diva7531
I love my Husband
Member since 12/06 10297 total posts
Wedding Date:
10/5/2007 6:00 PM
Wed. Location:
Smithtown Landing A+++++++++++++++
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My AMAZING IRISH Wedding!! Smithtown Landing, Park Ave Studio, In the Mood, Mia from b ridallounge, John from Ballroom Dance LI, Dynasty Limos, my DIY and MORE!!!! MANY PICS, Including HM pics!!!!!!!!
LIW-A+
Thank you Ron and Liz for creating such a wonderful site. When DH and I started planning in DEC of ’06 we wanted a destination wedding. Not one fiber of my being wanted a “typical wedding”! But because of this site I learned a lot, part of which was to embrace the wedding and make it mine.
Piece of advice, do it your way! Many people will give you many ideas. It is your wedding and should be the way you want it. I had many family and friends say “You’re doing what?!?!” But in the end it all came together exactly how I wanted it!!! And they loved it!
The Wardrobe!
Dress: David’s Bridal- B
David's Bridal
I went to the new store in Lake Grove with one of my BM’s on a whim, we were told we HAVE to make an appt. So we did for the next day. We went back and I had pics for the girl helping me, she picked a bunch of dresses and we got started. I tried on THE dress that night. I searched and searched, because I thought “It can’t be that easy.” But it was, I stressed about buying a dress from David’s but in the end, I LOVE my dress. It came in within a month from ordering it, I went and picked it up. Made sure it was the right dress and size and took it home. I had to return the dress for a different size and the fact that there was a hole in the organza layer on the train! My fault, I didn’t check. So word to the wise, check every inch of the dress before you sign the form that says you checked the dress! When I brought it back I did not mention the hole, only the size and they took it back no problem. I again had my new dress within the month.
Alterations- Bridal Elegance, Phyllis A
The David’s in Nassau County got such bad reviews for alterations that I worried about using the new store. Because of the beading on my dress and the organza layer I wanted to know how and how much they would charge if I needed a hem or any alterations for that matter. The woman at David’s was no help, so I went to the woman with the best reviews on LIW! She is who actually found the hole in my dress, I had to return it. She was very patient, but very to the point. She has her rules, but they are what make her business flow. She gets very busy, so make your appointments as early as possible. Even though there were 5 people behind me waiting, she took her time, while I decided on a bustle and whether or not I wanted sleeves. She was so good with our FG’s (6 and 3, they didn’t need any alterations, just a press) In the end my dress was perfect, it fit me like a glove. The only reason she didn’t get an A+ was because there was something wrong with my bustle. No wonder she comes so highly recommended!
Jewelry-All over!
My first set came from a kiosk at Tri-County, $40 for earrings, necklace and bracelet. I knew I wanted yellow gold, rhinestones and pearls. I also thought I wanted simple, so as not to compete with my dress. I was wrong. I then thought I wanted a fabulous bracelet and chandelier earrings, no necklace. I found the perfect earrings at Estelle’s in Famingdale, for $20! So I went to a kiosk at the SmithHaven mall found and ordered a five strand pearl bracelet that matched the earrings. Well, after 3 months of waiting, they finally tell me it was discontinued! I found a three strand with a different center and got that one. Weeks later I was in the mall so I browsed and found a necklace that matched the bracelet, but since I didn’t want a necklace, I didn’t get it. Well after my first fitting, I changed my mind (my neck looked naked!) and bought the necklace. But at my second fitting we realized the earrings I had bought, no longer matched the necklace and bracelet, so we bought teardrop pearls at Bridal Elegance.
Rings-A
E-ring, Dh picked out all by himself, he got the setting at The Karat Shop. The bands (all 3!) were purchased from Kay Jewelers. DH and I went looking for plain ol' bands. When we saw celtic knot bnds we knew we wanted matching bands. We found the perfect ones at Kay. But I still wanted a diamond band to wear with my e-ring. I wasn't supposed to get it till my 1 yr anniversary, but during the ceremony DH surprised me with my beautiful diamond band.
Veil -A
www.weddingaccents.com
I liked the veil I tried on in David’s, but thought it was too expensive for a 1 tier. In my travels looking for the perfect dress, I came across the perfect veil. I looked for it online, because I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on something I was not sure yet if I would wear the whole night! I found it on wedding accents.com for even less expensive than the discount bridal store! I ordered the veil, no problem. When I opened it though, it was a 1 tier instead of 2. So I worked with customer service to get it corrected. And they were so polite and helpful, I couldn’t believe it! I highly recommend using this site, you will have no worries. My new veil was in my hands in 2 ½ weeks! And I love it!
