My Big Fat PINK Greek/German Wedding including SWAN CLUB, 12TH NIGHT, TIMELESS TREASURES, HIGH VOLTAGE AND FLOWER MICHELE! **WITH PRO PICS!!!!**

All pictures you see are taken by 12th night Photgraphy!!!


If I can give one piece of advice to future brides, it would simply be to relax the day of and just go with the flow. Yes, things will go wrong, come on, NOTHING is perfect!! So just sit back, relax and enjoy YOUR day cause it goes by so quickly! (It really does!)

And now on to my Big Fat Greek/German Wedding Review!


LIWed
dings – A+
If there was a grade higher than A+ , Ron, Liz and the rest of the LIWeddings crew would receive! I cannot even begin to thank Ron and Liz for creating such a amazing site! Through this site, I was able to manage my wedding, planning, meet friends and ask just about anything. This site has also helped me find a job which in turn helped my husband find a job, so above all the planning, and wedding related issues I had to face, Ron and Liz, Rich and I want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

Weather – A+
OK so normally I don’t really think its fair to grade mother nature however I couldn’t resist. The week leading up to my wedding I had sworn I wouldn’t check the weather but naturally being an anxious and curious bride I did and it said thunderstorms all week until about Thursday or Friday before my wedding. Suddenly I saw “A perfect summer day” above Saturday and that’s exactly what it was! With partly cloudy skies (which make awesome pictures!!) and 80* it was just that: A Perfect Summer day!


Bridesmaids Dresses
Davids Bridal-A+
Being that I did purchase my gown from David’s, all my bridesmaids had 10% off coupon if we purchased their dresses from there and we did. I told all my Bms to go around the store, shop and pick anything they liked. They did and we all came into an agreement. Being that I had girls all different sizes I didn’t want to get anything that someone would feel uncomfortable, so to make a long story short, they all liked this particular dress and it was a done deal…..$79 on sale and a coupon! Couldn’t ask for a better deal!






My Dress
Davids Bridal A
It's not that Im an easier grader and everyone basically gets A's its because I got what I wanted for the right price. I went in not knowing what type of style I wanted and actually I had no intention on buying a dress so early (Janury of 2006). I tried on different dresses until I saw this pick up style dress........well I loved it and bought it right then and there without looking at any more (i had only tried two dresses at that time) ! Customer service wasnt exactly the best I had experienced but all that mattered to me is that I got the dress I always wanted in a good amount of time (it took maybe two months).

Side note: I had purchased a slip from Davids as well but decided it wasnt poofy enough and purchased a 5 hoop slip from e-bay to give that ballroom effect.











Tuxedos
Tuxedo Park-A+
Their customer service is GREAT and they have a very wide variety of tuxes to choose from including colors, styles and fabrics! All GM's got a basic tuxedo with a black vest and a pink tie, FH got a knee length with a stripe like tie and a white vest and of course he wanted the hat for pictures so we got that as well! Highly recommended!







Veil, and Garter (Accessories) Davids Bridal – A+
I knew I wanted a cathedral veil and something that was simple yet elegant. I ended up finding the perfect veil at Davids Bridal for a reasonable price. We purchased a beautiful one layer cathedral veil with no blusher. It looked amazing with the dress and made gorgeous pictures! We also glued diamond studs on the veil since it had pearls already on it!









Headpiece (Tiara)
Swaroski (No rating because this was my “Something borrowed”
Ok so for a long time I always loved this one specific tiara from Swaroski, it reminded me a little bit of Princess Diana’s tiara, however I wasn’t about to spend an arm and a leg for a tiara. Luckily for me, my moms coworker and great friend, let me borrow hers! It was absolutely gorgeous but the only thing is that the tiara doesn’t come with a comb or anything so either it has to be sewn to your hair or use a zillion bobby pins to hold it up (which was done so in my case). If you do decide to go with this tiara, it would be a good idea to sew little loops so that you can slip the bobby pins into your hair easier.



…..MOB Dress My daughters wedding, Great Neck- A+
My mom knew exactly what she wanted and it took us a long time to find what she had envisioned. We visted many places, all of which had beautiful dresses but not the same my mom was looking for. In the end we decided to go to My Daughters Wedding, which we heard of from this web site. We found exactly what we were looking for and ordered it on the spot. It took about a month to come and it was a bit pricy but come on your first born gets married only once! ;) It looked absolutely phenomenal on her and she received many compliments! *Side note* alterations were done elsewhere through a family friend






