Ray and I had the best day of our life!!! Without further adieu here is my review!!!
Mother Nature – A++++++++++++++++++++++++
Let me tell you, she was beginning to worry me, but she managed to pull off a picture perfect day!!! Thank goodness cause I really really really wanted the CH outside!
LIW – A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I truly feel our wedding wouldn’t have been half as amazing without this website. It truly is the place for long island brides!! I got so many great ideas: the cry packs, personalized aisle runner, freeze dried rose petals, photo cube, we do letters, slippers, and who knows what else!! I’ve also gained some priceless friends and I am so thankful for that!
My LIW peeps in action!
Nawlins Grille, Mineola – A+
http://www.nawlinsgrille.com/
Rehearsal Dinner
Food was excellent, Katherine was a doll to work with. They have a cute private room downstairs it worked really nice. It’s great for people who want a nice rehearsal dinner on a budget, highly recommend them!
David’s Bridal (Carl Place) – A
Wedding Dress
I heard a lot of negative things about Davids (especially in regards to alterations and customer service), but when I found “the” one there and it was SO affordable, I had to take the chance!! They told me it would take 4-6 months to get the dress and I think it came in about 2! I have no complaints with my experience there, however, I took it elsewhere for alterations.
Phyllis at www.gownfind.com – A
Alterations
Phyllis has a little shop on the side of her house and therefore she can give you low prices on just about any dress you’re looking for!! I had my alterations with her and wish I had looked into her more when I was looking for my dress- her prices are GREAT…she was great, my alterations were perfect! Ray had even stepped on my dress and ripped my bustle but there were extra buttons so there was no problem.
The photographer caught ray ripping my bustle!!!!!!
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Barron’s Tri-County Flea Market – A
Veil
I got a fingertip length veil from them, custom made to my measurements. The veil was exactly what I wanted and at a great price! I had a great experience with Barrons.
Helens Bridal, Commack – A
We ordered Bill Levkoff dresses from Helens Bridal. The prices were pretty reasonable, and the service is very reliable (my MOH has used them three times!)
Rogers Tuxedo, Centereach – A
www.rogerstuxedos.com
No problems whatsoever, tuxes were ready on time and perfect!
E-bay – A+
Too much to name!
What didn’t I get from e-bay?? I had never made use of the source before the wedding but I got bolts of tulle, candles, glass votive holders, my photomat, cake topper, garter and some bridal party gifts from them, and who knows what else…if you’re hesistant about using ebay, I say go for it!
My photomat from ebay! 30 bucks!
Ang from All About the Details – A++++++++++++++
[email protected] or FM Ang&Rich
Slipper tags, Decoration of the church, petal cones and program
What CAN’T Ang do? She is UNBELIEVEABLE!! She single handedly made every bow in the church after I feared they would never come out how I imagined, and took over the daunting task of setting it up. She even ran out to the rolls to show me digital pics to make sure I was happy!!! My hopes had been shattered when I found out how much it would cost to set up the church by Burtons, but Ang came to the rescue. Her prices are fantastic and her work is perfection!! She is Martha Stewarts love child that she doesn’t know about!! But seriously, if you need anything to be handmade, handcrafted, or just plain perfected, Ang is the person for you!! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND HER, because of Ang I was able to have my dream wedding and an unforgettable walk down the aisle.
Creative Hair Designs – April – A +++++++++++
http://www.liweddings.com/vendors/hair/creativehairdesigns/
April is awesome! I was such a terror to deal with cause I was constantly calling her and saying I changed my mind and didn’t know how I wanted to do my hair. She always calmed me down and said it would all work out and it did….my hair was exactly how I wanted it (different from the trial, where I had an updo) and it stayed in all night! I highly recommend her!!
Beautiful Possibilities – Dina – A +++++++++++
http://www.liweddings.com/vendors/make-up/beautifulpossibilities/
Dina is the same story! I kept annoying her with the changes I wanted to make and she took it all in stride. She even dealt wonderfully with my mother who refused to wear makeup until I forced her into it! My makeup was great and everyone said I looked beautiful (and they weren’t lying!!). I highly recommend her too!
Flybonaturals.com – A
http://www.flyboynaturals.com/flyboynaturals/rosepetals.html
Freeze Dried Rose Petals
At first I was disappointed with the freeze dried rose petal textures. I thought they would feel more real. HOWEVER, I realized after the wedding, the rose petals worked out because I got SO many great rose petal shots because they are lighter and float so they were in the air longer. I was very happy in the end that I had made this choice.
Elle from www.madebye.com A ++++++++++++
Personalized Aisle Runner
I’ve seen some complaints of how she is hard to reach, but I never had a problem, the aisle runner was EXACTLY how we had designed it to be, and everyone was raving about it. I was hesitant about spending the extra money on the runner, but in end, it really tied together the look I was going for and I’m SO glad I did it!! I highly recommend her!
Terry Alcantara – A ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
www.terryalcantara.com
Photojournalistic Photo
Terry was a great find!! Darly from LIW had her shoot her wedding and Kim had really turned me onto her!! She is such a doll and took some amazing shots!!! Her prices are VERY reasonable and this girl has such talent!!! I think I had overwhelmed her at first, but she fit right in and became part of the background. I hardly noticed her once we left the house!!! I highly highly recommend her for anyone looking for a second photographer or a very artsy point of view!!!!! LOVED HER!!!!!!
