Warning - this is long!
Day of Coordinator: Mary from Mary Rose Memories – A+++++ (not enough pluses will do her justice)
All throughout my wedding weekend people kept commenting on how I was the most relaxed bride they had ever met. Want to know why? Mary, from Mary Rose Memories!
Mary listened to and understood my vision and executed it perfectly. Any time I would think of something Mary had already done it. When my tired feet finally got a rest during dinner there were my flip flops right under the table. Mary also made sure everyone was where they needed to be, when they needed to be, which was a feat with my crew!!! Mary’s services are really invaluable and I cannot begin to list everything she did for us because I really don’t even know. Everything was just done without me having to think about it. Mary is a hard worker, great listener and outstanding communicator. You would be lucky to have her as your Day of Coordinator.
Venue: The Down Town Club – A+++++
Everything about my reception was just perfect thanks to Mary White and the Down Town Club. The food was amazing, the views spectacular and the ballroom gorgeous. Mary is a great coordinator and was always one step ahead of me throughout the entire planning process. My husband, myself and all of our guests were just blown away by the whole event. So much is included in the package that it is really a great value. I highly recommend having your reception here.
Band: Slippery Band – A+++++++++
Slippery Band is seriously so awesome! The played my cousin’s wedding almost 10 years ago and I have seen them play at St. Anthony’s Italian Festival several times since then. I knew I had to have them play my wedding! Chris is great to work with and has great ideas. All of my guests said that hands down they were the best band they had ever heard play a wedding or similar event. The dance floor was packed the entire time and there was never that lull that happens when a DJ plays something you can’t really dance to. Having a live band obviously costs more than a DJ and it was our splurge but it was totally worth it!
Florist: Carl Alan Floral Design – A+++
Cal, Adam and everyone else at Carl Alan Floral Design are fantastic to work with. My flowers were amazing and I knew they would be because of how their consultation process works. When you go in for your consultation you actually create your centerpieces and bouquets right there. This is awesome because before you put out a penny you know your flowers will be exactly how you want them on your wedding day. That type of piece of mind is priceless. They also worked with our budget which some florists were not willing to do.
Photography: SingleExposure Photography – A+++++
Craig and his second shooter Dave are so talented! We already received about 150 pictures in a slideshow 24 hours after the wedding. The pictures are absolutely breathtaking and we can’t stop looking at them. Craig has such a great eye and talent for capturing the emotion of a moment through his photographs. Craig offers a great value for his talent compared to others priced at the same level. We could not be happier with the photos we received already and cannot wait to see the rest.
Party Bus: Limo Today – A+
Working with Limo Today was easy and they gave us a great deal. The bus was on time and clean. The driver was very nice and even hung around a few extra minutes so the bridal party could empty the bus and not have to walk to the reception (2 blocks).
Guest Shuttle: Yellowbird – A
My guests rode the shuttle and no one complained so I am guessing it was a success. The price was also very reasonable.
Videographer: Martin’s Video
I will reserve grading until I see my video but Jon worked really hard all day and was very nice and super polite.
Tuxedos: Men’s Wearhouse – B-
The tuxes are really worn down and I got a lot of misinformation and bad attitudes from the people who work there. But almost all of the groomsmen were out of town so I needed the convenience of Men’s Wearhouse. One of the groomsmen had to go back the morning of the wedding because the incorrect tux was there for him when he went to pick it up 2 days before the wedding. We are lucky he even got a tux because they told him MAYBE they could get him the correct tux before the wedding.
Dance Lessons: Rubi First Dance – A+++++
Rubi is super sweet and an awesome teacher! You can take as many lessons as you need. Our dance was so awesome and blew away all of our guests. It also allowed my husband to be less nervous about dancing in front of all of our guests.
Room Block: The Omni Independence Park – B
The rooms here are absolutely stunning especially for the price allowed through the room block. Alicia was always very helpful in making sure guests rooms were set up and booking the breakfast. The actual staff was hit or miss. Not all of our gift bags were given out upon check-in so guests did not know about the Sunday morning breakfast. Our room and our SIL’s rooms were not correct and we got some attitude upon check-in but an apology and a bottle of champagne was quick to follow. Also, they did not do a very good job of keeping strangers out of our private breakfast.
Cake: Diane’s LaPatisserie – A+
The cake was provided by the Down Town Club but we did get to meet with Diane and have a tasting. The cake was beautiful and tasted great!
Bridesmaid’s Dresses: Frank Bernard’s – A+
Great prices (tax free), great service and beautiful dresses. Highly recommend!
Wedding Gown: Alfred Angelo – Cherry Hill – F------ (not enough minuses will do this place justice)
This review is specifically regarding this store and not the quality of the Alfred Angelo product.
The ladies that work at this store are rude and incompetant. After ordering the wrong dress, a mistake I only caught by accident because the mistake was not on my receipt, I was rudely spoken to and given a bunch of attitude for asking fro a receipt that properly reflects what I purchased.
After being told the dress would not be in for 10 weeks I received an email barely 2 weeks later saying that my phone was disconnected (it was not) and that if I did not come get my dress by a certain date it would be considered forfeited. Good thing I religiously check my email!
When I went to pick up the dress it had imperfections all over it. The manager assured me they wanted me to be happy and ordered me a new one. When I went to pick the new dress up the same manager gave me nothing but attitude and was told the original imperfections were really nothing that I ever should have complained about and made them order a new dress. She hung it on a cabinet and all the associates walked away from us leaving my mother and myself astonished at how we were being treated. We took the dress off the cabinet and walked out as we were being shunned by the employees.
After contacting customer service for the company I was basically told, "Ok, so that was your experience. You have your dress. What do you want from me." While I do have a dress I love the entire experience of getting my wedding dress was ruined and that can't ever be fixed. They are really terrible people there and if you want an enjoyable experience shopping for a wedding gown do not go here!
Hair: Hair by Meghan – A+++
Meghan is so nice, easy to work with and super talented. She works that curling iron with amazing speed. Each one of my bridesmaids had a unique style and all of them looked great. My style was absolutely gorgeous and held well all day even after jumping around on the dance floor all night.
Makeup: Dylan Michael Cosmetics – A+++
Casey is an amazing makeup artist. Each of my bridesmaids looked fantastic and all said she was the best makeup artist they had ever gone to. My makeup was perfect and stayed on all day and all night without any touchups (except lipstick of course!)
Rings: Steve Singer Jewelers – A
We love Steven Singer. Bob is our jeweler and he is great to work with! We love our rings and we feel as though we received great quality for a great price. I love being able to stop in any time and have my ring cleaned for free. My only complaint is they forgot to include an appraisal of my wedding band and I called twice and never received a phone call back. I wound up just stopping in the next time I was in the area and was provided the appraisal without a problem.
Photo booth: J-Dogs – C
We originally booked with another photo booth company. They sold the photo booth to this company. The people at J-Dogs were very nice and always responded promptly. However, at the wedding the message with our names and date was not printing out on the photos. This bothered me. What bothered me more was the attendant’s response when I asked him about it: “You are lucky it is printing pictures at all”. Which brings me to another point. The prints themselves were very dull almost like the machine was about to die. Everyone had fun using the booth and thought it was a great idea but for the money I expected better quality.