Hey everyone. I didn't post a ton on this board pre-wedding, but I thought I'd post some vendor reviews because I found them really helpful when I used to read this board while planning! We got married last Saturday, 8/14, and it was the best day of my life! So, here goes:
Ceremony - Wilde Memorial Chapel in Evergreen Cemetery, Portland - A+. Everyone commented on how wonderful our chapel was. It is so quaint and beautiful inside!! And, since it is owned by the city, you get the keys Friday night and don't have to return them until Monday Morning...giving you plenty of time to decorate, rehearse, cleanup after, etc. We even ate a little picnic lunch before we cleaned up on Sunday...it was cute. The only downside, the firecode limit is 105...
Reception - Clarion Hotel, Portland - A+. The coordiantor, Anna, was amazing. (I think she will be out on maternity leave for a little while now, but I still recommend them.) She was so organized and helped to keep me as de-stressed as possible! The food was AMAZING... We got the stations package, at $39.95 pp, which came with stations set up all around the room for your guests to choose from and have their food made fresh in front of them. We had a salad station, pasta station, stir fry, thai food, a carving station and a potato bar. There were 2-3 options to choose from within each station itself, too. We have a lot of picky eaters, and everyone raved about the food and the huge selection. We heard a billion times how great of an idea it was to do the stations, like a twist on a buffet. (It really was better than a buffet... no lines, hot fresh food... yummy!!)
I also stressed about the bar... we covered beer and wine only to a set limit. Well, I think I can chalk it up to the relatively reasonable prices of the bar that we never hit the limit-- it lasted all night! Beer was $4 and wine was $5, which I think is pretty reasonable for a wedding/hotel bar.
On top of that, the staff was super friendly and helpful. The only downside - room rates for guests were stll high, even with the discount. But, we found out that is because they sell out every weekend in the summer...so, basically any summer wedding at a Portland hotel will probably have high room rates. The hotel also isn't amazing to look at from the outside, but the inside is nice!
DJ - Larry Weddleton of Jeff Rockwell Productions- A++++. We cannot say ENOUGH about Larry. He was AMAZING, not only as a DJ, but he was a super nice guy too!. He listened to what we wanted every step of the way, was not showy or obtrusive during the night, pronounced everyone's names correctly (we had a couple tough ones in the bridal party), and found some pretty random songs that we wanted to use with no problems at all. Our dance floor was packed ALL night - seriously, we needed a bigger dance floor. People were getting his business card after the ceremony, and we've heard nothing but good comments about him from guests since the wedding. To top it all off, we got him for just $650 because we booked a year out. So, if you're looking for a DJ, I highly, highly recommend Larry!
Photographer - Katie Selva Photography - A+. We have yet to see Katie's photo proofs, but based on the few she showed me on her camera and the pics our guests got of her taking photos of us, I KNOW they are going to be AMAZING. She worked her butt off all night, and managed to always be there to take a photo. But, she did it in a really unobtrusive way where you didn't even realize she was there. She has a wonderfully artistic eye, as you can see from her portfolio at
www.katieselvaphotography.com. When we have our proofs, I would be happy to post links. And, Katie is also one of the most affordable options we found for the style we wanted (artistic yet photojournalistic,and still classic and classy.) I think she is $1600 and you get the rights to reproduce your pics, which is huge!
Hair/Make-up - I do spas - A+. These guys were great. VERY afforable prices, from what I researched. ($60 per updo, $40 for makeup). The owner, Jody, is super nice, easy to contact, very flexible. They come to you, which is awesome to not have to worry about traveling around town on your wedding. The two artists we had were SO nice, and considering none of us knew exactly what we wanted for our updos, they did a great job working with us. Truly, I think it was the most beautiful I have ever felt and it was mostly thanks to them!!
Flowers - Maine Floral Creations in Scarborough - B+. Niki did an awesome job on our flowers. They were absolutely GORGEOUS! My only complaint was that she was pretty difficult to get ahold of, which for me was not good because I stress. If you're a laid back bride, this may be a non-issue. I know her business was going through some transitions while we were working with her, so that could be why. But, regardless, the final product was beautiful. And, the prices were great. Our flowers were Gerbera Daisies (pricey!), and for 5 BM bouquest, my bouquet, 7 GM bouts, 4 vases for our memory table, 2 medium sized pedestal vases, 8 parent/grandparent bouts/corsages, and 8 single flowers for the cake, we paid less than $800. I would go with her again if I had to do it all over!
Limo - Atlantic Limosine - A. The limo was HUGE (carried 15 of us) and we got a huge discount for booking from a bridal show and paying up front in cash. I think we ended up paying $350 for it. Our driver was super nice, made a pit stop in downtown Portland so we could take pictures where we met, and they provided champagne for the ride to the reception. Would definitely book with them again!
Dress Alterations - Sarah M. - A+. Sarah comes HIGHLY recommended on this board, so I'll basically ditto all that past people have said. She's super nice, easy to work with, makes you feel comfortable, and the price was reasonable. Definitely go to her if you need alterations!!!
I think that's all I had. Sorry if I rambled on! if you'd like to look at any of our pictures to see the product of our vendors, you can check out our photo site: littlefieldwedding2010.shutterfly.com and the pw is littlefield.
Happy planning to all of you!!!
