Review of my 10/25/08 Wedding at The Royalton

The one word for my big day? WOW! It was an amazing experience. How great was it? It rained most of the day, and I barely noticed. I don't think I came down from the adrenaline/happiness high until several days into our honeymoon. Not everything went exactly according to plan, but I didn't care. I married the perfect man for me, and after more than 30 years of waiting for him, no little snafu could dampen the joy of my wedding day!

I spent A LOT of time planning. We got engaged on December 8, 2006 and didn't get married until almost 2 years later. My husband was incredibly patient as I dragged him along to bridal showcase after bridal showcase. He even went to LIWeddings.com's Wedding of the Year in both 2007 and 2008. A word of advice to future brides: Go to as many of these events as your groom can stand. We won so many prizes toward our wedding that it was more than worth the time we and money we spent to attend. What kinds of things did we win? A $700+ engagement photo package from Lina Jang in Central Park including 4x6 prints of all pictures in a beautiful album and a DVD of all the photos. A $450 gift certificate from Fleur Creations that we used toward our invitations. A $1,000 gift certificate from Jared the Jeweler that paid for our wedding bands (a few extras!). A $200 gift certificate from Magnet Queen that paid for our Save the Dates. Enter every wedding-related and sweepstakes drawing you see. People really do win!

Now, on to the review:

The Royalton at the Roslyn Country Club: Amazing from start to finish. They accomodated every request, including finding someone to carve a giant pumpkin for our fall-themed wedding. They set everything up beautifully. And the food was beyond delicious. I can honestly say that the steak I was served was the best I've ever eaten. And, of course, there was the service that every Royalton bride has had privilege of experiencing. My father was convinced that his table was treated especially well, because the staff knew he was the father of the bride. But when he went back to work on Monday, he discovered that all his friends enjoyed the same attention to detail from their waiters and bartenders.

Something in Blue (Photographers): They were expensive but worth it. We chose them after seeing photos from a wedding they had shot on this website and knew their photojournalistic style was what we had been looking for. Within a few weeks of our wedding, we were holding over 1,200 4x6 prints and a DVD with more than 1,300 pictures. Our package did not include an album, so we're probably going to make one ourselves using one of the on-line photo sites. You can see pictures from our wedding on their blog: www.sibblog.com
Just scroll down to 'October 25'

Wild Rose Video (Videography): Another great choice. We purchased the basic package then added on a 'Wedding Movie Trailer' that was available online within 3 weeks. It was a great way for all the out-of-town guests who couldn't attend to feel like they shared in the experience. It's still up on the website: www.wildrosevideo.com Go to 'Screening Room' then 'Wedding Movie Trailers' on the bottom left, then click on 'Deborah and Robert' We haven't gotten the finished DVDs yet, but we're very pleased with everything we've seen so far and the guy they sent to video our wedding was wonderful to work with.

Fleur Creations (Invitations / Programs / Table Numbers / Menus): We chose this vendor, because we won a gift certificate they donated to The Wedding of the Year. There were a few bumps in the road (both the designer and I spent time in the hospital during the planning process), but in the end, everything was gorgeous. My one big issue with this vendor: The night before our wedding, we discovered that ALL of our programs had been stapled together with the pages in the wrong order. I called and left her a message while my husband, father, and cousins pulled everything apart and re-assembled them. I never got so much as an email in reply. But, as previously stated, we got an incredible number of compliments on all our paper products, especially the pocketfold invitations and the pumpkin-shaped menus. A word of caution when considering this vendor: If my father hadn't been footing the bill for this, we never could have afforded what we ordered from this vendor, even with the gift certificate.

Spitz and Peck (Flowers): Maddie was great to work with, especially after the less than impressive meeting we had over at Stefans, the only other florist the Royalton allows. We were happy with the price, because we priced our order with a florist who is a friend of my parents, and he quoted us basically the same amount. Our samples were gorgeous (We did half high and half low), but on the day of, there was more greenery and hydrangeas than I remembered from the samples. The delivery people who set everything up asked me to sign a paper indicating I was satisfied with everything in the 5 minutes between my cocktail hour and the start of my reception. I was so caught up in the moment that I didn't notice the discrepancy until I saw the pictures weeks later. But, since I did sign during the wedding, I figured I had no recourse. And, I was happy overall, so I didn't bother to contact Spitz and Peck with any complaints. Definitely a far better choice than Stefans who wanted $2,000 (!) more than S&P for the same things.

