My husband's sister's best friend was getting married before us and she had her trial with Sabrina and Stacey. I was a little late in searching for a hair and make-up artist and knew that they would be the vendors I would most likely use. I scheduled a trial with them and changed the location two days before. They were really great about the change and the bare bones setup we had in my friend's house that I was using. I loved my hair during the trial and I loved the make-up but later discovered that the foundation made me look a little pale since my friend's house had bad lighting. Instead of paying for another trial, Stacey agreed to come earlier the day of the wedding to make sure we got the foundation color right.

Everything turned out great the day of the wedding. Stacey and Sabrina came bright and early at 5am and also provided hair and make-up for my mom and 2 bridesmaids. Stacey worked on my foundation color and added a bit of bronzer so I wouldn't look as pale. I really don't like drawing attention to my lips and Stacey did a great job during the trial. However, I forgot to mention it again during the day of the wedding and I think my lipstick color was a bit redder and more noticeable than I wanted it. I didn't think about it until I looked back at the pictures but no one noticed but me. Sabrina worked on my hair and it came out fabulous. We ran a little late but I knew that hair would take the longest and was not worried about falling a little behind schedule. The best way to reach them is via email!

Men's Warehouse came out with the brown tuxedo right around the time when we were looking and it was perfect for our brown and pink color scheme. My husband had some trouble with them when the tux came in since the tux was too big and we only had a week before the wedding. They were able to ship a smaller sized tux to the store but we had to call and ask if it came in. When we went there everything fit except the jacket sleeves, which were too short. The woman working in the store said she could alter it and after we came back again to pick it up, she sent us to the larger store across the street since she didn't have time to finish it. The other store told us to come back another day. Two days before the wedding, we were able to finally get my husband's tux. We wish we didn't have to go back so many times. Despite all the issues, the brown tuxedos were a hit at our wedding.

I found my dress at RK Bridal after much searching and since I had started my dress shopping early, I decided to shop around for my dress. After receiving a really great price on my dress from another shop, I went back to RK Bridal and asked if they would price match and they agreed. I was fitted for my dress and when it came in it was too tight. After I went back a few times, I decided I had to get spanx in order to properly fit into the dress without it bulging in weird places. I went for a fourth time and had called ahead and asked if it was ok if I try my dress on again. The woman on the phone agreed. When I went to try on my dress in person, the woman working there told me that I can no longer come and try on my dress until my first fitting which was 3 months away since I came a few times already. She made me sign a paper that said if I come one more time that I need to take my dress home despite the fact that I had called and asked prior to coming. Alterations ended up going well since I didn't have much to alter and the dress fit exact.

RK bridal definitely has a great selection of dresses and we also did the no-frills program with the bridesmaids dresses. Their prices are great and they'll price match almost anything.

We found Flower Michele via the liweddings.com message board. We met with John and explained our budget and that we wanted to have cherry blossom centerpieces. John was more than happy to work with our budget and our vision. From the moment we explained to him the wedding colors and showed him pictures of flowers we liked, John was able to immediately pick up on flower preferences and had some great suggestions. We liked John so much we asked if he could also be the person on site to setup for us and he was. John also reassured us that even though we booked with him in the fall/winter time and we wouldn't be able to see a sample centerpiece that he would without a doubt be able to have beautiful cherry blossoms at our wedding at the end of March. Our contract initially had half high centerpieces (cherry blossom) and half low (roses and a mixture of other flowers) to help us stay within our budget. In early March we asked John to see a sample of the low centerpiece and he decided instead give us medium-high centerpieces of cherry blossom without any additional costs since he didn't like the way the low centerpiece had turned out. So our room had alternating high to medium high cherry blossoms. It was great!

I had also given John full reign of the bridesmaids bouquet after showing him what I would like for mine and the bridesmaids' dresses. The day before the wedding, I was able to see the bridesmaid bouquet and change it if I didn't like it. I was IN LOVE. It was the perfect mixture of peonies and spray roses that perfectly complimented the bridesmaids' dresses. My bouquet was also stunning with lady slipper orchids and white peonies.

John and his crew there at the wedding bright and early setting up the cherry blossom centerpieces and the hanging table numbers that I had created. The cherry blossoms were full and beautiful! The room looked phenomenal. He had also decorated the cocktail hour fireplace mantel as well as our ceremony room. Everything was stunning!

Our search for a reception hall started out far and wide. We looked all over Long Island, New Jersey, New Rochelle and Westchester. After several months of searching, we had decided on a hall in New Rochelle but had three bad experiences prior to signing the contract. We decided not to book with this hall and I'm so glad we didn't. We started our search again and the Carlyle on the Green was the last place we looked at. As soon as we entered we were greeted by a very friendly reception. And I knew as soon as I saw the ceremony room with the beautiful fireplace and the reception room with all the windows and bright sunlight coming in that this was the place! We worked with the banquet manager, Cynthia, and immediately connected with her as well. We absolutely loved the space however it didn't fall within our price range on our date. After discussing some options with Cynthia, we discovered that there is a "reduced" menu for a lower price during their off season months. As much as we wanted to have a June wedding, we decided that the Carlyle was the one and we decided to have our wedding in March during their off season so that it would be more affordable. Cynthia also reassured us that despite the reduced menu we would still be able to get a lot of the items that we wanted off the full menu. Their gratuity/service fees are a bit higher than most halls and we also had to pay for the valet but after all was said and done, we were extremely pleased with everything.

From the moment we booked, everyone at the Carlyle was so warm and welcoming. We met with Cynthia several times to review details and also for our food tasting. The food tasting was held in their restaurant and the food was beyond fabulous! We're big time food people and we couldn't get enough of everything.

We were a little worried that the Carlyle's cocktail hour room wouldn't have enough seat but there is seating provided in the hallway and they can open up their additional room if needed. They're a great place for a large wedding since their reception room can hold >300 people. Our wedding was about 165 guests and we were able to put sofas to create a lounge-like atmosphere in the reception room. It was definitely a unique touch.

The day of the wedding everything went off without a hitch. We were so pleased with their superb service. I had one small request that the aisle runner that I had painted with a monogram on it be rolled out right before I walk instead of before the bridal party and they were more than happy to accommodate my request. They also made sure that none of my guests saw me before the ceremony and that I was standing off to the side while the ceremony started so I wouldn't be revealed to the guests until I actually walked down the aisle. I thought that was a really nice touch. During the rehearsal an hour before, they also walked us through how to walk down the aisle and who should be standing where. My guests raved about the food at cocktail hour and said the seafood station and bourbon street station was definitely their favorite. Once everyone was inside the reception room, our Maitre d', Christina, let me know that I could peak through the French door curtains to watch my bridal party entrance.

We were able to get everything we wanted on the main menu except for the duck entree and filet mignon. It didn't phase us at all since we picked a chicken dish and the rib eye. Both were really good. Everyone really enjoyed the food and the room was stunning in the afternoon. Everyone's pictures came out really well from all the sunlight and it was perfect. Carlyle was quick to setup all my DIY items as well as taking them all down. We went with the cake they provided and they let us pick from a few designs and we asked if we could have a combination of both swirls and dots on our cake and it looked fantastic! The only thing was that there was a lot of construction outside due to the 2009 US Open and while it made some backgrounds for pictures outdoors a little difficult, we were still able to get some really great shots.