Hi! I haven't posted much in the past, but I found the vendor reviews tremendously helpful, especially since we planned our wedding from out of state. Hope this is helpful to you too! Venue: Chesapeake Beach Resort and Spa - A+ Our wedding was flawless and Lori the coordinator is AMAZING. She worked her tail off during our reception to ensure that nothing went wrong. Our guests are still raving about the beautiful location and the DELICIOUS food (seriously, the food was unbelievable, highly recommend the crab cake/filet mignon combo). The entire staff (hotel included) was so accommodating to us, even the bartender stopped what she was doing every time I went to the bar to order and by the middle of the night she didn't even have to ask what I wanted. We live in CA and wanted a classic MD wedding, which is exactly what we got with CBR. Perfect! Photographer: Dave Crockett - A+ Dave is insanely good at what he does, and you can tell he is completely passionate about it. We've only seen a few of the shots he took on his blog, and are foaming at the mouth to see the rest. He also worked his tail off at our wedding (at one point he was lying on his back in the middle of the dance floor to get a good shot of my dad singing with the band). Our favorite vendor to work with! Videographer: Elizabeth Lukes/AVS video - A+ Elizabeth is so sweet and very affordable. She was right by Dave's side running to capture every moment of our wedding. We can't wait for the final product! Band: Colgan-Hirsh Band - A+ This band is out of control! Our dance floor was PACKED all night. They scheduled for 3 set breaks and only took 2 because our guests were enjoying them so much... that is dedication! 3 weeks after our wedding our guests are still raving about the food and the band! Cake: Fiona's Cakes - B Our cake was delicious and Fiona was able to replicate the picture I emailed her exactly. Her communication skills leave something to be desired. The day before our wedding she threatened to not make our cake because she hadn't received our balance, and I was forced to pay her by credit card (including transaction fee) over the phone even though the check was in the mail. I suppose in her defense I violated her contract by mailing the check the day of the deadline instead of having it to her by the deadline. My advice to future brides... make sure you stay on top of when your balances are due. No one sent me any reminders (and of course that is the LAST thing on your mind 2-3 weeks before the big day!). Soap box: why is the wedding industry the only time you are expected to pay in full BEFORE you receive services?!? Florist: Chesapeake Floral Arts - A+ Nancy is a genius and was wonderful to work with! She is full of creative ideas and was so good at listening to what I envisioned and running with it. Our flowers were absolutely gorgeous and exactly what I hoped they would be! Officiant: Rev. Dan Piekarski - A+ Rev Piekarski is such a sweet man and created a beautiful ceremony for us. He was very accommodating to our schedules and met with us each time we flew in for the weekend for wedding planning. He attended our rehearsal and helped Lori with coordinating everyone...our ceremony was flawless. Hair: CBR Spa (Linda) -A+ My hair trial wasn't exactly what I hoped for, but Linda pulled through on the day of and my hair was beautiful. She's a blast to be around too, which helped to calm everyone down the morning of. Rehearsal dinner: Westin Annapolis - A+ At the last minute our rehearsal dinner location closed (as in permanently closed their doors leaving us scrambling to find a new place - FYI the Greystone Grill in Annapolis is no longer). Try finding a venue to host a rehearsal dinner in Annapolis the weekend of the boat show with 2 weeks notice. James Barrett, the executive chef at the Westin, was an absolute life saver. The hotel is top notch and the food was equally as delicious as our reception dinner. He even worked within our budget since we were so desperate. Dress/alterations, suits and travel agent all through vendors in CA. We went to Greece for our honeymoon... highly recommended as well! Hope this helps
Good luck!