Michy2009's 9/18/10 Wedding-Westbury Manor,Twelfth Night,B urtons

I am hoping that this review may help out the ladies that are planning a smaller event. We had 65 people at our wedding, our wedding party consisted of four people… pretty small compared to most weddings planned here!. I was afraid since my event was on the small side, it would pale in comparison to some of the fabulous weddings ladies on here have planned. I am proud to say my day was beautiful!

We got married at Our Lady of Pompeii in Westchester, where I am from. A few of my vendors are Westchester based. I have only included reviews of the vendors that are located in Long Island area since I think those are the ones that any future brides may have an interest in.

Invites-E*V*E*N*S*T*A*R* Paperie A+

I had looked at other invitations some in person, and some online and I never saw anything I was crazy about. Unless I wanted to spend a fortune,everything looked cheap. So, I decided to get a price from Tessa since so many ladies on here rave about how reasonable she is. I have to say she is worth the hype! She truly works with you. You don’t need to spend a fortune to get something truly beautiful, classy and original from her. She always answered my email questions in a reasonable amount of time. And I loved how I helped create the invite that wanted, from colors to design to embellishments. We ended up doing something pretty basic and the result was still fantastic. Highly recommend!


Bridesmaid dress: Davids Bridals B+

I had a small bridal party, two BM and one junior bridesmaid. I always liked the idea of letting the girls wear whatever style dress they wanted as long as it was one color. I picked Davids Bridals because I wanted to keep costs down for my girls and also because of their many locations. One of my girls live in Westchester and the other two in LI, so it was convenient for them to get to because they could go to a location near them. I can not say I was crazy about the girls dresses. I liked them, I was content with them, but they just didn’t give me that WOW factor.




Wedding Dress:Davids Bridals Dress:A+ Alterations:B

I loved my dress…I think the dress itself is beautiful. When I first started looking at dresses I had no idea what I wanted. I knew I could not afford to spend over $1,200 on a dress. Being an older bride, I wanted something simple, elegant and sophisticated , however I didn’t know what would look good with my body type. When I started my search I was about 15 lbs overweight, so this complicated my search. Started off my search at Macy’s…tried on several dresses, but my favorite two were Demetrious dresses that were about $2,500…way over my budget. But I got an idea of what complemented my figure. So we decided to check out David’s Bridals on a whim since we happen to be close. I looked thru their catalog and found a dress that was similar in style to one of the Demetrious…it was the Oleg Cassini style CRL277…and the price was right…around $900. The dress was exactly what I was looking for…elegant and sophisticated. Was the dress as detailed as the Demetrious? No, of course not, but it was about 1/3 the price. However it still is a truly beautiful dress….with just the right amount of lace and beading for me.

Alterations…I decided to let David’s do the alterations. Originally I only had to have the dress let out around the ribcage, everything else about the dress was fine,dress fit like a glove. By about three months before the wedding, I ended up losing 22 lbs, mostly due to stress (don’. Now, I had to have the dress shortened and taken in around the hips. I ended up going back three times for alterations. I still think that the dress could have been taken in more around the hips…but I had a hard time maintaining weight right before the wedding, and when I went to pick up the dress the Thursday before the wedding, I was afraid to let them do anymore since I did not have much time to play with. They also did a lousy job when they sewed in the cups. I ended up spending close to $400 on alterations. So, although I got a nice deal on the dress….the cost of the alterations made this not such a great deal in the long run.

What I will tell you about Davids Bridals is…if you are looking for that “Bridal Salon experience” where they will pamper you and be attentive to you…this is not the place for you…you get what you pay for. If you can do without the pampering….and you are looking to save money…check them out.






Bolero: B -Etsy seller- I wanted a bolero to wear for the Church. Davids Bridals only sells satin boleros, which I did not like. I started searching online to see what other bridal designers had to offer. Most boleros I liked were over $300 and I couldn’t guarantee that they would match my dress. So, I went on Etsy. Again, the ones I loved were over $300..so I posted on Alchemy on Etsy and showed a picture of what I liked and said I only wanted to spend about $120 tops. In a matter of days I had about 15 different Etsy vendors all interested in making my bolero. I ended up choosing the services of Janelle Wooten. She made me a prototype based on the measurements I gave her. She mailed it to me, I tried it on, and emailed her with the changes and she created my bolero. Although I think the bolero came out quite pretty, she did a horrible job on the hand sewing of the lace trim. It kept falling off the jacket and I ended up having to sew on all the lace, by hand by myself because I just couldn’t be bothered sending it back to her again to fix. The bolero ended up complimenting my dress quite well, and I ended up wearing it for 80% of my reception. She is apparently selling this same bolero..based on my design…LOL on her website now.

Birdcage Veil: Barron's B+-I wanted to wear a veil for my ceremony, but being an older bride I felt that a traditional veil was not for me..so I got hooked on the idea of a birdcage veil. I loved the veils on Birdcageveil.com! I decided to check out ******* to see if they could do something similar. I brought them a pic and they were able to recreate the look for about $50 less. The one thing that kept my veil from being rated a B+ instead of an A..is that I felt the veil itself was too long. Therefore, when attached to my head, it didn’t create exactly the look I was going for,it seemed too poufy. However, I got tons of compliments on it, people thought it was very classy and original and complimented my look. I removed the veil immediately after the church and just wore the feather fascinator for the reception.


