ewickens
We have a PUPPY!!!
Member since 1/05 13579 total posts
Wedding Date:
9/16/2006 10:30 AM
Wed. Location:
Brentwood Country Club A++
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Our Amazing 9/16/06 Brentwood Country Club Wedding + Vendor Reviews UPDATED w/HM Review and Link to some Proofs - Updated 12-6-06!!!!!!!
I never thought it would come to the time for me to write a wedding review, but DH and I got married and although not much has changed for us, we had the most magical day in our lives and we’re completely happy and even more in love with one another than we ever were before.
I couldn’t have gotten through my wedding planning without LIW and my ’06 girls! They were my true source of comfort and strength through all my vents, frustrations, sad news, and good times! I was truly honored that many of them could attend my wedding ceremony and reception!
So, now onto the review!
LIW A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ron and Liz – you two are life savers for me! I moved to LI about 6 months before I became engaged and had no friends in the area to spend time with or hang out with! This site gave me not only friends, but a family I could turn to in dark times and good ones! So, thank you, from the bottom of my heart!!!
Save the Date Cards
Made by DH and I! A+ for effort
I had lurked on the boards for some time without posting, and this was something DH and I didn’t want to spend a whole lot of time or money on, but we wanted to spread the word to our family and friends. We became engaged in December 2004 and we had all wedding plans mostly determined by the following holiday, so in our 2005 Holiday Cards, we used Microsoft Word and came up with the following:
DH and I decided against an engagement party for a number of reasons. The main two particulars were cost and the fact that 80% of the guests would have to come in from OOT from so many different states, so we decided to just celebrate with each family during the holidays since DH proposed 2 weeks before Christmas in 2004.
Some Background
I moved to LI about 6 months before the engagement from the Buffalo/Rochester area. Leading up to the wedding planning, DH and I knew we wanted to get married on LI. It would be easier for us with the vendors, and due to my new job, I really had no time available to take off and travel anywhere to plan a wedding. This didn’t really sit well with my parents who had dreamed of their only daughter getting married in her hometown in upstate New York. Then, my father ended up in the hospital and became very sick. This put things in perspective for everyone involved and my parents made a decision to help DH and I out as best as they could, but asked us not to be extravagant, and DH’s family also helped us financially, emotionally, supportively by going to the different expos with us and offering their guidance. We looked at 5 different halls and each had their own positives and negatives. We went to the Brentwood Country Club (BCC) after seeing their advertisement in a Sunday paper and I fell in love with their facility and the golf course grounds outside for wedding photos! The one very positive choice of choosing BCC is that I got all my wedding vendors in one swoop, with the exception of tuxedos.
Mother Nature – I can’t really rate the weather, but I’m going to! A+++++++++++
During our wedding rehearsal the day before, all it did was rain (I think it was the remnants of Hurricane Ernesto). It delayed the start of the church rehearsal, my OOT guests from arriving on time, and so many other delays. Somehow, miraculously, it stopped raining between 12:30am when I went to bed on Saturday and 4:30am when I woke up for the hair salon appointment. The sun was out and shining on us the ENTIRE day! We actually had to turn the A/C on in the house when we were all getting ready. DH’s grandmother’s had passed away right before the wedding, and so had mine, and we believe it was them looking down on us that weekend that made the sun shine so brightly. My grandmother was always one to place a rosary outside when it was raining and there was a picnic/wedding/outside activity being planned and it never rained on those days. My father and I cried that day knowing that she was right beside us. I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect wedding day!
St. Gerard Majella Roman Catholic Church A+++++++++++
300 Terryville Road
Port Jefferson Station, NY 11776
I know you really can’t rate a Church, since it is a religious facility, but I was overly impressed with everything on my wedding day. Our Church is still trying to find the funds to build a cathedral style Church, so the current facility isn’t what most people expect, but it’s home. Father Bill made his sermon completely related to us on the personal level, made us laugh and smile through the entire ceremony, and during our first kiss, you can see this big grin across his face along with my MOH at how happy everyone was for us! The music made me cry so much. Our musical director and the singer were phenomenal, especially when they sang “The Prayer” during Communion. I had goose bumps at how beautiful the song sounded and it made me completely happy that everything ran so well and efficiently.
Brentwood Country Club A++
100 Pennsylvania Avenue
Brentwood, NY 11717
631-273-3800
Brentwood Country Club Web Site
Brentwood Country Club Invitations
Working with Steve and Scott with all the planning and my unending list of questions, they were always patient, fun, and always kept a positive outlook with all the wedding planning!
Our wedding package with BCC came with the following: 100 Invitations and all accessories with them, Florist (bouquets, corsages, and boutonnieres), Limo (for 3 hours 12-passenger or 2 6-passenger), Photographer, Videographer (for entire day), wedding cake, all food for cocktail hour and reception, premium liquor and open bar for 5 hours. Read below for a review on each vendor.
About 6 months before the wedding (sometime March ’06), Scott called us and we made an appointment to come in and choose our invites and decide on the wording for the entire thing. Plus, we did the menu layout then, and discussed the flow of the reception. DH and I had gotten the web site information from Sammie during one of our payment sessions, so we had already looked at their online web page for the invites numerous times, and came to our decision rather easily when we met with Scott and Steve. The entire package of invites and their accessories arrived less than 2 weeks later at our doorstep. I was shocked at how quickly it came, and the invites were beautiful.
