Florida-West Coast

Naples Vendor Review - Way Overdue!

Hi Ladies,

I didn't post a lot before my 10/17 wedding, but definitely relied on all of your advice and vendor suggestions and wanted to repay the favor. Planning our wedding from Indiana proved to be more difficult than I anticipated, but our day was perfect! Please take a look at the reviews and let me know if you have questions.

Thanks!!

Venue – The Club at the Strand – B+

This venue is absolutely beautiful!! We had the ceremony in the botanical garden, which I don’t know that I would really consider a garden, but it is amazingly beautiful with a huge staircase, fountain, and lots of flowers. We received so many compliments on the setting! We moved to the veranda for our cocktail hour, which was equally as pretty…it overlooks the garden and the golf course. The appetizers were to die for! Following the cocktail hour, we moved into the ballroom for the reception…also gorgeous. The tables, dance floor, candles, lighting, etc. all set the tone for an elegant, but very fun evening. The food was delicious! I had been really worried about this because we were “just having chicken” but it was the best chicken I had had in a really long time. 
The only reason that I’m not giving The Strand a better grade is because of a few details that fell through the cracks (they lost the cake topper after the wedding, forgot to put out the groom’s cake until I said something, didn’t provide a table for gifts, etc.). Unfortunately, the contact I had been working with along the way had a family emergency and she couldn’t be there the day of the wedding. Of course, I understand that emergencies happen, but would have appreciated receiving a phone call earlier in the day so that I could be prepared as opposed to finding out after I had arrived and was already dressed. I guess that they did the best they could considering the circumstances…I just wish things could have been buttoned up a little more.

 

Photographer – A+

Mandy and Anas from Mandy and Me did a fantastic job! They traveled from Sarasota to Naples with no additional charge. Since this was a destination wedding for us, I wanted to make sure that people who were unable to travel felt like they were at the wedding and reception from the pictures…mission accomplished. I barely knew that they were there (which is how it should be) and the pictures that they captured were amazing. Plus, they were so reasonable and we received our pics in 6 weeks!! We own the pics and it’s been so hard to select ones to frame. I would definitely recommend them to anyone getting married in Florida. There are a few pics of our day on their blog, just scroll down a bit to see them. http://mandyandmestudio.com/blog/

 

DJ – Dan Williams from Sword Sounds – A+

Okay, I was really nervous about hiring Dan, but should NOT have been.  I had heard so many wonderful things about Rob Sword… he wasn’t available on our day, but Dan was and I couldn’t have been happier! Dan was awesome! I can’t say enough wonderful things about him. He found EVERY song that we wanted and was so accommodating (even to a lot of last minute changes from our families). So many of my engaged friends have mentioned that they wish that they could bring him to Indiana for their weddings.  I was a bit of a psycho about the must play and do not play lists and Dan couldn’t have done a better job of dealing with me and keeping people on the dance floor all night!

Connie Duglin linens – A

I didn’t work directly with Connie Duglin linens (the venue contact did), but the interaction that I had was great. Since I couldn’t be there to see the colors of the chair sashes, I requested samples multiple times (and even changed my mind about 2 weeks before the wedding). The samples were delivered very quickly and, on the day of the wedding, they looked perfect! We actually received compliments on the chair covers and sashes…just goes to show that people do notice the details.

Wedding Cake and Grooms Cake – Publix – A

There is a Publix just down the street from the venue and they were very easy to work with! I ordered everything that I wanted over the phone and paid for it when I arrived a few days before the wedding. I didn’t taste the grooms cake, but the wedding cake was amazing. We ordered white cake with Bavarian cream filling and it was so delicious that our guests could not believe that the cakes were from a grocery store. The best part…together, both cakes cost less than $300!

Bus – Dolphin Transportation – A

A lot of our guests didn’t rent a car, so we wanted to provide transportation to and from the wedding and hotel. Working with Mike from Dolphin Transportation was so easy. They even were able to put the charge on our room bill at the Ritz Carlton (one less thing to worry about!). We opted for one hour transfers at the beginning and end of the evening, so the total cost was $300 – Well worth it! We didn’t have to worry about our guests driving drunk (which our contacts at the venue said was piece of mind for them serving our guests so much alcohol) and we were able to keep the party going, singing and dancing on the way back to the hotel. The driver let us have free reign of the music and put up with us being a bit obnoxious.

