My 9-6-08 wedding review! Glen Cove Mansion, After Hours Orchestra, Wick's Florist, Alvina Valenta, Wedding Salon of Manhasset, Cakes by Jay, Bridal Reflections- navy dresses

I have never posted but I have spent MANY hours lurking. The info I found on this website was so valuable to me, I feel I owe it to my fabulous vendors to post about my experiences with them to help future brides. If you have any questions, please feel free to reply to this post or to FM me.

E-Ring: DH's dad
My engagement ring was designed and made by DH's dad, who is a diamond setter in the city. It is a cushion cut diamond in a platinum band- I love it! It is absolutely perfect.


Wedding bands: Michael C. Fina
I had a very hard time finding a wedding band. My engagement ring is difficult to match because nothing sits flush- so I decided to look for something that would stand up well on its own (I wear my rings on separate hands). I also wanted something slightly different. I finally found a wedding band at MC Fina that would be very difficult for FIL to duplicate because of how the diamonds are set- so rather than having him make it, he suggested we get it through the retailer. It has 7 diamonds half around, set in platinum. DH also got a brushed 18K white gold band through them. They were a pleasure to work with, and our rings are beautiful.


Invitations, place cards, calligraphy, monogram, programs, table numbers: Debi Zeinert
The Blooming Quill
I found Debi while searching online for invitations. I contacted her, and she sent me a sample. It was beautiful! She was great to deal with, slightly pricey but the invitations were GORGEOUS, as was the hand calligraphy on the envelopes. She wrote one invitation out by hand and sent it to the printer- but multiple people asked if she did each invitation by hand! It saved me money having a hand-calligraphy invitation- because regular offset printing looks most like real hand calligraphy, so that is what I went with. I also had her make the front and back cover of my programs, and print the inside in regular typeface. She also hand calligraphied my place cards. She is a highly recommended vendor- I can't wait for my sister to get married so I can use her again!





Bridal Gown: Wedding Salon of Manhasset, Alvina Valenta
Long before I was engaged, I ripped the picture of the gown I knew I wanted out of a magazine. Fast forward a year and a half- and I walk into the wedding salon without my picture. I described it to the woman helping me, and she knew exactly which gown I was describing and brought it out for me to try on, along with a few others. It was the first one I tried, and I knew that was the winner. I was in and out of the store in 45 minutes, having purchased my dress my first day shopping! Some people report having had terrible experiences at the wedding salon; my schedule is flexible so I was fortunate enough to be able to go during the day on a weekday. It was empty, and everyone was super nice and attentive. I also had my alterations done there, and they were perfect.



Veil and headpiece: FM for info
I used a woman who works out of her house in Wantagh, who was recommended to me by a friend of my MIL. She sells her headpieces at the Wedding Salon of Manhasset for $500+. Out of her house they are $200! Each is custom made, mine had pink pearls, regular pearls, clear crystals and ab crystals. It was gorgeous. I also got my veil from her, it was an ivory fingertip veil. The veil and the headpiece snap together, rather than combs that can mess up your hair. The veil was also very reasonable- I believe $75. I had a wonderful experience with her.


Wedding shoes: Stuart Weitzman from Bloomingdales
I knew I wanted a flat shoe- I only wear flats- but I wanted something classy that I could wear again. I found these gold flats at Bloomingdales, and they were perfect!


MOH/BM Dresses: Bill Levkoff from Bridal Reflections
I ordered the BM dresses from Bridal Reflections, Bill Levkoff #276 in Euro Navy. It flattered all of my girls and photographed very well. They came in very fast, leaving plenty of time for alterations. The girls who had their alterations done there had no problems; my sister had a minor issue when she picked her dress up but they fixed it immediately.


Tuxes: Esquire Tuxedo, Merrick
DH and I decided we wanted the guys in tuxes, but didn't want vests or bow ties. We provided gold ties from Bachrach for all of the guys as part of their GM gifts, so the guys only had to rent the tux, ivory shirts, and suspenders. Mike at Esquire was so friendly and helpful.



