TA-DAH! My 2/18/06 Wedding Review at Temple Avodah. Featuring: Kombert Caterers, Dalsimer Florist, Steven Scott Orchestra's Eric Ashley, Artisan Photography, Bridal Reflections, Foresto Tuxedos & MORE

Before you skip ahead to just looking at the pictures which I am sure NOBODY does, I should give you a fair warning! This review is not for the speed readers. I thought I’d save time by everything I could BEFORE the wedding only to realize that it is impossible. It is rather extensive. Why? Because I chronicle things. I tell stories. I also come from a long line of verbose Jewish women. Please feel free to FM me with any questions you may have about vendors and services..

One upon a time, (No no no I won’t do that to you) but I would like to tell my wedding story/review in some sort of order. The events overlap somewhat but you’ll get the idea.

LIW – A++++++
What a truly amazing service that Ron and Liz provide for us! I cannot believe all of the wonderful ideas and suggestions I have used from the ladies here. That doesn’t even come close to the incredible amount of support I received from the brides and grooms when I was going through a very difficult time dealing with the recent loss of my father and the unexpected fall my mother took just a few months ago. I enjoyed the many GTGs I went to learning so much about people from different backgrounds sharing the bridal bond.

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I was so excited, I couldn’t wait to run out and register. Ed loved the coveted “guns” at each place. Perhaps he thought he was a cowboy???? We registered here:

REGISTRY

MACY's - A
MACY’s made the process of registration quite effortless. Each and every time we had to make exchanges or add something, they made the experience a pleasurable one. Until we hit ONE small roadblock. About 2 weeks after I had my shower, my inquisitive sister, had informed me that approximately $3K worth of merchandise had been removed from my registry at MACY’s. (Most of my china serving pieces, 6 place settings, 6 wine goblets, 6 water goblets, a $500 pot set, completer sets for my flatware – YOU NAME IT!) I thought this was strange as the wedding was a ways away and the shower already took place. I knew my mother didn’t buy the stuff because she’s paying for 80% of the wedding. I knew FH’s family didn’t do it because I just know they didn’t. And we don’t have an extraordinarily wealthy family on either side. SO I called up MACY’s and asked if the purchases were legit and if they were made by one person OR by a few people. I didn’t want to know WHO made them but I needed to settle something inside because I get paranoid about those things. Good thing I called. The person I spoke with said they were purchased by one entity of a “corporate” nature. So I hung up and then 5 minutes later, she called back to tell me that the purchases were not actually made at MACY’s but outside of the store but someone called to ask them to remove the items from the registry, I then spoke with a manager (quite calmly I might add) and told her that if it were just one item I wouldn’t be too upset. But it was many items totaling MANY thousands of dollars and that their “courtesy” to their customers and the guests of those customers was NOT a courtesy, but more of an invasion of privacy. I would MUCH prefer to be inconvenienced and return doubles than to think that one phone call could virtually eradicate my registry. DH and I were trying to think who would want to sabotage us but that is irrelevant. We chalked it up to a practical joker and requested that under no circumstances is anything not purchased in the stores where we are registered are to be removed unless removed by either him or me. MACY’s does not have a policy that attaches an employee number to each transaction so it was impossible to track the person responsible. Either that or nobody would fess up. MACY’s was diligent in its follow up calls. I dealt with a woman named Arlene who couldn’t have been more apologetic and she really felt awful about it. I gave her numerous ideas to tighten the reigns in her department as I am a child of a retailer and I know how this works. I could have graded them far worse, but no actual harm was done as only a week went by before it was all rectified. No. We never found out who tried to sabotage the registry. I bet it comes out someday! Weird huh?

FORTUNOFF, Westbury, NY - A+
Registering at Fortunoff, in my world, is nothing short of a rite of passage. You get engaged, you go to Fortunoff. The staff was rather helpful but did not go out of their way to do more than they had to.

WILLIAMS SONOMA, Roosevelt Field, Garden City, NY – A
We chose to register for our bake ware at Williams Sonoma. It was easy. However, we had two items purchased from our registry, months apart from each other that were doubles - leaving me to wonder just how good their tracking system of registry purchases really was.

CRATE AND BARREL, Americana Shopping Center, Manhasset, NY – A+
C and B made the registering process easy. Simple instructions. Fast delivery and very accommodating salespeople. Also very helpful during the “completion” process.

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I felt that I wanted to run out and tell everyone that the wedding was coming and since we booked a date that fell on a holiday weekend (President’s Week), we knew that Save the Date Cards would be very important to make sure that all of our guests could make arrangements to attend

SAVE THE DATE CARDS – Invitationlane.com – A+
Ed and I had found our STD’s on another website and for some reason I thought that if I did a generic search on the name of the particular card we liked, that MAYBE I would find it cheaper. Well, as luck would have it, I DID find the card MUCH cheaper at Invitationlane.com. I placed the order and with special directions, changed the wording slightly and waited for a proof to be emailed to me. After I got the proof, I asked them to change the sizing of the names. They did that and less than a week later, I had my STDs. They came out exactly the way we wanted them. People called us to tell us how cute they thought the cards were.

Some of our guests were very generous and gave gifts before hand so we thought it would be nice to have informal notes with our names on them.

PRE-MARITAL INFORMAL NOTE CARDS – Finestationery.com – A+

We used finestationery.com and had simple informal note cards made with our first names printed on the front. We were again, mailed a proof and received them quickly. They will continue to serve our purposes even after we are married. Finestationery.com made the process very simple for us.
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One of the first thing a woman does when she gets engaged is run to the store for bridal magazines as she scans each page for ideas on dresses for herself as well as the rest of her bridal party. Seems innocuous enough but I had a challenge. I had to cover a tattoo that was smack between my shoulder blades. Why cover it? Because I am a Jew and it is against Jewish teachings for a person to have them. I preferred not to stand under my Chuppah with a bunch of old yentas pointing to this:



when I could find a dress to cover it. After thumbing through page after page, and scanning every dress on The Knot and WeddingChannel, I decided to simply go to a local shop:

DRESS - Bridal Reflections, Carle Place/Romona Keveza A++++++
I wanted to go to a full service salon close to home so I made an appointment with Bridal Reflections. Maddie was my salesperson and I told her immediately that I had one requirement of my wedding dress. Maddie was only able to pull about 5 or 6 dresses TOPS that could meet my tattoo covering needs and all of them were couture dresses - mega bucks. Just when we were about to give up, she shows me a dress and before I put it on, I knew it was a Romona Keveza dress because of its unusual asymmetrical back. It was very costly but served the purpose very well. We called upon the manager of BR and she offered that perhaps the designer would give us the trunk show price. That would save us about $700-$800. Mom agreed that if Romona would do it, then I could have the dress. Well, Romona herself came through for us and I was able to have the dress I loved AND the dress I needed. Christina went out on a limb for us and the whole staff treated us very well EVERY time we came into the store. The seamstress had minimal work to do on my dress. She sewed in cups, did a bit of a hem job and voila – perfect dress in perfect time. Not one issue whatsoever! They could not have been more professional and I would recommend them to anyone based on my experiences.




