Our 7-3-10 Review Laura Ryan, Milleridge Cottage, FM, Fade to Black, Angel Eyes, Designs by Rose

Hi everyone. Here is my review! I hope you enjoy it and that future brides find it helpful. Please FM me if you'd like any more specific info about any of my vendors. Our wedding was just wonderful. I would not change a thing. Our vendors all came through, big time.

Photography- Laura Ryan A+++++ I'll start here, because all photos in this review, except for Boojiboo aprons, were taken by Laura Ryan, our FABULOUS photographer. I found Laura on this site, and will be forever grateful. Laura is a doll. She was easy to work with, very patient with all my MANY questions, and made us feel like we knew her forever. I just finished selecting the photos for our album, a VERY daunting task given the 1800+ awesome pics Laura gave us to choose from, and I can't wait to see how it comes out! Here are some of my faves that didn't make it elsewhere in the review.


Church- St. Aidan, Williston Park A+ This was my parish when I lived home, but I had not been involved in the Church for years. We went to see Fr. Tom when we got engaged, to pick a date and fill out paperwork. He told us he would be the one to perform our ceremony, as well as lead the six weeks of Pre Cana. It was really nice to get to know the person who would marry us.



Hall- Milleridge Cottage A+++ Everything at Milleridge Cottage was fantastic. The service was outstanding, the food was plentiful and delicious, the selection at cocktail hour and Venetian hour was CRAZY. It was great. We had a daytime wedding, and went for their Gold Menu options. The upgrades were worth it. Everyone is still raving, especially about how everything was cooked to perfection. I guess they have been doing these events a long time, and have worked out the kinks. Some people I know may not like an older venue, it isn't the most glamorous, but I love it there. I like the homey feel. And the garden and shops in the village were a great backdrop for our pics. The atrium was beautiful. Oh, and the cake was DELISH.


Dress- La Sposa A++ Wedding Atelier B- I LOVED my dress. So glamorous. My only issues were with the shop. They ordered me the sample size without measuring me. I know better. Samples can be stretched out. I should have insisted they measure me, but they called the seamstress up, she pulled around at the dress on me, and said to go with the sample size. Long story short, I had back cleavage. They thought it looked fine and that my sister could just keep unzipping me to smooth me out throughout the day. (Sure, nothing else going on!) Or they suggested maybe if I let my 38Ds hang loose, a bustier wouldn't add to the squishing. Eventually they agreed to take the dress out. It looked acceptable, but it was a shame. My side seams were not where they should have been. It was not like I was unwilling to order a 'big' size. If they told me I needed a size 57, I would have said ok. I had no plans to loose more than a few pounds (I lost 7) so they didn't need to go small on me. That and the fact 7 of the 9 strings they made my bustle with tore off within 30 minutes of having it tied up gets them the B-. Also, something everyone should keep in mind no matter where you go for your alterations is the hem. These dresses are so heavy, within a small amount of time, strapless dresses will slide down from the weight, especially if you're dancing a lot. Consider maybe hemming 1/4 shorter than you might otherwise do.

Veil- Bridal Veil Falls A+++++ Margaret was so much fun to work with. I brought my mom and FMIL to the her shop, and Margaret let me try on lots of different veils/styles. She's got books full of brides she's made veils for that you can browse for ideas. We came up with my veil, which was a combination of two others she had done and I loved the finished product. It was so much fun to wear. I kept it on until after the formal dances.

Hairpiece- Barron's A I picked this out of their display case. It wasn't easy to find something off white, but not as dark as ivory. This was perfect, except for some silver pieces that came out from the flowers and had gems at the ends. I did gold jewelry, so I didn't want silver. The woman at Barron's said she could snip out the silver wire and put the gem elsewhere. It turned out perfectly.

Hair- Giselle at DiRosa, Franklin Square A++++ My hair turned out exactly how I wanted it. Giselle suggested I add extensions, and Maryanne (also at DiRosa) was able to dye them to a perfect match. I've worn them going out since, so they were worth the money!

Make Up- Angel Eyes A+++++ Denise was another of my favorite vendors. I was lucky to meet her when I was a bridesmaid in a wedding in May. Everyone looked beautiful. We looked like ourselves, only better. I would use Denise again in a second. The last pic here is at the end of the day, so you can see how the makeup lasted. I did have airbrush.

Jewelry- Etsy vendor LuluSplendor A+++++ My bracelet and earrings were custom ordered because I wanted them in yellow gold. They are beautiful pieces!!! You will not be sorry if you go with Carla. Pictures do not do these justice. My necklace was my college graduation gift from my parents. I am so glad I was able to wear it on my wedding. It was a last minute addition to my ensemble and it was perfect. My rings are from Tiffany & Co. and Greg's is from Zales.