Flowers: Burton’s A+-******* only did my centerpieces and cake flowers.Since my church was in Westchester, I figured it would be easier for a local florist to do all my BOKs,boutineers and church flowers….big mistake since the local florist did a crappy job and I was very disappointed in their work. However my centerpieces from Burton’s were gorgeous! We brought them a photo of what we wanted and they recreated the look perfectly! They charge one price for low centerpieces and one for tall centerpieces regardless of what kind of flowers you choose, which I think is a great deal. Highly recommend them..they did a great job!


DJ: After Hours B+-We met with After Hours at WM showcase. We immediately clicked with Brett and were excited to have him DJ our event. We weren’t looking for anything fancy since we had a small group. We chose a basic package. After Hours was very attentive and would respond immediately whenever I contacted them with any questions. I was disappointed in the lack of dancing at my wedding. It was the one thing I wish was different about my day. I don’t really think it was Brett’s fault, I just think it had to do with the party being smaller, however due to the fact that not a lot of people were on the dance floor at once,he really didn’t get into the party music on my playlist. Now for my biggest pet peeve: I had chosen “Michelle” by the Beatles for my Father/Daughter dance since my parents named me after the song and my mom is deceased, I thought it would be a nice way of me and my Dad to remember her.Five minutes before the dance Brett comes up to me and tells me that the file he had of “Michelle” is corrupted and that he cant use it so “you need to pick another song”……***?!?! I was fuming!!! This wasn’t an oridinary song..it had sentimental meaning to me and I couldn’t understand why he didn’t check the file before my event..or have a back up file. Long story short…my daughter saved the day! She had the song on her Ipod..and to this day I have no idea why my 19 year old daughter would have a 45 year old Beatles song on her Ipod..but I am so thankful to her that she did!




Photographer: Twelfth Night (Mike and Randy?) B+

Met with Dominick, and like most others immediately loved him and Twelfth Night. Unfortunately since,we were going with a smaller package(one photographer),so we could not have Dominick shoot our wedding because he only shoots with another photographer (larger package),which wasn’t in our budget.So,we chose Mike. They actually ended up throwing in another photographer (Randy). It ended up taking 3 ½ months for us to get our proofs,but I knew that it would take about that when before I signed a contract with them. The reason why I gave them a B+ instead of A is because I feel that they weren’t very creative in how they posed us. Although my pics are nice..they don’t have the WOW factor for me. It was a lot of the same poses over and over in different settings. In addition,there are only a few close-ups, 99% of the shots are from a distance.And the one thing I am very disappointed in was that there isn’t one picture of our kiss at the end of the ceremony.This may have to do with the fact that the priest didn’t say the traditional, “I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may kiss your bride” (another peeve)..but come on, there were two photographers..I don’t see how between the two of them they missed it. So, that was a little disappointing.

Besides that…I was promised up to 600 photos on my contract…I was given 702.







Favors: Gilbert Liquors/ Sogna di Sposa A+

We gave mini bottles of Limoncello .Our guests loved the idea.My MIL offered to have these professionally wrapped for me at Sogna di Sposa in Glendale. They did such an amazing job and they looked so pretty it is almost a shame to have to unwrap them to get the limoncello inside! My MIL paid like $6 each to have them wrapped so it would be kinda costly to do this if you have to pay for both the limoncello and wrapping and have a lot of guests.


Reception: Westbury Manor A:

I will start off saying that Westbury Manor is beautiful, the grounds are gorgeous, the service is exceptional and the food is amazing…what is keeping my experience from being A+ probably would only apply to my experience. MY ONLY COMPLAINT…we had a small wedding..65 people total..we had the upstairs room..the Hill Room.it was perfect for us. I was slightly disappointed that I could not have my cocktail hour outside, but fully understood that privilege was reserved for the two large rooms downstairs. HOWEVER..when we booked I was told that we were free to take our pictures wherever we wanted outside..that the grounds were open to us.That was not the case. We were confined to a small area near a gazebo..that is where they expected us to take all our pictures. When I kept asking about taking pictures in the gardens they kept telling me I could not do it then because another wedding was having their cocktail hour..”but maybe later”..I must have asked three or four times and they kept telling me I had to wait. Finally,just as it got dark, they told us we could take some pictures ..HELLO IT IS DARK OUTSIDE!! But my photographer ended up taking some shots on the bridge and in front of the fountain. Still I am very disappointed to this day because the grounds at WM are beautiful and that is half the draw of the place! I keep looking at the pics my father and wife took before the reception, in the gardens and I am jealous and upset because I wanted pics in that garden! But I try to look on the bright side that at least I had lovely weather and it didn’t rain where I couldn’t take pics outside at all.





