My 10/21/07 review: Timber Point CC, Thomas Paul, FM Entertainment, Puleo Limos, and MORE

Took me about 4 months to do, but here is my review! I didn’t post much on here at all but was on here all the time during my planning.. I found the bride’s review so helpful, so it wouldn’t be right to not do my own. We got married on Sunday, October 21, 2007. It was perfect weather (about 68 degrees) and just a beautiful Fall day. We planned our wedding in about 10 months. While I spent a lot of time on here reading and researching about vendors and ideas, I ended up going with some uncommon vendors to get what I wanted. In some ways it worked out, in others it didn't. We were on a pretty tight budget, and while my wedding day was very important to me, being frivolous and saving money was equally important. It was hard at first, not to get wrapped up in other people’s weddings and what everyone else does. What is important to some may not be to you, and that’s ok! In the end, what matters and what lasts above all is the love between you and your husband.

Well time to get this show on the road… (please note.. if you are interested in any of the items here, contact me, looking to sell some of my stuff)

Gown: A; Alterations: Bridal Elegance- A
I started going dress shopping about 11 months before the big day to a bunch of different places. It was exhausting! Towards the end everything started to look the same. Early on in my search, at RK Bridal, I tried on a bunch of dresses that were in my price range, which was only a couple of hundred dollars. So while I am perusing the racks, there is one that stands out to me. I looked at the price-- $1600 dollars. My mom told me to not even try it on but I had to. It was a Paloma Blanca 3608 and from the second I put it on and looked in the mirror, I knew this was the one and could not get it out of my mind. I went home and hit the internet—Looked at every site, called every bridal shop on LI to get prices, which still were in the 1,000 price range. I ended up finding the dress or half the price as a sample In the end, the dress was an absolute perfect fit, with the only alterations needed being the bussle.









Alterations: I like everyone else heard about Phyllis at Bridal Elegance for alterations. For what ended up needing, she did a fine job. Now had I been writing a review on my experience as a bridesmaid for my friend’s wedding, I would not be so generous with my A, but for my wedding and for what I needed she was fine.

Veil: Ebay A+
I ordered an ivory mantilla lace veil on ebay from seller delicate spirits. It was fingertip length, and matched my dress pefect. It did the job!


Rings: Bride: Elsa Jewelers: B, Groom: online.. don’t remember the site A+
We went there since I wanted a custom made band to match my e-ring (Husband bought it on Blue Nile and they no longer carried the match). We met with Elsa and she was nice.. but is pushy and didn’t let me go home and think about it. This was one of the last major vendors to book and I was at the point where I didn’t have the energy in me to go around to different jewelers, so we just went with her. I kind of wish I researched more. Especially since anytime I went into Elsa before my ring was ready, they would clean up my ring real nice. After I got my band and paid, I wanted them to clean my engagement ring right before the wedding, they gave me a bit of a hard time, since my e-ring wasn’t an ELSA ring.


Shoes: Issac Mizrahi Lace kitten heel shoes from Target- A+
A lot of brides on here used these shoes. They were perfect—so comfortable, and matched perfect with the lace on my dress. I ended up getting them for dirt cheap because they were on clearance.

Jewelry: Overstock.com- A+
I wanted something very simple and found a great matching pearl earring and necklace set on Overstock. It was a perfect match. Came pretty quickly also and easily something that can be worn again.

Bridesmaid Attire- Maggy London Chiffon Silk dresses- A:
I wanted to find them dresses that they would be able to wear again and weren’t too bridesmaidy. I also didn’t want them paying a small fortune for a dress and alterations. I ended up finding these dresses on the sale rack at Macy’s. I had to go to 3 different Macy’s but it was worth it. They girls didn't spend a fortune and they looked great, and can/have worn them again. I found cute gold sandals at Target that matched perfect.

