Our 9-6-09 wedding: Baton NY, Fred Marcus, Flowers by Liz, AK Entertainment, NY Wedding Ring, more!

Our wedding was so great. I’m happy to share my post-mortem thoughts here to help future brides; I know these boards were so helpful to me in researching my vendors! I am an event-planner myself, so I was really sensitive to being able to enjoy myself that day rather than going into “In Charge” mode – and I can happily say that the vendors we selected absolutely allowed me to do that! We also made a point to prioritize spending money on articles that would last beyond the wedding day throughout the entirety of the marriage, and I think that enabled us to really keep things in perspective.

Temple Isaiah (Ceremony Venue) A+
www.tisbny.org/

My family had been members of the Temple for years; I had my Bat Mitzvah there and went to Hebrew School there. When we decided that we’d be getting married in a shul rather than on site at a reception hall, there was no question to me. The temple staff was absolutely FABULOUS, especially considering that they are not an event-planning firm! Nancy in the main office answered my every question and addressed my every need, including a last-minute catering addition for pre-event pastries and coffee. They were so accommodating, allowing us in the week before to do a test-run of the chuppah and the day before to set it up, using their poles. They were just wonderful in letting us have free reign of the space, and allowing us to come back the following Tuesday to pick up the remaining stanchions from the floral arrangements. The temple had been recently renovated and looks spectacular, and we were so very, very happy with all that they did for us. My husband and I both agree that the ceremony was absolutely the most special part of the whole day.

Angie @ Baton New York (Day-of Coordinator) A+
http://batonny.com/

I have worked weddings with Angie in the city as a part-time gig, so I knew that she was absolutely organized and on top of everything. She was sensational for our wedding! She came out the night before to help set up and oversee the rehearsal dinner and was attentive to every possible detail. A bulb blew in the bar area, and she ran out to a hardware store to pick up a new bulb! She was just fabulous the entire day, keeping us all calm and allowing me to enjoy myself while she ran the show, something I was really concerned that I wouldn’t be able to do. Some of the best advice I received when planning my wedding was to hire a DOC, and while I was concerned about budget, it was absolutely the best thing to be able to just hand over my binder and cell phone and actually be a guest at my own wedding! At the end of the party, when getting into my parents’ car to go home for our backyard after-party, we got into a car that was fully packed up with all our gifts, our chuppah and ketubah that were on display, and my binder with my cell phone neatly tucked inside. She was beyond spectacular and I highly, HIGHLY recommend her to any bride who just needs a buddy on the day-of who isn’t a bridesmaid and who will really take charge!!

Fred Marcus Photography (Photographer) A
www.fredmarcus.com/

We met with Jerry beforehand at their office and he really listened to us, advised us on our timelines, and got a good idea of the delicate family dynamics on my husband’s side (divorced parents who do not speak, etc.) He was great. He was absolutely punctual the morning of the wedding and set up our first look perfectly. Jerry was a great balance – not too directional, but enough so that we knew what to do. Even members of our family who aren’t traditionally photogenic got some great shots. There were a few stressful moments because we wanted to get two large family group shots, but Jerry placed everyone perfectly and barely lost his cool. His assistant was wonderful, too. The biggest mistake we made that day was forgetting to give Jerry his tip, and ran to the studio as soon as we got back to the city to bring it to him – but he was the utmost professional in not mentioning a word of it that day, and we were both so grateful for that (and terribly embarrassed!)

Lombardi’s on the Sound (Reception Venue) B
AKA Port Jefferson Country Club, Harbor Hills Country Club, LOS
www.lombardisonthesound.com/

