Hey ladies! I just got married at The Bilmar on 10/22 and wanted to throw my vendor reviews up for you.
The Bilmar Resort, Treasure Island - B+: My favorite thing about the Bilmar was the sales assistant, Christina. She was fantastic and answered all the questions I had while planning my FL wedding from NJ. Anything my guests needed, she took care of, including cancelling a reservation that technically probably shouldn't have been allowed to be cancelled. She was awesome, and I recommend making her your main point of contact. Eric was good too. Helpful and friendly. The staff that served our wedding was awesome, the food was excellent, and it was all very reasonably priced. We wanted a twice baked potato bar, something that is not on their menu choices, and they made it happen for us. My only complaint was that I found out they were doing construction, and called to find out how that would affect the stays of my guests (because who wants to fly to FL from MA and wake up to hammering on vacation?) They assured me that the construction was done, the pool that was closed was open, and all was well. When I got there the Wednesday before the wedding, it was not well-- it was all closed again with scaffolding everywhere. I was pretty pissed. To be fair though, Friday-Sunday, it was all open and there was not a piece of scaffolding in sight. My other complaint is that from the time I arrived, to the time I left (five days) I did not see ONE PERSON who was in charge of making my wedding happen. I did not recieve ONE phone call. I basically showed up and hoped for the best, and thankfully my DJ was able to direct some things and answer some questions that I had.
Photographer - Aneest Photography - A+++: I cannot recommend Aneest Photography highly enough. Christina was by far the easiest vendor I had to work with, arranging Skype calls, coming to meet us for dinner when we arrived in FL so we could walk the property and look for photo ideas, and putting me at ease on the wedding day when I started to get really high strung because the people around me were stressing me out. Her pictures are AMAZING, and she had teaser photos up less than 24 hours later. Her assistant, Jenna, was also fantastic. They were great with the kids and the grandparents, had a method for getting things done that gave us PLENTY of time to get all the photographs we wanted during cocktail hour without being rushed, and let our VIPs get to the cocktail hour to enjoy it as well. It was so well coordinated, and all my guests have commented on how fantastic these two ladies were-- just friendly, awesome people who take great pictures at great prices.
DJ - Estaban - Expert DJ & Video - B-: I am not even sure what happened here. All the contact I had with Expert DJ up until the wedding had been positive and everyone seemed to know what they were doing. Estaban played all of the correct music for the ceremony and entrances and important dances, so no complaints there. The rest of the music was... odd, though. The only two slow dances I heard all night were two old Disney songs. The other songs we requested him to play were all played when people weren't dancing (the cake cutting, during dinner, etc.) At 10p.m. he announced the last dance... but was contracted until 11. After I got a little harsh, he agreed to stay (um yeah, I paid for that hour!) but for that last hour the music was even weirder, including several obscure rap songs (we aren't talking like, Flo Rida or even DMX. Rap songs that even my brother, the biggest rap fan ever had never heard). My friend thought she would put an end to it and requested "It Takes Two" (the popular older dance song) and got some weird Spanish song. I don't even know where it all came from. My guests were dancing all night though-- almost all of them!-- and having a blast, so I guess he did something right.
Flowers and Cake - Publix - A+: I can't emphasize enough how delicious our Publix cake was. Oh. My. Lord. I ate cake every day for a week and finally had to tell H to take it to work because it had to get out of the house. The flowers were awesome. I trusted Peggy in produce to make me something tropical and orange, and she did a perfect job. I couldn't have directed someone better myself, the centerpieces were lovely, as were all the bouquets, and their prices were phenomenal. (<$1000 for 13 CPs, 3BM bouquets, bridal bouquet, 8 bouts, 8 corsages)
Steel Drummer - Steve Krawczyn - A: I didn't have much interaction with him, because he played cocktail hour while I was getting pictures taken. But, he showed up on time, the guests really dug his music, and he was totally professional. A low maintenance vendor, which is exactly what I was looking for.
Rehearsal Dinner - Gators on the Pass - B+: We had a casual RD at this bar/restaurant on the water. The service was great, the food was delicious. We sat in front of a big window, which allowed us to watch the dolphins jumping and the sunset. Awesome atmosphere. Only complaint was that they were out of the potato products they advertised on their menu online and in the restaurant and had no intention of bringing them back. Those products happened to play a big part in our decision to have the RD there, as my H and his sister can't eat protein and potatoes play a big part in their meals. They worked it out though and everyone was fed. The price was great-- we spent >$600 (including tip) for 25 people (some drank, some didn't).
meet annie! rescued 6.17.12
