My 10/28/05 North Ritz Club Wedding - Silverfox, Royalty, Jon Bates Band, LA Blossom, HM in Fiji....

Finally, my New Year’s resolution, one of my many, is to finish my review for you all. This site was wonderful when I was planning. It really made things very easy for me (although, naturally, I did have the occasional bridal meltdown!).

REHEARSAL DINNER:

Rehearsal Dinner Invitations – French Blue Online A+
Unfortunately, I no longer have a picture of the invitations I got for the RD but I absolutely loved the. The price was right – I think I paid about $50 for 20 invitations. And, Gary at French Blue was wonderful to work with. He got a proof back to me almost immediately and returned all my e-mails promptly. I got the invites within the week, after I approved the proof. They have a great selection of really cute invites, announcements, etc. on this site.
www.frenchblueonline.com

Rehearsal Dinner dress – Overstock A-
This was something I had a difficult time with because of the season. I wanted a classic white dress and had a lot of trouble finding one in September. I ended up with a silk ivory dress by Armani, originally priced at over $1000, for $300. Unfortunately, they did not have my size, so being the freak I am, I ordered the size 10 (I wear a 2) and had it altered to fit me. My only shock was that the dress was completely backless. Honestly, I loved it, but for those women seeing the photo of the front of this dress on the website, most would assume it is fairly conservative. Actually it was quite a sexy dress! I doubt I’ll ever wear it again, but hey, ya never know!
Overstock gets a good grade for the awesome price but I was a little thrown but the false, rather, lack of advertisement.
www.overstock.com

Fisherman’s’ Catch in Point Lookout A+
DH and I originally picked this restaurant because we enjoy fishing together and this is a place we’ve gone for special dinners. It’s tucked away in Point Lookout and is right on the water. I was reluctant at one point because the private room they have does not overlook the water because it is in the front of the restaurant. However, since my ILs were hosting, they took it upon themselves to make sure the room looked great. It was very cozy and had a nice fireplace. Since the RD was about a week before Halloween, they decorated with pumpkin centerpieces filled with flowers. The room looked great and the food and service were amazing. Everyone raved about it and a lot of our guests, who had never been there, are now frequent customers.
Telephone: (516) 670-9717

Great review!!!! Pics Pics Pics please!!!!

THE WEDDING DAY ENSEMBLE:

Gown - Netbride A+
Like most brides out there, I was hesitant to order my gown online. But, I was absolutely thrilled with Netbride’s customer service and my gown was/is ABSOLUTELY gorgeous. I originally saw my gown on the Lazaro website and just knew I wanted it. Then, I few days later, it was modeled in Modern Bride – that’s when I knew I HAD to have it. I called all over the place to find a place I could try it on, and while there are a few places (Bridal Reflections, Bridal Couture of Manhasset and Wedding Salon of Manhasset) that carry Lazaro gowns on Long Island, no one had this particular gown. Kleinfelds did. So, I went to try on this one and only dress there. I saw in Modern Bride that the gown was $3700 (plus tax and alterations it would have been about $4500). I did not want to spend that kind of money on my gown. I had heard of Netbride from this site so I contacted them for a quote BEFORE I went to Kleinfelds (so I wouldn’t fall in love with it and be torn about spending the $$.) Since they do not quote designer gowns online, I gave them the style number and a few days later one of their representatives called me with a quote of $2900. I went to Kleinfelds, tried on the gown and that was it. It was definitely “the one”. I told my salesperson the quote I had gotten from Netbride. She called in her manager who literally laughed in my face and said the dress could not be sold for less that $3400 plus tax.
So, needless to say, I ordered my gown through Netbride. I already had my measurements from another salon at which I tried on a few gowns, so I used the chart to select my size.
It arrived ahead of the estimated delivery date and was in perfect condition (as a new dress should be but of course there’s always the fear that it could be damaged when shipped).
www.netbride.com

Alterations – Maria Molinari
Maria is a seamstress for Kleinfelds who does freelance work. I got her name and number from someone on this site who bought her dress from Kleinfelds and had Maria alter the dress for her on the side.
Maria lives right down the block from the original Kleinfelds in Brooklyn so it was a bit of a trek for me to see her but I only had to go twice – one fitting and she was done! She is a sweet old Italian woman who knows what she’s doing.
And, she only charged me $200 for my alterations and bustle.
FM me if you want her number.

