Hi all! First, thanks to everyone on this site who helped me plan my wedding. This board was a constant source of support and ideas! Thank you!!
Our photog blogged some photos from our Nov 14 wedding. Enjoy!
http://www.maxorenstein.com/blog/index.php/2009/12/molly-jasons-wedding-city-club-washington-d-c/#more-277---Reviews---
Courtyard Marriott Convention Center (DC) -- Hotel block: C, The hotel was nice, clean and extremely convenient to the ceremony and reception sites. The staff was very pleasant and helpful. They did an awesome job of distributing welcome bags and did not charge extra. The only complaint I have is that the rate for the blocked off rooms only applied to the first 10 rooms that were booked. I was not aware until the wedding day that some of our guests had to pay a higher rate. I think this was a little misleading. Overall it was a great place to stay, though.
St. Patrick Catholic Church (DC) -- Ceremony: A++, A gorgeous church, which is our home parish. Monsignor Sal did a great job of helping us prepare for marriage and the ceremony was meaningful, reverent and beautiful. He gave a very personal homily that applied to our families which I really appreciated. Ronald Stolk, the organist, is amazing. The room to get ready in, prior to the ceremony was wonderful. Could not have been happier with the church and staff!! My husband is not Catholic and he truly enjoyed and appreciated everything at St. Patrick as well.
City Club of Washington, Columbia Square (DC) -- Reception venue: A++, Maria Brady went above and beyond. If you have never checked out this venue, I highly recommend it. It's a beautiful space and it's at a great downtown location. And it's actually reasonably priced!! You get a lot of bang for your buck at the City Club and they take care of so much! I cannot recommend the City Club enough, it's seriously a hidden gem.
Dimitros Bridal Salon at Macy's Galleria (VA) -- Wedding gown: A, LOVED my gown, loved my sales associate on my first visit (Kettering, Kennelly or something like that) but the other visits I made were only so so as the rest of the staff is not as helpful.
Angie Cavallaro (VA) -- Alterations: A++, Angie did an awesome job and made sure the dress fit like a glove. It definitely looked like it was made for me!
David's Bridal -- Veil and bridesmaids' dresses: A, It was a very simple veil I got on sale online. It definitely did the trick.
Men's Warehouse (DC) -- Groom/groomsmen attire: A+, The location was convenient and it's reasonably priced. There were no complaints from the guys and they looked dapper and classic!
Dogwood Floral (Irene Walsh) (VA) -- Bouquets, bouts and altar decorations: A, Irene did a great job for a reasonable price. The flowers were seriously gorgeous. Only complaint is that she was a bit late with the delivery (about 30 minutes), but it really didn't set us back any on pre-ceremony photos. It just made me nervous!
Celebration Cakes (VA) -- Wedding cake: A++, I was so nervous about the wedding cake because Pamela was a little slow to respond to some correspondence early on. But man, did she deliver! The cake was BEAUTIFUL--definitely one of my fave parts of the wedding. And it was delicious. I got so many compliments on it!
Mutual Fun Band (MD) -- Reception music: A++, No joke, this band MADE our wedding. They were awesome! They were flexible (were able to play piano during cocktails per my request) and they were reasonably priced. They seriously rocked. They had everyone dancing. I can count the people who were not dancing at the wedding on one hand and 2 of them were over 90 years old. I lost my voice singing along to "livin' on a prayer." I would recommend this band to anyone, they were a ton of fun and extremely talented.
Max Orenstein (DC/NY) -- Photographer: A++ you can see the pictures for yourself, Max did an incredible job. He was very flexible and professional with our engagement photos as well. I had all the proofs less than three weeks after the wedding. He has a terrific photo-journalistic style, which we preferred. I would recommend him to anyone. He was very unobtrusive and people didn't even know he was there.
Up Dos for I Dos (MD) Lori and Erika -- Hair and makeup: A, Erika and Lori were great and the company was very nice to work with. I think they aced my look and my girls' looks. They even squeezed in my sister in law at the end. My only complaint is that I had to pick up the tab on their valet parking at the hotel ($20 each) when I'm sure they could have found street parking. That was kind of an unpleasant surprise. They did a wonderful job though, and were very nice, Erika was especially fun.
M&S Grill (DC) -- Rehearsal dinner: A+ the meal was awesome and it was a great atmosphere!
Very centrally located for our wedding as well!
AmericanWedding.com -- Wedding invitations: A+ gorgeous invites at a reasonable price.
OvernightPrints.com -- Save the dates: B+ we made postcards that were cheap and fast, but the color was a liiiiittle off.
Books A Million (VA) -- Guestbook: A we had everyone sign the coffee table book "Historic Photos of Washington, D.C." This was a big hit.
Alzheimer's Association -- Favors: A+ The Alzheimer's assoc. allows you to make a donation in honor of your guests. This was very very easy to do online. We also bought some alz awareness bracelets for people to wear at the wedding.
CheapTotes.com -- Out of Town Gift Bags: (Costco, Metro, Va dept. of commerce, Virginia Tech, Hokie Water/Orange and maroon bud light) A+ CheapTotes.com was very easy to work with and the bags were high-quality for the price!
Etsy Seller "Divinerose" -- Bridal jewelry: A++ I got so many compliments on my necklace and earrings. I really loved wearing something unique and handmade.
Etsy Seller "FreshlySkweezed" -- Bridesmaid's gifts: A++ I got the girls, the MOG and MOB personalized stationary and it was a huge hit!
Etsy Seller "Hamptonjewels" -- Bridesmaid's jewelry: A++ Girls LOVED their necklaces.
Michael's in Seven Corners (VA) -- Craft supplies: B
AC Moore in Bailey's Crossroads (VA) -- Craft supplies: A++
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I will probably be selling some items soon so if you see something in particular in the photos that you like, feel free to ping me: molsedotes (at) hotmail (dot) com.
Thanks for everything Knotties!!