The Pepper Wedding! - 5/23/09 at Vineyard Caterers.

LIW A+++++++++
Ron, Liz, and Kim: Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Our engagement and planning our wedding has been one of the most special times in our lives and LIW made it that much more special! I have memories of so many late nights posting about everything wedding related under the sun. I’ll never forget the 09 shower and the couple of GTG’s I made it to. I’ve made friends on this site despite living out of state and I know there are many girls with whom I’m going to stay in touch for many years to come.

Every single 09’er, whether I met them or not, had a helping hand in planning my wedding. Thank you so much for sharing such a special time with me and allowing me to share yours with you. I love you girls!

This thing is monstrously long. I won’t be offended at all if you just browse through the photos but hopefully there’s something in here to help everyone. Here’s the short of it: Our engagement was incredible. It was the most special time of our lives. Our wedding day was truly the best day we EVER had and we’ll always look back fondly on every second of it. All pics are non pro unless otherwise noted.

THANK YOU CARDS FOR ENGAGEMENT GIFTS
www.weddingpaperdivas.com – A
We ordered a simple thank you card for any engagement gifts that we received. Very easy to order, shipped and received in no time, and the quality was excellent. Highly recommend for wedding stationery.

SAVE THE DATES

Magnets
www.magnetstreet.com – A-
I ordered a simple wine-themed save the date magnet and spent an extra $25 to add our engagement photos to the design. It came out great. The only complaint (which didn’t really bother me, but I imagine someone might be upset over something like this) is that the grey border from the proof was actually green when we received the finished product. I looked at the proof from a few different computer monitors so I know it wasn’t my PC. I actually liked the green a LOT better so I had no problem with it.

STD Room block inserts & return address labels
Vista Print - www.vistaprint.com – A
Vista Print is ALWAYS giving away free business cards and return address labels. I chose a green grape theme and told our guests about the room block at Best Western. I also got matching return address labels to use in case we got any gifts in the mail and needed to send thank you’s. Sometimes the free stuff from VP can take a while to ship/arrive, but it’s a small price to pay when you’re only paying for shipping.


Computer Calligraphy for Save the Dates
www.inkspun.com – A-
Inkspun only charged $.30 per envelope and you can choose your font. The envelopes looked great and they were very neat and legible (much easier than buying hundreds of labels that I’d never need again, or worry about paper jams with envelopes). After receiving my completed envelopes I realized I made mistakes on a couple of addresses and emailed Bill to see if he could revise them. I never heard back from him and I wound up printing labels for those few at work. That’s the reason for the minus in the A- grade.

BRIDAL SHOWER!
Ciao Baby – Carle Place, NY - 516.248.7600
What an amazing bridal shower I had! My MIL, SIL’s and BM’s threw an incredible shower and chose the perfect location for us! We had about 30 people and we were completely comfortable in the room. Ciao Baby has DELICIOUS food. Have you ever tried their rice balls? They’re as big as your head! The service was terrific, the food was to die for, and spending the day with my family and friends was everything I could have ever wanted and more! My friend Rebecca is a photographer and got tons of great shots.








REHEARSAL DINNER & OOT HOTEL
Best Western East End – Riverhead, NY - 631.369.2200 - B
We chose the closest hotel with a bar, knowing we’d want to continue the party after the wedding and we were having so many people from OOT. We also opted to do our rehearsal dinner there (which wasn’t really a rehearsal. It was an optional dinner for anyone staying at the hotel the night before since we didn’t want anyone drinking and driving). BW was easy to get in touch with and always answered all my questions (towards the end I was calling 2 times a day LOL). The only time they weren’t easy to get in touch with was when it was regarding our rehearsal dinner. DH and MIL had to talk to different people to set up the dinner than the people we’d dealt with for the room block. The food was pretty good but the room was way too quiet initially and then way too loud with voices… we should have known to bring our iPod for some sound in the background.

We got our shuttles through them, which worked out well. My bridal suite was INCREDIBLE. It was so comfortable that it felt like home. When we came back from the wedding they had champagne and chocolate waiting for us by the hot tub. We wound up doing our own “tiki after party” out by the pool (we had our own alcohol and one of our guests had a first floor room with a patio. It was the best after party and luckily most people there were with us so no one complained about our loud music and intoxicated guests LOL ).