Hair: My cousin/maid of honor- A;
Makeup: Ulta, Commack- A
I wanted something simple and was not interested whatsoever in PAYING for a hair trial, especially at the prices I was getting from a lot of the popular vendors on here. I stressed about it a lot and looking back I wish I didn’t and just trusted my decisions, which ended up working out fine. My cousin offered to take a stab at my hair and after a couple of trials, she did an awesome job and it was a lot of fun. Same thoughts on makeup. I don’t wear or need a lot to begin with and was not going to spend $200 bucks to have it done. I went to Ulta in Commack, met a woman there Carol, and she did 2 trials on me before hand.. for free! I told her what I like and didn’t like and she listened. My mom and I went to her the morning of my wedding and she did our makeup. It lasted all day and was perfect for the price.
One of our hair trials:


Limo: J. Puleo Limosines- B+
Again, another area where I was cutting costs. I only needed one limo and My husband and I were going to ride with the bridal party. Puleo limosines runs an ad in the Pennysaver every week and they had the best price. They are based in Melville and Queens, and mainly operate in NYC for the airports. I also used them for my bachelorette party. We went to look at one of the limos and it was a 12 passenger Lincoln stretch. For both the bachelorette party and day of the wedding, they upgraded us for free to the 16 passenger excursion. They were very early, but better early than late. However, the driver on both occasions didn’t know how to get to where we were going, so that was a little annoying but nothing major—we got there! Our driver on my wedding day was extremely helpful, especially at my chuch, making up for my lacking rehearsal coordinator.


Church: Christ the King in Commack: C
I really don’t feel bad giving my church this rating after a number of situations. To start, this was the chuch I grew up going to and had all my sacraments in. My husband is not Catholic, so originally we were going to get married at the hall, however, the more I thought about it, and the more my parents pushed, we decided to get married in the church. I am glad we did—it’s a beautiful church. It starts to go downhill when the priest who was supposed to marry us left over the summer. Up until about a month and a half before the wedding we did not know who would be doing the wedding. We ended up getting married by a Deacon, which turned out ok. The new head priest, was nice on the phone with me, however not so nice with my parents and argued with them on a number of issues. (FM me for details). Setting a date for the rehearsal was also a big issue, in the end I got what I wanted, but had I not pleaded my case and pushed for it, I wouldn’t have gotten it. My husband’s whole family and bridal party are from upstate NY and almost all the bridal party would not be arriving to Long Island until Saturday AM. So.. what is the point of having a rehearsal if the majority of the players aren’t going to be there!?!? The person who schedules the rehearsal fought with me about having the rehearsal on a Saturday afternoon as opposed to Friday night. She is a very sweet lady and like I said, in the end I got what I wanted, which was a Saturday afternoon rehearsal. And now lastly, the rehearsal coordinator. She was very nice.. but didn’t have a clue what she was doing and could offer no advice or solution to a number of situations. She was really stressing me out at the rehearsal. Fast forward to the actual day, a number of nuances happened that had she had some communication skills, could have easily been prevented. At the rehearsal, I told her that after we get married and walk out, we would come back inside the church to take some pictures. She said it was no problem. So, we walk out, come back in.. and ALL THE LIGHTS ARE OFF IN THE CHURCH! She was so busy just standing around, talking to one of my guests that she knew, that she didn’t tell the Deacon to leave the lights on. So long story short, turns out that the light switch was in a room that was locked and she didn’t know how to get the key. Luckily, the photographers flash and our videographer’s light compensated somewhat, but the pictures we took ended up being for the most part useless.. I don’t think I saw her again after that. Needless to say I was very disappointed in CTK.

Rehearsal Linner—Gaby’s Pizza & Grill, East Northport A+
Since our rehearsal was in the afternoon, I wanted to do a casual lunch/dinner BBQ , hence the LINNER-at my parents house, but they were stressing about it big time and felt it was too much to have 25 people over the day before the wedding. One day while food shopping at Best Yet, they stopped into the new Pizza place next door, and long story short, found us our Rehearsal site.
First off, I hate that rehearsal dinners turn into mini weddings. I didn’t have the time, patience, or funds for this. Gaby’s was great—We got a package for about 20 per person—appetizers, salad and main course. Since they were a new restaurant, they did not yet have their liquor license.. however, we were able to bring in our own wine and beer (HUGE PRICE SAVINGS) and the waitresses served it. My mom made a cake for dessert. We worked with Greg there and it was great. Keep in mind, this is a pizza place, he closed down the dining room for us but people were still able to come in to the counter to order pizza.. it was fine though, everyone was wondering what we were doing and were congratulating us.

