My 9/28/07 Review: Jericho Terrace, Starlight Express, Patken, Flowers By Brian, Cruise Control Limo, Anne Demarco and more...w/ link to professional pics...

See below for link for professional pics...

I know everyone has said this before but I have to say it because it’s true….Our wedding day was the best day of my life! It was even better because I didn’t suffer a migraine. If you are a migraine sufferer, you know how much that means to a person like me. I had no sleep at all (not even 10 minutes) the night before because of my nerves due to my priest who performed our rehearsal the night before getting our names wrong as he was acting to give us our vows (read below for details). The day was gorgeous despite what the weather report said the night before and that day. They were predicting rain but we got none! I let absolutely nothing get to me the day of our wedding. My dress was filthy BEFORE the church and it WAS noticeable. I took pics outside my parents development and I think when I left their house I got grease from their front door on the side of my dress. My veil was on backwards as well but like I said, nothing bothered me this day. I was so happy and you can tell from my pics; I think.

My advice to all future brides is don’t sweat the small stuff because the day just flies bye. If you heed my advice I think you will almost be guaranteed to have an amazing day!

Before I begin my review, I would like to thank Ron and Liz for creating this amazing website. I don’t know what I would have done without LI Weddings. Thanks to all the girls on this website who answered my questions whether they sounded ridiculous or not and gave me advice. I don’t know what I would have done without all you girls. My planning would never have been the same without this website. Thanks so much! I really don’t have anything bad to say about any of our vendors. They all really came through for us.


Mother Nature (A+++++++)

Our wedding day weather was the best weather I could have imagined. We were very surprised because from about 10 days prior to our wedding day the meteorologists were calling for thunderstorms. I tried not to make myself crazy but as the day was quickly approaching, the night before they changed it to rain. I was so upset and depressed because I truly was hoping for a nice day. This was the actual forecast from weather.com for our wedding day that was sent to my email: Rain showers early becoming more intermittent by the afternoon. High 74F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%. They were totally wrong because it was about 75 degrees but not a rain drop insight all day and night! I’ve learned that meteorologists do not have a clue sometimes.

St. Martin of Tours Church, Bethpage – Father Tom Schmidt (A)

St. Martin of Tours is my childhood church. We attended Pre-cana last year after receiving a phone call from Deacon Jim stating that they had a spot left and if we wanted to fill it. We attended pre-cana over the course of a month or so. I found it to be very interesting and really liked it.

Father Tom was the priest that was assigned to us by Deacon Jim. It crossed my mind to change priests but after meeting Father Tom 6 months prior to the wedding, I decided to stick with him. At our church rehearsal; the night before our wedding, I was a little disappointed that we did not change priests. I hate to give a priest a bad rating. From the moment we walked in the door Father Tom must have said 5 times to make sure I am on time otherwise the mass will start with out me. I thought that was just rude. Then when he was acting as if he was giving us our vows, he said the wrong names. He kept getting my name mixed up with my matron of honor. That really frightened me. Then, I added to our program that I would like the names of our grandparents remembered at the mass and he had a problem pronouncing the names so he said in a really rude tone, is there anyone here who can come up to announce the names during the mass? I just felt like he didn’t want to be bothered with anything. Like I said, I really hate to give him a bad rating because he is a priest. The day of our wedding he did get our names correct, thank God! But he forgot to say you may kiss the bride so my Godmother who was sitting in the pew kind of shouted it aloud and then Father Tom said it himself. Oh yeah, and he also thanked us for being early. If I had to do it over again, I would have chosen a different priest. God forgive me for saying that but it’s true. I didn’t sleep one bit the night before our wedding because I was so worried he was going to get our names wrong. I had about 5 minutes of sleep if that and even took a Xanax and that did nothing for me at all. I guess my body was fighting it because I was so nervous.

UPDATE: I just found through a parish member that that Father Tom had heart surgery and has not been feeling well and he's been forgetting things. This must be why he got our names wrong. I feel terrible that he is ill and now that explains why he got the names wrong at the rehearsal. I have changed his rating to a better rating b/c if it's that he is ill, I realize he it's not his fault.






