My June 10, 2007 Wedding Review: Westbury Manor, Something in Blue, Duet, Flower Michele, OUO, Sachiko Yanase, Camelot Limos, Audrey's Bakery (now with pro pics!)

Everything went really smoothly at our wedding and I was so happy with how everything turned out. We just watched a video of the wedding taped by a family friend and it was so much fun to re-live what happened that day since it went by so quickly for us.

When I was planning, I found everyone's wedding reviews to be very helpful so even though I didn't post much here, I hope that my review will be of help to others.

PROFESSIONAL PICS!
(More pics in my album)
















WEDDING REVIEW

Reception Hall:
From the minute we walked in, we loved Westbury Manor. The English Victorian manor style, the fresh flowers inside, the beautiful gardens, the super nice and accomodating staff - it fit us so perfectly. We loved that it felt so homely and comforting when you walked in, how the rooms weren't too big that it would look odd given our small/medium size wedding, how great the food is (7 choices for entrees!)...I could go on and on. They are so organized there and kept everything running smoothly for us - we didn't have to worry once. It was the best decision we made.





Photographers
We had originally booked with Duet but after our epics, we weren't that impressed and decided to switch and go with Something in Blue. We're so happy we went with this decision, even though we lost some money in the process. Given all the wedding photos I've seen of theirs, we felt fully confident that they would produce nothing short of spectacular work. We didn't have to provide them with a 'Must take photo list' because we trusted that they would capture all our most memorable moments. A few preview photos they have posted on their blog:










Video
We cancelled with Duet for our photo but we kept them for video because it was just the easiest thing to do. We didn't care too much for the video but just really wanted to have something to be able to watch and look back on in the future. Hong was our videographer and he was great on our wedding day. He was super nice to work with, I didn't really see him take any breaks and I'm sure the video will turn out fine.

Flowers
I had read so many good reviews for Flower Michele that it was a pretty easy decision for me in booking with them. John at Flower Michele is what everyone says - so passionate about flowers, so easy going and nice to work with and he truly accomodates whatever budget you want him to work with. This was the one area where I didn't spend too much focus on but was really happy with how the flowers turned out - I loooooved my bouquet. It was so full and the colors really popped.



DJ
We went with OUO because we had seen them at Andrew's cousin's wedding a few years back and they had done a great job. They played great music and kept the crowd dancing (which is not always easy with mostly Chinese crowd). However, of all our vendors, this is the only one that we had a horrible experience with (not during the actual wedding but throughout the whole planning process) and would not go with again if we had to do it again. We dealt with several people there and found them to be slightly arrogant, customer service was horrible (always took forever to respond to emails, didn't make the initiative to contact us to set up a final meeting at all, when we finally did set up a final meeting with them, they completely forgot, we asked questions and would get passed from person to person 'ask that person, they handle it'). But in fairness, their performance at our wedding was fine (our MC really worked the crowd, pushed people to dance, played good music and kept the energy level up) though they did screw up the schedule of a few of our things during the wedding which only we knew. So to sum it up, go with them, if you want good entertainment but don't care for customer service.

Hair/Makeup
I wanted an Asian make-up artist and choosing Sachiko Yanase was an easy decision given all the positive reviews for her on the wedding boards. She's so nice and always professional. She showed up at 4:59am that morning to start the moms' hair and was calm the whole time. I told her I wanted to look natural and as much like my normal self (I don't normally wear that much make-up and didn't want to look like a different person on my wedding day) and was happy with how my make-up turned out. The hair looked great too, just like I wanted, only that it did start to fall out towards the end of the night (my tiara was halfway down my head)...but that was only because of how much dancing I did.



Limo
Renting a car/limo was something I felt wasn't worth it since the beginning because our ceremony and reception were both at Westbury Manor and literally the only time we would need it would be the 5 minute ride from the hotel to WM. Andrew really wanted it though and felt it would look nice for pictures and his parents didn't feel right about sending me off in their family van. Something about a bride in her wedding dress climbing into the van, didn't quite strike a chord with them. At the last minute (5 days before the wedding), we decided to rent a Rolls Royce and I'm really glad we did. We went with Camelot Limos and the driver was very friendly and made our 5 minute ride very enjoyable!






Dress
I loved my Richard Glasgow gown and especially loved the bustling in the back (Richard Glasgow himself did my alterations and bustle). I was able to get it 1/2 off the retail price when he was retiring from the wedding design business. It got a little tight a month before the wedding which scared the crap out of me, causing me to go on a major exercise streak and chocolate deprived hell...but all fit fine on the big day.



