Hello
ladies,<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
I have been
reading everyone’s reviews and now it is my time to add my own from my wedding
on July 12.
Venue-Maplewood
Country Club A+
http://www.maplewoodcountryclub.com/Catering/Newly-Renovated-Ballroom.aspx
Everything
was perfect. The assistant manager, Weisser, was great and knew exactly what he
was doing from the day we booked till the time we left on our wedding day. I
cannot recommend this place enough. It is classy without too much bling with
incredible food and service. Everything was done in a tasteful manner with a
smile. I know I am biased because it is my venue, but I am so happy we went
with it. The contract was very straight-forward, no minimum guarantee and flat
tip instead of % from the cost per person. I would highly recommend as the
value is amazing at MCC.
DJ- Excel
Entertainment A+
http://www.excel-entertainment.net/
We booked
with Excel after booking our photographer who shares the office with the Excel
Entertainment. We went with a half band/DJ combination. We ended up getting a
singer and percussionist. Everyone loved the music and our singer had the most
amazing voice. I could not believe it was her singing and not a recording. I highly
recommend them. I was a bit of a lazy bride at the end and gave them almost no
direction and they delivered all the way. I would highly recommend.
Photography/Videography-
Papillio Photography-A+
http://www.papilliophotography.com/
We found
Papillio through a friend's recommendation. David and Irene were great. It felt
like we were spending our wedding day with friends taking pictures of us taking
except that our friends knew exactly what they were doing. They are a true
professionals who know their stuff. We can’t wait to see our pictures. We had
them shoot our engagement session and were beyond thrilled.
Hair/Make-up-Fringe
Salon, Maplewood, NJ-A
http://www.thefringesalon.com/
Fringe is my
salon for hair cuts and color. It is Aveda concept which I am a fan of and they
do a great job. Donna did my up-do and the 2 more up-dos for my maid of honor
and one of my bridesmaids. Two other stylists did the blow-outs for the girls
who opted for a simpler hairstyle. I did not have preferences for the hair
styles. My girls opted for different styles. Katie did my make-up which held up
amazingly from 11:30a.m.-12 and beyond. Because we took all of the pictures
before the ceremony we had an earlier start. Both hair and make-up held up
perfectly. I could not be happier. I did re-apply lipstick about 3-4 times
during the day and used blush and powder. I was religious about that and it
showed in the pictures.
If I
could give advise to any bride-to-be it would be make-sure that you re-apply lipstick
and make-up. Take few minutes to do that. I asked my maid of honor to help me
with that and it was so easy but worth it for pictures later.
Florist-Santos,
Newark, NJ- A++
http://santosflorists.com/
Manny, the
owner, did an amazing job. I was in awe when I saw the room. My centerpieces
were bigger than a sample and everything was beyond what I was expecting. The
value was tremendous and extras provided beyond contract made me so happy with
my choice. Manny delivered all the way. I could not be happier. He was great to
work with and truly cared about the wedding often giving us advice on stuff
beyond his domain. I cannot recommend Santos enough. Very happy.
Hotel-Hilton Short
Hills- B+
We stayed at
Hilton Short Hills. The only reason I am giving this hotel a B+ is because it
was expensive and they did not provide breakfast, but if you don't mind your guests
paying a little more for a great service and if you can splurge on breakfast or
forgo it altogether then you must go with Hilton. The service was what you expect from a
5 star hotel. The girls that i worked with-Lauren and Emily were
sweethearts. They made sure everything went smoothly. I met Lauren and felt
like I was meeting an old friend. She made me feel very special. Everything was
taken care of without any reminders. We received chocolate covered strawberries
and champagne to our room and so did our parents who stayed at the hotel. It was pretty neat to receive that type of service. We used MyLimo for
our shuttle transportation. MyLimo was great to work with. Danielle over at MyLimo was great.The cost of two roundtrips was entirely covered by
the Hilton. I highly recommend this hotel and the service we received is hard
to come by anymore.
Ketubah-theketubah.com-A
We ordered
our interfaith ketubah from Stephanie from theketubah.com. Since I almost
forgot about it, I had to rush order it. Stephanie did a beautiful job
personalizing it. We loved it. Highly recommend her services. We ended up
picking it up from her studio in NYC due to time constraints, but she also
ships for free.
Dress- I do
I do, Morristown, NJ-A
http://www.idoidobridalstudio.com/
I loved my
pronovias dress. It was a modern princess dress that I always dreamt of. I had
a great experience at the salon. Few minor bumps during the alteration process,
but in the end everything was perfect. I also bought my simply raw edge veil
there as well. Highly recommend after trying 2 other salons in NJ. I felt at
home there.
Officient-
Sheila Gay Gross-A+
http://www.sheilagay.com/about/
Saving the
best for last. We loved our officient. She did a beautiful job with the
ceremony. Sheila has a gift of listening. She knows how to turn your words into
a beautiful ceremony. We are so happy that we decided to go with Sheila. Now,
we can’t imagine anyone else marrying us.
Hope this helps any of you planning. I know I used to love reading these when I was planning my wedding.