I should start by saying that on the day of the wedding, their team came through. Leading up to the wedding, especially in the few days before, my family and I were pretty frustrated with them for a number of reasons. Their staff, for whatever reason, is constantly turning over, so from our original contract signing to the day of the wedding, we spoke with no fewer than four different Banquet Managers, none of which were on site the day of the wedding. I was very nervous that my requests wouldn’t be communicated properly because they were going through so many channels (and while some were not, many were in their defense). We had explicitly asked for no ice sculpture, yet one was there when we arrived. They had put out the cake for the wedding immediately following ours (we were a morning affair) at first, which confused some of the guests but ultimately is something I find hilarious. After having gone over my timeline with them multiple times over the 18 month planning process, I received a call two days prior to the wedding saying that they would not be able to run the event as I had planned. I was able to convince them that this wouldn’t fly, and to their credit they made it happen, but I was a little distraught at why they wouldn’t try to do that first before calling me. Additionally, they gave us a number of conflicting documents regarding our payment schedule, and getting in touch with their accounting department to clear that up was a bit of a hassle. In all, it was still a beautiful venue and the weather we had that day was off-the-carts gorgeous, which really added to it. The food was absolutely fantastic, which was really important to us, and they were great at accommodating our dietary needs – even at the last minute, when two days before we had a request for several Kosher meals. They were fantastic about that. So in all, I would recommend to other brides to use this venue, but to just be prepared and calm and have all your questions out on the table at the forefront. If you need any other information, feel free to FM me.

Flowers by Liz (Florist) A+
http://www.flowersbyliz.com/

Liz was so wonderful. I made a horrible first impression with her (I’m sorry, Liz!) and was so glad that she agreed to work with me! She was absolutely accommodating to our budget (flowers don’t last beyond the wedding day!) and was so easy to communicate with. Not to mention – the flowers were PERFECT. I had mentioned to her that I am really supportive of locally grown flowers, and Liz used some of the blooms from her own garden in our bouquets and centerpieces. I had a very specific vision of what I wanted to do with the centerpieces in duplicating them as ceremony décor, and Liz executed it absolutely perfectly, even going so far as to order pails and spray painting them all blue for us. She was wonderful, and I highly recommend her.

AK Entertainment (DJ) A
www.akent.com/

Abe of AK Entertainment is really great. We met him through a friend and it’s a shame that he isn’t as prominent on LIW as other DJ’s. He is the utmost professional, really classy and responsible. I saw him after signing our contract at a number of events in the city and he was working all of them – he is really popular! It was really important to us that he know our family dynamics and religious traditions, and he was an excellent listener when we described all these parts. He works as the emcee himself, so knew everything we had told him, and his DJ, Mike, was excellent. They mixed basically the choruses of songs that we wanted and knew. I will admit that the dance floor wasn’t always completely packed, but that wasn’t Abe’s fault at all – it was just such a beautiful day that many of the guests ended up sitting outside on the verandah overlooking the Sound. I was really happy that everyone was entertained exactly how they wanted to be.

New York Wedding Ring (Wedding Rings) A+
http://www.newyorkweddingring.com/

We found Sam Abbay through Daily Candy, and wow were we happily surprised. A forewarning – making our own wedding rings did NOT save us money, but since we knew that these pieces would last beyond the wedding day, we were willing to spend more on them to make them special. I got in touch with Sam about a month before our appointment to discuss metals and widths. He ordered two strips of platinum for us, and when we arrived at his studio, he had them all ready to go. He went through all the safety measures with us and we got right down to work. We learned a lot about metalsmithing in the process, and had SUCH a good time making each others’ rings. It was definitely a full-day process (it took us a total of 8 hours, including a lunch break) and I know that by the end my husband was a little bored. But Sam took pictures for us, and when we exchanged them under the chuppah, it was an incredibly special moment. We are very happy that we did this and have been recommending Sam to many of our engaged friends.

Trans-Star Executive Transportation (Party Bus) B+
www.tranexec.com/

This company provided our party bus and were great to negotiate with. The bus was completely punctual to pick up our groomsmen at the hotel, which was great. The guys were a little surprised to find a stripper pole (???) in the back of the bus, but they were really funny and had a great time with it. The driver was really having fun. When we left the temple to depart for the ceremony, they had rolled out a red carpet and had champagne for us – it was a nice gesture, but I was really just ready to go to the party. The bus driver had also put the wrong address into his GPS, but luckily we caught him early enough to turn around and it didn’t result in any serious lateness on our part. The bus was really clean and in good shape, and definitely served the purpose of transporting the bridal party..