Hotel: Holiday Inn, Ronkonkoma, B-
I worked with Pat, she was fine, for the most part always got back to me and helped me when I had questions. I had goodie bags and we dropped them off the day before and everyone got theirs with no problem. We had a ton of out of towners and she got us a good rate and we got the honeymoon suite comp’d. She told me the bar would stay open until 4am, but they kicked us out at 2am. The “honeymoon” suite—there was NOTHING inside..the fridge and mini bar were completely empty.. and none of the vending machines were working. The hot tub took about 45 minutes to fill up. I was a little disappointed but oh well. We didn’t eat the food at the restaurant, but from what I heard, the breakfast was not good. If I could go back, I would have done some more research and gotten a hotel that offers the shuttle.. Holiday Inn has shuttles, but they don’t “rent” them out.

Shuttle—Yellow School Bus: Bauman & Sons- A
Since the holiday inn wasn’t going to be able to help us out, we had to find alternatives. I priced everything—coaches, limos, taxi cabs, trolley’s, etc. This school bus was the cheapest and a ton of fun.

Thomas Paul Photography:
Overall A; Day of B+
We looked at a lot of photographers before deciding to go with Tom. Out of all of them we liked Tom’s style and personality best. We booked him in February 2007, and in June, we did our engagement shoot at Sunken Meadow Park. I hated the pictures… not all of it was Tom’s fault. It was sunny, and windy, and I was not wearing the right outfit for this weather, or to be climbing up on rocks, etc. I was very upset when I saw the pictures. We didn’t look comfortable; some of the angles were just wrong looking on me, and I was squinting in a lot of the shots. Tom was VERY understanding and offered to re-do them. We did so at Belmont Lake Park and they came out much better, we knew what to expect and were much better prepared. I felt good about it and felt assured that the pics at the wedding would come out great. I also was always on LI Weddings, checking to see everyone else’s pictures and I felt good about it. I told Tom the “must take shots”—I didn’t have many, and in retrospect, I should have been a lot more specific in certain shots I wanted. Many of them were very common and I assumed he would take these shots but didn’t.
I am very hard on myself when it comes to pictures, and was not crazy about the way I looked in a lot of them. I think that looking at all the TP brides on this site and their pictures probably wasn’t the best thing to do. I loved a lot of the shots I saw and tried to recreate on my day.. and it didn’t work on me. Putting that aside, I have to say I wasn’t overly thrilled with my proofs for a number of reasons:
-Certain “Must take” pictures—In several of these, people’s eyes were closed and not one picture where everyone had their eyes open. One in particular, a shot with me, mom, and grandma.
-Due to the lighting in the church, which I questioned the day of, and was told would be fine, there was a huge glare on the tall people in my family. Almost all of pictures are useless and were a total waste of time.
-I know that Thomas Paul is artistic and does a lot of different angles and shots, and that he would also do the standard shots—Too many things were missing—Our first kiss outside the church, the crowd outside the church.
-Many of the details I worked on for my wedding, he didn’t document, in particular, my husband’s aunt singing and playing the guitar, our guests arriving off the school bus into the hall, the photos on display of our parents, grandparents.
I do have to say, that in the end, Tom has been more than accommodating in correcting these mistakes. Photoshop is a wonderful thing. He fixed the problem of people’s eyes closed, got rid of the cars in the background of shots at my house, and really worked some magic on some of the pics. My advice is to be overly specific.. Don’t assume anything. I was kind of mad that he did leave early and didn’t stay until the very end. He did come over to me before he left, but caught me at an odd moment and I just said oh.. ok. But that aside, he is great and does great work. He really goes to great lengths to make you happy. He met with me and my husband to help us pick out the pics for the album and we would def. recommend him. Just be sure to be very specific in what you want, and DON'T try to recreate certain shots you see on this site, because they may not work for you.