Veil – SewDeb A+
My original plan was to use my SIL’s veil as my something borrowed. Unfortunately, because she moved abroad after her June 2004 wedding, she had left it at the drycleaner, and 8 months later, when I went to pick it up, it was no where to be found. I was actually quite relieved because I really wanted a silk tulle veil but couldn’t justify spending the money on it if I had an already beautiful veil to borrow. Anyway, I started contacting SewDeb and she was very helpful in my selection of the veil, the lengths and material. I ordered the material from Hanssons in the UK and it was immediately shipped directly to SewDeb – a few weeks later I had a gorgeous silk tulle veil. Actually, I had two. I went with a shorter fingertip length veil as my blusher (which I wore the entire night) and had a cathedral veil for the mass. It was breathtaking and I got so many compliments on the material.
www.sewdeb.com

Shoes - My Glass Slipper A-
I feel in love with my shoes the minute I saw them. But, they were NEVER comfortable. This, of course is not My Glass Slippers’ fault. I was silly in getting a pair that wasn’t comfortable but I loved them, and I wore them. This certainly did not stop me from dancing the night away.
I went to My Glass Slipper in the city to try them on (because I saw them at several other bridal shoe shops but no one had my size to try). My Glass Slipper had them in a 6, which is my usual shoe size, but they were HUGE. They told me to order them online in the 5.5, they were still big. So, I brought them to a shoemaker who padded them up for me and stretched the front end of them (because my heel was falling out but I felt like I was numbing 2 toes on each foot every time I wore them). They weren’t perfect, but they sure were pretty!
My Glass Slipper had them for about $25 cheaper than the other bridal shoe salons at which I saw them.
www.myglassslipper.com

Day of Jewelry – Ross Simons & Banana Republic
I ordered gorgeous diamond and aquamarine earrings (as my something blue). I absolutely love them and I’m so glad I decided to get at least one piece of real jewelry for my wedding day.
My bracelet I actually got from Banana Republic! I had ordered a CZ bracelet from Ross Simon but it was gigantic on me so I picked up a rhinestone stretchy bracelet from BR that everyone thought was real – hey, works for me!
www.ross-simons.com
www.bananarepublic.com

Bolero for gown – Forever 21
I was concerned about freezing my butt off so I originally bought a pashmina but found it looked silly with my gown. Randomly, I found a faux fur white bolero with rhinestone trim at Forever 21 for $35 that looked perfect with my gown – everyone thought it was bought with the dress.
www.forever21.com

Hair - Technicolors in RVC A
Joleen did my hair exactly as I had envisioned it. I wanted it down because DH prefers it that way. Because I was debating on having someone come to the house, and was not really on top of this, I did not make my first appointment with Joleen until 3 weeks before the wedding. She joked about how laid back I was but really this was, on my part, just due to lack of organization. The women that I spoke to about coming to the house were “reasonable” but not great prices, and because I could only get one hairstylist, it would have meant having my BMs get their hair done starting at 6AM for a 5PM ceremony – I knew that would put everyone in a bad mood. So, the majority of us went to Technicolors in shifts. Everyone was pleased with the service, price, and their hair styles.
www.technicolors.com

Makeup - Fabulous Faces by Sue - A
As part of her gift to me, my MOH arranged my make-up artist Sue. She was wonderful. She was down-to-earth and did not try to push her own ideas on me. I told her what I liked and she created it. We also used her for the entire bridal party and both mothers. She was prompt for both my trial and the day of the wedding and was patient when our schedule got a bit off track. It was definitely nice to have someone that could give us her undivided attention for a full 7 hours. She charged based on the amount of girls she worked on. So, because she did 9 of us, she charged the girls $70, and mine was I believe $90. She is mostly freelance but also works at a salon in Cedarhurst one day a week.
Telephone: (516) 596-9132 or cell (516) 815-4158

Bridesmaid Dresses - Bridal Couture in Manhasset A-
My BMs and I went absolutely everywhere looking for a tea length dress they all liked and could wear again. We literally went every weekend for 2 – 3 months to every shop we could find on LI. This is not necessarily advisable. While I enjoyed spending the time with my BMs, some brides may have gone crazy giving the group so much input. Finally, we found the dress (which is actually sold at Nordstrom as well) at Adrienne’s in Islip. However, being that most of my girls lived on the South Shore of Nassau County, I didn’t want them to have to travel all the way out there for alterations. One of my helpful BMs placed calls to several shops comparing prices, and Bridal Couture of Manhasset gave us the best price (after we told them the other prices we were quoted). The dresses were Laundry by Shelli Segal in wine. The girls paid $192+ tax for them.
We were very happy with the service there but the girls that had their alterations done by the salon had some problems – for example, they made my MOH’s dress so tight she swore she needed to remove a rib to wear it. Needless to say, she had to go back to the salon, the week before the wedding, to get it fixed.
www.bridalcoutureofmanhasset.com

