Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh — The Knot Community https://forums.theknot.com/ Fri, 17 Apr 2026 19:02:42 +0000 en Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh — The Knot Community Is 11pm ending time too early? https://forums.theknot.com/discussion/98368/is-11pm-ending-time-too-early Tue, 26 Jul 2011 16:59:58 +0000 Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh jesslemke 98368@/discussions
However, maybe everyone is tired by then anyway?  Any thoughts on whether this is an important factor?]]> How was your weekend?? https://forums.theknot.com/discussion/100489/how-was-your-weekend Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:46:43 +0000 Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh cgyvhu 100489@/discussions
My weekend was pretty active - I am finally working out again, did a 16mi bike ride and lake swim on saturday, and walked a charity 10K with friends on Sunday.  Tonight is a friend's moving-away dinner, so hopefuly I'll get everything I need to done quickly!

It's a short week for me - I leave Thursday morning for DC to give a research talk, see FI, and pick bridesmaid dresses.

Hope everyone had a good weekend!
]]> Vendor Reviews https://forums.theknot.com/discussion/95675/vendor-reviews Wed, 10 Aug 2011 22:56:22 +0000 Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh NJSL 95675@/discussions
Venue: Heinz Field (Nikkie Feroce Dvorak) - A.  We loved everything about the North Club Lounge at Heinz Field and Nikkie, especially being able to watch Batman being filmed.  The only thing is that I wish she would have been the one to tell me about the movie being filmed there and that my wedding day was the day 10,000 extras were going to be in the stadium instead of reading it in the paper.  We were disappointed not to be able to go on the field for photos, and I understand their hands were tied by the filming, but getting our pics with Hines Ward in the locker room more than made up for it.

Caterer: Aramark (Brittny Begg) - A+.  I can't say enough great things about Brittny, she was able to fully accomodate all the dietary needs in our group and the food was fantastic!  Every time we made even the slightest change she had an updated contract to me within the hour.  She kept the cookie table filled all night long, and didn't bat an eye when we asked for "garbage plates" (local Rochester drunk food) to be served out of the concession stand for late night snacks.  Unfortunately we had one guest get too drunk and started yelling at the bartender, between Brittny and Nikkie they handled the situation and we didn't even hear about it until that person's father told us how he apologized profusely to them.

Cake: Prantl's - A.  The cake was delicious, everyone was asking for their buttercream recipe.  There wasn't as much lemon filling as I would have liked but there were more strawberries than expected.  Also I got a call from them the day before the wedding saying they forgot to add on the delivery charge when we made final payment, nothing major just a minor annoyance.

Flowers: Blumengarten - A+.  I wanted simple, classic bouquets and that's exactly what they delivered.  The flowers were incredibly fresh and are still going strong in a vase at my office.  We also ordered bulk stems, the price was great.  They delivered exactly when they said they would and didn't question when I asked that my Aunt receive them since we would already be gone for photos

Hair: Monica Kitta - A-.  We had 4 people total get their hair done and we all loved our hair.  We were doing really good on time until she tried to put my veil in.  She would put it in and it would mess up my hair, she would redo my hair put the veil back in and mess up my headband, redo again and mess up something else.  She had a problem with my veil during my hair trial too but she said she knew exactly how to fix it and I didn't make her try it then, so it's partly my fault too.  Eventually she had to cut the veil off hte comb and pinned it into my hair, by the time we were finally done we left almost an hour late for photos.  And from having to redo my hair so many times the one side started to fall out 1/2 way through our photos.

Limo: Celebrity Limo - A.  The driver showed up 20 minutes early which was wonderful.  Before we left she confirmed the itinerary with me, but once we started getting to the general neighborhood of each place she made us turn down the music so I could give her directions.  The A/C didn't seem very cold, but that may have been due to having 12 people in there on a very hot day.  Otherwise, it was very clean and comfortable.

DJ: Memories in Motion (Shawn Steele) - A+.  He setup for the ceremony, cocktail hour and the reception.  Every aspect was well played and we got several complements on the music selection early on.  He kept the dance floor packed all night, even my great-grandmother was out there and my father-in-law was doing the Dougie with my brother and one of the groomsmen.  He did an awesome introduction for us into the reception that we were not expecting.  I was surprised to find he was based out of Erie when we met him at a bridal show, his personality can't be beat

Officiant: A Simple Vow (Chaplain Mark DeNuzzio) - A+.  He made the ceremony the perfect blend of sentimental, sarcastic and sports oriented.  His Mike Lange goal call for our first kiss had everyone in the room cracking up.  Jeannie helped keep us organized in the madness the few minutes before hand, we couldn't have asked for anything more.  It was perfectly us.

