FINALLY.beautyq115's very long and very detailed review..SWAN CLUB, Rosalie, Linda's Lovelies, All Star Limos,Pedestals,Silver Fox,Starlight Express,Jen the Hair Genie, Oksana,Wingate.VIDEO REVIEW ADD

My review

I really have been putting this off since there is so much to say and it really means that my wedding is over…which makes me a little sad.

First and foremost….…LIWNo grade high enough.

Thank you to Ron and Liz for creating such a wonderful site.

I found LIW when Tim was searching for reviews of the Swan Club….well pretty soon I became quite a regular poster and the rest is history. I learned so much from this site and made some great friends and was lucky to reconnect with old ones!

Rehearsal Dinner
Milleridge Inn
Director’s Room
Jericho
B

We searched and looked at many rehearsal dinner locations and found Milleridge to be the nicest and most reasonably priced. This is also the place that my DH and I went to after we got engaged so it had sentimental value as well.

We got a lot for what my in laws paid. We had 5 choices of entrée and unlimited soda and iced tea and ran a tab for the alcohol.

When we first arrived I was really not happy with the fact that the tables were not set up as they should have been…only 3 tables as opposed to 4. It felt like a tight squeeze. Also there was supposed to be pitchers of wine and beer on the tables which there was not and when my MIL asked the waitress she did nothing to resolve it. I got the feeling that the servers were not prepared by the Milleridge.

I was a little disappointed with the Milleridge and felt the food was not as great as I remembered.


MOTHER NATURE….A+

Ok I have to admit that I was checking things like the Farmer’s Almanac like a year before my wedding. I started seriously checking like 15 days before and everyone told me I was nuts since weather changes so quickly. Well the week before my wedding they were predicting rain…of course I was flipping out and put every statue of Mary (which is supposed to bring good weather) we had in our house in our windows! Well that must have worked because we had a gorgeous day! Sunny skies and low humidity. It was a little hot…but it was the middle of July after all!


Invitations…
Linda at Linda’s Lovelies
East Meadow
A+

Linda is a vendor on here and I would highly recommend her to anyone. I learned about her from my friend Jo (jozieb0925). We met with Linda back in November when we were starting to shop for invitations. We kind of had our hearts set on an Encore invitation but it was really expensive and more than we wanted to spend. Linda was able to give us 30% off which helped us to get the invitation that we really wanted! She helped us so much and was always so patient. After we ordered she was always available to answer any questions that we had about anything. When I picked up our final installment of envelopes I got a little choked up because I realized that I would probably never get to work with her again.





Bridal TANK TOP
Linda’s Lovelies
East Meadow
LIW vendor
A+

I also got my “Bride” tank top from Linda at Linda’s Lovelies. I love it so much and really enjoyed wearing it as I was getting ready. The only thing about this tank top if you are thinking of ordering it is that it runs quite small. I am small on top and got the large and it just fits. I also wore it to the airport on the way to Disney hoping that would help us to get special treatment…but no such luck.





DOC
Rosalie (Expressions)
LIW vendor
A+

I originally hired another DOC but Tim and I decided that we needed someone with a bit more experience to handle our big day. I did a search on LIW and Rosalie came highly recommended by so many brides on here so I contacted her. I was a little nervous that she would not be available since she is pretty popular on LIW and I was so happy to find out that she was available that day.

After meeting with Rosalie, Tim and I felt so confident that she would help us in any and every way on our wedding day!

One of the great things about Rosalie is that she goes the rehearsal. Our rehearsal was chaotic to say the least and Rosalie really kept things in order. She helped me to stay calm when we were in a hot church with no lights that night (which will be covered further in my review of my church).

On the day of the wedding Rosalie arrived at 9:00am on the dot. I was still in bed trying to delay getting up. Rosalie helped my mom with getting things set around the house. Once everyone starting arriving at my house she helped to coordinate everything including hair and makeup (she works really well with Jen and Oksana) as well as the photographers. I felt so at ease having Rosalie by my side.

Throughout the day Rosalie was always there for absolutely anything that we needed. She was constantly touching up my makeup and wiping away stains on my dress. She helped to ensure that our precious Waterford toasting flutes were washed and returned to the correct boxes after our toast.

