*updated*1-17-10 wedding, Fox Hollow, Flowers and Designs by Gina, After Hours, Fairy Tale Events, Oksana, Renee and More!!!

***EDIT TO ADD PRO SHOTS and left out info***


Hi Ladies,

Wow, seems like I have been on this site forever planning this, and now its over.

Advice to brides to be: You will stress, panic and cry... and that will be the week before the wedding. learn how to tell people it is your day, not theirs, and don't let them dictate to you what they think you should do. People will have opinions, people will try and force things on you, do what makes you happy.

The day of, realize that its your day, whatever happens, happens. Do not let it drive you crazy.

On to the review!

LIW: Honestly, there are aspects of our wedding that I do not think would have been what they were. Thank you Ron, Kim, Liz and the LIW family.

Engagement party: Charlie Brown in Garden City Park
Our engagement party was on January 12, 2008 at the Charlie Brown's steakhouse in Garden City Park. We had a private back room. The price is very reasonable, and everyone enjoyed it.







Bridal Shower: Charlie Browns in Commack.
My bridal shower was also held at a Charlie Browns, in Commack. The food again was very tasty, and we had a back area set up for our shower. If you are looking for a reasonable place with good food and some privacy, def check them out.

Bachelorette Party: Medieval Times in New Jersey
DH and I are part of a medieval re-creation society, and my bachelorette party was held at Medieval Times in New Jersey. It was a blast. They had to specially make my food because of an allergy to Black Pepper, but it was very tasty. We had fun talking to the knights afterwards, telling them we needed to suit them up in real suits of armor and come face us in the ring.


Wedding Dress: Designer Marys Bridal, purchased at Bridals by Yours Truly in Fort Walton Beach Florida.
My Grandmother actually purchased my dress for me in December of 2007. I had fallen in love with the dress, crying, saying I found my pretty pretty princess dress, but the wedding was still over 2 years away. So why so early??? The dress was discontinued.
My only concern with the dress was I believed we had ordered an 18, but when the dress came in, it was a size 16. We did not realize this till February 2009, when I came down to Florida because of a surgery my mother was having. So that led to some panic attacks until:::

Fine European Tailoring by Tanya. A+++++++
Tanya is a vendor here on LIW for alterations. I went in November to find an alterationist to work on my dress. The bridal salon I went to in NY, because there was no cap on alterations, wanted to charge $500… I turned around and walked back out the door, and went to check Tanya. She did an absolutely amazing job. You would never have known that my dress had been shortened, the jacket let out, the dress let out and taken back in. She also did a 3 point tie French Bustle which was beautiful (until DH stepped on it and ripped one of the ties). She was WAY more reasonable and an absolute sweetheart.

PRO PICS



Tuxes: Mens Wearhouse, B to B+: The grooms men were all spread out, DH and BM are in NY, one GM was in Jersey, one in Ohio and 2 Uncles in Florida. Ordering the tuxes was no problem at all. The problem came in picking them up. DH was given a 2xl shirt, instead of an XL. They started to tell me it couldn’t be that big, then one of the men working there came back to see, saw DH, and asked “so when are you taking off?” So he had to go to another store to get a shirt. We had also had difficulty locating his cuff links and such when we picked it up, so they took a set from another tux. We wound up finding DH’s, and returned the other set. Meanwhile, when one of the GM went to get his tux at that same store the next day, HIS Cuff set was missing (we think it was the set they had pulled out to give DH lol.)

PRO PICS



Shoes: Bridal Shoe Boutique, Westbury, NY
I purchased my shoes at the Bridal Shoe Boutique near Roosevelt Field Mall. They carry a bunch of styles, fit well, dyed them to match, and will dye my shoes black for me when I bring them in again.

Tiara: purchased at Bridals by Yours Truly
I loved my tiara. You can see it in some of the pics, I don’t have pro pics yet, but will post as soon as I get them. I saw it in the salon when we purchased my dress, and it was WAY less than any I had seen in NY.

Viel: Purchased off a LIW bride. It matched my dress perfectly, everyone was asking if my veil was made for my dress.


Makeup: Makeup artistry by Oksana A++++++++++++++++++
I love Oksana. She is an absolute sweetheart, and such an artist. My makeup was flawless, and lasted the entire day, we went to Dave and Busters after the wedding and it was still amazing. She did the makeup for most of my bridal party, my Grandmother and MIL. Everyone looked absolutely amazing. Def check out Oksana for makeup, her quality speaks for itself. She is the one and only makeup trial I went on.



