Jacaranda Country Club A+: I don't know if some of the older knotties will remember but I did not want my wedding here at all. My Dad has played golf here for years and I've been to numerous affairs here and was just not feeling Jacaranda. My Dad basically said if you want a wedding from me its here, so with that being said we had a venue! Let me tell you.........they totally outdid themselves. The service was amazing, the drinks were fantastic, our martini bar was packed, the food was really really good which I always remember it being not so great. My MIL is gluten free, the caterer made her a special meal and assured her it was 100% gluten free. They even made her homemade gluten free brownies. They were just so wonderful, we had our own personal server who was just standing near the band waiting to get us anything we needed. Besides having the bar and bartenders they had servers walking around to get people drinks which I loved. Honestly, I am so glad my Dad forced us to have it here. Wow!
Rabbi Kaplan and Father Anderson A+: These 2 are a great pair, the ceremony was beautiful. It was sentimental and funny, sincere and politically correct you could say. It was not overly Jewish or Christian, they found a nice happy medium. My MIL walked up to the Rabbi afterwards to thank him and tell him how great everything was. They were fantastic!
Augustine from MAC A: This man rocks!!!!!! Great personality and does a fabulous job, I was sooooo happy with my make up. He would have gotten an A+ from me except that 4 days before my wedding I called him to make sure everything was on track and he threw me a curve ball. He was going to go into work late on my wedding day so he can come and do my makeup at our hotel, he now told me that he couldn't go in late anymore and needed to start doing our makeup at 11:00 at the hotel, it was only an hour before he was supposed to be there but dude 4 days before my wedding! I tried to push back a little but saw it wasn't an option, I had 4 trials before I found him and I was not losing my buddy from MAC to make me beautiful. He showed up on time, like exactly on time which was the best thing ever. He still decided once he got there that he'd take his time and go into work late. He hung out, did one of my BM's and myself. My cousin wants to be a makeup artist so he gave her some tips as well. I love him. He was so close to an A+.
My Treasure Videos A+: I love this man! From the moment I booked him his communication was on point. He always responded so quickly and I love that in a vendor. I checked my email when we were on our HM and saw that he emailed me the recap, it was more beautiful than I could have imagined. I cant wait to see the whole thing. One concern I had was that there would be a huge camera in our face all night, i don't think I even noticed him once. He does a fantastic job at not being noticed. If you're thinking of booking him do it!
Cindy Karp: Communication is A+, page me for details
Uplyte A+: This was one of the best additions I had, we added lighting just a month or so ago and I'm so glad we did. What a change in the room lighting makes, it had a soft romantic feel and everyones skin color looked great! We went with amber lighting and I just loved it. Dan and Alex (husband and wife) from uplyte were fantastic to work with, absolutely wonderful!
Dalsimer A-/B+ ish, keep flip flopping: This review is a little hard, I started writing this review in my head a while back and now am finally getting to put it down on paper (or the knot, you know what I mean). Dalsimer was one of my first vendors we chose, my Mom had tons of people that used them through the years so I decided to meet with them. My Dad and I hit it off with Jimmy from the second we sat down. I narrowed it down to Flowers by Tony and Dalsimer. The quotes were the same so it was really hard to choose, Dalsimer said he'd throw in an orchid bloom for each folded napkin at no charge. SOLD! I was ecstatic, I showed him a picture of what I wanted and we were good to go. I had my trial and wanted it fuller and with darker sticks, I had him axe the votives and confirmed that the orchid I wanted was a white cymbidium. He now tells me that I'm not getting a cymbidium, he never said that I was going to have that. He said they were too expensive and he would have never agreed to that. He said he is giving me a dendrobium, we battled for a few minutes, I brought up the picture I gave him that clearly shows a cymbidium on a napkin. He wasn't budging, the contract says orchid bloom (get them to be more specific in your contract cause I was pissed) We got a quote on 12-15 centerpieces, I ended up with 12 so thought my price would be lower. When I brought this up Jimmy told me that the quote was really on 12 centerpieces and he was throwing in the 3 extra centerpieces for free. What!!!!!! Give me a break, are you serious. That's bull, I was so annoyed. This was a week before my wedding so I didn't want to stress, I had my Dad call him and still got nowhere. My Dad said its okay, maybe Jimmy was right an the 3 would be free. I think that's a load of crap. Then he throws in a $100 charge to move the Chuppah over the cake. This is something that he forgot to mention until a week before my wedding. I really felt like we were nicked and dimmed. Overall besides me feeling like I was taken advantage of the flowers were gorgeous, better than the trial. My bouquet was beautiful, the chuppah was more than I ever thought it would be. Soooooooo, happy with the flowers 100%. Being screwed around, not cool! I would still recommend Dalsimer but please go through your contract with a fine tooth comb and be as specific as you can be, even if its something minor and you think its dumb. Put it in there!!!!!!!!!
Lovechild A+++++++: This band is not your typical wedding band. This was a huge must for me, my parents couldn't afford it so I saved and saved and threw in some money to make this happen. It was well worth it. Everyone kept telling us how amazing they were, my friend had Libido Band a few years ago and I knew from the moment I heard them I had to have them. I got a whopping $12,000 quote and almost threw up in my mouth. 12k for a band, omg not going to happen. I found out that Lovechild is there sister band and even uses some of the same band members at times. We negotiated back and forth for months and finally made it happen. You have to see this band in person, wow! Their under tropics entertainment.
Hitched Events Rentals A: Luis is a great guy, he was always on top of his communication. Like within 15 minutes I'd get a response always. The past few months I would have to follow up with a second email which kind of bothered me. I guess this can be normal but I was spoiled in the beginning. His staff showed up on time, our linens and chairs looked great, everything worked out very well. He didn't get an A+ for the lack of communication the past few months and a conversation we had the week of my wedding. I wanted to rent the glass chargers with the little beaded edges, he said he could do them for $3.00 a piece. I told Luis that I had heard he was negotiating the prices of his chairs and linens, and even throwing in the cushion covers which I was paying for. I told him that it was not my style to ask him to knock off some money the week before my wedding even though I know he has been doing some major negotiating with other brides, what I did ask was for him to throw in the chargers as a courtesy. He said that he would have but his Dad/Partner wont let him, blah blah blah. He said he'd ask his dad and call me the next day by 12:00pm. No call! I called him and said whats the deal, he said it wouldn't work. I told him look, I understand, if you can do the chargers for $1 a piece I can do it. You're already coming out to my venue so if you want to make and extra easy $130 bucks cash we can make that happen. Didn't happen, oh well. I tried! I used jacarandas ivory chargers and it looked fine. I really wanted those glass freaking charges though!!!!!
A piece of cake by Elena A+: Yum, that's all I can say. Beautiful and yum! Godiva marble liquor cake is delicious!
Music for Anything B: B is being nice. The communication is horrible, like horrible horrible. The music was great and that's what you pay for, I got a trio for $250 which is the best I had found. They were on time which was something I was nervous about when reading other peoples reviews. Good luck with these people!
