Hi everyone!!! I honestly cannot believe I am writing a REVIEW! It seems like I spent my whole life planning my wedding! Well, anyway.... My wedding was on Aug. 1, 2009. It was a beautiful sunny day, about 82 degrees & light breeze! The whole day went off without many glitches at all! Timing all went well also with pics, ceremony, etc. I wanted to share my pics if you would like to check them out. Go to:
www.jennisphotography.com Then click on BLOG. Then scroll down to : Matthew & Amanda 08.01.2009 Vendor Review: Stratigos Banquet Centre: (North Huntingdon, PA) (Wedding, Cocktail hour, & Reception) I had an absolutely wonderful experience w/ Stratigos. My first wedding venue (Mountain View Inn) closed down, and Stratigos was more than accomodating, even knowing they were not my first choice. The place is beautiful, and the workers are all extremely professional. Somehow -- they made me feel like I was the only bride ever having a wedding there! The individual treatment was amazing!! The food got rave reviews from all guests! Overall, I am glad my first venue closed, because I had the oppurtunity to have my wedding somewhere ten times better! A+++++ Jenni Grace Photography: (Pittsburgh, PA) Jenni is so wonderful. I cannot say this enough. She is understanding, friendly, patient, and above all one of the best photographers I have ever seen! My engagement, bridal, and wedding pics have all blown me away! I would make the investment over and over again.... A+ Rachel's Ligonier Floral: (Ligonier, PA) Rachel was absolutely wonderful! She was easy to work with, reasonably priced (even though I still spent a ton!) , and very professionally talented! If you look at my pics -- I LOVE MY FLOWERS! I spent hours deliberately over color choice, flower choice, etc. Crazy, I know -- but Rachel worked with me diligently to get the perfect color combination! A+ Video Horizons: (Eric)(Greensburg, PA) My videographer was in the background for the most part the whole day. I will comment further when we see the final product, which may take up to 3 months I was told. He is a very talented man, and I felt bad when he wanted to pull Matt & I away for the video-- we really didn't want to do it! Yikes! I guess that goes with the territory! ? Scozio's: (Jeannette): Scozio's made my cake and it was not only beautiful -- but delicious! They add the parent cakes on either side of my cake as a gift from them. Big Problem though -- they MAJORLY over estimated how much cake we would need! My mother and I have a ton of cake in our freezer and we gave a ton away! I do not know how that happened -- but I know I probably could have saved a TON of money! Otherwise -- they were timely, nice to meet with, and had a delicious final product. A Elite Limousine: (Murrysville): They were on time! Made all the stops I wanted! And.....had a very nice limobus driver! A++ Wedding Rentals (Judy DeFlippo) (Mt. Pleasant, PA) -- Judy was wonderful to work with. I do not know how many times I changed my mind with the decorator. She ended up just doing my chair covers & empire vases. She was super reliable and affordable. A + Artista Graphics (invites - Forest Hills, PA) -- Karen and her mom saved my life! I had an awful experience w/ my invites at Latrobe Card & Gift, and they re-did my whole invite and wedding programs at last minute. At times, they did promise things they couldn't possible follow through with that kind of confused me. But, otherwise, I ended up with what I wanted. B MB Bride (Greensburg, PA) -- My formal wear (dress, veil, headpiece, shoes) all came from MB Bride. They were absolutely wonderful to work with! However, I did not have my alterations done there to save money. We knew a local person that is extremely talented that did the alterations for me!!! But, every time we went into MB Bride I had a good experience! A+++ Men's Warehouse -- We had a good experience with my husband's tux. A few of the groomsmen said that the staff was rude, but we didn't have any complaints. B Hampton Inn in Monroeville: The Hampton was very nice to work with. Gretchen set us up with a shuttle that ran from Stratigos to the Hampton for all our guests. The review on the hotel from the guests was hit or miss so I will give them a: B Rizzo's Malabar Inn -- (Crabtree, PA) -- Rehearsal Dinner: Absolutley wonderful service! We had a private room area, and they served the tables family style. They were willing to cut the groom's cake for us. No complaints, and reasonable bill for the in-law's! A+ Bell's Steak & SeaHouse -- (Laurelville, PA) -- Bridal Shower: Wonderful place for any party, dinner, etc. They treated us wonderfully, and the guests all enjoyed the amenities. A++ Wow! You are all probably bored to tears!!! LOL! Last but not least, the honeymoon was wonderful! We stayed at the Westin on Maui for 7 nights. Very long travel time, but if u haven't been to hawaii it is soo worth it! Review the honeymoon later! Take care! It was fun getting to be a part of the Pittsburgh board during the planning process! Amanda