Rosalie was also there until the absolute end of the night. She left after we got in the town car.

Many of my friends and family thought I was nuts for having a DOC, but I really don’t care. My DH and I spent so much money and time on our wedding and we really wanted to make sure that things went smoothly and that we had the time of our lives. I have no second thoughts about hiring a DOC…it was money well spent!

If you are looking for a DOC I highly recommend Rosalie…you will love her and not have a care in the world on your wedding day!



Hair
Jen…
The Hair Genie
LIW vendor
A+

I had an image in my head of what I wanted my hair to look like. I went for two hair trials with Jen and each time I was very happy but I still felt it wasn’t exactly what I wanted but I still thought it looked great. My wedding day hair was absolutely OUTSTANDING! When I saw my hair I was just amazed. Jenn really out did herself and made my hair pure perfection! My hair lasted all night long and I got so many compliments on it. Jen also did my mom’s hair and my FSIL’s hair…they were also very happy with the end result.





Makeup
Oksana
LIW vendor
A+

Absolutely outstanding! I loved my makeup. Oksana took such care and patience in doing my makeup. It lasted all night long. Oksana also did my mom’s makeup and my FSIL’s makeup. They both looked gorgeous. I also have to add that when Oksana was doing my makeup my grandma was so enthralled by Oksana’s work that she insisted on getting her makeup done. I had not originally included my grandma in the number of people getting makeup done but Oksana was able to do Grandma’s makeup as well. I cannot tell you how this made my Grandma’s day! This really says a lot about Oksana!




Dance Lessons
Ballroom Dance Long Island
John
LIW vendor
A+

I was very surprised that Tim agreed to dance lessons. We met with John from Ballroom Dance LI at the LIW Bridal Showcase. He was very nice and the prices were reasonable. We started at the end of May and had 6 lessons. This was a HUGE hit at our wedding. We told some people that we had gone for lessons but not everyone knew. Our guests were very impressed!
IF you are thinking of taking dance lessons..DO IT and contact John.

My wedding day attire…
Dress, tiara, two tier veil, slip, long line bra
Lillettes
Baldwin

Sales…Geri…A+

My dress, tiara, two tier veil, cathedral veil, slip and long line bra

I started looking for dresses almost right after I got engaged. I looked in a few places and did not find “the one”. One day I took I trip to Lillettes and found my dress that day but did not order it. I worked with Cathy who was the owner at the time. I was so afraid that I was going to find something else that I kept looking. I went to other shops and also visited Lillettes every 2-3 weeks to try on what would be my dress. One day I went and Cathy wasn’t there anymore and I worked with this nice lady named Geri. Geri told me that Cathy wasn’t going to be there anymore so I asked her to be my consultant. Geri was always so patient with me and took so much time and care. I felt so comfortable at Lillettes because in addition to Geri almost everyone there was so friendly and helpful. Geri also helped me to find the perfect tiara and veils to compliment my dress.

I was confident that my alterations experience would be as smooth…but that was not the case.

My dress was Casablanca..I loved it!









My alterations at Lillettes…
Started as an A ended as an F

Since I am LIW all the time I constantly research everything. I had read some not so great things about the alterations department at Lillettes. I began to get a little worried. I went into to my first fitting expecting the worst but I had a great experience. I also bought my slip and long line bra from Lillettes as well.

My second fitting was great as well.

The problems began when I brought everything home…which I may add was 2 days before my wedding and the night of my rehearsal. First of all I opened the dress and it smelled so bad my eyes were watering. I then checked my veils to find that the cathedral had not been attached AT ALL to the two tier. I called Lillettes and spoke to the alterations department and was given at attitude. The lady in alterations could not understand why I couldn’t go back that minute and I explained why and she was still annoyed. My mother brought the veils back the next day and sat and waited for the cathedral to be attached…she was told this has never happened before..which was little consolation to me the day before my wedding day!

