Wedding Reviews!! Very Long!! :-)

Pamela718 · March 2012

Hi Girls! Here are my vendor reviews for my wedding on March 16^th. Sorry but they are LONG!

Venue: Jungle Island (Lover’s Perch for Ceremony & Lakeside Café for Reception)Coordinator: Aston Ziadie
Rating: A+
Comments: The location is beautiful and unique. All of my guests kept saying how wonderful it was to have a wedding there and how the scenery was outstanding. It’s a very convenient location and nobody had a hard time finding the place. Everyone RAVED about the food (I missed out of the appetizers and everyone said they were the BEST!) Aston is a breeze to work with. He was very easy to contact during the wedding process and was very professional. I couldn’t have asked for a better coordinator. Things got a little hectic the day of, because the one complaint I had was that no one was seating my guests at the ceremony site, so no one really knew where they should be sitting. Besides that, we were on time for everything and I had an escort with me the whole time to make sure I had everything I needed and even got me drinks! My review is if you’re looking for an outdoor unique space to get married, you HAVE to check out Jungle Island in Miami.

Photography: NEOArt Photography (www.neoartphotography.com)
Photographers: Jason, Ela, and Ed
Rating: A+++
Comments: We decided to splurge on our photography and I couldn’t have picked a better company to do so with. My husband and I met with Jason on several occasions and we had a true connection and he made us feel at home in front of the camera. Our engagement session was wonderful and our photos turned out AMAZING. Jason hurt his hand before our wedding so he couldn’t do the entire photography himself. He called me as soon as he was out of surgery and apologized relentlessly. His wife Ela stepped in and was a breeze to work with. I cannot wait to see the pictures!! They are my top pick for favorite vendor!

Lighting: Celebrations by Kathy
Rating: A
Comments: Kathy did a great job taking my thoughts and explanations and turning them into what I was looking for. I had asked for Chinese lanterns and draping and her company did a great job getting set up on time and I got everything I was looking for. She was very nice to work with.

Dress: J Del Olmo on Miracle Mile
Rating: B
Comments: My dress was gorgeous! I got so many compliments during the night and I was so sad to take it off. I was measured in July 2011 and I received my dress in January 2012. I had only gained a couple of pounds and the dress was too tight (which is normal I assume) but it was also WAYY too short (by 5 inches!). Now I did not grow 5” within 6 months so obviously the measurements were taken incorrectly. They were nice enough to not charge for the length alterations. They also had some issues keeping track of my appointments (I would make an appointment for 2 weeks later and when I called to confirm they had no record of it). During my wedding night, my bustle would not stay up which was a hassle so I just had to hold my dress. Besides all of that, they were very professional and have a wide variety of dresses to choose from.

Rings: The International Jeweler’s Exchange in Boca Raton
Rating: A++
Comments: My husband purchased my engagement ring there so we decided to get my wedding band from there as well. We paid soooooo much less then retail and got amazing rings. I’ve had them appraised professionally for insurance and they both are worth at least triple what we paid. I definitely recommend looking there for your jewelry and save a bundle!

Hair: Jenny Bowen (www.jendoesmyhair.com)
Rating: A+
Comments: Jen does amazing work with hair! She came to the hotel the afternoon of the wedding and did my 6 bridesmaids, my mother, my mother-in-law, and myself. 6 updos, two blow outs, and one side pony. She was very sweet and had fun talking with everyone. All of my girls raved about their hair and couldn’t have been happier. My only comment is that she charged her valet parking to my room without telling me so when I went to go check out I had to ask why there were additional charges. Maybe that’s the norm? Not sure but it did catch me off guard. I would definitely recommend her!!

Makeup: Makeup by Janell (makeupbyjanell@gmail.com)
Rating: A++++++
Comments: Janell works wonders with makeup! She came to the hotel the day of the wedding and did everyone’s makeup. She is soo sweet and does exceptional work. She transformed me into the most beautiful bride and when I got home at the end of the night after hours of sweating and dancing - swear to the Lord – my makeup looked EXACTLY the same as when she first put it on my 7 hours before. She did airbrushing makeup and fake lashes on everyone and all of my girls said that they were blown away by their makeup. Couldn’t have been any happier! I would definitely recommend her especially if you don’t want to pay an arm and a leg for makeup!!

DJ Company: MB Entertainment
DJ: Danny
Rating: B
Comments: OK – If I had to rate just Danny I would give him an A for my reception. He did a great job playing the songs I asked for and keeping everyone dancing all night. He came up to me throughout the night to make sure I was ready for the cake cutting, bouquet toss, and garter. When there was 15 mins left he asked me if there were any songs he didn’t get to play that I wanted. He did a great job. Now my B rating is mostly for Mike Burros and his disorganization throughout the planning process. He did not return emails or phone calls. Plus I got annoying monthly reminders with a countdown to my wedding. Don’t you think I know there are 3 months left?! When we did meet with Mike he said that he would contact me Monday with the information or have Danny call me and none of that was done. 2 weeks before the wedding I made an appointment to specifically meet with Danny so we could get to know him. We showed up on time & Mike was 15 minutes late and Danny didn’t even show up because Mike booked a DJ event for him that night. It was the whole point why we made the appointment!! So needless to say we didn’t meet Danny till at our reception but we were pleasantly surprised. Would I recommend them? I suppose I would but only if you’re ok with bad communication and disorganization. The actual DJ performance was wonderful so that’s what I base my recommendations on, the final product.

