The Brides' Review - My review of my 3/18/06 NRC wedding. LONG!!!!!!!! UPDATED WITH PICS!!!!

natiepie1028 Posted: Mar 31, 2006 09:42 AM+

natiepie1028 MEMBER SINCE: 12/04 TOTAL POSTS : 571 WEDDING DATE: Mar 18, 2006

Posted: Mar 31, 2006 09:42 AM

My review of my 3/18/06 NRC wedding. LONG!!!!!!!! UPDATED WITH PICS!!!!

I’m starting off by saying that my day was great. The weather was great - a little windy and chilly, but as long as it was not snowing or raining I was happy - it was actually sunny!!!!

I had a bump in the road at the rehearsal dinner with one of my bridesmaids. She never showed up but after the rehearsal at the church I found out that she had some major personal problems to deal with and she was, unfortunately, unable to participate in my wedding. It made me upset, but I understood her situation so there were no hard feelings at all. I was just sad that she would be there for the biggest day of my life. The wedding had to go on with or without her. Other than that one little problem nothing else went wrong. I must say that being a bride makes you feel like a movie star. Driving to the reception with my DH from the Church (it was about a half hour ride) everyone was beeping and waiving at us. It was so much fun. People do say that everyone loves to see a bride and it is true!!!!!

So without anything further here is my review of the wonderful vendors I used.

Rehearsal Dinner
Gemellis in Babylon - A+++++++++

Their food and service is awesome. Everyone loved it. We will be going there again soon to eat - just my DH and I.

Church
St. Patrick’s in Bayshore

My DH has been a part of that church forever. I just love it there and was so lucky to be able to be married there. Our Deacon was so nice and funny. So funny that he remembered something we had mentioned about ourselves at least 9 months prior. When we did our FOCCUS test and met with him after to get our results my DH and I had both agreed that we both watch too much television and we were talking about how I’m such a Survivor fan and that I have to be home every Thursday at 8 to watch it and that when I’m in Survivor mode no one can bother me. Well, somehow during our ceremony he made a comment about it that made me crack up. I was amazed that he remembered that. He is great!!!!!

North Ritz Club - A+++++++++++

The NRC did a fantastic job. Any bride that is using them should be so proud and excited to have them cater the most special day of your life. Ida my Banquet Manager, George my Maitre D and Monica my bridal attendant were awesome. Ida and George answered all of my questions and there were a lot. Monica was so attentive to my needs that I couldn’t get used to being pampered. Every time I went to move or pose for a picture she would get my bouquet or move my train but it seems as if I kept forgetting she was there. I kept trying to move my train myself. Its obvious I’m not that used to getting pampered. It felt real nice to for my DH and I to get that special treatment. The food was awesome and so was the cake. I wish that I could have eaten more of the cocktail hour food but unfortunately that is what happens when you are a bride. I’m actually lucky because we are invited to a wedding there in October so we can experience NRC as a guest, which we are really happy about. Everyone enjoyed themselves and didn’t have anything negative to say. NRC was everything that I could have asked for in a hall.

Limos
All Star - A++++++++

Another great vendor. They were not only on time to pick us up, but they were early. My DH called me when the limo got to his dad’s house and they got there a half hour early. The limos were clean as I knew they would be and the drivers were nothing but exceptional. I’m so glad I picked them as my transportation.

Florist
National Floral Wholesale (Ana) - A++++++++

Geez, I feel like a broken record, but, again, another perfect vendor. Ana is the best to work with. She has no problem communicating with you at all. She went above and beyond and her prices are outrageous for the quality of flowers you get. She was on time getting to my house and I must say that the bouquets were perfect. Exactly what I wanted. The centerpieces were great too. Since I had a problem with my bridesmaid not being able to participate in my wedding, I had called Ana the day before my wedding to see if she can work something out for me on the bouquet that I did not need anymore. I knew it was last minute and that I would most likely not get a refund but to my surprise she was able to give me a store credit, which is more than I could have asked for - especially only giving her one-day notice. I’m sure if you are using her you have nothing to worry about. All I can say is that you picked a top-notch vendor.

Band
Code Bleu - A++

To be honest, I loved Code Bleu and the music they played, but I had some problems with the communications with them. I felt as if they should have contacted me other than just a form to fill out on what music I wanted for my first dance, dad’s dance, etc. The form we received really didn’t have much to fill out with regard to what songs we would want played. It never asked what song we wanted to be announced to or what last song we wanted, etc. They only called us maybe two days before the wedding to confirm, which I thought was weird. My DH did call them and so did my mom, but I felt like it was their responsibility to follow up with us. We had too many things to worry about than to call each and every vendor and a call is something they should have done at least a month before the wedding. Other than the communication being kinda weird, they were awesome. Not many people were dancing (most of the guests were a little older) but everyone said that they sounded like the real thing, which was very comforting. I just wished more people danced. Im the type of person that thinks that if you are not dancing you aren’t having a good time (Which is so not true).

