Super Long Review - Wedding at Vineyard Caterers (08/03/08)

I keep writing this, and it gets longer and longer, so I'm just going to post! I didn't post very much, because I had so little experience with weddings and wedding ideas, but the reviews were always really helpful, so I wanted to do one too - FM me with any questions.

First of all, I have to say something that everyone else says, but I never thought I would say, which is that my wedding day really was magical and now, almost feels like a dream. Prior to my wedding, I approached it in a pretty unromantic, practical, blasé sort of way because FH and I had been together for so long, but what everyone says is true - on the day, surrounded by your closest family and friends, and being treated like a celebrity or princess - it's just unforgettable, really. All the brides-to-be, it's really something to look forward to and savor and cherish, I'm so happy that it'll become such a wonderful memory for me – I hope it is for you too!

We were also lucky, because we adored all of our vendors - they were all amazing! I'm not going to give grades because they would all get A++++++++++++++++ (now I finally know why girls added all the pluses), because so many of them really went above and beyond what I ever would have imagined.

Our wedding was on August 3rd, 2008 (I initially created the incorrect wedding date as part of my profile because I was wary of lurkers, then didn't really know how to change it, i.e., was lazy, haha). The weather was absolutely PERFECT - we were so worried, because weather predictions kept threatening rain, and it thunder stormed the day before (I felt bad for all the outdoor brides that day), but even by our outdoor cocktails the night before, the sky had cleared and the weather was beautiful. On the day itself, it was amazingly sunny and bright and warm, but not too hot or humid - and the weather continued for our brunch the next morning. I'll try and discuss everything in order:


Save the Dates - Wedding Paper Divas (online site)

We ordered our STDs online from WPD, and they turned out really nice - we wanted something modern and minimalist, and they were perfect for that. I should mention that one thing that was frustrating is that the colors are not consistent - I guess the colors are mixed individually, so we returned two batches before we were happy with the color (to be fair, we didn't order the 'color sheet' that they recommended we order, so we were going by the color on the computer screen - but even the STD batches that we were receiving were slightly different colors). However, the service was great - they were quick to replace and resend the STDs when we weren't happy with the color, and they were very responsive and friendly, and gave us discounts when we expressed frustration. Overall, I would recommend them if you are looking for modern, minimalist STDs.


Invitations - White Aisle

I ADORE Rebecca at White Aisle!! She is very responsive and professional, and I love the look of the invitations. We got tea length letterpress invites with 2 colors, and they turned out so beautiful - we had lots of compliments on them (and several friends 'copied' us and got similar letterpress invites, which I took as a compliment!). At one point, there was a timing mix-up (on our part), and Rebecca went above and beyond to get the invites rushed to us, waiting at the office to put in our expedited delivery order, etc. (We did pay the extra for the rush delivery, of course, but she was very helpful in getting that organized.) Highly recommend!


Wedding Website - Wedding Window

We resisted creating a wedding website for a long time, but finally caved in after seeing how great a friend's website was. Wedding Window is pretty affordable and really easy to use, and a lot of our guests were very impressed with the website. In the end, it was probably more useful for entertainment value than for utility (I'm not sure how much information was actually properly disseminated over the website - we ended up emailing our guests and providing the information in the OOT bags as well). Also, we tried to only use online RSVPs, partially in an attempt to be more environmentally-friendly, and partially because I thought it would be more convenient (guests always seem so reluctant to mail back invites). Well, I think getting RSVPs back is an issue that will always be present, because we still had to chase down RSVPs! :) I'm glad we used a wedding website though, it definitely was fun and convenient.


Dress - Maggie Sottero ('Anastasia') at RK Bridal

I probably spent a moderate amount of time looking for a dress, and tried a variety of places (from Kleinfeld's and Bridal Reflections to Nicole Miller to RK Bridal and David's Bridal). In the end, I really loved the dress I found at RK Bridal. RK Bridal itself was fine, as long as you're okay with a very no-frills process (which I was, although I would suggest going to a place like Kleinfeld's at least once, so you get that 'princess bride' experience!). I looked at the dresses online first and printed out the ones I wanted to try on, which was REALLY helpful - otherwise, it's kind of overwhelming trying to rifle through racks and racks of heavy white dresses. Also, I think that if you find your dress at a better price somewhere else, RK Bridal will match it, although I couldn't find my dress anywhere else. Finally, the alterations were fine - it's a bit of an assembly line process (I think I had a different seamstress for each fitting), and a few times, I would ask for something to be done, and it wouldn't be done - but they were always quick to fix it on the spot, and in the end, my dress looked great, so I can't complain (especially because I lost a lot of weight before the wedding but after I ordered the dress, so I was worried they wouldn't be able to alter it, but it fit perfectly!). (Plus, it is just a lot more convenient not to have to drag your dress to another seamstress.)