Steve ended up being our Matre-D on the day of our wedding and DH and I couldn’t have been happier. As soon as our limo arrived, Steve was the first person there helping me out of the limo and grabbing our stuff that was in the trunk from the Church to place in the bridal suite for safe keeping. Steve was around us every second when the wedding attendant had stepped away. He even went as far as going into the kitchen and getting a tablecloth to bring out onto the golf grounds while we were doing photos, so my gown and train wouldn’t get dirty (it had down poured the night before due to the remnants of Hurricane Ernesto, so the golf course was a little wet). He hid it well enough that it shouldn’t be noticeable in any of our wedding proofs.
I’ve heard the food at the cocktail hour was delicious and my family loved all the seafood we chose since they rarely get fresh seafood living upstate. I only ended up eating a little of the penne a la vodka because I was slightly worried/nervous (read below). My father and many of the other guests couldn’t stop raving about the chicken herb dinner and the prime rib. They all told me they were completely stuffed at the end of the reception from eating so much! DH couldn’t decide what he wanted to eat of the 3 entrees, so BCC brought out all 3 dinners for him to eat. He tried one of everything and BCC packaged up what was left for him to take home.
After the ceremony at the Church ended, our videographer stayed a little longer to get some of the family shots at the Church, but then needed to head to BCC to get set up for the reception. Along the way, he encountered an accident on Rte 347 that had traffic at a stand still. Considering all the directions I provided my OOT guests used Rte 347 to get to and from the Church, guess where all my guests were? He called back to my photographer to warn him, who in turn told my limo driver. Needless to say, I learned that many of my guests got caught in this traffic or lost all together, so the cocktail hour looked a little bleek when I first arrived, but then people started arriving little by little.
One thing I have to give BCC huge credits for – my lost guests called BCC for help and Sammie took these phone calls to help our guests get there safely. I know he got a mouthful from my brother who was significantly pissed off at getting lost. Any man who can deal with one of my angry brother’s deserves major accolades!!!!!
Part of the planning at BCC allowed for us to change the typical beers that are served at the bar. My family is from upstate and loves Labatt and Molsen. We could choose two imported beers along with two domestic, so we went with Labatt and Heineken as the imports. They easily were able to order this beer and my family drank it up ALL night! One of my other brother’s came over to me near the end of the reception and said they ran out of beer and I freaked out! This happened at this brother’s wedding 2 years ago, so I had forewarned BCC that my family loved to drink. My brother must have been a little drunk, because people were drinking beer all night until the end, or they ran out of one of the beers, but we still had 3 other’s they could choose from.
My other brother is a vegetarian and has developed an intolerance to fish. This kinda worried me about what he would be able to eat, but BCC assured me they would cater to him and his needs – and they did exceptionally well! The waiter came over and asked if he was so and so, and he said yes, and they said they had an eggplant dish all ready for him for the main course. He was so surprised that they knew who he was in the first place, and they made sure everything was done to his liking!
At my cousin’s wedding upstate, she had done a chocolate theme for her wedding and thus had a chocolate fountain for the entire reception. I loved this idea, so I brought it to BCC – they would have to charge me about $3-4 more per person than their normal price for the chocolate fountain they could provide for an hour. We decided against the full reception, but went with the one-hour serving station instead. I couldn’t believe the swarm of people who flocked over to it as soon as it came out! Luckily, Steve brought me over a chocolate fountain of my own at the sweetheart table, so I wouldn’t have to wait in line!!! It was absolutely delicious and worth every penny, and the fruit was so sweet and ripe!!!!!
The wedding cake was to die for and I keep getting compliments on the food and the cake from our guests! I forgot the name of the bakery BCC uses, but it’s just down the road from them on Suffolk Avenue. We did a yellow cake with strawberry filling and buttercream frosting. The cake was beautiful to look at and to eat. My only disappointment comes from dancing so much I never got to eat my cake outside of the bite that DH fed me in front of everyone (but he told me it was delicious), and I NEVER got the top of my cake to take home. It’s not the end of the world, but a slight disappointment to a bride who wanted to eat it with her DH on their 1-month wedding anniversary.
Our wedding day was also the wedding anniversary for DH’s parents and the birthday’s for three of our close friends. Because of this, we wanted all 5 of them to be recognized in front of everyone. We all sang Happy Birthday to the three while they blew out a candle on a cupcake and gave a standing ovation to my IL’s who were celebrating their 34th wedding anniversary that day. I had asked BCC to provide cupcakes to each person. Those celebrating their birthday each got a cupcake, but somehow my ILs never got one, even though they blew out the candle on one.
All in all, though, I would highly recommend BCC to any bride to be!!! As every bride will tell you, things will ALWAYS go wrong on your wedding day no matter how long and hard you plan everything out. Things went wrong on my day, but I’m still satisfied beyond every extent that my wedding was every dream coming true for DH and me.
Brentwood Country Club Vendors
DH and I used every vendor that BCC provided.
Photographer
Hi-Lite Studios C+
206 Commack Rd.
Commack, NY 11725
631-499-6338
(One other office is available in Westbury, but we did not use)
Update 10-29-06: We went to the studio yesterday afternoon and I'm completely and utterly annoyed with the photographer now. I do not recommend them at all! For everything we get in the package from BCC, you still end up paying a pretty penny for everything you want with your album! We paid close to an extra $500 on top of everything we already paid! But on top of all the money issues-I had called ahead of time to forwarn Mike that my parent's were coming with us to do their parents album, but that I had planned a secret Xmas surprise for them of getting a 16x20 family portrait done for my parent's - so what does Mike and his associate do? They talk about it TWICE in front of my parent's and I ask them to discuss this part later and they don't take the hint and now the surprise is ruined for my parent's and the photographer is an IDIOT! As soon as I get my album from them, and make sure it's all done correctly, I'm through with them! I do not recommend them at all for the way they treat their customers!
