My 10/16 Wedding at the Royalton

We chose October for the lovely weather and the colors of the season. We booked our date exactly a year before and at that time, it was 75 degrees. On our wedding date, it was a cold, gloomy 45 degrees. However, the Royalton is such a cozy place with beautiful fireplaces that it actually 'worked' with the weather.
I feel lucky to have had a great experience with all of my vendors and I highly recommend them.

Ceremony/Reception - The Royalton - A++
We chose the Royalton because we wanted a mansion to play on our fall/homey/cozy theme. I wanted a place that was a mansion, had only one wedding at a time and didn't have drop ceilings. For some reason, drop ceilings really bother me. We wound up looking at the Woodlands, the Bourne Mansion, The Hamlet Golf & CC, NYIT de Seversky Center, Glen Cove Mansion, and the Vanderbilt Mansion. When we walked in, we knew that the Royalton was immediately the place for us.

The Royalton has fireplaces in almost every room and felt like a home and we liked the dramatic staircase and 2 story foyer. We loved how we were able to pick our own food and they were able to supply any alcohol that we wanted. Other places we visited had us select items from their pre-prepared menu and some even limited us to 2 beers! We wanted our wedding to be more unique and allow us to serve food and drinks that we knew our guests would love instead of having a cookie-cutter wedding.

The planning process was so easy! Mike T. made everything such a breeze. Whenever I would call him with questions, he would respond immediately and was able to do anything I asked. When we went for our tasting, we were so blown away! Everything was out of this world! We were able to come up with 6 stations, 15 passed appetizers, design our own reception menu, and create our own desserts. Mike offered wonderful suggestions and he was right on the money with everything.

After the wedding people were raving about how amazing the food was and how they were in awe of the amount of food we had at the cocktail hour. Luckily, they packed up food from the cocktail hour for us that we happily enjoyed when we returned from our honeymoon.

I loved how we were able to stay in the bridal suite at the Royalton on our wedding night. The butler served us breakfast the next morning and took all of our stuff out the car. The service at the Royalton went above and beyond our expectations and we were extremely happy with our choice.


Officiants - Rabbi Frank and Father Koenig from St. Agnes Cathedral A for Rabbi Frank and B+ for Father Koenig
Rabbi Frank was always quick to return our phone calls and I loved how he explained the Jewish ceremony to me and what the Jewish faith values in the ceremony since I am Catholic.

Father Koenig did a wonderful job at the ceremony but was sooo hard to get in touch with! I couldn't contact him to go over the ceremony until 4 days before even though I left numerous voicemails and written messages for him at his office. The day of, it was 6:20pm and had still not arrived for a 6:30pm ceremony! His secretary said he left at 4:30pm from the same town that my parents live in!! That trip should only take 20 minutes. Although he did a great job and he's a really great guy, I was extremely frustrated when I tried to get in touch with him.

DJ - Starlight Express A+++++++
As soon as I heard their mix cd, I was sold!! Paul was UNBELIEVABLE!!! He was our MC and I'm not really sure who our DJ was but we dealt with Paul throughout the whole process. I listed what songs that we wanted to hear and he played every single one. Our dance floor was packed from the moment we walked in until 1am!! Everyone raved about how great the music was and they played something for everyone. The food and the music were the most important things for me and Starlight Express was outstanding!! They made it a party!

Favors - Farewell Table A+
I didn't want to give out a candle, picture frame, bottle opener, or something that people would never use. I knew I wanted to do food but the cost of the item and the packaging added up so quickly. I spoke to Mike about doing a farewell table and it was a hit! We served hot chocolate chip cookes, white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, oatmeal raisin cookies, reese's pieces (our favorite), old fashion candy, hot chocolate, coffee, etc and it was all soooo good!! Guests were raving about it and what a great idea it was. The Royalton even provided the white bags with a lining inside and I printed out labels for the bags. It wound up costing less than other favors and I think it was more substantial and something the guests appreciated.

Flowers - Stefan's - F!!!
Since you have a choice of only 2 florists with the Royalton we visited Stefan's first. WHAT A NIGHTMARE!! When we walked into the room with the tables it was a mess!! Flower petals were on the tables and the floor (not in a decorative way) and there were red wine stains on the tablecloths! When the guy finally came to talk to me, he asked our names and wrote them down. He then said, 'So what's going on here?' I asked what he meant and he said 'Well with your last names, yours could be Jewish, and his could be Jewish... is anyone Jewish?' I said, 'He is and I'm Catholic.' He said, 'What does his mother think about that?' I was so shocked and offended!!! My mom was with me and she said, 'Why does it only matter what she thinks?' He tried to backtrack and it wound up being really uncomfortable.
He tried to show us pictures of things that he had done at the Royalton and for the fall but couldn't find the pictures anywhere and then said, 'I think it's on my other disk but I don't know where it is'. He quoted me a price and I haggled lower and he said he'd mail me an outline. We walked out and were so pissed and worried that Spitz and Peck might be a problem and then what would we do? The outline he eventually sent me in the mail was double his original ridiculous quote. They were so unprofessional!

