9.20.08 Napa On The Northfork. Napavalleygirl's review: Vineyard Caterers, Exquisite Affair Productions, Arcadia the band, Flower Michele, Northfork Trolley, Rosanna Amador & many more vendors!

Wow, I am finally getting to my review. I stumbled upon this website when I started to plan for our wedding the summer of 2007. DH and I were engaged in Napa Valley, hence my screen name! This website was truly a great tool and I want to thank Ron &Liz for setting up a great atmosphere for future brides to share tips and advice on how to plan a beautiful wedding. In addition, I’ve met some amazing ladies through this site who have given me countless tips and fantastic advice. The most valuable lesson that I learned was to “not to sweat the small stuff.” The day of the wedding, everyone thought I was going to one of those demanding brides because I was very organized leading up to the day. They were wrong… In fact, people were like “you are the most chill bride on a wedding day!” The day of the wedding, I had faith in my vendors and knew that if anything went wrong, it was in God’s hands… At that point, all I cared about was marrying my wonderful DH!!!

OK on to the review.
*All Wedding Photos by Barnaby Draper unless otherwise stated
*Shower & Engagement Party Photos Irina Mednick
*Rehearsal Dinner Photos Shira Z

Engaged! 5.24.07
Napa Valley & the Candlelight Inn A+
http://www.candlelightinn.com/home.htm
DH and I were engaged in Napa Valley. We stayed in Sonoma at the Renaissance Hotel and then we stayed at the Candlelight Inn… It was a very romantic trip and DH surprised me by planning the proposal with the Inn Keeper. When we checked into the B&B (after a day of wine tasting) we walked into a room (the Lady Heather room) filled with flowers and champagne. DH had a card and when I opened it, there was a picture of two kids dressed up like a bride and groom, I opened up the card and it said “Will you?” and in parentheses it said (Turn around) and I turned around to find my DH on his knee saying “marry me?”
If you ever go out to Napa, I highly suggest staying here!

Engagement Ring & Wedding Bands
Gary Jewelers A+
http://www.garyjewelers.com/
25 West 47th St.
212 819 0350
I had met Gary through my BM. He is her uncle who owns a stand in the Diamond District. DH had gone on his own to the DD and was completely intimidated by all the vendors who literally pulled on his arm when he was looking at some of the rings outside. He didn’t know what to do and was actually going to buy an estate ring he had seen at a shop in Gramercy Park. However, he finally fessed up to my best friend and she told him that a lot of the estate rings may not have the best quality diamonds and that he can recreate vintage style ring. I pointed him in the right direction and we met with my friend’s uncle… Gary was truly a pleasure to work with. No nonsense and gave us a very fair deal for the wedding bands and engagement ring. He educated DH on the “dos and don’t” of diamonds.
http://www.liweddings.com/mywedding/album/i/314560.jpg

Since DH and I were engaged in Napa and wanted to recreate that feeling on the East Coast. DH and I had our first vacation out there as a couple and I had heard of the Vineyard Caterers through a few mutual friends. Coincidentally, our jeweler’s son was married at the Vineyard Caterers as well! Everyone just raved about it…
In order to placate my parents (who live in Nassau County) I had to see a few venues close to their home. We saw some amazing places (Crescent Beach Club, The Royalton and the Woodlands) but I still had the nagging feeling that I wanted to get married on the North Fork. I finally convinced them to come out with me and check out the North Fork. They were immediately smitten and envisioned the “mini destination” wedding with all our friends and family.

We chose September 20th 2008 because I wanted to have the summer to relax and plan. I also knew September was harvest season for the grapes and it’s the best time in my opinion, to get married! Not too hot and not cold…. Vineyard Caterers was perfect for us because we really like that it's on the Jamesport Vineyard yet it was a fully established catering facility. No need to worry about extra bathrooms, rentals etc. With my huge family it would have been a scene to have a tent outside or facilities that couldn't accomodate a large party. Plus, I loved that the Vineyard Caterers food selection was not limited because they have a full working kitchen as opposed to a portable catering kitchen. It also has a huge traditional bridal suite, a groomsmen suite AND parent's suite. So many comfortable accomodations in case you want a little privacy to freshen up... That was a big plus!

Save The Dates
Invitation Consultants B-
We used Invitation Consultants for our STD’s. The shipping was a problem for me and I thought it was a bit pricey for the quality. The paper was not sturdy at all. They also shipped to my apartment and didn’t make me aware that signature was required. I don’t have a doorman so it got sent back to them. So it was back and forth and took almost 3 weeks to get them!
In retrospect, I should have just ordered a sample to see what it was like. It didn’t occur to me then!



