California-San Diego

Vendor Reviews

Here are some reviews on the vendors we used for our 1/17/10 wedding! Hope they are helpful!
Rehearsal Dinner - Old Town Mexican Cafe
Super easy to make the reservation, and had no problems whatsoever! We had approx. 30 people. They had 2 large tables for us in the back room. Everyone ordered off the regular menu and they let us bring in our own cake (made by Shirley the Cake Lady! Yumm!) None of the guests had too much trouble finding it, and they have a decent sized parking lot, so parking wasn't an issue. Turned out to be a fun night!

Wedding Dress (by Bonny) and Bridesmaid's Dresses (by Belsoie) - Bridal and Veil
The experience I had buying my dress was very positive. I tried on a bunch of dresses there, then decided to shop around at other stores before buying. Did not feel pressured to buy at Bridal and Veil, and they have a large selection.  I ended up returning to the store and purchasing my dress. After ordering, it came in about  4 months or so. I had planned to get alterations done there as well, but after my experience with the bridesmaid's dresses, I changed my mind. I did love my dress though, and am very happy with my choice.
On 3 occassions, I had gone to the store with one or all of my BMs to try on BM dresses. Each time, the same consultant helped us that had helped me pick my dress. And each time we had told her we wanted brown dresses. So once we finally pick the style of dress, she checks to make sure it comes in the color we want. We order it, and about 3 months later they come in. One of my BMs comes with me to pick them up, and the consultant had ordered the dresses in the same color as the sample (mango!), not in brown. At first they tell us that since the dresses had already been paid in full, they are ours and we would have to buy all new dresses in the correct color. The store also had signed copies of our receipts that said Mango. However, when all the girls checked their receipts at home, a color had not been written in. That means the consultant wrote in the color AFTER we signed them! Once we showed the manager our receipts, he agreed to re-order our dresses and did not charge us. Unfortunately, after this experience I cannot say that I recommend going to this store!
We did eventually get the correct dresses, and they looked great on all of the girls.

Alterations - Rose Anderson
I am SO glad that I chose to go to Rose instead of Bridal and Veil. She really knows what she's doing and you can tell she loves her job. She had to take in the top side seams several times, which meant removing many beads, then sewing them back on by hand. She did a beautiful job! She also hemmed the bottom and made my bustle. I had a pretty long train, but she figured out a way to get it all bustled up and it looked beautiful! I got many compliments on my dress. Rose also made me a veil (for only $40!) that went perfectly with my dress. I highly recommend Rose, she is so talented and such a sweet lady!

Rings - Kay Jewelers
My husband got my engagement ring there based on a few recommendations from his friends. Since he bought it right before Xmas, he got "Santa Certificates" which we used towards our wedding bands. We have always had great service there. We usually go to the Fashion Valley store, and the staff is always friendly and helpful.

Shoes - Nina (Vitoria), bought at DSW
I am not used to walking in heels for long periods of time, but these shoes were probably the most comfortable heels I've owned. The straps never dug into my skin and my feet didn't start hurting until towards the end of the night. DSW can sometimes be hit or miss though. The might have a shoe one day, then the next time you go there, they don't sell it anymore!

I will add some more reviews later!

Re: Vendor Reviews

  • edited December 2011
    Thanks for sharing, sounds like you were very happy with your vendors for the most part! And I looovve Old Town Mex Cafe!! 

    Would you mind also sharing how much your alterations with Rose were? I am thinking of getting mine done with her in a few months and am curious what her price range is..
    Wedding Countdown Ticker
    Laura & Brian | October 23, 2010 | Planning Bio!
  • edited December 2011
    I'm sorry I don't remember the exact cost of my alterations, I believe it was about $300. But that included taking in the side seams, adding cups, my veil, hemming, bustle, steaming the dress, and removing a layer of netting in the skirt. I highly recommend her!
    Here are some other vendors we used -

    Florist - Naomi Himaka, Kei Dan Floral
    Naomi is a member of our church, so since we had our ceremony there, it was a no brainer! She always takes care of the church's flower needs so she was familiar with what was needed and how to set everything up. Honestly, flowers were not a priority for my husband and I, so we just told her in general what colors we wanted and a few different flowers that we liked, and she did the rest. All the flowers looked pretty and fresh, better than what I could have imagined!

    Reception venue - Coronado Community Center
    We loved this venue and so did our guests! The room was big enough to fit all of our guests comfortably and the view is amazing! We had no problems in working with the staff of the CCC, everyone was always friendly and helpful there. The room was not exactly set up according to the diagram we had made, but it worked out OK. We got our deposit refund check in the mail within a couple weeks after the wedding!

    Reception caterer - Anything But Ordinary Catering
    Out of all the tastings we did, we felt that ABO had the best food. The food at the reception tasted great too, we got many positive comments from our guests. Cassie checked on us throughout the reception to see if we needed anything, which was nice! She got us a plate of appetizers and plated our dinners from the buffet line. The only complaint we had from guests was that it took a long time for all the guests to go through the buffet line. We did not realize it at the time, but she did not let close family/wedding party go first (those are the people who haven't gotten to eat much the whole day!), the tables were excused in numerical order.

    Cake - Shirley the Cake Lady
    Shirley's cakes are so yummy! The flavors we chose were double chocolate, english toffee, and cappuccino. The only cake my husband and I got to eat was the piece we fed to each other, I wish I got to have a whole piece! Shirley loves what she does, and really cares about her brides and grooms. But be careful, sometimes she can talk your ear off!

    Videographer - Tuan and Tina of Everlasting Video Wedding
    This was something that I really wanted to have, especially since our photographers were just friends of ours, not professional wedding photographers. My husband had originally felt it wasn't necessary and didn't want to spend the money, but after the wedding day, he sure changed his mind! The day goes by so fast, and so many little things are going on that you might miss. Tuan and Tina were there the entire day, including while the bridal party was getting ready. They really know what they're doing and gave us a lot of direction, which in turn let the photographers get a lot of great shots! We have not seen the final product yet, but we are confident that Tuan and Tina will do a great job.

    DJ - DJ Alex Roberts
    Alex did a great job and is reasonably priced. He got the songs we requested, and played some great music at the reception. He was not cheesy at all! Very easy to work with and very easy to get a hold of and responsive through email. The only complaint we had was that he mispronounced a few names, even though we had gone over them before hand!

    I hope these reviews are helpful, good luck to all you brides who are still in the planning process! I'm sure your weddings will turn out great!
  • edited December 2011
    I am also using Rose Anderson, and I LOVE her!

    Thanks for the reviews, sounds like it was a perfect day!
    ~Margaret (and Nick)~
    Post-Wedding Life Blog!
    A10 Siggy Challenge: Next Vacation Destination: San Francisco!
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