My Oheka Review PICS! Pics on Pg 1 and Pg 4

I have not posted here in months. But I happened to see a negative review for Creative Compositions on both The Knot and LIW and it really infuriated me. Obviously, it was another vendor trying to beat down the competition. But regardless, these people at Creative are unbelievable not only in their ability to take pictures but in their ability to satisfy the customer. I also felt guilty not having shared the positive experiences I had with all of my vendors because they really worked hard for me.

Oheka: A+
They were absolutely fabulous both before the wedding and the day of the wedding. They accomodated every request I had. Hurricane Ivan brought a torrential rain storm the day of the wedding. But because they knew I really wanted to be married outside, they set up for the ceremony both inside and out just in case the weather changed. Sure enough, I was lucky enough to get married outside!!! No one could believe it given the weather. While it was drizzling when I walked down the aisle, and thundering when we were at the altar, the rain eventually stopped half way through the ceremony. It was still very windy and my veil kept flying up. It was actually so windy that the rabbi's yarmulke flew off of his head and the priest had to run after it!!! I did not know until after I came back from the HM. I think it is the funniest thing I ever heard. The weather, despite its fury, was perfect and very me!! Hurricane Ivan added a lot of drama to the wedding!

The food at Oheka was even better than at the tasting. It was truly fabulous. Everyone said it was the best wedding food they have ever tasted. The cake was unbelievable!!! Not only did it look spectacular but it tasted amazing. We also got the sushi chef for the cocktail hour and the chocolate fountain for the dessert cafe. I was reluctant about the fountain, but in the end I am glad we got it.

I must also mention that my guests booked all of the rooms that night. This was completely unexpected because none of them were OOTers. So we actually ran out of rooms for everyone. I called up Oheka and explained the situation. In order to free up rooms, they gave my parents and my aunt and uncle each their own suite (like normally $900). I thought that was great. So if you are getting married there...I would reserve all of the rooms when you book the castle for the wedding.

Creative Compositions: A+
Absolutely amazing service and photography. We used Ruth and Ernie. Seriously, it was Ruth who convinced me when it was pouring outside that I could still get married outside. We took the pictures outside and because of the weather, we had to be careful not to get mud all over my gown. They literally carried the bottom of my dress for two hours as we walked outside. I cannot emphasize how good they are!! They got me my proofs early. They submitted my pictures to magazines before I even got back from my honeymoon. I am really really impressed with them. They are expensive, but they are worth every penny and then some. BTW, they gave me almost 1,000 proofs.

Motion Pictures Inc., :Day Of A+
I still have not submitted the photos for the video so I have not seen it yet. But they were so unintrusive the day of the wedding. They were really sweet when doing the interviews. For those of you using them, I would just recommend telling your bridal party beforehand that they will be interviewed during the reception. I never told anyone and they were all surprised.

Jill Harth Makeup-A+
I went to six makeup trials and was dissatisfied with everyone but Jill's. I love makeup and am really picky about it. Jill worked with me until we got it perfectly. She came to me that day and I paid her to stay until the I was introduced into the reception room. I am really happy I did this because I never had to worry about how I looked. She also did my mom's makeup and all of my Bridesmaids makeup. I highly recommend her. She is really great to work with.

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Christian Diaz Hair: A+
He did such a great job. I had two trials with him before the wedding. He truly did a trial. Each time he did about 12 different styles. He never lost his patience. He kept working with me. He really has a great personality. The day of the wedding, I told him to do whatever he wanted. I am so happy he did. I looked exactly as I wanted to: young, not too done up, and like myself. I also kept him until I was introduced. Again, I highly recommend this especially considering the bad weather we had. He also did the flower girl and the bridal party. Their hair looked great. The only thing I would mention is that he is slow. So make sure you start early. Everyone finished on time, but it took a long time.

Floral and Decor (Lighting, Linens): Matthew Robbins/Artfool: A+
Matthew was probably one of our best finds. I could not find any florists on Long Island that had the look I wanted. My mom saw Matthew on the Martha Stewart show. Once she gave me his information, I noticed that all of the flower pictures I folded over in magazines were his. He frequently does the covers of Martha Stewart Weddings and he recently became a editor for them (I think that is his position). Matthew is so easy to work with it is not even funny.

I used Matthew as a florist and decor coordinator. This was really important because Oheka is so large. He had custom made silk dupioni linens made for me. He also hired the lighting expert for me and instructed them on how to light the arrangements. The lighting and linens are an extra expense but completely worth it IMO. They definitely add to the drama of the room. I highly recommend Matthew. However, he only works with larger floral budgets. He also did my shower flowers and they were unbelievable.

I can't even describe the flowers that played a role at the wedding because they were unusual types that I don't know their names. The hydrangea he used also were in colors that I have never seen before. Matthew is great because he uses atypical flowers.

