MY April 1st Wedding Review, The Meadow Club, and Many LI VENDORS!! MUST READ

I am so exited to be able to write this review. I have been thinking of what to write as well as any hints and tips I can give the future brides out there. First of all, LI WEDDINGS was my Rock. This was such a wonderful idea Ron and Liz started. I may not have had as many posts as everyone else, but I enjoyed reading everything else that was posted and I enjoyed seeing what everyone was doing as well as having the comfort of knowing that I wasn't the only one that was stressed-out. My only suggestion to Ron and Liz is to take your idea and bring it to other markets. This site is much better and more personal than the others out there and you are not always trying to get us to buy stuff off your site. Thank you for everything.


My Dress: Mori Lee by Evenly Gardner
Quality of the Dress A+
Price of the Dress A+
I tried on many wedding dresses and thought I found 'the one' several times. After about 20 dresses and about 8 bridal stores, I finally came across this dress and let me tell you that I felt like a princess. It was everything I could have ever wanted in a dress

Bridal Salon: RK BRIDAL, MANHATTAN A+
After going to many bridal stores, I was hearing that many of the girls on LI weddings were going to RK BRidal in the City. I love the city so my Mom, sister & I made a day of it and went in. Word to the wise, take the day off, go in the AM and you will have the experience you truly want.
Staff A+. Everyone we came into contact with was amazing. Kind, Friendly, and they know Bridal dresses. The Try-on Rooms are large and you don't feel like you have to show everyone the dress if you don't want.
We ended up buying my dress there, as well as my mothers, and all the bridesmaids

They have many programs at RK Bridal. You can get measaured there and have your dress altered there, or you can get measured their and take your dress out of the store to be altered by a local seamstress, which i did. My Girls dresses were over $75 cheaper than anywhere else and measureing them was as easy as pie.

Here is their website
www.rkbridal.com

Save the Date cards and invitations
Invitations by Joan A+
Joan is wonderful to work with. she works out of her house and she not only does invitations, but she also does favors as well. She gives great prices and knows her stuff. Both the save the dates and the invitations came in super early and perfect. We didn't have a problem with them at all. She is in Floral Park
Joan : 516-775-1594

Di Re' Formal Wear ( Tuxedos)
B-
Manny was wonderful to deal with, especially since most of my groomsmen were coming from Miami. They sent in their measurements and most of them came out great. the One Groomsmen that lived in the area wound up with the wrong vest the day of the wedding and we didn't realize it till we got to the church. It wasn't a big deal, but I felt bad for him.
THey are located at 315 Franklin Avenue, Franklin Square, NY
516-328-0414
( Next to Royality Limos)

Limo Bus ( LI VENDOR)
American Luxury Limo A+++++
Words can not describe how wonderful Rey was to deal with. We saw this bus on line, yes they are a LI Vendor and we fell in love with it. Some of you might want the all white limo bus, but for the cost and for the amount of time we needed the bus, we ended up saving money by booking the Limobus for the entire day. Rey always answered my questions and he was on time with everything. He even made sure he had the runner for the church and the champagne ( which usually only comes with the Rolls) for me. Everyone in my Bridal Party loved the bus. It comes with a waitress & soda and snacks, and you can bring your own beer. The bus was comfortable, Clean, fast and the perfect way to go. If you are looking for a limobus, take a look at American Luxury Limos.
www.Americanluxurybus.com
[email protected]
631-741-0027

Make-UP: ( LI VENDOR)
MAKE UP BY OKSANA A++++++++++++++++
I could go on and on about OKSANA. She is Amazing, Funny, Professional, and sincere. I had one trial with my makeup and I booked her on the spot. She was honest and listened to everything I wanted and gave me her suggestions. I did not go anywhere else to look for my make-up because I know a SURE-THING when I see it. If you are looking for a make-up Artist, and not someone to put make-up on you that is just like every other day… Give Oksana a call. You will be glad you did. She did 5 people’s Make-up the day of my wedding. You could tell the make-up that she did from the make-up that she didn’t do. There was a big difference. Give her a call you will be glad you did.
www.makeupbyoksana.com


