My Amazing Wedding 7/10/11

I am sorry for the delay ladies. Every time I sat down to do the review, something came up and I got side tracked. This is a shorter version of my Review because I wanted to get something out and then I will do a more extensive one soon.....PROMISE!

First and foremost I would like to thank everyone at LIW. I met some amazing girls this year and made friendships that will last past 2011 hopefully :) You were my listening ears, advise givers and supporters. I got some awesome suggestions and ideas from all the girls on here. Although I didn't go to that many G2G, the ones I got a chance to make it to....I had a blast and look fwd to many more to come.

July 10th was the best day of my life! I woke up to sunny skies and beautiful weather (no heat wave thankfully!!!!). I was calm and collective and ready to enjoy the day!!!!

Save the Dates:
VistaPrint A+
I wanted something cute for our save the dates. We went with Magnets. VistaPrint was very affordable and we were able to customize them with our pictures and different fonts. I loved the way they came out and got many compliments.
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Invitations:
Plum & Stone (Personal friend) A++++
I went to many places for invitations and couldn't find anything that I loved until I went to my friend who does Invitations and fell in love. She was a little pricier but for the quality you get, it was worth it! My invites were gorgeous and got many rave reviews. They were letterpress pocket-folds with a pretty belly band around them.



Dress: A+
My dress and I had an interesting journey to say the least....It took me a while to find the right one. I almost bought two other ones before, but something held me back and I am glad because I was IN LOVE with my dress. I also went to a few places to look for that dress and ended up going to a store in Brooklyn. Everything was great and the place was near my house so it was easy to get to for alterations and fittings....FFWD a few months and the store closed down!!!! I was in tears! I was worried that I didn't have a dress now and would be left with nothing. After many tearful days, the store owner re-assured me that my dress will arrive and all will be okay and that she will do everything for me from her house and make sure my dress is beautiful. She was right. After three fittings, my dress was perfect for me!!!! Everything worked out in the end.


Veil:
Barron's A+
I got a customized cathedral veil and couldn't be more happier with the work Barron's did. I explained to the lady exactly what I wanted and she captured my vision exactly. They are very affordable there and very friendly.


Shoes: A
I had the hardest time finding shoes. I am a size 4 1/2 in women's so my selection is very limited. I bought my shoes on Endless and had them dyed to match my girls.


Jewelry- Tejani and Bridal Styles A+
I got my earrings from Tejani and my Hair Pin and Bracelet from Bridal Styles. I could not give enough praise to both vendors. Tejani had a great selection of earrings and the service was AMAZING. I was the only person at the studio and they patiently worked with me to find the style I was looking for. Bridal Styles treated me the same way. From the moment I walked in, I knew this was going to be the place I get my jewelry from and I could not have been more happier with my decision.



Bridesmaid/MOH dresses:
RKBridal (A for dresses, C for Service)
We went to RK Bridal because they have a HUGE selection of dresses. We picked some styles out of the magazine that we wanted to try on. Service there ****** though. There was nobody to help us pick out what we wanted. Some of the dresses were in such poor condition, it was hard to visualize what they will look like. The fitting rooms were crazy. You only get individual service after you buy something. The dresses came out beautiful and we found a great color and style, but service really turned me off.


Tuxes:
Tuxedo Park (Groom) A+
I must say you get what you pay for! Service here was better than any other store we went to. From the moment DH walked in to the moment he left on 7/11, he was treated like a king. Every tux is fitted just for the groom. You get all the accessories as well. Very friendly staff and helpful. I must say DH looked amazing! <3


TinyTux (my son's tux) A+
We ordered my son's tux online. I didn't want to pay $100 to RENT a tux. We bought my son's tux for $60 and it was great. He matched his daddy perfectly and stole the show!!!