Flower Company: Lush Celebrations by Field of Flowers, Davie
Florist: Brittany Maddon
Rating: C+
Comments: Meeting with Brittany leading up to the wedding was a breeze. Since she’s located in Field of Flowers, she would go out and pluck whatever flowers she was going to use so I could visually see what my bouquets or centerpieces would look like. On our last meeting, I changed out my yellow flowers on my centerpieces because they weren’t bright enough. No problem. However, the day of my wedding the centerpieces did not have the changes I asked for and I was short one corsage! Luckily one of the cousins ran out and made one from the flowers nearby but that meant that one of the grandmothers did not get a professional corsage (one that I paid for!). Also, Brittany was nowhere to be found at my venue. There were people there, but not her. She had told me that she would help with our votives we wanted around the centerpieces but that wasn’t done. As for the ceremony, we had talked about putting flowers on my arch and none was there but twigs and there were hardly enough flower petals on the isle. On a positive note, the bouquets were beautiful and I was happy with those.

Invitations: Vistaprint.com
Rating: A
Comments: They turned out great and I saved a bundle with all the coupons & Groupons found online. Great website to use!

Bridesmaid Gifts
Personalized Bags: www.themonogramdivas.com
Rating: C-
Comments: The bags turned out super cute and the girls loved them but the process of buying them and receiving them were horrible. I ordered them the end of January and didn’t receive them to the beginning of March. I had to leave lots of messages and emails demanding a shipping number but it was like pulling teeth. If you do order from them, do it early and expect to wait!
Personalized Champagne Glasses: www.121personalgifts.com
Rating: A
Comments: The glasses turned out great and were very cheap but good quality! The shipped quickly and were a great addition for the morning of with Mimosas.
Personalized Hangers: Erica May (fellow local Knottie) on Etsy.com – EricaMayMade Shop
Rating: A++
Comments: These hangers turned out great!! The bridesmaids LOVED them and they were perfect for hanging up their dresses. I could not have been happier with them. Awesome work Erica!
Personalized Hoodies: www.CustomizedGirl.com
Rating: A
Comments: These were easy to design online and turned out cute! The sizing is difficult because they said that everything runs small so I ordered sizes larger. The girls wore these as we were getting ready. Loved them!

Cake Topper: Etsy.com – Kikuike Love Angels Shop
Rating: A+
Comments: I ordered a Penguin topper that was handmade in China and shipped to me the week before the wedding. I loved it! The girl emailed me to let me know it was coming and I was able to fully personalize all the way down to the colors used on the top hat. Could not have been happier.

Cake: Ana Paz Cake Designs
Rating: C
Comments: Ana Paz Cakes were included in my package at Jungle Island. The cake was delicious and looked beautiful. The one bad comment I have is that they took apart my cake topper without my permission. They removed the penguins from the base (that I had super glued on) and placed them on the cake without the base that had our initials on it. I am so angry because I cannot understand what provoked them to do that WITHOUT my permission. I spent $100 on that cake topper and had it shipped from China to have them rip it apart?! I’m contacting them this week to let them know how angry that made me.

Hopefully, I didn’t forget anything/anyone! I hope you find these reviews helpful. I know I did when I was planning. Let me know if you have any questions. I will be posting up some pictures later this week once my photographer lets me know he’s done.

I just wanted to say a final thank you to all the girls on here. It was a pleasure getting to know you and getting advice. I don’t know too many girls personally that are going through planning a wedding so this board saved me! I wish you all nothing but the best and a lifetime of happiness!!

Xoxo Pam

Extra Reviews I forgot!
Getaway Roll Royce: Millenium Limo
Review: F
Comment: We booked a vintage rolls royce for our exit car and as it arrived to pick us up it broke down. Their belt broke and was beyond repair. Luckily my sister had ordered her and a few family members a limo to take them back up to Broward county and the driver was nice enough to take us back to the hotel. Dont use this company. I swear I hired them for my prom in high school and the limo broke down on us as well.

Arrival Limo: A Family Limousine
Review: D
Comments: The limo was huge and really nice. We got a groupon for 2 hours, so we booked them from 4:30pm - 6:30pm so they could pick the girls up and take us to the venue then go back for the boys. Well the guy arrived early (like 3pm early) and was really nice. I let him know we wont be downstairs till 4:30pm and he said thats fine. He dropped us off at Jungle Island and when my sister paid him (tip and all) and said the guys should be downstairs ready for pick up. His response "uhh I was scheduled for 4:00-6:00. So I can't pick up anyone else". It was 5:30 and the hotel was 10 mins away. So we told him he better go pick up the guys and he'll make it on time.His response "We'll see" and he got in the limo and left. Guy was a totally d*ck. Excuse my language. Wish I knew his name so I could write it here but I dont know it.