The night before my wedding I laid out my cathedral to find jagged edges around the bottom. I was hysterical but there was nothing I could do since Lillettes was now closed and were not open on Sundays. This veil was hand made by the alterations department and it looked like they did a rush job on it. My mother and I were really upset considering it was pretty expensive and something I had been looking forward to wearing. Thankfully my DOC was able to fix it.

The bad luck continued with this veil when it came off during the ceremony. It was attached by such a thin piece of Velcro…I guess this was bound to happen.

The morning of my wedding I also noticed brown stains on my dress…this is where it was burned by their steamer…this was another thing that made me really upset. Good thing they were on the bottom and would not be readily noticed.

Tiara
Lillettes
Baldwin
Sales..Geri A+

I absolutely loved my tiara. It went perfectly with my dress. Lillettes ordered it, it came in on time and I had no problems.

I only wished I had done my homework on this one. After ordering the tiara from them which cost over $200 I found it on a website for much cheaper…this really annoyed me but there was nothing I could do.

Bridesmaids Dresses
Watters & Watters
Lillettes, Baldwin
Sales..Geri A+
Alterations..Various.. C


I decided to get the bridesmaids dresses at Lillettes since the girls would get a 10% discount due to the fact that I bought my dress there.
Geri is a saint for dealing with this situation. I cannot tell you how many times I went there to look for dresses. This was one of the hardest decisions that I had to make mainly because I felt guilt about telling the girls what to wear. I could have gone the route of letting them each pick a dress, but I wanted everyone to be uniform. Geri was always patient and helpful and always gave us so much of her time.

I think the problem was that I would go with individual girls and this wasted a lot of time. What looked good on one didn’t look go on another and I was in and out of Lillettes almost once a week with individual bridesmaids.

This dress was the only dress to compliment everyone. I think all of the girls looked gorgeous that day.
I gave the alterations a “C” since I did not hear of any major problems but I know the girls were not thrilled with the ladies in the alterations department and were rushed along every time they went.



Mother of the Bride Dress
Avanti
Lillettes
Baldwin
Sales..Geri, A+
Alterations D



Again, Geri helped my mom to pick the perfect dress. My mother wanted something sage green and something to compliment her petite frame. My mom’s dress was gorgeous and she couldn’t have been happier when she found it.


My mother had some issues with the lady who altered her dress. First of all she found her pretty hard to communicate with. My mother would as her questions or voice a concern regarding the dress and it seemed that she had no idea what my mother was saying.

During the second alteration my mother found that most of the alterations that were supposed to be done after the first fitting were not done, the only thing done was the hem. One sleeve was longer than the other and the straps were not taken up.

The alterations get a D and not an F because the dress was ok on the day of but my mother endured a lot of aggravation in the process.

ALL in all….the sales at Lillettes was awesome, the alterations department was NOT. I also have to add that my brother is getting married next summer and his fiancé was one of my bridesmaids…she was going to get her dress at Lillettes but due to the aggravation brought upon by the alterations department she decided not even to look there.



Tuxedos
Foresto’s
Mineola, NY


Foresto’s is family owned and operated. They are a class act. My DH, the groomsmen and FIL loved their tuxes! Everything went smoothly!

My shoes
Coloriffics
Ivory
Bridal Shoe Boutique
Carle Place


Not much to say here. My dress was ivory and I really didn’t want to dye my shoes. I went shopping one day and decided to look in the Bridal Shoe Boutique. I find my shoes pretty quickly…they were ivory and the least expensive in the store!

I would definitely recommend this store for bridal shoes!



Bridal Jewlery
Earrings and Necklace
Macy’s Roosevelt Field


I looked for a while for my jewelry. I didn’t want something that was too much and also wanted it to compliment my dress and especially my tiara. I also wanted something that I could wear again and again. One night Tim and I were in Macy’s adding things to the registry and I just looked at the diamond jewelry because they were having a great sale that night. Within about 15 minutes I found my necklace and earrings. We also were able to get an additional 10% off since we had a registry there.



Bridesmaids Jewlery
Earrings and Necklaces
Handmade Jewelry


Tim and I met Fannie at a craft show at the Wingate Inn back in March. They were tucked away in a corner but thank goodness I managed to find them. Fannie helped me to design a beautiful set for the bridesmaids and a more unique design for my MOH. I was so happy to find her…the girls loved their jewelry. If anyone wants the info please FM me.

