Vendor Reviews (with $$ and pics)

mwitter80

The Gershon Fox (Marquee Events)– A

This was easily one of our best vendors. The location was gorgeous and everything went so smoothly. Jessica Sanzaro and the banquet coordinator, Christine, helped to make everything go perfectly. It is obvious in food presentation and flavor that this is no ordinary “banquet cook”. Having a top rated chef on-site had our guests raving about the food. One of our favorite parts was the fact that guests didn't have to drive around to have 3 different experiences since the venue has 3 different spaces for the ceremony, cocktail hour, and the reception.  If you are looking for personal attention there is no better place. Jessica responded to every email within minutes of sending even on her days off from work. It made making decisions so much easier when you could be with the florist who had a question about the venue and have it answered within minutes.  (Downside the bakery they provide for the cake, but I’ll rate that in a minute) $100pp plus $750 ceremony site fee.

Mr. Music Man (Josh Lidsky) – AJosh kept the party moving and our guests had a blast. The package we purchased included Josh and another DJ, which I believe, made everything run a lot smoother. Everyone stayed dancing all night long and he was very good at reading the crowd. He also “checked-in” with us through out the night, which was great; making sure some of our strange guest requests were o.k. to play. He also kept the bridal party organized for introductions and even grabbed us a couple of drinks during dinner. His only negative is he’s a control freak. At times we had to get firm and tell him “this is how we want it”. He has a lot of his own ideas. If you are indecisive you will love this trait. His package is pricey but comes with a ton of extras $2250. Our photomontage was stinking fabulous. We provided pictures and they did the rest. It included 120 pictures, with music and movie clips. No Time Restriction - All Day2 Sound Systems Entertainer's Name in Contract2nd Disk-Jockey IncludedCeremony Music at no Charge if at Reception HallPLUS ALL OF THE FOLLOWING: Photo MontageLove story Intro or ToastUp lightingPic of uplights




Azalea Florist (Christine) – B+Working with Christine was easy and she had great ideas. Her price was very reasonable as well.  We received tons of compliments on the centerpieces and they were beautiful, but they weren’t exactly what I had expected. My husband loved them. I wanted them to be more full at the base. I would just recommend to anyone regardless of what florist you use to ask for a mock up of the centerpiece first.  The bouquets were so beautiful and our moms loved their little mini bouquets in lieu of corsages. We received the following Bride bouquet, 2 Bridesmaid bouquets, 9 boutonnieres, 3 mini mom bouquets, pin on corsage for Officiant, 12 centerpieces, mixed small arrangements for sweetheart table, and delivery and full setup for $1861.36



Fabuluxe Photos (Claudia) – A+We have not received our pictures back yet, but our engagement pictures were amazing. She is responsive and very creative. She is young and trend setting. She kept me calm during a small “bridezilla” moment as well (late groomsmen to pic session).  Her husband is her assistant photographer, which I think makes the experience better as they understand each other as well. She is willing to lie on the ground to get the right shot. She was there during every step but almost in the background and unnoticed. She is amazing and I truly believe will surpass a number of the top photographers in CT shortly. Also good to note is that she speaks Spanish as well which was helpful since my husband’s side of the family is from Peru. (fabuluxephotos.com and .net (blog) Her price included E-pic session (or boudoir or trash the dress) and disc, all re-touching, wedding day 8 hours, including getting ready photos, 2^nd photographer with groom all day as well, photo booth backdrop with photographer, and wedding disc with pictures. $3100. She does amazing photo albums and things as well, but we decided to wait until we get back pics to make decisions.
E-pic







Modern Pastry (Carla) – DOur wedding cake was included in our package from the Gershon. In our opinion they should re-think their working relationship.  While the cake was tasty, it didn’t look at all like the picture we presented. Plus 3 days prior to the wedding I sent a follow-up email to the bakery and she responded stating she had lost the picture and if I could resend. Hence our surprise when it didn’t look the way that the picture did. I would also like to note that our cake was super simple and in butter cream not even in fondant. Free with venue package.

Pic we provided, we did ask for no border and the ribbon instead


Cake we received


The Bridal Mall – FWorst vendor ever! I have never had such a horrible experience. My dress was late. They cancelled my fitting 3 times. Then presented me with the wrong dress. Don’t go here. $2300

Christi-Anne’s Bridal Shop – AThis is a tiny little shop in Meriden that is fabulous. They took over my dress and did my first fitting and alterations in 3 days after my horrible experience with the Bridal Mall. I had never heard of this place before, but if I had, I would have purchased my dress from here to start. My alterations were so reasonable. Including my bustle it was $250. They also altered my sister’s 3 sizes too big bridesmaid dress for $100. My sis is pregnant so we ordered big just to be sure.

