smjack's JANUARY 4TH 2008 REVIEW: Tribeca Rooftop, Audrey's, Peter Doyle, Pricsilla of Boston..........now with TONS OF PICS!!!

First off, congrats to all the other 2008 brides (those married already and those coming up!), and of course to all the past brides from last year and years before....and good luck to the 2009-10 brides- your year will be here before you know it!!

So I am not a huge poster here on LIW, but I know how helpful these reviews can be for brides-to-be. So I hope you all enjoy it and please FM me if you have any other questions about my vendors or anything else- I would be happy to help! So hear goes the review of the best day of my life!!

Some of the pictures below are no-pro...but most are take by the fabulous Peter Doyle!

WEATHER
We couldn’t have gotten a better day for the first weekend in January. It was sunny and brisk, but not too cold. Everyone traveled safe and dry and we were able to take some pictures outside without freezing our buns off!




RECEPTION HALL- Tribeca Rooftop
I could not have dreamed of a better place to have my wedding! I never would have thought I would have a city wedding. I always thought it would be on the beach or a vineyard, or at least on Long Island! But as we were looking for a place, nothing really caught my eye. Most of the reception halls on the Island are beautiful, but not really my taste. I am not into the ornate, ballroom like setting. Its just my taste- nothing against it. When I saw Tribeca Rooftop, I knew it was the place. It was simple and had almost a blank palette that I could design with flowers and other details. It was perfect! And of course theres the amazing views, and not to mention the food, which is out of this world! They are part of Lovin Oven Caterers, which also owns Lands End, Flowerfields, and Audrey’s. Prior to the wedding, I worked with Tracey who was great and in the few weeks leading up to the wedding and the day of, we worked with Oleg, the event coordinator who was great as well. The service was impeccable and the food was amazing. My only complaint was that they didn’t have the bridal suite area ready for me when I got there. Granted I was a bit early, but not that early. I wanted to catch some pictures outside before it was completely dark so we got there about 25 minutes early. We also had to pay extra for the bridal suite since it is actual a photo studio leased by a photographer who rents it out for brides who want to. So back to the food- we had so much to choose from, it was so hard to decide on our final choices. The cocktail hour was amazing, there was passed hor-doerves, a martini bar, a raw bar, sushi bar, and a cold anti-pasta bar. We missed most of it unfortunately (due to DH’s refusal to see me before the ceremony!) but they gave us our own little personal one in the bridal suite before we ran out to take a few pictures. We ended up choosing a roasted pear salad, and a choice of two entrees- a filet mignon and Chilean sea bass. Both were delicious and people are still talking about yummy it was. Me and DH actually did get to eat it too! For desert it was the wedding cake (delicious, more below) served with vanilla ice cream in a godiva chocolate cup. And on the tables there were assorted gourmet chocolates and chocolate covered strawberries.






CAKE- Audreys/Lovin Oven Floral
Audreys is part of the company who owns Tribeca Rooftop, so I had no choice on the baker…but given a choice, I would have choosen them anyway!! The cake was beyond delicious and it was exactly what I asked for (design wise). Keyth from Lovin Oven handled the flowers on our cake. I told him what I wanted- and he worked with Audrey’s to make it happen! We can’t wait to eat the rest of it next January!!






FLOWERS- Lovin Oven Floral
What can I say about Keyth? He was amazing, as was Caroline. There were absolutely no problems during the planning stages or day of. Everything came out perfect- the pictures can speak for themselves. We used candelabras wrapped with flowers for the ceremony which came out very dramatic and lovely. Our centerpieces consisted of a tall vase in the middle with flowering branches with clusters of flowers around them. Each table had the branches and 3 additional vases (all different sizes) with bunches of 8 different types of flowers. No two tables had the same exact arrangement. Keyth balanced my colors perfectly and everything looked great. I highly recommend them whether you are looking for low or high, simple or dramatic. You can tell that Keyth truly loves what he does!



RINGS- Malakov Jewelers
My engagement ring and wedding band both came from Diva Diamonds (aka Malakov Jewelers). They are located in the Diamond district in NYC. It’s a family owned business- we worked with the son. He was beyond friendly and extremely helpful. Both of my rings were custom made by them. It took about a month for each one from the time of the order. We had no problems whatsoever.




