My 9.12.09 Beach/Travel Themed Wedding Review including FM Entertain., Hidden Essence, Duet, Sachiko, Beckwith Pointe, M.A.S. Music, Hudson Valley, lots of DIY’s and more w/ lots of PRO PICS!!!!!!!

I don’t even remember how I came across LIW but I do remember reading about all these wedding ideas and lurking until I finally joined in January 2008. I have become friends with some great women on this site and I pretty much all my vendors I had were recommendations from LIW. I wanted to thank LIW and everyone who has helped me with all my decisions and planning!!!!

Also, it did rain a bit on my wedding day but I still wanted my ceremony outside and it all worked out fine. I bought umbrellas the day before so that we could still take pictures outside and we only needed them for a couple of shots when it started misting more. I would say to all the brides-to-be dont let the weather stress you out. There is nothing you can do but prepare yourself. The most important thing that day is your marrying your husband to be. You can let it stress you out too much. Have a backup plan just in case and remember that even if it does rain you can get some great shots regardless.

Engagement

We started dating in college. I was a senior and he was a junior. We worked together in the same department as teaching assistants. We got engaged in Costa Rica in November 2007. We had talking about getting married after dating for about 5 years and he surprised me on the last night we were there on vacation after a romantic dinner we sat by the water looking at the stars and he popped the question.

Engagement Ring

Blue Nile – I knew that I wanted a princess cut diamond solitaire ring set in platinum and I loved the 1.5 carat weight. So went to the diamond district to see what we could find and in the end DH decided to go online and purchase the ring.

This was the day after we got engaged!!!



Engagement Pictures

We took 3 different sets of engagement pictures with 3 different photographers.

The 1st engagement session I found off of weddingbee.com and we took them at The Cloisters in Fort Tryon Park which is part of the Metropolitan Museum. We took them in March 2009 and it was a cold and windy day but the pictures came out great. We did get kicked out but not before we got some great shots. Our photographer was Tim Wong.









The 2nd engagement session was with Duet and the photographer was Danny. Well I wanted something different for the location and the Museum of Natural History was a place that DH and I went to when we first began dating. We are also in the science field so it was perfect. It was great to see shots of us with the dinosaurs and overall I think it was a great session.

















The 3rd and final session was done the week before the wedding. I had found Vaughn on craigslist and we had been trying to schedule a day for the pictures for several months. The session was at Coney Island on the beach and that was my favorite session by far since we got to play football on the sand and just have that beach environment was perfect for my wedding theme.

















Bachelorette Party

My BP wanted to surprise me with where we were going. I knew that we were flying away a specific weekend and it was international since I needed my passport. They gave me clues each month leading up to the party. I guessed the location on the 1st clue and they denied it was there the entire time until they finally told me on the way to the airport. They took me to IRELAND for 3 days and it was amazing!!! We stayed in Dublin. On our trip we saw blarney castle, mohers cliff, guiness and Jameson factory, we drove around the Irish hillsides and we did a pub crawl.





















Bridal Shower

For my bridal shower I was completely involved with the planning and execution. I knew what I wanted and I didn’t want to leave that up to anyone else. The theme for the shower was Latin meets Asia since I am Latin and DH is Asian. I thought it would be perfect. I also wanted to have Spanish food but all the decorations to be Asian inspired so I started looking for restaurants to accommodate these requirements as well not be in the city was a bit challenging. So I went to Palo Santo to taste the food for brunch and it was perfect. They had a back room that we rented for the entire time as well as an outdoor area. The food was delicious and I think that my bridal party did a great job with the decorations as well as the games. I didn’t have a great number of guests at the party but it was perfect for me.

Palo Santo – A

Food was AMAZING!!! I would definitely go back there for brunch and dinner. The passed appetizers, main course and desserts were phenomenal as well as the drinks. Everybody raved about the food and the service was really good too.















Photographer – A

I know that I wanted to capture my bridal shower with a photographer so I went on the hunt to find a person willing to shoot it for free. I found Vaughn on craigslist and he was more than willing to shoot my bridal shower as well as an engagement shoot, that he did for us later on. He was on time and he captured great moments!!!























Invitations – A

I wanted an asian style invitation and I couldn’t find anything out there that I really liked so I went to Etsy and I had theperfectgiftshop custom make an invitation that I loved.




