Well ladies, I didn't post a lot of comments on the knot, but I did read a lot of comments and reviews while I was planning my wedding so I thought I'd at least post reviews from my wedding! It's been 3 weeks to the day since we've been married!! So please be patient, this post may be a little long
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I also had 2 wedding ceremonies, a Thai ceremony (I'm originally from Thailand) and an American ceremony, so I'll be reviewing vendors for both events.
Hunter's Green Country Club-Thai ceremony and reception, A+This was a lunch event and Casey, the coordinator, and her staff were a pleasure to work with and the food was amazing! We ended up having a lunch buffet and by the time everyone left we all felt like we gained 5 lbs! lol. They realy went above and beyond to accommodate our needs for our unique wedding and we couldn't have been happier!
The Tampa Club-
American reception, A
You really can't beat the skyline view being 42 stories up. Sandra, the event coordinator, was a delight to work with throughout the wedding process and she really helped me visualize the look and feel of the room. It was a destination wedding for the both of us and most of the communication was via email. I didn't give this venue an A+ because some of the guests at our wedding were given the wrong dinner menu. (If you're not familiar with the Tampa Club, instead of guests having to choose their entree ahead of time, they are given a dinner menu with the entree's included in the pre-selected dinner package the night of the event. Also, because of this, plan on dinner lasting about 1.5 hours.) Needless to say, there were a good amount of guests that were planning on ordering the entree that wasn't available with our dinner package. My last name was also spelled incorrectly on the sign
. Other than those couple of things, it was a fairy tale wedding!
Hyatt Regency Tampa-Downtown American ceremony, AWe had our American ceremony held in the fountain courtyard of the hotel. we originally wanted a garden type wedding but because this was a destination wedding, we wanted it to be as convenient for our out of town guests so we had the ceremony in the courtyard. It gave a garden feel because it is secluded within two tall buildings and with it being near Christmas, the lights in the trees made it a very romantic ambience. I worked with Maribel and she was also delightful to work with. My only frustration with this venue was the lack of communication on what was not allowed as wedding decor during the ceremony. Our original plan was to scatter white wedding petals on the sides and within the aisle and around the area where my now husband would be standing while saying our vows. During our rehearsal I had brought that up and was told that wedding petals were not allowed anymore in the courtyard because a wedding that was held a couple of weeks before ours resulted in their petals blowing into the fountain clogging it up. I understand the costs associated with unclogging the fountain, but because the petals were the ONLY decor we had planned to have during the ceremony, it was not happy news. I also woner what would have happened if I didin't even bring it up during our rehearsal...luckily, our wedding day ended up being sunny with no strong winds and we were able to have a few petals scattered...but not as we had originally planned.
Divine Creations-Florist,
A+We originally hired nBlooms as our florist to care for our wedding, but nBlooms ended up closing and our contract went to their business partner Valerie over at Divine Creations. I was a little hesitant at first after reading reviews from brides who went through similar situations of having their florist close, but Valerie and her team did an amazing job! Valerie really brought great ideas and suggestions to my attention and she really went above and beyond to make sure that we were working within our budget. I was huge with our event having a cohesive look and she really helped me visualize everything. She really knows her stuff and I would definitely recommend her to anyone!
Alessi Bakery-wedding cake, A
The cake was so delicious and I felt so good hiring a bakery who is still family owned. We ended up having a 2-tier cake because the Tampa Club provided dessert with the dinner package we selected. So, we just got a cake for the cake cutting ritual. I would have given them an A+ but the cake was delivered without the cake stand rental that we had paid for. Melissa, the wedding cake designer, was very apologetic and refunded our money in a timely manner. The cake was still gorgeous without the cake stand!
Dionne Haglund-photographer, A+
This review is probably not helpful because she is from MI, where my husband and I live, and we hired her because she is a friend of a friend. But, I suggest taking advantage of recommendations from friends because you can save a ton of money. Dionne did an amazing job her style is more journalistic which we absolutely love. You can check our her stuff at
www.theshootinggallery.com.Grand Hemond and Associates-DJ, A
Jody Bower ended up working our event and he was very professional! We made his job a little bit easy because my husband is a "music snob" we gave him a playlist to play during dinner. But, Jody did a great job setting the mood and reading the audience and he didn't play anything that we 'banned' before the wedding.
Rich Brown-caricature artist, A-
This was a big hit at our wedding! All of our guests got a kick out of having a caricature artist, regardless of age. There was always a line and everyone had fun even watching other people get their caricature's done. The only downside, he was about 20 min. late even after I had confirmed the location and time with him.
Paradise Worldwide-transporation, A
We hired them to shuttle our guests from the hotel to the Thai ceremony site. They had the best prices around town. The driver was professional and the bus was clean.
Hyatt Regency Tampa-Downtown, Accommodation, A
This was a great hotel to stay at, all the staff were very professional. We delivered out of town bags to the front desk the day before the events and the front desk manager was very professional and accommodating to our needs. The prices were the best within the area after the group discounted rate. The valet team was very profesional and helped us our quite a bit. The only downside in staying at a Hyatt is no free breakfast like they have at all of the Marriott's.
Destiny and Light-Hair and Make Up, A+
Priscilla did my hair and make up for both of my events and both days I felt like a princess. Prisicilla and her staff were very professional and I felt like they listened to our wants and suggestions. Their creativity when it came to hair was outstanding and it showed...I received so many compliments not only from our wedding guests but from strangers!
The Wedding Bell-Wedding Dress, A+
Again, this is probably a useless review because I purchased my wedding dress in MI where this store is located. But it's a great store with great customer service and amazing dresses at affordable prices!
Phew! I think that's it! Good luck girls! And Congratulations to all!!