LMG Events A++++++: Letty is the best!!!!! She was my DOC and made my life so easy during my planning. She would always call and check on me since the day I booked her, she always wanted to help but I had nothing for her to help me with (i have control issues). She definitely would have done more than what a DOC is supposed to do. My ceremony musicians fell off the face of the earth and Letty tracked them down, she said she would show up at there place of business if she hadn't heard back from them. She was on point, made sure everyone was where they needed to be, followed up with all my vendors, set up my menus, candle holders, broke everything down at the end of the night, made sure I was happy, I mean this girl rocks!!!!!!!!!! If you're thinking of a DOC hire Letty, it was the best thing I did. She is the reason i think i was so calm the week of the wedding and even the day of. Hire her, call her now!!!!!!
Honeymoon at Excellence Playa Mujeres A+++++: This resort is gorgeous, the service is the best I've seen. We used to travel when we were first together and we've been to some nice places, this is up there. Absolutely breathtaking. 2 story room on the beach with our own person pool on the rooftop. Gorgeous!
Terese with Hibiscus Travel A+: Best travel agent ever. I drilled her with millions of questions about everything before we even decided to book with her. Shes responsive, honest, and knows her stuff. I have a travel agent for life!
Belissimma Bridal Deerfield A: Kate and Tanya were great, they know what they are doing for sure! The only reason they didn't get an A+ was because my alterations were almost $500, wtf, $500??? But overall I was extremely happy!
Unique Bridal in Deerfield C: The best quote for my BM's dresses but they were so unorganized. They called my BM's a million times, told one of them they forgot to order her dress but that was a lie (weird), they told another BM that they couldn't show her my wedding gown (my wedding gown wasn't there because I got it at Belissimma, another weird), they threatened that if my BM's didn't p/u their dresses they would charge them storage fees when I was told by the owner that no fees were involved, they were just a mess. My girls would have rather spent the extra $30 and gone somewhere else. Be careful!
Showing posts with label My Treasure Videos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label My Treasure Videos. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Mayda<3lester's Review 05.16.09
VENUE
Coral Gables Courtyard Marriott – A (service prior to the Wedding)/ B (Day of the Wedding)
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/miagb-courtyard-miami-coral-gables/
I booked this Venue back in August 2008. It had recently been opened after they revamped the old hotel that used to be there and we looooved it the minute we walked in. The décor is very modern and stylish. The Ballroom was perfect for the small, intimate Wedding we wanted and since they only have one, we didn’t have to worry about running into another Wedding the same day.
Maggie, the Catering salesperson was very accommodating. We were the first ones to book a Contract for a Wedding once they opened as a Marriott. Their prices are very affordable being that is located in Coral Gables and the service is great! We did our tasting and changed a couple of things, so they scheduled another one for us to try the new Menu. Overall, the Cocktail Hour and Reception were perfect. The hor devours were delicious, they served Dinner on time, the waiters gave superb service to my guests and the food was great!
The only issue we had was on Wedding Day due to the weather. We really wanted the Ceremony to be Poolside in the Terrace but the forecast predicted rain for that Saturday so she called me on Friday to tell me that the Ceremony would not be outdoors as previously discussed in our meetings. The day of the Wedding the weather unexpectedly improved even though it was raining on and off. All we wanted was for her to give us the chance to wait a little longer to decide whether to move it or not but she was gave us a hard time and was not professional. Please contact me for further details…
My Ceremony was indoors but it was sooooo beautiful! (Even though, it didn’t rain outside in the end) We used our Chiavari chairs and they looked great! The Uplighting made it so romantic and we were very happy with how it turned out.
PHOTOGRAPHER
Devynn – DBImages A+++++++++++++++++++
http://www.dbimagesblog.wordpress.com/
http://www.dbimages.ca/
We were having issues with the photographer we had initially hired. Karla suggested to invest in a professional and reliable Photographer, and showed us Devynn’s wok. We fell in love right away! and hired her only 6 weeks before our Wedding. I am sooo glad she was still available for our date. Everything happens for a reason and even when you feel stressed, there’s something better out there. She was the BEST decision we made and we could not be happier with the end results.
Devynn was at the Hotel early to take some Getting-ready shots and even being pregnant, laid on the floor to get different angles. She and her crew were all over the place snapping shots of the night. She totally blew us away with the teasers only 2 days after our Wedding and captured our Beautiful Day perfectly. J I highly recommend Devynn to any bride looking for a Photographer, her work is awesome and she is a sweetheart!!!
VIDEO
Javier – My Treasure Videos A+++++++++
http://www.mytreasurevideos.com/
We contacted Javier right after we booked Devynn because my cancelled Contract with the other photographer included a video. I had seen his work and was crossing my fingers he was available so close to my Wedding date and he was!!!
We were very excited to have him on our Wedding Day. He is such a professional! plus he is very sweet. He was there early as well and started shooting our Pre-Ceremony pictures. We never really ‘felt’ him there because he did his job without being on everyone’s face. He even stayed over beyond the time contracted to get more footage and I can not thank him enough for being so generous. I totally recommend him!!!
UPLIGHTING
DJ Ubi A+++
http://www.ubismusic.com/
Ubi was our first option for DJ but he was booked for Our Wedding date already L. We hired him for Uplighting and he even went to walk-through our Venue to determine how many lights we needed. The end result was stunning! The room was glowing in pink and it gave such an ambiance! He also provided a GOBO and Pin-light for our Cake as a surprise to us from my sister. I highly recommend him!
MUSIC
JP Productions A++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.jpdisco.com/
Let me just say, JP had EVERYONE on the Dance floor all night long! He called me a couple of days prior to the Wedding to confirm our Play and Do not Play List. He followed everything to the T for all our Dances. We were going to provide him with a CD of music we wanted to play for our guests since it is very popular in our country but I was not able to get it. When he saw we didn’t have it, he downloaded the songs {very hard to find} into his laptop and played them for us!!! Our guests are very different to the usual Wedding crowd and he knew the in and outs of the music from our country which blew everyone away! We did the Crazy Hour and passed out masks and beads and he also did an amazing job with the Carnival Music.
This man went above and beyond our expectations and my guests are STILL talking about how good he was! At the end of the night, people were complimenting him as they left the party. I highly recommend!
LINENS & CHAIRS
ABCovers A+++++++++
http://www.abcoverdesigners.net/
I had a pleasant experience with Ana when I came in for my appointment. They have a great selection and she was very helpful when offering different options for Linens and Chairs. We came up with a Beautiful table set-up using my Wedding Colors, Lime Green and Pink.
I had rented some sashes for my Ceremony chairs but when we had to switch to plan B due to the rain, their crew came back to set-up those sashes on the white Chiavari Chairs we were using inside the Ballroom. It definitely looked even better than I had envisioned. Everything looked gorgeous on my Wedding Day!
FLORIST
Flowers by Gerardo- Final Product (A+++++++) Customer Service (Read below)
http://www.flowersbygerardo.com/
Gerardo came recommended by another bride who got married in November. She said he was affordable and her flowers were beautiful! When I came in for a consultation, he was not very helpful when it came to giving ideas (being the expert) but fortunately we knew exactly what we wanted. We just didn’t find his personality to be customer-friendly.
