Maine

I'm back!! Wedding recap and vendor reviews *VERY LONG*

Hey ladies! Feels like I've been gone forever! We got back from an awesome awesome honeymoon in Aruba early Sunday morning, and I'm slowly getting back into the swing of things. I posted more wedding pics and some from the honeymoon in my bio (in my siggy at the bottom), so you can check them out! https://sites.google.com/site/mindysplanningbio/

Aruba is beautiful, perfect weather, gorgeous beaches, and we had lots of romantic dinners on the beach at sunset. We went snorkeling, took windsurfing lessons and went on a Harley motorcycle tour of the island. I would highly recommend going to Aruba for a honeymoon -- it's really safe (one of the safest Caribbean islands) so we could venture off the resort and never feel worried, everyone speaks English and is really friendly. June is off season, but still great weather and no threat of hurricanes, so it wasn't crowded and stuff was cheaper. My favorite part was when the concierge called me Mrs. X for the first time...loved it!

So, as I posted before, the wedding was super fun! The weather report said rain in the afternoon, so Friday we decided to do the ceremony indoors (although it only ended up raining in the morning). I was disappointed at first but it worked out better than outside, I think. And since it didn't actually rain, people could enjoy the deck off the reception room, which I was really hoping they would be able to do.

Everything just went awesome. All the stuff I stressed about going wrong didn't happen, and honestly I had a ton more fun than I thought I would. I thought I'd be nervous, worried, trying to make sure things happened on time, etc. etc., but after the ceremony, I felt a huge weight lifted and was just so happy the whole time! We had great vendors who kept us on track (the DJ and Shawnee Peak) so I didn't have to worry about things going smoothly. Everyone loved the little details and told us it seemed like a very "us" wedding, which I liked. Everyone danced and had a great time, us included. It was such a powerful feeling to see all our closest friends and family, see how happy they were for us and feel so much support and love. Definitely a once in a lifetime feeling.

One of my favorite parts was when my husband (!!), during a slow dance, thanked me for everything I did putting the wedding together, that he knew I worked hard on all the details and he didn't say it enough how much he appreciated it. "Thank you for doing this for us," he said. It was so sweet and made me feel so happy!

Vendor reviews:

Venue: Shawnee Peak. A-
The space was perfect for us, and we couldn't beat the price -- free use of the room from Thursday-Sunday as long as we incurred at least $2,000 in food (no problem), free ceremony (no longer free), meal prices in the $20pp range. Food was great too. We loved the laid back, rustic vibe and beautiful mountain and lakes setting, and there was a big deck off the room that people could hang out on, which was really nice. We also rented the nearby Shawnee Peak House for our rehearsal BBQ and for people to stay in over the weekend, and it was an absolute blast. No problems there.

BUT Scott the coordinator was really hard to get in touch with, didn't always answer questions directly or clearly, and some little things we were told would happen didn't. Minor stuff (signs would be put out to direct people to the hard-to-find bathrooms, the neon beer signs would be taken down), but it meant extra work for DH and I during set up. We were in charge of most of the set up, including moving tables around, which was OK for us but only people who are cool with this should book here. All in all, because of the price and the location I would recommend Shawnee Peak, with lots of warnings that you'll be doing a lot yourself, there may be some surprises and to expect little response and interest from the coordinator.

DJ: Tom Morisette, booked through Double Platinum Celebrations. A++
Tom was utterly fantastic. From the beginning, he was very helpful and informative, and really took the time to answer our questions and get to know us. It's very clear that he really cares about being a DJ and puts in the extra effort, despite the fact that he has another full time job! He was really organized and helped us figure out the timeline for the wedding, and his knowledge was invaluable. He did our ceremony and reception and even came to the rehearsal.

Our day went so smoothly because he kept us on track, announced when stuff was happening and made sure it happened when we wanted it to, but without being pushy or taking over. The shoe game he suggested we play was hilarious and everyone loved it. The party was hopping and everyone was having such a good time they asked if they could pay him to stay another hour! He even missed his son's high school graduation because it was the same night as the wedding, and he didn't want to back out and send a replacement. We couldn't have been more impressed with him and his wife, Diane, who answered all of my emails promptly.

Photographer: Clare Norton. A++
Clare was positively awesome! Our personalities clicked right away, and she made us feel really comfortable. Very responsive to emails (despite also having another full time job!) and answered questions about weddings even unrelated to photography. We loved our engagement session and used many of the photos in our wedding, for the guest book, as decoration, etc. She showed up early to get pictures of the dress and us getting ready, and stayed through most of the dancing. Despite the small space, she was unobstrusive and I rarely noticed she was there. She's incredibly talented and a really sweet person, plus her price is reasonable, a big plus for us. Book her early if you want her!

Cake: Nothing Bakes Like a Parrott. A+
Jessica Parrott made our cake and it was so delicious!! Everyone said it was the best wedding cake they'd had, and I know lots of people stole second pieces. I gave her lots of ideas about a design and went back and forth a lot, but she was very patient and designed something that was just right. The cake was a little lopsided and she was a little hard to get in touch with sometimes, hence only the one +. But I would absolutely recommend her to anyone.

Florist: Raymond Village Florist. A.
Jessica is so sweet and nice, and really helped me put together a look for the bouquets and bouts. I wasn't really sure what I wanted, and she was really great at getting my vision and going with it. She also worked with me a few times to bring the price down closer to my budget, which I appreciated. I thought the flowers were beautiful, although some of the flowers in my bouquet were a little wilted and didn't make it through the day, which made me worry they wouldn't photograph well. My advice would be to stay away from hydrangea! The pink daisies looked beautiful with the girls' green dresses.