Invites, Table cards and Thank You’s Notfromabox.com – A+
One of the best vendors there are! I knew from the beginning I wanted pocketfold invites however I was going to make them on my own. In the end I decided not to and went with whoever had the best prices. I heard rave reviews about notfromabox.com and decided to check them out (they are a online company). At first I had decided on a very “upbeat” invite, a fuchsia pink with black polka dot invite (custom made) . It was gorgeous but after a while I decided I wanted something more formal. Notfromabox.com was very understanding and designed me a brand new design which I fell in love with!!! Within days she sent me an e-proof which was gorgeous! I requested for the actual proof so I can see it and without any hesitation Heather (customer rep) sent it to me! It looked absolutely amazing!!! I decided to order matching place cards with our monogram on them and they even through our thank you cards in there for free! They were such a pleasure to work with and I would highly recommend them! Please note that notfromabox.com does custom work as well as have invitations that you can choose form if you so feel like! We only chose our color, fonts and monogram! Everything was done through e-mail and an occasional phone call…..





DIY
Menus, program cards, gift wrapping – A+
Ok so I think DH and I deserve a little praise! We worked very hard on all our DIY’s but the end results were very worth it! Ladies if you have a laser printer, use it! it definitely made our lives a little easier!!!
***** You can also look in my DIY album for more pics!!!! Including my DIY aisle runner










Hair and MakeupMia from Br idal Lounge – A+
Mia was great! She arrived at my house half an hour early and began setting up! She brought everything under the sun that dealt with make up and hair! She did exactly what I wanted and my hair and make up stayed on ALL night! She even did my sisters, moms, aunts and cousins make up which they all loved! M ia has a true talent and loves what she does! She’s such a sweetheart and while its true that it’s a bit hard to get in touch with her, she DOES get back to you if you leave her a message.















Flowers Flower Michele – A -

Overall I was quite pleased with Flower Michele. Back in November of 2006 we had attended the 10K give away and won pin spot lighting. John went above and beyond and created such a gorgeous reception room! I truly did have a beautiful “pepto wedding!” Our bo-ks, corsages, centerpieces, just everything was perfect and arrived on time! The reason why there is a minus is because one minor thing did go wrong. My DIY runner was delivered to my reception hall and not the church, so I didn’t have my runner for my church. Again no biggie, mistakes happen and I really cant blame anyone for it. My guests didn’t know the difference and it wasn’t anything major so I really didn’t care at that point….Overall though Flower Michele rocks!










Limos Royalty Limos – A+
About an hour before my wedding, I looked out of my window and noticed my Excalibur waiting. I got a little nervous because I thought I was running late but the driver told me he just arrived there a little early and I could take my time and take pictures in front of the limo if I wished.
We got an Excalibur, and two Lincolns all which came in perfect condition and on time. We even purchased an extra limo (they gave us one for return -complimentary) and they both came on time and helped us with everything we had to take home. No complaints about Royalty!
Our driver Tom was the best! When we realized that my DIY aisle runner was missing, we came straight to me and asked if I wanted him to put on from his company. He also fluffed my dress and made sure I was good to go! After the church ceremony, he found out that there was traffic on the LIE and took a short cut to the Swan Club!





B]Photography12th Night: Dom and Jose- Day of: A+
Dom and Jose were fantastic!! Both arrived half an hour early and got to work right away! From the moment Dom walked in my house, he started snapping pictures and joked around as always! Jose went to my husbands house and from what my hubby tells me Jose arrived half an hour early as well and took some really awesome shots (including one of my husband climbing a tree pretending that he was hiding!!! ) Throughout the day both photographers were awesome! I cant wait until I see my proofs!!! I know the wait is a bit long but that’s because Dom wants everything to look as close to perfect as he could get! Its definitely worth the wait and I know my proofs will be amazing!!! I will update more when I get my proofs!

UPDATE: Its been a little passed three months and i received my proofs- What can I say? I am speechless!!!! 12th night is amazing!!! EVERY single photographer there only takes the best!!!!! The pictures are proof!!!! Thank you 12th night for creating such unbelievable pictures!!!!!












































Videographer Timeless Treasures: Ray- A+
Like many of my vendors I booked Ray back in 2005. I knew that Ray was very popular especially with the 05 and 06 girls and I wanted to make sure that I booked with him! I took the long trip to his office and was blown away both with his work and his prices! We booked with Ray right away! The day of Ray came fully prepared and started taping! He was very unobtrusive, half the time we didn’t even know he was there! He made everyone feel very comfortable and I even saw him taping my STD magnet on my fridge! He was definitely a pleasure and I cant wait until I see my DVD!!!!

UPDATE: 12/14- MY DVDs are AWESOME!!!!!! I have no idea how he got all those angles at so many different places but DH made a comment if Ray brought an assistant because of the variety of shots!!!! He is soo talented and one of the sweetest people you will meet ! He kept in touch after the wedding and let me know where he was as far as having the video done! A+ from me!