Calligraphy – A-

I found a person to do the calligraphy on weddingbee.com and she only charged me $1 an envelope and it was more of trial run to see if I would use her for my wedding but I then decided to go with a different style. The only issue I had was that you could see the pencil marks of where she did the template for the address. Other than that they were nice.



Guestbook – A-

I also had a guestbook made to match the whole theme and I found another person on etsy who did a great job!!!





Favors, Decorations and DIY’s

I basically wanted the whole asian theme to translate so my BP and I went to chinatown and we picked up lots of decorations. The favors I picked out. I wanted a functional gift that most people would enjoy so we bought Trader Joe’s Two-Buck Chuck which is a good wine that is inexpensive. I also bought wine covers that were Chinese outfits. My only DIY was the menus that I wanted to have in the color scheme of red, white and black. The centerpieces were bamboo and we gave them away as one of the games.









Rehearsal Dinner

So because DH is Chinese and I wanted to incorporate his culture into the wedding we decided to have the RD at a Chinese restaurant that we go to for dinner every so often. They have private rooms and we had to spend a minimum of $400 to secure the room. We didn’t come close to that but they didn’t say anything to us which worked out.







My beautiful BP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Grooms Cake

I have a co-worker who makes the most delicious cakes and I asked him if he would please make a cake that was designed around our football team the Philadelphia Eagles!!!! DH also loves Boston cream donuts so the filling was vanilla custard with vanilla cake and the football was all chocolate.





Bridal Party Gifts

For my girls I wanted the gifts to be unique and individual based on their likes. For my BM I got her a diamond and gold cross pendant and chain.

For my MOH, since she loves gadgets I got her the flip hd camcorder. She loves to take videos with her camera and she would definitely use this.

In addition to these gifts I decided to get them day of jewelry which they would be able to wear after the wedding. I got them blue topaz earrings and bracelets. I also paid for them to have hair and makeup done on the wedding day and their mani/pedi’s the day before.





DH has a hard time buying gifts for people and we ended up asking the BM to ask the GM what he wanted. He wanted a dewalt drill set which DH got him. The BM didn’t know what he wanted but he had mentioned previously that he would like the ipod touch so in the end DH got him that. Also, DH paid for their tuxedo rentals.

Wedding

Wedding Dress:

Julius Bridal – C then to B+ the reason for the 2 grades is because my dress was wrong when it first came in and I had to wait until the week before the wedding to get my dress. However, once it did come it was perfect. The veil was amazing and everything was exactly how it should be.

Well I knew that I wanted a nice dress without the cost…so I searched online to find dresses that appealed to me and then I went to Macy’s Bridal to try on a few. I was not impressed with what I was seeing as well as the heft prices. So I turned again online and I found a company called Julius bridal and their dress selection was phenomenal as well as their prices. I fell in love with a certain dress and I wanted to try it on. I contacted them and they had a showroom in queens. I went there and they did not have the dress but they had similar ones. I decided to go out on a limb and purchase the dress without even having tried it on. They measured me in May which some might say is too close to the wedding however they assured me it would take about 2 months to have the dress made. Well I waited and waited and 2 months past then 3 months and finally it came in August, 1 month before the wedding and what happened…it was not right!!!! I was so upset. The cap sleeves I ordered were wrong and the bottom of the dress was embroidered which I didn’t want and it wasn’t even in their picture, by the way I selected a dress that they had made before, and there wasn’t enough beading or crystals. These are pictures at the 1st fitting. I was really unhappy, I had a smile but I really wanted to cry, and they assured me that they could have another dress made in 2 weeks…well it took 3 weeks…and 1 week before the wedding my dress came in and it was perfect. Instead of the cap sleeves we decided that a bolero would be better. Also, they forgot to make my veil the first as well as the built in corset. In the end my dress was beautiful. I was really pleased with how it came out. The only problem was the timing. I wish they would have made the dress in time then I wouldn’t have stressed about it in the weeks leading up to the wedding.









These are pics at my last fitting and I was so much happier:






These are my wedding day pics of my dress:







BM Dresses:

I didn’t want my girls to pay that much for their dresses so we went shopping and everything was at least $125-$150 that we liked. So I spoke to Julius Bridal and they said they can replicate the dress we liked for only $80 with free alterations. That was perfect. Their dresses came in about a month and they loved it.