As much as I love my proofs, I am slightly disappointed. In all my wedding photos, I have NO photos of my Bridesmaids/MOH walking down the aisle at the Church, I have no pictures of the GM and BM escorting each other up the aisle after Mass, and I have no photos of my wedding party, with the exception of our parent's being introduced at the reception! These were photos I specifically asked for, and thought were standard and I have none!! The rest of my photos are beautiful and I will have a hard time choosing prints for my album, but these were photos I wanted to print in excess of to give as wedding thank you gifts and now I don't have them.
Joe was our wedding photographer. He was excellent and worked with everything and everyone. He saw that my Mom is more of a lunatic than me with picture taking (can you believe it?!) and would set up the photo and let her and my other family members have a minute to take the pose and then he would ask them to stop and tell whoever was in the photo to look at him and smile. I had a list a mile long of must take photos! I think he must have gotten to at least 80% of them. The ones I can remember that he DIDN’T take are DH and I in the limo, me with each individual bridesmaid, and DH with each individual groomsmen. But he stayed extra long at BCC taking photos and I can’t wait to get those candids back from the studio! He was on the floor on his back taking pictures up of people on the dance floor. He saw me with my LIW ladies and took a picture of all of us having a shot of god knows what. I know people commented to me that he was all over the place snapping away, so I’m looking forward to see our proofs when they come in. One thing the studio warned me about was that our photographer would not have the time to get to every table and grab a group shot of everyone. However, I saw Joe doing this. I know he got to at least half of them, but unsure if he got them all! I’ll have to wait and see on the proofs.
Up to the wedding day, we dealt with Mike at the studio. He was more than willing to answer every single one of my 100 questions I had gotten from reading the boards. I was happy with all the answers he gave. My only complaint was that the studio couldn’t tell me who my photographer would be until 3 days before my wedding when Joe called to introduce himself over the phone. Not exactly what I wanted as I would have wanted to meet Joe first to review my expectations, must take list, etc b/c I didn’t want to do it on the wedding day. He kept me very calm, though, throughout the day! We only missed about 15-30 minutes of the reception to take photos outside (basically when the salad was being served to the guests) because we ended up getting to BCC late due to the traffic/accident on Rte 347. Our wedding party thanked us for not doing it as soon as we arrived because most of them had been up at 4am and had nothing in their stomachs and they were hungry, so we all enjoyed the cocktail hour.
Videographer
Memories Forever Video (grade pending on DVD) So far A
631-888-6538
We met with Sonny last night to hand in our photos for the montage and the wedding invite. He was great to work with, and offered us a FABULOUS deal for the wedding video, including an extra DVD (so now we get 4) and the unedited footage of our wedding day!!!!!!! I'm in high heaven! He said it will be 4 months from yesterday when we'll get everything, so I'm excited! I have something to look forward to AFTER my March HM! YAY! YAY! YAY!
Sonny was our main contact person for Video. We met him at the expos at BCC and spoke with him regularly on the phone. He had a great, boisterous voice, and he could always get me to laugh or giggle. He runs the company with his son, who happened to be our videographer. I believe his name was Vinny if I remember correctly. DH told me he was already set up at the Church when his limo arrived with the guys. At this point, he miked up DH, so our wedding ceremony could be caught in action and in words. And from what I was told, DH loudly pronounced his vows while I was somewhat mellower. We hope that the mike was able to pick up my recitation of the vows. I met Vinny as soon as my limo arrived at the Church as he greeted me through the window to get some shots of the girls, my parents and me getting out of the limo and standing in front of the Church. He left the Church half way through all the family photos DH and I wanted with our photographer so he’d have enough time to make it to BCC to get set up for the reception. When we arrived at BCC, we saw his camera stand and it put us in awe. During the entire reception, our videographer was able to move the camera up towards the ceiling and point down at everyone on the dance floor. He brought the camera towards the ground to get shots from the floor up as guests danced and he was always right behind Joe taking the standard shots! I saw him move around to different tables interviewing the guests. During the song “Shout” the entire room was on the floor and our videographer was spinning around the room like crazy. He went with us outside on the golf course to grab video shots out there. I can’t wait to see our DVD and I hope to purchase the unedited footage as well!
Florist
Ken and Eva’s Flower Cottage A
247 Second Avenue
Brentwood, NY 11706
631-231-1166
I met with them with my mother and father about 2-3 months before the wedding to review what I wanted. What came with the package, including all bouquets and boutonniere’s, was a CP made with various daisies. Personally, not my taste, nor would it go with my rose theme. So I upgraded the CP to a dozen roses mixed with red and ivory because I couldn’t choose between which rose color I wanted and she suggested I go with a mix. They called me the week before the wedding and then a few days before the wedding to discuss everything. Instead of making me drive all the way out to them, they agreed to allowing me to pay them for my upgrades the day of the wedding when the flowers were delivered. And due to my small wedding party, they threw in the rose petals for free for my rose petal cones for the Church and they decorated the tables where the guestbook and other wedding items were at BCC with rose petals. It all looked very beautiful and exactly what I wanted. My only problem I had was the morning of the wedding when they told me they were only delivering to me. This meant, I had the boutonniere’s at my apartment and the guys wouldn’t have them at the Church. Luckily my wedding coordinator was there and she took care of taking them to the Church and giving them to the guys. They gave us one extra corsage because they forgot to mark down that DH’s grandmother had passed away a month before, which I had reminded them of at least twice, but this fact isn’t so bad in the long scheme of things.
