I recently got married on Friday Dec 10
And I wanted to post reviews of all the vendors
Before time passed, and my mind got fuzzy
-->Day of Coordinator: Anita Rodriguez A+
Tel: 210-685-4615
I HIGHLY recommend to all brides to be to have a day of coordinator.
I'm REALLY organized, and had a plan for almost everything, but having a day coordinator for the day of the wedding, just made things go much smoother.
With Anita there, I really got to enjoy the day, and I got a great price
for coordinating since she's gaining experience to build her portfolio.
(She quoted me $250) for day of services. Anita also has linen and centerpiece rentals.
My candle set ups were actually rented from her ($18 a Table)
She also customized & created my invitations, which I will blog about soon.
Everyone loved them, and kept commenting about how unique they were
So if you're looking for someone to make your invitations as well, I'd give her a call.
-->Venue: Scottish Rite Banquet Center A- Tel: 210-735- 6500
www.scottishritesanantonio.com/">http://www.scottishritesanantonio.com/
The Scottish Rite is a BEAUTIFUL place to have your reception/ceremony.
They offer 2 options for reception space, the hall or auditorium.
We held our ceremony and reception in the auditorium
because of the beautiful architecture,history, and atmosphere.
There was really no other venue (in my eyes) that compared to
how beautiful it was. The facility coordinator, Kelsey Meadows is such a sweetheart
And was always willing to answer all my questions/emails and meet
with me when I had any concerns. That said, there are several things
that disappointed me.
1. About a few weeks before our wedding, they let me know
Another event (a christmas banquet) was going to be held
the same day as ours. Since we had only rented the auditorium,
They were renting the ballroom to the mason's the
same day AS OUR WEDDING.
The day of the wedding there were no conflicts with guests getting
confused, but I do know that some children from the wedding were
sneaking downstairs to the banquet hall, and my husband got scolded
by a staff member the day of. It wasn't our fault, it was theirs for not
locking the downstairs area like they had promised.
2. There was no heater in the auditorium! I was told there would be no
heater in the foyer area (which we used for cocktails) but I was assured
there would be heater in the auditorium. To be honest, I didn't notice it
was cold, it was some guests that later mentioned it to me.
3. I had a hot chocolate and coffee station for cocktail hour, I recently
found out they served "champurado" instead of hot chocolate.
The guests loved it regardless, but I mean they could've of at least let me know?
4. The Ladies Parlor (A room provided to us for the bridesmaids to get
ready, and for formal pictures) is such a gorgeous room. However,
when my husband and I went to go see it in the summer the ceiling
was all falling apart (messed up from the rain) well in December it
was STILL the same. It's such a shame that such a gorgeous room,
hasn't had the ceiling fixed yet. The staff and everything else was great!
More details to come with pics on my blog
-->Facility Coordinator: Kelsey Meadows A+ Tel: 210-304-9269
SHE IS SO SWEET! She's the event coordinator at Scottish Rite. I had to give her a personal review because she really listened and answered all my emails and calls promptly. I wish her the best, she is truly awesome at what she does
-->Photographer: Caitlin A- (Caitlin’s Creations Photography)
I'm having mixed feeling about this review. I found out about Cailtin through reviews from many other brides. She truly is a professional and went above and beyond to take some pictures I really wanted, however I really think she could improve her customer service. She's great at replying back to emails and calls, and getting the photos to you quickly, it's just that I felt sometimes she was a bit rude.
1. For example, at our engagement shoot I brought my sister along because I had some props for the pictures. My sister was there to help carry the stuff and help walk my puppy coco, who was in some of the shots. Well, she felt that my sister was distracting my then fiance and I. I didn't think so, but she asked her if she could "please go away" My sister was trying to get a candid pic on my fiance's phone while caitlin was shooting, and Caitlin got really upset.
She asked several times if my sister could "go away" to the point where she made us all uncomfortable. I truly felt my sister was helping us out, because I brought along with me many props such as the "&" symbol, things for a picnic layout, balloons, cupcakes, a blanket, & my puppy. So while I really appreciate her going along with the inspiration photos I sent her, I feel she was too harsh on my sister the day of. I should also add, our puppy was a last minute addition to the photos and she worked really well with her considering my puppy is pretty feisty.
2. When I received my bridal portraits, I was really excited but a little disappointed with them because in most of the photos you could clearly tell the top half of my dress (the bust) was too big. To be honest I had no idea, I thought the dress fit well, it had just been altered. And since no one (not even the photographer) let me know the dress looked too big I assumed it was looked fine. In the end, I asked her to photoshop the bust in the bridal portrait I ended up ordering, and she did. So things worked out, however, since I don't own photoshop, I won't be able to fix the rest of the pictures.