Cocktail Hour for smaller rooms is held in the Executive Room,adjacent to the Hill Room. It is a beautiful set up and there is an adjacent patio with tables and seating where guests went and ate,drank and smoked outside. The spread at the cocktail hours was phenomenal! We added a oyster and shrimp bar,they threw in a caviar/vodka bar at a showcase,they also had passed martini’s. I have to say it was one of the most impressive cocktail hours I have seen especially considering we really didn’t add on much.




The actual food at the reception was superb! Every entrée (7 in total) was delicious. People were amazed at the quality and abundance of food offered..and that is saying something in a room full of Italians LOL!

We did not do a Vienesse Hour because WM also offers a dessert plate, we picked “Heart of Sorrento” which was gelato covered in white chocolate with Rasberry Coulis”..people loved this dessert.In addition WM threw in a Chocolate Fountain at a showcase. Along with the cake we had and I was satisfied with the amount of dessert and couldn’t justify spending the extra money on a Vieneese Hour. And for the ladies concerned about the cake at WM…my cake was delicious!! I didn’t spend extra on upgrading the cake. I had a plain vanilla cake with a layer of chocolate mouse and a layer of cannoli filling, and whip crème topping.





Night of: Inn at Fox Hollow :A+ Fox Hollow offers all suites. We did not have a Bridal Suite, we stayed in their standard suite, which was beautiful.Beds were amazingly comfy, and the shower was amazing! They also offer a complimentary breakfast in the morning that was delish!

Honeymoon: Bora Bora/Tikehau-French Polynesia: Bora Bora Pearl Resort/Tikehau Pearl Resort: A+++

Truly phenomenal! Amazing! I will do a separate review at a later date.

Re: Michy2009's 9/18/10 Wedding-Westbury Manor,Twelfth Night,*******

BUMP..so you can find it

Re: Michy2009's 9/18/10 Wedding-Westbury Manor,Twelfth Night,B urtons

great review!!!!!!!!!!! thank for sharing all the details with us!

Re: Michy2009's 9/18/10 Wedding-Westbury Manor,Twelfth Night,B urtons

Love your pics. Great review.

Re: Michy2009's 9/18/10 Wedding-Westbury Manor,Twelfth Night,B urtons

Love your review

Re: Michy2009's 9/18/10 Wedding-Westbury Manor,Twelfth Night,B urtons

I LOVE your review!!!
the flowers were gorgeous and i think it is soo nice that your daughter 'saved the day!' God bless....its so nice to have that support...im so happy for you!! that song must mean something to her too since she had it in her Ipod!!
Everything was great! my favorite pic is when you and your now husband are kissing outside the church and your daughter and bms are looking at you smiling!



PS im thinking of using *******...thanks for the tip!

Re: Michy2009's 9/18/10 Wedding-Westbury Manor,Twelfth Night,B urtons

You were such a beautiful bride! Congratulations!!!!

Re: Michy2009's 9/18/10 Wedding-Westbury Manor,Twelfth Night,B urtons

Beautiful pictures! Thanks for sharing, and Congratulations!

Re: Michy2009's 9/18/10 Wedding-Westbury Manor,Twelfth Night,B urtons

You looked so beautiful on your day. I must say that all of us oleg cassini crl277 girls looked stunning!! And your cake was so beautifully decorated. Those are my favorite flowers.

Beautiful!!

Re: Michy2009's 9/18/10 Wedding-Westbury Manor,Twelfth Night,B urtons

BEAUTIFUL and I'm so happy that your daughter saved the day!!!!!!

Re: Michy2009's 9/18/10 Wedding-Westbury Manor,Twelfth Night,B urtons

everything looks BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: Michy2009's 9/18/10 Wedding-Westbury Manor,Twelfth Night,B urtons

great review! Thanks for sharing!

Re: Michy2009's 9/18/10 Wedding-Westbury Manor,Twelfth Night,B urtons

beautiful review date twin!

Re: Michy2009's 9/18/10 Wedding-Westbury Manor,Twelfth Night,B urtons

Great review!!

Re: Michy2009's 9/18/10 Wedding-Westbury Manor,Twelfth Night,B urtons

Your wedding looked beautiful and so did you. Thank you so much for sharing your review and pictures with us.

Re: Michy2009's 9/18/10 Wedding-Westbury Manor,Twelfth Night,B urtons

Great Review! I cant wait to get married at WM!

Re: Michy2009's 9/18/10 Wedding-Westbury Manor,Twelfth Night,B urtons

Excellent review. Everything looked awesome!

Re: Michy2009's 9/18/10 Wedding-Westbury Manor,Twelfth Night,B urtons

Great review!! Everything looks beautiful!!!

Re: Michy2009's 9/18/10 Wedding-Westbury Manor,Twelfth Night,B urtons

AMAZING! What an elegant wedding, the CH looks fantastic!!!! You look great in that dress which is one of my favorite DB dresses! Glad that you had an amazing day, you looked beautiful!!

Re: Michy2009's 9/18/10 Wedding-Westbury Manor,Twelfth Night,B urtons

Great review, you looked beautiful! I LOVE your cake topper, where did you get it?