HAIR : (LI VENDOR)
Hair Genie: Jen A+++++++++++++++
I met Jen at my best Friends wedding. My Regular hair Dresser was not able to do my hair and thus I used Jen. Well, after seeing how she did my hair and my friend’s for her wedding, I booked her for my wedding. I had reservations because I thought I owed it to my hairdresser to try out what she wanted to do for my hair, but then I thought about it and went with the SURE THING again. Jen and I have similar personalities and they just clicked. She really knows her stuff. I also had her do my highlights before the wedding. My highlights have NEVER looked that good. She is A HAIR DIVA!!!! Book her fast before she fills up.
[email protected]

*** Just as an Aside…… Oksana and Jen are Friends. They work extremely well together and they are comic relief for a some-what stressful day. They even stayed around to help my parents clean up all the food that they had at the house. They did not have to do that. They helped me with my dress, they fixed my make-up and hair and were total Life savors….I am so lucky that I used these two ladies.. Oh, I forgot the most important part… They come to your house to do the work. Nothing is better than spending the entire morning of your wedding relaxing, hanging out with family the day of your wedding. BOOK OKSANA AND JEN!!!!!

FLOWERS
B & W Mockawetch Florist Inc A+++++++++++
Just to let you all know that I started out with a very well know florist that advertises on this site. They were recommend to us by one of our friends that were getting married a couple of weeks before us. After the initial consultation, I knew they were not right for us. They were over-priced, un professional and I would never recommend anyone to go there. My Friend’s flowers were all dead before we entered the reception room. The centerpieces did not even last a day….At $250 a Centerpiece, it better last more than a day. ANYWAY.. enough about that. I had a number of my friends use B&W for their weddings and their flowers always looked amazing. Again, I went for the sure thing… I met with Barbara the owner and we talked about what I wanted and I knew she was listening to me and not just selling me the flowers. When the flowers arrived, I almost started to cry.. They were everything I could have dreamed of… They were beautiful and they lasted about 3 weeks after the wedding!!!! They are not into all the pomp and circumstance that other florists are into. They instead give you the highest quality product that you can imagine and for ½ the cost of the Big Guys… Word to the wise…Check out the big guys on these boards before you book…I strongly recommend B & W MOCKAWETCH.
www.mockawetch.com
516-354-1702

DJ (LI VENDOR)
Absolute Entertainment A++++++++++++++
I am so happy I went with AE… Let me be the first to say that they were amazing to work with, from start to finish. They were extremely fare in their price and actually give more than what is expected. We opted for the extra light show, as well as the percussionist. I had my reservations about this and then I went with it. Let me tell you that Everyone at the wedding made comments. I even had one of the guests join Babbo on the drums and everyone was having a blast with it. It gives the wedding a great spin. Paul was our DJ and he worked very hard with me to select the music for the night. Again, he was amazing to work with. We put together all my requests and if he could find something in his own personal collection we both went on line to find it and he bought it. At the end of the night, he gave me a cd that he had made with all the music we requested. I thought this was great! It was a really nice surprise.

VIDEO (LIVENDOR)
Fred Tims, associated with Absolute Entertainment. A+
We were not going to get a video and then we decided that we would. After seeing a number of our friends’ weddings we knew we didn’t want someone that was intruding in on the wedding. Fred was perfect, he had everything he needed with him, no big thing on wheels with big lights disturbing the guests, It was perfect. I will let you know how it turns out when we get it back.
Contact Fred through Absolute Entertainment