Jericho Terrace – Skylight Room (A+++++++++)
Sales – Chad (A++++)
Maitre’d – Linda (A+++++)
Bridal Attendants: Irene (A+++) and Andrea (A+++)

I already had an idea I wanted to have our reception at Jericho Terrace as DH’s sister had her wedding there 2 years earlier prior to our engagement. JT left such an impression that I just knew this is where I wanted to get married. When we brought my parents to see Jericho Terrace we met with Chad. We immediately liked Chad and thought he was very nice. He kind of clicked with my father sooo..that was a good thing. Before booking my parents wanted me to go look at Fox Hollow b/c they had a credit there from when my brother was supposed to get married. Although Fox Hollow is nice, it’s not my personal taste. Therefore, we booked with Chad the following day and I kept in contact with Chad and a friend of mine, Al that worked there for the next 14 months.

I am so happy we chose JT b/c I cannot rave enough about the staff at Jericho Terrace. Girls, if you have chosen JT, you have nothing to worry about it. They are extremely professional and as my uncle told me, they put on a great show. From the moment the limo pulled up to JT, our Maitre’d Linda was running out to us as well as our 2 bridal attendants, Irene and Andrea. They were very helpful in keeping after us or asking us if we needed anything and making sure we were okay. I asked for a slice of bread because my nerves were crazy and they brought me like 5 types of bread. LOL… They were really great and impressed me and my parents very much! My guests are still telling me how much they enjoyed the wedding. I’ve also heard lots of raves about the shrimp oreganata dish. To be honest with you, my husband and I had no appetite because we were both overwhelmed. We did order the strip steak and although we had no appetite, I took like 4 bites and he ate part of his. He said his tasted good but to be honest with you, mine was too well done. I didn’t say anything b/c I didn’t plan on eating because I just had no appetite. I wish I did have an appetite b/c I wanted to so badly to have a piece of our cake. We did the cake feeding but I told DH to give me a very small taste b/c my nerves were just nuts…. I guess I have to wait for our one year anniversary. Hopefully we wrapped it well and it will taste good.





Patken Photography for Photo (A+++++++) - - Vinny

We only met with one other photography studio aside from Patken which was Silverfox. A girl I know used Silverfox and DH’s sister used Patken. Patken is an in-house photographer for JT. When we arrived to our appointment in July 2006 at Patken, we met with Jodi. Jodi was very nice and she answered every question without hesitation. Overall I went with Patken because I just loved their work and DH’s sisters pics were gorgeous from her wedding.

Engagement Shoot - We had our engagement photo shoot in August of 2006 and they recommended another photographer to us but we requested Vinny as that is who DH’s sister used and her pics and his work are excellent. They had no problem with switching us over to Vinny. We met with Vinny 2x before the wedding. He has a great personality and that is what we needed because DH hates taking pics.



Day of wedding - Vinny arrived on time the day of the wedding and right away starting shooting pics as my mom and Godmother were helping me get dressed. My dad was in the next room complaining that he could not figure out how to do his suspenders or something like that and Vinny helped him get ready since my mom was helping me. We took pics outside my parents development b/c the grounds are so pretty. Since my girls were late, Vinny went outside to check out the grounds and pick a spot to take pictures. He was not intrusive at all and during the reception we really had no idea he was there because we completed all our shots before cocktail hour b/c there was a big time gap from church to cocktail hour.

I picked up the proofs 6 weeks after the wedding. I am truly happy with them. They came out awesome and I am really going to have a hard time picking out our thank you’s as well as our pics for our albums.

These are the only proofs I have scanned; possible thank you pics (my scanner did a terrible job please excuse that). You can view our professional pics online. The link and info is at the bottom of this review.











Patken Photography for Video - (day of – A+++) (pending final grade for finished product) – Ray

We also used Patken for our video. Ray was our videographer and he seemed very nice. You would not even know he was there that’s how much he did not get in the way. Ray called me a few days prior to the wedding to ask me if there was anything special he should know or if anything special was going to happen that he should be aware of while videoing. I thought that was very nice considering my grandma was at the wedding and she is 88 years old and has a walker. She is very important to me and I told him if he saw her dancing or anything to please make sure he gets that on video. I am still waiting for the final product. It should be about 4 months before I receive it. Picking out the songs for the video was extremely hard to do but we did it. After we receive it I will come back and update it.

