Now with pro pics on page 2! IT'S HERE! MY 5-25-08 REVIEW: HARBOR CLUB, BURTONS, DUVAL, THE MYSTIC, PRIMO LIMO, MELVILLE MARRIOTT, AND OTHER LIW VENDORS!

I know the norm is to write a review and grade each vendor, but I can’t seem to do that. Instead, I’m just going to give details. You can grade them mentally as you read along.

All pics are non-pro.

LIW
I have no idea how people plan weddings without LIW. I got so many ideas from you girls. Your support and advice was invaluable. Thank you!

Harbor Club at T’s Landing– Ceremony and Reception
The grounds and room are amazing. I wanted someplace that had one wedding at a time, preferably near the water. It was through LIW that we found the Harbor Club. The first time we went to see it, I kept poking DH in the side and stage-whispering, “I LOVE this place!” They have tables that come in different sizes, so groups of 8 and groups of 15 aren't sitting at the same size table. This came in very handy when we went to make our seating chart - it would've been impossible to split everyone up into neat groups of 10.

Matt is awesome. Anything we needed, any questions we had, he was there. We decided we wanted a black-and-white cookie wedding cake, and he made it happen. My entire family showed up for our tasting, and he crammed us all into his office and kept the drinks coming. He is truly talented, and I was thrilled to work with him.

The Harbor Club went above and beyond for the wedding. The food was incredible, the setup was perfect. My bridal attendant, Kelly, was calm and cool and was always there when I needed her. The maitre'd, Donna, was on the ball the entire night. They hooked us up with TONS of CH food after the ceremony (and refilled it after the bridal party ate all of DH’s mozzarella sticks). The guests kept commenting on how beautiful the site was. I would recommend the Harbor Club to anyone with a small-to-medium size wedding. (We had 122, and the room was perfect).

Bridal Reflections – Massapequa – My gown and BM dresses
I had heard mixed reviews about the service in BR, but we didn’t run into any issues with them. They were pleasant to my bridesmaids and I each time we came in. One of my BMs found out she was pregnant the day before her gown was supposed to be altered. They figured out a way to alter her dress so that she was still able to wear it.

Two of my bms had some issues on the day of. One of the girl’s tops kept falling open, an issue that she had been assured it would be taken care of. Another’s BM’s halter top was a little small. The other two were fine. The girls all looked beautiful, but I wish they had been able to be more comfortable.

My seamstress put Velcro along the neckline of my dress, which kept the bra from showing and created a smooth line along the bust and back w/o making the dress too tight. We ran into a little bit of an issue during my 3rd fitting, when I think they forgot to add the beadwork along the trim, but that was corrected quickly.

My dress was perfect for the wedding. If fit like a dream dress. I loved wearing it. I know it’s a cliché, but I felt like a princess in it. There was one point during the reception where I was jumping up and down to “Living on a Prayer” and my dress didn’t budge. I <3 James Clifford!!


Barrons (in Tri County) Levittown - My veil and comb
I went into Barrons primarily because of LIW. I live realy close by, and dropped in on a snowy January day for the purpose of looking around. I originally thought I wanted a tiara, but I didn’t like the way any of them looked on me. I found a gorgeous pearl and crystal comb instead. And it was so inexpensive – maybe $50. (This was a huge price difference from BR and other bridal stores). I knew I’d go back there for my veil. I dragged two of my BMs with me to hunt for one. He custom made me a light ivory veil that was beaded at the edges and had three beaded flower appliqués that matched the pattern in my dress and comb. I wanted something a little longer than fingertip but not quite cathedral, and he came through. Once again, the price was half that of a bridal salon but looked like an heirloom. I wish could wear it again!

Sabrina and Carolyn – Hair Expo in Oceanside – Bride and BM makeup and hair
Sabrina did our makeup for a friends wedding, and I knew I’d use her when it was my turn. I didn’t even look anywhere else. My makeup trial was great, as was my hair trial with Carolyn. My sister and mother were a little skeptical about having their makeup and hair done. They went for trials also, and LOVED them. We booked them in November formy May wedding. They were going to do makeup and hair for my mother, my sister, two BMs, and me.

But the day of, they were almost 40 minutes late. It was Memorial Day Weekend and they were stuck in beach traffic, so it wasn’t really their fault… but they really didn’t have enough time for everyone’s hair. (Makeup was done with time to spare, and Sabrina did touch-ups on any of us that needed it. Plus she gave each of the girls a lipstick for free). I felt really pressed for time, and that didn’t help my nerves at all.

