Sorry it's taken so long to get these reviews posted - I didn't know how to put a photo on here. I'm hoping this works. My daughter wrote the reviews, so they're written from her perspective. If you'd like any more information on any of the vendors, please feel free to email me at shower at kast dot org and I'll happily respond. Thanks to all of you for the encouragement you gave us before the big day. I can hardly believe that it's been 3 months since the wedding! Seems like such a long time ago...(sorry, I don't know why some text is larger than others, and why some is centered - this is not my thing).
Venue - Knoll Country Club West – They did a wonderful job. We lucked out with the weather and were able to have the ceremony outside in the gazebo overlooking the golf course. The backdrop was gorgeous. The cocktail hour & dinner were delicious – we received many compliments from guests. The vodka luge (part of the caviar station during the cocktail hour) was a HUGE hit. There were 3 bars open all evening, no waiting for a drink. Our contact, Luis handled the wedding details from Day 1 & did a great job – he is no longer there though with the change in ownership. When the groom’s father showed up late & delayed the ceremony, eating into our reception time, Luis quickly suggested we combine the appetizer & salad into one dish to make up some of that time. The look of the reception hall and the waiting area was wonderful. The Knoll scattered candles and rose petals at no cost to us and made the atmosphere just wonderful. In the dining room the chair covers really gave the room a classier look. We were so far under on our minimum (140 guests came on a 160 minimum) that KCC threw in the chair covers ($550 value) and didn’t charge us the ceremony fee ($550). They were easy to work with before & during the affair. Wedding Gown- designed by Christina Kara of BLUE in NYC ( 212-228-7744) – I had my gown designed by Christina & it was absolutely gorgeous. I went in for a consultation and after seeing how reasonable and talented Christina was, I decided to go for it. While I gave Christina 6 months notice, I know she could have gotten it done much quicker. She works fast! I went for a total of 5 fittings, changing the design of the dress a little each time – it was a work in progress and really fun. And the finished product was beautiful – a strapless satin mermaid gown entirely covered with lace, sashed in cream satin ribbon. Christina even included a floor length veil at no cost to us. I would definitely recommend going to BLUE! Bridesmaids’ gowns – Nonchalance in Morristown – We found them to be easy to work with & a great value. The gowns were strapless black to-the-knee length & adorable. The price was great and the more girls you have in your order, the more of a discount you’ll receive. MOH lives in CA & had to purchase her gown out there. She paid almost $100 more than the Nonchalance price. In our case it would have helped if the girls all ordered them a size smaller than suggested, because they all needed to be taken in quite a bit which is costly and frustrating. Tuxedos – Mens Wearhouse in Ledgewood – this almost turned out to be a disaster. FI picked out a tuxedo but could only try on jacket – they have no pants there for men to try on. He chose pleated pants, but when the tuxes came in (luckily, 10 days early) & he saw those pants, they were like clown pants they were so huge! MW was able to switch out the pants at an extra charge paid by FI. There were also other small problems, but everyone was straightened out by the day of the wedding (when the last pair of tux pants arrived). Florist - Blooming Brides (Joann Montague) in Pine Brook (www.bloomingbrides.com) – Joann has a beautiful eye for flowers. I wanted a green & purple color scheme, and ended up with an unbelievably gorgeous bouquet filled with lavender roses & green mini-hydrangea, among other things. It was eye-popping. The girls carried light green rose bouquets. Centerpieces were hurricane lamps, pillar candle, surrounded by purple & green flowers. Joann’s prices were VERY reasonable & her work is superb. I gave her a budget (and not a high one) & she stayed within that price range. DJ - Bob Balbach (908-612-4771)– When our original DJ wasn’t available, he suggested Bob. He did a very good job – all night people were up & dancing. But during the meal, he’d play quieter stuff so people could eat & talk in peace. He was never too loud & people thought he played a nice mix of music. He also did the wedding ceremony music. Photographer – Brett Szemple (www.our-wedding-photographer.com) – Brett lives in Scranton, PA, & will travel just about anywhere to shoot a wedding, no fee for travel. He was very easy to work with & even brought (at no charge) an assistant for the day of the wedding. He also included in his extremely reasonable wedding package a Trash the Dress or Take Two photo session. He traveled to Long Beach Island a week after the wedding for a photo shoot at the Barnegat Lighthouse. Those are some of my favorite photos. We even included our dog Remy in those! Brett shot about 3000 photos the day of the wedding & hundreds more at the Take Two. He has a very artistic photo style. One regret, that I didn’t put on my wedding gown for photos at the hotel so Brett could get some of those bedroom shots of the bride getting ready. Unfortunately, it’s a lot easier to think of these things AFTER the wedding than when you’re planning it. Video – Villanovisions (www.villanovisions.com) – Rob is amazing. I loved the video footage that he shot. He even took the cocktail hour set up & the dining room before the guests descended on it. He got great artsy shots – I love the one of the bridesmaids’ shoes. And the video recap at the end of the DVD was my favorite thing. I’ve watched it over & over. It was a 5-minute recap of the entire day put to the song the bride & groom entered the dining room to. Great value & great work. Officiant – Father Paul Mayer (www.revpaulmayer.com) – Because we are Catholic, we wanted a ceremony with a religious overtone. Father Paul was a delight to work with. Met with us once before the wedding & provided sample readings for the 2 readers. The day of the wedding we were running very late due to the tardiness of an important guest, so we were worried about the whole timeline of the day getting pushed back. Father Paul was able to deliver an unforgettable and sweet 15-minute ceremony & everyone loved it – especially FI and I! Photobooth – NYC Photobooth (www.nycphotobooth.com) – This was the hit of the evening and also served as our favors. There was a small line all night long and everyone went into the photobooth for pictures, including my 80-year-old grandmother! Patrick, who manned the booth, was wonderful to deal with, kept the line moving. Definitely a crowd pleaser. Hair – Michelle Skrajewski - shellerslynn@hotmail.com – My hair was a beautiful cascade of curls, which included hair extensions purchased with Michelle’s help ahead of time. She worked quickly & to my specifications. She also did the hair for 2 of the bridesmaids and worked so fast and perfectly, that she was done with time to spare! We were all impressed with her talent and speediness. Makeup – Jacqueline Menconi -201-724-5229 (flawlessbyjm@gmail.com & www.flawlessbyjm.com). Jaxx is a graduate of Make-Up Designory in NYC & such a pleasure to work with. She was very calm, organized & patient with us & made everyone look and feel beautiful. MOH & I wore false eyelashes & she was even able to cover a tiny tattoo I have inside my wrist. All in all, a sweet person & a great vendor. I can definitely recommend her for your big day. Hotel – Embassy Suites in Parsippany – They were great to work with. They handed out the overnight goody bags we delivered to them. They arranged for free shuttling back & forth to the KCC West. The rooms were large and very comfortable, the free breakfast was a great place for our family to assemble the next morning to rehash the wedding. They even kept their bar open an extra 2 hours for us so that our guests could hang out until 2am after the wedding if they wanted to. Just avoid the Concierge Floor because needing a key to get up there is a pain in the neck for the people who aren’t staying there. Rehearsal Dinner – La Cucina in Denville (formerly Attilio’s Kitchen) (www.lacucina-denville.com) – Great value, great food, BYOB. We paid $30 per person for a complete dinner, but we had huge platters of fried calamari and mozzarella Caprese on our tables all night. The entrees (you get to choose 8 for the RD) were generous & delicious. We brought in an ice cream cake for dessert. We had our own room (Family Room) with an L-shaped table. Definitely a good choice.