Ceremony music - Seaside Strings – A

I didn’t hear the music before the wedding, but heard that they were outstanding. I worked with Vivien and she was great. She sent me a disc of some of their samples and helped me pick appropriate songs. We opted for the cello and violin and it really set the tone for an elegant ceremony. I had originally planned on having prerecorded music played through the speaker system and am SO glad I changed my mind and hired Seaside Strings. Would definitely recommend them!!

Flowers – Floral Designs by Heidi - A

I actually arranged the flowers myself, but ordered them through Heidi. She was fantastic and really helped me to come up with an appropriate number of flowers and colors. Ordering them over the phone, I was nervous that the orange color wouldn’t be right, but it was perfect! She had everything trimmed, boxed, and ready to go on time.

Hair – Running with Scissors – A-

Mae from running with scissors did all of our hair and did a great job. We didn’t really have a lot of high expectations, so I’m not sure that we could have been disappointed. I didn’t want to spend a ton of money and she was much more reasonable than a few of the other salons that had been recommended. She also did my mom’s make up and did a good job. I opted to do my own with the exception of my fake eyelashes, which she attempted to apply. That was a bad idea. They got all clumped together and I looked like a scary clown. I decided to remove them and just go natural, which made my fiancé happy!

Invitations, dress, alterations, jewelry – All from Indiana…let me know if you have any questions though!

Re: Naples Vendor Review - Way Overdue!

  • gdovenmugdovenmu member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Hi Ladies,

    I didn't post a lot before my 10/17 wedding, but definitely relied on all of your advice and vendor suggestions and wanted to repay the favor. Planning our wedding from Indiana proved to be more difficult than I anticipated, but our day was perfect! Please take a look at the reviews and let me know if you have questions.

    Thanks!!

    Venue – The Club at the Strand – B+

    This venue is absolutely beautiful!! We had the ceremony in the botanical garden, which I don’t know that I would really consider a garden, but it is amazingly beautiful with a huge staircase, fountain, and lots of flowers. We received so many compliments on the setting! We moved to the veranda for our cocktail hour, which was equally as pretty…it overlooks the garden and the golf course. The appetizers were to die for! Following the cocktail hour, we moved into the ballroom for the reception…also gorgeous. The tables, dance floor, candles, lighting, etc. all set the tone for an elegant, but very fun evening. The food was delicious! I had been really worried about this because we were “just having chicken” but it was the best chicken I had had in a really long time. 
    The only reason that I’m not giving The Strand a better grade is because of a few details that fell through the cracks (they lost the cake topper after the wedding, forgot to put out the groom’s cake until I said something, didn’t provide a table for gifts, etc.). Unfortunately, the contact I had been working with along the way had a family emergency and she couldn’t be there the day of the wedding. Of course, I understand that emergencies happen, but would have appreciated receiving a phone call earlier in the day so that I could be prepared as opposed to finding out after I had arrived and was already dressed. I guess that they did the best they could considering the circumstances…I just wish things could have been buttoned up a little more.

     

    Photographer – A+

    Mandy and Anas from Mandy and Me did a fantastic job! They traveled from Sarasota to Naples with no additional charge. Since this was a destination wedding for us, I wanted to make sure that people who were unable to travel felt like they were at the wedding and reception from the pictures…mission accomplished. I barely knew that they were there (which is how it should be) and the pictures that they captured were amazing. Plus, they were so reasonable and we received our pics in 6 weeks!! We own the pics and it’s been so hard to select ones to frame. I would definitely recommend them to anyone getting married in Florida. There are a few pics of our day on their blog, just scroll down a bit to see them. http://mandyandmestudio.com/blog/

     

    DJ – Dan Williams from Sword Sounds – A+

    Okay, I was really nervous about hiring Dan, but should NOT have been.  I had heard so many wonderful things about Rob Sword… he wasn’t available on our day, but Dan was and I couldn’t have been happier! Dan was awesome! I can’t say enough wonderful things about him. He found EVERY song that we wanted and was so accommodating (even to a lot of last minute changes from our families). So many of my engaged friends have mentioned that they wish that they could bring him to Indiana for their weddings.  I was a bit of a psycho about the must play and do not play lists and Dan couldn’t have done a better job of dealing with me and keeping people on the dance floor all night!

