I don't have pro pics yet but I thought I'd start the review and add non pro pics at the end.
Overall, the wedding was fabulous. There were a few little glitches along the way, but all in all, everything was really amazing. The weather was beautiful but brisk.
Minor Vendors Matches--Personalized Party (www.personalizedparty.com). I ordered personalized match boxes from here and was not happy with the quality. They redid them at no charge, and I was still not happy with the quality. They promised a refund--which never came. I emailed and called repeatedly and never heard back. Needless to say, I do not recommend.
Yalmulkes--www.judaicaemb.com
I ordered 8 dozen yalmulkes. They tried to convince me to switch to more expensive ones, then they took over 8 weeks to arrive. When they did, they were wrong. The imprint was in the wrong color. I called to complain and spoke to an incredibly rude man. Needless to say, they never fixed them.
Invitations: Our invitations were perfect. We ordered our invitations through www.JBink.com. They were a classic style Checkerboard and we got a 30% discount. Joan was wonderful and made great suggestions. I highly recommend her.
Major Vendors Band--We used RENEGADE (www.liparamount.com) and let me tell you they ROCKED!!! They were absolutely amazing and I cannot say enough about them. Dave Clark was incredible. We told him our type of music and he made it happen. We danced ALL NIGHT LONG, and so did everyone else. Everyone raved about them. He learned our first song as well as our entrance song. Dave was incredibly easy to work with and I would highly recommend them. They MADE the party.
Florist--We used Stefans. At the Royalton, you can only use Stefans or Spitz and Peck. We worked with Paul who was incredibly accomodating. Because we live in the city, we had to take the train out to see him--he even drove us back to the train! I knew what I wanted and he made it happen. I wanted tall centerpieces with crystals swagged across each arm of the centerpiece--and he designed it. And the flowers came out beautifully. 3 days before the wedding I changed the whole set up for the ceremony, and Paul was right there with me. He was great. The people who came to set everything up listened to my comments and made the changes accordingly. My only complaint is that Paul had promised to be there personally and he was not. But the flowers were great--no complaints whatsoever about that.
Makeup/Hair: Mia from BL. www.b ridal l ounge.com
Mia was another absolutely amazing vendor. I had a trial with her, then had her do another one for my shower for both me and my mom. Loved both and booked her for us and my bridesmaids. We had a last minute change in location for the hair and makeup, and Mia took it all in stride. Mia showed up promptly and got right to work. My bridesmaids all loved her work so much that more jumped on the bandwagon and had her do them too! She was amazing. She worked so well under pressure and kept me calm the whole time. And most importantly, we all looked great. I truly felt like a princess. I didn't even have time to look in the mirror, but with Mia, I knew I looked perfect anyway!!! I highly recommend her.
Photography/Videography: Duet. We had Jay's team. Again, we had a last minute change in location and they arrived on time at the new location, with no problems. They were great--all over the place taking pictures. Will wait to see the proofs, but so far, they were wonderful and I highly recommend.
Hotel: Guests (and me and my DH) stayed at the Roslyn Claremont Hotel (www.roslynclaremonthotel.com). The hotel is lovely and the service was great. The only problems were 1) the hotel bar closes very early and will not reopen for any reason and 2) the rooms on the street side are a little noisy from traffic. Otherwise they were great--and the bridal suite was gorgeous.
RD and brunch: George Washington Manor. GW Manor was perfect. It's next door to the hotel and the food and service were terrific. Highly recommend.
Officiant: We used Rabbi Alan Stein and he was great. We met with him a few times and he made the ceremony personable. A few details were not quite right, but nothing that anyone knew about other than us. He made us very comfortable and kept a smile on our faces. He was very accomodating with our religious requests. I would (and have!) recommend him to others.
Gown: My gown was purchased from the Wedding Atelier in NYC. It's a Richard Glasgow and we designed it as a combination of two of his existing designs. The salon was wonderful--we originally bought a sample of a different gown but after a miscommunication with the sales person several months later about possible alterations to the neckline (who no longer works there), we ended up ordering a new gown, designed by us
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The woman who does the alterations was absolutely fabulous was amazing patience. She created the most fab bustle ever and she was truly terrific.
Shoes: My shoes were Cynthia Rowley and I LOVE LOVE LOVE them. I got them at a Cynthia Rowley sample sale and saved great $$$!!! Love those shoes and will dye them black so I can keep wearing them!!! I wore them all day and night with no major problems.
Calligraphy: I used Michele from www.theartistshand.com and I highly recommend her. She's incredibly talented and super organized. Her work is beautiful and very reasonable for hand calligraphy. I highly recommend her. I used her for both envelopes and place cards.
RD placecards: I used www.magicweddings.com for this and would not recommend them.
Travel Agent: We used Dawn Dorr at www.cruiseone.com and she was terrific! She's like a friend now!!! I had picked all the hotels but she facilitated the whole process and was even able to get us money REFUNDED when the price of our flights dropped dramatically. GO DAWN!!!
DIY:
I made my own STDs, OOT bags and menus.
Lastly (I think!?!?), the Royalton at the Roslyn Country Club. The place is beautiful and has the warm feeling of an old mansion, which is what we wanted. Everyone told us how amazing the food was (we barely ate!) and the rooms looked beautiful. The wedding was absolutely fabulous, but we did have some small issues, as all weddings do. All are relatively minor, and no one knew but us, but after planning every detail for the last year, I knew. My bridal attendant, Fabiola was truly great and was there by my side whenever I needed anything. The maitre d' was wonderful too. We are attending a wedding there in March and I can't wait to eat the food that everyone raved so much about!
I think that's it! I'll start adding some nonpro pics. Feel free to FM me with any specific questions!
