Hi, ladies. It's been so long that no one probably remembers me (I was more of a lurker, not a poster), but I wanted to finally post my vendor reviews. It's really long, but I hope it's helpful. The last vendor review is probably the most important as it was our only negative experience.
Ceremony – Duquesne University Chapel – A We never had any doubt we’d have it here (DH is a huge DU alum and fan), and it's a beautiful location to boot. Also, they ran the rehearsal efficiently, and everyone understood what to do. The best time is the 3pm option for people wanting evening receptions and to avoid huge gaps – we booked 18 months in advance, and they had few 3pm dates left that worked for us (although to be fair to them, we are busy in the summers). It was definitely the right move, though, in my opinion, to get that 3pm time, and our guests appreciated a shorter gap.
Celebrant – Father Ray French – A+++Father Ray did such a wonderful job - very moving ceremony with personal touches. He’s such an amazing person and priest and is very flexible and modern with his ceremony. He’s in very high demand with many weddings to perform, so it’s difficult to get in touch with him at times because he’s so busy – but it’s definitely worth it! We LOVED him!
Cantor/Organist – Dana/Ethan – A++ Dana has the voice of an angel – she’s incredible! Ethan is also an amazing pianist and very friendly to work with. Definitely recommend! They are both affiliated with Duquesne (students), but it’s possible they would consider outside work. If you'd like their information, please contact me by email (see below).
Photographer – Laurel Mountain Photography (Mark) – A+++ Wow…the pictures are so incredible I cannot even begin to describe them. Mark had creative pictures, made us look awesome, and also posted the pictures online quickly. The pictures are by far my favorite thing about the wedding, and I nearly cried when I first saw them. There is no way I will ever be able to only pick some for an album. I’ve seen a lot of wedding pictures, and by far LMP does the best job I have seen. I've heard some girls say they hate their pictures, and I'm so glad I'm not one of them. As an FYI, they book fast, so get in touch ASAP.
Videographer – Fineline Multimedia (Alex) - Alex, A; Video, BThe ceremony was most important to me to have. A camera was up in the balcony for wide, aerial shots, and the cameraman was in the back at the beginning of the aisle. So there’s a great shot of my dad and me before we walk down the aisle, but only a zoomed out aerial view of the back of my head as I'm walking down the aisle. You can’t see my DH’s face, my face, my dad’s face, anything – only the backs of our heads from far away. These are the shots I really wanted, so I’m kind of disappointed. I figured that footage would be a given, but according to the head videographer (who is very nice, helpful, and was interested in my feedback), the location and/or number of cameras can affect that (they also set up the camera in the balcony for free for us). The rest of the ceremony footage is fine; the reception footage is better. Moral of the story is - ask ANY videographer if there are issues with the number of cameras, location, etc. capturing anything important to you (no matter how obvious you may think it is to capture). I would recommend them as they were receptive about my concerns, and we were very pleased with the rest of the experience (especially Alex's non-intrusiveness and the customer service).
Limousine - Vogue Limousine - AWe got a limo bus, and it was great (much better decision than an actual limo). We got one a little bigger than we needed, and the extra room was well worth the additional cost (I hate being squished or on top of people especially when all dressed up). The liquor and champagne were provided, and we brought beer on. Our driver was good even though he was new to the area and company - he did have a GPS, which was a plus, and the traffic and events in the city that day nearly made us late. But between the driver's and my back road knowledge, we got there in time. No problems at all, and the driver helped make everything run smoothly. Nice guy, got us everywhere quickly and safely. Definitely recommend them.
Reception – Edgewood Country Club – A+I thought Edgewood was amazing, and Dennis, the banquet manager, was so great to work with every step of the way. He asked us how much we were looking at paying and then tailored a package from there. They also supplied the centerpieces, which was great because I had zero interest in having anything to do them. The location is very beautiful, the food was excellent, the servers were great...can't say enough good things. Loved it and highly recommend it!
Cake – Fenoglietto’s Bakery – A+The cake was provided by Fenoglietto’s who has a deal with Edgewood - they supply the cake, and it’s included in the price (at least when we booked). Our cake was strawberry champagne cake with strawberry filling and buttercream icing. Delicious! It also looked exactly as we asked, and we had wanted something slightly different from your typical wedding flavors, and they delivered. All around great job – both inside and out!
Flowers – Brides & Butterflies – A-The flowers were great, and my bouquet was huge (and about the same price as other brides' bouquets but bigger I thought). They were supposed to match the bouquet to a picture I had (offered to do so if I wanted), but the day of, the flowers didn't really look like the picture. They were still gorgeous; just not what I was expecting. That is most likely out of their control, though - can't do too much about it if you are getting specific flowers. Some flower options were pricey ($10 per stem for single flowers for the devotion to Mary? I think not...fortunately, the owner negotiated, otherwise I said I'd go to Giant Eagle for those...I'm not paying $60 for 6 single flowers), but we went with pocket squares, so we saved a lot there. I loved the pocket square look, and as a bonus, it was cheaper. Also, first meeting was with some woman there and was terrible (totally unhelpful and clueless). Second meeting was with the owner, and she was great. Understood what I wanted, gave us options, etc. Meet directly with the owner if you speak with them.
DJ – Exceptional Entertainment – Jason Duncan – see below for reason of non-grade at this time
We recently filed the paperwork and are suing him for breach of contract of services not rendered. Currently, I'd prefer to not comment any further on the details due to the impending court date, but if someone is taking a vendor to court for not providing items they paid for, you can pretty much guess their experience with that vendor. Once this is over, I will post a very long, detailed review of our situation. However, in the meantime, please do yourself a huge favor and take our situation seriously. Unfortunately, according to other court cases and a few brides I have spoken with that hired Jason, I’m sad to say we appear to be the norm rather than the exception. We did not want it to come to this, but we were left with no choice based on his non-responsiveness and unwillingness to negotiate with us after the fact. Once he had our money, it appeared we no longer were a concern or a priority.
Anyone wanting to talk to me further about our experiences, please email me at teranimal@hotmail.com. I’ll be more than happy to give additional details or answer any questions you may have. (I will post the DJ review at a later date as I mentioned.) Best wishes for a wonderful wedding day to all!