DJ
Xtreme Sounds (B for before wedding planning, A for day of)
50 Austin Blvd. (located at Wedding World)
Commack, NY 11725
631-888-DJMC
Xtreme Sounds DJ Web Site
Before Wedding:
When I originally signed my contract with BCC, they were under contract with a different DJ company. It wasn’t until I started a BCC thread on the ’06 board that some girls informed me that the DJ company changed. BCC forgot to mention that fact to me until I brought it up with them. So, we had never met the DJs before, nor heard of them, or their performance, and this didn’t sit well with DH and me. We asked BCC to allow us to come to one of their bridal expos to hear them due to this concern, which they allowed. The expo also gave my parent’s a chance to see the place for the first time and try all the food. We thought their performance during the expo was okay, definitely very party (wild and loud) oriented, which we appreciated! So, then we made an appointment to meet with them at their office at Wedding World. When we arrived, a couple who had the appointment 30 minutes before us showed up late at the same time we did. They were able to meet with one of the actual DJs while we had to meet with the DJ company’s sister who does the management (I assume). For the first 10 minutes of our meeting with her, she pushed us to add an MC to our wedding. This was something DH and I didn’t want and we told her that off the bat. Then she brought down the price and again we said no. So, she reviewed the paper work with us and then showed us a video of their weddings they’ve performed at (none from BCC). We left it at that and then left. Our next and last meeting with them was about a week and a half before the wedding. We provided them with all the paper work they asked us for, including our must play list and NO play list. Again, they asked if we wanted an MC and we said no. We asked who would be doing our wedding, and they still had no idea. We were in and out of the office in about 10-15 minutes.
I was disappointed in the fact that NONE of our BCC vendors could even tell us who to expect on our wedding day except the florist because Ken told me he would be delivering to my home and wanted specific driving directions from me.
Day of wedding:
Joe was our DJ on the day of the wedding. I have absolutely no complaints from my wedding day about him. One couple actually took his information after the wedding to use him at their wedding next year. After the fact, the only thing I’ve heard from guests was that it was a little too loud and a handful of our guests asked that the music be lowered because they couldn’t have a conversation with the person next to them. When he would turn the music down, it would just go back up one song later they told me. Personally, I never noticed it, because I was having so much fun on the dance floor! DH knew I would be doing a review and joked that the one song he wanted played was never played, but he doesn’t hold it against them. DH had hyped it up to his friends that they would recognize when it was played, but left it as a surprise. It was an Electric Six song from their new album that he and his buddies loved listening to and playing, but it was never played, so his buddies came over afterwards and asked what all the hype was. However, all my songs were played! One last thing I have to add is the fact that DH is in a rock n’ roll band with the Best Man (his brother) and one of the Groomsmen. When my family learned of this fact the night before (for some reason they never remembered DH talking about it at the holiday’s, but anyways…) they were begging the Best Man to perform at the wedding. The Best Man was a little shy cause he didn’t want to step on anyone’s shoes (probably mine) on our wedding day, but DH pushed my cousin’s to go to the DJ and beg for the microphone, which Joe gave them and for a few AC/DC songs and I think one Zepplin song, our Best Man sang while the music played in the foreground and we all danced. That was one of the best moment’s of the wedding reception!
Limo
Avanti Limousines B
516-357-7327
Avanti Limo Web Site
The package at BCC provided full limo service for a 12-passenger limo or 2 6-passenger limos for 3 hours each. I wish I had been reminded of this the week of the wedding, but hindsight is 20/20. One thing to keep in mind was that I was promised the limo driver’s would know their way around, and the owner promised me that every limo had a GPS system to get them around. We chose the 12-passenger to spend time with our wedding party. The limo was on time to both DH’s parent’s home and my home. When it arrived at my home, he turned the speakers on to play the “Going to the Chapel, Gonna Get Married” song, which was a dream of mine to have played since I was a little girl, but they didn’t know that! All of my neighbor’s came out to listen and watch me come outside to applaud us while I walked to the limo to get in. It was a red carpet moment and I loved it! The problem occurred after the wedding ceremony. In the middle of photos at the Church, my wedding coordinator was informed by the limo driver that we had gone over our 3-hour contract. We were supposed to be at BCC by 12:30pm to uphold the contract. We didn’t leave the Church until 12:30/12:45pm due to a late start of the ceremony, the receiving line, and then the family photos. Once we were finished, and heading out, I kept getting reminded that we owed the limo driver $150. What bride carries that amount of cash on her on the day of the wedding?? My Dad was fuming, had no idea where a local bank was since he’s not from the area, and now I was asking him (more like begging him) to find a bank and withdrawal money to pay the limo company since neither DH or I had our wallets or enough combined cash to pay the extended bill. My Mom intervened and said she would take care of it with him and not to worry. So, I stopped worrying (kind of). Then came the phone call to my photographer from the videographer who was stuck on Rte 347 due to the accident. The photographer told the limo driver who in turn came to me and asked me for directions on the best way to get to the LIE without using Rte 347. Catching me off guard, I had no idea what to tell him, so I had to go grab DH out of the limo and give the limo driver step by step instructions using Old Town Rd to CR 83 to the LIE (Exit 63). Even inside the limo, DH was telling the driver where to turn, etc and then the driver turned into the Hampton Inn instead of the LIE entrance ramp. On a positive end, the limo driver made up for lost time in the HOV lane of the LIE. For a company that promised me it would know it’s way around town with a GPS system, I was left severely disappointed and on edge. The limos themselves were beautiful, well stocked and room was plentiful for everyone to move around, the service just left a sour taste in our mouths.
