I found these so helpful when I was planning, so here are my vendor reviews for my 9/24 wedding.
Venue: Central Park Boathouse
Grade: A
The Boathouse was amazing. We worked with James throughout the planning process and he's a little...quirky, to say the least, but knows his stuff and definitely got the job done. He wasn't super willing to accomodate any requests we made that went outside of the Boathouse's comfort zone (starting the ceremony 15 minutes early, for example), but everything ended up working out great so I can't complain. The day of the wedding, the maitre d' Harold, was an all star. He made sure everything ran smoothly and really took care of everything. I didn't have to lift a single finger or give a single instruction, which was great. And funny enough, he was married by our rabbi 16 years ago! One thing I will mention--we had 150 guests and the Boathouse had told us that they could accomodate up to 200 or more in the outside garden for cocktail hour. Well, with our 150 it definitely felt cramped and crowded, and I would not have wanted more people. That also might be because people were standing right around the bar and not spreading out, but still, something to consider!
Florist: Lenox Hill Florist
Grade: A
I worked with William at Lenox Hill Florist and he was wonderful. He put up with my many many phone calls, emails, and visits, and my multiple changes to our color scheme and centerpiece design. Our centerpieces on the day of the wedding looked gorgeous and our bouquets and bouts stayed looking fresh throughout the night. I will mention that my bouquet did not look exactly how I had imagined (we had discussed whites and off whites, with very little green--I ended up getting what looked to me lots of cream/yellow-y flowers and more green than I wanted), but I didn't really care at that point. And our chuppah/ceremony set up was just so breathtakingly gorgeous--glowy and warm with tons of candles--that I didn't care what anything else looked like.
Band: Michael Hart Band (through Hank Lane)
Grade: A++++++++
One word: incredible! This band rocked the socks off our guests. I had people coming up to me asking if they were a professional rock band and saying that it was the best band they've ever heard. The dance floor was full all night (I could barely drag myself off it to go say hello to people!) and the band was so obviously into what they were doing as well. Michael Hart was a total sweetheart to work with, as was everyone else at Hank Lane. One of the things I loved was that we didn't have to give them a play list--we trusted them to read our crowd and know what to play, and they did an amazing job. They were expensive (we ended up getting 7 pieces) but so so totally worth it.
Photographer: Patricia Kantzos
Grade: A (still waiting for pictures)
I really enjoyed working with Patricia throughout the planning process; she was always responsive to my emails and always answered all my questions, which is important to me. She also worked with me to create a custom package and I ended up getting a lot more from her than I would have been able to afford from another photographer. On the day of, she was great and provided a lot of direction, which I actually liked, so that I knew what to do/where to go.She was great to work with and I can't wait to see the pictures!
Videographer: 15 minutes of Frame
Grade: A+
We literally hired Kaipo 3 weeks before our wedding because I could not get the idea of a videographer out of my mind. And I am SO glad we did. He was an absolute pleasure to have around on the day of the wedding--we barely knew he was there, yet he was also cracking jokes and helping to keep everyone calm. He sent us our highlights clip recently and every time I watch it, I fall more and more in love with it--it really brings me back to that night. I can't wait to see the full film. Kaipo was great to work with--super friendly and responsive, and incredibly reasonably priced. He should be charging double! Don't be put off my his website, which I think has some of his older stuff. His newer stuff is just amazing.
Cake: City Sweets
Grade: B-
I think this is a case of you get what you pay for, and I had trouble really evaluating this vendor because in the end we had our cake and our guests loved it--said it tasted great, which it did. She was also the most inexpensive cake vendor that we found. But during the process, working with Deborah was difficult. We lost contact with her for about a month and a half while we were waiting for sketches from her. After numerous emails to her, I finally called her and got in touch, and she said she had emailed the sketches to me. I hadn't received them, and after more back and forth, she blamed her computer and said she would re draw and send them. What we got were two hastily drawn, messy looking sketches--not what we were expecting. We asked her for more options and she did send them, and they were more in line with what we were thinking. I will say that Deborah was very open to meeting with us when we needed to and letting us taste as many flavors as we wanted. When I met with her in person, I definitely felt more confident about working with her; over email/phone, it was much more shaky. Anyway, our cake ended up looking great, although the color on our flowers was not what we had talked about (but as with my bouquet, by the time the wedding day came, I didn't really give a hoot anymore), but like I said, it tasted delish. I also am a very Type A person and it drives me crazy when people don't get back to me within a reasonable time frame or when I feel like I don't know what's going on. Someone who's more laid back might work better with Deborah.
