The Brides' Review - My fabulous wedding at The Sans Souci Sept. 12th w/a few pics - more coming!!

darly Posted: Sep 20, 2004 04:17 PM+

darly MEMBER SINCE: 1/04 TOTAL POSTS : 1113 WEDDING DATE: Sep 12, 2004

Posted: Sep 20, 2004 04:17 PM

My fabulous wedding at The Sans Souci Sept. 12th w/a few pics - more coming!!

We had the best day! The weather was perfect, the ceremony was unreal and the party was soo much fun!!

I will go back in and post my vendors and full review later, but anyone who is getting married at The Sans Souci should be prepared to receive lots of phone calls the next day - everyone called to tell our parents how wonderful it was & different if feels from a hall -- I loved it!!

bellepoque Posted: Sep 20, 2004 05:03 PM+

bellepoque MEMBER SINCE: 8/03 TOTAL POSTS : 1287 WEDDING DATE: Aug 07, 2004

Posted: Sep 20, 2004 05:03 PM

Re: My fabulous wedding at The Sans Souci Sept. 12th

Congratulations! Can't wait to see your pictures!

Summer05 Posted: Sep 20, 2004 06:20 PM+

Summer05 MEMBER SINCE: 5/04 TOTAL POSTS : 3789 WEDDING DATE: Jul 01, 2005

Posted: Sep 20, 2004 06:20 PM

Re: My fabulous wedding at The Sans Souci Sept. 12th

Congratulations!!!! Cant wait for the pics!!

valentik Posted: Sep 20, 2004 07:39 PM+

valentik MEMBER SINCE: 5/04 TOTAL POSTS : 48 WEDDING DATE: Aug 07, 2005

Posted: Sep 20, 2004 07:39 PM

Re: My fabulous wedding at The Sans Souci Sept. 12th

Congratulations! I'm so glad you had a wonderful day- and I'm especially excited about your experience with Sans Souci!
I can't wait to hear all about it!

junebride! Posted: Sep 20, 2004 08:46 PM+

junebride! MEMBER SINCE: 9/04 TOTAL POSTS : 1085 WEDDING DATE: Jun 26, 2005

Posted: Sep 20, 2004 08:46 PM

Re: My fabulous wedding at The Sans Souci Sept. 12th

Congratulations!!!!

jam1223 Posted: Sep 20, 2004 08:47 PM+

jam1223 MEMBER SINCE: 1/04 TOTAL POSTS : 664 WEDDING DATE: Jun 10, 2005

Posted: Sep 20, 2004 08:47 PM

Re: My fabulous wedding at The Sans Souci Sept. 12th

Congrats!

darly Posted: Sep 20, 2004 10:03 PM+

darly MEMBER SINCE: 1/04 TOTAL POSTS : 1113 WEDDING DATE: Sep 12, 2004

Posted: Sep 20, 2004 10:03 PM

Re: My fabulous wedding at The Sans Souci Sept. 12th

I have been so busy getting back to normal, I will post review and pics as soon as I have a chance...
If anyone has questions, FM me - esp. about Sans Souci...people loved it - the band was great, the flowers I did w/ my mom & my dress I had custom made in East Meadow...I promise I won't keep you waiting too long!!

tonia1001 Posted: Sep 21, 2004 12:46 AM+

tonia1001 MEMBER SINCE: 4/04 TOTAL POSTS : 1163 WEDDING DATE: Oct 01, 2005

Posted: Sep 21, 2004 12:46 AM

Re: My fabulous wedding at The Sans Souci Sept. 12th

Please post pics!!!

My friends are getting married there (jw11897) in November!

Congrats! happy to hear you had a wonderful day!

darly Posted: Sep 21, 2004 06:54 AM+

darly MEMBER SINCE: 1/04 TOTAL POSTS : 1113 WEDDING DATE: Sep 12, 2004

Posted: Sep 21, 2004 06:54 AM

Re: My fabulous wedding at The Sans Souci Sept. 12th

No one emailed me pics yet - as soon as I have some I will post them...I promise!!

valentik Posted: Sep 21, 2004 12:07 PM+

valentik MEMBER SINCE: 5/04 TOTAL POSTS : 48 WEDDING DATE: Aug 07, 2005

Posted: Sep 21, 2004 12:07 PM

Re: My fabulous wedding at The Sans Souci Sept. 12th

I'd love more info about Sans Souci! You have FM

darly Posted: Sep 21, 2004 12:43 PM+

darly MEMBER SINCE: 1/04 TOTAL POSTS : 1113 WEDDING DATE: Sep 12, 2004

Posted: Sep 21, 2004 12:43 PM

Re: My fabulous wedding at The Sans Souci Sept. 12th

The Sans Souci was great - except for a few minor glitches beforehand, I can say that I am so happy that we chose it for our wedding...looking over the water and the gorgeous weather and the fact that the Rabbi has been my friend for 20 yrs. made it even more special.

