Hey Ladies,
I can’t believe that my wedding has already come and gone! I
am happy to say all the planning was well worth it and the day turned out to be
all I hoped for and more. I know vendor reviews were extremely helpful to me
when I was organizing my big day, so I wanted to be sure to pay the favor
forward. I would be happy to share more details and prices if you want to
private message me. Good luck to all of you as you continue your planning!
Venue – Lake of Isles, North Stonington, CT - A++
Lake of Isles was absolutely fabulous, I couldn’t have asked
for anything more in a venue. The property is part of the golf course that
Foxwoods owns. It has a beautiful large ballroom, which easily fit our 150
guests, and has a ton of windows overlooking the lake (a bright, airy ballroom
was very important to me), and a beautiful curved wood ceiling. The property
also has a huge outdoor deck that we utilized for our cocktail hour, but it can
also be used as an outdoor ceremony space. Everyone at Lake of Isles are top-notch
professionals. I worked with Sheila throughout the planning process and she was
always available to quickly answer any questions I had and offer helpful
suggestions. The package also comes with a day of coordinator, Bethany, who was
absolutely fabulous. I didn’t have to worry about a thing on the day; she
handled all the deliveries, vendors, setting up the room, etc. Both Sheila and
Bethany are meticulous planners, so they ask all the important questions ahead
of time so they know what you want on the day without having to ask you and can
anticipate your needs. Additionally, the
food was absolutely delicious; I keep getting rave reviews from all our guests.
We are vegetarians and our entrée was
just as delicious as the meat options we chose for our guests. Cake comes with
the package and it did not disappoint. Also included (depending on the package)
are dance floor, linens, and open bar. And I cannot rave about the service enough;
it was amazing and included a personal attendant for the bride and groom. All
the facilities are beautiful, clean, and well maintained. And the grounds are
fabulous for taking pictures.
www.lakeofisles.com
Church – Preston City Congregational, Preston, CT – A
Though Lake of Isles offers on-site ceremony options we
chose to get married in a church up the street. Preston City Congregational was
only a short 10 minute drive away, which was a plus. But what I loved about it
was that everyone there immediately took us in as if we were family, even
though we had never been to that church before. Reverend Stanley White did a
fabulous job putting us at ease and performing a beautiful ceremony, and his
assistant Sandy was always on had with any questions we had regarding planning.
www.prestoncitycongregational.org
Florist – Flowers by Danielle, Monroe, CT – A+
I had a strict budget in mind and a general idea of what I
wanted for flowers, but I also wanted to be flexible and give my florist
artistic license. Danielle was the first
florist I met with and she immediately had wonderful ideas to compliment what I
showed her. I wanted to use lanterns on half of the tables and she immediately
knew what to do to showcase them, including putting flowers inside a small
lantern on our sweetheart table, which really brought the whole look together. I
felt most confident with her and that she understood what I wanted and would be
able to execute it and she completely delivered on everything she promised. The
bouquets were beautiful; mine especially was exactly what I had pictured. And the
centerpieces were amazing; she was even able to do tall, elaborate centerpieces
which I thought would be out of my budget. Before choosing Danielle I met with
a few other florists and was shocked at how outrageous some of their prices
came in. They offered me half of what Danielle did for more double the price! Danielle
was able to get everything I wanted and more without compromise, and brought so
many things to the table that I couldn’t have ever dreamed up. Definitely
recommended!
www.FlowersByDanielle.com
DJ – Jay Free – Signature Sounds, Bristol, RI – A+
I was recommended to DJ Jay Free by DJ Melee because he
didn’t have my date available. The two of them have worked together, and I am
so glad he gave me his name. Jay was an absolute rock star. He is not just a
wedding DJ and has consistent gigs at Foxwoods, Mohegan’s, and several clubs
around CT, RI and MA so he is really knows how to get everyone up and dancing.
My husband and I had very specific preferences when it came to music for the
wedding and he was able to perfectly pick up on our style and make a playlist
that was perfect for the night. The dance floor was never empty! He was
wonderful with incorporating our requests but also adding in his own choices.
He even helped my dad and I throw together a last minute medley for our father/daughter
dance that blew everyone at the wedding away. He was very easy to get in
contact with and was always willing to meet us somewhere in CT when we had to
meet face to face, even though he is based in RI. His prices were also some of
the best we found, definitely a great value and a great guy.
www.djjayfree.com
Photographer – HK Photography, Shelton, CT – A++
Hubert and Alka are a husband and wife photography team.
Both my husband and I instantly felt at ease with them from our first meeting.
