My September 22 wedding review: The Knights of Columbus, Burtons, In the Mix, Khoulouds Beauty, Camelot Limos & more!

Of course I have to start off by saying that our wedding day was one of the best days of my life. At no point during our thirteen month engagement did I ever imagine that everything would turn out as wonderfully as it did. I was on cloud nine all day because I knew at the end of it all I would be married to my best friend in the whole world, and with that knowledge nothing could bring down my mood. I was proud of myself for remaining so calm all day. I was sick for most of the week leading up to the wedding with a terrible cold. I was so stressed that I would be sick for the wedding & it would ruin my day. The day before, my symptoms cleared up, but I was left with no voice. I had to say my vows in a squeaky broken voice, but I will always remember my husband & I having to fight back giggles as we spoke the most important words we would ever say to each other. I did end up getting a little frustrated during picture taking because it was hard for me to give instructions to the bridal party & round people up when I could hardly speak. Honestly though, nothing could have ruined my day. My point, ladies, is DON’T STRESS! Relax & enjoy yourself because it all goes by so fast. Remind yourself that things will happen the day of that are beyond your control and realize that the important thing is that at the end of the day, you’ll be married. It’ll be hard for anything (even a lack of voice!) to ruin your day if you think like that.

I would also like to add that we had a budget that most LIWers would consider to be very small and we had to strictly stick to that budget. Of course I did have to make a few compromises, but I really didn’t sacrifice anything that I desperately wanted. I learned that it is completely possible to have a beautiful wedding on a strict budget.

All of the photos are a mixture of professional & non-professional pictures.

LIW-A
I have to say that I wish I had discovered this website sooner. I found it a few weeks after getting engaged, but I didn’t discover the chat boards until a few months before the wedding. It kept me sane knowing there were other brides out there going through the same wedding planning craziness and it was a comfort to see how beautiful all of your weddings turned out in the end. All of the lovely LIW ladies provided me with great vendor recommendations and lots of wonderful ideas for little touches and things to add. So for that, I have to thank Ron & Liz for this amazing site.

On the other hand of course, I wish I hadn’t taken some things so seriously. Seeing negative reviews got me too worked up and nervous sometimes. Ladies, remember everyone has different tastes and experiences. It’s good to know about potential problems and things to look out for, but don’t panic over every bad review. I also upset myself seeing big weddings that were obviously more expensive than ours. We were on a strict and small budget and I worried that our wedding wouldn’t be nice. I want to tell all future brides that there is just no need to do that to yourself.

Weather- B+
The forecast called for about 80 degrees, a little humidity and nothing but sunshine. Well, it didn’t happen quite that way. It was definitely over 80 and VERY humid and bit cloudy. We took our pictures at the Church & then took a few more at the RH. We literally just finished all of the posed shots except for a couple of family shots when it started to drizzle. We turned and ran into the hall just in time for it to start pouring! It wasn’t a big deal because we just took the few family shots inside & it stopped raining a while before we had to go outdoors again. So I guess I should say thank you to Mother Nature for at least holding out for me to take my pictures and get inside.

Saint Aidan’s Church, Williston Park- A
I feel bad rating a church, but I figured it’s okay since they are getting a good rating. St. Aidan’s is the parish I lived in for most of my childhood. I went to elementary school there and my parents and several relatives were married there. We moved out of the parish a few years ago, but I feel all of my roots are in that Church & I knew right away I wanted to be married there. We met with Father Hayden & he was wonderful. I took pre-cana though my home parish, St. Bernard’s in Levittown, so I can’t comment on that, but all of our dealings with St. Aidans were great. They were very helpful and organized during our planning & Father Hayden led a beautiful ceremony. The grounds of the Church are gorgeous. We didn’t have a lot of time between the ceremony and the cocktail hour so we opted to do photos at the Church and the RH. We managed to get several beautiful pictures at the Church.

The only reason I didn’t give them an A+ is because I wrote out personalized intercessions like I was told to and I handed them in at the rehearsal. Somehow, they got lost because when my Aunt went up to read them all that was up there was the sample for the brides to use as an aid in writing the personal one. I didn’t mind and it certainly didn’t ruin my ceremony, but my poor Aunt was so upset & I felt so bad since it wasn’t her fault at all.