Engagement Party 9/09/07
The Orchid Restaurant in Garden City B
Photographer Irina Mednick Creative I Photography A+
Sweetface XOXO Ebay Vendor invitations B-
Favors Trader Joe’s Wine (3 buck chuck) A
Centerpieces Potted Bamboo Plants from Chinatown A
Labels & Menu’s Diana from Pippy’s Sweets A
Il Corso Bakery Eparty Cake D

My parents are obsessed with food. They are the type of people that ask you if you’ve eaten as soon as your walk through their front door. I let them take reigns of the eparty and they chose The Orchid because they know the food is served family style. Their good friends know the owner of The Orchid Restaurant in Garden City. We decided to have a lunch for our engagement party. The owner/manager was very nice but I felt like the service there was very abrupt… Extremely abrupt and rude to our guests. I was very disappointed. The food was very good though. They upgraded a few of the dishes and included lobster. One good thing though is that one table ate their food really fast and they kept replenishing them with new platters of food. I thought that was really nice.
I had a problem with the bakery that did our cake. Since we were doing an “asian theme” I wanted to have a cake with cherry blossoms. The bakery promised me they would use fondant and not whipped cream. I even paid extra for fondant (it was very warm and I didn’t want the cake melting on the way to the party) Well, what do you know, they never wrote anything down and when I got to the bakery the day of the party, it was a WHIPPED cream cake…. It started to melt and crack in the car. I was furious but I got over it though I will never use that bakery again. Totally unprofessional and unapologetic.
The photographer, Irina was a last minute hire referred by my DOC Christine Viola. She was amazing and I am so glad we hired a photographer. Her rates are very reasonable and she was a sweetheart. She captured many moments that we wouldn’t have gotten just using our cameras. It was worth the investment!
Diana from Pippy’s Sweets made all the menus and labels for the eparty. She was a pleasure to work with and they looked so amazing! Her prices are great as well.
We used an Ebay vendor Sweetfacexoxo for our invites. They were a little flimsy but the design was very pretty. The vendor was very responsive on email and they were shipped fast!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=14147&l=bcc69&id=570205923
http://www.liweddings.com/community/album/?ID=18714&SID=0&P=243715

Invitations, Placecards, Menus, Programs & guest book (made by her sister Annie)
Tessa from E v e n S t a R Paperie A+
www. e ven star paperie. com
Calligrapher Michele Clarke A+
Wax Seals & labels for Rehearsal dinner favors Etsy Vendor Lifesoul Heart A+
Zazzle Custom Stamps A
Vistaprint B+ for rehearsal dinner invites & business cards for labels.
I am proud to say that I was the original LIW bride to “find” Tessa. I found her on www.etsy.com and ordered a few samples. She whipped up some mock invites and I thought they looked fantastic. We went back and forth for WEEKS on the design. I was also obsessed with letterpress or raised printing, then I came to realize that Tessa uses such quality paper that it really didn’t matter in the end. All our guests were in awe of the beautiful invites. We used wax seals to seal the envelopes and created custom stamps on zazzle.com with the monogram that Tessa designed from us. I still look at our invite and think “wow, this is gorgeous!” We also used the monogram and printed up business cards on vistaprint, punched holes in the corner and used them as tags for our wine bottle favors and for the slipper basket. We used the monogram for our gobo as well!
Michele Clark was a total pro. Our calligraphy was so beautiful. She was fast, efficient and so friendly. I highly recommend her!
http://www.liweddings.com/community/album/?ID=14935&SID=14&P=289464
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Shower
Waterzooi Garden City A
Photographer Irina Mednick A
Favors A Dozen Eggs sugar cookies
Riesterer’s Red Velvet Cupcakes A
I had no input on this! My sister in law, mother and cousin did all the planning with the help of my bridal party. The food was phenomenal, the room was gorgeous and everyone was happy! I was overwhelmed with all my gifts and to be surrounded by my closest family and friends. It was an amazing day!
http://www.liweddings.com/community/album/?ID=20555&SID=0&P=266234

Rehearsal dinner
The Old Mill Inn Mattituck A
http://www.theoldmillinn.net/
Photographer Shira Z A
http://www.shirazphotography.com/
We were on the search for a rehearsal dinner venue on the North Fork and it proved to be a tough one! Lots of restaurants do not have private rooms out there and will not give you the entire restaurant for a Friday evening. We stopped by several places and on a whim, we decided to check out the Old Mill Inn. I am so glad we did. We met with the owner Barbara Pepe. She was warm and very gracious. She put together a custom menu with her chef based on our tastes. We had NEVER eaten there until the night of our rehearsal dinner. It was so unlike me to not try it prior to us booking it but we were in great hands. The food was phenomenal, the service was great and our guests were “wowed” by the scenic river views of the restaurant. We had a 4 course meal that started with soup or salad, then clams with chorizo and then our guests had a choice of a lobster bake, NY strip steak, Bell & Evans organic chicken and a Vegetarian Pasta. Then they made individual portions of warm peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream. It was phenomenal. All the food is locally grown and organic.
Shira Z was our photographer and she blew me away. In fact, I wish I had met her prior because I would have booked her as our wedding photographer. She was sweet, artistic and so reasonable. I am so glad we hired her to capture that night! We had so many out of town friends and family. It was like a mini family reunion. I plan on using Shira for our 1 Year anniversary photo shoot because my wedding photographer only took like 4 pictures of my reception dress.
Link to Shira Z Photos
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=44794&l=2bfaa&id=570205923
http://www.liweddings.com/community/album/?ID=24407&SID=0&P=314879

Bridal Party Gifts
Groomsmen
Monogram Cuff Links from The Knot B
Personalized Itunes Cards A
They were inexpensive and they looked great once we purchased these small velvet boxes to display them in. We figured they were useful and they can use them with their tuxes. The shipping took a VERY long though but they came there in one piece. We also purchased personalized Itunes cards from the Apple Website. Easy and they came really fast.

