♥jessandjimis♥ 9.2.07 Wedding Review: featuring Right Angle, Jenn and Oksana, M&V Limos, The Metropolitan, Hidden Essence and a whole bunch of DIY’s!!! PICS PICS PICS galore!

Let me just start out by saying each one of my vendors are saints! They all dealt with me for a year and a half and I feel like I’ve become friends with them. I’m so indecisive and so uncertain about so many things that I’ve contacted each one of them so many times thru out this whole planning process. But if there’s one thing that I’m certain about, it’s that my wedding day was absolutely perfect! I can’t thank my vendors enough in making my day so right. Read on and see how brilliant they all are and how amazing my day turned out.


Also, thank you to LIWeddings. This is an ingenious website filled with talented people. Without the creativity of all of you, my wedding would’ve been so “no-frills”. I was still getting ideas a month before my wedding. You have all given me the inspiration to create and become an impressive DIYer. I got so many compliments on all the details and accents that I incorporated in my wedding. Guests really do notice. It is also this site that made my day perfect. I hope I can return the favor with a helpful review.



First let me start off with ME! A+++++ (hahahaha)
I was so surprised with how I held up the WHOLE day. I didn’t cry which I don’t know how. I was calm the whole week before and I figured I would start freaking out like 2 days before the wedding. The day before the wedding, I was home alone and I started to get a little nervous. So I went to my bridesmaids’ house. I didn’t wanna be there either so I came home and realized that I just needed some time alone. That helped a lot so if you get a chance to be alone for like an hour, do it. Then I just waited around to go to bed. I woke up and felt the same. I wasn’t freaking out but I was excited b/c it was my wedding day. I went and got coffee and bagels and was home in time for my bridesmaids to arrive. While Jenn and Oksana were working on the bridal party, I was watching “Clueless” and roaming around the house, it was really weird. But I didn’t freak out! The only time that I started to shed a tear was when I was at the church and everyone got out of the limo and left me in there alone. I’m not one to cry in front of people so the second I had to myself I started tearing. Good thing there were cocktail napkins in the limo! When it came time to do vows, I thought I was gonna lose it when I heard Jim’s voice crack. But I held it in b/c I knew if I started, I wouldn’t stop. The reception was unbelievable. It lasted FOREVER!! I really have no secret for that because I dunno how that happened. I’ve been told and I’ve even read on here that it flies by, but not mine. It really felt like forever. I had a regular 1-hour cocktail and 4 hour reception. When dinner was at our table, I had time to eat it. I felt weird so I stopped eating! I got up and walked around and said hi to people and just looked around in amazement. THIS is what I created and it was such a good moment. Everything was perfect.
The only thing I could think of that kept me calm and helped me the most was to expect everything and ANYthing! I expected to be crazy a week before the wedding, I expected rain, I thought my limo wasn’t gonna show up, I thought people wouldn’t be dancing and I thought I was gonna miss every minute because I was “too busy”. The absolute opposite is what happened and I can’t stress enough how incredible my day was.
This is me right before I walked down the isle




Weather: A+++++
AMAZING!!!!! It was sunny and 76 degrees with breezes at just the right moments and no humidity. It was just perfect. I was telling Jim that it could rain for the rest of my life because I had the most amazing wedding weather.
A butterfly that was hanging out when we were taking pictures. That’s how beautiful and perfect it was.




Church: A
St. Matthew Roman Catholic Church
631.499.8520
I received my first communion and confirmation at this church. My sister was married there and my brother was married there. It’s only natural that I got married there too. I’ve always imagined my wedding there anyway. Even if my husband was die hard religious, I wouldn’t have had it any other way. But good thing Jim’s family didn’t belong to a church. Pre-Cana was actually made very interesting by Deacon McQuade and Deacon Carmine. Me and Jim fought all the time, in a good way though. I feel that we really got what we were supposed to out of it. We sorted out our differences and came to agreements.

Our organist, Donna Olsen was so sweet. She always made time for our questions and she was very helpful in suggesting songs. Our priest Father Bonnie, who married my sister and my brother, was as always so involved. Although he did forget for a second that we were getting married but as the day got closer he was very attentive. He went over EVERYTHING at the rehearsal. Literally, my rehearsal was an hour long!!! But everything went smoothly the day of so I guess it paid off. We also had two other Filipino priests, Father Edward and Father Nestor, who were co-celebrants. My family is very religious so my mom asked them to be part of it as well. Three priests means we’ll be blessed three times…or something like that. We had a Filipino ceremony so the two additional priests made it more traditional. In a traditional Filipino ceremony, there are veil sponsors, cord sponsors, candle sponsors and primary sponsors…kind of like at a confirmation. So in total, there were about 40 people involved in our ceremony. Our church was very accommodating with that.




