My October 14, 2007 Review - Villa Lombardi's, Pedestals, Artisan Photo Group, RJ's Limos, Carmela's Bridal Garden, Big Hits Entertainment and more ++WITH PICS ADDED!!

Now it’s my turn to write my fairytale wedding review. I can honestly say that my wedding day was everything I expected. It was a fairytale. The weather was absolutely beautiful and I have to thank my mom (and my twin, JennD311) for putting a little statuette of the Blessed Mother in the living room window

Invitations, Programs, Place Cards
Brenda Tillmann Designs on eBay – A+

Who would ever think you could buy beautiful wedding invitations on eBay? Brenda was an absolute godsend from the moment I began working with her. I knew that I wanted pocket fold invitations and when I couldn’t find them at the printers near where I live, I decided to look on eBay. I am so glad that I did so because these invitations were exactly what I had envisioned and I got so many compliments on them. Initially I had ordered 2 different invitation samples from Brenda’s eBay site and when I received them, I decided on my favorite. The great thing about Brenda’s site is that the invitations were available in every different color combination. She sent me a color chart and I ended up changing the sample to the colors of my liking. Everything was done through e-mail and whenever I sent Brenda an e-mail, she responded right away. Once I had approved the final proof, Brenda sent the invitations through UPS and when I received them, they were meticulously packaged with care. There was one snafu.. (one in which my DH learned that he should pay attention to me when I talk and not yes me to death!). I originally made up the invitations with my parent’s names as hosts. Before I told Brenda to go ahead with the printing, I asked DH is the invitation was ok, and he said yes.. well when we received them, he said “why aren’t my parent’s names on the invitation?”ARRGHHHH!!!!! I know, looking back at it, I should have included DH’s parent’s names since they helped pay for the wedding as well, but every invitation that I had seen was the traditional type where the bride’s parent’s were the hosts. Well, no fear, here was Brenda to the rescue!! I explained the situation to her and she told me that everything is going to be ok and she asked me how I wanted the invitations to look with his parent’s names on it. We received the new ones within 2 days!

The programs and place cards were gorgeous as well. I have some pics in my album

Limousines
RJ's Limos, Seaford - B

My best friend used RJ’s for her wedding a few years ago and she highly recommended them to me. We had gone there to meet with them, and Joe was very nice. Everyone at the office was professional and friendly. My husband and I decided to get a Rolls Royce for ourselves and a 14 passenger limo for our bridal party. The day before the wedding, I received a call from RJ’s telling us that they would upgrade our 14 passenger limo for a stretch Escalade…. Nice! We loved that little surprise! On the day of the wedding, my limo was at my parent’s house on time. The driver Eddie was just so nice and helpful. He helped fluff my dress before I walked down the aisle and his kind words were the last I heard when the church doors opened before I walked down the aisle with my mom and dad: “Walk slowly. Enjoy the moment – this is your big moment!”

Unfortunately, my DH didn’t have the same good luck with his limo driver before the wedding. The limo was a half an hour late in getting to his parent’s house and when the limo driver arrived, he had an attitude and then said he didn’t know where the church was. I wish I remembered his name so I could warn future brides about him.

Overall, I would highly recommend RJ’s Limousines

Florist
Pedestals, Garden City Park - A

Our centerpieces were outstanding. The owner Phil really out-did himself when he did our centerpieces. I wanted centerpieces that had a branchy look (kinda like cherry blossom trees), but I also liked the look of a full tree with a tight ball of flowers, so Phil decided to alternate the tables in the reception hall with both. The outcome was gorgeous! The flowers on the cake were beautiful! I have pics posted in my album.

The reason I didn't give Pedestals an A+ was because I was told that when my guests arrived at the church, the flowers weren’t there yet. Our wedding ceremony started at 2PM and the flowers weren’t delivered until 1:50. That's a huge no-no, but overall we were extremely happy with Pedestals service.

Photographer
Artisan Photo Group, Plainview - A+

This was a very important aspect of our wedding. I painstakingly looked for the right photographer to capture our wedding and I loved Chuck (the owner of Artisan) from the moment I met him. My best friend and I went to their Plainview office to talk to Chuck and he spent 2 hours with us. He is so laid back and relaxed that you can’t help but feel like you’ve been friends with him forever. On the day of the wedding, Chuck and Noah (photojournalist) were incredible! They were such a joy to work with. They have such a non-invasive manner of working. I received the proofs last week and I love them! It is going to be so difficult to choose my favorite ones for my wedding album.

