Hi everyone, I am back from my hiatus. Hope everyone has been doing well. Below are some of my vendor reviews. Please feel free to contact me at christina(dot)xt(dot)lau(at)gmail(dot)com for more details and/or photos.
Venue - Palm Valley Gardens: A
The venue is absolutely gorgeous and has a french vintage country atmosphere. The booking manager there is very responsive. The only two down sides are:
1. You would need your own day-of-coordinator or friends/family to help out. Though they provide a facilities manager on the day of your wedding, you would need help in packing up your stuff. 2. You would need to end your celebrations by 10 pm and the cleanup needs to be done by 11 pm.
Catering – Perfect Pear Catering: A++Rachel and Michael are wonderful to work with – They are so accommodating and willing to work with us to create a perfect menu for foodies. The guests are raving about the food the next day and many of them have commented that they had the best food of all the weddings they have been do. My parents have some dietary restrictions and Rachel made sure they are taken care of. Their excellent service did not end with the wedding – A week after the wedding, we discovered we are missing four magnum bottles of top shelf liquor. Rachel called her staff and the bartenders to ask around in an attempt to help us recover them! We will definitely return to Perfect Pear Catering if we ever needed to cater for a private party and highly recommend them to our friends and family.
Photographers – Fox Fotography: Beyond A++I have to say Rachel and Justin are an absolute delight to work with. They have been so accommodating to our requests – With providing us a CD of high quality images for our wedding signs to scheduling a family photo shoot before the wedding, they have both roll with the punches and are always on top of the game with a very energetic, positive attitude. To top it all, Rachel was going to schedule a walk-through with the videographer prior to the wedding (She wanted to make sure she knows how the lighting will be like on the day of). We absolutely love working with the Foxes and have a feeling they will be our official family photographer from now on!
Videographers – Joel Russo, MVH Productions: Beyond A++I have to say Joel is one of the most involved videographers that I have ever met. Joel had made sure that he understood our vision from the beginning. When we were unable to meet up to review the first draft, Joel drove all the way out to our place to deliver the DVD. We are so happy with the first draft of the video; Joel had managed to capture more than just the essence of the wedding. He has managed to capture some of the best angels and our personality with the little inside jokes. The video has definitely brought many smiles and laughter and we can’t wait for the final copy!
Band – Island Spice Band: A++JD, Kevin, Jim and Kristin are great work with. They were able to gauge the response of the guests and play appropriate songs to get the crowd moving. We were going to have a CD for dancing music but due to the last minute wedding craziness, that did not materialize. I explained the situation to the band and they had no problem with it and played the duration of the reception instead (we had agreed that they will be playing for an hour but they ended up playing two). And did I forget to mention that Kristin has one of the most beautiful voices I ever heard – Many of our guests were gushing when she sang and they could not stop talking about her voice after the wedding. Last but not least, Kevin, JD and Jim are a riot - They made the garter and bouquet toss a lot more fun.
Florist – Lori Parker (PVG onsite florist): A++Lori is such a sweetheart to work with. She took my inspiration pictures and budget and created something truly unique and beautiful. A month prior to the wedding, Lori was working on some centerpieces that are similar to mine and sent photos my way! We had some uncertainty with our wedding party’s headcount and Lori was accepting changes until a week before the wedding. I had so many compliments on my bouquet and the bridesmaid that day and I just keep smiling whenever I look at pictures of the bouquets.
Officiant: Allen and Betty Crosby: B+I was working with Betty all the way until the ceremony. She has been very great to work with and helped us truly create a beautiful ceremony. Given we didn’t have a rehearsal, Betty was on the phone with me a week before the wedding to walk me through the details. Allen managed to work with the changes on the day of the wedding – We had rearranged the processional. The only complaint that my husband and his family have is that Allen mispronounced their last name and commented that it is the best he could do.
Hairstylist – Darlene Smith: A+I actually booked Darlene with Ashley’s (a fellow knottie) recommendation. I loved what she did, not only for my hair, but also for my bridesmaids. She also waited for two hours for the groom’s family to be ready so she could do their hair – Darlene definitely get two thumbs up just for that.
Makeup Artist – Michelle Axtell: A+I had actually came across Michelle via another makeup artist’s recommendation. I had booked Haley initially but she found out that her due date was October 18th! She recommended Michelle to take her place. I never got a trial but I was extremely happy with the results. Michelle understood that I never wear makeup and she made sure I look natural and beautiful!
Hotel – Hilton Garden Inn, Ponte Vedra Beach: A++None of the guests complained about any issues and they dealt with a large group of us (52 to be exact) in the hotel’s café the morning and the morning after the wedding. We had some of our guests booking after the block’s cut off date and Elisabeth graciously offered them the block rate. The staff were great working with us throughout our wedding – They sent special packages to a lot of people’s room and a lady in housekeeping brought in her personal steamer since many of our guests were from out of town and need to steam out their dresses. Elisabeth knew it was our wedding night, and they upgraded us to a suite for free.