My 2-26-10 Winter Wedding Review with Fox Hollow, Designs by Rose, Lighthouse Photography, Hair Genie, lolalovesmakeup, and much more!! Plus loads of pictures!!!!

LIW- A++++++++++++++

If I didn’t find this site I don’t know what I would have done. .I would’ve been vendor-less and lost without the endless information and help and support from all of my fellow brides.. So thank you times infinity for creating this site!! And thank you ladies for always being there especially when I had the stomach fu the day before my wedding (all the prayers realllyy worked)!


Weather- A+ but F at the same time (if that even makes sense)

This biggest snow storm of the year was my wedding day!! I didn’t let it get to me, because no matter what I was marrying my husband that day! I guess it is an F because our limo’s were a problem for the day since the Princess Rolls couldn’t make it, and we had about 15 (!!!) no-shows, but it was a snow storm so we understood for the most part. A+ because I love the winter and I love the snow and it made for amazing pictures!!



Church - A+++

St. Luke’s Church - Whitestone
I love this Church so much. It is where we baptized our son and could not wait to have our ceremony here. Father Vincent also baptized our son so we knew we wanted him to do our ceremony. He was perfect and super easy to work with from the very beginning. He always made time for us and made our ceremony very personal and perfect for me and DH.



Reception Hall - A++++++++++

Fox Hollow
We were on a tight budget and didn’t even think we would be able to have the wedding of our dreams. We originally were going to just do a restaurant reception, but I begged DH to go to the Fox Hollow with me, ‘just to see’ what they had to offer. I just wanted to know that there was no way we could afford it just for peace of mind. I saw pictures of the hall months before and knew it would be perfect for my winter wedding so if we were going to have our reception somewhere other than a restaurant, it was going to be here! Well they gave us the same price as a restaurant we looked into, but included sooooooo much more food and alcohol, so we were sold at that point! The day of went so smoothly, and the service was above and beyond! I could not have asked for more from Fox Hollow! My BA was so sweet and took care of everything for me and our Maitre’d took care of everything from beginning to end. We really could not have been happier. We did not stress one thing the whole night.





Florist - B+/A

Designs by Rose
We booked Rose on the spot! We originally only wanted personals and were going to do non-floral centerpieces. DH saw a picture he liked while we were there and the whole non-floral cp idea flew out the window lol. She worked so well with our budget so it seemed like a much easier idea to go with flowers in the end. Rose really knows her stuff and was so easy to communicate with. I changed my BM’s bo-k’s a couple of times and adjusted our cp and she was so helpful the whole time. The day of all of our personals arrived very early, because of the snow she wanted to make sure everything was delivered and set up at the hall on time. Well all of our bouquets were wilting and 2 roses from myyy bouquet fell off before I even got to the reception. The girls bouquets were supposed to have pink freesia to add a pop of color and they were already turning brown. I don’t know what went wrong, but I was so upset with them. It was obvious in many of my pro pics too, but I really tried not to let anything ruin my day. When I walked into the room our reception was in, I almost cried, I was so happy with the way the centerpieces looked. They were simple and pretty at the same time. It made up for the bouquets kind of, at least at that moment. Everyone loved the flowers and fought over who was taking them home lol.




DJ - A++

Chuck and JT
This was easy for us because JT (Junior Tai) is a very good friend of ours and he knew before we even had a date set that we wanted him to be our DJ. Well actually he was our MC and his partner was our DJ which was perfect because he’s known us for years. They did an amazing job and followed my Must Play/Do Not Play Lists perfectly! Everyone was dancing the whole time. I love that we had such a good friend, who is super talented there to keep everyone on their feet!


Photographer - A++++

Lighthouse Photography - Florio
We absolutely loved Florio when we met him and booked him immediately. He has the most outgoing personality and really knows his stuff. He was perfect for our budget and his work is definitely worth a million times more. I didn’t think I would be able to afford pictures I would love forever and Florio made that dream possible. He showed up early even with all the snow and started taking pictures right away. Everyone in our bridal party loved him!! I don’t know who wouldn’t though honestly. Our pictures were already waiting for us when we got home from our honeymoon and up on his site not even 3 days after the wedding. I can’t even express how much I love our pictures. All of the snow made for such an amazing background for so many of our pictures and I am so glad we had such a big storm that day because these are pictures no one has that I will remember forever!!