Flowers: Stop & Shop- East Northport and Oyster Bay- A-
I don’t know the first thing about flowers, but I did know that I did not want to spend a lot of money ( a recurring theme here) My centerpieces were included with my package at Timber point through M& F florists. I chose the Sahara rose bowls. They were great and no up charge. For everything else, I went to Burton’s and got a quote from them, which was good, but I knew I could do better. An 06 bride on here had written in her review that she used Stop & Shop for flowers. I went to the East Northport store and met with Katherine, the manager of the floral department, who gave me a quote hundreds of dollars less than Burton’s. I put down a small deposit and I was all set. Yes I was a bit nervous about it, it being a supermarket, but I put it out of my mind (sorta) and figured as long as I had flowers, I would be set, since flowers are always pretty. For my bouquet, I saw a picture of what I wanted, showed it to Katherine, and told me she could re-create it.
Here is for the A minus-- For the BM’s, I had no idea what to do here, and looked for advice from her. She didn’t really have much to offer, basically when I picked something out, she said “Sure, you could do that”. Throughout the course of planning, I changed my mind about 3 times as to what I wanted, and it was never any problem. In the end I decided to go with fire and ice roses.
In the summer, Katherine got transferred to the Oyster Bay store, which I wasn’t told about and when I called the East Northport store to check in, I was told she was no longer there… Panic attack! When I did get a hold of Katherine, she apologized (even though it wasn’t really her fault I wasn’t told) assured me she would still be doing the flowers for my wedding, and that she would come to the East Northport store and have the flowers ready there for pick up, which she did. She did a great job and what’s even greater is the amount of money I saved. I know a couple of the girls on here used Stop & shop, or attempted to and had major problems, I guess it all depends on the store and who you deal with, but mine was great.
My Bouquet

BM Bouquet


Tuxedos: Men’s Warehouse- Bayside: A; Huntington: a big FAT F!
We went to the Men’s Warehouse in Bayside back in the spring and placed our Tux order. They had the best prices, the best looking suits, and were convenient since the best man lives in CA and the groomsmen in Albany. None of the groomsmen had problems getting measurements.
My Dad however, had a nightmare of a situation—definitely not something the father of the bride should have to deal with days before his daughter’s wedding. For starters, he wasn’t all that happy after getting his measurements taken, I guess the sales people weren’t the nicest, and my Dad wasn’t thrilled with the tux we selected.. but OH WELL! He dealt with it. So now it’s Thursday before the wedding, and no one has called to say that the tux has come in. My mom calls the Huntington store and speaks to some invalid there who tells her “It’s in, but we don’t call you when they come in, we e-mail you”, which is ridiculous, especially since my mom didn’t even give them an email address. Anyways, they go to get the tux, and the pants were over 5 inches too short in the legs and the arms too short as well. My Dad is tall—6’5. Obviously, there was not 5” in the pant legs to let down, so they tell them that they can get new pants, but they have to order them and there is no guarantee they will be here in time. Basically told him he was SOL. That store is a joke—they lack customer service and communication skills. Long story short, after what seemed like endless arguing, they gave in and my dad a pair of pants off the rack to where. It was fine, but this was the last thing you want to deal with the day before your daughter’s wedding, so naturally this added to the tension and stress leading up to the day. So just stay away from the Huntington store and you’ll have no problem!

Video:
Apparently, you can't be honest or express an opinion in the review of your wedding. That's too bad. I don't recommed who I used for video.

DJ- FM Entertainment- A-
Frank was our DJ and we really liked him. I give him a minus because he did stray a bit from my list and didn’t play some of the songs I really wanted. No big deal. We were cutting up a rug on the dance floor all night. He was great to work with and very professional, and price was very competitive.

