Re: My INCOMPLETE Sat. June 19, 2010 wedding review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals and more! (non-pro photos... stay tuned for pro photos!)

beautiful! congrats

Re: My INCOMPLETE Sat. June 19, 2010 wedding review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals and more! (non-pro photos... stay tuned for pro photos!)

are those gucci linens i see?

Re: My INCOMPLETE Sat. June 19, 2010 wedding review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals and more! (non-pro photos... stay tuned for pro photos!)

Great review and beautiful pictures!!

Re: My INCOMPLETE Sat. June 19, 2010 wedding review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals and more! (non-pro photos... stay tuned for pro photos!)

Pedestals: A+

Wow, what can I say? Pedestals was fantastic from our first meeting. I must say it was between Pedestals and Flowers By Brian, but something just clicked when we met with Robert from Pedestals. Robert is part owner of Pedestals and he truly loves what he does. The flowers on my wedding day were breathtaking. My bouquet was all white roses studded with Swarovski crystals. My MOH and BMs had ivory roses and pale pink peonies. For our ceremony, they did white tulle bows with white hydrangeas tucked underneath. They also did two large white pieces on the altar. All of the corsages and boutonnieres were beautiful too, as were the petals for our flower girl and for our petal cones (white and pale pink rose petals).

For the cocktail hour, we had floating candles with rose petals, and rose petals scattered among the tables. For the reception, our centerpieces were all high, and the flowers consisted of pink peonies, Anna roses, vendella roses, white hydrangeas, bells of Ireland, white orchids, and green amaranthis hanging down. The pedestal was antique gold and had crystals draping down and across. Then the tables had votive candles and scattered rose petals. They also did lots of various other pieces around the ballroom and the other areas we were using, and our sweetheart table had a cascading piece which consisted of the same flowers used in the centerpieces. Everyone raved about our flowers, saying they had never seen such beautiful flowers and so many!! At the end of the night, some guests were actually taking flowers from the centerpieces to bring home! Pedestals did an incredible job with our wedding. Rob was amazing, and his assistant Chris was such a sweetheart and also very professional and on top of everything. Highly, highly recommend!!
**These photos by Imagine Studios**

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Re: My INCOMPLETE Sat. June 19, 2010 wedding review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals and more! (non-pro photos... stay tuned for pro photos!)

**Private photos**

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Re: My INCOMPLETE Sat. June 19, 2010 wedding review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals and more! (non-pro photos... stay tuned for pro photos!)

**This photo by Imagine Studios**

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Re: My INCOMPLETE Sat. June 19, 2010 wedding review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals and more! (non-pro photos... stay tuned for pro photos!)

Linen Creations: A+

I have to say, I was a little worried about using them because there was a time when they were very difficult to contact (before AND after signing the contract). However, they were in the midst of moving their entire business to a new location, so the reason was understandable. Also, a few days before the wedding, my mom and I went to their location to make the final payment, and we saw their new location, which was not pleasing to the eye. However, do NOT let this be a turn off!! They make their own linens and so they are literally located in a warehouse. That’s why all of my linens were completely seamless – they make them, they don’t buy them. We used “gold scroll” overlays for each table and the sweetheart table (see photo!). They were GORGEOUS. We also used gold satin chair sashes and matching gold satin napkins. (Be sure to get extra in case someone drops a napkin on the floor during dinner! No one wants to reuse a napkin that was on the floor.) These were gorgeous, too. They all went so well with our color scheme and the materials are of the highest quality. I definitely recommend Linen Creations!
**Photos by Imagine Studios**

ETA: Please see album for better quality of these photos. The resizer is diminishing the quality.

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Re: My INCOMPLETE Sat. June 19, 2010 wedding review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals and more! (non-pro photos... stay tuned for pro photos!)

Thanks so much for the compliments!!! Stay tuned for lots more reviews of all my vendors... This is a very long and detailed review so it is taking a long time to complete. Resizing photos is the killer.