PRO PICS




Hair: Hair Sculpting by Renee A+++++++++++++++++
Renee is another wonderful artist. A week and a half before the wedding I decided to get highlights and went to her. She made them a nice soft brown, so they are very natural looking. The day of the wedding she was there at 7am, did my hair, one of my bridesmaids, my Grandmother and MIL. Everyone loved their hair, and she and Oksana worked so well together. They helped put everyone at ease that early in the morning.



PRO PICS



Dance Lessons: Ballroom Dance LI A++
We took lessons with John from Ballroom Dance Long Island. We had a blast learning, and DH wants to continue lessons even though the wedding is over!


Rehearsal Dinner: Sergios in Massapequa A
It was a little crowded, and some people were not to thrilled with their main dish, but overall, Sergios is great for the price. I had the Shrimp Parmesan and stuffed mushrooms, and loved my meal. I thought it was very very tasty, and they give you PLEANTY of food

Grooms Cake: Sweet Karma Bakery A++++++
DH the Wed before the wedding asked me if I had ordered a grooms cake for the rehearsal on Saturday. Well, I had been waiting for a specific image. DH wanted a groomscake that looked like the traveler’s guide from the BBC version of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, complete with the words “Don’t Panic” on the screen. Brian and the staff at Sweet Karma came through. The cake looked phenomenal, and tasted even better. We went with a yellow cake with peanut butter mousse filling, and it was FABULOUS





Harpist: Janet King
We booked Janet after seeing her at a bridal show at the Huntington Hilton in 2008. She is amazing, and it added so much to the ceremony to have live music. I played the harp in college, and told DH that I wanted a harpist. We do not regret it, she is worth every penny. It was beautiful.


Lighting: NY Lounge Décor. A-
They really did a good job. We had pink uplights for the ceremony, and color change for the reception. The full impact was not felt until it started to get dark, but the colors on the wall throughout the day changed the feel of the room, getting people energized, or toning it down for slow songs. The reason for the A- and not the A+ is I had an issue with the lighting operator during our last meeting to discuss colors, and his trying to insist that I wanted something I did not want. It was resolved though, and day of I have no complaints.





PRO PICS






Officiants: We had a dual faith ceremony, and had Cantor Sheldon Rokofsky and Reverend Steve from the Massapequa reformed church as our joint officiants. They worked well together, and everyone was commenting on how beautiful the ceremony was.

Day of Coordinator: Fairy Tale Events A++++++++++++++++
I was lucky enough to win a half day day of coordinator from Fairy Tale Events at the LIW 2010 Bridal Shower. From the moment I contacted her, Chrissi was wonderful. She helped me figure out details at a time I really could not have cared less about the wedding (bad period in December) and made sure everything ran smoothly. The day of, when there was an issue at the hall, Chrissi was on top of it, making sure that no one would notice and that it was taken care of. She was on top of making sure that the hall had adhered to allergies, and was a big help the day of. I had always been one of those brides who said “why do I need a Day of Coordinator, I can do it myself.” Well, the day of the wedding, you don’t want to be doing it yourself. Def check out Fairy Tale Events if you are looking for a coordinator.

Flowers: Flowers and Designs by Gina A++++++++++++++++++++++
I friggin love Gina. The first day I met with her she had a sample centerpiece set up for me, and I was stunned and in love. She was very reasonable for what we got, and would check in with me to say hi and see how things were going. The day of the wedding she was there at 7:30 to drop off bouquets, and I was absolutely stunned. All the bouquets looked wonderful. My bouquet was drop dead gorgeous and HUGE.

We did half high half low centerpieces, and it had a great affect in the room, added a lot of dimension. As it went into night, the lights that she had put in the vases for the tall centerpieces started to shine, and everyone was coming up to us to tell us how much they loved the flowers. One of our groomsmen, the last guy that I would expect to mention flowers, came up to us and said “I gotta tell you, who ever did your flowers is freakin amazing. The centerpieces are AWE-SOME, and the lighting in there… really really brilliant”. The flowers were so beautiful, and they are still beautiful!! I was never one to say I wanted to preserve my bouquet, but now I want to preserve my bouquet, it was so amazing! Definitely check her out, she is beyond talented!!!











PRO PICS





Ceremony Items:
I had won a Unity Candle at the LIW 2010 Bridal Shower, and it was exactly what we would have wanted. The Ketubah and Yarmulkes were purchased from Zion Lion in New Hyde Park.