Tuxedos – Feldman Esquire Formal Wear in Lynbrook A+
Absolutely no complaints. DH actually purchased a Ralph Lauren tux from them for the wedding – they gave him a great deal and he looked very handsome. The rentals for the groomsmen and fathers worked out well also.
The guys looked good, the tuxes were a good quality and alterations were done right.
Telephone: (516) 887-1115

DAY OF VENDORS/ACCESSORIES:

Wedding Invitations – Wrap It Up Party Planning - A+
This was one thing on which I had no intention of spending a lot of money. I looked at several – probably 15 full books – of invitations and found myself always picking a very simple and classic invite. For something so simple, I did not want to spend $1000. So, my aunt’s sister, who has her own party planning business helped me find something and sold them to me for her wholesale price. I think I spent about $350 on 125 full invitations. She was great to work with, and it was easy because she does business right out of her home in Seaford. The turn around was very quick as well – I think they came within the week!
Lori at www.wrapitupplanning.com

Calligraphy - Inkspun A+
Bill was fast & did great work - plus the price was great!
www.inkspun.com

Flowers - LA Blossoms A+
Laurie was great. She was the only florist I met with – and that was due to the overwhelming number of compliments she received on LIW. I did most of my wedding planning via Internet research (lots via LIW research) and found it very time saving. I never planned on spending a lot of money on flowers. I just didn’t want this to be one of my big budget vendors. So, I met with Laurie (who was nice enough to meet me at a Starbucks closer to me because I live in Forest Hills) and gave her an idea of what I wanted. The BM bouquet I wanted was already posted on her website, so basically I told her I wanted those bouquets and the same arrangements in my CPs.
Since I was weary about her matching the BM dress exactly, I got ribbon from Michaels for her and she wrapped their bouquets in that.
For my bouquet, I had long stemmed white calla lilies which came out beautifully.
www.lablossom.com

Photography / Video - Silverfox A-
We decided on Silverfox after I did A LOT of research online. We compared price and style, and of course we wanted a reputable company. After meeting with John, and seeing the albums and demo video I was sold. He was great to work with and I was impressed with their work.
Franco was our photojournalist. We had him take our engagement pictures so we could get to know him a bit. We really like him. He truly made us feel comfortable during the e-pic session and on the day of the wedding.
Don was our main photographer. He is also great and certainly takes pride in his work.
My only problem with Silverfox was that they gave us a form to fill out for the “must have” pictures. We discussed this in person with Franco as well. They had a list of photographs they automatically take, so I was told I did not have to list those pics, as they were standard.
About 5 days after the wedding I woke up in the middle of the night on our honeymoon, panicked because I realized no formal shots were taken with my grandparents. This truly upsets me. While I guess I should have thought of this the day of, I was so relaxed that day and had promised myself I’d leave all the work to the professionals. I had no intention of referring to lists or even thinking about who needs to be in what picture. On the day of, it did not occur to me for one second that they were missing anything.
Also, when we gave them our “must take” list we requested informal table shots – they did not take any.
I have not done my album yet, nor have we edited the video. I’m sure both will be great but the photos they missed truly upset me. Other than that, I was very happy with their work, service and professionalism.
www.silverfoxvideo.com

The Jon Bates Band A-
I found this band when I did a search here on LIW. Someone mentioned them as a reasonably priced band so I looked into them. I was impressed by the demo I ordered but wanted to see them in person. Unfortunately, they are not a LI band (which is probably why they are so affordable) so we waited until they had a gig in our area. They play mostly upstate NY and in Martha’s Vineyard. DH & I went up to Westchester one night and saw them perform at a local pub. They were exactly what we were looking for. We wanted our band to know the classics – Sinatra, Presley, Van Morrison, etc.
They were very entertaining – the dance floor was always packed.
And, since NRC has a piano in the cocktail hour room, they threw in the pianist for our cocktail hour for free. I could not have asked for more for the price we paid.
They were particularly great since we had some musicians at our wedding and they accommodated backing up my brother who performed Roadhouse Blues.
My only regret was that I did not specify when they should take breaks. Although their first break was timed nicely, when dinner was being served, they took another break toward the end of the night and I think some people assumed the night was over and began to leave – granted it was 11:45PM so the band may not have had anything to do with it, but I wonder.
www.jonbates.com



