I know that all vendor reviews are somewhat subjective, so let me preface with this - I'm pretty easy to please. I thought our wedding was great. No major hiccups. The whole thing was planned off the Cape via phone, email and the occasional trip to Chatham and the surrounding area.
Ceremony & Reception - Chatham Bars Inn ~ AThe resort was beautiful - the food was fabulous - the staff was on the ball and attentive. The only negative aspect (if you can call it that) was over the course of the past year I worked with 4 different catering managers. Just a bit of bad luck I guess working around a maternity leave and people shifting roles. That said, everyone I worked with was extremely professional, knowledgeable and accommodating. Great pastry chef - the cake was amazing. Kate truly was fabulous on the day of the wedding. Overall I was very happy with the resort.
As an aside - this resort is not entirely out of reach if you are on a budget. When I first started looking at Cape Cod hotels, most of the advice I heard was not to bother looking at the big hotels unless you have some money to spend. We had a ceremony and reception for 40 people here for just under $12,000. So definitely not the cheapest option but you also don't have to sell both your kidneys on the black-market to pay for it.
Flowers - New England Gardens - Briana Potter ~ AFlower budget of $600. Hydrangeas and white roses. Had 6 centerpieces; 2 giant vases of flowers at the alter; 8 corsages (3 sets of parents, groom and best man) and 2 bouquets. Briana was great. I didn't really have a vision of what I wanted, so I asked for pretty and she sure delivered! Great flowers overall - no wilting or fading.
Hair - Justine of Salon Justine ~ AOn time, reasonably priced and comes with an army of suitcases and hair supplies. Had a down-do that last well into the night (until my necklace got caught in it and messed it up). Very happy.
Make Up - Danielle Ross - AVery knowledgeable on products. She also doesn't make a fuss if you don't like a colour or how something looks. I think we wiped my face clean a couple of times during the trial. Not sure if it was the prep she did to my skin or the make up itself but everything had staying power and last well into to the next day. Was kind of sad to wash my face the next day:-)Otherwise, on time, reasonably priced and lots of fun to work with.
Chairs for Ceremony - Rentals Unlimited ~ ANo fuss here. Ask for chairs. Paid. They were delivered. Enough said.
Justice of the Peace - Sue Marcus ~ A+Lovely. Just lovely. Great speaking voice and wonderful to work with.
Photographer - John LoConte ~ ANice photos and great personality to work with. Reasonably priced.
Musicians - Cape Cod Music ~ BSome minor issues ensuring payment was received on time but honestly that was because we booked them at the last minute. Everything sounded lovely but they didn't play for too long - maybe 30 minutes.
Rehearsal Dinner - Sesuit Harbor Café ~ A+Nice location, friendly staff and low-key atmosphere. Great lobster.
Hotel - Chatham Highlander ~ A+We stayed here for a week prior to the wedding and all of our guests stayed here while on the Cape. Clean, central to everything in Chatham and reasonably priced. We pretty much took over this hotel. Jean & Michael were friendly and accommodating - loved it! Would stay here again in a heartbeat.
And just like that….it was all over!