Follow the yellow brick road to glinda_goodwitch's June 17th wedding review! Jericho Terrace, Sherwood Triart, Flower Michele, Body Rock...Maryland and DC vendors too!!

Ah, where to begin? The wedding and all the planning up to it was such a whirlwind of emotion. But it was such a wonderful experience and I wouldn't have traded it for the world. I was an OOT bride living in MD planning my LI wedding. This was really hard, especially at the end when I had to go to lots of vendor meetings. But it was totally worth it, because no one does weddings like NY!! I'm including some of my vendors from MD and DC, to help out any future OOT brides from this area.

I would first like to say that I had an absolute blast being a bride. It's just so weird and wonderful at the same time. Girls, please believe me when I say you need to enjoy it while you can. It goes by so very fast! I let things get to me during the planning, but my wedding day was so special to me that nothing could put a damper on it. Remember that these experiences only happen to us once and we need to just sit back and enjoy them, even if they do not go as we expected.
Now onto the review!!

LIW-
10/10!

Ron, Liz, and all of you girls really helped to make my wedding planning experience truly great. I was able to share my excitement with other brides, and also share my frustrations and sorrows without worrying that someone would say “get over it, it's only a wedding”. The amount of advice I've received is immeasurable, and the ideas for DIY projects were just plain fabulous! Even though I've met very few of you in person, I really feel like I've found some great friends.

Mother Nature-
10/10!

Boy did we luck out with our wedding day. I was a bit worried because for a few weeks before the wedding it was all rain. But on the day of the wedding it was a nice temperature, a little hot but not too bad. The morning was overcast (which I heard was good for pictures) so we were able to get our outdoor pictures with our bridal party. The sun did come out in the late afternoon so we finished our bridal party pictures inside where it was cooler, but I'm so happy to have those outdoor pics!

Rehearsal Dinner: Giardino's Restaurant (Douglaston)-
10/10!

Marrying into an Italian family, I have learned a bit about Italian food. My ILs like to try new restaurants and we've been to Giardino's many times because once we tried it we were hooked. The inside is beautiful, and the food is soooo good. They had such a nice menu for the rehearsal dinner, with so much food: focaccia, a champagne toast, salad, pasta, and 7 choices for entrees. The restaurant even printed out menus saying “Beth and John's Rehearsal Menu”. It was so cute and everyone loved that personal touch. My family is not used to such big meals, and they all really enjoyed the dinner.

Groom's cake: Audrey's Bakery-
10/10!

As some of you may remember, I debated on whether or not I should get a groom's cake for the RD. It was a lot of money, especially to have it delivered to Douglaston from Sayville, but in the end it was completely worth it. The cake came out incredible, and was huge enough to feed 35 people and have a ton of leftovers. It was so beautiful and even the wait staff at Giardino's kept commenting on how beautiful it was. I decided on the aquarium cake because DH loves fish and even got me into keeping fish. The two fish on the cake were modeled after fish that we actually had as pets. I didn't call Thomas at Audrey's Bakery even once. We did everything over email and I just sent him pictures. He was a pleasure to work with. The inside was yellow cake with strawberry and banana crème. It was delicious!

Non-professional pictures taken at rehearsal dinner:








Save the date magnets: www.candywrapperstore.com -
9/10

These magnets were so cute and reasonably priced. The only problem was that they made a mistake on the proof of the magnet and were not the easiest to get in contact with. But I just kept on top of it, and everything was fine.



Invitations: The Written Word (DC Vendor! www.writtenword.invitations.com) -
10/10!

These guys were fabulous. Any MD/DC brides out there should really check them out for invitations. They have a lot of choices, although I believe they specialize in letterpress invitations. We were able to mix and match any graphics, fonts, colors, and paper styles that wanted to create our own invitation. They had a lot of beautiful papers for lining inner envelopes. Even though the final product was very pricey, it was completely worth it. We loved our invitations and thank you notes.









Engagement ring and wedding bands: J Brown Jewelers (MD Vendor! www.jbrownjewelers.com) -
10/10!

I absolutely LOVE my engagement ring and wedding band. I went with DH to pick out the engagement ring and researched a lot of places in MD. This happened to be the first place that we visited and I ended up getting the first setting that I tried on (after trying on many others and visiting many other stores). The setting is antique white gold and very much like the styling of Tacori. There was a matching wedding band to go along with it, but the manufacturer of my e-ring later had some legal trouble with Tacori for having similar jewelry, and I was not able to get it. At first I was heartbroken, but J Brown had so many other interesting bands that I was able to find one I loved with no problem. They were very reasonably priced as well, which is important since we did not have a lot of money to spend on our rings. I ended up getting a white gold band with two rows of pave diamonds that went half way around. DH got a brushed metal white gold band, with a small lip on the inner and outer edges. The one thing that I noticed about J Brown is that they are able to get most rings in either platinum or white gold. I liked this, since there was no way we could afford platinum, but I preferred the look of platinum to yellow gold. White gold was an affordable compromise.





Attire:

Tuxes: Bell Formal Wear (38-34 Bell Blvd, Queens)-
9/10

The service here was excellent and we were VERY happy with them, but they were a little expensive. However, everyone looked great and we liked the fact that they had all of the inventory in the store. All but one GM was from NY, so they got measured in the store. My cousin lives in MA, so he got measured elsewhere and sent his measurements in. His jacket was too small and the sleeves were too short. But he went with DH to the tux shop and they measured him and got him another tux jacket that fit perfectly. So I think it was the original measurements that were in error. The store had a lot of styles to choose from and really nice designers.