VEIL Barron’s @ Tri-County Flea Market – A+++
I got my veil at Barron’s upon suggestion from many LIW brides. I saw NO reason to spend an exorbitant amount of money on my veil simply because I was not going to wear it all night. I got a simple three-tiered fingertip (OR bottom of my butt) length veil. They were very professional. It was perfect. It came out just the way I wanted.

HEADPIECE – Regina B. (purchased at a trunk show at Bridal Reflections in Carle Place) A+
I went to a trunk show with no intention of purchasing a headpiece. It was a lame excuse to get to try my dress on again. But I played the game and fell in love with a gorgeous headpiece that was about $600 - $350 more than I was willing to spend. The saleslady disappeared in the back of the store for about 5 minutes and in that time, my MOH who was with me that day to look at BM dresses, offered to pay for half of it as a wedding gift to me. I was shocked and touched. When the saleslady came back from the back of the store, it seems as if Regina B took another $100 off the headpiece and now it was cheaper for the both of us. We custom designed the stones to add some pearls in place of some of the crystals in order to be able to pull in the color of my dress. When the headpiece came in, I noticed that the pearls were not symmetrical. A couple of the pearls were left off altogether. I calmly pointed this out to the assistant manager Michelle (at BR) and asked her if she saw what I saw – and she did. She happily took it back, noted the errors and where the changes needed to be made. I had the headpiece back within a couple of weeks and it was perfect – just the way I wanted. As long as a problem is rectified and a customer has what they want, there is NO reason not to give them an A+!

Veil:

Headpiece:


SHOES – The Wedding Library, NY. NY – A
I looked very hard for a pair of low-heeled shoes. I found a pair on-line and preferred to purchase them in person because they were rather costly. I contacted Shelley George, the manufacturer of my shoes to find a local retailer and they led me to The Wedding Library, which is a full service wedding consulting company. Luckily, they had the shoes I wanted in my size as a sample. They fit perfect and the sales person (Farrell) ordered them for me to pick up at the store. I then decided that once they came in, I wanted them shipped. It wasn’t a problem. They were promptly sent by Fed Ex. Great and easy to work with. The only reason they did not receive an A+ is because they actually sent me a size 9 ½ and I had already dyed them before I realized the error. I decided not to make a big stink over it and put an insert in my shoes. I expected my feet to expand anyway!



BRIDAL JEWELRY - Bracelet by Swarovski - A+

I chose this bracelet to complement my headpiece as I was not going to wear a necklace due to the high neckline of my dress:





The next group to clothe would be my bridal party. I was not hung up on style or color but only that they should be to the floor and matching in color but not necessarily in style.


BRIDESMAIDS also Bridal Reflections/Bill Levkoff A++++++
I brought my BP back to Bridal Reflections on a weekday afternoon with no appointment. The staff at BR allowed us to freely look at dresses. The adult ladies in the BP chose Bill Levkoff two-piece sets – all different to accommodate their different tastes, figures and styles. All of the dresses were in Euro Navy Satin. They took the model numbers of the dresses down on a prospect card and we returned at the end of the summer to get measured and leave deposits. Everyone was very happy. The service was very accommodating and efficient. They allowed me to order an extra yard of Euro Satin in navy to use, as I needed which I ended up using to wrap the stems of the BP bouquets. I suggest this to any bride when they order their BP dresses. It should cost you an extra $30 or so but looks very nice.

I brought my teenaged nieces there on a different day, as their time with their father is limited to alternate weekends. I drove BR nuts to make sure they would be accommodated. At our appointment, the salesperson, whose name I cannot remember, brought out ONE PIECE Euro Satin Bill Levkoff dresses as they were more appropriate for a young lady’s figure. They treated the girls very well and, one again, made the dress selection and purchasing experience wonderful allowing their step-mother to pay through credit card over the phone so I could pick them up for convenience. They also allowed my out of town BM’s to take their dresses out of the store without alterations or issues.

All in all, Bridal Reflections in Carle Place gave my bridal party and me INCREDIBLE shopping experiences in BOTH the bridal and bridesmaid departments. The seamstresses demonstrated excellent craftsmanship as well as attitudes.



All of the members of my BP chose their own silver shoes. I could not EVER dictate what a person should wear on their feet.

FLOWER GIRLS – Kim’s Children’s Wear Tri-County Flea Market – A
Thanks to and upon suggestion from Cindy (Cindyandkevin). I ventured out to Tri-County to look for inexpensive FG dresses for my FGs. I saw absolutely NO reason to buy FG dresses in a bridal salon where they would have to spend over $100 for a 3 year-old to wear a dress for three to four hours tops. (My FGs went home after the cocktail hour). I saw a dress immediately and the next week went back with the kids and their moms. They agreed that the dresses were nice, we were allowed to try them on and the salesperson, the delight (pi$$y attitude) that she was, steered us towards the correct size for the children or so we thought. We thought that since one of my FG’s was so tiny at the time we purchased the dresses, that she would grow and we were encouraged to purchase a dress that was a little too big and still too big 3 months later. So the FG’s mother took the dress back with the receipt and even though they generally do not do refunds or exchanges, the lady did so begrudgingly.



FLOWER GIRL NECKLACES – Souza Jewelry – EBay – A+
I wanted dainty necklaces for my flower girls and I found them on EBay from Souza Jewelry. They arrived rather quickly and they are adorable!



BRIDESMAID NECKLACES – Bloomingdales – A+
I had gone into Bloomingdales in Roosevelt Field and looked at the better costume jewelry for necklaces for the BP. I saw a Nadri pendant that I liked but the store only had one. They gave me a print out that listed every Bloomies store in the country with the amount of necklaces each one had. The next day I called the Manhattan store, which had the most, and they put them aside for me to ship out. What I liked best about this experience was the fact that the sales person KNEW a sale was coming and held them aside until the day of the sale. I ended up saving the cost of an entire necklace so one was FREE. I appreciated the gesture and made sure her manager knew I was pleased with her worker’s forethought.



BRIDESMAID EARRINGS – Lord and Taylor – A+
I wasn’t going to do it but I decided to get the ladies matching earrings so I went to the Nadri counter at Lord and Taylor and asked them if the 20% off coupon I left at home would apply to costume jewelry and they said yes. L and T held them for me until I could return the next day with my coupon!



TUXEDOS – Foresto Tuxedo, Mineola, NY – A+
We do not live very far from Foresto and my family has used them in the past for many formal occasions – at least since 1975. Using a “warehouse” was not an option, as I have ZERO tolerance for the possibility of error. FH and I went in one evening and the sales people were very helpful and professional. They told FH that his build would lend itself towards a 2-button tuxedo. I had a swatch of my dress with me, which is a “pearl” color so we decided that his accessories (tie and vest) would be off white. The salesperson encouraged us to get an off white shirt for him and the groomsmen who would wear the same tuxedo as Ed with BLACK accessories. About a month and a half before the wedding, when Ed’s father was measured, they informed us that the tuxedos would be brand new and I was very excited. All of the men looked rather dapper. The day they picked up the tuxedos, only a few adjustments had to be made. Since their tailor is on the premises and they use all of their own tuxedos, all alterations were done immediately. Highly recommended.



