The Brides' Review - My 4/24/10 Brooklyn West/East Indian Wedding

asg450 Posted: Jun 13, 2010 07:16 PM+

asg450 MEMBER SINCE: 1/09 TOTAL POSTS : 3890 WEDDING DATE: Apr 24, 2010

Posted: Jun 13, 2010 07:16 PM

My 4/24/10 Brooklyn West/East Indian Wedding

Ceremony: Bethelship Norwegian United Methodist Church (A)
I didn't want to use DH's church at first because it did not have center aisle but we didn't want to do a huge search for a place to have the ceremony so we decided to stick with DH's church. It was very beneficial to use DH's church because we had easy access to the church whenever we needed to do something wedding related. There were a few things that could have gone better with the ceremony the day of the wedding but I am very grateful we were blessed with a beautiful day for our wedding.

RH: Grand Prospect Hall (A+)
GPH was the first place we looked at for the wedding and I didn't want to book the first place we saw but DH was set on having our recpetion at Grand Prospect Hall. I wanted to look at as many places as possible but from the moment I saw the Grand Ballroom from the balcony at GPH I understood why DH wanted to book the hall. We booked the hall on Valentine's Day in 2009 and the planning began. We worked with Alice the owner throughout the entire planning process and everything worked out great the day of the wedding. The other staff at GPH was also great to work with as well, they were all such professionals and worked very hard to ensure our day was great.

I wish I could say more about the food but we did not get to eat a lot the day of the wedding, but the food at our tasting was phenomenal and I'm sure our guests enjoyed the huge selection of food we provided at our reception. The cake was okay, I was so hopeful for a delicious cake from Villa Bate's in Brooklyn, their pastries are so good and the RH told us their red velvet cake was so delicious, but I really didn't think it was anything special. The cake did not look exactly like the photo I showed them but it still looked nice; I can't complain.

Dress: Oleg Cassini from David's Bridal (C)
I tried on other dresses at Bridal Salon's but no dress compared to this dress. I went to the David's Bridal store in the city and had a good experience but when I went to pick up my dress it was just so chaotic and I left very annoyed with the store and some of its employees. First, they put me in the smallest dressing room to try on a wedding gown and then the just leave the dress in the bag and walk away; they don't help me with anything. Second, the alterations lady wasn't happy to answer any of my questions and third, they don't even give you a garment bag they give you an over-sized plastic shopping bag to put your wedding gown. Regardless of the stores crappy policies, I was very happy with my dress and would have never chosen a different dress.

Bridal Lehenga: Gurdiya Couture (A)
I absolutely loved my Bridal lehenga and I was so happy when I chose this outfit. I knew exactly what I wanted when I began shopping for this outfit and I found it in this small store in Queens and the designer was great to work; she customized my outfit for me and personally took it to India to alter. The outfit was more expensive than my wedding gown but it was so worth it.

DOJ: Tejani (A)
I first fell in love with Tejani in a Bridal magazine and the moment I stepped into their showroom I was like a kid in a candy store. My MOH's and I gathered together all the pieces I wanted to try on and I left with my earrings, bracelet, and necklace. I did end up spending more than I wanted to on jewelry but I loved each piece.

Engagement Ring/Wedding Bands: Blue Nile (A)
I remember when I first saw the photo of a ring set on Blue Nile, I fell in love with it and sent it to DH a while before we got engaged and he surprised me with the exact ring with just a little more bling on Christmas Eve of 2008 when he proposed. My e-ring was big so DH had to send it back to be re-sized and they were very easy to work with; they made him feel very comfortable with mailing back the ring.
DH ordered the matching band for my e-ring and the set looks beautiful together. I also ordered DH's band from Blue Nile and I was happy with my purchase.

Hair/Makeup: Helene Art of Makeup (A)
Helene did my MOH's wedding and they did such a great job I was absolutely sure I was going to book them for my own wedding. I wasn't too happy with my makeup results for my trial but they easily changed my dislikes and everything looked wonderful the day of the wedding. I LOVED my hair and makeup and I would definitely recommend them to any Brooklyn bride who wants to stay local.

