The Brides' Review - My Wedding Review- 8/28/05 Watermill, Duet, James Cress,

Elysedara Posted: Oct 24, 2005 01:47 PM+

Elysedara MEMBER SINCE: 3/04 TOTAL POSTS : 17 WEDDING DATE: Aug 28, 2005

Posted: Oct 24, 2005 01:47 PM

My Wedding Review- 8/28/05 Watermill, Duet, James Cress,

I have very rarely posted to this site before, but used it extensively prior to my wedding. I loved reading the reviews for ideas and advice, so I wanted to share my experience.

Weather 7
The forecast was for scattered showers in the morning, and they were right. : ( It was sunny when I woke up, but raining on my way to the Watermill. It cleared up for us to take pictures outside, and looked nice enough to hold the ceremony outside, so we did. It rained a little bit during the ceremony, but at least I got the outdoor ceremony that I truly wanted.
The Watermill 10
What can I say? They made the experience absolutely wonderful. We had so much FUN at our wedding. When I arrived I met Marie, my bridal assistant, and Bob my maitre d. It was tough because it looked like rain, but they were wonderful about helping me have the ceremony outdoors and the cocktail hour indoors. Marie made up a plate of food from the CH for Sandy and I to share during the yichud (together time) after the ceremony. The food was incredible!! Everyone was saying how it was the best food they’ve had at a wedding. Our banquet manager was Bruce, and he was very flexible about the things we didn’t want on the menu, and helped us with substitutions (we had the catering kosher-style). Bob let me know about any problems during the day (e.g. a few guests didn’t know there was dairy in the pasta primavera) but the Watermill handled the problems smoothly (dishes were sent back and dairy free pasta given). The top tier of the cake got smushed up in the packing, and they offered a new top tier to eat on our one year anniversary. Bob also made sure that Sandy and I were able to sit for a few minutes and enjoy our dinner. We had our reception in the Astor Room, and it was gorgeous. We had a Sunday afternoon wedding, but with the candles, it was like an elegant evening affair. There was another party at the same time, but you would never know it. They make it a point to not let the brides see each other, so you feel like you are the only bride there. I barely knew there was another party going on.
They made sure everything went smoothly and took great care of us. I would LOVE to attend a wedding at the Watermill as a guest, so I could eat more food!!!!

Photography Duet 9

We fell in love with their work the first time we went to their studio. They were very reasonably priced and flexible. Our team was Scott, Hong, and Charlie. They arrived exactly on time, and were very polite. They remembered all of the shots we had requested, even reminding us that we had wanted a picture of all of our college friends. They had a knack for getting everyone posed for pictures without being bossy or aggressive. They were extremely professional, and were everywhere without being in the way. The day-of deserves a 10/10,
I just got the proofs and I love them! They did not miss anything on our must-have list, except they left out one table from the table pictures. Some of the photos are truly breathtaking. I can’t wait for our video.
Music DJ Tom Gordon-9
Tom handled our ceremony music, cocktail hour and reception music. He was very professional and played a great mix of music. A few friends asked if they could have a soundtrack CD for our wedding. During dinner, they had live music with a singer, which was very classy. He played the songs on our request list, including our parents’ wedding songs, which they loved hearing.

Flowers- James Cress Florist- 10
I was not the type of bride who knew exactly what I wanted- I’m not particularly artistic. James Cress was great in helping me decide the centerpieces and bouquets. The prices were in between the other florists we’d seen, and seemed reasonable. We were able to see a sample CP and had some requests that he change some of the roses, and they were perfect at our wedding. The flowers lasted the whole day and were delivered according to schedule.

Wedding Gown Macy’s 8
I loved my dress as soon as I tried it on. It is a Demetrios dress with a halter top. The problem that I had with Macy’s was mainly in their alterations. The dress fit almost perfectly, but was long and a little large in the bust. The seamstress started pinning the neckline so that it ruined the entire effect of the halter and made it look like straps instead of a nice triangle shape. The halter top was the whole reason that I picked my dress! My mother (who has a little bit of sewing experience) started arguing with her, but she insisted there was no other way. Finally, I readjusted myself in my bra, and the dress fit fine, just needed to be tightened at the back of the neck. I have the feeling that if my mom wasn’t there to argue, my dream dress would have looked totally differently. In terms of helping me select my dress and veil, they were very helpful, and also gave me 15% off.