Terry in action:
Queens Bridal Center – A
www.queensbridalcenter.com
Photography (Fernando) and Video (John)
PHOTO - Fernando has a great eye and took wonderful pictures. Only complaint I have about him wasn’t his fault…his car broke down on the way to the park and therefore he rushed a lot of the pictures at the park and during the cocktail hour (which Ray was not happy about). I totally understood where he came from because he was frustrated as a vendor and just wanted us to be happy…in the end, I love my pictures and am very happy to have used Queens Bridal.
VIDEO – John was awesome to work with…he was very nice, took A LOT of footage and even came to the park to shoot although I told him he didn’t have to. My final opinion is pending the outcome of the video, but I’m sure it’s going to be great!
Topps Limo - A
Rolls Royce and Limo
Again, they were contracted through Queens Bridal, but they were early to my house, knew where everything was and were a great vendor.
Flowers by Burton - C
We worked with Jon. Our bo-ks were contracted to them through Queens Bridal Center. Jon and I had different opinions on how my bo-ks should look, but in the end (after complaining to Queens Bridal about how I was treated) they apologized profusely and I gave them a second chance. It really upset me because I was so looking forward to working with them because I had heard such wonderful things. The flowers came out nice, but Jon had left a bad taste in my mouth. I would never use them again just based on the fact that I felt I wasn’t heard and I was literally insulted…when asking for LESS flowers in my bo-k (you’d think they’d be ecstatic that I was saving them money), Jon said I was a “big girl” and could handle a bo-k with 30 roses…they were my least favorite vendor by far.
High Voltage Sounds – A +++++++++++++
DJ Vinny – www.highvoltagesounds.com
I LOVE DJ VINNY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He totally made our reception!!!!!!! I’m sure he played every single song we requested and was very quick with our directions to him. He really kept the party pumping! We had a “Dance Off” competition to give away the centerpieces and he did it EXACTLY how we wanted and it was AWESOME!!!!!!! Everyone is still talking about it, and I know it wouldn’t have been as great if we didn’t have DJ Vinny. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND HIM!!!!! His prices are awesome and so his he!
Sans Souci – A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
www.sanssoucicaterers.com
The hall of our dreams!! We knew we wanted to book the Sans the minute we walked in the door. The hall is breathtaking as is the view of Hempstead Harbor! The guests are still talking about the food!
Nargis, the maitre’D is UNBELIEVABLE!!!! She took care of every single detail I threw at her, and even managed to cover up some nutty moments in the night. Ray had ripped my bustle and I was practically in tears…I found Nargis and she took care of it right away fixing it in a matter of moments. When my MOH forgot the throwaway I realized it at the last moment and Nargis quickly whipped one up for me, before anyone ever noticed. She was constantly tending to the guests, making sure the staff was doing there job taking extra special care of us, making sure we had drinks, were eating and were always comfortable. She is a true professional and such a class act!!!! She set up the hall exactly to my specifications and I just can’t say enough wonderful things about her, any ladies getting married in the future at the Sans have NOTHING to worry about!!!!!!!!
The food was excellent like I said before, and we did not miss a thing!!! The pastry chef did an AWESOME job on our cake, making it exactly like the picture I had brought in.
Donald Hedgecock, the house florist did a great job with the centerpieces, we kept it simple and everything looked beautiful on the table in the end.
Sans Souci is such a dream, and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND anyone looking for a hall, with less than 150 guests and for something reasonably priced, please go check out Sans Souci, you will not be disappointed!!!! It is a one of a kind place, and they make you feel so special because you are their only event. I cannot say enough good things about our experience there!
Memorial Candle – A
http://www.ariacandles.com/permemcanset.html
I wanted something classy to commemorate our loved ones that had passed and everyone loved our candle.
Sparklers Exit - A
http://www.sparklersonline.com/photo_gallery.html
Sparkler exit was awesome!!!! We got the 20 inch sparklers which were supposed to be 2.5 minutes burn time but I don’t think it was. Anyways it gave us an unforgettable exit as we jumped into my beetle convertible all decorated (our getaway car)…it was awesome!!!
Roslyn Claremont Hotel – C+
http://www.roslynclaremonthotel.com/
Save your money! We did the “honeymoon” package which was not worth the money at all. If you’re staying there for location convenience, that’s fine, but I wouldn’t spend the extra money and would’ve gone elsewhere had I known. We were expecting something like the Garden City Hotel but we were wrong, there wasn’t even a CD player in the room!! A disappointment to say the least.
J&J Travel, Mineola – Grace Wissler - A
She is located upstairs from QBC in Mineola. She took care of everything and we had no worries and an awesome honeymoon!
Sandals Whitehouse – A ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
www.sandals.com
Jamaica is fantabulous!!!! We enjoyed every minute of our stay there. The food is unbelievable and the top shelf liquor is always around. They have the friendliest staff there and it was just the picture perfect honeymoon. We did the couples massage and had our room set up with a bubble bath rose petals and champagne. They totally cater to honeymooners there and it is an awesome place to go!!! All you girls going there are so lucky, I want to go again!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will post pics later!
Some Advice:
Have them put the slippers out AFTER the people start dancing, otherwise all the old ladies take them up and never use them...
Enjoy your day while it lasts!! It goes by like a dream....
UPDATE: QB photos now up!!!
QB proofs