3. The bridal portrait I ordered was on metallic, I received a regular canvas. She's letting me keep the canvas one, but I wasn't able to display the metallic one the day of the wedding
4. The day of the wedding she did stay to get some good dancing shots and I really appreciate that. However, during formal portraits it got loud in the ladies parlor, and she had to yell and tell guests they had to step out. It was a little awkward to say the least. She did take extra formal photos that I hadn't added to the list, and I appreciate that but I wasn't able to take a picture with my grandma because when I tried to track her down, she had been so offended that the photographer had kicked them out. So I was put into a tough situation.
5. Also, I had a bad ass videographer that most of our budget went on. I let her know beforehand he would be shadowing us most of the time as well. So I asked to please work with him and his assistants. Well I found out from a few guests, that she had been bickering with them, about them being "in the way"
Um.. if guests let me know, it had to have been obvious right?
Overall, I think she's a good photographer, maybe works a little better for the traditional bride. My first choice was bend the light, but they got booked when we had made our decision. I'm writing this review to be honest to other brides out there in search of vendors. I'm not bashing anyone, I'm just stating the truth and my experience.
--->Videographer: Joe Simon (Joe Simon Productions) A+++
http://joesimonweddingfilms.com/blog/
Tel: 512-373-3427
OMG! OMG! He's so professional. We booked him in Jan 2010 for our wedding in December. Since the start he provided a questionnaire for us asking for details from the day to help us out. He's based out of Austin, we actually traveled up there to sign contract and meet him. He's SOO nice. & the day of he was willing to travel with us (crammed in my husband's honda civic) downtown to get some footage of us in downtown San Antonio,Tx.
When guests heard when Caitlin would bicker with him sometimes, I was told he never argued with her back. He stayed quiet, and was a true gentlemen, as were his assistants. He even was willing to travel back downtown to record us (by the alamo) at night, before he left for the night.
He totally relaxed me when I was feeling the wedding stress kick in and was truly excited to film our day. I can't wait to receive our video so I can post it on my blog and share with you all!!! AHH
--->Florist: Amanda Mora A- (SA Budget Bridal) Tel: 210-269-0180
Flowers looked beautiful. I had only 4 large centerpieces with crystals hanging down and they looked gorgeous. Then I had 6 BM bouquets and 2 MOH bouquets & 1 bridal bouquet. There was an error with one of the MOH bouquets not delivered, my coordinator took care of the error, and they send another one. But they sent a bridesmaid bouquet, not MOH bouquet. My maid of honors had $50 bouquets with crystals in them, my bridesmaids had $20 worth bouquets with no crystals. It was a small order, so I don't understand, why there would be an error. The florist Amanda Mora, was very friendly though and attentive to all my calls/emails/ and meetings. Since the previous florist I had contacted (Eden's Echo) didn't respond my 2nd email.
--->Candle Centerpieces: Anita Rodriguez Tel: 210-685-4615
I ordered 17 Candle Centerpieces. Amazing! Like I said above
--->Musicians for Ceremony: Sarah Roth & Friends (Violinists) A-
Tel: 830-629-2332
They were prompt they day of and played beautifully.
However, they were really hard to get ahold of (by phone and email)
Every time I called the phone was always busy.
I had to email them to ask them whether they had received my check, and they did a couple of days later. The same regarding the song list for the wedding ceremony. So they could improve their customer communication
--->DJ: Music Connection A- Tel: 210-673-2850
Great! Very friendly and affordable.
They worked with the venue (Auditorium has no sound system)
And made wedding timeline go smoothly. They did however, venture off from the playlist. Which was a bummer, because I worked a while on the playlist. I was really impressed how they were able to provide the song for the first dance as bride and groom (a last minute change)
--->Linens: Legendary Linens A (Leticia & Martin Medrano)
Tel: 210-589-5828
They are a sweet couple, with linen & centerpiece rentals. They were ready the day of, and the tables and chairs looked beautiful. Linens are pricey though. We paid over $800 for just satin linens & napkins
--->Cake Provider: Natalia Tovar- Tel: 210-535-2353
Family Friend- She made our 4 Tier Cake. It was beautiful and everyone commented how lovely it was. She also made the groom's cake, which had a transformer's AUTOBOT symbol. Husband loved it!
---> Pianist for the Ceremony: Jairo Varela A+ 210-449-4169
Jairo Varela is a college student piano/keyboard player. He played the How Great Thou Art for the Ceremony. He was contacted last minute by me and he still was completely professional. He played it beautifully and I highly recommend him to all brides to be out there.
--> Singer for the Ceremony: Yolanda de La Garza A+ 210-722-9771
Sweet girl! Beautiful voice! Amazing Personality. She was also a last minute addition, and I'm so glad I asked her to sing. She's getting married in march, so any gigs she could book before that would help her in saving up for her and her fiance's wedding.