This is the original Bari Jay:



This is the replica:





DOJ:

I didn’t want to spend a fortune on DOJ so I went to the fashion district and I came upon a store called enttra and they had really nice jewelry. I ended up buying 2 different bracelets and earrings because I didn’t know what I would want to where that day. Also I wanted to have something sparkly in my hair but I didn’t want a tiara. I bought about 7 different brooches from ebay and then that day I decided on the one that I wanted. My MOH wore one and so did my niece.

My earrings:



My bracelets:



My something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue:

My old was a pendant that I received when I was baptized and the borrowed was a cross that I borrowed from a family friend



My something new was the dress and the blue were my shoes:



Garter

Garters by Kristi - A

I bought my garter off of ebay. Both DH and I love the Eagles so I wanted to have an Eagles garter. It cost me about $25 and I got 2 garters one being a keepsake and a pair of underwear. Garters by Kristi was prompt in getting me the garter and it was perfect. DH loved it.









Rings:

I knew I wanted to have diamonds in a platinum band and I wanted them to be princess cut. I went to the diamond district and I found a place that offered me the best deal on the ring. It took about a month to have it made but in the end it was beautiful.

DH hates to wear any jewelry so I decided to get him a titanium band I looked around and then I went to ebay and I found it cheaper than any other place and it was authentic. So I bought it off ebay.



Chinese Tea Ceremony

DH is Chinese and it is traditional to have a tea ceremony where you serve tea to the elders and they give you a red envelope with money. I wanted to incorporate this into the wedding so we decided to have it before the American ceremony in the bridal suite. It was perfect and I loved incorporating his culture into the wedding. My FMIL appreciated it as well. For the ceremony I wanted to wear a traditional quipao so I had one made from a person on ebay. They were in China and it took less than 3 weeks to have it made and shipped. It was perfect. I also bought gold shoes to go with the dress as well.











Shoes




Florist:

Hidden Essence – A

I found Hidden Essence off LIW after meeting with Flower Barn, Flower Michelle and Flowers by Brian. I went with Michelle because she offered me the most for my money and she was really sweet. I went for a mock up of my centerpieces but I decided that I wanted less green and brighter colors for the tables so we changed the white roses to yellow and eliminated any green. In addition I wanted to add flowers to the cocktail hour tables and they came out great. I also changed the colors of the bouquets. All in all she was great. On time, professional and really a nice person. She setup the ceremony flowers and all the tables just like I wanted. She also decorated the gazebo for our ceremony.



















Ceremony Music:

M.A.S. Music – A

I wanted to have a string music played for the ceremony but I didnt want to spend a fortune so I posted on Vendors Helping Brides and Marie from M.A.S. Music responded promptly and her prices were the best. We communicated mostly via email and I sent her my music requests and she played them. She was on time for the wedding but because of the rain she had to move into the RH but the doors were open so you could still here the music.



DJ:

FM Entertainment – A

I only met with two DJ’s. The first one I can’t even remember their name but it wasn’t good. My bp went with me to see FM at their showcase and I knew that they would be the one for me. Frank was great so I knew I wanted him for my wedding. I booked them the following week. I added steel drum and I changed from DJ/MC to DJ and MC. The price was the best out there. They kept people on the dance floor and that was the most important thing for me.









Photography/Video:

Duet Photography – A

What can I say about Duet. I went to about 7 different photographers before I went to see Duet. I loved how professional they were and their work was to die for. I knew then that I would book them and a week later we did. I booked with Danny since I knew I wanted traditional as well as stylish. They were right on time to take pictures of me getting ready and they stayed until about 8:30PM while we were bowling so it was about 11.5 hours in total.

These are some of my favorite pics:












































Duet Video – TBD

I cannot rate the video yet since I have not seen it but I will rate them once I get it. I will say that the video guy was on time and he wasn’t intrusive at all.

Tuxedo:

Esquire Tuxedo - A

I basically searched on the boards for the tuxedo place that had the best reviews. Esquire Tuxedo came up the most and we went there to see what they had. Mike was great to deal with and really knew his stuff. I basically knew that this was the place that we were going to get the tuxedos from. We had another appointment with a different tuxedo place. We went to the different place and it was not comparable to Esquire so we immediately go back and put down the deposit for all 3 tuxedos. I was also unsure of the color that I wanted the vests and ties so Mike got a sample of the colors for me to look at and in the end it was perfect!!!







