I was not the must super active Knottie – I commented where I could and really loved having this source to turn to for advice, to vent and to get ideas. Here is my review from my wedding on 10/2/10. Sorry it took me so long to post.
Venue: The Berkeley Plaza, Berkeley Heights
We were very,very happy with the Berkeley Plaza. We worked with Ana, who was always very responsive. My Maitre ‘D – Diane was fabulous. She was very organized, relaxed and always made me feel at ease. There had been a few mixed review of the BP on The Knot – however all my guests enjoyed the food and service. We were upstairs in the Crystal Ball Room and had a spectacular evening. Overall, I was very pleased with my experience with the Berkeley Plaza. We splurged for the Venetian dessert special and it was over the top – just fantastic. People are still talking about how great it was.
Photographer: Kathy Harris
Over the top polished professional. She was very easy to work with. Her and husband, Gary, did a fantastic job. They not only shot photos but were more than willing to offer help with little issues that presented themselves – like getting my veil perfectly placed on my head.
Kathy was no-nonsense. Got in and got the got shot. Her albums that we looked at were spectacular – these totally sold us on her work. My proofs are in already – and the photos look spectacular
Hair & Makeup: Jessica at Visage in Westfield NJ
Jessica did a wonderful job with my hair and make up. She was a good listener – taking into account how I wanted to look on my wedding day. I wanted a very natural look. I got so many compliments on how beautiful my hair and make up was on my wedding day. Jessica had a great sense of style – and did a wonderful job with my airbrushed make up – not having it look heavy at all. She suggested a side chignon for my hair that came out just beautiful. The only down side to my experience was that the salon kept mixing me up with another bridal party and at times had the wrong name with the wrong phone number. This was a little disconcerting.
DJ: The Specialists
We worked with Brendan and he was great. He listened to all our requests – and was right on top of everything. He played great music all night and really got people up dancing. He brought these great flat screen TVs and had his own photographer feeding imagines to the screens all night. He also made this great video montage of my husband and me. He rally did a great job, was very easy to work with and was very responsive to our needs.
Cake: Bovella’s in Westfield
This is the shop the Berkeley Plaza uses for their events. Our tasting here was so-so. However the cake was fantastic. We did a chocolate and vanilla cake with a raspberry mousse filling and a whipped cream icing – it was awesome!
Dress: Bridals By Roma, Clifton
Roma's gets mixed reviews on the knot – my experience here was very, very good. My salesperson Roberta let me try on over 20 gowns!! My seamstress Maria had my dress fitting like a glove. They were always very accommodating and I always had access to my dress – if I need to check accessories. The dress came in right when the said it would. Roma was always professional and courteous.
MOH dress – Hollywood Bridal, Kenilworth
This is a great dress shop. The staff here was super nice and very accommodating. Really a great place to get a dress. Nice selection.
BM Dresses: Lord and Taylor.com
$84.00 for a BM dress!!! What more can I say. My BM”s really like the dress – it was a basic cocktail dress in a dark chocolate brown. L&T let me apply a friend's and family coupon and an additional 15% off for opening a credit card. Anything that had to be returned could just be taken back to one of their stores.
Florist: Christoffers in Mountainside
Kurt and Maggie did an outstanding job. I wasn’t too picky about what I wanted. I just wanted to do a nod to the incoming Autumnal season. My bouquet of peachy roses with mini callis and some light orange berries looked awesome. As a family we have been going to Christoffers for years – they were one of the first vendors we booked and pretty much the only florist we considered working with.
Hotel: Murray Hill Inn
For $99 a night it was ok. Nothing too fancy. They were a little haphazard with booking my block of rooms. It seemed like the person on the phone was always a trainee who was not too sure of what was going on. They were a little shrewd – telling me they offered a free shuttle to my venue. However – only the night of the wedding did we find out the shuttle was serving 3 wedding venues! The Berkeley Plaza, The Primavera and Sterling Gardens! I did have a mix up with the late night food I thought I ordered and was never delivered. There was no charge – but it was just odd. They did offer a nice space for an after party and we also upgraded to a private buffet breakfast, which was also very nice. They had no problem handing out my welcome bags.
Limo: B&M Limo and Action Limo
B&M – we did a vintage Rolls. Tony was A+ - great car, on time, great attitude
Action – 2 great limos – on time – no problems
Mens Warehouse:
6 of the 8 tuxes ordered had problems!! Wrong sizes / wrong styles. MW was very nonchalent -- come back tomorrow and the right thing will be here. My dad was pretty disappointed with them. In the end most everything was right - but it was very annoying for so many guys to have to go back.