The hospitality (even though I wasn't there) was tasty - then guests went outside for the ceremony. It was a beautiful day and the chuppah looked so pretty - overlooking the water was so specatular...we went upstairs for a few minutes and came back down for the last part of the cocktail hour. Everyone was raving about the food - so happy with my choices!!!

We went inside for the reception and the place looked amazing - we made the centerpieces, so I was so happy to see how pretty the flowers looked on the tables...

Nargis did her job - but she pulled it all together for me and in the end I was very happy with The Sans Souci...Make sure you tell her to be 'less visible' - I found her to be around alot - a few people mentioned it to me - hope she isn't in alot of pics!!

The few things I wasn't happy about was feeding my kosher guests - I requestsed 2 kosher meals of CHICKEN b/c they don't eat meat - which I told her and they were served BOILED BEEF...yuck. So they didn't get to eat anything but they survived and still managed to have fun!!
AND that Nargis was standing right by the chuppah during the beginning of the ceremony - but no one else noticed, so you have to just forget about it and go on.

The setting there is so pretty and romantic that after all the stress of planning and working with Nargis on the stupid cake and the upcharge they wanted, I was so thrilled with the cake we decided on and loved it so much! We finally came to an agreement on how the cake would look, that I was happy I didn't spend extra $ on the cake.
The baker did an amazing job and my 90 year old grandmother said it was the best cake she EVER tasted - wow!!

More later when I have time....

Invitations: Linda's Lovelies
I had so much luck working w/ Linda - she found me the EXACT invitations I wanted, got them for me in record time and I LOVED them - everyone called to say how pretty they were! The calligraphy was amazing and they really set the tone for my wedding...romantic but not overly gushing - stated and simple. Linda did a great job and I recommend her to everyone!

Dress: Vidalia's Fashions - East Meadow
I had my dress custom made for me for a fraction of what a dress in a store would have cost...I went to Vidalia, we worked on the dress style & my mom & I went in to the city and bought the fabric. We gave it to her in no time the dress was made! It took about 6 weeks total with only 2 fittings & 1 final one. I had her make me a shrug to go along w/ the dress so my shoulders were covered during the ceremony - it looked beautiful.
I wore flowers in my hair & the veil I got on Ebay for $15. b/c I didn't want a veil for the reception, so I got something simple.

Undergarments:
All in one - Bee's Lingerie in Great Neck - they fitted me and tailored the bra to fit me perfectly.
Spanx - wow never heard about these b/f but the lady who made my dress recommended them to me. i was wearing open toe shoes and these were great - like support stockings/biker shorts so my legs didn't get hot under the dress and my thighs didn't rub together (friction) - plus, the little slit in the crotch was great for easy access to the bathroom - what a great invention!!

Band: Marty Stevens Music, NYC: Everyone raved about them - they are really a big band - but i wanted them & my budget didn't fit it - so they broke down into 4 pcs. and they sounded great - The SS doesn't have to have a huge band - this was so nice - loads of people commented on how they could still talk to their neighbors w/out shouting over the music. I didn't give them a play list b/c I don't have to tell them how to do their job. They are all professional musicians who work in studios or on B'way, so I knew they could handle it! They did a few special requests - my Father/Daughter dance song which was a Doo Wop song that my dad loves - so fun to dance to something upbeat!! Everyone was standing around the dance floor tapping their toes and laughing b/c it was so different. We had soo much fun!

Ceremony Music: My friend Jill is a professonial flutist - she put together a string trio. They played the hospitality, ceremony and cocktail hour. They also added to the feel of the wedding - such beautiful sounds from 3 string instruments!! Anyone needs her name, pls. fm me - I am just sorry I couldn't sit and listen - I was too busy running around!

Rabbi Mara, my friend of 20 years: married us in an unbelievable ceremony - we incorporated items from our grandparents - tallis, kiddush cups - both our grandfather's passed away this year - so it made it even more sentimental and personal - we used our grandparents rings to get married in and she said so many things about us!! It was lovely - most people from the other side didn't know that she was my friend and when they heard that, they all perked up!! I read the speech she wrote about us the other night I got so choked up! It was perfect!

Yarmulkes: A1 Skullcap - lilac yarmulkes went great with the purple theme!

Photo: 12th Night
Haven't seen any pics except for our e-pics and they were so nice, so I am sure they all came out great - Dom & Mike were great to work with and I am so excited to see the pics!
We didn't even know they were there - that's exactly what I wanted 85% photojournalistic!