Music: After Hours Entertainment A++++++++++++++
Everyone was coming up to us to say how much they loved the DJ and MC that we had. Our MC was Phil, and I am horrible, but I forget the DJ’s name. Phil was on point with making sure special things that we wanted, like an anniversary dance instead of a bouquet toss, entering to the Imperial March from Star Wars without giving it away before our introduction. They read the mood of the crowd, and were wonderful. I loved them!

(that is my friend adam in the front, and my friend Nat in the middle)

Favors: Long Island Meadery
Again stemming from the medieval re-creation, DH and gave out miniature bottles of Mead for our wedding favors. They were traditional sweet clover mead with a custom label explaining why mead (honey based wine, basis of “honeymoon”) and a thank you note. People thought it was very original, and cannot wait to try it (I didn’t wait, its good lol)



Bridesmaid Dresses: Davids Bridal. A+
I know some girls have had issues with them, but my BM all ordered their dresses and had them within a week. I think only one of them got the alterations done there, but the dresses were beautiful, the girls loved them, and they say they will be able to wear them again.!





DIY: Can I really give myself a grade?
Invites, Save the dates (with Vista Print), Menus.

Ordered the save the date Magnets from Vista Print, they came quickly, were very affordable and people loved them. I made the holder for them, printed on my home printer.

For the invites and menus, I got the paper from various sources. I used:
www.paperandmore.com for the pocket folds and shimmer paper
www.cardsandpockets.com for the RSVP envelopes and mailing envelopes
www.anchorpaper.com and staples for the silver paper.

Unfortunately, I forgot to bring an invite the day of for professional photos, but I have one of the menus


Non Pro invites


Photo and Video: Engagement Pictures A+++++++++
Day Of:A++++++++++++
*UPDATE* Proofs A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Albums and Video: Pending
Duet gets a lot of mention on this sight, and they deserve it. They are amazing. Our main photographer was TJ, and our second photographer was Tim. I do not remember the videographers name, again, bad Janna. TJ was at the hotel at 8am for photos, looking around the Inn at Fox Hollow for shots, moving furniture to get the best lighting and shot, and very sweet and professional. Tim arrived at 10, went to check in with DH, then came to say hi and introduce himself to me. People were calling them the ninja’s, you wouldn’t realize they were there until you saw the flash of the camera.

We had previously taken our engagement shots with TJ, and they were GORGEOUS!!! We have no doubt our wedding photos and video will be amazing!








******UPDATE************ we picked up our proofs on 2/15/10, less than a month after our wedding. We have nearly 3,000 images, 500 edited images. They are absolutely STUNNING!!! We have no idea how we are going to narrow it down to 60 images for our albums, we love so many of them!!!


me with my uncle











The Fox Hollow: A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Aside from one snafu in the beginning of the day regarding the placecards, the staff at the Fox Hollow was nothing but amazing. My Bridal Attendant, Joanne, was there every time I turned around, getting me something to drink, reminding me to touch up my lip gloss, asking what I wanted from the cocktail hour, fixing my bustle, etc. Our Maitre D’, Samir, was also very helpful, bringing me diet coke before I realized my drink was low, making sure the vegetarian and kosher meals got out, wrapping up food for us etc.

The Food was amazing! People are emailing us to say how much they loved it. There was soooooo much food at the cocktail hour. We had Italian, Paella, Dim Sum, Carving Stations, Bratwurst, Pastas, Stuffed Cabbage. People were raving about everything. Each guest had a menu at their place setting for them to choose their entrée. My family from Florida had never seen seven choices at a wedding before.

The cake was from Erga Bakery, decorated by Gina. We had a yellow cake with butter cream frosting, French custard and banana filling. It was really really tasty. I only got a small slice other than the piece from the cake cutting, because we were up and down and up and down. The other dessert we had was a waffle sundae. THAT was a BIIIIIIIG hit (it was quite yummy).




All in all, it was a wonderful wedding, and as I get pro-pics I will update with them

Re: 1-17-10 wedding, Fox Hollow, Flowers and Designs by Gina, After Hours, Fairy Tale Events, Oksana, Renee and More!!!

Everything looked amazing!!! Congratulations on your wedding. You both looked gorgeous!

Re: 1-17-10 wedding, Fox Hollow, Flowers and Designs by Gina, After Hours, Fairy Tale Events, Oksana, Renee and More!!!

Aww great review! Congrats!!