Centerpiece flowers: Sam's Club. A+
I ordered 80 stems of hot pink gerber daisies from Sam's Club with much intrepidation, but was really impressed. They were delivered on time no problem and all were beautiful. They are 12 days old now and still going strong! And for 80 stems it was only $65 (the florist wanted $4 PER flower), so the price was awesome. I'd highly recommend this route for people looking to save money on flowers.

Hair and nails: Jewlz Salon. A+
The ladies here were fabulous! We pretty much took over the salon, and they had no problems with it. They let us use their nail polish and makeup mirror to do our own nails and makeup, and they squeezed in a total of nine people in under 4 hours. Everyone's hair looked gorgeous, and I was very pleased with mine. They put out fruit, homemade pumpkin bread and mimosas for us as well. If you are getting married in the Windham-Naples area, I'd highly recommend Jewlz.

My dress and bridesmaids dresses: David's Bridal. A+.

I know some people have an aversion to David's, but I had only positive experiences with them. My dress was gorgeous, the price was great, and all the girls loved their bridesmaids dresses. I was happy they only had to spend $110 on them, since a couple of the girls are tight on money, and who really wears those things again? Alterations were perfect as well. I really couldn't see spending hundreds or even a grand on a dress I'm only going to wear once, so David's was perfect for me.

Tuxes: Men's Wearhouse. A-.
Overall a good experience, except DH's tux didn't fit right when it came in, meaning he had to go back there the day of the wedding to pick up a replacement, and they still had to make last minute alterations. It all worked out great, and the price was great too, but it was a little stressful to be dealing with it that close to the wedding.

Boudoir photos: Tess J photography. B.
Probably my worst experience with a vendor. Tess is an amazing photographer and the experience was awesome, plus the photos were to die for. I loved getting my hair and makeup done, and she made me feel really comfortable despite being in lingerie in front of a stranger.

However, she was not easy to work with. She was hard to get in touch with, she missed the date she said my album would be ready at least three times, and when I started to get nervous so close to the wedding, she pretty much told me I was freaking out for nothing. She forgot to paste a photo into my album and it was really hard to get her to fix it right -- first, she had me pick up a photo printed locally and had me paste it in myself, which did not go well. Only after telling her I was in tears over it did she offer to fix it herself. I ended up having to pick up the album from her only two days before I had to give it to DH! I think our personalities just didn't mesh -- I'm very type A, and she is very laid back. We had a hard time seeing eye to eye. For the money I spent ($500 total), I was not impressed with the customer service, and I told her so. She offered to give me a disc of high res images as compensation and never did.

I know lots of people have had a great experience with her, and DH was SO happy with the photos that I would suggest people do it, since it's a really empowering experience, but I personally would never work with her again. If you do use her, book early and be persistent about deadlines. And know that she doesn't plan on getting your album or whatever you ordered to you until the week of the wedding, which I wish I had known ahead of time.

Yikes! Super long! But I hope it was helpful! If anyone has questions or wants more details (how could you want MORE?!) about any vendors, just PM or page me!

OH! I also have some stuff listed for sale at my bio. Check it out and let me know if you're interested. I'll post in the FS thread too.
Anniversary
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Re: I'm back!! Wedding recap and vendor reviews *VERY LONG*

  • edited December 2011
    Thanks for the vendor reviews, a few on them will come in handy.  Glad you had a great time on your honeymoon! Again, Congrats and wishes for a long and happy life together!
  • edited December 2011
    Glad to hear you had such an amazing time!  Aruba sounds fabulous!
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  • kcole5244kcole5244 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Thanks for all the reviews and Congratulations.
    Where did you get the Mr. and Mrs. shirts?!?! I <3 them!
    .
  • edited December 2011
    congrats!  glad you're back!
  • edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_maine_im-back-wedding-recap-vendor-reviews-very-long?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:98Discussion:8409ec00-c991-47c1-98c2-640137434eaePost:7db6766b-8b56-4f22-935e-c7b730e344ca">Re: I'm back!! Wedding recap and vendor reviews *VERY LONG*</a>:
    [QUOTE]Thanks for all the reviews and Congratulations. Where did you get the Mr. and Mrs. shirts?!?! I <3 them!
    Posted by kcole5244[/QUOTE]

    Thanks -- I made them! It was super easy. Just bought two black shirts from Target and iron-on transfer paper. I typed up the words in big white letters with black outline in Word and printed them on the transfer paper, then cut the letters out and ironed them on. It took me a couple hours total. The hardest part is cutting the letters out -- an exacto knife for scrapbooking helped tremendously! On the back the shirts said DH's last name.

    I give credit for the idea to my MOH/sister, who made awesome shirts for the bachelorette party. She held my hand through the process :)
    Anniversary
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  • edited December 2011
    Yeah!  I was excited when I saw you were back!  Thanks for the vendor reviews, very helpful.  I also enjoyed your pictures, you made SP looked great.  I like the look of the new chairs, much better than the old ones.  It's too bad that Scott forgot to do some things...but not too surprising.  He is just so layed back about everything it seems like he might forget things!  I will have to remember I might need to make my own bathroom signs!  Did you end up doing the photobooth?  Your pics in the great room came out nice, I like the big windows. 

    Your DJ sounds great!  We are having a cousin of FI Dj ours...and i'm kinda worried he won't be good.  Aruba sounds great!  I will have to look into that destination when we go on a honeymoon. 
  • edited December 2011
    did SP serve the drinks in plastic cups?
  • mikell22mikell22 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Congrats!!!
  • edited December 2011
    YAY! Congrats again! I am so glad that everything went the way you wanted and thanks for all the vendor reviews!
    I love the sunset in aruba pic from your honeymoon!!!! You both just look so happy!
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