Starlight Express - (A+++++) – MC – Vinny (I can’t recall our DJ)

Before making our decision to book with Starlight Express, we met with Body Rock and MRG Productions. We met with Vinny of Starlight Express for our appointment after being referred to Starlight by Jericho Terrace. We ended up going with Starlight Express because my parents and I just loved and had a great feeling about Vinny. He was so down to earth and seemed like a sincerely nice guy. He was also willing to work on the price with us more than Body Rock. Included in our contract was a DJ, MC (Vinny) and a photo montage which included 50” plasma screens. Vinny also assigned a professional photographer to us to come to the church and take zap shots which were placed on the screens at the reception for whoever was not able to make the church that day.

I am so happy we went with Starlight Express. The dance floor was packed the entire night and he played all types of music that we checked off on our form. Vinny was not loud or annoying and did not even have to say anything about the guests getting up to dance because our dance floor was packed the whole time. Vinny even surprised us by bringing us 60” plasma screens instead of the 50”s that were written in on our contract. My parents were really concerned with having a DJ b/c they are more of the band type of people but they really liked Vinny and the way the whole night went. My parents liked him so much they decided to call him when we were on our honeymoon to tell him what a great job he did. I highly recommend Starlight Express. We received all of our zap shots and the total amount of pics that were taken is about 400.

Flowers by Brian – (A++++) – Lisa

My mother in law wanted us to look into using Flowers by Brian as that is who her daughter used for her wedding and everything was beautiful. DH’s mom offered to pay for the flowers so I said okay. We met with Lisa and signed with her on the spot. At first we were going to do different centerpieces but after looking at the sample 2 weeks later me and my MIL weren’t crazy about it. I then told Lisa what I envisioned and she put something together the following week and it’s like she read my mind. She really has a great imagination and can put anything together.

My bok and the girls bok’s were gorgeous! Lisa matched the girls dresses to a “T” with the color of the flowers she chose. I viewed the bok’s the day before and wanted to make some changes and they did everything I asked. I highly recommend Flowers by Brian. All the flowers were fresh and the calla lilies lasted another week or two. Beautiful! I wish I would have preserved my bok when I look back at pics. Excellent job! The room looked stunning with my amazing centerpieces.






Anne DeMarco for Makeup (A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++)

I found Anne on this website last November and had a trial with her. She does amazing work. I can’t rave enough about her. I had a trial done at her salon and brought my friend with me who is a makeup artist and she told me to book her. Anne came to my parents house the day of the wedding where I was getting ready and she wowed me more than the first time. She does airbrushing of the foundation and blush whereas some other makeup artists only do the foundation. She airbrushed my makeup and my friend Vicky’s makeup. Anne also did my moms makeup which was traditional. She does cost a little bit more than other makeup artists to come to your home but she is sooooooo worth it.

Pic of me & Vicky’s makeup (airbrushed)



Jen – Hairdresser – (A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++)

Jen is a personal friend of mine and she’s been cutting my hair since I was a teenager. I went for a few trials with her and every time I was not satisfied she said okay, let’s do another. She is my best friends sister and she is a good friend of mine as well. She did an excellent job on my hair that day and I really felt like a princess after her and Anne finished with me.



Cruise Control Limo for Bachelorette party (A+++)– Lincoln Limo

I found Cruise Control Limo at a bridal show when we first got engaged. They had the brand new 2007 Cadillac Escalade which definitely got me interested in them. DH and I went to look at their limo show they have every Wednesday in Lindenhurst. We chose them b/c their cars were in awesome condition and they kept their cars garaged. As we were signing the contract, I saw my cousins wedding thank you card on his wall which made me even more positive about booking this company.

I asked my girls to use Cruise Control for the bachelorette party this way we can see how they are firsthand since I booked them for the wedding. Our driver was Wes. He was very early and extremely nice and a pretty cool guy. The only thing I have to say is that he has a heavy foot when stepping on the brake. I started getting motion sickness from our drive into the city from Long Island. Other than that, he was on time and did whatever we asked. He took us to about 3 or 4 different places without hesitation.