DOC:

Hudson Valley Ceremonies – B+

Now originally I wanted to give her an A but after thinking about it I had to go with a B. Now Jeanne was great with speaking to me and meeting me several times leading up to the date. I did tell her that I had a lot of details and if she needed a 2nd person to let me know…I should have went with my gut because she definitely did. She did not stay with me as I was getting ready because she had to setup the reception hall but I did need her with me because we did leave late from the hotel and we were missing things of which she would have helped in that situation. Also, my DH had to help her put up the Chinese lanterns on the ceiling and if he wasn’t that tall or he wasn’t there I don’t know what would have happened. There were some details that were missing that day which I did label everything but it was probably an honest mistake. I really did not speak to her during the reception but I know that my gloss was completely off by the night and my hair was a little messy and I would have hoped that she would have seen that and helped me. In addition since it was raining a bit during the ceremony I heard that she did not give or try to find umbrellas for my MIL, SIL or even a pregnant family friend. Overall she was great and nice but there issues that could have easily been resolved had she brought someone with her to assist. She was fully aware of all the details that I had and I would have hoped that she would have brought someone to at least help me out when I was getting ready since she knew she would not be able to do that.

Officiant:

Hudson Valley Ceremonies – A

Well I met with Debra who works for Hudson Valley Ceremonies and she was really sweet. We worked on the vows together over emails and phone calls. I even called her at 11PM on the RD night to finalize the vows. She had DH and I write why we loved one another and send it to her in private. We both assumed that she would incorporate this into the vows and low and behold she surprised us with having us read it to one another out loud during the ceremony. This caught me off guard completely but it was great!!!

Limo:

Regal Limousines - F

I knew that I wanted to have a Rolls Royce to pick us up from the RH and take us into the city because I wanted some cool pictures. I called several companies and most required 3 hrs minimum of which we didn’t need. I posted on vendors helping brides and they gave me the best price for a pick-up/drop-off.

The car was there on time at 5PM however we were running late with helping pack the cars with our stuff. We didn’t end up leaving until 5:30PM of which the driver stated there would be an extra charge of $50. We acknowledged that it was our fault and we agreed to pay the additional costs. The driver then proceeds to take the Henry Hudson Parkway which is cross town from where we needed to go and thus would take longer. He stated that this would be quicker of which I said do what you think is best since he is the driver. Well we get caught in traffic and a ride that should have taken 30 minutes take 1.5 hrs. His boss calls him and states that he is in traffic and then the driver tells us that it would be an additional $100 since it was an hour late. I couldn’t believe that they were trying to charge us more money because there was traffic and the driver decided to take the longer way. My friends had gotten there in about 40 minutes since they took the FDR which was logical. I told the driver that I was not going to pay this extra $100 because it was not our fault. He gets his boss on the phone and I cannot believe that I am having this conversation on my wedding day. I was so mad. I told him that I did not tell the driver to take the route and my friends were there in less time. He agreed that he wouldn’t charge us extra for the traffic but still the nerve of him. The driver then tells us that it would come out of his pocket and DH felt bad and we tipped him extra to try and cover it. I would NEVER recommend them to anyone. The car was not late to go to another event or anything so the owner was just trying to make money off us which was RUDE. They should be ashamed of themselves and I hope that other brides do not go through what I went through.


Update:

Right before I was about to post this review Bob, from Regal called me to apologize for the rudeness that I experienced that day. He stated that it was the dispatcher that I spoke to and wanted the additional $100. I did appreciate that he called to apologize and that the dispatcher is no longer working for that company because nobody deserves that treatment on their wedding day. So at least I did get an apology. My warnings to all future brides make sure that you read your contract and see if its time based or destination based. Our contract did not have a time stipulation.

Reception Hall

Beckwith Pointe – A-

Well I knew from when we got engaged on the beach in Costa Rica that I wanted to have a travel/beach themed wedding and I wanted it on the water. This also helped narrow down the reception halls we would look at as well. DH also said he didn’t want to have the wedding in Suffolk County because of the distance for our guests so that left Nassau and Westchester counties. In addition we had a smaller guest list around 100 people so that also limited the venues we would consider. We looked at Beckwith Pointe, Swan Club, Surf Club and Davenport Country Club. My bp and I went to a tasting at Beckwith Pointe and we loved the food and the location. DH and I went the following week to speak to a manager regarding pricing and we were sold. The pricing was great and we went with a day wedding because of cost as well as to see the views. I went there 2 other times for tastings with my FSIL and finally with DH to set the menu. I also met my DOC twice there to go over the floor plans and such. The day of the wedding we got there and took pictures before the ceremony and we walked around to see the décor of the reception hall. The food was great. I didn’t get to eat much since my stomach was in knots, I get like that when I am nervous, but I knew I wanted the brie and raspberry stars from the cocktail hour and I asked the BM to please get me some which he did. The only negative is that my bridal attendant really didn’t do much for me. I don’t know where she was half the time. She asked DH and I if we wanted a drink once and I see that some other attendants really care for their brides which I didn’t get. Not a big deal but I wish she would have reminded me to put my gloss on or even when my hair was a little frizzy would have said something. Other than that it was great. Since I didn’t want to eat my dinner I had her pack it away this was great because I got to enjoy it the next night as well as they packaged up the top tier of our cake.