Violinist-big fat F
Trissy Benstock
She never showed up! We gave her a $50 deposit that she cashed!! The funny thing is, I found her thru my church, she won’t be getting blessed three times!!! This is the only thing that went wrong (so to speak) but the show still went on with out her and could’ve went on without her all along. Very miniscule mishap but that didn’t put a damper on our day.




Limousine: A+
M & V Limousine
Jarrod
631.543.0908
I called and priced out a lot of limo companies and they all seemed shady. All prices were different and went from one extreme to another. I called M & V and they broke down the cost of everything, without me even asking. They explained that a fuel charge was already included and so was a 20% service charge. Many other companies may include that too but I liked how they told me off the bat that there were no hidden fees. I went to the showroom to check out the limos and was very pleased. I met with Jarrod and he was very nice and professional. He wasn’t cocky or didn’t have a “salesman” attitude. He was honest and helpful. I booked with a friend who was also getting married and he gave us 10% off! They own all vehicles so they do not sub-contract, meaning they don’t use other company’s vehicles. Like if they only own three Hummers and people requested three Hummers in one day, they won’t book any more Hummers for that day. Some companies book limos that they don’t have and just rely on using other companies. I really liked that because it lessened the chance for error. And indeed, the day of, I got the Hummer I saw and requested. Not to mention it was immaculate too!
My bridesmaid also booked M & V for my bachelorette party. We got a Chrysler 300 and again the service was excellent. John was our driver and he was a real sweetheart. He was very patient with us and didn’t give us a hard time being that we were all drunk. I requested him for my wedding but instead we got a female driver. I forgot her name but she was real nice too.
The limo driver helping me





Rings: A+
Whitehall Jewellers
Mike (engagement ring) / Bob (wedding Bands)
516.877.9524
I wanted a solitaire engagement ring and a unique shape. It was hard to find an oval shaped diamond but Mike found it for us at one of Whitehall’s re-mount shows. I wasn’t there so I can’t really tell you how that went. What I can tell you though is that my engagement ring is beautiful!! When it came time to buy our wedding bands, I knew exactly what I wanted. Nothing too fancy, just something that was simple and elegant. It was Jim who didn’t know what he wanted. We are both not very big fans of jewelry so it was really hard. He’s an electrician so he knew he wouldn’t really wear it to work. We ended up getting a titanium band, which is a stronger metal than gold. I got a channel set diamond band in white gold.
Bob was very helpful. He was very accommodating and he cleaned my engagement ring every time we came in. He would even have it rhodiumed which made my ring nice and shiny. I don’t remember paying for engraving so I think that was free. Then again, I don’t even know if there’s a fee for that anyway.





Tuxedos: A++
RSVP Tuxedos
Gene & Alicia
631.499.2277
At first, Jim and I wanted fuchsia ties and vests. Not many places had that color available. RSVP was right in my town so I went in and they actually had the color but not the samples. They called me when the samples were in and it was a perfect match. The tuxedo we chose was the Perry Ellis, Sterling. Gene and Alicia were very friendly and helpful. Both were also very honest about prices and about styles. We ended up going with silver vests and ties because like always, I changed my mind. One of the GM’s jackets was too big and our jr. GM’s was too tight. But they just brought them back and exchanged jackets with no problem. All the guys looked good the day of and I’m glad we went with silver; fuchsia would’ve just been too much pink.





Bridal Salon: C
Renate’s Boutique
631.226.1919
Bride: Maggie Sottero - Felicity in diamond white
When I first went to Renate’s, I was working with Caitlin (whom I give an A+++++). She was amazing!! She actually found THE DRESS. She was an aspiring wedding dress designer and actually got a job working with a manufacturer so she left Renate’s about half way into my dress experience. Now, if there is one thing I could change about my wedding, it’s the bridal salon. After Caitlin left, the service was terrible. They didn’t make me feel special and they just didn’t kiss my a$$. I feel like I got gypped out of the whole dress experience. I called to set up my first fitting for when my sister was in town. Two days after I scheduled, someone from Renate’s called and tells me that my dress is in. I told them I know and that I already have and appointment for my first fitting. So I really never got “The Call”.
Bride Alterations: A-
Gigi did the alterations on my dress. I give her a separate grade only because she was pleasant to work with and her work couldn’t be compared to the crappy service there. My first fitting with her was about a month and a half before the wedding. The top fit like a glove so all it needed was a hem. I give her a minus because I told her that I wanted the cap sleeves on my dress to fully become detachable, as they were only snaps in the front. The second fitting the hem was done and she did my bustle but the straps were still attached. I scheduled to pick up my dress Friday before the wedding. On Thursday I get a call from Gigi asking me if I wanted snaps put on the back of the cap sleeves. Uhhh…yeah! It was done when I picked up the dress, which is all that mattered anyway but it was annoying that she kept asking me. But come the day of, my sleeves kept falling off. I only wanted to wear them for the ceremony anyway so I ripped them off in the limo.
Close up of beading