Bridesmaid’s dresses: David’s Bridal- A
We picked them, ordered them they came in, never a problem. We even returned one for a different size, again no problem. As far as alterations go, I let each girl make their own decision. My MOH (my sis) is in CT and everyone else is very spread out on the island.
Flower Girl dresses, David’s Bridal A+ and Tri County Vendor A+
We found DD’s dress at David’s, I wanted something that mimicked my dress, but there wasn’t anything like it, so when I found one that looked like the BM dress, I knew it was perfect. Since we bought the dress 9 months in advance, the girl at the store helped me pick the right size. And she was right, my daughter needed no alterations. The dress fit her perfectly. We bought this dress off the rack and took it home. But I couldn’t find the perfect dress for our 3 year old FG at David’s. I went to Tri-County to look at veils, but ended up finding the perfect dress. It was peeking out from behind another dress. It was the store that sells christening and communion dresses. I waited for a woman to get out of my way, grabbed the dress and knew it was perfect. It even had embroidery on the sash that was similar to the embroidery on the other FG dress.
Tux’s- Men’s Wearhouse A+
Men's Wearhouse
Fairly easy, we went in, picked a tux from a catalogue (as of 10/07 they do not have tuxes in the store for you to try on) and set up an account. The boys went in got measured. Done! When DH went to pick up his tux, he tried it on and the jacket didn’t fit, they fixed it no problem! Also my dad’s tux needed pressing, and again they fixed it no problem.
Embroidery- Embroid Me, Smithtown A+
Embroid Me
I bought a hoodie and pants for me and DD. I had them embroidered at EmbroidMe in Smithtown. I love the way they came out. I also brought in some ribbon and had our names and wedding date with a horseshoe as a label for my dress. They were a pleasure to work with.
The Details!
RB pillow and FG baskets- Suzekate, ebay vendor A+++
suzekate
For some reason this was a hard choice for me. I looked and never found anything that jumped at me. I had heard of suzekate on LIW so I thought I would check her out. I found a purple pillow that was nice, but I never got that “I gotta have it feeling.” Then I was browsing one day and found an ivory lace over satin with gold ribbon and knew I had found “The One”! Suze is great to work with, she is pleasant and patient. I didn’t want a bow on my pillow and just a sash, for the FG baskets, I was looking for square, she made them for me. I love my baskets and pillows!
Boxes for favors, Bayley’s Boxes A+
Bayley's Boxes
They have the cutest boxes here, but I wanted something specific for my favors. I ordered samples and they came very quickly. Loved the boxes when we got them so we ordered 200 of them! Our order was on our doorstep within a week! I am definitely bookmarking them for the future!
Groomsmen gifts A+
Discount Mugs
We worked with customer service on this one because FH wanted it inscribed on 2 sides. They gave him exactly what he wanted. And they came out so nice, I almost ordered oversized wine glasses for the girls, but they had too much stuff already!
Bridesmaid’s gifts
DOJ - JC Penny’s A
I found a nice simple white gold and rhinestone set I thought my girls would like AND be able to wear again. I also got it on sale, so that was a nice bonus!
samfish
At the last minute I decided to buy the girls totes. I just had their initial embroidered on them. They cam out fabulous! And they were a way for me to wrap their gifts!
(As of yet no pics of the totes
Garters-A+ KKL Forever
KKL Garters
 
The Vendors!
Florist-MnF Florist, East Islip A
M n F Florist
I went to MnF because CP’s came with my package, so I figured I would see what they could do with what I had in mind with my bo-k’s. Barbara worked with me within my budget and gave me some advice as to what colors went well with the flowers I wanted. She was very honest and I was very happy!
I also upgraded my CP’s from what they offered. I didn’t want anything crazy. I LOVE flowers, but they die. So I got something I thought would be simply elegant and fit my theme. The flowers came out amazing, loved all the bo-k’s especially mine! And the CP’s were beautiful too!
Dynasty Limo’s A+
Dyansty Limo
We didn’t originally want limo’s but because we wanted pictures at a beach location before the golf course, we figured it would be easier than a caravan of cars back and forth. (Also we have some drinkers, so I thought it would be safer! ?) We were looking at SUV’s because we have about 25 people with mothers, fathers, brothers and the BP. Something kept us from booking and I am sooooo happy that we waited. I started seeing these limbusines and thought with our over 6’ friends, FMIL’s bad knee, my dad’s bad back, who wants to walk bent over or duck walk?!?!? So we started our search, and we found Dynasty. They came recommended highly from this site. The bus was amazing, came right on time. They kept the bus air conditioned while we took pics. We also booked a shuttle van at the end of the night for pick up service back to the hotel. This was priceless, we had a few extra guests who needed rides so the driver drove back and forth from the RH to the bar and the bar to the hotel. We also got a limo for HM PU/DO service. They came on time again and on the way home we got in 3 hours early and they were still able to accommodate. I will definitely be using them again.
