Sorry Didn't mean for it to be so long!!
Hudson Valley Ceremonies: A+++++
In short, Jeanne Stark saved my wedding. My life is essentially Murphy’s Law, I have horrible horrible luck. (Not to complain, just stating a fact). Because of this, I wanted hired a day of coordinator because I knew something would go wrong and I wanted to have someone else to deal with it! I never expected that we would have a major snow storm on October 29th. Jeanne and her assistant Sage were wonderful the whole day. I wasn’t able to make it from Tarrytown to my church in Peekskill because the roads and traffic were so bad. They coordinated with the hotel to have a ceremony space set up so we could do an impromptu ceremony before cocktail hour. She served as a go between me and everyone who had made it to the church and my vendors as we tried to rework the day. In the end it was absolutely perfect and Hudson Valley Ceremonies was a major reason why. In addition to the snow, Jeanne did a great job with all non-snow related things in preparation!
H&H Photographers: A+
I just got a slideshow as an example of the photos yesterday and I can’t stop looking at them. The pictures came out AMAZING. There is a nice balance of candid and family shots, and black and white with a touch of color. Johnny my photographer was awesome and kept up a great spirit through the whole event even though we sent him out in the snow just to have him turn around and come back to the Doubletree because we cancelled the church. We also got our video from them which we haven’t seen yet but the videographer was equally personable.
Doubletree (Reception and room block) A-
The food was great. I even had guest tell me it was the best wedding steak they’ve had. We had a mash potato bar at the cocktail hour and it was a huge hit. Doubletree was also the cheapest venue of the ones we were looking at and had the nicest space (we wanted a hotel reception combo). There was a fireplace in the cocktail space which gave a nice atmosphere and a beautiful lobby that worked out great for us to take pictures. The rooms are all new and redone and the beds are very comfortable. There were a few concerns with the staff. There were a few guests who had booked rooms early but their reservations weren’t on our list. When the guests followed up, the doubletree had no record of their reservation. I also had one friend who was trying to book for nights extended outside of our block through the 1-800 number and they were telling him that he couldn’t do that but once he asked to speak with a manager at our hotel, everything was fine. Maria the head of sales was great and was really helpful in extending our rate to guests after we filled our block. I found the catering person to be very friendly in person but I felt that she forgot or overlooked things I had told her in previous meetings and had to remind her multiple times. Everything turned out fine, but I would recommend other brides to be sure to follow up on things.
Columbia/Riverdale Florist: A+
They are small florist in Riverdale but have amazing flowers. My bouquets and centerpieces came out great and they are very reasonably priced. My bouquet lasted almost two weeks, and my friend even took a centerpiece home to show her florist for her wedding next year. WelovePhotoboohs.com A+
I think they might a little more expensive than some of the photobooths, but I think it was worth it. Everyone loved it. It’s not an actual “booth” so it allows for larger groups to take pictures together. They also post all pictures online the next day and we got a CD and a photobook of all the pictures that were taken.
Christine from Color Me Design: A
Great price, and great job. I had her come to my hotel to do me and my bridal party, everyone was done on time and the makeup lasted the entire (very hectic) day!
Hair by Elktra’s: A++
Elktra is my normal hairdresser and she was willing to close down the shop and do my hair at my hotel. She was cheaper than any other place I priced out (which I admit was not many) and she did an amazing amazing job. I LOVED my hair. She also did most of my bridal party and they all look beautiful! She is located on McLean Ave in Yonkers.
DJ’s At Work: A+
I’ve known James and Tim for a long time so it was no question that we would use them, they are the best DJs ever! (Although they can be a little hard to get a hold of) James had the floor full the entire night.
Mary Courtney and Morning Star (Cocktail music): A+
Morning Star is a small Irish Band, perfect for background music for cocktail hour.
Settembre Limo:
The morning of our wedding the they called to tell me that the Escalade we had reserved had gotten “hijacked” the night before and someone broke the windows and beat up the drive (again I have really bad luck) so they were going to send us a Navigator instead. Then the snow hit. The guys got picked up fine but when the Navigator was coming to get the girls a tree feel on Route 9 and it had to turn around. They sent a smaller limo for us (which we had to turn around half way to the church) and the Princess Rolls Royce couldn’t be taken out in the weather. I understand the weather complications so I can’t begrudge them for that, but the boys had put a cooler full of expensive booze in the trunk of the navigator that never made it down to us and when our groomsman went to go pick it up all the booze was gone out of the cooler. They said they would “make it right” but we have yet to see a dime or any other compensation for it and it was about $300 worth of liquor. Hertz Rental: F
We had rented a van to transport people to and from the rehearsal dinner and the transmission died before Jeanne, our wedding planner, even got it out of the lot and they were unable to replace it so we had to car pool instead.
David’s Bridal: Bridesmaid’s dresses: A
I chose a color, a fabric and length and the girls choose the dress that looked best on them. Everything went smoothly, not complaints! Men’s Warehouse: A
was easiest for us since we had people from different areas. Worked out well.
Wedding Paper Divas: A
Both the save the dates and invites from there. We got so many complements on both. Really liked the quality and speed we received everything. One recommendation: order inner envelopes. We didn’t and then my mom decided we needed them so we had to reorder all the envelopes! But that was totally our fault.
Etsy.com: A+
I love Etsy and got so much wedding stuff from there including: return address stamp, Clutches for me and my BMs, Earrings for my BM and my headpiece. Everything was really unique and good prices.