JEWLERY RESTORATION: Restore Great Grandmothers Ring- Mayfair Jewelers
Another family owned business….located in Commack. Very friendly and helpful. They did an amazing job on my Great Grandmothers ring. I wish I had a before picture, because you could not even see the stones, or what color the metal on the band was. The entire ring was completely black. I cried when I opened the box and saw it sparkling like a brand new ring! They also Engraved both our wedding bands.



DRESS- Priscilla of Boston
Everyone at Priscilla of Boston was very nice and helpful every-time I was there. The seamstress who worked on my dress was amazing! I bought a sample dress at a sample sale – which I recommend to anyone---you can sometimes find a sample that has hardly been tried on or never been tried on at all! I saved about 80% on my dress and it looked brand new. I was a little worried about it in the beginning- I am tiny (5’1) and as many of you know, sample dresses usually come in size 8 and 10s. the dress was falling off of me when I tried it on, but nether the less, I fell in love with the design and details of it. They assured me that they would be able to fit to me, so I went for it! In the end, the dress fit me perfectly and was comfortable all night. My only complaint was that it was a little tight on top- but I did ask them to make it tight as I was worried about it falling down.








TUXES- Mens Warehouse
Personally, not a fan of Mens Warehouse- but I understand completely why guys don’t want to buy their tuxes or suits or whatever- DH took care of all the groomsmen stuff- but there was no problems- he looked great and all the groomsmen’s tuxes fit great

Message edited 3/23/2008 11:47:07 AM.

Re: smjack's JANUARY 4TH 2008 REVIEW: Tribeca Rooftop, Audrey's, Peter Doyle, Pricsilla of Boston..........TONS OF PICS!!!

BRIDES MAID DRESSES- Jcrew, Macy’s Bridal, Nordstrom
I chose a color for my bridesmaids and told them to get whatever dress they wanted. My personal opinion, is that you will never be able to find one dress that will look great on all of your bridesmaids, or one that they will all be comfortable in. I was more concerned with them being comfortable in what they were wearing. I knew that my Bms all had different taste so I just trusted them. My sister (matron of honor) got hers a Macy’s bridal in Jersey. I do not recommend anyone go there. You can get all the dresses they carry at normal boutiques at half the headache! To make a long story short, my sisters dress didn’t come in until about 3 weeks before the wedding after we had been promised it would be in by October 1st…that’s over 2 months later then they told us it would be in. And to top it off, every time my sister called to check in on it, they gave her serious attitude! My maid of honor and one of my bridesmaids got theirs at Jcrew online- no problems there….I highly recommend them- their dresses are super high quality and your girls would defiantly be able to wear them again. (they are not very “bridesmaidy”). Another one of the Bridesmaids got her dress at a bridal salon in vegas- no problems that I know about. And the last got hers from Nordstrom- no problems there either. For those of you who are considering letting the girls choose their own dresses- do it! It makes for much happier Bms and if your worried about the colors being slightly off- don’t. Trust me, the last thing your guests are thinking about is whether or not your BM’s dresses all match perfectly!



MOM’S DRESS- The Wedding Center
I have read some bad things about the Wedding Center- but I guess you really gotta go there to believe it! I won’t speak for every employee who works there, but there is a select few that are just down right nasty. I was there a few times, once for me (which wasn’t so bad, despite the fact that they convinced me to put money down on dress I didn’t like), once for BM dresses, and once for my Mom….don’t even ask why I kept going back!! The girl I worked with in the BM dept was very nice but a few of the women up on the main floor just don’t have great interaction skills (to say the least). Anyways, despite losing the money I put down on a horrendous dress, my Mom found a great dress to wear. She brought it to her typical seamstress to have altered and it turned out beautifully. If you can avoid this place, please do…..



