My wedding day was a dream come true. Every vision I had was executed flawlessly and I am so grateful. I feel I was blessed to work with some true professionals and vendors who really know their business and I am excited to share my experience with you all.
I know how hugely helpful reviews were to me so I am being 100% candid and honest with my reviews in hopes it helps you girls plan your days.
I had one mishap and in hindsight, it is such a minor detail in the grande scheme of the day. I truly consider myself VERY lucky that it was the only thing that went awry.
Limo
A Family Limousine
A+
REALLLLLLY great prices, prompt, on time, friendly, courteous and super sweet. Our driver was so excited for us.
Photographer
Karen Lisa
KarenLisa.com
A++++++++ day of and epics, full review pending photos
Karen and her husband were amazing. They were all over the place snapping like photo ninjas. She took 3095 photos herself! I felt 100% comfortable with Karen and Adrian. They stayed 2.5 hours past what we contracted them for – SOOO awesome!!!!. I was blown away by the few photos she showed me on her camera unedited and the teasers on facebook. I can only imagine what’s in store!
Karen has remained one of my favorite vendors hands down throughout this process. Any bride is 100% in excellent hands with her. She is so passionate and excited about what she does. She worked so well with the video crew and even went to my venue a few weeks before my wedding to get ideas of where to shoot. She goes above and beyond in every aspect and I would recommend her time and time again.
Video
My Treasure Films
Mytreasurefilms.com
A++++++ day of, full review pending video
We were lucky enough to win this contest. I cannot stress the importance of video. The day was such a blur that I am so thankful that we will have a video so I can recap the day. Javier was the nicest man to work with leading up to the wedding, immediate responses, friendly, kind and passionate about what he does. He was shooting another knottie wedding and sent his 2 best guys to shoot mine.
They were AWESOME. Arrived on time, were friendly and got some awesome shots. They worked so well together and with my other vendors. They were literally right there every time something cool was happening at my wedding. I had a teaser in like 2 days and Javier is already working on my recap video! Love love love this vendor – you are in fabulous hands with them.
Make Up – Bride
Nikol – Fresh Beauty Studio
FreshBeautyStudio.com
A+++++
Nikol is the bomb. She showed up on time, nailed the looked I wanted and was really a calming force during some truly chaotic moments. She made my mom look the best I have ever seen her and I felt like a princess. I was glowing and my make up stayed on ALL night. I had zero oiliness, no shine and no re-touching (except lip gloss after I ate dinner). My false lashes are STILL on today after 4 days and 5 showers.
My friends and family at the wedding kept raving about my make up and hair. I was 100% pleased. She was worth every penny. I wish I had booked her sooner instead of wasting money on crappy trials.
It took longer than I expected so I did feel a tad rushed but we had a floral crises happen in the middle of me getting my make up done, so it wasn’t 100% her fault that I felt rushed. Nikol rocks and I never felt so pretty in my whole life.
Make Up – Bridesmaids and Grandmas
Arielle
ArielleMakeUpArtist@yahoo.com B+
Arielle was late but she worked fast so it didn’t really matter that she was a little late. She did a great job on my girls and my grandmas and her prices were really really affordable. She was sweet and really listened to what they wanted.
Floral
David Dalsimer
Dalsimer Atlas
Dalsimer.com
I have to break my reviews down for this vendor as they are mixed.
Floral the Day Of: A++++++
My arch, ceremony décor, cocktail hour floral, cake table décor, place card table, sweetheart table and room décor truly exceeded my expectations. It was perfect. Like my garden dream come true and then some. The place card table was simply jaw dropping IMO and the CP's were bigger than I was expecting. The vases were a little cloudy with some dirt from the branches, but overall it was magnificent. I was amazed and pleased, as were my guests.
Bouquet: F
I paid extra for an upgraded bouquet, was more than specific about what I wanted with a photo of the exact style I wanted. It arrived at 3 pm and was giant – like couldn’t hold it with 2 hands giant. It was like a tree trunk, not kidding at all.
I couldn’t wrap 2 hands around it. And it was all wrong. No pink, no peonies (or garden roses if the peonies were unavailable) and not at all what I paid extra for. They also wrapped the fabric so thick around the center of the floral that it was nearly 3 inches of bulging fabric.
One of my vendors (who I don’t want to publicly post) saw the bouquet and was horrified. She said “oh my god it looks like a joke, it looks like a maxi pad is wrapped around your flowers”. So we send it back to be fixed – they give us a really hard time about doing so.
I then get all call on my cell phone from David. It’s an hour before my ceremony, I am getting make up done and he calls YELLNG at me. Accused me of cursing out his crew (which did NOT happen because I was in the make up chair when the floral arrived) and proceeded to tell me off. I was practically in tears over his treatment towards me. I was so appalled; I was shaken up the rest of the time I was getting ready. I was so angry and upset. It was extremely unprofessional and I am still waiting to hear back from him about his behavior. I am still in shock over that phone call.
I get the new one seconds before walking down the aisle. It was awful. Small, ugly and not what I wanted again. The base was loosely wrapped and falling apart. I threw it out after the wedding b/c I hated it that much. It was a total disappointment. I emailed David about this issue Sunday night and to date, have not heard back.
