my 5/25/08 wedding review - stonebridge country club, golden moments, verbena, hair by diana, transtar, funtime, bridal elegance & more

i am so insanely happy about how incredible our wedding day turned out. i am still on a high because of how amazing almost every one of our vendors was and what a nearly perfect day it was.

LIWEDDINGS - i would have lost my mind without this site and you girls.

AGIFTFULHEART.COM, SAVE THE DATES - A+
they looked even better in person than they did in the proof they sent. they were great quality too. we were very happy with them, and they were easy to work with and were happy to make changes. they even called me and told me the colors i wanted might not work, and made suggestions which i appreciated.


EXCLUSIVELYWEDDINGS.COM, INVITATIONS- A+
they have a large selection, did a great job, and we were so happy w them we went back to their site ordered our GM gifts from them too.


MARY PIAZZA, DANCE INSTRUCTOR - A+
we took swing lessons for a few weeks last year with mary, and then we had a private lesson with her for our first dance. she is wonderful, and easy to learn from. and FUN! :)

BRIDAL ELEGANCE - A+
i had a wonderful experience with bridal elegance. phyllis is a very talented taylor, her prices are great, and she always called me as soon as my dress, veil, and girls' dresses came in. she warned me that my girls should come in to get measured earlier than they did, but she got their dresses in with plenty of time to be altered and she did a fantastic job. my mom's dress was beautiful, phyllis added some beadwork to it and it came out perfect. and beth, one of the salesgirls, is so sweet and always remembered me and chatted with me, which made me feel good.



MENS WAREHOUSE TUX - B
our first experience was NOT a good one...we went to the carle place location and we waited for over an hour and the guy was SO slow inputting our information, and they were closing and didn't want to measure anyone. we asked them to at least measure my dad since he's blind and might have a difficult time getting back there another day...and they acted put out by it. DH went to the source mall location to get measure and while he had to wait b/c it was very busy, the guy at that store was great and totally knew what he was doing. i have to say though, the guys looked GREAT...and i loved what we chose. they did have nice stuff.


BARRONS, TRI COUNTY - B+
the prices were great, the hair comb i got was just what i wanted...but whoever i dealt with wasn't the most helpful person i dealt with in this process.


MOTHER NATURE - A+
it was one of the nicest days of the year...our guests kept telling us how lucky we were. and since the CM and CH were outdoors, everyone enjoyed everything even more since it was so nice out.

HAIR BY DIANA - A+++
i found diana here on LIW somewhat last minute, since my former stylist had given me the runaround for a few months. as soon as i spoke with her i knew she was awesome...and i REALLY liked her prices. i went for a trial and she did exactly what i asked for, but i didn't like it. lol...so poor diana, she did a 2nd trial for free and again did exactly what i asked for but i still didn't like it. day of, i showed her a picture of what i wanted and what do you know...it came out perfect!! i just wish i had brought her a picture from the beginning b/c i obviously can't describe hair. lol...but she was really sweet about the 2nd trial. my girls and my mom found pictures online of what they wanted and she got theirs all perfectly too. and the entire morning she was so sweet, fun, full of life...it was a pleasure to have her there and to tell you the truth, she calmed my nerves a little bit. and PS - my hair doesn't like to hold curls...and i was still curly the next morning. she is awesome.



STONEBRIDGE COUNTRY CLUB - A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
before i get into the review, i have to mention the phone calls we and our families have received from guests who compliment us on choosing stonebridge for our wedding. i have never in my life heard such a rave about food and service...y MIL keeps saying she wants to come on LIW and write a review for stonebridge herself...and she is NOT easily impressed. so anyway, we were originally booked at a different hall for a year and a half, and 3 months before our wedding...well let's just say the other hall fell through. ANYway...as you can imagine we were FREAKING out...until we found out stonebridge cc was available. as soon as we drove up we knew; the golf course is such a beautiful setting and the building is so pretty. the bridal suite is insane...a full bedroom, huge bathroom, living room area w 3 couches, a dining room, a mini-fridge...and there is a SEPARATE suite for the groomsmen. our bridal party were so happy to have so much room, and the guys were glad they had their own room to hang out it while we all got ready. the grounds were BEAUTIFUL for pictures. the outdoor ceremony was soooo pretty, cocktail hour was outside and there was soooo much delicious food. we had SO much food up in the bridal suite too. our BM and maitre'd JENN was AMAZING. from the minute we met her until the end of the wedding night, she was always totally available, always on top of everything, had us completely organized, and made everything run so smoothly. and our bridal attendant DESIREE was so sweet, SO helpful, SOOOO attentive. everyone loved them. they were a HUGE part in making our night as incredible as it was. the reception room is awesome, and we had access to the huge bar in the restaraunt area all night, which is located just outside the reception room. plus people were able to step outside at any time. and dinner...was OUT OF THIS WORLD. my FIL told me his friend called and told him the steak he had at our wedding was better than any steak he's had out at expensive restaurants in NYC. and he wasn't kidding, we had the steak and it was beyond delicious. i can't wait to go back for dinner some time. we had 2 different people call us and tell us they HATE weddings and dread going to them, and were dreading ours...and that they had a GREAT TIME! so many people told us they will recommend stonebridge to anyone who is looking in the future. we feel so lucky that we found them at such short notice and they ended up being the best place we could have had it at. i can't say enough great things about them.