He gave us the quote right there and then, and when we saw the prices we knew we couldn’t get that somewhere else so we booked him on the spot! The fact that we were providing the Glass Cylinders helped us with pricing. When it was time to drop them off 2 weeks before my Wedding, I mistakenly took the wring vases to him. Once I realized that and took the right ones, we had an issue because he claimed not to know that they were that big but we had told him in advance.
In the end, he too blew us away with the Centerpieces, altar arrangements and my bouquet, oh so gorgeous!!! He even included a calla inside the vases, which he had told me wasn’t included so I appreciate that! Honestly, I just think his customer service can be improved but the quality and value for cost, it’s phenomenal! I highly recommend to all the brides on a budget just like me.
WEDDING CAKE
Rosie – Elegant Temptations A+++++++
http://www.eleganttemptations.com/
We met with Rosie to work on a custom design for my Cake. I wanted something that didn't look so common or copied out of a magazine. I told her that we were doing a Elegant Garden theme and she came up with a beautiful design that incorporated flowers, rhinestones and a gorgeous stand.
I was blown away when I saw my Wedding Cake. It was definitely a focal point in the Reception and my guests raved about the flavor and how original it was. I highly recommend Rosie if you want to have a delicious custom cake and great customer service.
I personally think that Edda's and Ana Paz are becoming too commercial and the service is not that good anymore. You feel like you are just another cake for the weekend and I prefer to pay a bit more for better service.
DOC
Karla – Stylish Events
http://www.stylishevents.net/
Karla designed our Wedding from scratch. We wanted a Garden-themed Wedding that was not overdone or tacky but Elegant and Classy. She took my vision and brought it to reality 100x more than I could have ever imagined! Our guests were WOWed with every detail throughout my Wedding, as it is I’m still getting calls to find out where I got this or how did I do that.
She designed and printed my paper goods (Programs, Placecards, Menus, Table Numbers and Signs). I wanted to have a Huppah for the Ceremony and Backdrop draping behind my Sweetheart Table but it was way out of my budget so she offered build it and it all came out perfect!. Karla also decorated the Cake stand to implement our theme and the result was stunning! I could go on and on talking about everything she did and it would still not be enough because it was all flawless!!!
I've been as impartially honest as possible and did not grade this review because besides being my DOC, she is also my sister and I'd like to avoid the validity of review being questioned.
Make Up
Jorge Pena - A+
786-306-5463
I had a trial with Jorge a few weeks before my Wedding and I loved how he did my make-up. That day, I had my Bachelorette party and the make-up looked weird (too white under my eyes) in the pictures so I brought this up to him the day of my Wedding and I showed him the pics. He worked on my make-up and then took pictures with my camera to make sure it was ok.
The make-up lasted all night and everyone told me how natural I looked which is what I really wanted. Jorge is really outgoing and clicks with you right away! I highly recommend him.
Hair
Alcira - A+
305-205-3579
I didn't have a trail with Alcira. I met with her in her house and showed her pictures of what I wanted my hair to look like. I simply wanted a loose updo that matched the natural make-up look I was going for.
She had done that Hair do for other brides as well and showed pictures of them. She arrived early the day of the Wedding and did my hair just as I had asked. It turned out perfect! After dancing all night, it started to undo a little bit but it was totally fixable. I was really pleased with Alcira and would recommed to other brides!
Alterations
Reina - A+
954-785-6222
I highly recommend Reina! She is not only very sweet but also does amazing work. She hemmed my dress and took in a couple inches. She steamed it for me and I was very pleased with the results! She is located in Pompano Beach but is worth the trip.
Tuxedo Rentals
Tommy's Tuxedos - A
http://www.tommystuxedos.com/
Best price in town. They are located on 87th Ave and SW 8th Street. Tommy takes care of his clients himself and the service is outstanding. They have tuxedos for $60.00 +tax and when you take the Bridal Party, the Groom gets his for free. I only had a Best Man and some family members but I think that is a great deal.
Vendor I do NOT recommend:
VARONA PHOTOGRAPHY- D
Do NOT use. Nestor Varona was the photographer I had initially hired and we canceled our Contract almost
6 weeks before the Wedding. Contact me for further details @ mayda.lester at gmail dot com
Coral Gables Courtyard Marriott – A (service prior to the Wedding)/ B (Day of the Wedding)
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/miagb-courtyard-miami-coral-gables/
I booked this Venue back in August 2008. It had recently been opened after they revamped the old hotel that used to be there and we looooved it the minute we walked in. The décor is very modern and stylish. The Ballroom was perfect for the small, intimate Wedding we wanted and since they only have one, we didn’t have to worry about running into another Wedding the same day.
Maggie, the Catering salesperson was very accommodating. We were the first ones to book a Contract for a Wedding once they opened as a Marriott. Their prices are very affordable being that is located in Coral Gables and the service is great! We did our tasting and changed a couple of things, so they scheduled another one for us to try the new Menu. Overall, the Cocktail Hour and Reception were perfect. The hor devours were delicious, they served Dinner on time, the waiters gave superb service to my guests and the food was great!
The only issue we had was on Wedding Day due to the weather. We really wanted the Ceremony to be Poolside in the Terrace but the forecast predicted rain for that Saturday so she called me on Friday to tell me that the Ceremony would not be outdoors as previously discussed in our meetings. The day of the Wedding the weather unexpectedly improved even though it was raining on and off. All we wanted was for her to give us the chance to wait a little longer to decide whether to move it or not but she was gave us a hard time and was not professional. Please contact me for further details…
My Ceremony was indoors but it was sooooo beautiful! (Even though, it didn’t rain outside in the end) We used our Chiavari chairs and they looked great! The Uplighting made it so romantic and we were very happy with how it turned out.
PHOTOGRAPHER
Devynn – DBImages A+++++++++++++++++++
http://www.dbimagesblog.wordpress.com/
http://www.dbimages.ca/
We were having issues with the photographer we had initially hired. Karla suggested to invest in a professional and reliable Photographer, and showed us Devynn’s wok. We fell in love right away! and hired her only 6 weeks before our Wedding. I am sooo glad she was still available for our date. Everything happens for a reason and even when you feel stressed, there’s something better out there. She was the BEST decision we made and we could not be happier with the end results.
Devynn was at the Hotel early to take some Getting-ready shots and even being pregnant, laid on the floor to get different angles. She and her crew were all over the place snapping shots of the night. She totally blew us away with the teasers only 2 days after our Wedding and captured our Beautiful Day perfectly. J I highly recommend Devynn to any bride looking for a Photographer, her work is awesome and she is a sweetheart!!!
VIDEO
Javier – My Treasure Videos A+++++++++
http://www.mytreasurevideos.com/
We contacted Javier right after we booked Devynn because my cancelled Contract with the other photographer included a video. I had seen his work and was crossing my fingers he was available so close to my Wedding date and he was!!!
We were very excited to have him on our Wedding Day. He is such a professional! plus he is very sweet. He was there early as well and started shooting our Pre-Ceremony pictures. We never really ‘felt’ him there because he did his job without being on everyone’s face. He even stayed over beyond the time contracted to get more footage and I can not thank him enough for being so generous. I totally recommend him!!!
