Well… my wedding came and went. It was without a doubt the best day of my life. All of my vendors worked out great. I hope you will all benefit from my review, and if you have any questions about any vendors… feel free to FM me.
St. Pauls Episcopal Church, Glen Cove - I was originally going to have my ceremony at the Swan Club, but the ceremony space became unavailable when we changed our reception time. We had to look for a church to have our ceremony and this place worked out great. We were married by Rev. Douglas Hutchings. He is a very sweet guy, with a great sense of humor. He made the entire process extremely relaxing for both of us. The church is gorgeous, and the grounds are beautiful. Couldn’t ask for a better experience.
Rating: 10/10Swan Club, Roslyn Harbor – This was the first, and only reception hall we looked at. We had a very small wedding (45 guests) so we were looking for a place that had a small room and would give us a small number guarantee. The Swan Club gave us a good deal, and didn’t even mind the fact that we ended up changing our event from a day wedding to a night event (even while we were in the middle of the contract). I got lots of compliments from people saying how nice the place was. I heard from some people that the cake was average, but the food was very good. The Swan Club staff were also very helpful with any requests I had and made the night go very smoothly.
Rating: 9.5/10Paradise Bridal – This is where Vanessa got her Dress. She went to the Patchogue location. I cannot say much about this since I wasn’t really involved, but from what Vanessa said, she was quite happy with the place. Her dress looked great and she said it fit her perfectly. The girls got their bridesmaids dresses there as well and they also did a great job with them and their alterations. Vanessa did say that there were some things about the “process” that they failed to mention regarding scheduling and some accessories that needed to be bought, and only mentioned this the last minute. But it wasn’t something that she said was too bad and definitely not any sort of deal breaker.
Rating: 9/10Luigis of Manhattan Formalwear – I got the tuxes for myself and my guys here. They were friendly and courteous. The pricing was average to a little on the pricy side, probably because this place is located in Manhattan. I might have been able to find someplace cheaper… but the location was ideal for all my goomsmen since we are all “city folk”. We had some issues with the fitting on almost all of my guys… maybe due to some bad initial measurements. But they altered the tuxes on the spot when we picked them up so no real complaints here. All the guys (including myself) looked great.
Rating: 8/10Twelfth Night Photo – We had Michael do our pics from 12th night. I don’t have any proofs yet… but Michael did our engagement shoot and those pics came out awesome… I am sure my wedding pics will look awesome as well. 12th night without a doubt is my favorite vendor of the group and Michael is a great guy to work with.
EDIT to add: I got the pictures and they came out great. My only complaint was Michael forgot to take pictures of each table. Vanessa was a little annoyed at that. But I guess thats partially my fault since I never made that a 'required shot'. I got amateaur shots of every table so that will do. But overall they still get a 10.
Getting all the original files was a huge plus because now I am in the process of doing all my own albums. I will be doing an album thats just as good (if not BETTER) than anything you will get from a professional photographer in a 3k plus package. Stay tuned for more on this when I have them done.
Rating: 10/10Jules Apatini Video – We weren’t going to do video, but I decided to splurge a little last minute since we actually managed to keep our wedding budget under control. I found Jules on Craigslist and he gave me a great deal to get an edited, customized DVD, and a copy of the full unedited raw footage. Just like 12th night, I haven’t seen any product yet… hopefully it will look good. My expectations for Jules aren’t as high as 12th night since video is something Jules does on the side… but I am sure he will deliver a very good product in the end so he gets a pending 10.
EDIT to add: I haven't seen the whole video yet... but I saw parts of it. From what I have seen... he gets a guaranteed 10. Its exactly what I was looking for... a product thats above average... that I paid WAY below average on. I wasn't even going to have video at my wedding... but I booked him at last minute cause I had a couple buks to spare.
He gave me a great deal and based on quotes I got from other video companies... I got MUCHO bang for my buck with the video I got from Jules.
I'll be honest he doesn't provide the same level of quality you get from a company that charges 2k plus for video. He told me some of the interviews didn't come out very clear (I still have to see this)... but he did get all of the garter which was HILARIOUS at my wedding so I am very happy about that.
I also think Video is something he does on the side, not sure if he does it full-time. But its VERY good for the 1/4 of the price I paid for it and great for people who are on the fence about getting video or not.
Rating: 10/10Buds & Blooms – I had nothing to do with picking the florist, this was Vanessa’s project. But I will say that they gave us a great deal. The centerpieces looked fabulous, and all the bouquets looked great. Vanessa couldn’t say enough good things about them, and I am pretty sure this is Vanessa’s favorite vendor. Highly recommended!
Rating: 10/10Royalty Limo – It seems like getting great deals has been the common factor in this bridal review. Manny was no exception. We had two 10 passenger limos, nothing too fancy. We also got a limo to take us back to the hotel after the reception, and a Lincoln to take us to the airport for the honeymoon. All the drivers were very friendly and courteous, and the cars were clean. No complaints here.
Rating: 10/10Creative Designs by Mya – This is where Vanessa had her hair and makeup done. Mya came out and worked on Vanessa at the hotel where the girls were getting ready. Vanessa looked FABULOUS! Vanessa had a “down do” done with curls, and the curls held up throughout the entire day AND night. Her makeup looked great as well, very classy and not overdone by any means. It looked very natural on her. Even Vanessa was surprised with how good she looked. I now know who to call the next time we have to attend some type of formal event and Vanessa needs her hair done.