BM dresses: Charmet's (4117 Bell Blvd, Queens)-
7.5/10

Charmet was ok, but nothing spectacular. The main reason we went with them is because they supposedly carried the BM dress we wanted, and they are 5 mins from my IL's house. Being an OOT bride, this convenience was really important. They were really disorganized, and didn't even have a sample of the dress in the store, or color swatches. I organized a weekend where the OOT BMs would come to NY and we would order the dresses. Well, the girls paid for the deposit on the dresses without ever seeing them in person and didn't even see the colors. I had to wait a few days after that for Charmet to get swatches in and then I could actually order the dresses. There was NO way I could order colors without seeing them in person. But the prices were actually the best around, since they included the alteration price in the whole price. No matter what alterations had to be done, the price was still the same (and quite reasonable). One BM lost a LOT of weight and had a ton of alterations done. Her dress was a little big on top still, but it was nothing Hollywood tape couldn't fix. All of the other dresses were altered really well.





My dress: Lillette's in Baldwin-
9/10

I absolutely adored my dress. It was the first one I tried on (I have this tendency...I married my first boyfriend, got the first engagement ring I tried on, bought the first wedding dress I tried on). I tried on about 20 other dresses and none could compare to the first! Don't worry, I didn't try on any other boyfriends, I just knew he was the one! The dress was an Anjolique, and I got it in Ivory with silver embroidery. It was very reasonably priced, and way under my budget. I was thrilled. I ordered the dress with a hem to hollow measurement, and the length came out perfect. However, if you remember posting on my dress saga, the size ended up being too small. It was my fault in the end, because I was warned that the size just fit me, and that I if I changed size at all, it wouldn't fit. I even signed it on my contract stating that I understood this. I ordered the sample size, since it fit me perfectly at the time and I had no intention of gaining any weight. And I didn't gain any weight. In fact, I was so motivated to fit into my dress that I accidentally gained 2 inches in my chest by lifting weights! On my first fitting the dress fit perfectly around the waist, but would not button all the way up my back. I was devastated. The dress had buttons from the top of the back, all the way down to the bottom of the train. I loved it, and it was one of my favorite parts of the dress. Well, they had to add in a panel of fabric and a corset...and they did a fabulous job! I ended up loving the new dress even more than the original. The corset was so pretty and actually so much more flattering than the buttons. The buttons didn't lay exactly flat, and I didn't realize this until I looked back at my pictures that I took when I ordered the dress. Paula at Lillette's did such an amazing job.

Original back of dress:



Corset that Paula added:


I loved my bustle as well, and my bridal attendants commented on how nice an thick the bustle ties were. The bustle stayed all night with no problems. Paula even put stays up top so the bodice would fit closely to the bra. I was concerned about the dress dragging on the floor, since the bottom was all lace. Paula put snaps all around the bottom so that the dress didn't really drag.



The ONLY thing that I didn't love about my dress were the straps, and hence a 9 instead of 10 for Lillette's. I LOVED the beaded straps. I didn't need them for support, but they were just pretty and dainty, and gave the dress a sweet look. The problem was that they were detachable, and a little too big. So they would slip down on my shoulders. Not a problem usually, I would just slip them back on. BUT, while I was dancing one strap slipped down, and when I was doing a turn with someone the strap VIOLENTLY popped off! It was funny the first time, and I laughed (as did my dad's friend who was turning me!) My MOH put a big safety pin on, and secured it. But it happened a second time during my father daughter dance. We danced to My Girl, and we did a lot of turns and spins. That was annoying. But I just let it hang and we finished my dance. My dad laughed. The third and fourth time were just annoying. After that, I just went strapless. Luckily, that was after the photographer had left, so all my professional pictures have the straps on. But it did cut down on my mobility while dancing, and that made me a little mad. In the back of my mind at my last fitting, I thought maybe I should have ask her to sew the straps since I knew I would definitely be wearing them. They made the straps tighter during one of my fittings, but they weren't tight enough. But it wasn't a tragedy, and everything else was great.


Undergarments: strapless bra- Georgette's in Hicksville-
1/10

Even though many girls have had such wonderful experiences with this place, this was not the case for me. I had built up Georgette's in my mind, expecting to finally find a strapless bra for me. I'm very large chested and have never found a strapless bra that I like. I think these expectations that I had clouded my judgment. She put a few different bras on me, and told me the last one was the one. It seemed tight, but I assumed that was the way it was supposed to be. It gave my chest a conical shape, but she said that it was the best fitting bra for me. Well, when I went to my fitting they couldn't get the bra on me, it was so small. Either Georgette really stuffed me into the bra, or she accidentally switched the bras at the register, since she took the bra back with her while I got changed. I don't think this is the case, though, because the bra still had that conical shape, and my seamstress said that was because the cups were too big. I didn't have time to go back to Hicksville since I needed a bra ASAP, so my MIL took me to a place she had heard of on Bell Blvd (see review below).

Undergarments: strapless bra- Yvette's (Bell Blvd)-
10/10!

The owners of this store were so nice! They actually specialize in breast cancer patients' needs, but they have everything. They brought out a bunch of different bras, and finally I found a nice one that had a low enough back for my dress, had a nice cup shape, and was very supportive. It was a little big around the waist, and so they altered it right there in the store. I didn't even know you could alter a strapless long-line bra. They said that if I needed it altered any more that I could bring it back and they would do it for me. It turned out that the bra was perfect. I walked into the store feeling very stressed and frustrated, and walked out very happy.

Tiara: Tigerlilly Tiaras (www.tigerlillytiaras.com)-
10/10!

I LOVED my tiara. I was lucky enough to catch this place right before they decided to sell only to bridal salons, and was able to order the Isobel tiara at a discounted price. It was just perfect for me. I wanted something with sparkle, but nothing too big. Since their change, I have looked at Tigerlilly's website, and some of their new stuff is fabulous. One of the salons listed is Kleinfelds, so you should ask to see Tigerlilly Tiaras if you are there, because they are gorgeous.

