The Brides' Review - My May 20th 2006-Oheka Wedding...(Added Proofs 1.4.07)

Klarabelle Posted: Jun 04, 2006 12:34 AM+

Klarabelle MEMBER SINCE: 2/05 TOTAL POSTS : 725 WEDDING DATE: May 20, 2006

Posted: Jun 04, 2006 12:34 AM

My May 20th 2006-Oheka Wedding...(Added Proofs 1.4.07)

My wedding day was the greatest day of my life and it definitely would not have been possible if it wasn't for each and every one of my vendors, who deserve ao much credit for everything they did to make my day everything I have ever dreamed it to be!

Oheka Castle--10+++/10
They totally exceeded all of my expectations from the minute I booked them all the way through to my wedding day! Rick, Kathy, Gina, and Oscar are some of the most amazing people I have ever met in my life, and are all so truly dedicated to their jobs and making others wedding dreams come true! I truly felt like they were all part of my family and am so grateful that I had them there with me on my day! Everything from the service, outdoor ceremony, the food, rooms, and dessert cafe were exceptional! They honestly treat you like royalty from the minute you step foot in to their doors, until the minute you check out the following day!! Daniel their house baker also did the most amazing job with my cake, it was truly breathtaking and everything I dreamed of!

Proper Papers 10+/10
We worked with Jane from day one of chosing our invitations and she was so pleasant, and helpful in the whole decision process. She helped us chose the perfect invitation, perfect font, and perfect envelope type (I wanted something different and she helped us find a Box type envelope) When our order came in Jane noticed that the ribbon going around the invite was vertical instead of horizontal and immediately called the company to rectify the situation. The company rushed an entire new order and even let us keep the incorrect order incase we needed any emergency extra invites, envelopes, labels, etc... We also used Stephanie for our calligraphy and all I can say is that it was perfect and beautiful, each envelope was done with so much care and percision! My mom also used them for my Jack and Jill Shower invites, and for my Bridal Shower invites and they were both beautiful!

Bridal Couture of Manhasset-5/10 My Dress and 9/10 BM Dresses
Although my dress was my dream dress (Thank you Edgardo Bonilla) the hassels and headaches that I had to go through with this place were truly unbelievable! Everything came out beautiful in the end and I am truly happy for that, but they really need to work on their costumer service and the way they treat you AFTER they get your MONEY!!

Cathy's Touch--10/10
I searched and searched for FG dresses and could not find anything that I really loved! I found Cathy's and instantly fell in love with one of their dresses! Everyone there was so incredibly sweet and accommodating. The dresses, and shoes came out perfectly and my girls looked absoultely adorable!
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Tuxedo Park--7/10
This was another nightmare of an experince I found out at my rehersal dinner that all of the GM were given the wrong style tuxedo. When I called them the next day the women was very rude to me and could not understand why I was so upset! Needless to say the ened up dropping of 6 of the right tuxedos to my house that day, however the forgot the BM's tux my FH went up there in person and was highly upset and frustrated! The manager came out apologized over and over and actually sent a tailor to Oheka the day of our wedding to make sure that everything fit, and to do alterations, and assist the guys in getting dressed, he even took the wrong tuxedo's back with him so the guys did not have to worry about it! The manager also had someone come to Oheka the morning after our wedding to pick up all of the tuxedos so none of the guys had to go back and return them! They absolutely made up for their mistake, however going through the whole ordeal was draining and so stressful!

Thomas Knoell--10/10
I worked with both Tom and Raquel and they are two of the sweetest and most down to earth people you will ever meet! Their customer service and passion for what they do is visible from the second you walk in to their beautiful store! After a nightmare of an experience with my 1st headpiece (at BC) I went to them and am so glad I found them! Tom's work is both incredible and original, and I was lucky enough to purchase my headpiece, veil, earrings, bracelet, and BM earrings all from him and could not have been happier!

Flowers By Brian--8/10 (Day of) 5/10 (Post-Wedding)
We worked with Brian and I absolutely loved him from day one! My flowers were GORGEOUS and were everything I dreamed of! He completly understood my vision from day one and did whatever he could to make that happen for me! There were a few mistakes the day of, but how could I complain everything was beautiful and things do happen! (The green runner in my pictures was supposed to be white and have rose petals all down the sides--Needless to say it was never set-up by FBB crew and found afterwards by my bridal attendant of to the side somewhere!!) It totally did not bother me that day, but when I look at my pictures it makes me sad, because it would have been so much prettier than the astroterf runner!!

HOWEVER, when we went to Brian after the wedding with our frustrations he seemed more than willing to please us and compensate us for their mistakes! (At first I was uneasy about going to him, but then came to the relization that we paid A LOTof money for our flowers and there should have not been one single mistake!) We were told that a check would be mailed out the day following our meeting with him......after 5 unreturned phone calls and 4 weeks, we finally recieved the check in the mail! I am glad we decided to confront him for the mistakes made, but am so terribly bitter about how we were treated and dealt with after the wedding!

