NEW WED PICS IN ALBUM: wedding review of PortJeff bride 6/9/07– with vendors seldom mentioned on LIW, and now a honeymoon review!

Such a happy small wedding!
Port Jeff's little yet FAT polish wedding:
The weather:
It was drizzling on and off during the morning, when we were taking pictures.... a bit of a nuissance, but not too bad. The moisture did partially melt my hair, but I frankly didn't care.

The rehearsal dinner: me, DH, and my friend Lyn
We did a great job hosting my big fat polish rehearsal dinner! We cooked veal paprikas (hungarian stew) and a pile of Indian food the night before, and made fresh pasta, fried up indian bread, and made baked brie and dates wrapped in bacon after the rehearsal. Everyone loved the food..... except Lyn and I completely missed the apps since we were slaving away in the kitchen! It was rather stressfull having about 16 people in our small place, but it worked out in the end.... I wouldn't change a thing!

The after party: MIL and DH's family
MIL arrived with a VAN full of polish hams, sausages, cheeses, homemade salads, beers, and vodkas. All I had to do was buy the bread, and put things on platters. Much less stressful than the rehearsal dinner..... I must admit, though, that by that time, DH and I were already exhausted, and really needed to rest. Everyone left at 9pm. we cleaned up until about 1130, and then finally had some personal time

the after after party: my mom, aunt, uncle, MIL, and my friend's aunt Zara

This BBQ/dinner happened at mom's house.... We only had to show up. My german aunt and uncle made an amazing pork roast with potatoes and veggies. My friend's aunt (who is Afghan, and a master cook!) was so sweet. She woke up at dawn and marinated 10 chicken and lamb kebabs. We only had to BBQ them. So amazingly generous! Mom was the grand coordinator, making sure the remaining polish food, booze, and handmade polish cakes (from MIL) all were distributed. The weather was great, so we spent the whole time outdoors. A great day! (DH and I were so exhausted we could barely more by that time. I had to be driven home that evening....)

That monday: finally rest, and preparations for our greek honeymoon!

Now for the wedding day details:
The church:
Infant Jesus RC church:
It is a gorgeous church with a friendly congregation.... Our Priest, Father Prem, did a wonderful job. Our ceremony was wonderful. The music director prevented chaos from ensuing by organizing people before we walked down the isle.... priceless!

The guests:
It was wonderful seeing everyone at once... Only a few people couldn't show up at the last moment (about 4), so pretty much everyone was there. It was great!

The Vendors
Wow. Every vendor exceeded our expectations…. What an amazing day…. Since we booked vendors who are not frequently discussed on LIW, I feel compelled to shout out accolades on their behalf…. Since I’m still a bit tired, and we only have a short period of time before leaving on our HM, I’ll keep this mini-review focused upon the vendors, who deserve mega-praise.

Danford’s on the Sound- The Brookhaven room-
What a view for an afternoon wedding (270 degree view port jeff harbor and the town). Unlike many halls which try to look like a room in an old mansion, this room, while more rustic, genuinely IS a part of an almost 200 year old building…. Once decorated, this nautical room looked amazingly classy! My guests kept complimenting us on the food…. It was very good. The Maitre d’, Vicki, and the rest of the staff, was on top of everything. The bartender was also amazing. (The ultra premium bar was too)
Despite it appearing to be a VERY high end wedding, Danford’s is actually VERY reasonably priced…. It’s almost criminal what you get for the money…. I HIGHLY recommend this venue for a couple with a smaller wedding (under about 125 people).

Angelica Studios- Mark Kauffman- an LIW vendor
While I obviously haven’t received my proofs yet, I can still say Mark and Josh deserve much praise. Not only did they take the standard photos, they also took much more artistic and creative pics. Most importantly, they helped us focus on our day, and forget all the noise and people around us. (Families have a way of tearing the couple away from focusing on each other on their big day, which Mark repeatedly corrected on our behalf.) Throughout the ceremony and reception, you didn’t even realize they were there. They let us just have fun. They are truly golden!

Gary Hoffman- www.djgaza.com
Once again, WOW. For couples looking for a more low-key DJ, THIS IS YOUR GUY!!!! Such a nice person, very thoughtful, and really works hard to get the vibe you want. He also once was a REAL DJ, one that worked at several clubs in Chinatown, so he shows up with vinyl, and is authentic! I wanted Jackson 5, and we heard the original records, and they were professionally mixed into each other…. So cool! I felt like I was in Polly Esther’s club… He also is reasonably priced! Can’t believe it to this day….

