Vendor Reviews Part 2:
Jazz Trio: Don Carr Jazz Band, A+
Oh my gosh, I can not say enough about them! I went to school in New Orleans and wanted a fun, New Orleans style jazz band for cocktail hour and they were just fantastic. They were also very reasonably priced. They do many other styles as well so I highly recommend them!
Cake: Konditor Meister, A+
I was a bit nervous at first that our package included either Konditor Meister or Montillio’s because both have had negative reviews on this site. However, I could not disagree more regarding KM after my experience. (Disclaimer: for Montillio’s, I didn’t even go to the tasting because I just didn’t like the look of their cakes and heard their customer service was not great). We had a great time at the cake tasting- they were attentive and literally filled the table with every type of cake possible, even sending us home with a big box of pastries to boot! We fell in love with their carrot cake torte and their strawberry grand marnier and had both flavors in our 4-tier cake. Fast forward to day of, and the cake was breathtaking- they took my vision and the end result was beyond beautiful. It also tasted just as it did at the tasting, so delicious. I highly recommend them.
Wedding Dress: Le Elite, A
I found my Pronovias dress at Le Elite and had a great experience. It’s a really nice store and they had a nice variety of dresses for what I was looking for. I didn’t end up getting my alterations done there but I enjoyed my experience buying my dress there and found the dress price reasonable.
Alterations: Alterations by Anahit, A+
Anahit has a great reputation here for very good reason- this woman is a machine! She knows here stuff and completely changed my full ball gown into an A line based on my vision when I bought the dress. She really did remarkable work and I could not be happier with the end result- the dress fit me like a glove and was truly a work of art. She also does veils and she made me a beautiful veil for about $100. Highly recommend Anahit!
Invitations: Tara Vaccaro Gudmundsen, A+
Tara also does makeup and I had a trial with her, which is how I found out that she does invitations and day-of coordination. I was impressed with her portfolio and asked her to do our invites- they turned out amazing! Her work is impeccable and she is a sweetheart to work with. We received so many compliments on the invitations and we ended up asking her to do our programs and menu-cards as well.
Makeup/Hair: Charlotte Phinney, A+
I did not get any sleep the night before and Charlotte made me look like the most well-rested, glowing bride! She is a miracle worker and I LOVED my makeup and hair. She is a pro and I was completely confident in her. While not exactly cheap, she is well worth it in my opinion.
Rehearsal Dinner: The Hampshire House, A++
Our RD was perfect; the Hampshire House did an amazing job, the room was so romantic, intimate and classic old-Boston. We had the entire floor and it was the perfect place to introduce OOT family and friends to Boston before the wedding. I called them on the way from the church to the RD and asked them to put out an extra stationary display on the fly and they were able to do it at a moments notice beautifully. Relatively reasonable compared to many other places in Boston we looked, especially compared to the North End. Everything was perfection, from food to décor and we had the best time.
Tuxes: Men’s Warehouse, A-
My husband’s tux was fine, we had great service at the Milk Street location and I didn’t hear any complaints from the other groomsmen. However, my father in law had some major issues with fit but he didn’t say anything to them about it so I can’t really fault them there too much.
Bridesmaid Dresses: Melissa Sweet via Pearl’s Place, A
The girls were able to get their Melissa Sweet dresses for $50 less by going through Pearl’s Place, which worked out really well!
Wedding Bands: Barmakian, Downtown Crossing, A
We love our bands, they have a beautiful selection and we’re very happy with our rings.
Other paper products: A
-Escort Cards: Wedding Paper Divas did our escort cards, they were easy, fast, and looked great, A
-Thank you cards: Ordered our photo thank you cards from Shutterfly and they turned out great, A
-Save-the-dates: Ordered photo magnets from vista print, quick and easy, A