Rating: 10/10Invitations by DjPiLL – I did my own invitations to save a couple of dollars and they actually came out great. I bought a wedding invitation package at Michaels and printed and assembled them myself. Lots of compliments from people, as they thought I spent a lot of cash. Total price for everything came out to $50 buks for 50 invitations. Since I did them myself and I am the judge and jury, they get the automatic 10 rating.
Rating: 10/10L&S Entertainment / Diamond Cut DJs – Just for the record in case anyone isn’t aware… I am a 12year veteran DJ myself. So I think it’s safe to say I know quite a bit about the industry and know how to judge a DJ. This was another vendor that I signed with without seeing or talking to anybody else. I figured I could pretty much hire any DJ… and if they turned out to be “bad”… I would just use my own DJ knowledge and more or less “take over” the party. This was the DJ the Swan Club recommended, and being a DJ myself L&S Entertainment gave me a “DJ Employee Discount” to sign with them so I took a chance. After signing the contract, I read a few reviews from one or two brides here saying how bad they were (mainly with the Diamond Cut portion of the business). Despite hearing a few bad reviews… my gut said to stick with them and I am VERY GLAD I did. I had Mike D. as my DJ and he did an AWESOME job. I only had 45 guests so I was very fearful of having a “lame party”. Well that wasn’t the case by far and when I get my video back I will be reminded of this. I didn’t give Mike any long playlists or anything of the such. I just told him to keep it upbeat and “surprise me” with some good music. Mike played a perfect mix of slow songs for the couples, classic dance to get the party moving, and the typical top40s hits along with some crowd participation dances. Like I said, I am a DJ myself so I can be a very tough critic of other DJs. But I would be lying if I said Mike did anything wrong this night, he played the entire night to perfection. My dancefloor was packed all night long. Mike is also the top Emcee for L&S, so whenever somebody hires a DJ+MC… Mike is usually the emcee you get. He kept the crowded involved and participating. He has a very good Emcee voice, but also wasn’t overly talkative on the mic. Again, just like the music he worked the mic to perfection as well. I can’t say enough good things about this guy. I cannot comment on any other DJs from L&S Entertainment. But take it from me, a DJ that has done weddings in the past myself. Consider L&S for your DJ, and make sure you ask for Mike D. to do your wedding.
Rating: 10+/10Sandals Royal Bahamian – Oh boy… I thought this would be the one area where I was guaranteed a 10 rating. Unfortunately… this particular Sandals did not live up to “perfect 10” standings. First off… when we go there and they gave us our room and room keys… they gave us the key to somebody else’s room! I am glad there was nobody in there. Imagine if somebody was in there and doing…. Well you get the idea. Big scewup on their part to start the week. Their housecleaning squad flat out stinks. We intend on writing them a letter and sending them pictures regarding this. Vanessa must have asked them at least three times to properly clean up the bathroom, but each day the same toothpaste stain that sat on the bathroom faucet remained and not cleaned. How can you miss something like this? Even after we tell you to “clean the vanity!”, I have no clue. Halfway through the week… I happened to look under the bed for some shoes I placed under there… and I found what appeared to be an empty can of beer and bottle of water. This definitely did not come from us… so apparently the housekeeping staff doesn’t check under the bed to clean, even after somebody checks out and they prepare the room for a new guest! The food there was very average at best. Vanessa said a few times that some of the dishes lacked taste. Not what I would expect from a place with this many stars and prides themselves on their food. The off-shore island “Sandals Cay” that this resort advertises is a waste IMO. The beach isn’t that great, and I heard from one guest that it’s filled with sand fleas. It’s also very windy because there are no buildings to shield the wind, so sand flies everywhere. The pool on the island is very small. We took the ferry there, and then took the immediate next ferry back. We also cancelled our dinner reservation at the restaurant on this island. Sandals Royal Bahamian would have gotten a piss-poor rating from me, but they salvaged a mediocre rating with a few bright sides of the trip. The pools were very nice and maintained, despite the fact that somebody puked in one of the pools on the last day we were there from drinking too much. I am very much more a pool person than a beach person, so this was important to me. The swim-up bars were very nice. The drinks were very good and flowing throughout the trip. The beach on the main resort was nice. We went sailing on a boat which was pretty cool. We also went snorkeling and saw tons of really cool fish. Although the food was average, there was always food available to get (even at all hours of the night). The grounds are very nice, things are easy to find. They have entertainment throughout the day and evening, although I did wish they had some better nightlife on the resort itself. The staff was always friendly and courteous (although I wished they would have taken my housekeeping requests a little more seriously). The “ultra all-inclusive” fact is indeed all-inclusive… you don’t pay a dime for anything. You don’t tip either. I won’t be returning to Sandals Royal Bahamian at any point unfortunately. But the trip wasn’t so bad that I wouldn’t try another Sandals at some point. If the price is good and the opportunity presents itself, I may try another Sandals Resort down the road (maybe St. Lucia) and hope that I will have a better experience than the one I had at the Bahamas.
Rating: 5/10Here are some of the amateur pics from people… as I am waiting on my proofs from 12th night.