My sleeves falling off

Love this shot of my dress



Bride’s Accessories:
Shoe’s – A
Sandy’s Shoes
I went to Sandy’s and found a pair of shoes that I loved right away. The style name is Daisy. They were very comfortable. All of our shoes were bought at Sandy’s. They have the biggest selection of bridal shoes and good prices. I just didn’t like their customer service at times. Although, they were very helpful with dying the shoes for the bridal party.


Veil – A+
Veil Shop
I purchased my veil from the Veilshop.com. It’s a pretty cool website, you can basically build your own veil. I wanted a diamond white, full, 2-tier veil, nothing fancy. I was so sick of seeing ridiculously priced veils at bridal salons and veilshop.com’s prices were reasonable. I got my veil within a week. It was perfectly packaged and ready to wear. Definitely check out this site before spending hundreds on a veil from a bridal salon.



Headpiece – B
Eyelash Bar @ the Source Mall
516.794.4919
I’m not really into tiaras or spending a lot of money on a headpiece that would just tarnish. I found the Eyelash Bar by accident. I saw that they sold hair accessories and headpieces so I decided to go in and check it out. I found a double stranded headband that would go perfect with the look I wanted. The only thing about my headpiece I didn’t like was that it didn’t shine in my pictures. For 15 bucks though, who cares right?


Garter - A
A.C. Moore
I wanted to wear something that went with my color scheme and I saw this at A.C. Moore in the bachelorette section. I bought two of them, one for my throw away. I sewed a blue flower on the one I wore as my “something blue”.


Slip/petticoat - A+
This was my something borrowed. My friend got married in May and offered to lend me her skirt. It went perfect with my dress. I was gonna buy the exact one anyway because she purchased it at Renate’s. Lucky for me, it was free so I used it as my something borrowed.
This is the best picture I could find of my slip



Matron of Honor: Alfred Angelo - 6138 in Fuchsia
I let my sister pick out her dress because she’s so anal and I wanted her to feel hott. She picked out a halter dress that had a belt with a rhinestone buckle. They told her she was in between sizes so she opted for the bigger size just to be safe. The sample size fit like a glove, which was the smaller size she could’ve went with. After Gigi altered it, my sister said it didn’t fit as well as the sample. It still looked fabulous on her and she looked hott! Gigi made the hem a little mini train. It came out really nice.
Close up of her dress


Bridesmaid: Alfred Angelo - 6640 in Fuchsia
The dresses were well made. They had boning throughout the bodice, which gave it a very fitted look. Two of my bridesmaids got their dresses altered there. They came out good except one bridesmaid was dissatisfied with the service at Renate’s.



Junior Bridesmaid: Alfred Angelo – 6311 in Fuchsia
My junior bridesmaid waited until last minute to order her dress. So I ended up ordering it at the Commack Wedding Center. I went with them because it was close and I knew they had the best prices. They charged me a $30 rush fee, but that was totally understandable. I’ve been there before and they’re customer service isn’t that great. We were in and out. We paid for the dress in full and it came in two weeks later, which was sooner than I expected. My junior bridesmaid had the dress altered elsewhere. It came out good and she seemed happy.
Close up of her dress


Flower Girl: Group USA – (don’t know the style number)
I searched all over for the perfect dress for my niece. I wanted her to look like a mini bride and wanted to show off her back so I looked for a halter dress. There aren’t that many dresses that are full satin. Many dresses had a sheer overlay, a look I wasn’t too crazy about. I found the dress on Brides.com, only to discover that Group USA no longer makes the dress. So I contacted the bridal stores that were on the website. I was able to find the color and size at Camille La Vie in the Palisades Center upstate. I bought it over the phone and it came in less than a week! We got the dress altered at Renate’s by Gigi and she did a fantastic job. My niece looked like a doll. Everyone adored her.
Close up of her beading

Full view of it (that’s how she walked into the reception by the way – such a diva!)

The back of her dress-LOVE it!