Cruise Control Limo day of wedding (A++++) – Cadillac Escalade – Wes - Chrysler 300C – I can’t recall

The day of the wedding the guys were picked up by Wes who was driving the 2007 Cadillac Escalade and the girls were picked up by another driver (can’t recall his name) who was driving a Chrysler 300C. Wes was early and on time for picking up the guys and my driver, was early as well. They were very accommodating and had everything in the limo I asked for aside from liquor, water b/c we had a pregnant girl in our wedding party. Our driver got all us girls and my dad to the church extra early. After the church we were all starving and Wes had some kind of baked cookies and he shared it with all of us. He is extremely nice and he even remembered us girls from the bachelorette party. I highly recommend Cruise Control. They were a pleasure to work with.

Macy’s Bridal Salon by Demetrios, Smithhaven Mall, Lake Grove, NY (A++++++)
Wedding Gown - Ilissa 901
Wedding Gown Alterations – Nancy at Macy’s
Tiara (Ansonia)
Veil (Ansonia)
Bridesmaid dresses (Forever Yours)
Flower Girl dress (Forever Yours)

My bridesmaid and I went to the Macy’s Bridal Salon in Manhasset to look for wedding gowns for me. I found the staff there very unhelpful. My girlfriend helped me get dressed and put the gowns on me and then when we asked for help from the woman who worked there, the woman just totally ignored us. I then decided that I was not going to get my dress from that salon.

After the terrible experience at Macy’s in Manhasset I went online and found another Macy’s Bridal Salon in Smithhaven Mall. I made an appointment with them and their service was excellent. Doreen was the woman who helped me and she was such a doll. I ordered my dress in August and it came in around April. I also ordered my tiara and veil the same day. Everything came in at about the same time. I really did have the best experience with the staff at this salon. I highly recommend them. They were a real pleasure to work with and I did not mind giving them my business at all. After ordering my dress I must have went back about 5 times to try on different types of jewelry with the sample dress and they did not give me an attitude at any time. Through my entire 13 months between ordering the dress and my bridesmaid dresses, they were great. I also had my dress altered by their seamstress, Nancy. She was very nice and a pleasure to work with. I did have to go back for 4 fittings which is more than usual but that is b/c one of the straps looked more narrow than the other b/c it needed to be pulled up more but she totally fixed everything. She also sewed my blusher to my veil as I asked because I wanted my veil to be more poofy and she sewed all the beading on to my blusher to match my veil. It looked awesome! The day of the wedding I realized she forgot to change the direction of the comb to wear in my hair; it was made to fit underneath the back of the head but I wanted to wear it on top. Unfortunately I was not able to wear my blusher over my face because I had to wear my veil on upside down due to the comb. I didn’t realize it was on backwards until after my hairdresser left. The veil still looked beautiful though and nobody noticed until I told them.





My bridesmaids and flower girl also got their dresses from here and had a great experience. They ordered the dresses in March and they were delivered by June. When one of the bridesmaid’s (18 years old) went to pick up her dress it fit tight because she put on about 20 pounds since she was measured (a year prior to the wedding). Her mom gave me hell about it saying it was the brides responsibility to fix the situation because she insisted that the dress was not made correctly and after dealing with her mother that night and the following day I called Macy’s and they already knew what was going on because this woman made a huge scene in the store. Macy’s told me that it was not my problem and they would handle it with her mom. I have to say, they really did handle the entire thing and I did not even have to deal with anything for the next 3 months until the wedding.










MOB Dress – Omnibus, Babylon, NY (A+++++++++++)

We went everywhere looking for a dress for my mom. We found her Montage dress at another store but it turned out to be cheaper at Omnibus. The girls there were extremely helpful and she just looked gorgeous in her dress.







MOG Dress – Bridal Garden, Bethpage (A++++++)

I don’t really know too much about her experience but I did not hear her complain or say anything bad about them. I am pretty sure her experience went smoothly and her dress looked gorgeous.





S&S Tuxedos, Hicksville, NY (A++++)

I found this tuxedo place through this website and heard nothing but great reviews from other brides who used them. I was planning on DH using VIP Tuxedos but after reading such lousy reviews we decided against it. I went with DH and his brother (best man) to the tuxedo place and brought a swatch of my dress with me. They matched his tie and vest to the swatch perfectly. None of our groomsmen had any problems with them. The only thing they made a mistake on was both of our dads were supposed to get bow ties rather than ties and they gave my father a regular tie by accident. I didn’t even notice it the day of the wedding until DH’s dad asked me about it. I felt bad that they did that but our parents are not in any pics together that I can recall. My nephew (ring bearer), also rented his tux from here and he just looked adorable!