Day of Coordinator: Tara Geremia with Exquisite Affairs Productions
Grade: A
Tara was wonderful. I didn't really need her much during the planning process, but I met with her twice and she was great in helping me finalize a timeline and nail down all the last minute details. She also had a lot of experience working at the Boathouse, which was helpful. On the day of, I was SO happy to see her. Just having her there decreased my stress level by a million %. I would HIGHLY recommend having a day of coordinator to everyone, and Tara specifically if she's available. She was great in coordinating the wedding party, helping me with my veil, calming me down in the minutes before I walked down the aisle. I wish I could work with her again!
Hair: Stacy Pitt
Grade: A+
Stacy's praises have been sung far and wide on the knot, but here's another vote for her. She is amazing! I have to say, I was a little unsure after my hair trial, because I didn't love the styles we had tried. But the day of the wedding, she took my random mumblings about the style I wanted and turned it into exactly what I was picturing in my head. She also performed wonders on my 4 bridesmaids, and finished in record time. She was a pleasure to have around while we were getting ready and was just a really calm, chill presence. I would recommend people get her for the half day rate--if you have 4 or 5 people, it works out to be not so expensive for each person, and she doesn't price gouge for the bride's hairstyle like a lot of people do.
Makeup: Sally Duvall
Grade: A+
Sally was amazing as well. She used airbrush makeup on myself, my 4 bridesmaids, and my mom and we all looked gorgeous. She also worked super well with Stacy and finished well before we needed to be done.
Bridal Store: Bridal Reflections
Grade: A-
I worked with Vasiliki at BR when I bought my dress. It was a pretty pleasant process. I wouldn't say that they have a huuuge selection of dresses, but they do have a lot by certain designers (st. Pucci, Ines Di Santo, Romona Keveza). The store gave me a great deal on my dress, which was a sample and threw in alterations for free. The seamstress, Lee, is a total sweetheart. I do wish that I had been more vocal about the placement of my bustle--she left it too long and it got ripped out about an hour into the reception. But all together I was really happy with my experience there. I also found a lot of my jewelry there and was surprised at how reasonably priced a lot of it was.
Veil: Occansey Designs
Grade: A
I ordered two veils from Occansey Designs, and both times, they chatted with me through email to help me pick a design and color. The veils came quickly and looked great. They're also super reasonably priced--my cathedral veil was about $60.
Invitations: Nicole Block, NicEvents
Grade: A+
I found Nicole through a vendor review on the Knot, actually! She was awesome to work with--very fun and friendly. She met my husband and I for coffee and really took the time to get to know us and what we wanted our wedding to be like, which helped her create kick ass custom invitations. We got tons of compliments on them and we are now having her help us make our thank you cards ( I was really just looking for an excuse to work with her again!).
Favors: Papabubble
Grade: A
We ordered custom candy through papabubble, a small candy store in little Italy. They were easy to work with and the candy is very yummy and very unique--people kept asking us how we got our names inside the candy! Definitely a very unique, New York favor.
Entertainment: Museum of the Moving Image
Grade: A
We hired a flipbook booth fro the museum and it was a complete hit. Our guests had mostly never seen anything like it before and there was a line for the booth for most of the night. It was a really fun addition to the party.
Hotel/Afterparty: Empire Hotel/Empire Rooftop Lounge
Grade: A
I stayed at Empire hotel the night before and after the wedding and the staff member I worked with, Laura, was really sweet. She sent us complimentary bottles of wine and champagnes and had the room set up for my husband and I after the wedding. The suite we stayed in was big and really nicely decorated. We had a few guests stay there as well and they had a great time.
Grooms tux: Saks
Grade: A
My husband wanted to get a new tux for the wedding, so we went to Saks' Men's Dept. They were very helpful and he looked great in his Hugo Boss tux.
Bridesmaid dresses: RK Bridal
Grade: A
Finding bridesmaid dresses took about 7 months, but once I finally picked them, the process of ordering was super easy. One of my bridesmaids got her alterations done there as well and had a great experience.
Honeymoon: South Africa, Zambia, and Mozambique
Grade: A+++++++++++++++
Absolutely amazing. We had the time of our lives and saw so many incredible things. Our lodges/resorts were all wonderful as well and really went out of their way to make us feel special. PM me if you have any specific questions on them, as I could write a novel here!
Well, I think that's it! Can't believe this whole process is over 