The Brides' Review - my wacky tripple-header Vegas-Montauk-California wedding

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my wacky tripple-header Vegas-Montauk-California wedding

marriedinmontauk Posted: Jan 04, 2009 10:23 AM+

marriedinmontauk MEMBER SINCE: 8/08 TOTAL POSTS : 854 WEDDING DATE: Jul 26, 2008

Posted: Jan 04, 2009 10:23 AM

my wacky tripple-header Vegas-Montauk-California wedding

Ethan and I met in Las Vegas in April of 2006, his whole family is on the west coast, mine is here. So due to some MOB/MIL issues, we really were overwhelmed at the idea of getting everyone together. We decided to get married with a group of friends in Las Vegas in April, and have two receptions.

Engaged 3-17-08
Vegas 4-12-08
Montauk 7-26-08
San Francisco 9-20-08

Sometimes I can not believe we pulled it off. It was a lot of work.

If anyone wants to know about Vegas or San Francisco weddings feel free to FM me. I am going to focus on the LI reception and ceremony.

So not to totally confuse you, I actually had three dresses, the dress for Vegas was from David's, the dress for Montauk was Moonlight from 'gowns by Louise' and the dress for SF was Alfred Angelo from RK.

Vegas Wedding 4/12/08
( NEW VEGAS PICTURE AT BOTTOM OF THREAD)

We had the ceremony at the Flamingo, a dinner for 12 at Rao's in Caesar's Palace. Our minister was Elvis!!! My dress came from....dum dum dum dum...

David's Bridal in Westbury. .....B

Ok I am very lucky to have had a decent salesperson...because when I went back for accessories the service was not so hot.
I actually wore a MOB gown in ivory. I never loved the dress, I purchased it as a back up, but since I only had three weeks I stuck with it. They do get some credit for selling me a respectable looking dress off the rack in one night for $199.

Vegas Veil--Wedding Library/brideshead/Kleinfeld A!
With no time for my dream dress, I really went for it on the veil.
I purchased a huge silk flower from the Wedding Library, made by Brideshead revisited.
The salesperson at Wedding Library was great and spent hours helping me out.
I then took the flower to the accessory department at Kleinfeld to have a veil attached to it. It was an unusual request, but their veil designer did a great job.
All in all my veil cost at lot more than the dress did, but it was unique.

DOJ Vera Wang....... A

I bought a broach from Vera Wang on Madison and 74th. It really upgraded the look of the dress. They were also so very gracious to me. They treated me just as nicely as if I was buying a gown. It was probably the nicest moment in my wedding planning, the pin was beautiful, and I still wear it with other eveningwear.
I must say my experience with Vera Wang bridemaids across the street was different...and not in a good way.

MOH dress....I just told Carol to wear something pretty in a color that would go well with a garden. She looked amazing.

My Long Island Wedding 7/26 Montauk Yacht Club

Our band was amazing....A++++++++
The Saints of Swing.
They were my favorite vendor and did a sensational job, and were very reasonably priced. They are based in the Hudson Valley, but got to Montauk with no problem.
David, the band leader can seem a little scattered on the phone, but when it's showtime he is a total pro.
I can not say enough good things about this group.

My other favorite vendor

Bridal Veil Falls.... A++++++++
Margaret is part veilmaker, part fairy godmother!
Margaret put up with so much drama from me.
I was veil-zilla.
I had purchased a swiss dot veil at Bridal Garden, by Nelson D'leon but it was discolored. Margaret looked for that fabric and couldn't find it.
So I ended up ordering a new one from the original veil's manufacturer...and it was a disaster. It looked like a lampshade.
It is now 2 days before my wedding and I am beyond desperate. Margaret whipped up a new veil for me in 24 hours.
It was magic. If you look at my pictures it was perfection.

Dress..Gowns by Louise....B

I visited RK bridal and bought an Alfred Angelo gown for California, but I had my heart set on something short for Montauk.
I tried on the cutest short gown at RK, but it was too late to order it.
I started calling around to any stores that carried Moonlight to see if someone had a sample. When I called 'Gowns By Louise' in the Bronx, Lousie said she could get Moonlight to do it, if she put in the order that day.
I loved Louise on the phone, and when I met her in person. I am very happy they got me my dress in time. Unfortunately, I left with a mixed impression.
The store double charged me, and took a very long time to refund the money. At one point they wanted me to come back to the store in person with my paperwork which was a big trip.
At last they did send a check.
Still I would have never had my dream dress in 6 weeks without Louise. We used the old veil to fill in the cleavage, and they made the flower on the dress into a wrist corsage which I loved. All the girls there were very sweet, and there was a really good deli across the street. All in all, it was kind of fun to explore a new neighborhood.

