Venue: Oakhurst Country Club...A+
They were wonderful! Due to a weird turn of events we ended up working more with the catering staff who took over the ballroom than the managers of oakhurst itself, but nonetheless they had a wonderful staff who took care of every need.
Officiant: Rick Woerner...A+
Rick is a friend of the family who recently earned the ability to perform weddings. As his day job he is a professional santa, and a wonderful one at that! For our christmas wedding he performed our ceremony in the most beautiful suit and he was absolutely perfect with a big booming voice. We loved him. He also performs weddings out of costume as well.
Florist: Floral Design Studio...A+
Daphne is quick about getting back to her emails and showed up exactly on time on the big day with beautiful flowers, exactly what we asked for. Nice and easy to work with!
Men's Suits: President Tuxedo...B-
Not the greatest selection. Although suits did fit and were ready on time, got hung up on twice when calling with questions. Supposed to get a free suit but have not heard anything about it yet.
Dress: David's Bridal...A+
Nice selection, decent prices, wonderful alterations dept. Although alterations are expensiveeeee!
Photographer 1: Meredith Cope Photography...F-
There is not a poor enough letter to give this woman. My mother and I met her originally and signed a contract. First, she charged us a $500.00 deposit on a $1,000.00 order which did not include and prints or a book of any kind, simply the cost of her time. I did not know this was not the norm at the time, but when I realized that this was unlike other photographers she refused to budge. She would not allow me to have a must-take photo list (which was only about 5 photos anyway). She told us she was moving to New Zealand the week before my wedding but would fly back to do it since she was under contract...yeah right. She never answered emails or phone calls and when she finally got back to you the excuses were lame. When my parent had had enough they asked for their $500.00 back and would go elsewhere since it was clear she didn't want to do the wedding anyway. However, she wouldn't do, she did agree to give them $250.00, but then never sent the check. To this day we have never been paid that amount and she has not answered numerous phone calls, texts, facebook messages, etc...
Photographer 2: Bly Photography...A+
I have not seen the photos yet so if they turn out terrible for some reason I will re-review. However, Brad was negotiable with price, included a book in his package, very reasonable in pricing, easy to get a hold of, lovely to work with, and flexible with anything you want. He was busy at the wedding getting a shot of every single detail and I can't imagine being unhappy with the pics.
Planning Team: Two Caterers...A+
Due to the weird turn of events with our wedding we ended up working with them as a planning team while someone else did our catering so I can't give them a rating on the catering side of things. However, if you're looking for someone to help you plan, Angela is your gal. She went above and beyond with lots of little extra special touches and she was not making any money off of our wedding. She cares. That's what you want.
Caterer: Emilio's Catering...A++++++
I cannot give Annette enough praise. We met her a year ago and she has helped me every way that she could above and beyond catering. She was easy to get a hold of, sweet, helpful, and a fabulous cook. Emilio's caters out of a small bar, but don't let that turn you away. When we got there we entered the back room which was set up with beautiful linens and crystal and our tasting was 2 full meals for the 4 of us. As soon as we had the salad filled with fried pepperoni and mozzarella cheese we hired her. Everyone at the wedding raved about the food and it was all hot and fresh. Wonderful!
Cake: Le Gateau Cakes...B-
Everyone told us the cake was delicious, and it truly was. Tasted exactly like our tasting...However, getting a hold of Sue was challenging since she never answers her emails and is really bad about sending you things. I waited weeks for a simple cake design drawing and I asked twice for a chart that shows how the cake is to be cut and to this day never received it. However, the cake was yummy and that's the important thing.
Magician: Drew Murray...B+
We hired him to entertain our guests during our cocktail hour and it went over really well. The adults raved about him and the kids enjoyed him too, so if you're looking for a way to entertain guests while you're getting pics taken, this was a good choice. He's a fantastic magician...the only reason this isn't an A+ is because I noticed later that he left his business cards on the tables which I didn't think was super classy. Other than that, lovely guy great magic!
Hotel: Country Inn and Suites...A
We are leaving for our cruise on the 16th, however, we took a small two day honeymoon at this hotel after the reception. The whirpool suites were reasonably priced and it was a lovely room. Nice, clean, king-sized bed, two-person jacuzzi tub and great shower, microwave and fridge. Staff was nice and deluxe continental breakfast included sausage and eggs first day, and bacon, eggs, and potatoes the second day. Pool was nice and heated, but both the jacuzzi in our room and the one near the pool lacked any jet power. Also, the one near the pool was cold. Other than that, it was a great mini stay!