Florist: A++++
Hidden Essence
631.327.1693
Michelle and Matt
From day one, they have been so involved with everything. I showed Michelle a picture of the centerpiece that I wanted and she totally made it come to life. It was hard to find the vases but she helped me search for them and we found them on ebay. I bought them myself so at the end of the reception, the guests were able to take the whole centerpiece home. I had to make sure of that because I, myself, hate going to a wedding and I can’t take the vase or flowerstand home, that’s the nicest part of the centerpiece!!
I changed my mind so many times that I probably drove Michelle and Matt up the wall. But they were so patient with my decisions and my non-stop emails. I was changing and adding things up until two days before my wedding. Not only was their work fantastic but their prices were great too. She totally worked with my budget and I thought that was a very big plus.
Our bouquets came out perfect, our centerpieces looked outstanding and our church looked flawless. When it came to picking church flowers or bouquets, I was totally clueless. I’m not really a big flower person. Michelle showed me a bunch of pictures and samples and asked me a bunch of questions to get a feel of what I would like. The only thing I was certain about was color and the centerpieces. I left the rest to them and they did a better job than I could have ever imagined. Nothing was left out, they paid attention to every detail.
I would also like to add that Michelle is a former employee of a highly sought out vendor on here. I can guarantee that her quality, talent and skill are the same at probably a fraction of the price. Definitely check her out!







DJ: A++++
Now Sounds Productions
516.805.9223
Benny
I was referred to Benny thru a friend of mine. He owns his own DJ company and is also a resident DJ at both Nutty Irishman’s. To be honest, I wasn’t sure how he’d be at a wedding. So at my friend’s bar-b-que last summer that he DJ’d, he did a “mach wedding” for us. We had a fake bridal party and of course me and Jim played bride and groom. He introduced everyone like it was a real reception and even went into the first dance. He got everyone at the bar-b-que pumped so we knew he would do an awesome job at our wedding. We booked him on the spot. My friend also booked him for her May 07 wedding so we really got to see him in action then too. He was great the day of our wedding. He had the guests laughing and most importantly, had them on the dance floor. We met up at a Starbucks to finalize details so it was chill and relaxed. We weren’t stuck in a DJ office talking deals and money. He really got to know my personality, which made it easy for him to play the crowd at the wedding. He knows I like to have fun and that my family loves line-dancing!! I, however, am not a fan of line-dancing. So he mixed up-to-date songs to go with line-dance moves! It was great and my guests loved it! I highly recommend him for his service, his prices…oh and free admission to the Nutty! Shhh…don’t tell him I told you that.


My nephew breakdancing

The mach wedding




Hair: A+++
Jenn the Hair Genie
When I had my trial with Jenn, I showed her like three different pictures saying that I wanted to look like all three! As funny as it sounds, she understood the look I was going for. I doubted my hair because it is pin straight and it won’t curl for anything! Jenn used her magic and nailed my trial. On the day of, my hair came out even better than I imagined. I gave her extensions that I had bought and she pinned and fitted them to my hair at the trial. She was sweet enough to sew them together and attach the clips to them. and of course she brought them the day of. I communicated with her a lot thru email and she was always quick to respond. Two girls had extensions and she had no problem putting them in. I told her about them beforehand though so it wasn’t a surprise. I was amzed with her work after she did 8 people!! Everyone’s hair looked great and she didn’t seam to rush at all. Most importantly, my pin straight hair stayed curly all night!!
Here’s a pic with no veil on

The girls, my sister is the first one

Five hours later my hair is still just as curly

Even my nieces soft hair stayed




Make Up: A+++
Make Up by Oksana
I’m not really a big make up person so I wasn’t sure if I was gonna like make up on me. I told Oksana that I wanted to look natural and nothing too extreme. She did exactly that and I felt comfortable. Oksana is the funniest person ever. When I met her at my trial, I knew having her around on my wedding day would put me at ease. Once she was done with my trial, I looked in the mirror and was shocked! I looked so pretty!!! On the day of the wedding, I got the same feeling and I didn’t even feel like I was wearing make up. She was very responsive in her emails and answered any little questions I had. She did me, my mom, my sister and one of my bridesmaids. We looked natural and the make up lasted for the whole night, crying and all! She truly is an artist.




Jenn and Oksana are a great team. They are hysterical and so sweet. Hair and make up went smoothly. They definitely brightened up the morning. I highly recommend them not only for their services but also to put you at ease the day of your wedding.