As an aside, my very closely matching earrings were purchased from Banana Republic.





Veil: Thomas Knoell Designs-
10/10!

I couldn't afford a Thomas Knoell tiara, so I promised myself that I would splurge and get a veil from them. Well, I spent almost as much on the veil as I would have on a tiara, but it was TOTALLY worth it. The veil was important to me. I wanted sheer so that you could see my updo, but very poofy. I had a vision of what I wanted my veil to be, so I am glad that I went to the experts. Thomas and his wife Raquelle were soooo nice. The saleswoman, although I can't place her name, was so helpful. She just put different veils on me until I found the right one. Then I customized it just for me. I ended up going with a 2-tier waterfall veil. One tier was at my elbows, and the other was at the small of my back. I just loved how it fell. I got it in Ivory, with silver edging, and swarovski crystals scattered on the longer layer, and on the outer edge of the shorter (blusher) layer. That way when my blusher was on, the pictures would not show shiny dots all over my face. This was the suggestion of the saleswoman, and it was just perfect. The veil had a plastic comb, and stayed in with no problem until I took it out (which was about 10:30 pm, after I danced with my dad). It really was my dream veil.





Beauty:

Hair: Creative Hair Designs by April-
10/10!

I have to say that both my hair and makeup girls were FABULOUS. If any of you remember my drama, my MOH's hair and makeup lady wanted $1000 to come and do my hair and makeup, my mom's hair and makeup, and 3 bridesmaid updos. Since I was paying for my BMs, that meant I would be paying close to $1000. I just couldn't swing it, and had to look for someone else. This was in February, and my wedding was in June. So naturally I was very worried people would be all booked up. Well, April and Denise (of Angel Eyes) both came to my rescue, and fit me in for trials ASAP. Needless to say, I was thrilled with both of them. But now onto their reviews.

April did hair for me, my mom, and 3 of my BMs. She met us at the hotel where we were staying, and was even a little early. She did my hair first, and I was in love! It was even better than my trial in February, and I loved it then. The style stayed perfectly all night, except for one curl that came loose. But I had a lot of excited GMs hugging me all night (they were all so very sweet and made me feel like a princess). But my veil and hair did take a little beating. So it was expected.








Now April next showed herself to be a miracle worker when she did my mom's hair. My mom has been bleaching her hair blond ever since I was born. When I was little, I thought my mom was a natural blond! Her hair is as dry as the Sahara desert, and damaged like you wouldn't believe. So, April had a task before her. To make things even more difficult, my mom bought this crazy hair piece of like 5 feet of hair that she wanted incorporated somehow in the updo. Well, April said no problem, and just went with the flow. The updo ended up being spectacular! I don't think I have every seen my mom so beautiful. She was so happy with it as well. My other 3 BMs were similar to Goldilocks: one had super thin hair, one had super thick hair, and one had just the right thickness. No problem for April! They all had different updos, and they all looked beautiful.

My mom's crazy hairpiece:


The final product:




Makeup: Denise of Angel Eyes-
10/10!

Another fabulous vendor! Denise did the makeup for my mother and I. I opted for airbrush makeup, and it was the most amazing thing. The night after my trial, I decided to go out with DH and some friends. That night was the wonderful blizzard of 2006. So on our way home, it started snowing like crazy and we couldn't see a thing. We got lost finding the subway because of all the snow, and my face was really abused that night. The wind was whipping and the snow was just pouring on my face. We were in the snow 30 minutes before we got into the subway station!! I went home, was sooo tired that I didn't take off my makeup, and the next day it was still perfect except for some smudgy mascara (and not that much smudging, either!). I STILL had to take the makeup off with some remover, and it was still really hard to get off. So I knew no matter what, the makeup would stay perfectly on my wedding day.

So the day of my wedding, Denise did another great job, and made my skin look perfect. I loved all the colors she used on me, and it was just wonderful. I particularly loved how my eyes came out. Again, my mother was the true test. An avid gardener, my mom has a lot of sun damage. I warned Denise of this, and she suggested doing the traditional makeup. But when my mom sat in the chair and had her makeup done, Denise decided to also do one pass with the airbrush makeup as well. My mom seriously looked so amazing. It must have taken 10 years off her face. We were both very happy with the results!





Other vendors:

OOT guest hotel and wedding night suite: Wingate Inn Garden City-
9/10

We blocked rooms at the Wingate in for our OOT guests about a year before the wedding. Then about 6 months before the wedding, we won a free night in the wedding suite from Wedding of the Year! For the most part, the Wingate was wonderful to work with. Cynthia was so nice, and I would call every few weeks to hear who had booked rooms. The only reason they did not get a 10 was that my cousin requested 2 rooms that were next to each other, since she was staying with her grandchildren, and wanted their parents (her son and daughter in law) to be nearby. It was a very reasonable request, and I know she was the first to block rooms. So she asked for this well in advance. They put her and her grandkids on one floor, and their parents two floors down. Needless to say, she was not happy. They fixed it and they got rooms across the hall from one another. But it should have been right from the beginning. As for the wedding night suite...SWEET! It was so big, and they had champagne and chocolates for us. The bed was big and fluffy, and the bathroom was really roomy and nice.


Wedding cake: Dortoni Bakery-
10/10!

Dortoni is the bakery that Jericho Terrace uses. It was suggested to us that we go through Dortoni directly, since the cake we wanted was different from the standard cakes that Jericho Terrace offered. I loved this idea, since it meant that we were dealing with the bakery directly and it was less likely to have any errors in communication. Jericho Terrace just deducted the cost of the cake from our bill, and we paid Dortoni the price of the cake. It was a little more than the fondant cakes, Jericho Terrace offered, but I really loved our cake. It was white cake with white chocolate and raspberry filling. It tasted sooo good! DH really liked it as well. They did a beautiful job!