Non Brentwood Country Club Vendors
Travel Agent/Wedding Coordinator
Travel Solutions A++++++++++++++++++++ for Wedding Coordinator
Leslie Daniels (+ Assistant)
516-359-1743 / 516-565-0192
Email Leslie
Words can not express my gratitude to Leslie and her assistant. They arrived at my home early before I had even gotten back from the hair salon. From the moment they stepped foot into my home, they took over and made sure I stopped worrying about everything. I was only using Leslie for the morning as my Matre-D would take over once we arrived at BCC. Her assistant took my digital camera and took candids of all of us getting ready that morning, and even brought it with her to the Church to grab photos there and of me arriving and getting ready to walk down the aisle. Leslie set up our petal cones, gave the wedding programs to the groomsmen and usher, made sure everyone had their boutonniere/corsage. She made sure I was calm and collected, as well as my Dad. She reviewed my must take list with the photographer while I dressed, answered the door when vendors and my parent’s arrived. She helped my MOH spot check my make-up. She and her assistant made sure all my girls’ dresses were clasped together correctly, jewelry was straight, applied extra hair spray to each girl, and god knows what else she helped out with while I was getting ready. She was right there with me until the moment she helped pull down my veil and I held my Dad’s arms as we both started to lose it. She closed the Church doors behind my MOH to allow my music to start and then waited a few seconds and then gave us the grand entrance I had been dreaming of. I saw her sitting in the back of the Church watching during the mass with her assistant and was there with me afterwards making sure the wedding party went with my photographer to get photos taken inside the Church while DH and I were doing the receiving line. She helped pack up everything we had at the Church and gave it to the limo driver, and her last piece of work was helping me maneuver into the limo with my train.
If any of you are in doubt as to whether you would want/need a DOC – don’t even debate it and give Leslie a call! I didn’t think I would need one, but as soon as I finished getting my hair done at the salon and saw that I was running behind, my heart began to race. I kept looking at the clock the entire morning. I kept telling my mother and MOH that my heart was racing and my mouth was going dry, and Leslie was always there with a bottle of water or a tissue. I was getting nervous and I saw my Dad was starting to cry, and that basically made me thankful that Leslie was there worrying about everything for me because I could only think of one thing – my heart was beating so fast that I had to coax myself to not fall apart. It partially worked until my music started and my Dad started to cry as he walked me down the aisle.
As you also read above, Leslie is also my travel agent for our honeymoon in 2007 to the Sandals Resort in the Bahamas. This is how I got to know her. Shellnroc (Michelle) referred me to her through an FM, so I e-mailed Leslie to get a free quote and within a few weeks, we had booked our HM with her. She offered great discounts for LIW girls, shared pictures and stories of herself and her husband in the Bahamas and all that was available to us, and she shared that she used to be a LIW bride as well a few years ago. I can’t rate my honeymoon since we haven’t gone on it, but I believe everything Leslie has shared with us and given us to read on the resort! If I could afford it, I’d giver her double what is owed!
Tuxedos
Black Tie Formal Wear & Uniforms A
43 Rt. 111
Smithtown, NY 11787 (also have a location in Patchogue)
631-361-6111
Black Tie Tuxedo Web Site
DH and I shopped around at various tuxedo shops and encountered problems along the way with each of them. Not wanting any hassle, DH asked me if I could recommend a vendor. We had spoken with Nick during a bridal expo at Windows on the Lake and gotten his business card. I had saved that with much of my wedding papers, so I pulled it out and I must have also seen their ads in paper and bridal magazines from LI because I had their ads wrapped around it. So, DH and I drove out to their Smithtown location to see what they had and what their cost was. We loved everything we saw. All guys are measured and try on the tuxes in the store before they put down their deposit, and then on the day of pick up, the guys again tried on their full tuxedo to make sure it fits and for any last minute alterations. We had 2 out of state renters and they took care of my father and brother without any hassle. They provided DH with his tuxedo for free and discounted my father’s tuxedo because we were 1 person short of 8 renters. Our wedding party stated they were the most comfortable suits they have ever worn. Our Best Man kept his on all day and night until he had to change into regular clothing to return the tuxedo because he said it was more comfortable than anything he owned, including the shoes! The reason they get an A and not an A+ is because I learned after the fact that the store lost my Dad’s tuxedo. When my Dad went into the store on the Friday before the wedding, they had shipped his tuxedo to the wrong store. So, they built a tuxedo for him using what they had in the store and he matched the rest of the guys perfectly that I never noticed. I only learned this when DH told me after we crashed in our hotel room and we were reminiscing about the wedding day.
Bridesmaid Dresses/Wedding Favors
Helen’s Private Collection Bridal Center A+
50 Austin Blvd.
Commack, NY 11725
631-543-6300
Helen's Bridal Web Site
My girls chose an Alfred Angelo halter dress. My only request was that it was in one of the red shades the designer offered. My girls agreed on claret. The dresses were ordered way ahead of the wedding due to the nature that all my BM lived out of the area/state, so I needed their dresses in by the holiday’s in 2005, so I could hand deliver each of them during our travels during that holiday season. We ordered in mid-August ’05 and they arrived in perfect condition in October ’05.
The specialists at Helen’s worked with us every second we were in the store, and my BM made record time. It was the first dress my MOH tried on, and she said that the other girls should try it on, so they did and they all fell in love with it and decided on it right then and there. I made them try on 2-3 other styles, but they all went back to the first one, so after all paper work was filled out and deposits were left, we were out of there within 30 minutes with the dresses ordered.