Day-of Jewelry

I just wore flowers on my wedding day, and pearl studs in my ears, but initially, I purchased earrings and a bracelet from Swarovski (until I remembered that my dress has hints of gold, but the DOJ was rhodium, haha). I wore the Swarovski jewelry to the cocktails the night before, and got compliments on them.


Groom's tux - Men's Wearhouse

We chose not to have a bridal party, so only FH needed to get a tux, which we got at Men's Wearhouse, which was fine as long as again, you don't mind a no-frills experience. (Some of the girls working there seem deeply disgruntled). FH rented his tux for the wedding, but we just recently bought a tux from there, and he looks great in them, so we're happy.


Rings - Brilliant Earth and Zale's

My wedding band (platinum with pave set Canadian diamonds) was from the same online jewelry website as my engagement ring (platinum seacrest with a sapphire), because it was important to me to have rings that were ethically and environmentally produced, and Brilliant Earth specializes in responsible jewelry - I highly recommend them! The service was great, and the jewelry is beautiful - I love both of my rings. FH's ring is a tungsten ring (with a wide band in the middle), and we got it from the Zale's at Tanger - the ring looks great on him, but the service was a little frustrating (basically, they measured his finger and placed an order for a size that was impossible to make, apparently, and the ring came in too big the first time, which was frustrating since we live in the city and had to drive all the way out to Tanger just to have them re-order the ring a second time). I guess that's the risk you take for the great price we got at Zale's though.


Hair and Make-up - Sachiko Yanase

I LOVE Sachiko, she's wonderful! My family and friends adored her too, and were suggesting that I should give her name to friends. I went for one hair and make-up trial, and she spent a lot of time with me, trying various hairstyles and make-up colors - and then she wrote down everything that I liked, so on the day of the wedding, everything went totally smoothly. Also, despite laughing, crying (to my surprise!), and eating (and sweating - it was pretty hot!), my make-up stayed put, and I didn't really need to blot or reapply lipstick (which was good, because I really didn't have time to even remember that...) Sachiko also did my mom's hair and make-up, as well as my SIL's and my MIL's make-up, and several people commented on how beautiful they all looked. Sachiko's so sweet and friendly, and really goes above and beyond - loved her!!!


Photographer: Mariann from Blue Daisy

Mariann is just absolutely amazing - not only is she a fantastically talented photographer, but she is one of the sweetest, nicest, kindest people that I've ever met - which is so important for a photographer, because you want your guests to feel comfortable with her! I have gotten so many compliments on the photos she took for our engagement shoot, and how she was so professional but sweet at my wedding. She would always respond so quickly to our email questions, and she did a lot of nice things for us that meant a lot - i.e., sending sweet thank you cards, etc. She is just so professional, responsive, talented, kind - I can't say enough good things about her. The assistant she brought seemed very nice as well. We're so excited to see our pro pics!


Videographer: Adam from Pennylane Productions

Adam is another amazing, talented, nice, friendly vendor that just totally blew us away. Initially, we weren't even going to get a videographer, and I cannot stress enough how my one piece of advice to future brides would be to GET A VIDEOGRAPHER. You have no idea how many things happen at once on the day, and how quickly things happen, and as the bride, you're often not in a position to see a lot of it (i.e., you're being taken away for photos, or hidden away prior to the ceremony, etc.). I am so relieved we decided to get such a great videographer, I can't wait to see everything I missed and re-watch everything I loved. Adam and his assistant also went above and beyond - on the spur of the moment, they created a wedding trailer of our wedding day and showed it at the end of the night, and it almost made everyone start crying again. It is sooooo amazing - I'm a little ashamed to admit that I've been watching it almost constantly since the wedding, and I keep tearing up each time. I can't wait to see the rest of the footage!

