FINALLY! My April Fools review!!! Mediterranean Manor, Wedding Center, All For You......

First of all, thanks to Ron and Liz for such a great site where we can all cry on each others shoulders, laugh at silly things and express opinions without being biatches.

Every bride says her wedding was wonderful and things were so great on that day. I can tell you that we did have a wonderful day, but there were things that went wrong that day and along the way…. We had a vendor die a few months before the wedding, another hospitalized the week of the wedding, some BM dresses didn’t come in time for the wedding, 3 people in the BP dropped out within 12 weeks of the wedding, my wake up calls were forgotten the morning of the wedding and I got a bloody nose at the reception. DON’T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF!!!! (No one noticed my bloody nose because our MC was great!) Problems in the planning only brought us closer to each other. The most important thing was that we were getting married!

Vendors: (Grades in parenthesis)
(If you are just browsing, you need to read the story about my gown. You’ll never believe it!)




Engagement Party: (Rye Town Park: A, Ann Clairs: A)
Although we live in Suffolk county we had it at Rye Town Park in Westchester county. (Near Playland) We rented one of the pavilions on the beach. Such a nice place and quite cheap! We also had it catered by Ann Clairs in the Bronx. Great food! And they delivered all the way up there, which included set-up! DH’s family has many events there, so I’m glad they suggested it because I didn’t even know what an engagement party was. (I’m from upstate NY)

Save The Dates: We typed them ourselves and printed them at Staples on colored paper that matched our wedding colors. We sent out 100 and it cost us $3.81! Since all of our guests were from OOT we wanted to provide them with info instead of doing just something fancy with our names and date.

My Gown: (Lighthouse Mission, Patchogue, beyond a grade!!!!!!!!!!!)
I did the typical gown searching when I got engaged. I fell in love with a gown at the 2nd shop I went to. But, I couldn’t justify the cost of a gown that I would wear once. I kept on searching to no avail. I compared every dress to that one gown. (So I began to think that if I just worked more hours at my 2nd job, then it would be feasible to buy) I went 6 months of searching and was just not happy. I only wear sleeves because of my shoulder surgery and it was hard to find gowns with sleeves. I could only try on 2 or 3 dresses in each shop. Stupid strapless gowns! I wanted to scream.

Then my TV station did a story on the Lighthouse Mission, that they accept discontinued gowns from bridal shops. They sell the new gowns for a small fee to help the Mission with its charity. I figured I’d go there and see what it’s all about. Long story short, I began to look through the gowns and found some I would like to try on. Then the woman takes out another gown. IT WAS MY GOWN from months earlier!!!! Come to find out the gown I fell in love with was discontinued and donated to the mission from the Bridal shop. I tried it on and cried again. I asked how much it was. She said $25. WHAT?!?!

So I walked out with my new gown in hand, a year before my wedding!!!! (Now, the Lighthouse mission has a boutique in Center Moriches. 2 of my friends also got their gowns there for under $100!!!!!!!!!!!)
Check them out: www.lighthousemission.net




Gown Alterations: (Filomena’s dressmaking in Coram, A-)
She did a beautiful job altering my gown, but I thought she could’ve done a bit better in the bust area. It might’ve been my fault for losing 20 pounds in the 6 weeks before the wedding. I would still recommend her. She also did a great job on my BM dress before my best friend’s wedding.

Veil and Tiara: borrowed from a friend

Bridesmaid dresses (Houseofbrides.com, big fat F!)
To try make a long story short, they sent dresses in the wrong sizes. Then they didn't get all the dresses back in time for the wedding!!! Read on:
I contacted them within a few weeks of receiving my original order (All my girls were from OOT) and they said there was nothing I could do about it. Although I was angry, it was nearly 4 months before my wedding, so I asked the BMs to change dresses amongst themselves, since they were all different sizes. This worked for 5 of them, but left 2 without dresses. (Yes, there are only 5 BMs in the pictures because 2 of them dropped out really late, but I digress)

