My 4/17/04 Wedding Review -- Now with Link to Proofs! (on page 2)

As most brides write about, my wedding day was the absolute happiest and blessed day of my life! And the weather was just perfect!

Here's my review of all the wonderful (and not so wonderful) vendors who helped make my day so special:

First, I have to say I was at a disadvantage for wanting a dress with sleeves and a veil with a bow. I would say that 99% of all dresses I saw were strapless, but I hung in there and thanks to Richard Glasgow's kindness and vision, I found the perfect dress for me...
WEDDING SALON OF MANHASSET (Wedding Dress by Richard Glasgow): A I loved, loved, my dress -- he makes beautiful gowns and mine was exactly as I had envisoned it should be! I would have given a + on my review had my dress not been falling off me the day of my wedding. At my last fitting (4/10), my dress fit me very well. When I put it on on the 17th, it had to be pinned all over the place to help keep it up and there were flaps of lace at the waist that were never sewn down. Aside from that my dress was perfect!

TRI-COUNTY FLEA MARKET (Veil by Barron's): A+ My veil was adorable. It had a satin bow that matched the bow on my dress and they worked so well together. I definitely couldn't picture spending hundreds of dollars on a veil (that's just me), so for under a $100 I got my dream veil.

THREAD (Bridesmaid Dresses): B- I question the service and quality control of this dress shop. Sneaky tactics to try and cover up for sending me dresses that were NOT tea-length as ordered. I would give them a worse grade, except the girl's dresses were gorgeous. They were a beautiful royal blue organza and they tied in my blue theme perfectly.

VICTOR TALBOT (Tuxedos): A I am throwing this review in after reading Christine's horror story (sorry for your experience!). There were no issues with our tuxes -- everyone had the proper size, style, etc. and they were in excellent good shape. I know the salesman was very courteous to my dad on the phone and he sent a nice note to my husband and I last week.

DENISE VENTI (Hair): A+++ By far the most fun part of getting ready. She is a masterful creator of up-dos! She is fun and upbeat and a true pleasure to work with. She did a fabulous job on me, my bridesmaids and my flower girl. I don't think there was a single guest who didn't comment on how amazing my hair looked (and I don't mean that in a conceited way, I mean it as a tribute to Denise's work!)

CLARIN COHEN (Makeup): A++ She is also an extremely talented and lovely person to work with. She took her time with everyone and gave me the exact look I wanted. My makeup stayed on all day except with a few touch ups of lipstick that were necessary, of course.

Edited Review:
MODERN WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY: B Now that I have my proof book, I am bothered by the fact that in 95% of the pictures, we are all squinting due to the sun. Also, I don't like how people are posed in a lot of the shots. Some of them just don't make sense and aren't asthetically pleasing. I think I will have a hard time choosing 30 pictures b/c there is something wrong in most of them...

Denise was great to work with. I'm not sure what I expected the day of, but it seemed like there was a lot of indecisiveness about some of the pictures. I guess maybe I was looking for someone to take total control of all aspects of photography and not to ask me what I thought. That being said, I absolutely loved her proof books and albums she shared with us when we met her and am confident she will produce beautiful work.

LA BLOSSOM (Flowers): A+ Laurie should be sainted for having to put up with my mom and I. We definitely put her through the ringer up until the end, but she handled it gracefully. My bouquet was a gorgeous bunch of white tulips. It was breathtaking! I knew I would be in good hands, so I never worried about the flowers and Laurie did not disappoint me!

CHURCH OF SAINT MARY: No grade -- I just wanted to mention how this was the loveliest and most meaningful part of the day. My mass was so beautiful. The vocalist and trumpet added even more beauty to it.

NORTH HEMPSTEAD COUNTRY CLUB (Reception): A+ We were sponsored by members who also sponsored my parent's reception there in 1965. It was beautiful -- the room overlooks the 18th hole. The manager there was very helpful and made things run very smoothly.

SAINT HONORE PASTRY SHOP (Cake): A They are the bakery used by the club, and I was extremely happy with the way the cake turned out. It was very pretty and was delicious!

GALAXY MUSIC (Band): A++ They were recommended by the club and they were absolutely fantastic. They played just the right mix of songs and kept everyone out of their seats and dancing. I was touched by their rendition of our song (Just the Way You Are) and was truly blown away by their talent. They are also the most reasonable band we looked at and are definitely a bargain!

DESIGNER LIMOS: A We booked them only a few weeks before the wedding. They were very accomodating and wonderful to work with. The limo driver was courteous, helpful and on-time. He came back at the end of the night to take us to the hotel. He even made an extra, unscheduled stop for us.

ROSLYN CLAREMONT HOTEL: B Nothing special about our wedding night stay there. It is a pretty hotel and our room was nice. There is just nothing that justified the price for a 'honeymoon suite' -- no congratulations, no sense of welcome or really anything special. It was just a room to get a few hours of sleep in before our brunch the next day.

PLANDOME COUNTRY CLUB: A+ My uncles threw us a brunch the next day at this club. It was just lovely!

My one regret of the day is that we didn't have a video. We sort of made fun of the idea thinking we'd never watch it, but now I don't have a memory of the processional before me or lots of the reception when we were outside doing pictures. No matter the cost, I think a video is money well spent! Oh well!

I don't know how to attach a link to my shutterfly pictures, so I'll try to attach a few here...