Hi all, so even though I'm from NY, most of my vendors were in NJ so I thought you might find these reviews helpful
I just got married 3 weeks ago... here are my pros and cons...(I hope the formatting doesn't get messed up; I wrote this in word and am copy/pasting.) Hall: Ariana's Grand (Woodbridge, NJ) Pros: Amazing food quality and quantity, LOTS included in the price, nice presentation of cocktail hour/dinner/venetian and beautiful ambiance. New hall and very modern decor. They threw in a ton of free upgrades as well. Highly recommend. Cons: Owner and employees/coordinator not very professional (very staten island-ish even though they're in nj) but they get the job done and throw a good party. A few minor things (very minor) that were disappointing but nothing that anyone noticed except me and my hubby. Would I choose Ariana’s if I had to do it all over again? He-l yeah! Photographer and Videographer: Jasmine Photo. They are based in Queens and two of my coworkers used them (Vito Kwan in particular) so I was familiar with their work. Vito comes to your house for your consultation appt as he is a freelance photographer - (read: less expensive due to no overhead but amazing and creative.) His albums are spectacular and you can customize your own package. Pros: Creative, kind, and fun to work with. I can't say enough good things about Vito and his videographer. They arrived early, worked hard and I can't wait to see the pics and video. Cons: Can't comment yet b/c I haven't seen the end result of the pics/video yet. (If you are interested in meeting with Vito, email me and I’ll give you my full name so you can mention my name as he gives a discount if you mention a referral! Doreen18@aol.com) DJ: Dash of Class Pros: I used Peter from Dash of Class and I can go on and on about how professional, patient and helpful he is to work with. He did an amazing job from beginning to end. Cons: I really can’t say anything negative about Dash of Class – I highly, highly recommend them! Florist: I was forced to use two florists: Flowers By Bernard in Staten Island and Atlas in NJ … I originally booked Flowers by Bernard because of all the wonderful reviews they had on my local website, silive.com. I met with Irving and booked him based on his reputation but was extremely disappointed when he made my sample centerpiece. He clearly did not have the same vision that I did and I specifically told him “no fall theme” yet he insisted on putting branches and leaves and using a ton of green which I said didn’t want and a ton of filler. When he saw how disappointed I was he told me to come back when it’s closer to the wedding and he’ll re-do the sample. Well, I didn’t feel that I should have to wait months and months as I really wanted peace of mind (I’m sure any bride can understand that) so I kept shopping around and fell in love with a sample that Atlas made for me… Atlas is located in manahttan and in NJ in the basement of the beautiful Westmount Country Club in NJ, which is where I went (they work with all halls though). Met with Matt – he was brilliant and creative and patient and I absolutely loved the elegant arrangement he made for us so I booked him on the spot and he handled all my bouquets, bouts, corsages, and centerpieces for the hall. I didn’t want to lose my deposit with Flowers by Bernard so I had them just do the church flowers and I must say I was so disappointed in how the church flowers turned out and I remember sitting at our nuptial mass and my hubby whispering how relieved he was that we chose Atlas for everything else. Pros of Flowers by Bernard: Irving is a nice person and they have good hours. Cons of Flowers by Bernard: Very overpriced, not creative, florist does not listen to what the customer wants, uses a lot of filler in their arrangements, long unnecessary presentation during initial consultation. Would not recommend! Pros of Atlas: Very creative, does beautiful work, throws in extras (don’t be afraid to ask), isn’t just a florist but a decorator so offers advice on other things you should ask your hall to do which is awesome, makes a sample for you on the spot and presents it on a table that’s set up like your wedding would be with the lighting and all, high quality flowers, abundant and hardly any filler at all. Cons of Atlas: Location in NJ is about 40 mins from Staten Island (where I live) which is a bit of a pain if you're from SI but sooo worth it (they come to SI all the time and know all the halls/churchs here) and they don’t have late hours and they book up fast on the wknds so make appts early on for wknd appts. Also, be firm about your price and stick to your budget… Matt will try to sell you everything lol so be firm about what you can and can’t afford. Makeup: Jennifer Chlebowksi of Heavenly Touch Cosmetics, NJ, 732-915-0580 Pros: Jen came to my house and she really did an amazing job on all of us – she is truly an artist and very talented. She has her own line of products too! All her products are natural and contain minerals and are very healthy for your skin. She also uses Dior for certain colors as well. Cons: None!!! I loved everything about my makeup, it lasted all day and wasn’t caked on. Trust me, go for a trial- you won’t be disappointed! (If you call this vendor, tell her Doreen sent you!!) Dress: Angels Bridal, Staten Island Pros: In addition to many popular designers, they have their own collection which is very beautiful. Prices are affordable and great hours (lots of late nights). Cons: Owner is a b-tch and I can’t stand her. If you can get past her (and she can sometimes make her employees quite unpleasant too) you’ll be fine. I had to stick with this place because I fell in love with one of their dresses that was part of their own collection and couldn’t be bought anywhere else.