DJ High Voltage: Vinny, Peter and Joe- A+
Another awesome vendor introduced to me by LIW. Vinny is absolutely great! We kept in touch through the year and he answered some concerns I had (mostly finding Greek traditional and Greek tempo songs) he ASSURED me that everything would turn out great and it did! When I went to meet with Vinny the week before my wedding, I had a “must play” song list however didn’t want to give it to him since I had complete trust in him. Vinny however requested that I gave him the list just so he can get a feel of what songs I liked and he played exactly what I liked! I even gave him a Greek CD and he just rocked it! He brought two assistants as well, Pete who is Greek and Joe who was also Greek. I asked Pete if he could do a little Greek dance which he did and he ROCKED it! Everyone is still talking about him! Joe came up to me and asked me if he could do a little break dancing which I LOVE and of course I said yes! Towards the end of the night we even had a little dance off between all the breakers. It really made the party!!! All my guests were raving about the music AND the dancing











B]Dance John from Dance Long Island- A+
This was my husbands idea since he has two left feet. We started going to John a few months before our wedding. John choreographed our whole wedding song and taught us some really amazing and elegant moves! Unfortunately because my dress was too big (oops!) and we didn’t have too much room we were able to do the whole ance and only did parts. Anyhow, our dance still rocked and now DH and I know how to dance in public!!! John is definitely someone to give a call to if you have the same problem! He rocks and is such a wonderful instructor/ friend! He even recommended a place for us to stay when we went to Miami!


Bellydancer Daniella-A +
Daniellas site
This was a surprised to Richard and I by my sister (MOH). She was absolutely phenomenal!!! She did a bunch of dances, used props and got my whole bridal party (well the girls) and DH and I. She also got my uncle and dad. Everyone really seemed to enjoy her dancing and it was the highlight of the night! Her rates are not bad either from what I understand! FM me for more info! I would HIGHLY recommend Daniella!
















Reception Hall Swan Club: Maitre D’: Christian, Bridal Attendant: Im sorry I cant remember her name– A+
I had looked at two other reception halls before heading to the Swan Club. My mother recommended it to us and told us to go by there and see the place because she remembers the gardens and how beautiful they were and being that our wedding was in the summer it would make really nice pictures. Well, we went and fell in love! The price was right, the venue was gorgeous and everyone was exceptionally nice and professional. Fast forward to the week and day of, the swan club called us to make sure we were coming with all our stuff and even read a small list on the phone to remind me of anything that we may have forgotten.
Day of:
We were immediately greeted by Christian our Maitre D’ with a smile and some champagne. He was a really great person to be around and made sure everything went smoothly. Our bridal attendant (and im sorry I cannot remember her name) was great as well. She made sure everything and everybody was happy, helped us with our photos, fixed my veil which came off a few times, my sisters dress which got stained and Richs sisters dress which she stepped on and it got ripped. She also provided us with hairspray and other things ( so ladies if you forget a “bridal emergency kit” have no fear the bridal attendant has it all!). During our cocktail she went downstairs and got us what we asked for and she didn’t leave my side throughout the night! I even grabbed her and made her a dance a little because she was working s hard! Swannies, you really have absolutely NOTHING to worry about! The Swan Vlub outdid themselves and everyone was raving and saying that this is one wedding that they will remember for years to come! They truly made my wedding very special and I am so thankful I chose The Swan Club!
Oh before I end this review, I also wanted to mention one worry that a lot of the Swannies have and that is the cake. It was absolutely gorgeous and tasted DELICIOUS! We had marble cake with cannoli filling…yummy! The Viennese hour was also a hit! *Flowers on the cake done by Flower Michele



Singing happy birthday to my flower girl

Re: My Big Fat Greek/German Wedding including SWAN CLUB, 12TH NIGHT, TIMELESS TREASURES, HIGH VOLTAGE AND FLOWER MICHELE! **With non pro pics**

Everything was so beautiful!
Congrats!

Re: My Big Fat Greek/German Wedding including SWAN CLUB, 12TH NIGHT, TIMELESS TREASURES, HIGH VOLTAGE AND FLOWER MICHELE! **With non pro pics**

you wedding looks absolutely amazing! I thought that your flowers were stunning and i love your makeup and hair, you looked beautiful! The pictures of everyone dancing are awesome, it looked like so much fun to be there!! Congrats on a beautiful wedding and amazing review!

Re: My Big Fat PINK Greek/German Wedding including SWAN CLUB, 12TH NIGHT, TIMELESS TREASURES, HIGH VOLTAGE AND FLOWER MICHELE! **With non pro pics**

You looked beautiful! Congrats and great review!

Re: My Big Fat PINK Greek/German Wedding including SWAN CLUB, 12TH NIGHT, TIMELESS TREASURES, HIGH VOLTAGE AND FLOWER MICHELE! **With non pro pics**

congrats!!! you looked amazing! ive been waiting for your review since im also a swannie!

