SoonToBeGallagher 09/05/10 Wedding RJ Limos, White Pear Photography, Brentwood Country Club, Men's Warehouse, Classic Event Designs, About Face Artistry, Beautiful Brides, Paradise Bridal, and more

First, I have to thank LI Weddings! I really wish I found this site when I first got engaged instead of a year later. This website was so helpful in so many ways. Words can’t express how thankful I am for this site.

The Engagement!

I can’t say this is the most romantic story. On 12/13/08 DH went out to the bar to watch a football game with the guys. It was pouring out! DH came home and with some liquid encouragement. I was up and he was talking about how the Mets got JJ Putz. He has a whole drawer filled with baseball and football cards. He also kept my engagement ring in there. He said he wanted to show me JJ Putz rookie card and grabbed the ring got into bed and grabbed my hand and asked me to marry him.

The Engagement Ring

Whitehall Jewelers A+

DH bought the engagement ring from Whitehall Jewelers. The store was going out of business when DH bought it. I have no complaints about the ring and to this day I still get complaints on it. It is always shiny and sparkly.

The Engagement Party

My Parent’s House A+++++++

We had our engagement party in my parent’s backyard. We ordered tents and a waitstaff. The waitstaff was from Park Ave Wait Staff in Commack. They were awesome! We did not have to clean up one thing after the party. They were extremely nice and helpful. The engagement party was great! We had about 100 people there and amazing weather! Everyone in the family made a little bit of everything. We had such a great time.

Ceremony

St. Joseph’s Church in Babylon Village A++++

We got married in St. Joseph’s Church in Babylon Village. This is the most gorgeous church I have ever seen! Some of DH family is apart of the Church. Our Deacon was Deacon Barry. He was the most amazing person ever. He was so helpful and patient. He even cracked some jokes the day of the wedding to get us relaxed. The only thing I was upset about is that the Church is very strict! We could not have an aisle runner, rose petals, rice, or bird seed. The day of it didn’t matter though.



Officiant

Deacon Barry A++++++++++++++++

Deacon Barry was so great! Deacon Barry really inspired to go back to church. He was so helpful and when DH had some problems during the planning process he would listen to us and help us get through any difficulties. In the end, he truly felt like a father figure and I will never forget what he has done for DH and I. He even cracked some jokes the day of the wedding to lighten was up a little. I remember as soon as I started walking down the aisle I saw DH crying and then immediately I was crying. When we got to the end and we were in front of Deacon Barry he said to us “Gee, I hope those are happy tears.” We all laughed and he let us pull ourselves together. He is such a great man and if any of you get married at St. Joseph’s Church you should request him.



Limos

RJ Limo’s A+++++++

We used RJ Limo’s in Wantagh. They have a great bunch of guys there. We always talked to Kevin and he was wonderful. He really hooked us up. We got a party bus, Chrysler 300 limo, and an Excursion limo. The limo drivers were great. They were actually early which was nice and we got everywhere we need to either on time or early. I would recommend them to anyone.


Tuxedos

Men’s Warehouse B -

We chose Men’s Warehouse because we have 1 GM who lived in Rhode Island, 1 JR GM and 1 RB who lived in Ohio. Choosing Men’s Warehouse was just easier for everyone. The prices and quality were great. There were some annoying things such as pretty much every tuxedo that came in was in the wrong size, instead of DH getting a black tuxedo they sent me a brown one, and there was ALWAYS a line that was at least a half hour long every time we went there.





Invitations

Classic Event Designs A+++++

I met Michelle from Classic Event Designs at the LI Weddings Bridal Expo at the Hilton. I met with her within a week from the Expo and we had a our invitations ordered shortly after. The invitation quality was amazing and she so very professional, helpful, and patient. She only showed us things within our budget and never pressured us to look at things that were outside of our budget. She was so nice and a pleasure to work with. We also had the calligraphy done through her also and it was beautiful. It was hand written but the font on the envelopes matched the font on the invitations. Everything looked beautiful. Whenever I had to e-mail her she got back to me within 24 hours, but usually it was less than that. I also e-mailed her numerous times requesting additional envelopes with names on them and she was so great with that also. I remember getting those quickly and she would either mail them to me or I would pick them up.