Band Stan Allen: Encore--10/10
They were simply AMAZING and people are still talking about them to this day! They even learned our 1st dance song for us and sang it perfectly!

B rett Matthews Photography-Day Of--10+/10
By far one of my favorite vendors!!! I used Chris and Dennis for photography and Joe for video! They were such a pleasure to work with and made taking pictures so much fun and extremely memorable! Anyone who has a chance to work with Chris is extremely lucky, he is one of a kind and INCREDIBLE at what he does! They too felt as if they were part of my family!!

Maureen Pedala--10+/10
This women is simple PHENOMENAL and anyone who has booked her has not one single thing to worry about! I booked her for the entire day (I believe it was the 8 hour package) she must have done about 15 girls and did touch ups on myself, and BM's after the ceremony! She was so sweet and calming and made me feel like a celebrity! My make up was perfect from start to end, just a few lipstick touch-ups through out the night and that was it!

Tre Sorelli At Gatsby's Hair Salon--10/10
I have been using this hair salon since I was 7 and I just could not imagine using anyone else, these girls have watched me grow up and have helped create gorgeous hair styles fo every special event along the way! I went for several trials and even had clip on extensons made to match my hair, each trial was a blast and we always had so much fun choosing styles! The morning of my wedding they basically brought the hair salon to me (which they typically never do) and did myself, my mom, 4 BM, and 2 FG at Oheka. They got there earlier then me and had everything ready and waiting for us. They completely helped ease my nerves and made getting ready so exciting. I am so grateful I had them their with me that day, and loved the looks they created for everyone!

Goodies--10/10
When we were doing favors we knew we wanted to do some type of chocolates ina gold box and immediately thought Godiva however, when we found Goodies and realized we were getting so much more for our money for basically the same look, we did not think twice about going with Goodies. We worked with Peggy who was such a sweetheart and did everything in her power to get us the best prices possible. Two months before the wedding she even had FH and I come in and do a chocolate tasting to chose the chocolates we wanted for our favors, it was so much fun and so extremely delicious! The final product was picked up the day before the wedding and it was perfect, Peggy worked so hard on each box and even offered to bring over more to Oheka the next day if we thought we might need some extras! I am so very glad we found them, and will definitely be purchasing chocolates from them in the future!

Royal Brass--10/10
Although I did not personally see them I did hear them while we were outside taking pictures and they sounded beautiful! They were a great touch and a hit amongst the guests!

DOC Lavish Designs Laura--10+++/10
Words cannot express how truly grateful I am that I found Laura! She was reccommened to me by the Oheka staff and I trusted them and did not even bother looking for anyone else! From the minute I booked her until 11:30PM on my wedding night she was there for me 110% She was not only there for me the day of, but there for me every single time I called her through out the entire planning process, always there to listen, help, and support me in any ideas or situations that arose! The day of she arrived at Oheka before me and was there orchestrating everything ALL day long, I do not think that she sat down one single time! She did everything from handle the tips, arrange my pictures, assist my BP and myself in getting ready, set-up vendors, she even carried around my deodorant and perfume for me,and so much more!! Laura is one of a kind and loves what she does, she treats your day as if it is her own and does everything and anything to make it go smoothly and beautifully as possible! I love her and am so thankful that she came into my life and made my wedding a dream come true! Her assistant Nicole also came with Laura that day and she too was such a sweetheart, she ran around all night making sure I was happy and paid attention to all of the minor details! They were so much fun to work with and I cannot wait to work with them again in the future!

CKJ906--10+/10
I met Kristin on LIW and we have established a friendship that I never in a million years would have expected from all of this! She was there for me through all of the ups and downs and planning and understood me like nobody else! I honestly do not know what I would have done without her! Kris, thank you for your advice, humor, and most of all friendship

Remember to enjoy every single second of your planning and your wedding day, for it all goes by faster than you could ever prepare yourself for! You must take 5 minutes with your husband on your day and just step back and take in everything that is going on around you! It is a feeling that cannot be described and one that will stay with you forever!

UPDATE:
B rett Matthews Photography-Proofs--10+++/10
I picked up my pictures today and I was ABSOLUTELY blown away!! Words cannot even describe how beautiful every single one of my pictures turned out!! I never in my life got the chills from looking at pictures until going through my wedding photos! They captured every single moment of my day in the most beautiful and creative ways! Both Chris and Dennis are extremely talented and pure genious at what they do! I could honestly look at my pictures again, and again, and again! As soon as I figure out how to scan them I will because their work truly desrves to be shown!

seta Posted: Jun 04, 2006 09:38 AM+

seta MEMBER SINCE: 6/05 TOTAL POSTS : 3927 WEDDING DATE: Oct 21, 2006

Posted: Jun 04, 2006 09:38 AM