Justice of the Peace
Dan Griffiths, Windham NH (licensed for NH & MA): HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Dan was fantastic. He met with us first to discuss exactly what we did and did not want out of our ceremony. He took the time to really understand our full vision and provided us with a bunch of ideas and written pieces to pick & choose from so the ceremony was completely customized for us. During the wedding, Dan was very adaptable when it started to rain during our outdoor ceremony. Because we had to speed things up to get under the tent, he made smart changes on the spot, never got flustered, and still delivered a beautiful ceremony. Dan is very professional but is not stuffy (has a sense of humor!) and truly loves what he does and wants you to be 100% satisfied. Also, he projects his voice well which is very important at an outdoor wedding!
Photographer
Shawn Tompkinson (shawntphoto.com), North Hampton NH: RECOMMENDED
I loved Shawn’s photos the moment I saw her website so even though I couldn’t find any reviews on her I booked her anyway. We just got married 2 weeks ago and it will about 2 more before we get our pics back so I can’t comment now on the final product but I will comment on everything up to and including the wedding: Our first mtg with her (many months before the wedding) was great. We got all questions answered, signed the contract & pd our deposit. When I went to contact her again about a month before the wedding to confirm everything, provide additional info, final payment, etc., I had a hard time getting in touch with her. It was getting to the point that I was kind of worried that she wouldn’t show up for the wedding (!) but she finally got back in touch with me about 1.5 wks before and we went through everything. She showed up on time on the day of and was great. She was pleasant and comfortable to be around and was take-charge when she needed to be to get a certain shot. The best part is that she was awesome at fading into the background and taking candids without guests realizing she was there. It seemed like she was always in the right place at the right time to get a shot but I guess I’ll see for sure once the pics are ready!
Cupcakes
Cakes By Erin, Haverhill MA: RECOMMENDED
Their cupcakes are fabulous. They were fresh, exactly what I ordered and arrived right on time. Note that I did not order anything crazy, just 4 diff types of cupcakes off their menu. No fancy decorations either. However, their decorated cakes and cupcakes are incredible and you should check them out. The ONLY thing that’s keeping me from “highly” recommending them for a wedding is that when the owner arrived at the wedding, guests told me that she was wearing extremely short shorts and a very tight, low cut tank top. She has tattoo sleeves which is fine with me but it causes her to draw attention anyway so I hear that a few guests were a bit taken aback and felt that she looked very inappropriate arriving at a wedding. Anyway, that seemed strange to me but the cupcakes are delish!
Alterations
Dress Making by Dolly, Hudson, NH: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Dolly is amazing. She is very good at what she does, really cares about you, your wedding and your dress, and is HIGHLY underpriced (my sister had her alterations done through David’s Bridal and ended up spending more than twice as much as I did - with less than stellar results). My dress looked like it was painted on me and Dolly actually ended up charging me LESS than what she had originally quoted me during our first appt! She is a sweet, chatty lady (expect to spend some time with her at each appt hearing about her family and her work!) and I kind of want her to be my grandmother. She is careful with your dress and will steam it, your veil, etc. before you take it all home. I drove 45 mins each way to use her services and would do it again in a heartbeat!
Dress Shopping
(1) David’s Bridal, Nashua NH: RECOMMENDED
This is where I ended up buying my dress and had no problems. The appointment was a good experience – low-key, no high sales pressure. Not a ton of individualized attention but I knew what to expect and was not disappointed.