Venue
Parkland Golf & Country Club
www.theclubatparklandgcc.com
A+++++++ times infinity!
PGCC hit a big fat homerun in my book. They rolled out the red carpet for us. They treated our guests and us beyond amazingly. The food was phenomenal, the scenery is gorgeous, the grounds were flawless and their support staff is truly at the top of their game. The day before the wedding, our catering director had a family emergency so our banquet manager Nancy and my Karla my DOC had to take the reins and it was flawless. Nancy the banquet manager opened up the bar at no charge 45 minutes early for guests who came early.
They have been extremely accommodating from day one and really put their brides #1. We got a huge bang for our buck there and our guests have been talking non stop about how great the food was, drinks, service and overall beauty of the facility.
The wait staff and bartenders were awesome. If you are looking for a venue, go see them. I keep seeing the pics on facebook and the backdrop takes my breath away. My guests told me they felt like they were in Tuscany or Sonoma.
Entertainment:Ceremony 3 Piece String / Pianist for Cocktail Hour / Band and DJ / Cigar Roller
Mike Sipes Entertainment
MikeSipesEntertainment.com
A+
Mike and his team have been in the business for over 20 years and it’s very apparent that they are seasoned professionals. They were a well oiled machine that was truly the most enjoyable vendor to deal with. Mike is awesome, friendly, responsive and recalls everything you talk about – I had the utmost confidence with him and he delivered.
The ceremony musicians were on time and very talented.
The band (Pure Energy) kicked so much ass it wasn’t even funny.
The dj was great in between and the cigar roller was loved by my guests. The band was awesome, they messed up FI’s name though which kinda sucked but my mom still doesn’t get it right so I cant be too mad at them hehehe.
The live music was a really cool element that I wasn’t sure if our guests would appreciate but they did. The whole week people have been telling me how they loved them, how interactive they were, they loved that they were on the dance floor, getting guests to sing… it was money well spent in my eyes.
Alterations by Reina
A+
She is awesome affordable and the cutest woman ever. Love her, swear by her.
Dress
Enzoani by Rashawn Rose Couture in Davie
A++++
Rose is amazing. She loves what she does and knows her stuff. She suggested my dress for me and she was so right! She was affordable, no pressure and really cared about her clients.
Up Lighting
Elegant Occasion Event Professionals
EOEP.com
A+
Another easy to work with vendor that was great at communication, delivered the day of and made the room look great. At first I didn’t think the up lighting was worth it until I saw the video teaser – wow. It really made a difference. The room was warm and inviting.
OfficiantBishop Alexander
Wedding-Officiant.org
Day of: A+
Before Hand: C
The day of and the rehearsal, He was on time, funny, organized and his personality really made everyone feel comfortable especially my DH. A lot of people really liked him and he made a point to get to know my family at the rehearsal which was really cool.
I was nervous leading up to the wedding because he tried to double book my date and I was freaked out but he ended up making other arrangements to make sure we were happy.
Day of Coordinator
Stylish Events by Karla B
StylishEvents.net
A++++
Karla truly saved the day. Our venue came with a coordinator who was was supposed to handle everything. The day before my wedding, her FIL was put into hospice and she had to fly out with her husband to be with him. Totally understandable but we were screwed without her. Karla came in, took over and rocked it.
She showed up extra early without me asking, ended up finding an error in price for floral and saved us $100 and had my event running so flawlessly. She is very organized, calming and worth her weight in gold. Having a DOC was one of the best wedding planning investments that we made without a doubt and I am blessed that it was Karla. She was a lifesaver that day!
Linens, Chairs and Chargers
Brelex
BrelexRentals.com
A++++++++
They offer the best price hands down – we looked all over for the best deal in linens, chairs and chargers and Brelex blew everyone out of the water. The delivered the stuff 2 days early, everything was perfect, in amazing condition and they staff was kind and really enjoyable to work with.
2 days before the wedding, we needed to add on a guest, we called the owner on his cell at 7 pm, he said NO WORRIES, it’s on us. The put the extra chair, charger and napkin on the truck and didn’t charge us AND waived the delivery fee!!! Their customer service was amazing and it added so much to our décor. They have literally every color and type of linen imaginable. I went wild in their warehouse. Love them.
Cake
We Take the Cake
WeTakeTheCake.com
A++++++++ and a big yum! I love my cake. LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT!
Aside from being huge and gorgeous, it was soooo delicious. Guests kept telling me it was the best cake they had ever had at a wedding. It was moist, flavorful and perfect! We had about 30 OOTers over the day after the wedding and everyone kept talking about the cake and they ended up pulling out my cake topper and eating it!
People were freaking out as they ate it (I kid you not). They take pride in their work, produce a high quality product and they even give you a fresh cake top for your 1 year anniversary!
Groosm’s Cake
Susies Scrumptious Sweets
A+
They made his dream car out of cake and it was kick ass! DH went wild over it. My friends and family at the RD thought it was the coolest thing ever. Great flavor and quality!