We had an absolutely fabulous day! These were so helpful to me, so I must pass on my own reviews for other brides in case it will help them!
Also, we will have a TON of stuff for sale, so I'll be posting that later!
Photographers:
Alexis Stein Photography
A+++
Best photographers EVERRRRR. Alexis & Keith are a married couple, and both incredibly talented. There is no 'main' and 'assistant' photographer - you get two incredibly talented people who work seemlessly together. They are so generous, flexible, understanding, responsive, helpful, funny, friendly, professional... I seriously can't say enough good things about these two people! And hoooooly cow are they both talented! Our photographs are some of the best I've ever seen - they're not trendy, they're totally classic and timeless. These are photos that my grandchildren will one day frame in their own homes with pride. I feel like we could not have gotten better photographers at any price, but the price we paid was very budget-friendly!
DJ:
DJae Melee (Jason Palermo)
A++
Phenomenal! He was incredibly professional, very kind, and super helpful. He did incredible uplighting that just made our venue magical. His lights on the dance floor were fun without being cheesy. His introductions and speaking was professional and clear. And most of all, his music kept everyone on the dance floor all night! From my 6 year old cousin to my 80 year old grandpa, and all my friends, everyone was raving that it was the best music they've ever heard, and the best party they've ever been to. His communication was sometimes lagged, and he often had excuses, but when put into perspective that he has everything totally in hand, and he communicates when it's really necessary, I can't fault him a bit. When our planned entrance got screwed up (nothing to do with Jae, we were doing a military arch of swords and it ended up we couldn't do it), Jae was quick to think on his feet to find an intro song for us and do an intro on the spot that went fabulously. And when it started to rain during dinner, Jae came in to tell me, told me that he had moved his set, and that everything was all set. I really appreciated that he didn't come to me with problems, he solved them and then just let me know. And with requests - he was great at asking permission before playing requests that strayed from the original plan. Seriously, you could not get a better DJ at any price, and he's incredibly budget friendly!
Caterer:
Emily's Catering
A+++
AMAAAAAAZING! Rick & his team are a totally class act. They were flexible (I liked two different station ideas - rather than make me choose or charge me more, he just combined them), they were creative, their presentation was impeccable, the service was outstanding, and the food was 2-Michelin-star delicious (google that if you don't know what it means - outrageously incredible food!). My husband and I had drinks in our hands constantly, all appetizers passed by us first while we took photos, and they had everything set-up just the way we wanted. Our guests raved about every aspect, and are still debating whether the mashed curry pumpkin or the duck crepes were the best dish, while other insist their chocolate torte with raspberry puree was unbeatable.
Videographer:
DL Video Productions / Epic Video
A++
So great! David is truly talented. His work is like a movie, he was so friendly and nice and upbeat. His assistant was also very friendly. He was incredibly professional and easy to work with - because his equipment looks like a photo camera, most of our guests thought we just had a ton of photographers, which meant we caught some really awesome video without people mugging for the videocamera. He requested very little of us in terms of posing - walk here, smile at each other and kiss. Super simple stuff, and very brief! The only small caveat was that his assistant apparently kept telling my husband to take on and off his jacket so she could capture the shot, and to 'contemplate' out the window for awhile. With his military uniform, it's very hard to get on and off, and he didn't want to be late, so he was a bit annoyed with that. Overall, though, I know they captured wonderful footage of our day, and I know the final video will be breathtaking!
Florist:
Azalea Floral Design
A+++
Christine is an artist! This isn't a typical flower shop - it is a floral event studio. She does not sell bouquets or single arrangements, she creates emotions with flowers. Truly spectacular! Her work was better than anything I've ever seen, and truly 'got' the spirit of the day. When my Mom told her that I wanted trees to be incorporated during the ceremony, she came up with topiaries covered in hydrangeas to use as an altar. When my Mom told her about the lace glassware she was making, she asked to use some to create little arrangements for the aisle. She went above and beyond, making far more items than contracted, and working seemlessly with the caterer to provide flowers for their displays.