Hair: Michael, Metro Modes
My mother, sister and I have been using Michael for years, and I knew I would trust no one else to do my hair. He did a fabulous job on all three- I knew he wouldn't disappoint :) My hair did fall by the end of the night- but the weather was awful (so humid) and my bridal attendant had to resteam my dress so I'm sure that had a lot to do with it. She recurled my hair, and I was good to go!


Makeup: Rebecca, Bobbi Brown
Rebecca is a friend of my aunt, and once again I knew I would trust no one else with my makeup. She gave my girls a discounted rate- I believe it was $75 instead of $125. She is so much fun and really helped the stress level the day of the wedding. She makes everyone look, and feel, absolutely gorgeous!


Video: Marathon Video Services
DH and I both decided we wanted a videographer for the important elements of the wedding- the ceremony, first dance, parent dances, toasts, the Hora and the Irish jig. We managed to fit all of that into the first hour of our reception, and had the video guy go home after. A lot of video companies did not like our decision to do this- they all thought it was a way to save money- and while it saved us a pretty insignificant amount- it was more about not having the video man in our faces all night. Marathon was recommended to us by a family friend, and they were very accommodating, a pleasure to work with. I will update once the final product is in our hands- I still haven't given them the songs or baby pictures. Oops.

Photography: Images Forever Photography
We had a very hard time picking a photographer. DH and I have totally different styles. I was just going to book with someone because I didn't want to look anymore- when DH called and said he made an appointment at Images Forever, which was recommended by family. Cynthia was an absolute pleasure at our first meeting, and every encounter since. Her prices are more than reasonable, her work is great, SHE actually shoots your wedding- and more often than not, she brings her husband as the second photographer. My family keeps commenting that Cynthia was so nice and so great to work with that day and not at all intrusive, and I have to agree. We got married during Hurricane/Tropical Storm Hannah, and Cynthia was wonderful finding places to take pictures since outdoor photos were out of the question. Our proofs are fabulous, and what I love most is that she makes the album layout for you- we need very minor changes to ours. She is a highly recommended vendor.

Florist: Wick's
I met with a bunch of the more popular floral decorators, and came very close to booking with Pedestals. My dad convinced me to just make an appointment with Wick's, who has been our family florist forever. Their work is great, they're very reputable, and I didn't need a floral decorator- I felt I wasn't transforming the mansion enough to require a 'wedding specialist'. I wanted regular, beautiful flowers. I had no idea what I wanted- I made 3 appointments from January until August and totally changed everything each time. The last change I made was 2 weeks before the wedding. I'm sure they wanted to kill me- but they were so nice about the changes. They made us 6 bouquets, 9 bouts, 20 table centerpieces (each were composed of 3 small arrangements) , 2 topiaries for the ceremony, aisle decorations, CH decorations, misc arrangements for around the mansion. Everything looked gorgeous- fresh and exactly as I wanted it. Absolutely no complaints here. And the price can't be beat!




Music: After Hours Orchestra
After Hours provided a string trio for the ceremony and cocktail hour. They were lovely, I don't have much to say about them.
We also had a 9 piece band through After Hours. They ROCKED. The dance floor was PACKED all night- people are still asking the name of the band. They learned our wedding song, and they also learned the song I danced to with my dad- which they will DEFINITELY never play again (my dad likes obscure blues/rock). They too offered a great price. Phil was a total pleasure to work with, and one of my BMs actually booked his DJ service for her wedding in June. I loved After Hours!!


Bagpiper: family friend
Being Irish, I knew I wanted a bagpiper incorporated somehow. We had him play when people were arriving, and he piped me up and down the aisle. Everyone keeps saying what a nice touch it was to have him there.


Favors:
Edibles Inc
I love Edibles Inc- I order from them A LOT. They have these awesome edible greeting cards...I have seriously ordered close to 30 of them over the past 3 years. They also make white chocolate covered rice krispy treats, and white chocolate covered brownies. I alternated one of each at each place, and they came wrapped with a navy ribbon. Delicious!


