Hi! I never posted very much on these boards, but I often read posts from all of you. The vendor reviews were especially invaluable. Hopefully a bride-to-be will find these helpful in her wedding planning! Good luck!
A little background, my husband and I were married June 26th in Fort Myers Beach. We had a small destination wedding, 35 people total, and planned the entire thing via internet and phone calls. CRAZY, but so worth it! We live in Los Angeles, it's a 3 hour time difference. People returning my phone calls went a long, long way.
Also, we had been to Fort Myers/Sanibel many times but had never set foot in the Pink Shell or St Columbkille Church before our wedding.
Pink Shell Resort- A+++
We had our welcome/rehearsal dinner, wedding reception, and Sunday brunch all at the Pink Shell. All our guests also stayed there. The Pink Shell exceeded my expectations. Dony, the wedding coordinator, was fantastic. She went above and beyond and took the initiative to do things without me asking. Some minor examples that went a long way: table number holders for the table numbers, extra signage throughout the resort to keep our guests informed, beautiful floral centerpieces at the rehearsal dinner, letting us 'borrow' a birdcage for cards...all without me asking.
The food was fantastic as was the entire staff. I am so, so happy we decided to celebrate our wedding at the Pink Shell. From a planning perspective, Dony would ALWAYS return emails the same day and was never bothered by my countless questions. She was so patient with me. In hindsight, I probably sent her 400 emails in the past year and she answered every single one thoroughly. If you're planning a destination wedding, you can't go wrong with the Pink Shell. They were priceless and the number one reason (besides our family and friends) why our wedding was a dream come true.
Signature Florals- A+
Flowers were probably the thing I put the least thought into. I had talked to several florists in the area, and Sue Bain at Signature Florals convinced me that I wouldn't need to worry about anything- and I didn't! I basically told her a color scheme and some flowers I liked, which were roses and peonies. She told me that peonies would most likely be out of my budget, but that garden roses would be a good replacement. However, when the bouquets arrived, she put peonies in all 3 with no extra charge. The centerpieces (floating orchids and candles) were also much grander and better than we had discussed. She also surprised me by picking up all the vases free of charge so I didn't have to return them. Besides all the freebies and extras, my bouquet and the centerpieces were absolutely gorgeous!
Kevin Schell DJ- A-
Great! Played every thing we agreed on. Didn't speak too much (we had requested this) and wasn't offended by it either. Kept people dancing. They'd take a while to get back to us which is why I give the A-. Had we lived in Fort Myers, it wouldn't have peeved me as much, but since we're across the country, I really valued vendors returning calls/emailed in a timely manner.
Cari at Kyle Lynn (hair and make-up) A
Super sweet girl and did an awesome job with my mom, my sister, my niece and me. She came from Tampa, which is unusual for her, but she said they might be open to traveling again. I didn't have a trial and just sent her a few inspiration photos and my hair looked better than anything I ever could've imagined.
Publix- cake- B
The final product was outstanding, and that's what matters. Seriously, my cake was AWESOME, and tasted great. They were pretty frustrating to deal with though. I had ordered the cake via phone about 6 weeks before the wedding. After extensive research, I had spent 2 separate phone calls, at least 45 minutes each, ordering the cake. A few days before the wedding I went to Publix to pay for it and *thankfully* review the order. The order they had didn't match the order I placed and they wanted to charge me a lot more than I had agreed on. They also called me the day of my wedding to confirm frosting colors- good I guess, but a bit frustrating considering I thought everything was finalized. BUT, everything got squared away and the cake was lovely.
Luminaire Foto- A
Karl at Luminaire cut me a deal because I only had 1 photographer for 4 hours, much less than most packages. Since the wedding party and wedding was so small, I didn't think certain things were necessary- like pictures of me getting ready. The pictures are great. The only thing I wish is that he was watching out a little more for 'shine.' I'm real sweaty in some pictures. BUT, overall he was perfect. great personality, great photos.
Ku-Ku-Ku-Nu-Ku Trolley- D-
Yikes. I hired a trolley to transport the entire wedding to and from the church and Pink Shell. The woman was 25 minutes late. Our ceremony started late because she was 25 minutes late picking us up. On top of it, she was unapologetic. It wasn't until Dony at the Pink Shell found out about it that she apologized, and gave me 1/2 my money back. This woman, the owner of the trolley, was by far the most difficult vendor to deal with also. On average, it'd take her 2 weeks to return a phone call or email.
Also, she called me a week before my wedding and told me the trolley was booked for my wedding day (this is months after the contract was signed and deposit had been paid)...turned out to be a clerical mix-up which she was oddly non-chalant about it. In short, the trolley was great, the owner was a nightmare. It was a good option for a small wedding to get to and from the church, but a PAIN to deal with otherwise.
St. Columbkille Catholic Church- B+
We're Catholic and therefore got married in a Catholic Church. St Columbkille was the only Catholic Church in the area that would agree to marry us. They were soooo nice and kind. Father Joe was wonderful. They clearly don't do a lot of destination weddings and weren't very prepared to help us with certain things with us not living in Fort Myers. However, they were patient and conscientious in dealing with our paper work from various churches we belonged to throughout our lives. Also, the church is gorgeous.
There you have it! Let me know if you have questions!
Good luck and Congratulations!