The Meadow Club, Port Jefferson ( LI VENDOR)
A++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I was actually surprised that there are not more LI Girls using the Meadow Club for their reception. The place is intimate, they treat you like a Queen and the guest go home really happy because the food is so incredible. The staff is amazing and out of all the reception halls we looked at, we fell in love with the Meadow Club right away. We had the Terrace room ( Largest room they have) and we ended up with about 186 People. We sprang for the chair covers, which if you can it is a MUST. It makes the room look so elegant. We had an amazing Package, I think they call it the Baroness. We also had an hour & a half cocktail , which if you can it is the best way to greet all your guests., There was plenty of room for EVERYONE to sit and enjoy themselves. The food was incredible. Then we went into the Reception Room, we had an appetizer put out right away on the plates. It was a warm Spinach Crepe. Everyone was raving about it. Then we had decided that it would take too much time with a Salad and a Pasta, so we cut it out. I can tell you that NO ONE missed it after having all the food at the cocktail party. It gave us more time to dance, and have fun. We had selected as our 3 Main Entrée choices, Chicken Midera ( I had this and it was Amazing), Prime Rib ( Cooked to perfection) and Grilled Salmon, which I understand from my mother-in-law ( who is a Salmon fanatic) that it was the Best salmon she has Ever Tasted. For dessert, we had the wedding Cake and the Vienese hour complete with a Chocolate Fountain, Ice Cream Station, Italian Pastry Station, coffee station, Crepe Station and only God knows what else. Again, the guests couldn’t believe the spread that the Meadow Club put out. I do have to mention that George was our Maitre De. He was organized, and was able to get the staff so organized and everything worked like Clock work.
I know when picking a Reception Hall you would like it to be close to the Church or where ever you are getting married, I had originally wanted that too, but I sacrificed distance for Quality and I won out in the end. The Meadow Club did a fantastic job on my wedding, and I am sure they will do the same for you.

www.themeadowclub.com

Photography: B rett M atthews, Roslyn, NY
A++++++++++++++
I was referred to BM from a really great friend of mine. I had looked at four other photographers and then I saw her book and I knew I needed an appointment with them to see what they offer. I fell in love. The pictures and the quality of the pictures that they had were amazing. The best part is, with the wedding package you get the Head Photographer, ( I picked REY), then you get not only an assistant, but also another photographer that only shoots the photojournalistic black and whites. When I looked at my price, It was only a $500 difference between getting an extra photographer with BM then getting only one photographer and an assistant with the other companies. From the start, BM was easy to work with, always called me back, Never caused me any stress what so ever. We had engagement shots with them that came out amazing, and only got me more excited for the actual wedding day. The day of, They showed up to my house early, were extremely organized and knew exactly what I wanted. If I thought of something as an after thought it was always no problem, lets do it. My Proofs were in with in 2 weeks and I am waiting for my Aunt to bring them down to me next week. ( I am in FL right now living). My mom says that they are amazing and worth every penny we paid. There are about 800-900 pictures that they took, all proofs come in regular photo 4x6 and 5 &8 proofs and you get to keep them ALL. I can’t wait to see them.
Over all I would Strongly recommend B rett M atthews Photography… They are a quality company.

www.brettmatthews.com

Hampton Inn/ Long Island Brookhaven ( LI VENDOR)
B-
We needed to block over 30 rooms because we were having many out-of-towners. The hotel is beautiful, much nicer than your regular Hampton Inns that are out there. The were ok to deal with in the days leading up to the wedding, but it was hard to get a call-back, and then there were some other issues. The Biggest problem was that due to traffic and a major accident on the LIE, about 10 of our guests showed up late to the hotel, missed the first transfer and instead of telling them to just drive over themselves, they insisted that there was another transfer, which there was not, and my guests were waiting over 45 minutes until the doof at the desk called the transfer company to find out that they were not coming back until the end of the night. My guests missed the cocktail party. I guess there are too many chiefs and not enough Indians. The front desk should know what is going on at all times.


HONEYMOON: SECRETS CAPRI, RIVERA MAYA MEXICO
A++++++++++++
As most of you know I work in the travel Business. My Husband and I wanted to go someplace that we had never been, and not spend that much money because we had bought a house. Thus, I heard about the Secrets Resorts in Mexico and Punta Cana. I checked out their website and looked at the Many reviews on www.tripadvisor.com and knew right away that it was the place for us. I could write pages and pages on how wonderful this resort was. The food was outrageous and the service was something that you would expect from a 5 star hotel. The hotels are All Inclusive and top Notch. Actually, I feel they are more of a quality product than the Sandals resorts ( Which I have been to.) If you are looking for something different, try Rivera Maya Mexico. The people are wonderful, if you know Spanish it is even better, but it is not necessary. The rooms are beautiful, the pool was great and the beach was fantastic. It is not anything like Cancun… Check them out at the website below.
We are going to go back for sure!!!

www.secretsresorts.com


Well, I do have some links that I can send you to view the photos that I received from friends. As soon as I get the proofs I will try and scan them and attached them to the review. The day was incredible, I can’t believe that it was over so fast. If I can suggest anything, Make sure you take time at the wedding and look around. All these people are there for you and your Husband. It is an amazing Feeling. Thank you to all the vendors that I worked with. You are all professionals and I hope I can send you many referrals!

