My Big Fat Greek-Polish Wedding at the CARLTUN - with DUET (Updated with Video) OKSANA, JENN HAIRGENIE, MADISON FLORIST, ROYALTY LIMOS, Diana from PIPPY'S SWEET and many more with lots of pictures!!!!

I know that I certainly would not have been able to plan this amazing wedding without LIWeddings, Ron & Liz, and the most of all the amazing ladies that are on this site. So, thank you from the bottom of my heart!!.

My two lovely LIW friends - Christine & Sylvia


Mother Nature
8:10

Leading up to May 21, I kept looking at the 10-day forecast which initially stated a 20% chance of rain. As the day got closer, the percentage increased to 30% with a chance of thunderstorm, and on May 21, at 3pm the sky got dark and it poured….That was the time I was getting ready to leave the house…..We left the house at 4:15pm and at 4:30pm the sky cleared up and the sun came out!!!! It was perfect even thou the ground was wet…At that point I didn’t care…at least it wasn’t raining, and I could not have asked for a more perfect day.

Our Rings - Jeweler from 47th Street



My Dress : Reem Acra Salon – New York
10:10

I went to Saks, Klienfeld’s, Vera Wang Salon, and Wedding Salon of Manhasset. I fell in love with a St. Pucci dress but it was way too much money……I was very disappointed since I knew I wouldn’t buy it at that price….After visiting those few places, I fell in love with Reem Acra dresses….I loved the bead work and the detail….After trying on 6 of them I finally found the one I loved the most. It was called “Paradise” and it truly was!!! Since it was a Reem Acra dress I figured I buy it from the designer directly…..Reem Acra’s salon in the city is so nice…I felt like a royalty being there…I was treated like one…My seamstress was a older Italian lady that has been working with Reem Acra for the past 20 years…She really knew how to bring out the beauty of the dress even more….She was great to work with and very patient…..

I ordered the dress in July of 2005 and the dress came in February 2006…..I had three fittings and the dress came out great!!









BM & Jr. BM Dresses: Bill Levkoff Purchased (online) at RK Bridal
10:10

The bridesmaids went for their measurements in February 2006 (yes 2006-only 3 months away from the wedding), and we were told that the dresses would be in beginning of May (2-3 weeks before the wedding)….I was freaking out it was so close but the dresses came in the end of March (5 weeks from the date of order) and I was very happy!!

The dresses were simply amazing and very elegant. We received compliments from every single person that saw the ladies, or saw pictures. The dress complimented the many shapes and sizes of my bridesmaids, and each one felt so comfortable, and looked absolutely stunning!




Tuxedos: Dire Formals, Floral Park (next to Royalty Limos)
10:10

The guys went and got measured in March, and picked up their tuxes on the Thursday before the wedding. Included were the shoes, cufflinks, ties, vests, shirts, and obviously the tux.

At pick up, no one needed additional alterations as each one fit like a glove. All the accessories were there, and the men were comfortable.

We had no issues at all, and I highly recommend them! The GM's matched the BM's dress perfectly, DH matched my dress perfectly.




Shoes: Grazia Couture
Ordered online at Dana Gail Couture
10:10

My shoe buying experience was easy and quick. Since I knew what I wanted it was just a matter of finding them online. I hate shopping and I hate the crowds so decided to buy them on the internet. After I Googled lots of sites I found www.danagail.com website and the shoe I loved. I ordered them online and got them within 2 weeks. They were even prettier in person than on the picture shown on the website. They even had something blue on them…



Music Band - Golden Greeks

It was a traditional Greek music band with a 7 person ensamble. Their leading singer is the guy that sings at Zodiac Restaurant, a very popular bouzoukia place in Astoria, Queens. All of my Greek guests loved them. They were great!

people throwing money - traditional Greek dancing








Photographer & Video: Duet Weddings (www.duetweddings.com)
20:10

We had Woo, Joseph, Hong and Wong…they were great!!! We worked with them before the wedding when we did our engagement pictures & our engagement session video…they were so much fun to work with!!!! Really nice and patient guys!! On the day of the wedding they were on time and stayed with us until the end…about 12 hours….I loved working with them!!