Sugar Magnolias-
Heidi is a genius, simply put. What gorgeous flowers! My bouquet looked exactly like Marcia Cross’s…. which was my inspiration bouquet. A friend of mine, who is an amateur floral arranger and tours with floral arranging shows complimented us on the flowers…. which obviously says something about Heidi’s talents. Simply amazing.

MetroLimo- http://metrolimousineservice.com/fleet.htm
Very professional. I have no idea when he showed up, but it likely was early. He parked his car right outside our building, but just a ½ a block away, so we can get pictures of us walking on the sidewalk (which I really wanted). The car was immaculate, and the champagne was cold…. He also has a couple of classic cars that are NOT Rolls, for those of us who prefer old-school, but not too frilly vehicles. A great service!

Bonne Boulangerie- an LIW vendor
OK, so we’re biased. We’re foodies and our local bakery makes the yummiest breads…. We unfortunately buy several loaves a week from them and pay the price with extra exercise…. It was only natural to get our cake there. I had several vendors on our big day say ‘we’ve worked at 1000’s of weddings and have never seen one of ‘those’ cakes in person. That cake is amazing!’. Even better, when I fed DH the first piece, he was stunned by the yumminess. The cake obviously was baked only hours ago. It melted in our mouths. We got a fondant cake with chocolate cake and mocha butter cream and chocolate mousse fillings. The best $$$ splurge we spent.

Denise Lee Salon- an LIW vendor
I got so many compliments on my hair. Actually, being a lab rat, people were stunned by how I looked when I wasn’t in grungy labwear. (My BIL recorded the ceremony on our camcorder, so we picked up the candid comments LOL.) Much of this was due to Lisa of Denise Lee taking this pumpkin, and transforming her into Cinderella. Everything with both my hair and my MOH was great. My MOH’s hair had amazing detail, and that was without a trial, since she lived on the west coast!!! Thanks Lisa!!!!

Marsville Press- www.marsville.com
OK, similar to buying a cake, I know many brides feel that spending lots of $$$$ on invitations is a waste….. but frankly, we received the most compliments on the cake, my invitations, and my gown/veil. So, from my experience, people DO realize the difference. I loved my letterpress invitations. Marsville press has such high quality work, and the price is quite reasonable once you factor in the amazing amount of time it takes to handmake paper, and print each page individually on a 19th century printing press. I highly recommend them….

Syms- tuxedo and shirt
DH bought his tux, instead of renting it. We went in December, when all the new years tuxes are out. What a great deal we got! DH got a very stylish 4 button wool tux from ungaro for $270, and only required $30 in alterations. His matching shirt only cost $35.

RK bridal- the gown
If any of you recall, I’m the crazy bride who bought my gown without ever seeing it. I bought it through RK’s no frills service. The transaction was flawless, and the San Patrick gown was GORGEOUS. It looks like it should cost $2600 instead of $700. My matching San Patrick veil was equally stunning, but could only be purchased through a store in florida which no longer deals with pronovias…. (Also bought it sight unseen!)

No BM dresses or tux rentals here…. Our bridal party just wore ivory and black… whatever they wanted. I loved the look. It was less matchy-matchy, yet everyone coordinated well. It also avoid the headache of orchestrating a gown selection /purchase. I recommend others to consider this, since it avoids a ton of headaches, and ends up looking great!

Alterations-phyllis of bridal elegance
This goes without saying, she did a great job altering both my gown and my mom's. But, you have all heard that hundreds of times from other LIW brides

Everything ran smoothly.... mostly due to extensive planning, and the good advice given on this website! Thank you so much, my LIW friends. You guys are the best!
Lots of love, port jeff bride and groom




UPDATE: greek honeymoon
wow, what an amazing place. the perfect blend of culture, history, great food, weather, and beach. One word of advice: if you're fair-skinned like us, always wear SPF 30. Trust me, you'll need it.

The greek people: We've traveled throughout europe, and all we can say is that the Greeks have many of the best qualities we have seen on the continent. They're very friendly, polite, and love to share their culture and history with tourists. There is almost no crime, and even areas which look 'questionable' aren't. Trust me, you're safe.