My hair stayed all night, as did my mother’s and sister’s, but two of my BMs had their hair start to slip out of the pins before the ceremony even started. I didn’t bring hairspray, which was my fault. But their hair should’ve held up for more than three hours. My makeup and hair didn’t budge, and looked perfect in pictures. I wish the rest of my bridal party was as happy with the way they looked.

Fantasia Bridal – MOB dress/MOH Alterations
My mom lives in Eastern Suffolk, so BR would’ve been a hike for her. We checked out several bridal salons before going into Fantasia. They had a great selection and the service was fabulous. They altered my sister’s gown also and did a beautiful job.

Gold Star Jewelers in TriCountry Flea Market – Wedding Bands
I love my engagement ring, but it’s not the most unique ring in the world. It’s pretty standard: round brilliant stone flanked by tapered baguettes set in platnium. You’d think a classic design would make it easier to find a wedding band. No such luck. I wanted something that I could wear on the same hand as my e-ring and look good. I wanted something that had round and baguette stones. The saleswoman at Gold Star was fantastic, patient, and was willing to give honest opinions. They only had a white gold ring in stock, so they custom made my ring and had it to us in under two weeks.

Bridal Shoe Boutique – Westbury - My shoes
I literally wandered into this store. I was a little annoyed after going to three different shoe stores and finding nothing. The salesman that worked with me was endlessly patient (I tried on the entire inventory of the store). Their prices were reasonable. Shoes were dyed to match for free, and mine were perfect. And I can bring them back to re-dye them another color later.

Town and Country Tux – Lindenhurst – DH, GMs, RB, and Dads’ tuxes
Located in the same store from Primo Limo, their prices were good and selection was great. Bob is a doll. And he really looked out for us. My mom called to change my dad’s vest and tie w/o consulting us, and Bob called us right away. He let my dad and brothers pick up their tuxes early. Their prices were good, too – DH is in a wedding in August and he’s paying almost $30 more at Men’s Warehouse. And of course, DH looked fantastic in his tux. The guys’ tuxes were all perfect for the day of the wedding. And Bob came to the hotel in order to pick everything up the next day. Highly recommended.

Primo Limo – Limo service to the ceremony
We only needed pick-up and drop-off service for a 6-mile trip, and there were a number of companies that wouldn’t even deal with us. Or tried to charge us for a three-hour minimum. I found Primo b/c of another LIW bride. In the end, we got a 10-person limo (for the GMs, DH, and DH’s parents) and a 14 person limo (for the BMs, my parents, and me). Primo had the lowest priced package.

The day of the wedding, the limos were clean and arrived on time. The AC in my limo didn’t work, which turned our car into an oven. My brother’s girlfriend’s spray tan actually started to melt. I hiked my dress up to mid-thigh in order to air out. Luckily it was a short ride, but…

The Mystic – Ceremony, CH, and reception music
DH absolutely had to have a band. We saw several showcases and had some lively debates over which band to hire. But when we saw the Mystic, we booked on the spot. DH turned into kind of a groupie; we would go to restaurants/bars just to see them play. We met with Sam the Tuesday before the wedding to finalize everything, and he was completely cool. He said he was willing to learn our wedding song, “More Than Words.” He said he was willing to learn Rihanna’s “Please Don’t Stop the Music” for me. They had a version of DJ Sammy’s “Heaven” on they’re playlist already, so we asked for that too. DH has played guitar for most of his life, and he wanted to play a song with them, which was no problem either.

They played our ceremony, CH, and reception. While I didn’t hear much of the ceremony music (too much adrenaline!) other people told me that they did a beautiful job. CH music sounded great on the Harbor Club piano. And the reception… words cannot express what a fabulous job they did on our reception. DH’s rendition of “In My Life” was terrific, and they did a great job backing him up. People kept complimenting us on our choice of band. My one complaint is that they played CD versions of the two of the dance songs I really wanted to dance to while the cake was being served. But I think I was the only one that noticed, or cared. The dance floor was never empty. Overall, I think they did a great job.

Duval Photography – Wantagh
Yet another vendor we found through LIW. We wanted a great photographer and videographer but didn’t have a huge budget. Duval worked out a perfect package for us. We had one photographer, one assistant, and our videographer. Our E-pics were spectacular.

We had a main photographer and a photographer’s assistant. The day of the wedding, our photographers were early. This would typically be a good thing, but b/c the makeup and hair appointments started late, and I wasn’t dressed when he arrived. But Edwardo (I think that’s his name...that’s terrible that I don’t remember) was calm and cool about the whole thing. We started pics in the hotel with me, then some with my parents, my sister the MOH, and the bridesmaids. There are no pics of the groomsmen getting ready. Since DH and I were seeing each other before the ceremony, the photographer set up a “reveal” moment. It was supposed to be us alone; instead he lined up our entire bridal party, our parents, and a few of DH’s relatives (that happened to be in the hotel lobby watching us take pics) to witness our seeing each other for the first time. I barely noticed at the time, but looking back, I wish it had been more private.