Bridal Henna: Kenzi (A)
I was very happy with my choice to use Kenzi for my bridal henna; her prices were the same as going to an Indian salon but she came to me I didn't need to go to her. She did my hands/legs and my two MOH's hands and it all came out very nice. She was even very patient when I had issues sending her my payment; I didn't know my payment transaction didn't go thru via paypal and she had no problems getting paid almost a month after the wedding. DH's family was reluctant of me using someone who wasn't Indian for my henna and I'm sure she proved them wrong with her work.

http://www.divine-studios.com/events/TralanaAmit/_0009.jpg

Bridal Accessories
Hair Comb: Naugi.com (A)
It was such a difficult decision to pick a hair piece but I fell in love with this comb and it looked gorgeous in my hair.

Shoes: Chinese Laundry and Kenneth Cole (B & A)
I saw a photo of a bride with blue shoes as her something blue and I knew I wanted blue shoes also and I loved these Chinese Laundry shoes from the moment I saw them but they were not very comfortable. I lasted until my main entrance in the RH and they had to come off, but they looked great.

My Kenneth Cole shoes, on the other hand, were sooo comfortable and I loved them.

Veil: Amazon.com and DIY pearls and rhinestones (A)
I always wanted a mantilla veil but I really didn't want to spend $280 on my veil, so I ordered a $30 veil from amazon.com and added my own pearls and rhinestones.

Handkerchief: My Something Borrowed from my aunt (A+)
I asked my aunt to borrow something for the wedding and she was generous to lend me her handkerchief from her wedding 25 years ago and it was very handy during the ceremony. It wasn't anything fancy but it was the sentimental value and she was so honored to lend me something for my wedding.

Wedding Invitation: Indianweddingcard.com (A+)
I love my invitations, I didn't want any other invitation and I had to have them. MIL tried to get me to change my mind about them but I was not going to budge and I'm sure she's glad I didn't since she got a lot of compliments on the invites. The staff at indianweddingcard.com was great, they responded to our emails quickly and did everything they could to make us happy. We did a lot of customization to our invites and they didn't charge us any additional costs. Our guests loved the invitations; I caught many of them sniffing their invitation before they even read it because they were scented. They were expensive but I would have never chosen a different invitation.

DOC: Christine from Exquisite Affairs Productions (A+++)
I love Christine, she was such an asset to our wedding. She sewed up my BM's broken dress zipper, she dealt with DH's crazy family, and she set up our candy buffet before leaving; she was just the best. She was there when I had questions and always willing to help, which she did not have to do. It was even better that she went to school with DH, SIL, and many of their friends so she knew what she was getting into with an Indian wedding.

Flowers: Julie's Flowers (A)
Julie and her crew did a great job, I was very happy with my bouquet, our cp's and altar arrangement. Julie was very generous to provide us with 40 free pew bows and free cake decorations. I only used her for the RH decor, my bk, DH's bout. and my altar arrangements; I provided the other flowers for the wedding. She can be a little bossy at times but you just need to take your stand and remind her whose wedding it is and who is paying for the event.

Limo: Cosmopolitan Coach (A-)
We only used this company because Double Diamond was already booked for our day and they were offering us the best price for a 22 passenger Infinti. At first the limo driver was super nice and very helpful but towards the end when we ran over time due to the long sermon during our ceremony he began telling everyone he needed to be paid for the overtime. We understood we were pass our time and he needed to be paid but honestly he did not have to tell anyone around him about it because we are the people paying him not our guests. But I still give them an A because he was patient when he had to make two trips to the RH to take our parents and then DH and I with the BP to the RH.

Photo/Video: Divine Studios (A)
We chose Divine because we got along with the owner very well and they were willing to work with our budget. We looked at their photos and were pleased with what we saw so we decided to book them. We were very pleased with our e-pics and could not wait to see what they would do for our wedding.

On the day of the wedding, both photogs were early and ready to work. They got along with everyone and took lots of photos of everything; however, due to our scheduling issues we didn't get to take a lot of the photo's we wanted.
DH loves our photos but I am a little iffy about some of them because I think some of the angles just didn't look too well; but I don't have a photographer's eye so to them it may be great. I do think they did a good job and I can't wait to see what they do with our wedding video.

Entertainment: Raaz Entertainment (A)
We chose to use Raaz Ent. because DH's family always uses them and he knew both Indian and West Indian music. Their prices are higher than other DJ's but they do a great job and entertainment is a huge part of a reception and we were not going to risk hiring someone who didn't know how to mix both culture's music together. They did keep our guests on the floor all night; our guests were so busy dancing some didn't get to enjoy all the food we had at the reception.