Food Pictures:















Sweetheart Table



Our yummy CHOCALATE cake!!!









Love the view!!!


Everyone taking a shot!!!


This was the flambé and cordial stations:


Entertainment

Belly Dancer – A

Well I wanted to have something a little different at the wedding and surprise everyone with a belly dancer. She was an ’08 bride, Mrs. Barnabe, I found her on LIW. I saw that she did a bridal shower and I asked her if she would perform for my wedding and she agreed for a great price. She did about an 8 – 10 minute performance with 3 dances. She even got DH and I involved, which I was not expecting…DH was not comfy so we got all the women on the dance floor learning the moves. I think it was great and everyone enjoyed the performance.









She even gave me this!!!



Invitations

I knew I wanted something different for my invitations so I went searching and I found a travel voucher style invitation which a lot of brides used for their destination wedding. I thought they were perfect for my travel themed wedding. I was considering to DIY but I wanted something more professional. I went to trusty Etsy, , and I found anaderoux who made incredible invitations. I fell in love with her work. I put a deposit down and we began the design process which took about a month of going back and forth until she finally wowed me with my invitation design that I chose. When I got them I decided that they needed a little something extra so I added crystals on the ticket envelope, tied raffia around the invite and added a shell bead. I loved how they came out and everyone said they were really unique and beautiful. Her website is http://www.anaderoux.com/.







Final Invitation with my additions:



Well I showed FMIL the invitations and she said that for the Chinese guests we couldn’t send a blue invitation that was bad luck in the Chinese culture. I relented, also it gave me an opportunity to have another invitation LOL, and went on the hunt to find a red and gold invitation that I liked. I went to trust Etsy again and I found WeddingBellPrints, she does hand-pressed screenprint and she showed me a design that I really liked. Once again I thought that the invitations needed something extra so I added a circle rhinestone buckle with a ribbon. The final invitation was beautiful.








Calligraphy

Well once I had my invitations I knew I wanted calligraphy but I didnt want to spend more than $1 for each one. What I did is I sent an email to different calligraphers asking if they would be willing to do calligraphy for $1 each envelope because I was trying to save money. Yes, I was straight forward and believe it or not I got 3 calligraphers who said they would be willing to lower their asking price to $1 for each envelope since I asked nicely and had the b*lls to ask. I had nothing to lose. I chose the one that had the best design that I liked, she is in Michigan so I paid for shipping to her and she paid for it to me. In the end it was cheaper than going with someone local and my envelopes were AMAZING!!! She also did free calligraphy on my place cards and all I had to pay is $5 additional for shipping of them back to me.





Her website is http://www.goodhuedesigns.com/. She is really sweet, very accommodating and prompt.

Shoes

I knew I wanted to have a 3” heel since DH is 6” taller than I am but I didn’t want my feet to hurt so I decided that a wedge would be perfect. I went on the lookout for the perfect shoe and when we went BM dress shopping I found the shoe. It was beautiful and looked great on my foot it was however $150 which was more than I wanted to spend on a shoe. So I searched online for the shoe to see if I could get it at a cheaper price and I went to www.nathanshoes.com and it was $100 plus I got free shipping and additional 21% off with a coupon. So I bought them.

Shoe Dying

Rhea Nichols - A

I knew that I wanted to have blue shoes, as my something blue, so I searched on LIW to find reviews of past brides that had dyed their shoes. I found a review of bride who dyed her shoes hot pink at Rhea Nichols and they were beautiful. I called them to see how much it would be and how long it would take and it was only $20 and they could have it back to me in about 7-10 days. That was perfect. I dropped them off and I said I would pick them up in 2 weeks. I brought a swatch of my bridesmaid dress and they dyed it perfectly to match. When I picked them up I didn’t look closely at them but when I got home I noticed that in certain spots where there was a strap there were small patches of white. I brought them back and they fixed the problem. I would recommend Rhea Nichols to whomever needs to have their shoes dyed.

