Sonicstef's 10/5 Vendor Reviews (now with a few honeymoon photos!)

Let me start by saying that I now know a bride is the last person you want to listen to about vendor reviews. Everything seems too perfect but not good enough all at the same time. You are being pulled in a thousand different directions so you don’t get to pay as close attention as you want but you have the highest expectations just the same. So in with that notice, here are my vendor reviews….

Rehearsal Dinner: Carmines Restaurant
Awesome! Food was delicious and plentiful. Drinks kept coming. The restaurant was noisy but it added to a fun atmosphere. And the prices are some of the best deals in the city.

Dress: Bridal Reflections
Unfortunately, I have to give a bad review here. I loved, loved, loved my gown. I got a much better price by going through Bridal Reflections over Kleinfelds so that is a big positive. But there were several problems encountered while ordering and making appointments but more importantly – BOTH of the straps on my dress broke at some point during the night. The seamstress made an alteration to the straps on my final fitting which were obviously not sewn in strong enough. My other alterations were minimal but good – and of course I had to pay the full amount (up to the cap) for this. Thankfully my MOH is pretty good with a needle and thread!

BM Dresses: Netbride.com
Nothing but raves. Saved $100 each! Dresses arrived early.

Flowergirl Dress: Goldengiraffe.com
Very good price for a silk dress. Fit perfectly based on measurements.

Tuxedos: Barry’s Formalwear
Very good. Good selection and price. Barry’s came to our home to measure, drop off and pick up. There was one size that was too big and they came the next day to drop off a new tux.

Headpiece & Earrings: Naugi.com
Fast service, reasonable prices, beautiful products.

Hair & Makeup: Francine & Sue
Francine did a great job with my hair that day. I was a little worried because previous trials didn’t come out just right but it all worked out in the end. Her prices are reasonable and she is a sweet woman. I would recommend her to anyone who wanted a simple ‘do.
Sue did a beautiful job. My neck was all red that morning and she covered it up beautifully. I showed her a photo of the look I wanted – natural with a slightly dramatic eye and she did it perfectly. I NEVER wear makeup so for me to be comfortable with a full face on is a feat.

Transportation: Royalty Limos
I didn’t ride in the big limo (18 person Navigator) but I assume it was ok. Our car (’47 Caddy) was beautiful and comfortable. Drivers were early and friendly. Only complaint is that they seemed slightly less comfortable with driving in NYC traffic had me a bit worried with their assessments that we didn’t have enough time to stop at both Grand Central and Times Square.

Flowers: Spitz & Peck
Mixed review here. They were difficult to deal with in the beginning. Everything seemed to be one problem after the next – particularly since I didn’t want ANY white flowers (which seemed to be their strong suite) and I was not about to spend a lot more for what I wanted. After a few meetings, things got easier. My contact, Lizette, definitely seemed like she was trying to work with me and I got a lot more comfortable with the situation after that. My bouquets arrived that morning and were beautiful but I thought the stems were way too long so they took them out to the truck to cut them a bit. I would have preferred them even shorter but I figured it wasn’t a battle worth fighting. The florist brought me a bag of red rose petals (which they did not charge me for) and I was very happy with since I expected the free kind to be the mixed color kind. So far, so good. The pew bows were nicer than I expected or paid for – I had paid for hydrandrea and the florist had included a few roses as well – again, very nice. But the ceremony arrangements were a big disappointment. I had provided a photo of EXACTLY what I had wanted and their version was a far cry. I had specified no daisies and there were gerbera daisies in the arrangements, they did not use the containers I asked for and the right and left ones were slightly different. Ok, no big deal. Then I got to the reception. The very expensive arrangement for the placecard table was ALL wrong. Again, I had provided a photo and asked for a recreation of the photo with red flowers instead of the ones shown. The branches had leaves on them, the flowers were mixed with the dreaded white lilies in them and it was nothing as I had wanted it. I got to the reception site and told Lizette “this is not what I wanted” and she said “we are not finished yet, don’t worry”. The centerpieces were very pretty but missing the amaranthus that I wanted and had them write down.

So all in all – I think Spitz & Peck is great if you love the traditional white flower deal. I think they have lots of experience with that so probably do a wonderful job in those cases. I do think they were trying to please me but just didn’t understand that when I said “I don’t like white flowers” or “I want this exactly” – I really meant that. In my case, I was very disappointed with a few key things, which tainted some of the good things they did.

Ceremony: St Malachy’s Church
The priest, Father Erno, is sweet but a little disorganized. A few encounters had me very nervous about how the ceremony would turn out. Particularily when he called to tell me a few days before the rehearsal that he would not be joining us because he would be “out of town”.
But the ceremony was beautiful. Father Erno did exactly as we asked.
The music director was on the ball the entire time. She arranged for 2 beautiful vocalists to do a rendition of “Ave Maria” and “The Prayer”.

Reception: Yale Club
Nearly everything was perfect on our wedding day. If there were any major mishaps, I don’t know about it. The rooms were absolutely perfect for the party I wanted, and our # of guests. The suite we were given that night was huge and lovely. Our maitre d was very accommodating all around. My only complaint is that the catering manager, Kevin OBrien, was quite curt throughout the planning. He didn’t return my phone calls and was very unaccommodating when it came to my requests to bring my own candles. He had not even planned to be there on our wedding day but made sure that we knew it was expected of us to give him a “several hundred dollar” tip a week before the wedding.