UPLIGHTING
DJ Ubi A+++
http://www.ubismusic.com/
Ubi was our first option for DJ but he was booked for Our Wedding date already L. We hired him for Uplighting and he even went to walk-through our Venue to determine how many lights we needed. The end result was stunning! The room was glowing in pink and it gave such an ambiance! He also provided a GOBO and Pin-light for our Cake as a surprise to us from my sister. I highly recommend him!
MUSIC
JP Productions A++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.jpdisco.com/
Let me just say, JP had EVERYONE on the Dance floor all night long! He called me a couple of days prior to the Wedding to confirm our Play and Do not Play List. He followed everything to the T for all our Dances. We were going to provide him with a CD of music we wanted to play for our guests since it is very popular in our country but I was not able to get it. When he saw we didn’t have it, he downloaded the songs {very hard to find} into his laptop and played them for us!!! Our guests are very different to the usual Wedding crowd and he knew the in and outs of the music from our country which blew everyone away! We did the Crazy Hour and passed out masks and beads and he also did an amazing job with the Carnival Music.
This man went above and beyond our expectations and my guests are STILL talking about how good he was! At the end of the night, people were complimenting him as they left the party. I highly recommend!
LINENS & CHAIRS
ABCovers A+++++++++
http://www.abcoverdesigners.net/
I had a pleasant experience with Ana when I came in for my appointment. They have a great selection and she was very helpful when offering different options for Linens and Chairs. We came up with a Beautiful table set-up using my Wedding Colors, Lime Green and Pink.
I had rented some sashes for my Ceremony chairs but when we had to switch to plan B due to the rain, their crew came back to set-up those sashes on the white Chiavari Chairs we were using inside the Ballroom. It definitely looked even better than I had envisioned. Everything looked gorgeous on my Wedding Day!
FLORIST
Flowers by Gerardo- Final Product (A+++++++) Customer Service (Read below)
http://www.flowersbygerardo.com/
Gerardo came recommended by another bride who got married in November. She said he was affordable and her flowers were beautiful! When I came in for a consultation, he was not very helpful when it came to giving ideas (being the expert) but fortunately we knew exactly what we wanted. We just didn’t find his personality to be customer-friendly.
He gave us the quote right there and then, and when we saw the prices we knew we couldn’t get that somewhere else so we booked him on the spot! The fact that we were providing the Glass Cylinders helped us with pricing. When it was time to drop them off 2 weeks before my Wedding, I mistakenly took the wring vases to him. Once I realized that and took the right ones, we had an issue because he claimed not to know that they were that big but we had told him in advance.
In the end, he too blew us away with the Centerpieces, altar arrangements and my bouquet, oh so gorgeous!!! He even included a calla inside the vases, which he had told me wasn’t included so I appreciate that! Honestly, I just think his customer service can be improved but the quality and value for cost, it’s phenomenal! I highly recommend to all the brides on a budget just like me.
WEDDING CAKE
Rosie – Elegant Temptations A+++++++
http://www.eleganttemptations.com/
We met with Rosie to work on a custom design for my Cake. I wanted something that didn't look so common or copied out of a magazine. I told her that we were doing a Elegant Garden theme and she came up with a beautiful design that incorporated flowers, rhinestones and a gorgeous stand.
I was blown away when I saw my Wedding Cake. It was definitely a focal point in the Reception and my guests raved about the flavor and how original it was. I highly recommend Rosie if you want to have a delicious custom cake and great customer service.
I personally think that Edda's and Ana Paz are becoming too commercial and the service is not that good anymore. You feel like you are just another cake for the weekend and I prefer to pay a bit more for better service.
DOC
Karla – Stylish Events
http://www.stylishevents.net/
Karla designed our Wedding from scratch. We wanted a Garden-themed Wedding that was not overdone or tacky but Elegant and Classy. She took my vision and brought it to reality 100x more than I could have ever imagined! Our guests were WOWed with every detail throughout my Wedding, as it is I’m still getting calls to find out where I got this or how did I do that.
She designed and printed my paper goods (Programs, Placecards, Menus, Table Numbers and Signs). I wanted to have a Huppah for the Ceremony and Backdrop draping behind my Sweetheart Table but it was way out of my budget so she offered build it and it all came out perfect!. Karla also decorated the Cake stand to implement our theme and the result was stunning! I could go on and on talking about everything she did and it would still not be enough because it was all flawless!!!
I've been as impartially honest as possible and did not grade this review because besides being my DOC, she is also my sister and I'd like to avoid the validity of review being questioned.
Make Up
Jorge Pena - A+
786-306-5463
I had a trial with Jorge a few weeks before my Wedding and I loved how he did my make-up. That day, I had my Bachelorette party and the make-up looked weird (too white under my eyes) in the pictures so I brought this up to him the day of my Wedding and I showed him the pics. He worked on my make-up and then took pictures with my camera to make sure it was ok.
The make-up lasted all night and everyone told me how natural I looked which is what I really wanted. Jorge is really outgoing and clicks with you right away! I highly recommend him.
Hair
Alcira - A+
305-205-3579
I didn't have a trail with Alcira. I met with her in her house and showed her pictures of what I wanted my hair to look like. I simply wanted a loose updo that matched the natural make-up look I was going for.
She had done that Hair do for other brides as well and showed pictures of them. She arrived early the day of the Wedding and did my hair just as I had asked. It turned out perfect! After dancing all night, it started to undo a little bit but it was totally fixable. I was really pleased with Alcira and would recommed to other brides!
Alterations
Reina - A+
954-785-6222
I highly recommend Reina! She is not only very sweet but also does amazing work. She hemmed my dress and took in a couple inches. She steamed it for me and I was very pleased with the results! She is located in Pompano Beach but is worth the trip.
Tuxedo Rentals
Tommy's Tuxedos - A
http://www.tommystuxedos.com/
Best price in town. They are located on 87th Ave and SW 8th Street. Tommy takes care of his clients himself and the service is outstanding. They have tuxedos for $60.00 +tax and when you take the Bridal Party, the Groom gets his for free. I only had a Best Man and some family members but I think that is a great deal.
Vendor I do NOT recommend:
VARONA PHOTOGRAPHY- D
Do NOT use. Nestor Varona was the photographer I had initially hired and we canceled our Contract almost
6 weeks before the Wedding. Contact me for further details @ mayda.lester at gmail dot com
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Jessie720's Reviews 05.23.09
The weather suuuucked and it poured for the only moment in time I wanted it to be clear- getting out of the limo and to church. I had a team of men come and get me with umbrellas and they got soaked and my hair lost its curl. Also I would recommend tucking a hankie into your cleavage or something; I couldn’t stop crying through the whole ceremony and had a snot rocket type situation going on when we exchanged rings. Not pretty. However, I loved how my wedding turned out overall and I am so happy to be married!