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CD Favors – GiftCDs.com – A+
We decided to do CD favors because we thought it was something we could personalize, but also something people would use for many years to come. We chose what we consider “classic” songs, and tried to incorporate the songs from our day (i.e. the first song of the CD was our first dance song and the last our last dance song). GiftCDs designed the cover and cases for us (using one of our e-pics) and DH burned the music on to the CDs.
Everyone tells me they listen to it all the time.
www.giftcds.com

Streamers – My Wedding Favors.com – B+
Since St. Agnes in RVC does not allow petal or rice throwing, I wanted to do streamers. Unfortunately, it really was a waste of money. I literally spent $60 on a spool of ribbon with our names, and a bag of sticks. It was my fault that I didn’t read the fine print to know that they required assembly. Since these were a last minute item, I was a bit freaked when I received the ribbon a couple of weeks before the wedding and discovered, on top of all the other last minute projects I was doing, I had to put these together. Luckily, one of my BMs came to the rescue and assembled the majority of them for me. They were not in one picture so unless this is really important to you, I don’t know that I would recommend wasting $$ on this.
www.myweddingfavors.com

Limos – Royalty Limo A+
These guys were excellent. It was so difficult to pick a limo company b/c there are good reviews and bad reviews about every single company. From my research, I found Royalty to have a good track record. Everything went very smooth. Unfortunately, I don’t recall my driver’s names, but both were on time (actually early) and were nice guys.
DH and I had a Rolls Royce. The driver was such a big help to me and to my father. He fluffed and primped me before I walked down the aisle and made sure my Dad’s boutonniere was in place.
www.royaltylimo.com

North Ritz Club A+
They were wonderful. Everything they do, I believe they do 110%. After having visited a few reception halls, North Ritz was our last stop. It had absolutely everything we were looking for. I wanted a venue that only held one wedding at a time, and the layout of the ballroom was very important to me. I wanted all my guests to be able to see the dance floor and everything that was going on from their tables. North Ritz Club is elegant but not overdone, which is what I wanted. The service was great and the price was right. The food was excellent – everyone raved about how much food there was at our cocktail hour. Every time we walked in there during our planning stages, Ida knew exactly who we were. It was wonderful to know that they knew our names, given the amount of $$ we were giving them.
George was our Maitre D’ and did everything we needed him to do. He truly accommodated all of our requests.
And, Monica was my bridal attendant. She was SOOO helpful. She literally followed me around all night, ready to help. She even grabbed a tux jacket to put around me (I think it was George’s) after we took photos outside.
I highly recommend NRC as a wedding venue.
www.northritzclub.com

OTHER:

Bridal Party Gifts A+ for them all
1/ I bought the girls black pashminas because it was the end of October and I knew they might get a little chilly taking pictures outside. I originally tried to match the wine dresses but after ordered from several places, nothing matched up. I was spending $30-$40 per pashmina originally at www.thepashminastore.com. Although I didn’t end up keeping them, they were great quality, the customer service was excellent (I actually shipped a swatch there and they tried to match it up for me and were honest enough to tell me nothing matched) and the return policy was good.
I ended up ordering them through an eBay vendor and paid $8 each. I got 6 in black for my girls and one in white for myself which I used on HM as a wrap, sarong, beach cover-up. It was perfect and very versatile. Since at this point I was in a crunch time-wise, the vendor got them off to me immediately and it worked out perfectly. Unfortunately, I don’t recall the vendor’s eBay name.
2/ I also got the BMs clutch bags that matched their dresses. I didn’t think I would ever find something that was cute and matched, but I did at a local boutique in Forest Hills called Alexandra’s. Since it was a boutique, they were a bit expensive ($55 each) and they didn’t have 6 in stock in that color. Joseph, I believe he was the manager, ordered them for me and made me a deal. I paid $40 each because I ordered 6. He was very good about getting them promptly and calling me to let me know the status. My girls were amazed that I actually found a nice (not cheesy looking) clutch that matched perfectly. They were definitely nice enough to use again for another occasion.
3/ Then I got them Breast Cancer Awareness gift boxes from Sephora. I wanted a gift that was charitable since October was Breast Cancer Awareness month. So, I got each girl a gift box of skincare products that benefited the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Who knows if they use the products, but I felt good knowing this gift gave back. They were $25 each. www.sephora.com
4/ And lastly, I got them earrings from Bloomingdales. Since the BM dress was a low cut V, I didn’t think it was necessary for them to wear necklaces. I got them each a pair of rhinestone chandelier earrings from Bloomingdales. Originally $60, I got them during a 50% off sale for $30 a pair.
5/ And DH got his groomsmen leather credit card holder/money clips from Coach. He ordered them online. They arrived promptly and nicely wrapped. The guys were happy to have nice new leather wallets. He also got his BM a Movado from Overstock for a great price. I actually didn’t see it, so I’m not sure which one, but from what I understand, his brother was thrilled!