Limos - B

Royalty Limos
This was the last vendor we booked since we were getting married in the off season we didn’t stress a lot of our vendors until the last minute. We booked everything we wanted at a good price less than a month before the wedding. The day of about an hour or two before the ceremony, DH got a call that the Princess Rolls would not be able to make it because of all the snow. We had a 3pm ceremony, so why we got a call so last minute when it was more than a foot at 9am, I don’t know. They upgraded our limo to make up for it, and eventually refunded us some of our money back since we lost out on the Rolls that we really wanted pictures with. We did love our driver that day, he was so nice and helpful because of all the snow helping all of us in and out of the limo and into the church. All in all we are happy in the end.


Hair- A+++

Jenn the Hair Genie
There aren’t enough nice words to describe Jenn! I definitely feel like I have a friend (and hairdresser) for life! From the moment I met Jenn it was like she was one of my best friends. Not only is she so talented but her personality and sense of humor are amazing! I booked her right on the spot the day of my trial. On the day of she did my hair, my MOH and my other BM. It all looked amazing and my BM is hard to please when it comes to hair, but we all could not have been happier. I will never go to anyone else for my hair (cuts, color, or event hair). She also stayed after she was done to help me with my dress and checked up on me later that night because I was just recovering from the stomach flu. She is a genuine sweetheart!!



Makeup - A+

Andrea lolalovesmakeup
I loved Andrea, from our very first e-mails it felt like she was a life long friend. I loved my trial and my make up the day of. Andrea showed up right on time even though she was coming from Suffolk to Queens in a snow storm. And she had a great attitude as always and was ready to get to work. She did my makeup, my MOH, one of my BM’s, MOB, and MOG. No one was disappointed and it stayed allll night!! Love Andrea!!



My Dress- A+

David’s Bridal (Westbury)
I decided to go to David’s Bridal first to get a feel for wedding dress shopping so I would not be too overwhelmed. I brought my MIL and SIL since my mom lives in FL and we planned the wedding in like 8 months. I tried on maybe 10 or 12 dresses and fell in love with dress #1. The girl helping me was so helpful and knew I kept comparing every dress to the 1st so it was ‘the one’! My MIL even cried so I just knew it was mine! My dress came in about a month so it was quick, but then it hung in my closet for like 6 months until my first fitting. I was nervous about getting my alterations done here because of some reviews I read on this site, but I decided to just take a chance. I was very pleased with the woman who did my measurements, she was very nice to deal with and altered my dress to fit me like a glove. All in all I had a pretty great experience here, but I have to thank the 2 ladies I dealt with in the beginning and end for that.



Bridesmaid dresses - B+

Bridal Reflections (Carle Place)
I knew from the very beginning of planning which dress I wanted my girls to wear. It was a Jim Hjelm and I was in love with it. Luckily, my girls loved it too and never gave me a problem. The girls at Bridal Reflections were not very helpful, couldn’t find the dress I wanted at first and then didn’t help any of my girls get into it, so I couldn’t really tell what it would look like. They just seemed like they didn’t want to be bothered. I just wanted to get the dresses out of the way and ordered because it was cutting it close to the wedding date and the dresses had to be rushed. I didn’t know what the colors would look like since I didn’t order it in the sample colors but I took a chance on the dresses and when they came in (about 2 months later and a month earlier than expected) I loved them and so did my girls! Alterations were easy too and done the week of with no problems. Oh, I almost forgot, I had asked for a swatch and never got it. When I asked about it they said it was sent to my address but that they would send another, which I also never got. Luckily for me they are right next to where we got our tuxes and the girl that helped us was able to take ties to BR and find us one that matched. And as for their shoes I just told them navy blue so they bought dyeables from David’s Bridal and had them dyed there.



Flower Girl Dress - A+

David’s Bridal (Westbury)
I decided to have my flower girl where the matching version to my dress since our RB (our son) was going to match DH. So this was easy and again DB was no problem for us since we already knew what we wanted.


