May 9, 2009 Wedding Review of Atlantica, Designs by Ahn, DJ Twix, Cly Creation, etc

When searching this site for a review on Atlantica, they most recent one was from years ago, so I figure I would post a review of my May 9, 2009 wedding in hopes that it will help people make their decision.

My now-husband and I really wanted to have our wedding in Aruba but due to the economy, we decided to have it at home in NY. We wanted something different and unique and if possible, on the beach. Atlantica was the PERFECT place for us. Yes, it is a bit on the pricer side than other RH’s on the island, but it is worth every penny. Below is my review of my vendors and Atlantica. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to FM me. I will also post some professional and non-professional pics.

All professional pics are courtesy of Cly Creation.

Invitation - Humble Beginnings - A+++!
We always wanted letterpress invitations but they are SO EXPENSIVE. It turned out my friends friend was starting her own letterpress company so we were able ot get an amazing deal.

They were also very professional and easy to work with. As soon as I explained what I was looking for they were able to come up with some samples and colors. It was so easy!

The paper was so thick and luxurious and everything was made perfectly. We recieved SO MANY COMPLEMENTS on them!

Atlantica – A+++!
As I said before, Atlantica was just AMAZING. From the moment we went in to have our initial consultant and view the place to the day of the wedding, the service, attentitiveness of the staff was incredible. They really pay attention to what you want and all the little details – they understand that it is your special day and it should be exactly the way you envisioned it.

Lisa was our coordinator and she was great to work with. She helped us create our own custom menu and did her best to give us the best price. She had some very good suggestions and never tried to pressure us or anything. On the day of, we had Jeff as our matire’d and Nicole as our bridal attendant. Both were awesome and did everything they could to make sure we were comfortable, had everything we needed and everything went so smoothly. They really listened to what we wanted and spent time with us prior to the day-of to go through our schedule and listen to any little nuiances we wanted them to pay attention to.

I had two of my very good friends be day-of coordinators. They had done this 20+ times so I knew I was in good hands. My guests said they have never seen a wedding go so smoothly and they never had such great service from a RH. My day-of coordinators also came to my personal tasting (you get two, one personal for your main course and one group for all the cocktail hour and cakes) and they said they had never seen a RH who listened to what you wanted and made sure to modify any items we wanted changed.

The day of our wedding, there was no afternoon wedding ahead of us so we were able to ask our vendors to come early to set up and we ourselves went a bit early to take photos on the beach. From the moment we stepped in, I knew all the months we went to plan our wedding was totally worth it. Atlantica was just BEAUTIFUL and the staff was incredible. I never felt stressed or had to worry about anything bc I knew the staff or my coordinators would take care of it – and they did! All my guests said it was the most elegant, classy, beautiful wedding they had ever been to and the ceremony under the tent facing the beach was just beautiful!. ?

Cocktail hour was a huge hit – it is held under the tent and the turnover from the ceremony set-up to cocktail hour is seamless I hear. Everyone raved about the food and the raw bar was a huge success! We had two carving stations, pasta bar, dumpling station and many passed hors d’ourves. Everyone was pretty stuffed afterwards.

The main reception was just so beautifully laid out and even though we had about 200 guests, it still felt roomy. Although some people left early, the staff made sure everyone left with a favor and all was attended to.

As the evening wrapped up, I never felt rushed out or anything. They let us take our time gathering our things and made sure we took home our cake, extra favors and centerpieces. It was all very organized and well done.

I absolutely LOVED Atlantic and highly recommend it to everyone.

Dress – Priscilla of Boston, Roslyn – A+++!

I know PoB sometimes gets a bad rap but I really had a plesant time working with the Roslyn store. Kathy was my salesperson and she was very nice and easy to work with. She met with me even though I didn’t have an appt and let me try on several dresses. Of course I LOVED the first one I picked and bought it on the spot. ? It even came EARLY! Which was fantastic as it was supposed to come just 2 weeks before my wedding.

For my bridesmaids dresses I decided to get them at PoB as well. I went to the one in Manhattan and boy was that a mistake. They were HORRIBLE!!! They were mean bc I had not bought my bridal gown there and so technically I wasn’t there “customer”. They treated us so poorly and I went back to Roslyn to complain and they took care of me there. The bridesmaids dresses also came early so all worked out well.