Honeymoon –
Travel agent – Alison Adams - A
I got Alison’s name on this site, from someone else who used her. I was researching Tahiti and Fiji and talking to travel agents in Manhattan and was having a difficult time finding someone who was truly knowledgeable.
Alison is based in Las Vegas, originally from Australia. She has been to Fiji several times and was able to answer my questions based on first-hand experiences.
She was so great in helping us finding the perfect place. We went back and forth a lot because most of the resorts had limited honeymoon rooms/villas and we really wanted a private pool or Jacuzzi in our suite. A lot of the resorts were already booked, so she kept at it until we found a place we’d love and met our needs.
She was also great in helping my MOH organize a HM registry for me for my shower. She corresponded with my MOH by e-mail for months before my shower. And, unlike other agents, there was no charge to those contributing to the HM (some places charge up to 8%).
E-mail her at : [email protected]

Sheraton Fiji – part of Starwood Hotels A-
We had a little problem here because we planned on staying at another Sheraton. Unfortunately, when we arrived it was under renovation. Although we were assured we could use the facilities at the Sheraton Fiji (restaurants and pool) we were not satisfied. We asked to be moved to the hotel with all facilities open and were. Once they moved us over, they brought us to an unmade room. So we were moved again. This time they did it right and gave us the corner suite which overlooked the corner of the island and the wedding chapel. It was a lot bigger than our original room so we were happy.
It was very nice but a lot more commercialized then our second stop. However, DH is a big golfer so we wanted to spend a few nights here to hit the Denarau Golf Course at which, apparently, Vijay Singh plays. This meant very little to me, but DH was thrilled and the course was gorgeous (although I nearly melted playing 18 holes).
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/search/hotel_detail.html?propertyID=485

Qamea Resort & Spa – A+
This hotel was the ultimate intimate getaway. We literally had to fly (on top of the LONG flight to the main island of Fiji) almost 2 hours in a six-passenger plane (yes, us, another couple & two pilots), drive through the jungle for 20-minutes and then take a speedboat over 5-ft waves to get to the island. It was VERY secluded.
We had the honeymoon villa for a week which was gorgeous.
There were only 12 villas on the entire island. No locks on the villas – if you wanted your privacy you stuck a red coconut out on your deck!
The food was AMAZING and they served it to you wherever you wanted it. One night we had dinner on the beach, one day they took us by boat to a secluded “honeymoon beach” and dropped us with a picnic lunch, and several mornings we had our breakfast on our deck at the villa.
There was NO technology – no phones in the rooms or TVs. I generally can’t sit still but I wanted to force myself to just lounge and relax – this resort made me do just that. It was definitely an amazing experience – a once-in-a-lifetime trip.
www.qamea.com

fantastic review!
i am in love with your dress! and that bolero - i thought to myself (when i first saw your wedding pics a month ago) whoa, that bolaro is the first elegant and matchiing one ive seen- and i thought it was probably so much money- boy you impressed me with the fact that it was forever 21..you wore it extremely well!

everything looked gorgeous and you have great taste...looks like you had a wonderful day!!

thanks for the great review!
you looked beautiful and I loved your dress!

WOW, great review, Your dress was so pretty, Everything looked great, CONGRATS, welcome back

great review and amazing pics! You were a beautiful bride!!

You looked gorgeous! I love your dress and flowers... everything looked beautiful.

Great review~!!

You looked so beautiful - wonderful pics here - and your dress had such great detail!!

Congrats! I love your dress! You were a beautiful bride