I finally have some down time, so I figured I'd write some reviews for you all. Everything went so smoothly, I have very little negatives to say. I loved all my vendors! Enjoy!
Rehearsal Dinner (Vito's by the Park): A
I have to say I was a pretty stress-free bride, but even so, I had wanted slightly more out of the communication from the head planner at the restaurant. However, the day of the rehearsal dinner was fantastic. The food was above and beyond what I expected, and everyone raved about the amount of food served- from the stationary pizza appetizers, to the passed hors d'ouevres, to the family style dinners. We paid a couple more dollars to include lobster macaroni and cheese, and we were not disappointed!! We ended up being able to take extras home, as well! They were so accommodating- we had a video that we wanted to show our bridal party and family, in case they didn't get to the cocktail hour at the wedding, and they were able to set up a projector screen with a couple days notice. So, so good!
Ceremony and Reception (The Hartford Club, Hartford, CT): A++
I cannot say enough good things about The Hartford Club. From the very beginning, the coordinator was a breath of fresh air to deal with. She (Christine) was so on top of everything, from the day I took a tour, to the actual wedding day. She bent over backwards to ensure that everything ran smoothly. The food is phenomenal, and because we got married on a holiday weekend, we had the entire club to ourselves. One of the main reasons we picked the Hartford Club was because of their cigar lounge adjacent to the ballroom, and trust me, it did not disappoint!! The day of the wedding, we made a quick decision to move the wedding inside instead of out, because of the heat and possible thunderstorms approaching. I was not disappointed- the interior provided just the look we were going for!
Photographers (HK Photography): A++
From the first day we met them, Hubert and Alka blew up away with their photos. They were so easy to get along with, and had exactly the same vision as we did. I swear our engagement pictures, and wedding teasers look like they could be in magazines, and they somehow managed to make even my worst pictures look amazing! Seriously, I recommend them to ANYONE. We did not have one bad experience with them- they were extremely organized and had constant communication, right up to the week of the wedding. Check out the wedding teasers to see for yourself:
http://blog.hk-photography.com/TravisAndAlana.htmlCake (Creative Cakes By Donna): A+
Donna works with the Hartford Club for their wedding cakes. Though I didn't have too much interaction with Donna, I felt no worries that our cake would turn out wonderful. We had a unique vision (the lyrics of our first dance song were on the cake), which she seemed to fall in love with, and she was so excited about it, we couldn't help but be excited as well! The cake was above my expectations. The one thing I would have changed was using piping instead of ribbon, but either way, the final outcome was beautiful! Because of the design, we ended up paying more than the Hartford Club covered for the cake, but she still gave us a discount, which was extremely sweet. The flavors were amazing; we ended up going with the strawberry shortcake, but were so impressed with all the cake we tasted, we had trouble choosing between that, the red velvet peanut butter, and the raspberry lemon. You can't go wrong with any flavors of Donna's! Our cake also had fondant, which I generally am not a fan of, but her fondant is out of this world!!!
Florist (Just For You Flower Design- Jane): A+
I only met with one florist, and knew instantly that Jane was the one for us. She understood what I was looking for, and made the entire vision come to life. I ended up doing the centerpieces myself, and she put them together at the reception. She was so open to the DIY projects, and was very reasonably priced for what I wanted. I had anemones in my bridal bouquet, and they were just beautiful. I'm Italian, and it was such a nice touch that the anemones were sent straight from Italy! I ended up being able to keep all of the centerpiece vases, as well as the vases at the 'altar.'
DJ (DJae Melee): A++
Loved, loved, loved Jae!! Honestly, he made the wedding perfect! He played all the songs we wanted to hear, and even some we hadn't thought of, but that we loved, of course! We had 2 MOHs and 1 Best Man, and the speeches, dances, and introductions went so smoothly. Especially well-priced, as well!! Seriously, book him!!!
Hair (Hairdresser on Fire, Windsor, CT): A++William is my usual hairdresser, so of course I went to him for my wedding hair.
He did an amazing job, and just the interior of the salon made for such awesome pictures! He and the other hairdressers did 7 bridesmaids, 1 bride, and 1 mother of the bride. They were quick, efficient, and true to our requests. All the girls looked beautiful!
Makeup (Face By Julia): A++
I booked Julia about a month before the wedding, and let me tell you, I am so lucky she was available. I had done a makeup trial with her that I found on Groupon, and just fell in love with how natural my look was. She was so meticulous with my makeup that I knew I had to have her do my makeup the day of the wedding. She also did my Novalashes, which still look fabulous!!! I have not used mascara in 3 weeks.
She did the makeup for 6 bridesmaids, 1 bride, and 1 mom, and was so scheduled and organized. She used airbrush foundation and my makeup looked flawless the entire day.
Wedding dress and alterations (The White Dress By the Shore, Clinton, CT): A++
What can I say about the staff and store, except WOW. Everything was just perfect. They were super sweet to work with, gave me 3 alterations, and made me so relaxed about the whole dress shopping experience. They were able to match the NY boutique price, which was wonderful, and did SUCH an amazing job with alterations. I also got the birdcage veil from them- it was the only one I found that I truly loved!
Bridesmaids dresses and alterations (Simply Couture, North Haven, CT): A+
This shop was the only one I found that carried the dress designer's style that I wanted. I had all the girls order from here, as well as one pregnant MOH, and they did an awesome job with everything. They took care of contacting all the girls when the dresses came in, and keeping track of who'd ordered and paid.
Stress-free for sure, and all the girls looked beautiful!
Tuxes (Modern Formals, Middletown, CT): A++
Sal is just a breeze to work with. He is so easy going and informative, and matched my girls look exactly, right down to the exact shade of pocket square that matched the girls' shoes. He made sure everyone tried on before picking up, so we had no problems with sizing!
Photobooth (Funny Faces Photobooth): A++
What a great addition to the wedding! Because we had the entire venue, we had a separate room which housed the photobooth and bar and candy buffet. The photobooth was a HUGE hit, especially with the props. The guests got one copy of the strip of pictures, and they put the extra copy in a guestbook which they signed for us. The results were super cute!!
Cigar Rollers (Battleground Cigars): A++
These girls were amazing!! They rolled so many cigars, flavored as well as regular, had specialty bands made for us with our monogram, and also brought favorite cigars requested by my dad and groom!! They had a gorgeous setup in the cigar lounge, and everyone loved it!!!
I hope I covered everything!! And hopefully I helped some brides-to-be with vendors.
Don't hesitate to ask if you have questions!!