We had an absolutely perfect day on one of the most popular wedding dates in recent history. Here are my reviews of our vendors who helped make our day so wonderful.
Venue
The Meeting House, Tiverton: A for location; B for coordination
We looked at nine places before deciding on The Meeting House, and I think it’s one of the state’s best-kept wedding location secrets. The whole time I was on the RI board, which is a looong time, only one other bride was having her wedding there and she only popped on about twice to ask about caterers. The location is beautiful. The interior is gorgeous. Our guests raved. We chose the tent site directly adjacent to the awning-covered deck so that we had one continuous space. Our ceremony was inside, dinner under the tent and dancing back inside. Communication and coordination was sometimes challenging. The site’s coordinator is a lovely woman, but is not really into e-mail communication, which made things difficult. I’d e-mail and she’d call back, often during working hours when I couldn’t pick up. (She always responded promptly, I’d just have preferred she use e-mail.) Also, because our conversations were on the phone or in person, I didn’t have certain things in writing and that came back to bite me later. For instance, the contract mentioned a $50/hour fee for access to The Meeting House before the event, such as for a rehearsal. When I inquired about it, she said that she doesn’t charge that unless she feels people are really abusing her time and gave the example of a bride who was just supposed to be dropping things off but then started working on her favors while this woman sat there waiting. Then, a few days before our rehearsal, she left a message confirming our rehearsal reminding me of the $50 hourly fee. Because I never asked her to put it in writing, I was stuck, which was disappointing. (You also pay a $25/hour fee for their hostess to be there the entire time the venue is open during the wedding, so be aware of that added cost, and you have to have open bar there, too.) Anyway, the site is gorgeous and the communication glitches would not be enough to keep me from highly recommending the site or choosing the same venue again.
Caterer
B&M Clambakes: A+
Our food was fantastic and the service was great. We had a mixed grill menu and guests raved about the food, especially the BBQ steak tips, the cornbread and the clam chowder we had during cocktail hour. They offered us a tasting before we even booked, which was nice. They also accommodated my dairy issues and made me a special salad without the mozzarella. B&M offers a great deal for the volume and quality of food you get. They packaged up the extras (including packets of cornbread for guests who had raved to them about it) for us and we ate wedding food for days! I paid for the linens/flatware/dinnerware upgrade and was a little disappointed when I saw the dinnerware was melamine plastic, so be aware of that if you use them. But I’m not sure anyone really noticed or cared. I highly recommend B&M, and they have all types of menus to suit your needs. They were the only caterer we contacted because we fell in love with their menu. Highly recommended.
Bar service
Cardoza’s, Fairhaven, Mass.: B-
Cardoza’s was one of the few places that offered a consumption bar, that is, you pay only for what your guests drink, not a per-person price. I knew we had several nondrinkers (me, some older relatives, some pregnant and nursing friends, etc.) so consumption made sense. We did an open beer/wine bar and they allowed us to provide our own soft drinks and water, which was nice. The reason they get a lower grade was because the terms changed (and cost increased quite a bit) between my initial contact and when I got the contract but, by then, it was too late to go elsewhere. Also, there were some delays with e-mail that were frustrating and they apparently lost our deposit check, so I had to stop payment. Our guests were mostly happy with the service, though some didn’t really love Cardoza’s wine choices and said the bartender was not the friendliest. It was a lot to pay for someone to just pour wine (from screw-top bottles, no less!) and hand out beers, but so be it!
Photographer
Melissa Robotti: A, pending photos, which I’m sure will be great
Melissa and her second shooter, Kristin, were all over the place. I can’t say enough how great it was to have two shooters. I’d wondered, when we were making our decisions, if this mattered and it did. I also never realized how quickly eight hours of photography goes when you want to capture the getting ready shots and the whole shebang, too. They were loving the light that day –it really was gorgeous out – and they made the experience fun for two people who typically hate posing for cameras. Bryan and I scouted locations a few weeks beforehand and they worked out well. We did a first look, which I highly recommend, then did our shots together before the ceremony. This worked out great and we were ahead of schedule after the ceremony. My only regrets were that I didn’t speak up enough about what I was looking for that day as far as unique shots and that we didn’t ask her to pull us outside for nighttime shots. I’m sure we’ll have plenty, but speak up, ladies, so you get what you want! 
DJ
All 4 You DJ/Glenn and Anne Turgeon: B
This was a hard one for me. They get such great reviews on here and I always hear how they keep the dance floor packed, but I had several negative comments from guests that the DJ just didn’t seem to “get” the crowd. I’m lucky to have a core group of good friends who resolved to dance the night away to keep the party going, but there were a lot of people who I know usually dance who sat in the tent instead. My friends ended up making a lot of requests, which they accommodated with no problems. I specifically asked that they not play a certain type of jazz music (that modern elevator-y stuff with no lyrics) during CH and dinner, and as soon as we sat down to eat, one of those types of songs that I can’t stand came on. I didn’t give them a huge must-play or do-not-play list because they are professionals and I wanted to trust them to read the crowd and do what they do best, but maybe I should have. Also, I know they had a small space to set up in, but they put a green Rubbermaid storage bin underneath this beautiful farmhouse table in the Meeting House and it’s in every ceremony shot of me coming down the aisle and some of the recessional shots I’ve seen so far. One last thing, but I did not anticipate any vendors would be eating the food during our cocktail hour and we did not order enough to accommodate that (and we ran out; luckily they’d put a few things aside for DH and me), so that bothered me a little. On the positive side, Anne did a great job with announcements and our intro music was flawless. Our cake cutting to “Sweet Caroline” was a classic with a great sing-along and it’s a memory we’ll have forever. So, weighing it all, I’m giving a generous B.