Dance Obsession, Farmingdale, NY – Rosalie (A++++++)

Since DH has absolutely no dancing skills, I begged him to go for dancing lessons. I am still surprised he agreed. We started taking basic classes with Rosalie. She is very nice and has a great personality. She even put a smile on my DH’s face every time we were at dance class which means a lot b/c he was always moody when we go there. We took lessons from June to the week of our wedding. Rosalie choreographed our dance for us. I cannot wait to see the video. I highly recommend her as a dance teacher for new students.



Stitch Art - Tri-County Flea Market, Levittown - A++++

I purchased a Champion hoodie from Target and took it to Stitch Art in Tri-County to get it embroidered as 'Mrs. Smith' Est. September 28, 2007. The guy who works there did an amazing job and I highly recommend them. They were a cheaper than purchasing the real hoodie online so.....It was well worth it for me. I have a pic of it in my album of non-pro pics.

La Quinta Inn (formerly Wingate Inn), Garden City – Night of Wedding (A+++++)

We were referred by DH’s sister to Wingate Inn because that is where she stayed for her weddig night and she had an after party there as well. We wanted to have an after party there as well but La Quinta Inn did not get a liquor license during the transition from Wingate to La Quinta Inn. After asking Makeda if we can bring our own beer into the hotel and drink it in the bar area, she told us she could not say no to us and that was okay. The hotel was very clean and our friends and family who stayed there that night and who attended our after party had a great time. I would stay there again.

Magnet Queen – Save the Date – (A+++++++)

I chose Magnet Queen because I wanted to do a magnet with each of our childhood pics as well as our engagement photo together. I sent our pics over to Magnet Queen and then they drew up some samples and emailed them to me. I can’t remember the womans name who I dealt with but she was the designer. She gave me a bunch of samples to choose from. After picking the one I wanted to use, she sent them to me along with envelopes and sleeves. She did an excellent job. She even included a magnet of our engagement photo only for us to keep. Another reason why I chose Magnet Queen is a few months before we were sending out our save the dates, my cousin was getting married and I received her magnet from Magnet Street. I already had a sample of Magnet Queens magnet when I received my cousins save the date magnet which was from Magnet Street and noticed the quality of Magnet Queen is a lot better and thicker. This is another reason why I went with Magnet Queen. I highly recommend this company.



Wedding Invitation Design, St. Louis, MO – Rebeccca Hutchinson – (Invitations & Favor Tags) (FFFFFFFFFFFF)

I was so disappointed by this vendor. I found her name on here through other brides who used her for custom invitations. She supposedly had a great reputation. After sending her 3 emails she finally responded. She claimed that she did not receive my emails because she switched over her email system. I should have known just by this not to use her. I sent her a few pictures of invitations I was interested in and meanwhile they were out of my price range she said she could custom make them for me at a cheaper price. I paid her by Paypal for a sample and never received it. After emailing her telling her I hadn’t received it she acted surprised and said “oh, I sent it; I will send you out another by Priority Mail”. I received the sample the next day and loved it. I decided to order 140 invites. She sent me an invoice in the beginning of May for $998.20. I paid her right away and she said she would have them to me by mid June. I then asked her to make me favor tags to match the invites and she sent me an invoice for this as well - $50.00 or so. I paid that invoice too. Now we are in mid-June and I still haven’t received the invites. I get in touch with her and she asks if I can wait another week, I said okay. My wedding wasn’t until September 28th. Another week goes bye and I still hadn’t received anything. I sent her an email and her husband writes back telling me Rebecca got something in her eye, can I wait another week; she will definitely have them to me at that time. Now, this would bring me to the first week in July that I should receive them. I wanted to send my invites out at least 10 weeks early from our wedding date which would bring me to the end of July. Fine, I wait another week, again, nothing only this time another bride on here contacts me (licee15). She asks me if I received my invites from Rebecca. I said now and she says Rebecca sent her invites to her but they were all the wrong color and that Rebecca promised her she would receive them at the same time as she was promising me my invites. Now I am fuming and we are both very mad and contacing Rebecca. Rebecca tells both of us that she sent out our invites at the same time and we should be receiving them. A few days later to a week, none of us received anything and now when we are trying to contact Rebecca she is not responding to any of our emails. Remind you I paid her $1,050.00 in the beginning of May. By this point I was livid, I sent Rebecca an email stating that we were both very upset and again, she told us she would go to the post office to see what happened with our packages as she insured them. Rebecca gave me my insurance number and I called the post office to find out it existed but was never purchased. In other words, she gave me a valid number but it was never purchased to be put on a package yet. Now I had to start looking for a new invitation vendor for my custom invites which usually take about 3 weeks or so to make and I am out of my money. Thank God, I found another invitation company who saved me (name below). I then wrote Rebecca a later telling her that I will pursue legal action if she does not refund all my money. After she received that letter, she refunded every penny of our money. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS INVITATION VENDOR.