Invitations: Mrs. John L. Strong: A+
I had such a hard time picking out invitations. I really wanted something different. But everything different looked really cheap. So I ended up with really traditional, but classy invites. They were boring, but absolutely beautiful.

Calligraphy: Michael Sull: A+
This was another huge find. He was recommended to us by Mrs. John L. Strong. He is actually located in Kansas. So we had to send everything to him. But his special flourished style of calligraphy was exactly what I wanted. It is the same style as Bernard Maiser from NYC. Unfortunately, Bernard was not available for my wedding and anyway he charges $12 an invite. Michael was really reasonable. I think he charged $4.50 an envelope.

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Ceremony and Cocktail Music: Arnie Gruber: A+

Arnie was recommended to me by Oheka. We hired him and his band to play for the ceremony and cocktail hour. When guests arrived, four of them (flute, violins, etc.). were playing on the staircase. During the ceremony and cocktail hour, five musicians (trumpets, violins, flute, keyboard, etc.) played. Arnie is really perfectionistic which is good. He goes through exactly what you want a million times with you to make sure you are pleased.

Reception Music: 747 Orchestras: A-
We hired 747 because they were recommended by Oheka. I really liked them because they specialize in Motown, disco, and r&b. We got 10 pieces. This was a hard one for me to rate. When I finalize everything, I told them that I did not want any tarantella and hora music. Well, as soon as the first dance is over, what do they play???? The tarantella and hora. Everyone just stands there. None of us know what to do because we have never danced to that music before. My aunt goes up to them and tells them I want them to stop. He doesn't. I then tell them to stop. They claim that I said that I wanted it. I am almost positive that I said I did not want it. So that whole thing kind of irritated me. But people kept telling me during the wedding how much they enjoyed them. After the wedding when I expressed that I was a little disappointed, everyone said I was crazy and that they loved them. So who the heck knows. We danced a ton. They got our first dance perfectly. They also changed from all blacks clothes to all white clothes in the middle of the wedding. I am not sure why, but people really liked the outfit change. The music was continuous. The more I think about them, the happier I am with them. I think that tarantella/hora thing threw me off.

CNBC: A+
The wedding was also filmed for a piece CNBC did the first week in October on the wedding industry. I debated whether I should do it or not because I was worried that they would be intrusive. I am so happy that I did it!! Not only do I have this great video of the wedding (way before the real video will be ready), but they were almost too unintrusive. I barely even saw them the whole time. The other great thing about having them, was that it created all of this excitement with the 200 guests once the word got out. People went out and bought new dresses. It definitely got people all psyched up.

Macari Wine: A+
My family owns a winery and we paired every course and entree with a different wine from the winery. For example, if you order the rack of lamb, you were offerred the merlot with it. This was fabulous. Oheka kept the wine flowing all night. I also think it made it very formal while also personalizing the wedding.

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what an amazing review! i would love to see pictures! Glad to hear that you were able to get married outside! congratulations to you and your new DH!!

jennifer

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Favors: Diane's Bakery: Pies
We gave out triple berry, pecan and peach pies as favors. The day before the wedding I get an emergency pie call that we would not be able to get the strawberry rhubarb pies that we had ordered. Apparantly, Hurricane Ivan made it impossible for any rhubarb to reach Long Island. So I picked peach instead. I was disappointed because I had these great labels made saying strawberry rhubarb. Well, when we picked them up, Diane's had cut little stickers out saying peach pie to fit over where it said strawberry rhubarb. I was pretty impressed because they looked great and it obviously took a long time to do that. The pies tasted great. They were around $9 each.

Gown: Amelia Casablanca for Kleinfelds: A+
Ok...my gown was the hit of the wedding. People could not stop drooling over it. Despite all of my concerns about the dress being too full, I am SO HAPPY that I listened to everyone and got it. It was amazing on. At times, it was a little hard to walk in and dance in, but I did not let it bother me. My mom warned me not to 'baby' the dress, so I didn't.

In terms of Kleinfelds, I cannot recommend them more highly. The level of service I got was unparalleled. They called me about 6 weeks before the wedding letting me know that the manufacturer had slightly changed the color of the stitching on the lace. When I went to see what it looked like, I did not even notice any difference. It was that slight. Regardless, Kleinfeld gave me the opportunity to pick another dress if I wanted one. They said they would be able to order me anything I wanted and still get it in time. I decided to stick with the first gown because it looked the exact same to me. But I am so impressed that they informed me of the change even though it might have meant giving me a refund.

I used Vivian as a salesperson and she was great. I used Ellie as the seamstress. She is amazing. She was an expert in Amelia Casablanca's dresses. She fit the dress perfectly. She altered my bra for me. I could not be happier with Kleinfelds. The service was impeccable.

