Our Wedding Review of Leonard's, Ariana Studios, Top Class Limos, Ultimate Sounds, Capriccio Ensemble...7-8-07

We returned from our honeymoon a few days ago. Hawaii was amazing! Everything was beautiful. Bad part of the trip was the actual travel time and bad weather in NYC.

To begin, I'll start off with the little details and lead up to the big ones....
I had no wedding planner, all the details, from centerpieces, favors, dresses etc, were all done by no one other than myself. I refused to pay someone else to plan my day, when I could make those decisions on my own. So I would rate myself an (A+++)

Weather (C) It was 90+ and by 5 o'clock it felt like 85. Luckily we were in the limo fast enough to cool off.

Rev. Raymond Rodriguez (A+)..he was excellent. He was well versed and well prepared. He was beyond punctual and very compassionate. He made our wedding day go by very smooth despite the hot weather. He is an wonderful bilingual minister.

Karen A, Make up Artist. (A+)
She was punctual and worked her wonders. All the girls, including myself were pleased with her work. She did a great job at cover ups and enhancing features. Make up and lashes lasted all day! She did my make up around 1pm, at 2am my make up was still as good as she had done it. Great artist!

Bridal gown, veil and tiara
RK Bridal (A)
I believe Nora helped me out with my dress and accessories. She was wonderful. She was patient and very eager to help. I didn't really have a long wait as much as other girls do. I was even able to try more than the 5 dress minimum that day.

Tuxedos--Dante Zellers (A)
I loved their tuxes for many reasons. They were light, although a little more expensive, and the colors were perfect!
After visiting After Hours and Men's Warehouse there was no other choice than Dante's.

Jerome Florist (A-)
I liked the fact that they called me to tell me that since the weather was very uncooperative, they would set up the garden with other flowers so my flowers would not wilt by the time they got to Leonard's. No extra charge.
Although that was very considerate of them, I was not too happy with the actual set up. It was very simple and not to my liking. The actual centerpieces at Leonard's were just as planned and they exceeded my expectations.

Top Class Limos (A-)
The drivers were on time, well dressed, polite and considerate. Bars were fully loaded and limos were clean and everything was in good taste. Wedding day, things were perfect. We had a pick up to from the airport when we returned from our honeymoon, there was a minor misunderstanding with my husband so that's why I lowered their grade.

Ultimate Sound DJs (A++)
Frank and Janira were great! They were lively and they motivated the crowd.
We had a mixed group but they made sure every one of our guests was up and dancing non-stop. They were extremely professional and well experienced. They played most of the music we requested, although we would've liked the music selection to be slightly different, but we had a great time and so did our guests. So they accomplished what they set out.

Nassau County Museum of Art (A) grounds were well maintained, there was a wedding the day before, but place looked beautiful. Lush green grass, flowers in bloom and there were no lingering visitors other than our wedding guests.

Capriccio Ensemble (A+++) Natalie and Eugene were great!!!! I didn't get the opportunity to meet them that day, although my sister in law and other guests were able to speak with them afterwards and prior....they were extremely professional! They were wonderful, they played all the songs beautifully despite the heat! They had some of our guests in tears and their musical touch during vows and other readings, made it classic. They were well knowledgeable of all the musical selections. They also learned 'From This Moment' to accompany my soloist. They are the best!!!!

Leonard's (B- almost a C)
Food was great, the cake was delicious, drinks were average. There were some problems with the bartender but things turned out fine. Our guests had to wait a while before escorted to the cocktail room, which also was not the room we were told we would have. The ice sculpture was not what we had discussed or paid for. I saw my bridal attendant more than the Maitre'd although at times they were nowhere to be found. OH..... I almost forgot..... I saw two other brides that night!!!! UGH! There was no communication between the Maitre'ds of each party so there were times when I wanted to get pictures and there were brides in the same area. That to me was the worst! Overall, I laughed at it, and didn't let it bother me because although I saw the other brides, I felt special that day, and they couldn't take that feeling away from me. If it weren't that I was in such a good mood, I might have let that really bother me and mess up my evening!

Elite Party Rentals (A)
They were on time, chairs delivered and picked up as promised. Chairs were clean, white and almost new.

Ariana Studios (The Wedding Plaza, Floral Park) (A-)
Our photographer was a little late but was very personable, friendly and overall wonderful. He took interesting and lovely shots, can't wait to get the actual proofs. He was a bit in a rush....couldn't stand that! Got proofs....pics are beautiful! Loved them, but I regret not taking more. The videographer was OK....not as friendly but overall, fine.

Here are some of the pics.

Re: Our Wedding 7/8/07

Congrats date twin. Glad to hear you had a great day overall!

Re: Our Wedding Review the best of the best 7-8-07

Congratulations! Can't wait to see pics!

Re: Our Wedding Review the best of the best 7-8-07

Congrats!
Can not wait to see some pictures!

Re: Our Wedding Review the best of the best 7-8-07

Congrats!! You looked beautiful! And best of all, your wedding looked like FUN!

Re: Our Wedding Review the best of the best 7-8-07

Congratulations, you look amazing and so happy.
Thank you for taking the time to share your beautiful photos with us.....Cant wait to see more

Re: Our Wedding Review the best of the best 7-8-07

congrats!

Re: Our Wedding Review the best of the best 7-8-07

love the colors!!!!!your dress looked amazing on you!!!!

Re: Our Wedding Review the best of the best 7-8-07

great review congrats!!!!!

Re: Our Wedding Review the best and worst of Leonard's, Ariana Studios, Top Class Limos, Ultimate Sounds, Capriccio Ensemble...7-8-07

Congrats... thanks for the review

Re: Our Wedding Review the best and worst of Leonard's, Ariana Studios, Top Class Limos, Ultimate Sounds, Capriccio Ensemble...7-8-07

I love your bridal colors. Your gown was beautiful!!

Re: Our Wedding Review the best and worst of Leonard's, Ariana Studios, Top Class Limos, Ultimate Sounds, Capriccio Ensemble...7-8-07

congrats!

Re: Our Wedding Review of Leonard's, Ariana Studios, Top Class Limos, Ultimate Sounds, Capriccio Ensemble...7-8-07

For those brides that wanted to see a review of Leonards...... I'm bumping up.

Re: Our Wedding Review of Leonard's, Ariana Studios, Top Class Limos, Ultimate Sounds, Capriccio Ensemble...7-8-07

thanks! It looks like you had a blast! You were gorgeous and it is so nice to see pics of a bride that looks like she was really having fun!