My husband and I celebrated our wedding with 120 of our closest friends and family on December 8th, our reviews are below.
Fleur-de-lees Photography – Amanda-lee Seely, Vinny Tullo, Brian Calabrese
Teasers are all ready up (and some were even up on saturday night!), and my husband and I could not be any happier, we are so excited to see the rest of the photos. Amanda-lee is not only a professional, but she limits her clientele to provide more than her services. Amanda provides friendship, advice, tips and Kevin and I can both see remaining not only in touch with her in the future but hopefully using her for our future photography needs. Her assistant Vinny is incredibly smart and knowledgeable as well and the two of them get along great. Brian, her second shooter is truly talented and the dynamic between the three of them is awesome! Our engagement photos were also a huge hit! Amanda and Vinny were not able to explain what they wanted you to do, but they even included our 1 year old Australian Shepherd in the photos as well. Amanda, Brian, and Vinny are not afraid to keep your bridal party and groomsmen in line in order to deliver the photos that you deserve. If you book Amanda, please please strongly consider booking AJ as your videographer, see review below.
Lessing’s Weddings – Steve, Anne Marie, Camilla - Meadow edge at West Sayville Country Club
We asked for a completely gluten-free wedding. The groom has celiac disease and he's extremely sensitive, Steve stated that it was not a problem. All though the process, Steve was incredibly accommodating, and we met with the chef to finalize the menu about three weeks before the wedding. The chef made several calls on our behalf and obtained everything that we had hoped for, including delicious gluten-free ravioli's! Let me tell you, that is no easy feat! The week before the wedding, the chef wasn't able to locate gluten-free dinner rolls, and so he whipped up his own! Sometime before the ceremony, my now mother-in-law came to me and said that was an issue and I thought something was really wrong! It turns out, the broth that was usually used for the braised ribs wasn't the broth that was delivered, and there had been a mistake. They had been in a broth with a gluten base for 8 hours. It wasn't a big deal, they put a nice sign up during the cocktail hour designating that the ribs were not gluten-free and staff was directed not to bring any to my husband or I. Anne Marie, our maître d' was absolutely wonderful. She was quick to ensure that the bride, groom, and our families were comfortable and satisfied. My husband and I cannot thank Camilla enough for her attentiveness to our needs, especially all night long. Camilla would direct us regarding the next events to occur, making sure our drinks and food were taken care of, and anything that needed to be packed up was taken care of. At the end of the night, the staff packed up all of our things for us, and what we weren't able to take that night, we picked up the next day.
The Sweet Peace – Allison Shapiro
My husband has celiac disease, and finding a gluten-free wedding cake was no easy feat. By chance, we found The Sweet Peace in Lynbrook. Allison Shapiro is wonderful, she met with my now mother-in-law and I. We requested a custom cake flavor that was gluten-free. Allison showed us an in house recipe that was similar and it was fantastic. Between meeting her for the original consult, we (Bride, Groom, Mother of Groom, Father of Groom) returned for an official tasting of our custom cake, and several gluten-free and non-gluten free products throughout the year and will continue to do so. Allison pulled off a nut-free version (her entire facility is nut free!) of Hummingbird cake with a delicious butter cream exterior with the lyrics of our wedding song in a very slightly darker tint, and bordering that matched our wedding colors. My mother-in-law and father-in-law received endless compliments regarding the wedding cake, and none of our guests believed that it was gluten-free! Allison also understands the dynamic regarding celiac disease, diabetes, and several other medical conditions related to food and she is incredibly open to trying new things!
Sayville Flowers – Christine
There is nothing bad to say about Christine at Sayville Flowers. Christine listened to our likes, dislikes, and our must haves. She suggested what was available and would be in GOOD shape, and what was available but would either be okay, so so , or not a good option for December. When we saw our centerpiece mock up two weeks before the wedding, we were awestruck; there was nothing we wanted changed. Her floral design was more than we had expected, all of the bouquets, boutonnieres and corsages were in amazing shape. Two days later, the flowers are "just" now starting to wilt in the centerpieces (and the only ones wilting are the hydrangeas which notoriously don't last long when cut, the other flowers in the centerpieces look just as they did upon delivery), the bridesmaid bouquets that weren’t' taken are on our dining room table around one of the two center pieces we kept and they are still in almost perfect condition. Our chuppah was amazing and we wish we could have kept it up all night!
Tommy’s Tunes - Glen
Glen was a great DJ, he followed our Do not play list, our must have list and repeated songs that we had requested but missed due to photos, freshening up, and mingling with guests. At one point, I felt the music was a little too loud and told my husband who requested it be lowered a little bit, Glen did so without batting an eye, and the volume never crept up! Glen did play the conga which I could have sworn we asked them not to, but in hindsight, it wasn't a big deal. I excused myself and mingled with some of our guests and my husband did so as well. Over all, we'd recommend them without hesitation.
AJ Ingoglia Films – AJ
My now mother-in-law and I met AJ about 9 months before the wedding on the recommendation of Amanda, our photographer mentioned above, and it was pure luck that our wedding date was still open. AJ makes you feel comfortable, and he isn't pushy about which package you need to choose and allows you to change your mind if you decide you need more than you thought you wanted. AJ, Amanda, Vinny, and Brian work together in a way that you wouldn't even realize they are two separate vendors. They respect each other's art work, style, and shots, and don't get in each other's way. My now-husband was out of state at the time of our meeting and didn't meet AJ until the morning of our wedding, they hit it off quickly. Our family said that AJ, Amanda, Brian, and Vinny were great, and they were respectful about making sure they got the shots and film that they needed to get in order to deliver what we asked/and paid for.