THE LOBBY:

PICTURES OF THE BRIDAL SUITE:






THE OTHER BRIDAL SUITE FOR THE GUYS:




MACAYLA MICHAELS DESSERTS, CAKE - A+++
omg with that cake. this was the house bakery, and i'm so glad they are...b/c not only was our cake beautiful, but it was SOOOOO DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! he did exactly what i asked for, and i loved it!


GOLDEN MOMENTS PHOTOGRAPHY - A++++++
dan saviano is beyond talented and has an awesome personality. as soon as we sat down with him over a year ago, we knew we wanted to book him. we were blown away by his work and we really liked his personality. he's a photojournalist and what we really loved about him is that he's got a great eye for artistic shots, but that's not all he does...he gets ALL of the shots you want like family portrait shots and stuff. he was so fun to work with the day of, he made us feel relaxed and comfortable, and he was so non-intrusive...we didn't even notice he was there half the time. and we LOOOOVE our proofs, i couldn't be happier w them. i dropped off the proofs today and i can't WAIT for our album. not to mention, when i dropped off the pics i hung out with dan and pat for over an hour just talking...they are great guys, SO nice to work with. i'm so happy we chose him and have these beautiful memories to look back on forever.



















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GOLDEN MOMENTS VIDEOGRAPHY - A++++++
pat is amazing. from the first 30 seconds of viewing his sample video we both knew we were going to book him. pat was great to work with, he is so sweet and down to earth. and like dan, we hardly noticed pat was there at the reception. UPDATE...we got our video and oh...my...god...i can't believe how incredible it is. our families are so impressed and my SIL said pat should direct music videos b/c he is so good. he got such amazing shots, every once in a while during the video my BIL said "oh my god, this is crazy!" and it's like pat knows us, he made it so...US. he captured everything so perfectly, it's better than i thought it ever could be. pat just has that eye for beauty in his filming and editing. i am so glad we chose golden moments for our photos and video...i couldn't be happier with the beautifully captured memories we have to look back on.

VERBENA DESIGNS, FLORIST - A+++
wow. i can't say enough about jenn at verbena. she is amazing and so reasonable w her pricing. i told her what i wanted and she made it look better than i thought it could. our tulip boks were so pretty, the ceremony arrangements were amazing, and the CPs were incredible. people were fighting over taking them home after the wedding. lol...and she was so nice to deal with. i loved that she only does one wedding a day so you know you are her only focus for that day. unfortunately i only have one shot of a CP and it's not a very good one...hopefully someone took pics and will send me one. until then, at least you can see the ceremony arrangements and our boks...



FUNTIME ENTERTAINMENT DJ - A+++
it was great working with these guys from the beginning. we met with john, the owner, and jimmy, our DJ, and it was obvious they love what they do. they were so enthusiastic without being pushy. they have an incredible system, and they have an insane amount of songs. i was looking for some obscure music for the ceremony, and john managed to get it all for me. jimmy was SO much fun at the wedding. we had a sinatra singer, and in addition to him, jimmy sang too!! our guests loved him, he is a really talented singer, DJ and MC all in one. he had everyone dancing and having a great time on the dance floor. Since they were not an LIW vendor i was a LITTLE worried since i didn't have any reviews to go by but i can't tell you how happy we were w them. they were awesome, i would recommend them to anyone, if you want contact info feel free to FM me.










ERNIE CONTRI, WEDDING SINGER - A+++
omg we have gotten SO many compliments on our sinatra singer. DH loves sinatra and this guy sang at my brothers wedding and blew everyone away so we knew we had to have him. one of my guests said they were surprised b/c everyone, young and old, was fixated on ernie while he sang. we have heard from multiple guests that they thought he was lip syncing at first until he'd make a comment in between lyrics and they realized it was really him. he was phenominal, and a friend of the family said he wished his daughter's wedding wasn't coming up so soon, b/c they would have flown ernie to new hampshire and had him perform. he was a HUGE hit. he is not an LIW vendor, so if you're interested FM me for his contact information.


TRANSTAR EXECUTIVE LIMO - A+++
i dealt with jenn (fellow 08er luvmyalfonse) and she gave us a great deal on shuttles for our guests to get to and from our reception from the hotel. the vans were clean, the drivers were friendly and on time.

COURTYARD MARRIOT LAKE RONKONKOMA - B+
they were nice to deal with, gave our guests a reasonable rate, and the rooms were nice. and for a fee, they allowed us to keep the bar open (cash bar) until 2am, and it was nice to be able to continue the party for a bit after the wedding was over. and breakfast was really yummy.