The Knight’s of Columbus in Oceanside (O’Connell Gardens)- A++++++++++++++
I cannot possibly say enough wonderful things about the KofC. When we started our RH search, I was very disappointed in a lot of the places I saw and called to inquire about. They made me feel like our wedding was unimportant since it was on the smaller side (we invited 125 & had about 98), and that was just unacceptable to me. I wanted to know that my wedding would be important enough to them to provide me with the best possible service. My parents had their wedding reception at the Oceanside KofC in 1983 and my father suggested I check them out just to see. I’m so glad I did! They offered us an amazing price and so much more than any of the other places we looked at. We originally met with John and then ended up dealing with Randy. Randy was so nice and helpful. I felt like he really cared about us having a wonderful day when some of the “wedding factories” didn’t.

On the day of, I was amazed at how wonderful they were. The room was set up perfectly. We used the centerpieces provided b y them after some debate, and I’m glad we did. They were small arrangements that we got to choose the colors of. They were nothing too fancy, but I didn’t want anything extreme. They looked great on the tables with the set up of the room, Tracey, our bridal attendant, was amazing. She got on the phone with guests who had some trouble finding the hall and stayed on the line until they found their way. DH & I never had to go up to the bar. She was right there always offering to get us something. Plus, when I was having problems with my bustle she came to the rescue. Even my guests were commenting on how wonderful she was.

I didn’t get to eat as much as I would’ve liked, but everything I did eat was delicious! I have yet to hear a single bad thing about the food. I heard from several friends that the bartenders were excellent and the drinks were good. They provided a cake for us too. It was decorated nicely & it was also delicious. I heard more than one person say that it was the best wedding cake they had ever tasted. I honestly don’t have a single bad thing to say about the KofC at all. I definitely 100% recommend them for any affair.










STDs from Vistaprint.com- A+
I ordered 100 postcards for free from Vistaprint. The price was right and they came quickly and they were exactly what I wanted.

Now-and-forever.com:
Invitations- A+
I looked at tons of samples, but I couldn’t find anything that jumped out at me. I finally fell in love with one from now and forever. I was able to chat with someone live online to get all of my questions answered. They arrived quickly and the price and quality were both great.

Favors- A+
We decided to do edible favors, so we ordered 4x4x4 personalized boxes from now & forever. I got 150 for about $60. The came quickly & they looked great. We filled the boxes with tissue paper & various candies & tied them with a red ribbon. The favors were a hit.

David’s Bridal:
My dress & bridesmaids dresses- B+
We used the location in the Source Mall. My dress was beautiful and I’m absolutely in love with it, and the bridesmaid’s dresses were beautiful too. They also have a lot to choose from, and because I was so happy with the dresses, I want to give them a good rating. Unfortunately, their service isn’t so great, so I can’t say my experience was perfect. The first time I went in just to browse my attendant was terrible. I ended up standing in a dressing room in a bra and slip for a half hour waiting for her to bring me the dresses I asked to see, and there was only a couple of other brides in the store! When she finally came back, she only brought 2 of the 3 dresses I asked to see and a couple of pick-up style dresses. I tried that style on and it really wasn’t for me, but she still brought out more dresses in that style. I found one I really liked and I was considering coming back another day to see it again to see if I still felt the same. She told me if I didn’t buy it right then I would never get the chance again. I knew that was a flat out lie so I just walked out.

I did go back a second time to check out that dress and my attendant was great. I had a blast trying on tons of dresses and that’s when I found my dress. I knew immediately it was “the one.” The problem was it has lace on the bottom and decoration at the waist that made it difficult to hem to fit my 5’2” self. The attendant forgot to mention that they made a petite model of my dress. I found out on my own and fortunately they exchanged it for me. When we went looking for BM, I ended up taking dresses off the racks for the girls because our attendant was MIA. One of the dresses arrived stained on the bottom, but fortunately the stain was removed during alterations. Overall, IMHO they have some nice dresses, but the service leaves some room for improvement.








Estelle’s Dressy Dresses- A+
We found my mom’s MOB dress here as well as my daughter’s flower girl dress and my mother-in-law found her MOG dress there too. All three dresses were off the rack, and all three of them looked beautiful.






After Hours Tuxedo- A+
After all of the not-so-great reviews I’ve read, I’m glad to be able to give them such a good grade. DH, the groomsmen and my father got their tuxes at the location in the Source. My father’s jacket was the wrong size and one of the guys had shoes that were the wrong size. Those two things were corrected easily and quickly and there was no harm done. Plus, all of the men looked very handsome in the tuxes.