The cake we wanted copied:



Our cake:





The BIG vendors:
10/10!

udge Corbett is a retired judge, and was recommended by a few brides on LIW. My first impression upon meeting him was that he was very nice, organized, and on top of things. He mentioned that if for any reason he has an emergency and cannot make it the day of the wedding, he has a few friends who are judges, and they fill in for each other in these types of situations. He said that it had never happened to him though. It was still nice to know that he had a backup plan in case anything happened. Judge Corbett sent us a template of his usual ceremony, and there were a lot of optional readings and poems. My DH and I did not want to write our own vows, partly because we wanted something traditional, and partly because we knew we would obsess too much over writing them. Judge Corbett's ceremony template allowed us to choose traditional vows, and also have some meaningful readings. Even though we had a civil ceremony, we also broke the glass (for my mother) and had a unity candle ceremony. Judge Corbett even had a few choices in his template for what we wanted to say about these traditions. Everyone really loved our ceremony.

Another thing I really liked about this judge was that he was very prepared, and put my mind at ease. He recommended where we should get our marriage license (we live out of state) and had us fax him a copy right away in case we forgot to bring it to the ceremony. He also warned us that sometimes at Jericho Terrace ceremonies he has performed in the past, there was a noise issue. He urged me to tell Jericho Terrace NOT to have anyone setting up the Skylight room while we were in there for the ceremony. He also told me that he would talk to them on the day of the wedding. Our ceremony was perfect, and not one bit of noise. I would highly recommend Judge Corbett. He did a wonderful job, and he is very willing to work with people for the ceremony that they want.



Florist: Flower Michele-
10/10!

John was truly wonderful to work with. His enthusiasm for flowers, and his need for perfection are just the best possible combination. After looking at a ton of pictures and making up a picture cd for John before our first meeting, I still did not know how to describe the style that I wanted, I only really knew my color scheme. Well, John took my pictures and created a vision of garden elegance. I loved it! He wanted to use hot pink and light pink peonies for my bouquet and centerpieces, and orchids and calla lilies for my BM's bouquets. John was so wonderful to work with, because I really felt like I worked WITH him. He showed me a sample centerpiece, and I wasn't 100% happy with it. But he listened to all of my suggestions, and the centerpiece for the day of the wedding was EXACTLY what I wanted. As for the bouquets, they were gorgeous! I loved mine, and I adored my BM's boquets. The only thing about my bouquet is that I wished the hydrangea were a darker spring green, instead of light green/yellow. But other than that, it was perfection. It was also HUGE, and I loved having such a substantial bouquet. For the guys, we used mini green orchids, and they looked so good! They even sent an extra one, which is good because the ring bearer needed two! My DH's boutineer was a clover, and it was actually a silk flower. This worked out well, because with all the hugging and posing for pictures, the boutineer took some abuse.








We didn't want to use Jericho Terrace's iron canopy for our ceremony, because we felt it was too enclosed, and looked to much like a chuppah. We wanted our ceremony to remain mostly civil, with a few traditions for our families. But, we still wanted some sort of decoration at the front of the ceremony room. John suggested using his floral arch. He did such a fabulous job with it! It looked soooo beautiful. The other ceremony flowers on the columns lining the aisle were also gorgeous, but they were not exactly what I had expected. We had talked about using pastels, and I thought that meant pastel versions of the reception colors, which were pinks and greens. These were pastel pinks, orange, yellow, blue, and green. Looking back in the pictures, they really were beautiful ceremony flowers, and they looked really nice in the Skylight room of Jericho Terrace. They really gave it some color, and coordinated nicely with the wall paintings. So I was very happy with them, even if I did not expect them.







Lastly, I had seen some flower exhibits at a bridal show at Jericho Terrace, and they happened to use my ballroom for the exhibit. I saw that they decorated the DJ's booth with white fabric with lights underneath, and put flowers at the corners. It looked so nice, and I happened to take a picture of it. A number of months later, I asked John if he could make this same structure, and he said he could. His price was really reasonable, and it came out so nice! It just added a little extra to the room, and it was a nice touch.

Okay, really lastly, I LOVED how our sweetheart table was decorated. I just loved the ivy and flowers that were spread on the table. It gave it such a romantic look. Okay, I'm done raving about Flower Michele. They were totally awesome, and I would definitely recommend them!


DJ: Body Rock-
4/10

Now, I first want to say that Body Rock did NOT by any means ruin the party. BUT, for the amount of money that we paid for them and their reputation, they were nowhere near as good as we expected them to be. Mainly, there were a few large mistakes that they made, even though we had explicitly given them both written directions prior to the wedding, and also during the actual wedding. I had even called them before the wedding, to go over some of our requests, and was under the impression that they understood what we wanted. I'm just going to list them out here, since they were very specific:

1.
Our first dance was a waltz circling the floor in a certain direction, so we had to start at a certain corner of the dance floor and at the right time in the song. This was imperative, since this was the only way we practiced this at Arthur Murray. We told this to the woman at the semi final meeting (we didn't meet with the DJ until the day of the wedding), AND we told this to the DJ a few minutes before the introductions began. We asked him NOT to turn on the music UNTIL he saw me nod to him. He said that he understood. Well, he didn't wait for me to nod, started the music early, and we had to rush a little bit out to the dance floor. It's not a huge deal, but we were explicit with him, and I'm sure it will show on our video.