DONNA KUROT @ TRAVEL SMART, HM ARRANGEMENTS - A++++
donna sat with me and reviewed the rooms, the resorts, helped us decide what was best for us, and helped get us the best deals possible for the room and the flights. she's so sweet and helpful.

SANDALS ST LUCIA REGENCY, HM - A+++++++++++++++++++
omg best place ever. we got upgraded b/c our travel agent neighbor called and demanded they upgrade us to the best room they had. we had an amazing time. we relaxed, had a massage, played golf, hung out in the main pools, in our private pool, on the beach, drank...a LOT...we really enjoyed the food, we made SO many friends. we just had a blast. we would totally go back to a sandals resort in the future.






















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so there it is! any questions, feel free to FM me...hope this has been helpful to brides to be and good luck to you all with your wedding planning. and remember, when you're stressing about money or any part of the process...it's all worth it in the end when you can look back and know that you had the time of your life and you have the rest of your life to look back on it.

good luck!!

Message edited 8/25/2008 11:48:15 AM.

Re: my 5/25/08 wedding review - stonebridge country club, golden moments, verbena & more

You looked pretty in pink! Gorgeous wedding and great review! Thank you.

Re: my 5/25/08 wedding review - stonebridge country club, golden moments, verbena & more

Beautiful!!I love your colors!!

Re: my 5/25/08 wedding review - stonebridge country club, golden moments, verbena & more

Great review!!!! You looked beautiful Congrats!!!!!!

Re: my 5/25/08 wedding review - stonebridge country club, golden moments, verbena & more

great review

Re: my 5/25/08 wedding review - stonebridge country club, golden moments, verbena & more

Great review!!
I am sorry to hear about your trouble with the ceremony!! But glad that it all worked out in the end!

Re: my 5/25/08 wedding review - stonebridge country club, golden moments, verbena & more

That was a really nice review!! Thanks for sharing!
You looked beautiful

Re: my 5/25/08 wedding review - stonebridge country club, golden moments, verbena & more

Jeanette you looked beautiful. I'm glad it all work out and you had a wonderful time. It good to know all your vendors wasn't LIW. It really do helps us brides.

Re: my 5/25/08 wedding review - stonebridge country club, golden moments, verbena & more

thanks for the review...everything looked great

Re: my 5/25/08 wedding review - stonebridge country club, golden moments, verbena & more

Great review. Thanks so much for sharing. Congrats

Re: my 5/25/08 wedding review - stonebridge country club, golden moments, verbena & more

Everything looked great! Congrats! thanks for the review

Re: my 5/25/08 wedding review - stonebridge country club, golden moments, verbena & more

Great review!! You looked gorgeous!! Congrats!!

Re: my 5/25/08 wedding review - stonebridge country club, golden moments, verbena & more

great review!!! congratulations!!!! your day looks beautiful!

Re: my 5/25/08 wedding review - stonebridge country club, golden moments, verbena & more

Your wedding was so nice Jeannette!! Congrats Thanks for the review

Re: my 5/25/08 wedding review - stonebridge country club, golden moments, verbena & more

Date twin you had a beautiful wedding and a great review!!! Congratulations!!

Re: my 5/25/08 wedding review - stonebridge country club, golden moments, verbena & more

your wedding (and you) looked amazing! congrats!

Re: my 5/25/08 wedding review - stonebridge country club, golden moments, verbena & more

beautiful and great review......

Re: my 5/25/08 wedding review - stonebridge country club, golden moments, verbena & more

You looked so gorgeous! I'm dying for one of those private pools on our honeymoon.

Re: my 5/25/08 wedding review - stonebridge country club, golden moments, verbena, hair by diana, transtar, funtime, bridal elegance & more

love the shad eof pink, looks like you had a great time.congrats!

Re: my 5/25/08 wedding review - stonebridge country club, golden moments, verbena, hair by diana, transtar, funtime, bridal elegance & more

wow! what a beautiful wedding. you looked AMAZING! everything looked absolutely perfect - congratulations!

Re: my 5/25/08 wedding review - stonebridge country club, golden moments, verbena, hair by diana, transtar, funtime, bridal elegance & more

thanks so much girls!

Re: my 5/25/08 wedding review - stonebridge country club, golden moments, verbena, hair by diana, transtar, funtime, bridal elegance & more

Excellent review!! Congrats on your wedding!!! Wishing you and your husband a lifetime of happiness!!

Re: my 5/25/08 wedding review - stonebridge country club, golden moments, verbena, hair by diana, transtar, funtime, bridal elegance & more

Congratulations, you looked so beautiful and happy!

delete

Message edited 8/5/2008 12:38:55 PM.

Re: my 5/25/08 wedding review - stonebridge country club, golden moments, verbena, hair by diana, transtar, funtime, bridal elegance & more

Beautiful Wedding!!