HOODIES/EMBROIDERY – Apropo Corp. Embroidery - A+++
After seeing so many of the LIW brides with hoodies, I thought it would be a great idea for me to have them made for my entire bridal party so we can wear them as we get our hair done. Nothing would be pulled over our heads. Anyway, after buying the adult hoodies from target.com and the FG’s white cotton cardigans from HannaAnderson.com, I took them all to Apropo Embroidery in New Hyde Park on New Hyde Park Road and Hillside Avenue. It is a very tiny embroidery and monogram shop that I would pass in my travels through the neighborhood and by chance I popped in. I had to explain to them what I wanted to do and they never did anything like it before. I wanted each member of my BP to have a personalized hoodie with their names in the front and their roles on the back. The lady did all of the layout and coloring on the computer and they all came out great. I would leave yourselves a few weeks to do it especially around the summertime as they do many corporate and camp projects requiring embroidery. Very highly recommended.




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So the bridal party is now dressed and it was time to start thinking about invitations. I knew I wanted plain invitations that would convey immediately that my wedding was formal. That isn’t hard to find. I used the vendor that my sister used for her son’s Bar Mitzvah invitations to create my invitations and programs:

INVITATIONS/PROGRAMS – Distinctive Promotions, Little Neck – A++++
I used Distinctive Promotions on recommendation from my sister who used them for my nephew’s Bar Mitzvah invitations. This company mainly works on corporate promotional items and gifts but they offer invitations as well. They basically ask you to go to a place like Party City and look through books, write down the invitation numbers and then bring the number to them. I chose engraved Carlson Craft engraved invitations and got a large discount. Maria, who handles the invitations, was in very close contact with me before, during and after ordering the invitations. She even called me when she learned there was an extra charge of $9 to have the words “black tie” offset to the left hand bottom corner of the invitation. $9 was not going to make the difference, but to me it counts a lot as far as customer service is concerned. She called me once again to tell me that she had been misinformed and our invitation DID come with a liner when she had originally been told otherwise. She had been a lil ticked off and I asked to see if she could get the liners thrown in for free or a discount AND SHE DID!!! Once the order went in, I had my invitations within one week! OMG! They were perfect and everything I wanted. AWESOME vendor! Maria was also able to get us pew cards with envelopes that we used for table place cards as well as for notes to go in our wish bowl!

Maria worked even harder on the programs. We were back and forth on the telephone with fonts and layout for a couple of weeks and I was very pleased with the final product. A LOT of work went into everything on this venture. I never knew it could get so complicated.





There was no question that hand calligraphy was preferred to address our invitations. It kept the level of formality consistent with the inside invitation. The question was, how I was going to find a reasonably priced hand calligrapher:

CALLIGRAPHY (invitations and place cards)– The Wedding Company, Manhasset NY – A++++++
I walked into the Wedding Company on a lark just as I was passing through the gown stores on either side of it. I happened to ask about HAND calligraphy. It was something I wanted and my wedding would certainly be the only time I could justify having hand calligraphy on an invitation. Thinking they were going to charge an arm and a leg because of their location and the community they serve, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that it would only cost $2.75 per 2 envelope set (inner and outer envelopes). I saw samples and loved them. I scheduled an appointment and brought in my envelopes with a sample of my invite for the calligrapher to match the typeface. When the envelopes were returned to me, I nearly jumped out of my seat. They were gorgeous. I received so many compliments from my guests who felt they set the formal tone I was looking for. It was only natural that I would want to follow suit with the place cards. The Wedding Company charged $1.25 for each place card envelope and inside card set. They too, were like looking at art. Again, a HIGHLY recommended vendor.





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The night before the wedding, my MOH came to stay with me to help keep my sanity in tact. DH (FH at the time) was staying at the LI Marriott in Uniondale as I did not wish for him to see me until the dramatic moment at the temple the next day.

HOTELS:

LI Marriott – Uniondale, NY – A
DH and I as well as a handful of our guests stayed at the Marriott on the night of the wedding. They are a full service hotel that was able to provide many services to our guests. DH used their salon to make himself look PURTY for our pictures. Didn’t he look handsome? Here he is with our RB



They were easy to work with and organized enough to make our room “blocking” experience as well as OOT bag distribution smooth.

Hampton Inn and Suites, Rockville Centre, NY – A
Most of our OOT guests stayed here. They too had positive experiences and no complaints. They distributed the OOT bags to all of our guests.

On the night before the wedding, Ed and I decided to take our bridal party out for a “non-rehearsal” dinner. (There was no rehearsal). We decided upon a local restaurant for this special evening to treat our guests:

NON-REHEARSAL DINNER – Piccola Bussola, Mineola, NY – A++
We set up a package meal for all of our guests with1) a choice of two salads (Caesar or regular), 2) a pasta (penne alla vodka or linguini with clam sauce,) 3) 4 entrée choices (chicken francese, veal parmagiana, a combo of the chicken and veal or fish) and a platter of Italian pastries and desserts. We had white wine and red wine on the table as well as Sprite, Coke and Diet Coke as beverages. The service was wonderful and Tony, the manager was a pleasure to deal with making the planning effortless and minimal for us.



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MOH and I stayed up very late the night before the wedding watching “Arthur” on TV. Man I love this movie – rich guy loses his money if he marries poor girl. We all have problems like this I suppose. We woke up the next morning to have breakfast at:

BRIDAL BREAKFAST – Omega Diner, New Hyde Park, NY – A
I had French toast and bacon. Awesome. However with my limited capacity for food, I left LOTS over. Coffee was good – didn’t have too much though. I didn’t want to be too hyper!

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DH had arranged for a car service to pick me and MOH up from the apartment and to take us to the temple. The same car service would bring DH and I from the temple to the Marriott after the wedding.

CAR SERVICE – US Limousines, New Hyde Park, NY – A+
They were prompt and courteous. Both drivers arrived in large black Town Cars. We had no need for limos because all preparations (including getting dressed) were to be done on site at the temple. They were reasonably priced and gratuity was included.

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HAIR AND MAKE UP – My friend and hairdresser, Audrey. Queens, NY A++++++
I don’t know how she did it but Audrey transformed me from a plain Jane into an elegant sexy bride. She is also the stylist responsible for my color (two weeks before the wedding) as well as my many short haircuts. She knew I did not want to be a princess bride. I did not want an up-do or a hairpiece. If it didn’t grow from the top of my head, it wasn’t going to be glued on. So she took my short, highlighted hair and with the help of just a drop of hairspray,

hot rollers and a few hair pins, gave me the “anti-bride” look I wanted.