MAJOR VENDORS


Corpus Christi RC Church
Mineola, NY
F

I know many people on here say that you cannot rate a church…well when they make the religious aspect of your wedding planning pure hell…I have to rate that and describe what a miserable experience it was to work with them!

This is the church that I grew up going to. I made all of my sacraments here and would never have imagined getting married in any other church!

The problems started from our first meeting with the priest. The priest was not the best about returning calls and I started to get annoyed because I wanted to get the ball rolling and get everything booked! Well we finally booked a meeting and the first words out of the priest’s mouth when meeting my DH was “boy you really have a bridezilla on your hands with this one”….EXCUSE ME??!!! That was strike one! This priest also informed us that he usually goes away during the summer and would not be available to do our wedding. Well it turned out the most of the priests were not available over the summer to do weddings. For about 6 months I had no idea who was going to marry us…which was a major source of stress and anxiety.

Not having a priest almost prevented us from doing the required Pre Cana. I was told by someone in the rectory that I couldn’t do Pre Cana because I didn’t have a priest’s name next to my wedding in the book and therefore was not getting married….OK I never understood that logic! So finally they agreed that we could indeed do Pre Cana, which I may add was a wonderful experience and the ONLY good thing about dealing with this church.

We were finally able to find a priest who was excellent. He is a Vincentian from St. John’s University and grew up with my cousin and bridesmaids.

We used the organist from the church however when I had to contact him on my own he was never told by CC that there was even a wedding on 7/16 even though his fees are included in the ridiculous fee for the church.

The straw that absolutely broke the camel’s back was the rehearsal. When I arrived all of my family and bridal party were waiting outside in the blazing heat. I could not understand why and came to find out that the doors were all locked! So we finally get the girl to open the doors. We get inside and there are no lights on and no air conditioning. Also the bathrooms were locked! I was pissed and this made me so stressed out. My DOC called them the next day to find out why this occurred and she was told “there was no rehearsal scheduled on that day.” OK that was not true especially since I confirmed multiple times with them. PLUS, earlier in the week we saw our names written in their book for our date and time!!

When our wedding day arrived everything was absolutely perfect. Our priest made sure that everything was set up properly.

As we were taking pictures by the Rolls Royce I noticed rose petals in the street from a wedding the day before. I was explicitly told that were not allowed to throw rose petals since it was dangerous… I guess the rules only apply to some people!.I really wanted to do this but since I was told no I obeyed and did not have my guests throw them. I wish I had just done it!

Limos
All Star
Famingdale, NY
A+


All Star was one of our best vendors! As soon as we met with them we knew they were for us.

We had a Rolls Royce for my mom and myself to get to the church and then to take Tim and I to the Swan Club. We also had 2 ten passenger white Lincolns. The service was absolutely amazing! Clean cars, helpful and caring drivers. They were so helpful and so on top of everything. One of the drivers even grabbed my grandma when she managed to leave the house without anyone (this really impressed my FSIL)…I highly recommend them to everyone!





Flowers
Pedestals
Garden City Park, NY
A+


I absolutely loved our flowers! We worked with Robert who is just amazing. He is one of the most calm and patient people I have encountered throughout my wedding planning. He was always available to answer any questions that I had and always spent so much time with us when we visited the showroom. He worked with our budget and always offered advice and ideas.

When my flowers arrived on the morning of my wedding…I was in tears…HAPPY TEARS! My bouquet was gorgeous and it was even more beautiful than I had imagined. My girls bouquets were vibrant and really looked great with their green dresses. My throw away was so beautiful and so full that I decided to selfishly keep it. My DOC made another one from some of the CP flowers and floral tape. Our CPs were even better than the sample he had made up for us. I can not say enough about Pedestals and Robert. If you have not booked your florist you must check out Pedestals and meet with Robert!
http://www.liweddings.com/mywedding/album/i/66123.jpg



http://www.liweddings.com/mywedding/album/i/70279.jpg



Photography and Video
Silver Fox
Mineola, NY
A+

Photography
A+


We fell in love with Silver Fox as soon as we met with John. They were down to Earth and honest and we decided that these are people that we wanted around us on our big day.