A sidenote: I walked into the lobby and saw one of the guests from my room block checking in. BW had given them the OTHER wedding block’s OOT bag! Other than that the hotel was terrific and really served its purpose.






GROOM’S CAKE
hey! Cookie – Levittown, NY – 516.796.3033 – A
I worked with Janet Ben-Ami, the owner of hey! Cookie. She created a CitiField cake to serve approximately 35 people at the rehearsal dinner. It was adorable and a very big hit! DH loved it and was very surprised! I went with the Red Velvet cake with cream cheese filling since we passed it up for our wedding. It was DELICIOUS!



WEDDING INVITATIONS
Tessa at www.evenstartpaperie.com
I got a ton of compliments on the invitations. They were very pretty and unique.



WEDDING STATIONERY – menus/donation cards, programs, table numbers, signs
www.forthemodernbride.com - A
I know most people use them for cardboxes but some girls had won free wedding stationery after ordering a cardbox. I loved everything I saw from them – it was always so fresh, modern, and fun. FTMB was SO easy to get in touch with via email, unlike some other vendors I’d dealt with along the way. I loved how quickly they responded, how fast I received revisions and proofs, and how patient they were! They incorporated our theme and colors into stationery that had “us” written all over it! If you haven’t considered FTMB for any of your stationery needs, I highly recommend doing so!





BRIDAL PARTY GIFTS

The Girls
Coach outlet
Vera Bradley
Bath & Body Works outlet
The Knot
Exclusively Weddings
Totes/Isotoner
Yankee Candle
I bought the girls Vera Bradley totes (pinwheel pink) and filled them with personalized cosmetic bags from Exclusively Weddings, personalized compact mirrors from The Knot (in which I put various travel sized items from Bath & Body Works), wristlets from Coach (and a purse for MOH), a pink umbrella from Totes (in case it rained) and a Honeydew Melon candle from Yankee Candle (to remind them of their honeydew colored dresses LOL).


The Boys
www.personalizedgifts.com
DH got the guys personalized flasks and zippo lighters. They were so nice!


The folks
www.newtraditionshankies.com – A+
The hankies are the sweetest keepsakes with embroidery and personalized poems for each person. New Traditions is a terrific company – they were so easy to work with and the hankies were BEAUTIFUL. I cried when I first saw them because of how special and sweet they were. They said everything I wanted to say to my parents but didn’t have the words to say. They each loved their gift! We’re also giving our folks parent albums.

Website photo


My parents opening theirs


DH’s mom opening hers


DH’s WEDDING GIFTS

Boudoir Photos/Album (given the night before)
Sarah Schulte Photography – Philaldelphia, PA - A
I live in Philly so I decided to research boudoir photographers here in the area. I came across Sarah who’s very popular here and has such a unique style! I LOVED everything I saw of hers. I even wished I could have two wedding photographers just so she could shoot my wedding too! I had a blast at my b-shoot and DH couldn’t have been happier with his album!




Pocket watch (delivered to DH by a GM the morning of)
Littman Jewelers – King of Prussia, PA - B
DH absolutely loves pocket watches (he doesn’t use them, but he loves them and I thought this would be a meaningful gift)! Since I wasn’t buying around the holidays there weren’t a ton to choose from. I went into Littman and they had a couple that weren’t too expensive and that I could engrave on. I had the title of our wedding song engraved on the back, “You’re My Home”, and our initials and wedding date on the front. There are a few gorgeous pro pics of him opening it and attaching it to his vest but I don’t have the CD yet.

CHINESE SLIPPERS
Slippers: the dollar store; Organza bags: www.pouchdepot.com – A
Most places I looked for organza bags did not have the color in the size I was looking for. Other places sold only in bulk. Pouch Depot had the exact color green I wanted (Mint) and the price was decent. I was able to buy them in packages of 10 and they were $5/package. Shipped and arrived quickly. Highly recommend for organza bags and pouches! My MIL bought the basket and grape accents at Michael’s. I bought the frame at Kohl’s.