Shoes- Vaneli Madora, a Zappos exclusive. A+ Ladies, they come in wide width! What a dream.

Flowers- Designs by Rose A+++ Our flowers were gorgeous!!! There was a little situation that required a new corsage for my mother, but it turned out ok. While everything was fresh and vibrant and stunning, there were two things that popped out when I saw pictures. The bridesmaids bouquets varied a bit in size. Only the MOH should have had slightly bigger than the rest, but they all were kind of different. Also, the MOH's was awfully close to the size of mine. The other thing is that on my last meeting I made sure to go over the details for mine again and asked that they make sure the blue and green were accents, and cream was the dominant color. I don't think that came through. Again, everything was gorgeous, and I would recommend and use Rose again. Just be very specific about those things.

Bridesmaid dresses- David's A+ The two piece option worked out great. And they had a nice option for my bridesmaid who was expecting. Alterations were done elsewhere for most of the girls, but the two who used David's (Honolulu and Carle Place) were happy.
Bridesmaid jewelry- Etsy vendor Janie Liu A+++ Another great Etsy find.
Bridesmaid aprons- Etsy vendor Boojiboo A+++ There is something for everyone! I had such fun picking these all out.


Favors- BedazzleMyBonBons.com A+++ Delicious, fun, custom colored, bedazzled truffles. Amazing! This is a company I first saw in Martha Stewart Weddings. I kept turning back to the page their product was on. It took a few times before I realized what I kept going back to, and read the caption to see what these were. So pretty. I am happy to say, we are still enjoying them! I bought in bulk and boxed them myself. FM me for box info.

Matches & Bubbles- The Knot A++ Should have gotten more of matches! One per person was not enough.

Frames- IKEA A++ and cheap, cheap, cheap

Video- Fade to Black A+++++ Gil was great to work with. We recently picked up our video and it came out wonderfully. Click for video recap

Invites- ***************.com A++ I love our invites. It was such a fun process, too. My only complaint is that Tessa was a bit non-responsive when I asked questions out of the norm. I asked what fonts/colors she used on our envelopes so that I could print the addresses on some last minute invites to match, and she never responded. And I'm still waiting to hear back about corresponding Thank You notes. Oh, and the envelopes run, so you may want to spray them all with something. We used Krylon Matte Finish. It did the trick. I should have thought to spray the menus, because they ran when water dripped on them, too.

DJ- FM Frank A++ Great, great music and easy to deal with. The dance floor was packed, regardless of it being daytime. I think he fit in everything on our wishlist.

Tuxes- Men's Wearhouse A+ We had no issues at all. The guys used Forest Hills and Carle Place locations.

Phew, I think that is everything. I don't know why the pics are coming out so small. If anyone is considering Laura Ryan and wants to see bigger/higher quality shots, FM me! I'd be happy to share more. Happy planning, everyone!!

Re: *incomplete* Our 7-3-10 Review Laura Ryan, Milleridge Cottage, FM, Fade to Black, Angel Eyes, Designs by Rose

Very Beautiful!!! Congrats

Re: *incomplete* Our 7-3-10 Review Laura Ryan, Milleridge Cottage, FM, Fade to Black, Angel Eyes, Designs by Rose

congratulations!!! You looked beautiful! I love reading reviews on the Milleridge

Re: *incomplete* Our 7-3-10 Review Laura Ryan, Milleridge Cottage, FM, Fade to Black, Angel Eyes, Designs by Rose

Your dress was gorgeous!!

Re: Our 7-3-10 Review Laura Ryan, Milleridge Cottage, FM, Fade to Black, Angel Eyes, Designs by Rose

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Posted by Pacie

congratulations!!! You looked beautiful! I love reading reviews on the Milleridge

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OMG, you have NOTHING to worry about! Everyone is still talking about Milleridge. The food was great. They sent us home with tons, too, so make sure you go through the boxes they give you right away. I hope someday I get invited to a wedding there! Let me know if you have any questions!!

Re: Our 7-3-10 Review Laura Ryan, Milleridge Cottage, FM, Fade to Black, Angel Eyes, Designs by Rose

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Posted by RFutureBegins2day

Your dress was gorgeous!!

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Thank you : )

Re: Our 7-3-10 Review Laura Ryan, Milleridge Cottage, FM, Fade to Black, Angel Eyes, Designs by Rose

You were a beautiful bride!

Re: Our 7-3-10 Review Laura Ryan, Milleridge Cottage, FM, Fade to Black, Angel Eyes, Designs by Rose

Congratulations! You looked beautiful!

Re: Our 7-3-10 Review Laura Ryan, Milleridge Cottage, FM, Fade to Black, Angel Eyes, Designs by Rose

And I really loved the jewelry.

Re: Our 7-3-10 Review Laura Ryan, Milleridge Cottage, FM, Fade to Black, Angel Eyes, Designs by Rose