These are my shoes before:



These are my shoes after being dyed to match my bm dresses:


Hair & Makeup

I had so much trouble finding the right person to do my hair and makeup. I do not wear makeup regularly so I wanted a look which still looked like me only better. Also, DH does not like me wearing a lot of makeup so that was a factor.

I went to about 7 different hair & makeup trials with the following people in this order:

1. Khoulods
2. Sabrina & Carolyn
3. Gorgeous Bride NY, Hair & Make-Up Studio
4. M*I*A
5. Sachiko Yanese
6. Sultry Cosmetics
7. Makeup by Ciara

The issue I had with Khoulods was not the makeup but it was the hair. They did not have hair extensions and my hair was shorter at the time so it wasn’t a real trial.

I did not like the makeup done by Sabrina at all and the hair by Carolyn was ok but she also did not have extensions so it wasn’t a real trial.

Gorgeous bride the makeup was not done well…she did not even have a eyelash comb to evenly separate the lashes so it was all clumpy. She did not even have extensions. The hair again no extensions and not done well.

M*I*A I went in with a look I wanted to recreate and the makeup was nice and the hair I liked. She has extensions, FINALLY!!!I also did airbrush.

With Sachiko I explained the look I wanted for both hair and makeup. I really liked the look. It was natural but really pretty. She had extensions and we did regular makeup.

With Ciara I only did a makeup trial and it was nice but not 100% what I wanted.

Sultry I really liked the makeup. Very pretty.

In the end I let DH decide which look he wanted me to have since he was picky with the amount of makeup I wear normally. He picked Sachiko since he told me I looked the most natural and it was the best overall look. He said with all the others I looked like I had a mask on.

These are pictures after my trial:




Also since I had the trial a year before the wedding I had dyed my hair lighter. Thank goodness I told her and I went for another trial on the day of our RD. She had to go and buy more hair that matched my color.

On the day of Sachiko was at the hotel at 3:45 AM, yes it was that early, she had to do my bp and myself and we needed to be done by 8:30AM. She was on time and her work was amazing. I had pictures of hair styles that I wanted for them and she copied them exactly. Our hair and makeup lasted all night long and it was traditional makeup. It rained a little during the ceremony and our hair and makeup still lasted with no runs or anything.

I went with the half-up/half-down and a more natural makeup look. These are pictures on the day of:













Wedding Day Hotel

I wanted to stay the night before in a hotel that was closer to the RH and I found Westchester Renaissance online and the photos were beautiful. I wanted to go up and see it for myself. I knew with 7 girls getting ready we would need a suite so I booked a 2 bedroom suite for me, the bp and the FSIL. Because of the rain the day before and picking up the rental car we got there around 8pm which I wanted to get there around 5pm but oh well. We ordered room service that night for dinner and I didn’t get to sleep until about 1AM. I really loved the entrance of the hotel and chandelier in the front with the staircase.





Rental Car

I wanted to get to the RH in a nice car so I wanted to rent a mustang convertible. I looked online to find something reasonable and I just couldn’t find anything until I cam upon actioncarretnal.com they were great and I was able to rent it for 1 day for less than $150 and we could pick it up later in the day and drop it off late as well. It was also conveniently located near the bowling alley as well. So it was perfect!!!















Bowling/

Well since our wedding was in the afternoon and ended at 5PM I wanted to do something afterwards. Since we enjoy bowling as a group I decided that I wanted to go bowling in the city. I went to both Bowlmor Lanes in Union Square and Leisure Time Bowl in Port Authority. Port Authority was undergoing construction in the front which was not appealing as well as we would have to go through the Port Authority Terminal in my wedding dress but it was cheaper. Bowlmor was very nice and we booked 2 lanes from 6:30 – 9PM. We were soo tired that we left at 8:30PM. I also booked Duet to come and take pictures of us as we bowled which was great and we have cool pictures from that.

































DIY’s

I had a long list of DIY’s that I wanted I made for the wedding.

Centerpieces

I had a vision of what I wanted my centerpieces to look like. I originally bought the sand from a seller and it was coarse sand that worked well with the shells. This seller scr*wed me over when I went to purchase the sand and it never was delivered. This went on for over a week and I couldn’t wait any longer so I found another company to purchase from and I bought 200 lbs of sand but when I got it was too fine and it wouldn’t hold up like the coarse one so I had to change my vision and it all worked out in the end. I bought the bowls from the flower district in the city and they were not expensive at all.

