Church Ceremony

We're not really "church go-ers" but we do want to do everything the "right" way and get married in a church. Its so much more sacred to get married in a church then to have a ceremony at a hall with a officiant (in our opinion). So we started to look around for churchs :)

We started looking for churchs around Carle Place, so that way its closer to the hall but that seemed impossible. Those church 'coordinators' can be so rude!

We went to two different churches around Carle Place and they both were pretty rude because we wanted to get married there and we weren't parishiners to that parish. Forget about trying to be part of that parish, they'll ask "Why, are you going to come down to Carle Place every Sunday for Mass??" Pretty nasty. Plus they were EXPENSIVE!!! $900 - $1300 fee/donation for the wedding ceremony!!!

We then drove down to the Bronx and over to the church I went to my whole life - St. Raymonds - http://www.straymondparish.org/ - Beautiful church, gorgeous & HUGE :) Only charging us $600!! and this church is four times the size of the other churches that denied us! lol
Then, Kenny & I were broken-hearted, they don't do weddings on Sundays :( they have masses throughout the whole day :(
We went back to L.I. depressed, even thinking about changing our wedding date! lol

Following week we checked out St. Joseph's - http://www.stjosephsbabylon.org/ - and St. Patricks - http://www.stpatrickbayshore.org/. Ended up going with St. Patricks - they have a perfect time for us - 1:00pm - so we have enough time to take pictures before the cocktail hour.
We have to take Pre-cana with includes F.O.C.C.U.S.

Entertainment/DJ

We chose Bravura Entertainment:)

http://www.bravuraentertainment.com/

As of now, we have them DJing our cocktail hour & reception. Tony was so great, it was hard not to pick them.

If our budget gives a bit, we'll probably bring in Paul for some live music during the outdoor cocktail hour. :)


These are the other of Entertainment Companies we saw:

1. Allstar DJ - http://www.allstardjmc.com/ - Very nice guy - not very 'corporate', works from home and would be great for a different type of party - maybe something on a smaller scale.


2. BodyRock - http://www.bodyrockdj.com/ - They were good - real good & they knew it - maybe that was the problem. They were very cocky & basically could care less whether or not we chose them cause they are great & the person after you wil book them - lol. So I really didn't like how impersonal the guy was. But it was really har not to choose them - especially when they do look so good.


3. Hart to Hart - http://www.harttohart.com/ - We got put with a lady that had no idea what she was talking about - she was all over the place - totally stereo-typed us & went straight to show us videos of spanish ghetto parties - lol; which if you know Kenny - you know that totally pissed him off - lol. He was like thats exactly what we don't want - lol. This one guy was good (we think he was prob a manager) but he came in the middle of everything when we were already tired & wanted to leave. They were pretty cheap though!


4. Bravo Sound - http://www.bravosound.com/Social_Site.htm - Bravo sounded pretty good also - they really sounded like they knew their stuff but they were somewhat cocky & talked crap about all the other ones. Also the guy was cool at first but then became quickly annoying; as if he was on crack or something - lol. Pricing was basically the same as Bravura & BodyRock.

We felt the most connection with Bravura and really feel like they will totally throw a ridiculous party for us! :)

Got My Wedding Dress!

Soo Feb. 27th I went to Filene's Basement - Running of the Brides.
These events are huge! Hosted by Filene's Basement, these events are a great way for brides to get their wedding dress at extremely discounted prices, as in all dresses are $249-$699! (they retail for anywhere from $1000 - $9000) They bring in over 1500-3000 brand name & designer wedding gowns.

Doors opened at 8:00am. I got there at around 7:00am & the line was going around 3 blocks - sooo many people. Some brides brought 4-8 girls with them. I brought my 2 sisters - we had no chance - LOL.
We got up there at 8:02am and all the racks were empty!!! We had to start looking around for people leaving dresses around, get w/e other people didn't want, trade with people - crazy experience!
All-in-all, I got a dress!! I can't post it 'cause Kenny will flip out if he sees my dress - lol - he doesn't want to see it :)

TIPS:

1. Bring at least 3 people with you
2. Get there early - so you can get the closest you can to the front door
3. Bring Signs
4. Dress in the same colors or theme
5. KEEP the dresses you don't like or don't fit; later on people will only trade with you - so keep the dresses 'cause in like 30mins it will start to die down & people will only trade with you if you have a dress to give them - they will not give you a dress that they don't like or doesn't fit for free!
6. Bring a mirror
7. Bring a camera
8. Dress in a sports bra/tank top & leggings/bike shorts, cause you will have to change right there in the middle of the store in front of people if the changing rooms are filled - which they fill in 2.5secs!
9. Don't stress - people start to leave dresses & start putting them back on the racks after 2-3 hours - lol

Here are some pics...
General Pics
http://gonyc.about.com/od/winterinnewyorkcity/ig/Running-of-the-Brides/Line-of-Brides.htm
My Pics... (MY dress is not posted :) )
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v375/PrinSa121/Running%20of%20the%20Brides/?albumview=grid

Wedding Venues

I decided to post all the halls/venues we saw & give my little review :)


We're having our wedding reception at Chateau Briand - after 3 visits :)
http://www.chateaubriandcaterers.com/long-island-weddings/

I will number them so you can see how many we went to - lol

We looked for April & May 2010, for a Sunday Evening, for at least 150 people.

