Freed’s
Bakery: A-
Freed’s was not my first choice, Retro Bakery was. However, since I got married on a Sunday,
Freed’s became my only choice since the Stratosphere was unwilling to let Retro
deliver on Saturday. I was very picky
about my cake. I literally sketched a
design myself. I have to say that Freed’s
delivered. I had a three tier cake with
the top tier and bottom tier being chocolate cake with their chocolate royale
filling (50% chocolate fudge and 50% chocolate mousse). It was SO rich and filling and just
delicious. I wouldn’t normally select
this pairing, but my husband is a chocolate fanatic and his only request was
chocolate cake with chocolate filling.
They have about a dozen different chocolate fillings, but this was a
premium fill and tasted it. The middle
tier was their “signature” i.e. basic recipe which is almond cake with Bavarian
cream filling. I have to say that this
was literally the best cake I have ever tasted.
OMG it was SO good. I am on a
mission to learn how to bake something similar bc my tastebuds never sand the
way they did on day 2 when I sliced into that beauty. I have them an A- because despite sending
over a sketch and pictures with the EXACT way I wanted the top roses to be,
they made them smaller than I had requested.
In addition, when Nancy took my order, she specifically asked me about
the Z on the cake and if I wanted it to have a line through the middle. I said yes, it’s called a Latin Z and it is
symbolic of the unifying of me (Latin) with my husband’s last name (Z). They forgot the line but my cake was still
stunning anyway. It cost $509.75
Makeup
in the 702: Makeup: C- Hair: B
I reviewed them in detail in a separate post but what you need to
know is that you should ask to NOT get Celina as a m/u artist. I went back and read another knottie’s review
and she did us up similarly, which was quite frankly, awful.
Hair was pretty good, but my part wasn’t even close to straight,
which seems like basic hairstyling 101 knowledge.
Paid $525 for 3 people hair and m/u
Weddings
Las Vegas/St. Jude’s: B+
Weddings Las Vegas helped me book St. Jude’s/Father David St. John
for a Roman Catholic 2nd ceremony.
Overall I am very happy with the services received. Father St. John spoke beautifully at my
ceremony and was so very understanding of the situation (married in the
AM). I had asked via e-mail for the
mention of my brother and father-in-law, both deceased and he mentioned them in
his own way which was touching.
I downgraded them because I dealt with so many people that it was
confusing. Cindy booked me, though Shani
was the church rep. The fee was split
between Wedding Las Vegas ($695) and donation to church $300. I did not get in touch with Shani until 2
days prior, which was a little nerve wracking for me. I assumed she would be the coordinator the
day of, since I was told as such, but she was not. It was a woman
named Aurora, whom I had never heard of at all.
She was one of the most unpleasant people I have ever met in my life. She asked me if my mom understood English, a
question that left me speechless. She
clearly had not even attempted speaking to her, as my mom is a US citizen, an Ivy league
grad and speaks perfect English. My guess was that she saw she was brown and
pre-judged. I had e-mailed ahead that I
had specific music to walk out to and play.
My mother and I listened to about 50 versions of the traditional Bach,
Mendelssohn, Pachelbel varieties to get the exact versions I liked best. A cousin who wasn’t able to make it also
recorded a version of Schubert’s Ave Maria to be played. None of this mattered to this woman who a)
did not play my versions of the songs I brought on CD and b) promptly shut off
my cousin’s song because there was some slight warping in the background.
Amanda’s
photography: A+
I didn’t chose the photographer myself, Maverick did. I searched high and low for photographers I
liked, but they were either a) booked or b) wouldn’t take a helicopter flight
to the Grand Canyon. In the end, I
stayed with Amanda because I figured she knew the GC the best anyway. She was so friendly, courteous and
professional. She also came with us to
the church and was just so darn nice. I
really liked her and her pics are great. I'm posting a pic of our GC ceremony that isn't hers but I can assure you that her pictures makes the one attached eat dust.
Las
Vegas Entertainment/Elvis Shane: A+
I used Gigmasters to find an Elvis after not liking my interaction
with the usual suspects. I dealt with
Lisa Lyttle. Elvis Shane came right on
time with all his gear. He was really
friendly and all his hair is real J. He gave a little introduction so it wasn’t
weird for him to set up in front of everybody.
He sang the 6 songs I gave him and was feeling the vibe so much that he
sang an extra 2 songs (1 that a guest requested and 1 of his favorites). Hius dance moves were so-so, but he made up for it in personality and voice. He stayed for pictures with all of my
guests. His fee was $200 for 30 minutes
and everyone loved him. Reception
highlight for sure.