HAIR/MAKEUP- Francine & Christy at Razing Hair, Patchogue
I was beyond happy with how my hair and makeup turned out. It was exactly what I wanted- and I didn’t even know what I wanted! I had a vague idea, and when I went in for my trial, I showed her a few pictures, and she did her thing and it came out amazing. It came out even better on the day of my wedding. Considering I had my hair and makeup done at 12, and my wedding was not until 7, it held up amazingly well. A few touchups with the lip gloss, and it was good as new. My hair stayed in place right down to the last minute of the party. After the trial, I didn’t think that I would be using the hair brooch I got- but I am so happy I brought it with me afterall, because I did wind up using it, and I would have been upset if I didn’t have it. So my word of advice……bring everything with you-even if you don’t think you want it…..you never know, and it doesn’t hurt to have there just in case!

HAIR CLIPS- Beadiful Things from Etsy
Etsy is a website where people sell all handmade goods. I saw a pearl and swarski crystal hair pin that I liked posted by this seller and I emailed her because it was not the size I was looking for. She custom made the hair pin for me and even made 4 little pins to go with it. Everything came in a very timely manner and it is all extremely high quality. I also bought a pair of pearl earrings from her, which I had planned to wear, but they wound up being to big, so they have become my everyday earrings. Ann was very sweet and always responded to me right away.




EARINGS- Macy’s
No complaints here- got a great deal right after Christmas with a coupon!



SHOES- Jcrew
I had originally purchased a pair of shoes from Zappos for over 400$. I loved them – and I am a shoe lover. They were, however a bit high and they were also pointy in the toes. I am usually pretty comfortable in shoes like that, but I was adamant about changing my shoes at my wedding. I know a lot of people do, but I just felt like I wouldn’t feel “dressed up” or like a princess anymore if I did that. So I found a pair of shoes on Jcrew which were under 100$. My feet did not hurt until I took them off in our room. They had an ankle strap and were comfortable the whole night, dancing and walking. I didn’t have to dye them- they came in ivory.



PHOTOGRAPHY- Peter Doyle
I can’t say enough great things about Peter. He did an amazing job capturing our day. He’s very laid back and stress free. He was very patient with me and my guests, and we got our pictures back in less then a month. His prices are reasonable and he doesn’t push you to get an album or any extras from him. He also does this thing on a black background-its kind of like a photobooth, but no booth. Anyway the pictures from there came out amazing! Some people may think its prom like and cheesy, but we were extremely happy that we did it! Again- the pictures speak for themselves….


















LIMOS- New York Style Limos
We got a great deal for 2 limos from them. The driver got me in on time, so what more could I ask! The limo was clean and fully stocked.

CEREMONY MUSIC-Musicians from Juliard
We decided to have a classical guitarist for the ceremony. We got in touch with him through Juliard. When DH spoke to him, he suggested we have an Obo player as well, so we did. We had the bridesmaids walk in to Spinning plates by Radiohead, and I walked in to She’s Got a Way by Billy Joel. They were amazing and the music sound beautiful! Everyone commented on how beautiful is was. We walked back down the aisle to Signed Sealed Delivered by Stevie Wonder. Again it sounded awesome with the guitar and obo. The two musicians were also very professional and nice. FM me if you want more information about them. I can’t recommend them enough!

COCKTAIL HOUR & RECEPTION MUSIC-EJ the DJ
No complaints here either, they played a perfect mix of music and didn’t play things we asked them not to play. They did mess up a little on the songs for the bridal party entrance, but whatever, not really a big deal. The dance floor was hopping all night and that’s what mattered.
<img src="http://lh6.google.com/sdoret/R-RzycRwWlI/AAAAAAAAAzE/WPYYy4JB8ww/471.jpg