Photography: A+++++(w/honors)
Right Angle Studios
516.932.2022
Where do I begin? I don’t think words can describe what a joy it has been to work with George. Photography was the hardest vendor for me to book. I wanted someone who could take kick a$$ pictures and not charge me a zillion dollars. I’ve heard so many good things on here about George so I met with him. His personality was great, his work was great and his prices were great. George was perfect! I booked with him a few days after. There was a mix-up with my wedding date where he was double booked so he offered me his partner Joe. I met with Joe and loved him too! He was funny and had a great personality. Jim and I were confidant that we booked the right photographer. George did our engagement shoot at Pearsall Park in Amityville. We were so comfortable taking pictures with him that we were kinda bummed that he wasn’t gonna be there at our wedding. Lucky me, the bride who was booked my day, cancelled. George was available on my day now! So I had two phenomenal photographers and I couldn’t have been happier. The day of the wedding, George came to me and Joe went to Jim. As soon as George got to my house, I had this permanent smile on my face (unless he told me no smiling…lol). But that’s what George did, he just automatically put a smile on my face. He wasn’t one of those mean photographers that were demanding or bothersome. He was cool and made everyone comfortable. When I arrived at the church, Joe greeted me in the limo and I think my smile got even bigger. These two were just amazing. George even gave me a lil pep talk before I walked down the isle and it was really sweet. He really does more than just take pictures. To be honest, I think it was George that kept me calm the whole day. He was always around so I didn’t cry and I didn’t get nervous. I feel like I need to emphasize on Joe more because everyone knows George from Right Angle and we all know how fantastic he is. If George is booked your day and he suggests Joe, have NO WORRIES or doubts!!! He is amazing and very talented. It’s also funny how excited he gets when he takes good pictures. He kept showing me pictures on his camera, it was really cute. I’m really glad we had two photographers. While one was taking pictures of us saying our vows, another was taking pictures of our guest’s reactions. One was taking a picture of me walking down the isle, another was taking a picture of Jim seeing me for the first time. I highly recommend a second photographer.
Our proofs came out awesome! First of all, they came in 3 weeks. So by the time I got back from my honeymoon, they were here. It totally got rid of my post-wedding depression. We had well over 1000 proofs! I’ve been looking at them for about a week now and I still can’t make up my mind because ALL my pics came out great. It’s funny because George actually called me to see if there was anything wrong with the proofs because I haven’t called him to go over albums and stuff. Then again, that’s George always caring and showing concern. He always made me feel like a special bride…or maybe I am!
I really don’t think there are enough words to describe how wonderful George and Joe are. My bridal party and even my guests loved them both and were telling me how great they were. I could go on and on about them but I’m gonna stop here because I don’t want George to get a big head if he reads this. HAHA!!! (Love ya George!)






Me and the two best photographers in the world




Video: A+ (pending video)
Right Angle Studios
516.932.2022
I booked video through George so there is no doubt in my mind that it will come out like a blockbuster hit!! I actually forgot the name of the videographer but I will find it out soon, I promise. We liked him a lot. He made me do funny things but I actually got some good shots out of it. I’ll definitely elaborate more on video once it’s done and ready for my video release party!
The sexy shot that started it all

He made me play with my hair and put it in my face

Then I felt funny so I laughed




Reception Hall: A+++++
The Metropolitan
516.671.4444
Eileen
When we set a date, we thought we had so much time to book a hall. Not realizing that Labor Day weekend was so popular. We knew we didn’t want a typical commercial catering hall, we wanted something with a different vibe. A lot of the places we liked were already booked. We looked at so many places and just didn’t fall in love. I started freaking out because I didn’t wanna just settle on any hall. Jim was actually looking at the reception guide on this site and came across The Metropolitan. We called and it was available so we set up an appointment with Eileen to see it as soon as possible. As soon as we walked in, we knew it was our place. We absolutely loved it. We loved the balcony, the high ceilings, the long drapes, the mahogany wood floor and just the overall atmosphere. Most importantly, there’s only one wedding at a time. We booked it immediately without even tasting the food! We went to a food tasting two months later and loved it even more. The food was outstanding. We sampled hot hors d oeuvres and all three entrees. Sooooo yummy! I could not wait to eat the food at the wedding. Our banquet manager, Eileen was very accommodating. She always knew who I was every time I called and was always able to answer my questions with pleasure. The day of the wedding, the staff at The Metropolitan put on an unbelievable show! Everything was in place from my wish bowl, favors, kids favors to my water bottles at the end of the night. Not one thing was misplaced or forgotten. They really listened to every one of my details. Our maitre d, Gene, was just the greatest. She was very helpful with everything and was there every second that I needed her. She made sure that Jim and I were eating and drinking, which was good because I was so thirsty all night and my drinks just kept disappearing. A bunch of us forgot stuff in the bridal suite and Gene took it home with her to make sure no one would take it. The next day she met us at The Metropolitan and we got all the stuff. Thank god she did that because I had left my wedding gift from Jim there. We were really grateful for everything she did and she totally made us feel like royalty.
So many of our guests are raving about our hall. Even on our wedding day they were coming up to us saying that this is a great place and the food is so good. The food really was delicious, I wish I could just go there and eat. If you are a Metropolitan bride, you have nothing to worry about.