CARD HOLDER
www.save-on-crafts.com – A
I first saw this when I googled for a card holder. This was one of the first things that popped up and I loved it! I wasn’t ready to commit to it yet but then I saw a pro pic of it on LIW’er KK Holiday’s review and adored it! Very reasonably priced. Came within 2 weeks and was exactly what I wanted.



COCKTAIL NAPKINS & MATCHES
www.foryourparty.com – A
I decided to use this site based on many LIW’er recommendations. I did some research and it looked like napkins were cheaper elsewhere but foryourparty had more design options (including the grape motif that I wanted) and napkin colors. I also loved the website because you could see the item as you were designing it whereas, on other sites, you’d choose the color, font, and layout, and not know what the final product would look like. They were so adorable – people loved them!



SIGNATURE PLATTER
www.thepotterypiazza.net – A
I wanted something different than the typical guestbook or even photo signature book. I first saw a signature platter from Pottery Piazza when I read KK Holiday’s review. I fell in love with her platter and the idea! I called Pottery Piazza and explained the design I was looking for, the colors I wanted, and they made it and sent it over within a few weeks’ time. After the wedding, we baked the platter in the oven, which “sealed” the signatures, and now we can use the platter for serving (although we’re displaying it on the wall).



NAME PLAQUES
A Simple Impression – A
I bought 2 name plaques – a big one for the entrance and a small one for the cake table. Sheila was so easy to work with. I “conversationed” her on Etsy and told her my colors, font, and wording and I had each plaque within days. They were a nice touch.


Pro pic


FAVORS

Donation to American Cancer Society
www.americancancersociety.com
We had FTMB create a double sided menu/donation card. We also purchased Hershey Kisses with “Thank you” and “Just Married” flags directly from Hershey at www.hersheygifts.com, but they stopped selling from the website as of 7/31/09. We put the kisses in small white gifts boxes purchased from www.uline.com. The boxes weren’t very pretty but they served their purpose. We put on green elastic bows that we purchased from www.exclusivelyweddings.com


Glass grape placecard holders
www.sayido.com – A
In one of my first posts on LIW, I asked the girls to help me find wedding ideas relating to my theme and colors. My colors were green and pink and I wanted to carry out a wine theme. The girls found these placecard holders for me and I LOOOOVED them! I thought they were a little too expensive considering they weren’t going to be the actual favor but, when I showed them to my mom, she decided we must have them. A million sites sell them and she just shopped around for the cheapest one at the time. The order process with Say I Do was very smooth and the grapes came quickly. They doubled as additional favors but a lot of people didn’t realize they were there for the taking and many left theirs on the piano. But they were a nice touch and tied in so well with our colors and theme!


DIY
Tissue pouches, place cards, “love & we do” letters, OOT bags (with the help of SILS & MIL), slipper tags - A
I’m really not too crafty or artistic but I wanted the experience of creating something personally for my own wedding. For the tissue pouches, I followed these instructions. It was very easy. DH and I poured a couple of glasses of wine and measured and folded paper. We were done within a few hours.


Staples had placecard templates that were simple and elegant. I used my home printer and created them myself in 20 minutes!


I bought the Love & We do letters at Michael’s and painted them with acrylic paint. If your FH has a bunch of immature (but loveable, of course!) brothers, cousins, friends, etc. expect your “We Do” letters to turn into “Do Me” letters very quickly LOL


My SIL’s hand painted the grapes on our OOT bags. My family and in laws helped me gather Long Island Travel Guides (ordered from discoverlongisland.com) and other pamphlets to stick in the bag. I also called the Tanger outlets and they happily gave us 50 coupon booklets (normally $5 apiece) for free! Since we were staying so close to the outlets our guests really appreciated these! Additionally, we put in 2 bottles of water, North Fork potato chips, mints and gum.



The slipper tags were easy enough to make. I bought business card templates from Staples and printed them on my home computer. I love the Scriptina font so I downloaded it for free. I used colors to match and punched holes in the card with a standard hole punch. I used the ties on the organza bags to attach them.

LIMOS
Camelot Limos – New Hyde Park, NY – 516.731.5466 - A
I booked everything over the phone . Joe sent me photos of the limo I was renting and went through everything with me in detail. He even helped me plan the schedule for the morning of since I had no clue what I was doing! I only rented one limo to get the bridal party and DH and I from the hotel to the beach for photos and then to the Vineyard. We got a decent price, brand new and very clean limo, very nice and respectful driver, and on time. What more could we have asked for?