Ceremony: St. Hugh Catholic Church- B
First off, I LOVE Maria, who is the church coordinator. She is so sweet and super helpful. Father Garcia also delivered a wonderful ceremony for us. There were a few things that did disappoint me. I was told that Father will not be happy if you are late to your rehearsal because he does them all in one day, so I drilled it in to my bridal party to be there super early. Our rehearsal was scheduled for 5 PM and we were there at 4:30, except for my in laws who arrived around 5:10. Anyway, we started the rehearsal around 4:50 with a few people missing, and when they showed up at 5:10, he refused to go over the order of things again, even though we were scheduled to have rehearsal till 5:30. This wasn’t a huge deal. The day of the wedding, Ollie and his crew of men showed up at the church at 3 PM, which is when the second photog was going to be there to get some shots. Well some guy that works for the church refused to open the gate for them. He didn't want anyone in the church before 3:30. They didn't want to go into the sanctuary, the just wanted to park thier cars and take some pics out front. At this time there were about 10 cars clogging up the road, trying to get in for my ceremony (invites said 3:30, it started at 4.) Ollie threatened to call the archdiocese of Miami and magically the gates opened. I was mostly disappointed that during the ceremony, the readings were not placed on the stand for the lectors to read them. Luckily my one reader printed it out and brought it with her to the stand. My second reader, poor girl was only 11, just stood there for a minute like a dear in headlights. Luckily, I had made programs with the readings in there, and my MOH finally ran up to her with the reading. Since then, I have become an advocate for programs! Also my cousins went up to bring the gifts to the priest, and there was no bread or wine for them to bring up. What REALLY upset me was we only had 10 minutes to take pictures at the altar. Just when our grandmas were lining up to take pics with us, we got kicked out and we never did get to take a picture with them. They are all still upset over this, as am I.
Ceremony Vocalist: Cecilia Witkowski from St. Hugh- A
I was really surprised that people even paid attention to the songs at the ceremony, but they kept coming up to me all night commenting on how amazing she made the ceremony. Her communication was great and she gave an excellent performance.
Reception Venue: The Rusty Pelican- B
I was working with Betty originally, and then I was assigned to Edward. I will say that this place did give me some headaches early on, and what annoyed me the most was when they informed me I couldn’t bring my wedding items to the venue until the morning of the reception. This was just not possible for me logistically. When I signed our contract, they said we could bring in all of our stuff when we gave the final payment, which is 4 days before. Needless to say, I argued until they let me bring the stuff Friday afternoon, but I was still super peeved. I ended up buying a ton of things to bring to the reception, and if I had known about this rule when it changed, I wouldn’t have accumulated so much stuff. Also, because we opted to have a buffet set up, we were invited to the Sunday brunch as our tasting, but none of the food was the same as what we could select, so we really didn’t have a tasting. At our cocktail hour, which was scheduled from 6-7 PM, they told our guests the bar will not open till 7, which was an error because I paid for them to begin serving liquor at 6. They did fix it but I had some unhappy guests for awhile. During our planning meetings, they kept telling me not to stress about the timeline. If guests arrive for cocktail hour early, they will serve everything early and just move up the timeline. My guests arrived at 5:30, and food and liquor was not served until 6, after the minor mishap of when to open the bar. I would have much preferred everything moved up a half hour like they said they would. Sometime towards the end of the reception while I was dancing, a server came up to me to give me a comment card to fill out. Ummm I was kinda busy and did not need to be bothered with that. I told them to leave it on the sweetheart table and I have no idea what happened to it. Overall I am still thrilled to have had my wedding there, because the ballroom, the view, and the food are still being raved about.
A little story about their valet drivers- while we were partying at the Rusty Pelican, one of the valet drivers ran a customer’s car into the limo my in laws had. The police came to do the report, and it was discovered the valet did not have a license. He went to jail that night. 2 other valet drivers were found to either have no license, or a suspended license. Not sure if they went to jail or were fired or whatever. Craziness that valet companies don’t check to see if people have valid licenses! And the clientele of that restaurant have expensive cars.
Fabulous Fetes, Justine- A
She was VERY helpful prior to the wedding day, printed my programs free of charge and also did my menus and printed them free of charge for me. I spoke with her when I was having doubts with my vendors and she was a good sounding board. She offered to meet with vendors when I had meetings with them, but I didn’t really need her to do that. She dropped off my menus at AB Covers for me and finalized all of my vendor contracts. She attended our rehearsal and took all the directions from the priest. Everything was set up the day of the way I wanted it to, and came out beautifully. I tried to keep my guests out of the ballroom until my photogs got there, but my mom told her to open the doors so I got overruled. I spoke with her several times during the night to have her do something for me and it was never a problem. Everything was packed up nicely at the end of the night. Overall I thought she did a good job.
Photography: DB Images- A (pending pictures)
Based on how my e-pics and shower pics came out, and my incredible wedding teasers, I am super happy with my decision to have used Devynn. I spoke with her constantly during the planning process and she always got back to me, it really feels like we have become friends. She is also shooting my cousin’s wedding so I know we will be in touch for a long time to come.
Photography: Joseph Keith Photography- A (pending pictures)
I really wanted a second photographer, and Devynn hired Joseph for me. I had no prior contact with him before the wedding. He brought along a ton of lighting gear, and I love a lot of the ideas he had for posing us and setting up shots. He went to the church to photograph the guys before I got there, and they thought he was super cool and they loved working with him. Ollie couldn’t stop raving about him on our honeymoon lol. I have yet to see any of his final photos though, but based on his professionalism that day, I am super excited to see his shots. I have heard he is relatively inexpensive, so check him out if you don’t have a large budget for photos.
Video: My Treasure Videos- A+!! (pending final video)
I had not even met Javier in person until my wedding day, so I really didn’t focus too much on our video. After the drama I experienced with another video company, I felt I could trust him 100% to do his thing and he did. He gave us a ton of upgrades just because he really wanted us to have certain things. Our video recap is so beautiful and I barely noticed Javier at all that night, even in our cramped hotel room getting ready. I really cannot get over how nice he is and how he couldn’t wait to do our recap, it was ready the next day!
Video: Dreammaker Events- no grade, just do NOT use them!
I feel entitled to review them since for a long time I was a client of theirs. This review is based on my actual experience with them, ALL CRAZY KNOT DRAMA ASIDE. I can say that Rob always returned messages, however I had a lot of concerns based on the experiences of other brides. When I brought the concerns to his attention, he basically said everyone was lying and his company would never do these things. When I originally booked with them, I was told you had to have the blu ray package, they didn’t shoot in standard definition anymore. Of course when I told him he was no longer worth the 2 grand I was contracted for, he told he would let me change my package to a smaller one, without blu ray. Where was this package when I originally asked for it? He refused to do anything to make me happy, and was saying that all I wanted was a discount. Not completely true, I just felt he was no longer worth the money and that I wouldn’t receive what I was paying for. I ultimately went elsewhere and could not have been happier.
DJ: Liquid DJs- A
Shannon sent us DJ L.A. and the dance floor was busy all night, which is really the only thing I cared about. Communication with Shannon was great leading up to the wedding. We wanted to be announced into the ballroom and then go straight into our first dance, and I don’t know why there was a delay, but after we were announced, the DJ played some dance music and told everyone to join us on the dance floor, then 30 seconds later they all sat down when our first dance song came on. Kinda awkward, but it wasn’t a big deal.
