My wedding was the most amazing day of my life!! A lot of my vendors were board favorites but I'm sort of crazy about my privacy so I asked all of them to not put any mentions or photos on social media. Anyway, it went off perfectly and could not have been so amazing without my INCREDIBLE vendors!!
Venue: Branford House Mansion, Groton: A- I've wanted to have my wedding here for years, and was so excited when my H (!!!) agreed that it was the perfect spot for us. We had the ceremony outside and loved the water/lighthouse in the background. Inside, the rooms are gorgeous with all the carved wooden walls and fireplaces and chandeliers. The only reason it gets an A- is because the coordinator there, Katherine, is very hands-off with weddings and is really only there for administrative stuff. I think we saw her once the whole day. However, that's ok because we had...
DOC: Jen Strunk A++ In a nutshell, Jen is a lifesaver. I never thought I'd want a DOC and even right up until the wedding I wasn't 100% convinced it was necessary, but oh boy it was. The morning of my wedding, she steamed my gown, which had gotten slightly wrinkled in the bag. She fixed one of my girls' dresses when a strap broke. She took care of directions when our JOP got lost. She set up the room, and when the caterers made a mistake with the number of seats at a table, she took care of it. I'm so glad she was there. If you're on the fence about a DOC, definitely hire Jen!! Especially if you're a Branford House bride or it will end up being you and your families setting up and breaking down after the wedding!
Photographer: Brooke Allison Photograhy A++ I ***love*** Brooke!! Her pictures are totally breathtaking (well, pictures from other weddings. We haven't seen ours yet). She was amazing to work with, she is SO sweet, and we just clicked right from the get-go! I would send her tons of ideas for photos I wanted to take, and we did them all! My H is not comfortable in front of a camera and she totally put him at ease. She showed up early, she stayed later than she was supposed to, and was just totally wonderful all-around. I can't wait to see the pics!
DJ: Zach Dauphinais A+ Our party ROCKED!! People were on the dance floor all night long!! Zach had every song we wanted and was totally cool with me texting him requests in the days leading up. He's not a cheesy DJ and he was perfect at diffusing a "family situation" (basically my drunk crazy uncle wanted to "surprise" us by singing us a song - you'd have to know my uncle - absolutely not. Zach handled it gracefully and it never happened, thank god) Plus, he is wicked affordable.
Catering: Coastal Gourmet A+++ Our food was so delicious, everything came out perfectly on time, and they were VERY easy to work with. We weren't the type of couple to nickle and dime or negotiate everything - we wanted certain apps, and open bar all night, and certain entrees, and Coastal Gourmet made it happen. The presentation of food was spectacular and communitcation leading up to the day was excellent. We'd hire them again in a heartbeat! Oh also, our cake was DELICIOUS!! Red velvet with buttercream frosting. Yum!!
Flowers: Adam's Garden of Eden A I don't know a lot about flowers. We did bouquets & bouts, centerpieces, 2 large arrangements for the ceremony, and some floral decor for around Branford House. I did a lot of ivory roses, peonies, lillies, and other flowers (told you I don't know a lot LOL). The total came to about $3,000 and the presentation was breathtaking, they showed up on time, helped Jen set up the room - no complaints here!
Rentals: RI Rentals A We rented chivari chairs and linens. Not much to say except we got what we paid for and were very happy!
Honeymoon:
Disneyland, California A++++ Need I say more?
If you have any questions I'm more than happy to answer!