Wedding Weekend 5/28-29/05 Lands End, Flower Michelle, Skyline,etc. More pics on p.2!

Let me start by saying that my wedding was amazing—it was everything I ever could have wanted. Planning it, however, was not the great experience that everyone made it out to be. I kept saying, sometimes through tears, “This is supposed to be fun!” Don’t let anyone kid you. It’s going to be stressful. There are too many emotions, expectations and egos involved for it to be simple, but the moral of the story is that the drama and pressure of the planning process will melt away on the big day. The minute I woke up and saw the sun was shining, everything was right in the world.

It’s taken me forever to post this review, so in the interest of getting to the big stuff, I am going to gloss over the details about the pre-wedding parties. Our engagement party was held at the restaurant at Areca, and my shower was at The Gatsby in Islip. If you want details on either, FM me.

Without further ado, here’s the review:

Pre-wedding/getting ready

Save the Dates (Bookmarks and Poetry Books)
Short Stop Printing, Commack: A
We made little books of love poetry (including a poem written by each of us) and put bookmarks in them that had a quote from one of my favorite musicals and our names and date. The turnaround time was quick, and the price was right.

Invitations (Encore Studios)
Kathy at Follow Your Heart: A+++++++++++++++
I can’t say enough about Kathy. I had my heart set on chocolate brown invitations. I used to be a graphic designer, so I am very picky about paper and design. The sample in the book had the text centered, but I wanted to change it. I wasn't happy with the K in the sample font, so I tried two other fonts before I settled on the right combination of typestyles. The invitation may have been my most bridezilla purchase...lol. Kathy was so patient with me throughout the process. We also got a sign-in platter for the rehearsal dinner and my garter from her. In addition, we used one of her contacts to clean my wedding dress. She is just amazing.

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Laser Calligraphy
Bill at Inkspun: A
I didn’t want to splurge for hand calligraphy. Bill is a Godsend. He is very professional, his turnaround time is ultra-quick, and his price can’t be beat. He even matched my invitation font and printed the addresses in brown at no extra charge.

Dress (Alvina Valenta)
Iman Bridal Couture A
In the final analysis, my dress was nothing short of my ideal. The seamstress was amazing. In order to shorten the dress, she had to remove all the lace at the bottom of the dress and then put it all back on by hand. It must have been a tremendous job, and she did it flawlessly.

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The dress shopping experience there, however, wasn’t as great. I was trying on a sample, and I was told that another girl saw me in the dress and wanted to try it on. The saleswoman explained that if the girl wanted to buy it, I'd be stuck. (Since it was a sample, it was the only one. Once it was gone, ordering a new one would have been the only option and that was out of my price range.) I felt very pressured and ended up putting a deposit down on the sample and regretting it. I kept looking at other dresses despite the fact that I had already bought one. When I saw “my dress” at a trunk show, I knew it was the one. Iman was kind enough to apply my deposit from the sample to the new dress I wanted to order. I am so thankful that she did, but by the same token, the Alvina was more expensive than the original dress, and she still could sell the sample that I wasn’t going to take, so it was really a win-win situation for her.

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Veil
Bridal Suite of Centereach—A-
Got a Cathederal length veil for a decent price. It was more expensive than Barron’s, but nowhere near as expensive as Iman, Bridal Reflections or some of the others. It was a challenge to figure out the right length without being able to try it on with the dress. The woman who sold it to me, said that it could be shortened if necessary. When we picked it up my mother just happened to say in passing, “If we need to shorten it, we’ll give you a call.” And the woman started laughing, saying “You can’t shorten a veil with edging like that.” Luckily, I didn’t need to shorten it, but it just bothers me on principle that they were willing to lie in the first place.

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Headpiece
Commack Wedding Center—A
I didn’t want anything to tiara-ish, and they had a nice selection.

Hair
Marisa Maggiotta (Can’t rate—vendor is a personal friend)
Marisa is a friend of mine from the LI theater community. She made my hair super crazy frizzy when I played Magenta in Rocky Horror, and she was jut as adept at making it silky smooth for my wedding. She is a hairdresser at Cactus Salon in Plainview.

Make-up
Katherine from Clinique at the SmithHaven Mall: A-
I went on a bunch of trials (LIW vendors, Sephora), and Katherine was the only one who really understood what I wanted. The make-up itself was stunning. The minus stems from the fact that her terms were inconsistent. When I first went for the trial, I was told I only had to buy make-up that I was going to keep—lip gloss, lipstick. When I went back to book the date, she said I had to buy all the make-up I was going to wear that day. By that time, I was too anxious about gettingthings done to haggle about it.

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Longline Bra
Flattering Me, Bridal Reflections: A
Great fit-- best strapless I've ever worn. When I wore it to other bridal salons to try on dresses, the sales ladies would ask me where I got it…lol.