While the girls were trying on dresses, I looked around the store and found that they sold wedding favors. I looked at the one DH and I had been looking for and they had the best price around. We went back to them in July ’06 to order them and they were ready for pick up within 2-3 weeks of the order date.
Bridal Gown/Dress
David’s Bridal B
Source Mall
Westbury, NY
David's Bridal Web Site
I decided to start my dress shopping as soon as I got engaged because I was excited! Plus, I had seen a commercial on TV for David’s $99 dress sale. My MIL and one of my BM went with me to shop. We had no intention of buying this early in the game, but I tried on about 5-7 dresses and it was the first dress I tried on. I loved it. I tried it on 3 times that day and I didn’t want to take it off! At the same time, I bought my Swarvoski veil and our consultant convinced me to purchase the bra as well. The bra was a joke. It offered no support and added about 2-3 inches on the front of me that made the dress feel extremely tight in my chest, not to mention the fact they said my bra cup didn’t fit me and I had to have it ordered in one size larger than I am now. My dress came in, in record time. I ordered the last week in Jan ’05 and it was ready the third week in Feb. ’05. I had to go and pick the dress up and then store it in the same closet I shared with DH. He never snooped, but it made the closet a little full. I had read the reviews and spoken with girls who had used their alterations department, and I decided I would not use them for dress alterations. The only real complaint that I can state about David’s Bridal is their customer service and this was all experienced at their old location (not the Source Mall location). I made the mistake of making an appointment and going shopping on a Saturday morning. I knew they would be busy, but I didn’t expect a huge hoard of people, next to no room in the fitting rooms, and being ignored. Because I didn’t know what type of dress I wanted (I only knew what I didn’t want), the associate told me to go through their catalog of dresses and tell her which ones I liked and she would go grab them for my fitting room. Well, then she disappeared for about 15 minutes to start helping another bride to be, and we were the ones with the appointment. My MIL and BM grabbed the dresses off the rack as we went through the catalog and we carried them into my fitting room. I wanted both of them to come in and help me try on the dresses, but our associate said only one was allowed because they were too busy, so my MIL stayed behind, which I hated because I really wanted her to be part of all this since my mother couldn’t be there. Then the associate disappeared again, so my BM helped me into each dress, zipper me up and carry the back of the dress to the big window to see the dress on the grandeur scale. At the point that I had tried on 3 gowns, it was so loud in the store, and so crowded, it was growing uncomfortable for me. My BM calmed me down and said to take my time because we were doing fine without the associate. This helped and we snuck my MIL into our area to help and be part of it all. I fell in love with the first dress I tried on. It was simplistic, but yet elegant looking, it had crystal work sewn into it at the top and bottom and then was satin all around. My exact style, and I knew it was me. The dress was discounted due to the sale, and with the veil and bra, everything came to be around $600/700. David’s Bridal is a decent store to start your dress shopping experience and determine what you want and like, or what you don’t want.
Bridal Gown/Dress Alterations
Bridal Elegance/Gownfind A++++++++++
Phyllis Limmer
1870 East Jericho Turnpike
Dix Hills, NY 11743
631-462-0323
E-mail Phyllis
I had read and heard rave reviews on Phyllis for her dress alterations. Since there was no way I was going to trust David’s Bridal with my gown, I figured I would contact Phyllis. SweetCin704 (Cindy) and SummerBride06 (Carol) were kind enough to give me her contact information and their first hand accounts of using Phyllis for their dresses. I first contacted her through e-mail and she said to come in for a free estimation on my dress alterations. I brought my Mother and MIL with me in June ’06 and she was every bit amazing as I heard. She agreed with my mother’s that the bra I had was horrible, so she brought one out in my actual size that had actual structural support. I worried it was too supportive and could be seen through the dress, but no one could see anything. Phyllis said she would sew in extra cups into the bra for additional support. I didn’t think at the time I would need it, but after wearing that dress all day – thank god they were there! Next came the slip. Phyllis asked if I wanted one and I said no because I hated crinoline. She told me she had a lined one to try on to see if I liked it with the dress. I thought my dress wouldn’t need it because it already had one layer of crinoline, but this slip was the most comfortable thing I ever wore. I didn’t even feel it on me. And the nice financial fact was, by wearing it, I didn’t need any alterations done to the bottom of my dress. Her next question was my bustle. I had no clue what I wanted, what they could look like, etc. My mother’s basically made this decision since I was standing in front the mirror and Phyllis was make about 20 different bustles on me. I turned once and saw the one my mother’s kept awing at and that was a single French bustle, which is the only thing done to my dress by Phyllis. She gave me her total cost of it all and before she could ask if I liked it all, I told her to ring it all up! Plus, she has a large assortment of tiaras, so I started looking around, but didn’t see any that I liked. I explained to her what I wanted and she came back with a catalog that had exactly what I wanted, so I also ordered that through her. Phyllis held my dress for me until the day before my wedding since I lived with DH. She had it there waiting for me when I came to pick it up and wrapped it nicely since it was pouring outside. While she gathered everything of mine together, I bumped into Smiles111 who was arriving for her own dress fitting. She recognized me right away and asked if I was ewickens and I looked stunned, and my bridal party looked at me as if we were insane when they realized it was all from LIW and we were talking to each other by screenname instead of by first name! My dress fit perfectly the entire day, but I did lose a little weight between the last fitting and the wedding, so my straps at times were loose on my shoulder’s, but otherwise the dress was perfect and no one had to see my shoes, my bustle stayed in place the entire night without moving, and the dress flowed brilliantly. I can’t thank Phyllis enough for helping me out!