MOB Dress - A+

David’s Bridal (the website)
We took a chance ordering a dress from the website but my mom didn’t have a dress yet and it was less than a month before the wedding. The dress she liked was only available in 2 sizes so we crossed our fingers and got her the smaller size. It was delivered in less than a week and fit her just fine (actually had to have it altered a little because the length was too long and the straps were loose). We definitely lucked out with this one and my mom loved her dress.


MOG Dress - A+

Estelle’s
MIL was a different story than my mom, but we didn’t mind. We wanted her to be comfortable and happy with whatever she chose and we went to like 5 different places to find it. I knew we should’ve just taken the drive out to Farmingdale to begin with. The dress she bought was a little tight but it was the one she kept seeing from other stores and always went back to that dress, so we convinced her it would be fine and there was still a few weeks until the wedding to get it to fit perfect. Estelle’s had by far the best selection of all the places we went to with the best prices.



Tuxedos - A+

Tuxedo Park (Carle Place)
We checked out a couple of placed before Tuxedo Park that DH did not like at all. It was really important to him that he have a tux that he liked and Allison at Tuxedo Park was awesome to work with. She helped us with exactly what we wanted for DH and our groomsmen. She matched DH perfectly to me and my dress (and matched our son the RB exactly to DH) and the GM’s matched exactly to the bridesmaids dresses. Everything worked out perfectly thanks to her.




Wedding Night Hotel - A+
Executive Inn at Woodbury
After our final arrangements meeting at Fox Hollow when we picked our menu and all other stuff, we decided to check out this hotel so we could block rooms. She showed us the rooms which were nice we thought for us and our guests. We didn’t need anything special and we didn’t want our guests to spend a lot for just one night. We got a good price so we decided to do the room block and it worked out really well for everyone.


STDs - A+
This was our very first DIY project. We have a 2 year old and knew we wanted to incorporate him into the planning in any way possible. So we took some pictures of him and made a Save the Date postcard on Snapfish.com for all of our family and friends. Everyone loved them.




Invites - A+
Another DIY for me. We got our invites from Michaels and they were from Brides.com. This was fun for me to do. I did all the wording and fonts and assembly (except DH tied all the bows and I love him for it because that little detail I had no patience for lol). I love the way they came out and everyone was surprised that they were DIY and that I actually did them lol.




Photosharing Card - A+

Vistaprint
Always a good deal on this site, so I jumped on the chance and they came out nice.



Guest Sign-in - A+
This was kind of a DIY for us. We took pictures in Old Town in Florida when we visited my mom last September. We dressed up as a bride and groom having a shotgun wedding. It was a lot of fun and DH suggested we use one of the pictures for the sign-in frame we wanted to do. We bought the frame on sale at Michael’s and that was that.



Favor stickers- A+

Etsy.com vendor - MAUpromos
Etsy was something I discovered thanks to LIW and I am so glad I did because I got so many things from this site. This vendor was very easy to work with and got back to me quick. I received my favor stickers within days of approving the design. I thought they were so cute and loved them.


Programs - A

Etsy.com vendor - 2bsquared
Super easy to work with and fast. I messaged her about two weeks before the wedding and had the programs a few days before the wedding. It was a last minute addition and I am so happy we got them. The only problem I had was I wanted my programs the same as the picture she had shown except navy blue ink instead of red but with silver ribbons, and I got navy blue ribbons. But no big deal because my girls had navy blue sashes so it still matched anyway.



Unity Candle - A

Etsy vendor - wreath artist
I loved our unity candle. It was exactly what I was looking for and went with out winter wedding. She was easy to work with and very quick in responding and getting the candle to me. The ribbon on the top of our unity candle was a little bit crooked but whatever, I wasn’t going to send it back over that and I figured no one would notice or say anything anyway (and no one did).



Cake - A
Erga Bakery
We got the exact cake we wanted. Red velvet with cream cheese filling with cream cheese frosting. It looked so pretty (especially with the flowers that Rose added to it) and tasted delicious.