BP Dresses: Bari Jay from Here Comes the Bridesmaids (A)
My girls saved some money by getting their dresses from Here Comes the Bridesmaids; the ladies in the store were very helpful in ordering the dresses. The bridesmaids loved their dress; however, one of my BM's dresses did have a ruined zipper and my DOC had to sew up her dress right before the ceremony.

Tuxedo's: Dante Zeller's (A+)
DH has a friend that works at Dante Zeller's and she was so helpful and patient; she gave them her discount and dealt with some very picky guys. DH was very happy with his tuxedo.

Wedding Accessories:

Pro Pics:

Diana508 Posted: Jun 13, 2010 07:23 PM+

Diana508 MEMBER SINCE: 6/09 TOTAL POSTS : 2061 WEDDING DATE: May 08, 2010

Posted: Jun 13, 2010 07:23 PM

Re: My 4/24/10 Brooklyn West/East Indian Wedding

Great wedding! Your venue looks beautifully decorated and you looked gorgeous!

Congratulations!!

mybabylovesmoi Posted: Jun 13, 2010 07:40 PM+

mybabylovesmoi MEMBER SINCE: 12/09 TOTAL POSTS : 9394 WEDDING DATE: Jun 05, 2011

Posted: Jun 13, 2010 07:40 PM

Re: My 4/24/10 Brooklyn West/East Indian Wedding

love your pictures and you are a gorgeous bride!

Congrats~!

cynn81 Posted: Jun 13, 2010 07:43 PM+

cynn81 MEMBER SINCE: 9/09 TOTAL POSTS : 618 WEDDING DATE: Oct 09, 2011

Posted: Jun 13, 2010 07:43 PM

Re: My 4/24/10 Brooklyn West/East Indian Wedding

You looked beautiful! Congrats on your wedding

FallBride2010 Posted: Jun 13, 2010 09:00 PM+

FallBride2010 MEMBER SINCE: 8/08 TOTAL POSTS : 6438 WEDDING DATE: Nov 06, 2010

Posted: Jun 13, 2010 09:00 PM

Re: My 4/24/10 Brooklyn West/East Indian Wedding

You looked so beautiful in both dresses. The pics came out great!!!

JAAMS Posted: Jun 13, 2010 10:14 PM+

JAAMS MEMBER SINCE: 3/09 TOTAL POSTS : 17042 WEDDING DATE: Nov 13, 2010

Posted: Jun 13, 2010 10:14 PM

Re: My 4/24/10 Brooklyn West/East Indian Wedding

Congratulations! Beautiful pics!!! Thanks for the review!

Juliebean Posted: Jun 13, 2010 10:34 PM+

Juliebean MEMBER SINCE: 1/10 TOTAL POSTS : 689 WEDDING DATE: Dec 11, 2010

Posted: Jun 13, 2010 10:34 PM

Re: My 4/24/10 Brooklyn West/East Indian Wedding

I love everything!!! Thank you for the reveiw!!
Just beautiful!!

ElovesJ117 Posted: Jun 13, 2010 10:47 PM+

ElovesJ117 MEMBER SINCE: 11/09 TOTAL POSTS : 855 WEDDING DATE: Aug 05, 2011

Posted: Jun 13, 2010 10:47 PM

Re: My 4/24/10 Brooklyn West/East Indian Wedding

Everything looked awesome!

queensbride2010 Posted: Jun 13, 2010 10:51 PM+

queensbride2010 MEMBER SINCE: 5/09 TOTAL POSTS : 722 WEDDING DATE: Jul 16, 2010

Posted: Jun 13, 2010 10:51 PM

Re: My 4/24/10 Brooklyn West/East Indian Wedding

Everything looked beautiful!!

Love your henna! Congrats

halfbaked Posted: Jun 14, 2010 12:37 PM+

halfbaked MEMBER SINCE: 2/09 TOTAL POSTS : 23482 WEDDING DATE: May 14, 2010

Posted: Jun 14, 2010 12:37 PM

Re: My 4/24/10 Brooklyn West/East Indian Wedding

Thanks for the great review! You looked absolutely gorgeous!

HnM2010 Posted: Jun 14, 2010 02:53 PM+

HnM2010 MEMBER SINCE: 1/09 TOTAL POSTS : 801 WEDDING DATE: Apr 24, 2010

Posted: Jun 14, 2010 02:53 PM

Re: My 4/24/10 Brooklyn West/East Indian Wedding

Hey Date Twin!!!! You looks AMAZING!!! Your pictures are beautiful! Your dress, jewlery, hair, makeup, venue.... everything looked fabulous! Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!