Create-a-cake A-
Create-a-Cake
Our hall provides the cake for our reception, so we went there to get our cake. Now as a novice cake decorator myself, I knew what I wanted and didn’t want. I wanted simple elegance. I looked at many cakes but what I wanted was not what I could afford! So I picked the next best thing, a simple ivory butter cream icing cake with champagne accents. We also added our monogram since it was everywhere else! I went to a friend’s wedding 3 years ago and still remember loving her cake, so I requested it in the tasting. And sure enough 3 years later I still love black forest cherry! But FH does not like many cake fillings, so we had another with chocolate cake with chocolate pudding filling and whipped cream icing. Ellen was great to work with. The cake turned out almost perfect. They created the box for my monogram, but never actually put the monogram in it. It was OK I guess, we just turned the cake around.
I also ordered a groom’s cake thru them for the RD, it was perfect! I wanted a Yankee theme cake. So I ordered a sheet cake with the Yankee logo and pin stripes……The surprise was the inside! It was orange colored cake with Mets blue icing! DH was surprised and wouldn’t eat the cake, only the icing. So I shoved it up his nose!
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Hair and Make-up, Mia From B ridallounge A+
Mia @ B ridalLounge
Mia is a true professional! I loved working with her. All my girls, moms, kids and myself came out beautiful! Worth every penny. She was a delight to have with me the morning of the wedding. Her assistants were very sweet and worked so well with a 6 year old, 3 year old and some very picky moms!
Dance Lessons- Ballroom Dance LI, John A++++++
John from Ballroom Dance Li
John was another of my best decisions. My MIL bought DH lessons as a Christmas gift. We decided to keep the lessons a secret. Between making the appt and our first lesson, I attended a party. At the party my Aunt had a dance teacher there to teach swing dance. She tried to give me his card at the end of the night, but I scoffed at her and said “Dance lesson, me? No Thank You!” Well, imagine the look on her face when DH and I had this perfect first dance! And John even popped in for half an hour to say hello and see our first dance! He is an amazing teacher and a great person all around. DH and I will be continuing our lessons in the future!
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pro-pics
Mulvihill Irish Dancers A++++
Mulvihill Irish Dancers
I knew I wanted the Irish Dancers but wasn’t sure they would fit into the budget. Well, after reading Camerakrazy’s review, I knew I had to have them! Never made a better decision in my life!!!! Everyone was on their feet and some one their chairs watching the dancing. Very powerful when the music starts and they start dancing. They were amazing and so professional.
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DJ- In the Mood A+++
In The Mood DJ
This was another house vendor from Smithtown Landing. We also know the owner and one of the DJ’s, so it was a pretty easy choice. I let DH book and handle everything, until it came down to music. I like every type of music, but wanted a certain type for CH. I spoke with Harry, my DJ and he let me make a CD and voila, CH music of my choice! Many of the guests commented on how much they liked the music at the CH! Harry sat with me and listened to all my questions regarding music. Even though I had a lot of ideas, I wanted his professional opinion. On the DO Harry (DJ) and Dennis (MC) were amazing. Their attention to detail is amazing!!!!!!! Harry started our reception entrance song at the exact right moment! The dance floor was never empty!
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Park Avenue Studio A+++
Park Ave Studio
I found Park Ave in the vendor list. Turns out they are also a house vendor for Landing. They were one of many photographers that we met with. I met with the usual suspects and some non-vendors but liked Park Ave the best. Brian, the owner, was patient with us while we went thru all of the packages. In the end I liked his personality and knew he was someone I would enjoy working with in the future. He let me go thru books of the photographers and pick whose style I really liked. We chose Joe. FH and I originally wanted to use him for our e-pics, but with FH working nights we couldn’t get an appointment with him. Brian did our shoot and we couldn’t be happier! They came out amazing, he even suggested for us to bring our DD. She had a lovely time and Brian made her laugh!
My DH surprised me with a Photojournalistic photog as a wedding gift! (He is awesome!!) So my main photographer was Joe, great! My Photojournalist was Kathy, so funny and totally listened to what I asked her to shoot, even did some semi-boudoir shots! Our video guy was Paul, I am looking forward to seeing the video!