INVITATIONS/THANK YOU CARDS
I designed all the printed matter for the wedding my-self, including the invitations. I used the same printer I use through work to print them for me. It took me months to decide on a final design, and in fact my invites didn’t go out till 6 weeks before the wedding-from what I hear, the absolute latest that you should send them out! Everything was smooth with the printer- they sent me proofs and had everything printed really quickly as soon as I got the final design to them. I wanted to line my envelopes so they even printed paper with the same color as I was using on the invites and cut and pre-folded them for me. It was still a pain to line the envelopes, but it would have been a lot worse if I had to cut and fold them as well. I had a lot of people telling me, including DH not to worry about the invites because people just throw them out….I’m sure a lot of you have heard or are hearing the same thing as well….personally, I don’t feel that way…I think it’s the little details that make a difference, but of course everyone has their own opinions. In the end I am glad I stuck to my guns and had the invitations done the way I wanted to. I didn’t really price out any custom invites or those ones you order online, but I’m pretty sure my cost was comparable, if not better then those. I also had the thank you cards printed at the same time to save some cost. I knew I didn’t want to do the traditional picture thankyou- and we could always throw in a wallet size print if we wanted. I wanted them to match the invitations and the rest of the printed matter. I don’t have a pro photo of them, but below is a picture I just shot at our house, not so great but you can get the idea of them.






PLACE CARDS/FAVOR TAGS/MENUS/WELCOME GIFTS
I designed all three of these things as well. I also printed them at home on our printer. We used ivory card stock from staples and they came out pretty good. The worst part was cutting all the little tags apart. The paper was too thick, so I really had to do one sheet at a time. I used a rectangular hole punch from staples to make the hole for the ribbon to go through for the favor tags. We had originally bought some of those pre-made place cards, but we could find just plain ones anywhere….they all had that embossed border on them. I decided to make these myself as well, by just cutting them out and scoring and folding. Doing the seating and arrangements and making the place cards was not as bad as I thought it would be.

FAVORS- Costco/American center for Cancer research/JKM Ribbons/Nashville Wraps
I wanted to give a donation to the American cancer research society but I also wanted to give my guests a little something to take home. I got these boxes from www.NashvilleWraps (online) for about 15$ for 200 boxes. I also go the ribbon from JKMRibbons.com at a great price as well. We got some individually wrapped chocolates at Costco and put them in the box with a few pieces of tissue paper. I then designed, cut, and tied tags to the boxes explaining the donation. Not including the donation, the boxes wound up costing under 1$/box.





Ok, thats it! I hope you all enjoy the pics and the review. And I hope its helpful to all those busy brides-to-be planning out there!

Message edited 3/23/2008 11:45:28 AM.

Re: smjack's JANUARY 4TH 2008 REVIEW: Tribeca Rooftop, Audrey's, Peter Doyle, Pricsilla of Boston..........TONS OF PICS!!!

Great written review! Can't wait to see pics!!!

Re: smjack's JANUARY 4TH 2008 REVIEW: Tribeca Rooftop, Audrey's, Peter Doyle, Pricsilla of Boston..........TONS OF PICS!!!

WOW everything looked amazing!!! Great review

Re: smjack's JANUARY 4TH 2008 REVIEW: Tribeca Rooftop, Audrey's, Peter Doyle, Pricsilla of Boston..........now with TONS OF PICS!!!

Great review! Your RH looked amazing!

Re: smjack's JANUARY 4TH 2008 REVIEW: Tribeca Rooftop, Audrey's, Peter Doyle, Pricsilla of Boston..........now with TONS OF PICS!!!

WOW! Stunning! Everything looked absolutely gorgeous. Congratulations!!!!

Re: smjack's JANUARY 4TH 2008 REVIEW: Tribeca Rooftop, Audrey's, Peter Doyle, Pricsilla of Boston..........now with TONS OF PICS!!!

Amazing! I love your DIYs and your whole look! Beautiful!

Re: smjack's JANUARY 4TH 2008 REVIEW: Tribeca Rooftop, Audrey's, Peter Doyle, Pricsilla of Boston..........now with TONS OF PICS!!!

everything looks absolutely amazing!

Re: smjack's JANUARY 4TH 2008 REVIEW: Tribeca Rooftop, Audrey's, Peter Doyle, Pricsilla of Boston..........now with TONS OF PICS!!!

Wow beautiful, everything looks so nice. I'm so glad to hear someone else has the same mentality about invitations as I do. Everyone, even my Mom was telling me the same line "People just throw them out" but personally I never have thrown out any inviations and moreso I distinctly remember the invitations from all my family members that got married that we received from the time I was like 10. So I agree on the invitations making the first statement about your wedding, and yours were beyond beautiful! Congratulations!