2.
For the second dance (bridal party dance) I had sent a fax to the DJ saying that I wanted the song to be Breathe by Faith Hill, and that I wanted the bridal party to dance the song alone, and then halfway through I wanted him to invite the rest of the guests to join in. I even called the next day to confirm this request. Well, the DJ invited everyone up immediately even though my instructions could not have been clearer.

3.
The last and most major mistake was with the mother-son dance. We told the DJ 10 minutes before the dance that we did NOT want him to cut the song short, and that we wanted guests to join in the dance HALFWAY through the song (MIL did not want to be in the spotlight that long). Well, he invited people to join in immediately, DURING MY DH AND MIL'S SPECIAL MOMENT!! I don't know how he could have done this! WHO decides to have EVERYONE dance during the mother-son dance? Isn't it supposed to be a special moment between them ALONE? Luckily, our guests had some common sense and didn't even think to join in. Oh, and he cut the song short, just the opposite of what we asked him to do.


Needless to say, we do NOT recommend this vendor. But on a positive note, the ceremony and cocktail hour music went very smoothly, and some people did comment that they liked the songs the DJ played. He also handled the bouquet and garter toss well. We didn't want to put anyone on the spot, and so they said that we were doing the bouquet and garter toss just for luck. So there was no pressure on anyone. It ended up really cute, because my flower girl “caught” the bouquet with help, and DH's little cousin (who handed out our petal cones at the ceremony) caught the garter. She is 5 and he is 10, so we automatically skipped the wearing of the garter! Also, the DJ gave away the centerpieces and candy
dishes on our tables in a fairly creative way. He asked for a volunteer at each table to take out a dollar bill, and they played the dollar bill game. The person who ended up with the dollar bill won the centerpiece, and the person who took out the dollar won the candy dish. I liked that a lot. So it wasn't ALL bad, but those mistakes should not have happened, especially at the price we paid.


Photographer/Videographer: Sherwood Triart-
11/10!

By far, my favorite vendor! We had 2 photographers, a lighting assistant, and a videographer. We originally started out with just 1 photographer and a lighting assistant (and videographer), but at our final meeting, we realized that I wanted way too many detailed shots for one photographer to do alone. I debated at the photographers office for hours whether to add the second photographer or not. But, because we had so many less people coming to our wedding than we planned for, we had the extra money. So we decided to go with a different package that included more enlargements, a larger album, and a second, photojournalistic photographer. It was the BEST decision we made! I can tell which photos were taken by which photographer (because of the naming scheme on the back of each proof) and the second photographer got some amazing shots! We had about 1200 proofs, and I truly love them all.

Okay, lets start with the specifics: Fred was our regular photographer, Craig was our lighting assistant, Pete was our photojournalistic photographer, and Dennis was our videographer. We had decided that the photographers were going to meet us at the Jericho Terrace bridal suite at 1pm to take pictures of me getting into my dress. So the plan was to get there at 12:30, a little before the photographer arrived. The girls were still having their hair done, so I went with my dad to the suite, and got there around 12:35. Fred was already there waiting for me! It was perfect, because we didn't waste any time. We hung up my dress, and he started taking pictures of the dress hanging, my invitation, shoes, garter...all the cute little detailed shots. They even brought their own organza tablecloth and arranged everything so nicely! They took some of the rose petals from the florist, and took pictures of our rings on top of them. I thought it looked SO nice. So even though everyone else was late, Sherwood Triart was on the ball, and actually made it so that we were ahead of the game.

I loved everyone. Fred was great. So nice to work with...He knew I had a list of shots I wanted, and he got them all, and did it before the ceremony even started. He even took a shot of my extended family during the reception, because I really wanted it. He reminded me during the reception to gather everyone so that it didn't get too late to take it. I know that also meant a lot to my parents, since these family members traveled far to be at my wedding. During the pictures before the ceremony, my cousin would stand behind Fred and take the same pictures that he did. She said that he was so nice about it, and didn't even care that she was doing it. He just joked with her and said, “Are you stealing my shot?”, and she said,”Yup!” I really appreciated that he was nice not only to me and my DH, but also to our guests. Craig was a great lighting assistant, as well as an extra bridesmaid! He held my bouquet for me, fixed my veil for EVERY picture, and even got me lotion in the bridal suite since he was the one closest to my bag of cosmetics. He also caught me from falling up the stairs when my layers of crinoline got tangled! Pete was so cute. Here was this really young guy (much younger looking than me), and he's our second photographer. At first I was like, wow, he's young. But he did such a great job! Some of his candid shots are my favorites. He was also so sweet and nice to work with. Lastly, Dennis was also great. He was very unobtrusive, and we didn't even notice he was there most of the time. During our first dance, I messed up and told the photographers and videographer that we would dip and face one side of the room, and we actually faced the other side! So everyone was behind us and got our backs! I figured, oh well. But Dennis came up to us while we were eating and said he arranged for us to dance another “spotlight” dance, and that he wanted us to first come out and take a dip, and then start to dance alone. This way, they could photograph and video us dipping from the front. No one actually knew what was happening at the wedding. They just thought I was being a ham and playing to the camera (not actually doing the dance for the sole purpose of the pictures). So it was great to have another dance with DH alone, and we got our dipping shot.

I honestly can't say enough about Sherwood Triart. Of course, our album and video aren't done. But the proofs are so amazing. I love them so much and they capture all of the emotions that I felt on my wedding day. I have to say they are VERY pricey, but they are completely worth it. If pictures are really important to you, and you are willing to spend the money, then go with these guys. Here are some more of my favorite proofs:























And the one you've all been waiting for...

Jericho Terrace!!
10/10!