Re: My INCOMPLETE Sat. June 19, 2010 wedding review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals and more! (non-pro photos... stay tuned for pro photos!)

omg that food!! that lobster trio oh no you can't do that to this pregnant woman! lol....everything looks amazing, and you were a beautiful bride!

Re: My INCOMPLETE Sat. June 19, 2010 wedding review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals and more! (non-pro photos... stay tuned for pro photos!)

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Posted by TessMike621

omg that food!! that lobster trio oh no you can't do that to this pregnant woman! lol....everything looks amazing, and you were a beautiful bride!

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Oh thank you so much!! And congratulations to YOU on your honeymoon baby!!! That is wonderful!!!

Re: My INCOMPLETE Sat. June 19, 2010 wedding review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals and more! (non-pro photos... stay tuned for pro photos!)

MMMmmmmmm, the food looks so good! Congrats on your wedding!

Re: My INCOMPLETE Sat. June 19, 2010 wedding review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals and more! (non-pro photos... stay tuned for pro photos!)

Ur wedding looks spectacular!!! What a beautiful & regal venue. I loved the decor! U were such a gorgeous bride. Congrats!!!

Re: My INCOMPLETE Sat. June 19, 2010 wedding review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals and more! (non-pro photos... stay tuned for pro photos!)

amazing review! congratulations on a wonderful day!

Re: My INCOMPLETE Sat. June 19, 2010 wedding review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals and more! (non-pro photos... stay tuned for pro photos!)

Thanks for the review! We booked Code Bleu too so I'm glad to hear such great things about them!

Re: My INCOMPLETE Sat. June 19, 2010 wedding review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals and more! (non-pro photos... stay tuned for pro photos!)

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Posted by Cassie15

Ur wedding looks spectacular!!! What a beautiful & regal venue. I loved the decor! U were such a gorgeous bride. Congrats!!!

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Aww you are so sweet - thank you so so much!!!

And thank you to everyone else!! It was a perfect day. Stay tuned for more reviews!

Re: My INCOMPLETE Sat. June 19, 2010 wedding review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals and more! (non-pro photos... stay tuned for pro photos!)

Programs - Catholic Brides: A+

Our custom made programs were absolutely stunning. This company prints all of their programs on linen and so the quality of the paper is the BEST. I seriously LOVED my programs. Their customer service was great and we received the programs in a timely fashion. They aren’t cheap, but they are worth every penny.

Photo is in my album of Wedding Teasers!!!!


Imagine Studios: Tentative A+… Waiting for photos.

Leading up to my wedding day and on the day of my wedding, Lia and her husband Nelson (our videographer) were wonderful. Lia’s assistant was also a sweetheart and seemed to capture a lot of great shots. As of now, my review of Imagine Studios is great, but I don’t want to give a full review until we at least receive our proofs. However, we did just receive about 100 teasers and they are STUNNING. Please see my album!!!! So far I am extremely impressed with their work.


Jacqueline Nicole: A+

Jacqueline Nicole is an extremely talented young woman. Her airbrushing is flawless, as is the rest of her work. I had airbrushing and makeup, as did my mom, my sister had just airbrushing, and one of my bridesmaids had just makeup. Everyone was very happy with how their makeup came out. They all looked gorgeous! Jacqueline is also SUCH a sweetheart. She really helped calm my nerves on the day of my wedding, and she made such a fuss over my parents’ house, over my mom’s dress, my bridesmaids’ dresses, my flower girl’s dress, and my dress, hair, jewelry, EVERYTHING! She’s that sweet. Furthermore, I have very bad allergies to all eye shadows, and so Jacqueline went through painstaking precautions to ensure that her makeup wouldn’t cause an allergic reaction on my wedding day. She did such a flawless job even though I couldn’t wear ANY eye shadow. I highly recommend Jacqueline Nicole to everyone!!! She is the best.

See my Wedding Teasers and Makeup Trial albums!!!