Bridesmaids & Maid/Matron of Honor
LL Bean Monogrammed Totes
Robes from Macys
Diane Von Furstenberg Tanks
Old Navy PJ Bottoms & Flip Flops
Bliss & Bath and Body Work Products
Coach Wristlets (for MOH’s)
The girls were so happy with their gifts. They were all so useful and they were able to use them after the wedding. They all used the Monogrammed totes the day of the wedding and their flipflops at their reception. LL Bean’s customer service is fantastic. I highly recommend using them for totes and watch out for sales! They can have great sales and free shipping!

Parent Gifts & Ring Bearer Gifts
Personalization Mall.com
I had my parents wedding photo blown up onto a canvas and also put onto a mini canvas for to display at the wedding. The quality was fantastic and my parents were so touched… We also got my parents a gift certificate for American Airlines since they paid for the wedding and a monogrammed tote for my Mom & cuff links for my Dad.
For the ringbearers we ordered monogrammed baseball bats. They were great quality and the boys were SO happy!!!
Use a coupon for this site.. I saved a lot of $$. The quality was great and I think I may use one of our photos to blow up on canvas!
Flowergirl Gifts
Etsy seller katherineniccum A
I had replicas made of the flower girl dresses and I bought dolls from Michaels. They were SUCH a hit. The girls were freaking out. I highly recommend this vendor. She made them fast and with such care. I loved them!!!
http://www.liweddings.com/mywedding/album/i/314566.jpg

Miscellaneous wedding items
Custom Door Signs for Church
A Simple Impression A
These signs were great. We also displayed them @ our cake table at the reception. Sheila was great and had fantastic customer service.
Thank you Parasol, Jam covers & Timeline for OOT box
Laurie from EAP A
Laurie is the designer for Exquisite Affair Productions. She is such an amazing designer. Custom made our labels for the strawberry jam, our out of town boxes and she hand painted our parasol in the same font as our jam jars!
Homemade Strawberry Jam Favors A+
My favorite aunt is known for her homemade strawbverry jam. She went out and picked over 50 pounds of strawberries at a local Long Island Strawberry farm and made 200 jars of jam for our favors. I love this woman.
Cappy’s Liquor Store A
Wine Favors Pindar Winter White
Fantastic store. They are super patient and gave a great deal. They are very helpful!!! I wanted to keep a “Long Island Theme” with our favors.
http://www.liweddings.com/mywedding/album/i/314685.jpg
Out of Town Boxes
North Fork Chips A
Great customer service and they give a discount to brides!! I highly recommend them
BJ’s for miscellaneous snacks & Water A
Yankee Candle from Ebay seller this n that (all autumn theme scents, pumpkin pie etc) A
Came quickly and she was a great vendor
Custom beverage napkins Ebay vendor zofiaschoice A
Great vendor, I had the cocktail napkins in sage green with chocolate brown letters to say “eat, drink & be married.” Inexpensive and shipped fast!
Nashville Wraps for Gable Boxes, shredded tissue paper and raffia ribbon. A
LA Blossoms Custom Aisle Runner A
Laurie was amazing and she managed to recreate our intricate monogram for the aisle runner!!! I highly recommend her. She was efficient & sweet. All our guests were amazed by how beautiful our aisle runner was!


Bride’s Wedding Day Attire:
Bridal Reflections Carle Place A
Ceremony Dress Alvina Valenta
http://www.bridalreflections.com/CarlePlace/
RK Bridal A
http://www.rkbridal.com/
Reception Dress Mori Lee
Veil A gift from my aunt in the Philippines A+
Bridal Veil Falls B+ Margaret attached comb to the veils
Denise Leli Headpiece A
Shoes Touch ups Joyce A
www.shoebuy.com
http://www.shoebuy.com/pi/benja/benja233392_63917_lg.jpg

From the beginning, I knew I wanted two dresses. My mom and I have a joke that we can never decide on “just one dress.” Even for my HS prom, my mom and I purchased 3 dresses before we settled on one. The search for a wedding dress was a long one. We went to Kleinfelds, Priscilla of Boston, RK Bridal and then finally Bridal Reflections in Carle Place. I’ve read so many different stories about Bridal Reflections in Carle Place and that their customer service was lacking. I did not experience any of that. In fact, it was one of the most pleasant experiences! I went to Priscilla of Boston(great customer service as well) fell in love with a Melissa Sweet Dress that my mother didn’t love. Went to Kleinfelds and didn’t have a great experience with my sales person and then went to Bridal Reflections with my Mom only (which I think was the best idea, it’s hard to bring TOO many people. Lots of opinions flying around) and that’s when we found “the one.” It was the first dress that made my mother and I cry. It was a cross between the Melissa Sweet dress I loved and the Monique Lhuillier Clementine dress. Nawal was my sales person and she was such a doll. The alterations department was great. I have no complaints. In fact, I wanted to do a french bustle and the alterations woman said that I shouldn’t and to save the $$$. That the bustle would look beautiful the traditional way since my dress had pickup style skirt.
I tried on my reception dress at RK Bridal. The dress was a Mori Lee and had a net overlay with swarovski crystals. It was stunning! Originally, the dress had a long train but I wanted to cut off the material underneath the overlay and do a “permanent” bustle with the overlay. It’s difficult to explain but the RK alterations department nailed it. I went for 3 fittings and the dress was perfect! The price was right as well, people thought the dress was a lot more $$$ than it actually was.
Denise Leli was a sweetheart to work with. I had seen another bride (Mrsbartontobe) with this vine headpiece and HAD to have it. Denise made one just for me and it was gorgeous!!
My aunt had custom made and hand embroidered material made for my veil. It was enough for FOUR veils. A mantilla style, traditional veil, a shoulder length veil and a cathedral veil. Margaret at Bridal Veil Falls was in awe and wanted to purchase the material from me (whatever I wasn’t using) but I really couldn’t part with them even if I wasn’t wearing it. I was just attaching combs to the veils and she was going to “shape” them for me. It took a long time. I told her my real wedding date and I think it took over 2 months for her to do it. I know she’s very busy but I was starting to get worried! In the end, it worked out and the veils were absolutely stunning.
I bought my shoes from shoebuy.com and was very happy with them! They were inexpensive and comfortable. I wore them all day without a problem and changed into my flip flops around 10:30 pm!!
http://www.liweddings.com/mywedding/album/i/314563.jpg
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DH’s Tuxedo & Tie
Rothman’s in Union Square NYC A
http://www.rothmansny.com/
DH and I searched all over for his tuxedo. We wanted something a little more slim cut. DH is a fan of Ben Sherman and British designers. For some odd reason, it was really hard to find a tuxedo that fit him right. We went everywhere. Lord & Taylor, Bloomingdales, Hugo Boss Outlet in Riverhead and then we ended up at Rothman’s near our office. The customer service was great and DH ended up with a Ted Baker tuxedo and a custom made tie in a silvery-white. It was perfect! They have a great selection downstairs and very good sales reps. We highly recommend!

