I'm posting my reviews below. I was married in Staten Island and some of our vendors I found on the NJ board. Please feel free to contact me with any questions.
Reception site: Nicotra's Ballroom at the Hilton
A+
I had my wedding at Nicotra's Ballroom on February 19th and I can't say enough good things about this venue. I worked with Jennifer, who answered all my questions and helped greatly with our wedding planning. With 75 guests, we decided to have the cocktail hour in a small portion of the ballroom and the reception in the Tea House. If anyone else is considering this set up, I would highly recommend it. Both rooms were beautiful and the Tea House looked amazing, with four tables set up on each side of the room. I was hesitant at first because i'd usually see the Tea House set up for a cocktail hour but the room is so big, we could have fit many more guests comfortably.
The main reason why we chose Nicotra's Ballroom was their reputation. One time while visiting the venue, Mr. Nicotra met with us and showed us every banquet room in the venue. He knew we were having a small wedding but took the time out to answer our questions and give us his feedback. Having a winter wedding I was also concerned about choosing a location that would be dependable in case of a storm, and Mr. Nicotra put all our worries at ease, explaining that during the event of bad weather, he can have his staff stay at the hotel overnight so everything would be up and running for our wedding. After booking the venue, I was so relaxed and had one less thing to worry about.
During the night of our wedding, both the cocktail hour food and dinner was amazing. Friends and family continue to say great things about the food and the venue. The Tea House looked beautiful, and the weather was surprisingly so nice that we were able to take outdoor pictures on the property and at the gazebo. One of my husbands sisters young friends thought the cocktail hour was the dinner and was amazed by all the food she saw throughout the night lol.
I didn't think we'd be able to afford a wedding at Nicotra's Ballroom and i'm glad we made the visit to the venue- this was one of the best choices we ever made. I highly recommend this vendor and can't thank them enough for making our wedding so perfect.
Florist: Sam Gregorio
A
I used Sam Gregorios Florist for my wedding on February 19th. Both the bouquets and reception flowers looked amazing.
With 8 bridesmaids in my wedding party, my desire to have tall centerpieces and our wedding so close to Valentine's Day, I was really hesitant to book a florist. Sam's quote was very reasonable and I was able to have beautiful roses, nice sized bouquets for all bridesmaids and tall centerpieces. Sam gave me exactly what I asked for and I almost cried when I saw my bouquet. The centerpieces were so beautiful, we had so many family members asking to take them home after the wedding.
During the week before our wedding, I decided to make a change in my bouquet and Sam was very flexible. It's a few weeks later and we still have some flowers my Mother-In-Law has kept in water. Sam was very easy to work with and I highly recommend this vendor.
Dress: RK Bridal
B+
I found my dress at RK Bridal in Manhattan. I highly recommend visiting this store, but doing some background work before your visit. It's important to know that RK Bridal is more like a warehouse than a Bridal store. No appointments are made, unless you're scheduling alterations. You will be asked to pull dresses yourself from the racks and depending which sales consultant you are assigned with, you may not receive much help doing so. My advice would be to have a general idea of what you're looking for, including designer names and dress styles, and to bring a few friends if possible.
I visited this store 4 times before finding my dress. After 3 visits, I was lucky to have been assigned to Cheryl who was more helpful than I could imagine. I told Cheryl what I was looking for and she showed me a dress that was so beautiful, and I would have never found on my own. I ended up buying the dress, an elaborate Allure gown from the limited collection, not shown on websites- Allure L283. I cannot thank Cheryl enough for her assistance and don't think I could have found a more beautiful gown without her help.
I found the dress prices to be very reasonable and the selection to be extremely diverse. There are many more dresses listed on the website, but the store is big enough to hold something for every style. I highly recommend RK Bridal based on price and selection. I recommend doing some research before visiting the store. Ask for Cheryl's help as well.
DJ: Dash of Class Entertainment
A
For our wedding at Nicotra's Ballroom in Staten Island, we booked Peter from Dash of Class based on his positive reviews. I can't say enough good things about Peter.
My husband and I have very different taste in music, and Peter was able to help us choose songs we both agreed on. He gave us his feedback and helped us choose all intro songs- which turned out great. During our final meeting with Peter before the wedding, my husband and I showed up to the meeting fighting about songs and actually left the meeting with big smiles 'cause we were able to compromise and come up with songs we both agreed on.
The night of our wedding, our dance floor was packed and the uplighting we chose for our package looked beautiful! Everyone was dancing, including guests our age, children and our parents/ grandparents. A few of my friends who never dance were actually on the dance floor- I already can't wait to watch the video. I highly recommend Peter from Dash of Class. He was professional, easy to work with and had great suggestions which we ended up using for our wedding.
Invitations: Invitations4sale.com
A
After almost spending twice the amount for invitations on a different website, I found the Invitations4sale website listed in the Bridal Bargains book. I couldn't believe that the Birchcraft invitations I wanted to order were listed for almost half the price listed on other websites. I contacted customer service, and worked with a woman named Linda. Linda was very helpful with placing my order, and gave me feedback regarding invitation wording.
We received so many compliments on our invitations and were able to order the ones that we wanted due to the low price listed on the website. The only problem I had was assembling the bow on the invitation (which my husband was able to help me with lol), but this has no effect on the company. I highly recommend this website and placing an order for an invitation sample. The prices could not be beaten and the invitations were shipped promptly.
Limo: Santos VIP Limousine
A
For our wedding, we booked an 18 passenger Escalade to make two trips from our house to the ceremony site- one trip to transport the bridesmaids and one trip to transport the groomsmen. The limo then made one trip from the ceremony site to our reception venue, all located in Staten Island. I booked Santo's based on recommendations.
Our driver arrived early and was both helpful and professional. He helped me in and out of the car, which I appreciate. Our limo was clean and the ride was smooth. Although coming from NJ, our driver had no issues with finding both our ceremony and reception venues in Staten Island. The prices which were given to me by Anna were reasonable- I spoke with Anna over the phone and booked everything via phone. I highly recommend Santo's limo.
Honeymoon Travel Agent: Beach Bum Vacation
A
We booked our honeymoon through Beachbumvacation.com. After meeting with a few travel agents in person, I was fed up with being ignored and really just wanted to book my honeymoon. I contacted Beachbumvacation due to the positive reviews I found online. I was contacted by Kathy who was so friendly and helpful.
Kathy offered her feedback on vacation sites and sent me pictures of resorts she had visited. We booked 7 nights in Cancun and had an amazing time. Kathy was able to match prices I found online and even found my husband and I a better flight back home than I was able to find doing my own research. Kathy was available every time I contacted her- you can really tell she loves her job and cares about her clients.
When my husband and I arrived to our resort, we were told we were VIP guests. We had champagne, wine and a cake ready for us in our room. I believe we had such a great experience because we booked our honeymoon via beachbumvacation rather than booking on our own. I highly recommend working with Kathy and thank her for her assistance with booking our honeymoon.
Photography: Jason Rhee
Grade: Pending, waiting for pictures
Jason was great to work with. He was on his feet all day from the preparation at the house up until the end of the wedding. While he is from NJ, he arrived to my house early for preparation pictures and had no issues with finding our ceremony and reception venues. My friends and family all said great things about him. I’m very excited to see the pictures!
Videography: Villanovisions
Grade: Pending, waiting for video
Rob was also great to work with. Also from NJ, there were no issues with him finding our ceremony and reception sites. He was very unobtrusive, but on his feet the whole day and night. He worked well with our photographer and I already can’t wait to see the video!