NOW WITH PICS-August 12 Dream Wedding Day at Temple Chaverim Review

Ok, I am sitting down and procrastinating on some school work, but had to write my review so that I could share the joys of having a perfect wedding when professionals are hired to take care of it. Also, I have to say that it was not by any means a 'platinum wedding,' just a classic day where everyone truly enjoyed themselves, luckily, including the bride and groom

If anyone wants more information on anyone, please FM me and I'll be happy to discuss.

While LI Weddings was helpful, I was more of a lurker than active, but it was a great place to bounce ideas from once I got over being overwhelmed by my feeling 'behind' in planning.

Weather was an absolute 10, considering it was August! Not very humid or warm, sunny, and we were able to take some outdoor pics!

Save the Dates-A+-my college roommate's mom, Shelley, who is a wedding planner

They were perfect and everyone complimented them. Shelley is a pleasure, and not just because I know her for so long, but really, she is a doll!

Huntington Hilton Room Block-before wedding A/during and after wedding A-ish, but were still happy

They seemed the most organized when looking at hotels in the area, but then the person I worked with left and I found out when I called for something. The woman who took over, however, was better than the first person I had. Forgive me for forgetting her name right now, but I do remember Jana, her assistant who helped us when we checked in. When we checked in, our friends were waiting over an hour to check in. Once they did, however, I believe they were upgraded and all was ok. Also, we did the breakfast coupons and they were good about putting them in the out of town bags and distributing those just fine. The rates were also reasonable. We also got a shuttle from them and the driver was courteous and great. When I arrived at the hotel, a great bellperson helped me and my dress hanger broke--he replaced the hanger and came up the next day to carry the dress down to the shuttle, where he laid it out carefully.

Out of Town Bags by Me-A +'s of course haha
My MOH gave me adorable wedding themed bags which I filled with soda, water, snacks, and chocolate. I only had to make about 6 and one for us, so it was not a big deal. I wrote a cute letter and people liked having them.

Out of Town Dinner-Matteo's in Huntington-A+-Delicious food, nice, private room, and no rush...service was terrific with the line of the night being, 'tomorrow's their special day!'

Polaroid Guestbook-DIY A+ haha

Our Temple was nice enough to give us someone to take the photos and people put them in the scrapbook I bought and put photo squares in, but not everyone did it and we mismeasured the squares, but people loved it and had a great time.

Favors-The Knot and my MOH and I-A+
I ordered glass photo coasters, plain, and Stacey and I made bead name bracelets for each guest (I used to work at camp, so DH thought this was cute...labor intensive, however). The temple forgot to put them out until late, so I have a bunch still in my closet, but people said they wore the bracelets for a number of days! The Knot was on sale, shipped well, and on time

Invitations-Proper Papers, Plainview-A+'s!

Rhoda was amazing to work with on our classic invitations by William Arthur--we also got our thank yous included at the time, so we would have them. Turnaround time was super fast, as well.

Before wedding gear-I bought a tank top set with a vintage bride and groom on it from Victoria's Secret and wore cropped pants over it...made getting my hair done easy

Wedding Gown-I loved my wedding gown, but the store was a hassle. It wasn't in the beginning, when their price was excellent, but when they were closing two months before my wedding, it got stresstful. All worked out wonderfully in the end when the dress and custom made jacket were PERFECT.

Headpiece and veil-A+-Barron's in Tri County-he worked off of a picture of my dress and it was absolutely perfect--veil had a ribbon border and some crystals and matched perfectly with the dress color

Table Numbers-A+'s-My friend Ann
Jason and I walked ten, count 'em, ten miles to collect pictures of our favorite Manhattan restaurants. Ann took them and put the table numbers on them and then she made space for us to write the significance underneath. They were a hit!

Shoes-Naturalizer-A+-Especially padded up by Dr. Scholl's, they had grip on the bottom and were super comfy!

Cardbox-A+-a hand me down from Stacey...suited it's purpose

Hair-Ilisa DeLupo from 2 Stephen Street in Plainview---even though she was pricey to come to the hotel, she was worth every penny! She is a perfectionist, making sure your hair is great and mine did NOT MOVE the entire day and night until I took it out...Now, I have fine hair and the woman who cuts my hair couldn't believe she was getting it to stay...I would highly recommend her!

Makeup-my MOH-A+++++-everyone complimented her. I didn't want a stranger who didn't know me or my face to overdo my makeup, and she did an amazing job!

Bridesmaids dresses-RK Bridal No Frills-after shopping around and knowing the girls had people to do their alterations, we went this route..they matched house of brides' prices, the dresses were shipped and the shawls went to my mom's...all was great and complimented.

Tuxedos-A-Bell Formal Wear-Everyone got measured, got the tuxes and were on their way. Spiro knew exactly what to recommend and the guys looked dashing!

Band-Eric Ashley Orchestra-A+++++-Eric had everyone moving from the beginning into the longest hora he's ever done. Everyone was up and moving and everyone loved him--he was high energy and terrific, with the band!

