I just got married last week at the Japanese Friendship Gardens in Balboa Park and I wanted to recommend as well as warn against some of the vendors I used.Photography| Meurer Imagaes A+
www.meurerimage.comWhen I was looking for a photographer, I wasn't too concerned about price. I was willing to spend more money on a good artistic photographer. I figured, in the end, all you have of your day are pictures. If you take a look at their website and gallery of pictures, you'll see how good they are. When I saw my engagement pictures, I was shocked. I am very unphotogenic, however, they were able to capture moments from angles that worked best for me. Not only that, they are so nice and so professional! Also, their prices are very, very good (compared to some out there) and they don't leave after 6hrs like some. They stay with you from the beginning of your event until the end.Entertainment | LA Photo Party A+
http://laphotoparty.com/I've been keeping an eye on these guys ever since our company booked them for their year-end party. These guys are like a live photo studio at your event. Ever want to feel like a model at a photo shoot? I can't tell you how many people told me how much fun they had at our reception. Many of my conservative Asian relatives who would not get on the dance floor, took wakky photos with wigs and big sunglasses. I think it really turned our wedding from a boring "reception" to a fun "party" I've been to many weddings where they have the machine photo booth. I've never once tried to cram in there with 4 other people. But at my wedding, I got to take "model-esque", "sex-in-the-city" shots with all four of my bridesmaids. If you're thinking about a machine booth, this is 100x better, a live photo shoot with real sized photos.Flowers | Boulevard Florists B
www.boulevardflst.comThese guys are a wholesale flower shop. I bought all of my flowers for $500 total (including cake decorations and centerpieces). I also used cymbidium orchids which are really expensive. A friend of mine used Gerber daisies and paid less than $250 for her entire flowers! They deliver to the LA area and San Diego for $15. The only reason I gave them a B is that a few days before the wedding, the delivery people they used told us they could not deliver to San Diego. I suppose it's not BF's fault that their delivery guys are clueless. In the end, we worked it out with Boulevard Florists and they were able to deliver our flowers. I'm sure there are many wholesale flower shops in San Diego area, as well. The only one I know of is:
www.flowersandsupplies.comRings | Prestige Jewelry A+
http://prestigejewelries.com/I made the mistake of getting my engagement ring at Ben Bridges. Anytime I have a question about my ring, they have to send it to the jewelry shop for a week and then send it back. Prestige Jewelry (located in the LA area) is owned by Phyllis and her husband, Jeff. If I need my ring resized, Jeff does it right there and then. Phyllis is an artist! She helped me decide on a band that matched my engagement ring and she custom made it for me! My friend got a custom made engagement ring from Phyllis that looked exactly like a designer ring (for 1/4 of the cost). Their prices are ridiculously cheap! I don't know how they stay in business.Make-up | Jessica Deutsch A+Initially I booked with a salon called Kim's Touche Doree Salon in Poway (they have an Escondido location as well) *warning* do not go there ... even for a hair cut. I went for the trial and I walked out of there looking and feeling like a clown. At the time I thought, well maybe this is what wedding make-up is supposed to look like. Then I went to Sephora to get make-up for my engagement photos. I couldn't believe the difference. I felt so great about the way I looked and the pictures came out beautifully. Later I went and found the make-up artist (Jessica) to see if she did freelance work. She came to my hotel and did make-up for me and my mother-in-law. The rest of the girls went to a salon for the sake of time (which I regret to this day, i should've had Jessica do them all). My mother in law looked so great and I felt so great in my make-up. I don't think Jessica has a website but you can find her at Sephora in the La Jolla - UTC mall. She is so sweet and nice and beautiful! She really knows make-up and how to make a bride feel beautiful.Cake | Edelweiss Bakery B-
www.edelweissbakerysandiego.com/Hmm... I guess I shouldn't be so harsh on them since the cake is reasonable priced and delicious! This is probably the go-to place for all San Diegans. However, we ordered some pastries for the kids to be delivered the day of our wedding and it never arrived. Also, they were not too eagar about making my dream cake. They just wanted me to pick one of their cookie cutter designs (which I did in the end after many, many "discussions"). I ended up decorating the cake with flowers.The rest of the stuff I did with the help of friends. I bought most of my decorations at orientaltradingcompany.com. I bought my dress on ebay for $200. A friend of my husband did all of my flowers. 7 bouquets, 7 boutineres, 4 flower wreaths, 2 wrist corsages, 22 centerpieces, 2 cakes, guest signing table. Amazing!! She used to work for a florist but now she does flowers as a hobby. I'm really trying to get her to do it for freelance. If you're interested, shoot me a PM and I can get her contact info for you. If you go to any of these places, tell them Marian sent you! (except for Boulevard Florists, they won't know who I am :P)Good luck!