Shoes
Emily’s Place (Dancewear), St. James: A+++++++++++++
I bought ballroom dance shoes. They were so comfortable. I wore them from 9:30 AM till 2:30 AM without any pain. You can’t help but feel like Ginger Rogers when you are wearing a good pair of ballroom shoes. Having danced in them in countless shows, I knew that was the only way to go. I also knew I didn’t want white shoes. Since my color was chocolate brown with gold and cream accents, I went with a gold-ish beige shoe. We didn’t do the garter toss, so nobody saw them anyway, but I liked the color ;)

Perfume
I mention this not so much as a review, but as a recommendation. Someone on this site— sorry I can’t remember who, b/c I’d love to give credit where credit is due— suggested that you should by a whole new scent for your wedding day, so that whenever you wear it again, you’ll be reminded of the big day. It’s like a sense-memory souvenir that will evoke the big day years down the road. It was a terrific idea. I chose Ralph Lauren Style.

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And we’re off…

Limo
Cruise Control: A++++++++++++++++++++++
Not only was the limo on time, clean, stocked and all that jazz, the driver was incredibly patient. I made them turn the limo around twice after leaving my house. The first time, I realized I wasn’t wearing any jewelry. My mother ran in the house and grabbed the box that she thought had all the jewelry in it. I started putting stuff on as we got back onto the road and realized that my “something old” wasn’t in the box. More important than the superstition, it was something that my late grandfather had given to me, and I really couldn’t get married without having a piece of him with me. So, I turned the car around again. The driver never complained, and we still got to Lands End on time.

Letters
Again, not a review, but a suggestion. We didn’t see each other before the ceremony, so we decided to write each other letters to be delivered by members of the bridal party that morning. It was one of my favorite things we did.

Program
I made them using Adobe In Design and printed them out at Staples. I wanted to do something that would evoke the feel of the invitation.

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Ceremony 1 (yes, we had two…lol)
Father Bob Allmen: A
When we first decided we waned to get married, our biggest desire was to get married outside. This is a big drama in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church. (The Pope can say mass in Yankee Stadium and that counts, but if I get married on a beach instead of in a church, it doesn’t count. Don’t even get me started…) Anyway, we found Father Bob Allmen, a reformed Catholic priest who is willing to marry couples outdoors. (He left the Roman Catholic Church, because he doesn’t agree with a lot of the politics re: pro-life, homosexuality, laws against priests marrying, etc.)

Father Bob is difficult to get on the phone, but our ceremony was beautiful. He allowed us to really personalize it. We had three friends of ours sing during the ceremony. DH and the groomsmen walked in to “Storybook Love” from “The Princess Bride.” My attendants walked in to “Starting Here, Starting Now,” and I walked in to an instrumental of Yanni’s “In the Morning Light.” The third singer performed “With You” from Pippin while we did a sand ceremony, which involved not only us, but members of our families. We had four readings during the ceremony (Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, a reading from The Prophet, an Apache wedding blessing and a poem by Roy Croft), all read by close friends of ours. We also had a memorial candle in the gazebo. The ceremony was very touching and exactly the way we wanted it.

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Flowers
Flower Michelle: A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
What is there to say about John that has not been said? He is a creative genius, and his enthusiasm is infectious. For the CPs, we wanted something very different. We started out with a whole 'sand and sea' thing (browns with blue accents), and we knew we definitely wanted to bring the water inside the ballroom somehow. I went through a bunch of magazine pictures with John, and he came up with this. The pictures don’t really do it justice.

We went with basic roses for the bo-ks—all shades of creams. My bo-k also had stephanotis with gold pearls. When the BM bo-ks arrived at my house in the morning they had a few dark peach roses in them, which wasn’t what we discussed. They were very beautiful anyway, so I wasn’t going to mention it. The delivery guy told John that he overheard my mother and I talking about the bo-k’s. Well, when the limo pulled up at Land’s End, the door opened and there was john with cream flowers in hand. He grabbed the BM bo-ks and switched the flowers on the spot. He is just incredible.

When I went into the ballroom, my jaw dropped. The CPs looked so amazingthat I wanted to hug him, but he wouldn’t let me, b/c he was still in his florist apron and didn’t want to mess up my dress. He is THE best.

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Band
Skyline: A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
We used Skyline-- they were phenomenal. DH and I are both performers, and most of our friends are actors/musicians, and we were all very impressed with them. Our gang is a picky group when it comes to music and everyone raved about them. Plus the Skyline guys were really accommodating about making time to rehearse with my friends who sang during the ceremony.

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Lands End: A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Land's End was amazing. I know everyone says this, but I still have guests calling me to rave about the food, the service and the view, saying it was the best wedding they've ever been to. The maitre d’, Marietta, and the bridal attendant, Angelina, were just incredible. Yes, our drinks were always refreshed and we were treaked like a king and queen, but they really went above and beyond. For example, when my mother lost one of the earrings that I had given her as a thank you present, Marietta got on her hands and knees and helped her find it.