Looking back, I don't think anything went wrong at Jericho Terrace. Everything was just as we wanted it, and our guests could not stop talking about the wedding, even a month and a half later. I do think this is in part because my DH and I were very meticulous in making sure Jericho Terrace was on the same page that we were on. There was constant communication, especially about any issues previous brides have had with them. The main ones I can think of are taking outdoor pictures, noise during the ceremony or reception, and the wedding cake. Because we were getting married at Jericho Terrace, we made sure to get there as early as they would allow us (12:00 for a 5:30 wedding), and took pictures before the ceremony. This gave us plenty of time, in case there was another wedding party that also needed to use the outdoor area for pictures. As for noise, I made sure there were no parties upstairs at the time of the ceremony, and asked that no one set up the other half of the skylight room while the ceremony was going on. I also had my judge say something to them to ensure they followed this. We had no problems. As for the cake, since we wanted something a little different, we went through Dortoni bakery directly (the bakery that Jericho Terrace uses). This way, it was less likely that there would be errors in communication. Our cake came out exactly as we wanted it. It was perfect. So the main point of this is that Jericho Terrace is great, but I still felt better keeping on top of them, and making sure we were all in agreement about everything. I think this contributed to everything running smoothly and exactly as planned.

The bridal suite that we used at the hall to get dressed was absolutely wonderful! It was spacious, and had a bathroom on a separate level, so that my BMs could use the bathroom while the photographers could take pics in the main room. It was so spacious, that we used the room to gather the parents and entire wedding party before the ceremony, and again before the introductions. The only thing was that it was too hot in the room. But I found out later that my BMs had asked them to turn off the AC since they were cold when we were getting ready earlier. I could have killed them! But other than that, the suite was great. We had chafing dishes of food brought in, so no one minded leaving the cocktail hour a little early. There was also champagne there before the ceremony, and I remember downing a glass to calm my nerves. It really helped!

The Skylight Room was perfect for our ceremony. It was so beautiful to get married under the stars. Jericho Terrace laid out my hand painted aisle runner and scattered rose petals on both sides, just as I had asked them to. Tino was out Maitre De, and he also helped at the ceremony, opening and closing the doors after each BM walked down the aisle. I was worried that maybe the marble floor would be too slippery to walk on, but we had no problems. There was also no noise at all. You could hear everything loud and clear.



My bridal attendants were Linette and Andrea, and they were the best! The main thing I was nervous about was the bathroom issue. They told me they would take me into the handicapped bathroom and hold the dress up for me. They were so sweet about it. I was so grateful that they took me before the ceremony. It meant that I could go down the aisle with an empty bladder, and I could drink water during the pictures because I wasn't afraid of the bathroom anymore. They even reminded me to go once during my reception, and it didn't take long at all with their help. They got me my purse, lipstick, etc from the bridal suite when I was taking pictures around the lobby, and they held my train whenever I was not taking a picture. The best part was the fluffing! One attendant really fluffed the numerous layers of my dress right before going down the aisle. I felt so airy! I felt like a true princess.

We had the Cocktail Hour in the Terrace room. We opted to attend our cocktail hour since we had taken pictures already. I had a plate of food, and it was sooo good. Of course, I got scared of dropping food, so I only ate one plate. Everyone enjoyed it so much. There was enough seating for everyone, and the room was so big that I couldn't make it through the entire room before the hour was over. Jericho Terrace had the placecard table in the cocktail hour room, and this was a great idea. We had confoti on the placecard table, so this meant that the guests could take their time looking through the pictures. I have to say though, Jericho Terrace tried to round up the parents and bridal party so early. Luckily, I stood my ground and said that its too early, we can stay a little longer and its fine. I mean, how are we going to miss the introductions when everyone is still at the cocktail hour anyways?






The reception was so much fun! We had our reception in the Oak Room. Tino made sure that everything ran smoothly. He gathered all the BP to make the arch, and we ran through it. That was a blast! He helped with the cake cutting, and even made me a plate of chocolate covered fruit from the chocolate fountain. Of course, I wanted to make my own, since it is too much fun! It was nice to have Tino there, because when you are at your own wedding, time flies from you. He made sure that everything followed as it should. Basically, he made it so that we didn't worry about a thing and just enjoyed our party.











As you can see, I was really excited about the reception in this picture



As for the Oak room, we were told originally that it holds a max of 160 people. I'm not so sure about that. We had 109 guests, and that seemed to be the perfect number for the room. The dance floor was big enough for everyone, and the tables were set far enough apart to be comfortable. I am really not sure how you could fit more than 120 comfortably. But for us, it worked out perfectly. The Oak Room had a castle feel to it almost. It had gorgeous chandeliers, and carved wood ceilings, and colorful murals on the walls.


There is only one real complaint that I had with Jericho Terrace, and this happened after the wedding was over and most guests had gone home. One of our GMs had a dead battery, and the valet were of NO help at all. We told them about the dead battery, and asked if they had jumper cables, but they did not. We had a town car waiting to take us to the Wingate Inn, and our driver could not believe that the valet didn't have jumper cables. He even went to ask himself, and they said they didn't have them. One of our friends had to run and buy a set of jumper cables. We didn't leave Jericho Terrace until after 1am. Jumper cables really should be something that a valet service has on hand.

BP gifts:

BM gifts: Crème de Luxe (www.creme-de-luxe.com) -
11/10!

Jennifer at Crème de Luxe was wonderful to work with. I got each of my girls a pearl choker to wear on the day of the wedding. Jennifer answered my various questions, and even emailed me more detailed pictures of the necklaces so I could make a decision. The store has a discount if you buy 3 or more of the same necklace. The necklaces were beautiful, and came in these gorgeous silk pouches. All of the girls loved them. The best part (and hence the 11 out of 10) was that Jennifer sent an extra necklace for me! So now I have one too, which is great because I was jealous that my girls were getting these great necklaces!