Bridesmaid’s dresses RK bridal 6
My MOH and I found a dress that we both loved and my bridesmaids ordered the no-frills option (since they live in different areas and could find different places for alterations). I ordered the dresses to be rush ordered and also to be shipped to my bridesmaid’s homes, including the addresses. I received a call that the dresses were in, and made several calls to them asking if they were going to be shipped out. The person in charge of shipping was never in when I called, and didn’t return my messages. I was working weird hours, and this went on for about 2 weeks. Finally, when I had a day off, I went down and straightened it out. I had indicated the shipping costs on my order, and included the page of addresses, but they lost it. I was really annoyed at the delay, especially since I had paid for a rush order and then it sat there. The manager got them boxed up and addressed that day, and my bridesmaid’s received them a few days later. It worked out in the end, and the dresses were beautiful, but the experience gave me a headache.

Mother of the Bride dress- Nordstrom’s
“They were amazing. Staff was courteous and knowledgeable. Not a huge selection, but everything they had was high quality. They had the perfect dress” – my Mom

Tux/Kilt : Pipe N Dance 9
First off, I want to say that half of the groomsmen were very hesitant about wearing the kilt. In the end, they all looked great and I think enjoyed the unique experience. The store offered mail order rental kilts. Again, they were supposed to ship it, but didn’t. However, my husband was able to resolve it with a single phone call, and they shipped them out for free.

Shoes – Sandy’s Shoes, Massapequa – 10
I would highly recommend them to anyone. I bought 2 sets of shoes for the big day. One was a cute strappy sandal that I wore for pictures and the ceremony, and the other was a pair of bridal sneakers, with fancy laces. They were both dyed to match my dress and incredibly comfortable.

Hotel – Holiday Inn Express Hauppauge –9
The hotel was really convenient. They let us use the breakfast room for an informal gathering (with food and beer) for our out of town guests the night before the wedding. My mother and I stayed in the bridal suite the night before the wedding. There was plenty of room in the suite for all of my bridesmaid’s to come and help with getting ready, and for hair and make-up. They included a shuttle to the Watermill, free of charge. The only reason they didn’t get a 10 was that some guests were told there were no more rooms, when there were still rooms in our block.

Rehearsal dinner- Sweetwaters: 10
The RD was amazing!!! I was still calm enough to enjoy the food, which was soooo good. I can’t wait to eat there again. We had a private room, which they arranged for us without paying to rent out the room, since we had it in the early evening. The service was wonderful.

Hair -Denise and Christine from the Lemon Tree, Plainview - 10
These ladies were amazing!!! I had my hair trial a few months before and took pictures. Because of a personal situation, the person from the salon I’d originally hired was unable to make it, and Denise came instead. She had done my hair for my brother’s wedding, so I knew she did beautiful work. She didn’t do the exact hairstyle from the trial, but I loved it. I got so many compliments. Christine did 2 of my bridesmaids hairstyles and they also looked fabulous.

Make-up: Christine from Mary Kay –8
It looked great, but Christine showed up about 15-20 minutes late, which threw off the morning schedule. As a result, my bridesmaids missed seeing me getting into my dress, putting my veil on, and just barely made it to see the first meeting with Sandy.
Guestbook www.guestbookstore.com 10
This is a site I found from LIW. It was so cute- we picked one with questions like “advice for the couple” and “favorite memory of the bride/groom” “favorite memory of this day” We LOVE reading it, and it was much more fun than simple signatures. It allowed our smartass friends to get creative. It was affordable, came promptly, and was a big hit.

Programs 10
My brother did the programs. Thanks, Mike!! We included a picture on the front, and a guide to the Jewish wedding ceremony, since many of our guests had never been to a Jewish wedding before. If you want a copy, FM me.
Favors Wrap With Us- 10.
We gave out chrome wine bottle stoppers, which were cute and useful. We also wrapped them with ribbons with our name and date on them. Special thanks to Mom and friends, who did all of the wrapping.

