Hi Ladies,
I hope planning is coming along for you all. I had a fabulous wedding this past September and in the hustle and bustle of being a newlywed I've delayed writing reviews. I know reviews helped me so much when searching for my vendors so I hope this helps you all.
Richard Harrell Photography: A++: Richard and Heather are absolute God-sent photographers. They were so helpful and accomodating from the very first day we met with Richard. I knew from our first meeting with Richard that we couldn't choose anyone else to work with. He answered every absolutely ridiculous question we had and was patient during our 2hr+ initial consultation. I am very uncomfortable having pictures taken of me but Richard was so funny half the time I didn't realize he was taking pictures. When the pictures arrived they surely amazed everyone who saw them. On our wedding day as I'm sure is expected I was running behind but Heather and Richard rolled with the punches and captured amazing photos without making me feel rushed. Heather even helped bustle my wedding dress when my mom and maid of honor were having trouble. They helped us find other vendors and were willing to help in anything wedding related even if it had nothing to do with photography. I can't think of any other photographers I would reccommend so highly outside of this team and I look forward to having them capture all of my family photos for years to come.
Chic Designs and Fabulous Events: A++:There are no words to explain how fabulous Julie and her team truly are. From the day we met her my husband and I knew she was going to be an absolute integral part to our wedding day. Julie responded quickly to every email, text and phone call. She helped me throughout several wedding related melt-downs. She was on top of everything. I thought I was organized but Julie takes organization to a whole new level. She connected me with great vendors and kept on top of it all. My only regret was not hiring Julie sooner. On my wedding day I promise the minute something was seemingly out of place I would look and there Julie was. It's like she knew what I was thinking the whole night. I did not have a worry in the world at my wedding because she took care of everything. All of my guests raved about how helpful she was and I can't thank her and her team enough for making my wedding day run so smoothly. I reccomend her to any and every bride regardless of where you are in the planning process she will def. add her Chic touch and help you have a fabulous event!
The Flowers Blossom: C-:I must say I was warned about this vendor that the flowers would be beautiful but service would not be so great. I can honestly say that the flowers we recieved at our wedding were beautiful and for the price we paid they were an absolute great deal. However a few weeks before my wedding and up until my wedding day this vendor had me concerned about what would happen on my wedding day. I think a part of the issue has to do with culture but that's beside the point. At some point Eyeleen found out that I was working with a coordinator that she had previous issues with and informed me that she would not be working with my planner. Also I was told on different occasions that my flowers would arrive at different times. Consistency between the staff was sometimes an issue. On my wedding day my flowers arrived later than they were needed and as a result my groom has no bouts in 90% of the pictures with his groomsmen. If you are someone who expects quick responses to emails, phone calls returned in timely-manner than this vendor may not be the one for you. But if you are willing to forego what I consider are basic customer service skills for beautiful and bargain flowers this is the vendor for you. If I had to choose again I probably would work with them again because the quote I recieved for my flowers was about 1/2 the price as other quotes in the area.
Mirror Lake Lyceum: A++: I can't speak highly enough of the Mirror Lake Lyceum as a wedding venue. They were so helpful throughout the planning process. Brian was quick to respond to emails and return phone calls. I must admit sometimes I called 2 or 3 times to confirm the same details but he was more than willing to help in any possible. On our wedding day our guests raved about how helpful the staff at the Lyceum was and how they had never been to a more beautiful wedding. We can't thank the Lyceum and their staff enough for assisting in our perfect day.
Orange Blossom Catering: C: Our experience with our caterer leading up to our wedding was great. The staff was so helpful and very flexible. However what we selected at our tasting is not quite what we recieved at our wedding. The taste of my food was so different that I literally couldn't stomache it and ate bread during our reception. My husband and bridal party wern't too pleased either. However our guests didn't complain and that could have to do with the open bar but who knows. Just be aware that the tastings are great but that's not what you may recieve at your event.
Grant Hemond and Associate's DJ Ben Daniele:A++:I am so thankful for every vendor that recommended DJ Ben to us. He was one of my favorite vendors to work with. He is such a fun guy to be around and absolutely the best at knowing how to get the crowd moving. At our reception the dance floor was crowded from the minute the dance floor opened to when the guests had to leave. Ben checked on myself, my groom and our parents all throughout the night. He gave us what we wanted, a PARTY!!! Our family, young and old, could not stop talking about how fun the wedding was, even months later. I know Ben was absolutely key to our wonderful wedding. If you are looking for a fun DJ then Ben is your guy!
CC's Boutique: A:Just when I had all but given up hope of finding a dress that met all of my needs I made an appt to my final shop, CC's. The day I went in I was fully expecting to hate everything I saw but much to my surprise I fell in love the second dress I tried on. The ladies in the shop made me feel absolutely amazing from beginning to end including my 4 visits to see the dress to make sure it was what I wanted and my 3 alteration appts. I ordered my dress very early so it was in the shop for about 7 months waiting for alterations. The alterations process was very tricky as I am top-heavy (DDD) and I choose a low-cut sweetheart neckline. Alterations made sure to add extra boning so that there were no "extra-guests" at my wedding. My bustle held up all night despite my dress being over 10lbs and having a cathedral length train. I would absolutely recommend this shop to other brides they are the best.
Studios 76:
I had a beautiful wedding in September of 2013, before my wedding my then fiancé and I decided we wanted our special day recorded. After much research and many meetings we settled with Studios 76. Jacques made us feel very comfortable and we were so excited about the samples he showed. Fast forward to our wedding Jacques showed up on time and was present for the whole wedding. We loved that we didn't even notice him throughout our ceremony and reception. After our wedding we went about our merry new life assuming our videos would be produced in a timely matter. After a few weeks of not hearing from Jacques I decided to call to see where our highlight clip was and check on when to expect our video. It took some time to get a response but we were told we would have everything by Christmas. Christmas came and all we recieved was our raw footage and highlight clip. After the New Year we called and emailed numerous times and we were finally informed the package with the final edit was lost in the mail. We were emailed on Jan 14th and told the lost package would be returned when recieved it would be immediately mailed to us. So we waited some more by Valentine's Day I was fed up and called and emailed but this time he never responded to any of our emails or phone calls. We finally heard back on March 5th after posting a horrible review and we were informed that the package was sent and was sitting with the front office of our complex since Feb 26th but that's a whole different issue. Now that we finally have our video the product is absolutely beautiful. We are so pleased with what we recieved. However there was much undue stress regarding the video which could have been solved by having emails or phone calls returned. We were also disappointed that more accomodations weren't made to have our supposedly completed product in our hand sooner. Not to mention that this vendor couldn't as much return emails or phone calls to let us know when the package was finally sent to ease our minds. When we heard back after almost 2 months of no contact he wasn't the slightest bit aplogetic and treated us as if it nothing happened.
Catering by Lundy's (liquor): C+:I can't say much about service because at my wedding I never ventured to the bar. From my guests reaction I assume all went well since we had so many tipsy guests. What I can say is that I'm upset that a contract was sent to me, agreed upon and a deposit placed and I went in with my final numbers and payments only to be informed that I owed about $150 more than expected. When asked why Courtney informed me that someone must have made an error in my contract but the price was more than agreed upon. I was prepared to fight but my dad wanted to play peacemaker and paid the balance. I would def. make sure to go over the contract several times and discuss line by line each amount so that you don't get any surprises like me.