WEDDING CAKE BAKERY
Create a Cake – Port Jefferson Station, NY - 631.473.0811 – A-
The Vineyard has a signature cake that they use for most weddings, but they give such an incredible cake allowance that you’re really free to do whatever you want with Create a Cake. That being said, we only changed the design of the cake slightly but knew we wanted a unique flavor. Ellen was our designer but, the day we went for the tasting, she wasn’t even going to meet with us. We insisted that we wanted to meet with the designer herself to discuss our requests and she did wind up sitting down with us. I went with DH, MIL, and SIL and we all fell in love with their Red Velvet and Rainbow Cookie cakes! Rainbow cookie is DH’s all time FAVORITE dessert and we were shocked to find that we could do a whole Rainbow cookie wedding cake! It was to die for! The Vineyard does the actual decoration of the cake (with the grapes and leaves) and they wound up overdoing ours quite a bit. Regardless, it was still the most delicious wedding cake we’ve ever had!

Here’s the signature cake on the Vineyard’s website:

Here’s ours (pro):

Non pro


DJ
Absolute Entertainment -www.absolutedjs.com - 1.800.TOP HITS – B+
Nothing extravagant or over the top here. Since I live in Philly, I booked them over the phone without ever seeing them at a showcase or anything. We got a live musician for cocktail hour who did Bob Marley & Jimmy Buffett type covers. I didn’t get a chance to hear him but I imagine he sounded good and provided some nice background music for the chatting and socializing going on. We had a DJ and MC for the reception. They were good but kept using the same phrase at key points during the reception: “The Bride and Groom have chosen a very special song for…” The only thing about the line that changed was the ending: “…their first dance.” “…their cake cutting.” “…the mother/son dance.” You get the idea. Also, I had chosen a top ten must-play song list and they played the songs at awkward times, when I couldn’t possibly get on the dance floor and enjoy them.


OUR MUSIC
Ceremony
Prelude: “Falling In Love” – The O’Neill Brothers
Processional: “Forrest Gump Suite” (The Forrest Gump theme) – Alan Silvestri
Bride’s entrance: “Canon in D” – Johann Pachelbel
Recessional: “Walking on Sunshine” – Katrina and the Waves

Reception
Bridal party/family entrance: “Welcome to the Jungle” – Guns N Roses
Bride and groom entrance: “Eye of the Tiger” – Survivor (we live in Philly. We couldn’t resist)
First dance: “You’re My Home” – Billy Joel
Spotlight dance: “Your Song” – Elton John
Cake cutting: “How Sweet It Is” – James Taylor
Father/Daughter: “I Hope You Dance” – Lee Ann Womack
Mother/Son: “I’ll Stand By You” – The Pretenders
Last Dance: “Friends In Low Places” – Garth Brooks

FLORIST
Verbena Designs, Hicksville, NY – 516.935.3757 – A for bouquets, boutonnieres, corsages/C for centerpieces
I met with a few florists and knew right when I met her that I wanted Jen to create the floral designs for our wedding day! She was so sweet and she knew exactly the look I was going for. Although not the lowest price I found, Verbena was a great value, considering they only do one wedding per day and they hit the nail on the head EVERY time when it comes floral arrangements. On the day of, the centerpieces disappointed me. There was at least one, if not more, yellow flower(s) in EVERY centerpiece, including the big centerpiece on the piano. My colors were pink, green, and white. The yellow flowers really upset me because they stuck out like a sore thumb. If I could go back and change one thing, it would be the centerpieces.

On the other hand, I was absolutely obsessed with the bouquets – my bridal bouquet and the girls’ bouquets were so beautiful they nearly brought me to tears when I first saw them. When everything was all over – when the dress came off, the cake went into the freezer, the food was eaten, and the weekend came to an end, the hardest thing to part with was my bouquet. I can’t tell you how much I loved it.

Pro pics



Non pro – see the yellow flower?


