Hi everyone! I wanted to pop in to add my reviews from my wedding on Saturday. All in all, it was the perfect day, although there were some hiccups.
The Tides--A+
Everything at The Tides was more than we could ask for! We were in the downstairs room, which I know a lot of people don't like, but it was gorgeous and every guest (literally every person there) commented on how beautiful it was--we felt like we were in our own world. I also liked that no one wandered downstairs; although the wedding upstairs did see our guests, we never saw theirs, which was nice. The food was amazing, as usual, and our Maitre'D Steve was awesome. I couldn't have asked for a better venue.
Jessica Lauren Photography--A+
Jessica is simply amazing at her job. Both she and Stacy kept us in good moods all day, captured every moment, and were creative with all of our shots. She found a way to get every shot I wanted, including some that were pretty difficult. Her style is very romantic/artistic and she takes great candid/relaxed pictures. Her pricing is also very reasonable and she works with you to customize any package. I loved working with her, from engagement pics to our wedding pics. I cannot wait to see my pictures, because her work is stunning.
Elite Sound Entertainment--A+
We LOVED working with Elite. DJ Gerard and MC Vinny kept the party going all night--we never had a moment where people weren't on the dance floor. Half of our guests were from my H's home state of IN and they asked the Elite Sound guys to travel out there for their weddings because they loved them. I thought Elite Sound's pricing was fantastic and we loved the service we received. We also used their photobooth, which was awesome--Austin ran it for the night and it was fantastic. I loved that the guys at Elite Sound never pressured us to do anything, grandfathered us into their new deals without us even knowing (they just automatically upgraded us), and kept our party going all night. I couldn't be more pleased with them.
V&V Videography--A+, pending video
Mike from V&V was a pleasure to work with. From our perspective, it seemed like he got amazing shots and he had really creative ideas for different clips. He was calm and professional all night and was so easygoing. We loved him.
I am definitely glad that we went with Jessica, Elite Sound, and V&V because they all work with each other regularly. I can't stress how great it was to work with vendors who all know each other and work seamlessly together. They were fantastic.
America's Best Limo--A+
Our driver's name is escaping me now (which is driving me crazy), but he was amazing! I was so stressed after my hectic morning and after being over an hour behind schedule, and he was so calm and sweet throughout. His demeanor instantly calmed me down and he got us to my church only 10 minutes late, which was amazing. We can't say enough great things about our experience with America's Best Limo.
Avenue Florist--B+
Oscar was our florist from Avenue and we had a so-so experience. I loved my bouquet and Oscar did an amazing job considering all I said was I wanted pink flowers. Oscar also offered to make us two different centerpieces and the pricing was VERY reasonable, so we were pleased.
However, we specifically asked for all pink bouquets for the girls. Oscar recommended that we use green hydrangeas, so that they'd hold up better throughout the day, and told us he could spray them pink. When he arrived on Saturday, however, he didn't spray the flowers and the bouquets were almost all green with just a few hot pink gerbers. He did run to the florist next door to the hotel and buy spray paint to fix it, but the flowers still had some green patches and didn't hold up at all. By the reception, some of the bouquets were falling completely apart, as were the wrist corsages, although mine did last beautifully.
We had the same issue with our centerpieces. One of the centerpiece options was a tall vase with pink water and a pink mixed bouquet, the other centerpiece option was light-up LED branches with a pink mixed bouquet. All of the flowers were lovely and we received SO many compliments on them, but the vase water was not pink at all. It was a small thing, but it definitely caught my eye since we were looking forward to have pink lights on the bottom of some centerpieces and the tops of others. The mini centerpiece Oscar gave us (for free) for our sweetheart table was stunning and stayed beautiful all night.
All in all, we were pleased with Avenue because of the pricing and because most of the flowers were gorgeous, but if flower perfection is important to you, I'd be careful.
Best Western Fairfield Executive Inn/Cucina Calandra--A+
I cannot say enough great things about this hotel. From the outside, it's pretty ugly, but the inside is newly remodeled and absolutely gorgeous. Maria, the sales manager, arranged our room block and took care of everything for us--she made it so easy on us. Everyone loved their rooms, they made sure every guest had a welcome bag (even though they all arrived any time between Monday and Friday of Thanksgiving week), and they organized everything on the morning of the wedding. The shuttles we used (arranged through the hotel) were great and ran on time all night. We used the hotel restaurant, Cucina Calandra, for our RD and it was fabulous. They set us in the lounge and everyone raved about the food. All in all, they were a pleasure to work with.
St. Anthony's Church
This is our parish church, so we naturally used it for our Mass. I just wanted to mention that Fr. Roberto was amazing. Everyone told us that the Mass was lovely and touching and he told us that it was his favorite Mass so far, since all of the guests were so into it and knew what to do/respond. We laughed because he called us the most nervous bride and groom ever, but he really put us at ease and the service was beautiful. It was our favorite part of the day.
The church lady, Pauline, was nice, but she really messed up our rehearsal and was so nit-picky, it was obnoxious. She drove us crazy and Fr. Roberto actually yelled at her for messing up our rehearsal so much (since he had everything written out for her beforehand), but it all worked out in the end.
Cove Haven Resort, Poconos--A+
I figured I'd throw this review in here. We are taking our HM later in Hawaii, but we had to go away for at least a night, so we headed to the Poconos. It was our first time there and we had a great time. We did the cheesy champagne glass jacuzzi room, but it ended up being really cute and a lot of fun. There were SO many activities to do and we had a great time, even though we didn't stay long. Because we were "honeymooners" they gave us a few nice gifts and all of the employees were amazing. We definitely want to go back for a long weekend, so I really recommend it if you're looking for a quick getaway.
Jillyan Scarpa, SkinBar--D
I will post separately because this story is too long for this thread.