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Flower Girl Dress: Katina Katoo from Moonlight Couture: A+
I loved this dress but could not find it anywhere even though it was featured in all of these magazines. But moonlight couture had it. The owner was really nice. No problems.

Bridesmaid Dresses: Vera Wang Salon: A+/D
We went to the Vera Wang Maids Salon in NYC. Each girl selected their own gown as long as it was chocolate and satin. One got a spaghetti strapped, one strapless, and another thicker straps. I highly recommend going to the salon because they have every gown in at least four colors and at least four sizes. So its perfect if you have bridesmaids who are larger than the size 6 they always carry. Two of the dresses came in perfect. One of the dresses was way to big. Now here is the thing. My BM lost a lot of weight after she ordered it. They got it in a size 12 and she ended up needing a size 4 or 6. We called maybe two months after we ordered it asking to change the size and they said it was too late. When the dress came in it was obviously too large. But Vera doesn't do alterations. My BM spent $100 getting it altered and it still did not fit. We called Vera Wang and they basically said there was nothing they could do. If we wanted they could try to order a new one, but we would have to pay another $300 for it. And because of the Hurricane, they did not think we would be able to get it in time. So the BM had it altered two more times. Finally it ended up fitting perfectly. So we stressed a bunch, and it cost a lot in alterations, but it ended up looking beautiful. So you be the judge in terms of the rating. In some ways, you can't blame them because she is the one who lost the weight.

Dance Lessons: Arthur Murray in Bayside: A
Well, we had never danced before until our first lesson. They really worked hard with us even though we never practiced. My parents also joined us for a couple of lessons. It actually is a lot of fun. We learned the hustle and a choreographed ballroom dance for our first dance (Norah Jones Come away with me). Some how we managed to do it perfectly at the wedding despite never having gotten through the song perfectly before. We probably will continue with the lessons. But they are kind of pricey so who knows. The only reason why they don't get an A+ is because the owner calls you a million times to reschedule appointments that it is incredibly annoying. I even told them that they did not need to call me, that I would call them when I am ready to schedule one, but it did not work. Its not like they are looking for your money, because you pay it up front.

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Mother of the Bride: Reem Acra:A
I begged my mom to get this dress. She was happy she listened to me because it looked absolutely amazing!!! The only problem with Reem was that they charged her a 10% extra rush fee because they said she waited too long to order it.

Headpiece and Earrings: Thomas Knoell: A+
I went to Thomas Knoell a hundred times before I finally bought anything about two weeks before the wedding. I was so indecisive that I could not decide. Thomas and Racquel are actually friends with one of my friends. They are so nice and helpful. I bought a hair clip that I wore and matching earrings. They looked great. I did not want a tiara. So the clip really worked well. His prices are so reasonable for the amount of work he does that it is a steal. I highly recommend them.

Officiants: Monsignor Lisante and Rabbi Applestone: A+
Monsignor Lisante is the most amazing man ever. Not only is he gorgeous (think soap opera priest) but he is so personable. We had to write essays to each other before the wedding. He reads them to the couple and the guests. Its a real tearjerker. My DH said that being with me 'is like always being on his first date with his soulmate.' Monsignor also kept the ceremony going because of the weather. I knew he thought I was crazy to have it outside, but he did it anyway without complaining. Rabbi Applestone on the other hand looked like he was ready to fall over. I don't think he was feeling well. But at least he made the Jews happy. The two of them really were exactly what we wanted: a nonreligious religious ceremony.

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Travel Agent: Tricia Townsend of Protravel: A+
This woman is amazing. I got her name because she was listed by Conde Nast as one of the top travel agents in the US. They were not lying. She spent so much time on the phone with me going through every single random locale that popped into my head. We decided on Paris and Mauritius, an island in the indian ocean. Tricia described the places perfectly. She told us all of the negatives, so there were no surprises after we traveled for 30 hours. In fact, she has so much pull in the industry that she got us upgrades at both hotels. We found out from other guests, that in Mauritius we were the only ones who got an upgrade. No one else did. Without going into a very long story, because of Tricia, we got a free vacation from the hotel in Mauritius (more explained in next paragraph). She does charge $250 for her services.

The Oberoi Mauritius: A+
We stayed in a private villa with its own private pool in Mauritius. The service was unbelievable. Twice a day they would come into the room and fold all of our clothes. Love that! The food was really good. The beach is adequate, but not great. Tricia told us this early on. We decided that we rather go to a place with better food and more to do, than another island that only had a good beach. The private pool was a little unnecessary (we never even used it). So I probably would not recommend it. But regardless it is cool to have your own pool. Anyway, there was a slight problem that we encountered in Mauritius on our last day there. But I wrote a letter to the company, and the next day they called us offerring us a 6 nights and 7 days with breakfast at any of their hotels to make up for the vacation that we were not completely satisfied with. This is worth about $6,000-$7,000. Their offer was so overly generous it is not even funny. We would have been happy with a free meal. So we decided to go to India soon to cash in on it. Anyway, I truly believe that they only did this because we used Tricia as our travel agent.