Theatre Three (Rehearsal Dinner Venue) A+
http://www.theatrethree.com/

We were so happy to be able to have our rehearsal dinner in the theatre. I had performed at Theatre Three growing up, and I work in the Broadway industry now, so being able to bring our families to that formative place was great. They were endlessly accommodating to us and it was really very special and fun for everyone to be able to walk through the theatre and see it empty. We used the downstairs café for dinner and upstairs lobby for cocktails/hors d’oeuvres, and it was perfect. I am really grateful to their staff for helping us to pull that evening off, since it was out of their normal comfort zone and it turned out perfectly. Best of all, it got many of our guests to the downtown Port Jefferson area, which is such a cute town and all our out-of-town guests loved it and went back after the wedding!

Marriott Islandia (Room Block and Farewell Brunch) A
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/ispis-islandia-marriott-long-island/

The Marriott Islandia was the best hotel I dealt with of three where we were holding blocks. They were really responsive over e-mail, sending updates whenever I requested them. It was our home base, which was admittedly a bit far from the rest of our activities, but the price and value were so good (it was recently renovated and is really lovely) that we were pleased anyway. They were great with handling our OOT bags. The farewell brunch that we held Monday morning was very nice – perfect sized room and the food was very good. People really liked the make-your-own-omelet station.

Danford’s Hotel and Marina (Room Block) B+
http://www.danfords.com/

Danford’s was the most expensive option we had for our guests in terms of hotel rooms. The rooms are lovely but small. Their administrative systems seem really out of date and information wasn’t always clearly communicated digitally (which is how I preferred to work so that I had everything in writing). People loved the location, though! I was surprised to learn that they were going to charge me for the OOT bags, even though they were all the same – that wasn’t clear in the contract.

Rabbi Adam D. Fisher (Officiant) A+
http://www.adamdfisher.net/

Rabbi Fisher was just wonderful. He is the Rabbi Emeritus at Temple Isaiah, and he was so helpful in advising us on all things religious and traditional. He also had us write letters to each other that he read out loud at the ceremony (he was wonderful to warn us in advance that he would do this) and it was by far the most special and emotional part of the day. We loved it. The Rabbi gave us a worksheet to complete separately and compare our answers, and it was a great conversation starter or opportunity for us to see that we were on the same page for many tough questions regarding our relationship. He was absolutely an integral part of our day and our marriage, and we were so very grateful to him for everything he did for us. One great piece of advice that he gave us: get the ketubah framed (without glass) before the wedding day. That way, it didn’t roll up when we tried to sign it, and we could also display it to all our guests during the ceremony and reception. It was great.

Even star Paperie (Invitations) A
http://e v e n s t a r p a p e r i e.com/

Tessa has gotten a lot of mixed press on this site, so allow me to post my own experience with her, which was just wonderful. Tessa has a blog that she updates daily with little anecdotal stories along with a daily update of her clients’ project progress. It’s so fulfilling to be able to see how your invitation is moving along. Tessa is wonderfully responsive to e-mail and all my edits (which – I got really detailed on this, down to the font choice) and both my husband and I just fell in love with her, her designs, her communication, and her pricing. She is so reasonable and allowed us to get the invitations we were dreaming of which were truly otherwise completely out of our budget. She is spectacular and doesn’t deserve the negative drama that has somehow sought her out.

Re: Our 9-6-09 wedding: Baton NY, Fred Marcus, Flowers by Liz, AK Entertainment, NY Wedding Ring, more!

I liked your review! Lombardi's on the Sound is a beautful venue. Congratulations on your wedding!!!

Re: Our 9-6-09 wedding: Baton NY, Fred Marcus, Flowers by Liz, AK Entertainment, NY Wedding Ring, more!

thanks so much for the review!!!! i want to see pics!!!!

Re: Our 9-6-09 wedding: Baton NY, Fred Marcus, Flowers by Liz, AK Entertainment, NY Wedding Ring, more!

I've been getting error messages that our pics are too large! I will try to upload some smaller ones soon...

Does anyone know how to upload pics directly into the post rather than as attachments?