Rehearsal Dinner: World Series Suite at PNC Park - A.  The suite itself was awesome, and everyone had a blast.  Trying to place the food and beverage order with Levy Restaurants was worse than pulling teeth.  I left multiple voice mails that went unreturned, when they e-mailed me order forms they only sent the food not the beverage form.  The food was very good for ballpark food, we had to remind them after we got there about the 4 vegan meals.  They missed the ribs in our package so we were offered to pick something else and they compensated with some extra beer or wine.  Paula, our suite attendant for the night, was fantastic.  We saw her driving to work as we were crossing North Shore Blvd to get to Heinz Field on Saturday, she honked and waved and congratulated us.

Hotel: Hyatt Place North Shore - A+.  Since this was a destination wedding for us, everyone stayed in the hotel.  Every single person on staff there went above and beyond anything I ever could have expected.  Every staff member we came into contact with always smiled, asked how your day was going and could they get you anything.  When we got in to town early cause we couldn't sleep and  didn't our room wasn't ready, they unloaded our car for us to put it in the room behind the front desk.  When we came back to check in they loaded everything back on a luggage cart for us.  We had reserved the hotel shuttle to take my grandparents over to PNC Park for our rehearsal dinner, the shuttle hadn't returned from it's previous run so the manager on duty took them over in his own car.  The rooms are huge, even when we had 10 people in our room while we were getting ready it didn't feel crowded.  Their liquor license extends to their parking lot so we were able to have a tailgate party one afternoon and some late night card games after the rehearsal dinner.  If anyone is looking for a hotel block in that part of town I highly recommend the Hyatt.  Originally they quoted me $199/night, but when I told them the other hotels (including the Renaissance) were offering $159/night, they lowered their price to $169/night.  The extra $10 a night was well worth it.

I think that was all of my local vendors.  But Pittsburgh put on a great show for all of our guests, everyone left saying what a wonderful and friendly city it is.]]> Kids At Reception? https://forums.theknot.com/discussion/97307/kids-at-reception Tue, 09 Aug 2011 15:52:56 +0000 Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh lindsayloo1212 97307@/discussions Weekend plans? https://forums.theknot.com/discussion/97157/weekend-plans Fri, 12 Aug 2011 12:54:14 +0000 Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh cgyvhu 97157@/discussions
I'm going to try to soak up some sun at a beach and maybe do a bike ride with a friend if the weather cooperates.  Oh, and clean my apartment.
]]> MAKE UP ARTISTS! https://forums.theknot.com/discussion/100321/make-up-artists Fri, 12 Aug 2011 17:55:37 +0000 Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh Sheen249 100321@/discussions I'm in a scamble to find a great make-up artist for my wedding day. I orginially hired my friend's sister (who is very talented) but  since she hasn't gotten back to me regarding a consultation,  I'm going to have to look elsewhere. With my wedding in 2 months I'm afraid I won't be able to find someone who can do my makeup the way I want it. Does anyone have any recommendations?
Thank you!!]]> Introduce yourself / Poll! https://forums.theknot.com/discussion/98557/introduce-yourself-poll Tue, 12 Jul 2011 17:11:46 +0000 Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh cgyvhu 98557@/discussions Think we have some new faces around.  If you're lurking, come in and introduce yourself!  We (usually) don't bite.  Regs can play too!


