5.6.11 Reviews and a few pics. LONG!!

direy25 · May 2011

Hi Ladies (and gent)!!! I finally got around to sitting down and writing my reviews. All in all, the day really was perfect (besides being a little windy). Only one vendor that I'm unhappy with, which you'll read about later.

Sorry in advance for such a long post!!!Hotel accommodations – Green Valley RanchWe loved our stay at GVR. The valet/bellstaff were extremely helpful and friendly. They gave us a room rate of $110 / night for all of our guests and originally reduced the resort fee from $25/night to $15/night. However, when we checked online and found an available room rate cheaper than our rate, they agreed to drop the resort fee completely. We had 32 rooms booked for Thursday & Friday nights. Everyone seemed to really enjoy the resort. Oh, and the all you can eat crab legs at Tides were the bomb. I'm horrible at taking pictures so I unfortunately didn't get any pics of our killer suite.
Celebrations Bridal, Las Vegas – had a great experience here, great selection of dresses & great prices. Their alterations were reasonable as well. The sales staff are all extremely helpful but never pushy.

Hair & makeup – Francesca LombardoLet’s just say Francesca has glammed me up a bunch now – Trial, boudoir shoot, wedding and TTD. I would book her again in a heartbeat. For the wedding she brought an assistant to help with my party – 8 people total (bride, mom, 4 BM’s (one didn’t want her hair done), 2 flower girls. Showed up right on time and worked on us throughout the day. Francesca and her assistant (I feel horrible because I don’t remember her name) did a fantastic job. Here's a before and after so you can see the miracle she performed with my makeup. Sorry they're so big.

Revere Golf Club, HendersonI don’t think things could have gone any better than they did with the Revere. Margie was absolutely amazing to work with, she just made things so incredibly easy. When we got there, I realized I had forgotten the vases for the sand ceremony. We were able to get in touch with a friend who hadn’t left the hotel yet, but Margie was ready with some vases from the property just in case. DH had asked if it would be possible to have his favorite beer during the reception, which is Negra Modelo. Unfortunately they missed the Negra part and had just gotten regular Modelo. We told Margie it wasn’t a big deal but she still had someone run to a nearby store to pick up the right beer. When we got back from taking pictures, cocktail hour was almost over but they had a tray of the appetizers waiting for us. The food was delicious.
DJ – Pure Energy Productions / Anthony JohnsTony was freaking amazing. I really hope more brides on this board consider him. He really knew how to keep the party going all night, but was never cheesy or too over the top. We got a lot of compliments from our guests about how great Tony was. He works with the Revere a lot so you can tell that they really have a system down. Once everyone sat down at the tables, Tony came up to DH and I to see if we needed another drink or anything. When MOH went up to make her toast, she forgot her champagne glass so Tony ran to the table to get it for her. He was an absolute pleasure to work with!

Reverend Linda VenniroLinda is just lovely. As soon as I had spoken with her on the phone just asking for availability, I knew I wanted her for our wedding. We didn’t have a chance to meet in person so we had a 1.25 hour Skype interview with her so that she could get to know us and personalize our ceremony. I think people were actually surprised at how personal the ceremony was for being a destination wedding.
Springtime Floral – overall I was really happy with Springtime – I sort of thought my bouquet might be bigger but it was still beautiful. Spring did the BM’s flowers, bouts for the guys, my bouquet and the flowers for the arch.
Freed’s Bakery - things started off a little rocky at first when we went to have our cake tasting one week before the wedding. I had originally sent in our inspiration pic and then received a call back from one of the sales people. She quoted me the price over the phone and we worked it out so that DH and I would come in while she was working so that we could get everything ordered. My ]mistake was that I didn’t ask for anything in writing (very stupid on my part). So we get to Freed’s and are told that she’s at lunch but should be back within a half hour, so we decide to wait. In the meantime another sales person lets us taste the different flavors. She also tried to find any info on our cake but it was nowhere to be found. At this point, DH is getting pretty frustrated. We show our inspiration picture to this lady and she takes it to the baker but quotes a higher price than what the original girl told us, so we continue to wait. Finally our contact gets back but still can’t find any paperwork from when we spoke. I had written down the date and the prices she had originally quoted me and she finally remembered why she had quoted me what she did. Everything ended up fine, but I definitely will get EVERYTHING in writing from now on… Anyway, our cake turned out wonderfully. We chose red velvet with Bavarian cream filling (DH isn’t a fan of cream cheese frosting) and the marble with chocolate mousse filling. I only got to taste some from when we cut the cake but that was delicious & moist. We had quite a few compliments on how great the cake was too. I don’t have any close up pics yet but they did a great job with the mountain design.Bently & Wilson– what can I say about Todd that already hasn’t been said hundreds of times? He showed up right on time & started snapping away. He then went to the guys’ suite to get some pics & then met us at the Revere. Totally laid back & easy going – he sat and ate a quick meal with our guests and then continued taking pics throughout the night. As he was leaving he said he shot close to 2,000 pics so I can’t wait to see them! He did show us one shot on his screen that looked incredible…Dott Photography/I See Sexy – Olga WilsonI did my boudoir shoot with Olga and we did the TTD shoot at the bonyeard with her as well. Olga is just lovely to work with. DH was pretty excited after I gave him my album and then told him that we were using the same photographer for the bonyeard shoot. Here's one of the pics from the boudoir shoot:

　And now for the one bad experience:

Transportation - AWG
We hired a limo bus for the bridal party, two 35 passenger shuttle busses to get people from GVR to Revere, and then one 35 passenger shuttle that ran for two hours taking people back. The booking process was super easy. I booked with AWG because I had heard such mixed reviews about Bell Trans, I decided to spend some extra money to go with a company that was supposed to be reputable. So the day of the wedding starts off with a phone call at 10:30AM from the driver asking about our shuttle from the Revere Golf Club to Green Valley Ranch. I had to tell him that it was scheduled for 10:30PM. Awesome way to start. So I call AWG to confirm that everything was all set for the day, she apologized for the mix-up but assured me that everything was all set. We scheduled the limo bus to leave earlier than the guys so that we could get to Revere before them and maybe get some pictures (the guys just used GVR’s limo). We got on our bus at 4:20. I realize after awhile that none of the scenery looks familiar but just assumed that the driver knew a better way to get there to avoid traffic. Wrong. After we realize the bus is now making a u-turn, SIL asks the driver if he knows where he’s going. He was actually trying to use his phone to look up the address/info while driving. So basically what should have taken us a maximum of 20 minutes took us 40 to get there. The guys actually got there before us, which means we almost ruined the whole DH not wanting to see me before the wedding. Later we come to find out that one of the guest shuttles also got lost. First pulled into the wrong golf club altogether, then almost turned into another one as well. To make matters worse on that one, I was told that the air conditioner didn’t work. So our guests were on a black bus with non-opening windows and no air conditioning in 90 degree heat.And it continues to get worse. The first shuttle that left Revere to go back to GVR got lost as well. Because we were still on our "honeymoon" last week I didn't really feel like calling. I plan to call them tomorrow to let them know how unhappy I am about their service. Oh, and they didn't even charge my card until a full week after the wedding.

And I'll end with a few more pics from friends' cameras...

direy25 · May 2011

Sorry for the funky formatting - I copied & pasted from another document and it won't let me edit the paragraphs...

I forgot one vendor - How could I forget Shutterbooth? Our guests had an absolute blast with the photobooth - we ended up having to extend it for another hour because they were originally supposed to end at 10:30 but everyone was still having fun with it and DH and I hadn't even used it yet. Our host Dan was extremely helpful. Communication with Todd was excellent, he usually responded to my e-mails within the hour. Here's the link to all of the photos taken throughout the night: www.shutteryou.com/events/view/8354" target="_blank">http://www.shutteryou.com/events/view/8354

Diamond1031 · May 2011

Direy---thanks for the reviews. You look amazing!!! Congrats once again. :-) Oh yeah the boudoir pic very nice. Maybe I should consider doing one and surprise him. Will highly consider it. :-)

direy25 · May 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_nevada-las-vegas_5611-reviews-pics-long?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:91Discussion:7fffa6ca-6787-4ac1-8b86-2666f1aee977Post:4697de68-4edf-452c-a7a0-2da20c406cf6">Re: 5.6.11 Reviews and a few pics. LONG!!</a>:
[QUOTE]Direy---thanks for the reviews. You look amazing!!! Congrats once again. :-) Oh yeah the boudoir pic very nice. Maybe I should consider doing one and surprise him. Will highly consider it. :-)
Posted by Diamond1031[/QUOTE]
Thank you so much!

I gave the album to him the night before the wedding. He started crying as he was looking through the pictures - it was so sweet! I was really worried about how he would react but he absolutely LOVED that I did this for him.

kara811 · May 2011

Direy, you were gorgeous!!! I love the before and after pic and also your bpic is hot!!

Love Francesca!!