Flowers - Spitz & Peck - A++
As soon as we walked into Spitz and Peck, it was a completely different experience. They offered us coffee, tea, water, and champagne, and the rooms were set up beautifully. We dealt with Maddie and she had wonderful ideas and showed us beautiful pictures and was able to read my mind! I came in with pictures and ideas but she was able to add her own ideas. Her daughter got married at the Royalton and she knew the rooms and raved about the place.

The next time I came in, I thought we were going to go over a sample but instead she had a table set up with something she created and it was OUT OF THIS WORLD!!!! It was so gorgeous! Everything she did was absolutely beautiful and everything I wanted. I loved working with her! Everything was such a breeze. Everyone loved our centerpieces and said they were the most beautiful centerpieces they've ever seen. She even placed candles in pumpkins and gourds for us and placed them throughout the cocktail hour.





Photographer/Videographer - Duet Photography - Danny - A-
Although we haven't received our proofs yet, we had a generally good experience with them. We loved Danny's books and the day of, they were present but not in our way. However, one time I made an appointment to go over the shots we wanted and he never showed up because the person I called, never put it in the book! I was annoyed and asked if they had my wedding in 'their book' and they said yes. Then when we did go over the shots that we wanted, I couldn't really understand Danny's accent too well and I felt uncomfortable saying 'excuse me?' over and over.

B]Hair - Bridal Touch by Elena - F
I had an appointment for a trial the morning that I was a bridesmaid in my freind's wedding. She was supposed to arrive at 11am. At 10am she called and said she was working on a bridal party that morning and was running late. At 11am (when she was supposed to be at my house) she called and said she still hadn't done the bride yet and wouldn't be to my house until 12:30pm. I told her to forget it! I had to be at my friend's house at 1pm! I couldn't believe that she would squeeze in a bridal party and me when she knew that I was doing a trial for someone else's wedding. How could she think that she would be able to do both on time? She said she'd do another trial for me for free but how could I trust that she would show up on time for the trial and my wedding day? Bad experience.
I had to go to a shop in town and get my hair done so quickly for my friend's wedding. Luckily they were able to take me on such short notice.

Hair - Concour D'Elegance - A-
I didn't really know exactly what I wanted but Maria did a good job. I felt like I could never give a specific idea of what I wanted. I normally wear my hair straight (I have Japanese Straightened hair) so I never really got used to seeing my hair curly.
The curls held pretty well but got frizzy later in the night but that's mostly because I was dancing for about 5 hours. My bridesmaids' and mother's hair held and they looked amazing.

Makeup - Dana from Bobbi Brown - A-
Dana did a great job of making everyone look natural but she was 30 min late for the trial and an hour late the day of the wedding. It didn't really make much of a difference though since we were getting ready at the Royalton and we were all ready with plenty of time to spare.

Wedding Dress - Bridal Reflections - Massapequa - A++
I went to a store in Manhassat with pictures of many Kenneth Pool dresses that I loved. I fell in love with 4 of them when I tried them on but they were all $6500+. I didn't know how expensive they would be. My mom reminded me that it was like wearing something that costs $1,000 an hour that you'd never wear again and that really hit home with me. Although I love the dresses, I knew spending that much money on a dress for one day was silly.

I went into Bridal Reflections in Massapequa because my mom's friend, Sue, works there in the Mother of The Bride section. I told her my story and she said, 'Don't worry, we'll find you something fabulous!' I found a wonderful dress and Sue kept putting beautiful accessories on me to complete 'the look'. She was so sweet and helpful!
My fittings were perfect and everyone gave wonderful suggestions. The place is clean and the staff was extremely accommodating and professional.
Marisa 809



Bridesmaid Dresses - Bridal Reflections - Massapequa - A++
The day we selected the dresses, we were in and out in an hour! I went in with 3 out of 4 of my girls and told the sales girl that I wanted a dress in a burnt orange/rust color. She showed me what dresses come in that color and I asked my bridesmaids to pick which styles they liked. They agreed on a style and we were done! Everything was easy and their fittings went great. It was Bill Levkoff 418 in Euro Cinnamon


Mother of the Bride - Bridal Reflections - Massapequa - A++
My mom found a wonderful dress and she looked absolutely beautiful. She said what kind of alterations she wanted and was pretty specific and it came out perfect.