Makeup

About Face Artistry A+++++++++++++

I found Stacey through LI Weddings and I am so glad I did. Stacey was incredible! Stacey really transformed on the day of my wedding. I never felt more beautiful and I do have her to thank for that. She was so amazing and she was amazing with everyone. She even helped keep my 4 year old sister sit so she would get her hair done. She even gave her a little lip gloss for herself. My bridesmaids looked like princesses! All of them said that they loved Stacey! One of my girlfriends who was not in my bridal party told me that she wants to use Stacey for her April 2012 wedding because we all looked amazing. The make-up lasted all night for everyone! She has amazing talent and I would use her again if I ever needed to get my makeup done for an event or special occasion. Stacey always responded to my e-mails and questions fast and was such a pleasure to work with.




















Hair

Beautiful Brides A+++++++++++++

I can not say enough great things about Lauren from Beautiful Brides. She is so easy to work with and she was such a pleasure. Her work is amazing! I'm pretty sure she is capable of anything when it comes to hair. She did such an amazing job when it came to my hair, my mom's hair, and my bridesmaid hair. My bridesmaid even told me that they want to use her for their weddings. Lauren is very professional and was always quick to respond to any questions I had. She was a part of my special day and I really can't thank her enough. She really made me feel like a princess that day. I recommend her to everyone I talk to, and I had a lot of guests at the wedding ask me who did my hair.







Bridal Salon


Paradise Bridal F+++++++++++

I really didn't want to give them a F, but they really gave me no choice.??1. They needed to order my dress THREE TIMES! The first one had stains on it. The second dress had stains and some of the stitching came out. The third dress had stains on it also until the day I picked it up for my wedding. I had to sit there and watch them take the stains out. If they were able to take them of the third dress then why couldn't they take them out of the first dress? I was not going to crazy about it because the stains were out and I was just happy about that.??2. This is what pushed me over the edge. After my cocktail hour I wanted to bustle my dress. I went with my mom and my aunt into the bridal suite to bustle my dress and the bustle was broke before we bustled it! We tried to safety pin it and that lasted a half hour on the the dance floor and then other bustles broke. I was so upset. I just wanted to dance at our wedding without any issues with my dress. That clearly didn’t happen. My dress was also at Village Bridal in Babylon Village. I really wish I just bought it there.

Gown

Sophia Tolli A++++++
Now, my gown in general on the other hand was all I could ask for and more. I originally saw my dress in a bridal magazine. I went to Village Bridal to try it on and it was amazing. I ordered it from Paradise Bridal because they were able to give me a better price. The dress was so classic and elegant. I love everything about it. I want to put it on again everyday. The day of the wedding I didn’t want to take it off. I was trying to make up reasons to keep it on longer.





Florist

Flowers by B u r t o n A+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Flowers by B u r t o n was one of my favorite vendors. I met with them and booked them on the spot. We got so much for our money and the flowers were beautiful. They were so easy to work with and they were so helpful. I don’t know about you were but I don’t really know anything about flowers. I just saw things I liked. When I went there a few weeks before the wedding to pick out the flowers I wanted I brought some pictures and ideas with me. They were able to give me everything I want, except for one flower and it was only because it was not in season. DH didn’t really care about the flowers during the whole planning process, but the day of the wedding he said that I did a great job and they were all beautiful. This is what we had:

My bouquet:
Mango Callas
White Roses
Red Berries

Bridesmaids:
Mango Callas
Circus Roses
Green Berries

Groomsmen:
Circus Roses


Groom:
White Rose

Centerpieces:
White Hydrangea
Mango Callas
Circus Roses
Green Berries







Videographer

Memories R Forever

We have not received our video yet. When we do I will come back and update it.

Favors

Afresh Approach (Formally Morgan Bay Confections) A++++++++++++++++

This was another vendor we found on LI Weddings. They were another on of our favorites. We were their first customer in their new location in Bay Shore. We felt special. haha Now, I am a HUGE fan of chocolate but DH doesn’t care for it. DH loved there chocolate though. We chose the box with 4 truffles and some chocolate hearts inside. In our bridal suite they gave us chocolate covered strawberries filled with canolli or cheesecake. Those were amazing!!! They didn’t last in the bridal suite very long. Everyone loved the chocolate and I sure did enjoy some leftovers the next day.

