Maine

Vendor Reviews!

I can hardly believe it has been two weeks since the big day!  So much of it seems like such a blur to me.  I was very "present" for the morning, day of and ceremony but once dinner came I don't remember much.  Could be the wine.  ;)  lol, just kidding.  It was just an adrenaline high like I've never known before.  Our day was wonderful.  It was far from perfect - hot, humid, no a/c, torrential rain and hail, and did I mention hot and humid?  My poor guests literally were sweating through their clothes.  I had to change out of my dress early too and that is the one thing I regret most.  I was just so hot and dripping (it was really gross) that my husband dragged me to change.  I did feel a million times better after I changed though so it was the right choice.  Our vendors were really amazing. Seriously, we loved them all!   So many of them went above and beyond.

Good Food Store - Caterer AAA+++ 
I cannot recommend these guys higly enough!   My husband and I are total foodies and traditional wedding/banquet food just wouldn't cut it for us.  We didn't need fancy, we just wanted it to be good.  Really good.  The Good Food Store totally surpassed this.  Their food was so flavorful and 100% homemade.  They were able to cook and serve our family style meal perfectly.  This is no small feat when you have to prepre chicken piccata, beef tenderloin, and mushroom raviolis in a cream sauce to all be ready, hot and cooked well simultaneously.  Our guests raved and continue to rave about how good the food was.  We heard from multiple people that this was the best wedding food they've ever eaten, and then many took it further and said it was one of the best meals they've had period and better than what they get in most restaurants.  That is quite the compliment!  Beyond serving really good and well prepared food, the staff is amazingly friendly and hard working.  Heather, one of the owners, was my contact and she was great to work with the entire process.  She was also a great resource for the local area.  Lastly, I cannot review them without mentioning what they did to save our day.  About an hour before the ceremony we had apocalyptic rain, hail, and lightning.  Our cocktail tables and bar had been set up on the deck.  The cocktail tables took off because of the wind and went sailing across the deck.  Our bar, with all the bottles on it, started blowing away in the wind.  Four staff members held it down while getting SOAKED with rain and pelted with hail.  Lighting was striking all of 15 feet behind them and they didn't budge.  By the time the first guests arrived all the linens were dry and everything looked perfect.  I am still amazed!  If they didn't do what they did, it would have been a disaster.  I am forever grateful and this story, in my opinion, shows you the dedication of the staff and a true love for what they do.

Birch Blaze Photography - Photographers AAA+++
Kerry and Taylor are a husband and wife team based in NH.  They are incredibly talented and have an artistic view on how they see things.  They were very easy to work and a pleasure to be around that day.  They are friendly, unassuming, and just all around nice people.  We do not have our proofs yet, but they did scroll some pictures from the day on a laptop at our reception and people were going nuts over them.  My wedding planner said I would freak when I saw them and that they are magazine quality.  I so can't wait!  I have no doubt we will love the pictures because we have loved every wedding we've seen them shoot!

b merry events - Wedding Planner AAA+++
This was something we hadn't originally planned on but where we were renting a private home and needed to set up/clean up on our own, it really became something I pushed for.  My husband didn't see the value like I did, but he knew how badly I felt we needed her so that I didn't have to spend my entire weekend setting up the wedding.  I will tell you this, now that the wedding is over my husband will tell you that Meghan was the best money we spent in the whole process.  She set up and ran our rehearsal and was there the day of the wedding from 8am to at least 1am.  I have never seen anyone bust their butt as much as Meghan did.  I had zero worries that day because I knew she had it all under control, even with all the wacky rain and plan B's being put in motion, I didn't worry.  That was, and still is, priceless to me.  Our day would not have been the same without her.  

Portland PhotoBooth Company - Photo Booth A+
We purchased Justin's services from Mainely Deal and it was definitely a bargain!  Our guests LOOOOVED it and the pictures are just hysterical!  We were running behind schedule and Justin stayed later than he was supposed to so we'd get our full time.  He was friendly, professional, and a really nice guy!  He loved the sign I had made explaining what to do (it was a poem) and some props I had (moustaches, etc) so I let him take those with him since really, I wouldn't use them again.  So any of you ladies that used him after me might have seen them.  Smile  I am really glad we added him and he was definitely worth the money.  It was a great addition to our day.  

McCormick Media - Videographer AA++
I will preface this and say that I have not seen the final video but since Sara uses the same format for most of her films I have a pretty good idea of what I'll be receiving.  Hiring a Videographer was something we did late in the process and I am sooooooo happy we did, especially now when I'm just two weeks out and already forgetting so many of the details of the day.  Sara was great to work with pre-wedding and she was great that day. I barely even noticed she was there, even when it was just a few of us in the room.  I kept talking to her because I felt bad ignoring her.  lol.  She got soaked with rain for us too - the poor thing!  We were on our way back from pictures when the skies opened up and there was one umbrella in our shuttle bus.  Being the bride, I got it!  Everyone else was not so lucky.  Frown  In the grand scheme of wedding costs, I think this will be 100% worth it.  Sara is affordable, friendly, her fees include travel to anywhere within Maine, and her videos are more like a highlight reel that gives you the "feel" of the day along with the full ceremony and toasts.  I am really excited to see the video and relive our day!

Stagecoach Shuttle - Transportation A+
We used Gary's services for some pre-ceremony and post-ceremony transportation.  He was responsive pre-wedding and was flexible with what I needed.  It was a great thing to provide to our guests and they were all pleased with not having to drive.

Sunday River Resort - Transportation A
Because of the number of people getting to the ceremony at the same time we also hired a shuttle bus, which we extended to provide rides to and from pictures for the bridal party, etc.  The pre-communication was a bit cumbersome at times but we were able to clear that up.  We were up in the area a couple days early and found the shuttle doing a "dry-run" for wedding night, which I really appreciated.  There are no complaints and it was again, worth it.

Pooh Corner Farms - Flowers AAA+++
Carole was great to work with and I was thrilled with my day of flowers!  We met twice in person and communicated a lot via email.  She always listened and was ok with any special requests I had and priced up options for me based on different bouquets more than once.  I was a little apprehensive before the flowers arrived because I had not seen her do flowers like I had requested but as I said before, they were perfect.  I wouldn't have changed a thing.

Amazing DJ - DJ AAA+++
Where do I begin?  Kevin is FULL of energy and a little OCD with his planning, which I absolutely loved.  Pre-wedding we met with Kevin and worked together on a song list and went over the flow of the day.  This made me feel very comfortable.  It is so hard to pick a DJ because you just never know what they will be like until you actually see them in action.  Kevin did not disappoint.  He has been dubbed the "dancing dj" and he really does bust a groove behind his stand.  It was never over-the-top though and always fun.  How he danced the ENTIRE time in that heat is unreal.  I would have passed out!  My guests enjoyed him and I had many comments the next day about the DJ being a lot of fun.  As far as announcements, etc went he was great and other than those he didn't talk too much, which is key for me with a DJ.  My caterer recommends two DJ's, one of which being Kevin.  As she says, he just "gets it".  I totally concur.  We were very pleased with Kevin and would hire him again.

I think this is it for Maine vendors.  We consider ourselves very lucky that we had no vendor issues at all and we truly enjoyed everyone we worked with.  I hope other brides are just as lucky!
Married 9.4.11

Re: Vendor Reviews!

  • edited December 2011
    Yay!  I'm so glad everything went so well for you.  Those photos should be awesome--we looked at Birch Blaze, but they were booked for our date.  
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