It didn’t take nearly as long as the make-up application. Using brushes that I purchased from Eckerd, (yes ECKERD), and all MAC makeup that my SIL got me, she smoothly and evenly applied my make up while my hair was being set. Now I bought myself some MAC false eyelashes because my lashes are non-existent without mascara and with mascara, they are nothing special. Audrey put them on carefully and evenly giving my eyes an entirely different dimension that looked AWESOME in pictures. I recommend them highly.



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While Audrey was working on my hair and make up, I had been popping in and out of the ballroom and lobby to see how the flowers and décor were coming along.

FLORIST – Dalsimer Florist, Cedarhurst, NY
Before wedding – A++++
Day of wedding – B+
We saw 4 different florists and decided to go with Dalsimer, as they were the recommended florists of the temple. Steven, one of the owners, worked with us to help us achieve the natural look we were looking for with a gorgeous color scheme. He was more than flexible with our budget and couldn’t do more to make us happier in the planning stages of our wedding. Steven worked with me to create the natural, bright-colored look I wanted.Again the anti-bride in me made it all too clear that NO DEAD WHITE was to be used in the entire wedding “project”. I would accept ivory only as an accent or a highlight. We chose a color scheme that included purples, pinks, and blues with hints of ivory. IT went well with the choice of BM dress color though not critical. People were surprised to see that I did not go the traditional route with whites. Upon entering the temple there was a huge arrangement of flowers set in a large gold leaf tureen that would serve as a place card table arrangement.



The lobby had large shelves that were supposed to have been decorated by the temple with Judaica but never was. So I took it upon myself to set up pictures of Edward and myself. Dalsimer placed flowers around the photos to make them look a little bit nicer.


There was quite a large crew setting up the centerpieces which were to be made up of: light blue hydrangea, curly willow (twigs/branches), vendela roses, supermix orchids, pink snapdragon, purple stock, seafoam statice, bells of Ireland, monte casino, flat eucalyptus and a few other things. In preparatory stages of decoration planning, I had driven Steven nuts with emails back and forth with such specific preferences and requests even as far down as to the specific type of greenery that was to be used. That meant no leather leaf – the stuff that looks like ferns that you get with carnations at the supermarket. With what our bill was going to be, I did not want it to look cheap. Every leaf had a rounded and not pointed edge (excuse my lunacy). These arrangements were placed atop tall pilsner glass vases that were filled with water, willow branches and floating two-tone purple orchids. They looked stunning. THEY DID NOT BLOCK PEOPLE FROM DECENT CONVERSATION AND WERE NOT $$$ TONS $$$ MORE $$$ THEN LOW CENTERPIECES. I think that is BS personally. The pilsners were filled with the dendrobium orchids. There were SUPPOSED to be petals on the tables at the bases of the pilsners but there was issue #1 – never happened.



The temple had contracted with Dalsimer to install large festooned tulle from the center of the room to the perimeter. Complete with tiny white lights, it added elegance and brought the high ceilings down. Being that we had about 50 less guests in attendance than we thought we would have(no, not no-shows – just fewer people) we had a lil extra $ to play with so upon our final meeting with Steven, I asked to see what they offered in the way of chair coverings and specialty linens. (The caterer offers only a limited selection of colors and textures) We simply wanted something a step up from basic. Steven told us that since the chairs at the temple were the short kind, covers wouldn’t look right. He showed us something else in the way of an organza bow that would be tied around the backs of all of the chairs. They came in different colors for bows as well as overlays on top of the table cloths. It was so beautiful, but yet another up charge. After weighing things in our heads, we decided to go for it. The overlaid table cloths were bustled up like roses and looked gorgeous in the antique gold I chose. Everything DIY-ish had already been accented in gold so I kept the consistency.

When I walked into the ballroom, I noticed that a few of the bows had slid down. Apparently, they were tied on the Thursday before the wedding and the chairs had been used. No big deal, I had asked the caterer to make sure that when Dalsimer arrived, to have the bows (ALL OF THEM – not just the ones that had fallen) to be retied through the slats of the chairs OR knotted around the middle post. I did not wish to see the “extra effort” and up charge go to waste by falling down. When Dalsimer came to complete the project, I reiterated what I had said to the caterer and I was told it would be rectified. It wasn’t. By about 1/3 of the way through Id say close to half of the bows had slipped. I was PI$$ED as all hell. Not that they slipped so much as the fact that I asked OVER and OVER like a raving lunatic before the centerpieces had even been set up to have these done the way I modeled MYSELF. It was my special touch (and expense) that had been ruined. Perhaps it was a miscommunication from the boss to his crew. But all I know was that I was disappointed. Nobody noticed or if they did, they surely did not say anything to me.. Look here as some bows have fallen and some towards the back of the picture have not.


There was one thing that I could not wait to see and that was how the sanctuary was going to look. The temple had a newly reconstructed sanctuary that had only been open for a few weeks. Our wedding was to be the second wedding to take place in this room and we were very excited that it had been completed in time. Dalsimer had installed hooks for what was to be a “suspended” Chuppah. So now that I am all dressed and ready to go, I had to greet DH under the Chuppah.

I walked into the sanctuary to see the most incredible display of flowers in my color scheme – the same ones that were to be in my centerpieces. There were two arrangements were atop pedestals at the beginning of either side of the aisle. The pews were decorated with natural green foliage with the same flowers. I did not want pew bows or tulle. Then I looked at DH (or his back actually) under the Chuppah. So incredibly amazing. The colors were gorgeous EXCEPT they did the one thing I asked them NOT to do. They used ivory hydrangea on perhaps the most important part of the project – the Chuppah.

Just a few weeks before, at the time we saw our centerpiece in the showroom, I made it abundantly clear that no ivory or white hydrangea was to be used AT ALL! It was removed and noted or so I thought. Ivory was only to be used as an accent color and in personal flowers. Hydrangea is a LARGE and overwhelming flower. Ivory was flat out NOT what I asked for and NOT what I wanted. The moment that followed the shaking and crying of seeing DH for the first time in my dress, was followed by my disappointment that the Chuppah needed to be changed. Was it ugly? No. Just not what I wanted. BRIDEZILLA MOMENT: I demanded that the florist have bluer hydrangea brought to the temple to satisfy me and they did. Great. Not really. The problem had been rectified but waiting for the proper flowers to arrive shaved a lot of time off from picture taking. But I refused to have my pictures taken under a Chuppah I didn’t ask for. About an hour later, a bucket of blue arrived and the problem was fixed – not really. I am convinced they were ivory flowers spray painted to almost an electric blue (not the soft blue as seen in the centerpieces) as they were too bright and didn’t match the other blue hydrangea that were in the pews. Is this a big deal in the grand scheme of things? No. Did we still get married? Yes. But this delay took 10 minutes off my reception and frustrated me when I shouldn’t have been.Yes they were BOTH beautiful, but if I hadn't been so adamant about what I wanted, I wouldnt have been so irritated.