Roseanna Amador - CosmoNY: A

Roseanna Amador is extremely talented. She has done work for bridal magazines (including the cover of Manhattan Brides), and she also did hair for the Regis and Kelly bridal show. My hair trial was awesome. I had originally wanted my hair half up, half down, and I LOVED how it came out. She then tried all up with loose curls coming down and I loved it even MORE. This is how I ultimately wore my hair for the wedding, and it was beautiful. However, my hair was coming out all night. I must say, I was a dancing fiend and didn’t stop for a minute (except for some of my dinner) and so I am sure this had a lot to do with it… By the end of the night, most of my hair had come out, but it still looked gorgeous!! My sister and mom also had their hair done by Roseanna and they looked great.

Another problem is that before my ceremony, my veil came out twice. Thank God my limo driver finally jammed it into my head before I walked down the aisle lol and it was fine the rest of the time, but for some reason it did fall out two times before walking down the aisle. This is why I am forced to give Roseanna an A instead of an A+.

See my Wedding Teasers and Hair Trial albums!!!

Re: My INCOMPLETE Sat. June 19, 2010 wedding review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals and more! (non-pro photos... stay tuned for pro photos!)

Swarovski: A+

All of my DOJ was from Swarovski. For my sister (MOH) I bought beautiful crystal encrusted hoop earrings. For my bridesmaids I bought large crystal studs. For myself, my mom bought me the Diamanta bracelet from Swarovski which was absolutely stunning. She also bought me dangling earrings from Swarovski which went perfectly with my dress. My hair jewelry was not purchased from Swarovski, but both pieces contained Swarovski crystals. My main piece was made of feathers, freshwater pearls and Swarovski crystals. The smaller piece for the other side of my hair was all Swarovski crystals (purchased from Roseanna Amador). They were both absolutely beautiful.

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Re: My INCOMPLETE Sat. June 19, 2010 wedding review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals and more! (non-pro photos... stay tuned for pro photos!)

Paradise Bridal: A
My Gown - Lazaro - Finale Dress for Fall 2007 Bridal Fashion Show in NY: A+ and beyond<3

My wedding dress was a beautiful, handmade Lazaro gown. It was made of silk with a Chantilly lace overlay, and was hand beaded and hand embroidered from head to toe. It was used as the finale gown in the Fall 2007 bridal fashion show in New York. As soon as I tried on this dress, I knew it was the one. The alterations done at Paradise were perfect. My “balloon” bustle was great because it really showed off all the detail on my dress. The one complaint I have is that toward the end of the reception, my bustle completely fell out. After looking at all the ties, they were still tied, but they had all broken. My suspicion is that someone stepped on my bustled train on the dance floor and that it ripped out all the ties. However, I feel that if the ties had been stronger, perhaps the bustle wouldn’t have fallen out. Therefore, I must give Paradise Bridal an A instead of an A+.

My mom got a gorgeous Valentina “mother of the bride” dress from them, too. It was completely handmade and hand beaded. It was form fitted, youthful, and navy blue and had rhinestones throughout. The alterations on her dress were perfect.

Photos of my dress are in my Wedding Teasers album, Non-pro Wedding Photos album and my Misc. Wedding related items album.


Stuart Weitzman shoes: A+

Got these in the city and they were very comfortable. I didn't want to go with shoes that were WAY too high so I got 3.5' Stuarts - satin, very simple and bridal. My dress was very detailed so I wanted a simple shoe. Although the shoe was comfortable, my feet and legs were killing me by the end of the night and the next week lol but that's only because I danced and danced and danced allllll night so I have only myself to blame. See my Misc. album for photos of my shoe.


Godiva favors: A+

What else can I say? They were beautiful, delicious, and matched our color scheme perfectly! The boxes were traditional Godiva gold, and we also had a pearl cluster as well as antique white satin ribbons which were personalized with our names and our wedding day. The service at Godiva was fantastic and we had our favors in more than enough time. Definitely recommend!

See photos in my Misc. album and Wedding Teasers album.