SYMS- A+
My little brother was our ring bearer. We thought it was ridiculous that a tux for a child was the same price almost as an adult’s tux. We went to Syms in Westbury and got him a suit instead. I’m so glad we did. The suit was less than half the price of a tux and he looked so handsome, and he gets to keep it. We even found a tie for $5 that was an exact match of the apple red color we had the GM & BMs wearing.


Barron’s Bridal in Tri-County- A+
I purchased my veil and headpiece from Barron’s. The man who helped me was very nice and was patient while I tried on several different headpieces. I found the exact tiara that I was envisioning and the custom made the very plain and basic veil I wanted at the exact length I asked for. The prices were excellent and I loved my veil and tiara.




Kay Jewelers- A+
We got both of our wedding bands from Kay Jewelers. I looked at a few places and some shops in Tri-County, but when I found what I was looking for, it was always out of my price range. We checked out Kay while we were shopping at Broadway Mall one day. I found exactly what I wanted and in my budget. DH decided he wanted the same ring in white gold. Mine was in stock in the right size & DH’s came in within about 2 weeks.


Homewood Suites by Hilton- A
I needed a hotel to get ready in the morning of the wedding and somewhere to stay for our wedding night. I needed a room big enough 7 people to get ready in, and I wanted a pretty room and a nice lobby for picture taking. I was able to get a studio suite for a decent price for 2 nights. I stayed the night before the wedding with a couple of BMs and my daughter and then DH and I had the same room for our wedding night. The suite had plenty of space for everyone to get ready and the room and lobby were beautiful and gave us lots of nice picture locations. In the morning they had a complimentary breakfast in the lobby so we were all able to take a quick break from getting ready to have breakfast. The only complaint I have is about the bathroom. The toilet was backed up in our room from the time we checked in. I called the front desk at around 9:30pm to ask them to send someone up. Nobody showed up until around 10:15. I was annoyed because my sister needed to shower and I wanted to do lights out and get my daughter to sleep since we all had to get up at 5:30am, and we were held up waiting for someone to show. Then on Sunday morning I went to take a shower & the shower head wasn’t screwed in right so water sprayed everywhere and soaked the bathroom and the clothes I had in there. The hotel did serve its purpose or us though so I’m satisfied enough to recommend them to other brides with the same needs.

Khouloud’s Beauty- A++++++++
Kacey and Rosemary were incredible! I cannot say enough wonderful things about their work. Kacey did my hair and make-up and Rosemary did hair for three of my bridesmaids. They arrived right on time and got right to work. Kacey and Rosemary both have great personalities and they helped to make the morning fun and relaxed. Everyone looked gorgeous and our hair and make-up lasted all day and night. We all got so many compliments. They even helped my girls dress me and they helped us put on our jewelry. My girls loved them so much that they have all asked for contact info so they can use them for future events. They were simply amazing and one of the best vendor choices I could’ve possibly made.

Rosie’s Tailoring- D
I did not want to have my dress altered at David’s because I’ve heard so many horror stories. Rosie’s is a LIW vendor. I went in one day to get an estimate. The price they gave me was much more reasonable than David’s and the seamstress was very nice. All I needed to have done was a bustle since my dress fit perfectly, and I needed to have my slip and dress pressed. I decided to have a simple tradition bustle done. I remember being told that there would be two (or three) hooks and loops at the back to be sure it would hold the weight of my heavily beaded train. I picked the dress up a couple of days before the wedding and the seamstress was busy so she really quickly pointed out what I thought was one loop on the train and I was on my way. I was happy because my dress and slip were beautiful and completely wrinkle free. Well, after my first dance, my bridal attendant bustled my gown. About 10 minutes later, she bustled it again. All I can say is thank God I remembered to bring safety pins. There was only ONE hook and loop. There was no way for that teeny tiny hook to support my train! I ended up having it pinned up by about 5 large safety pins. It still fell again by the end of the night. I’m so mad. There was no reason for my to have to worry about having my dress bustled 4 times at the reception.

Flowers by Burton- B+
First, let me say that I only needed bouquets, bouts & corsages & I knew already that I wanted everything to be roses. When I met with Burton’s originally I was very impressed. The other florists I met with didn’t seem to understand or offer exactly what I wanted, but John at Burton’s understood right away. He helped me decide on champagne roses to go with the red BM dresses & he gave me ideas on everything I wasn’t sure of that I loved.

