EliStar's Reviews 06.09.07

Venue
Parrot Jungle Island - A+++++++++++++++++++
I cannot say enough nice things about Parrot Jungle. Everyone on their staff is consistently attentive, the room was perfect, the drinks and food were superb, and they did everything I asked of them and more. My catering manager was Mercy Acosta, and she was just an absolute joy. Every time I called to ask a question, she patiently answered and explained any necessary details, and every time I called to make sure we were on the same page, she always was. They took care of all the materials for my signature drinks, they accommodated all of my requests, and they made sure my room looked beautiful. When I couldn’t get in touch with one of my vendors, Mercy personally called and sorted out details for me. If you are looking for a place that is reasonably priced at a beautiful location with wonderful service, I highly recommend Parrot Jungle Island.

Granada Presbyterian Church - B+
The church itself is beautiful and all of the staff is incredibly nice, but a bit irresponsible. Every time I called to check up on things, they had usually completely forgotten our last conversation, but the reason I gave them a high score is because they always did their best to catch up and make amends. I was also a bit upset about not being informed that my wedding coordinator at the church had been switched the week of the wedding, but fortunately I KNEW the coordinator that they replaced her with and she was very sweet and detailed. Also, they started the prelude music super late and messed up the processional music, which kinda peeved me, but it was not that big of a deal. Out pastor, Pastor Phil Binnie, is one of the nicest men I have ever met. He conducted our pre-marital courses, which were VERY helpful and I think My DH and I both gained a lot from them.

Richard Miller Photography, Maja Miller - A++++++++++++++++++++++ (If I could fill up a whole page with pluses, I would. )
I will preface this review with a very important fact - We have not received our wedding photos yet. But I am grading Maja on her absolutely wonderful demeanor and of course on the amazing engagement pictures she took of us. She was so easy to get along with and is so incredibly professional. DH and I had a BLAST with her and her staff, who were all cracking jokes and they made us feel completely comfortable. When Maja arrived at the hotel and started my bridal shoot, she whispered to me “ I can tell this is going to be one of the weddings where we take over a thousand pictures - there are just so many wonderful things to photograph!” And boy did she hold up to her side of the bargain. The woman did not stop shooting for one second!! She kept showing us the pictures while she was taking them, and my mouth dropped every time. I am so incredibly excited to see them.
Update - I got my wedding photos back and I am THRILLED. I knew they would be beautiful but she surpassed my expectations. I stand by my grade!


Live Band
Continental Brass - C
I was very disappointed with my band. They kept taking long breaks in between songs, they never appeared like they had it together, and both Jesus (the band leader) AND his son (the assistant band leader) disappeared ten minutes into the reception. Their DJ, DJ Billy kept mixing up songs, and the singing was not that great. I have been to several weddings where they’ve played and they were MUCH better, so I was definitely let down. Don’t get me wrong, there were people on the dance floor and everyone had a great time, but I can’t whole-heartedly recommend them.

Polynesian Show - A+
Marcee Rodriguez
What a blast! I think that the Hawaiian show was the highlight of the party - it was so much fun! Marcee put on such a great show, and the fire dancer just WOWed everyone! What was great is that they brought everyone up to learn how to hula, and the hunky fire dancer individually brought up some older ladies and taught them how to dance which was HILARIOUS. I don’t think I’ve laughed so hard in my life. I HIGHLY recommend them, you will NOT regret hiring them!

Petunia Flowers - A++++++++++++++++++++++++
Eduardo did a fantastic job on my flowers. I almost cried when I saw my bouquet and the reception room. The centerpieces were beautiful, the bouquets and boutonnieres were perfect, and even though he called to tell me that most of the ranunculus we had planned on using had died, he saved 8 of them for my bouquet and threw in a box of peonies for my centerpieces. On top of being extremely meticulous about my flowers, Eduardo is one of the most wonderful people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. I loved him the moment I met him, and knew I HAD to have him as my florist no matter what!! HIGHLY recommend!!!

Meilan Limousine - A+
They were responsible, on time, and the car was perfect. The AC was great, the car was beautiful. The driver was very polite and sweet, and personally made sure that no one saw me before the ceremony. He even told Anthony that he’d married “the prettiest of them all” in Spanish though, so I had to translate. LOL, it kind of lost the magic, but oh well! Highly recommend.

AB Cover Designers - D+/C
I am very upset with AB Covers. Every time I tried to get a hold of Ana I was put on hold and told she’d call me back. My mother and I must have called 20 times and we never got one single call back. The day before the wedding I had no idea whether I was going to get draping behind my sweetheart table. If my DOC and Mercy hadn’t called her to hound her about the draping, I WOULDN’T have gotten draping, although I had been personally reminding her about it at every one of the three meetings I had with Ana. What’s worse is that she had no recollection of me ever wanting draping behind the sweetheart table. On top of that mess, I paid almost $800 for draping, which included draping the entire air wall which separates the ball rooms. When I got to my reception, the HUGE air wall, which is maybe 300 feet long was not draped. Instead, they had draped behind the band, which was maybe a quarter of the size. I did not pay $800 for draping behind the band. Needless to say, I will be getting in contact with them about that. The only reason they did not get an F- is because the draping behind my SW table was gorgeous and everything else was perfect and in place. So, I only recommend them if you are willing to go through hell and back to get beautiful linens, and even then, still risk them fugging up what you want. Revision - When I got back from my HM, my mom told me that she had called Ana to complain about what happened and that she had apologized profusely and refunded a portion of the draping cost. I upgraded her to a C for her behavior AFTER the fact, but I stand by my D+ for prior to the wedding.

