction cards outside the pockets. It didn’t look that great outside. :P

Pugliese Vineyards: Service – A, Quality – B
I bought the red table wine after hearing about them. They look great but we bought them w/o tasting the wine. Well we had the chance when we went to pick up our 5 cases. The table wine is ok, but we would have preferred the blush wine or the Riesling more.

Blue Rainbow Design: Delivery – A, Quality – C
I got the Miniature Chair Place Card Holder Box from Blue Rainbow Design. I must say I won’t buy these particular box again ‘cus I had to glue each of the vellum strips that has the names on them to each box! The box itself are nice enough but it’s a lot of work, I believe there are different types of these boxes where you don’t have to do any gluing.

Lindt Chocolate: A
I went to buy 5 bags of Swiss Snaps to fit inside the chair place card holders and they are so delectable! There was a sale – $12 for a bag of 77 pieces. I bought 5 and stuffed 4 pieces inside each of the place card boxes.

Pippy’s Sweet: A+ for customer service, A for quality
Diane from Pippy’s Sweets is truly sweet. I went to her for invitations and she is always prompt in her responses and went above and beyond. She even taught me how to mail merge print! I would highly highly recommend her!

The invites came out truly lovely except for a slight art flaw which is barely noticeable and the charges for multiple proofs which I had to go through ‘cus Carlson Craft didn’t get it right. It’s not Diane’s fault but the fault of CC.

Erga Bakery: A for design, C for taste
I didn’t particular like the cake’s taste at the tasting but the design is very nice. We asked for a cherry bossom design and showed Lilly a sample. Lilly from Erga duplicated it and it looks even better than the design!

We had chocolate cake with chocolate mouse and raspberry fillings. The cake was way too sweet and kinda grainy in taste. It just ok by my very high pastry standard. :D

Re: Wingate Hotel Restaurant - How's the food?

bump?

Re: My Amazing Oct. 1, 2006 Wedding At Westbury Manor Yesterday!!!

bump, I wrote this review today, Oct 2nd, 2006, but I guess once i start a thread on this board (Sept 13, 2006) by accident....

I'm stuck with it as my review?

Help!?!

Re: My Amazing Oct. 1, 2006 Wedding At Westbury Manor Yesterday!!!

Thank you for sharing your review!!! I can't wait to see your pictures.. Sounds like you had an amazing day!! Congrats to you and your DH!!!

Re: My Amazing Oct. 1, 2006 Wedding At Westbury Manor Yesterday!!!

Congrats!

By the way, I just got home from my meeting with DBR and saw my sample cp - absolutely amazing! I am so glad you had a good experience with them - they are one of my favorite vendors so far.

Re: My Amazing Oct. 1, 2006 Wedding At Westbury Manor Yesterday!!!

yeah! i'm so glad you picked DBR, they are really amazing, my favorite vendor next to pastor April! :D

Re: My Amazing Oct. 1, 2006 Wedding At Westbury Manor Yesterday!!!

Congratulations!! Your wedding sounded wonderful! Can't wait to see pics!!

Re: My Amazing Oct. 1, 2006 Wedding At Westbury Manor Yesterday!!!

this was a really good review- i am glad to know that Netbride did a good job, since I want my BM's get their dresses from there- thanks for sharing your review!!!!!

Re: My Amazing Oct. 1, 2006 Wedding At Westbury Manor Yesterday!!!

im using DBR too - i love them! cant wait to see pics!

Re: My Amazing Oct. 1, 2006 Wedding At Westbury Manor Yesterday!!!

great review, thank you.

Re: My Amazing Oct. 1, 2006 Wedding At Westbury Manor Yesterday!!!

Congrats! It sounds like you had an amazing day. Can't wait to see pictures!

Re: My Amazing Oct. 1, 2006 Wedding At Westbury Manor Yesterday!!! w/ Photos

Great review, congrats

Re: My Amazing Oct. 1, 2006 Wedding At Westbury Manor Yesterday!!! w/ Photos

Great review! You looked beautiful!

...and guess what?! I know your sister!!! I saw some pictures yesterday that she took at your wedding and had no CLUE that it was you since I never actually saw a pic of you on here! Small world!

Anyway, congratulations, you're married!!!

Re: My Amazing Oct. 1, 2006 Wedding At Westbury Manor Yesterday!!! w/ Photos

OMG! Which sister?! I have 3 of 'em!

Re: My Amazing Oct. 1, 2006 Wedding At Westbury Manor Yesterday!!! w/ Photos

Congratulations!! Thanks for sharing so fast.

Re: My Amazing Oct. 1, 2006 Wedding At Westbury Manor Yesterday!!! w/ Photos

Congrats!! Very thorough review. I hope you decided to feed your vendors - especially since you said Duet arrived at 7:00 AM, and your profile says your wedding reception was at 7:00 PM.

Re: My Amazing Oct. 1, 2006 Wedding At Westbury Manor Yesterday!!! w/ Photos

Oh yes, I fed them, I felt guilty for even thinking about having them eat during the cocktail hour 'cus they really should eat when they want, not when the other guests are eating too.

I'm so impressed with all my vendors. LOVE 'em all! :D

Re: My Amazing Oct. 1, 2006 Wedding At Westbury Manor Yesterday!!! w/ Photos

Thank you for the great review!

Re: My Amazing Oct. 1, 2006 Wedding At Westbury Manor Yesterday!!! w/ Photos

Congratulation and wow, I am sure you're one of the quickest to write a review and a good one at that!!!

We have some of the same vendors:
Sachiko Yanase, DBR, Wingate Inn....

I am so happy to hear that you were really happy with all of them and can't wait to see more of your pics!!!

Re: My Amazing Oct. 1, 2006 Wedding At Westbury Manor Yesterday!!! w/ Photos

The delay in more pics is my fault, not hers! I promise, I'll get more of them uploaded tonight for you!

Ladies, trust me when I say she was just stunning. Lori, I don't know if I told you, I saw you get out of the limo when we pulled up to WM. I actually gasped, you were so beautiful. Even hiking up your skirts like you had to.

And their dancing, WOW! I've never seen something like that at a wedding, it was so great. It was like watching a dance show! Whenever they did a great move or a turn, everyone would gasp and clap. It was the coolest thing.

Congratulations again, I'll get the rest of the pics up tonight.