My May 30th Huntington Townhouse Wedding Review! - Now with link to pics!
Okay, the first thing is that it was nearly PERFECT!!!!! The day was beautiful, the gazebo was perfect, the ceremony was perfect, I can't tell you how many people told me it was perfect.The HTH really did a great job for me. It was truly the best day of my life so far. The VAST majority of my vendors went above and beyond (with one notable exception, to be talked about later).
Day of Coordinator - Judith Gardner - A+++++++++++++ I can't even tell you all the stuff this woman did for me. She showed up at 6 am and stayed with us the entire day, found my father, worked out problems - just made the whole thing go smoothly. I had a bridal attendant from the HTH as well, and she was great, but Judy was in MY corner the whole day, you know what I mean? Once you get into that dress, YOU CAN'T GO ANYWHERE - she was my hands.
Huntington Townhouse - A - the gazebo was BEAUTIFUL, I hear the cocktail hour was so amazing people thought that was the entire thing, the food was great, and the Viennese Hour was spectacular! My GRANDMOTHER - who's a cook, loved the food, and that's saying something. The Matrie'd and the Bridal Attendant were onpoint - the Bridal Attendant even sewed my dress up when it ripped. The only issues - they broke one of my champagne flutes, and I didn't see it until after the wedding. Also, there was an issue with my Jazz Trio that I will address next.
National Boulevard Jazz Trio - F!!!!!!! From all accounts they showed up on time, and the hall (or someone in my family, I don't know) gave them bad directions as to where to set up, so they had to set up twice. They seemed to be confused, bringing up things that I had discussed and dismissed with them 6 months ago. Also I hear that the hall was rude to them about a number of things, including finding an outlet for their amps. They played the ceremony beautifully as well, if low. But, because of the problems they had WITH MY HALL, they BAILED FOR MY COCKTAIL HOUR!!!!!! Yes, you heard correctly - they declared the ceremony a gift to me and Arie, and JUST LEFT. My wedding coordinator showed them their contract with stated that they were to play 2 hours, but Karla (the leader) was so 'offended' by my hall she couldn't stay!
That being said, I had a great cocktail hour by all accounts, and no one noticed there was no music, and I didn't know at the time, so that's all that matters. And they played the ceremony, which was the important part.
Rider Photography- A++++ Showed up ontime and on point. Sam and Aishwarya are so cool and organized! I can't wait for the pictures! Due to my family being LATE, we didn't get to take the portraits I wanted, but I think they got everything needed. Will be seeing the pictures today at 6:30!
Randi Cecchine - A+++++ So sweet and she's gonna make a great documentary for us. Too bad she got out of the wedding business, she really does good work. Will give fuller review when we see the rough cut. She asked really good questions of everyone but was very unobtrusive, if that makes sense. We also did separate 'Love Stories' 2 weeks before the wedding - but neither of us knows what the other said! I'm dying to see this! I think we'll have a video that even people who don't know us will find interesting.
Smooth DJ RUS - A++++++++++ WONDER FIND OF THE CENTURY!!! How do you get Jamaicans and Jews to dance together??!!! Hire this guy!!! He was great - organized and on top of things from the beginning - no bad jokes, just good music, almost exactly what I requested, and just amazing. He emailed the schedule to all of the vendors as well. Bought CDs of music he didn't already own, even when I volunteered to mail them to him! www.smoothdjrus.com - recommend wholeheartedly! (oh, and he was $350![]()
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Donald Hedgecock - A - Beautiful flowers, the spring mix he promised. I realized that I should have given him a color scheme and said no sunflowers or carnations, but they were beautiful! I'll have pics soon. My bouquet was gorgeous. But DON'T pick Gardenias for any kind of corsages - they wilt and brown like crazy.
Lynda Lane - A - Showed up ontime at 6am, and did everyone like clockwork. I looked beautiful, if I do say so myself. The only issue is that I didn't like my MOH's makeup too much.
Dress- MY MOM and Grandma - A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++!!!!!! I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW BEAUTIFUL my DRESS WAS!!!! I'll try to get a pic up soon, but you really won't believe it. She gave me a SIX FOOT TRAIN! But then my bustle kept popping off (people stepped on it during the Hora) and she had to run behind me with pins. Near the end I just carried the damn thing.![]()
Hair - My Little Sister-Aunt, Arian Plemenos - A++++++++! I can't be objective about it, but she did an amazing job. She put my weave in about 2 weeks beforehand, and working with nothing but a TINY Toni Braxton pic, did my hair perfectly.
Dance Lessons - West Side Dance Project - A++++++!!! Got my husband to feel good about dancing in ONE LESSON! This is someone who never danced because was laughed at in junior high. Highly recommend.
Anyway, I had a really wonderful wedding (but about 10 no shows![]()
and 3 unexpected kids!!!). My family, being the crazy people they are, got lost the night before and didn't get in until 2am - and me, my mom and my grandma got NO SLEEP at all. And we didn't get to do all the portraits I wanted because my family was SO LATE getting to the hall, but I kinda built that into the schedule.
