03/11/06 REVIEW - Bellport Country Club, Thomas Paul Photo, Elite Video, In The Mood DJ, Flowers by Brian, Cruise Control Limos
Here it is (finally) – my wedding review.
LINK TO PROFESSIONAL PICTURES : LINK
The password is : liweddings
There are 5 different albums, so be sure to check them all: Stef getting ready, Mike getting ready, ceremony, Reception Pics and Posed shots at hall.
LIW Photo Album: HERE
I gave A’s if the service was performed as well as I expected. Pluses were given if I thought they went above and beyond. B’s if the service was performed well but something minor went wrong. C’s if the service was less than expected.
LIW – A+++
Thanks to everyone. This place didn’t let me feel like I was alone during the very stressful year of planning. Not only the stress of the planning itself, but in RL as well. It was great to be able to vent frustrations and celebrate successes along the way that only all you brides would understand.
Mother Nature – A+++
DH said from the day we set the date that the day would be sunny and 62 degrees. I can’t believe he was right. The weather was absolutely perfect.
Registries - Bed Bath and Beyond – A; Fortunoff – C
I registered in both places. BBB was great. Returns are wonderful and I love 20% off coupons. Fortunoff, on the other hand, never updated my registry so I ended up with 28 place settings when I registered for 16. At least they didn’t give me a problem when I returned 12 of them.
Rehearsal Dinner – Pomodorino Italian Restaurant in New Hyde Park – A
This is my absolute favorite restaurant. The staff is very friendly and the food is excellent. My shower was also there and they were so accommodating when I had to cancel my first shower the day before it was scheduled due to the fact that my mother was in the hospital and they rescheduled it with no problem for a few weeks later.
OOT accommodations - Radisson Hotel Holtsville – A
I ended up having a block of 17 rooms and they were all perfect. Since we had such a large block, they gave us a suite for less than half price the night of the wedding. Also, since it was March and the hotel was not full, they allowed most people to check in really early (I was able to get into the suite before 9am instead of waiting for the check-in time of 3pm). There were no complaints about the rooms. Some of the guests felt that the restaurant was overpriced but because of the location, there were many other restaurants around on North Ocean Ave. My mom held a buffet brunch the day after the wedding and there was so much food and they continually kept it stocked and warm.
Bus to transport Guests to/from the hotel and reception – Alert Coach Lines, Westbury – A
Having a bus was really important to my mom. We were guests at two OOT weddings (one in Texas and one in Oregon) and we got lost driving to and from both. She did not want that to happen to any of our guests. We found Alert through FIL (he knew one of the drivers) and my mom did the rest. The bus was early and clean. We had the same driver both ways and she was very courteous and helpful.
Wedding Dress – David’s Bridal – A; My Bridal Attendant – Marie – A+
www.davidsbridal.com
I had no problems whatsoever with David’s. My mother and I walked into the store, saw “the dress” on a form and we said to each other that that was “It”. We were right. It was the first dress I tried on the first time I went shopping. I tried on about 6 dresses that day. But nothing compared to the first dress. It was an Oleg Cassini test dress. All that means that it is not part of the regular line. It was being “tested” to see if it would sell. Apparently it didn’t since they no longer carry the dress and it never made it onto the website. I don’t mind though, since I don’t know anyone else who has worn or will wear my dress. I bought it that day. They ordered it and it came in right on time in perfect condition. Although I did not get personalized service, it was not what I wanted and Marie went above and beyond to help me. It was not her fault that they are always understaffed and crowded. She did everything I asked and was fun to work with. After I purchased my dress, I took my BMs there a few weeks later and she let me “play”. I tried on the sample again to model it for my circus (the term which I affectionately called my bridal party). She brought me different veils and headpieces to try on different looks. She also let me have fun and model other dresses for them even though I already had a dress. She remembered that when I bought my dress it was just my mother and I. She said it would be fun with the crowd.
Cleaning and preserving of dress – Meurice Garment Care in Manhasset – A
This was a surprise from my mom and a wonderful gift because it cost almost as much as my dress but it was well worth it. The dress was expertly cleaned (everything but the very bottom of the dress came clean) and preserved. It comes back boxed and packed in acid-free paper and muslim. They also gave me two pairs of white gloves so that I can “visit with” my dress without getting the oil from my hands on it. They did an incredible job.
Tiara – ebay – (I don’t remember the name of the vendor but he is unregistered now anyway) - B
I love my tiara. It is similar to one that I fell in love with on the Bel-Aire website, but I didn’t want to spend that much money on it. It was style #2260021. I posted on “Want it Now” and received a message from the vendor that had something very similar. The “B” comes from that fact that it took 6 weeks to come and that a piece of it broke off 2 weeks before the wedding. But it looked beautiful and I loved it.
Veil – Kathy Occansey – A+
www.occanseydesigns.com
Kathy as an absolute doll to work with and she had the patience of a saint. I was pretty particular about the look that I wanted and I couldn’t find it anywhere. I knew I wanted a 4 tier center gathered 2 layers removable, but I was unsure of the details - ie lengths, edging, etc. She answered every single one of my emails (there were many!) and stayed with me while I took months to decide. After I finally placed the order, she let me know her progress along the way and even sent me pictures to see if I liked the way it looked before she sent it. It was only a 2-3 week process once I finally placed my order and the final product was absolutely beautiful.
Corset – Mary’s Corsetiere’s – A
I had no problem here. I went on my lunch hour and left with a perfect fitting corset. I was fitted and the alterations done in no time at all.
Shoes – Casa Di Mario Shoes in Patchogue – A
www.casadimarioshoes.com
Friendly service and good prices. I wore the Sunny shoe by Dyeables. Very comfy and looked great.
Hair – Cactus salon in the Mayfair shopping center in Commack – A
www.cactussalon.com
Although I wish that the stylist would have been more forth coming with ideas since I had no idea what I wanted and came in unprepared except for a picture of my dress. The trial went well but I had to change the style from the trial because of the neckline of my dress. This should not have happened because I brought a picture of me in my dress for the trial. But, she easily designed what I wanted the day of. My hair looked awesome and stayed all night.
Makeup – Me with the aide of Clinique and Revlon – A
I did my own make-up using a combination of Clinique and Revlon products. It stayed all night. I wish I had outlined my eyes better and I am still looking for lipstick that lasts all night.
Tuxes – VIP Tuxedo – B
www.viptux.com
The service was excellent but the color was off from what we thought we chose and the bottom of the sleeve on DHs shirt was dirty.
MOB Dress – Moonlight Couture in Merrick – A
www.moonlightcouture.com
This place was absolutely wonderful. Very helpful and courteous. Mom was able to select the main dress part from one dress and the jacket from another. We both got very nervous when by the Wednesday before the wedding, the dress was not in yet, but it came in on Thursday and she had fittings Thursday and Friday. All the alterations came out perfectly.
BM dresses –
This was the most stressful part of the planning and it took almost 8 months to figure out. I had one pregnant ex-MOH (long story – she did not become the ex-MOH until 3 weeks before the wedding) who lives in Virginia, the new MOH that lives in TX, 2 BMs in Queens and 4 Jr. BMs (one of whom was in Rhode Island). All I requested from them was that I wanted the dresses to be red, satin, and not have any pearls on it. That was it. I left the rest up to them as these dresses were the one thing that I did not want to worry about. Well fast forward six months and we still had no dresses. After a breakdown and an ulcer, I had to make the decision. With the help of a very patient woman at the Commack Wedding Center (I just went there to look, not to buy) I choose dresses from Alfred Angelo.
Charmet in Bayside – C (shop) A (seamstresses)
My BMs ordered their dress from Charmet in Bayside. Two weeks before the wedding when the BM went in for their first fitting they found that the dresses came in wrong. They were supposed to be a white top and red skirt. They came in all red. Since it was two weeks before the wedding I decided not to have them fix it. My 2 BM were also overcharged for their wraps from the original price that was quoted to them. This service surprised me because I have ordered 3 BM gowns for myself from Charmet over the last few years and I had never had a problem. As always, the seamstresses were awesome and so pleasant to work with.
My MOH ordered her dress from a place in Austin, TX so I don’t have the name to review but she had no problems. Her dress came in correctly.
Jr. BM dresses – Gownfind – A
www.gownfind.com
Phylis was amazing. She handled my days of emails back and forth with grace and patience. I was concerned about ordering sizes for pre-teen age girls and she helped me choose. They came in perfect and she made my requested wraps to match.
Flowergirl Dress – ebay – seller: jvavenue - A
Super easy transaction. The dress arrived in perfect condition and my FG loved the headpiece and gloves that were included since I paid by using the “Buy It Now” option. My FG wants to wear the dress for her communion next year. The dress I bought was all white - I asked my MIL change the bow and belt to red using extra material I bought from Phylis. The bow was askew all night but she looked so adorable. My FG is making her First Holy Communion next year and plans to use this dress (if it fits of course).
Photographer – Tom Baldasarre from Thomas Paul Photo – A+++
www.thomaspaulphoto.com
One of my absolute favorite vendors. There aren’t enough good words to describe how much I love our pictures. We met Tom at a showcase at the Huntington Hilton and liked him and his work right away. When we met him at his studio, the feeling continued and today I feel like he was a friend instead of someone I paid to do a service. He is so passionate about his work and enjoys it so much.
We did engagement photos in November and Tom put them in a personalized album and also gave us a small brag book. He called to check-in periodically and then the day of, he made me feel so comfortable and relaxed that most of the time I didn’t even realize he was photographing us. He, and our 2nd photographer Richard, captured every single important moment and they didn’t miss a thing. The proof is in the pictures. Between the two of them we now have over 700 absolutely wonderful pictures. We had our proofs back less than two weeks after the wedding and it is going to be brutal narrowing them down to 60 to put in an album. We also have a disk of all the photos so that I can go ahead and have prints and parent albums made.
A few of my favorites:
Videographer – Mike from Elite Videography – A++
www.elitephotovideo.com
Absolutely amazing! Our video and raw footage are so wonderful and I am addicted to watching it all. He caught all of the little details that I didn't have the time to notice or I was too busy to notice. He was unobtrusive and like Tom, most of the time I didn’t even realize he was there. We got 3 DVDs and 2 tapes of raw footage and I can't saw enough good things about it. As soon as I can figure out where I can upload the highlights, I'll add a link.
Bakery – Rolling Pin – B
www.rollingpinbakery.com
Contacting them was very easy and I ordered everything via phone and email. I decided on them purely from the reviews here on LIW. We had a white cake with canolli icing. It was incredible. The cake was moist and the filling was perfect. The only problem I had with them is that the cake was only three layers when it should have been four. There was plenty of cake for everyone so it was not an issue, but I never got a reason why for the change.
Limo’s – Cruise Control – A+
www.cruisecontrol.com
Absolutely perfect! We had three limos. A 10 passenger to pick the BMs and me up from the Radisson Hotel in Holtsville and take us to my mom’s house in Mineola. We had an Escalade picking up DH and his GM up from his parents house to take them to the church and also to pick up the BMs from my mother’s house. The last was a 4 passenger RR taking my mom and I to the church and then for DH and I afterwards. All of the cars were on time (the escalade arrived to pick up DH over an hour early) and very clean and well stocked. All of the drivers kept me entertained by blowing the bridal horn continuously and DH and I loved riding the RR after the ceremony. We felt like royalty. Many thanks to the drivers, Tommy, Tom and Brian. We used them also for a pick up / drop off for the honeymoon and Tony surprised with a white stretch limo for the ride home. A wonderful welcome back.
Church – St. Aidan’s R.C. Church – C
I am very sentimental about my church and it was very important to me and my family for me to get married where my mother and Godmother were married. We asked Fr. Bruno to perform the mass and we asked the Msgr at DH’s (now our) church to perform the ceremony.
Flowers – Flowers By Brian – B+
www.flowersbybrian.com
We worked with Lisa and she was so helpful in helping me choose the flowers for the wedding. I knew I wanted all roses but I didn’t know there were so many varieties to choose from. She helped me make all of the decisions and when I mentioned that my absolute favorite flower in the world was the cymbidium orchid, she showed me a sample of how it would look in my bo-k. Absolutely perfect. The only reason I gave them a B+ was because they forgot to give us the roses for the Blessed Mother. We had to use one of our throw-away bo-ks (we ordered 2). Other than that, they were wonderful. The day before the wedding, I went for a “trial”. This was to look at all the bo-ks and to test mine out. I was blown away by how beautiful the flowers looked. When I got to the reception, the delivery driver was there and he had me look at the centerpieces and approve the décor before he left, and again - perfection.
Candles for Candle Ceremony – GenWax - A
http://candles.genwax.com/candles/
I searched high and low for candles that would not cost me $30 for a box of 50. I refused to pay that much. After a few weeks of diligently searching websites, I finally found them online for $13 a box. Service was fast and the candles arrived in great shape.
About the ceremony: I decided that I wanted to have a ceremony that involved all of our guests and chose to extend the unity candle ceremony. We started with our moms who lit candles from the church candle, they walked to the back of the church and lit candles that our guests were given when they walked in. The candlelight was passed through our guests, eventually coming to my stepdaughters. They in turn lit the unity candle tapers. Then DH and I lit the unity candle from the tapers. We chose “The Irish Wedding Song” to be sung for this ceremony. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Everyone was teary and they are still talking about the significance of it. I wrote this in our program: “The lighting of the candle will begin where we began, with our mothers. Please help to unite us through you by taking the flame from your neighbor and passing it on. This flame will travel to us through our family and friends…a symbol of the fact that we would not be here today without all of your love and support.”
Rings – Windsor Jewelry at the Commack Jewelry Exchange - A
These guys are great. DH bought my e-ring from there as well as our wedding rings. I also had earrings dipped that DH bought me for Christmas so that they would match my engagement ring. They are so friendly, even calling DH by his first name from the 2nd time he went in there.
String Quartet for Cocktail Hour – Counterpoint –
www.counterpoint.citymax.com
I am going to refrain from rating them based on the fact that they did not play at the cocktail hour. But, just let me say that the owner of Counterpoint, Christina, has been very communicative and has completely rectified the situation and has been more than generous in apology. I would book them again. FM me for more info.
DJ – In The Mood DJ – A+
www.inthemooddj.com
Of course, you all knew this was coming because DH works for them but I can honestly say that no one left until the very end because the party was great. Dominic and Joe had the dance floor packed all night long and we received compliments on the music from our guests. Of course, that didn’t stop DH from sneeking behind the booth once or twice.
Chocolate Fountain – Kerries Kandies - A
www.kerrieskandies.net
This was fun. My cousin had one at her wedding in TX and my mom wanted us to have one. I wasn’t going to argue as there is nothing better than chocolate (except marrying the love of my life). I called around to different places and Kerry’s Kandies had the best price for the size fountain we wanted. The people were wonderfule to deal with. They set up on time and it was incredible. Everyone loved it.
Reception – Bellport Country Club – A+++
www.bellportcountryclub.com
BCC was absolutely amazing. We looked at 7 or 8 reception places before we went to Bellport. All of them were beautiful but nothing felt exactly right. We had “kind of” made a decision in a place when I found Bellport’s website. I figured we’d check it out to knock it off of the list but from the second we walked into the foyer, we felt at home and our decision was made. Right from the first meeting, Robert was absolutely wonderful to us. I felt so special each and every time I walked in there. DH and I had dinner at the restaurant before we signed the contract and the food was absolutely amazing.
Everything was so easy and I knew that I wouldn’t have to worry about a thing. DH carried in 5 boxfuls of stuff to be set up and I was blown away when I walked into the ballroom, everything was set up exactly the way we wanted it and it looked better than I could have dreamed. It was all so perfect.
We were able to make modifications to the cocktail hour menu (we took out all of the carving stations and chafing dishes to save $$ and so that everyone would have room to eat dinner) and there was still so much food. For our menu we chose (1) peppercorn steak, (2) chicken madera, and (3) seared tuna. After everyone finished eating, the staff went around with platters of all of the meals so if anyone wanted seconds or to try one of the other meals, they could. We were nine below our minium and we had three no-shows that night so they sent us home enough food for an army. We actually forgot to take it with us that night and went back the next day. Robert didn’t like the way the chicken looked the next day, so he had the chef make us a whole tray full of fresh chicken. It was sooo good! I am so glad they have a restaurant so that I can go back and have it all again.
Linda, our bridal attendant, went above and beyond to make sure that everything ran smoothly. Both Robert and Linda greeted us as soon as the limos drove up and from that moment on, neither DH nor I had to ask for a thing. When the string quartet didn’t show, Robert started music (we told the DJs to relax and enjoy since they were friends of ours we wanted them to have some downtime before their work started) and none of the guests realized that something didn’t go as planned.
THE HONEYMOON:
Travel Agent – Wade from Travel Pleasers – A
www.travelpleasers.com
Wade was wonderful to deal with. Although I did a lot of research beforehand and knew where we wanted to go. Wade worked with me to get the price I needed and the upgrades we wanted. He kept me updated on the progress along the way and I had no worries. It was great knowing that while we out of the country, there was someone to call if anything went wrong or I needed to get home fast.
American Airlines – C
Why would they serve alcohol to two very drunk passengers who disturbed the entire plane yelling and cursing and saying that the plane was going to crash? And we had the pleasure of sitting in front of these idiots. I spent the entire 3+ hour flight down in tears. It was horrible. DH and I tried to ignore them but after the tenth time the a-hole behind us kicked and shook DH’s seat and yelled out “The people in front of us hate us”, DH turned around and said something. That made it worse. The flight attendants did nothing about it and even gave them more alcohol for FREE. And to top the entire vacation off, we flew back with them as well. But, karma works. There was too much turbulence for the attendants to serve any drinks. And I know they didn’t have any money left for drinks anyway because they couldn’t come up with the funds between them to pay the additional fare for heavy baggage. As for American Airlines, I will try my best not to fly them again.
Grand Oasis Akumal All Inclusive, Riveria Maya Mexico – A+
www.oasishotels.com/English/hotels/gorivieramaya
We stayed 8 days, 7 nights at this All-inclusive resort about 60 miles south of Cancun in the very quiet and serene part of the Riviera Maya, Akumal. Although this resort was still under construction due to the hurricanes, it opened the week before we went and you wouldn’t have known that it was still being worked on since we could hardly hear any work going on. It took about an hour and a half to get there from the Cancun airport but it was worth it. I was worried about going to Mexico because it was spring break and we wanted no part of it, but this place is truly an oasis. We walked into the lobby and were greeted by Marco as well as two drinks that he handed us while we checked in. I presented a copy of my marriage license and we received the honeymoon upgrade, which includes an upgrade in room, a bottle of wine and a free night on our 1 year anniversary. Our room was amazing. It was small in size but the patio was worth it. It was as big as our room and we had an incredible view of the ocean on one side and a view of the resort on the other. We didn’t have to leave the patio to watch the sunset, watch the water or even the entertainment that the resort provided. The people were incredible and the amazing part was that most of the people we encountered spoke English. Some not as well as others but everyone spoke English better than I spoke Spanish. I was amazed. There were six restaurants in the resort: Mexican, Italian, Thai, International Buffet, “Fancy” Mexican and the snack bar. We tried four of them and they were incredible. We didn’t go to the “Fancy” Mexican (Fancy as in no shorts, jeans or tank tops) since it was closed due to construction and we didn’t eat at the Thai restaurant since the night we tried to, they were serving shellfish and DH is allergic (they have a fixed daily menu at this restaurant only). The food was awesome.
To see our honeymmon pictures, click here: LINK
Olympus Tours – A+
www.Olympus-tours.com
This was our tour company in Mexico. They were responsible for our transportation to and from the airport and for any tours that we wanted to go on while we were there. They were at the resort daily. DH and I went on three tours – to Chichen Itza, Snorkeling and a Lobster Dinner Cruise. All three were wonderful with very entertaining tour guides. They were all multi-lingual and we had a fabulous time on all three tours.
LINK TO PROFESSIONAL PICTURES : LINK
The password is : liweddings
There are 5 different albums, so be sure to check them all: Stef getting ready, Mike getting ready, ceremony, Reception Pics and Posed shots at hall.
LIW Photo Album: HERE
I gave A’s if the service was performed as well as I expected. Pluses were given if I thought they went above and beyond. B’s if the service was performed well but something minor went wrong. C’s if the service was less than expected.
LIW – A+++
Thanks to everyone. This place didn’t let me feel like I was alone during the very stressful year of planning. Not only the stress of the planning itself, but in RL as well. It was great to be able to vent frustrations and celebrate successes along the way that only all you brides would understand.
Mother Nature – A+++
DH said from the day we set the date that the day would be sunny and 62 degrees. I can’t believe he was right. The weather was absolutely perfect.
Registries - Bed Bath and Beyond – A; Fortunoff – C
I registered in both places. BBB was great. Returns are wonderful and I love 20% off coupons. Fortunoff, on the other hand, never updated my registry so I ended up with 28 place settings when I registered for 16. At least they didn’t give me a problem when I returned 12 of them.
Rehearsal Dinner – Pomodorino Italian Restaurant in New Hyde Park – A
This is my absolute favorite restaurant. The staff is very friendly and the food is excellent. My shower was also there and they were so accommodating when I had to cancel my first shower the day before it was scheduled due to the fact that my mother was in the hospital and they rescheduled it with no problem for a few weeks later.
OOT accommodations - Radisson Hotel Holtsville – A
I ended up having a block of 17 rooms and they were all perfect. Since we had such a large block, they gave us a suite for less than half price the night of the wedding. Also, since it was March and the hotel was not full, they allowed most people to check in really early (I was able to get into the suite before 9am instead of waiting for the check-in time of 3pm). There were no complaints about the rooms. Some of the guests felt that the restaurant was overpriced but because of the location, there were many other restaurants around on North Ocean Ave. My mom held a buffet brunch the day after the wedding and there was so much food and they continually kept it stocked and warm.
Bus to transport Guests to/from the hotel and reception – Alert Coach Lines, Westbury – A
Having a bus was really important to my mom. We were guests at two OOT weddings (one in Texas and one in Oregon) and we got lost driving to and from both. She did not want that to happen to any of our guests. We found Alert through FIL (he knew one of the drivers) and my mom did the rest. The bus was early and clean. We had the same driver both ways and she was very courteous and helpful.
Wedding Dress – David’s Bridal – A; My Bridal Attendant – Marie – A+
www.davidsbridal.com
I had no problems whatsoever with David’s. My mother and I walked into the store, saw “the dress” on a form and we said to each other that that was “It”. We were right. It was the first dress I tried on the first time I went shopping. I tried on about 6 dresses that day. But nothing compared to the first dress. It was an Oleg Cassini test dress. All that means that it is not part of the regular line. It was being “tested” to see if it would sell. Apparently it didn’t since they no longer carry the dress and it never made it onto the website. I don’t mind though, since I don’t know anyone else who has worn or will wear my dress. I bought it that day. They ordered it and it came in right on time in perfect condition. Although I did not get personalized service, it was not what I wanted and Marie went above and beyond to help me. It was not her fault that they are always understaffed and crowded. She did everything I asked and was fun to work with. After I purchased my dress, I took my BMs there a few weeks later and she let me “play”. I tried on the sample again to model it for my circus (the term which I affectionately called my bridal party). She brought me different veils and headpieces to try on different looks. She also let me have fun and model other dresses for them even though I already had a dress. She remembered that when I bought my dress it was just my mother and I. She said it would be fun with the crowd.
Cleaning and preserving of dress – Meurice Garment Care in Manhasset – A
This was a surprise from my mom and a wonderful gift because it cost almost as much as my dress but it was well worth it. The dress was expertly cleaned (everything but the very bottom of the dress came clean) and preserved. It comes back boxed and packed in acid-free paper and muslim. They also gave me two pairs of white gloves so that I can “visit with” my dress without getting the oil from my hands on it. They did an incredible job.
Tiara – ebay – (I don’t remember the name of the vendor but he is unregistered now anyway) - B
I love my tiara. It is similar to one that I fell in love with on the Bel-Aire website, but I didn’t want to spend that much money on it. It was style #2260021. I posted on “Want it Now” and received a message from the vendor that had something very similar. The “B” comes from that fact that it took 6 weeks to come and that a piece of it broke off 2 weeks before the wedding. But it looked beautiful and I loved it.
Veil – Kathy Occansey – A+
www.occanseydesigns.com
Kathy as an absolute doll to work with and she had the patience of a saint. I was pretty particular about the look that I wanted and I couldn’t find it anywhere. I knew I wanted a 4 tier center gathered 2 layers removable, but I was unsure of the details - ie lengths, edging, etc. She answered every single one of my emails (there were many!) and stayed with me while I took months to decide. After I finally placed the order, she let me know her progress along the way and even sent me pictures to see if I liked the way it looked before she sent it. It was only a 2-3 week process once I finally placed my order and the final product was absolutely beautiful.
Corset – Mary’s Corsetiere’s – A
I had no problem here. I went on my lunch hour and left with a perfect fitting corset. I was fitted and the alterations done in no time at all.
Shoes – Casa Di Mario Shoes in Patchogue – A
www.casadimarioshoes.com
Friendly service and good prices. I wore the Sunny shoe by Dyeables. Very comfy and looked great.
Hair – Cactus salon in the Mayfair shopping center in Commack – A
www.cactussalon.com
Although I wish that the stylist would have been more forth coming with ideas since I had no idea what I wanted and came in unprepared except for a picture of my dress. The trial went well but I had to change the style from the trial because of the neckline of my dress. This should not have happened because I brought a picture of me in my dress for the trial. But, she easily designed what I wanted the day of. My hair looked awesome and stayed all night.
Makeup – Me with the aide of Clinique and Revlon – A
I did my own make-up using a combination of Clinique and Revlon products. It stayed all night. I wish I had outlined my eyes better and I am still looking for lipstick that lasts all night.
Tuxes – VIP Tuxedo – B
www.viptux.com
The service was excellent but the color was off from what we thought we chose and the bottom of the sleeve on DHs shirt was dirty.
MOB Dress – Moonlight Couture in Merrick – A
www.moonlightcouture.com
This place was absolutely wonderful. Very helpful and courteous. Mom was able to select the main dress part from one dress and the jacket from another. We both got very nervous when by the Wednesday before the wedding, the dress was not in yet, but it came in on Thursday and she had fittings Thursday and Friday. All the alterations came out perfectly.
BM dresses –
This was the most stressful part of the planning and it took almost 8 months to figure out. I had one pregnant ex-MOH (long story – she did not become the ex-MOH until 3 weeks before the wedding) who lives in Virginia, the new MOH that lives in TX, 2 BMs in Queens and 4 Jr. BMs (one of whom was in Rhode Island). All I requested from them was that I wanted the dresses to be red, satin, and not have any pearls on it. That was it. I left the rest up to them as these dresses were the one thing that I did not want to worry about. Well fast forward six months and we still had no dresses. After a breakdown and an ulcer, I had to make the decision. With the help of a very patient woman at the Commack Wedding Center (I just went there to look, not to buy) I choose dresses from Alfred Angelo.
Charmet in Bayside – C (shop) A (seamstresses)
My BMs ordered their dress from Charmet in Bayside. Two weeks before the wedding when the BM went in for their first fitting they found that the dresses came in wrong. They were supposed to be a white top and red skirt. They came in all red. Since it was two weeks before the wedding I decided not to have them fix it. My 2 BM were also overcharged for their wraps from the original price that was quoted to them. This service surprised me because I have ordered 3 BM gowns for myself from Charmet over the last few years and I had never had a problem. As always, the seamstresses were awesome and so pleasant to work with.
My MOH ordered her dress from a place in Austin, TX so I don’t have the name to review but she had no problems. Her dress came in correctly.
Jr. BM dresses – Gownfind – A
www.gownfind.com
Phylis was amazing. She handled my days of emails back and forth with grace and patience. I was concerned about ordering sizes for pre-teen age girls and she helped me choose. They came in perfect and she made my requested wraps to match.
Flowergirl Dress – ebay – seller: jvavenue - A
Super easy transaction. The dress arrived in perfect condition and my FG loved the headpiece and gloves that were included since I paid by using the “Buy It Now” option. My FG wants to wear the dress for her communion next year. The dress I bought was all white - I asked my MIL change the bow and belt to red using extra material I bought from Phylis. The bow was askew all night but she looked so adorable. My FG is making her First Holy Communion next year and plans to use this dress (if it fits of course).
Photographer – Tom Baldasarre from Thomas Paul Photo – A+++
www.thomaspaulphoto.com
One of my absolute favorite vendors. There aren’t enough good words to describe how much I love our pictures. We met Tom at a showcase at the Huntington Hilton and liked him and his work right away. When we met him at his studio, the feeling continued and today I feel like he was a friend instead of someone I paid to do a service. He is so passionate about his work and enjoys it so much.
We did engagement photos in November and Tom put them in a personalized album and also gave us a small brag book. He called to check-in periodically and then the day of, he made me feel so comfortable and relaxed that most of the time I didn’t even realize he was photographing us. He, and our 2nd photographer Richard, captured every single important moment and they didn’t miss a thing. The proof is in the pictures. Between the two of them we now have over 700 absolutely wonderful pictures. We had our proofs back less than two weeks after the wedding and it is going to be brutal narrowing them down to 60 to put in an album. We also have a disk of all the photos so that I can go ahead and have prints and parent albums made.
A few of my favorites:
Videographer – Mike from Elite Videography – A++
www.elitephotovideo.com
Absolutely amazing! Our video and raw footage are so wonderful and I am addicted to watching it all. He caught all of the little details that I didn't have the time to notice or I was too busy to notice. He was unobtrusive and like Tom, most of the time I didn’t even realize he was there. We got 3 DVDs and 2 tapes of raw footage and I can't saw enough good things about it. As soon as I can figure out where I can upload the highlights, I'll add a link.
Bakery – Rolling Pin – B
www.rollingpinbakery.com
Contacting them was very easy and I ordered everything via phone and email. I decided on them purely from the reviews here on LIW. We had a white cake with canolli icing. It was incredible. The cake was moist and the filling was perfect. The only problem I had with them is that the cake was only three layers when it should have been four. There was plenty of cake for everyone so it was not an issue, but I never got a reason why for the change.
Limo’s – Cruise Control – A+
www.cruisecontrol.com
Absolutely perfect! We had three limos. A 10 passenger to pick the BMs and me up from the Radisson Hotel in Holtsville and take us to my mom’s house in Mineola. We had an Escalade picking up DH and his GM up from his parents house to take them to the church and also to pick up the BMs from my mother’s house. The last was a 4 passenger RR taking my mom and I to the church and then for DH and I afterwards. All of the cars were on time (the escalade arrived to pick up DH over an hour early) and very clean and well stocked. All of the drivers kept me entertained by blowing the bridal horn continuously and DH and I loved riding the RR after the ceremony. We felt like royalty. Many thanks to the drivers, Tommy, Tom and Brian. We used them also for a pick up / drop off for the honeymoon and Tony surprised with a white stretch limo for the ride home. A wonderful welcome back.
Church – St. Aidan’s R.C. Church – C
I am very sentimental about my church and it was very important to me and my family for me to get married where my mother and Godmother were married. We asked Fr. Bruno to perform the mass and we asked the Msgr at DH’s (now our) church to perform the ceremony.
Flowers – Flowers By Brian – B+
www.flowersbybrian.com
We worked with Lisa and she was so helpful in helping me choose the flowers for the wedding. I knew I wanted all roses but I didn’t know there were so many varieties to choose from. She helped me make all of the decisions and when I mentioned that my absolute favorite flower in the world was the cymbidium orchid, she showed me a sample of how it would look in my bo-k. Absolutely perfect. The only reason I gave them a B+ was because they forgot to give us the roses for the Blessed Mother. We had to use one of our throw-away bo-ks (we ordered 2). Other than that, they were wonderful. The day before the wedding, I went for a “trial”. This was to look at all the bo-ks and to test mine out. I was blown away by how beautiful the flowers looked. When I got to the reception, the delivery driver was there and he had me look at the centerpieces and approve the décor before he left, and again - perfection.
Candles for Candle Ceremony – GenWax - A
http://candles.genwax.com/candles/
I searched high and low for candles that would not cost me $30 for a box of 50. I refused to pay that much. After a few weeks of diligently searching websites, I finally found them online for $13 a box. Service was fast and the candles arrived in great shape.
About the ceremony: I decided that I wanted to have a ceremony that involved all of our guests and chose to extend the unity candle ceremony. We started with our moms who lit candles from the church candle, they walked to the back of the church and lit candles that our guests were given when they walked in. The candlelight was passed through our guests, eventually coming to my stepdaughters. They in turn lit the unity candle tapers. Then DH and I lit the unity candle from the tapers. We chose “The Irish Wedding Song” to be sung for this ceremony. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Everyone was teary and they are still talking about the significance of it. I wrote this in our program: “The lighting of the candle will begin where we began, with our mothers. Please help to unite us through you by taking the flame from your neighbor and passing it on. This flame will travel to us through our family and friends…a symbol of the fact that we would not be here today without all of your love and support.”
Rings – Windsor Jewelry at the Commack Jewelry Exchange - A
These guys are great. DH bought my e-ring from there as well as our wedding rings. I also had earrings dipped that DH bought me for Christmas so that they would match my engagement ring. They are so friendly, even calling DH by his first name from the 2nd time he went in there.
String Quartet for Cocktail Hour – Counterpoint –
www.counterpoint.citymax.com
I am going to refrain from rating them based on the fact that they did not play at the cocktail hour. But, just let me say that the owner of Counterpoint, Christina, has been very communicative and has completely rectified the situation and has been more than generous in apology. I would book them again. FM me for more info.
DJ – In The Mood DJ – A+
www.inthemooddj.com
Of course, you all knew this was coming because DH works for them but I can honestly say that no one left until the very end because the party was great. Dominic and Joe had the dance floor packed all night long and we received compliments on the music from our guests. Of course, that didn’t stop DH from sneeking behind the booth once or twice.
Chocolate Fountain – Kerries Kandies - A
www.kerrieskandies.net
This was fun. My cousin had one at her wedding in TX and my mom wanted us to have one. I wasn’t going to argue as there is nothing better than chocolate (except marrying the love of my life). I called around to different places and Kerry’s Kandies had the best price for the size fountain we wanted. The people were wonderfule to deal with. They set up on time and it was incredible. Everyone loved it.
