Ladies I am back with my reviews! I am so incredibly happy, it feels great to be finally married : )
Thank you for all your recommendations and help, this board has been a real inspiration to me!!! : )
A few pictures from the wedding: http://alexisalemanphotography.com/Galleries/NancyShadWedding/index.html
Ok, straight to the point here are my reviews!
Venue
Vendor: The Cocoplum Women's Club in Coral Gables
Rating: B-
While the location truly is gorgeous, the coordinator was only OK. She wasn't very responsive to my emails and didn't come through on a couple of things she'd promised. If you can be your own coordinator and not really use her help, you should be fine. The package was also a little misleading. They say flowers are included, but that's only rose centerpieces (nothing else). Get all the details before signing on the dotted line!
Hair/Makeup
Vendor: Makeup by Yaneth Gray
Rating: A++++++
Yaneth was just what I was hoping she'd be - ridiculously talented, perfectly professional, and a beautiful person. She did two different trials for me, just so I could be sure I had the look I wanted. On my actual wedding day, my hair and makeup were even better than during my trials. As a makeup fanatic myself, finding the perfect makeup artist was essential for my wedding day, and Yaneth definitely over-delivered. Not only was I thrilled with my makeup, but I've never seen my mom and bridesmaids look as beautifully flawless as they did after Yaneth worked her magic on them. I am very happy with her!
Dress
Vendor: Bridal Shop Merlili
Rating: C-
I got the very last Demetrios gown before it was discontinued, so I actually bought the floor trial dress. It was a size 12 and Merlili's seamstress sized it down for me. The dress took longer to tailor than initially promised, the bustle she initially made was totally wrong and when we pointed that out, they tried to convince us that it's "not so bad." Needless to say, I was firm on the type of bustle I wanted and made them redo it. Then, they ordered the wrong veil so that took more time to fix. Maybe the lack of attention and service was because we don't speak Spanish - we were once bumped from our appointment for a Spanish-speaking customer. I wouldn't recommend this dress shop for non-Spanish speakers. But maybe those with no communication barriers would do better.
Florist
Vendor: Marta Villar
Rating: D
The florist that was included in the package (Marta Villar) was AWFUL! She was fine throughout the planning process, but on my wedding day, I saw A LOT of things that were wrong. For example, we paid extra for lanterns and organza down the aisle and didn't get either one of those. My maid-of-honor's bouquet was wrong, my centerpieces were wrong, etc. While the flowers I actually got were beautiful, I feel like she ripped us off. She charged us extra for what we wanted and only provided half of the flowers I expected to get. I have yet to reach out to her for a refund, so I can't say how willing she'll be to rectify her shortcomings. My advice - use a different florist.
DJ
Vendor: Liquid DJs
Rating: A++++++++
Hiring Liquid DJs was by far the best decision we made in our wedding planning. Shannon was professional, fun, punctual, etc. He kept the dance floor jumping all night and our reception wasn't an easy one to pull off - we had a culturally diverse wedding with both American and traditional Macedonian music. Shannon didn't skip a beat and kept EVERYONE happy. He and Liquid DJs truly are AH-MAZING and they made our wedding a success. No one will really notice if your flowers are off or if your coordinator isn't stellar, but all of your guests will know if your DJ sucks. Do yourself a favor - BOOK THEM NOW!
Lighting
Vendor: Liquid DJs
Rating: A++++++++
I not only used Liquid DJs for my music, but I also used their lighting. The purple LED lighting was absolutely gorgeous! It was exactly what I wanted and asked for, and it set the mood for the entire reception.
Cake
Vendor: Edda's Cake Design
Rating: B +
Edda's was one of two vendors that were included in our package with the venue. We chose Edda's based on other brides' reviews and the photos of cakes we saw from both vendors. The cake looked just like it did in the photo and was just as promised. It was delicious and we'd recommend Edda's to other brides.
Photographer
Vendor: Alexis Aleman Photography
Rating: A ++++++++++
Love, love, love my photographer! He is so talented and a really great person. He and his wife are just starting in the wedding industry, so their prices are very competitive. If you are in the planning process and are looking for a great photographer, definitely check out their website!
I don't have all of my photos yet but you can see a few of our wedding photos here:
http://alexisalemanphotography.com/Galleries/NancyShadWedding/index.html
Videographer - pending. Videography was included in our package. I haven't seen our wedding reel yet, but I will post my review once I have it : )