Here is a link to my casual shot
http://www.liweddings.com/community/album/?ID=2375



link to my WEDDING PROOFS
http://www.liweddings.com/community/album/?ID=4026

some of my favorite shots









































My Thank you card


Hair & Makeup - Jenn & Oksana - Beyond any rating!!!
20-10!!!!!

What can I say about them that has not already been said? They were exactly what I needed that day. Oksana did makeup for me and for four other BMs and Jenn did hair for me, my Mom, MOH & 2 BM’s. Everyone turned out gorgeous. We were all extremely happy with their work, and all I kept hearing from others was how gorgeous and beautiful we all came out. I could not have been any happier with both of these wonderful, funny ladies!!! (And we also had the same taste in music!!!)I highly recommend them both!!!!!

Here are some pics of them in action....









My finished hair


Flowers: Madison Florist, Brooklyn
20:10

The owners are related to DH, so I don’t really want to give a review!!!! All I can say: they did a great job!!!!!!!! If anyone wants their info, please FM me













Polish Folk Dancers

Since my wedding was going to be very Greek I wanted to include a Polish accent at my wedding so I hired a Folk Dancing group. All my non-Polish guests Loved them!!!


Limousines: Royalty Limos – Floral Park, NY (www.royaltylimos.com)
10:10

All I can say they were great!!!! The cars were clean, brand new and most importantly the drivers were amazing!!!! I dealt with Manny so I highly recommend them!!!!!

Pippy’s Sweet – Diana
20:10!!!!!

I highly, highly recommend Diana from Pippys (vendor on LIW)!!!! She is the best!! She made my invitations, menus and wrapped my favors!!!! I loved the way my invitations came out!!

I originally loved the folded look of invitations and was looking all over the internet for them. I found a great website www.envelopments.com which has a great mix & match gallery of invitations….I finally decided on a design and the colors, now it was a matter of finding them for the best price…so after searching and searching I found Diana!! She was a sweetheart to work with, patience and most importantly talented!!!!! I highly recommended her!!!!!!







DIY Projects

There were few things that I did myself. The three major ones were my votive place cards, my petal cones and my Jordan almonds wrapped in individual boxes for each guest.






Dove Release WhiteWingsNYDoveReleases.com (LIW Vendor)

Macy the owner, was a pleasure to work with!! She was at the church early to make sure everything was set up properly. Her doves were gorgeous and they were a big hit with the guests……highly recommend her




Day of Coordinator: Maxine from ******* Productions (a former LIW bride) they are not leting me put the name
0:10
BIG FAT ZERO OUT OF 10!!!!!! PLEASE DO NOT USE HER!!!!!!!!!

I did not want to write a negative review but I need to warn future brides of Maxine from ****************!!!!!!! Please do not use her!! I had the worst experience with her…..I am not sure she is still in business (her website is not working) but please DO NOT USE HER!!!!! What a waste of money!! She did absolutely nothing!!!! Came to my house dressed as a slob (literally looking like a bum-please note I had a black tie wedding), took some notes in my house and that was it, didn’t see her for the rest of the night!!!! I gave her tip envelopes to give to my priest, did she do that?? NO!! went home with my cash and my other stuff, brand new makeup I bought from Oksana etc….when I emailed her to get my money back and my stuff, she did not answer my emails nor my phone calls….

I was thinking of taking her to small claims court but I don’t see a point….I am so mad at myself for not listening to a former LIW bride that got married in January who had the same bad experience as me and is still waiting to get her stuff back as well!!!

All I can say is DO NOT USE HER!!!!!!!

Reception: The Carltun- http://thecarltun.com/?page=home
100 out of —10

Words cannot describe how lucky I feel to have had my wedding there. The service, the food, the ambiance— everything— it was better than I even thought it would be. We were treated like royalty. Our guests were treated like royalty. Every guest was greeted with a choice of a Blueberry Martini, Cosmopolitan or Champagne. The cocktail hour was to die for. The Rack of Lamb was the most amazing I’ve ever had. Everything tasted so damn good! So many of our guests commented on the fact that they didn’t have to get up once to get a drink during the reception and that the food was phenomenal. Every time I put my drink down, if I left it for more than a few minutes it was replaced with a fresh one. I could go on forever about this place. It was truly outstanding. Every little detail was taken care of. The picture of the cake I gave to the pasty chef was recreated perfectly, I screamed when I saw it! They were on top of everything. I can’t imagine having our wedding anywhere else. My only complaint is that I felt like it was very warm in the ballroom. A few times I asked that the air conditioner be turned up and every once in a while I felt a blast of cold air, but then it was right back to being warm again. Granted I was a dancing maniac in a big ballgown so that might have had something to do with it.