A Bridal Paperie, Plainview, NY - Invitations & Favor Tags (A+++++++++++++++)

After my nightmare experience with my last invitation vendor (review above), I was in a frenzy for my invitations and favor tags which were all custom made. I know they usually take about 3 weeks or so to design and was getting extremely nervous because it was now the 2nd week of July and I wanted to send out my invitations by the end of July. I searched on google.com for an invitation vendor who makes custom invitations on Long Island and came across A Bridal Paperie. I quickly called the phone number and spoke with George (owner) and explained to him my story and he asked me to come down to the store the following day which was a Sunday. When we arrived at A Bridal Paperie, we were greeted by George and his wife Judi. We sat down with them both and explained the whole entire story to them. I then showed them the sample that Rebecca from a Wedding Invitation Design made for me and they told me they were able to make something very similar. They told me they would do their best to have it completed by the time I needed it. They also matched the price for us because they knew that we were in a frenzy and they also felt terrible for what happened to us. THEY TRULY WERE A LIFESAVER FOR US WITH OUR INVITATIONS AND FAVOR TAGS. IN THE END, THEY DID AN EXCELLENT JOB AND THEY EVEN LOOKED BETTER THAN OUR SAMPLE FROM THE OTHER PLACE. I CANNOT RECOMMEND THIS INVITATION COMPANY ENOUGH! THE BEST PART IS THEY ARE RIGHT HERE ON LONG ISLAND AND WALK YOU THROUGH THE ENTIRE PROCESS.


Unity Candle – Celtic Candle (A+++++++++)

I just loved their unity candles because you can personalize them with your names on the tapers and have a script from the bible engraved. I can’t remember off hand how long it took for our candle to arrive but it just looked gorgeous and it was very different.

Holly Day Designs – Holly - Thank you cards for bridal party and parents (A+++++++)

I came across this vendor on this website from another bride who was using her. She designs these really cute cards for your bridal party and tries to match up the color and style of the dress to what your bridal party is wearing. My girls wore copper and my matron of honor was wearing cinnamon. Holly tried to match the color as best as she can. She sent me a bunch of cards and then I informed her that the material did not match and then she went and made me another set and sent them to me without any additional charge. They still didn’t match 100% but the color Copper was a hard color to find. She also created cards for my flower girl, ring bearer and parents. They all came out really cute. I highly recommend her and she seems like a really nice person.

Bridal Party Gifts:
Bridesmaids & Matron of Honor:

Silver necklace and earrings (Tri-County) – I purchased each of my girls a silver bezel set diamond necklace and bezel set earrings to match the necklace. I purchased these items in Tri-County on their main floor. They were purchased from 2 different silver booths. I am not sure what the names of the booths are but I do recall their locations. My favorite silver jewelry booth is located to your left when you come off the escalator from the jewelry department upstairs. The second silver jewelry booth I used was the one in the back right by where you walk in.

Coach Mini Skinny – Since I did not feel like I spent enough on my bridal party for their jewelry, I wanted to purchase a few other things. I thought the Coach Mini Skinny was just adorable and well, I love Coach so how could I go wrong? I purchased the Mini Skinny that has the Coach signature on it. I purchased them from an outlet in Pennsylvania as my Matron of Honor was going there for a visit so she picked them up for me.

Bath & Body Works – I still hadn’t felt complete with what I spent on my girls so I purchased each of them 2 body lotions and 2 hand wash liquids.

