Hey ladies! I haven't really been on the boards since my wedding last month, but I thought I would give my reviews since I found others to be very helpful in my planning process. Overall, the day was absolutely beautiful and everything went perfectly. I know everyone says this, but it really was the best day of my life and I still look through pictures and think of moments and get the biggest smile on my face
Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay: A+
Mariana, the wedding consultant, was unbelieveable! The day of the wedding she was everywhere she needed to be both in front of, and behind the scenes. She made the day run very smoothly. We also did our rehersal dinner there and she was a big help with that. The wait staff was great, very polite, always made sure peoples drinks were full. Even at the rehearsal when 2 people missed the dinner (due to travel) they later sent their meals up to their room after they were checked in. Really really excellent service. I should mention we had a 100% kosher wedding and the food tasted excellent. Seeing as this is the only kosher parve venue in Tampa, they do a good job making sure the only choice is the best one. The venue itself is beautiful. The ceremony was outside on the deck overlooking the bay and really made for pretty photo ops. Our guests went on and on about how nice the hotel was.
Photographer-Naomi Chokr Photography: A+++++
I could go on and on about how incredibly talented this woman is. But I will share her link and you can see for yourself
http://naomichokr.com/ Our first dance picture is the one you first see on the screen (also one of my fav pics
) She was very easy to work with, answered all calls and emails very promptly. The day of she arrived early and stayed late. She also had her assistant and brought a second shooter which was a very plesant suprise! By far my favorite vendor to work with.
Let Them Eat Cake: B
I will start by saying that for a kosher parve cake (no dairy), it tasted pretty darn good. However, they will recieve a "B" from me for this reason- the cake was supposed to by ivory and it was white (not too big a deal becasue the ballroom was dimly lit, but still....when you are paying $6 a slice, I expect perfection). Also, I had 4 tiers, each one was a different flavor, the slice I got was a white cake with a fudge/chocolate ribbon in it.....this wasn't even a layer I wanted in the cake! So one of the tiers was a completely different flavor then I had requested! Again, annoying considering the price we paid. (end rant)
DJ- Gigante Productions: A
Paul was our DJ. We heard him at friends wedding a few months ago, liked what we saw/heard and hired him. He wasn't cheesy and obeyed my 2 rules: no corny line dance and absolutely no Lady Gaga. We had our wedding party enterance to the Chicago Bulls starting line-up song since our families are all from Chicago. It was a hit with the guests! However, hubby and I were not supposed to enter with that song, he was supposed to change it over to Crazy In Love, but I guess forgot and we ended up walking to the Bulls song. Honestly, with all the excitement I didn't even notice until after our first dance when he finally played it, then it hit me he had forgotten it earlier! But overall, a good wedding DJ.
For my programs, I ordered from "Paper Twinkie" on etsy. They looked beautiful and were very affordable. I did my own flowers, so no review for that. I will say anyone looking to DIY flowers, got to Carlsdats flowers in downtown Tampa. They are a wholesaler, so you get a ton a flowers for a fraction of what these florists will charge you. It was definately a lot of work, but thank goodness for great bridesmaids and a mother who was very kind to help me out
Hope these help any of you and best wishes on your weddings
Learning to make a good brisket is only the beginning. www.shiksatoyenta.wordpress.com