The necklaces looked great with the girls' dresses!


GM gifts: Dakota Time Tool 7 Clip Watches (purchased at Sports Authority)-
10/10!

We ordered these online from the Sports Authority. They are really nice watches that have hidden pocket tools. They clip onto a belt loop, or a backpack. They were packaged really nicely, and I think all of the groomsmen liked them. They were reasonably priced, so they are a great gift if you have a large BP.



Flower girl gift: Bracelet from CBJ Designs-
10/10!

I originally bought a bracelet online from Itty Beady Creations, but a day or so later I saw Courtney post a bracelet she made for her own flower girl, and I asked for her pricing. It was a much nicer bracelet for less money, so I immediately cancelled my prior order, and had Courtney make my flower girl's bracelet. I just asked for all pinks, a flower charm, and for there to be a bead with the letter A on it. She did such a great job!! The bracelet was the perfect size, because it fits my flower girl now, and it expands to even fit me! So if she wants to wear it even when she is older, she can.



Ring bearer gift: Harry Potter treasure box set (Purchased from www.target.com) -
10/10!

I wanted to get something fun for my ring bearer, but something that is also nice and can be a keepsake. Target's online store had these cute Harry Potter watch sets, so I got him the treasure box set. The set came with a nice keepsake box, and inside was a kid's watch and a little maze game. I actually got a similar set (also from Target) for DH's cousin who handed out petal cones. Both boys loved their watches.



Other small details/vendors:

Aisle Runner: Heavenly Alsies (www.heavenlyaisles.com) -
10/10!

The women who run this company, Melissa and Tina, are so nice and very prompt in answering emails. They sent me a few templates with the quote I wanted, each in a different font. I was able to choose the font, and how the quote was broken up line by line. The painted it in black, on top of a cotton 50 ft runner, and supplied me with double back tape to fix it to the floor. It stayed perfectly for the ceremony, even with everyone walking on it. It looked absolutely beautiful!



Favors: Salt shaker and pepper grinder- J&S Italian Imports, Rutherford, NJ (201-933-0979)-

Thanks to another LIW bride, Foofy, I was able to have these great salt shaker and pepper grinder sets as my favor. I had seen them online for $22, and then saw that she had them as her favor. She said the got them for much cheaper, and gave me all the info. She even offered to help me if I had any problems ordering them. So Foofy also gets a 10/10! J&S were very nice over the phone. I put in the order, gave my credit card number, and literally the NEXT day they were at my door.



Jordan Almond Flowers for favors-Ebay Vendor: All you need is a Knechtion-
10/10!

These were one of the prettiest Jordan almond flowers I have ever seen. I was just searching ebay, saw them, and had to have them. They contained 5 Jordan almonds wrapped in fabric, and decorated with silver ribbon. The woman who made them usually makes a favor tag to put on each one. I'm not big on having our names on things, so she offered to make individual favor tags with each of our guests' names on them. So I gave her a list of our guests, and she made a tag for each of their favors. It not only looked so nice, but it meant that it was just one favor per couple, and no one would be taking two. But really, it was just such a nice touch to have each of the favors personalized. For the price we discussed, she even made extra flowers since this was before I sent out invites, and didn't know the final guest count.



Garters:Ebay Vendor: enuffyaya-
10/10!

I actually didn't buy these through ebay, but went directly through the seller. Normally she sells just one garter alone, but I asked her to make me a set, with a keepsake and a tossing garter. She was just selling the keepsake garter at the time, but said she had enough blue vintage lace to make me a smaller, tossing garter. I had always wanted my garter to be my something blue, so this was perfect. She did a great job.



Cardbox: Ebay Vendor: sewwhatlp-
10/10!

I loved our card box. At first I didn't want to get one. But then it made sense to me to have one so that cards didn't get lost. I found this one on ebay, and it was gorgeous. It even matched the linens at Jericho Terrace.



Picture Confetti:Confoti (www.confoti.com)-
10/10!

I think I was first introduced to Confoti by Jenn2999, who used it for her engagement party. I loved the idea! DH and I however, wanted a little spin on it: we gathered up pictures of all our close friends and family who would be attending the wedding, and made the confetti out of the pictures. We also included family members that had died. It was actually a great way to have them there at the wedding. Call us crazy, but we also included pets of the families. It was just really fun and people loved to look through the pictures. Confoti lets you choose 3 accent colors to add into the confetti to match your wedding or party colors. They were nice to work with, and even let me submit an extra picture after I placed the order, because we forgot to add DH's aunt's dog!



Cake Topper: Thumbprint Kids (www.thumbprintkids.com)-
10/10!

I have to say, this was the one thing that I REALLY wanted to have at my wedding. Dawn, the woman who makes these toppers, is so very talented. I just came across her website online, because my DH has long black hair and you never see a topper with a long-haired groom. Well, I had to have one. They are quite pricey, but they are worth it. They come with a wooden base and a glass dome so that you can display the topper in your home after the wedding. I sent pictures of every piece of attire that DH and I would be wearing, and pictures of us, so that she could copy it for the topper. I was very happy with the finished product.








And lastly... DIY projects:

Kissing Balls:



Petal Cones:





Place Cards:



I DO Letters:



OOT Boxes:





And my personal favorite...

Candy Table Name Theme:

We had 11 tables, and each was named after a different candy, which was placed on that table in a crystal bowl.





Everyone enjoyed this, and even some people were mingling with other tables to sample their candy!

Well, this is the end of my review. I hope that you enjoyed reading it, and found it informative. Please feel free to FM if you have any questions.