    Connie Duglin linens – A

    I didn’t work directly with Connie Duglin linens (the venue contact did), but the interaction that I had was great. Since I couldn’t be there to see the colors of the chair sashes, I requested samples multiple times (and even changed my mind about 2 weeks before the wedding). The samples were delivered very quickly and, on the day of the wedding, they looked perfect! We actually received compliments on the chair covers and sashes…just goes to show that people do notice the details.

    Wedding Cake and Grooms Cake – Publix – A

    There is a Publix just down the street from the venue and they were very easy to work with! I ordered everything that I wanted over the phone and paid for it when I arrived a few days before the wedding. I didn’t taste the grooms cake, but the wedding cake was amazing. We ordered white cake with Bavarian cream filling and it was so delicious that our guests could not believe that the cakes were from a grocery store. The best part…together, both cakes cost less than $300!

    Bus – Dolphin Transportation – A

    A lot of our guests didn’t rent a car, so we wanted to provide transportation to and from the wedding and hotel. Working with Mike from Dolphin Transportation was so easy. They even were able to put the charge on our room bill at the Ritz Carlton (one less thing to worry about!). We opted for one hour transfers at the beginning and end of the evening, so the total cost was $300 – Well worth it! We didn’t have to worry about our guests driving drunk (which our contacts at the venue said was piece of mind for them serving our guests so much alcohol) and we were able to keep the party going, singing and dancing on the way back to the hotel. The driver let us have free reign of the music and put up with us being a bit obnoxious.

    Ceremony music - Seaside Strings – A

    I didn’t hear the music before the wedding, but heard that they were outstanding. I worked with Vivien and she was great. She sent me a disc of some of their samples and helped me pick appropriate songs. We opted for the cello and violin and it really set the tone for an elegant ceremony. I had originally planned on having prerecorded music played through the speaker system and am SO glad I changed my mind and hired Seaside Strings. Would definitely recommend them!!

    Flowers – Floral Designs by Heidi - A

    I actually arranged the flowers myself, but ordered them through Heidi. She was fantastic and really helped me to come up with an appropriate number of flowers and colors. Ordering them over the phone, I was nervous that the orange color wouldn’t be right, but it was perfect! She had everything trimmed, boxed, and ready to go on time.

    Hair – Running with Scissors – A-

    Mae from running with scissors did all of our hair and did a great job. We didn’t really have a lot of high expectations, so I’m not sure that we could have been disappointed. I didn’t want to spend a ton of money and she was much more reasonable than a few of the other salons that had been recommended. She also did my mom’s make up and did a good job. I opted to do my own with the exception of my fake eyelashes, which she attempted to apply. That was a bad idea. They got all clumped together and I looked like a scary clown. I decided to remove them and just go natural, which made my fiancé happy!

    Invitations, dress, alterations, jewelry – All from Indiana…let me know if you have any questions though!

  • dogluver315dogluver315 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Your day sounds beautiful and I'm sure you have many wonderful memories and pictures.  Congrats!
  • edited December 2011
    The strand is beautiful, thanks for the reviews!
    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
  • lauraliz1lauraliz1 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011

    my wedding is at the Ritz, but i have guests staying at 3 other hotels and have been looking for transportation!  I am definitely going to call Dolphin. This sounds like a great deal. The company that the Ritz suggested charges $300 to deliver 20 people to the Ritz golf resort! That is $300 to drive 20 people 3 miles with NO stops! Plus they won't go back and forth- that is just for one trip.  Ridiculous! Thanks for your review!

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