Matron of Honor Gift – Aside from all the above, I also wanted to do something personal for my matron of honor. She is my best friend and we have known each other since we were about 13 years old (now 33). I am so not the artist but wanted to try to create something special for her. I went out and purchased a shadow box and scanned in a bunch of pics of us and then printed them out and put a poem in with our pics and a few little other things that says Best Friend, etc. that you would use for scrap booking. I have to say, I was pretty amazed with my work as I am usually not good at things like this. I just really was happy that I was able to do something that would be special and more personable to her than buying her something else.

Flower Girl Gifts:

Our flower girl was 7 years old. I purchased her a Lillian Vernon Jewelry box with her name on it. She just loved it as it was pink and personalized with her name on it. I also purchased her day of jewlerly for her which was a pearl necklace with crystals and a silver cross that hangs from it along with a matching bracelet. I also purchased her tiara from Tri-County.

Ring Bearer Gift - Football Fanatics Store (A++++)

Our ring bearer was my nephew/Godson who was 5 years old. My brother & sister in law wanted me to purchase him a watch with hands on it so he could learn to tell time. I purchased him a New York Yankee Future Star Kids Watch and he was so happy with it. My entire family is huge Yankee fans.

Wedding Favors – Pequa Wine & Spirits (Wine Factory), Massapequa , NY (A+++++)

We gave out full bottle Pindar Autumn Gold Wine bottles as our favor. I believe we paid like $4.50 or something like that per bottle and purchased 14 cases.

Pouch Depot – Organza bags for wine bottles (A+++++)

I ordered copper and ivory organza bags for our wine bottles which were rotated on the tables at the wedding.

Honeymoon:

Cruises Only (A)

We booked our Royal Caribbean cruise through Cruisesonly.com as DH’s aunt referred us. I really don’t know why we booked it with them when the cost was the same as Royal was offering. Cruises Only charged us another $20.00 to book with them so that was kin of a waste in my mind. Next time I would just book with Royal or a travel agent unless there is a lower price being offered for the same cruise and room elsewhere.

Royal Caribbean Cruise – (A+++++++++++++++++)

For our honeymoon we booked a cruise leaving from Puerto Rico to Aruba, Curacao, St. Maarten and St. Thomas and then back to Puerto Rico. I had never been on a cruise before so I was a bit worried about getting seasick. I wore the seabands the entire time and everything turned out fine. We played Win A Cruise Bingo which they offer on the ship and we won another cruise for 7 days. I have to say I wasn’t all that impressed with Aruba. I didn’t think it was bad but I thought it was going to be better. I really liked Curacao. We did a dolphin encounter in Curacao and those animals are just amazing. Next time we will be doing the swim. St. Maarten was pretty but it rained all day so we really just stayed on the ship. St. Thomas was gorgeous and I can’t believe all the shopping a person can do there. Overall, I really liked the cruise and can’t wait to go back again. We booked Jet Blue on our own for our cruise and did not have a problem with them. We always fly Jet Blue.

As you can see I only have one really bad rating above. The rest of my vendors were excellent and went above and beyond. I couldn’t be any happier with our choices.

Most of the pics shown in this review are non-pro. The only professional pics I have posted are few directly under Patken’s review. I should be receiving a full disc of pics in 6 months and I will then put most of them in my album on here. If you would like to see all of our professional pics taken by Patken you can visit:

http://www.eventpix.com/
search for event: jannotta
click on link that comes up
password: 092807

Thank you for reading my review. I hope it helps future brides. I am sorry the review was so long but I wanted to be specific for all the future brides when they do their research on here about vendors. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to FM me.

Re: My 9/28/07 Review: Jericho Terrace, Starlight Express, Patken, Flowers By Brian, Cruise Control Limo and more...w/ link to professional pics...

great review & beautiful photos!!!

Re: My 9/28/07 Review: Jericho Terrace, Starlight Express, Patken, Flowers By Brian, Cruise Control Limo and more...w/ link to professional pics...

great pictures!!! everything looked beautiful!! and OMG I had no clue you had so much drama w/ your invites!!!!!! I would've been a mad woman!!! (as I'm sure you were!).

and just to keep you posted.... I still haven't received the new disc from Starlight yet!!

Re: My 9/28/07 Review: Jericho Terrace, Starlight Express, Patken, Flowers By Brian, Cruise Control Limo and more...w/ link to professional pics...