Menus: Provided by the GCM
It was one of the things the GCM provided, so I let them print the menus for me! One thing I didn't have to pay for... and they printed them in navy so everything coordinated.

Guestbook: Plate
We actually had a guest plate that I received as a gift at my shower. Everyone signed it, and now it is being glazed. When we get it back, we will be able to serve off it!

Reception Hall: Glen Cove Mansion
When DH and I got engaged, being an interfaith couple, we knew we wanted a place where we could get married on site- preferably with gorgeous grounds so we could have the ceremony outside (which ended up not being possible because of the hurricane...oh well). We went to quite a few places, but once we pulled up to the Glen Cove Mansion (also in the pouring rain- it was an omen) I knew this was it. It was different, we could have our ceremony there and our guests could stay that night. We negotiated a good price, had a bunch of things thrown in, and booked it! We booked with Miguel, who was great- right after I booked, they changed management companies (again), and I emailed him with a few concerns. He called me immediately and put my mind at ease. The planning manager I dealt with was Shaniqua, she is just wonderful. She listens to requests/concerns, answers honestly, and really was the huge reason our wedding was such a tremendous success. We had some minor issues prior to the wedding: one was that before they changed management companies, I was told at booking that they were switching the chairs over in the main ballroom. When I went for the tasting, they had the regular ugly chairs. I inquired about it, and Shaniqua told me that when they changed management companies, they had to put some things on hold that they had planned to do. Fortunately for me, they put 'gold chairs' in my contract, so they were obligated to order them for me, free of charge. I also had an issue with my room block- I was told I would be informed if the hotel was getting booked so I could block off more rooms. I wasn't; I started getting phone calls from guests that it was booked. Turns out the US Open Tennis finals were that weekend, and the hotel was completely booked. Shaniqua managed to get 10 more rooms for us, which was a huge help.
Day of: the mansion really came through. The weather was atrocious, so we had our ceremony indoors. It was beautiful. The food was AMAZING- guests keep saying it was the best 'wedding food' they've ever had- particularly the steak. Our tasting was fantastic- I knew that it was going to taste better making it for 5 people rather than 225. Night of the wedding, they proved me wrong! The food was just as good as it was at our tasting. They were super accommodating with the menu changes I made. My maitre'd, Melissa, was fantastic, as was my bridal attendant, Deidre. My bridal attendant- who I was pretty adamant I didn't need- went to her mom's house to get a steamer because the humidity killed my dress. She also recurled my hair, and was just so on top of everything all day.
I know the mansion has a bad reputation on these boards- which made me quite nervous- but I never should have second guessed my decision. I would not change a thing!



Cake: Cakes by Jay
The Mansion provides a cake that is made by Jay! I met with him personally at his office, and he was wonderful. So much fun. He made a GORGEOUS, DELICIOUS red velvet cake for us. The mansion wrapped the top of the cake for us to take home- and rather than freezing it for our 1st anniversary, we ate it. Oops...it was just too good! I think we're the only bride and groom who went back for seconds during the cake cutting ceremony :) Jay also made a groom's cake for the RD since DH is obsessed with sneakers. Awesome awesome vendor.



BM gifts: Coach wristlets
I was looking for a pale gold clutch- I couldn't find one that wasn't super ugly or super pricey. I found these larger capacity wristlets at Coach. They were perfect- the girls can use them again. I should've gotten one for myself. I also got my MOH a gift certificate to get a massage.

GM gifts: Leatherman tools
I'm not sure where DH ordered these. He is obsessed with the Leatherman tool he has on his keychain- so he got them for the guys with their initials engraved. We also got them the ties they wore.

OOT bags:
Unfortunately I don't have a picture. We did a 'our favorite things' theme- I got gold paper bags, tied with navy and gold raffia, and had a label made on myweddinglabels.com. We filled it with pencils with our names on it, a celebrity crossword puzzle (we always do those together), a golf tee with our names on it, a golf ball, bottles of water, sour patch kids, twix, cheez doodles, raisinets, etc. Everyone loved them. We bought most things in bulk- from Costco and Oriental Trading (for the personalized stuff).