Limo- Sir Oliver 9
We hired a car to bring us to the hotel we stayed at for our wedding night, which was near the airport. It arrived about 20 minutes late, which didn’t matter much since we weren’t flying out until Monday morning. But the best part- they upgraded us from a regular towncar to a HUGE limo!!! It was so much fun.

Dance Lessons: Aqueous Dance Studio 10
My husband and I have a total of 4 left feet. Carla taught us a beautifully choreographed dance to our song, “All I Want is You”. She kept us from having 3 minutes of swaying, from having my husband stomp on my feet the whole time, and best of all, she had us laughing and enjoying the lessons. We had a pay as you go, and took about 4 lessons, and spent about half the lessons learning swing dancing moves.

Tiara Barron’s of Tri-County 10
They had an amazing selection and the saleswoman was very patient. I found the perfect tiara and at a fraction of what most retailers wanted.

FDWedding07 Posted: Oct 24, 2005 01:51 PM+

FDWedding07 MEMBER SINCE: 7/05 TOTAL POSTS : 3705 WEDDING DATE: Mar 30, 2007

Posted: Oct 24, 2005 01:51 PM

Re: My Wedding Review- 8/28/05 Watermill, Duet, James Cress,

Great Review!! I would love to see pictures of the kilts!!

Elysedara Posted: Oct 24, 2005 03:45 PM+

Elysedara MEMBER SINCE: 3/04 TOTAL POSTS : 17 WEDDING DATE: Aug 28, 2005

Posted: Oct 24, 2005 03:45 PM

Re: My Wedding Review- 8/28/05 Watermill, Duet, James Cress,

Here are a few non-professional pictures from our wedding...

Nadia Posted: Oct 24, 2005 03:51 PM+

Nadia MEMBER SINCE: 5/05 TOTAL POSTS : 2884 WEDDING DATE: Apr 23, 2006

Posted: Oct 24, 2005 03:51 PM

Re: My Wedding Review- 8/28/05 Watermill, Duet, James Cress,

Yay another watermillie bride

Thank you for the review.. you looked beautiful. More pictures please

suzybilly819 Posted: Oct 24, 2005 03:55 PM+

suzybilly819 MEMBER SINCE: 8/05 TOTAL POSTS : 1323 WEDDING DATE: Jul 15, 2006

Posted: Oct 24, 2005 03:55 PM

Re: My Wedding Review- 8/28/05 Watermill, Duet, James Cress,

Congrats, you looked beatiful!!

Great review

lanabean Posted: Oct 24, 2005 04:43 PM+

lanabean MEMBER SINCE: 11/04 TOTAL POSTS : 2355 WEDDING DATE: Mar 19, 2005

Posted: Oct 24, 2005 04:43 PM

Re: My Wedding Review- 8/28/05 Watermill, Duet, James Cress,

Awww....beautiful. Congrats!

MrsFudge Posted: Oct 24, 2005 06:47 PM+

MrsFudge MEMBER SINCE: 4/05 TOTAL POSTS : 2039 WEDDING DATE: Apr 08, 2006

Posted: Oct 24, 2005 06:47 PM

Re: My Wedding Review- 8/28/05 Watermill, Duet, James Cress,

BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

orchid24 Posted: Oct 24, 2005 07:05 PM+

orchid24 MEMBER SINCE: 8/04 TOTAL POSTS : 1646 WEDDING DATE: Sep 04, 2005

Posted: Oct 24, 2005 07:05 PM

Re: My Wedding Review- 8/28/05 Watermill, Duet, James Cress,

i love watermill weddings! congrats and best wishes!

Goldi1021 Posted: Oct 24, 2005 10:02 PM+

Goldi1021 MEMBER SINCE: 1/05 TOTAL POSTS : 12766 WEDDING DATE: Feb 18, 2006

Posted: Oct 24, 2005 10:02 PM

Re: My Wedding Review- 8/28/05 Watermill, Duet, James Cress,

I have to say this is a first! A kilt with a tallis and yarmulke!!! WOW! I once went to a wedding where the bride converte to Judaism and her family, which was of Irish descent, demanded a bagpiper. Hard to play Hava Negila. Congratulations on embracing all cultures. Your pictures are great!!!