7/11/14 Wedding Coral House, Dream Event, Patken, Elegancia Ent, Rev Deb,MoriLee

I was going to wait until I received the professional pictures, but I don’t want to forget any pertinent details. So I will update later. When possible I will include dates so that future brides can get an idea of time lines.
One of the highlights of our wedding day was when all the vendors met each other and they all raved about one another. Everyone worked really well together, our photographer and DJ had actually worked an event the night before together. Even my Maitre D’ was impressed by our photographer. I’ll get into that later. It just let me know that all the stress over picking the right vendor was worth it.

Engagement Rings
Hers: Zales Mine: Helzberg Diamonds

Venue – Coral House Nantucket Deck A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Get the point yet??? I absolutely loved our venue. This was the only place my wife ever had in mind so I went along with what she wanted. In the long run boy was she on point. We booked October 2013 and from then up to our wedding they made upgrades to the room that made a world of a difference. Our Coordinator was Frank Esposito. He was upfront and real. He understood the type of wedding we wanted and didn’t pressure us into doing anything different just to make a profit. The man also must have the patience of a saint, because if we weren’t calling him to ask a question, we would just show up and we were never turned away. No question or request was ever too big or too small. Andrew was our Maitre D’ and he and the rest of the wait staff were amazing. Andrew made sure everything ran smoothly and with such a wonderful attitude. He was so pleasant, professional – just all around great. I really cannot praise the staff at the Coral House enough.
Booked 10/13


Dream Event Planning
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They are pretty much a one stop shop. They do transportation, centerpieces, lights, dj’s, photo booths, invitations and more. They have some really great packages – the more you get the more you save type of thing. We used them for lighting and centerpieces and loved them. We added on the centerpieces last minute and I am so glad we did. They made a world of a difference. We had a Caribbean Carnival theme and this gave it an elegant touch. Our contact was Adam who was always available for any questions and/or concerns we had be it by phone or in person. Ordered 5/14


Bouquets – Wicks
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Stephanie was our contact for the bouquets. We wanted simple flowers. I just wanted all white Cala lilies and 3 calla lilies per bridesmaid. They had them ready for pick up at 9am that morning, we picked them up by like 4pm since our ceremony was at 7pm. Amazing pricing. It was ¼ the price of the other florist we met with. Booked: 1/14

Photographer – Patken – TBD but for now
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Patken worked a few of my friend’s weddings, so we decided to check them out. We made our appointment with them at the Bridal Extravaganza that LI Weddings throws. I remember crying watching another couple’s wedding pictures on a slideshow. I already knew what type of work they were capable of, but to be moved to tears by a stranger’s wedding really stuck with me. We originally met with Nadira in their Carle Place location in September and she explained their different options. We did our engagement photos with Mike who was wonderful (December); however we had a different photographer for the wedding – Vinnie. Vinnie was great. My wife does NOT like pictures. We emphasized that we wanted to take all the staged photos before the ceremony with a reveal and all. We didn’t want to be pulled from the cocktail hour and reception for pictures aside from ones we asked for with specific people. Vinnie respected our wishes and now we’re just waiting to see what develops. Even our Maitre D’ couldn’t stop raving about him because he said he’s worked with so many photographers that sort of get in the way of the day’s events in order to get some shots and he was impressed that Vinnie got all the important shots within the hour and a half we had before the ceremony. So to be continued…..
Booked: 12/13

Officiant – Ceremonies of the Heart Reverend Debra Viola
I think my favorite find from the Bridal Extravaganza was Reverend Deb. We initially did not care who officiated the wedding and were going to go with one the Coral House recommended that would do a generic 1-2-3 ceremony. Then we met Rev Deb. There was just this aura around her that I could not resist. My wife and I are not religious, but consider ourselves spiritual. After talking with her for a bit I had to have her as our officiant. We booked her in November. We didn’t want a long drawn out ceremony but did want a simple blessing and something personal. She did an incredible job. It took me like 3 days to be able to read through the whole ceremony draft without crying my eyes out. I felt every word she said while standing up at the altar. Booked : 11/13