This is the picture of the cake I wanted them to make

This is the actual cake they made – PERFECT!

♥jessandjimis♥ 9.2.07 Wedding Review: featuring Right Angle, Jenn and Oksana, M&V Limos, The Metropolitan, Hidden Essence and a whole bunch of DIY’s!!! PICS PICS PICS galore!

DIY’s: rateless =)
Me!


All my DIY’s were liweddings/Martha Stewart inspired. Feel free to FM me for more information.

Save the Dates- I got this idea from the Martha Stewart Weddings magazine. Plain white cardstock cut in thirds. Embroidery ribbon, corner cutter, hole puncher all bought from Michael’s.



Invitations- I bought the pocketfolds from Cardsandpockets.com. Printing and cutting was done by LYN Graphics (516.931.6000).





Unity Candle- Candles bought from an liw bride (Vicky1706). Ribbon bought from Michaels, pearl rope bought at Jo-Ann’s.


Cry box- Mini tissue boxes purchased at Bed, Bath and Beyond. Full sheet label paper from Staples.


Petal Cones- I printed my monogram on 8x10 cardstock and cut a circle around it with those fancy scissors.


Card box- Chest was bought from Michael’s. Jim added chains and hooks so that it opened but didn’t open all the way. He also propped it where it would stay open just enough to fit cards.


Memorial Candle- Candle and hurricane jar bought at A.C. Moore.


Wish Bowl- The cards I made myself from photo paper and I made my own template in MS word. The large hurricane I bought at TJ Maxx. The marbles were bought at the dollar store and I painted them pink with nail polish.




Favors- Bottles were bought at Specialtybottle.com. Olive Oil was bought at Costco. Organza bags from eBay seller efavormart. We put chili peppers in the organza bags and got those from Frye’s in AZ.




Children’s activity book- A lot of these images were searched in Google.




Children’s favor bags- Bought hot pink gift bags at Target. Filled them with candy, slinky’s, ring pop’s, crayons, pencils, pencil sharpeners and activity books.



Place Cards- M-azing chocolate bars bought from AmericaRX.com. Ribbon from Michael’s. I made up my own Template for the wrapper in MS word.




Parent’s Frame- Frames bought from A.C. Moore. Parent’s wedding pictures were enlarged at Staples.


Water Bottles- Water bottles bought at Costco, Kirkland brand. I made up my own template in MS word and printed them on full sheet label paper then cut to fit the bottles.


Bathroom baskets- This was the hottest item. The only thing left over was the baskets. Everything was either bought from Target, Wal-Mart or Harmon Beauty Supplies.





Acknowledgements-
Monogram- designed by an liw bride, babygap79


Napkins- bought from eBay seller milestoneoccasion.


Programs/Missalette’s, Flower girl basket, veil and cord for Filipino ceremony- My Godmother, who was also my moms Maid of Honor. She helped me plan my whole wedding.




Invites- Katie&Chris2006, without her helpful post, I would have never been able to DIY my invites.

♥jessandjimis♥ 9.2.07 Wedding Review: featuring Right Angle, Jenn and Oksana, M&V Limos, The Metropolitan, Hidden Essence and a whole bunch of DIY’s!!! PICS PICS PICS galore!

Pre-Wedding Events:

Shower- A+++++
My house
I wanted a party, not really a shower. So we invited all our friends and families, girls and guys. It was fiesta themed because all my parties have to be themed because I’m crazy like that. We served all Mexican food, arroz con pollo, tacos, fajitas and for dessert we even had churros! I actually kind of threw the shower for us. My sister aka Matron of Honor, lives in AZ so it was hard for her to plan anything and I didn’t want to put the burden on my bridal party because I know it can be a lot. I gave them things to do and they were all extermemly helpful. One of my bridesmaids is a pastry chef and she made the churros. When my sister came in from AZ for the shower, we did all the shopping for food and decorations. Our groomsmen also chipped in and brought the alcohol of course. Our “fiesta” shower turned out exactly how I wanted. Me and Jim had such a blast. I’m pretty sure our guests enjoyed too being that a majority of them didn't leave until midnight!!