Officiant rabbi Suri A++++++

We were not sure until the last minute if we would even have a ceremony at all in Montauk. We are an interfaith couple. One rabbi told be it was silly to have a ceremony since we were already married, plus we needed someone on a Saturday night in July in Montauk.
Yea Rabbi Suri!!!!
Our band leader is president of his temple, and put us in touch with Suri, who drove from New Jersey to Montauk to do the ceremony.
We actually kept this a surprise, people just thought they were coming to a reception, and then we sprung the ceremony on them. It was great. I can not tell you how much it meant to my family.

Montauk Yacht Club Ambiance A Food/Beverage C

I had a very mixed experience with MYC. The good part is they were very flexible with my plans. I booked this as a party and added the ceremony at the last minute and they were good about it.

Their customer service was sketchy though, I felt very rushed on the phone with them. Their catering manager was brand new, and was friendly, but still learning the ropes.

While the setting was beautiful, and the staff was friendly, there were major differences between what I ordered, and got for food and beverage. If you want more info, FM me.
It was still a beautiful night, but I feel a bit sad about how the food and beverage portion turned out. The dessert was wretched.
I also rented a gas firepit that never worked.
Still, I got pretty close to my dream wedding, on short notice, at a fair price. I just wish the catering portion had gone better.
The setting is spectacular, and the tent was very pretty.

I really hope they polish up their catering, the venue has some really good qualities. The entryway is really pretty. The rooms are also nice, but they are expensive, and they have a very strict two night policy. Staff is nice, they had a valet who was very kind to us.

Hair -Vincent D'Marco at Gil Ferrer .....A

They did a very good job, but it was July and my hair kinda flopped anyway. I love Gil, who is my regular hair dresser.
Even by Bridgehampton standards, this was pretty expensive.

Flowers DIY/King Kullen

I cut the flowers from my friend's garden in Sag Harbor. Unfortunately while I was getting my hair done they wilted. I ran into King Kullen to buy replacements!
If I had it all to do over again, I'm not sure I would DIY the flowers....it was pretty stressful, I was busy right up to the minute the wedding started, and my hair kinda flopped while I was running around doing it all.

DIY supplies Michael's Crafts/Target

Ok...I stressed out about this so much...I bought stuff on sale at Michael's and Target....I was so worried it would look tacky...but my seagulls,lighthouses, vases, and candle holders all worked well with the venue.

Favors...White's pharmacy

I wasn't going to have favors until I saw the Montauk lolipops at Whites. I bought buckets, filled them with sand, and tied ribbons on the pops. I thought they looked really cute on the cocktail tables.

The next day the clerk said....we had those lolipops forever, we thought nobody would ever buy them!

Invitations.....Kate's paperie A

I went to the downtown branch, the service was very nice, and the invitations were beautiful. Nobody ever told me I was going to have to fold them myself though. OY!

San Francisco 9/20

We also had an amazing reception at Pier 23 in San Francisco, and I got to wear my Alfred Angelo from RK.

I will try to add to this at a later date...and put up some pictures....but I wanted to give credit to some great vendors.

Registry

Traveler's Joy A

I loved tj, the site was cute and fun and easy, and helped you express what you wanted in a way that made it fun for people to participate.
I felt the fee was well worth it. Maybe if we had been registered for a lot more money, the fee might have been an issue.
You get an email and a card in the mail for each gift, and they do a great job of assembling all the info for your thank yous.

Bloomingdales /WC C

We had a lot of problems with delivery, but they did work it all out.

A few final thoughts

While we had well over 100 guests for SF, for Montauk we had a lot of no's. If this happens to you, don't freak out, don't take it personally. As you can see we had about 40 guests, and it was fine. I actually got to spend a little time with each person, it was nice.

Also the prices for everything wedding related in this area are much much higher. If you are on a tight budget a destination wedding might be a good option.

Doing some DIY is fun, and a good learning experience, but don't kill yourself.

Cheers and thanks LIW! I learned a lot of this site...I hope this review is helpful.