I also got lucky enought to have a 2nd photographer who was assisting the Video guy...
Her name is Terry Alcantara - I am in love with her pictures - just saw them for the 1st time. She was sooo unobtrusive - kind of taking shots & trying to stay out of Mike's way (since he was the main photographer).
Her is a link to my pics:
http://www.shutterfly.com/progal/album.jsp?aid=768a5498cf5fd55d7af8

Video: Frank Ayala Films
Excellent to work with, unobtrusive and a really nice guy...I found him on Craigslist and he's now on the The Knot - can't wait to see his work!

Makeup: Oksana
What else can I say
I looked like a movie star w/those false eyelashes....she did me, my mom and my sister. We looked amazing! We had alot of fun getting ready. The makeup stayed on all day and I didn't want to wash my face at the end of the evening!! I was supermodel for a day!!
Highly recommended to everyone - the makeup was so different - I loved it!!

Hair: Nicole D'Angia
Works for herself out east - loved her - she made all of us look great - I had an updo taht was loose and pretty - got her name from cocoa's mil, my aunt - she did such a terrific job on cocoa, I had to have her she came for a trial & booked her on the spot. we worked on the look that i was going for and we came up with exactly what i was looking for.

Flowers:
Bouquets & Bridal Party Flowers: Donald Hedgecock
He is the house floist for the Sans Souci - he didn't do my centerpieces, but the bridal party and my bouquet. I loved his work and i was so happy with what he did - I gave him a pic and ribbon and he did exactly waht I wanted.
I called him this week to thank him - he is so reasonable and a very nice man.

Centerpieces and Cocktail Table Flowers: My mom and I made the centerpieces the day before. I bought the vases at BIG LOTS and found an arrangement that I like online.

Turned out we were short 2 vasses b/c we had more people than orig. anticipated, so my mom ran out to Copaigue and they still had them at the BIG LOTS there...5 months after we got them originally in FLORIDA!!

We made the flower arrangelents in about 3 hours - we left them in the house and turned up the A/C and they stayed fresh all night - perfect for the wedding. No one could believe that we did them and it helped me stay focused the day before - everything was done, so right after we did them, I ran out and got my manicure/pedicure.

I had so many roses left over, I made little arrangements for the cocktail tables - tied them w/ a ribbon, they looked really cute...

My mom also ought marzipan for my cake & a HUGE box of dark chocolated covered orange peels. The S.Souci put the chocolates in a hige glass vase on the bar - everyone was noshing on them while they ordered their drinks.

Favors: Thanks so to searsc I got black and white cookies with our monogram on them. She was nice enough to give me Dortoni's # -we got engaged with a big black and white, so when I saw a pic of them, I knew I had to have them. Janet did an amazing job - they were bagged and ready for pick up a day early. She even used a ribbon them that went w/ my color scheme!!
They were so tasty - I had extras & froze them - can't wait to eat one. I brought them to work for my team and they were still fresh tasting - and soft too!!

I made the rose petal cones, menus and picture frames for table numbers & also made the placecards on the computer - I bought them online & it was really easy to use the template. I punched a little hole on the top of them and used the extra ribbon from my invites to tie a bow on each of them - they looked so professional!!

Table Cameras: Came out great - I got them on ebay - again, cocoa got me their seller id & I was soo happy b/c they were purple and flowery - went great w/my tables!

Janine24 Posted: Sep 21, 2004 02:05 PM+

Janine24 MEMBER SINCE: 7/03 TOTAL POSTS : 3943 WEDDING DATE: Nov 07, 2004

Posted: Sep 21, 2004 02:05 PM

Re: My fabulous wedding at The Sans Souci Sept. 12th

congrats...

excited to see pics!

barb04 Posted: Sep 21, 2004 05:35 PM+

barb04 MEMBER SINCE: 7/04 TOTAL POSTS : 1113 WEDDING DATE: Dec 26, 2004

Posted: Sep 21, 2004 05:35 PM

Re: My fabulous wedding at The Sans Souci Sept. 12th

Congrats!

cocoa Posted: Sep 22, 2004 05:02 PM+

cocoa MEMBER SINCE: 1/04 TOTAL POSTS : 5872 WEDDING DATE: Aug 08, 2004

Posted: Sep 22, 2004 05:02 PM

Re: My fabulous wedding at The Sans Souci Sept. 12th

Yay darly!!! You looked so beautiful!!! Your dress was fantastic, the cookies were soooooooo good...i wish it lasted longer. your centerpieces looked so professional and all of your personal touches were evident and appreciated!!! congratulations!

darly Posted: Sep 22, 2004 08:06 PM+

darly MEMBER SINCE: 1/04 TOTAL POSTS : 1113 WEDDING DATE: Sep 12, 2004

Posted: Sep 22, 2004 08:06 PM