The WRONG Chuppah:

The RIGHT Chuppah:


Next to the Chuppah were two huge candelabras with hurricane vases and candles wrapped in the greenery that was on the pews as well as lush garden bases, English balustrades and select greenhouse trees on the altar. I was very happy with those decorations.

Now for the personal flowers. My bouquet was stunning! It was a mixture of ivory roses, pale pink roses, lavender roses, ivory dendrobium orchid florets and crystals wrapped in a “crisscross” pattern of ivory satin and crystals. They were able to weave a picture of my father in as well as the bridal bible my mother carried 50 years ago. My MOH’s had a clutch of all lavender (one had pink) roses, dendrobium florets and crystals. My BMs had smaller versions of my bouquet without the crystals. Dalsimer used fabric I provided to wrap their bouquets. I ordered a yard of fabric from Bill Levkoff to match their dresses. I recommend this to everyone! The FG’s used baskets I made and they were provided with lavender and pink petals to toss. Our mothers and DH’s grandmother were given a wrist corsage made from cymbidium orchids. All males walking down the aisle wore a single white rose. Dalsimer even provided many extras which we needed. DH wore an ivory dendrobium orchid floret.











The cocktail hour tables had crystal t-bowls filled with floating varied colored roses and galax leaves. Loose greens and flowers were furnished for the caterer's passing trays and culinary displays. Dalsimer provided fresh flowers that were placed on top of and on the sides of the wedding cake. It was gorgeous. I was thrilled with the cake table!


So as far as the look of the wedding went, I couldn’t have asked for more. Initially I went to Dalsimer with Mom and we were so looking forward to picking things together. Due to her unfortunate circumstances, I was kind of left on my own (with help from DH and my sister). Mom was very proud of the job we did with Dalsimer. Despite the few issues that arose, I was still able to enjoy my day. I sent an email explaining my disappointment on the three issues.

******
So now it is about 3 ish in the afternoon and I am expecting photography and video any time now. I am also expecting DH to call me to let me know he showed up. He never called. Chuck and Noah (the two photographers) and Rich (the videographer) from Artisan arrived with two assistants and we were good to go!

PHOTOGRAPHY AND VIDEOGRAPHY – Artisan Photography & Media Group
Photography – A++++++ (Day of and proofs)
Videography – A++++++(Day of and unedited video)
Ed and I visited 4 photographers. Chuck at Artisan was the 2nd of the four. I immediately liked his personality, which was laid back rather than “in your face.” We looked through many books and felt the work was excellent and the pricing well within our budget. Chuck was always available to us as he answered all of our questions either via e-mail or telephone. Lynn, the office manager was also incredibly helpful throughout! We had a great time at our engagement photo shoot on the campus at C.W. Post and our pictures were gorgeous making it nearly impossible for us to choose from so many.




I was back and forth via e-mail and telephone with Chuck and Lynn more than a few times between the e-shoot and the wedding. Each phone call was handled professionally leaving me to feel as if I made a good choice. About 2 weeks before the wedding, we had a meeting with Chuck to discuss some final details, “must take” pictures and bridal party as well as family configurations. Chuck again called just a few days before the wedding to secure timing and we were good. So now it is time to start the fun! A very tall young man walks into the bridal room with a camera and it wasn’t Chuck so I got a little nervous until I learned it had been Noah, the second photographer. His demeanor was sweet and I knew he wouldn’t get in my way either. We had a few pictures taken in the bridal room between him and Chuck as well as Rich the videographer. They were all always smiling, keeping the spirit of the day at an upbeat pace. There was a lighting assistant who held extra lights and that large disc that looks like a diaphragm made out of tin foil. There was also another lady who seemed to be more of a personal assistant. I wish I remembered her name as she had been so helpful to me – holding my bouquet and reminding me how to hold it – not too high and not too low. Most of the time, with the exception of formal family portraits and bridal party pictures, I did not even know any of them were there. They were simply inconspicuous. I know that because of my “flower issue” that Chuck and Noah were not able to take all of the pictures I had wanted BUT it was not their fault at all. It was simply my issue. Chuck made sure that we maximized the time we had with natural sunlight.



You could tell there was a great camaraderie amongst the three gentlemen. You hardly see either photographer in the video or in each other’s pictures. Nor do you see the videographer in pictures. You can really tell how much these professionals love what they do. All of them commented on how the light was so good or how the positioning of people was. It was a very genuine feeling.

I cannot tell you how many times I played the unedited rough cut of our wedding video. Rich captured some of the most precious moments of the night and I look forward to editing this epic adventure down to something fine tuned and wonderful!

I have to say that having Artisan as our photo/video documentarians was a great experience from minute one. Lynn was (and continues to be) a great help as we created and as we assemble our visual memories. She answered every question down to the last detail. She was always accessible and positive. Chuck is perhaps the coolest cat around. His temperament is perfect for the work he does and working with the “boss” is a surefire way to get the results you want.Look at some of these great shots:




About three quarters of the way through the night, cards had been placed on the guests' tables to direct our guests to Artisan's website so they could view our proofs with a password:


Here are some of our album layout pages:





Here is the link to all of the pages - not the album, but each page:

LINK TO MY ENTIRE ALBUM LAYOUT

After I finally pulled it all together, well past one year after our wedding, I finally submitted the pictures for our wedding album and the parent albums. I drove Chuck and Lynn crazy with all of my ideas and changes, but they worked so well with me and we love our albums.

Here are some pictures of the actual album:





Link to entire album:
OUR WEDDING ALBUM

******
OK so its crunch time now. Portraits are done. Everyone is dressed and it is about time to meet with the Rabbi, sign the ketubah and get married!

RABBI URI GOREN, Temple Avodah, Oceanside, NY – A++++++
Neither DH nor I had an affiliation with a synagogue so upon suggestion from of a friend of mine who had been a member of Temple Avodah, we contacted Rabbi Goren via email and then telephone. What a lovely gentleman. He knew we were not members of his congregation, yet he welcomed us with much happiness and excitement. We arranged for a meeting 3 months before the wedding which turned into two meetings because we all had so much to say! He seemed genuinely happy for us and really loves love. He said, and I quote “My only regret about getting married was that I didn’t do it sooner.” How can you NOT love that? After he told us what we would need in terms of licenses and a ketubah he simply asked us to use one word to describe why we are marrying each other. You would think that would be easy but it isn’t. I have not ONE word for anything. I have MANY words for everything! DH didn’t have it so hard. On the day of the wedding, Rabbi Goren allowed for us to have the Ketubah signing in the sanctuary as his office was not handicap accessible and I needed my mother to be there with me. He had no issues with that! He eloquently explained the meaning of the ketubah and how we and our witnesses should sign it in both Hebrew and English. (I did much better in Hebrew – made a mess of my English signature! (OY VEY!)



The Rabbi brought us back to his office for the Bedeken (veiling ceremony) where DH lowered the veil over my head as Jewish grooms are supposed to do.



At the beginning of the ceremony after the procession, the Rabbi clearly explained why I was to walk around DH 7 times so that people understood the significance.





