Hi Everyone -- I posted a few times when I first started wedding planning but quickly stopped after realizing that all of my posts were fully searchable through Google, etc. (Just an FYI for those of you who post things about friends/family...) Regardless, I lurked quite a bit and certainly got a lot of good information from the wedding-related posts. So, for those of you who are still planning your weddings, I figured that I should write vendor reviews for our Sept 12, 2009 wedding. Thanks again, and hope you find these useful!
St. Joseph's Chapel - College of the Holy Cross
My husband and I are alum of Holy Cross, and he's from NY and I'm from MA. So, we figured Worcester was a good neutral ground for us. The Chapel is incredible. Absolutely, positively incredible, and on par with cathedrals that I'm seen in Europe. Sister Lucille is elderly and certainly got a few things mixed up for us, but it all worked out in the end. Father Lynch is a new chaplain at the college, and I believe we were his first wedding at the Cross. His homily was incredible; it really touched on the most important aspects of our lives.
Mechanic's Hall - Worcester
Mechanic's is a historic concert hall in the center of Worcester. It's basically looks a lot like Carnegie Hall in NYC. When my husband and I got engaged, our three most important aspects were a) great venue, b) great music, and c) 100% open/top shelf bar. Mechanic's was absolutely, positively the nicest venue in the Worcester area, but it's also probably the most expensive, and they certainly don't let you bring alcohol into the facility -- just keep that in mind. The E.D., Bob Kennedy, was also a HC grad and was incredibly accomodating. I actually miss talking to him. The events coordinator, Sharon Onorato, and her assistant, Joan, were also incredible throughout the whole process. People continue to tell us how the Hall was the most beautiful venue they've ever been to. Definitely worth a look, despite being in downtown Worcester.
Tastings Catering
Tastings was recommended through Mechanic's Hall along with a couple others. I received a quote from Tastings and Pepper's Catering for the exact same food (filet, chicken marsala, bunch of appetizers, etc. etc.), and Sue at Tastings came back $6,000 less than Pepper's. $6,0000!!! Um, we were sold! Also Tastings is notoriously slow with responding to e-mails, etc., but Tastings Brides do not need to micro-manage Sue. She's incredible, and absolutely made our wedding run as smoothly as possibly. She essentially is also a day-of coordinator as she kept the vendors running perfectly. I can't say enough about Sue and Tastings -- they were amazing, and my parents can't wait for my brothers to get married so that we can use Tastings again.
JLM Studio - Jessica McHale
As you can see, I used a lot of vendors that are never mentioned on this board -- and I can't figure out why not! Jessica of JLM Studio was recommended by a family friend. She was basically my third Maid of Honor on the wedding day as she was an incredibly calming influence -- and her pictures reflected my comfort level with her. We also got engagement shoots with her, and she even came a month before the wedding to my second dress fitting to take photos and discuss the wedding. She told me when I needed more mascara or lipstick, and basically stayed in my face when she was supposed to be there and stayed out of my face when she wasn't. Her pictures of Mechanic's Hall could honestly win awards, and the candid shots that she got throughout the night are some of my favorites. All of my bridesmaids have already said they want her contact information. Sometimes it's easy to get pigeon-holed into the same vendors that are recommended over and over on this site, but there are so many others who just need one or two great recommendations for their business to explode. Sign Jessica soon because her rates are only destined to sky-rocket because her work is incredible.
Decades by Dezyne
Another unknown on this board -- but as I said before, music was a top choice for us, and we fell in love with DBD. They are a motown-y band by trade, but their music collection goes way beyond that. There are four singers, five musicians and two sound technicians, so they're not your typical Saturday-night wedding band, which I hate. They are actually a BAND BAND, and play at Mohegan Sun, and such. Let's just say that they MADE OUR WEDDING. I still hear how they were the most amazing band and how people literally thought they were at a concert instead of a wedding. People were on their feet the entire night, and there was like a five minute standing ovation at the end. Exactly what we were looking for -- I should also mention that the band even learned "Everything" by Michael Buble one week before the wedding so that my husband could sing. It was a suprise to all of us, and the band basically became his back-up singers and were incredible. Trust me, not a lot of bands would ever do that, but they were PSYCHED to have my husband sing with them. I can't wait to see them again, and can't even imagine our wedding without them.
Other vendors:
Fisher Video Productions (NH) - Pending video, but great so far.
Bridal & Gift/Shear Style - Purchased my dress, MOB dress and bridesmaids' dresses. Definitely could have found them cheaper elsewhere but for convenience, we went with B&G. The woman who owns the store is a witch though -- just as an FYI. But all-in-all, they were decent, and I'd go back.
Holmes-Shusa - My mother took complete control of my flowers, and I honestly had no idea what they even looked like until they arrived on the morning of the wedding, but my mother said they were great to work with and really reasonably priced.
Honeymoon: Italy for two weeks (page me if you're interested in where we stayed)
Tomasina's Hair Salon - My cousin used Vanessa Perry and Tomasina for her wedding hair/makeup, so I jumped on the bangwagon. I paid for all of my girls' hair and makeup but the prices were really reasonable -- about $100/each for both. Vanessa and Tomi came to the hotel the night before, set up my room while we were at the rehearsal dinner and then were ready to go at 8:30 the next morning. They were INCREDIBLE. Absolute all-stars and even got my 3-year-old niece to sit still long enough to get a french braid. Quite a success!
There are certainly others, but I'm sure I've bored you to death long enough.
Thanks again, and good luck to everyone!