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The Four Seasons Paris, George V: A
The service is amazing at the hotel. The room was gorgeous. We even had a prince staying in the room next to us. The hotel is ridiculously expensive. It is completely unnecessary to stay in such an expensive hotel considering its in a city so its not like you are paying for its beach. But if you want to splurge, you can't go wrong. Paris is also inanely expensive that I could not believe it. A soda is like $8. DH loved Paris. Frankly, I thought it was kind of overrated. I am glad I went, but I definitely prefer a beach vacation. We stayed 5 nights in Paris.

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The first three are UNPROFESSIONAL pictures.

1. My amazing cake. Chocolate frosting, devil food's cake, chocolate mousse filling, raspberry sauce, and fresh raspberries in the middle.

2. My mom and my uncle walking down the aisle.

3. The girls

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1. Here we are practicing in my parents' living room

2. and 3. The Four Seasons in Paris

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Our private villa with pool at The Oberoi in Mauritius, an island in the indian ocean

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Me, the Invite, and the kids (notice the RB is missing his bout...his brother ripped it off).

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Look at all of those orchids on the cake table!! There must have been over 50 of them. I did not even notice them until I saw the pictures.

The one of the RB, my cousin, is probably one of my favorite pictures. He stood the entire ceremony with his arms out holding the pillow. At the end, he said to Dylan and me, 'I stood there holding the pillow even though my hands got cramps in them.' The boy stood like a soldier. BTW, we gave him the real rings...diamonds and all!

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MY ADVICE:

1. Don't let anything ruin your day. I was so impressed with myself. I did not let the hurricane ruin anything. I did not obsess about my hair or my makeup.

2. It does go fast. Do your pictures ahead of time. At least you are relaxed when you are taking them.

3. Keep your hair and make-up person for as long as you can.

4. Don't plan on checking things out or finalizing things the day of the wedding. I figured I would be walking around the castle in the morning giving everyone final instructions. There is no time for this. All the last minute things I needed to tell vendors, I should have done the week before. I forgot to tell them some stuff because I was so busy with other things.

5. Don't drag yourself and especially your FI around from vendor to vendor. Do your research online first and narrow down the choices from there. Once you pick the one or two you like the best, then visit them in person.

6. I think I would have also sat with the BP instead of at a sweet heart table. My DH and I teased all night that our table was the most dead of anyones. I also did not spend as much time with the BP as I would have liked. Sitting with them would have helped.

PICTURES:
1. Sweetheart table with bm bqs. Notice the cp and the urn with plum branches behind us. There were four of them in the room. They were each uplit with lighting.

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I had about six different areas that had arrangements of varying heights. They were all in different sized etched glass vases. Not only did I love them, but they are really practical because I had so many to give to people.

I struggled with what to decorate the altar with. I always thought that the arches looked measley in comparison to the beauty of the gardens. So instead, I used giant urns.

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Wedding Programs:

My sister and I came up with this crazy idea to do booklets for wedding programs. They each contained about 20 pages. They had the actual program as well as witty biographies about everyone in the bridal party, the officiants, the readers, etc. We (or I really should say my sister, my mother, and my aunt) made them out of raw silk and florentine paper. They took a hundred years to make because they had to cut the paper, the fabric, and then sew them together on the sewing machine. Then they had to sew the ribbon. But they were works of art.

I also debated whether I should number the tables or name them. I made an executive decision and named them after qualities of a good marriage. I am happy I went against everyone's advice. No one was confused with where to sit. We put them in ABC order and Oheka also directed them. I recommend doing this.

The little boy in the white is my other cousin. Since his brother was the RB, we came up a job for him. Once the FG and RB walked down the aisle, the trumpets began playing the fanfare signaling the bride walking down the aisle. Everyone stood up expecting me and my dad. But when the door opened, out came my 3 year old cousin ringing a bell and shouting, 'Here comes the bride...here comes the bride.' He has a little lisp so it even makes it cuter. The kid did it perfectly because we promised him that he could go to the chocolate fountain if he did. Once he got to the end of the aisle, he shouted, 'I did it!' Everyone laughed.

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Every time I went to Oheka or saw pictures of the staircase, I always hated the arrangements on the ledge. I really wanted the beauty of the staircase and the castle to hit people. All the arrangements I saw always looked like they belonged in a funeral parlor. So I decided to just do giant pillar candles.

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Everything looked absolutely amazing. You looked gorgeous and your dress is stunning. Congratulations!