Flowers - Verbena Designs

Jennifer is also so sweet and friendly (we basically surrounded ourselves with vendors that we could see ourselves being friends with, i.e., vendors that are super nice and friendly and sweet). You can probably see a pattern here, but Jennifer is yet another amazingly talented, sweet and friendly vendor who completely impressed us. We actually had a little trouble finding a florist at the beginning, because I started out wanting something simple, and a lot of florists didn't seem interested in that - Jennifer was so nice and open to any budget, and when I saw the amazing centerpieces she could create, I immediately upped my order and ordered a mixture of beautiful high and low centerpieces. I also loved that she only does one wedding a day and goes to the venue herself to set everything up - we were totally confident in her taste and vision, and really left a lot up to her. I just generally described colors of dresses and what we were looking for, and she created beautiful pieces - the tall centerpieces really blew everyone away, but I also loved the personals (I had her make a floral bracelet for myself, my mother, my MIL, and my SIL, and of course boutonnieres for FH, my brother, my father, and my FIL). There were some small hiccups - for example, my hairpiece was supposed to be silk, and they ended up as real flowers (but it looked beautiful, and they lasted all day, so I was happy), and we were supposed to have two long roses for a rose ceremony, but they weren't there - not sure if they were lost after she dropped the flowers off, or whether there was a miscommunication. Also, Jennifer is not as quick with responses as some of our other vendors, but that might just be a florist thing (I noticed none of the florists were that quick to respond), and she was so nice and talented that we had total confidence in her, and she definitely did not disappoint. We loved our flowers, and everything was decorated even more nicely than we had expected, and we highly recommend her!


Officiant - Pastor Mike

It was really difficult for us to find an officiant, because we wanted a spiritual, non-denominational ceremony, but didn't know anyone who could recommend an officiant (I feel like most people use their own pastors or priests or rabbis). We found Pastor Mike through liweddings (where we found nearly all of our vendors!), and liked him right away - he has a great personality, very funny and outgoing. He has a great selection of ceremony speeches and ideas, and you can go through and customize what you want and don't want - he was very good to work with. We wanted to write our own vows, and we wanted him to read pieces of advice and wishes that our guests had sent, and he was very flexible with all of our ideas, but also helpful in providing guidance with the parts of the ceremony that we were less sure about. One part of the ceremony that got left behind was the rose ceremony - as I mentioned, the roses were not there, so he seamlessly skipped over that part. I do wish he or FH or myself had remembered before we got to the altar, and we could have improvised with other flowers, but there is just so much happening on the day! There were a few moments in the ceremony where PM misspoke a little bit, but that could also be at least partially due to the fact that we provided the advice and wishes only a few days in advance, and it was understandable if he was a little distracted, since his daughter was married the weekend before! :) Overall, we thought he was friendly, dynamic, and well-spoken, and several of our guests commented on how great he was and how much they liked him.


Musicians: Marie Stack from M.A.S. Music

I feel like a broken record now, but Marie was another sweet and nice vendor - she's incredibly responsive, and very open to my ideas (I wanted to walk down to the aisle to a contemporary song with a string trio and a friend of mine playing guitar, and it turned out perfect). She was also so nice about being flexible and accommodating our requests (we were pretty easygoing about the music - we trusted her judgment! - but she would check to see if there were any special songs were wanted played - she really went the extra mile in making sure we were happy). In all honesty, I didn't get to hear a lot of the music, but I'm sure it was great, and the song I walked down the aisle to sounded phenomenal, so I was really happy!


Deejay: Frank from FM Entertainment

Frank did a great job on the wedding day, and we were really happy with how everything turned out - again, we were pretty easygoing with our music choices, we gave him lists of 'examples' of play and do not play lists, but we told him we trusted his judgment, and just to follow the idea of those lists - we didn't want him to be distracted and keeping track of extensive must play and do not play lists. We got a lot of compliments on the music and how it was good, and the parts I heard, I was really happy with. Our intros worked out well too (our friends and family, many of whom are not American, thought they were hilarious). Leading up to the wedding, there were some communication problems between us and Frank and Deirdre, his wife who I think is also the owner of the company - but in the end, Frank was great on the day, so we were really happy. Frank also made valiant attempts to have our guests dance, but we weren't expecting too much dancing - our wedding was a little earlier, and it was still so light out, so many of our guests were outside enjoying drinks and the beautiful grounds. We appreciated his efforts though!