My only day-of complaint is that they did not pass the farewell truffles out at both exits. Since we happened to be standing in the back of the ballroom, many guests gravitated toward us to say good night and then went directly to the closest exit, which also was closer to the parking lot. None of them got the truffles they were supposed to get. A tiny detail, but something LE brides might want to mention at your final meeting. But that is such an insignificant thing really. It was a beautiful day from beginning to end.

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The setting is just spectacular.

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At the cocktail hour, we he had the pasta, Asian and Caribbean stations in addition to the standard Tuscan Table and carving option. For dinner, we chose the Caesar salad in crostini with parmesan brittle, grilled shrimp over pepperjack risotto and then guests had a choice of filet mignon, stuffed chicken, swordfish, and a vegetarian entrée of exotic mushrooms layered with roule cheese in a whole wheat crust. We selected the dessert cart to accompany the cake and the fountain.

They sent us home with hors d’oeurves, leftovers from our entrees and cake, leftovers from the dessert cart, and a big bottle of champagne with a card wishing us well. They even wrote us a note on the box that had the top layer of our cake in it. The service is just extraordinary.

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Cake and Chocolate Fountain
Audrey’s: A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The cake was outrageous. We had yellow cake with one layer of chocolate fudge and one layer of cookies and creme mousse. The whole thing was covered in ivory fondant icing with a layer of buttercream under it. In our top tier, we put peanut butter mousse-- they advised us not to put it in the rest of the cake b/c of people with peanut allergies-- and it was awesome. We cut into our top tier on our one month anniversary. We put one slice back in the freezer, so we could have the traditional freezer-burned bite on our one-year anniversary, but we couldn't bare the thought of letting the rest of the layer lay around in the freezer for a year-- that's how good the cake is...lol. About a month or two before the wedding, we ordered a test cake from Audrey's for $10. I'd never had fondant before and wasn't sure if I would like it. I would definitely recommend doing this, so you are not surprised by your fillings on the big day.

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The Chocolate Fountain was one of the best things we did. People couldn't get enough of it.

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Photography
Duet: Pre-wedding: A+/Day of: A-/Proofs A-/Album and Video: TBD

Our casual day pics were breathtaking, and Duet’s customer service is truly amazing. They were so patient with me about choosing my sign-in board picture, and it came out beautifully.

Many of my pictures are stunning. I am very happy with my proofs overall and I have a lot to pick from for my album, but there weren't as many photojournalistic shots as I expected-- and those are the ones I was looking forward to the most. There were a million dance floor pics, which tend to show the same people over and over. While we didn't request table pictures, I think they should have mingled around the room and taken candids of the older people who weren't dancing.
Plus there aren't any pictures from our cocktail hour.

I feel like part of the problem was that the two photographers were constantly side by side shooting the same thing, resulting in a lot of very similar proofs. They also were packed up and ready to go before we made our exit, so we didn’t get a farewell shot.

Even so, I would still highly recommend Duet. They do beautiful work. If I had it to do again, I would be a little more explicit about what I want.

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Bridesmaids Dresses (Dessy)
Burtons: B-
Burtons offered the best price hands down, but you get what you pay for. The customer service is not great, and in several cases, the alterations were poorly done. In the case of one BM, the stitching was all messy along the neckline, the thread didn’t match what was used on the rest of the dress, and there was bunching all along the seams that run down the front of the dress. She complained, and they said “Well, see if the bride has a problem with it. If she does, we’ll see what we can do.” I had to bring the dress back in myself and complain. The first woman I saw told me that there was nothing wrong with it—that it was supposed to look that way. Finally, another woman came over and after taking one look, apologized and had it fixed. I would say buy the dresses there, but take them elsewhere for alterations.

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Tuxes
Men’s Warehouse: B-
Every person in the bridal party, DH included, had a problem with his tux. Granted, they did their best to correct all the problems, but it was unneeded stress two days before the wedding. The guys ended up looking great though.

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Favors
Pugliese Vineyards A
We got full bottles and they painted our names and date in gold on each bottle for free. They came out beautifully and were a big hit.

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BM gifts
Coach.com, Macy’s: A
I got each of the girls dusted-suede wristlets in gold from Coach and 1928 necklaces from Macy’s and then added something personal for the two MOHs.

Male Attendants/Readers and Singers Gifts
Men’s Warehouse: A+
Men’s Warehouse had a great selection of items that could be engraved/embossed. Pocket watches, leather-encased flasks, leather gym bags, multi-tools, golf-related gifts. The price was good, the turnaround was time quick, and the quality was excellent. And the customer service was top-notch. We had accidentally given the wrong middle initial for a monogrammed item, and they were able to fix it before the item shipped at no charge to us. I gave the guys on my side of the bridal party—the bridesmen…lol-- the same leather bag that the groomsmen got plus a Coach money clip.