Invites were ordered from vistaprint.com



Since it was fiesta themed, we gave out hot sauce as our favors. We got Texas Pete hot sauce from foodservicedirect.com. We stuck on our own labels that we ordered from celebrationsinchocolate.com


Registries-
Bloomingdale’s: A+
Excellent customer service. Staff was very knowledgeable and I didn’t get double gifted. All gifts purchased off a registry had complimentary gift-wrap and it was really pretty.
Bed, Bath and Beyond: B
Pretty much a self-help store so we did most of our registering online.
Thebigday.com- A
This was a honeymoon registry that we also booked our honeymoon thru. I worked with Farrah and she was excellent! She got us a great deal on our honeymoon and helped us with everything. We didn’t really receive much from this registry though.




Rehearsal Dinner- A++++
The Bonwit Inn
631.499.2068
I rarely ever eat here but for some reason I always wanted my rehearsal dinner to be at The Bonwit Inn. It was an excellent choice because the service was great and so was the food! We even got to take the leftovers home!! It was really cute because when we got home from our honeymoon, one of our servers remembered us and asked us how our honeymoon was. We felt cool.





I surprised Jim with a groom’s cake. Since my pet name for him is “jimi-bear”, I got him the “Hug Me” bear from Carvel. He loves ice-cream so it was perfect.


Our invitations were bought at A.C. Moore. I printed them myself on the computer using the template it comes with.


There were only four tables so I made only a few centerpieces. They were simple but nice enough to add a special touch. I bought the candles from Wicks and Things, the vases and confetti were from the dollar store.


We gave out favors at our rehearsal because there were so many people involved. We wanted everyone to take home a little something. I got the white buckets from the One Spot at Target, the cellophane was from Party City and the chocolates were from Wal-Mart. I printed out labels that read “True bliss begins with a hug, a promise and a kiss” and I filled the buckets with Hershey’s Hugs and Kisses and Dove Promises.


We gave everyone our gifts at the rehearsal dinner.
We got our parents tickets to a Dinner Cruise aboard the Martha Jefferson. They just went last week and said it was really nice and the food was good too.

Matron of honor/Bridesmaids got tote bags with their names embroidered. I filled them with t-shirts that each matched their personality, shot glasses, hair certificates for the day of, sweatpants and necklaces. Our MOH got shoes too.



Best Man/Groomsmen got matching sunglasses, shot glasses, t-shirts and a deck of cards. The gifts came in these cool bags that we got from the car show, GM made them so it was perfect!


Our jr. groomsman got new stuff for his PSP. Our jr. bridesmaid got a Nintendo DS game and a tote bag with her name on it. Our flower girl got an iPod shuffle, a tiara and a tote bag with her name on it.


They all got handheld fans in case it was hot the day of.
Our sponsors each received Mad Love reed diffusers from Pier 1 Imports.




Bachelor Party- A
I wasn’t there so I can’t really give it a fair grade. But Jim came home a happy drunk, fully dressed and in one piece. So the best man gets an A for that. They all had a good time. They went to dinner at The Bonwit Inn like a bunch of girls and then off to The Scene like a bunch of men. They booked a limo through a guy we met at the Met’s and Yankee game. I don’t even know the name of the company. But the limo was nice and the driver was cool. The limo came to pick them up at my house so I got to see everything.




Bachelorette Party- A+++
We went to The White House in the Hamptons. It was a great time but the floor was really slippery. Almost all of us fell at least once, either that or we were just really drunk! We pre-gamed at the Hilton Garden Inn, where we got rooms for the night. As mentioned earlier, we booked our limo through M&V Limo’s, John was the sweetest and didn’t care if we went into overtime. My bridesmaid did an awesome job planning my last night out!







Thank you so much for reading my review. I hope you found it helpful or at least entertaining. If there is something I missed or you have a question, let me know, post a comment or send an FM.

Pictures in my review were taken by Right Angle Studios, me or my friend Jenn.

Coming soon – jessandjimis Honeymoon Review!

Re: ?jessandjimis? 9.2.07 Wedding Review: featuring Right Angle, Jenn and Oksana, M&V Limos, The Metropolitan, Hidden Essence and a whole bunch of DIY’s!!! PICS PICS PICS galore!

Re: ?jessandjimis? 9.2.07 Wedding Review: featuring Right Angle, Jenn and Oksana, M&V Limos, The Metropolitan, Hidden Essence and a whole bunch of DIY’s!!! PICS PICS PICS galore!

Great review!!!!!!!!!!! Your pics are great, you looked amazing!!!!!!!

Re: ?jessandjimis? 9.2.07 Wedding Review: featuring Right Angle, Jenn and Oksana, M&V Limos, The Metropolitan, Hidden Essence and a whole bunch of DIY’s!!! PICS PICS PICS galore!

Aww Hall Twin, your wedding was beautiful!!!