Cut to a few weeks before the big day. I called up to add 10 pew bows to my contract because I decided I didn’t want to DIY like I planned. I also told them that I needed to change my drop off location. I originally planned to get ready at my parent’s house, but then I changed to the hotel. I asked to have the bouquets & the corsages dropped at my hotel & then I asked for the pew bows & bouts to be dropped at the Church. I mentioned that I was of course willing to pay for the extra location. They got a little nasty & told me that there was no way they’d do 2 locations. They told me to pick up the bows a few days prior to the wedding & have someone else set them up. I figured at least that way I could give them to my MIL to set up, but I was still annoyed at their lack of service. When I went in to make my final payment, I had a less than pleasant experience with a nasty saleslady that left me in tears.

The morning of, my mom’s friend came to the hotel to pick up the bouts & pew bows & she went to the church to set them up. I love her for that. When our flowers arrived, I was scared to open the box. My bouquet was gorgeous! I loved it. Honestly, I took it with me to our little after party & out to breakfast at IHOP the next morning that’s how much I loved it. It was exactly what I envisioned & it was just completely perfect. My daughter’s basket, the bouts, & the corsages were beautiful too. Then came the BM bouquets. I wasn’t happy when I saw them. They were supposed to be champagne like the corsages, but instead they were an off-white-yellowish color. Everyone described it as “antique”. I wasn’t thrilled, but the color was ok & it matched the dresses and there was no time to send them back. I was so relaxed & happy all morning that nothing could bother me, but if I hadn’t been in that mood the day of, I would’ve pitched a fit about the bouquets.









Camelot Limos-A++++
Joe from Camelot was excellent. He gave us an excellent price & I felt 100% confident in him from the moment we sat down with him. We ended up getting the Hummer. On the day-of, the car arrived 30 minutes early. The driver came into the hotel lobby & collected all of the stuff we brought down from the room to bring in the limo & he carried everything out for us while we finished pictures. He even got my daughter’s car seat out & hooked it up in the limo. My mother has MS & she recently broke her pelvis so climbing into the limo was tough for her. The driver patiently & carefully helped my mother get in & out of the limo & got her comfortable. I wanted to kiss him for taking such good care of her especially since she was so upset & embarrassed that she was having trouble. When we got to the church, he organized everyone perfectly, helped me out of the limo, fixed my train & opened the door for me and my father to walk down the aisle (one of the most amazing moments of my life by the way). Camelot was one of my best vendors.








In The Mix- B+
I was slightly disappointed in our DJ. Most of the people I have spoken to about it tell me that I’m being silly & he was fine. I wasn’t too happy with the selection of music he played. Honestly, I thought a few times that he had just put on Z100 or something because there was a lot of that type if music. My husband went up & made requests a few times so that we could get more variety. After that, I think he got the idea & he started to mix it up a little more. I also felt that he wasn’t trying very hard to motivate the crowd. We didn’t hire an MC because I don’t personally like them, and I’m happy with that choice. DH started a conga line & I got a maraca & I went around bopping people with it to get them up if they were sitting. People reacted much better to being pulled up by the bride & groom than some stranger with a microphone. Plus, me & DH had fun dragging people up. I even got my mother up into the middle of the dance floor with her walker! However, I only recall hearing the DJ say ONCE “Come on everyone get up & dance!” At dinner, he came up to me & said “I’m really trying hard to get everyone up, but this is a tough crowd.” I was a little surprised because a) he wasn’t trying that hard & b) the tone of his voice was insinuating that it was a dull party. I didn’t appreciate that. I was annoyed because lots of people were up & dancing & having fun & it was all thanks to me & DH. None of it was his effort. I wasn’t thrilled with the service, but, people did enjoy themselves & DH & I had a blast. Our daughter never left the dance floor all night. I guess that’s what is important.















Queens Bridal- big fat F
I assume the grade I gave Queens Bridal needs very little explanation. Generally, when you come home from your honeymoon to find the studio up for rent you don’t give the company a very good rating. I really cannot believe what we’re dealing with right now. I just thank God that I didn’t pay in full. I paid enough to be loosing money, but I could’ve lost more. This is why it is important to remember this golden rule: DO NOT PAY IN FULL BEFORE YOU RECEIVE THE FINAL PRODUCT.

