Venue - Casa Monica Hotel A++
http://www.casamonica.com/
The Casa Monica Hotel was extremely helpful! They were always helpful in any of my request when it came to room blocks to making sure my grandma could have a fish meal when everyone else was having steak. Erin Johnson was exceptional, I sometimes felt like she was my wedding planner for all the help and advice she gave me. The staff was very nice and put together my reception look together just as I dreamt of!
Ceremony/Wedding Planner - The Lightner Museum/The Wedding Authority A+
http://www.theweddingauthority.com/
The staff at The Wedding Authority were all amazing! Barbara was my specific wedding planner, she was amazing, always offered great advised and open to all ideas I would shoot her way! The day of my wedding she really stepped up as a wedding planner while there was an issue with one of my vendors and she was able to handle it without my attention being affected from my wedding celebration. It wasn’t until after the wedding that I found this out. She really listened to what I wanted and made sure that my reception/ceremony was the way I planned it.
Cake - Sweet Weddings - A+
http://sweetweddings.com/
Arlene designed my wedding cake and she did an amazing job in replicating the designed I had picked out for our cake. We had 4 different cake flavors and each was a hit! We made sure as the bride and groom to get a slice from each and they were all delicious!! Nice big portions as well! My mouth waters all over again just thinking about the cake can’t wait to try our anniversary tier!
Flowers by Shirley – A
I loved my bouquet and all the boutonnieres, but I wasn’t complete happy with my centerpieces and flowers at the ceremony. This could have been part lack of information from my part, but it just wasn’t what I envisioned. I still gave them an A because although the centerpieces weren’t what I really wanted, it didn’t take away from the beauty of the arrangements. Brad was my consultant, and in the end when final payments needed to be collected, Shirley herself called to collect. I just wished that they would have seen the images that I sent them via email when it came to how I wanted the arrangement done.
Hair/Makeup - Debbie’s Day Spa – A
http://www.debbiesdayspasalon.com/
I wish I remembered the names of the 2 ladies that did my hair and makeup but they did an amazing job! I originally went for a hair/makeup trial and while the original look I did then was great, it wasn’t what I was looking for. I was quite scared to go again without a trial to do a completely new look but they did not disappoint! I brought in my eye lash extensions and hair extensions and it was not an issue. I showed my hairstylist a look for my hair and see completely remade the look and made it look amazing on me! My makeup was stunning, only bad is my eye lash extension came off about half way through my reception, but that’s my fault for buying cheap lashes. The only reason they didn’t get an A+ from me was because I had to travel to their location to get my hair/makeup done. I would have preferred to get it done in my hotel room.
Rental - Flaire Event Rentals – A+
http://www.flaireeventrentals.com/
Cassandra was awesome! I was able to rent my chiavari chairs/up lights from her and she was always available via email. Did an amazing job with the chairs and up lights! !
String Quartet - Newton Musical – A+
http://newtonmusical.com/
They did an amazing job at the ceremony! Played lovely music and was able to accommodate by playing “I DO” by 98 Degrees as our sand ceremony song. Dressed very professional.
DJ - The Rhythm of the Night (Orlando based) – A++
http://www.therhythmofthenight.com/
Michael Paul was AMAZING!!! He had everyone on the dance floor all night long!! What we loved most about him was that he made us feel at home. We are original from Miami, Florida and we are used to Spanish type Salsa music and since our wedding was in St. Augustine we were worried that we would only have top 40 songs and greatest hits but not the songs that get us up and moving! But he was able to work with our vision and make us all feel like we were home dancing with our typical music. His set up was amazing, I was able to give him photos for our slideshow and we originally assumed that the slideshow would play once, during dinner and that was it but he had the slideshow running all night long and it was a major hit! Everyone loved seeing our pictures while dancing on the dance floor! He was very affordable and works with you budget!
Rehearsal Dinner - Colombia Restaurant – A+
http://www.columbiarestaurant.com/st_augustine.asp
We loved this place! Ever since we first discovered it, we go to the location in Celebration, FL all the time! The St. Augustine location is so beautiful and big! We didn’t have enough people for a private room, but they accommodated by placing a long table by the bar area and also allowed us to use the fixed menu they use for private functions. They also allowed us to come a few hours prior to the dinner to set up the tables with candles and decoration. They were amazing! Needless to say the food was amazing too!
Photographer - Brooke Images Photography – A++
http://www.brookeimages.com/
They are based in Jacksonville, but will travel to wherever you need them. Ashley and Greg have done an amazing job with our engagement and wedding pictures! All we receive is compliments on their vision and how their pictures are amazing! And I must also agree! They deliver a quick turnaround with pictures and are very flexible with scheduling “day of” schedule. At the last minute I had to create a plan B for our photo schedule but then switched back to plan A and it was never an issue with them. They came to my hotel room the day of the wedding before I arrived from hair and makeup and were able to capture all the details within that time. Such a great team! I truly recommended them to everyone!! Will not disappoint you! Worth every penny!!!
Videographer - CollabCreation Films – A
http://www.collab-creation.com/
I still haven’t received our wedding video but they way they worked on our wedding day, was amazing! They worked as a team with our photographers, never in each other’s way. We booked them last minute and I was willing to pay the extra money that I had left budgeted for them. I have seen some of their work on their, blog and Facebook page and if that is how our wedding video is going to look, I know that they deserve the “++” that’s missing on their grade. Aranya and Eric are an amazing team, we met with them before the wedding to discuss our engagement story and all the details of our wedding that we want captured. They are keeping me posted on the process of making our wedding video via email. They work all the way from Orlando – Jacksonville.