We had a main photographer, photojournalist and an assistant. Our main photographer was Don and PJ was Franco. Both Don and Franco got so many excellent and unique shots of our day….1821 pictures to be exact. They also had the list of our must take shots and made sure that they were all taken.

They showed up at my house early and got lots of shots of me as I was getting ready and really kept things moving along. I had asked to have as many shots of my grandma taken as possible AND they went above and beyond making sure that she was in so many of our pictures.

We were also very happy the John (the owner) came to the church and then to the Swan Club to take some pictures.

Throughout the day Don and Franco were snapping away. I never felt that they were in my face or obtrusive. Even my bridal party commented on how fun they were to work with. I highly recommend Silver Fox!

Upon arriving home from our HM...we were presented with 3 Hi Res DVDs of our photos...the Photojournalist's photos will be in black and white when we get them. And we will get all 1821 proofs!
Below are some of my favorite pictures…



http://www.liweddings.com/mywedding/album/i/72615.jpg


Pictures being taken



Video
SILVER FOX
Unedited A+
(revised 11/26)


Rick was our videographer. I cannot grade this since I haven’t seen it yet but I am confident that it will be great. Rick was everywhere during our wedding. I swear he never sat down…I hope he ate something that night!

ETA...We FINALLY watched our video last night. It was unedited so it was about 4 1/2-5 hours long...but it was beautiful. I felt like I was there again! So many things I didn't see were captured in our video. I sure hope Rick ate something because he captured the ENTIRE night through the last dance. I highly recommend Silver Fox for video too!


DJ
Starlight Express
Mineola, NY
A+


We saw Starlight at our very first Bridal Showcase at Jericho Terrace. After the showcase Tim couldn’t stop talking about them. Soon after that we met with Vinny (the owner) and were very impressed with what they had to offer. We never met with any other DJs after meeting with Starlight…they were everything we wanted and more.

I had requested the MC to be kind of low key and for the DJ not to play anything vulgar or offensive. For our wedding we were so lucky to have Vinny (the owner) as our MC, he was everything we could have hoped for and more. Our DJ (I have to get his name) was also outstanding. Vinny was not in your face or obnoxious. Starlight had everyone on the dance floor the entire night. They played every single song that we requested. We are still getting compliments from our guests about how amazing they were. Some of our guests took their business cards in the hopes that they could use them for a party some day.

We were just so happy with them and I highly recommend Starlight Express!
Here is Vinny in action



SWAN CLUB
Glenwood Landing, NY
A+


Words cannot describe how we feel about the Swan Club…it was just phenomenal!
I don’t even know where to begin when talking about it…so I will start at the beginning ?

The Swan Club was the first reception hall that we looked at…10 places later we went back. We really loved everything about the Swan Club and could not find any other reception hall that compared. We liked that the BM were not pushy and that everyone was so friendly.

Edgar was our matre’d. When we with him to discuss our menu he made us feel at ease and answered all of our questions. After our menu meeting Edgar was always available to answer any questions. I had asked him to e-mail me a more detailed description of the entrees since I was making the menus and he did it right away.

Another welcome addition to the Swan Club was a bridal attendant. When we originally
booked the Swan Club, they did not have a BA but to our surprise they changed this.

An extra bonus was the fact that we were the only wedding that day.

Our wedding at the Swan Club was superb. When we arrived at the Swan Club we were greeted by Jordana, Edgar and our bridal attendant Jen. They made us feel like celebrities. We were immediately taken to the Bridal Suite to relax. After enjoying some food, we were brought right out to the gardens to begin taking pictures so we could enjoy our cocktail hour later. Jen got us all more drinks and food right away and always made sure we had enough drinks and food as we were taking pictures.

The gardens were absolutely beautiful. The ONLY thing I will say is that they must have watered the grass earlier on and it was a little soggy as we were taking pictures….but that is really minor.