The honeymoon was awesome, perfect for us, London and then Fort Lauderdale for the beach. We also spent a night at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York. Booked all of the hotels on Priceline, and they were great!
That's it, I guess.
Here's the shutterfly link:
Link to more pics
Day of Coordinator - Judith Gardner - A+++++++++++++ I can't even tell you all the stuff this woman did for me. She showed up at 6 am and stayed with us the entire day, found my father, worked out problems - just made the whole thing go smoothly. I had a bridal attendant from the HTH as well, and she was great, but Judy was in MY corner the whole day, you know what I mean? Once you get into that dress, YOU CAN'T GO ANYWHERE - she was my hands.
Huntington Townhouse - A - the gazebo was BEAUTIFUL, I hear the cocktail hour was so amazing people thought that was the entire thing, the food was great, and the Viennese Hour was spectacular! My GRANDMOTHER - who's a cook, loved the food, and that's saying something. The Matrie'd and the Bridal Attendant were onpoint - the Bridal Attendant even sewed my dress up when it ripped. The only issues - they broke one of my champagne flutes, and I didn't see it until after the wedding. Also, there was an issue with my Jazz Trio that I will address next.
National Boulevard Jazz Trio - F!!!!!!! From all accounts they showed up on time, and the hall (or someone in my family, I don't know) gave them bad directions as to where to set up, so they had to set up twice. They seemed to be confused, bringing up things that I had discussed and dismissed with them 6 months ago. Also I hear that the hall was rude to them about a number of things, including finding an outlet for their amps. They played the ceremony beautifully as well, if low. But, because of the problems they had WITH MY HALL, they BAILED FOR MY COCKTAIL HOUR!!!!!! Yes, you heard correctly - they declared the ceremony a gift to me and Arie, and JUST LEFT. My wedding coordinator showed them their contract with stated that they were to play 2 hours, but Karla (the leader) was so 'offended' by my hall she couldn't stay!
That being said, I had a great cocktail hour by all accounts, and no one noticed there was no music, and I didn't know at the time, so that's all that matters. And they played the ceremony, which was the important part.
Rider Photography- A++++ Showed up ontime and on point. Sam and Aishwarya are so cool and organized! I can't wait for the pictures! Due to my family being LATE, we didn't get to take the portraits I wanted, but I think they got everything needed. Will be seeing the pictures today at 6:30!
Randi Cecchine - A+++++ So sweet and she's gonna make a great documentary for us. Too bad she got out of the wedding business, she really does good work. Will give fuller review when we see the rough cut. She asked really good questions of everyone but was very unobtrusive, if that makes sense. We also did separate 'Love Stories' 2 weeks before the wedding - but neither of us knows what the other said! I'm dying to see this! I think we'll have a video that even people who don't know us will find interesting.
Smooth DJ RUS - A++++++++++ WONDER FIND OF THE CENTURY!!! How do you get Jamaicans and Jews to dance together??!!! Hire this guy!!! He was great - organized and on top of things from the beginning - no bad jokes, just good music, almost exactly what I requested, and just amazing. He emailed the schedule to all of the vendors as well. Bought CDs of music he didn't already own, even when I volunteered to mail them to him! www.smoothdjrus.com - recommend wholeheartedly! (oh, and he was $350
Donald Hedgecock - A - Beautiful flowers, the spring mix he promised. I realized that I should have given him a color scheme and said no sunflowers or carnations, but they were beautiful! I'll have pics soon. My bouquet was gorgeous. But DON'T pick Gardenias for any kind of corsages - they wilt and brown like crazy.
Lynda Lane - A - Showed up ontime at 6am, and did everyone like clockwork. I looked beautiful, if I do say so myself. The only issue is that I didn't like my MOH's makeup too much.
Dress- MY MOM and Grandma - A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++!!!!!! I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW BEAUTIFUL my DRESS WAS!!!! I'll try to get a pic up soon, but you really won't believe it. She gave me a SIX FOOT TRAIN! But then my bustle kept popping off (people stepped on it during the Hora) and she had to run behind me with pins. Near the end I just carried the damn thing.
Hair - My Little Sister-Aunt, Arian Plemenos - A++++++++! I can't be objective about it, but she did an amazing job. She put my weave in about 2 weeks beforehand, and working with nothing but a TINY Toni Braxton pic, did my hair perfectly.
Dance Lessons - West Side Dance Project - A++++++!!! Got my husband to feel good about dancing in ONE LESSON! This is someone who never danced because was laughed at in junior high. Highly recommend.
Anyway, I had a really wonderful wedding (but about 10 no shows
The honeymoon was awesome, perfect for us, London and then Fort Lauderdale for the beach. We also spent a night at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York. Booked all of the hotels on Priceline, and they were great!
That's it, I guess.
Here's the shutterfly link:
Link to more pics