$ - $65-$75 per person
$$ - $76-$95 p.p.
$$$ - $96-$110 p.p.
$$$$ - $111-$165 p.p.
$$$$$ - $166-$210p.p.

(Prices do not include site fees(from $250-$4,000) or tax charges(from 15%-22%))
Deposits to hold the date ranged from $500-$5,000.

1. Leonard's of Great Neck - http://www.ladolcevita.com/ - I liked it, Kenny thought it was too gaudy. Lots of Gold everywhere - cute & cheap; as long as you don't add on anything. ($)


2. Larkfield Manor - http://www.larkfieldmanor.com/ - We didn't like it too much. Cons: Pretty small, Dark, "old looking"; it is a manor - lol. Pros: Cheap, cute outdoor cocktail hour. ($)


3. The Swan Club - http://www.swanclub.com/ - Beautiful Gardens!! But the room we liked was too small and we didn't like the bigger room. Pretty cheap - but room was narrow & too small. ($)


4. West Lake - http://www.wlinn.com/ - can't remember the place & we have it crossed-out so we defiantly didn't like it - but pretty cheap; same price per person as Swan Lake & Chateau La Mer. ($)


5. Chateau La Mer - http://www.chateaulamercatering.com/weddings/flashsite/index.html - I didn't mind it - the price was good, cute outdoor cocktail hour. Kenny didn't like the room - he didn't like the chandeliers, the color of the walls - lol - and he defiantly didn't like arriving on a yacht - LOL. They let you arrive on a yacht for the cocktail hour. But for the price and what they give you - not bad. ($)


6. Fox Hollow - http://www.thefoxhollow.com/ - This was the competition...it was between this one and Chateau - we went back & forth a couple of times. We liked the room & the outside cocktail hour was nice also - not bad with pricing and good food. They also give you a free Wedding Planner and a free night stay at their Hotel. ($$)


7. Westbury Manor - http://www.westburymanor.com/ - Its a Manor so very old/antique looking - old lamps, rugs, etc. Wasn't our style. The guy was a great sales person - lol - telling Kenny how much he should love me and how special he is and our vows are - lol. ($$)


8. Villa Lombardi - http://www.villalombardisweb.com/VillaLombardi/ - It was cute - Kenny really liked it but I thought it was overpriced by the food they were offering. They were charging a bit much for not much food. ($$)


9. Majestic Gardens - http://www.majesticgardens.com/ - Pretty nice - I think I liked it but Kenny probably didn't for some reason. ($$)


10. Captain Bills - http://www.captainbills.com/ - NO! lol - They lady showing us around was so unprofessional & it showed that she did not want to waste her time with us; as if we were wasting her time & couldn't afford the place (which the price is not serious at all!) The outdoor cocktail area is TINY - I see maybe 50 people fitting out there with food & tables. The 'Bridal Suite' is a tiny area right above the reception area where people can see you! In order to get to the outdoor cocktail area, you have to walk through the reception area; so basically they are not surprised with the place cause they walk through it and you see it from outside :-/ Did not like at all. (88)


11. Stewart Manor Country Club - http://www.stewartmanor.com/ - Didn't see in person but looked very old and didn't like the room. I did speak to someone on the phone and they gave me a range of prices for the dates I was looking for...not too bad. ($$)


12. Metropolitan - http://themetropolitancaterers.com/ - Looks very nice online but read bad reviews. Something like the cocktail hour is in the reception hall & then they move everything & some otehr stuff I can't remember. ($$)


13. Crest Hollow Country Club - http://www.cresthollow.com/ - I loved this place, it was one of the first places we saw. I loved the outdoor pool cocktail area & I loved the upstairs room facing the pool. Kenny didn't like it - he didn't like the idea of another wedding going on at the other side of the pool or whatnot. We spoke to Mitchell there and he was fanastic! ($$)


14. Woodbury Country Club - http://www.woodburycc.com/ - Beautiful place! Kenny & I both loved it but the first 2 times we went there, they were too busy to speak to us & they're in the middle of reconstruction so there was no info they could've given us because they didn't know where they would be in 2009 & 2010. The 3rd time we went, one guy was much nicer, very helpful but he also said he's not quite sure which area we would be able to use because of the expansion. ($$)