Venue:
Branford House
A+
The most spectacularly beautiful venue I've ever seen - it's literally something out of a fairy tale. This is definitely a do-it-yourself venue, which I loved, but if you want a more inclusive package or some hand-holding, you'd probably be better off to look elsewhere. If you want a truly spectacular location with lots of flexibility to do things as you want, and get excited at the idea of coordinating all the details with multiple vendors, this is a dream come true. The multiple rooms worked out just fine for us, but if someone wanted to have toasts during dinner and planned on having more than 80 guests, it might be awkward. We did them during cocktail hour, which was perfect. And Katherine, the coordinator, is very busy - she's got a very popular venue to run on her own. This did result in us feeling a bit ignored - emails and phone calls would go unanswered, questions wouldn't be addressed, and when we visited the venue after booking (sight-unseen), she didn't even say hi to us as she was showing the venue to another couple, despite us scheduling time to see it. That was off-putting to me, but I was more than willing to overlook lousy customer service for an absolutely incredible venue at a very reasonable price.
Officiant:
Betty Allard
A+++
Betty rocks, end of story. We had always wanted to write our own ceremony and have my husband's cousin to officiate our wedding, but quickly found out that it might not be entirely legal to do it that way. So we looked into finding a JOP to co-officiate. We spoke with some who seemed turned off at the idea of sharing the spotlight, some who wanted me to work with their standard ceremony rather than adapt the one I wrote, and some who were not agreeable to an atheist totally non-religious ceremony. Betty was, from the very first moment, open minded and humble. She was friendly and easy to speak with, she 'got us'. She got along so well with my husband's cousin, and they did a lovely job co-mingling the ceremony so they both could participate. I cannot imagine our wedding without her, as she made my husband's cousin comfortable officiating, and make the whole process seemless. It also helped that her husband guided from the other end of the aisle, telling people when to walk and keeping us calm while waiting.
Favors/Cake:
Georgetown Cupcakes (Newbury Street, Boston)
A+++
AMAZING! We've been eating Georgetown Cupcakes since the day we met in DC in 2008 (okay, I was eating them before I met my husband). We knew we didn't want to serve cake, but we thought these would be a great favor to give our guests. Luckily they had just opened a shop in Boston. They were super easy to work with - cupcakes are $29/dozen, and to have them boxed in individual boxes is $0.50 per cupcake. That worked out to be around $2.92/cupcake, which is a very reasonable favor price, in my opinion! They also did multiple flavors, and wrote on the box in a very classy way which flavor each was so the guests could choose without ruining the look. And above and beyond, they did a custom fondant topping with our wedding logo, which was totally free! Our guests were in awe, and we loved eating ours the following morning over breakfast.
Transportation:
First Student Bus (New London, CT)
C-
They were horrible at communication - we worried up until 2 days before that they wouldn't be there as they weren't answering phone calls. We booked them for 9 hours to run on a loop, with the first two loops scheduled. Well, they did the first loop but left earlier than anticipated so guests missed it, and they never ran the second loop so guests ended up driving themselves to the ceremony. On the way back, they were supposed to wait out front of the venue and bring guests to their hotels on request and come back. Except they disappeared until 9:45pm, and then did only two runs. We will be in touch with them to get some of our money back. We did not have unreasonable requests, and their prices were very fair, but we paid for many, many hours that we did not use as they honestly just disappeared.
Bagpipers & Drummers:
John Mauritz (Mystic, CT)
A+++
They did such a nice job, they were so easy to work with, and totally flexible. They brought a tear to my Dad's and Grandpa's eye with Irish music before the ceremony, and made my Father-in-Law very happy (as well as my husband & his best man) by playing the Marine Corps Hymn as we did our entrance. Their price is very fair, and their communication is great.
Makeup & Hair:
Sara Faella (Providence, RI)
A+++
We had Ariana, one of Sara's "Glammies", travel to the B&B where my husband and I were staying to do the hair and makeup for my Mom, my brother's girlfriend, and me (I didn't have bridesmaids). Ariana was so sweet and nice, it was like having a friend there getting ready with us! She did an absolutely fabulous job on all 3 of us, playing up our own styles and unique beauty. She was done early, she stayed late to touch-up after pictures, and was overall fantastic. The price was very fair to have someone travel to us, and we'll be forever grateful as long as we look at the pictures!