They were amazing. Everything was how I requested it to be. It was a first class affair from start to finish. My guests said the filet was the BEST they ever had tasted- and I got comments like the food was the best wedding food they ever had. They did an amazing job. Anyone who is having their wedding there all I can say, you are very lucky.

















That is it ladies, hope you enjoyed it!!!! Please FM me if you have any questions!!!

Thank you again!!!

xoxo
Anita

Here is the link to my casual video

http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=1b1a03c323bb78fc30ace5&skin_id=0&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url

Re: My 5/21/06 Amazing Big Fat Greek-Polish Wedding at the CARLTUN - with DUET, MADISON FLORIST, ROYALTY LIMOS, Diana from PIPPY'S SWEET and many more with lots of pictures!!!!

wow, what a stunning wedding and what a gorgeous bride you made! i love you placecard table arrangement--very unique!!!

i'm so sorry about your DOC!!! that's insane!!

congrats!

Re: My 5/21/06 Amazing Big Fat Greek-Polish Wedding at the CARLTUN - with DUET, MADISON FLORIST, ROYALTY LIMOS, Diana from PIPPY'S SWEET and many more with lots of pictures!!!!

FABULOUS REVIEW YOU COVERED EVERYTHING I AM SO GLAD THE SKYS TURNED BLUE FOR YOU!!! YOU LOOOKED SO GORGEOUS!


CONGRATS TO YOU BOTH AND BEST WISHES TODAY AND ALWAYS!

Re: My 5/21/06 Amazing Big Fat Greek-Polish Wedding at the CARLTUN - with DUET, MADISON FLORIST, ROYALTY LIMOS, Diana from PIPPY'S SWEET and many more with lots of pictures!!!!

Great review sweetie! You had the most elegant wedding & your pics are gorgeous! Sorry about your DOC, what bullshyt-keep on her & get your stuff back.

Congrats again--love & happiness always to you and Billy

Re: My 5/21/06 Amazing Big Fat Greek-Polish Wedding at the CARLTUN - with DUET, MADISON FLORIST, ROYALTY LIMOS, Diana from PIPPY'S SWEET and many more with lots of pictures!!!!

Great review!! You looked gorgeous!

Re: My 5/21/06 Amazing Big Fat Greek-Polish Wedding at the CARLTUN - with DUET, MADISON FLORIST, ROYALTY LIMOS, Diana from PIPPY'S SWEET and many more with lots of pictures!!!!

Great review - you really covered everything - and your arrangement for your place card table was very unique <--- I LOVED it!!! You looked beautiful and I am so happy the sun came out for you and DH!

So sorry to hear about your DOC and thank youf ro waring us future brides!

Congrats

Re: My 5/21/06 Amazing Big Fat Greek-Polish Wedding at the CARLTUN - with DUET, MADISON FLORIST, ROYALTY LIMOS, Diana from PIPPY'S SWEET and many more with lots of pictures!!!!

Thanks for the great review! Everything looked beautiful!

Re: My 5/21/06 Amazing Big Fat Greek-Polish Wedding at the CARLTUN - with DUET, MADISON FLORIST, ROYALTY LIMOS, Diana from PIPPY'S SWEET and many more with lots of pictures!!!!

You looked stunning! Your pics came out fantastic and your flowers were so pretty! Sorry about the DOC, she sounds like a real piece of garbage, but everything else looked amazing!

Re: My 5/21/06 Amazing Big Fat Greek-Polish Wedding at the CARLTUN - with DUET, MADISON FLORIST, ROYALTY LIMOS, Diana from PIPPY'S SWEET and many more with lots of pictures!!!!

Anita you made such a beautiful bride! You and DH are both stunning! Everything looked amazing... I love the Carltun, my friend was married there two years ago.