15. Venetian Yacht Club - http://www.venetianyachtclub.com/ - This was the first place we went to and I fell in love :) Kenny of course found some stuff he didn't like; like the broken glass on the door, some garbage - lol. He says when you're paying X-amount of dollars, they should upkeep the place properly :) They also had an outdoor cocktail hour facing the ocean or as Kenny said, facing the marina where we can see parked cars & people fishing - lol. All in all, I loved the place - lol ($$$)


16. Jericho Terrace - http://www.jerichoterrace.com/ - Nice place, I was crazy about it but our friends had a wedding there recently & it came out beautiful. Kenny & I weren't crazy about how many weddings they have at one time - I do not want to bump into other Brides or our guests walking into someone elses wedding. ($$$)


17. North Ritz Club - http://www.northritzclub.com/ - Kenny LOVED this place - I don't know why, it wasn't that special to me. For the price I didn't think it was that crazy. The room was okay - IMO. The Bridal Suite was gorgeous & big - cool thing was we were upstairs & had the place to ourselves & we would be able to see people downstairs enjoying themselves. ($$$)


18. Vanderbilt Mansion @ Dowling - http://www.lessings.com/UNI_venues.asp?ui=DOW&ven=w - It was nice but after seeing the Bourne Mansion - this wa slike nothing. You get the whole mansion and outside grounds for yourself & its a nice place but we felt the reception area was too small for us - it was very narrow. ($$$)


19. The Bourne Mansion - http://www.lessings.com/UNI_venues.asp?ui=bou&ven=w - GORGEOUS PLACE; if we had the $$, we would've booked this place ASAP - no questions. The price per person was pushing it a bit for our budget but we were willing to do it until we saw the site fee - $4,000 (cheaper 'cause we chose a Sunday) - so that's $4,000 on top of the price p.p. So this is when we almost cried, I called my family members too see if anyone would give me the site fee - but no chance :( So we left :( We were sad for weeks - LOL ($$$$)
    
20. The Hamlet Golf & Country Club - http://www.hamletgolfandcountryclub.com/ - Beautiful place - you also have the place to yourself - the lady was also so nice. But the place was out of our budget and also required a site fee. ($$$$)


21. Flowerfield - http://www.flowerfield.com/ - Beautiful place - theres a pond with a bride going over it during the cocktail hour - beautiful gardens but out of our budget, ($$$$)


22. Sterling Affair - http://www.sterlingaffair.com/index.shtml - They basically take a place (Rex Corp Building) which is a pretty cool building & they decorate it, bring caterers, valet people, coat check people, waiters ,etc. They make the place look very cool & modern; you would never know it was a place of business. The lady we were speaking with was so unorganized & so unprepared. She got there late, no info/packet for us to take home, she took about 2-3 weeks to get back to us with a package to look at - plain horrible. ($$$$)
    
23. Pelham Bay Split Rock Golf Course - http://www.americangolf.com/weddingevents/pelhamsplitrock/ - Beautiful place in the Bronx but out of our budget. ($$$$)


24. The Woodlands, Delano Mansion - http://www.woodlandsatwoodbury.com/ - Ugly Mansion - we've gone to a couple of mansions & this was the ugliest. Very old looking; like the place is about to fall apart or it has been used for a scary movie - lol ($$$$)


25. The Sandcastle - http://www.sandcastlecaterers.com/ - Spoke to someone on the phone - place was out of our budget - but supposely they give you a free honeymoon to Greece - lol ($$$$)


26. Glen Clove Mansion - http://www.glencovemansion.com/ - Nice place - nice room - nice cocktail hour area - out of our budget. ($$$$)


27. The Ritz Carlton in Westchester - http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/Westchester/Events/Weddings/Default.htm - Beautiful & Classy but way out of our budget - even with a friends discount - lol ($$$$)


28. Pine Hollow Country Club - http://www.pinehollowcountryclub.com/catering.html - Beautiful place all for yourself but way out of our budget. ($$$$$)

I hope I didn't forget any other places but this is it - I hope it helps :)

Welcome!!!

So I'm going to be using this blog to keep everyone updated with our progress & share our ideas with the wedding (for those who care :) ) & also as a 'mini scrapbook' for myself.

A little bit about ourselves...
The Bride:

• My name is Princess (yes, that's my real birth name).
• I am 26 years old.
• I currently live in the Bronx; raised in Long Island.
• I have 2 younger sisters; Laurie (20) & Gianinna (19).
• I work in New York, in the Financial District.
• I've been with Kenny for almost 5 years (May 1, 2004).
• He proposed on December 20, 2008.

The Groom:

• His name is Kenny.
• He is 29 years old.
• He was born in Queens; lives in Long Island.
• He also has 2 younger sisters; Yahaira (25) & Krystal (20).
• He works in Farmingdale, in Pharmaceuticals.
• And he's very involved in the wedding planning ;)

ENJOY!