I ordered 2 NEW dresses, RUSH order, 4 months before my wedding. I then talked to the manager again to tell her I was disappointed with the original order. She THEN said if I had told her within 1 month of receipt that they could’ve done something. Funny how the story changes once I am one day past the month mark. When I was within 1 month she told me there was nothing I could do. GRRRRR. When 2 months went by, I contacted them and they said the new dresses were coming. I was contacting them continuously and they kept giving the same story. With 2 weeks before the wedding, I had to send the leftover enormous gowns from the original order to my 2 smallest BM. Their alterations were $300!!!! (The other girls got all 3 pieces altered for under $80) The 2 BMs couldn’t afford to alter the jackets, so I had to have some girls with jackets and some without. This was disappointing to me because I wanted them to all wear the jackets in the church, so they matched my long sleeves.

********To add insult to injury, the two gowns were delivered while we were on our honeymoon. So my original order took 1 ½ months to come in and my rush order took over 4 months. I had contacted the Better Business Bureau before my wedding to start a complaint. It took nearly 4 months of arguing with them to agree to take the 2 dresses back and refund my money. I finally received the refund, 8 months after they charged my credit card, and 4 months after my wedding.



Invitations: (Wedding Center, A)
Invitations didn’t really concern us. There were many from which to choose, but we liked ours nice and plain. It’s just us. They came in very quickly and they took the time to let us know how to stuff the envelopes. We were happy.

Shower: (Unos Chicago Grill, Smithtown: A)
Since I work part-time at Unos, I won’t go into detail. (Although I got no special prices on anything, corporate policy) Considering everyone was traveling for the shower, I wanted a place that I was comfortable. I was very happy!

Rehearsal Dinner: (Brickhouse Brewery, Patchogue, A)
We rented one of the upstairs rooms and they did a great job! The food was good and we really liked the cannoli filled cake. They have packages for every budget.

Hair and Make-up: (All For You Day Spa, LIW vendor, A+, but A- for only 1 detail)
Please read entire review so you understand the grade. They were amazing leading up to the wedding and were spectacular on the day of. Melissa, the owner, takes pride in her brides. She did my trial and I was very happy. Unfortunately, she was hospitalized the week of my wedding and obviously wasn’t there. She did take pictures of my trial, but we didn’t know where they were. So my wedding day was done all new with a new hairdresser. I did like my hair, but it just wasn’t the same. I wondered why I spent money for a trial. That was their only negative. Please read on……

They were missing their owner, but these girls rallied behind their fallen leader. They had 9 of us to do that day. Crazy, I know. Also, my sister did my nails the night before the wedding and I woke up with only 9 nails. I got to the spa so frantic because of my missing nail and the fact that I was running a bit late because my wake-up calls never came. All the girls there calmed me down and one worked on my nails while the other did my hair. A few days before my wedding they found out I had no one to do my make-up and offered to squeeze me in. I was sooooo glad for this. Jen did my hair and Veronica did my make-up. I am very grateful! Although I am sure they were strapped for time because they were obviously missing somebody, they never let it show. They relaxed us all and everyone looked beautiful!

This is a picture with my BMs holding my train behind me like a background!



Photographer: (Fritz, Wedding Center, B+)
He was very friendly and open to new ideas from me. Photography was the thing I was very anal about. I had specific shots I wanted done and he did them wonderfully! We were very happy with our proofs and I would recommend him to anyone! However, I did ask him a few times if he got the ring bearer pillows and the unity candle and he said yes. He didn't. That upset me a bit because I am the one who made these myself. (Other than my DIY projects, and honeymoon, all the pics in this review were from him)







Picture spot: (Holtsville Ecology Center, A+) Any pictures you see with greenery were taken there. I am so happy we went there. If you want to do it, you must reserve a spot, you just can't show up.



Videographer: (Wedding Center, Grade pending on final project)
He was everywhere he should’ve been from what I noticed. We received our unedited video and are happy with it. We, personally, are dragging our feet on getting our baby pics in song choices to them.

Limo: (Wedding Center, Mark of Elegance, A)
We decided to go with the party bus that Mark of Elegance has. It is a gorgeous 22 passenger bus. We wanted something that would comfortably fit our BP without having to scrunch down and trip over our dresses while climbing to our seats. Word of warning though: If you get a party bus, check their liquor policy. Some of them are under different laws than limos. Luckily, we found out we needed to supply our own champagne the week before the wedding.