Wedding Shoes
Payless Shoe Store
This one is simple – I knew no one would see my wedding shoes on my wedding day, so I wanted something affordable and comfortable. I went to Payless Shoes to their wedding shoe collection and bought a pair of white, closed toe, open back shoes. They were completely comfortable all day, but I was happy to take them off by 11pm that night!
Hair
Denise Lee Salon A++
764 Route 25A
East Setauket, NY 11733
631-941-3505
Denise Lee Salon Web Site
My regular hair stylist was unavailable for my wedding day, and since I am not from LI and haven’t lived in the area for long, I didn’t know where to exactly look. My co-workers suggested a few places that I contacted, but they were either booked on my day or wouldn’t open as early as I needed them to on the day of the wedding. By May ’06, I still had no hair stylist in line for me or my 3 bridal party members. My MOH was calling me and really pushing me that this should be taken care of before the summer to have time for a trial and find other avenues if I didn’t like what I found. So, I turned to my lovely LIW ladies. I received so many recommendations from vendors. Half of them were already booked for my wedding date, and other’s I called never returned my phone call. However, CJB88 (Cortney) sent me an FM with information on Denise Lee Salon, whom she had used at her April wedding that year, not realizing they were in the Three Village area. I called Denise Lee Salon and spoke with Greg (one of the owners) on the phone and explained all the problems I had encountered trying to find a hair stylist, and he confirmed they had no weddings scheduled for my date, and we set up a hair trial for 2 weeks later. He was so polite and understanding over the phone and put me at complete ease over everything. For once, I wasn’t nervous about my hair. Lisa (owner of salon, Greg’s wife) was scheduled to do my hair trial and in about an hour, she had my hair looking exactly like what I wanted. She put together 3 different photos I had brought in to show her and created an up-do that was me in every sense; elegant, soft looking and beautiful! I booked Lisa at once for the wedding and for my three bridal party members, they brought in 2 of their associates on the day of the wedding to do my bridal party. We were all there at 6:15am on the day of the wedding! My hair looked and felt amazing all day long and it did not move one inch all day from 6am to about 11pm when DH and I crashed at our hotel. And the amazing thing – my DH took out all the bobby pins from my hair and we counted them up – she only had put about 50 pins in my hair and two/three rubber bands. My family couldn’t stop talking about how beautiful my hair was and all three of my bridesmaids had beautiful up-do’s. I HIGHLY recommend Denise Lee Salon to anyone in need of a hair stylist! If I had had enough time on my rehearsal day, I would have had them do my hair for the wedding rehearsal as well.
Hotel for OOT Guests
Holiday Inn Express – Hauppauge A
My only complaint with them was they lost my parent’s reservations for the Wednesday night before the wedding. I seem to think it was just miscommunication when the reservations were made a year ago, but it wasn’t as a big deal since my parent’s called me up and told me what happened and they came and stayed with DH and me that night. They called the hotel the following morning and their room was ready early, so they left to go check in. DH and I reserved the suite for ourselves for the night of the wedding and we loved the Jacuzzi! As soon as we got into the room, we started the water and the pumps because my feet were so sore from dancing all day! When I walked into the hotel to check in, I was in my wedding gown coming from the reception hall. The desk clerk looked up my wedding code and said I was one room short at getting our suite for the price our guest’s were paying, but said she was having a good day and gave the discount to us anyways! It was the perfect touch to an amazing day! Plus, this hotel pretty much put my entire family and friends on the same floor of the hotel, so there was one large after party on the top floor of the hotel until 12am or so. We heard from guests the following morning when we joined everyone for breakfast that the party was broken up between 11:30pm/12am due to some noise complaints as my family was drinking excessively and the party had streamed into the hallways. One of the perfect touches for the wedding day was that the hotel provided free transportation for all my wedding guests from the hotel to BCC and back. They did about 2 busloads to get my family there and back to the hotel, but they took full advantage of it by drinking all day without the worry of having to drive anywhere. DH and I used the transport to get back to the hotel and the buses were quite comfortable and roomy. Since about 80% of the wedding guests were coming in from OOT, it was nice choosing this hotel since it was located right off the LIE, so it was easily accessible for everyone and there was plenty around the area to visit.
Wedding Party Gifts
Exclusively Weddings A+
www.exclusivelyweddings.com
DH and I looked through so many wedding catalogs to figure out what to get the members of our wedding party. I had decided on the crystal lined heart shaped jewelry box for my girls, but he was still unsure what to get the guys. He went with engraved beer steins that had their name engraved on one side and Groomsmen or Best Man etched into the class on the other side. We also ordered a beautiful frame from them to give to my parent’s as a small sentimental gift. I was able to find a discount code to save 20% off a $100 or more order on LIW, so it was a good deal and they shipped everything together in about 3 weeks. Everything arrived each individually bubble wrapped and with no scratches, dents or breaks. Definitely look at their web site. They have a lot to offer for a medium-high quality and great prices!
Pindar Wine A+
Port Jefferson, NY
For our readers and those involved with the ceremony, DH and I went to Pindar in Port Jefferson. We picked out wine bottles for each person and the ladies there wrapped each one individually at no extra charge and they had great prices. All the wine disappeared during the after party at the Hotel after the wedding reception ended! It was really good!