Uplighting: Ubi- A
Ubi tried to get me a DJ a few weeks before my wedding, but he was all booked up. He offered to try and hunt one down for me with another company, but I ended up finding Liquid DJs so it was fine. The lighting looked awesome and as far as I know it was there on time and set up properly.
Cocktail hour violinist: Music for Anything- A
I had heard stories about how bad their communication is but I actually had an awesome experience in that regard. I only hired them about 2 weeks before and it was constant communication. I didn’t hear the music at all, and nobody really told me about the performance, but I know they did their job and were prompt.
Cake: Lily with Edible Creations- A
This woman is as sweet as her cakes. It was delicious and the design was exactly what I requested. The red velvet was a the biggest hit with our guests.
Florist: Gil Sosa- A
What can I say that already hasn’t been said about this man. His communication definitely improves when your wedding nears (but you have to be super close, like a week out.) 4 days before the wedding, he offered me a new idea for my centerpieces that sounded really awesome. It was to use the floralytes like on one of the weddings on Justine’s blog, with opaque white vases. He said it would blow my mind and it probably would have, but I opted to keep my original design because my flowers and linens were white, so I just felt like white vases would have been too much white. My flowers turned out beautifully. My sign in table was my favorite thing. I will be nitpicky for a second and say that a few things were different from my contract. The BM bouquets were supposed to be only calla lilies, but they ended up having several types of white flowers with the little green berries. This was fine, they looked good. I wish my cake had flowers on the very top tier though; I am not sure why that part was left out. Lastly, my centerpieces were surrounded by cylinders with floating orchids, as opposed to the candle holders that were originally used during my trial. It still looked nice, but I would have preferred the candle holders with different heights.
Linens: AB Covers- A
I love Ana, she did several different set ups for me and didn’t pressure me into upgrading. The only linens I upgraded were the napkins, I wanted them to be teal. She offered to take my extra damask fabric and make napkin ties. This came out so fabulous and she didn’t charge me anything for it, even though sewing the edges on all those ties must have taken a lot of work and time.
Limos: A-1 Limos out of Boyton Beach
We had 2 limos and a towncar the whole night. They were on time and very professional. They tried as hard as they could to get me close to the front doors of the church, the parking area of St. Hugh is quite awkward. My FIL booked the limos so I do not know how their prices were or their customer service prior to that day. I do know my FIL told me we would be getting an 8 passenger limo, and we got a huge SUV limo that could have fit 15.
Flower preservation: Forever Flowers: A (pending final product)
They picked up my flowers at the reception venue on time, I still need to pick out how I want my display to look.
Wedding Gown: bestbridalprices.com- A
Although they no longer sell Maggie Sottero gowns, I was able to get mine from there before they stopped. The dress was perfect and came a few weeks early. I agonized over this decision, since buying a wedding gown online is not ideal for a nervous bride. It was probably one of the better decisions I made during the planning process.
Alterations: Reina- C
This review disappoints me so much. I loved the way my dress fit, don’t get me wrong. Reina did a fabulous job with it and had to do a significant amount of alterations. However, my mom and I tried on our dresses for the last time, and then we waited over an hour for her to steam and press them and then took everything home. Imagine my surprise when I take my dress out of the bag on my wedding day to find it is NOT pressed or steamed at all! I had to call the Biltmore and they sent a steam machine up to my room, so my aunt and I were steaming my dress. I only had enough time to do the front, which looked awesome. You can see how wrinkled the back of the dress was though in a black and white photo on Devynn's blog. I was so upset by this, it was my biggest disappointment. I still love her and would recommend her to anyone for alterations; I just don't understand how my dress wasn’t pressed when I was sitting there while they worked on it. It didn’t occur to me to take the dress out of the bag to check and make sure it was steamed. My dress really needed it because I ordered online and it was packed up in a box for a while.
Hair: Dina Acle- A
What a sweetheart! She did my hair, my mom’s, my grandma’s, 2 of my bridesmaid’s, and my flower girl’s. Everyone looked great. My hair did lose some of it’s curl throughout the night but only because it downpoured on me. I can’t blame her for that, I still insisted on having my hair down regardless of the weather. I am still happy I decided to have it down, because it still looked decent in pictures. She also did my eyebrows for me a week before the wedding, and she will send you lots of pictures of her work.
MAC Makeup: Jorge Pena- A
This guy is a trip and half and kept up the entertainment factor while doing my cousin’s makeup, my mom’s, and myself. My mom looked so awesome, she never wears makeup. Same with my cousin, she usually wears none and she looked great that night. I loved my own makeup and it help up all night. Great communication with him as well.
Bridesmaids Dresses: Patricia South- A
The dresses were fabulous and all the guests loved them and the girls looked smokin. They came in on time and were the best price I found besides online ordering.
Groomsman Tuxes: MW Tux Aventura- C
I don’t know too many details because everyone hid the problems from Bridezilla, but I do know that our long distance groomsman had their tuxes delivered to their local tux places instead of here in Aventura. A bunch of them had to get refitted, and one groomsman did not have his tux delivered to him until 1 PM on our wedding day (ceremony started at 4 PM!)
Hotel block: Biltmore Hotel- A
LOVE this hotel, it is a great backdrop for photos. I recommend staying here because they allow you take photos for free as a guest on their gorgeous grounds, instead of paying the $200 fee or whatever it is. They had a few weddings going on that day, so they asked us to leave those areas, but that is understandable. Those brides are paying an exorbitant amount of cash and deserve priority. They also dropped our room rates by 70 bucks a night a week prior our stay, for no reason that we know of. Super grateful for that! When I needed my wedding dress steamed, they sent a commercial steamer up to me right away to take care of my dress. That was lifesaving right there.
Rehearsal Dinner: Los Ranchos Cocowalk- A
I had never been there before, but their food was amazing. The steak I had with tons of chimichurri was a lifechanging experience. Service was great and prices seemed reasonable, although I know we had a large bill due to the alcohol we consumed. I cannot wait to go back there and have more steak. Everyone had a great time and the families got to know each other better. My in laws did all of the arrangements, so I cannot comment on that experience but I am guessing it went smoothly.
Honeymoon: Sandals Regency in St. Lucia- A
We used Nancy Finn as our travel agent and she was a pleasure to work with. We were orginially booked at the Sandals Grande, but we decided to switch over to the Regency to save money. The amount was saved was significant, and we think the Regency was the resort for us anyway, after visiting all of the other Sandals on St. Lucia. Our room was super cute and we had a phenomenal view. The food is okay, and the bartenders are very liberal with the alcohol. The only thing that is odd is that you can't eat lunch past 2:30 or dinner past 9:30, and a few times were were later than that so we got stuck eating at the burger grill that is open all the time. I would highly recommend the zipligning excursion, as well as Simon Says tours. He is independent from Sandals but gives you a local tour of the entire island, and he even brings you back to his house and his wife cooks you some awesome carribbean food. Money well spent, and we definitely needed the time to relax after the wedding planning.