Smithtown Landing Country Club A+++++++++++
Smithtown Landing
I loved my hall since I moved to Smithtown in 1987. It was where I went swimming in the summer, learned to play golf and would sneak thru the woods to swing off a vine and jump into the river! DH grew up around the corner from the CC and some of the same experiences. Also my best friend got married there 3 years ago and her wedding was fabulous! When we were looking for a hall it was one of the first places I looked. It was the perfect place for us. From the moment I booked I knew I had made the right decision. They took detailed notes, answered every question. They were patient with me whenever I called. I had a lot of little details and since they noted each one, it made it so much easier for the staff on the day of! . We had the ceremony on the Riverview Room Deck and it was beautiful, everyone commented how gorgeous the view was from the deck. A bunch of us decorated the night before at the rehearsal. We used tulle and lights underneath. Not too much, not too little. For us it was perfect! And we used the same room for CH so the lights were perfect as it turned into night! I only got to eat 2 pigs in a blanket, (my fault, I was offered food but was too busy saying Hello to everyone!) but am told the food was amazing, especially the Paella!!! I was told “It was off the hook!” We packed the hall to within 10 people of the max capacity! Everyone was still comfortable though. My Maitre D’ was Rosie, she was just amazing. She was there for all my needs. My bridal attendant was amazing and for the life of me I cannot remember her name! She was always there when I needed something, like bustling my dress. When the Irish dancers showed up, Rosie came right over and told me. She knew it was a secret to everyone, including DH so se waited until I was alone. The food was amazing and the service impeccable! The bartender remembered my drink after one order. The staff there is amazing. Anyone having a wedding from 50-220 persons, this hall is definitely worth checking out
DIY!
I refuse to grade myself, but would love to share! I knew there were certain things I wanted to make for the wedding, but LIW helped me with ideas and boundless information.
Invites: Ordered pocket folds from www.cardsandpockets.com I had ordered different shapes and size pockets. FH and I decided on the 6X6. I used card stock from Stampin’ Up along with ivory paper from staples. I ordered ribbon from favorsmart on Ebay. I printed everything myself on my Epson inkjet. This was one of my first DIY’s and I am very proud of my invites. I received many phone calls, emails and notes on how much our guests likes our invitations!
Favors: Coasters- I had made these once at a friends GTG. I had fun making them and showed FH and we decided that we would use these as our favors. I stuck with the original design I had come up with, just added our names and wedding date to the bottom of the coaster. How to: Really simple, 4X4 unglazed tile, stamp, spray with a matte clear coat, cork feet and voila; a coaster!
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Petal Cones: Printed, rolled and glued in place. I used the flower with purple rhinestone for an added touch and punch of color.
Programs: Once I saw a stacked program I knew I wanted one, so it would match the stacked look of the information cards in my invites. Again, cardstock from Stampin’ Up and ivory paper from Staples. I purchased eyelets from Michaels and punched them together so it would be secure. The ribbon I also got from favormart on Ebay.
Scrapbook Page Frames for BM’s I sent my girls a questionnaire, full of silly questions: fav color, scent, drink, snack, flower, shoe size. It was a nice way for the girls to get to know one another as we all “replied all” So I used the things the girls liked and got them scrapbook paper that fit each girls personality. I scanned and printed pics of all of us thru the years. And made my pages and included a poem about friendship for each one. Then I put them in a frame.
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Bo-K and Lapel charms: FH and FSIL lost their dad almost 25 years ago, so when I saw Bo-K charms, I knew this something I wanted to do for them. And when I changed the flowers for the moms to nosegays I made one for FMIL too. DD insisted I make one for her too! Swarovski bracelet kit and beads, I just threaded everything together.
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pro pics
RD favor: CD’s of music from the wedding. Since most of the guests would be close friends and family we thought this would be a cute idea. And I already had printable CD’s in the house! Once we finalized all the songs from the ceremony to the last dance, we made the CD’s. I found a CD favor kit at Michael’s that had some of our colors in it! I put the CD’s in these envelopes, printed our monogram on the tag and done!
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My Personlaized Shoes!
Glue, Crystals, voila!
Kid’s Table CP: Even though the kiddies weren’t sitting at their own table, I wanted them to have a craft table to keep them occupied during down times. DH and I stopped byt the hall one day, I don’t remember why and saw that a bride had dropped her stuff off for upcoming wedding. In one of the boxes was a lollipop topiary. I knew right then, I wanted to make one! Clay pot, dowel, round foam ball, square foam, satin material (leftover from photo cube) case of lollipops from Costco and some gold spray paint (left over from table numbers) My advice here is to cut the lollipop sticks in half and make sure your pot has something heavy in the bottom. That sucker stood but was very top heavy! I made specialty chocolate lollipop’s for each child and out them on the top.