1.Names? 
2. When is your wedding?
3. Where are you from?
4. How old are you and FI?
5. When did you get engaged?
6. How long have you been dating?
7. What do you both do for a living?
8. Random fact about yourself.....
9. Fave TV show?
10. Put these in the order that you feel is most important: Health, Happiness, Wealth?
11. Favorite ice cream flavor?
12. Favorite Season?
13. WR thing you are most excited to plan (married ladies - think you loved best about the day)
14. WR think you are least excited to plan (married ladies- low point of the day)

]]> Rose Barn in North Park - and, ideas for other raw spaces?? https://forums.theknot.com/discussion/98539/rose-barn-in-north-park-and-ideas-for-other-raw-spaces Thu, 11 Aug 2011 23:55:54 +0000 Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh bamclaughl 98539@/discussions   Does anyone have any experience booking the Rose Barn in North Park for anything - particularly for a Saturday event??  Or know someone who might??  (I'm not wondering about the experience of using it for the wedding as much as I'm wondering if booking it is truly as insane as the woman at the park's office told me it is... she said that to book a building there, you have to show up in person one-year-to-the-date ahead of time -- ok, I can handle that -- but that people sometimes camp out at midnight for the more popular venues a year in advance - the office opens at 8:30am.  I could not ever, ever bring myself to do that for the sake of my wedding... and even if I could, my fiance would call this thing off for fear I've gone insane...)  I've talked to a lot of people who have BEEN to events there but they're always for school or church events or whatever, and no one seems to know anyone who's actually done the booking. We have an event planner working with us who has us sold on using it, but this booking process sounds nuts to me - I don't know if I could bring myself to think ANY venue was worth doing that.

 In lieu of that -- any equally cool, raw spaces in the area anyone's come across? (not including the Union Project... I can't get past the sloped floor, unfortunately, and I'm not convinced we couldn't do better price-wise). We'd LOVE something big enough to hold everyone in case of rain but with an option to spill outside.  We're looking for fall 2012 (I should also note that, for various reasons beyond our control -- namely, three teachers from out-of-town in the wedding party who could not possibly get a day off to make it down for a Friday evening wedding - Fridays are out unless it's in the summer... and I reaaaaaaaally don't want to risk a non-AC'd venue on a 95 degree day).  I'm not TERRIBLY picky about the 'spilling outside' thing, that's just my ideal.  I'm not feeling any of the more inclusive places around -- will be going to see the Mayernick Center Saturday, but I want to do more on our own than they let you do (e.g. I really feel no need for having a bartender, which appears to be required, though I need to figure that out --I've been to big, fun parties before where people were able to manage getting drinks without one.. there's also a $3.25/person drink fee before alcohol that appears mandatory -- and that alone would eat up about 3/4 of what we'd pay for EVERYthing if we did it on our own...).  Anyway, I'm just more of a DIYer than many of the places we've looked into thus far allow, so am hoping there may be others with a similar mindset who may have ideas for a 'blank slate' kind of space... Thanks!! :)]]> Wedding photo locations https://forums.theknot.com/discussion/99527/wedding-photo-locations Wed, 10 Aug 2011 17:01:43 +0000 Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh sshruff1 99527@/discussions DJ Diamond Productions https://forums.theknot.com/discussion/97423/dj-diamond-productions Tue, 09 Aug 2011 22:10:22 +0000 Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh kceckard 97423@/discussions Has anyone heard about Diamond Productions?

Thanks for the input! ]]> Is it too late for TTD? https://forums.theknot.com/discussion/97593/is-it-too-late-for-ttd Thu, 11 Aug 2011 02:27:19 +0000 Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh reannalynne 97593@/discussions Ceremony Site in Ligonier?? https://forums.theknot.com/discussion/97146/ceremony-site-in-ligonier Sun, 07 Aug 2011 03:15:32 +0000 Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh NancyS56 97146@/discussions mdphd! https://forums.theknot.com/discussion/95584/mdphd Thu, 11 Aug 2011 16:33:16 +0000 Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh lindsayloo1212 95584@/discussions Edgeworth Club - Sewickley https://forums.theknot.com/discussion/97365/edgeworth-club-sewickley Mon, 06 Jun 2011 21:55:55 +0000 Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh spencedm 97365@/discussions Dress Shopping... Help??? https://forums.theknot.com/discussion/92388/dress-shopping-help Mon, 08 Aug 2011 17:52:31 +0000 Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh JoyjoshM 92388@/discussions
The Dress I wanna try on is by Maggie Sottero named Saratoga...Does anyone know any other Bridal Salon's I can go to?????