Ceremony: St. Hugh Catholic Church- B
First off, I LOVE Maria, who is the church coordinator. She is so sweet and super helpful. Father Garcia also delivered a wonderful ceremony for us. There were a few things that did disappoint me. I was told that Father will not be happy if you are late to your rehearsal because he does them all in one day, so I drilled it in to my bridal party to be there super early. Our rehearsal was scheduled for 5 PM and we were there at 4:30, except for my in laws who arrived around 5:10. Anyway, we started the rehearsal around 4:50 with a few people missing, and when they showed up at 5:10, he refused to go over the order of things again, even though we were scheduled to have rehearsal till 5:30. This wasn’t a huge deal. The day of the wedding, Ollie and his crew of men showed up at the church at 3 PM, which is when the second photog was going to be there to get some shots. Well some guy that works for the church refused to open the gate for them. He didn't want anyone in the church before 3:30. They didn't want to go into the sanctuary, the just wanted to park thier cars and take some pics out front. At this time there were about 10 cars clogging up the road, trying to get in for my ceremony (invites said 3:30, it started at 4.) Ollie threatened to call the archdiocese of Miami and magically the gates opened. I was mostly disappointed that during the ceremony, the readings were not placed on the stand for the lectors to read them. Luckily my one reader printed it out and brought it with her to the stand. My second reader, poor girl was only 11, just stood there for a minute like a dear in headlights. Luckily, I had made programs with the readings in there, and my MOH finally ran up to her with the reading. Since then, I have become an advocate for programs! Also my cousins went up to bring the gifts to the priest, and there was no bread or wine for them to bring up. What REALLY upset me was we only had 10 minutes to take pictures at the altar. Just when our grandmas were lining up to take pics with us, we got kicked out and we never did get to take a picture with them. They are all still upset over this, as am I.
Ceremony Vocalist: Cecilia Witkowski from St. Hugh- A
I was really surprised that people even paid attention to the songs at the ceremony, but they kept coming up to me all night commenting on how amazing she made the ceremony. Her communication was great and she gave an excellent performance.
Reception Venue: The Rusty Pelican- B
I was working with Betty originally, and then I was assigned to Edward. I will say that this place did give me some headaches early on, and what annoyed me the most was when they informed me I couldn’t bring my wedding items to the venue until the morning of the reception. This was just not possible for me logistically. When I signed our contract, they said we could bring in all of our stuff when we gave the final payment, which is 4 days before. Needless to say, I argued until they let me bring the stuff Friday afternoon, but I was still super peeved. I ended up buying a ton of things to bring to the reception, and if I had known about this rule when it changed, I wouldn’t have accumulated so much stuff. Also, because we opted to have a buffet set up, we were invited to the Sunday brunch as our tasting, but none of the food was the same as what we could select, so we really didn’t have a tasting. At our cocktail hour, which was scheduled from 6-7 PM, they told our guests the bar will not open till 7, which was an error because I paid for them to begin serving liquor at 6. They did fix it but I had some unhappy guests for awhile. During our planning meetings, they kept telling me not to stress about the timeline. If guests arrive for cocktail hour early, they will serve everything early and just move up the timeline. My guests arrived at 5:30, and food and liquor was not served until 6, after the minor mishap of when to open the bar. I would have much preferred everything moved up a half hour like they said they would. Sometime towards the end of the reception while I was dancing, a server came up to me to give me a comment card to fill out. Ummm I was kinda busy and did not need to be bothered with that. I told them to leave it on the sweetheart table and I have no idea what happened to it. Overall I am still thrilled to have had my wedding there, because the ballroom, the view, and the food are still being raved about.
A little story about their valet drivers- while we were partying at the Rusty Pelican, one of the valet drivers ran a customer’s car into the limo my in laws had. The police came to do the report, and it was discovered the valet did not have a license. He went to jail that night. 2 other valet drivers were found to either have no license, or a suspended license. Not sure if they went to jail or were fired or whatever. Craziness that valet companies don’t check to see if people have valid licenses! And the clientele of that restaurant have expensive cars.
Fabulous Fetes, Justine- A
She was VERY helpful prior to the wedding day, printed my programs free of charge and also did my menus and printed them free of charge for me. I spoke with her when I was having doubts with my vendors and she was a good sounding board. She offered to meet with vendors when I had meetings with them, but I didn’t really need her to do that. She dropped off my menus at AB Covers for me and finalized all of my vendor contracts. She attended our rehearsal and took all the directions from the priest. Everything was set up the day of the way I wanted it to, and came out beautifully. I tried to keep my guests out of the ballroom until my photogs got there, but my mom told her to open the doors so I got overruled. I spoke with her several times during the night to have her do something for me and it was never a problem. Everything was packed up nicely at the end of the night. Overall I thought she did a good job.
Photography: DB Images- A (pending pictures)
Based on how my e-pics and shower pics came out, and my incredible wedding teasers, I am super happy with my decision to have used Devynn. I spoke with her constantly during the planning process and she always got back to me, it really feels like we have become friends. She is also shooting my cousin’s wedding so I know we will be in touch for a long time to come.
Photography: Joseph Keith Photography- A (pending pictures)
I really wanted a second photographer, and Devynn hired Joseph for me. I had no prior contact with him before the wedding. He brought along a ton of lighting gear, and I love a lot of the ideas he had for posing us and setting up shots. He went to the church to photograph the guys before I got there, and they thought he was super cool and they loved working with him. Ollie couldn’t stop raving about him on our honeymoon lol. I have yet to see any of his final photos though, but based on his professionalism that day, I am super excited to see his shots. I have heard he is relatively inexpensive, so check him out if you don’t have a large budget for photos.
Video: My Treasure Videos- A+!! (pending final video)
I had not even met Javier in person until my wedding day, so I really didn’t focus too much on our video. After the drama I experienced with another video company, I felt I could trust him 100% to do his thing and he did. He gave us a ton of upgrades just because he really wanted us to have certain things. Our video recap is so beautiful and I barely noticed Javier at all that night, even in our cramped hotel room getting ready. I really cannot get over how nice he is and how he couldn’t wait to do our recap, it was ready the next day!
Video: Dreammaker Events- no grade, just do NOT use them!
I feel entitled to review them since for a long time I was a client of theirs. This review is based on my actual experience with them, ALL CRAZY KNOT DRAMA ASIDE. I can say that Rob always returned messages, however I had a lot of concerns based on the experiences of other brides. When I brought the concerns to his attention, he basically said everyone was lying and his company would never do these things. When I originally booked with them, I was told you had to have the blu ray package, they didn’t shoot in standard definition anymore. Of course when I told him he was no longer worth the 2 grand I was contracted for, he told he would let me change my package to a smaller one, without blu ray. Where was this package when I originally asked for it? He refused to do anything to make me happy, and was saying that all I wanted was a discount. Not completely true, I just felt he was no longer worth the money and that I wouldn’t receive what I was paying for. I ultimately went elsewhere and could not have been happier.
DJ: Liquid DJs- A
Shannon sent us DJ L.A. and the dance floor was busy all night, which is really the only thing I cared about. Communication with Shannon was great leading up to the wedding. We wanted to be announced into the ballroom and then go straight into our first dance, and I don’t know why there was a delay, but after we were announced, the DJ played some dance music and told everyone to join us on the dance floor, then 30 seconds later they all sat down when our first dance song came on. Kinda awkward, but it wasn’t a big deal.