Me and my dad:


Flowers: (Wedding Center, A)
The flowers were exactly the way I wanted them. I got them in silk and am so happy I did! They look great on the shelf today! I asked for the flowers a week in advance, just in case they weren’t right, and they were fine to comply with my bridezilla demands. 2 days before the wedding I changed my mind about my all white BoK. I added the red roses myself. They delivered on time and everything was set-up without problems.



Tuxedos: (Wedding Center, B+)
I am hoping that my DH will write something on this. From what I know, they had a pleasant experience and they all did look nice. However, my dad’s pants were so short. I have no idea how he was able to leave like that. Of course, I didn’t know until we arrived at the church. Maybe my dad didn’t speak up. He’s upset when he looks at the pictures.

Their Goodfellas pose:


DJ/MC: (Wedding Center, Variety DJ, A+)
I am horrible with names, so I can’t remember their names right now. They were great! They worked with us before the ceremony to make sure they had the right music and were great during the reception. When I had a bloody mishap (Trust me, I’m fine), the MC immediately took the attention away from me and played a great dance song. None of the guests even knew I was bleeding.



Reception: (Mediterranean Manor, A+++++++++++++++++)
They were amazing, right from the time we met with them. They treated us like family the 18 months before our wedding. We were planning on booking somewhere else, but decided to go check med manor out. When we left there after our first time, my DH said ‘I love this place!’ And I did too.

Granted, it’s nothing much from the outside. (But who the heck spends their reception outside?) Once you go inside, WOW!!! They were very accommodating throughout our engagement and exceeded our expectations on our wedding day! Everyone is still talking about the CH! And, we added the ice cream bar with the Viennese hour. I’m still getting phone calls about how great the ice cream bar was!

I even got a bloody nose during the reception and their staff helped me out so much. (Along with the MC) None of our guests even knew what happened. They swung into action very nicely. I would recommend them to everybody. Everyone said we spent too much money. Some of our guests tried giving us more money at the reception because they felt their gifts were not worthy of the celebration. That’s when you know you’ve done something right. Check them out!!!!







Our cake topper:

DIY: (I think I deserve an A+ )
Ring bearer pillows:



Card box (covered in the same fabric I made the pillows out of)




Travel Agent: (I won’t even dignify this with a grade)
Don’t worry, she can’t screw up your HM, she died.

Honeymoon: (Sandals Grande St. Lucia, A+++, but an A for the food)
I’ve never been on a vacation, so I have nothing to compare it to. But it was awesome!!! Swim up bars, nice beach, food all the time. The only reason they didn’t get an A+ is because the food could’ve been better. It sat heavy in the stomach. The staff was friendly and there was always something going on, if you wanted to do it. If you’re going, I have to suggest the Sandals Mudslide made with Nuts and Rum. It tastes like a peanut butter cup! And please bring us back more bottles. We ran out.

The honeymoon pics are taken by other honeymooners (if we're in them) or by me.












Favors and attendant gifts: (Happy with all of them!!!!!)

Shower favors: wrapwithus.com; a travel manicure set (They also did our personalized ribbon for the shower and wedding)


Wedding favors and some attendant gifts: theknot.com and weddingchannel.com, bamboo frame and cookie cutters, an engraved compact for BM, engraved train for the ring bearers






From Bed, Bath and Beyond: Pedicure set for the BMs:



Things remembered: FG backpack and assorted GM engraved gifts


After the cake fight:



Our first dance: (To 'Meet the Mets')

Re: FINALLY! My April Fools review!!! Mediterranean Manor, Wedding Center, All For You......

What an amazing story about your dress, that is incredible.
Everything looked amazing

Re: FINALLY! My April Fools review!!! Mediterranean Manor, Wedding Center, All For You......

Beautiful wedding!! Congrats!!

Re: FINALLY! My April Fools review!!! Mediterranean Manor, Wedding Center, All For You......

did you really dance to meet the mets! I love it,
great review, great pictures, you look beautiful ane happy, congratulations

Re: FINALLY! My April Fools review!!! Mediterranean Manor, Wedding Center, All For You......