Groomsmen Tuxes & FOB Tuxedo
Men’s Warehouse A
http://www.menswearhouse.com/index.jsp
We choose classic black tuxedos with black ties and black vests. Since many of our GM were from out of town, I figured it would be the easiest thing. We’ve heard some horror stories about Men’s Warehouse but thankfully we didn’t have any problems! In retrospect, I wish I had chosen black suspenders with bow ties but it was too late to change it!! But the guys looked great, there was no problems picking the tuxes up and no problems returning it. Just make sure you’re very specific with MW and that the GM’s look at all tux before they leave to make sure all their accessories are there. Make sure the GM’s also sign up for their “perfect fit” program. They get an additional discount on their rental.

Bridesmaid Dresses
RK Bridal A
www.rkbridal.com
Watters & Watters Shantung Silk Dresses
We did the no frills program @ RK Bridal. The girls received a big discount compared to other shops. They paid less than $200 for each of their dresses (this is without alterations) and we had it shipped to NJ so they didn’t have to pay tax. I really wanted shantung silk dresses. I feel it’s flattering and doesn’t cling to the body. I searched and the designers that I saw were very $$$$. I was so happy to find that Watters used this material, had my color (green) and that it was sold at RK Bridal so that we could take advantage of the no frills program.

Flowergirl dresses & Ringbearer tuxedos
My Girl Dress A
www.mygirldress.com
Fast, inexpensive and the quality was great for a dress and tux that they would wear once! The girls and boys looked so cute in their outfits.



Wedding Day
Weather A++++
The sun was SHINING and the weather was perfect! At night it was a little cool but it was so nice!

Church:
Our Lady of Ostrabrama in Cutchogue A
They were very accommodating with us considering we are not members of their parish. They even allowed to have our family priest marry us even though he is not part of their parish. The church itself is beautiful and looked gorgeous in pictures AND it’s also located on the farm for North Fork Chips! (When I ordered my chips, the lady asked me what church I was getting married @ and she said, “oh, that’s our farm!”)
Our family priest married us and it was so special to have Father Tony lead our ceremony mass. He is from the Philippines and knew all the traditions that entailed in a Filipino wedding ceremony. He also baptized my niece & married my brother and sister in law and all my cousins. It’s a family tradition. Thank you Father Tony for making our day so special.




Ceremony Music & Cocktail Hour Music
Vintage String Quartet A
http://www.vstringq.com/62.html
Francesca was a DOLL to work with. It really sends chills up my spine remembering how beautiful the ceremony music was. I was blown away by their music. I wasn’t sure where to have music (during candle lighting etc.) and Francesca just winged it. They played “One Hand, One Heart” when DH and I lit the unity candle and I was so teary eyed. It was amazing. The cocktail reception was phenomenal with them as our music. All my friends were amazed that they were playing Guns N Roses “Sweet Child of Mine.” I highly recommend them!!! They were such a great addition to our beautiful day.

Vineyard Caterers A+++
www.vineyardcaterers.com
What can I say about the Vineyard Caterers that wasn’t already said about them? They were phenomenal. DH and I really wanted a place that only catered to one wedding at a time. I took a trip out east with my mother, father and my aunt. Dh wasn’t able to make it because he was out of town. We were greeted by Bill who took us on a tour. Immediately, my aunt said “book this, book this!” Bill was so warm and you can see he has so much pride in the VC. They are meticulous with all the details. When we went to his office and he started to describe the cocktail hour, choice of entrées, the wine tasting during the cocktail hour, I started to wonder how much it was per person…When he told me the price for a Saturday night I was so happy! It was very reasonable. He only had two Saturday evenings available. I called DH when we left there and he told me to book it even though he hadn’t seen it. I called Bill from the road and told him we would take Saturday 9.20.08
Communication leading up to the big day was phenomenal. They always answered back emails, answered phone calls and just generally made me feel so at ease. They also made my DOC feel @ ease even though they have a superhero Matire D Johnny who runs a smooth ship.
We went for the tasting and we were blown away by the quality of the food. Baby Lamb chops, Mini angus burgers and the abundance of seafood dishes. Delicious! The choice of entrees was out of this world. So many of my guests thought that our cocktail hour was the actual dinner! We had a grill station, pasta station & a wok station. There was sushi, an abundance of hot chafing dishes, crudite, crackers & cheeses. We upgraded and had the seafood barge which included shrimp cocktail, oysters on a half shell & clams. To die for! Johnny and the bridal attendant brought up food to the bridal suite and he even remembered to bring my favorite, baby lamb chops up to me!! DH and I actually got to enjoy the food in peace.

