I got married on 10/10/10...like 30,000 other people did. Here's my review of all vendors used!
Wedding Planner: Jennifer Burkle of BURKLE EVENTS. 10000000 out of 10 :-)
Jennifer was AMAZING. She is by far the best planner I've ever worked with. She was incredibly prompt and went above and beyond with everything that I needed. What drew me to her the first time were her fees, she's super well priced and you almost feel bad paying her that amount for all of the work she does. She knows a lot of people which makes it really easy to find other cheap vendors to work with. She's excellent and I definitely recommend her!
Venue: Hilton Longboat Key Beach Resort. 10/10I loved this venue so much! It’s right on the beach and it’s just gorgeous. You have two beaches to choose from for your ceremony and can do your reception either outside under a tent (like I did) or inside their Antigua room which looks out on the ocean. Jessica is the sales manager and she’s just wonderful. Her excitement and care free attitude made her super fun to work with and was also incredibly professional yet relaxed. Rooms were a tad expensive, but it IS a Hilton…right on the beach, so it was worth it! The suites are gorgeous and very clean also. The food was top notch, I’d say a 10/10 and the hors d’ouvres were beautifully put together and tasty as well! We did an open bar, which everyone enjoyed, and the bartender was excellent and very sweet. Everyone who works at the Hilton LBK is awesome and a blast to work with!
Invitations: Seaside Invitations. 9/10Alicia is the owner of her company and is very punctual and prompt; a great business woman. She is also extremely well priced and the quality of her work is excellent! I priced out a custom boarding pass invitation with a sleeve at another vendor, and they charged more than double of what Alicia charged. The invitations came out perfectly and everyone raved about them. The only reason I gave her a 9 instead of a 10 is because of the limited amount of colors that she had to fit what I wanted. Don’t get me wrong, she had TONS of colors, but my colors were butter yellow (which she matched) and cornflower blue (which she couldn’t). However, we looked at alternative options, and found a happy medium J
Flowers: Elegant Design Flowers by Yelena Riches. 10/10Yelena is fantastic and my planner Jennifer will definitely second that! She too, was incredibly professional and sweet and very creative. I went back and forth a dozen times trying to figure out what flowers I wanted for my bouquets, and each time she laughed and we came up with something new. My final arrangement was of yellow lilies, ivory roses, blue iris, orchids and greenery that she wrapped it with. They were just STUNNING! Everyone raved about how good they smelled and how they were put together so beautifully. They also made my arch which was made of bamboo with white fabric wrapped around it, again, beautiful. They were also very well priced for the work they did and the endless emails and patience they had with me!
Cake: Pastries by Design. 10/10
Our cake was actually a replica of a cake that we saw in their portfolio. We choose Amaretto and Raspberry preserves and a coconut cream for the middle tier. The cake came out beautifully and I had a great experience with them as well. Great prices also and Lyndsy the owner is a doll!
Photographer: Ashton Ray Hansen. 10/10Ashton is actually a good friend of mine who I knew back in CO; he now lives in Chicago. Ashton’s work has always been very impressive so it was easy for me to choose him. I haven’t seen the shots just yet, but he did show me a few on his camera, and they were great, unedited and all! He took thousands of shots, and he even danced with us during the reception to get some great candid shots of everyone. He’s still pending on final review, but what I saw was awesome, and if it’s anything like his past work, I know it’ll turn out great!
DJ: Wayne Delair Entertainment. 7/10Delair entertainment put on a great show during the whole wedding. The pre ceremony, ceremony, cocktail reception, and reception music were all great for the most part. The preparation is what made it a little stressful for me. I had to request a few songs for my parents that were foreign, and the demeanor and attitude that I received when making the songs work as a little less than what I had expected. At times, I felt bad for asking them for anything, as their responses were a little “snarky” at times. I felt the level of professionalism was a little less than what I would have liked. They also did not play the song that I had requested for the sand blending ceremony, they actually didn’t play anything at all, and that was incredibly upsetting. I also was informed of some behind the scenes issues that happened with them as well, and that just added to the level of professionalism. Other than all of the little details that added to stress and annoyance other than anything, Wayne played my playlist like I had asked and set up his lighting and everything beautifully. Dress: Brides by Demetrios. 6/10Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVED my dress. It was perfect for a beach wedding and the price was also fantastic (less than $1000) But the lack of customer service made me give the score of a 6. The sales associates are great at first when you’re choosing a dress and they worked well with me. Some of them were cheesy and told me that EVERYTHING looked so elegant and beautiful (when I knew they didn’t, but it’s sales) After I purchased the dress, everything was still okay. My dress came in within 6 months and in good condition and I was happy overall. The issue started with the alterations. I had gotten fitting done and decided not to go with them after they told me that it was $250 or $300 for a bustle and hem on the bottom. I thought that was just absurd and ridiculous! However, when I told them that I didn’t want to go with them, the tables turned. One associate in particular was just awful, disrespectful, and just a huge B!!! They said that I had to pay a fitting fee before I could get my dress back, a fitting fee that they couldn’t prove was valid. The way she tried to handle business was pathetic and she really was on a power trip. I was getting ready to file a complaint with BBB when my mom (bless her heart) finally was able to speak with a supervisor and get my dress back for free. Overall, horrible customer service experience at the end of the journey with them, but my dress is gorgeous and I couldn’t have been happier with my purchase. Rings: Kay Jewelers 9/10We got an updated engagement ring a month before the wedding and we also purchased our bands there as well. The rings were gorgeous and in perfect condition. My husband’s ring came in within less than a week, and mine took the full 2 weeks. The customer service there was a tad off b/c they didn’t seem to know what they were doing most of the time, but the rings were beautiful and about 20 to 30% less than other locations for almost the same thing. Hope this helps! I overall was pretty lucky with my vendors with the exception on low professionalism and customer service from a couple, but I was still happy.
J Good luck ladies!