Hi ladies! I was mostly a lurker on this board but asked for recommendations a lot so it was only right to post my reviews since many of you ladies helped me when I was looking for vendors. I had vendors from NY, NJ, and CT so these are just the NJ and traveling vendors, but I will provide the other recs on the NY-Hudson Valley board for those who are interested. I was extremely fortunate to have everything go perfectly, with no issues that I know of. I hope these help some of you who are still planning! Best of luck and feel free to PM me if you have any questions.
Venue: Minerals Resort and Spa, Vernon NJ (www.crystalgolfresort.com)- A
I booked Minerals almost a year and a half ago after touring their hotel, ballroom, and gardens and Grand Cascades, which was way too expensive for us. I wanted a nice ballroom in a hotel for my drunken Irish family so they could just roll themselves to their hotel rooms instead of worrying about people driving or dealing with shuttles after the reception. It was beautiful and I knew it would be an amazing place. I was a little nervous because they don’t do a formal tasting of the menu or cake- you can taste the food if you either go to the restaurant there, Kites, or go to a bridal show they hold there or at Grand Cascades (Mineral’s sister hotel). Luckily, the food was amazing, the service was incredible, and the hotel block, rehearsal dinner, and reception went off perfectly. Sarah Baughan was my original coordinator there and even though she was moved to the sales department, she stayed on as my wedding coordinator with the help of Danielle Serpico. They were very quick in responding to all of my emails and phone calls and I could not have asked for better coordinators. The cocktail hour and reception were impeccable and their gardens were amazing for pictures. For those who book there or already have, get the mashed potato bar as part of your cocktail hour- it was the biggest food hit of the night with our guests (and me)! I truly felt taken care of by our maitre’ d Mark and our personal server, Stephanie (I think, I feel bad for forgetting it!). They packed up our cake, flowers, and our uneaten food so we could eat it later and we were never without a drink or food. I could not have asked for better service and I highly recommend them. Everyone commented on the food, the hotel, and the gorgeous grounds and ballroom. The only reason they did not receive an A+ is because the underage members of the family and bridal party were not allowed in the after party because it took place in the Kites restaurant/bar and I am guessing that since it was late at night and in “bar” mode that no one underage was allowed, but I felt badly since I did not know they wouldn’t be allowed in. It just would have been nice to know that beforehand. This did not effect their grade, but I just thought of it- I added on their option for an ice sculpture for decor for the cocktail hour and reception, but Sarah and Danielle told me while taking pictures before the cocktail hour that the ice sculpture had been lost in transit. They were very sorry and polite about it and offered to put the cost of the sculpture toward our after-party appetizers and breakfast, which I thought was nice since I don't really see the loss of the sculpture as their fault since I'm guessing it was an outside company that was supposed to deliver it.
Photographer: Chris Jorda (www.chrisjorda.com)- A+ (pending photos)
Matt and I met with Chris after receiving recs on here and we’re so happy we went with him. He was professional yet fun and friendly. Our engagement photos were beautiful and from the 4 sneak peeks I’ve already received, the wedding photos will be even better. He was able to corral and capture great photos of my giant bridal party and numerous family portraits, all while dealing with family members trying to get pictures of the shot as well lol! He and his assistant, Dan I believe (can you tell I’m horrible with names?), were unobtrusive and I know they truly are masters of their craft. I can’t wait to see the rest of the pictures and any bride who can work with Chris is truly lucky!
Videographer: Classic Video Productions (www.classicvideoprod.com)- A (pending video)
My godmother was nice enough to pay for our videographer as part of our wedding gift, and I am happy I was able to have one since I am sure there were many moments I missed. Our videographer was professional and courteous and I noticed him numerous times getting great shots. He worked really hard and I am excited to see the video. I assumed Bernard (co-owner) would be shooting the wedding, but it was someone else, but I can’t comment on any difference in quality or lack thereof until I see the final product.
DJ: Elite Sound Entertainment (www.elitesoundentertainment.com)- A+
Mike B was our DJ and I couldn’t have asked for a better one! The dance floor was packed all night, he played amazing mixes of new and older music (we’re big classic rock fans), and he was a lot of fun with the crowd and kept everyone pumped. Everyone from my 5 year-old ring bearer to my grandmother danced the night away. They played almost every song on our playlist- I had a million songs on there so I didn’t expect most of them to be played and Mike somehow managed to play 99% of them. We also had a harpist through ESE for our cocktail hour, which sounded beautiful and was a wonderful addition to the hour. If you want a truly fun wedding, go with Elite Sound! I have non-pro pics of the LED DJ booth and the upgraded dance floor lighting (not uplighting), so PM me if you're interested in seeing it.
Limos: Limo Ride (www.limoride.com)- A
We had a 24 person party bus for the bridal party and a stretch Chrysler 300 for me to go to and from the church through LimoRide. My sister also booked a stretch SUV through them for my bachelorette party. All of the cars were clean, stocked with plenty of water and champagne, and the drivers were courteous and professional. There were no travel issues, and the party bus driver was nice enough to take directions from my sister when they had to change route because of an accident on the highway. Matt said the party bus driver was a little too brake-happy, which bothers him since he gets carsick easily, but other than that everything went great. The people I spoke with to book the limos and handle the payments were very nice and helpful as well.
Shuttle Bus: Coach USA (www.coachusa.com)- A
I hired Coach to provide a 55-passenger bus to bring hotel guests to and from the church, since the church was about 40 minutes from the hotel. From what I was told, everything went well and the driver was very good. I do know that he was also very nice about taking change-of-route directions from my brother-in-law in order to avoid the highway accident. The woman I spoke with to hire the bus out of Paramus, Maria, was very nice and helpful, but the woman I spoke with to make the final payment seemed a bit harried and annoyed when I asked her to email me the credit card authorization form instead of faxing it to me. Other than that, there were no issues with Coach.
Hair: Jen from Hair Your Way (hairyourway@gmail.com)- A+ (out of CT)
Jen did my hair for my boudoir pics and it was amazing, so it was a no-brainer to hire her to do my hair. Her and her assistant were absolutely phenomenal to work with and did my bridal party and mom’s hair with no issues. Everyone’s hair was perfect and stayed in place all night. She traveled really early in the morning and quite a distance to be at the hotel by 6am and she did amazing work. She didn’t even need the inspiration pic I had given her earlier to do exactly what I wanted. Jen was truly wonderful to work with.
Makeup: Christina and Kelia from JK Flashy makeup (www.jkflashy.com)- A+ (out of White Plains, NY)
Jill, JKFlashy herself, did my makeup for my boudoir pics and I was lucky to work with Christina and Kelia through Jill’s company for myself and my bridal party. They were both amazing, the makeup looked wonderful on everyone, and they also traveled early and far to work on us. My makeup trial was free and my makeup on the day of came out perfectly and stayed through dancing and eating. I couldn’t have asked for anything more.
I also ordered bridal party/parent gifts (lip balm, sugar scrub, hankies, golf towel, and tote bags) and accessories (my bracelet) from Etsy and the TK wedding shop, so PM me if you'd like specifics. Here's the Chris Jorda sneak peeks:
