The Brides' Review - 11/6/04 Island Hills Wedding Review (LONG with PROOFS)

aimerliny Posted: Feb 11, 2005 11:41 PM+

aimerliny MEMBER SINCE: 5/04 TOTAL POSTS : 1861 WEDDING DATE: Nov 06, 2004

Posted: Feb 11, 2005 11:41 PM

Re: 11/6/04 Island Hills Wedding Review (LONG with PROOFS)

Bakery C-
Alpine Pastry Shop (Smithtown)
The only reason Alpine is getting a C-, and not an F is because we did have a cake and it was delicious. We were recommended to use Alpine by our caterer. I later found out that Alpine had made my friend’s wedding cake years ago also. Not knowing anything about them, we went to meet with them about a year before our wedding. We got a basic price for our cake, but were told it was too early to place the order. So we waited 6 months, and were told again it was too early to place the order. We were told the same thing when we called 4 months and 3 months before. Finally at 2 months before, when they said it was still too early, I put my foot down and said I was uncomfortable waiting so late. So they finally took my order. Everything seemed clear to the person we dealt with the price was reasonable. We didn’t want anything fancy. We chose a 5 layer / 4 tier cake. Each tier would be made up of 2 chocolate cake layers, 2 chocolate mouse layers and middle layer of yellow cake. We wanted fresh white whipped cream for the outside, and we gave them the celtic knot design of our wedding bands to be piped onto the outside of the tiers, accented with tiny pearl dots.

We had to pay for the cake in full, but made arrangements for the cake to be delivered at 1pm on the day of the wedding, so the florist could place the flowers for the rest of the decorations on the cake. The Monday before our wedding, my husband called to confirm the cake and they couldn’t find the order. After about 20 minutes on the phone, they finally located the order and started questioning the design and all the details. This obviously made my husband uncomfortable, and we planned to go back to the bakery (in Smithtown, but we live in Lindenhurst) to make sure they “understood” the order. I called to find out what time they closed and spoke to a manager who assured me that everything was fine, everything was clear and there would be no problem with the order. Later that week, both my day of wedding coordinator and banquet manager called Alpine to confirm our order. Fast forward to the day of my wedding, I arrive at the catering hall at 1.30pm and greeted by wedding coordinator, Rosalie. She wouldn’t tell me what was wrong, but I could tell something was wrong. I don’t worry about it, because that’s what I hired her for. Fast forward to after my ceremony, after my pictures, after my cocktail hour. My husband and I are now waiting to be introduced into our reception and worried that not seeing my cake inside the ballroom would upset me, Rosalie finally tells me that my cake has not yet arrived but is on its way. It’s now 6pm! 5 HOURS LATE! My florist has left, leaving the flowers for the cake with my banquet manager. Apparently, after lying that the cake was in a car accident, it turns out the FORGOT my order! Were the 4 confirming phone calls not enough of a reminder?!?! My cake did not arrive until almost 8pm and it was obvious that the decorations had been rushed. The design was sloppy, and missing the pearl dots, and although my banquet manager decorated the cake as best she could, it was NOT what I had requested.

Like I said at the start of this review, Alpine would get an F, if it were not for the fact that they did get a cake delivered, in the nick of time, and it was the freshest cake everyone had ever tasted. Since we had to prepay for the cake, we had no recourse with the bakery, and when my husband went to discuss the issue with them, they added insult to injury by brushing us off with the remark: “You had a cake didn’t you?”

aimerliny Posted: Feb 11, 2005 11:41 PM+

aimerliny MEMBER SINCE: 5/04 TOTAL POSTS : 1861 WEDDING DATE: Nov 06, 2004

Posted: Feb 11, 2005 11:41 PM

Re: 11/6/04 Island Hills Wedding Review (LONG with PROOFS)

Personalized Note Cards & Rehearsal Dinner Invitations A+
Laurie @ TheDesignersDen.com
I found Laurie on eBay when I was looking for personalized ladybug notecards which I used to send personal notes asking friends and family to participate in certain aspects of our ceremony. The quality and value of her products are outstanding. She is easy to work with, very responsive and turns her products around quickly. I love my personalized notecards and still use them. When creating our rehearsal dinner invitations she used the customized graphic from our favor tags and they also came out awesome. I have since used her for other items (i.e. bridal shower invitations, etc.).

Rehearsal Dinner A+
Island Hills Golf & Country Club (Sayville)
Since we were getting married at our catering hall and had a lot of moving parts to our ceremony, I wanted to have our actual rehearsal there to see the setup and familiarize everyone with the flow of the ceremony. Island Hills was super accommodating for this and offered me an unbelievable price for catering the rehearsal dinner. We were only 25 people but we had the whole club to ourselves. Our ballroom was setup with the chairs so our rehearsal went smoothly and a delicious and casual buffet dinner was ready and waiting for us as soon as the rehearsal was completed. The extra bonus of having our rehearsal at Island Hills meant I could bring all of my wedding related paraphernalia (favors, seating cards, table cards, candles, toasting flutes, etc.) there that night and not worry about it again. I reviewed all the details with the banquet manager and DOC Rosalie, everything was labeled and left in the bridal suite. My rehearsal dinner went smoothly thanks to both DOC Rosalie and Reverend April. Some kinks we were not anticipating were worked out on the spot so that everything really went smoothly on the day of. Island Hills was extra accommodating because the whole night ran late due to weather and traffic. Everyone was able to have a cocktail when the arrived which made for a lively rehearsal. Everyone had a wonderful relaxed time.

aimerliny Posted: Feb 11, 2005 11:42 PM+

aimerliny MEMBER SINCE: 5/04 TOTAL POSTS : 1861 WEDDING DATE: Nov 06, 2004

Posted: Feb 11, 2005 11:42 PM

Re: 11/6/04 Island Hills Wedding Review (LONG with PROOFS)

Attendant & Family Gifts A+ (Everyone loved their gifts!)
I’m including this in case people are looking for ideas.
Maid of Honor & Bridesmaid: Marcasite and Garnet bracelets from HSN.com, Marcasite and Garnet Chandalier earrings from QVC.com, Monogrammed Microfiber Tote Bags from ClassyBride.com

Best Man & Groomsman: Engraved Pocket Knives from Bladesman (Seaford, NY) – BM also got an autographed baseball from Hall of Heroes (Roosevelt Field Mall) and GM also got a really nice chess set from Bombay Company (Carle Place, NY)

Aunts of the Bride: Matching Lenox Picture Frames, Bud Vases and Votive Candle Holders

Uncle of the Bride: Engraved Pocket Knife from Bladesman (Seaford, NY) and Engraved Fountain Pen from FountainPenHospital.com

Mother of the Groom: Belleek (Irish China) Picture Frame, Bud Vases, Votive Candle Holder & Trinket Box

Junior Ushers: Relic Sports Watches from JC Penney (Sunrise Mall)

aimerliny Posted: Feb 11, 2005 11:42 PM+

aimerliny MEMBER SINCE: 5/04 TOTAL POSTS : 1861 WEDDING DATE: Nov 06, 2004

Posted: Feb 11, 2005 11:42 PM

Re: 11/6/04 Island Hills Wedding Review (LONG with PROOFS)

Photographer A+
Lina Jang Photography (Manhattan)
I discovered my photographer after running into posts by nsgraham (we’ve never chatted, but I have to thank you for your thorough research and recommendations). I checked out Lina’s Web site and fell in love with her artistic style. Her prices were within our budget and she was willing to customize packages which was important to us. My husband being the technology geek that he is, was also impressed with her all-digital package and the equipment she would be using. We met with Lina back when she used to have an office in Mineola (she now has an office in the Empire State Building). Upon meeting her, and seeing more of her work, we were sold. She customized the perfect package for us and was very easy to work with. As I have mentioned, I am a very detailed-oriented controlling person. So Lina was overly prepared with what I wanted. I sent her samples of pictures that I liked, and provided a thorough list of what pictures I wanted. We spoke the week before the wedding to review the details and I was confident everything would be under control. On the day of the wedding, Lina showed up on-time and continually snapped photos until the moment she left. Her and her assistant were a dream to work with. Our proofs are breathtaking, she took over 1,500 shots! It seems like her and Obi her assistant were everywhere at first. She captured every moment I wanted, plus so many more. Choosing our album will be hard to do, but we are looking forward to it. And because all of her work is high quality digital, we have every one of our shots for reproducing for ourselves, friends and family. 850+ proofs are available online to look at, see link at the end of my review. Here are some of my favorites:

Videographer A+
WeddingReels.com (Queens)
Again, I have to thank nsgraham for another great recommendation. My husband and I weren’t looking for a typical wedding video. We checked out the samples from WeddingReels and were immediately impressed with the different approach to videography. Because of their corporate and commercial background, you can see a real difference in their end product. After meeting with Rob (the man behind the company) and reviewing more samples and discussing their approach, we were ready to talk package and cost. Rob customized his package to what we wanted and his price was great. Because my husband dabbles in video editing, my husband’s technology needs were also accommodated by Rob’s offerings, because we are able to buy all of our digital video footage. Working with Rob on the day of the wedding was great. He was there at all the right moments, but never in the way. He works solo, and is very unobtrusive. Every time I noticed something I would want on the video, I’d look and find him already there shooting. We can’t wait to see our finished product, but we are confident we are going to love what we get.

aimerliny Posted: Feb 11, 2005 11:42 PM+

aimerliny MEMBER SINCE: 5/04 TOTAL POSTS : 1861 WEDDING DATE: Nov 06, 2004

Posted: Feb 11, 2005 11:42 PM

Re: 11/6/04 Island Hills Wedding Review (LONG with PROOFS)