He even fixed my dress as it got caught up in a podium. He included so many adorable anecdotes from our meetings making our guests laugh a few times! He invited DH’s sisters to join us on the bimah to read the Sheva Brachot (7 marriage blessings) in English and Hebrew as it is a huge honor. I had asked him to find a way to include my father in the ceremony without dwelling upon his passing. He did this through a moment of silence, which showed me that we were not to mix a happy, joyous occasion with a solemn one. The ceremony was over so quickly as DH stepped on the glass and I became Mrs. S!





Rabbi Goren made our wedding so memorable. His sensitivity and warmth was heartfelt and he will forever be in our memories.

*****

So now you are all asking…WHAT ABOUT THE TEMPLE?!?! THE HALL?!?!? The caterer?!?!? Hold on LIW…here it comes!


CEREMONY AND RECEPTION –Kombert Caterers @ Temple Avodah, Oceanside, NY - A++++++++++++++++++++
Right from the very beginning, DH and I knew we wanted a wedding in a temple that had catering facilities. You should know that Kombert Caterers is not a kosher catering company. Temple Avodah is a reform and rather liberal temple. We were brought to Temple Avodah last May upon suggestion from my sister who was about to make a Bar Mitzvah for her son, my awesome nephew, at the same venue. She booked them after having been a guest at previous functions and did not look elsewhere. We looked at only one other temple and that was only to be able to make a comparison. I KNEW that this was going to be the place. When we booked with Kenny Kombert, the caterer and banquet manager, he told us that the entire temple was about undergo some MAJOR renovations. The ballroom, lobby and sanctuary were going to be brand new. They were just about to break ground on the ballroom at the time we booked so all we saw were blueprints and samples of materials. So basically, we booked on blind faith and a promise. With a wedding that totaled what this one would cost, people thought we were nuts. I wasn’t worried. November 5th was my nephew’s party and the ballroom was done in the nick of time. On the night we first met with the rabbi in another part of the temple, I popped in to see the sanctuary. The sanctuary had no roof. No seats. No walls. No floor – NOTHING!





I started to dry heave and went to Kenny to arrange a meeting (on the chance that he was in his office) with a look of horror that must have been so G-d awful that he called me back no less than 10 minutes after we left. I was in tears and he promised me up and down that it would be done in time for our wedding. There was to be a wedding there a few weeks before ours but until I saw it done, I wouldn’t believe it. I had no choice as we were too close to wedding time to make any changes. But I will tell you this, my nephew’s party served as the perfect template for our wedding. We had a full tasting and saw the service that we hadn’t had a chance to see before.

My dealings with the caterer were mainly with Kenny Kombert. His father Erwin started the company at Temple Avodah many years ago and the both supervised the event that night. When we booked, we didn’t choose much in the way of specifics with the exception of a sushi bar. DH and I love sushi so we thought it would be nice despite the extra $ per head it was going to cost us.

Months would go by before we would start making more specific arrangements with Kenny. I called him around the time of Mom’s accident just to keep him abreast of the situation and for him to know how fragile she was physically and how the family was emotionally. He was rather sympathetic and reassuring. About 2 weeks before the wedding, DH, my sister and I went over to choose the menu and make payment arrangements. Kenny had actually offered to bring the menu to my mom at the rehab center but we felt she would feel too embarrassed and it would lack the privacy we would need to complete certain transactions. The fact that he offered to do this was incredible and reinforced that we made a good choice.

The day before the wedding, I received a phone call from Linda, the maitre’d. She wanted to make sure if there was anything I needed. She informed me that I would have an attendant for myself and the BP who would get us anything we needed or wanted and that HER services would begin later that afternoon. Peggy, the attendant was a lovely woman who pretty much stayed out of the way until I needed her services. I tend not to like to be doted upon.

Kenny helped us make some good food choices – steering us away from foods that people may not like and towards others that would be HITS! I never thought a “kabob” at a CH would be awkward but he was right. How elegant IS it to have people in floor length gowns and tuxedos trying to pry a chunk of chicken or beef from a skewer. Toothpicks yes. Skewers no. But before I talk about the CH, I should mention that they offer a hospitality half hour that greets people with water and champagne should they actually arrive at 7pm like the invitation said. (The ceremony was going to begin at 7:30 but we didn’t tell too many people that). We first had to choose from 5 stations (which was standard – we paid extra for the sushi bar and was it was NOT included as one of the 5 options) SO we opted for 1) a grilling station w/veggies and meat, 2) a pasta station with multi flavored (and colored) raviolis and sauces, 3) a panini station, 4) a cold station with vodka, caviar, crudités and CHEESE:





and a #5)mashed potato bar. I had never seen anything like this before. It was like a Cold Stone Creamery but with regular and sweet mashed potatoes. They mixed in onions, gravy, you name it and they served it in martini glasses:



Then, and I saved the best for last, # 6 – THE SUSHI STATION – mind you, sushi is NOT included as a 6th choice. Kombert offers 5 standard stations (there are choices OTHER THAN the ones we picked) but there is an up charge for a sushi BAR. This was not just a table with sushi on it, but a real bar with chefs and the hats and stuff! I saw them bring in the bar myself! My guess is that Kombert contracts this company that probably does corporate events and other stuff. People were lining up for this and the chefs couldn’t make it fast enough. I allowed myself to cut the line twice and I used my fingers too – IM THE BRIDE – SO THERE!



The passable Hors D'oeuvres were scrumptious. My faves were the pigs in a blanket, the raspberry brie in puff pastry, the beggar’s purse with pear and as DH said, the BBQ duck. It was about time to enter the reception and each place setting had on it an arrangement of fresh fruit with some sauces. We chose a cold appetizer because we felt that our guests needed to cleanse their palates after such a huge and heavy CH.

The next course had a choice of two salads – one was the Kombert signature salad with pralines and bleu cheese and the other was a warm salad. If you wanted a plain salad made from greens, they would have given that to you as well.

At the time of our contract signing, we had been told that there would be no up charge for entrée choices marked as “market price” mainly because it was a winter affair and a difficult date to book. This meant we were able to have Chateau Briand and Chilean Sea Bass as options. When we got to the point of securing the fish option, we had been told that b/c sea bass is an endangered fish, they would HAVE to charge an up charge, Since it was on the contract I was happy to forgo the sea bass for another choice but wanted to negotiate for something else (to be explained later) I couldn’t give a rats patootie about fish – I was having beef anyway. I was given a little schpiel about how my guests may not like the fact that I’d be serving an endangered fish. I quickly stopped that nonsense. I eat meat. I wear leather and I’d wear fur if I could afford it. I am politically incorrect and if my guests dislike me because I serve sea bass wrapped in a mink wearing leather pumps then they can go home. My wedding was not to be a platform for activism. OK PETA PEOPLE – have a ball! It ends up that our options were 1) Stuffed Cornish Game Hen, 2) Chateau Briand, 3) Roasted Duck, 4) Salmon w/ a teriyaki marinade (or grilled plain) and 5) a vegetarian option. There were red potatoes and bundled veggies. Each plate looked so pretty. DH and I were working on three entrees because we could not decide. This is actually quite funny considering we hardly ate at all. Just when you thought you had enough, the wait staff walked around asking people if they wanted alternatives, seconds or extra chateau briand. They offered the guests stuffed derma as yet another side dish which was another favorite amongst my mother’s family and friends – old school Jewish food! I loved it!