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Wedding Cake Create A Cake A
http://www.benkerts.com/index.htm
Cake Topper DK Designs Hawaii A
http://www.dkdesignshawaii.com/images/simpleviewer/cake_flowers/index.html
I decided to save some money and not go and have a cake made by another bakery. I had heard some stories about brides not being happy with their cake so I took a special trip out to Create a Cake and met with one of their sales girls. I felt a little uneasy because I didn’t meet with the cake designer, I met with a sales girl. I was little nervous because I had specifically wanted to meet the cake designer. The bakery is not fancy but the cookies and cakes looked delicious. I looked through a book, chose a simple fondant cake and told them I would send them over a cake topper and the grosgrain ribbon to wrap around each tier. I chose a 5 tier ivory fondant cake with alternating swiss dots. I ordered a custom cake topper from DK Designs. I sent Diane a picture of my sample and she created a cake topper that was STUNNING. The flowers are made out of clay. Now DH and I have a great keepsake.
When I saw my cake, it took my breath away. It was absolutely stunning and delicious. We had red velvet cake & we also had a vanilla cake with raspberry mousse. I am so glad I didn’t spend the extra $$$ and I stuck with Create a Cake. Also, I had a small “present” cake made for my aunt that they presented to her at the wedding. They did a great job and it was so inexpensive. $24 dollars for a small fondant cake shaped like a present. We also upgraded and added on the Vienesse hour. The presentation was incredible. We had make your own sundae bars, chocolate fountains and every dessert you can think of (black and white cookies, cheese cakes, pies and italian cookies) I posted a picture of my reaction below. Our guests said it was something out of 'Charlie & The Cholate Factory!'


Christine Viola Exquisite Affair Productions A++
http://www.exquisiteaffairsproductions.com/
Hands down my favorite vendor. I met Christine in June of 2007 and booked her on the spot. She is extremely detail oriented and through the entire planning process, Christine became a friend. I had some issues pop up and Christine was extremely professional in handling anything that came our way. She was always checking in, optimistic and always gave her frank and honest opinion. She knew where to spend $$ and knew how to save $$. I have a tendency to go “overboard” with silly things and she would pull me back down to earth and say “do you REALLY Need that?” She was also an amazing buffer between myself and the vendors I had problems with. She is professional, cool, calm and collected.
The day of the wedding, she was there early and came with a huge rolling case of “emergency” items. Wow, that came in handy. She taped up the girl’s bra straps, she had graham cracker cookies for my flower girls when they decided they were hungry at the church ceremony, shout wipes for lipstick stains on my dress, anything and everything you can think of. Christine saved the day. She and her partner Laurie had the Hampton Jitney running on time and any problems that arose that day (ie one of our GROOMSMEN not showing up) she kept those problems away from me. I had no idea that he didn't show up!! Christine made it clear that she didn’t want anyone bothering me the day of the wedding. She set up hair in my bridal suite and had the girl’s get ready in a conference room. I just had time to be zen and get ready without the “How do you feel?” question over and over again. I really just wanted to be with my parents & my dog while I got ready.
Christine was amazing. Not only did she keep everyone in order, she had everyone laughing and happy! She ended up at our “after party” at the Best Western bar and was hanging with us till almost 4 am!!! Christine is amazing!!!

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Flower Michele A+

I met with a few florists before I decided on John @ Flower Michele. I thought he was so artistic & down to earth. He really nailed the vision of what we were trying to achieve at the Vineyard Caterers & the church. I was so impressed with him. When I told him what church we were getting married at he had notes that had the exact number of pews at the church! That really nailed it for me. There were aspects of the Vineyard Caterers main room that I wasn’t crazy about and John really put together some great ideas to make the room pretty! Originally, I had wanted a branch centerpiece with hanging votives. Then as time went one, I realized, I wanted something a little more softer with color. John & I met again to discuss these ideas and we came up with using grapes in tall vases, submerged in water with hydrangeas, pink roses and berries. When I saw the sample, I was BLOWN away. My mom wanted more roses so we paid a little extra but our guests were totally amazed with the CP’s. They were so creative. My bouquet was absolutely stunning. I wanted peonies for my bouquet but they were out of season. John found beautiful blush pink esperanza roses and he had my grandmother’s handkerchief tied at the base. Breathtaking. The hot pink bouquets for my BP were stunning and the $1.00 headbands I provided for my FG’s looked like a million bucks.
http://www.liweddings.com/mywedding/album/i/297312.jpg