So sorry to hear about maxine..what a piece of $hit!!


Congratulations!

Re: My 5/21/06 Amazing Big Fat Greek-Polish Wedding at the CARLTUN - with DUET, MADISON FLORIST, ROYALTY LIMOS, Diana from PIPPY'S SWEET and many more with lots of pictures!!!!

Hey Anita!

You were a beautiful bride! Your flowers were beautiful! Congrats!

Re: My 5/21/06 Amazing Big Fat Greek-Polish Wedding at the CARLTUN - with DUET, MADISON FLORIST, ROYALTY LIMOS, Diana from PIPPY'S SWEET and many more with lots of pictures!!!!

First, you looked stunning!!!
I'm so sorry about M. I can't even imagine going through that. I don't know what's going on with her.

I wish you all the best!!

Re: My 5/21/06 Amazing Big Fat Greek-Polish Wedding at the CARLTUN - with DUET, MADISON FLORIST, ROYALTY LIMOS, Diana from PIPPY'S SWEET and many more with lots of pictures!!!!

Amazing Review
I am using Woo from Duet, Oksana and Jenn and I am so happy you loved them.

You looked gorgeous

Best of luck to you

Re: My 5/21/06 Amazing Big Fat Greek-Polish Wedding at the CARLTUN - with DUET, MADISON FLORIST, ROYALTY LIMOS, Diana from PIPPY'S SWEET and many more with lots of pictures!!!!

your pictures came out beautiful and you looked gorgeous. Everyone looked like they had a blast! Great review!

Re: My 5/21/06 Amazing Big Fat Greek-Polish Wedding at the CARLTUN - with DUET, MADISON FLORIST, ROYALTY LIMOS, Diana from PIPPY'S SWEET and many more with lots of pictures!!!!

Wonderful review! Love the shots. And that is horrible about your DOC. Glad she never called me back.

Re: My 5/21/06 Amazing Big Fat Greek-Polish Wedding at the CARLTUN - with DUET, MADISON FLORIST, ROYALTY LIMOS, Diana from PIPPY'S SWEET and many more with lots of pictures!!!!

Absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE all of your flowers they are gorgeous!!!

Stay on top of that DOC I have heard many negative things about her.....how dare she!!!

Re: My 5/21/06 Amazing Big Fat Greek-Polish Wedding at the CARLTUN - with DUET, MADISON FLORIST, ROYALTY LIMOS, Diana from PIPPY'S SWEET and many more with lots of pictures!!!!

Thanks ladies!!!!

I didn't want to write a review like that about my DOC but wanted to warn future brides!!

Use CHRISTINE from Exquisite Affairs Productions Inc instead!!!!!!

Re: My 5/21/06 Amazing Big Fat Greek-Polish Wedding at the CARLTUN - with DUET, MADISON FLORIST, ROYALTY LIMOS, Diana from PIPPY'S SWEET and many more with lots of pictures!!!!

i think your dress was absouletly stunning, the best by far(along with my dress) . Honestly, the dress was stunning!!!! Everything was beautiful. your menus where nice too!!!!

sorry to hear about the DOC, but glad to hear that it did not ruin your DAY!!!

thanks for sharing your review with us!

Re: My 5/21/06 Amazing Big Fat Greek-Polish Wedding at the CARLTUN - with DUET, MADISON FLORIST, ROYALTY LIMOS, Diana from PIPPY'S SWEET and many more with lots of pictures!!!!

absolutely gorgeous!

Re: My 5/21/06 Amazing Big Fat Greek-Polish Wedding at the CARLTUN - with DUET, MADISON FLORIST, ROYALTY LIMOS, Diana from PIPPY'S SWEET and many more with lots of pictures!!!!

You look beautiful!!!!!!! I love your dress ... looks like you havd a BEAUTIFUL wedding . Im so sorry aby your DOC

Re: My 5/21/06 Amazing Big Fat Greek-Polish Wedding at the CARLTUN - with DUET, MADISON FLORIST, ROYALTY LIMOS, Diana from PIPPY'S SWEET and many more with lots of pictures!!!!

WOW!!! Hats off to your florist for creating so many different and beautiful arrangements! Just gorgeous...and so were you.

Congratulations!