Thanks for your help...It's greatly appreciated!]]> Snack Platters? https://forums.theknot.com/discussion/100144/snack-platters Wed, 10 Aug 2011 13:11:09 +0000 Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh Janiceb2010 100144@/discussions Thanks,]]> Mayernick Ctr vs. Great Hall? (Newly-engaged and nervous bride-on-a-budget;) https://forums.theknot.com/discussion/100495/mayernick-ctr-vs-great-hall-newly-engaged-and-nervous-bride-on-a-budget Wed, 10 Aug 2011 03:03:52 +0000 Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh bamclaughl 100495@/discussions   This is my first post here (very exciting, I know ;).  My name's Bethany -- I'm a social worker & lifelong Pittsburgher.  My fiance, Oliver, and I got engaged last month. 
   I'm hoping for opinions here.  We initially were aiming for an Oct 2012 date.  Our budget is ~$10k (maybe stretching up to about 12k) for ~150 guests. Oliver & I will be calling in some awesome favors -- our DJ is going to be a friend of ours doing it as a gift to us, and our photographer will be a close friend of my fiance's doing it for cost. There's also a number of crafters in my family, thus reducing our costs for some of the decor and invites/thank yous. The expenses I'm most nervous about being able to stay within budget on are alcohol (we're already only planning to do beer/wine/champagne, but still, people gotta drink, so we'll get as much as we need...which may end up being a lot;), flowers (because having a particularly pretty/unique reception is very important to me), cake (trying not to think too hard about that at this point;) and the dress (can't think of that at ALL yet... ;D)
   When all is said and done, it leaves us about $2000 for a venue where we'd ideally have both ceremony and reception (including rentals), and then about $4000 for food (i.e. a combined $6000 if there's no charge for the venue on top of food).  My parents are willing to supplement a bit as long as it's not *crazy* more expensive. We looked at the Union Project, and while I love the idea of it, I had a LOT of trouble getting past the sloped floor in the ballroom.
  We contacted the Mayernick Center, and will be looking at it Saturday -- they are holding it for a Friday evening in June for us.  I fell in love with it from the pics and have gotten excited about the idea of a June wedding (and the reduced expense of a Friday evening wedding, which will work fine for us... they of course had only dead-of-winter Saturdays left in 2012 by the time we called).  I'm nervous about a few of the extra fees, though -- mainly the $3.25/person for drinks (even before alcohol) and having to use their bartender (+$125), which with our BYO costs takes our drinks budget to about 2x where I'd like it to be... which takes us to the next part of this---
  In the meantime, my mom learned about the Great Hall in West View, and we are going to look at it tomorrow.  If I'm doing my math right, it looks like it will be cheaper overall, including the alcohol price being a LOT less.  It definitely looks nice, and if I hadn't already discovered the Mayernick, I think from the photos at least I'd be pretty excited about it. I'm really fearing though falling in love with the Mayernick based on looks but not being able to pass up the Great Hall based on price - they also have Saturday October dates (our original plan) available (which I know my fiance will still prefer), but I've kind of gotten excited about something sooner and in June.  I'm just much more a 'rustic' girl than a 'gothic architecture' girl. (I should also say -- while I know there's a 'do what you love, even if it's a little more $!!' sentiment that works for some brides -- for various reasons, we REALLY can't go over this max $12k budget.) 
   Lastly, I also hear that the dance floor at the Great Hall is a strange set up, and my biggest fear about the wedding (besides, you know, a freak tornado) is that it WON'T be one of those weddings where everyone sticks around after dinner and has fun and dances into the evening!!  I've been to a few of those and they've made me sad.

So, I figure I could wait and see how my walk throughs at each place go... or I could stress out a little here, and hope someone has good basis for comparing the two and can help me address my fears here ;)  I will be about 95% happier when we just have a date, seriously...I'm a big picture girl, not a details girl, and want to get onto funner things like flowers and my dress  Any thoughts???]]> Lingrow Farm https://forums.theknot.com/discussion/96653/lingrow-farm Thu, 07 Jul 2011 19:49:07 +0000 Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh LindseyJake4 96653@/discussions Pastor's Special Order Bakery https://forums.theknot.com/discussion/98284/pastors-special-order-bakery Mon, 08 Aug 2011 19:53:02 +0000 Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh Tara5384 98284@/discussions NIKIKRUISE-YGPM https://forums.theknot.com/discussion/98672/nikikruise-ygpm Wed, 10 Aug 2011 20:25:35 +0000 Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh map624 98672@/discussions Miss Brightside https://forums.theknot.com/discussion/97103/miss-brightside Mon, 08 Aug 2011 23:45:25 +0000 Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh Britt0412 97103@/discussions SpaFinder Gift Card as Bridal Party Gift? What are you buying? https://forums.theknot.com/discussion/95798/spafinder-gift-card-as-bridal-party-gift-what-are-you-buying Wed, 10 Aug 2011 13:45:21 +0000 Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh laurlaur414 95798@/discussions
Has anyone ever purchased or used a gift card from spafinder.com? My bridesmaids are from all over the country. I'm trying to figure out what else to get them (I already got a shawl, a bangle from India, and a pocket mirror for each), and I thought a day of pampering in their hometowns might be nice. I came across spafinder.com, which allows you to buy gift certificates that are accepted at spas in all the locations where they live. I just wondered if anyone has had success with them...