Shoes - B
DSW
I wanted something simple but with a little something extra. So when I saw my shoes on the DSW website I had to have them. They are very simple with a little ruffle on the back which I thought was really cute. I didn’t wear them very long though and took them off before the reception actually started, and the ruffles are ruined already so I can never wear them again



Wedding Bands - A

Tiffany’s
We did not want to spend a lot on our bands, as long as it was something we loved. DH’s ring is actually the same ring I gave him from Tiffany’s for Christmas maybe 4 years ago. He has been wearing it for all these years already as though we were married and did not want to replace it, so thank you DH for being so easy. I fell in love with the Tiffany’s ‘I love you’ ring and even though it only comes in silver, I don’t care. It’s pretty and simple and suits me just fine, and I love that it says I love you all around it!


Favors - A+
We knew from the beginning we would do a donation favor to the American Heart Association since my father passed away when I was 18 from a massive heart attack very unexpectedly. We knew we wanted to have my dad’s memory be a special part of our big day. We still wanted everyone to take a little something home. So I recycled all of the used 3rd Foods baby food jars that my son would eat. I cleaned them all up really good and added the favor stickers to the front, filled them with Valentines Day M&M’s (our wedding was less than 2 weeks after V-Day), painted the caps off white, and added red ribbon to them since the AHA colors are red and white. (i don't know why but I can't find a better picture of the small favor except this small one)



Card Box - A

This was another DIY project, but this time for DH to do. He is super creative and came up with the idea of our card box looking like a Chinese take out container because we met years ago while working at P.F. Chang‘s. So he used wood and linen to make our card box and added little knobs on the side. It was not 100% done by the time of the wedding because DH is a sanitation worker and with all the snow was working overtime for like 2 or 3 weeks straight leading up to the wedding day. No one noticed though and it didn’t bother us. It was meaningful to us and that’s what mattered. (another thing I couldn't find a good pic of except my friend peeking lol)



Bouquet Charm - A+

Etsy vendor - ilbia210
Another easy etsy vendor who was really great to work with. I emailed her a picture of my dad and when it came in the mail I cried. It was perfect and one of my favorite things of the day because I really felt like he was there with me.


Name Plaque - A+
Channa Plaque
It was SO easy to work with Channa, and just another thing I had to have thanks to LIW! I told her what I liked and she sent me like 6 different designs. After picking one I had my plaque in just a couple of weeks. Everyone loved it too and now I know exactly what our parents will be getting for Christmas lol!




Rehearsal Dinner - A

P.F. Chang’s (Westbury)
We met here in 2004, so we knew we had to go back ‘home’ where it all started for the rehearsal. We were treated like family and had most of the back of the restaurant to ourselves. The food is always great and the service was good. We couldn’t go wrong with this place. My RD dress was a Betsey Johnson and it was also my 25th Birthday. I also DIY the menu’s myself. We were so busy eating and opening gifts we took like 5 pictures woops.



Bridal shower - A+
Giardino’s
My shower was planned by my MOH (SIL), my BM’s and my MIL. They did a really nice job with everything and chose a great place. I loved the food and the cake yummy. It was close to new year’s day so many people weren’t able to make it but it still worked out great. All the people that are truly close and special to me were there (minus my mom in FL) so I didn’t let everyone else get to me. I’m so glad that they put such a nice shower together for me I didn’t expect it at all! My Shower dress was a Betsey Johnson too. My RD dress was supposed to be my shower dress but I changed my mind literally at the last minute (and I regret it because I was freeeeezing). One of my BMs was supposed to do my hair but was a big disappointment the whole wedding process so I just went natural and saved myself a headache.


Veil - A+

Ebay (private seller)
$50, ivory with champagne edged ribbon, matched my dress perfectly, good enough for me!



DOJ - A+++

Etsy vendor - SaharaAmaya
I wanted champagne colored Swarovski crystals as my DOJ to match the champagne bow on my dress and it was not easy to find until I saw my earring and necklace set on etsy. I wasn’t sure I would like it in person but when I opened the package I loved it so much.


Hair accessory - A+++

Etsy vendor - JMGJewelDesign
It took me forever to decide what I was going to put in my hair. At first I wanted a ribbon headband but I couldn’t find any that matched my DOJ so I gave up on that. I checked etsy everyday for weeks and then one day I saw a new listing of a really pretty flower with a champagne crystal in the center and pearls surrounding it. Finally something that matched! I wanted it a little bit smaller which was no problem for the vendor who was very sweet. I had told her how hard it was to find something that matched my DOJ and dress because of the champagne crystal and when I received the flower clip in the mail and opened the box I was so surprised to see she added about 4 more of the champagne crystals to the center! I was in love, she is amazing and definitely gave me more than I expected!