Re: ?jessandjimis? 9.2.07 Wedding Review: featuring Right Angle, Jenn and Oksana, M&V Limos, The Metropolitan, Hidden Essence and a whole bunch of DIY’s!!! PICS PICS PICS galore!

What a gorgeous wedding! You looked fabulous! Thanks for posting this since there aren't too may reviews on The Metropolitan and I am considering that as my RH!

Congratulations!!

Re: ?jessandjimis? 9.2.07 Wedding Review: featuring Right Angle, Jenn and Oksana, M&V Limos, The Metropolitan, Hidden Essence and a whole bunch of DIY’s!!! PICS PICS PICS galore!

Great, detailed review. You did a LOVELY job on all your DIY stuff! I wish I had your energy!

Re: ?jessandjimis? 9.2.07 Wedding Review: featuring Right Angle, Jenn and Oksana, M&V Limos, The Metropolitan, Hidden Essence and a whole bunch of DIY’s!!! PICS PICS PICS galore!

WOW...amazing review.
Cogratulations!!!!!!!

Re: ?jessandjimis? 9.2.07 Wedding Review: featuring Right Angle, Jenn and Oksana, M&V Limos, The Metropolitan, Hidden Essence and a whole bunch of DIY’s!!! PICS PICS PICS galore!

Beautiful! And your flower girl was too cute!

Re: ?jessandjimis? 9.2.07 Wedding Review: featuring Right Angle, Jenn and Oksana, M&V Limos, The Metropolitan, Hidden Essence and a whole bunch of DIY’s!!! PICS PICS PICS galore!

Great review!! Congrats you and DH

Re: ?jessandjimis? 9.2.07 Wedding Review: featuring Right Angle, Jenn and Oksana, M&V Limos, The Metropolitan, Hidden Essence and a whole bunch of DIY’s!!! PICS PICS PICS galore!

wow!! i love your review!! YOU WERE A BEAUTIFUL BRIDE! It looks like you two had alot of fun with everything!! congrats and best luck as a newlywed!!!

Re: ?jessandjimis? 9.2.07 Wedding Review: featuring Right Angle, Jenn and Oksana, M&V Limos, The Metropolitan, Hidden Essence and a whole bunch of DIY’s!!! PICS PICS PICS galore!

Congratulations!!! You looked amazing!!!!

Re: ?jessandjimis? 9.2.07 Wedding Review: featuring Right Angle, Jenn and Oksana, M&V Limos, The Metropolitan, Hidden Essence and a whole bunch of DIY’s!!! PICS PICS PICS galore!

Great review! You looked amazing! Congrats

Re: ?jessandjimis? 9.2.07 Wedding Review: featuring Right Angle, Jenn and Oksana, M&V Limos, The Metropolitan, Hidden Essence and a whole bunch of DIY’s!!! PICS PICS PICS galore!

Wow you really put a lot of thought and work into it. Everything looks amazing. If you still happen to have instructions for the DIY invites, please FM me...I love the pocketfolds, but I'm very skeptical about the price and the process of putting them together.

Re: ?jessandjimis? 9.2.07 Wedding Review: featuring Right Angle, Jenn and Oksana, M&V Limos, The Metropolitan, Hidden Essence and a whole bunch of DIY’s!!! PICS PICS PICS galore!

Congrats!!!! So exciting!!!
Where did you get those mini tissue boxes?
they are to die for!!!!

I just searched for it at bbb and came up with zero

Re: ?jessandjimis? 9.2.07 Wedding Review: featuring Right Angle, Jenn and Oksana, M&V Limos, The Metropolitan, Hidden Essence and a whole bunch of DIY’s!!! PICS PICS PICS galore!

That sounds like an AMAZING wedding.. you looked beautiful and everything looked amazing!!!

Re: ?jessandjimis? 9.2.07 Wedding Review: featuring Right Angle, Jenn and Oksana, M&V Limos, The Metropolitan, Hidden Essence and a whole bunch of DIY’s!!! PICS PICS PICS galore!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!! I'm a Metropolitan Bride too!!!!!! Looks like you had an awesome day!

Re: ?jessandjimis? 9.2.07 Wedding Review: featuring Right Angle, Jenn and Oksana, M&V Limos, The Metropolitan, Hidden Essence and a whole bunch of DIY’s!!! PICS PICS PICS galore!

great review Your pictures came out amazing. Your niece is so cute!!

Re: ?jessandjimis? 9.2.07 Wedding Review: featuring Right Angle, Jenn and Oksana, M&V Limos, The Metropolitan, Hidden Essence and a whole bunch of DIY’s!!! PICS PICS PICS galore!

Everything down to the last detail was simply gorgeous!! Congrats