With the coarse sand:





At the wedding:







Shells

I bought all of the shells used at the wedding from ebay. Best place to buy them and cheap.





Toasting Flutes

I decided that I did not want to spend that much money on toasting flutes that would be used once and I wanted them to be personalized in my wedding colors. I found the glasses at a craft store and purchased special glue which dries clear and I glued crystals in blue, white and yellow in a pattern. I loved the way they came out.





Aisle Runner

I also wanted to have an aisle runner but didn’t want to spend the money so I decided to make this myself. I bought the runner off of ebay for $15, metallic acrylic paint from the craft store, and the monogram I did myself and printed it with a regular printer and taped it together. It took some time to stencil the monogram as well as the quote. In the end it took me about 3-4 hours in total to finish this project. Too bad that they put the runner out but it was backwards so you couldn’t see what I did. But oh well.







This is the aisle runner on the day of. Duet actually flipped the photo so that you can see it the right way since I painted it on the wrong side, DUH!!!.



Escort Bottles

To fit in with the whole travel theme I wanted the escort cards to be mini stoli liquor bottles, like the ones you get in the planes. I also had labels calligraphied. It was perfect and a useful card since you could drink it. I thought it was a cool idea and so did the guests.





Escort Bottle Sandbox

I wanted to incorporate more sand into the wedding and since I had the mini liquor bottles I wanted to put them in something so I had a co-worker make me a sandbox that was 2’x3’. I then painted it with some leftover blue paint that I had from my bedroom. It came out great. I also bought the sand online for both the sandbox and the centerpieces.



Menus

I decided that after I DIY’d my bridal shower menus I had to do them for the wedding. I knew I wanted something more unique than square or rectangular menus. I saw someone with round menus and I thought that is different and I wanted that. Little did I know how much of a pain they would be to make. I looked everywhere for round paper so I could just print them out….couldnt find that….then looked for a circle punch…couldn’t find one large enough….I then found the friskars circle cutter….I bought it on ebay for about $10 and tried it out and viola!!! I made my circle menus. To make my life even more challenging I wanted to have a stacked menu which meant that I needed to cut 2 circles for each menu. The only problem I had was that I did all the menus by hand and thus they were not perfect…the cutter would shift so my circles were not perfect by any mean but I still loved them. I glued the glitter paper to the cardstock paper using spray glue which made a mess but the final look was what I wanted. I then added crystal embellishments on top.



Favors

To tie my whole theme together I knew that I wanted to have a favor that people would use so I went on the hunt for luggage tags that were affordable. I found these great tags that cam packaged nicely in plastic suitcases and then I added a sticker that I made with one of my monograms.



Table Numbers

Originally for the table numbers I was going to use pictures that I took, while on vacation in Jamaica, of numbers I wrote in the sand. After looking at them when I was deciding on my table numbers I didn’t think it would look right. I wanted a simpler design that tied my colors and theme. I turned to trust Etsy again and I looked for someone to come up with a design. I found the right person who really came up with what I wanted. I then used www. picnik.com to add the numbers and then I printed them out on cardstock paper.



Programs

This was my baby. I saw these program fans on a website and I had to have them. I looked into purchasing them and they were $5 each which to me were too expensive so I decided I was going to DIY them. I found a template online and then I had the border designed by someone. I had 5 leaves for the fan. I bought metallic cardstock paper and it took about 2 weeks of both me and my FSIL cutting them out each night. I also had to buy a cop-a-dile which I bought from ebay. I then tied ribbon on them and they came out perfect!!!





Petal Cones

Well since it drizzled that day the cones got a bit wet and not many people took them. These were easy to make. I just created the largest circle possible in power point then added my monogram and cut the circle out. I then used spray glue and made the cones. I also wanted them to be on the chairs as well as the programs but since the rain they had to be moved and not many people took them. Oh well.



Guest Sign-In Postcards & Mailbox

I didn’t want to have a traditional book or photo sign in so I decided to have postcards made of different islands and then guests could write us a note and then drop it in a mailbox. I had the postcards made from etsy and the mailbox I bought off ebay and then I spray painted it yellow. I even had the postcards in a postcard display.