Garter - A+

Etsy.com
I am not quite sure which vendor it is from because it was a gift from one of my bridesmaids, but it was so unexpected and one less thing I had to worry about. It was so pretty and my something blue!


BM gifts - A+
Etsy.com - vendors luxedeluxe, SizeloveCreations, and Gingeroni1
Coach outlet
I gave my girls their DOJ. My MOH got a necklace and earrings and my 2 bridesmaids got their earrings. We also took care of my MOH’s day of hair and makeup and one of my BM’s makeup, the other did her own. Each of my girls also got a Coach wristlet that matched their dresses for the day of, that they could still use after. I also picked them up some flip flops from Old Navy for the reception.



GM gifts - A+
I’m not quite sure what site DH got the guys gifts from but he bought them humidors and cigars and had them personalized for the GM with their names. His Best man (his brother) got the biggest one and DH had the glass etched with his nickname. They were different and definitely a big hit with the guys.


FG gifts - A+

Etsy vendors - SaharaAmaya and pookafan
We gave our flower girl a cute cross necklace and a little bracelet that matched each other. We also gave her some Disney Princess coloring books.



RB gift - A+++
He got to go on our Honeymoon with us, that’s a big enough gift lol.


Honeymoon - A+++++

Roadtrip to Disney and other parts of FL for 2 weeks!
We had a honeymoon registry so it helped take care of our honeymoon for us. It looks liek it was more of a family vacation than a honeymoon but it kind of was since we focused so much time on wedding planning for 10 months we wanted our son to enjoy some quality time with us..plus my mom lives close to Disney so we had a babysitter too.
It was amazing and so much fun (cold, but fun). It’s the happiest place on earth what more can I say


B-Pics - A+ (pending pictures)

Jenerations
Boudoir Pictures are not something I planned on taking or budgeted for, but I heard so many great reviews from my fellow brides and booked with Jen in the beginning of January. Since the wedding was like 6 weeks away I didn’t want to rush things and decided to book them for after the wedding and give them to DH as a 30th birthday present. So I just took my pictures yesterday and had a great time doing them. I’m so glad I decided to do this. Jenn was great and made me feel so comfortable and talked me through everything. I am super confidant that I will love the pictures when I see them in a couple of weeks and that DH will love them even more than me when he see’s them in July (if I can wait that long lol). I went to Jenn the Hair Genie for my hair before the pictures and Oksana did my makeup (A++++ for both). I loved both my hair and makeup. They were perfect for B-pics! Can’t wait to see the finished product!!!


Sorry this was sooooo long! I hope it was helpful though!! And hopefully you enjoyed alllll the pics Oh and sorry all the pics are SOOOO HUGE..i don't know how to fix that...enjoy

Re: My 2-26-10 Winter Wedding Review with Fox Hollow, Designs by Rose, Lighthouse Photography, Hair Genie, lolalovesmakeup, and much more!! Plus loads of pictures!!!!

Wonderful review! I loved all the pics. CONGRATULATIONS!!!

BTW..your son is sssooo cute!! Congrats again

Re: My 2-26-10 Winter Wedding Review with Fox Hollow, Designs by Rose, Lighthouse Photography, Hair Genie, lolalovesmakeup, and much more!! Plus loads of pictures!!!!

awesome review! love love love your winter pictures!! what beautiful memories of what looks to have been a wonderful day for you both! Congratulations!

Re: My 2-26-10 Winter Wedding Review with Fox Hollow, Designs by Rose, Lighthouse Photography, Hair Genie, lolalovesmakeup, and much more!! Plus loads of pictures!!!!

Love the 1st pic of you and FH..the snow makes that pic even more beautiful

Congrats

Re: My 2-26-10 Winter Wedding Review with Fox Hollow, Designs by Rose, Lighthouse Photography, Hair Genie, lolalovesmakeup, and much more!! Plus loads of pictures!!!!

