Ceremony:
Heinz Chapel – A
We were very pleased with how everything went with our ceremony at Heinz. I booked the year before and I know a common question asked is how hard it is to get through. I ended up calling by myself and got through after 45 minutes and had all of the time slots to pick from for our June 2 wedding. Wendy was our assigned coordinator and she helped everything move along smoothly at the short rehearsal the night before and on the wedding day. The weather was cooler on the day of (in the 60s) and it was still pretty warm on the altar. From what I heard the guests were comfortable. Our pictures are phenomenal both inside the chapel and on the grounds outside. Overall, Heinz is beautiful ceremony location and the staff is very professional, polite, and accommodating.
Rehearsal Musicians: Adam Leasure (Trumpet), Meghan McCabe (Vocalist), and Josh Bandish (Organist) – A
We were very happy with all of our musicians. I’d like to point out Meghan specifically as I think it can be hard to find a wedding vocalist if you don’t have a personal acquaintance who sings. Meghan works with Sumer at Simply Perfect Weddings. She has a gorgeous voice, was very easy to get in contact with, provided me with a songbook of the songs she does the most, and did a wonderful job at the ceremony.
Rehearsal Dinner: Mallorca – A+
Ah-ma-zing! This was an awesome find. We had a very large rehearsal dinner (70+ people) and Mallorca is able to house a group of 75. Maureen is the banquet coordinator and she was awesome. Her attitude was that all we needed to do was show up with our guests on the rehearsal dinner night and everything would be taken care of. It definitely was – for around $60 pp the wine, sangria and beer were flowing, there were 5 appetizers for each table, 6 entrees to choose from, coffee and dessert to choose from as well. The staff was incredibly attentive and so friendly. I HIGHLY recommend Mallorca for anyone having a ceremony in Oakland or nearby areas.
Day-Of-Coordinator: Sumer Schmitt, Simply Perfect Weddings - A
Sumer was very helpful along the way with planning. She gave great vendor reviews in our price range. Meeting with her over a year before the wedding, having her to email with any questions along the way and then meeting several times within 2-3 months of the wedding made me incredibly comfortable that everything was going to go well. Sumer made us an awesome timeline that we followed the day of. She also was at the reception site to set up all of our decorations – I had put a lot of small detail into the day and she made sure it all worked out perfectly without me thinking once about it. We had so many compliments on how smoothly the day went and that had a huge part to do with all of Sumer’s help! Her day of service is awesome, very reasonably priced, and truly worth it.
DJ: Andy Booth – A
Andy is a great DJ and a great person and it was truly a pleasure working with him. He did a wonderful job at our wedding – the songs were always right and the dance floor was always full. The older people at the wedding actually commented that they were very happy with the volume –they enjoyed just sitting and listening to the music watching everyone dance. Everything was in order with Andy and again, he made it so that we didn’t have to worry about a thing. Everyone danced their butts off and it was an awesome party!
Reception: Edgewood Country Club – A
Becky and Marcus are the two coordinators and they are 100% on the ball at all times. They helped us to customize our menu and bar choices and were really great with our families at the tasting. The meal at the reception moved so efficiently and the food was delicious. Edgewood was a great venue because it offers a ton of space that all of our guests took advantage of – three rooms for cocktail hour including one with a seated bar (SO fun to see all of guests hanging out there – it was packed!), the large ballroom and a beautiful balcony patio with an awning overlooking the golf course. We were so happy with this venue – it was the perfect choice for us.
Photo Booth: DGM Photography – A
Dave is the head of this company and we met him at the only bridal fair we went to. He was great setting everything up via email and very quick to respond to any questions – great customer service. We had the booth at the reception for 6 hours and the guests LOVED it. Our album we had to take home with us at the end of the night was awesome. The props were fun, the quality of the photographs was excellent and the plastic sleeves provided made a great favor for the guests. If you are considering a photo booth I definitely recommend looking into this one.
Transportation:
1. Elite Coach – A-
We used Elite for our bridal party limo bus and motor coach for guest transportation to and from the wedding. They actually called the night before and upgraded our limo bus for free as a larger bus was not being used. They were very timely and professional – just very expensive, hence the slightly lower grade.
2. Visit Monroeville – A
Visit Monroeville offers shuttle service based on a per trip fee. This was very helpful in getting the groomsmen to the chapel without paying a 4 hour fee for an additional shuttle or limo bus. Amy is very easy to work with. The per trip fee is an awesome find and I recommend utilizing this service to anyone having their reception or ceremony in the Monroeville area.
3. Qualistar – A
Qualistar provided us with an additional all day motor coach. Very reasonably priced and great service.
Invitations/Stationary: hello beautiful designs – B
We had GORGEOUS wedding invitations, ceremony programs and place cards designed and printed by hello beautiful designs. I was very happy with how everything turned out – however it did cost a significant amount of money. Sometimes it took a really long time to get responses to emails. The process was also pretty slow and then rushed in the end. We started the invitation design in August 2011 and were scurrying to get them printed in time to be mailed in April 2012. When it came time to do the extras (place cards and programs) I wasn’t sent the cost of these items until they were already ordered, which I wasn’t pleased about. In all I was thrilled with the product - but again I paid a good amount for it and the process was a bit of a struggle.
Flowers: Carrie Ann Powell – A
Carrie was really nice to work with. She stayed within my budget and the colors were exactly what I had wanted. We didn’t have anything extravagant, but Carrie did a great job making the caliber of what we had very classy and beautiful.
Hotel Room Block: Double Tree Monroeville – C-
It almost seemed like the person I worked with on the block never communicated with the front desk. There were so many issues – guests being told the block was full 6 months in advance, the front desk staff looking at my H like he was crazy when he came with the OOT guest bags, they forgot to book our complimentary wedding night room. Probably the most stressful aspect of wedding planning was trying to make sure they had everything in order at all times.
Bridal Gown: Bridal Beginning – A-
I had a good experience with BB, they were professional and helpful. My only issue with them was that they were not very up front (honest even) about the amount of money to estimate for alterations when I ordered the gown. Alterations were extremely expensive in my opinion so I would just be cautious of this.
Tuxes: First Class Tuxedo – A
No issues – the groomsmen all looked great in their charcoal suits!
Reviews Still To Come: (Both of which are an A as of right now, we just haven’t seen the final products)
Videographer – Pittsburgh Wedding DVD
Photographer – Milla C. Photography