Red Dress
I originally wanted to stay in my wedding dress the whole night but my mom wanted me to change to a red dress so I bought one to please her. I'm glad I did - I loved my red dress from Cache and it felt nice to change into something so light.




Bridesmaids' Dress
I bought the girls their dresses from Ann Taylor Celebrations collection over a year in advance and even before my own dress! I knew I wanted a pink color, they looked simple and classic and when they went on sale, I got the girls sizes and ordered them asap. They were delivered in less than a week and sizes fit the girls perfectly. I thought they all looked so cute - easiest part of the whole process.


Shoes
Dyeables 'Loveknot' - super comfortable, my feet did not hurt at all at the end of the day. For the red dress, Nina 'Garland' - also comfortable and much lower heel

Tiara/Veil
I got both my veil and tiara at Barron's Tri-County. Extremely happy with both - everyone has to go there! Great prices, great selection!

My veil was a petite fingertip with scattered rhinestones and silver edging. It was ready within a few weeks, great price.

Originally I did not want a tiara. After my hair/makeup trial, I felt that I needed a bit more sparkle in my hair so decided to get one that wasn't too high. I'm so glad I did - I really love my tiara.



Invitations
I ordered our invitation from My Gatsby.Com - easy, good prices and fast. I didn't spend much time or money on this area but was happy with the end result.


Dance Lessons
We decided to take dance lessons about 2 months before the wedding right as things really picked up (bad idea - start early!). We thought learning just a few highlight moves would be better than rocking back and forth like a high school prom. We got a 5 private lesson package with Anne-Marie Nespoli of Wedding Day Dance in NYC (917-796-4960) and learned the fox trot to 'The Way You Looked Tonight'. We didn't practice much outside of the classes so I can't say we danced great but it got us through (see relieved smile on Andrew's face below). Anne-Marie is great, very patient and will help you customize a short routine. Her price is extremely reasonable too ($299 for 5 private lessons)



Favors
We originally decided to give only the 'Love Beyond Measure' measuring tape as our favors but my aunt who lives in Belgium brought with her 2 large suitcases full of heart-shaped Belgian Leonidas chocolates - which was such a nice surprise and so sweet of her! Cooincidently, the bows on the chocolate box matched my bridesmaids dress/sash colors exactly.


Groom's Cake
I got my husband a groom's cake from Audrey's Fine Baked Goods in Long Island as a surprise - and he was totally surprised and loved it! He is obsessed with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (he trains several times a week) and all things UFC and Pride. He wanted to put little jiu-jitsu figurines on our wedding cake but I wasn't too keen on the idea. I decided to get a groom's cake to surprise him. Jiu Jitsu doesn't really have an object that represents it (like baseball or football), it just looks like a bunch of guys wrestling. So I found logos of UFC and Pride, then added his favorite saying 'Jiu Jitsu can save the world'. The cake tasted really good.



Hotel
We stayed at Wingate Inn along with our guests the night before the wedding. I worked with Cynthia Bevington prior and she was great to work with! We booked 20 rooms plus the grand bridal suite. It is located just 10 minutes to Westbury Manor, perfect location. Everything went really smoothly checking in and we had no issues.

The grand bridal suite is huge!!! I highly recommend it. Especially getting ready the morning of, there were so many people in my room, it was so nice to have such a huge room. The bathroom is huge too! If you stay at Wingate, you should definitely go with the grand bridal suite. For every 15 rooms you book, they also give you either $200 off the price of the bridal suite or 1 RT shuttle to your reception hall.


Wedding Bands
We got my wedding band from Facets/Signed Pieces in the city. They have a small booth in the Diamond District but you can also order from them online (http://www.thefacetscollection.com). I thought they have the best selection, all great quality, comes GIA certified. I have very small hands and wanted a delicate eternity band. Most places I looked had bands that were too thick for me but Facets had the most delicate pieces. Highly recommend checking them out. My husband also got his wedding band in the Diamond District.



Honeymoon - Vendor Recommendation
We had a fabulous time in Tahiti, Bora Bora and Moorea. Click here to see some pics. We highly recommend our travel agent - he was great to work with and definitely had the best price out there.
http://www.liweddings.com/chat/topic.aspx?&P=1&ID=423572&Highlight=#P4952565

Re: My June 10, 2007 Wedding Review: Westbury Manor, Something in Blue, Duet, Flower Michele, OUO, Sachiko Yanase, Camelot Limos, Audrey's Bakery (with some pics)

Thanks for sharing! Everything looked beautiful! Congratulations

Re: My June 10, 2007 Wedding Review: Westbury Manor, Something in Blue, Duet, Flower Michele, OUO, Sachiko Yanase, Camelot Limos, Audrey's Bakery (with some pics)

Everything looks beautiful

Re: My June 10, 2007 Wedding Review: Westbury Manor, Something in Blue, Duet, Flower Michele, OUO, Sachiko Yanase, Camelot Limos, Audrey's Bakery (with some pics)

Beautiful!!!! Thanks for sharing!!!! Congrats!!!