Then it was time for dessert. I was asked to choose my own cake – to design it any way I wanted. I personally don’t give two poops about wedding cake. To me, they are all overrated and to spend an exorbitant amount of money on a CAKE is ridiculous. I figured I would go for something atypical (shocker) so I chose a three-tied square cake with lavender icing and fresh flowers. I knew, based on the rest of the desserts that the cake was a matter of fact thing:


Every other place setting had been given one of two desserts. One was a mini cheesecake and one was some sort of chocolate bomb type of thing – both were placed on triangular plates with sauce drizzled on the plates.





While people were enjoying these treats, there were cheesecake lollipops, funnel cakes, hot buttered pretzels, cannoli cones, charlotte russes, cookies and the list went on and on. In the middle of the dance floor was an old fashioned egg cream bar – another favorite of older Brooklyn and Bronx-raised guests. We had a sorbet cart with sorbet served in its on fruit and an international coffee bar with cordials. It was sheer decadence.

Towards the end of the night, the wait staff started to dismantle the centerpieces and wrapped the flowers so that each lady could go home with some flowers rather than just one person at the table. Dalsimer supplied the tissue. Now you ask “what was the big negotiation she was talking about before?” Here it is. As previously stated, it had been on our contract that there was to be no charge for Chilean Sea Bass but this deal could not be honored. I didn’t care that much about fish but a deal is a deal. We decided to negotiate and split the cost of providing our guests with bagels and cream cheese to take home so they could have breakfast the next day. As the guests walked out, they were able to take a bag of bagels and some flowers. Some people thought it was our favor. Jewish weddings typically do not have favors and someone asked me if it was a “cultural thing” because she hadn’t been to a Jewish wedding before. Made me chuckle. To be honest, it was something that was just an added touch that people would not miss if it were not there but they would appreciate if it was.



Kenny and Erwin made our wedding one of the most incredible experiences of a life time. They were reasonably priced, easy to work with, organized and they demand a high standard as their names are attached to everything they do. They are highly recommended!

******
So now for the entertainment. There was no question in our minds that we would have live music. There was also no question that we would be using:

BAND – Steven Scott – Eric Ashley's Orchestra, A++++++
My family used Steven Scott for weddings and Bar/Bat Mitzvahs before. We were pleased many times over. Eric Ashley returned my initial call and I knew who he was immediately. He was the bandleader for my sisters wedding some years back. We made an appointment with him to listen to a few bands. The caliber of music was unreal. The cost was certainly not cheap but this was one area where we REFUSED to compromise. We narrowed our choices down to three Steven Scott Bands though I knew in my heart that Eric Ashley’s band was the one I wanted. We brought mom back to listen and she agreed. This band was the one! We opted to add the violin for the ceremony at an extra charge but felt it was well worth it. Eric is a very charming man who made Mom feel very comfortable. I think he was pleased that after so many years, that we chose him again. Steven Scott’s office is run very well. Their staff is made of professionals who greet everyone with a smile. Their offices are organized and efficient which pleased me on the number of occasions when we made payments. We were to have one meeting 8 weeks before the event (which was one week before Mom’s accident) to discuss the “must play” list as well as any requests. If he didn’t know a song, he wouldn’t play it. Our band was a ten piece orchestra that included 2 vocalists, guitar player/vocalist, bass player, keyboard player/vocalist, violinist/vocalist, 3 horns, and a drummer.

After Mom’s accident I had been in the office to make a payment and explained to Eric what was going on. He assured me that he would make her feel special while not risking her safety. On the day of the wedding, we had the violin, the saxophone and keyboard player provide the music from the hospitality time through the ceremony and the cocktail hour as well. They beautifully covered Kenny G’s “The Wedding Song” as each member of my BP as well as DH and I walked down the aisle. I became a bit choked up until I heard bellowing laughter from my guests. It seems as if my 2 ½-year-old nephew changed the RB in Ring Bearer to RUNNING BACK as he held the pillow like a football and RAN down the aisle handing it to Ed.



The trio broke into “Siman Tov U Mazel Tov” as soon as Ed crushed the glass into a gazillion pieces and the same group of men played discreetly through the cocktail hour...

Ceremony and cocktail hour musicians:


... and then joined the rest of the band as the reception began with us walking in to Spiral Starecase’s “More Today than Yesterday” because it has horns and we had three so we were psyched…



(The keyboardist and drummer were hidden but they were there!)



… that was followed by our first dance to “The Way You Look Tonight” – the version that Tony Bennett sang on the soundtrack to “My Best Friend’s Wedding.” It was classy, elegant and perfect. Eric’s voice is wonderful:







The violinist was incredible. I am so glad that we went to the extra expense to have him as part of the pre-wedding entertainment as it wasn’t a part of the original contract. I wanted our ceremony and reception to have the ethnicity of Fiddler on the Roof and judging from the participation in the HORA, we certainly got what we wanted. People were engaged and involved.



Our guests hoisted us up in the air but I wasn’t scared because all of DH’s friends play football:



The musicians played constantly which was important to us. I did not pick the songs that were to be played between courses but the band chose the most perfect songs. “Fragile, “One,” and others just made everything so intimate and lovely. They played “What a Wonderful World” for me and my brother to dance to…







…and “If I Could” for DH and his Mom. The rendition that had first been played was not the rendition that MIL had been familiar with so Eric played the song later in the night so we could use it for the video. I thought that was very professional. Eric has a 4 octave range so he could really sing anything. As the party went on, they were really rockin. Once we all heard the beginning riff to AC/DC’s “(You Shook Me) All Night Long” we knew it was just a great party. Every genre they played, they exceeded my expectations:



We tossed the bouquet to “Lady Marmalade” where the female singer WAILED….



stunning dress and beautiful wedding

Re: TA-DAH! My 2/18/06 Wedding Review at Temple Avodah. Featuring: Kombert Caterers, Dalsimer Florist, Steven Scott Orchestra's Eric Ashley, Artisan Photography, Bridal Reflections, Foresto Tuxedos &

AWESOME REVIEW!!!!!!! Congrats!!!! You look absolutely beautiful!!!

Re: TA-DAH! My 2/18/06 Wedding Review at Temple Avodah. Featuring: Kombert Caterers, Dalsimer Florist, Steven Scott Orchestra's Eric Ashley, Artisan Photography, Bridal Reflections, Foresto Tuxedos &

Leslie, what an amazing review!! You and Ed both look so amazing...and happy. Good luck to you!!!