My photographer seemed to be working very hard the day of. He was very nice & very patient & he did frame some very nice shots. Unfortunately, my proofs are so awful & so unacceptable that it’s not even funny. We did get a few decent shots, but I am overall incredibly disappointed. I put several of the better photos in my pro-pics album. Think about the fact that those are the good ones & use your imagination to think about the not-so-good ones. Even the ones that are good I am going to have to color correct myself before I can put them into an album (which I am going to have to make myself of course) or create my thank yous. The thing that really kills me is that he screwed up the pictures of both of my parents giving me away at the alter, and he did not take enough pictures of our daughter.








































John, a friend of my parents- A+++++++++
A friend of my parents followed the photographer, Frank, around during the posed shots after the ceremony & he took the same photos. At our cocktail hour, his daughters came up to me with a big envelope full of enlargements & an album with all of the pictures he took. I had an enlargement of one of my wedding photos on display at my reception! That was by far my favorite wedding gift. I am so thankful that he did that for us because quite honestly, most of his pictures were far better than our professional photographer’s work! A bunch of them are in the review.

Re: My September 22 wedding review: The Knights of Columbus, Burtons, In the Mix, Khoulouds Beauty, Camelot Limos & more!

Congrats. Great Review. You look beautiful. Glad you were happy w/KOC. We almost booked there. So sorry to hear about the QBC problem.

Re: My September 22 wedding review: The Knights of Columbus, Burtons, In the Mix, Khoulouds Beauty, Camelot Limos & more!

You made a gorgeous bride

Re: My September 22 wedding review: The Knights of Columbus, Burtons, In the Mix, Khoulouds Beauty, Camelot Limos & more!

Nice review sorry about QBC but I had a bad feeling about them mid way into my wedding planning when they showed me their unprofessionalism so I fired them.

Congrats to you and DH.

Re: My September 22 wedding review: The Knights of Columbus, Burtons, In the Mix, Khoulouds Beauty, Camelot Limos & more!

Great review - I'm sorry about the problems you had but I'm glad you didn't let them deter you from having a great day! Your dress and bo-k are both stunning and your daughter is adorable!!! Congrats to you both

Re: My September 22 wedding review: The Knights of Columbus, Burtons, In the Mix, Khoulouds Beauty, Camelot Limos & more!

Congrats! Thank you for the great review! Im glad you had a wonderful day!

Re: My September 22 wedding review: The Knights of Columbus, Burtons, In the Mix, Khoulouds Beauty, Camelot Limos & more!

I told u that people would love ur pictures and you had a gorgeous day and you were a gorgeous bride!!!!!! so haha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: My September 22 wedding review: The Knights of Columbus, Burtons, In the Mix, Khoulouds Beauty, Camelot Limos & more!

Great review, you were a gorgeous bride! Your DD is soooo cute!

Re: My September 22 wedding review: The Knights of Columbus, Burtons, In the Mix, Khoulouds Beauty, Camelot Limos & more!

Congrats. !!!!

Re: My September 22 wedding review: The Knights of Columbus, Burtons, In the Mix, Khoulouds Beauty, Camelot Limos & more!

Great review!!!! Congratulations!!!!!

Re: My September 22 wedding review: The Knights of Columbus, Burtons, In the Mix, Khoulouds Beauty, Camelot Limos & more!

Congratulations! Beautiful review!

Re: My September 22 wedding review: The Knights of Columbus, Burtons, In the Mix, Khoulouds Beauty, Camelot Limos & more!

What a Great review!!!! You look Beautiful in your pictures, You look so Happy!!!! Your DD is so Cute.

Re: My September 22 wedding review: The Knights of Columbus, Burtons, In the Mix, Khoulouds Beauty, Camelot Limos & more!

beautiful! congrats to you and your hubby!

Re: My September 22 wedding review: The Knights of Columbus, Burtons, In the Mix, Khoulouds Beauty, Camelot Limos & more!

great review

Re: My September 22 wedding review: The Knights of Columbus, Burtons, In the Mix, Khoulouds Beauty, Camelot Limos & more!

great review! congrats.. the pictures look beautiful!!

Re: My September 22 wedding review: The Knights of Columbus, Burtons, In the Mix, Khoulouds Beauty, Camelot Limos & more!

Congratulations! I feel so bad about all the issues you had with QBC but you have good shots to work with and the best part is that you married your DH! Congrats!

Re: My September 22 wedding review: The Knights of Columbus, Burtons, In the Mix, Khoulouds Beauty, Camelot Limos & more!

Congrats! Sorry about the problems that you had with QBC but these pics you posted on there are beautiful! You and DH look so happy. I love your BK...the nicest red one I have seen!!