Bridal Suite of Bayshore – Maggie Sottero’s Geneva
I ordered my bridal gown and my future mother in law ordered her dress as well. I had requested that when the dress arrive, that I receive a phone call and be permitted to come in and see it. I received no phone call, and when I followed up and was told it would be in, I was not permitted to see the dress before the fittings began. When Superstorm Sandy hit, I sent an email asking if everything was all right with the dresses, and when my fittings could be rescheduled. I received no response, we ended up having to drive to the store where they gave me an attitude about everything being perfectly fine (they were not answering their telephone, and it was working when we got there). A simple phone call to your customers letting them know that the dresses are fine would have been nice, and the attitudes could have been toned down. My future mother in law's dress needed to be taken in 2 full sizes. She had not lost weight at all. My bridal gown, the bust was huge and I am by no means small in the bust area. The waist was tight and it appears that the dress was not cut properly or my waist was not measured properly as I had not gained any weight. I wore the same bra to my second fitting as to my first, and the seamstress kept saying she needed to add straps to my strapless dress and giving me a huge attitude and she must have said 20 times, don't you want straps, you will be more comfortable. If I had wanted straps, I would have ordered a different dress. Finally, my future mother in law asked the seamstress what was wrong and the seamstress said that I needed a different bra. That issue was solved in 5 minutes by going to Blums, which she could have told me at the first fitting, and could have avoided over an hour of time being wasted telling me to add straps and that there was nothing she could do. My future mother in law had an issue at the second appointment with the dress still being too long. The seamstress accused her of wearing different shoes and undergarments. She was wearing the exact same undergarments and shoes as her first appointment as well. Overall, I would not recommend purchasing from them or having alterations done by them. We felt like we were given a whole lot of attitude. I would highly recommend Angel's Bridal in Islip, I wish that we had found them before I ordered my dress from Bridal Suite of Bayshore. My future sister in law found her dress there recently, and they have been amazing and so accommodating. The quality of the dresses was wonderful, hence the good for quality. The actual alterations once finally completed were decent.
Angel’s Bridal - Vicki
I purchased my veil at Angel's, I wish we had found them before I had ordered my dress at Bridal Suite of Bayshore. It was a sample that was in perfect condition, never worn, but it was too late for that particular manufacturer to ship a new one. They offered a discount, cleaned it and off we went. Since then, my sister-in-law ordered her wedding dress, and we are waiting for it to arrive! The staff, and their seamstress Rose Alba are wonderful, Rose Alba did alterations on a bridesmaid dress for a wedding that I was in a few months ago and the alterations were amazing.
The Royal Piper – Al
My in-laws and I spent 8 months telling my husband that bagpipes were too expensive and we hadn't found any that were affordable. Al was instructed to call our home and say that he was Al from X hospital where my in-laws work and consult, in the event my husband was to answer the phone. Al kept all communication discreet, and he was extremely helpful with picking the perfect processional and recessional pieces for our ceremony. He arrived at the venue in jeans and a nice dress shirt, acting very non-chalant. My mother-in-law saw him and at first thought he was just a potential new customer taking a look at the place, she introduced herself, and escorted him to a place where he could change into his dress kilt. When Al started to play, my husband's mouth dropped open and he signed thank you to his mom and dad. He couldn't believe that the entire bridal party, his family, and his now wife kept a secret for 8 months!
Piper's Cove
Piper's Cove in Kearny, NJ is amazing, the groomsmen, ring bearer, groom and father of the groom wore dress kilts. Every kilt was in perfect condition, all jackets were clean. I can't remember the name of the woman who measured my husband a few months before the wedding but she gave us some amazing advice about marriage and told us about her dear husband who has since passed. We were only there a half hour or so, but it felt like we had known her for months. We strongly recommend them to anyone planning an Irish or Scottish wedding.
The little Shop of Shamrocks - Linda
Linda at The little Shop of Shamrocks in Islip is your go to for all things Irish! We purchased bridal party gifts, our servers, toasting flutes, unity candle holders and so much more. She special ordered so many items for us, including my wedding band from Shanore in Ireland. We will be repeat customers for as long as Linda is in business. She does bridal registries, and although most of our guests opted to use our Macy's registry, we will treasure the few items we did received and those that we will pick up ourselves to decorate our future home.
Sir Oliver Limousines
Not a single complaint. The drivers were incredibly professional and went above and beyond. They even helped the groom's parents to pack the gifts, and some other items into the party bus on the way back to their home and to drop the bridal party off at the hotel. Our driver took us separately to our hotel, and carried all of bags up to our room, up 3 flights of stairs as the elevators were still down from Superstorm Sandy. They were all on time, didn't rush us, and were very polite, the driver's that I had in the morning with my bridesmaids and then at the end of the night with my husband followed applicable traffic laws. We've heard that the party bus was a blast!
Cathy Giordano
Cathy did hair and make up for the bride, bridesmaids, and mother of the groom. My husband's reaction at first look was priceless, and it's something I will never forget. I don't wear make up every day, usually just mascara and chapstick. My make up lasted all night long, and I received so many compliments. My hair was even better than my trial run! All of the bridesmaids, and mother of the groom seemed happy! If you are interested, please private message me and I would be happy to put you in touch!
Pastor Halpin
Pastor Halpin and his wife are close friends of the family, Pastor Halpin is located at the North Shore Christian Church in Riverhead, and he was so honored when we asked him to officiate our ceremony on site in West Sayville. Despite a bout of bronchitis and being unable to reamin for our reception, he made our ceremony so very special for us.
Married 12/08/2012
Fur parents of Vega '11 & Emme '08
TTC since 06/2011
DH dx with celiac disease '03
02/2013 GI/Urologist beginning testing.
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