NY1 Living, Home Monday, January 17, 2000 by Susan Jhun Wedding Library Offers Free One-Stop Shopping Margaret Farmakis lives in Boston, but she's getting married in New York. She and fiance Slavic Machelski are pressed for time and tools. "We only have a limited time to sort of throw all this into one week and try and get a lot of things done," says Margaret. Fortunately for them they found a wedding planner of sorts for free. Claudia Hanlin opened up her one-stop wedding shop called Claudia's Wedding Library a month ago. Claudia's aim was to provide a place where the soon to be wed would find it all. "Basically, we're an agency for all the different suppliers that a bride needs to have her wedding," says Hanlin. "So we represent caterers, florists, photographers, calligraphers, bands, classical musicians - every category you can think of that a bride and her groom would need to get married." And the best part is it will cost you nothing. Claudia is paid by suppliers, so your services are compliments of the house, or in this case, the library. With the exception of some retail items for sale, you aren't actually purchasing any services here - you're just previewing them. "I have about five bridesmaid dress designers," says Hanlin. "Sarafina has a very wide range of styles, and they're all very simple and elegant and very well priced. We also have a very new line called Thread, and I really like their look. They have very young party dresses that can be worn again." From frocks to florals, this library will let you rest on your laurels. "I think one of the nicest things about the Wedding Library is that it's a tangible experience," says Hanlin. "So if you walked into a florist you would basically see flowers in buckets. Here, you actually see the work of really wonderful florists." The tastiest tangibles here are the model wedding cakes covered in real icing, so you don't have to wait for your wedding day to have your cake and eat it too. Selection is scarce, but that's part of Claudia's grand plan. "Instead of having 100 caters to look at, we'll bring together ten or twelve of the best in New York," says Hanlin. "So you'll have a choice in terms of price range, quality, unique style of the caterer or any other given service without being overwhelmed by a myraid of choices." That's something even the man can appreciate. Slavic Farmakis says, "Getting married is nerve-racking enough, and then going to all of the places and looking and narrowing things down - it definitely helps." If you need some help you can visit Claudia's Wedding Library at 81st Street between Madison and Park Avenues. It may just be the answer to those wedding woes.