Hey everyone! I didn’t post here much but I lurked often. I got married on 10/17/09. The reviews from past brides helped me out along the way so I figured I would post my own reviews. Let me know if you have questions about anything.
Hair and Makeup: Giovanni and Pileggi, Sewell NJ They were able to accommodate myself, all of my bridesmaids and my flower girl (9 total) in a 3 hour time period. Only one of my bridesmaids seemed to have a problem with her hair; they let someone brand new try and do her hair and it ended up taking about two and a half hours until her hair was finally up (after someone else had to completely redo it), and her hair was nothing like the way she wanted it. Otherwise, everyone else was happy with the final results. Photographer: Marc Anthony Marc and his assistant Alison really did a great job and were a pleasure to be around throughout the day. They were extremely flexible and didn’t mind driving into Philly to take pictures in between our ceremony and reception even though everything else was in South Jersey. When I was looking for a photographer I wanted someone who was affordable and would give you rights to all of the pictures after the wedding. Less than 3 weeks after my wedding, I have already received 4 cds with 1200 amazing pictures! Videographer: Martins The owner, John, is very organized and was easy to get in touch with, and I especially like that you receive your video two months after your wedding. I was very happy with the two videographers that we had throughout the day. I didn’t even know they were there most of the time! I’m really excited to see the video when it is done. Band: FM band They were definitely difficult to get in touch with during the planning process which definitely had me frustrated at times, but in the end I must say that they were incredible! They only took one 20 minute break during dinner. They had the dance floor packed all night and we received many compliments about how great they were. Day of Coordinator: Erin Proud If you are deciding between getting a day of coordinator or not, I would definitely recommend it. Hiring Erin was a last minute decision, and I’m so happy that she was still available and that we had her there throughout the day. Erin and her assistant Lisa were so organized and completely on top of everything. It was so nice not having to worry about anything! Florist: Ten Pennies Anne from Ten Pennies was definitely wonderful to meet with. I was never completely sure what I wanted since I really don’t know much about flowers, but Anne had a ton of great ideas for us. The flowers were absolutely beautiful. Reception: Brigalias I am definitely biased because the owner of Brigalias, Tina, is my aunt. She didn’t have any events the entire week before nor did she have any other events on my wedding day so we had the whole place to ourselves. We were able to go in throughout the week and decorate and we made sure everything was exactly how we wanted it. Our cocktail hour was incredible (so I heard, I didn’t really have time to eat anything unfortunately) and everyone commented on how great her food was. Cake: Terminis, Philadelphia The cake looked exactly how we wanted it to look, and was delicious. I did hear that the cake arrived very late (I think they said they would deliver it from 1-3 and it didn’t arrive until close to 5; cocktail hour started at 5:30). Transportation: An Affair to Remember They were incredible. It rained our entire wedding day, and these limo drivers went out of their way to make sure me and my bridesmaids stayed completely dry and comfortable. I didn’t even realize it was raining thanks to them! We also used them for the shuttle to and from the hotel. Bride’s Dress/Bridesmaid Dresses: Yours Forever Bridal, Voorhees Great bridal shop. I ordered my dress, tiara, veil, and slip through them and my bridesmaids ordered their dresses from them. The owner is extremely organized and everything came in in a timely manner. Alterations: Carol at Yours Forever Bridal, Voorhees I didn’t need much done for the alterations, just a little bit taken in at the top and a bustle. I was very happy with the final result. Accommodations: Residence Inn by Marriott, Deptford Anna, who is in charge of the room blocks, was very easy to work with and responded to all of my emails since I always seemed to have a lot of questions. My husband and I ended up getting a free room since we had more than 10 rooms blocked. They had a free breakfast brunch in the morning which was definitely a plus. Invitations: Papyrus, Marlton The people at papyrus were easy to work with and we received our invitations soon after we ordered them. They were beautiful and we were very happy with how they turned out. Stationary: Proud to Plan Erin’s husband designed all of our stationary for the wedding day, from placecards to table tents to ceremony programs. Everything was exactly how I wanted it, and I was very happy with the final result. I wish we had met with Erin and her husband prior to ordering our invitations because I would have definitely ordered the invitations through them so that everything matched. Cigar Roller: DF Dominicana I can’t personally comment on the cigar roller because I don’t smoke cigars and I didn’t interact with him at all, but I heard that he was definitely a hit with many of our guests! Rehearsal Dinner: Terranova in Sewell, NJ We had a pretty large rehearsal dinner with about 70 guests since we had a lot of out of town people. The people at Terranova were very easy to work with and the food was delicious. We really liked how they had a separate room from the main dining area which was something we especially wanted when looking into places to have the rehearsal dinner.