Re: My June 10, 2007 Wedding Review: Westbury Manor, Something in Blue, Duet, Flower Michele, OUO, Sachiko Yanase, Camelot Limos, Audrey's Bakery (with some pics)

great review, you were a beautiful bride!!!

Re: My June 10, 2007 Wedding Review: Westbury Manor, Something in Blue, Duet, Flower Michele, OUO, Sachiko Yanase, Camelot Limos, Audrey's Bakery (with some pics)

Beautiful! Congrats!

Re: My June 10, 2007 Wedding Review: Westbury Manor, Something in Blue, Duet, Flower Michele, OUO, Sachiko Yanase, Camelot Limos, Audrey's Bakery (with some pics)

beautiful review. thanks for the pics!

Re: My June 10, 2007 Wedding Review: Westbury Manor, Something in Blue, Duet, Flower Michele, OUO, Sachiko Yanase, Camelot Limos, Audrey's Bakery (with pics!)

Really pretty!!!

Re: My June 10, 2007 Wedding Review: Westbury Manor, Something in Blue, Duet, Flower Michele, OUO, Sachiko Yanase, Camelot Limos, Audrey's Bakery (with pics!)

Beautiful pictures and a great review! Congrats!

Re: My June 10, 2007 Wedding Review: Westbury Manor, Something in Blue, Duet, Flower Michele, OUO, Sachiko Yanase, Camelot Limos, Audrey's Bakery (with pics!)

Everything looked lovely! Congratulations!

Re: My June 10, 2007 Wedding Review: Westbury Manor, Something in Blue, Duet, Flower Michele, OUO, Sachiko Yanase, Camelot Limos, Audrey's Bakery (with pics!)

love your pictures! I actually saw them a few days ago on something in blue's blog.

anyway looks like a great day. your gorgeous!

Re: My June 10, 2007 Wedding Review: Westbury Manor, Something in Blue, Duet, Flower Michele, OUO, Sachiko Yanase, Camelot Limos, Audrey's Bakery (with pics!)

Everything looks great! I got married June 10 and got ready at the Wingate Inn also, we saw you guys getting your pictures taken outside of the hotel. Congrats!

Re: My June 10, 2007 Wedding Review: Westbury Manor, Something in Blue, Duet, Flower Michele, OUO, Sachiko Yanase, Camelot Limos, Audrey's Bakery (with pics!)

great review! You looked beautiful!!! Also, your photos look great!!!

Re: My June 10, 2007 Wedding Review: Westbury Manor, Something in Blue, Duet, Flower Michele, OUO, Sachiko Yanase, Camelot Limos, Audrey's Bakery (with pics!)

gorgeous pictures and great detailed review!!

Re: My June 10, 2007 Wedding Review: Westbury Manor, Something in Blue, Duet, Flower Michele, OUO, Sachiko Yanase, Camelot Limos, Audrey's Bakery (with pics!)

i love that you changed into a red dress!!!! so unique!

Re: My June 10, 2007 Wedding Review: Westbury Manor, Something in Blue, Duet, Flower Michele, OUO, Sachiko Yanase, Camelot Limos, Audrey's Bakery (now with pro pics!)

Added some professional pics!

Re: My June 10, 2007 Wedding Review: Westbury Manor, Something in Blue, Duet, Flower Michele, OUO, Sachiko Yanase, Camelot Limos, Audrey's Bakery (now with pro pics!)

thanks for sharing and you look great

Re: My June 10, 2007 Wedding Review: Westbury Manor, Something in Blue, Duet, Flower Michele, OUO, Sachiko Yanase, Camelot Limos, Audrey's Bakery (now with pro pics!)

Beautiful! Thanks for the Review!

Re: My June 10, 2007 Wedding Review: Westbury Manor, Something in Blue, Duet, Flower Michele, OUO, Sachiko Yanase, Camelot Limos, Audrey's Bakery (now with pro pics!)

Great review.

beautiful pics

congrats!

Re: My June 10, 2007 Wedding Review: Westbury Manor, Something in Blue, Duet, Flower Michele, OUO, Sachiko Yanase, Camelot Limos, Audrey's Bakery (now with pro pics!)

Great review, thanks for sharing! You looked gorgeous!