Arcadia A+
www.liparamount.com
I had seen Arcadia perform at my friend’s wedding almost 6 years ago. It was way before I met my DH and I remember thinking in my head, “wow, if I ever get married…..”
Fast forward, I had mentioned to my parents how much I loved this band and that they should check their showcase out. Mind you, I hadn’t seen them perform in almost 6 years and didn’t even know if it was the same lineup as my friend’s wedding. I called my parents after the showcase and said ‘well, what did you think?” They were like “we booked them!”
I almost fell on the floor. The one thing my DH wanted to have input in was the band and my parents booked them before he even saw them perform. I had to do some major damage control and requested a press kit from Gus from Arcadia. He sent over a DVD and I had DH watch it. I said “what do you think?” and he said “I think they’re great.” I said “should we book them?” he said “yes!” LOL I laugh about it now but he had no idea that my parents had already booked them…
I work in the music industry and I’m very jaded about live music. This band had an entire room of music industry folks on the dance floor freaking out!!! They learned Coldplay “Viva La Vida” My friend who works with Maroon 5 even said he would marry his wife all over again just to have this band.
Gus the band leader was amazing with communication and I felt so at ease with them. They were definitely a huge hit with us, our family and our guests! They are still raving about them.

Linen Creations A+
http://www.linencreations.net/
I had heard about Linen Creations on this site. I met with Ada, the owner, and her daughter and we all immediately hit it off. Ada was so creative and so meticulous with details. In addition, her prices are fantastic and the quality of the linens are over the top. When I had described what I was trying to achieve, Ada had special ordered overlays for me to look at. We settled on a beautiful sage green overlay over ivory tablecloths and sage green chair bows. She said the overlays were special ordered just for me and she named them the “Cindy.” They were absolutely stunning and really completed the “look” of the room.
http://www.liweddings.com/mywedding/album/i/314688.jpg
http://www.liweddings.com/mywedding/album/i/314687.jpg

Get InTune Productions lighting, slideshow & gobo
http://www.getintunedj.com/body.php?pg=lightingIntro
Lighting A
Slideshow I didn’t get to see it so I can’t grade it!
Gobo B (looked a bit warped on the dancefloor)
Communication after wedding C-
I met with Glen and thought he had some great ideas. His prices were reasonable and he really knew the layout of the Vineyard Caterers. Leading up to it, I had sent him over a CD of all these old pictures that we had scanned by a company. DH and I don’t have a scanner so we paid almost $100 bucks to get these old pictures scanned. I specifically told Glen that we would like to have a copy of the slideshow and this DVD back. After the wedding, I sent him multiple emails to see if I could get them. He only answered one email saying he was very busy with personal things. I understood and wrote back maybe a few weeks later and he never answered me. I found it very unprofessional. If he had lost or thrown away the dvd and slideshow, I would rather have him be honest and upfront rather than just completely ignoring me.
The lighting was beautiful and really transformed the room into a wonderland and I heard the slideshow was great, however, DH and I didn’t get to see it since we were up in the bridal suite.

North Fork Trolley A+
http://www.northforktrolley.com/
BP Transportation
On time, efficient and they really know the lay of the land!!! Tom who booked our trolley was great with communication. The driver knew all the spots to take us for pictures. I really wanted beach photos and he knew exactly where to go. The trolley looked amazing in photos and they really made a great impression with our guests and our BP. It was so different and unique. Well worth the investment!

Hampton Jitney A+
http://www.hamptonjitney.com/cgi-bin/nav.cgi?page=home.html
This is where my DOC Christine stepped in and told us to invest a little $$$. We had rooms blocked at the Best Western, The Holiday Inn and the Dreamers Cove Inn. We were going to just use the free shuttle service that the hotels provided and let the guests at the Dreamers Cove just get to the reception on their own. Well, Christine wasn’t comfortable with using the hotel shuttles because they wouldn’t’ give her the name of the company the used and we had heard horrible reviews about getting the guests to the reception on time. We used the HJ to pick up our guests at BW, Holiday Inn & Dreamers Cove. I was super uptight with time because the traffic out east can be very heavy. So we had the Jitney pick up the guests at BW and HI first then drop them at Vineyard Caterers and then pick up the guests at Dreamers Cove after they had dropped off the first set of guests at the VC. Timing was perfect, the guests arrived in time for the wine reception in the lobby and had a chance to check out the slideshow before they escorted them out to the cocktail hour.

Regal Bridal A+
http://www.regalbridal.com/home.asp
We used Regal Bridal for our limo and we had originally booked our videographer through them. After I booked the videographer with them, they parted ways with him. Regal Bridal was fantastic and we used the deposit as a credit to use. I ended up using the credit towards the balance of my limo and to buy personalized coasters for the cocktail hour. I also changed my mind about having a vintage car pick me up as I was afraid that the AC wouldn’t work well and that it may not be the most comfortable ride. I’m SO happy I switched to a limo. I got to blast the AC the entire time on my way to the church and ride comfortably with my parents.
They staff at Regal Bridal were extremely accommodating, honest and they were great with communication. I highly recommend them to any bride to be for their services!