Jackie from Imakeupyou.com: Great job! She came to the house, did everyone with airbrush, and got me to try false eyelashes for the first time. Pleasant and professional. She takes pride in her work and it showed on our faces!

ME (Hair): I did my own hair after a disasterous trial with Jen the Hair Genie prior to my sister's wedding in March 08. I asked for soft waves, and I ended up looking like the Lion from the Wizard of Oz. I will admit that I rarely like the way anyone else does my hair, so doing it myself was the best choice for me. My sister, who did hire Jen to do her hair for her wedding, looked great, so it's all a matter of taste. Go with the person who makes you feel happiest and most beautiful. And don't be afraid to do it yourself!

The Wedding Plaza (Dress): I wanted a dress with sleeves, and it was very hard to find one. What I liked about The Wedding Plaza was that all the dresses were hung on racks that you could go through on your own. I just wasn't crazy about places like Kleinfelds where they ask what you want and then try to pick dresses for you. What I didn't like about The Wedding Plaza was the lack of attentive service when you did want help and that the alterations were poorly done and over-priced. I also didn't like how they kept trying to push extras like tiaras and undergarments. Overall, though, I was thrilled with my dress. I'm going to have it cleaned and send it off to Brides Against Breast Cancer. You get a tax deduction and you help grant the wish of a woman with Satge 4 breast cancer. What a great way to give your wedding dress a second life!

Daybreak from Elegant Ensembles (Band): Absolutely incredible! My boss is a huge music fan and a very picky person, and he said that mine was the best wedding he had ever been to largely because of how great the band was. I take no credit for this: My husband found them all on his own. He got a recommendation from someone he works with and boy were they right! The band played a great mix of music from lots of different eras and even did some Irish music to celebrate our joint heritage. We had a friend at the wedding who sings in her own band, and even she was impressed. If you're looking for a live band, give these guys (and a gal) a listen. Your guests will thank you.

What am I forgetting? We had great Save the Date magnets from The Magnet Queen courtesy of a giftcard won at 2007's Wedding of the Year. I bought my veil at Barrons in TriCounty Flea Market and saved hundred of dollars and got a gorgeous result. My shoes were from Zappos.com. Great price, free shipping both ways, no complaints. We bought favor boxes and bags for slippers online. We got our 'Life is Good' coffee mugs from REI.com cheaper than the price we had negotiated with the Life is Good company directly. I printed the Seating Cards myself using blank business cards and Microsoft Word. I also did the Day-After brunch invites using print-it-yourself postcards and my inkjet.

Enjoy the process and email with any questions!

I'm going to try to post some pictures from Something in Blue. Hope it works! If not, check the video and photography links above.

--Deb

PS: I couldn't figure out how to add photos here, but I was able to upload them to an album in my profile Check there to see some of the things described above, including our amazing custom cake topper and our Mr. Met Groom's Cake, both created by Madame Butterfly Cakes. The Mr. Met on a bicycle drinking a cup of Starbucks incorporates all of my hubby's favorite things (except me, of course!) and ended up looking exactly the way I had pictured it in my mind. Plus, since it's made of clay, we get to keep it forever. The Groom's Cake itself was made to look like a park that Mr. Met was riding through. My husband chose Pineapple Upside Down Cake for the flavor and it was incredibly delicious. We displayed the cake at the wedding and ate it at our day-after brunch. Our Wedding Cake was made by the Royalton and looked just like the picture I found online and gave to them. The Pumpkin Cake Topper with our initials was also made by Madame Butterfly cakes.

Re: Review of my 10/25/08 at The Royalton

congratulations! you look beautiful!!!

Re: Review of my 10/25/08 at The Royalton

Congratulations on your marriage!! Everything looked simply BEAUTIFUL!!!