Message edited 3/23/2008 12:29:35 PM.

Re: smjack's JANUARY 4TH 2008 REVIEW: Tribeca Rooftop, Audrey's, Peter Doyle, Pricsilla of Boston..........now with TONS OF PICS!!!

Awesome review! Everything looked so amazing! You looked beautiful!

Re: smjack's JANUARY 4TH 2008 REVIEW: Tribeca Rooftop, Audrey's, Peter Doyle, Pricsilla of Boston..........now with TONS OF PICS!!!

everything looked great! thanks for the revie

Re: smjack's JANUARY 4TH 2008 REVIEW: Tribeca Rooftop, Audrey's, Peter Doyle, Pricsilla of Boston..........now with TONS OF PICS!!!

You looked beautiful. Your weddiing looed spectacular. Thanks for sharing!

Re: smjack's JANUARY 4TH 2008 REVIEW: Tribeca Rooftop, Audrey's, Peter Doyle, Pricsilla of Boston..........now with TONS OF PICS!!!

you and all of your details looked beautiful. Congrats

Re: smjack's JANUARY 4TH 2008 REVIEW: Tribeca Rooftop, Audrey's, Peter Doyle, Pricsilla of Boston..........now with TONS OF PICS!!!

Everything looks amazing!! Congratulations!Thanks for putting up the review and sharing your day with us!

Re: smjack's JANUARY 4TH 2008 REVIEW: Tribeca Rooftop, Audrey's, Peter Doyle, Pricsilla of Boston..........now with TONS OF PICS!!!

everything looks spectacular!!! what a beautiful wedding! congrats

Re: smjack's JANUARY 4TH 2008 REVIEW: Tribeca Rooftop, Audrey's, Peter Doyle, Pricsilla of Boston..........now with TONS OF PICS!!!

Everything looked stunning! Congrats to you and your DH!

Re: smjack's JANUARY 4TH 2008 REVIEW: Tribeca Rooftop, Audrey's, Peter Doyle, Pricsilla of Boston..........now with TONS OF PICS!!!

Your wedding looked amazing congrats.

Re: smjack's JANUARY 4TH 2008 REVIEW: Tribeca Rooftop, Audrey's, Peter Doyle, Pricsilla of Boston..........now with TONS OF PICS!!!

everything is gorgeous! I love NYC weddings

Re: smjack's JANUARY 4TH 2008 REVIEW: Tribeca Rooftop, Audrey's, Peter Doyle, Pricsilla of Boston..........now with TONS OF PICS!!!

CONGRATS!!!! you looked BEAUTIFUL and everything was perfect!

Re: smjack's JANUARY 4TH 2008 REVIEW: Tribeca Rooftop, Audrey's, Peter Doyle, Pricsilla of Boston..........now with TONS OF PICS!!!

great review congrats

Re: smjack's JANUARY 4TH 2008 REVIEW: Tribeca Rooftop, Audrey's, Peter Doyle, Pricsilla of Boston..........now with TONS OF PICS!!!

your wedding looks so modern and beautiful
congratulations

Re: smjack's JANUARY 4TH 2008 REVIEW: Tribeca Rooftop, Audrey's, Peter Doyle, Pricsilla of Boston..........now with TONS OF PICS!!!

OMG everything is beautiful what a beautiful wedding...you look stunning!!!!!!!!!!! Congratulations!

Re: smjack's JANUARY 4TH 2008 REVIEW: Tribeca Rooftop, Audrey's, Peter Doyle, Pricsilla of Boston..........now with TONS OF PICS!!!

that's a beautiful wedding. congratulations!

Re: smjack's JANUARY 4TH 2008 REVIEW: Tribeca Rooftop, Audrey's, Peter Doyle, Pricsilla of Boston..........now with TONS OF PICS!!!

GREAT Review!!!!! Thanks so much for sharing...congrats to you and your 'husband'

Re: smjack's JANUARY 4TH 2008 REVIEW: Tribeca Rooftop, Audrey's, Peter Doyle, Pricsilla of Boston..........now with TONS OF PICS!!!

Great review! Congratulations!