Re: Follow the yellow brick road to glinda_goodwitch's June 17th wedding review! Jericho Terrace, Sherwood Triart, Flower Michele, Body Rock...Maryland and DC vendors too!!

congratulations great review, i am getting married in the same room so it was nice to read your thoughts and comments and i loved your pictures,

Re: Follow the yellow brick road to glinda_goodwitch's June 17th wedding review! Jericho Terrace, Sherwood Triart, Flower Michele, Body Rock...Maryland and DC vendors too!!

Congrats!!!

Everything looked BEAUTIFUL!!!

Re: Follow the yellow brick road to glinda_goodwitch's June 17th wedding review! Jericho Terrace, Sherwood Triart, Flower Michele, Body Rock...Maryland and DC vendors too!!

Great review! Sounds like you had a wonderful day!

Re: Follow the yellow brick road to glinda_goodwitch's June 17th wedding review! Jericho Terrace, Sherwood Triart, Flower Michele, Body Rock...Maryland and DC vendors too!!

Thank You for such a wonderful and detailed review. It always makes me happy to read about pleased JT brides - and my reception is in the sklight room which looked AMAZING in your ceremony pictures!

I also love your groomsman gifts - that is such a great idea

Your wedding looked amazing!!! CONGRATS!

Re: Follow the yellow brick road to glinda_goodwitch's June 17th wedding review! Jericho Terrace, Sherwood Triart, Flower Michele, Body Rock...Maryland and DC vendors too!!

Congratulations! What a thorough review - you looked beautiful (love the corset!) and you had such great favors! I'm sure your honestly about your DJ will help future brides.

Wishing you a lifetime of happiness!

Re: Follow the yellow brick road to glinda_goodwitch's June 17th wedding review! Jericho Terrace, Sherwood Triart, Flower Michele, Body Rock...Maryland and DC vendors too!!

Great Review. Thanks for all of the details. You looked beautiful!
I sent you a FM.

Re: Follow the yellow brick road to glinda_goodwitch's June 17th wedding review! Jericho Terrace, Sherwood Triart, Flower Michele, Body Rock...Maryland and DC vendors too!!

Congrats on your wedding!!!!!! Your review was wonderful and very thorough!!! Sorry that your DJ wasn't everything you wanted it to be, but at least the party continued on!!! Your wedidng photos are beautiful Beth and you look amazing in every single one of them!!

Re: Follow the yellow brick road to glinda_goodwitch's June 17th wedding review! Jericho Terrace, Sherwood Triart, Flower Michele, Body Rock...Maryland and DC vendors too!!

Everything looks absolutely great!
Much luck!!!!

Re: Follow the yellow brick road to glinda_goodwitch's June 17th wedding review! Jericho Terrace, Sherwood Triart, Flower Michele, Body Rock...Maryland and DC vendors too!!

Great Review Beth. Everything looked wonderful and I am glad you had a great day!

Re: Follow the yellow brick road to glinda_goodwitch's June 17th wedding review! Jericho Terrace, Sherwood Triart, Flower Michele, Body Rock...Maryland and DC vendors too!!

GORGEOUS PICS!!! I loved your review! Great job!

Re: Follow the yellow brick road to glinda_goodwitch's June 17th wedding review! Jericho Terrace, Sherwood Triart, Flower Michele, Body Rock...Maryland and DC vendors too!!

Excellent review! Thanks for posting this after you lost it the first time.

Re: Follow the yellow brick road to glinda_goodwitch's June 17th wedding review! Jericho Terrace, Sherwood Triart, Flower Michele, Body Rock...Maryland and DC vendors too!!

Great Review! Congrats! LOVE the candy table idea!!!!!

Re: Follow the yellow brick road to glinda_goodwitch's June 17th wedding review! Jericho Terrace, Sherwood Triart, Flower Michele, Body Rock...Maryland and DC vendors too!!

Great review! Glad you enjoyed your special day!

Re: Follow the yellow brick road to glinda_goodwitch's June 17th wedding review! Jericho Terrace, Sherwood Triart, Flower Michele, Body Rock...Maryland and DC vendors too!!

amazing review. gorgeous pics. the candy table names is very cool idea. thanks for sharing your experience.

Re: Follow the yellow brick road to glinda_goodwitch's June 17th wedding review! Jericho Terrace, Sherwood Triart, Flower Michele, Body Rock...Maryland and DC vendors too!!

Great Review...looks like it was a great wedding too! We also had a not-so-great experience with Body Rock!

Re: Follow the yellow brick road to glinda_goodwitch's June 17th wedding review! Jericho Terrace, Sherwood Triart, Flower Michele, Body Rock...Maryland and DC vendors too!!

Wonderful review Beth!! Your pics are amazing!! You looked so beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: Follow the yellow brick road to glinda_goodwitch's June 17th wedding review! Jericho Terrace, Sherwood Triart, Flower Michele, Body Rock...Maryland and DC vendors too!!

congrats beth, thank you for sharing your review with us. You look gorgeous.

Re: Follow the yellow brick road to glinda_goodwitch's June 17th wedding review! Jericho Terrace, Sherwood Triart, Flower Michele, Body Rock...Maryland and DC vendors too!!

Wonderful review! Thank you for posting it, I love your cake and cake topper! The cake topper looks soooo much like you guys. :D

Re: Follow the yellow brick road to glinda_goodwitch's June 17th wedding review! Jericho Terrace, Sherwood Triart, Flower Michele, Body Rock...Maryland and DC vendors too!!

AWW! You both look amazing!

I LOVE this review, because it is not at ALL sugar coated. It is completely honest and it shows something about your character...like 'Hey I had a few bumps on the (yellow brick) road... but my day was fantastic!'

I LOVE the candy table thing... would you mind if I decide to borrow it? I just think it is sooo clever... and I LOOOOOOOVE candy...

Fantastic review!!!