DJ

Xtreme Sound A

Xtreme Sound was the house DJ and they were really great to work with. I don’t have any negative things to say about them, but the reason I am only giving them an “A” is because sometimes when I called to ask a question I felt as if I was bothering them. Now that just may be the way they sound of the phone, so I don’t know. When we went them in person they were very nice and helpful. I do have to give him credit though because I put the electric slide on the “Do Not Play List” and DH requested me take it off when we handed everything. The DJ and I were like “Really?!” I was not thrilled with the idea and the DJ noticed that and gave me a wink. The day of the wedding the electric slide was not played. Nice. He did not play all of our “Must Play List”, but I do not blame him for that. DH’s family are all musicians and they got together as a band and played a set together. It was awesome to have a band and a DJ.






Cake

Campell’s Bake Shop A++++++++++++

The cake actually came with everything so we used the house bakery. I found a picture of the cake I wanted on theknot.com. I brought in the picture and they did exactly what I asked. It was delicious! I can’t wait for more birthdays to come around so I have an excuse to go there and order more cakes.





Photographer

White Pear Photography A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I met Liz from White Pear Photography from a friend at work. I met with at least 6 other photographers before I met Liz. I felt like the others were very commercialized. I saw some of Liz’s work and I fell in love. We met with her and after we got home we decided to book with her. Liz is the owner of White Pear Photography and was very flexible with our budget. I told her it was important to me to have a big album so she even added a few extra pages for free. She gave us more portraits also. We also got our photo booth through her which was a HUGE hit at our wedding. She was very professional and a blast to work with. She was fully prepared the day of the wedding and even sent a second photographer over to the guys to get pictures of them getting ready. She always got right back to me with any questions or concerns I had. The day of the wedding it was like we were reading each other’s mind of the type of shots to get. Liz knew it was important to me not to miss the cocktail hour and I didn’t miss one minute of it. She did ask us to take a few pictures outside at night by the gazebo. I’m glad she did because those pictures came out great. We got our proofs one month after the wedding. We pick out our thank you cards pictures within a few days. After that we got our thank you’s 2 weeks from that point. She told us what date to send her the album picture if we wanted them before Christmas, which was nice. We were able to get most of our parent albums complete so they can have theirs before Christmas. We wanted to write out of thank you’s first. We loved her work and will use her in the future for maternity photo shoots and baby pictures.































Reception

Brentwood Country Club B-

I honestly wish I found this site sooner than I did, because I can say with certainly that I would not have picked the reception that we did. DH and I didn’t have the funds for a extravagant wedding. We looked at a few places that were way out of our price range. We found the Brentwood Country Club and thought that was all we could afford. After finding this site I found out quickly that was not the case. Scott and Sammi were great to work with and if I ever had a question I could call them or go down there and they always stayed with me as long as I needed to make sure all my questions were answered. Our downpayment to hold he date was small so we liked that also. The one thing that really bothered me (and I know this is small) was that they would not throw in the seat covers. I really wanted them and they wouldn’t throw them in. Whatever, I guess. Now the day of the wedding I figured Scott or Sammi would be there to make sure that everything was running smoothly, they weren’t. They left the Matrie D’ and the bridal attendant (who was like 16) to take care of everything. Now what happens if there was an emergency? Also, I requested pinot grigio because it is my favorite type of wine. They didn’t have that they had chardonnay. I hate chardonnay. Also, the bartenders were not dressed nicely at all! They were in jeans and t-shirts! What the heck is that! Not only were they dressed like crap, but they were serving my 18 year old sister drinks all night. Now, my sister has issues and the last thing she needs is alcohol. I didn’t find out about this until after the wedding. I would’ve put a stop to that real quick. One table didn’t get cake and I heard numerous people had to send back the steak because it was not cooked properly. DH and I didn’t have any problems with our food. Ours was actually amazing. All in all the Brentwood Country Club was ok. I would not go out of my way to recommend them to anyone.


Ok girls, that's all I have for today. I've been home sick with pleurisy and costochondritis. I'll try to put up the honeymoon tomorrow. My my has the disc of photos so when I get that back I can add more photos on as well.

Re: SoonToBeGallagher 09/05/10 Wedding RJ Limos, White Pear Photography, Brentwood Country Club, Men's Warehouse, Classic Event Designs, About Face Artistry, Beautiful Brides, Paradise Bridal, and mor

LOVE IT... pics are awesome!!!!!