Greek infrastructure:
They have newly renovated public transport, which is run with military precision (unlike other countries that shall remain nameless). The planes, subways, and buses all leave and arrive when they should. All this makes tourists' run about the country with ease and comfort. Remarkably, Athens, a major city with over 4 million people, has possibly the best tasting tap water of any major metropolitain area I've ever tasted. Overall, greek water is VERY good. This is probably why bottled water is so chep....

greek food: YUM.
Drinks:
They have an iced version of cappucino (no whipped cream, and not overly creamy or sweet like starbucks versions) called cappucino freddo. an amazing drink. Also, the house wines at cafes were delicious (6-12 euro for a half or full litre)... bottled wine was EXPENSIVE. Stick to house wine. Mythos and alpha beers are the perfect way to rehydrate after the sun. Bottled water is good and REALLY cheap. 1 euro for 1.5 liters.
Salads:
The infamous greek salad (unlike the american interpretation with that insidious sour dressing and tons of lettuce) contained ONLY super ripe tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, sometimes cucumbers, olives, a non-salty sheep feta, olive oil, and oregano. AMAZING.
food:
suprisingly, the greeks don't appear to take gyros too seriously. They much prefer moussaka, souvlaki, meatballs, and lamb stews.... Their food is great....

Athens:
We took the subway from the airport to the hotel. A perfect experience. Fast, and inexpensive. The subway system is easy to figure out. If you're going to athens, I would book a hotel close to a main subway station. (Most tourist reflexively spend $$$$ on rooms overlooking the acropolis... we find that to be unnecessary. We actually spent most of our time in la plaka (the old part of the city), and only 1 afternoon at the acropolis. Our hotel, the best western pathagorean, while comfortable, was a 5 min subway ride from the acropolis, and was therefore only 1/2 the price of those hotels. We instead spent that money on some really primo food
We found it boring to stare only at ruins. While we did the mandatory acropolis, agora, and tower of the winds visits, we actually spent most time wandering the streets in the old part of the city, and parousing the cafes. It's a very pretty city. I recommend at least 3 days to see the highlights, and more if you intend to visit museums.

Crete:
chania:
a very cute venetian port city, but very touristy. Tons of cafes surround the port, and each one has a guy to try to rope you in for a snack or drink. The shops and streets are cute, but are filled with souvenier shops. We prefered a traditional rustic hotel, and stayed at ONTAS. So cute... only probably 4 rooms.... the owner was so friendly. Becuase of the overly touristy environment, only 1 day was sufficient for us. Then we took the bus to Iraklion.
iraklion:
A lot of negative press for this town.... people claim it's not safe and ugly. Gotta admit, 80% of the peripheral city is rather ugly and dusty. BUT, the center 20% by the harbor is rather gentrified and pretty. We stayed at a rather modern hotel that recently opened in this pretty part of town near the harbor..... the marin dream. A very nice stay.

We took the flying Cat 4 speed ferry from iraklion to santorini. A fast ride, and not to barf-inducing, even for a person prone to seasickness like me within 2 hours, we were there!

Santorini:
what greek honeymoon is complete without santorini? A picturesque island... but one overrun with tourists. I was sad that the main archaeological site, akritori (the minoan version of pompeii), was still closed. I love the minoans. They were the last matriarchal western civilization.... they had such a sense of style and good living... unfortunately, they were devestated by the santorini volcano exploding in about 1600 BC. But, I digress.
We stayed at the melina hotel in fira, which had an agean, not a caldera view. This resulted in us having to walk 7 min from the center of town to our hotel, but unlike caldera hotels, we DIDN'T have to walk 100 numerous flights of stairs to our room, and we also paid about 1 third of the caldera rooms. More money for cappucino freddos The family running the hotel was very friendly and gave good tourism advice for the island. Fira and Oia are stunning towns. I recommend saving $$$ for pricy bars and cafes to get the perfect sunset views every evening.
We also went to Kamari beach, a 10 min bus ride from Fira. While very rocky, it was very comfortable. For 6 euro, you can rent beach chairs and an umbrella. The water is the perfect temperature.... and is so clear.

It's an amazing island.... I love greece, and we'll definitely return..... Feel free to FM me if you want specific info about any of those towns/cities....