Hotels
Best Western East End A
Rooms B- (they are very old however, they are going to renovate the hotel soon! Great news for future brides)
I dealt with Kristin for my hotel blocks. She was extremely friendly and always communicative!! They handed out all of the OOT boxes smoothly, all my guests were happy, Kristin put out signs for the shuttle and blocked off the conference room for my BP to get ready. Though, the rooms are a bit older, they were fine albeit a bit pricey for what they are! My friends went to a wedding in Atlanta and stayed at the Ritz Carlton and they paid the same amount as they did as our Best Western in Riverhead! There is a shortage of large hotels out there and it can really dictate the costs. There is a big demand for rooms out there.
We hosted our brunch on Sunday after the wedding and the food was really good and they kept replenishing the buffet whenever it was low in quantity.
Holiday Inn East End A
My guests were very happy with their rooms and it was very easy to set up room blocks with them. They always called me back whenever I had a question. They handed out all our OOT boxes. I didn’t get to see the rooms but I heard they were great. This hotel is newer than the Best Western.
Dreamers Cove Inn A
http://www.dreamerscoveinn.com/site/
My brother’s high school friend runs this hotel. It’s a bit older but they keep it very clean and well maintained. The waterviews are very pretty. They handed out all our OOT boxes and our guests seemed very happy! It’s right down the road from the Vineyard Caterers as well.

Rosanna Amador A+
www.cosmony.com
This is where Christine stepped in and told me that I should spend a little extra $$$ on the hair. I’m so glad she did. I had various hair trials and though, I thought they were nice, it just wasn’t what I was picturing for my wedding day. Then I went to Rosanna. That woman is an artist. My hair was absolutely perfect and stayed in all night. I felt like Audrey Hepburn. Thank you Rosanna for making me feel like a princess.

Kholoud’s Beauty
BP hair & makeup B
Bride’s makeup (done by Zoraida) A
I met with Kacey and thought she was very nice. We hit it off however, I wasn’t completely comfortable with my hair. I really liked her so I kept her on for the Bridal party for hair and makeup as well as for my makeup.
Leading up to the day her communication with my DOC was not the best. I believe there were some discretions regarding the start and end time for the hair and makeup. Obviously, I am not an expert at setting up a timeline so I let them decide what was best. We ended up starting earlier in the morning and in the end it worked out however there were a few things that concerned me.
1. I made it clear that I wanted to get ready in my bridal suite and not go downstairs to the lobby area where the conference room was. There were too many family members milling around and the chance of me bumping into DH was inevitable. They would not come upstairs to do my makeup and when I went downstairs (thank god I peeked through the window of the door) I saw DH was in the lobby. I had my cell, called DH and told him to leave the lobby immediately. Thank goodness I peeked or else I would have bumped into him going downstairs! I was confused as to why they didn’t want to come upstairs to do my makeup.
2. They charged my sister in law tax on her makeup and hair for the flowergirl. Why would you tack on tax? I was confused by that.
3. My sister in law wasn’t very happy with her hair. Too much hairspray.
In the end, I was happy with my makeup. Zoraida did a great job & although Kacey and my DOC didn’t see eye to eye about the start time, they were professional with each other and everyone got their hair and makeup done on time. Kacey was gracious enough to help me put the veil on even though she didn’t do my hair.



Photography
Engagement Photos & Wedding Day
Barnaby Draper
http://www.barnabydraperstudios.com/index.html
http://www.barnabydraperstudios.com/index.html#/mata/


Photographer for getting ready photos
Jennifer Shea Photography A
http://www.jennifersheaphoto.com/
Jennifer was hired TWO days before the wedding. I was very happy that she was available and the photos she took were great. I had some amazing shots of me getting ready, photos with my parents AND my favorite photos are the ones she took of my dog Weezer. She was on time, very sweet and I am very happy we had her there. She captured moments that wouldn’t have been captured since my main photographer was late getting to the hotel.

Videographer
Orange Films A for communication
TBD grade for finished product
http://www.orangefilmsny.com/
Edward Zilberman
I had originally booked Edward through Regal Bridal because I had seen another bride on the site book him through them. The partnership between the companies ceased between them and I was able to book Edward sans Regal Bridal. Edward is fantastic with communication. He calls you right back, answers emails right away & is always available to talk when you have questions. His work is very artistic and not dated at all. I was impressed with his clips because he used very cutting edge music and his editing was flawless. My only gripe is that my DOC had given them specific instructions how to get to the Best Western and to not input it into GPS. He ended up late because he didn’t use those instructions and used GPS and he didn’t have many “getting ready” montages. He did send over an amazing video clip which I sent to people and it literally has made my friend’s tear up. He did a great job. I can’t wait to see the finished product!
Wedding trailer Clip
http://vimeo.com/1988835



Honeymoon
Travel Tom Travel Agent A
Maui Four Seasons Hotel A+
Kauai The Grand Hyatt B
American Airlines A



Well, that’s it for now! I hope you enjoyed reading this VERY long and detailed review. All the past reviews were so helpful and I hope mine is too. If anyone has questions, feel free to FM.

Thank you for reading!

Re: 9.20.08 Napa On The Northfork. Napavalleygirl's review: Vineyard Caterers, Exquisite Affair Productions, Arcadia the band & many more vendors!

Congratulations, you look beautiful. Everything looks perfect.

Re: 9.20.08 Napa On The Northfork. Napavalleygirl's review: Vineyard Caterers, Exquisite Affair Productions, Arcadia the band & many more vendors!

wow what a review great pics

Re: 9.20.08 Napa On The Northfork. Napavalleygirl's review: Vineyard Caterers, Exquisite Affair Productions, Arcadia the band & many more vendors!

GORGEOUSSSSSSSSSSSSSS OMG Everything was beautiful especially the bride CONGRATS!!!!!!!!