Last but not least- Reception Hall Timber Point Country Club- A+
Timber point was exactly what I wanted in a catering hall. We looked at a many but in the end what I wanted most, Timber point had—Good prices and only one event at a time. We dealt with Neal always and at first there were a couple of missing email and not returned phone calls, overall he was great to work with. He let us do a tasting on the main entrees beforehand which was good at helpful. We also attended their bridal showcase after we booked so we could try the hor derves.
Day of: I had Jason as my maitre’d and he was great. Anytime I saw him during the event he would come right over to me and ask if everything was ok. Since it was nice weather, we were able to have part of the cocktail hour outside, which was great. One thing I noticed after the event was the lack of the passed hor derves. There didn’t seem to be much of a presence of them. Back when I selected my menu, I wanted to have the mini hamburgers as an passed hor derves item for my brother, but were told they were extra money. Jason came over to me and said that they were able to get them. My husband was so excited about the bacon wrapped scallops, Jason brought a full plate of them over to our table. I also had a phenomenal bridal attendant named Kerry. She was great: Attentive, cheerful and so helpful. She asked set up all the decorations in the main room and did a great job. She also did my bustle, and thank god cause none of my women could get it right! (love this pic)

Timber Point runs like a well oiled machine. The food and service was great. And they paid such great attention to us. Always making sure our drinks were filled and that we were able to eat our food. They even gave us the open bottles of wine to bring on the bus ride back to the hotel with us!

We had such a beautiful day on our wedding day we were able to take our pics outside. I was nervous about this because the picture taking opportunities inside aren’t the best. Regardless, we had beautiful sunsets shots and they even let us take out one of the golf carts. Thomas Paul was careful too to not get any golfers in the background, which I was worried about.
Timber point was a great value for us. I’ve seen there are several 08 brides on here getting married there and you have nothing to worry about. Just show up! Our guests had an awesome time. I am not sure if they still have the same package, but our centerpieces (M&F Florist) and cake (Black Forest Bakery) were included.


Some pics:





Miscellaneous & DIY

Invitations: I bought a box of Wilton invites at Jack’s world in the city ($5.99 a box! ) printed them up myself, slapped address labels on them and wha-la. I think the postage cost more than the invites.

Place card holders- Votive candles: I found the holders on sale at AC Moore when they were 5 for $1 and I stocked up. I also found the template paper at Michael’s, printed them up and taped them on w/ double sided tape. Was time consuming but the effect was really cool.


Donation favors: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. We made a donation to MSKCC in honor of my husband’s parents and made scrolls for everyone with a poem they provided. We also gave little Dove chocolates as well.


Card box: I totally stole this idea from one of the members on here (Dr. Who Thanks again!) Bought a fake pumpkin, carved a slit in the top and dressed up the bottom with leaves and garland.


Programs: My MOH designed a “logo” for us, and I printed up all my programs on my computer. I bought the garter program paper in ivory.


Table numbers:
My talented maid of honor made these for me, using the same theme, colors, fonts from everything else. The easels i found at the dollar store, they were perfect.


Save the dates- my MOH A+; Vista Print A+
Only send save the dates to out of towners and family. We were so excited after getting engaged, we sent save the dates to everyone. Come wedding time, there were people we were no longer as close with or had second thoughts on inviting.
For our save the dates, my maid of honor is a cartoonist, and she drew my husband and I in wedding attire. I had the image printed on magnets, and then we made cards to send out with some details. I ordered the magnets from Vista Print. They came out great (they had to print them a second time…but they were very accommodating and have excellent customer service. ) and now I have a lifetime supply of magnets!

Honeymoon: Riveria Maya/ The Royal en Playa del Carmen
Travel Agent: Liberty Travel, Bayside
We had the best time on our honeymoon. You can read my review here on trip advisor.
We dealt with Deborah at Liberty Travel in Bay Terrace and she was really sweet. She even called us over the summer to let us know that the rates went down and she was able to upgrade us.
Royal en Playa del Carmen review

I think this about covers it. Shop around and wait for sales! Don’t you dare buy anything in Michaels or Ac Moore without a coupon! Don't be afraid to go unconventional routes to get what you want. You do not have to pay a fortune for a wedding on Long Island. And just think outside of the box to make your wedding personal and special for you and your husband.