Photocube: Another great idea from LIW! I sat on this idea for a while, because I thought I wanted a trunk of some sort. When I didn’t find anything that bowled me over, I went for the photo idea. I got the base and frames at Michael’s on sale, the lasy susan parts from Home depot and satin fabric and edging from JoAnn’s. I spent months going thru old photo’s of DH and I till I found the perfect ones. I purchased 4 mats from Michael’s and made collages on opposite sides and 8X10 e-pics on the other 2. This was one of my favorite projects
Aisle Runner: One day while perusing thru some images online, I came across a colored aisle runner, I thought what a great idea! So I looked into it, but thought it would be too much money, so I tried to dye a regular one. Well, that didn’t work so I convinced DH that I needed a purple aisle runner, he conceded. I immediately ordered it before he could change his mind. I printed our monogram, made a homemade light box and got started. I traced it in white watercolor pencil and painted it in fabric paint. I love, love, love the way it came out. I am very happy that my mind wouldn’t let go of this idea. I plan to make it into a throw blanket for our home after the wedding!
Chocolate favors: I had this chocolate mold that is mini candy bars that say thank you. And since the “real” favors were on per Family/couple/single I thought something on each plate would be appropriate. I printed up labels. Searched for gold food grade foil and made these bad boys. I am content with the way they came out.
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Table numbers and memorial frames: I bought frames at the dollar store and sprayed them gold. I printed up our table names (we named them after counties in Ireland) and inserted them, pretty easy.
Same for the memorial frames. When I was going thru pics, I decided to add this to the memorial candles.
The Honeymoon!
DH and I knew we wanted to do a cruise and we knew we wanted to go to the carribbean. We did a TON of online research and found Royal Carribbean’s Adventure of the Seas. Somewhere laong the way we decided to go to Aruba for a few days afterward.
Travel Agent: Liberty Travel, Commack-Irene A
We looked all over online for almost a month, then we went to Liberty Travel in Commack, this is where we met Irene. She was able to get us a better price and an upgrade on our cruise. She helped us choose our hotel in Aruba. I would highly recommend her services to anyone.
Royal Carribbean, Adventure of the Seas A+
DH and I love to cruise, so this was an easy choice, it was also an easy choice for 81 other honeymooning couples. That’s right we were 1 of 82 honeymooners! This cruise is amazing. We went to Barbados, Antigua, St. Lucia, St. Maarten and St. Thomas. All the islands were beautiful, but DH and I would love to go back to St. John’s in St. Thomas. We went to Trunk Bay and in my opinion, one of the world’s most beautiful beaches. The cruise had amazing food and service. We lived at the Adult pool and ate at Portofino’s more than once. Dh and I would definitely do this cruise again!
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Occidental Grand Aruba A-
The only reason this resort gets an A- is because of the 2 of the 4 restaurants that DH and I went to the food was just OK. We really liked the buffet, but only went there for lunch and breakfast. We loved the Royal Club. The Royal Club is for VIP guests and this was an upgrade that DH insisted on. I was so glad he did. We were treated like royalty and the food in the Royal Club was amazing. Some guests made a comment about how the menu never changed, but this pleased me because I got to have their lobster bisque more than once! We spent many an hour at the pool with swim up bar and when we wanted a change of pace we could walk 20 paces to the beach. Aruba is a beautiful island. DH and I are entertaining the idea of getting a timeshare there ?
Pro Photographer in Aruba, Robert Arenz A+
Robert Arenz
After I read Roxanne’s (camerakrazie) review I knew I wanted to get our photos done on our HM. So I looked up some photographers and picked Robert. We emailed back and forth, worked out some details and bang, I had hired a photographer. I decided to keep it from DH until after the wedding. I wanted it to be a gift as well as a surprise. Robert suggested some beautiful areas to take pics. He even picked us up at our hotel and drove us there. Then 2 days later he met us in the lobby of our hotel and we went over the photos. He gave us a CD with the hi-res pics and we were done. He was such a pleasure to work with. If your HMing in Aruba you should consider looking him up!
So tht's it in a nutshell! And in case you haven't gotten enough pics there are more in my Album
Message edited 3/18/2008 7:50:42 AM.
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your grooms cake!!! Congratulations!! 