You looked AMAZING!!!!!!! Florio did an amazing job. Congrats love!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: My 2-26-10 Winter Wedding Review with Fox Hollow, Designs by Rose, Lighthouse Photography, Hair Genie, lolalovesmakeup, and much more!! Plus loads of pictures!!!!

First, thanks for giving us such a great, detailed review! You looked beautiful and your winter wonderland pictures are amazing! I also love your dress and the your cake. So pretty!
Congrats to you on being a married lady!

Re: My 2-26-10 Winter Wedding Review with Fox Hollow, Designs by Rose, Lighthouse Photography, Hair Genie, lolalovesmakeup, and much more!! Plus loads of pictures!!!!

Congrats I love your pics in the snow and your vision on budget. Great job on both of you in the DIY projects. Your STD priceless Thanks for sharing.

Re: My 2-26-10 Winter Wedding Review with Fox Hollow, Designs by Rose, Lighthouse Photography, Hair Genie, lolalovesmakeup, and much more!! Plus loads of pictures!!!!

thanx for the detailed review. Everything looked beautiful!!!!

Re: My 2-26-10 Winter Wedding Review with Fox Hollow, Designs by Rose, Lighthouse Photography, Hair Genie, lolalovesmakeup, and much more!! Plus loads of pictures!!!!

what a great review and great wedding! Congrats! Your son is adorable!!!

Re: My 2-26-10 Winter Wedding Review with Fox Hollow, Designs by Rose, Lighthouse Photography, Hair Genie, lolalovesmakeup, and much more!! Plus loads of pictures!!!!

Great review!!! Everything looked amazing!!!

Re: My 2-26-10 Winter Wedding Review with Fox Hollow, Designs by Rose, Lighthouse Photography, Hair Genie, lolalovesmakeup, and much more!! Plus loads of pictures!!!!

Love your winter pictures!!! Everything looked beautiful!!! Congrats!!

Re: My 2-26-10 Winter Wedding Review with Fox Hollow, Designs by Rose, Lighthouse Photography, Hair Genie, lolalovesmakeup, and much more!! Plus loads of pictures!!!!

amazing review love the snow pics LOL @ the shotgun picture too funny

Re: My 2-26-10 Winter Wedding Review with Fox Hollow, Designs by Rose, Lighthouse Photography, Hair Genie, lolalovesmakeup, and much more!! Plus loads of pictures!!!!

Thanks for the review! Your pictures are amazing!! I just booked Fox Hollow for next summer

Re: My 2-26-10 Winter Wedding Review with Fox Hollow, Designs by Rose, Lighthouse Photography, Hair Genie, lolalovesmakeup, and much more!! Plus loads of pictures!!!!

loved the flowers!!! beautiful review!!

Re: My 2-26-10 Winter Wedding Review with Fox Hollow, Designs by Rose, Lighthouse Photography, Hair Genie, lolalovesmakeup, and much more!! Plus loads of pictures!!!!

everything looks beautiful!
even the snow! it made for great pics!!!

Re: My 2-26-10 Winter Wedding Review with Fox Hollow, Designs by Rose, Lighthouse Photography, Hair Genie, lolalovesmakeup, and much more!! Plus loads of pictures!!!!

Thanks so much for the great review!! Everything looks absolutely beautiful, and your son is so adorable!!!!

Re: My 2-26-10 Winter Wedding Review with Fox Hollow, Designs by Rose, Lighthouse Photography, Hair Genie, lolalovesmakeup, and much more!! Plus loads of pictures!!!!

You look absolutely amazing! Congrats! your pics look beautiful! im booked with LHP as well............

Re: My 2-26-10 Winter Wedding Review with Fox Hollow, Designs by Rose, Lighthouse Photography, Hair Genie, lolalovesmakeup, and much more!! Plus loads of pictures!!!!

what an awesome review!!!!
love ur dress and ur hair flower was to die for

and so cute that all 3 of u went on the HM and to Disney

Re: My 2-26-10 Winter Wedding Review with Fox Hollow, Designs by Rose, Lighthouse Photography, Hair Genie, lolalovesmakeup, and much more!! Plus loads of pictures!!!!