Also, what types of gifts are you buying for your bridesmaids?

Thanks!
]]> AW: Bistro to Go wedding catering tasting!!! https://forums.theknot.com/discussion/97123/aw-bistro-to-go-wedding-catering-tasting Wed, 10 Aug 2011 01:56:07 +0000 Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh Flowerstar1023 97123@/discussions
Tonight we had our tasting at Bistro to Go and I have to say, if anyone's looking for a caterer I would STRONGLY recommend them. We haven't had our wedding yet, but they put the red carpet out for us for the tasting. We're stuffed with super yummy food (along with my future parents-in-law and sister-in-law and her husband) and have a ton of food packed up in the fridge. It was sooo good and cheaper (in some cases by a lot) than the other options available at our venue.

Anyways, sorry for the AW post. I'm so excited that we've got this huge piece figured out. I've been antsy about getting the pieces together now that we're getting to the 9 month part and I'm getting busier with school (in a 16 month engagement). Since I think the food is one of the most important parts (along with music) it's nice to know we're going to be uber taken care of! Anyways, "look at me, look at me" AW post done!
]]> DJ/ Lighting Help?! https://forums.theknot.com/discussion/98538/dj-lighting-help Tue, 28 Jun 2011 23:08:22 +0000 Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh heb557 98538@/discussions
Has anyone used Greg or been to a wedding where he has been the DJ? And is lighting Necessary? Greg said he could get some lights rented but again, is it necessary?

Thanks Girls!
]]> Venue Help https://forums.theknot.com/discussion/97229/venue-help Tue, 05 Jul 2011 17:14:24 +0000 Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh B&NSunderman 97229@/discussions Vendor Review Change https://forums.theknot.com/discussion/96440/vendor-review-change Mon, 18 Jul 2011 11:33:48 +0000 Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh LetsHikeToday 96440@/discussions
I did my vendor reviews a few weeks ago but have since decided to change one of them.

I wrote that my DJ (Eclipse Unlimited Entertainment) was 4 songs late to start our father/daughter dance. I had some wedding guests over and I found out he was outside smoking almost all night. My friends said that every time they were outside, he was outside. They said that when they went to go request music, he was no where to be found. He would put his music on a play list of like 5 songs, leave it, and head outside to smoke.

Our reception was 4 hours. There is no reason why he had to be outside so much.

Not that it matters but I definitely don't give them a B grade anymore!]]> Pittsburgh Rehearsal Dinner Ideas https://forums.theknot.com/discussion/97720/pittsburgh-rehearsal-dinner-ideas Tue, 09 Aug 2011 13:55:42 +0000 Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh erinpalko 97720@/discussions We're looking for a nice place to have our rehearsal dinnner in either downtown or surrounding areas (Southside, Shadyside, Lawrenceville, Station Square, etc). We're probably going to have around 30 people. Anyone have any suggestions?]]> What are you doing with your nails? https://forums.theknot.com/discussion/92536/what-are-you-doing-with-your-nails Mon, 08 Aug 2011 15:17:37 +0000 Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh laurlaur414 92536@/discussions PIP Tuesday https://forums.theknot.com/discussion/95890/pip-tuesday Tue, 09 Aug 2011 13:54:19 +0000 Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh cgyvhu 95890@/discussions
Soo, PIP your latest wedding accomplishment! Or your new place, or something you're proud of.  Or a pet!  PIP anything that's new or you want to show off.
]]> OMG! 1 1/2 months!!! https://forums.theknot.com/discussion/92530/omg-1-1-2-months Mon, 08 Aug 2011 16:54:39 +0000 Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh carlyanne05 92530@/discussions