Rehearsal Dinner
Mario’s Italian Restaurant A++++
Setauket, NY
Through the entire summer, Mario’s has been shut down for renovations and ownership changeover. This had us worried because we had a contract signed with them under the old owners and left a deposit. My MIL contacted them about a month before the wedding and they said they would uphold any contract signed before the renovations began and would keep to their price, so this all gave us a sigh of relief. They had told my MIL they would be opening the restaurant to the public in early September, but that hasn’t happened yet. When we arrived, they had set up this beautiful alcove with a long table for everyone to sit at. They provided flowers on the tables for decorations and played music throughout the nice. The food was delicious and service was exceptional. For the 20 people we had at dinner, they had about 5 servers there waiting on us with the head server. I would highly recommend this restaurant to be used for any wedding rehearsal, bridal/baby shower, or any other festivity. The ambience was perfect for our rehearsal and we could all watch the torrential downpour from inside!
And what wedding review could be complete without mentioning all the wedding projects!
Photo Cube
Photo Cube Directions
My Dad took this task on when he asked me at the holiday’s if there was anything he could help me with for the wedding being upstate. Knowing my father, he wanted to make something that would make him have to use his toys (tools) and engineer training on! I printed him out the link directions above and he brought it completed to me a few months later during a visit! It’s beautiful and still in one full piece in my living room.
OOT Bags
I put 20 of these together for our guests at the hotel and the hotel said they were all gone when we checked in the evening of our wedding. They said 19 rooms were booked at the hotel for our wedding. We included 2 bottles of water, 3 bags of various chips, handful of Hershey variety candy bars, extra directions to Church and Reception Hall, places to eat at in the area, scenic points of interest to visit, etc, plus a welcome letter from us and an invite for breakfast with the new Mr. and Mrs. the morning after the wedding. My guests said they loved it all because it was a personal touch for everyone flying into town for the wedding.
Table Cameras
BJ’s Wholesale Club
Scavenger Hunt for Table Cameras
I can take no credit for these, except the purchase! We went to BJ’s Wholesale Club and purchased the Kodak single use cameras that came 3 to a package. Overall cost was around $25-30. I just came up with the scavenger list for each table and pasted it on, but I even used ideas from SweetCin704 (Cindy) who had posted hers from her wedding! CindyandKevin (Cindy) and her mother were eager to help me finish my wedding projects! They were the creators and I was the patient, eager bride.
Wedding Hoodie
Old Navy/AC Moore/Wrap With Us
I bought the white hoodie at Old Navy, some iron on heart designs from AC Moore and a bride and just married iron on from Wrap with Us (www.wrapwithus.com). Cindy got to use her new iron and she measured the hoodie and centered all the iron on designs onto my jacket and it’s pockets and it came out perfectly! I have the just married one sitting at home to iron on a shirt to wear on our honeymoon in March!
Guest Book
Michael’s/AC Moore
I had seen pictures on LIW of girls who made their own guestbooks with the idea of a wishing bowl for messages. I decided to take the idea of buying the black scrapbook from Michael’s/AC Moore (it’s a black spiral scrapbook with an open frame on the front to show a picture). I purchased 2 metallic silver markers for our guests to sign the scrapbook. For those that know me, I love taking photographs with my digital camera. So, I wanted to do something that took this hobby of mine and I filled each page with photos of DH and I as babies, growing up with our families, us dating and us engaged. Under each photo, I used a white chalk marker to state who was in the photo, what year and any silly information that our guests would enjoy reading. I love going over it with DH and reading our guest comments and well wishes!
Tablecards/Placecards
AC Moore/Michael’s
DH and I decided to make our own tablecards/placecards for our guests. I purchased two packages of 25 placecards from AC Moore or Michael’s. We took a photo of DH and me from the beach where he proposed and put it on each table card and then used script to write the guest name(s) and their table assignment. I thought it brought a nice touch to the wedding day.
Petal Cone Holders
Michael's/AC Moore
I liked the idea of these and wanted rose petals thrown at us, so I bought card stock from Michael's/AC Moore and then used Microsoft Word and Word Art to make the image.
Honeymoon
Newport, Rhode Island
I just realized that I never told anybody about our min-HM to Newport, RI. DH and I took the ferry from Orient Point to New London, CT the day after the wedding, and the ferry ride was beautiful and calm! From CT, it was about an hour and a half drive to Newport. The weather was clear, the sun was out and we both wished we had brought more summery clothing with us! We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Newport/Middletown and we got a king room w/jacuzzi! We loved it!
DH and I relaxed the first evening we arrived and the following day, we drove into town and went to the Visitor's Center to get our mansion passes. We ended up going on the 5 mansion tour, that gives you access to 5 of the 9 mansions (if I remember correctly) and you get to choose which ones you'll visit. We went to The Elms,
Chateau-Sur-Mer, The Breakers, Marble House and the last one was RoseCliff.
The Breakers was overwhelming - this is one of the Vanderbuilt Summer Cottages (only used 6-8 weeks of the summer) and they had their dining room made out of gold, they had an open courtyard in the middle of their home to allow the children play around,
they had a music room the size of some LI homes that was used once as a wedding site for one of the Vanderbuilt daughter's, and the view was breathtaking of the Newport cliffs! I was awe-struck. The other mansions were similarily impressive, and DH actually had fun visiting all these sites (I'm more the history person). We ate at a sea-food cafe restaurant in town, but decided that night to head home early the following morning b/c I wasn't feeling well (I came down with bronchitis). I've attached some of the photos below, along with a link.
HM Photos from Newport, RI
We're going to the Sandals Resort in the Bahamas in March, so I will do a full review when I return.
Non-Professional Wedding Photos
ALL Wedding Proofs
Message edited 12/6/2006 9:32:58 AM.
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