More pics:

Re: My 9-6-08 wedding review! Glen Cove Mansion, After Hours Orchestra, Wick's Florist, Alvina Valenta, Wedding Salon of Manhasset, Cakes by Jay, Bridal Reflections- navy dresses

You looked so beautiful! I love the navy!

Re: My 9-6-08 wedding review! Glen Cove Mansion, After Hours Orchestra, Wick's Florist, Alvina Valenta, Wedding Salon of Manhasset, Cakes by Jay, Bridal Reflections- navy dresses

Your wedding looks beautiful and you are GORGEOUS!

Your wedding looks like it has style and grace, was easy and fun - exactly what I'm aiming for! Let's hope I can pull it off close to as nicely as you did

congrats!!

Re: My 9-6-08 wedding review! Glen Cove Mansion, After Hours Orchestra, Wick's Florist, Alvina Valenta, Wedding Salon of Manhasset, Cakes by Jay, Bridal Reflections- navy dresses

beautiful wedding! -- Love your dress - it was one of my top three when I was looking for a dress!

Re: My 9-6-08 wedding review! Glen Cove Mansion, After Hours Orchestra, Wick's Florist, Alvina Valenta, Wedding Salon of Manhasset, Cakes by Jay, Bridal Reflections- navy dresses

great review!! You looked amazing- I love your dress! Everything looked wonderful- the ballroom, cake, flowers, etc. Congrats to you and your new husband!!

Re: My 9-6-08 wedding review! Glen Cove Mansion, After Hours Orchestra, Wick's Florist, Alvina Valenta, Wedding Salon of Manhasset, Cakes by Jay, Bridal Reflections- navy dresses

great review everything looked great

Re: My 9-6-08 wedding review! Glen Cove Mansion, After Hours Orchestra, Wick's Florist, Alvina Valenta, Wedding Salon of Manhasset, Cakes by Jay, Bridal Reflections- navy dresses

Congrats. You looked very pretty.

Re: My 9-6-08 wedding review! Glen Cove Mansion, After Hours Orchestra, Wick's Florist, Alvina Valenta, Wedding Salon of Manhasset, Cakes by Jay, Bridal Reflections- navy dresses

Thanks ladies!! We had a wonderful day :) I wish the same for those of you who aren't married yet!

Re: My 9-6-08 wedding review! Glen Cove Mansion, After Hours Orchestra, Wick's Florist, Alvina Valenta, Wedding Salon of Manhasset, Cakes by Jay, Bridal Reflections- navy dresses

I was so close to booking the Glen Cove Mansion, it is absolutely stunning. congrats! Everything looks beautiful!

Re: My 9-6-08 wedding review! Glen Cove Mansion, After Hours Orchestra, Wick's Florist, Alvina Valenta, Wedding Salon of Manhasset, Cakes by Jay, Bridal Reflections- navy dresses

congrats!!!!

Re: My 9-6-08 wedding review! Glen Cove Mansion, After Hours Orchestra, Wick's Florist, Alvina Valenta, Wedding Salon of Manhasset, Cakes by Jay, Bridal Reflections- navy dresses

you looked beautiful and everything looked great. congrats! thanks for the review

Re: My 9-6-08 wedding review! Glen Cove Mansion, After Hours Orchestra, Wick's Florist, Alvina Valenta, Wedding Salon of Manhasset, Cakes by Jay, Bridal Reflections- navy dresses

What a beautiful couple and wedding! Congrats!

Re: My 9-6-08 wedding review! Glen Cove Mansion, After Hours Orchestra, Wick's Florist, Alvina Valenta, Wedding Salon of Manhasset, Cakes by Jay, Bridal Reflections- navy dresses

loooooove that dress

Re: My 9-6-08 wedding review! Glen Cove Mansion, After Hours Orchestra, Wick's Florist, Alvina Valenta, Wedding Salon of Manhasset, Cakes by Jay, Bridal Reflections- navy dresses

everything looks sooooooooo beautiful!!! congrats!!!