DJ
Big Hits Entertainment, Huntington - A+

In a word – INCREDIBLE! Gerry Anton, the owner (and emcee) of Big Hits is a class act. He is pricier than other DJs around the area, but in my opinion, he was well worth it. He lacks the cheese factor that many DJs have. I absolutely recommend Gerry and Big Hits if you want to have an elegant, classy and fun affair.

Bridal Gown, Head Piece, Veil
Carmela's Bridal Garden, Huntington - C

Unfortunately, I have mixed feelings about Carmela’s. I thought Carmela’s was an incredible bridal shop when I first went there to search for my dress. I worked with the salesperson, Silvana, initially and she was lovely to work with. No pressure. After trying on a few dresses, I found the ONE. It was a strapless, Italian silk organza Enzoani and it fit me like a glove. I LOVED Silvana (and still do!). The problem came when I went to Carmela’s for my final fitting. For my first fitting, I went there with my sister and Carmela said that her favorite way to bustle the dress would be the fan shape as opposed to the traditional way. My sister and I know nothing about the different types of bustles, so we agreed from what she quickly showed us, but when I tried the dress on for my final fitting with the fan bustle, I hated it. My mom, and aunt and sisters didn’t like it either. It took away from the silhouette of the dress, so we told Silvana that we wanted to change the bustle to a traditional bustle because that bustle looked terrible. Unfortunately, Carmela was in Italy, so I had to come back for her to change the bustle. When I went back with my mom, Carmela seemed annoyed that I wanted to change the bustle stating that I had changed the bustle so many times and my friends all agreed that they liked the fan bustle. She must have confused me with someone else because I never brought any of my friends to the shop – just my one sister. Anyway, so we agreed that the traditional bustle was the way to go – even Carmela’s daughter who works there agreed that the traditional bustle looked nice with my dress. The Friday before my wedding, I called Carmela to ask her if my mom could pick the dress up since I was busy. She said that was ok. I had called her at 2:30 to let her know that my parent’s were coming that night. At 5:10, I received a call from my mom who was in front of the shop. The shop was closed! When I got home, there was a message on my answering machine from Carmela at 4:59 saying that she was leaving and that I could get the dress the next day. My parents live in Bayside, Queens and they traveled all the way to Huntington in traffic for nothing. I felt that was very inconsiderate to close the shop when I told Carmela that same afternoon that my parent’s were going to pick the dress up that evening. The other problem we had was that Carmela didn’t change the bustle from fan to traditional. Luckily, I didn’t notice it at my wedding, but my mom told me after I got back from my honeymoon that Carmela took a few buttons off the bustle, but it was still a fan bustle. I just feel that was sneaky and if she couldn’t change it to a traditional bustle, she should have told me, instead of just not doing it at all. It just saddens be because I really liked the place before those 2 things happened.

Bridal Shoes
www.shoebuy.com - A+

The shoes were so comfortable. They arrived in 3 days!

Bridesmaid Dresses
RK Bridal, Manhattan - A+

Excellent place to buy bridesmaid dresses. They have the best prices around. My girls wore Jim Hjelm dresses in different styles. It’s located in the city and it’s easy to order from. You just go to their website, find the dress you want and fax an order form to RK. In a few weeks you will receive a call for you to pick up your dresses. For a huge place, they are so organized and professional.

Flower Girl Dresses
www.mygirldress.com - D

I was told that this site was great for flower girl dresses, but I wouldn’t recommend them. One of my flower girl’s dresses was completely soiled. It looked like someone spilled coffee on the crinoline. When my sister called to tell them that we received the dress in soiled condition, they tried to say that we dirtied it. They wouldn’t send out a new dress until they received the soiled one and we received the new dress only a few days before the wedding.

Tuxedos
Foresto Tuxedo Shop, Mineola, NY - A+

We highly recommend Foresto's for tuxedos! They made it such a simple process to get tuxes for DH, his guys and our fathers. The tuxes that we decided on were so beautiful. They were Calvin Klein tuxes in dark brown. We were going to use Men's Warehouse for tuxes since DH's Best man lives in California, but we were really turned off by the quality of tuxes they had at the store we went to. DH's brother-in-law recommended Foresto's and we're so glad we did! The service was so classy and professional. Highly recommend this tux shop!

Ceremony Location
St. Robert Bellarmine Church, Bayside - A+

This parish is very special to me because I went to grammar school there, and received all of my sacraments there. Everything was absolutely perfect. We had two officiants presiding over our ceremony, Deacon Andy and Father Gode. They were both wonderful. I dealt with Deacon Andy on more occasions and he was a delight to work with. He was always smiling and he was very comforting.