Re: My Big Fat PINK Greek/German Wedding including SWAN CLUB, 12TH NIGHT, TIMELESS TREASURES, HIGH VOLTAGE AND FLOWER MICHELE! **With non pro pics**

Everything looked so beautiful.. congrats and thanks for the review

Re: My Big Fat PINK Greek/German Wedding including SWAN CLUB, 12TH NIGHT, TIMELESS TREASURES, HIGH VOLTAGE AND FLOWER MICHELE! **With non pro pics**

looks amazing

Re: My Big Fat PINK Greek/German Wedding including SWAN CLUB, 12TH NIGHT, TIMELESS TREASURES, HIGH VOLTAGE AND FLOWER MICHELE! **With non pro pics**

Great review!!!!! Congrats

Re: My Big Fat PINK Greek/German Wedding including SWAN CLUB, 12TH NIGHT, TIMELESS TREASURES, HIGH VOLTAGE AND FLOWER MICHELE! **With non pro pics**

Gorgeous! Congratulations!

Re: My Big Fat PINK Greek/German Wedding including SWAN CLUB, 12TH NIGHT, TIMELESS TREASURES, HIGH VOLTAGE AND FLOWER MICHELE! **With non pro pics**

Congrats on your beautiful. You looked STUNNING!!!!!!! and everything looked perfect. I am going to FM you about the belly dancer, it looked liked sooo much fun.

Re: My Big Fat PINK Greek/German Wedding including SWAN CLUB, 12TH NIGHT, TIMELESS TREASURES, HIGH VOLTAGE AND FLOWER MICHELE! **With non pro pics**

What an awesome review! you looked sooo gorgeous...sounds like you had an amazing wedding!

Re: My Big Fat PINK Greek/German Wedding including SWAN CLUB, 12TH NIGHT, TIMELESS TREASURES, HIGH VOLTAGE AND FLOWER MICHELE! **With non pro pics**

beautiful review Athena.... you were a STUNNING BRIDE!!!!!

Re: My Big Fat PINK Greek/German Wedding including SWAN CLUB, 12TH NIGHT, TIMELESS TREASURES, HIGH VOLTAGE AND FLOWER MICHELE! **With non pro pics**

omg im also a Swannie!!! im so glad to see it went well!!1 everything was beautiful! you are a gorgeous bride!

Re: My Big Fat PINK Greek/German Wedding including SWAN CLUB, 12TH NIGHT, TIMELESS TREASURES, HIGH VOLTAGE AND FLOWER MICHELE! **With non pro pics**

Great review Athena!
You made such a beautiful bride and now make a beautiful wife
Congrats!!! I am so happy that everythign went so wellf or you on your big day!

Re: My Big Fat PINK Greek/German Wedding including SWAN CLUB, 12TH NIGHT, TIMELESS TREASURES, HIGH VOLTAGE AND FLOWER MICHELE! **With non pro pics**

you looked beautiful loved your makeup and hair. congrats!!!!! flowers were awsome too!!!!!!!!!

Re: My Big Fat PINK Greek/German Wedding including SWAN CLUB, 12TH NIGHT, TIMELESS TREASURES, HIGH VOLTAGE AND FLOWER MICHELE! **With non pro pics**

beauuuuuuutiful date twin! everything turned out perfectly!

can't wait to see your pro pics

Re: My Big Fat PINK Greek/German Wedding including SWAN CLUB, 12TH NIGHT, TIMELESS TREASURES, HIGH VOLTAGE AND FLOWER MICHELE! **With non pro pics**

What a great review, Athena!!!!!!!!! You looked so beautiful , and I love the pics of your pepto pink wedding!!

So glad to hear great reviews of Mia from BL and also John from Ballroom Dance LI - we are using both of them.

Re: My Big Fat PINK Greek/German Wedding including SWAN CLUB, 12TH NIGHT, TIMELESS TREASURES, HIGH VOLTAGE AND FLOWER MICHELE! **With non pro pics**

Wow, I love your pink wedding! It looked awesome and you were such a beautiful bride! Congrats!

Re: My Big Fat PINK Greek/German Wedding including SWAN CLUB, 12TH NIGHT, TIMELESS TREASURES, HIGH VOLTAGE AND FLOWER MICHELE! **With non pro pics**

Beautiful! everything looked beautiful Congrats...

Re: My Big Fat PINK Greek/German Wedding including SWAN CLUB, 12TH NIGHT, TIMELESS TREASURES, HIGH VOLTAGE AND FLOWER MICHELE! **With non pro pics**

Great review!! I have a couple of your vendors and excited about your great reviews of them.