They are both amazingly kind and funny, and were so fun to hang out with on the
day. They have a lot of great packages available that let you pick and choose
what is important to you. For example we wanted to include an album but not an
engagement session, and were easily able to fit it into our budget. They work
so well with each other, but both also bring their own perspective to different
shots. They took the time to capture so many different moments in at least half
a dozen locations. We purposely included some time between our ceremony and
reception so they had the time to capture as much as they could. I haven’t even
seen any of the pictures yet, but I am so confident in how they will turn out
that I would recommend them to anyone. We don’t consider ourselves photogenic
as a couple, but they made us feel like models and so unbelievably confident in
what we were doing. I can’t wait to see the pictures!
www.HK-Photography.com
Hair – Salon Margolis, North Haven, CT – A+
Lisa and her stylist, Kim, were absolutely wonderful. Lisa
is a family friend, so she traveled up to Foxwoods to help get me and my girls
ready the morning of the wedding, but she also owns a fabulous salon in North
Haven. Between the two of them they had to get 7 heads of hair done by noon,
and they did it with time to spare. All my girls brought pictures the day of
and they were able to execute all the various hairstyles, some up, some down,
without any issues. All of the girls looked fabulous and everyone’s styles
lasted the entire day and night. I was especially happy with my own hair. I had
done a consultation ahead of time and Lisa was able to take elements from
several different styles and create something just for me. Her prices are great
and I got so many compliments on how beautiful my hair looked!
http://salonmargolise.com/
Makeup – Bold Faced Makeup, CT – A+
Melinda from Bold Faced Makeup was incredible! I took a bit
of a leap of faith because she doesn’t do her consultation until two weeks
before the wedding (because it was in the summer she wants to make sure your
skin tone doesn’t change due to sun). The original reason I chose her is
because I was paying for all of my 5 bridesmaids, plus my mom’s makeup, and her
package pricing couldn’t be beat. But now I can confidently and
enthusiastically endorse her on her awesome talent. She airbrushes all the
makeup, and I mean all of it, from foundation, to blush, to eye shadow, she
even airbrushed my eye liner! During the consultation she really took the time
to get to know my likes and dislikes and put together a look that was perfect
for me. Because everything is airbrushed is last so much longer, over 12 hours.
And she was able to match everyone’s skin tones perfectly the day of and made
everyone feel beautiful. She also didn’t charge me a travel fee because she is
located in the Foxwoods area. Definitely recommended!
www.boldfacemakup.com
Spray Tan – Sun Spray Tans, Milford, CT - A
I wanted to review my spray tan because I was so skeptical
about getting one! I was not blessed with skin that tans, I burn if I am in the
sun a minute too long, so I avoided it all summer. But I looked way too washed
out in my dress, so on the recommendation of some friends I went to Sun Spray
Tans and I couldn’t have been happier. They hand airbrush your tan, so it looks
flawless! Their formula is organic and doesn’t have the chemicals in it that
cause the awful orange glow some tans will. My tan looked natural and was the
perfect color for me. The tan lasts up to 10 days if you take care of it right.
If you are thinking about it, definitely give it a try a few weeks before to
see how you like it!
http://www.sunspraytans.net/
Dress – Marie’s Bridal, Fairfield, CT – A
When I went to Marie’s Bridal I didn’t know anyone who had
bought their dress there before, so I was a little nervous. They were one of
the only stores nearby that carried the Mikaella dress I had fallen in love
with and I am so happy I bought it from them. The store is very small, but the
people who work there are wonderful. Every time I was there from my first
appointment to my final fitting they made me feel like I was the only customer
they had. I often had all three women there helping me and they were always so
reassuring. The seamstress was fantastic, my dress was entirely lace with a
scalloped hem and she was able to hem it without losing the scallops and made
it look seamless! There prices are very reasonable and my mom even negotiated
with them to get my veil for free, which was a huge savings! Don’t be off-put
by the small space and overstuffed racks, those ladies know their stuff!
http://www.mariesbridal.com/
Photo booth – Top Hat Photo Booths – A
Top Hat was recommended to us by our venue. I knew I wanted
a photo booth and Top Hat had great prices and were one of the only companies I
found that were able to print the pictures as 4x6 rather than the classic
strips. I wanted pictures that could easily be framed and added to a
traditional photo album. The operator was fantastic, there were set up on-time
and kept the booth running smoothly all night. They have add-on options like
bringing props and a ton of different layout options for the pictures. The
price was also very reasonable. All my guests loved the booth and it added a
fun element to the wedding for those who weren’t into dancing.
www.tophatphotobooths.com
Accommodations/Transportation
– Foxwoods Resort and Casino – A+
One of the biggest benefits of Lake of Isles is that it is right
across the street from Foxwoods Resort and Casino. This made is super easy to
set up transportation and room blocks. The venue automatically sets up a
complimentary shuttle to bring guests to the receptions and back to the hotels
at the end of the night, which meant no one had to drive. They also give you 20
rooms each at two different hotels in the casino (we chose MGM and Two Trees)
at great prices. They were also super accommodating when a few of our guests
missed the cut-off date and make the whole room block process super easy. Part
of our package included a suite at MGM for the night of the wedding. We booked
it for the night before as well and it was a huge room, it made it super easy
for all the girls to get ready, along with the makeup artist and two
hairstylists and it never felt crowded.
www.foxwoods.com
We also ended up using the brand new Hilton Garden Inn hotel
down the street for another options. They were also very accommodating, willing
to price match, and also offered a free shuttle. Definitely would recommend
them as well!
http://hiltongardeninn3.hilton.com/en/index.html