BOUQUET CHARMS

Memory charm to honor my grandfather
Annie Howe’s - www.anniehowes.com – A
My grandpa and I were extremely close and he just loved DH. Grandpa passed away 2 months before DH and I got engaged. I needed him to be at my wedding in some way so I purchased a bouquet charm. I had a photo of him and I put in and the saying, “Grandpa, today I hold you near”. Having him with me was so special. He would have been beaming his big proud grandpa smile on our wedding day.

As a sidenote, I also had the DJ play Chubby Checker’s “Let’s Twist Again” because that was the song my grandpa and I danced to. Unrelated but here’s a photo of my grandpa and I dancing to Chubby Checker at my cousin’s wedding in 2002.


Rhinestone monogram letter charms
Petco (lol) - Rhinestone letters – A
I completely hijacked this idea from another LIW bride but I can’t remember who so I can’t give her credit But I got my and DH’s first initial and our last initial and had our florist put it on the bouquet using ribbon. I thought it was a nice touch!

HAIR & MAKEUP
The Bridal Touch by Elena - 516-286-4205
Elena is very sweet and fun to talk to. On my wedding day, I wound up having her assistant do my hair. Unfortunately, the curls were gone after photos at the beach and, the rest of the day, I looked like my every day self. I wasn’t happy with my makeup and felt it didn’t match my complexion at all. I’ll add pro pics showing exactly what I mean as soon as I get the disc of images from my photog.


WEDDING DAY JEWELRY

Bracelet
www.annabellagio.com – A
I went back and forth so many times on what kind of bracelet I wanted. I wanted something with some sparkle but nothing too big or overpowering. I needed it to complement my “natural” look but still stick out. I kept coming back to the Nina Cubic Zirconia bracelet on this site. I finally ordered it about a month and a half before the wedding. It came so quickly with a sweet notecard and it was GORGEOUS!


Great grandma Betty’s earrings
I was honored when my grandma gave me her mom’s platinum diamond earrings. I’ve never been given anything quite so special before. I will treasure them forever and I hope I have a daughter to give them to one day.



WEDDING ATTIRE

Morning of Hoodie:
Old Navy & embroidery kiosk at the Cherry Hill Mall – Cherry Hill, NJ – A
Bought the hoodie at Old Navy and had it embroidered at the kiosk in the mall. Loved it! I even wore it on our honeymoon!

Me at the airport in my hoodie. We almost overslept the morning of our flight LOL


Wedding dress:
Country Way Bridal, Cherry Hill, NJ – A
I originally fell in love with Marissa style 590 after trying it on at Bridal Reflections in Carle Place with my mom and grandma. I didn’t have a great experience there and, since I live in Philly, I decided it would be easiest for fittings and such to purchase the gown closer to home. The closest store to me that carried the sample was in Cherry Hill, NJ, about a half hour away. I had already heard of the store from a friend who purchased a gown there so I figured I’d try them out. They had the sample waiting for me, ready to try on. While I was waiting to get in to the dressing room, however, another dress caught my eye! It was an Alvina Valenta, style AV-9605. Well I put on the Alvina and forgot ALL ABOUT the Marissa dress – I knew I had found my gown! Since my mother wasn’t there to see the dress, the owner allowed me to take some photos and she wasn’t pushy at all (a completely different experience than some of the others I had while dress shopping). My mom came to visit about a month later and we did a ton of dress shopping. Ultimately, I went with the Alvina. I needed a TON of alterations because the dress was way too big. The alterations were pricey but everything turned out GREAT. I did manage to lose a few more pounds right before the wedding so I was pulling the dress up and adjusting all day long but that was my fault, not theirs.





Dress Tag
www.justembroideredtotes.com – A
I ordered from Just Embroidered Totes based on recommendations and photos from other LIW brides. It was very inexpensive (less than 10 bucks). It took about 2 and a half weeks to arrive and was beautiful! Great touch for the dress and definitely something nice to save for posterity.

Pro pic


Garter
Adjustable garter purchased brand new from an LIW’er (Aug07OFCBride). Garter originally came from www.smartbrideonline.com. I loved the garter – it was a beautiful light blue color, great quality, and very soft and feminine.