Ceremony / Reception A+
Island Hills Golf & Country Club (Sayville)
Island Hills is like a dream come true. The grounds are beautiful, the staff is wonderful and the food is delicious. The décor of the club is elegant but understated. From the moment we booked them, I was in constant communication with the catering manager via email. Any questions I had were answered, every detail was worked out. Two months before the wedding we were invited to a tasting dinner. Because Island Hills is a private club, they serve dinner during the golf season on Friday and Saturday nights. We were allowed to invite another couple and we had a wonderful relaxed dinner that was to die for. Two weeks before the wedding, we met with the catering manager, banquet manager along with DOC Rosalie. We stepped through every moment of our wedding day both as a guest and as the bride and groom. Every detail was reviewed and discussed. Any questions or concerns were answered. The final costs were negotiated and were actually less than what we budgeted (when does that EVER happen)? And that was after we decided to add on an extra hour to our day and get valet service. We customized our cocktail hour offerings, our menu, even drinks from the bar. Substitutions were never an issue. The day of the wedding everything was seamless. Our guests still rave about the food and the service. Island Hills is NOT your typical catering hall. The experience we were able to offer our guests was unique and no detail was left unattended. Our cake drama was handled smoothly, our vegetarian guests were accommodated. We were never hassled about anything. People say as a bride and groom, you don’t get to eat your food. Let me tell you, WE DID! And it was delicious. I won’t go into all the cocktail hour food, but some of the highlights were lump crab cakes, fried ravioli, fried calamari, eggplant rollatini, penne ala vodka and stuffed clams. Served at our reception was: First Course: Calypso Salad (Mixed Greens with Pecans, Strawberries and Mandarin Oranges in a Raspberry Vinaigrette), Warm Fresh Baked Bread Baskets; Second Course, choice of: Marinated / Grilled Shell Steak with Garlic Mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables, Chicken Stuffed with Duxelle’s Stuffing with Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Mixed Vegetables, or Pecan-crusted Tilapia served over Rice Pilaf with Mixed Vegetables. Intermezzo: freshly made Banana’s Fosters Station served over Vanilla Ice Cream (my husband’s favorite dessert). I only have three criticisms about Island Hills: (1) Thank you gifts that we left in the bridal suite the night of the rehearsal dinner for two people who could not attend were stolen and never recovered, but that was our fault for leaving them in a room that is not locked; (2) After our entrance into the reception, no one was there to help drape my train, or take my bouquet; (3) The bridal suite is in a strange location in the ballroom, so I could not use it prior to my ceremony (without being seen by guests), but I was allowed to use the very nice women’s locker room (which is not your typical locker room).

aimerliny Posted: Feb 11, 2005 11:42 PM+

aimerliny MEMBER SINCE: 5/04 TOTAL POSTS : 1861 WEDDING DATE: Nov 06, 2004

Posted: Feb 11, 2005 11:42 PM

Re: 11/6/04 Island Hills Wedding Review (LONG with PROOFS)

Night of Hotel A+
Courtyard Marriott (Lake Ronkonkoma)
This hotel bent over backwards to accommodate everything we requested. I easily negotiated a rate of $99 per night for our guests which included their delicious buffet breakfast. They provided shuttle service to and from our reception free of charge (they made two runs both before and after the wedding). They also arranged for us to have a private room set aside the morning after our wedding so that we could gather for breakfast with all of our guests (both those who stayed at the hotel plus close family members who met us). Plus they gave my husband and I a free upgrade to a suite which included a Jacuzzi tub. PLUS the allowed my husband and his friends to have a private conference room the night before the wedding so they could play poker.

aimerliny Posted: Feb 11, 2005 11:43 PM+

aimerliny MEMBER SINCE: 5/04 TOTAL POSTS : 1861 WEDDING DATE: Nov 06, 2004

Posted: Feb 11, 2005 11:43 PM

Re: 11/6/04 Island Hills Wedding Review (LONG with PROOFS)

I love looking at wedding pictures, it’s my favorite thing to do on the site. I hope you enjoy looking at mine. Here are my wedding proofs:

Wedding Proofs

aimerliny Posted: Feb 11, 2005 11:43 PM+

aimerliny MEMBER SINCE: 5/04 TOTAL POSTS : 1861 WEDDING DATE: Nov 06, 2004

Posted: Feb 11, 2005 11:43 PM

Re: 11/6/04 Island Hills Wedding Review (LONG with PROOFS)

Honeymoon Review
....Coming Soon...

JLP Posted: Feb 12, 2005 12:09 AM+

JLP MEMBER SINCE: 4/04 TOTAL POSTS : 1099 WEDDING DATE: Mar 12, 2005

Posted: Feb 12, 2005 12:09 AM

Re: 11/6/04 Island Hills Wedding Review (LONG with PROOFS)

I am fortunate enough to be Amy's best friend and to have been her MOH. The pictures and the review could not possibly do this wedding justice.

FH and I keep saying that Amy & Tim's wedding was the BEST TIME WE EVER HAD!
I'll consider myself lucky if I have half this much fun at my own wedding.

Amy was a unbelieveably beautiful bride and had a perfect wedding.