First, I just want to thank everyone on this board who answered so many of my questions through the planning process! A lot of my vendors were chosen solely based off of reviews/comments from this board, so thank you. I was so pleased with everything and I hope my reviews below are helpful!
Venue –
Alden Castle (Longwood Events): Absolutely amazing, I can’t say enough good things about the
Longwood event group. Cindy Goodman, the event coordinator, was fantastic. Very
hands on, always responsive to e-mails and phone calls, and really on top of
everything. She was almost like a part wedding planner as she provided suggestions,
let me know how certain things are done (ie when do I send out invitations?)
She took all of my decorations and handled them perfectly on the day. The venue
itself is gorgeous (you really do feel like you’re in a castle ballroom). Alden
also upgraded my cocktail hour to the club room which was very spacious. The
food is amazing, all the guests were commenting on it. The staff were extremely
professional, and several guests came up to after to say so, commenting on things
like how every waiter comes to eat place setting and sets everyone’s food down
at the same time. Waiters came up to guests at tables asking if they could get
them a drink, even though we didn’t pay for tableside wine service or anything.
I was very well taken care of myself, with a bridal assistant who made sure I
always had what I needed, whether it be a drink or a piece of every flavor
cake! Can’t recommend Alden enough!
Florist –
The Tangled Web: The Tangled Web is really just one woman, Jen
Cahill, who is extremely talented AND well priced. I had the most gorgeous
bouquets and even my other vendors commented on how lovely the centerpieces
were. Jen really listened to my ideas and ran with them, doing exactly what I
wanted, even when I sounded vague. She also delivered everything on time and to
the right places on the day. Highly recommend.
Photographer
– Zev Fisher: Zev also did my engagement photos so I already had high expectations
based on his excellent work from before. I think Zev is fairly well known as
being a top notch photographer, but he’s also very well organized and really good
about having a sense of timing and light. His package comes with an assistant
photographer, and both are great at getting the good shots but not being too
obvious (this can be especially important in a church). We had a bit of a
mishap on timing between church & reception but Zev handled everything
really well and made sure we got all the shots we wanted. He’s also just a
really nice guy and will make you feel very comfortable. Highly recommend!
Band/DJ –
The Boston Common Band/DJ Shyne: The BCB has a great set up in that the
package includes 8 band members plus a DJ. The DJ plays during the band’s set breaks.
They also have a keyboard player who played during cocktail hour for us. The
band is extremely talented, and the DJ was also great at getting people out on
the dance floor. They are very well organized with a great online system for sending
them your schedule, song requests, do-not-play songs, etc. My husband had a
call with DJ Shyne a week before and he helped us further figure out our entire
timeline. DJ Shyne was also the MC and did an amazing job – didn’t butcher
anyone’s name, timed the entrance songs perfectly. He even helped us transition
from “My Girl” to gangnam style for the father-daughter dance –not an easy
thing to do but he really made it work! My only small complaint was that there
were a number of songs I put on our “must play” list which were never played,
as far as I know. This could happen with other bands as well, not sure! I call
it a small complaint though because overall I was so pleased with our choice of
music, the band is so talented and played some great stuff! I should also
mention that the DJ took care of our lighting for us in the venue, so we had
some great uplighting, which he matched perfectly to my wedding colors. Highly
recommend!
Hair/Makeup
– Special Event Beauty: I booked SEB because of their high reviews on
this board and the fact that I wanted people to travel to me. They are
definitely pricey, but worth it! I had a trial with them and they did an
amazing job both at the trial and on the day of. A few of my maids also got
theirs done and were very pleased. The women are so nice too and make sure you
feel comfortable. I had a gorgeous updo which didn’t move at all throughout the
night, despite all the dancing I participated in! They also do airbrush makeup
which does not look fake or plastered on at all, it is so natural. Highly
recommend!
Transportation
– Le Limo: We rented a 30-person trolley to take the bridal party from hotel to
church, and then the entire wedding party + parents from church to reception.
Excellent service and we had a really friendly driver. They were very prompt,
allow you to plug in an iPod if you want, and they roll out a red carpet for
the bride. We had photos taken in a park and it was freezing, and the driver
was kind enough to offer me his jacket for in between shots. We also
unfortunately had a car accident (not the trolley’s fault but someone behind
us), luckily everyone was okay, but the driver also handled everything so
professionally and got us out of there as soon as he could. Highly recommend!
Day-of
Coordinator – Celebrations by Karen Murphy: Karen comes highly recommended on this
board and I have to agree with everything everyone else has said. Karen was
there for both my church service and reception, and attended the rehearsal at
the church the day before. She was beyond amazing. Even a lot of my bridal
party commented how great she was. She gave advice, made sure everyone was in
the right spot, coordinated with vendors, made sure I didn’t see my husband
before the service, you name it. She was so, so helpful and she can be hired
for a very reasonable price. You won’t regret booking her! Highly recommend!
Dress Alterations
– Bridal Fashions & Alterations in Wayland: My
seamstress was very pricey, but it was completely worth it. She made my huge
ballgown fit like a glove. My gown had a lot of decorative bits and the seamstress
did so well with the bustle and taking it in. Since I knew I had a difficult
gown, I was okay with paying a lot more than I knew some other places would
charge me. Recommend, but get a quote from her first!
Invitations
– Parklife Press: I agonized over invitations for a long time, disliking
everything I saw from places liked Minted and Wedding Paper Divas. I finally
found Parklife Press, who send free samples, and offer 5 free hours of design
work. I was able to use one of their samples that I liked, but made some little
design changes with them. The designer did exactly what I wanted, it felt like
he was in my brain! I thought the prices were also very reasonable for
letterpress. Many people have remarked to me how beautiful the invites were.
Highly recommend!
Placecards
& Menus – Etsy shop – PinkOrchid Designs: Absolutely gorgeous. I was a bit
hesitant ordering from Etsy, but Caroline did such a great job on my placecards
and menus. Her work is just beyond stunning and her prices are very low. I
ordered everything a bit late but she got everything to me in plenty of time.
Highly recommend!
Tuxes – Men’s
Wearhouse, Dedham: Just your typical Men’s Wearhouse, really. I
will say one of the groomsmen went to pick his up a day before the wedding and
they had screwed up the drop off location and it was stuck in Colorado (where
he had been measured). The store did handle it well in the end as it was rush
delivered to him, but my one piece of advice is to make sure you confirm
everything multiple times to avoid a screw up! Ultimately, though, Men’s
Wearhouse is the way to go if you have groomsmen who are coming from all over
the place.
Wedding
Favors – Weddingfavors.org: We got little bottle openers shaped like a fall
leaf. The idea was nice, but to be honest, I thought the presentation was
lacking. It came in a little box which was wrapped in cellophane, which was
nice, but it still had tags on the bottom saying “made in China” and you couldn’t
really see what it was through the wrapping. We did get a sample but had to pay
for it, and the sample looked different from what we got in the large order. We
wanted something cheap though so we got cheap! Do not recommend.
Dress –
Madeleine’s Daughter (Portsmouth): Huge selection and really great bridal
consultants. I didn’t really know what I wanted (I thought I did, but really didn’t),
so eventually the consultant let me go to the back to look around. I picked out
the dress and that was it! They were also honest with me, saying it didn’t make
sense for me to get my alterations done there (because of the way my dress was
ordered and their pricing structure for alterations). They gave me a couple
goodies too – (fake) pearl earrings, and a little square patch that had my initials
embroidered in blue that my seamstress later sowed into my dress. Highly
recommend!