Thank you so much for your thorough review! I found it so helpful bc I am using JT and Patken.

You looked AMAZING! What a beautiful day you had. Enjoy married life!

Re: My 9/28/07 Review: Jericho Terrace, Starlight Express, Patken, Flowers By Brian, Cruise Control Limo and more...w/ link to professional pics...

fantastic review. thanks for sharing your experiences and congrats to you and your hubby!

Re: My 9/28/07 Review: Jericho Terrace, Starlight Express, Patken, Flowers By Brian, Cruise Control Limo and more...w/ link to professional pics...

Thank you so much for your review! We are getiing married at JT also and just booked Patken. We were reccomended to ask for Vinny, but were hesitant since we've never seen his work, but your pics came out BEAUTIFUL!!! I think I am gonna call!

Re: My 9/28/07 Review: Jericho Terrace, Starlight Express, Patken, Flowers By Brian, Cruise Control Limo and more...w/ link to professional pics...

Thanks for the review...LOVE your dress!!!!!

Re: My 9/28/07 Review: Jericho Terrace, Starlight Express, Patken, Flowers By Brian, Cruise Control Limo and more...w/ link to professional pics...

Great review! You looked gorgeous!

Re: My 9/28/07 Review: Jericho Terrace, Starlight Express, Patken, Flowers By Brian, Cruise Control Limo and more...w/ link to professional pics...

What a great review...I love your dress!!! Congrats

Re: My 9/28/07 Review: Jericho Terrace, Starlight Express, Patken, Flowers By Brian, Cruise Control Limo and more...w/ link to professional pics...

you look beautiful--im using anne too--havent had my trial but i booked her--i am glad that you had a positive experience with her!!!

and congrats!!

Re: My 9/28/07 Review: Jericho Terrace, Starlight Express, Patken, Flowers By Brian, Cruise Control Limo and more...w/ link to professional pics...

great review! You looked great! Congrats and thanks for sharing!!

Re: My 9/28/07 Review: Jericho Terrace, Starlight Express, Patken, Flowers By Brian, Cruise Control Limo and more...w/ link to professional pics...

I feel like I know you!

Congrat you look beautiful!


YUP I do just look through your pics. Use to hang out with Dawson

Re: My 9/28/07 Review: Jericho Terrace, Starlight Express, Patken, Flowers By Brian, Cruise Control Limo, Anne Demarco and more...w/ link to professional pics...

great review!

Re: My 9/28/07 Review: Jericho Terrace, Starlight Express, Patken, Flowers By Brian, Cruise Control Limo, Anne Demarco and more...w/ link to professional pics...

What a wonderful review. Congrats

Re: My 9/28/07 Review: Jericho Terrace, Starlight Express, Patken, Flowers By Brian, Cruise Control Limo, Anne Demarco and more...w/ link to professional pics...

Great review, you looked amazing and soo happy!

Congrats to you and DH!!!

Re: My 9/28/07 Review: Jericho Terrace, Starlight Express, Patken, Flowers By Brian, Cruise Control Limo, Anne Demarco and more...w/ link to professional pics...

How did I miss your review?

So were you able to wear your blusher? I assume no?

I loved your mom's dress. Your Save The Date is ADORABLE!

As stated before, your pics are BEAUTIFUL!

Congrats Trish and thanks again for everything!

Re: My 9/28/07 Review: Jericho Terrace, Starlight Express, Patken, Flowers By Brian, Cruise Control Limo, Anne Demarco and more...w/ link to professional pics...

I the save the dates!

Re: My 9/28/07 Review: Jericho Terrace, Starlight Express, Patken, Flowers By Brian, Cruise Control Limo, Anne Demarco and more...w/ link to professional pics...

Great review! You looked BEAUTIFUL!!!

Congrats!!!

Re: My 9/28/07 Review: Jericho Terrace, Starlight Express, Patken, Flowers By Brian, Cruise Control Limo, Anne Demarco and more...w/ link to professional pics...

Great review! Thanks for sharing!

Re: My 9/28/07 Review: Jericho Terrace, Starlight Express, Patken, Flowers By Brian, Cruise Control Limo, Anne Demarco and more...w/ link to professional pics...

great review! u were a beautiful bride!! congrats!