Save the Date Magnets - agiftfulheart.com - B+
We wanted something that conveyed 'fall' and had a calendar on it since we wanted to make sure people knew our wedding was on Friday. The magnets came out amazing but getting in touch with her was a nightmare (or maybe I'm just impatient) and she had conflicting prices on her website. We did receive a lot of compliments on the magnets and I recommend them.


Invitations - You're Invited Too... Encore Studios - A++
I met Tara at a bridal showcase at the Woodlands. Every invitation I saw in books and online I didn't like. I didn't want white and I knew that I wanted something that incorporated fall colors without being too literal (no trees and leaves). I loved so much of her stuff!! We set up a meeting and I told her what I was looking for and she pulled out a bunch of books based on what I liked and was flagging. I received my invitations so quickly and she was a pleasure to deal with!
Encore Studios - Expressions of Love
T1705


Headpiece/Veil - Barron's in Tri-County Flea Market - A+
A pleasure to deal with although Mr. Karen speaks pretty softly. They created a veil which was exactly what I wanted and my headpiece was beautiful for about 10% of what they would have cost elsewhere. Their prices and quality can't be beat!

Calligraphy - Karen Garber of [email protected] - A+
She did the calligraphy on my invitation envelopes and placecards and they turned out fantastic!! She was able to match the font to my invitations and she was incredibly quick to get things done! Even when I added more guests, she did the invitations while my mom waited. Highly recommended!

Menus & Placecards - A+
I made them myself! I printed them out at Staples with 2 per page and mounted them on brown cardstock from Michael's. I cut out leaves with a leaf hole punch from Martha Stewart's collection from Michaels on the menu. I glued leaf cutouts from orange construction paper on as well. The cut out allowed the brown cardstock to come through. The gluing and cutting took about 4 hours but I loved how they turned out.
I also used cutout leaves for the placecards which I glued on myself.



Honeymoon - Dreams Los Cabos - A+
We went with an all-inclusive resort so we didn't have to worry about money and bringing our wallets everywhere. The hotel caters to honeymooners so we got breakfast in the room, candles, robes, slippers, and a honeymoon sign on our door. There are so many activities to keep you busy which we liked because you can lay out for oh so long. The breakfast was decent, the lunch was blah, and the dinners were better than others. Then again, I might be biased because I think the NY area has the best food around. The seafood and Italian restaurants were the best and we LOVED our private 5 course meal on the beach to celebrate our 1 week anniversary :)
Cabo is great because there are so many things to do like zip-lining, snorkeling, beach hoping, and the wonderful sunset dinner cruise! We saw the most beautiful sunsets on our trip and I highly recommend Cabo as a honeymoon trip.

If you want to see more pictures, send me a message and you can see my pictures on Facebook.

Re: My 10/16 Wedding at the Royalton

everything looks beautiful! congrats! and btw i love your dress!

Re: My 10/16 Wedding at the Royalton

Everything looks lovely, congrats!

Re: My 10/16 Wedding at the Royalton

congratulations! everything looks amazing! Love your favor idea, might have to steal it!!!!!

Re: My 10/16 Wedding at the Royalton

great review, congrats!

Re: My 10/16 Wedding at the Royalton

Having the 'Farewell Table' was a great favor for our guests! They could take as much as they wanted and who doesn't love warm cookies, brownies, and candy?

Re: My 10/16 Wedding at the Royalton

Beautiful! I loved your detailed review! Congrats!

Re: My 10/16 Wedding at the Royalton

loveee it

Re: My 10/16 Wedding at the Royalton

love it!!!

Re: My 10/16 Wedding at the Royalton

oh i love fall! everything look so pretty! you were a gorgeous bride congratulations!

Re: My 10/16 Wedding at the Royalton

awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! congrats to you and FH

Re: My 10/16 Wedding at the Royalton

Congrats! so prettyy!!!!!!!!

Re: My 10/16 Wedding at the Royalton

congrats!!!

Re: My 10/16 Wedding at the Royalton

Congrats!!!!

Re: My 10/16 Wedding at the Royalton

loves it!!

Re: My 10/16 Wedding at the Royalton

Beautiful, congrats!

Re: My 10/16 Wedding at the Royalton

beautiful! I love the bridesmaids dress....

Re: My 10/16 Wedding at the Royalton

Gorgeous!!!

Re: My 10/16 Wedding at the Royalton

Everything looks great!

I LOVE your CP's!

Re: My 10/16 Wedding at the Royalton

Beautiful, congrats!! ! I am getting married there 10/17 this year, can't wait! I am hoping for an outdoor ceremony so hopefully the weather will cooperate!