Given that I had such an amazing wedding and that all the posts that other brides shared helped so much with the planning I wanted to share my vendor reviews. We were lucky enough to get married in Cape May on Saturday, April 30th and the weather was gorgeous - blue skies and 70 degress. We could not have asked for a better day.
Ceremony: Our Lady Star of the Sea in Cape May - A
Amazing church. Our priest is a family friend and he helped pull some strings so that we could get married there even though we weren't parishoners. It is a beautiful church and I was so grateful to get married there.
Reception: Congress Hall -A+
I can't say enough good things about the staff at Congress Hall. Both Krista and Daniella are amazing. No detail was left to chance and we didn't have to worry about anything. The food was excellent. The service was impeccable. It's not the cheapest location for a wedding but you do get your money's worth.
Hair and Makeup: Karen Capcino -A+
I found Karen from reading posts from the Knot. She is just as good if not better than everyone says. It was great to have her come on site to do all of our hair and makeup. She brought 2 assistants with her who were also outstanding. All the ladies looked absolutely beautiful.
Photographer: Tina Markoe - A+
Wow - although I have not yet seen the pictures, she did an amazing job. She knew the location well and knew all the great hidden spots to get amazing pictures. She kept us organized and got us through our pictures quickly. She was so much fun and really helped to set the tone for the day. I can't wait to see the finished product.
Videographer: Wellspun Weddings - A
Although we haven't seen the finished product, Kelly was great. He was not obtrusive and it never felt like we were being filmed. That was very important to us because we didn't want people to be uncomfortable or act different if they felt they were being recorded. They have a vintage style to their films and again can't wait to see the finished product.
Ceremony/Cocktail Hour Music: Philadelphia String Quartet - A
They did a phenomenal job with the music for both the ceremony and cocktail hour. We got so many compliments on the beautiful music for both. They did classic church music for the ceremony and some modern music for the cocktail hour. I only wish I wasn't so busy that day so that I could have really enjoyed it all. We are already trying to think of another event we can book them for.
DJ: Sound Choice DJs - Dave Hoeffel - A+
Dave was amazing. He is very laid back and fun and really set a great tone for the evening. We wanted an Oldies reception (nothing after 1979) and he did a great job. Our dance floor was full the whole night. He's one of hte 50s on 5 DJs on XM so we knew he was the right guy for the job. He played everything we wanted and got the timing perfect on all the entrance songs and special dances.
Flowers: Cape Winds Florist - A
They did an amazing job as well. The flowers were gorgeous. I don't know much about flowers so I relied on them to make a lot of the decisions on what would look best. Luckily they were very familiar with our venue and the room was beautiful. They also did a great job with all the bouquets - so pretty and exactly what I wanted.
Dresses: Harleysville Bridal (Harleysville, PA) and Page Six (Skippack, PA)- A+
I can't say enough nice things about the staff. The stores are related and they took such good care of us. I ordered a dress initially that I thought was the one then realized that it wasn't quite it. We called the store, went back and tried on everything in the store until I found the perfect dress. (Maggie Sottera Clarissa). They were able to cancel the order on my other dress and apply the deposit to the new one. I felt terrible about the whole situation but they were so wonderful about it all. Page Six also did a great job with the bridesmaid dresses. They were very good with communication and made sure all my girls had everything in plenty of time for the big day.
Tuxes: Men's Wearhouse: C-
I was very disappointed in the whole tux experience. While everything worked out in the end, we dealt with a lot of mis-sizing and lost orders. I thought they would be better since this is something they specialize in but the customer service was lacking all around. Since we had lots of groomsmen from out of town we needed to use a national store but I would not recommend it unless you have to.
We had an amazing wedding. The most important thing I learned is that the bride and groom really set the tone for the day. My husband and I were so happy that everyone said it was contagious and people are still raving about the great time they had. My advice to any brides out there is to enjoy the day as much as you possibly can. It goes really fast but if you have fun and enjoy it, everyone else will too.
Me: 35, DH: 34. Married 4/2011 TTC since 10/2011
Dealing with ovulation issues and MFI; Met with RE on 5/14/12
Clomid CD 3-4 100mg CD 5-7 50 mg and TI (June 12 = BFN)
Clomid CD 3-4 100mg CD 5-7 50 mg and IUI on 6/26 = BFP - twins!