Photography/Video-Visions Fine Photography-A+++-Howie came to our apt. to meet us,took our engagement shoot in Battery Park City, and was a pleasure to work with at the wedding. We didn't see much of our videographer, but he did talk to us at the end and was very pleasant. He also entertained the bridal party by showing them his cool glasses. Peggy at the office was always a pleasure as well. I cannot wait for the proofs!

Officiant-Rabbi Hecht from Temple Chaverim-it was difficult to get a commitment at first, but the trouble was worth it. We met with him on several occasions and took the prepare/enrich course with him. In return, we had a beautiful ceremony that i cannot wait to see on tape.

Ketubah-Zion Lion-A+-we loved being able to deal with people who could help us if anything was wrong, since we don't read Hebrew...they also price matched

Flowers-Fleurafina-A++++++- Every time I went in there, I left so excited about the wedding because they were excited! They worked with me on everything from the price to our special chuppah, and they were the only ones who would help us since we wanted to use DH's mother's wedding dress and his brother's tallit (both are unfortunately deceased and we wanted to incorporate them). Everything was GORGEOUS and exactly how I pictured it!

Ceremony/Reception-Temple Chaverim-A++++++++-People are STILL talking about the wedding!! We booked the place after looking at their sister site, East Meadow Jewish Center.The place is new and gorgeous and has a reputation for terrific food and service. They delivered 1000000000 fold! Every time I callled with any question, they called within the day to answer. The food was INCREDIBLE and the travelling viennese was not to be believed. I was fed ALL day and went home STUFFED, as did everyone else! They also had great ideas, and threw in chair covers and a vodka station we did not arrange for. They also mixed square and round tables , making the room look cozy and terrific. Other touches were pictures we brought in being moved along as the ceremony and reception went on. Other surprises included a dry ice display of our intermezzo, something I didn't know about and the kinds of desserts in that travelling vienese---haagen daz, black and white cookies, cupcakes, you name it! I would recommend them TO ANYONE and miss Chris and Scott!!! Only thing was that the bridal attendant was a bit toooo attentive, but I was calm and I don't think she was used to that--haha...all in all, a terrific and perfect day..for someone who never imagined a wedding, something I could have never dreamed of...

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Re: August 12 Dream Wedding Day at Temple Chaverim Review-Pictures to come!

great review! except... where did you get your wedding gown?

eta: sorry, i just saw that they closed. seriously, though, great review!!

Re: August 12 Dream Wedding Day at Temple Chaverim Review-Pictures to come!

Thank you..it was Charmet, in Queens, and yes, unfortunately after a million years, they closed...thanks for the compliments!

Re: August 12 Dream Wedding Day at Temple Chaverim Review-Pictures to come!

congrats!!

Re: August 12 Dream Wedding Day at Temple Chaverim Review-Pictures to come!

Some more pics..

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Re: NOW WITH PICS-August 12 Dream Wedding Day at Temple Chaverim Review

Great review! You looked great! Congrats to you and your FH!

Re: NOW WITH PICS-August 12 Dream Wedding Day at Temple Chaverim Review

Thanks for the review! You looked beautiful. Congratulations!

Re: NOW WITH PICS-August 12 Dream Wedding Day at Temple Chaverim Review

Thanks so much!

Re: NOW WITH PICS-August 12 Dream Wedding Day at Temple Chaverim Review

beaitful review and beautiful pictures!
congrats to you both

Re: NOW WITH PICS-August 12 Dream Wedding Day at Temple Chaverim Review

Re: NOW WITH PICS-August 12 Dream Wedding Day at Temple Chaverim Review

Thank you!!

Re: NOW WITH PICS-August 12 Dream Wedding Day at Temple Chaverim Review

Congrats from another Temple Chaverim bride!!! I would love to see pics of the mix of square and round tables!!!

Re: NOW WITH PICS-August 12 Dream Wedding Day at Temple Chaverim Review

congrats! everything looks gorgeous

Re: NOW WITH PICS-August 12 Dream Wedding Day at Temple Chaverim Review

Thanks, Kerie, congratulations and thanks for the compliments!

Re: NOW WITH PICS-August 12 Dream Wedding Day at Temple Chaverim Review

I could have sworn I responded to your review! better late than never.

congrats again, date twin! I your dress!!! You looked beautiful!

Re: NOW WITH PICS-August 12 Dream Wedding Day at Temple Chaverim Review

Thanks, date twin..I've been so bad about logging in...I'm going to go see yours!!

Re: NOW WITH PICS-August 12 Dream Wedding Day at Temple Chaverim Review

very beautiful gown and pics.. where did you get your gown from?

Re: NOW WITH PICS-August 12 Dream Wedding Day at Temple Chaverim Review

thanks for the compliments! I bought my dress at Charmet in Bayside, but they are out of business..I had a Jasmine dress and they custom made the jacket out of lace ordered from Jasmine