Sorry about the transportation issue. That really stinks! Definitely call them up.

kara811 · May 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_nevada-las-vegas_5611-reviews-pics-long?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:91Discussion:7fffa6ca-6787-4ac1-8b86-2666f1aee977Post:c0a94660-dffd-4005-8826-c4890bfc5b82">Re: 5.6.11 Reviews and a few pics. LONG!!</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: 5.6.11 Reviews and a few pics. LONG!! : Thank you so much! I gave the album to him the night before the wedding. He started crying as he was looking through the pictures - it was so sweet! I was really worried about how he would react but he absolutely LOVED that I did this for him.
Posted by direy25[/QUOTE]

<div>
</div><div>awww that's so sweet!</div><div>
</div><div>@Diamond: H loved my boudoir too! He couldn't believe the pictures when I gave him the album. He's got them on the laptop too. He loves looking at them. lol </div>

direy25 · May 2011

Thank you Kara!

vfriday · May 2011

What a beauty! Thank you for sharing your reviews.

wallacje · May 2011

Direy you looked so awesome on your day!!! Glad in the end everything went well. Like the B-pic too, i just did mine, waiting to get them back. Did you do an album for the B-pics?

direy25 · May 2011

Thank you ladies!
@wallacje - I did do an album. I still can't get over his reaction to it - I really was afraid I was going to get "why'd you go & do that for?" type of comment, lol.

Diamond1031 · May 2011

Ladies ladies I think I will do a B shoot. :-). Were either of you nervous about doing it?? I have an issue of public speaking so I can only imagine doing this and being even more nervous. Lol. I guess it depends on the photographer. I love surprising him and Direy I feel like I'd get that comment too. Lol

Olivea12 · May 2011

Congratulations! You looked stunning!

direy25 · May 2011

Definitely nervous at first, but Francesca and Olga totally put me at ease. The glass of champagne Olga gave me didn't hurt either.

I went back and forth for quite some time before finally just going for it. I've said it before but it was a huge confidence booster!

direy25 · May 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_nevada-las-vegas_5611-reviews-pics-long?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:91Discussion:7fffa6ca-6787-4ac1-8b86-2666f1aee977Post:ed7c4d7e-ff60-45fd-ae06-4cdf162272f9">Re: 5.6.11 Reviews and a few pics. LONG!!</a>:
[QUOTE]Congratulations! You looked stunning!
Posted by Olivea12[/QUOTE]

Thank you so much!

aegrish · May 2011

Congrats!! I love the before and after pics from Francesca! You were a beautiful bride!

jccswl · May 2011

Congrats, I'm so happy for you! You look gorgeous. I love your bouquet, and I can't wait for more pics.

AJF021410 · May 2011

You looked so pretty:)

lsvensson · May 2011

Wowza, that boudoir shoot! I had sworn up and down that I wouldn't do one, but now you've got me rethinking it. You looked gorgeous, congrats!

smokeybailey · May 2011

Congratulations. Everything is beautiful! Glad everything turned out well for you.

How awesome!

Let me know how the call with the limo company goes. I can't wait to hear how you ripped someone a new one!

justine043 · May 2011

congratulations! like everyone else has said, you look gorgeous!
I'll definately have to keep francesca in mind!

junebug61103 · May 2011

Congrats!!! You looked beauitful! Thanks for all the reviews

OnCloudK9 · May 2011

So pretty! Congratulations and thank you for sharing.

ahhhitsshannyn · May 2011

O.M.G. YOU LOOK AMAZING!!!! I love the b-pic one, you look so freakin' hot

I really want to do some b-pics now, maybe for our anniversary. His reaction was so sweet!

klonny · May 2011

Thanks for the reviews, looks and sounds like everything was fabulous! Congrats!!

ricekim · May 2011

Congrats Direy! You looked b-e-a-utiful!

Lwinter829 · May 2011

YOU LOOK sooooo beautiful!!!! The day looked perfect! So glad you enjoyed yourself MRS!

Natrasha · May 2011

Wow, looks and sounds like a gorgeous and happy day! (Minus the shuttles.) Can't wait to see the Todd pictures!

kteel717 · May 2011

Direy- you look amazing and love that b-pic!
Now I am rethinking AWG...We have them for our 20 person limo service this weekend to take us after the ceremony to the Las Vegas welcome sign. I have been trying to contact them for several days and not gottne a response for my point of contact either. Ohhh hope it is OK. Thanks for your reviews!!

direy25 · May 2011

Thank you so much ladies!!!

@kteel - hopefully you'll have better luck with them than I did. Are you calling the main reservation number, or just trying to contact one specific person?

megkbush · May 2011

Thanks for sharing your reviews! You look gorgeous!

kteel717 · May 2011

Direy- Ah just got ahold of them! hopefully it will be ok- no getting lost ;-)

5.6.11 Reviews and a few pics. LONG!!

Re: 5.6.11 Reviews and a few pics. LONG!!

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