Wedding shoes
www.shoebuy.com – A+
I had foot surgery at the end of 2007 and, when I started shopping for wedding shoes, I knew I wasn’t ready to wear a heel again. I went with a wedge shoe. They arrived very quickly and I loved them! Highly recommend shoebuy.com!


www.totes-isotoners.com – A
I bought my reception flip flops here and ordered the Satin Wedge style for $15. They shipped right away and were comfy and pretty! The only minor issue for me was that they come in Small, Medium, Large sizes. Large was a bit too big but medium would have been too small. I wound up accidentally leaving them at the hotel so I never got the chance to wear them.


Veil
Barron’s Bridal Boutique – Tri-county Flea Market, Levittown, NY – 516.735.3828 – A
My veil was GORGEOUS! I was one of those brides who were on the fence about a veil and wound up getting one because my mom thought it was necessary. I bought a scalloped edge veil with custom beadwork and small pearls. It came out beautifully and I was SO glad I got it! It completed my bridal look and really made me feel like a beautiful bride. I loved it so much I never took it off at the reception (and I intended to).

Pro pic


Non pro veil pic


BM dresses
David’s Bridal – various locations– A-
I chose DB because I wanted the most inexpensive dress I could find, and I wanted the girls to have options. I gave them the color (honeydew) and told them to choose any style and length. They decided that they wanted the length to be uniform, chose tea length, and each chose their style. We also added on light pink accents (sashes and peek a boo skirts). They were optional and each girl chose the accent(s) she wanted. The girls went their separate ways for alterations and everything turned out great – they looked incredible and I was so grateful that they wore such an “out there” color with a smile on their faces!


Men’s Attire
Classic Tuxedos by Apollo, East Northport, NY - 631.757.2323 – B
DH had used Apollo for his tuxedo as a groomsman in a friend’s wedding in July 2008. We wound up choosing the same tan suit by Jim’s Formalwear. Apollo is one of the only tuxedo shops in the area that have this particular suit. DH’s measurements were taken incorrectly when he was measured for his friend’s wedding, but the suit fit perfectly for our wedding. Our guys had vests and ties in the honeydew color, which matched the girls PERFECTLY! The men were so HANDSOME!!! The only issue: one of our GM’s picked up the suit 2 days before the wedding and the measurements were completely wrong. They had to have a new suit overnighted. All’s well that ends well but it was a bit of a hassle for the GM.

Pro Pic


Non pro


DANCE LESSONS
Arthur Murray Dance School – Narberth, PA - B
DH didn’t even feel comfortable doing a two step alone in our apartment, let alone dancing to a whole song in front of our friends and family. So we took some basic dance lessons at Arthur Murray. DH got pretty comfortable and we really polished our moves for a basic waltz and fox trot. Of course we have a long way to go but it was better than swaying back and forth for 3 minutes. AM doesn’t get an A because they ARE extremely expensive and they want to teach you a handful of different dances, even if you come in saying you only want to learn one. They spent way too much time on club and singles swing when we really needed to focus on a night club fox trot for our first dance. In the end, the lessons were worth it and we had so much fun together!



PHOTOGRAPHY AND VIDEOGRAPHY
Imagine Studios - www.imaginestudios.net – A, pending finished albums and edited video
Photography was the most important thing to us going into our wedding. We knew that, after the cake had been eaten, the flowers had died, and the honeymoon was over, we’d always have our photos to look back at. I saw Lia’s work on LIW first and knew I had to meet with her. I first went to meet her with my mother since DH was working. Her photos and the video she showed us brought us to tears. Swimming in our own tears of happiness, we knew we had to hire Imagine right away.

We had our engagement shoot July 2008 and we had a BLAST. Lia was kind, sweet, patient, and she was so easy to be around. DH is very camera shy and Lia really helped him out of his shell!

The wedding day was no different. What a calming effect they had on me the second they walked into the hotel room. We were running SO late that morning; I was sure we wouldn’t have time to do our photos at the beach as planned. I could feel myself getting lost in emotions and just the sight of Lia calmed me down. She assured me that we had plenty of time and she and her assistant Maria starting snapping away.

Our proofs are incredible. Not quite as many as I expected but each shot is better than the next. Lia and Nelson had a way of being everywhere without you even realizing it! I was so surprised at some of the shots they got because I didn’t even know they were around at the time!