My flower girl's got their dresses in different places and I can honestly say this relieved some stress from me. I have no idea where they got them or the experiences they had, but can honestly say....they looked adorable. For two girls that went to two different stores in two different states, they matched each other very well. I know my son liked them :)


Hotel for getting ready:
Four Point Sheraton Plainview- B+
The hotel was beautiful, but I must say I was a little disappointed in the suites. The bridal suite was smaller than envisioned and lighting in the room wasn't that great for hair, makeup and pictures. We asked for some extra lamps, but couldn't get any so we were limited in what we could do at the hotel. We used the hotel for our reveal as well and it cam out really cute. The breakfast at the hotel was good though.


Hair:
Angela's Hair Design- A+
I think Angela was my second hair trial and I didn't need to go any further. She captured the vision I wanted right away and with some minor tweeks, we were able to get the style I wanted. On the day of, Angela also agreed to come to the hall after my park pictures to touch up my hair and get me ready for the ceremony.


Makeup:
Kelly- Glam Me Up- A+
Kelly and Angela made a great team. They were both patient and made sure everything was just the way we needed the day of the wedding. Kelly even agreed to do my aunt's makeup as a last minute add.


Limo's:
Camelot A-
We went with Camelot and absolutely loved working with Joe. He is a sweetheart and tries to please everyone and work with everyone's budgets. We got the Navigator and Phantom. Both limos were gorgeous. Unfortunately, the Phantom is a popular car and was overbooked that day. We were pressed for time and the limo had to leave us at the park and we had to take the Navigator back to the hall. I was a little upset about that because DH really wanted the Phantom and only got to ride in it for like 10 min. I understand they try to please every bride, but we felt like we were cheated for the $ we paid and didn't even get to take the limo back to the hall.


Tables Numbers, Favor Cards & Drink Menu's
Lolita Paperie- A+
These fellow brides were a pleasure to work with. My drink menu's looked AMAZING and captured my theme great. The girls were responsive, attentive and really helped me out. Some of my favor cards got ruined the week before my wedding because they got wet and when I emailed the girls, they were able to make 40 extras within a day and it all worked out great!

Calligraphy-
Linda- A
Was a recommendation from a fellow LIW bride. This lady is very sweet, diligent and so inexpensive. We used her for our invitations and place cards.

Flowers-
PWP Florists
A+
I can't say enough about my florist. Vincent captured my vision perfectly. I didn't see the Chuppa or the Bok's at all, but put my faith in his work and when I saw everything for the first time on the day of my wedding, I could not be happier. My Chuppa was elegant and romantic, my bouquet was to die for and everyone's flowers were just like we wanted. Vincent and his team went above and beyond to make my day special. I loved working with him and Tatiana. My only issue was that his assistant (Lisa I think was her name) had an attitude all the time with me and made talking to her very difficult. Luckily there was Tatiana and I made sure to filter all my questions through to her.
I don't have pics on the computer of the Chuppa yet, but will update soon. Here are mine and my girls flowers:)


DOC-
A Modern Day Affair- A+
I never intended to have a DOC. It was one of those things I learned about on LIW....lol. I am glad I did. These girls kept me on track with everything and made sure I did not stress or worry about anything. The day went smooth and if an issue came up, they solved it without my knowing about it. When I was getting frustrated with things, Michelle stepped in and made sure everything went well.

Rabbi-
Eli Greenblatt A+++++
I can not rave enough about him. Ever since I met him at my friends wedding (my bridesmaid), I knew that we wanted him at our wedding. He is very diverse and speaks numerous languages so he incorporated a little bit of Spanish into my ceremony for my DH's family. He made the ceremony nice, sweet and had some funny moments. He was easy to work with, assisted in the Jewish aspects of the ceremony and made sure I had everything that was needed for the ceremony. I did not have to run out and get all the little things. He even got a custom kippah made for my son....(unfortunately CB lost it).