Photographer and Videographer
Patken - So far they get an A++++
I haven’t gotten my proofs back yet so I will fill you in on how they look. As far as their service and in other ways they were great. I had Evan as my photographer and we used them as a videographer also (I forgot his name). I felt bad for Evan having to deal with me. This is one vendor that I could have done without. Well, we needed them but what I’m trying to say is that I hate, hate, hate getting photographed. I hate myself in pics and do not like being posed in all these crazy positions. I knew that I would feel uncomfortable once we had our engagement session. I kinda rushed him along so I hope he got enough pics of us and, if he didn’t, its all my fault. I know that pictures are the most important thing of a wedding so I hope that he captured most of everything.

Bride’s Dress
Princess Bridals in Farmingdale - A++++

I’ll tell you that I was quite worried about this store. I’ve read so many not-so-nice things about them and it was after the fact. I had ordered my dress around a year before my wedding and after doing so, I starting really getting into this website. But I must say Princess proved everyone wrong on LIW. I was so worried with all the negative reviews that I didn’t use them for the MOB dress or the BM dresses. They got my dress in around 6 months after ordering and everything went smoothly. As far as the service there is wasn’t the greatest but it was the worst either. Not everyone you deal with in life is gonna be so sweet. They all have bad days like the rest of us, although it definitely is not an excuse, especially when you own a business and are try to make money. So if you are using Princess Bridals, please try and not let what other people say about them ruin the way you look at them. It does make you point out the minor screw ups and make them seem major. The one screw up they do will always make you think “damn those LIW girls are right” when the problem you are having isn’t that big of a deal.

MOB and Bridesmaids Dresses
Bridal Garden (Bethpage) - A++++++++

I picked Bridal Garden because I heard so many good things and because I heard so many bad things about Princess, I surely didn’t want to use them. Bridal Garden did a great job. They also gave me a deal on the girls dresses too. They have a good selection of both bridal and bridemaids dresses.

Favors - A++++++++++
Jean M. Essentials & Ebay (don’t remember the sellers name)

We used Jean M. for the scratch off lotto tickets cards. I was so excited when I got them. They were a very unique idea (an idea I got off of LIW) and they looked great. Unfortunately, I don’t think anyone hit a big amount, which stinks. My cousin did win $25 though.

As for the other favor we bought the Love Coasters. I recommend anyone to check e-bay before buying favors elsewhere. Just make sure you check the seller’s feedback. Feedback is the key to buying on ebay. My coasters came in great shape and at least .75 cents less than everywhere else. That saved me at least $75.00. As we all know, every penny counts when you are planning a wedding.

E-bay - A+++++++

I must say that I used ebay a lot for my wedding. I bought so many things on there. I bought the table cameras from there and, although after I bought them I was nervous because I heard so many negative things about table cameras they weren’t so bad after all. I will definitely say that they aren’t the best. A lot of pics didn’t come out and some came out dark, but thats with a lot of throw away cameras - even fuji or kodak. I got my bird cage from them - that was the cutest thing. I knew once I saw it I wanted it. I was perfect and served its purpose, although my guests kept giving me the envelopes any way. LOL. There is not enough room to be listing all the things I got on ebay. I also plan on selling some of my stuff on ebay too.

Hair
Judy from Hair Revue in W. Babylon (my mom’s hairstylist) - A+++++++++++++++++++

What can I say about Judy. She was fantastic. I love her!!!!! She came all the way from Staten Island to my house to do my hair. Even traveling that far she was arrived early. She did my hair as I imagined it would be and she was a good price. I’d recommend anyone that has a hairstylist that they usually go to, don’t hesitate to use them. They are professionals just like everyone else is. I’m so happy I chose her to do my hair.

Makeup
Denise from Angel Eyes - A+++++++++

Again, she was another great vendor. Very communicative and pleasant to deal with. She arrived on time and did a beautiful job of making me look like a princess. I normally do not wear any make up and it was great for that one day to actually have it done. It will probably be the last time, but worth every penny. Without trying to sound conceited, I looked gorgeous. Hahahaha

Tuxedos
Ginos Fashions in Farmingdale - A+++++++++++

I really don’t have much to say but they were fantastic also. Everything went smoothly.

Our Rings
Tri-County Flea Market - A+++++++++

I forgot which booth we used, but we got a great deal on our rings. And it was the only stand that I could find that almost matched my engagement ring. Again, as with every other vendor I used, I recommend Tri-County for any kind of jewelry.

Honeymoon
Princess Cruise to Caribbean
B
Well, lets just say that our honeymoon didn’t go as planned. We planned on taking a cruise because both of us have never been on a cruise before and we thought it would be a great experience. Well, it was – but in a weird sort of way. The ship was gorgeous and the service was impeccable. It just so happened that on day 4 on our way to Jamaica at 3 am a fire broke out on board. Needless to say, that’s about when the honeymoon was over. We spent 7 hours in the Muster Station and our trip to Jamaica wasn’t what we imagined. We were supposed to come home on Sunday but ended up home on Friday night. We were lucky though and all our belongings were okay and obviously we are okay. Princess did a great job helping people and making them feel comforted. They also did the right thing in refunding all our money back and airfares and giving us a 25% discount off a future cruise as well. We are thinking of going on another Princess cruise near our one-year anniversary.

Well, that’s it for now. I hope I got everything and I hope you enjoyed reading my review. I never thought my review would be this long. Geez, I hope everyone is still awake after reading this really long review. LOL

I will attach some pics later when I get home. I did this review at work.