Re: 1-17-10 wedding, Fox Hollow, Flowers and Designs by Gina, After Hours, Fairy Tale Events, Oksana, Renee and More!!!

Awesome and quick review!!!!!
Congrats!!!!!!

Re: 1-17-10 wedding, Fox Hollow, Flowers and Designs by Gina, After Hours, Fairy Tale Events, Oksana, Renee and More!!!

Beautiful review!!! congrats!!!!

Re: 1-17-10 wedding, Fox Hollow, Flowers and Designs by Gina, After Hours, Fairy Tale Events, Oksana, Renee and More!!!

First, I want to say it's nice to FINALLY read a 2010 wedding review!!! Thanks for completing it so fast.

You and your husband looked beautiful. I'm sooo happy that you mentioned Gina to me because now I can't wait for her to do my wedding!!!!!

Congrats

Re: 1-17-10 wedding, Fox Hollow, Flowers and Designs by Gina, After Hours, Fairy Tale Events, Oksana, Renee and More!!!

gorgeous pics!!! congrats!! I'm so happy to hear great things After Hours! that's who we're using

Re: 1-17-10 wedding, Fox Hollow, Flowers and Designs by Gina, After Hours, Fairy Tale Events, Oksana, Renee and More!!!

Awesome review..You looked beautiful!! I love the bolero with your dress. Congrats!!!

Re: 1-17-10 wedding, Fox Hollow, Flowers and Designs by Gina, After Hours, Fairy Tale Events, Oksana, Renee and More!!!

Congrats

Re: 1-17-10 wedding, Fox Hollow, Flowers and Designs by Gina, After Hours, Fairy Tale Events, Oksana, Renee and More!!!

great review! i used renee for my hair too and LOVED her :).

Re: 1-17-10 wedding, Fox Hollow, Flowers and Designs by Gina, After Hours, Fairy Tale Events, Oksana, Renee and More!!!

Congrats Janna! Everything looks beautiful!!!!!!!

Re: 1-17-10 wedding, Fox Hollow, Flowers and Designs by Gina, After Hours, Fairy Tale Events, Oksana, Renee and More!!!

Your wedding was awesome!!!!

Re: 1-17-10 wedding, Fox Hollow, Flowers and Designs by Gina, After Hours, Fairy Tale Events, Oksana, Renee and More!!!

Congratulations!!! You looked beautiful!!

Re: 1-17-10 wedding, Fox Hollow, Flowers and Designs by Gina, After Hours, Fairy Tale Events, Oksana, Renee and More!!!

Congratulations! I loved everything! I'm also in the WGP at Fox Hollow...I was wondering if you used the direction cards that they provide? If so, did you have a room block at the Inn next door? I am flipping out because I just realized that I am NOT having a room block there and the Fox Hollow direction card has the Inn information on the opposite side! Do you know if that's the only way they come?

Re: 1-17-10 wedding, Fox Hollow, Flowers and Designs by Gina, After Hours, Fairy Tale Events, Oksana, Renee and More!!!

Great review Janna!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: 1-17-10 wedding, Fox Hollow, Flowers and Designs by Gina, After Hours, Fairy Tale Events, Oksana, Renee and More!!!

great review Janna!!!

Re: 1-17-10 wedding, Fox Hollow, Flowers and Designs by Gina, After Hours, Fairy Tale Events, Oksana, Renee and More!!!

Beautiful and congratulations!!

Re: 1-17-10 wedding, Fox Hollow, Flowers and Designs by Gina, After Hours, Fairy Tale Events, Oksana, Renee and More!!!

i can't believe how fast you put this review up! Thank you!!!! You looked beautiful! LOVED your flowerssss!!!! Congratulationsss!!! Cant wait to see ur pro pix!

Re: 1-17-10 wedding, Fox Hollow, Flowers and Designs by Gina, After Hours, Fairy Tale Events, Oksana, Renee and More!!!

Everything looks beautiful! Thanks so much for posting this... I'm a Fox Hollow Winter Garden bride too and it's great to see the room in all glory! I love your uplighting, I'm considering it too.

Question for you... how many people did you have and how many tables are there? I'm trying to figure this out for my own wedding.

P.S. - Love your flowers! I'm mixing high/low too.

Re: 1-17-10 wedding, Fox Hollow, Flowers and Designs by Gina, After Hours, Fairy Tale Events, Oksana, Renee and More!!!

we did 10 tables, wound up with 77 people day of, 10 werent able to make it. The 10 tables worked out well