Re: TA-DAH! My 2/18/06 Wedding Review at Temple Avodah. Featuring: Kombert Caterers, Dalsimer Florist, Steven Scott Orchestra's Eric Ashley, Artisan Photography, Bridal Reflections, Foresto Tuxedos &

Wonderful review Leslie, congrats again. Your pics came out wonderful. You looked amazing.

Re: TA-DAH! My 2/18/06 Wedding Review at Temple Avodah. Featuring: Kombert Caterers, Dalsimer Florist, Steven Scott Orchestra's Eric Ashley, Artisan Photography, Bridal Reflections, Foresto Tuxedos &

aweesome review Leslie.. and I actually read every word!!!!!!

It was wonderful to share your day with you and I wish you and ed neverending happiness!

I especially like the picture of that HOT CHICK that caught your Bouquet.

And may I add that Fred would like to know why he was not featured in your review as the offical make-leslie-laugh beagle!!!!!!!

Re: TA-DAH! My 2/18/06 Wedding Review at Temple Avodah. Featuring: Kombert Caterers, Dalsimer Florist, Steven Scott Orchestra's Eric Ashley, Artisan Photography, Bridal Reflections, Foresto Tuxedos &

Thanks. Here are some more pics:





My family


My siblings looking at the picture of my father:


The bridal party:




Our place card:



Slinging one back with the guys!


The ballroom


Us:


All that running down the aisle made my nephew a bit tired!


DOWN THE HATCH WITH LIW!




YUM!


REALLY yummy!


A toast!




We had a great time:

Re: TA-DAH! My 2/18/06 Wedding Review at Temple Avodah. Featuring: Kombert Caterers, Dalsimer Florist, Steven Scott Orchestra's Eric Ashley, Artisan Photography, Bridal Reflections, Foresto Tuxedos &

Wow Leslie, incredibly detailed review! (and I thought mine was! You put me to shame!)

You looked beautiful, you truly did! I am so happy for you both.....

Re: TA-DAH! My 2/18/06 Wedding Review at Temple Avodah. Featuring: Kombert Caterers, Dalsimer Florist, Steven Scott Orchestra's Eric Ashley, Artisan Photography, Bridal Reflections, Foresto Tuxedos &

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Posted by leighdvm

Wow Leslie, incredibly detailed review! (and I thought mine was! You put me to shame!)

You looked beautiful, you truly did! I am so happy for you both.....

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I think the two of us should write reviews for a living!

Re: TA-DAH! My 2/18/06 Wedding Review at Temple Avodah. Featuring: Kombert Caterers, Dalsimer Florist, Steven Scott Orchestra's Eric Ashley, Artisan Photography, Bridal Reflections, Foresto Tuxedos &

Leslie!!! Everything looks so amazing - excellent review - and I, too, read every word.

Congratualtions AGAIN!

Oh - I meant to ask - did I miss the part on the chocolate fountain? Where's THAT review?!? You know I'm kidding

Re: TA-DAH! My 2/18/06 Wedding Review at Temple Avodah. Featuring: Kombert Caterers, Dalsimer Florist, Steven Scott Orchestra's Eric Ashley, Artisan Photography, Bridal Reflections, Foresto Tuxedos &

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Posted by Shorty McBride

Leslie!!! Everything looks so amazing - excellent review - and I, too, read every word.

Congratualtions AGAIN!

Oh - I meant to ask - did I miss the part on the chocolate fountain? Where's THAT review?!? You know I'm kidding

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WISE GUY!!!!

I told you my sushi bar WAS my chocolate fountain! It is a lot neater too!

Re: TA-DAH! My 2/18/06 Wedding Review at Temple Avodah. Featuring: Kombert Caterers, Dalsimer Florist, Steven Scott Orchestra's Eric Ashley, Artisan Photography, Bridal Reflections, Foresto Tuxedos &

great review!!!!!!!!

Re: TA-DAH! My 2/18/06 Wedding Review at Temple Avodah. Featuring: Kombert Caterers, Dalsimer Florist, Steven Scott Orchestra's Eric Ashley, Artisan Photography, Bridal Reflections, Foresto Tuxedos &

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Posted by Goldi1021

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Posted by Shorty McBride

Leslie!!! Everything looks so amazing - excellent review - and I, too, read every word.

Congratualtions AGAIN!

Oh - I meant to ask - did I miss the part on the chocolate fountain? Where's THAT review?!? You know I'm kidding

---

WISE GUY!!!!

I told you my sushi bar WAS my chocolate fountain! It is a lot neater too!

---

Re: TA-DAH! My 2/18/06 Wedding Review at Temple Avodah. Featuring: Kombert Caterers, Dalsimer Florist, Steven Scott Orchestra's Eric Ashley, Artisan Photography, Bridal Reflections, Foresto Tuxedos &

OMG-great review! Congratulations on such a lovely affair and a great marriage!

Re: TA-DAH! My 2/18/06 Wedding Review at Temple Avodah. Featuring: Kombert Caterers, Dalsimer Florist, Steven Scott Orchestra's Eric Ashley, Artisan Photography, Bridal Reflections, Foresto Tuxedos &

Great Review! I'm sorry to hear about your hassles with your florist, but glad it all worked out. You looked amazing and so did everything. I love how you decorated the ballroom!!! Congratulations and best wishes!!!

Re: TA-DAH! My 2/18/06 Wedding Review at Temple Avodah. Featuring: Kombert Caterers, Dalsimer Florist, Steven Scott Orchestra's Eric Ashley, Artisan Photography, Bridal Reflections, Foresto Tuxedos &

Congrats! That was a great review. Your honeymoon pics look amazing. Thanks for sharing!

Re: TA-DAH! My 2/18/06 Wedding Review at Temple Avodah. Featuring: Kombert Caterers, Dalsimer Florist, Steven Scott Orchestra's Eric Ashley, Artisan Photography, Bridal Reflections, Foresto Tuxedos &

Wonderful review. Thank you for putting in the time and effort for us.

Re: TA-DAH! My 2/18/06 Wedding Review at Temple Avodah. Featuring: Kombert Caterers, Dalsimer Florist, Steven Scott Orchestra's Eric Ashley, Artisan Photography, Bridal Reflections, Foresto Tuxedos &

Leslie - an amazing review, I read every word!!

Re: TA-DAH! My 2/18/06 Wedding Review at Temple Avodah. Featuring: Kombert Caterers, Dalsimer Florist, Steven Scott Orchestra's Eric Ashley, Artisan Photography, Bridal Reflections, Foresto Tuxedos &

Spent the past 45 minutes reading every word and examining every photo, and reciting some parts to my husband!!! We are so happy for you. your review was great and I am glad that your wedding and HM were incredible.

Re: TA-DAH! My 2/18/06 Wedding Review at Temple Avodah. Featuring: Kombert Caterers, Dalsimer Florist, Steven Scott Orchestra's Eric Ashley, Artisan Photography, Bridal Reflections, Foresto Tuxedos &

OMG Leslie!!!! Can I say detail oriented!!!!!!! What a Great Review! You looked absolutely Beautiful!! Congrats to Both of you!!!