Hey girls,
So the big day came and went and now I thought I'd share some local vendor reviews...
Venue (ceremony and reception) - Woodcliff Hotel: Beautiful ceremony site but it was a bit hot and since our ceremony was at 6pm the sun was right in our guest's eyes. The fans we provided came in handy to block the sun! Our coordinator, Sarah, was great throughout the whole process but seemed to disappear the day of. The pre-ceremony stuff seemed disorganized and she wasn't around to help, even though they said they'd take care of directing guests, running the ceremony, etc. They did handle all of the set up at no charge and accommodated many of my "unique" requests. There were a few minor hiccups and things that weren't done the way we asked but nothing major. It's definitely a pricey menu but everyone complimented us on our food, venue, environment, etc. I thought the food was good but I actually liked it better at the tasting. My fish was really spicy and my husband's steak wasn't hot. Drinks were great all night
. The venue was large and we had plenty of room to spread out (I hate crowded receptions!). Overall, I'm very pleased with everything besides the few minor hiccups.
Salon- Woodcliff again. I'm pleased with all of our hair and makeup. The girls there were great to work with. No complaints...except with the receptionists, one in particular. I probably had to call 4-6 times to get our appointments straightened out. Everytime I would call to make a change or add something our appointments were wrong. I called a week before the wedding to make a change in one of the appointments and they were almost all wrong. I had the girl go over each of them twice with me to verify and then when they went over them with me the day before the wedding (as I'm getting my pedicure down and trying to relax) one was still wrong. They have a group booking coordinator and I recommend only going through her.
Officiant- Marjorie Smith. Nothing but positive things to say. She let us completely customize our ceremony. We basically chose the wording for the whole thing except the welcome.
DJ- Whirlin' Disc DJs (Jeff, the owner). Absolutely awesome. Can't say anything but positive things. He got everyone dancing right away and the floor was packed all night. I've heard from several people that he's one of the best DJs they've heard (and that my wedding was one of the most fun, which I attribute to him). Very reasonable too.
Florist - Kittleberger. Absolutely loved my flowers. Can't say anything negative. Their prices were comparable, if not below others we looked at. The only negative was the wedding consultant, Debbie. She was not the friendliest, had terrible people skills, poor follow through on requests and even lost our original order so we had to redo it all 2 months before the wedding (and try to remember everything). Even our woodcliff coordinator said something to us about her customer service skills. The flowers were gorgeous though so I can't complain too much. I would recommend going with a different consultant - Mike or Jimmy.
Tuxes - Tuxedo Corner. We liked that this was a local business and my husband could try things on before ordering. The prices were comparable to other local stores. The selection was good and we were happy with our choice. Here's the problem- We requested a different shoe and made each guy pay the extra $5 for them but only my husband got that shoe. The rest of the guys had different ones. One of our ushers had the wrong style shirt and they mixed up two of the other guys tuxes. Nothing major, just annoying. I still have to call and complain.
Photographer - Dee Marie Photography. I cannot say enough about her. She's been amazing. She is very outgoing and friendly. We haven't seen the pics yet but if they are anything like our engagement pics, they'll be awesome. She was more than willing to work with us to customize our package. Her prices are so reasonable and she does great work. She made us a guest book using our engagement photos which is amazing. We got tons of positive feedback from our guests about her and her husband (her assistant). The photo guestbook was a huge hit. She completely blended in during the ceremony and reception. We hardly noticed her...the sign of an awesome photographer. She even helped us with a dress mishap. Absolutely loved her!
Dress- Peggy's Bridal. DO NOT GO THERE. Total rip off and they will lie to you over and over. They told me my dress would be in in April, ended up shipping June 15. And, they basically called me a liar and said they never told me that. They finally admitted to saying it but wouldn't give me any compensation. The final pressing on my dress sucked. You could still see the wrinkles. 2 of the bustle ties broke before the ceremony even started. I still need to call them too. I would recommend going elsewhere. Seems like a beautiful shop but it's not worth the hassle.
I'm probably missing something but that's all I can think of for now. Hope this helps! Happy Planning!