Kim’s Cottage – AWe purchased the groom’s cake as well as 120 cookies for our 10 o’clock cookies and milk service. I cannot say enough about Kim. I have used her for so many events and she is so easy to work with and you get an amazing product every time. Grooms cake $150. 120 Giant cookies $85. (FYI we actually got 100 milk cartons for $21, great cheap cute idea)

groom's cake

my step-son enjoying his cookies and milk

Glitzy Events – B+Our invitations were beautiful. Everyone loved them. They worked with me on-line but sent me physical proofs via mail so I was able to see and touch them prior to ordering. I was able to custom design my own invites which was fantastic. They lacked in response and at times it took quite a long time to get answers. I splurged on this. The rhinestone and the pocket made it expensive. I had debated over spending the money, but it was important to me to set the tone for our wedding. They were $9.25 a piece

Marriot Residence Inn – B+They are attached to the Gershon so obviously made for an easy choice. Plus Gfox gave us a free night in the honeymoon suite for free. They were wonderfully accommodating and the rooms were great and very spacious. The honeymoon suite had tons of room for everyone to get ready and also had 2 bathrooms and a kitchen, Plus upstairs and downstairs, which was really convenient. Due to the downtown location as well it was very easy to have lunch delivered in from about 10 places in the area. Guest rooms $119 in the block price and extra night in the bridal suite for me was $84. Wish that the pricing had been a little less for our guests.

Men’s Warehouse – CWe had issues with 4 of the tuxes being the wrong size, length, etc. They were able to fix it, but for instance one of our groomsmen got a size 38” pant instead of 31”.  My father’s was missing his shoes and a button fell off of one of the jackets. It was what you should expect from a place like this. Grooms tux was free. Wedding party tuxes were $149

ali79ger

Thanks for all the info!!!  Glad, first and foremost, about the G. Fox review - glad to know their great service continues straight through the event!

I'm REALLY bummed to hear about Modern Pastry though - they would've been my choice (for the fact that I LOVE their stuff) if they didn't already have a deal with G. Fox...but can't believe the service you received - that's VERY disappointing...

Your uplighting was BEAUTIFUL!  I haven't been to a weddign that had uplighting - is it only during the dancing part or were the lights on during dinner too?  And the colors changed throughout the night?

mwitter80

Your uplighting was BEAUTIFUL!  I haven't been to a weddign that had uplighting - is it only during the dancing part or were the lights on during dinner too?  And the colors changed throughout the night?
Posted by ali79ger@yahoo.com[/QUOTE]

The lights were purple the entire time. They look different because the room was a little brighter during dinner and was dimmer for introductions and dancing. Gfox controlled the overhead lighting obviously.

It did stink about Modern. We were really confident with them too, but disappointed with the end product.

herb0622

We are also using Mr Music Man. Josh is great and your uplighting looks amazing. We got the same package you did.

 Glad he did an awesome job!

sloanacz

Your  pictres look awesome. Gorgeous venue. COngrats

smore154

Thank you for all the reviews. LOVE LOVE LOVE your uplighting. I'd also say your hotel rate is REALLY good for Hartford. We looked to block rooms at the residence inn in Southington and the rate they gave us was $149!!! IN SOUTHINGTON! noooo thanks. I did better at the Inn at Middletown.

MsDiamondPrincess

Thank you for the review. I am expecting a proposal really soon (my BF doesn't know that I saw the reciept for the ring) and The Gershon Fox Room is at the top of my list as is Fabuluxe Photos. Thank you so much for listing the prices and such honest reviews.

mwitter80

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_connecticut_vendor-reviews-pics?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:65Discussion:2c40b5d6-213c-4bf0-81f0-24b23b811b34Post:990c0711-2a18-44aa-890f-40c086637e33">Re: Vendor Reviews (with $$ and pics)</a>:
[QUOTE]Thank you for the review. I am expecting a proposal really soon (my BF doesn't know that I saw the reciept for the ring) and The Gershon Fox Room is at the top of my list as is Fabuluxe Photos. Thank you so much for listing the prices and such honest reviews.
Posted by MsDiamondPrincess[/QUOTE]

Ahhh! How exciting! Early congrats!
Someone sent me a private message saying that stating what I paid was tacky, but honestly, I would rather know before I went to contact some one and it be out of price range or something. So thank you because I was questioning myself.

julieg753

OMG, thank you for posting what you spent!  This is not at all tacky!  What is cheap to someone will be way over budget for someone else, the only way to really know what's what is to put a number on it.  I thought this info was very helpful

Thanks for the very informative post and congrats on your obviously fabulous wedding!

MsDiamondPrincess

No, thank you for posting what you paid! I always wonder when I see these beautiful places what an actual bride ends up spending on them. It was so helpful to see that two of the vendors I have been drooling over are in my price range.

I got engaged on 12/23 and I have already contacted Jessica at Marquee. I have a visit scheduled for Jan 17th and I am so excited. Thanks again for posting all the info it was not tacky!

alexismurda

thanks so much for posting! we're getting married at the marquee in august and now i know what to expect! I'll have to be on that bakery's rear end the whole time! Though, I'm not too concerned about what our cake will look like as long as it tastes good! And thank you for posting prices! It's really helpful so people can get an idea of what everything in the industry costs without having to go through the time and energy of contacting tons of people! thank you again!