Re: SoonToBeGallagher 09/05/10 Wedding RJ Limos, White Pear Photography, Brentwood Country Club, Men's Warehouse, Classic Event Designs, About Face Artistry, Beautiful Brides, Paradise Bridal, and mor

The photos are amazing!!!! You look beautiful, I love your colors, the flowers and your cake!!!

The dress is beautiful - stinks that you had so many problems with the shop! but you still looked amazing!

Re: SoonToBeGallagher 09/05/10 Wedding RJ Limos, White Pear Photography, Brentwood Country Club, Men's Warehouse, Classic Event Designs, About Face Artistry, Beautiful Brides, Paradise Bridal, and mor

congrats! You look beautiful. And I love your bridesmaids dresses and your wedding cake!!!

Re: SoonToBeGallagher 09/05/10 Wedding RJ Limos, White Pear Photography, Brentwood Country Club, Men's Warehouse, Classic Event Designs, About Face Artistry, Beautiful Brides, Paradise Bridal, and mor

Great review!

I love your photos and you look beautiful!!!

Re: SoonToBeGallagher 09/05/10 Wedding RJ Limos, White Pear Photography, Brentwood Country Club, Men's Warehouse, Classic Event Designs, About Face Artistry, Beautiful Brides, Paradise Bridal, and mor

Gorgeous pics!! Your dress and the cake are amazing!!!!
I'm sorry that you had problems with your RH though!

Re: SoonToBeGallagher 09/05/10 Wedding RJ Limos, White Pear Photography, Brentwood Country Club, Men's Warehouse, Classic Event Designs, About Face Artistry, Beautiful Brides, Paradise Bridal, and mor

Loved the review! You made such a beautiful bride!! Congrats!!

Re: SoonToBeGallagher 09/05/10 Wedding RJ Limos, White Pear Photography, Brentwood Country Club, Men's Warehouse, Classic Event Designs, About Face Artistry, Beautiful Brides, Paradise Bridal, and mor

Thanks for sharing your review. Everything looked beautiful.

Re: SoonToBeGallagher 09/05/10 Wedding RJ Limos, White Pear Photography, Brentwood Country Club, Men's Warehouse, Classic Event Designs, About Face Artistry, Beautiful Brides, Paradise Bridal, and mor

Beautiful wedding. I loved your colors and cake.

Re: SoonToBeGallagher 09/05/10 Wedding RJ Limos, White Pear Photography, Brentwood Country Club, Men's Warehouse, Classic Event Designs, About Face Artistry, Beautiful Brides, Paradise Bridal, and mor

Great review..love the pics of you dancing

Re: SoonToBeGallagher 09/05/10 Wedding RJ Limos, White Pear Photography, Brentwood Country Club, Men's Warehouse, Classic Event Designs, About Face Artistry, Beautiful Brides, Paradise Bridal, and mor

you look gorgeous and like you had a blast! thanks for the review!

Re: SoonToBeGallagher 09/05/10 Wedding RJ Limos, White Pear Photography, Brentwood Country Club, Men's Warehouse, Classic Event Designs, About Face Artistry, Beautiful Brides, Paradise Bridal, and mor

You looked great and so happy ! The dress is beautiful, sorry about the nightmare with the bridal shop. At least it looked beautiful in the end :) \
Congrats!

Re: SoonToBeGallagher 09/05/10 Wedding RJ Limos, White Pear Photography, Brentwood Country Club, Men's Warehouse, Classic Event Designs, About Face Artistry, Beautiful Brides, Paradise Bridal, and mor

Thanks for sharing! I love your dress!

Re: SoonToBeGallagher 09/05/10 Wedding RJ Limos, White Pear Photography, Brentwood Country Club, Men's Warehouse, Classic Event Designs, About Face Artistry, Beautiful Brides, Paradise Bridal, and mor

Congrats! Thanks for the review! You look beautiful!

Re: SoonToBeGallagher 09/05/10 Wedding RJ Limos, White Pear Photography, Brentwood Country Club, Men's Warehouse, Classic Event Designs, About Face Artistry, Beautiful Brides, Paradise Bridal, and mor

I love your dress and you looked gorgeous. Thanks for the review!

Re: SoonToBeGallagher 09/05/10 Wedding RJ Limos, White Pear Photography, Brentwood Country Club, Men's Warehouse, Classic Event Designs, About Face Artistry, Beautiful Brides, Paradise Bridal, and mor