Below are a few of the only pics I have from the wedding- my bouquet a couple days AFTER the wedding (and being out of water for over 10 hours).... and still looking GREAT. Thanks Heidi!!!! And let's not forget the CAKE!

honeymoon pics:
me in la plaka under the acropolis
sunset picture in oia santorini
more pics are HERE

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Re: Brief wedding review of PortJeff bride 6/9/07– with vendors seldom mentioned on LIW!

thanks for the review, it's good to get the word out on the vendors you don't hear about so often on LIW.....have fun in Greece!!!

Re: Brief wedding review of PortJeff bride 6/9/07– with vendors seldom mentioned on LIW!

Congrats Sherrye!! Cant wait to see more pics. Have a fabulous HM!

Re: Brief wedding review of PortJeff bride 6/9/07– with vendors seldom mentioned on LIW!

You know, I was just wondering the other day 'where's portjeffbride?'. You always have smart things to say, and good advice. Congratulations--I'm so happy your wedding went well. AND, I'm happy to hear that you were happy w/Gary Hoffman and Sugar Magnolias--I'm using both! Have a GREAT time in Greece!

Re: Brief wedding review of PortJeff bride 6/9/07– with vendors seldom mentioned on LIW!

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Posted by jaiese

You know, I was just wondering the other day 'where's portjeffbride?'. You always have smart things to say, and good advice. Congratulations--I'm so happy your wedding went well. AND, I'm happy to hear that you were happy w/Gary Hoffman and Sugar Magnolias--I'm using both! Have a GREAT time in Greece!

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ooh, you are? oh, you will NOT be disappointed! Totally amazing.....

we will definitely have fun in greece!
79 degrees and sunny EVERY DAY!

Re: Brief wedding review of PortJeff bride 6/9/07– with vendors seldom mentioned on LIW!

I can't WAIT to see more pictures!!!!!!! Have a great time on your HM!

CONGRATULATIONS!

Re: Brief wedding review of PortJeff bride 6/9/07– with vendors seldom mentioned on LIW!

congrats! can't wait to see the pics!

Re: Brief wedding review of PortJeff bride 6/9/07– with vendors seldom mentioned on LIW!

Thanks for the review!
Congrats

Re: Brief wedding review of PortJeff bride 6/9/07– with vendors seldom mentioned on LIW!

congrats, cant wait for more pictures!!!!!!

Re: Brief wedding review of PortJeff bride 6/9/07– with vendors seldom mentioned on LIW!

Congratulations!!

Have a great time on your HM!!

Re: Brief wedding review of PortJeff bride 6/9/07– with vendors seldom mentioned on LIW!

congrats!!!

Re: Brief wedding review of PortJeff bride 6/9/07– with vendors seldom mentioned on LIW!

Congrats! Can't wait to see more pictures. Have a great HM!!!!

Re: Brief wedding review of PortJeff bride 6/9/07– with vendors seldom mentioned on LIW!

Congratulations!!! Thanks for the mini review and have a great HM!!

Re: Brief wedding review of PortJeff bride 6/9/07– with vendors seldom mentioned on LIW!

You look beautiful!
I can't wait to see the rest of your pics- have a great honeymoon!!

Re: Brief wedding review of PortJeff bride 6/9/07– with vendors seldom mentioned on LIW!

thanks for the great review! Cant wait to see more pictures!! Congrats!!!

Re: Brief wedding review of PortJeff bride 6/9/07– with vendors seldom mentioned on LIW!

Sounds like you had an amazing day! I can't wait to see your pics we are using Angelica Studios too and you are right you never hear about them on here. Have a great time on your Honeymoon!

Re: Brief wedding review of PortJeff bride 6/9/07– with vendors seldom mentioned on LIW!

Re: Brief wedding review of PortJeff bride 6/9/07– with vendors seldom mentioned on LIW!

great review! looooooooove your cake! i bet it was amazing!

Re: Brief wedding review of PortJeff bride 6/9/07– with vendors seldom mentioned on LIW!

I love your cake!!! Thanks for your review! I can't wait to see more pics!

Re: updated wedding review of PortJeff bride 6/9/07– with vendors seldom mentioned on LIW, and now a honeymoon review!

How did I miss this review?? I was also wondering what happened to PortJeff...she gets married and disappears?? I am so happy for you and DH and can't wait to see LOTS of pictures!!! You looked so beautiful!