Thank you parasol

I saw this on another wedding website and I thought I could do this. I bought 5 white parasols and I did a trial run to see how it would look and it came out nice. I wanted to add our wedding date as well so that it the picture could be used for our thank you cards. I think it came out great and I highly encourage everyone to make this yourself. It cost me less than $10 and only a couple of hours of work. The parasol was another easy item that anyone could make. I first printed out “Thank You” and our wedding date on a regular printer, and I taped the 7 pages together as best as possible. I then taped it to the underside of the parasol, I had DH help me line up the words so that it was even. On the top of the parasol I lightly traced over the words in pencil. After that I then used metallic acrylic paint and painted 3 coats on the words. 2 hours later and I had my parasol completed.



This is a picture of me and the bp with the blank white parasols:





Slipper Basket

This is another item that I liked from LIW. I thought it was a nice thing to give to all the female guests whose feet hurt. Everyone told me that night that was the best idea and they had never seen it before. I said to myself thanks LIW, LOL!!! I bought the basket from a local craft store and I bought the flip flops from old navy because I had a 30% coupon. I bought them in blue and white. I didn’t want to buy bags for them so I printed the sizes on cardstock and cut them out into squares I then used a hole punch and ribbon to tie the sizes to the flip flops and hold them together.





LOVE Letters

I bought wooden 5“ letters at a local craft store and I purchased metallic paint that matched the turquoise color. I had these painted 1 yr in advance and then packed them away. 2 weeks before the wedding I took them out to look at them and I found that the paint had chipped and some of the crystals fell off. I proceeded to repaint them and then I added crystals all around the edges which came out great.





Embroidered Jacket

I wanted to have a sweatshirt that was embroidered since I saw a bunch of other brides on LIW with it and it looked so cool. I really didn’t know where to go so I searched on LIW and I found tri-county and I went there and it was only $25 for two lines of text which was a bargain. I had DH pick it up for me. I matched the thread to the turquoise color as well.





Tank Tops

Well I wanted to have a tank top with bride on it and I searched online for some and they were expensive. I found a website that had the iron-on crystals that was really cheap so I bought appliqués that said Bride, MOH, BM and then a saying. I bought the tank tops from old navy and then I made them myself. In the end they cost me $5 each to make myself.











Candy Buffet

Since I love cakes and candy I knew I wanted to incorporate that into the wedding. I didn’t want to add the Viennese hour so the compromise was a candy bar. I bought all the candy at Economy Candy in the city for less than $200. I also bought clear bags and I made stickers for them so that our guests could fill as much as they wanted. I also bought “LOVE” candy dishes, I saw another bride had them for her wedding and I fell in love. They were so perfect for the buffet and everyone loved it, especially those with kids.



LOVE Candy Dishes:















Cardbox

I wanted something unique for a cardbox so I thought it would be cool to have vintage luggage as my cardbox. It tied into the whole theme so I bought a small piece of luggage from ebay for $20 and then I wanted to decorate it so I bought old style travel stickers on the luggage. I thought it was cool and I received lots of complements.





Cocktail Napkins

At first I was thinking of buying this from the knot but for the price I didn’t want to spend the money on them. I found on another wedding website that a bride had DIY’d them and they came out great. I bought the stamp from ebay and there is an ink called staz-on which is waterproof and they came out nice, not perfect but nice.





Sand Ceremony

I knew that I wanted to have a sand ceremony since our wedding was beach themed. I knew that I didn’t just want to have the sand in a container. I wanted something that I could put a picture in or on. At first I went online to find something and there was a site that had picture frame sand ceremony kits and it was perfect. I emailed the person running the company and he said he was actually closing the business since it took too much time but he said he would do it for me. Well his wife gets sick in the meantime and he never got back to me so I needed a plan b. I searched on LIW and I found someone who had it made and I thought I could do that…or I could have someone make it for me….thank goodness I work in the construction field and I know lots of guys who could make it for me and I did. I got to pick the color of stain that I wanted and it was customized to what I wanted. I bought the sand and holders at a local craft store. I added ribbon and crystals to the holders for added embellishment.













Ceremony Chair Caps

As I was watching Platinum weddings one day I saw that there was a bride who covered only the chair tops of her ceremony chairs. I absolutely LOVED that. I knew that I wanted color in the ceremony but I didn’t want to blow my budget away with adding more flowers. I tried looking online for these types of covers with no avail. I then asked FSIL and FMIL about it and FMIL said she could make them for me. I was beyond thrilled. FMIL was a seamstress for many years before she retired. I proceeded to look for the per