Choosing the album photos will be extremely difficult! One thing I’d change if I could would be to have the discs with engagement and wedding photos sooner (we can’t have them until we pick up the finished albums and DVD’s).

E-pics











Wedding Pro pics







My favorite one!











WEATHER – A+++++++++
I kept asking myself how we got so lucky on our wedding day. If you remember Memorial Day weekend, the week leading up to it was miserable as far as weather was concerned. It was raining nonstop. The forecast, then, was no surprise. Showers and thunderstorms all day. Somehow, the sky remained clear and not a drop of rain fell. The sun stayed out and despite a breeze that didn’t agree with my hair or veil, we had the most GORGEOUS day I could ever have asked for. I feel so lucky.

CEREMONY
Reverend Nicholas Carbuto - A
Reverend Nick was a friend of the family and we couldn’t have been more thrilled to have him officiating our ceremony. It was a beautiful, romantic, and personalized ceremony that reflected us so well. I love watching the full ceremony on our unedited video!


RECEPTION
Vineyard Caterers - www.vineyardcaterers.com – A+ TO INFINITY
There aren’t any words to explain how I feel about the Vineyard. I won’t go on and on because once I start I just won’t stop. Bill, Johnny, and the Vineyard staff gave us the PERFECT wedding day – truly the day of our dreams. They went above and beyond and I can never thank them enough for making all of my wedding day dreams come true. I am just so, so grateful.

Outdoor ceremony area





Cocktail hour




Delicious dessert plate including our rainbow cookie wedding cake


Vineyard entrance


HONEYMOON
Part 1: Grand Hyatt at Grand Central – NYC - A
We had 2 nights before we left for the honeymoon. The first we spent at the Best Western in Riverhead and the second we spent at the Grand Hyatt. We had a great day and night in the city, including some shopping , walking along Madison for a street fair, drinks at our old “place” in East Midtown and a Met game. We “pricelined” this hotel and it was the perfect place in NYC for the price we paid.

Part 2: Aruba – 8 days at Occidental Grand Aruba (All inclusive) – A-
It was our first time in Aruba and it was PARADISE. It was the perfect honeymoon destination! Gorgeous beaches, safe and friendly area, nightlife and relaxation. We had the most AMAZING honeymoon suite with a jacuzzi. It was one of the biggest suites on the resort and another couple told us that their room wasn’t even half the size! We did everything from lying on the beach to going on the Kukoo Kunuku drinking bus tour. We rented a Jeep with another couple on their honeymoon and explored the island on our own. We even bought some Aruban scratch offs and won! The beach was beautiful, the pool (and pool bar) were a fantasy, and we enjoyed every last second of our time there. The reason they don’t get an A is because the included amenities listed on the website are not actually included once you get there (including free honeymoon breakfast in bed, free internet in-room, etc.). They told us we’d have to pay more for the amenities when they were clearly listed as “included” on the website and in the hotel guide in our room. Every minute of our vacation was nothing short of heavenly.

Part 3: Las Vegas – 4 days at Wynn Las Vegas - A
One of my wedding gifts from DH was a trip to Vegas since I’d never been and have always wanted to visit! I found out the night before our wedding that we were headed to Vegas and I couldn’t have been more thrilled! The Wynn was amazing – what a gorgeous hotel with attention to detail obvious at every turn. We loved our stay and can’t wait to go back!

If you have snapfish and would like to browse our honeymoon photos, feel free to check them out!
honeymoon

Thanks for reading (or browsing through)! I hope there’s something on here that can help everyone! Please feel free to FM me if you have any questions. Congratulations to all the newlyweds and best wishes to all future brides!!!

Re: The Pepper Wedding! - 5/23/09 at Vineyard Caterers.

Beautiful Bonnie !! congrats I want rainbow cake now!!

Re: The Pepper Wedding! - 5/23/09 at Vineyard Caterers.

great review!!! everything looks absolutely fabulous!!! and on a side note, ftmb actually sent me one of your menu cards as part of my sample packs

Re: The Pepper Wedding! - 5/23/09 at Vineyard Caterers.

Everything looked Beautiful!! The weather/the place the BRIDE!! I love all the little details.. a very big fan of the antique birdcages!!!