Rings-
Elsa Jewelry- B
DH decided that he wanted to get me a new Engagement Ring along with my wedding band. We went to Elsa because I won a $250 gift certificate. They specialize in custom made jewelry. I love my ring and the set goes perfect together. The reason for the B was because they quoted us one price and then came up with something else which left a little sour taste in my mouth, but when I look at my rings, it all goes away :)


Band:
Douglas and Eddie- A++++++++++
I cannot say enough about this band. They are simply AMAZING! I never knew I could find a band that plays English, Spanish, Russian, Italian and Jewish music. Douglas and Eddie are one of the most talented bands I have ever met. We met with 3 bands for the wedding and knew as soon as we met D&E they were the ones and we are very pleased. Everyone gave us compliments after the wedding on our band. We still keep in touch and I will make sure he is hired for any future family events :) They kept my dance floor dancing till the very last minute!


Photo/Video-
Photo- B
Video- A+
We went with a Russian Videographer/photographer team because we loved their work and wanted something different. Working with my videographer was amazing and he did a great job. We had him do a cute little love story video for the wedding and everyone loved it. We are currently waiting for the edited video but have nothing but faith in his work. My photographer is a little different story. We bumped heads a few times along the way. He is set in his ways and the photography I wanted was a little different than what I got. In the end, my pictures came out great, but I wish I had more photojournalists pictures and less portraits in the studio of CB. My album has been ordered and can't wait to get it.
Album

Cake:
Macayla Michaels Deserts- A++++
I decided not to go with the house vendor for CB and I can honestly say that was one of the BEST decisions I made for the wedding. Working with Laura and Michael was great. Laura asked me what DH and I like to eat and Mike created a cake that fit our profiles. I ordered 2 cakes from them (Wedding Cake and my Hubby's Cake). Both cakes were delicious and gorgeous!!! Can't wait to eat my 1 year anniversary cake :)

Lastly, Chateau Briand- A
I fell in love with this venue the moment we went in there. After 2 years of planning and looking around, we returned where we first started. We had our ceremony outside and the reception at the Normandy Room. My BA's were AMAZING. I met Cindy the day of my food tasting and instantly requested her to be there for my wedding. Working with Lisa with all my final planning and details was great. She helped me get everything I wanted for the wedding and assisted in some changes to make my day great. Since we exceeded our minimum, we were able to add the Mashed Potato Bar and Gelato to our menu of TONS of food. I didn't get to eat that night, but heard from all my guests that the food was great, drinks kept on coming and desert was delicious.

More pics to follow.....

Re: My Amazing Wedding 7/10/11

Here are some more pics that I just absolutely had to share:

Bride Getting Ready

Groom Getting Ready

Reveal

The Park

Studio Pics

Re: My Amazing Wedding 7/10/11

wonderful review Lana!!!!

did Angela charge you to come back to do touchups? if so, can you FM me how much?

im thinking i might need teh same thing done

THANK OU!!!!

Re: My Amazing Wedding 7/10/11

Congrats!

Re: My Amazing Wedding 7/10/11

Awesome review!!! Your son is too cute!!!

Re: My Amazing Wedding 7/10/11

Everything looked beautiful! Congrats!

Re: My Amazing Wedding 7/10/11

Congrats! Great review and pictures!

Re: My Amazing Wedding 7/10/11

OMG! Lana!!!!!!!!!!! your album is grogeous! i can't look ast the FB pics at work because its blocked - but the album pics!
first, the picture of you with the phantom. where you and your Dh are kissing and your plastered against the car (its a pic on the left) so HAWT!!!!!!!!!
your dress looked gorgeous on you and i never knew your feet were so small!

Re: My Amazing Wedding 7/10/11

amazing and awesome review lana!!1 you guys looked amazing congrats again!!1

Re: My Amazing Wedding 7/10/11

STUNNING!

Thanks for your review & congratulations!

Re: My Amazing Wedding 7/10/11

WOW
I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Congratulations

Ur wedding was amazing!

It was fun!!! and loved every second of it


Congratz Lana!!!!!

Love ur album!!1

Re: My Amazing Wedding 7/10/11

great review

Re: My Amazing Wedding 7/10/11

Great review, Lana! Gorgeous pictures! Congrats!