Married on 9/29 and finally able to post reviews! Our Ceremony site was at Bella Collina Golf Club which was absolutely beautiful!! Reception was at Tanner Hall in Winter Garden which was perfect for lake view, sunset, and dancing.
Lora Rodgers Photography- A+++- Lora is amazing! I can't say enough about her work. She did our engagment pics as well as the wedding pics. She stayed wih us ALL day, from the 12pm-10pm. Our pictures are so beautiful! And a huge plus- she is amazingly affordable!! (even with adding a second photographer)
No. 1 Wedding Planner- A+++: Joquetta Byrd and her team were awesome!! I hired Joquetta as a DOC. She met us at the rehearsal then coordinated everything for the wedding day. She was amazing- so professional and proficient! Everything could have gone very wrong with the wrong DOC and no planner, but we were really grateful to have her. Our wedding was 160+ guests, 21 tables. I gave her all of the decor the week before the wedding. Her team set up everything from start to finish at the ceremony site and reception site. Joquetta made sure everything flowed well and I did not have to worry about a thing. She is very affordable and our guests even asked us for her information. There wasn't much communication prior to the wedding but we didn't mind as we only hired her as a DOC.
Levan's Catering- B+: Duane is great to work with and really sold us at the tasting. They are affordable and he is an awesome salesman. Pros: the guests seemed to love the food, they were flexible with our budget, they provide linen of different colors. Cons: the staff they use at the wedding. We saw some of our waiters drinking our alcohol, they were not professional (one huge argument that guests overheard), a plate of food was dropped on the dance floor with no urgency to clean it, when the wedding was close to being over, some of the staff started unbuttoning and untucking their shirts (again NOT professional). Our wedding cake was also placed in large black trash bags to take home and we were not informed until getting home and realizing that the huge mess was our cake. The food was good, but not as good as they made it at the tasting.
Al Dee Productions (DJ and Lighting) C: We weren't happy with the music played at the wedding. Al (the owner) really sold us at every meeting but the music fell flat at the wedding. He didn't play hardly any songs from our playlist (and we didn't have many) and he didn't play much of the style of music that we like or that made guests want to dance. My mother actually asked the DJ for a few songs and he was very short with her and didn't play any of the songs or the style of song. We also purchased a monogram which I reminded him of 2 days before the wedding and he tried to scramble to make one. We didn't like any of the proofs and after many of his excuses, we asked for a refund. He initially quoted one price for the refund which he later lowered, and we had to call to inquire about it several times several weeks after the wedding. We did receive it though. We did like the LED lighting.
Lena G Make-up Artist- A: Lena did a great job with my make-up. Make-up stayed on all day and was flawless. I had many compliments about my make-up. One Con- for the trial, she didn't have me wash my face prior to applying the make-up which really bothered me, but perhaps I should have been persistent about it. I took my chances and she did a good job.
A Chair Affair- A: We rented Chiavari chairs. Chairs were beautiful. Ann was very communicative a great to work with.
BJoely Draping- A: Bjoely also caters and does event planning but we hired him for draping at Tanner Hall. The draping was beautiful and really added elegance to our reception. He did a great job!
Flowers by Lesley- A+: Lesley did a great job with our floral arrangements! She did our bouquets, boutineers, corsages, and centerpieces. She was very affordable, easy to work with, very communicative, and a very sweet person.
Harpist- Jan Jennings- A: Jan did a great job! She was very professional and we received a lot of compliments. As a bride, I didn't get to hear much of the music but she was a wonderful addition to the ceremony.
Sprinkles-B: Located in Winter Park. Larry (the owner) is a little rough around the edges but it's not personal. We had a four tier cake (butter cream) and a groomsman cake for which we picked the flavors. The cakes were moist, but nothing fabulous. I don't feel like they were very memorable. They were decorated exactly how we asked.
Tux Rental- Carolyn Allen's Bridal- A+: Tuxes looked great and were more affordable than Men's Wearhouse or Jos A Bank for the same design and look. The staff is great to work with! They also steamed my wedding gown and did an awesome job (it was quite wrinkled and very intricate).
Perfect Sky Productions (videographer/cinematography)- still pending- they quoted a production time of 4-6 months, done in 3. We've asked about a re-edit of the reception.