Florist – Designs by Ahn – A+++!

Victoria at Desgins by Ahn is so talented! I had seen a Victorian, pastel, matted bouquet in Martha Stewart’s bridal magazine and I brought it to her as I had seen a prior bouquet she had done that was similar and I got EXACTLY what I wanted. I just explained my concept to her (elegant, Victorian, circa 1920s beach look) and she totally got it! She was able to really work in my price range and I let her run with her creativity and it came out perfectly.

Everyone complemented my bouquet and boutinners and the centerpieces were unique! She is located in Manhattan so it was great for me to stop by during work for my consultations and she is patient and willing to fix things till it’s the way you want it.

She arrived early to set up and everyone was just done to perfection. HIGHLY RECOMMEND HER! I have posted photos of my bouquet below.

Hair and Make-Up – VickyC5 – A+++!

Many of my friends have used Vicky so I knew I was in good hands. She has a studio in Bayside which we got ready at and I had Vicky to mine personally. She is just so amazing at what she does. I went in for a trial and she immediately got the look I was going for and made some suggestions as well. She has a lot of staff so hair and make up for 4 of my bridesmaids and myself only took 2.5 hrs!

I also paid for someone to come out to Atlantica with me to stay with me throughout the night to touch up on my make-up and re-do my hair after the ceremony for a different look for the reception. She also retouched my bridesmaids, mom, etc so it was well worth it! I stayed looking fresh all evening!

Vicky has great package deals so it makes it so easy! I also rented my jewelry and veil from her so did not have to purchase that separately.

DJ – DJ Twix – A+++!

I was having a friend MC my wedding so I did not need the DJ to speak or do anything but play music and Tommy aka DJ Twix did exactly that! He was great to work with and played great music all night long.

Before the wedding I sent him all my ceremony music as well as the first dance and father/daughter dance song and so it was all set beforehand. I also just let him know the type of music we liked and what NOT to play.

He also brought two wireless mics to use during the ceremony and set up speakers under the tent for our ceremony music. It all worked out perfectly and he was just a breeze to work with. Price wise, he cannot be beat!!!

Photographer – Cly Creation – A+++!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE our photographer. I think the pictures speak for themselves. It was just AMAZING. Our engagement photos were awesome – we took them in central park and the Natural History Museum and they were amazing.

We wanted a photojournalistic style and its exactly what we got. Janell and team were so professional and listened to what we wanted but I knew I could trust their creativity and artistic talent. Their work is just so awesome you must check out their site! www.clycreation.com

Prior to the wedding I gave them a list of photos we wanted and they mdae sure they got it all.

Our package was a 1 hour engagement session (which went beyond an hour so they were def flexible), 8 hrs during the wedding, an engagement book (which we had people sign and leave messages during the wedding), and an album for ourselves. They customize each package and were relatively well priced.

They are located in Manhattan so again, very easy for me to pop during work for contract signing, proof viewing, etc.

Cake – Atlantica – A+++!
Atlantica did our cake and it was PERFECT! It is very hard to find a tasteful beach cake, and we finally found one online and showed it to the representatives of the bakery at the group tasting and boy did they deliver. It looks EXACTLY like the photo! The toppers we had purchased from Korea for some cultural flair.

The cake not only looked good, it tasted yummy as well. We had red velvet and chocolate with raspberry and all the guests said it was the tastiest cake they’ve had at a wedding.

Placecards – Shell Horizons – A+++!

We decided to write our placecards on shells. Shell Horizons is a wholesaler and you have to purchase at least $50 worth of shells. It worked out well! We had our friends write them in and at Atlantica they placed it on a table with sand on it.

People normally throw away their placecards but many of our guests took them home and even took photos of them!

I explained to our florist what we were doing and she created the PERFECT centerpiece for the table, which was later put on the bar.

That’s all I could think of for now. I LOVED EVERY SINGLE VENDOR! And absolutely loved my wedding and wouldn’t have changed anything about it at all.

If you have any questions, let me know! More pictures to come!