Reception – Bellport Country Club – A+++
www.bellportcountryclub.com
BCC was absolutely amazing. We looked at 7 or 8 reception places before we went to Bellport. All of them were beautiful but nothing felt exactly right. We had “kind of” made a decision in a place when I found Bellport’s website. I figured we’d check it out to knock it off of the list but from the second we walked into the foyer, we felt at home and our decision was made. Right from the first meeting, Robert was absolutely wonderful to us. I felt so special each and every time I walked in there. DH and I had dinner at the restaurant before we signed the contract and the food was absolutely amazing.
Everything was so easy and I knew that I wouldn’t have to worry about a thing. DH carried in 5 boxfuls of stuff to be set up and I was blown away when I walked into the ballroom, everything was set up exactly the way we wanted it and it looked better than I could have dreamed. It was all so perfect.
We were able to make modifications to the cocktail hour menu (we took out all of the carving stations and chafing dishes to save $$ and so that everyone would have room to eat dinner) and there was still so much food. For our menu we chose (1) peppercorn steak, (2) chicken madera, and (3) seared tuna. After everyone finished eating, the staff went around with platters of all of the meals so if anyone wanted seconds or to try one of the other meals, they could. We were nine below our minium and we had three no-shows that night so they sent us home enough food for an army. We actually forgot to take it with us that night and went back the next day. Robert didn’t like the way the chicken looked the next day, so he had the chef make us a whole tray full of fresh chicken. It was sooo good! I am so glad they have a restaurant so that I can go back and have it all again.
Linda, our bridal attendant, went above and beyond to make sure that everything ran smoothly. Both Robert and Linda greeted us as soon as the limos drove up and from that moment on, neither DH nor I had to ask for a thing. When the string quartet didn’t show, Robert started music (we told the DJs to relax and enjoy since they were friends of ours we wanted them to have some downtime before their work started) and none of the guests realized that something didn’t go as planned.
THE HONEYMOON:
Travel Agent – Wade from Travel Pleasers – A
www.travelpleasers.com
Wade was wonderful to deal with. Although I did a lot of research beforehand and knew where we wanted to go. Wade worked with me to get the price I needed and the upgrades we wanted. He kept me updated on the progress along the way and I had no worries. It was great knowing that while we out of the country, there was someone to call if anything went wrong or I needed to get home fast.
American Airlines – C
Why would they serve alcohol to two very drunk passengers who disturbed the entire plane yelling and cursing and saying that the plane was going to crash? And we had the pleasure of sitting in front of these idiots. I spent the entire 3+ hour flight down in tears. It was horrible. DH and I tried to ignore them but after the tenth time the a-hole behind us kicked and shook DH’s seat and yelled out “The people in front of us hate us”, DH turned around and said something. That made it worse. The flight attendants did nothing about it and even gave them more alcohol for FREE. And to top the entire vacation off, we flew back with them as well. But, karma works. There was too much turbulence for the attendants to serve any drinks. And I know they didn’t have any money left for drinks anyway because they couldn’t come up with the funds between them to pay the additional fare for heavy baggage. As for American Airlines, I will try my best not to fly them again.
Grand Oasis Akumal All Inclusive, Riveria Maya Mexico – A+
www.oasishotels.com/English/hotels/gorivieramaya
We stayed 8 days, 7 nights at this All-inclusive resort about 60 miles south of Cancun in the very quiet and serene part of the Riviera Maya, Akumal. Although this resort was still under construction due to the hurricanes, it opened the week before we went and you wouldn’t have known that it was still being worked on since we could hardly hear any work going on. It took about an hour and a half to get there from the Cancun airport but it was worth it. I was worried about going to Mexico because it was spring break and we wanted no part of it, but this place is truly an oasis. We walked into the lobby and were greeted by Marco as well as two drinks that he handed us while we checked in. I presented a copy of my marriage license and we received the honeymoon upgrade, which includes an upgrade in room, a bottle of wine and a free night on our 1 year anniversary. Our room was amazing. It was small in size but the patio was worth it. It was as big as our room and we had an incredible view of the ocean on one side and a view of the resort on the other. We didn’t have to leave the patio to watch the sunset, watch the water or even the entertainment that the resort provided. The people were incredible and the amazing part was that most of the people we encountered spoke English. Some not as well as others but everyone spoke English better than I spoke Spanish. I was amazed. There were six restaurants in the resort: Mexican, Italian, Thai, International Buffet, “Fancy” Mexican and the snack bar. We tried four of them and they were incredible. We didn’t go to the “Fancy” Mexican (Fancy as in no shorts, jeans or tank tops) since it was closed due to construction and we didn’t eat at the Thai restaurant since the night we tried to, they were serving shellfish and DH is allergic (they have a fixed daily menu at this restaurant only). The food was awesome.
To see our honeymmon pictures, click here: LINK
Olympus Tours – A+
www.Olympus-tours.com
This was our tour company in Mexico. They were responsible for our transportation to and from the airport and for any tours that we wanted to go on while we were there. They were at the resort daily. DH and I went on three tours – to Chichen Itza, Snorkeling and a Lobster Dinner Cruise. All three were wonderful with very entertaining tour guides. They were all multi-lingual and we had a fabulous time on all three tours.