Cake: Create-a-Cake

Our cake was included with our venue, Vineyard Caterers. First off, I have to say the cake tasted AMAZING – we had gone to a cake tasting earlier, and the staff were really friendly, and we loved all the flavors – it took us awhile to decide. (We went with two layers of vanilla cake with vanilla filling, one layer of chocolate cake with chocolate filling, and one layer of vanilla cake with cannoli filling). We gave them a photo of a cake that we liked, with sugar bunches of grapes and gold ribbon, and on the day of the wedding, the cake looked okay – pretty good, really – except that it was slightly but visibly tilting! VC tried their best to fix it by propping it up on one side, but several of our guests noticed. It didn’t really bother me, as I hadn’t focused on how the cake looked too much and really, I was so happy that day that something that little wouldn’t have bothered me! And most importantly, everyone commented on how good it tasted. However, if you are very concerned about what your cake looks like, you might want to get a trial run or something.


Now for the venues:


Night Before Cocktails, held at Stonewall's Restaurant at Cherry Creek golf resort

We looked for what felt like an eternity to find a place that we could have our 'Night Before' cocktails - we wanted hors d'oeuvres served as well. However, most of the nice restaurants that we spoke to weren't able to give us a full room for just drinks (which was understandable, since it was a Saturday night). Stonewall's restaurant had a lovely outdoor patio that looks onto the golf course, and they told us that we could book that area for our drinks - it turned out very nice, some candles and torchlights were put out, and we had a bartender for the drinks and waiters for the appetizers. We had a slight emergency at one point (one guest, who had been on a 20 hour flight and hadn't eaten or slept, passed out - and Stonewall's was very professional and quick to call medical aid for her). I noticed that a few times, other patrons who must not have realized that it was a private event filtered through to walk outside (and even ended up in one of our family photos!), but generally, I think the restaurant was good about keeping people out of the area. If you are looking for pre-event drinks with only small amounts of food, I highly recommend Stonewall's - it was a big hit! (Our guests also commented on how good the appetizers were.)


Wedding - Vineyard Caterers

I don't think there are words enough to describe how much everyone loved Vineyard Caterers - our guests raved about many things about our wedding, but I think some of the most-repeated compliments had to do with the vineyard venue and the food! After we won the gamble with the weather, the vineyard was almost indescribably beautiful - and our guests loved wandering amongst the vines, and around the waterfall, and under the arch and gazebo. The outdoor ceremony was perfect, so sunny and romantic, and the cocktail hour was such a hit (everyone thought it was the actual meal), and the dinner really stunned everyone as well! We got the intermezzo, which everyone loved (and was FH's favorite part, actually). We also got the Viennese hour, which further blew everyone away - the chocolate fountain, in particular, was stunning - I didn't realize it would be that tall! I wish I had been able to eat more, but the combination of my corset dress and my excitement about being able to see and speak to everyone meant I barely ate at all! John, the maitre d', was so thoughtful and packed up a box of Viennese hour treats for me to try the next day. Which brings me to what FH and I thought was the best part of Vineyard Caterers - the staff! Both Bills were so friendly through the whole process, and they are so fair and reasonable when it comes to the budget and pricing - we never felt uncomfortable or stressed out, we always felt almost like we were dealing with friends - we really trusted them completely! And John is just the sweetest - there was so much going on (as there is at every wedding, I'm sure), but he was just so professional and nice, everything ran so smoothly. The bridal attendant was quite friendly and helpful - some of the time, she wasn't around me when I needed something (but that could very well be because I was running around everywhere), and she didn't give me drinks as I've heard they sometimes do (but again, that could be because I was all over the place, and I refused a lot of drinks and food at the beginning, so she might have been reasonably assuming I didn't want any). She was great with bustling my dress, and arranging it, and she cleaned off some dirt stains from the bottom - and she very sweetly checked to make sure I didn't want the rest of my dinner before she took it away. Most of all, she was friendly and nice - we really loved the VC staff! One of my friends pointed out how impressive it was that everything was so smooth, and there was never any down time, and no hiccups at all - the staff really went above and beyond our expectations. VC really made our wedding wonderful, and we would recommend it a million times over!


Morning After Brunch - Blackwells Restaurant at Great Rock golf course

We held a brunch for our guests at Blackwells restaurant, which is a beautiful restaurant that faces a lovely golf course. We got the main room, with the wide window view and the wooden beams - it was all really lovely. Everything went well, although for some reason, the food was taken away early, before the end of the allotted time (we went with a buffet for breakfast) - whenever late guests would arrive, the wait staff would prepare a full plate for them, which was nice, but I was a little annoyed that the food was removed without letting either me or FH know (I think they asked my mother if additional guests would be arriving, and she said yes, so I'm not sure what exactly happened, but that was a bit of a letdown). Also, there was supposed to be mimosas for everyone, but I don't think the later guests were offered mimosas, although they were very generous with the mimosas at the beginning (several guests were offered more than one) - this might have been a miscommunication along the way, where the restaurant thought all the guests were arriving at the same time at the beginning, whereas we had told our guests that they could arrive throughout the morning (since it was a buffet). However, the service was friendly and responsive, and the location was beautiful, and everyone had fun, so we were happy overall.


