Wedding review –
So I read this board a lot– but mostly just the vendor reviews. I’m posting mine because that’s what I found most helpful.
My May 21 came and went and it was perfect. It was exactly what I had envisioned and went so smoothly. My only goal was for our parents, our siblings and especially for us to feel like GUESTS at our wedding. I wanted no family members or friends to do a single bit of work on the wedding day. My groom and I had a great time and never once thought about anything. We partied and mingled but never had to do one bit of logistics on the day of the wedding.
The wedding pictures are available on www.artzimages.com/">http://www.artzimages.com code 521. Feel free to look at the pictures
DOC: Cari McDowell – DOC A+
Cari was awesome. She works for Sarasota catering and you have the option of hiring her as extra to their services. She made it easy and was well worth her (very low) fee. I know our wedding day was perfect because of her. I had been turned down by other Sarasota planners and had been told what I wanted couldn’t be done, but Cari told me it sounded like a totally fun, do-able challenge. I hired her on the spot without even tasting the food. See below
Catering: Sarasota Catering Company - A+
The food was great, the service impeccable. The servers attentive but totally in the background. We had a cocktail party reception with tons of appetizers and desserts, some passed and some on stations. It was great. I highly recommend the duck quesadillas with strawberry salsa. Yum. They even brought us plates of food while we were waiting for the ceremony and while we were taking pictures. I may be one of the few brides who actually got to eat at her reception! Prices are really good too.
Photographer: Sheila Simmington – A+
I can’t say enough great things about Sheila. My pictures were so beautiful and ready in two weeks. Hire her now before she becomes too famous and expensive!
DJ: Dan Williams & Sword Sounds - A
Music was great and people really danced. He was very helpful in music choices.
Sword Sounds also did the uplighting – a small expense but it made a great impact in the ambiance of the room
Florist: Flowers by Fudgie - A
The flowers were exactly what I wanted (better actually), on time and I thought the price was great. The Bamboo Arch from them was very refined and not overly beachy.
Venue: Sarasota Garden Club - A. The gardens are beautiful A perfect backdrop. The great room is a great neutral background to fill with your own personality. The staff is very nice.
Furniture Rentals – US Tent Rentals - A
Chill Lounge furniture was perfect. Completely easy to work with.
Cake – A Slice of Heaven. - B+
The only real disappointment – I didn’t love the quality of the decoration – It looked a little less refined than the other wedding elements – BUT IT TASTED AMAZING. It was a striped design cake and the stripes weren’t straight and one of the sugar flowers fell off about 45 minutes into the reception (luckily I was standing right next to the cake and put it back on before anyone noticed). It was however, hands down, the best tasting wedding cake ever. So I would recommend them with the caveat – KEEP THE DESIGN SUPER SIMPLE.
Photobooth: The Flip Book People – A
I stole this idea from another wedding we went to and it was great. My guests loved it and had so much fun. Expensive but worth every penny. They aren’t great about returning emails/phone calls but the end product is worth it. I loved seeing all the different books and it was such an icebreaker.
Dress & Alterations: The Honey Pot –A+
These girls are great. And they have real sizes in their samples (12. 14.16). They don’t have a ton of dresses but the ones they have are really well selected and most are less than $1000. They are super attentive, nice and make you feel beautiful. Dress was a Maggie Sottero.
Alterations (Teena) were reasonable and really well done. She’s an independent contractor through the store. She even made my cape. (see Pictures).
Feel free to message me if you have any questions. - Christine