McSulllivan
Board Fanatic
Member since 7/04 850 total posts
Wedding Date:
11/5/2005 2:30 PM
Wed. Location:
Manor East - C-
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My November 5th, Review! UPDATED WITH MORE INFO AND LINK TO PICS!!!!
I will add pictures later, when I figure out how to get them to post larger!
Ceremony: St. Anthony’s RC Church, Oceanside, NY A
St. Anthony’s is beautiful, especially in the fall! Maureen was a pleasure to deal with. Unfortunately, the priest that we had first dealt with fell ill and left the parish. She kept us up to date on everything we needed and was great with call backs. They do ban aisle runners, though. That wasn’t really important so the decision didn’t affect us at all.
Reception: Manor East Caterers, Massapequa, NY C-
There were a few things that ticked me off. It started from the very beginning. Basically, they messed up on quite a few things. Thank the good Lord for the DJ, no one noticed what was going wrong with the Manor East - they were too busy dancing.
1. One of my work tables was set up incorrectly. There were only eight chairs for a table of 12. I didn't have ANY tables of eight. That meant that there were four people just standing around for a little bit. I was MORTIFIED!!
2. Many of the guests did not have champagne for the champagne toast!!
3. Half of the chairs were missing at my sister's table. There were place settings, just no chairs.
4. The raspberry sorbet was supposed to be at each place setting, waiting for my guests, it was brought out way after.
5. The food was supposed to be opened after the toasts, and was not supposed to be a buffet, but more of a "Cocktail" reception, with the food open for two and a half hours, replenished as needed. It was not opened until after eight, then closed up after an hour and were. Certain things were not replenished. This was key. My husband and I specifically told him that the food should be out for two and half hours and replenished. The Banquet Manager assured us that "Of course, of course". I felt he was blowing me off.
There were some other things as well. Basically, I had gone over these things with on of the Banquet Managers a bunch of times. I felt that my requests were ignored, and that once they had our money, there was nothing we could do.
They gave us half and hour overtime on the house.
I see that they have gotten good reviews. Maybe they were having a bad night. My husband's brother got married there five years ago and it was wonderful.
I just wish I would have had my wedding somewhere else. I should not have left my reception in tears, which I did. Thankfully, I was able to calm myself down, and return to enjoy myself.
The other Banquet Manager was very nice, however, and did what he could.
The other bride (ShortBride) at the Manor East that day had no complaints. Perhaps they just can't handle two weddings at a time any more. I don't know. They seemed like freshman mistakes.
For these reasons and others, I gave them a C. I was feeling charitable. They should have gotten lower. I could never recommend them.
Photographer/ Videographer: MRG Productions - Kevin McVea A+
Kevin was AMAZING! He brought along an assistant and a second photographer, Frank. I can not say enough about how brilliant they were! Kevin started the day off at my husband’s house and got great shots of the guys. He was a photojournalist by trade, so some of the shots were incredible and unique. Frank and the assistant, Marina, stayed at my house and snapped away. My niece and nephew were both in the wedding party, and they were so good with them. My nephew was not happy about wearing a kilt, and was a little out of sorts. We didn’t think he was going to smile for the photos. Frank was able to get him to smile and laugh and look at the camera!! Also, my parents are divorced and they made sure to ask if there was a sensitive issue with putting certain people in photos together. There were no issues, but the fact that they asked about it was wonderful. Marina made sure that I ate something and that my lipstick was applied when needed. Our Ceremony pictures are just beautiful, they really captured a lot! During the reception they had two plasma screen TV’s that displayed pictures from the day (pre-ceremony, church, reception, limo, etc) Also, before Kevin and I were introduced, they played some highlights from the ceremony. It went over wonderful. They played montages during our first dance, the dance with my father, the dance with his sister, and the dance after the cake cutting. At the end of the night we were handed four cd’s full of pictures and a videotape of the wedding. You do have to make your own albums however, but Frank does that, so we’re probably going to work with him. I posted many of my pictures on Kodak and a lot of my guests called me to tell me how impressed they were – they hardly remember seeing the photographer all night!!!
Band / DJ: MRG Productions - Billy & Roy A+
I wish that I could tell you how wonderful MRG Productions is. They don’t get much mention on the boards – except from me. Really, do yourselves a favor and check them out: www.MRGProductions.com. Marty is the owner, he’s WONDERFUL!!!! They did my cousin’s wedding in August, and blew us away! I credit them with single handedly saving my wedding. The dance floor was packed all night. They really took to heart any special requests I made. The music I wanted was played and the music I didn’t, wasn’t. Roy, the MC, made sure that everything was done the way I wanted it done. The dance floor was packed all night. THANK THE GOOD LORD that because they were too busy dancing, many of them didn’t even realize the problems with the food! I will sing their praises until I’m six feet under!