If you have any questions or want more info on anything, please feel free to FM me. Enjoy your day- no matter what it will be beautiful!

Re: My 10/21/07 review: Timber Point CC, Thomas Paul, Elite Video, Puleo Limos, and MORE

Absolutely inspiring. You did a great job on your review. And I could tell you were a calm and beautiful bride.

Re: My 10/21/07 review: Timber Point CC, Thomas Paul, Elite Video, Puleo Limos, and MORE

What a great review! you looked beautiful and your pictures were soooo nice!

Re: My 10/21/07 review: Timber Point CC, Thomas Paul, Elite Video, Puleo Limos, and MORE

awesome job! beautiful!

Re: My 10/21/07 review: Timber Point CC, Thomas Paul, Elite Video, Puleo Limos, and MORE

Great job...love the budget advice and the honest reviews!

Re: My 10/21/07 review: Timber Point CC, Thomas Paul, Elite Video, Puleo Limos, and MORE

BEAUTTIFUL!!!!!!!!!
Does your friend do the cartooning for job? If so, how much does he/she charge? I am very interested as I think that is SO personal!

Re: My 10/21/07 review: Timber Point CC, Thomas Paul, Elite Video, Puleo Limos, and MORE

Congratulations on your marriage! You did a wonderful job on your review and gave some very good ideas and advice. Thanks!

Re: My 10/21/07 review: Timber Point CC, Thomas Paul, Elite Video, Puleo Limos, and MORE

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Posted by MrsFazz2B

BEAUTTIFUL!!!!!!!!!
Does your friend do the cartooning for job? If so, how much does he/she charge? I am very interested as I think that is SO personal!

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Thank you! That was my idea exactly re: making it personal to us. Yes she is an artist and does many different things to make a living, however She isn't based locally.

Re: My 10/21/07 review: Timber Point CC, Thomas Paul, Elite Video, Puleo Limos, and MORE

Your wedding looks so unique and thrifty.

Would you mind FMing me the price for the school bus?

Thanks!

Re: My 10/21/07 review: Timber Point CC, Thomas Paul, Elite Video, Puleo Limos, and MORE

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Posted by crystalsky

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Posted by MrsFazz2B

BEAUTTIFUL!!!!!!!!!
Does your friend do the cartooning for job? If so, how much does he/she charge? I am very interested as I think that is SO personal!

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Thank you! That was my idea exactly re: making it personal to us. Yes she is an artist and does many different things to make a living, however She isn't based locally.

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awww
that stinks. I would have loved for her to do fh and i!!

Re: My 10/21/07 review: Timber Point CC, Thomas Paul, Elite Video, Puleo Limos, and MORE

Great review!!! FH and I are seriously considering TP for our RH and your review has gotten us closer to making that decision. Congrats!!

Re: My 10/21/07 review: Timber Point CC, Thomas Paul, Elite Video, Puleo Limos, and MORE

I love your pictures.
The pumpkin is such a fantastic idea!

Re: My 10/21/07 review: Timber Point CC, Thomas Paul, Elite Video, Puleo Limos, and MORE

congrats on an absolutely BEAUTIFUL wedding! u look gorgous & the photos are breathtaking! great review!

Re: My 10/21/07 review: Timber Point CC, Thomas Paul, Elite Video, Puleo Limos, and MORE

wow very beautiful!!! Great review!! Thanks for sharing!

Re: My 10/21/07 review: Timber Point CC, Thomas Paul, Puleo Limos, and MORE

You looked fantastic, and thanks for the great tips!

Re: My 10/21/07 review: Timber Point CC, Thomas Paul, Puleo Limos, and MORE

I love your dress~!
It's really pretty~~

Re: My 10/21/07 review: Timber Point CC, Thomas Paul, Puleo Limos, and MORE

Wonderful! Thank you so much for the helpful review! I love Timber point and am booking within the month!
Thanks again you were a beautiful bride!