However, I also had an appointment at the David’s Bridal in Danvers, MA which was an unpleasant experience: The consultant had both me and another girl at the same time and spent most of her time with the other girl. This would not have been a problem for me if she hadn’t refused to let me pick out dresses on my own to try on. Instead she only gave me ONE dress to try on at a time and then left me there for about 10 mins while she was with the other girl. I could tell the second I pulled a dress on whether it was a yes or no so standing there for 10 mins in a dress that is a definite NO was very irritating. After this kept happening, my sister just went to the racks and started pulling dresses which finally brought the consultant back over because she scolded her! What’s worse is I went in there with a list of dresses I wanted to see and told her my top pick but she saved that dress for LAST. Once I was finally in that dress, I knew I wanted it but I had questions about alterations, putting in a corset back, etc. and the consultant was nowhere to be found again. Her absence was so noticeable that the woman at the front desk actually came over to try to help me get answers which I very much appreciated. At the end of the appt the consultant had the nerve to tell me that when I buy the dress, I need to make sure that I let the sales person know that SHE was the one who helped me, particularly because she was going to be on vacation the following week and wanted to make sure her name was attached to the sale even though she’d be out. YEAH RIGHT! After that, I drove an hour out of my way to buy the dress in Nashua.
(2) 125 Bridal, Plaistow NH: RECOMMENDED
I received good customer service here – very individualized. I did not buy here though because their selection just wasn’t large enough. The experience was good though so I wish I could have given them my business.
(3) Bride 2 Bride, Haverhill MA: NOT RECOMMENDED
This is a consignment shop. I thought I’d be able to go in and just look around but boy was I wrong. The second I walked in the owner pounced on me asking me all these questions about what I wanted and then not paying attention to the answers and pulling things that were not even close. She never stopped talking and showing me bad dresses so I couldn’t even think or look around. When she finally excused herself to step into the back for a moment I took the opportunity to leave.
Rentals (Tent, Tables, Chairs, Linens)
Grand Rental Station, Plaistow NH: RECOMMENDED
We had a backyard DIY wedding so we had to rent EVERYTHING. We worked mainly with GRS because they are so close to us. It was a great experience. Prices were reasonable and they delivered exactly what and when they said they would. We also made quite a few changes & additions from the time that we placed the original order and they always made it easy for us. Additionally, the poor guys had to come and set up the tent/tables/etc in triple digit heat and they were still quick, accurate, and friendly.
Flowers
Delahunty Nursery/Florist, Windham NH: NOT RECOMMENDED
So I made an appt and met with a guy for about an hr to discuss what I wanted. I brought pics to show him examples of what I was looking for, swatches of my colors, and a list of my favorite flowers. I was very prepared for the appt and thought it would be helpful but he made some jokey comment to the effect that it was overkill and unnecessary. Oooookay. So we continue discussing and he just did not seem to get my “vision”. I was going for a casual wildflower type look and he kept suggesting very formal arrangements and showing me samples that were completely out of place (with the little crystals in the bottom of vases, etc). It was almost like he had just taken a flower arranging course and wanted to show off what he had learned. It was weird. Eventually, I thought he understood what I wanted and at the end of the appt I asked him for a quote. He said he had to price it out and would get back to me within a couple days. After I didn’t hear from him for a week I emailed him. After 3 more days I called and left a mssg and then sent a follow up email. After another week I left another mssg. I FINALLY heard back from him again a full month after our appt. He called and left a mssg apologizing with some lame excuse about having a cold (!!!) and gave me a quote of $600 which was COMPLETELY outrageous for what I was asking for. I called him back and asked him to explain in more detail where the figure came from and he started giving me line items including prices for the crystals in vases, etc – all the things I made clear that I did not want! I told him thanks but no thanks and in the end, I purchased flowers on my own from Russo’s in Watertown, MA and Hannaford in Hampstead, NH and gathered wildflowers on the side of the road. I made my own arrangements and bouquets which came out beautifully and only cost me about $200!
Invitations
InvitationsByDawn.com: RECOMMENDED (tentatively)
I ordered very simple invitations with no extra pieces (besides envelopes) and they arrived as ordered and in a short amount of time. I was relieved. I was leery of ordering through them because I found a lot of bad reviews but it worked out just fine for me. If I had had complicated, intricate invites I don’t think I would have felt comfortable using them. Also, their website is not all that user-friendly.