Ceremony Music: Danny, St. Anthony’s A
Danny is the music director at St. Anthony’s. He was great, very flexible. He let us play two songs from cd, some won’t let you. Not very quick with return calls, however.
Limousine: Ultimate Class Limos A
We ordered a bridal coach, a limbusine, a ten passenger limo and a fourteen passenger van. Everything was great. The bus driver, however was a little pushy and I didn’t really care for him. We were at the church, doing the receiving line and he kept coming up to me telling me he didn’t want to have to do overtime. I couldn’t believe it. I was so stupid, I just gave up sooner than I should have and he left with my bridal party – so we missed out on some really good pictures outside the church with everyone.
Florist: Janine Laskas – B and ME A+++
Pretty good. I met with Janine a few times and her work was really nice. I did the centerpieces, bridesmaids bouquets and my bouquet myself. The rest was all her. My bouquet started to fall apart during the pictures at my house – but I had a back up that I made at Michael’s (I actually liked it better than the one Janine made).
Gown: Kay-Ann Bridal, Franklin Square, NY F
Totally f*c*ed me over! They took my deposit and ran. B@ST@RDS. Luckily, they had at least placed my order (just not paid for it with my deposit). I was able to get my dress directly from Alfred Angelo – so all was not lost. Unfortunately, my bridesmaid’s gowns were ordered through them also. They took their deposits but never ordered the dresses.
Gown: Alfred Angelo A
I wound up dealing with Alfred Angelo directly. They were wonderful!! Incredibly helpful.
Bridesmaids’ Gowns: Lynbrook Bridal, Lybrook, NY A
Wonderful! They were so on top of things. I dealt with Antoinette first. Everyone knew our situation and that we were pressed for time. They also gave us a ten percent discount! They were always polite on the phone, called me back promptly and were very informative. I definitely recommend them.
Bridal Gown Alterations: Irene Travais, Garden City, NY A+++++
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THIS WOMAN!! There were so many things wrong with my dress. It was like her Mt. Everest. She’s a bit expensive but worth EVERY penny! The dress had been ordered a size small, so she had to work a little magic (and I had to sew my mouth shut). I cried every time I put it on, and felt so ugly. My last fitting, I cried once again – but because it fit so beautifully. I finally felt like a bride. The woman is a miracle worker! She was always cheerful and happy. My Aunt came with me to a fitting once, and as we left we were hugging and kissing her! FM me for her information!
Kilts: Piper's Cove, Kearny, NJ A
I had the hardest time looking for kilt rentals. After checking all my options, I went with Piper's Cove. I did everything over the phone, it was so easy. They shipped the kilts a week before and we shipped them back the Monday after! It was painless. They were wonderful, helpful, and very prompt when returning calls! IrishBride-05 used them also. Check them out at www.piperscove.com
Veil: EBAY, Veiled and Bejeweled A
Awesome vendor!! My veil was twenty bucks with shipping! The first one that was shipped was off center, and I wasn't happy with it. I e-mailed the vendor and they sent me another one. I was able to use the first one for my hair trials! Definitely check them out!
Slippers for slipper basket: www.dollardays.com A
I used the terry slippers in four assorted colors, BIG HIT!! One of my guests called me a Bridal Genius!! THANK YOU LIWEDDINGS!!!
Hair: Maria, Hair Expo, Oceanside, NY A
Maria was great. I think my hair may have been a bit lop-sided (because I was sitting wrong – totally my fault), but I was the only one that seemed to notice. My trial was great and she was so REASONABLE!! They were so great there!
Makeup: Sabrina, Hair Expo, Oceanside, NY A
Sabrina was pretty great. She used to work for MAC. I don’t normally wear make up, but I got a lot of compliments on it. Definitely call her for a trial. She’s very chatty, so if you don’t like that, you won’t like her.
Cake: Carvel, Oceanside, NY A++++
Chris was wonderful to work with!! He's a graphic designer and did an amazing job. He went ABOVE and BEYOND my expectations! Definitely check him out!
Thank You Cards: ImageStation.com A++
I really have to thank Dina (dleeny) for turning me on to this site! It was amazing. I really wanted some thing unique and got it her. Using thier software I was able to design my own card - and I loved the results. I played around with them for a few months, then finally ordered them on January 31st, 2006 ( I know, I'm a bad bride), they came yesterday - February 8th, 2006. The price was reasonable - for 200 greeting cards - AND I was able to get exactly what I wanted. The cards came out great - exactly the way they looked on the screen. Beautifully done, I'm so happy with them.
Link to Pictures
Message edited 2/9/2006 11:47:02 AM.
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but glad that you had a great time anyway! 
