Hi Everyone,
I just had my wedding on may 27 and while everything is still fresh in my mind, i wanted to write a review on all my vendors that I used. First of all, the day was amazing. It turned out perfect. The weather was awesome, and i was definately beaming with a smile on my face all day. So without further delay...here we go....
Venue- Atlantis Marine World A+++
When we chose this venue, i was really sceptical about how things would look and turn out. I am very very picky, and i really wanted everything perfect and being as i had been to the aquarium only a few times, i wasnt sure how i was really going to pull off a wedding here. Funny enough, prior to booking, I chose to do butterflies as my theme. When we sat down with the wedding coordinator, he laughed and said, "You arent going to believe this but we have a butterfly exhibit next door." At that point I was sold. I had been working with Tracey and Craig to plan my wedding. Both EXCEPTIONAL at what they do. It had never been so easy. One or 2 meetings and I was all set. The day of was amazing. Our ceremony was on the Pavillion outside. It was beautiful. The backdrop was amazing. Birds were chirping, the sun was out...Amazing. My Bridal attendant Kim was an angel. She made sure we were fed throughout the cocktail hour when we were taking some pictures and we always had food and drinks throughout the night. She even sewed my bustle 3 times when people were stepping on my dress. Mal, the Maitre D also was so great. He helped us set up exactly how i had envisioned it. We got so many compliments. Many people were just floored by how beautiful the place looked all done up.
I can't say enough about this place seriously. If you are looking for a unique venue, that isnt your cookie cutter venue, Atlantis is for you. The price was also a lot less then we originally anticipated. Also, our guests have been raving about everything they ate, from cocktail hour all the way to the cake and chocolate fondue. Everyone is still talking about this. I am still getting calls every day and probably will for some time about how awesome the event was and the food.
Dress- Fantasia Bridal- Rocky Point = I have had the pleasure of working with Fantasia for my dress and my Bridal party gowns. Their staff is professional and so nice. Sophia and Alicia are wonderful. Although there were several issues with a few girls in my original bridal party dropping out and changing things on me etc. the staff rectified any issues and everything worked out perfect. Their seamstress hand made on of my girls dresses and you couldnt even tell it did not come from the manufacturer. My Maggie Sottero gown was beautiful. The only think i am kicking myself over is not tightening the top enough on the wedding day because it was a little loose in the boobs. Not their fault though. I lost a bit of weight right before the wedding from the stress.
Flowers by Burton- A++++++++++++++++++ This place was AMAZING.....I seriously thought in the beginning that this was one vendor that i was going to have to worry about just based on some things i read online. Well worry not...because they far exceeded my expectations. People were fighting over out centerpieces at the end of the night. They were HUGE!! The biggest i had seen at any other wedding. I did an upgrade for 35 dollars a centerpiece but it was worth every penny i paid. Flowers wound up costing me just under 3K for 15 tables/2 standing arrangements/and all the wedding party bouquets and others. They are still alive and as beautiful as the day of the wedding. They did a terrific job. John was a wonderful designer and i HIGHLY Recommend them for your events.
Tony's Tuxedos Miller Place = Although they were great to deal with prior to our event...my FIL picked up my ring bearers suit without checking the entire thing...He was missing pants. :-( So the morning of the wedding, my ring bearer had no pants, it was a sunday and Tonys was closed.
My ring bearer wound up being really sick that morning anyway and could not be a part of the wedding ...so it was okay...but I urge everyone to Check everything. Had it been me, i would have, but you know men....they assume just about everything. So, it worked out for us...but for others, it might be a disaster so be careful to check everything. Other then that, i would say the tuxs were ok quality. When i returned them the other day, i noticed that the shoelaces were kind of ratty looking and the shoes werent the best quality but no one even noticed anyway. But for a Calvin Klein...i expected a bit better quality.
Cakes by Patty- (through venue) - People have said it was one of the best they have ever eaten. THe one bite i got of it was really awesome. We did a chocolate/vanilla cake with raspberry filling. The cake itself was beautiful but due to the heat and weight of the top, the bottom layer fell a little but it wasnt really noticable anyway. It matched everything so perfectly too. I am thinking about eating my top layer before it goes bad because i really want it now...not in a year when its no good. LOL.
Long Island Sound DJ - Although we were supposed to have 2 different people do our event, the MC and DJ we had kept the party going all night long.People commented on how much fun the dancing and how great the music was. We happen to like a lot of dance music and some hip hop. But they also played a little something for everyone...but it was all popular music that kept people dancing. I thought the MC was great with our intros....he was also good because he wasnt corny....we were definately out there dancing our butts off all night and it was nice not having the MC cut in every 2 minutes with something to say.
The one speaker in the collisium room didnt work though, so it was hard to hear anything going on...Some people missed the speeches and others the cake cutting, but overall everything was great.
Party Up Productions- Event Decor- For a few extra hundred bucks, we bought some light up Highboy tables and a nice light up bar. We didnt get the same bar however that we thought, but it was much bigger then the one we thought we were going to get so they threw in some extras i guess...Not a big deal. It did look pretty awesome anyway...and people liked having some place to sit and watch us dance. Really made the place look like a club. They were really easy to work with also.
Hair- Tina @ Hollywood Salon- Tina is AMAZING with hair and she loves doing wedding hair. My Hair was just flawless. I got so many compliments. It stayed in all night too. She traveled to the hotel to make things easier on me. Her prices were reasonable too. She did a great job on everyone elses hair as well. No one wanted to take their hair out. It was just so beautiful. My hair is so super long.. but it looked great how she did it. And she had a great eye for what worked well with each girl.
Dollface- Stacey Peterson- My Makeup was amazing as well. Also got so many compliments. It held up really well dispite the heat. I had airbrush done and my skin was flawless. Stacey is one of the nicest people you will meet too. Her and i had a great time with the trial, my bachelorette party and wedding makeup. Highly recommend both her and Tina for makeup and Hair.
Well, i think that covers most if not all i wanted to write about. if you have any questions, let me know. :-)
Good luck ladies...many congrats to all of you!