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Posted by citycrab705

did you really dance to meet the mets! I love it,
great review, great pictures, you look beautiful ane happy, congratulations

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We danced the first 40 seconds of the song, and we danced like it was the most romantic song ever!!! Everyone was laughing because we sold it so well. Then the picture I posted is when we started to lose it. That's when we told everyone it was an April Fools joke and then we danced to Heaven by Bryan Adams. I can't wait to see the video.

Re: FINALLY! My April Fools review!!! Mediterranean Manor, Wedding Center, All For You......

beautiful wedding!! congrats
!

Re: FINALLY! My April Fools review!!! Mediterranean Manor, Wedding Center, All For You......

Beautiful! Sorry about the BM dresses. Hopefully you will get your $$ back!

Re: FINALLY! My April Fools review!!! Mediterranean Manor, Wedding Center, All For You......

Beautiful pictures . Great rivew and you look beautiful. Congrats

Re: FINALLY! My April Fools review!!! Mediterranean Manor, Wedding Center, All For You......

Beautiful wedding Congratulations So sorry about all the drama with the BM dresses But you made the best of it

I agree with your motto - Don't sweat the small stuff.

Re: FINALLY! My April Fools review!!! Mediterranean Manor, Wedding Center, All For You......

wow I can't get over the amount of money you spent on your gown. What a steal, you looked amazing. the pictures came out wonderful, congrats

Re: FINALLY! My April Fools review!!! Mediterranean Manor, Wedding Center, All For You......

Congratulations!

Re: FINALLY! My April Fools review!!! Mediterranean Manor, Wedding Center, All For You......

very nice.. looks like u had fun

Re: FINALLY! My April Fools review!!! Mediterranean Manor, Wedding Center, All For You......

What an amazing story about your wedding dress!!! Sorry that the BM dress experiences wasn't everything it should be, but your pictures are phenomenal!!!!!! Congrats!!!!!!

Re: FINALLY! My April Fools review!!! Mediterranean Manor, Wedding Center, All For You......

YAY, Kelly!! Beautiful pictures!! I didn't even realize that the flowers were silk...they look wonderful. Both you an Mike look so happy in all of the pictures...including your HM pictures. Looks like you really enjoyed your first vacation! Everything looks wonderful. I had no idea you did all of those great DIY projects. I can't belive the trouble you had with those BM dresses, don't let them get away with it...fight for your money back! Everyone looked wonderful though and you can't tell there was any problem with the dresses. The photographer did a good job of placing the BMs in a way that looks like that's the way you wanted them (some with jackets and some without). I'm so happy for you and Mike!

Re: FINALLY! My April Fools review!!! Mediterranean Manor, Wedding Center, All For You......

congrats and great review love the pics

Re: FINALLY! My April Fools review!!! Mediterranean Manor, Wedding Center, All For You......

Everything looks so beautiful and your review is so detailed. I love your Unity Candles, Card box, and Ring Bearer pillow. Congrats!!

Re: FINALLY! My April Fools review!!! Mediterranean Manor, Wedding Center, All For You......

You TA died?! OOMG, I'm so sorry! You're wedding looked amazing, and your photos are beautiful! The story about your dress is amazing as well! Congrats and all the best wishes to you!

Re: FINALLY! My April Fools review!!! Mediterranean Manor, Wedding Center, All For You......

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Posted by MissingTheBGene

You TA died?! OOMG, I'm so sorry! You're wedding looked amazing, and your photos are beautiful! The story about your dress is amazing as well! Congrats and all the best wishes to you!

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Yep, she died. She kept awful records, told us the wrong things, it was torture. We made our final payment, she died, then the agency called to say we still owed $800!!!!!! A few weeks before the wedding is not when you have spare change. I don't even want to get into it anymore. She can't screw up anybody's reservations, so there's no need to keep talking.

Re: FINALLY! My April Fools review!!! Mediterranean Manor, Wedding Center, All For You......

congrats!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: FINALLY! My April Fools review!!! Mediterranean Manor, Wedding Center, All For You......

looks like you had a great day!! u looked beautiful!