Menu, Card Box, Placecards, Table Numbers, OOT bags, Bathroom Baskets, Fans and Water - FH and myself

FH was really so helpful during the wedding planning process, he really did half of the work, which I really appreciated! For example, he printed out the menus on cardstock we got from Staples in our invitation colors (pastel blue and chocolate brown), and he made the card box (I found a cute French-themed box and two glass bunches of grapes from Michael's, and he glued the top down and cut a slit in the top - although in the end, everyone put their cards AROUND the box and poor John had to feed them all into the box. My mom thinks that the box was so pretty, everyone thought it was another gift.) I did the calligraphy for the placecards (also for the invites and STDs) - we used the placecards VC provided, and put them in corks. FH also printed out the table numbers (we named each table after a place that we had visited, and put a photo that we had taken of that place on the table). For the OOT bags, we picked up the bags, tissue paper, the bottles of water and pringles at Target, and we added chocolates from Lindt, as well as maps, schedules, timelines, directions, etc. - some of which we printed out, and some of which we got from the Tourism office, etc. (we paid postage to have them delivered to us). We also got our bathroom basket pieces from Target. We left Japanese sandalwood fans on every other chair (we figured the guys wouldn't want to be seen fanning themselves with pretty fans), and we ordered those off eBay, which worked perfectly. We also provided bottles of water for the ceremony, which VC placed in silver buckets near the entrance to the vineyard.


Hotels - Holiday Inn Express Riverhead and Best Western East End

Both HIE and BW were friendly and helpful during the planning process (although there were a few issues in communication, but I know they were busy, especially during wedding season). Two things that I wish FH and I had done differently is provide extra OOT bags - I'm not sure why, but somehow they ran out and some of our guests didn't get them, which was unfortunate. The second thing is arrange for transportation to the vineyard - traffic was pretty busy around Riverhead that day, and although we had 2 shuttles, we hadn't properly communicated and planned out who would be taking the shuttles, so I'm not even sure how much they were utilized. The hotels themselves were fine, everyone had fun and enjoyed them, and the HIE (where I had the bridal suite) gave us a bottle of champagne and chocolate as a congratulations. There was a small issue in the morning though - I think there was a private breakfast being held in the Great Room, but there weren't clear signs and the door was open, and a few of my guests were yelled at (by other private guests) when they accidentally went to the wrong room for breakfast - I do wish it had been made more clear which rooms were closed off, but that could have been a miscommunication on the part of other guests. Other than that, I would recommend either hotel!

I think that's it for now - again, feel free to FM me with any questions. Best of luck to all the brides to be, you're going to have so much fun!

Re: Super Long Review - Wedding at Vineyard Caterers (08/03/08)

Thanks for the great review!!! Congrats!

Re: Super Long Review - Wedding at Vineyard Caterers (08/03/08)

Congratulations! What an amazing review! I am so glad to see another VC bride post a review. Thank you so much!

Re: Super Long Review - Wedding at Vineyard Caterers (08/03/08)

great review!! you have great taste!! i used 5 of your vendors as well..blue daisy, FM, White Aisle, verbena and men's wearhouse...

Re: Super Long Review - Wedding at Vineyard Caterers (08/03/08)

congrats :) great review

Re: Super Long Review - Wedding at Vineyard Caterers (08/03/08)

great review!! Your wedding sounds beautiful! I'd love to see photos when you get them! Congrats and thanks for sharing!

Re: Super Long Review - Wedding at Vineyard Caterers (08/03/08)

Thank you so much for such an amazing review! I'm also getting married at Vineyard Caterers and I love to hear such wonderful things about them. Also, I'm using Verbena for flowers. I can't wait to see some photos! Congratulations!

Re: Super Long Review - Wedding at Vineyard Caterers (08/03/08)

congrats!!!!! great review!!!!

Re: Super Long Review - Wedding at Vineyard Caterers (08/03/08)

Thanks for this great review!!!