Invitations
Smashing Cards - A++++
I emailed Ashley from Smashing Cards the same day I came across their webpage. OMG. My invites were to die for. I got SO many compliments on them, I even had friends and family calling me and asking me to send another for their albums and scrapbooks.. It really was incredible. Cake, Favors, take home pastry boxes - A+++++++ times infiniti

Delicioso Bakery A++++++
My dad made my wedding cake. I almost cried when I saw it. Although the table they put it on was a little crooked, the cake was so beautiful that it took my breath away. It was EXACTLY what I wanted, I could tell my dad had broken his back to get it just perfect. It was six layers and DELISH. Thank you Daddy!! Oh and he also made my cookie favors, which unfortunately must have melted a bit during the transportation process, but they were still pretty!

Biltmore Hotel A+
Bridal prep, night of the wedding hotel, and day after brunch
WOW, is all I can say. We got the HM suite which was sooooooo awesome!! Anthony almost died when he saw our room and ginormous balcony. The bed and pillows were like cotton covered marshmallows. The service was impeccable and the hotel is gorgeous. We took many pictures around the hotel, and I can’t wait to see how they come out. Highly Recommend.

Seamstress for Bridesmaids gown - Sylvia - F-------
She made my life a living hell two weeks before my wedding date. Thank GOD I told her my wedding date was two weeks before the actual date, or some of my BMS would have gotten their dresses on the actual day of the wedding. The dresses were gorgeous, but I seriously think any seamstress could have made the dresses I picked out with the material I also picked out and went to BFE to buy just as nice or better. Several of my BMs had to get their dresses altered because they had problems with they way they fit. She was so incredibly rude to me and my BMs that I felt bad about even asking them to come for their final fittings. She dumped my FG dresses on another seamstress the “week of the wedding” who tried to charge me more than double than the price I had agreed on with Sylvia. Seriously, this was where Bridezilla Eli came out. If you’re going to have your dresses made FIND a RESPONSIBLE seamstress!!!

Rosa Fabrics - Material for BM dresses A
When I went to Ultra Fabrics on Bird Road they were selling the same green material I chose for my BM dresses for almost $8 a yard. I got it for $3 a yard at Rosa Fabrics and it was JUST AS NICE!!! Although it is in a kind of scary neighborhood if you go at the wrong time of day (My mom and I literally saw a lady getting mugged on our first trip there - although her posse chased down the mugger and beat him down with their own purses) it is still worth it to get such a great price on material. The service is great and HAGGLE with them. They will lower their price, especially if you are buying a lot.

My dress
Bridal City- A+
The women there were an absolute joy. They were so nice and helpful, every time I came they just gushed over me and went out of their way to make sure I felt comfortable in my dress. Although Anthony broke my bustle as we were walking into the reception, I kind of knew that was going to happen and just danced the night away holding my dress. I hear they are closing their location, but if they ever open up somewhere else, I highly recommend them.

Hair
Tania Fiandor - A+
Tania has been doing my hair since I was 13 years old. She is no longer just my regular hair stylist, but a very close friend of my family. She did FOUR trials to make sure my hair came out the way I wanted it. Although my waves did eventually fall out towards the end of the night, my hair was beautiful and she really did a wonderful job throughout the wh0ole process. I was very happy with her.

Makeup
Anna Noriega A+
She did a GREAT job on my makeup, JUST what I wanted!! It looked soo natural and pretty, and she was so nice and easy to get a long with. She also was willing to work with me until I was satisfied which was very important to me.

Gms and Anthony’s tuxes
Ace Tuxedos - B+
They were wonderful and the tuxedos were perfect and gorgeous, but they lost Anthony’s measurements and we didn’t find out until two days before the wedding. We had to rush over there to make sure they had the tux he had ordered in his size, which thankfully, they did. Other than that, the service was great and I recommend them.

Day of coordinator
Carmen Becerra - A++++
I hired Carmen two weeks before my wedding Day. Thank GOD I did. She was wonderful, professional, and knew I was a control freak so she cleared EVERYTHING with me first. I could not be more happy with her service. Alessandra recommended her to me after she had rented a seating chart from her. I needed an easel for the large engagement picture I had ordered, and so I met Carmen and hired her on the spot. She took EVERYTHING to Parrot Jungle for me and set up everything just the way I wanted. My candy buffet was soooo cute!! Carmen had made sure it came out like I had set it up in my brain, and she did a perfect job. I HIGHLY recommend her