Uplighting: Ubi- A
Ubi tried to get me a DJ a few weeks before my wedding, but he was all booked up. He offered to try and hunt one down for me with another company, but I ended up finding Liquid DJs so it was fine. The lighting looked awesome and as far as I know it was there on time and set up properly.
Cocktail hour violinist: Music for Anything- A
I had heard stories about how bad their communication is but I actually had an awesome experience in that regard. I only hired them about 2 weeks before and it was constant communication. I didn’t hear the music at all, and nobody really told me about the performance, but I know they did their job and were prompt.
Cake: Lily with Edible Creations- A
This woman is as sweet as her cakes. It was delicious and the design was exactly what I requested. The red velvet was a the biggest hit with our guests.
Florist: Gil Sosa- A
What can I say that already hasn’t been said about this man. His communication definitely improves when your wedding nears (but you have to be super close, like a week out.) 4 days before the wedding, he offered me a new idea for my centerpieces that sounded really awesome. It was to use the floralytes like on one of the weddings on Justine’s blog, with opaque white vases. He said it would blow my mind and it probably would have, but I opted to keep my original design because my flowers and linens were white, so I just felt like white vases would have been too much white. My flowers turned out beautifully. My sign in table was my favorite thing. I will be nitpicky for a second and say that a few things were different from my contract. The BM bouquets were supposed to be only calla lilies, but they ended up having several types of white flowers with the little green berries. This was fine, they looked good. I wish my cake had flowers on the very top tier though; I am not sure why that part was left out. Lastly, my centerpieces were surrounded by cylinders with floating orchids, as opposed to the candle holders that were originally used during my trial. It still looked nice, but I would have preferred the candle holders with different heights.
Linens: AB Covers- A
I love Ana, she did several different set ups for me and didn’t pressure me into upgrading. The only linens I upgraded were the napkins, I wanted them to be teal. She offered to take my extra damask fabric and make napkin ties. This came out so fabulous and she didn’t charge me anything for it, even though sewing the edges on all those ties must have taken a lot of work and time.
Limos: A-1 Limos out of Boyton Beach
We had 2 limos and a towncar the whole night. They were on time and very professional. They tried as hard as they could to get me close to the front doors of the church, the parking area of St. Hugh is quite awkward. My FIL booked the limos so I do not know how their prices were or their customer service prior to that day. I do know my FIL told me we would be getting an 8 passenger limo, and we got a huge SUV limo that could have fit 15.
Flower preservation: Forever Flowers: A (pending final product)
They picked up my flowers at the reception venue on time, I still need to pick out how I want my display to look.
Wedding Gown: bestbridalprices.com- A
Although they no longer sell Maggie Sottero gowns, I was able to get mine from there before they stopped. The dress was perfect and came a few weeks early. I agonized over this decision, since buying a wedding gown online is not ideal for a nervous bride. It was probably one of the better decisions I made during the planning process.
Alterations: Reina- C
This review disappoints me so much. I loved the way my dress fit, don’t get me wrong. Reina did a fabulous job with it and had to do a significant amount of alterations. However, my mom and I tried on our dresses for the last time, and then we waited over an hour for her to steam and press them and then took everything home. Imagine my surprise when I take my dress out of the bag on my wedding day to find it is NOT pressed or steamed at all! I had to call the Biltmore and they sent a steam machine up to my room, so my aunt and I were steaming my dress. I only had enough time to do the front, which looked awesome. You can see how wrinkled the back of the dress was though in a black and white photo on Devynn's blog. I was so upset by this, it was my biggest disappointment. I still love her and would recommend her to anyone for alterations; I just don't understand how my dress wasn’t pressed when I was sitting there while they worked on it. It didn’t occur to me to take the dress out of the bag to check and make sure it was steamed. My dress really needed it because I ordered online and it was packed up in a box for a while.
Hair: Dina Acle- A
What a sweetheart! She did my hair, my mom’s, my grandma’s, 2 of my bridesmaid’s, and my flower girl’s. Everyone looked great. My hair did lose some of it’s curl throughout the night but only because it downpoured on me. I can’t blame her for that, I still insisted on having my hair down regardless of the weather. I am still happy I decided to have it down, because it still looked decent in pictures. She also did my eyebrows for me a week before the wedding, and she will send you lots of pictures of her work.
MAC Makeup: Jorge Pena- A
This guy is a trip and half and kept up the entertainment factor while doing my cousin’s makeup, my mom’s, and myself. My mom looked so awesome, she never wears makeup. Same with my cousin, she usually wears none and she looked great that night. I loved my own makeup and it help up all night. Great communication with him as well.
Bridesmaids Dresses: Patricia South- A
The dresses were fabulous and all the guests loved them and the girls looked smokin. They came in on time and were the best price I found besides online ordering.
Groomsman Tuxes: MW Tux Aventura- C
I don’t know too many details because everyone hid the problems from Bridezilla, but I do know that our long distance groomsman had their tuxes delivered to their local tux places instead of here in Aventura. A bunch of them had to get refitted, and one groomsman did not have his tux delivered to him until 1 PM on our wedding day (ceremony started at 4 PM!)
Hotel block: Biltmore Hotel- A
LOVE this hotel, it is a great backdrop for photos. I recommend staying here because they allow you take photos for free as a guest on their gorgeous grounds, instead of paying the $200 fee or whatever it is. They had a few weddings going on that day, so they asked us to leave those areas, but that is understandable. Those brides are paying an exorbitant amount of cash and deserve priority. They also dropped our room rates by 70 bucks a night a week prior our stay, for no reason that we know of. Super grateful for that! When I needed my wedding dress steamed, they sent a commercial steamer up to me right away to take care of my dress. That was lifesaving right there.
Rehearsal Dinner: Los Ranchos Cocowalk- A
I had never been there before, but their food was amazing. The steak I had with tons of chimichurri was a lifechanging experience. Service was great and prices seemed reasonable, although I know we had a large bill due to the alcohol we consumed. I cannot wait to go back there and have more steak. Everyone had a great time and the families got to know each other better. My in laws did all of the arrangements, so I cannot comment on that experience but I am guessing it went smoothly.
Honeymoon: Sandals Regency in St. Lucia- A
We used Nancy Finn as our travel agent and she was a pleasure to work with. We were orginially booked at the Sandals Grande, but we decided to switch over to the Regency to save money. The amount was saved was significant, and we think the Regency was the resort for us anyway, after visiting all of the other Sandals on St. Lucia. Our room was super cute and we had a phenomenal view. The food is okay, and the bartenders are very liberal with the alcohol. The only thing that is odd is that you can't eat lunch past 2:30 or dinner past 9:30, and a few times were were later than that so we got stuck eating at the burger grill that is open all the time. I would highly recommend the zipligning excursion, as well as Simon Says tours. He is independent from Sandals but gives you a local tour of the entire island, and he even brings you back to his house and his wife cooks you some awesome carribbean food. Money well spent, and we definitely needed the time to relax after the wedding planning.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
