Ok, Here it goes. I loved my wedding day, it was as close to perfect as I could have hoped for. Hope this helps some of you out...
Hair: Dawn Marie (from M Salon in Sunrise) A++++++++++++
For full disclosure, she is my regular hairdresser. Ok, all I have to say is FABULOUS!!! She did the hair for me, my mom, my grandmother, my niece, my MOH, and a BM. I loved, loved, loved, everyone's hair. So many compliments on my hair throughout the night. The best part was when she did my grandmother's hair. My grandmother has Alzheimer's so she doesn't do her hair and makeup anymore like she did until she became ill. She used to have her hair done every week at a salon so she always looked perfect. OMG, Dawn was able to make her look like she did before. Everyone teared up when they saw her hair done. I just can't even explain the moment. To sum up how much I love Dawn, her salon is in Sunrise, I live in Wellington, and I drive there every 8 weeks to get my hair done by her.
Makeup: Carmen from Shadows Makeup Artistry: A++++++
Carmen saved my day when it comes to makeup. I had a trial with someone else about 2 months before my wedding and hated it! I found Carmen on Wedding Wire and saw that she had amazing reviews, so I tried her out. She is fabulous. She came to my house for my trial and just wowed me. She does airbrush makeup and then uses primarily MAC makeup for the eyes. I am already a makeup girl, so it takes a lot to make me happy, and she surpassed my expectations. The makeup stayed put all night long, even through an outdoor ceremony and an hour of pics outside. She also did makeup for my mother, grandmother, and MOH. She also had a big part in making my grandmother look like she used to . She made her look so glamorous! She is so sweet and professional and bends over backwards to make you happy. I wish I could have my makeup done everyday
Dress: Victoria's Bridal Couture, Ft. Lauderdale A
I have mixed fellings about this place. First of all, they have a great selection of dresses. I loved my consultant, Vanessa, she was great. She was sweet and funny and just overall a nice person. However, there are some people who work there that don't have the best attitude, and just seem to suck the fun out of wedding dress shopping. So, my dress came in and apparently it was damaged in some way and they said it had to go back to the manufacturer. I absolutely appreciate that they took care of that before I ever even had the chance to see it myself, that was great. However, I had to make multiple calls to find out what was wrong with it. I was having anxiety imagining that the dress came in looking like a mess and how was it ever going to get remade in time. Well, it turned out to just be a satin, no big deal. I just didn't understand why it was so hard for them to tell me that in the first place. The alterations team was amazing, I had lost 20 lbs from the time I ordered my dress, so they had quite a bit of work to do. My dress was beautiful, it fit perfectly, I loved it!
Flowers: Nature's Bouquet Wellington, FL A+++++
I cannot say enough about how absolutely amazing my flowers were. The owner, Debbie Kaplan, did a fabulous job. The moment I met her I knew she was the one for my big day. She just has this welcoming, warm, and caring personality and you can tell she loves what she does. To tell you the truth, I trusted her so much that I did not even do a centerpiece trial with her. When she walked in my dressing area with my bouquet, it took my breath away. The centerpieces were amazing, we received so many compliments on them. Words cannot decribe how much I loved this vendor!
Photography: Robert Madrid Phototography A++++ (pending final pics)
We found Robert through one of Bill's co-workers who used him for their wedding. Robert was great. I felt so comfortable with him. I love his style and he has a great eye. We did a walk-through at the venue 2 weeks before to see where we wanted to take pics, etc. I really appreciated this because he has done weddings there before, but he still took the time to go there with me and find new photo spots. He was with us from getting ready all the way to the end of the event. I have seen one teaser pic so far, and all I can say is WOW. I cannot wait to see the rest.
Officiant: Mitchell Cohen A+++++
Bill and I are interfaith but still wanted to incorporate both of our religions in some way without having to have a rabbi and a pastor. Mitch was able to do that for us in a seamless and beautiful way. He always answered emails and phone calls in an extremely fast manner and was very professional, yet friendly. We met with several officiants before we finally met with Mitch, but as soon as we met him we knew he was the one. His style and personality just seemed to "fit" with us. The ceremony went perfectly and I would strongly recommend him as an officiant.
DJ: Jammin' Jim (Jim Colbert) A++++
I had spoken to a few DJs over the phone and just didn't get the right feeling from any of them. I found Jim on the preferred vendors list from my venue and hired him soon after speaking with him. I was looking for a DJ that could keep the party going, but understood that I was having a small, intimate wedding with most family and didn't want all out craziness. Jim fufilled that request perfectly. He met with Bill and I for a two hour meeting a couple of weeks before the wedding and went through ceremony songs and reception songs one by one. I was at a loss regarding ceremony songs prior to meeting with him and he was such a great help. We left that meeting with all of our songs picked out. He had so many suggestions and just understood exactly what we were looking for. We are still receiving compliments on how great the music was throughout the night.
Venue: Frenchman's Reserve Country Club, Palm Beach Gardens, FL: A
Ok, my feelings about Frenchman's are mixed. I will try my best to explain. First off, the food was AMAZING!!! The cake is also made by the club and it was beautiful and yummy and they do whatever you want with no upcharge. The venue is grand and beautiful, and traditional and I just loved it.
So, the catering director handles every aspect of your wedding from the day you make the deposit until the wedding is over. She was so accomodating with handling every little detail. They set up your escort cards, feed you and your wedding party while your getting ready, just basically do everything for you. Communication was difficult initially, but once I figured out that the best way to handle things was through email, it went smoothly. My issue comes in with the day of, there wasn't anything that went wrong, just a few little hiccups that only my mother, MOH, and I really noticed. I feel like the catering director just doesn't know how to take responsibility for her oversights. First, we were promised mimosas for getting ready, they weren't there. So when I asked her about them she said: "I told you to just tell me when you wanted them and I would get them." Umm...ok, what am I supposed to do? Go run around upstairs in the middle of getting my makeup done to find you? No big deal, we eventually got them. With regards to the getting ready food, she knew that I only eat chicken and turkey (very clear since everyone else was having filet and tilapia for dinner and I had a special order for chicken). Well, the sandwich platter had ham wraps and another wrap that I assumed was chicken salad. Well, you know what happens when you assume...you get a mouthful of tuna...yuck! So, I let her know, she apologized (blamed it on the chef) and brought me a turkey wrap. Regarding the ceremony, for some reason she told the best man to stay with me, my brother, and mother to make sure I took my bouquet. Why? I have no idea but it ended up in the best man getting there late and walking down the aisle out of order, he ended up walking after the bridesmaids. During the reception, I had to tell her to please put a plate of the challah that we had done a blessing over on each table. She looked at me like I was nuts. Whatever, she eventually did it. My biggest problem from the day was the condescending tone she took with me. I was really put off by it. I felt like she was talking to me like I was a child, or a crazy bride who didn't have her head together. Overall, these are very small things that I am sure none of the guests ever even knew about, so I really don't have anything to complain about. I would certainly use Frenchman's as my wedding site if I had to do it all over again