Re: 9.20.08 Napa On The Northfork. Napavalleygirl's review: Vineyard Caterers, Exquisite Affair Productions, Arcadia the band & many more vendors!

awesome review Cindy!! you are so detailed, I love it... and thorough! wish i had been there... I bet you have your thank you cards out already too don't you??

love it!!

Re: 9.20.08 Napa On The Northfork. Napavalleygirl's review: Vineyard Caterers, Exquisite Affair Productions, Arcadia the band & many more vendors!

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Posted by snwb08

awesome review Cindy!! you are so detailed, I love it... and thorough! wish i had been there... I bet you have your thank you cards out already too don't you??

love it!!

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Silvana, you know me so well by now!!
Dude, I wish you and your DH were there too

Re: 9.20.08 Napa On The Northfork. Napavalleygirl's review: Vineyard Caterers, Exquisite Affair Productions, Arcadia the band & many more vendors!

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Posted by lizzie217

GORGEOUSSSSSSSSSSSSSS OMG Everything was beautiful especially the bride CONGRATS!!!!!!!!

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Thank you so much!!!!

Re: 9.20.08 Napa On The Northfork. Napavalleygirl's review: Vineyard Caterers, Exquisite Affair Productions, Arcadia the band, Flower Michele, Northfork Trolley, Rosanna Amador & many more vendors!

Very thorough & details. GORGEOUS

Re: 9.20.08 Napa On The Northfork. Napavalleygirl's review: Vineyard Caterers, Exquisite Affair Productions, Arcadia the band, Flower Michele, Northfork Trolley, Rosanna Amador & many more vendors!

Omg Cindy awesome review!!! Everything looked so gorgeous! You were absolutely stunning!

Re: 9.20.08 Napa On The Northfork. Napavalleygirl's review: Vineyard Caterers, Exquisite Affair Productions, Arcadia the band, Flower Michele, Northfork Trolley, Rosanna Amador & many more vendors!

omg what a great review!! So thorough!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Your wedding looked amazing and so did yoU!

Re: 9.20.08 Napa On The Northfork. Napavalleygirl's review: Vineyard Caterers, Exquisite Affair Productions, Arcadia the band, Flower Michele, Northfork Trolley, Rosanna Amador & many more vendors!

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Posted by Mrs. V 2008

omg what a great review!! So thorough!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Your wedding looked amazing and so did yoU!

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Thank you for reading!!!!

Re: 9.20.08 Napa On The Northfork. Napavalleygirl's review: Vineyard Caterers, Exquisite Affair Productions, Arcadia the band, Flower Michele, Northfork Trolley, Rosanna Amador & many more vendors!

awesome review and beautiful pictures.....

congrats on a wonderful wedding!!!

Re: 9.20.08 Napa On The Northfork. Napavalleygirl's review: Vineyard Caterers, Exquisite Affair Productions, Arcadia the band, Flower Michele, Northfork Trolley, Rosanna Amador & many more vendors!

Wow! Everything in your wedding was beautiful! And looked stunning! Congrats!

Re: 9.20.08 Napa On The Northfork. Napavalleygirl's review: Vineyard Caterers, Exquisite Affair Productions, Arcadia the band, Flower Michele, Northfork Trolley, Rosanna Amador & many more vendors!

Beautiful!!!

Re: 9.20.08 Napa On The Northfork. Napavalleygirl's review: Vineyard Caterers, Exquisite Affair Productions, Arcadia the band, Flower Michele, Northfork Trolley, Rosanna Amador & many more vendors!

Stunning!!!! I love everything!

Re: 9.20.08 Napa On The Northfork. Napavalleygirl's review: Vineyard Caterers, Exquisite Affair Productions, Arcadia the band, Flower Michele, Northfork Trolley, Rosanna Amador & many more vendors!

Your veil is gorgeous!
Congratulations.
The little girl with the doll is so cute!

Re: 9.20.08 Napa On The Northfork. Napavalleygirl's review: Vineyard Caterers, Exquisite Affair Productions, Arcadia the band, Flower Michele, Northfork Trolley, Rosanna Amador & many more vendors!

Great review and a beautiful wedding! Congrats!!!

Re: 9.20.08 Napa On The Northfork. Napavalleygirl's review: Vineyard Caterers, Exquisite Affair Productions, Arcadia the band, Flower Michele, Northfork Trolley, Rosanna Amador & many more vendors!

What a great review...expected nothing less! Everything was just beautiful!! I loved both of your dresses! Your veil was beautiful! Aw, your dog is soo cute! The photo from your parents wedding is great! The BM dresses looked beautiful on all of them, and all of the children were so cute.

Re: 9.20.08 Napa On The Northfork. Napavalleygirl's review: Vineyard Caterers, Exquisite Affair Productions, Arcadia the band, Flower Michele, Northfork Trolley, Rosanna Amador & many more vendors!

WOW Cindy - great review and love all the pictures you posted! Everything looks so beautiful and so elegant and I am so happy for you! I especially love that little canvas picture of your parents....what a nice touch! CONGRATS ON A GORGEOUS WEDDING AND BEING A BEAUTIFUL WEDDING!

Re: 9.20.08 Napa On The Northfork. Napavalleygirl's review: Vineyard Caterers, Exquisite Affair Productions, Arcadia the band, Flower Michele, Northfork Trolley, Rosanna Amador & many more vendors!

fabulous review- it will be so helpful to future brides. I loved seeing how everything came together on your day- you looked so beautiful & everything looked amazing! Congratulations again!