The proofs we have are, for the most part, gorgeous. I have great pics of my siblings and me, my parents and me, and DH’s family. But when deciding on pics for our album, we discovered that a few key pictures were missing. I have no pictures of my family w/o DH. We only asked for five table shots, and they missed one – DH’s friends. He’s known some of these people since elementary school, and there are no pictures of them at all. This is a little disappointing.

I can’t rate the video yet because they’re making it now. I’ll edit later and let you know how it turns out. We can’t access our professional pics online and I don’t have a scanner, so I’ll add them later also. Any pics are non-pro.

The Melville Marriott – Bridal Shower, OOT hotel room block, morning-after brunch
When we went looking for hotels, I wanted something with an area for indoor pics. Crappy wedding weather was kind of a family tradition: my parents had a gray, drizzly day; DH’s parents had a blizzard; DH’s cousin had a thunderstorm than knocked out electricity all over the island. The Marriott had a gorgeous indoor arboretum and glass ceiling for great natural light. They were willing to block off as many rooms as we needed.

The day of the wedding, we had sunny beautiful weather. The hotel was a great backdrop for our pictures. The rooms themselves were bright and clean and comfortable. Our morning-after brunch was also terrific; people were raving about the food. They did a wonderful job and we were all very happy in our dealings with them.

Creative Invitations – Selden – STDs, engagement announcements, invitations
My parents have used them for every event for the past 9 years. (I’m the oldest of four, so that’s quite a few events). Our STDs and engagement announcements were gorgeous. We had a small issue with the invitations that was corrected quickly and at no cost to us. The invites were beautifully done. Prices are great. Overall we were thrilled with them.

Pippy’s Sweets – Programs
Another vendor discovered b/c of LIW. I was going to DIY the programs, but ran out of time. That, and the fact that my programs were slowly turning into a book. I couldn’t figure out how to format it. So I went on a hunt for a vendor four weeks before the wedding. Diana’s prices were half that of some of the other vendors I met. She formatted the programs almost perfectly. The only small glitch (and I do mean small) is that somehow my ringbearer’s name was listed in a totally different font than the rest of the program. I know no one’s going to notice, but it’s something that a regular invitation vendor would’ve corrected. The programs were on beautiful metallic ivory cardstock and held together with ivory ribbon. I got them via UPS the Tuesday before my wedding, just in time to drop them off at the RH.

Burton’s Flowers – CPs, Bo-Ks, Chuppah decorations
A friend of mine used them for her flowers, and we didn’t even look anywhere else. I was willing to scrimp here because I didn’t want to spend a ton of money on something that was going to die. But the day of, no one thought that we cut corners on the flowers. They were stunning. Our chuppah was a canopy of cream roses and calla lilies and tons of greenery. The BMs flowers were gorgeous – pink peonies and pink callas and pink and cream roses. I had pink roses, white callas, and white stephanotis. We don’t have pics of the CPs, but they were cream roses in a square glass vase. Technically they were supposed to be pink, but the cream actually looked better than the pink would have, so I didn’t care.

Yussell’s Place – Ketubah, yarmulkes, Kiddush cup
DH and I used to live in Merrick, and I loved going into Yussell’s. Right after getting engaged, I picked up “The New Jewish Wedding” by Anita Diamant there. I knew I wanted to get our Ketubah there also. Their Ketubah selection was enormous. (Actually, their selection of EVRYTHING is great; don’t let the size of the store fool you). Our Ketubah and yarmulkes were perfect and finished quickly. I dropped in to pick up a Kiddush cup one afternoon, and they were very helpful. Prices are fair across the board.

Overall, my wedding was more than I ever imagined. No amount of research on LIW prepares you for how much you’re going to feel. I know I tend to point out what went wrong, but on the day of I didn’t notice or care. Nothing mattered to me but marrying Jeff. I was thrilled to be marrying the man that I love, and I knew that this was just the start of our life together. And it’s going to be a good life, I know it.

Thanks for reading and good luck to you on your special day!

great review!!! you look beautiful! congrats on a gorgeous wedding!!!!!!!!

Great review Date Twin!!!

you look absolutely amamzing!!!!!!!

Beautiful!

Great review! everything looked beautiful!

Great Review!!! Everything looked beautiful!!CONGRATS!!!

great review and beautiful wedding! Congrats to you and your new husband!

Thank you for sharing, your review was wonderful!! Congrats again!