St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church, Bay Shore

I don’t feel comfortable giving a “letter” rating to a church. However, I will say that from the very beginning, St. Patrick’s was wonderful. DH and I are not parishioners of this particular church, but they were very welcoming nonetheless. Deacon Frank was very sweet to us, and our one-weekend Pre Cana was a breeze. Father Noviello was our celebrant and he was fantastic. The church itself is breathtaking. Built in 1916, it is a Long Island institution and landmark. We are so happy we got married here. Our only complaint is with the wedding coordinator, Phyllis. There was a mix-up with our rehearsal time, and we all ended up arriving late. She was very, very mean to us and to everyone, and she really put a damper on our rehearsal night. The next day, when I (the bride) was between 5 and 10 minutes late, apparently she was yelling and complaining that I was late. She then yelled at my sister (MOH) to “GOOO!! GOOO!!!” as my sister was blessing herself when walking into the church. She’s a bit of a nightmare, but that said, our wedding was beautiful. DH’s grandfather cried the whole time because he was so moved. I cried, too! So many people told us it was such a beautiful ceremony.

See our photos!!

Re: My INCOMPLETE Sat. June 19, 2010 wedding review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals and more! (non-pro photos... stay tuned for pro photos!)

Trumpeter – Douglas Bertolino: A+

Along with the singer and organist, we decided to also have a trumpeter at the church for our ceremony. Our experience with Doug was great. We had certain requests for him (to ask the organist to be particularly loud for Trumpet Voluntary, my bridal entrance song; and to make sure Trumpet Voluntary was played more slowly than it was at the church’s music fair) and every request was carried out perfectly. Adding the trumpet really made the ceremony particularly regal and moving. I would definitely recommend Doug Bertolino.


String Quartet – Skyline Orchestras: A+

We used a string quartet for our cocktail hour and we are so happy we did. They were phenomenal and really added a whole new dimension to our cocktail hour. The cocktail hour was extended to an hour and a half, so the string quartet was especially appreciated. Everyone LOVED them.

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Re: My INCOMPLETE Sat. June 19, 2010 wedding review - The Garden City Hotel, Code Bleu, Pedestals and more! (non-pro photos... stay tuned for pro photos!)

All Star Limousines: A+

All Star was very professional and on time. We used All Star for the wedding and also for my bachelorette party. For the bachelorette party, they sent a black ten passenger Lincoln Royale which was clean and brand new. It came equipped with drinks (of course), flat panel TVs, radio, a great sound system, and awesome lighting. Our driver was on time and was great the whole night. For the day of our wedding, my parents and I (and then after the ceremony, DH and I) had a beautiful white antique Rolls Royce which was in fabulous condition. On the day of our wedding, however, when we asked for a 14 passenger stretch, we were expecting some sort of stretch “car.” Instead, a 20 passenger Cadillac Escalade showed up. It was white, immaculate, had 8 flat panel plasma TVs, DVD players, several bottles of champagne, great lighting and lots of other accessories. It didn’t quite go with the traditional, antique theme of my wedding, but it could have been worse. There was some sort of miscommunication beforehand, but the cars we ended up with were fantastic cars. All Star also brought DH and me from The Garden City Hotel to the airport the next day (for our honeymoon to GREECE!) and they were on time and very friendly. DH and his groomsmen also had transportation from The Garden City Hotel to the church on the day of the wedding, and my parents had transportation from The Garden City Hotel back home the next day. Every driver was punctual and professional.

Imagine Studios got EXCELLENT photos of our RR... Check out my Wedding Teasers album.


Mandarin Oriental: A+

For my bachelorette party, my sister (MOH), bridesmaids and I went into Manhattan to the Mandarin Oriental at Columbus Circle. We had an absolutely AMAZING night. We went to the two lounges there, The Lobby Lounge for dinner and drinks, and then MObar for more drinks. I have stayed at the Mandarin before and eaten at their five star restaurant Asiate, so I knew it would be a fabulous experience. But with all my girls there, celebrating my upcoming wedding, it was an absolute BLAST. The food was amazing, and the drinks, though quite expensive, were just delicious! The views from the 35th floor are brilliant. The skyline is just gorgeous, and the windows in The Lobby Lounge are floor to ceiling and gigantic! The night of my bachelorette party was one I will NEVER forget.

***Stay tuned for a Bachelorette Party photo album***

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