Love
Laura from Sunny Florida.

Re: MY April 1st Wedding Review, The Meadow Club, and Many LI VENDORS!! MUST READ

everything looks like it was wonderful!!!

Cant wait to see pics!

Re: MY April 1st Wedding Review, The Meadow Club, and Many LI VENDORS!! MUST READ

Everything sounds wonderful!!! I can't wait to see pics too!!!

LOVE OKSANA!!! She is THE BEST!!!

Re: MY April 1st Wedding Review, The Meadow Club, and Many LI VENDORS!! MUST READ

Great Review! Congrats!!!

Re: MY April 1st Wedding Review, The Meadow Club, and Many LI VENDORS!! MUST READ

Great review! Can't wait to see pics.

You also have me interested in calling Oksana, and maybe even Jen for hair. I am considering using my regular hair dresser, but now I'm second guessing myself!

Re: MY April 1st Wedding Review, The Meadow Club, and Many LI VENDORS!! MUST READ

Congratulations! Your review makes me so glad that I booked Jen and Oksana

Can't wait to see pictures!

Re: MY April 1st Wedding Review, The Meadow Club, and Many LI VENDORS!! MUST READ

Hey Ladies, Let me tell you that if you are thinking about calling Jen & Oksana, call them now before they fill up. Make a Trial with both of them and I am sure you will love them too!!!

My Day was wonderful... It is over with the snap of the fingers!!! Cherish every moment!!!!

Re: MY April 1st Wedding Review, The Meadow Club, and Many LI VENDORS!! MUST READ

Great Review!

Can't wait to see pictures

Re: MY April 1st Wedding Review, The Meadow Club, and Many LI VENDORS!! MUST READ

Thanks for the review. Looking forward to the pics!

Re: MY April 1st Wedding Review, The Meadow Club, and Many LI VENDORS!! MUST READ

congrats!

Re: MY April 1st Wedding Review, The Meadow Club, and Many LI VENDORS!! MUST READ

Good review! Congrats on being a Mrs.!

Re: MY April 1st Wedding Review, The Meadow Club, and Many LI VENDORS!! MUST READ

Congratulations!!!!!!! Thank you for the review!

Re: MY April 1st Wedding Review, The Meadow Club, and Many LI VENDORS!! MUST READ

Sounds like everything went great! I'm happy that you loved Oksana and Jen, I booked them too!

Can't wait to see pictures!!

Re: MY April 1st Wedding Review, The Meadow Club, and Many LI VENDORS!! MUST READ

Thanks for your wonderful review and congratulations on your perfect day! Don't forget to post those pix!

Re: MY April 1st Wedding Review, The Meadow Club, and Many LI VENDORS!! MUST READ

Congrats! Thanks for the great review...can't wait to see some pics!

Re: MY April 1st Wedding Review, The Meadow Club, and Many LI VENDORS!! MUST READ

Congratulations!!!!

Re: MY April 1st Wedding Review, The Meadow Club, and Many LI VENDORS!! MUST READ

Congrats cannot wait to see pics!

Re: MY April 1st Wedding Review, The Meadow Club, and Many LI VENDORS!! MUST READ

congrats laura!!!! by the way, do you live in florida now? i'm actually moving there after the wedding!

Re: MY April 1st Wedding Review, The Meadow Club, and Many LI VENDORS!! MUST READ

Thanks for the review, Congrats!!

Re: MY April 1st Wedding Review, The Meadow Club, and Many LI VENDORS!! MUST READ

Great Review

I'm using Mockawetch as my florist too! My family has used them for years and Barbara is the nicest woman.