Band: Timepiece
Honestly, I don’t remember much except that they didn’t do a great job with our first dance. Granted, we had a very unusual request of performing the song EXACTLY as the Nat King Cole version we provided but I was still a little upset about that. I remember hearing a few of the songs as we danced and thinking they were doing a great job with those. And I know they learned one of my favorite songs, “Get Here” and did a beautiful job with it. The band members were sweet and courteous and a pleasure to deal with. I really need to watch the raw footage of my video to give a full review here since so much is a blur – but lots of people said the band was great so that is a start.

Re: Sonicstef's 10/5 Wedding Vendor Reviews

Photographers: Jodi & Lynn from Mark Kauffman Studios
All along during the planning, Mark had been great to work with - flexible, understanding and professional. Jodi and Lynn were a pleasure to be around on the wedding day – everyone loved them. We have tons of photos!! Our photos are beautiful but I will reserve final judgment until I received the high speed film (which is my favorite style) and start working on the album. I will be posting lots of shots later this week so everyone can make their own assessment.

Video: Wild Rose Video
Marie has been a joy during the planning (as all the Wild Rose videos already know). I didn’t even see the videographers at the ceremony and they were as unobtrusive as possible during the reception. I haven’t seen my video yet so I won’t comment on final product but I will say to everyone: GET A VIDEO!! I was so anti-video, even up until the day before the wedding. I was dreading a camera in my face all alone – even though I know Marie would be great. Well, I am so happy I decided to go against my judgement and get a video – I can’t wait to see all the things that I missed. And trust me, no matter how hard you try to take it all in – you miss a lot!!

Day of Coordinator: Elaine Gottlieb
I decided sort of at the last minute to use one. She did a great job and was completely exhausted by the end of the night. From what I have heard, she did a lot of stuff behind the scenes so I didn’t have to get into the fray which I really appreciate. She was also great to have around during the getting ready for the nail polish we needed, etc.. Im sure she did so much that I don’t know about so I can’t even list it here but she is great. Definitely recommend her.

Hope that helps. I will be adding photos very shortly to illustrate some of this but if you have any questions, let me know!

Re: Sonicstef's 10/5 Wedding Vendor Reviews

Sounds like a perfect day Stef. How did all your 'touches' go over? (placecandles, etc)

Re: Sonicstef's 10/5 Wedding Vendor Reviews

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! You have helped many a brides with this detailed review (I will look into giraffe website). I must compliment you on your elegance and taste. Many blessings for a wonderful marriage!!!!!!

Re: Sonicstef's 10/5 Wedding Vendor Reviews

A great review !!!! Thanks Stef !!!

Re: Sonicstef's 10/5 Wedding Vendor Reviews

Welcome back and congratulations to you and your hubby. Despite the few mishaps, it seems like you had a wonderful day. We can't wait to see your photos.

Re: Sonicstef's 10/5 Wedding Vendor Reviews

Congrats Stef...you are a married woman now...all the best to you and Luke for many, many years of happiness.

Re: Sonicstef's 10/5 Wedding Vendor Reviews

I think everyone really liked all the little touches. I very happy I did them because I think those things really make the wedding your own.

I will post a very long wedding day recap as soon as I have some pictures scanned to illustrate it.

Re: Sonicstef's 10/5 Wedding Vendor Reviews

Congrats! Best wishes!

Re: Sonicstef's 10/5 Wedding Vendor Reviews

Congratulations!! Good Luck to you and your new hubby!!! Can't wait to see pictures...

Re: Sonicstef's 10/5 Wedding Vendor Reviews

*anxiously awaiting pictures* from what I've seen and heard on here, your wedding was beautiful! So glad everything worked out for the most part, congrats!

Re: Sonicstef's 10/5 Wedding Vendor Reviews

Stef...I'm so happy that most everything went exactly as you wanted it...

I am very excited to see the Photos!!

just thinking about the NYT one gets me excited!!

Re: Sonicstef's 10/5 Wedding Vendor Reviews

Congratulations and Best Wishes. I am so glad everything went well. I cant wait for the pictures.

Re: Sonicstef's 10/5 Wedding Vendor Reviews

Thanks for the GREAT, indepth review. I'm glad you are so happy. Congrats

Re: Sonicstef's 10/5 Wedding Vendor Reviews

Congrats Stef! Can't wait to see the photos!

Re: Sonicstef's 10/5 Wedding Vendor Reviews

Congratulations....

Re: Sonicstef's 10/5 Wedding Vendor Reviews

Congrats..it sounds like a wonderful time was had by all!

Re: Sonicstef's 10/5 Wedding Vendor Reviews

Congrats!!!! Can't wait to see your photos!!

Re: Sonicstef's 10/5 Wedding Vendor Reviews

Steph,
I was shocked when I read your reviews because I thought 'Yale Club' my parents were just there at a wedding, then I put Stef and Yale Club and the program on my kitchen table all together. They loved it! My parents Ron and Eileen, thought the music was great, the food was excellent and the Yale Club was so elegant. I personally loved your programs from the timeline and the colors. The favor Chrystler builiding was so cute. I actually stole the things from them and put them in my room as something to get ideas from! My parents thought the candle placecard holder was a great idea. They also raved about the dessert you had. Thanks for your reviews on Bridal Reflections-very helpful. My sister-in law also had complaints about Spitz and Peck. One last thing- Where is Barry's Formalwear and how can I find them?
Thanks!

Re: Sonicstef's 10/5 Wedding Vendor Reviews

Congratulations, Stef