DJ/ Percussionist – Elegancia Entertainment
A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (times infinity okay!)
There was never anyone else we considered besides Jose and his crew. He DJ’d my best friend’s wedding and had that party going on strong all night long. Her and her husband have the same ethnic background more or less that my wife and I do so we were comfortable with trusting them with entertaining our guests. My wife and I are usually those people everyone goes to for music, so this was hands down the most important factor of the wedding. It was important we catered to our Latin and West Indian crowd equally. We are all about a good time and we had a fabulous time. I can’t wait for the video of everyone on the dance floor. In making my rounds to greet other guests I apparently missed some interesting dance moves on the dance floor. Shhh I heard some of the wait staff was even dancing in the hallways. Booked : 12/13

Dress – Mori Lee – Julietta 3124 – I LOVED MY DRESS!!!!
I stumbled across the Mori Lee website and found their plus size line and was in love. The Julietta line wasn’t just a bunch of fluffy dresses hiding a woman’s extra curves, they accentuated and celebrated them and I am all about loving the skin I am in. I over looked this dress at first before I knew what I really wanted, but I am so grateful that they had such a variety for me to find THE dress. I love that I didn’t have to pay extra for a bigger size. Ordered: 9/13

Paradise Bridal – I won’t grade them, I will simply say I do not recommend them. I should have taken heed of other reviews.
Pro – I was able to take advantage of a loaner program and try on my exact dress.
They price matched and I was able to get a great deal on my dress.
Con – I was not impressed with their seamstress (my bustle broke within 10 mins after it was fixed for my reception) or their customer service once I bought the dress.


****A note to busty brides – I know there has been many a forum asking if busty brides with strapless dresses should wear a bra. I didn’t because my seamstress said it would be better without it. Yes, standing still in the shop it looks beautiful. But when you are jammin’ on the dance floor the girls are going to want to come out and play as well. My photographer spent lots of time adjusting my dress so it wouldn’t become a different type of photo session if you know what I mean. Find a way to have the bra Velcroed in or something. I had it done with a bridesmaid dress once, I should have done it for my wedding dress. In my opinion looking back, I believe it was sheer laziness on the seamstresses part.

Veil – Barron’s
A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Mr. Karren takes great pride in his work. I wanted a crystal lined Angel Cut Cathedral length veil at a great price. The veil was ready the day he said it would be, it was properly packaged. They tell you to have the veil steamed with the dress, but the bridal shop wouldn’t take it and with all the other issues I was having with them, I didn’t want to take the chance, but I didn’t need to. The way it was packaged, it didn’t wrinkle and I picked it up 9 weeks before my wedding.

Tuxedos – 1800myfavors.com/Galleria Invitations, Favors and Tuxedos
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We found this vendor at the LI Weddings Extravaganza. My wife wanted a tuxedo with a slight female fit without being restrictive. Joyce was the only shop that didn’t all but laugh in our face. She listened to all the details my wife and had different choices ready for her during her appointment. They were knowledgeable, attentive, and professional while still remaining personable. I love how my wife looked when I walked down the aisle to her!

Bridesmaids Dresses – Mori Lee 675 Estelle’s Dressy Dresses A-
My only issue with them is I wish they would get more organized. There were a few mix ups while ordering and you don’t really get an attendant to yourself, so unless you go during downtime, they are most likely tending to you and 1 or 2 other customers at the same time. Some of the dresses came in with minor defects, but they were able to send them back and have them fixed in plenty of time.
Ordered: 11/14