Re: The Pepper Wedding! - 5/23/09 at Vineyard Caterers.

Great review Bonnie! Your pictures are beautiful!!

Re: The Pepper Wedding! - 5/23/09 at Vineyard Caterers.

What a great review. It was very descriptive. You look beautiful.. Congratulations on your wedding!

Re: The Pepper Wedding! - 5/23/09 at Vineyard Caterers.

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Posted by egem523

Beautiful Bonnie !! congrats I want rainbow cake now!!

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Thanks Liz!!!! It's soooo delicious! Wish I could eat it every day

Re: The Pepper Wedding! - 5/23/09 at Vineyard Caterers.

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Posted by 20mrsc10

great review!!! everything looks absolutely fabulous!!! and on a side note, ftmb actually sent me one of your menu cards as part of my sample packs

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Thanks sooo much! That's so funny about the menu card! When I got a sample pack from them I got a ton of 09 brides' samples and it was so exciting to see them in person!

Re: The Pepper Wedding! - 5/23/09 at Vineyard Caterers.

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Posted by Ncarlo

Everything looked Beautiful!! The weather/the place the BRIDE!! I love all the little details.. a very big fan of the antique birdcages!!!

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Thank you so so much! I'd never even thought of a birdcage but it added a lot of character!

Re: The Pepper Wedding! - 5/23/09 at Vineyard Caterers.

Congrats!!!! Love your review and you look amazing

Re: The Pepper Wedding! - 5/23/09 at Vineyard Caterers.

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Posted by MrsDtoBe09

Great review Bonnie! Your pictures are beautiful!!

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Thanks Ang!!! I'm sooo looking forward to seeing yours! It's getting SO close!

Re: The Pepper Wedding! - 5/23/09 at Vineyard Caterers.

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Posted by misspiwowar

What a great review. It was very descriptive. You look beautiful.. Congratulations on your wedding!

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Thank you!!!!

Re: The Pepper Wedding! - 5/23/09 at Vineyard Caterers.

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Posted by futuremrsjc2010

Congrats!!!! Love your review and you look amazing

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Aww you're so sweet - thank you so much!

Re: The Pepper Wedding! - 5/23/09 at Vineyard Caterers.

Great review, everything looked AMAZING! Your wedding cake is still my favorite ever.

Re: The Pepper Wedding! - 5/23/09 at Vineyard Caterers.

Thank you for posting that review; it was awesome!

We're going to the Occidental, too! I can't wait!! Did you hear of anyone going on an ATV tour? We were thinking of doing that and Scubadiving or Kayaking...etc.

Re: The Pepper Wedding! - 5/23/09 at Vineyard Caterers.

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Posted by chicky724

Great review, everything looked AMAZING! Your wedding cake is still my favorite ever.

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Thank you soooooo much Kristen. Rainbow cake should be one of the food groups

Re: The Pepper Wedding! - 5/23/09 at Vineyard Caterers.

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Posted by CandB4604

Thank you for posting that review; it was awesome!

We're going to the Occidental, too! I can't wait!! Did you hear of anyone going on an ATV tour? We were thinking of doing that and Scubadiving or Kayaking...etc.

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Thank youuu!!

You're going to have such a blast at the Occidental. It's amazing there! A lot of couples did the ATV tour while we were there (believe it or not, most couple we met were from NY. Unrelated fact lol ). They loved it! We wanted to do it but wound up not having time. We did parasailing but no scuba diving. I also highly recommend renting a Jeep from budget and going it on your own. It was a blast. We drove through Arakok National Park and it was the most fun we had getting lost in a longgggg time! Let me know if you have any questions about Occidental. I'm so excited for you!

Re: The Pepper Wedding! - 5/23/09 at Vineyard Caterers.

Fabulous review!! Everything looked absolutely beautiful and i simply love how everything matched so well.

Re: The Pepper Wedding! - 5/23/09 at Vineyard Caterers.

WOW! Great review! I love all your details!!

Re: The Pepper Wedding! - 5/23/09 at Vineyard Caterers.

Wow, thanks so much for sharing this! You had some great ideas and I definitely will be using some of them Congratulations!