What a whirlwind weekend! What everyone says about it going too fast is absolutely true!
I'll give you guys my reviews, as briefly as I can!
Venue- (Rolling Greens-A+) (times a thousand, but I don't want to overdo it). They were amazing right from the start when the other place cancelled on us. John David was great to work with; friendly, helpful and all around made our experience fantastic. The food was to die for! We scheduled enough time between the ceremony and cocktail hour for pictures, so we were able to get out there for the cocktail hour, not that I got to eat very much! The room was great, the staff was professional and everyone raved about the little details.
Church- (Our Lady of Mount Carmel- A+) Because of our last minute venue change we booked a Catholic church with less than three months to go before the date. Generally this isn't done, but these guys worked with us. We paid the price, so to speak, but it was worth it. I didn't have to decorate at all. The church itself is gorgeous and they had it decorated with candles and flowers for Easter. FYI- a rice toss isn't as nice as it sounds. I had rice in my bra all night and every time I shook my head some flew out. And it hurts when people pelt you with it.
Transportation- (T&P Limo. A) I wasn't very happy with the first quote I got for a limo (over $1500, but not from this company) so I did a ton of internet research. These guys blew the other quotes out of the water price wise and were very professional. The driver was excellent. They ended up being a little late, but that was due to an accident on 44/55, which obviously was out of their control. I budgeted enough time, so we still ended up starting the ceremony on time as planned.
DJ- (DJ Danielle A+) Danielle was recommended by a friend and was probably one of my best steals for the whole wedding. She kept everyone up and dancing and we had a great time. I guess its a little out of the ordinary to have a female DJ, but I don't think I would do it any other way. She was really flexible and personable. If I had to recommend just one of my vendors, it would be Danielle.
Florist- (Price Chopper B-) I worked with Donna out of the Newburgh Price Chopper because of management difficulties in the Poughkeepsie store prior to my wedding. She was excellent in listening to what I wanted and in keeping with my budget. I was floored by the centerpieces, but some of the flowers in the bouquet were a little brown around the edges when we got them. I was also a little disappointed by the size of my bouquet. I thought it would have been larger than it was, but it was only slightly bigger than the bridesmaids. I know they had a lot of the flowers for our wedding in on the Monday prior to our Sunday wedding.I would still recommend working with them, but make sure they don't order your flowers too soon. I think that the brown-ness would not have happened if they hadn't ordered the flowers a week early.
Dresses- (David's Bridal
I ended up being a two dress bride. The first dress I got was the big ballgown-y type and by the Thursday before the wedding I knew I'd be miserable in 85 degree heat on Sunday. I went in that Thursday and walked out same day with a flirty halter number. I worked with a couple different consultants and for the most part they were ok. I know my second dress purchase was last minute, but I didn't even get a good garment bag, just one of the cheap (clear!!!) plastic ones. Thankfully my mom had a bag from Macy's that she put over the dress, because she ran into my FI in the elevator when she was bringing it into the hotel.
I also got bridesmaid dresses from David's Bridal. Everything went smooth.
Photog- (Allan Levine- deferred for now) Allan was the guy I liked because I couldn't afford the guy I wanted, love and adore with all my being! lol
He did our e-pics and I wasn't very happy with them, but what I've seen of the actual wedding pics so far looks good. We were dying to get out of the heat, but thinking back it didn't seem like he did all that many pictures. I'm hoping to get proofs soon and once I do, we'll make the final judgement.
Honeymoon- (Carnival Cruises A+) We did an 8 day cruise to Grand Turk and the Bahamas. It was excellent. The weather was great and the service on the boat is always excellent. We ended up sitting with a couple from PA who were married the day before us. It was a little awkward at first, but now we have plans to tailgate at PSU football games in the fall! I'm trying to talk him into a Mediterranean cruise this time next year.
This is all I can come up with for now.
HTH!