Ceremony Music - Harpist
Katharine Saxton - A+

I knew that I wanted a harpist for my wedding ceremony and I found Katharine through LI Weddings. Katharine is very easy to work with. She sent me a CD of her work and I fell in love. She is a wonderful harpist and her music is heavenly.

Reception Hall
Villa Lombardi’s - A+

I am so happy we decided to go with Villa Lombardi’s for our reception. I fell in love with this place when I went to a wedding when I was 21 years old. I was so impressed with the cocktail hour and I promised myself that when I grew up I would have my reception there ? This place is just so classy. The food is incredible. Our maitre’ d, Nicole was exceptional. She catered to our every need and made sure we had everything we needed that night. We loved Nicole!!

Last but not least, I am thankful for LIW. Even though I was more of a silent participant, I really am so appreciative of all of the amazing advice I received from this site!

edited to add vendors

Re: My October 14, 2007 Review - Villa Lombardi's, Pedestals, Artisan Photo Group, RJ's Limos, Carmela's Bridal Garden, Big Hits Entertainment and more

congrats and thanks for sharing!

Re: My October 14, 2007 Review - Villa Lombardi's, Pedestals, Artisan Photo Group, RJ's Limos, Carmela's Bridal Garden, Big Hits Entertainment and more

congrats thank you for sharing. you looked beautiful in your pic from your album.

Re: My October 14, 2007 Review - Villa Lombardi's, Pedestals, Artisan Photo Group, RJ's Limos, Carmela's Bridal Garden, Big Hits Entertainment and more

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Re: My October 14, 2007 Review - Villa Lombardi's, Pedestals, Artisan Photo Group, RJ's Limos, Carmela's Bridal Garden, Big Hits Entertainment and more

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Re: My October 14, 2007 Review - Villa Lombardi's, Pedestals, Artisan Photo Group, RJ's Limos, Carmela's Bridal Garden, Big Hits Entertainment and more

Vanderbilt Mansion in Centerport, LI

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Re: My October 14, 2007 Review - Villa Lombardi's, Pedestals, Artisan Photo Group, RJ's Limos, Carmela's Bridal Garden, Big Hits Entertainment and more

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Re: My October 14, 2007 Review - Villa Lombardi's, Pedestals, Artisan Photo Group, RJ's Limos, Carmela's Bridal Garden, Big Hits Entertainment and more

Great review-can't wait to see pics! I also head the Blessed Mother in my living room window that my MIL gave to me when we got engaged. I blew her a kiss everyday! Well, we got married on October 21 and it was Sunny and 75-80 degrees! It was really like a warm summer day, without the humidity! She really does magic!

Re: My October 14, 2007 Review - Villa Lombardi's, Pedestals, Artisan Photo Group, RJ's Limos, Carmela's Bridal Garden, Big Hits Entertainment and more

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Posted by ginamarie1022

Vanderbilt Mansion in Centerport, LI

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Just Gorgeous-love the dress!

Re: My October 14, 2007 Review - Villa Lombardi's, Pedestals, Artisan Photo Group, RJ's Limos, Carmela's Bridal Garden, Big Hits Entertainment and more

see.. when you believe - it will happen :) I am so glad your day was a perfect one.. I bet you blowing kisses to the Blessed Mother helped as well

Congratulations to you on your wedding!

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Posted by Tuosto

Great review-can't wait to see pics! I also head the Blessed Mother in my living room window that my MIL gave to me when we got engaged. I blew her a kiss everyday! Well, we got married on October 21 and it was Sunny and 75-80 degrees! It was really like a warm summer day, without the humidity! She really does magic!

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Re: My October 14, 2007 Review - Villa Lombardi's, Pedestals, Artisan Photo Group, RJ's Limos, Carmela's Bridal Garden, Big Hits Entertainment and more ++WITH PICS ADDED!!

What beautiful photos! Thanks for the review .

Re: My October 14, 2007 Review - Villa Lombardi's, Pedestals, Artisan Photo Group, RJ's Limos, Carmela's Bridal Garden, Big Hits Entertainment and more ++WITH PICS ADDED!!

More pics!

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Re: My October 14, 2007 Review - Villa Lombardi's, Pedestals, Artisan Photo Group, RJ's Limos, Carmela's Bridal Garden, Big Hits Entertainment and more ++WITH PICS ADDED!!

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Re: My October 14, 2007 Review - Villa Lombardi's, Pedestals, Artisan Photo Group, RJ's Limos, Carmela's Bridal Garden, Big Hits Entertainment and more ++WITH PICS ADDED!!

Absolutely beautiful!!