Flower girl dress – Girlsdressline.com A-
I found the style of dress I wanted was very pricey in other shops, but found it at a reasonable price online at this site. My flower girl was my Matron of Honor’s daughter, so I didn’t want to put her out any extra money by having her spend nearly $200 on a dress her daughter would only wear once and would most likely trash. They had a very similar dress for $35. She received the dress within the week and it looked great. It just didn’t hold up to a toddler’s antics. Towards the end of the reception, the dress ripped and all the petals started falling out. Glad we didn’t pay tons for it. Ordered: 4/14

Invitations - Zazzle A+++++++++ To us, spending a fortune on invitations that would be thrown out made no sense. So we kept the invitations simple, but simple doesn't have to mean crappy or cheap. I really loved our invitations. It was exactly what we wanted and for a great price once we caught a good sale. We sent the invitations 4/16/14 for a 6/2/14 RSVP date.

Bridal Party Gifts
Embroidered Tote Bags – Etsy vendor BoldImpressions A++++++++++++
They made sure I received my order within two weeks to make my Bridal Shower when I gave them out to my Bridal party.
Silver Infinity Necklace – Zales A++++
I caught a great sale and got each girl a necklace.
Bridal Party Day of Jewelry & Mine –
Mummy’s Jewelry Tri County – D – I also bought my day of jewelry from her and my bracelet broke before the ceremony. And some of the bridemaids bracelets broke as well. The jewelry for me wasn’t at the top of my list of priorities so I didn’t want to spend too much, but had I known everything was going to break before I took pictures, I would have spent a little or even a lot more.

Best Man, Ring Bearer, Bridesman's Gift - Pocketwatches - Nomorerack.com - A++++++++++++++++

Shoes – Estelle’s/Target A+
Ceremony Shoes - Found the shoes at Estelle’s but they didn’t have my size. After consulting my wonderful LIW family, one of the ladies actually found it on Target’s website, in my size and for less.

Reception Sneakers – Journey’s – A+ Silver converse – Loved them!!! My feet were killing me after pictures and the ceremony.

Favors, Guestbook, Toasting Glasses, Garter and other misc - Wrap With Us A++++++++++++++

I was still ordering stuff from them the day before the wedding. They were a God send. They have tons of stuff on their website. You can order it and pick up Thurs - Sat.

7/11/14 Wedding Coral House, Dream Event, Patken, Elegancia Ent, Rev Deb,MoriLee

Great review! Congratulations sounds like you had a great time! Can't wait to see pictures

7/11/14 Wedding Coral House, Dream Event, Patken, Elegancia Ent, Rev Deb,MoriLee

Sounds like it was a wonderful time! The pictures you do have up so far are beautiful, too!

7/11/14 Wedding Coral House, Dream Event, Patken, Elegancia Ent, Rev Deb,MoriLee

Yayyyyyy thanks for the shoutout I found ur shoes at target lol! Great great review loved all the details can't wait to see your pictures!

Re: 7/11/14 Wedding Coral House, Dream Event, Patken, Elegancia Ent, Rev Deb,MoriLee

There you go Mrzsoontobejames. Thank you so much. It was such a huge help. Glad you liked the review. I called Patken and pictures should be finished next week.

7/11/14 Wedding Coral House, Dream Event, Patken, Elegancia Ent, Rev Deb,MoriLee

Great review! Congratulations!! =)

7/11/14 Wedding Coral House, Dream Event, Patken, Elegancia Ent, Rev Deb,MoriLee

Congratulations! Your reviews were great and happy to hear what a fabulous job Elegancia did. I booked with them too and can't wait.

7/11/14 Wedding Coral House, Dream Event, Patken, Elegancia Ent, Rev Deb,MoriLee

Thanks for the love everyone!! My photos are finished and I'm just waiting to receive them. We got a preview online and there are parts of the night that I don't even remember - that's how fast everything went by. I hope to be able to post them soon. FutureMrsPonce - I'm sure you will be as pleased with them as we were. They really know how to gauge a crowd. I'm not big on Bachata and told Jose about it, but said if people respond to it...keep it going and they did a great mix of everything to keep everyone on their feet.