After taking pictures and I saw the room set up exactly as I wanted it…I was choked up. Everything looked perfect and was laid out exactly as I had specified.

The entire night ran so incredibly smooth. The food was excellent and so was the service. All of our guests were raving about the food. One of the biggest hits was the seafood boat at the cocktail hour. People were saying that they had never seen lobster at a wedding before. The seafood was so fresh…I only regret that I did not get to eat more of it.

As for the cake…it was SPECTACULAR! It was beautiful and most importantly tasted very good! I was very impressed with this.

Another thing that went over big was the Vieniese Display. So many delicious desserts and the international coffee bar was outstanding! I was afraid that this would be a waste but people lined up as soon as the DJ announced it was open. I didn’t have any extra time for the Vieniese Display and I don’t think this interrupted the party at all. Our guests ate and danced and ate some more. I am so happy that we were able to have the Platinum Package!

I cannot say enough about the Swan Club...I highly recommend them. WE had the wedding of our dreams!









Favors
Wine Bottles
Villa Wines
Mineola, NY
A+


I searched LIW and found a review of someone who had used Villa Wines. We went in and talked to the owner and told him what we wanted. We were able to get a bulk discount and everyone loved the wine. The label on the wine even matched my whole green theme.
They were a pleasure to deal with. I highly recommend them!


Chocolate Favors
Lindt Chocolate
Roosevelt Field Mall
A+


I had 5 people who were under 21 and I did not feel comfortable giving them wine. We bought individual bags of Lindt Chocolate and I made labels with each individual person’s name on it. This went over big and I got so many compliments about it.




Favor Tags
E-Bay
Favors for You by Angie
www.favorsforyou.net
A+
[/B
Thank you Hollie for this recommendation. The tags matched the color of the girls’ dresses exactly and looked great! Angie was a pleasure to work with. The tags came so fast and were inexpensive.


Monogram Cake Topper
A+ for both vendors
E-Bay Seller

For letters
E-Bay Seller….
guy72830

For Crystals…
http://www.TamisPlace.com
http://www.DesignerTrendsbyTami.com
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Both were great to deal with and their prices were great!




Rings
5th Avenue Jewler
Jericho, NY
A+


DH got my engagement ring here so we went back for our wedding rings. Jack is a pleasure to deal with and so is Shira. We brought in pictures of what we wanted and they duplicated it.




Waterford Unity Candle Set
Lyn Gifts
Lynbrook, NY


I was really upset when the Marquis set was discontinued. I went into Lyn Gifts to see it they could order it for me....but they couldn't. We decided to order the Waterford Unity Candle set instead. It is so gorgeous and looked beautiful on our wedding day. Everyone was so great at Lyn Gifts. The set was also cheaper than it was at Fortunoff




Clauddaugh Unity Candle
Irish Import Store
Cold Spring Harbor


Great to work with! We also found our readers gifts here. What an adorable store.



Clauddaugh Unity Tapers
Irish Import Store
Stewart Manor


Another great Irish Import Shop. I never knew that was there. Will definetely go back.

Wedding Night Hotel
Wingate Inn
Garden City, NY
B-

We actually won a free night at the Wingate Inn at a Fortunoff Bridal Survival Party. We were excited since this would be one last thing to pay for.

Dealing with the Wingate was aggravating most of the time. I called and reserved the suite for our wedding night and blocked rooms for OOT guests. A few weeks later I also set a room aside for the night before my wedding incase I wanted to get ready there. Just on a whim I confirmed our room for our wedding night and to my suprise it was NEVER BOOKED. Ok fine so I booked it again. A month or two later I called them back and reconfirmed and now I had 2 suites for our wedding night

This went back and forth for months and it was aggravating!

The night of our wedding we arrived in the room. It was nice. The champagne had obviously been sitting there all day long because the ice had melted all over the table and all of the 3 pieces of Lindt chocolate they gave us. That was gross.

They treated my guests well though and let them check in early before the church and change...this is the reason that I did not give them a lower grade.

My advice..just stay on top of them constantly. It seems like no one communicates in that place. Always get the name of the person you spoke with as well!


Link to my wedding proofs:

Link to Silver Fox Proofs