I'm not sure what all to add here, but I hope it helps at least one of you planners out there. Good luck & best wishes!
Dress & Alterations-Alfred Angelo. I cannot say enough about that place, the whole experience was amazing. Melissa, my initial consultant (and everyone thereafter) were patient, sweet and extremely helpful during each of my visits. The alterations lady could come across as gruff, but being a Russian immigrant one would have to chalk that up to her culture. Once she opened up she was actually pretty funny, her work was great.
Venue-ZMansion- Ehh. The house and the grounds are gorgeous, especially at night while the back courtyard is lit up. At my time of booking, the websited talked of one's experience as if you become a part of the family, and even being invited to dinner, haha. While Tom and Em were expectedly kind during every interaction, they certainly never learned my name to use it without asking if I had to stop by during one of the vendor shows...much less view me as "one of the family". The place is a wedding mill, get them in, throw them what they need, and get them out. Which is completely okay, but it was way less personal than they had talked it up in the beginning.. I didn't experience any of the horror stories (tossed out belongings, locked doors, forgotten gifts, etc) stated in reviews on other sites, but it was definitely nothing out of this world. It rained on my wedding day and the coordinators (Sheila and Jim) did everything they could to make it as smooth as possible. After the ceremony, their practice is to have all the guests move to the front lawn for a huge group picture in order to set up reception space. This was total chaos, guests didn't know what to do, or where to go before during or after. It's as if all coordination was done and over with post ceremony. My groom and I had to direct people. Overall, I think if I had to do it over again, I wouldn't have compromised with my hubby and stood my ground on my 1st choice of venues.
Invitations-Celebrations Ink-A Z option. Ashley is wonderful!! She has a huge selection and has something for every taste and budget. Completely helpful, patient and personable through the entire process. She even called me a couple of days before to congratulate us on our upcoming nuptials.
Bartender-Bartending 101-Also a Z option. Sheila is the owner and a day of coordinator, she guides you in helping you choose alcohol and quantities, but she didn't tend bar that night. There was plenty of alcohol (and our friends can knock them back) and we had lot left over. The 2 guys she had there tending bar were awesome. They were friendly, outgoing and checked on me and the hubby all night. I intend on calling her to tell her about them, I would use them again.
Caterer-Rincon Market-An option through The Z, they did my dinner buffet and our dessert buffet which we opted for over a traditional cake. The owner, Kelly, Is AMAZING. The woman will bend over backwards to give you exactly what you want. Dinner and dessert were superb, and we received several compliments on it from others throughout the night. I would use them again in a heartbeat!
Linens-All Party Solutions-A Z vendor. Amelia and her partner do the decorations, linens and floral arrangements for anyone what wants to use her for those purposes. We only used her for linens which she had a great choice of, and was really great at giving feedback about decor. She does charge extra for some things, but overall our experience was great.
DJ-Jim Bednarek (Bednarek's Music Works)- Z vendor. He was a great guy, did a good job with the music. Really no complaints.
Flowers-Mayfield Florist- Amazing, we use them for all of our flower needs and have never received anything but gorgeous arrangements. Cheryl, the coordinator can be a bit intimidating but she just tells it like it is, which is great. I gave her my vision and she ran with it, There wasn't anything I disliked about what they did for us.
Hair-Justin Downing (Essenza Salon)-I ADORE Justin, he has cut my hair for about 7 years now. He and his lovely wife came to my hotel and did mine and all my girls' hair. We all loved it, I would not have used anyone else, and would recommend him in a heartbeat.
Makeup-Lynette Rasco (Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa @ La Paloma)-Lynette did my makeup for engagement pictures and everyone raved about how beautiful it was. She did a superb job on me and my girls day of too. She is a blast, a little firecracker and I would definitely recommend her to anyone that needs a makeup artist.
Photographer-SunStreet Photo-Shaun and Janet are an amazing team. While I haven't seen my wedding photos yet, my engagement pictures were beautiful. Once I get them back I will post again on our total experience.
I hope that helps, if I left any questions please don't hesitate to ask. Cheers!