May 2012 Wedding Review: North Ritz Club, Hidden Essence, Right Angle Studios, Big Hits Entertainment, Chamberlain Brass Quintet

[updated with dress pics/ all pics below are still non-pro]

I wanted to make sure that my fantastic vendors got the good buzz that they deserved for their excellent service this weekend at our wedding. This website - and these bride reviews in particular - was an invaluable resource when I was researching vendors, so I thought I would contribute to communal knowledge with a short review.

----NORTH RITZ CLUB (Venue): A+

NRC did a fantastic job with every aspect of our wedding on the day of the event. NRC handles only one event at a time, so they pay attention to every detail. They have beautiful grounds for pictures, an exquisite (and recently renovated) cocktail hour room, and a really nice reception room. NRC also does ceremony flowers for you if you have your ceremony there.

ceremony:



Food-wise, NRC's cocktail hour food is fantastic, and better than its reception food, though the reception food is also very good.

cocktail hour:



reception hall:


cake (by NRC):

The best part about NRC, though, is the service. The front desk people are sweet, professional, and a pleasure to communicate with during the planning process. The general manager, John, can be a little off-putting at times, but he seems more no BS than anything else, which can be refreshing.

The staff on the day of the wedding were also excellent and very professional. George Georgelis, our maitre'D, deserves special mention. He was completely on top of the wedding schedule, kept the entire event running smoothly and on time, and attended to every detail that we requested (e.g., moving a piano into the reception room, red ceremony flowers, arrangement of chairs at the ceremony). The NRC staff were attentive, courteous, and numerous, which meant that service was top notch. There was always someone circulating, filling our guests' water glasses and generally attending to the tables constantly. On a personal level, George is a joy to work with - he's a warm, friendly individual, and highly competent.

NRC also provides a bridal attendant on the day of the wedding. My attendant, Isabel, was incredible and also deserves mention. She made sure that I was fed, that I had water when I needed it, held my bouquet for me, fetched things for me, helped me with my dress train, helped me use the restroom (it's hard to pee in a wedding dress!), and generally waited on me hand and foot. At the end of the day, she packed up all of my items for me (cake top, shoes, veil, etc.) and even found a parasol that I had somehow misplaced. Having a bridal attendant also freed up my maid of honor so that she could have a good time.

Overall, I would highly recommend NRC as a venue to any prospective bride.

Be aware, though, that NRC does enforce the mandatory minimum in the contract no matter what was said orally at your initial meeting (but then again, it's a general rule of contracts to get EVERYTHING in writing).

----WEDDING HILLS (Dress): A for the dress, B for the adventure

Not many brides do this, but I rented my dress. I didn't want the hassle of cleaning and storing something I would never wear again. So I rented from Wedding Hills in Flushing, NY and got a really great deal: a lovely dress, veil, and alterations for $750 total. The store has a decent selection of dresses to rent from, or they can order/buy a new one for you that you will then rent from them for far less than the purchase price. I ordered a new one.

The catch: I ordered my designer dress in October and they told me it'd arrive in a few months. I get this call in February (wedding is in May): 'Er, your dress won't be here until June.' Hahaha! I'm not sure what went wrong in the line of communication, and I'm not sure whether it was the manufacturer or the store's fault, but in any case, the store cancelled the designer dress order and commissioned a rush copy of the dress I'd ordered from their factory in China. They said 'it'd look similar' to the one I ordered.

This meant I had no idea what the dress would look like, and I didn't see or try on the dress until 2 weeks before the wedding. But it all turned out fine in the end: dress did look pretty much like the designer one, and I had plenty of time for fitting/putting in a bustle. Plus I got a good laugh out of the little adventure. I loved the dress: it didn't look like a copy, and the store gave me a discount on top of the great price I got.

Bargain hunter brides, consider renting!





----HIDDEN ESSENCE (Florist): A+

I had a great experience working with Michelle Ierulli (and Liz) at Hidden Essence. I've included pictures below of the arrangements that she did for our fire-themed wedding. What can't be captured in pictures, though, is how great Michelle is to work with. She's very friendly, warm, and seems genuinely passionate about what she does. She's very responsive to changes, and she has great ideas to complement the ones that you have. Michelle was organized and very much on top of things - I didn't need to confirm anything twice, because she gave every bride personal attention and knew what was going on.

My parents were particularly impressed by how prepared the entire Hidden Essence staff was. For our parent flowers, we got beautiful green orchids, but because they were so delicate, some of the petals snapped off. Michelle was ready to adapt on the spot and made beautiful replacement rose bouts/corsages for our parents without missing a beat.

I met with several florists during my search, and Hidden Essence is *very* reasonably priced. You get great personalized service and lots of value for your dollar, and Michelle does not push you to rack up costs with unnecessary extras. She executes your vision with passion and professionalism. I would highly recommend this florist!

pictures:






Hidden Essence also has more pictures posted on Facebook.

----CHAMBERLAIN BRASS QUINTET (Ceremony Music): A-
I hired a local brass quintet, and they sounded great at my outdoor ceremony. I've written a review of them on Gigmasters.




----RIGHT ANGLE STUDIOS (Photography/Videography): A+
My professional photos are not yet out, but I definitely wanted to put in a plug for George Speirs and his staff at Right Angle Studios for photography and videography. His website has plenty of examples of his work, but again I wanted to comment on an intangible. The best part about George is how comfortable he makes you feel; it's incredibly easy to be photographed by him, because he's very funny, shows you what to do and how to pose, and keeps you relaxed. I'm pretty shy and I don't like being photographed, so it was important to me to have a photographer that could put me at ease. George definitely fit the bill.

I will also add that George helped out my father with some random unrelated projects (converting some HD camcorder recordings into DVDs) completely free of charge. He's a genuinely good guy and, again, so easy to work with. He was probably my favorite vendor, and I'd highly recommend him.


----BIG HITS ENTERTAINMENT (Reception Music): A
Gerry Anton, the owner of Big Hits, was very professional and a pleasure to work with during the pre-wedding planning process. He's been in the business a long time, and so has all of his experienced staff. He doesn't try to pressure you into buying unnecessary lighting packages or anything like that, though Big Hits can certainly do that if you want.

At our wedding, we worked with Wayne (MC) and John (DJ). Wayne had a great MC voice, was very professional (and funny), and did a really good job getting my mostly old guests onto the dance floor. Moreover, he did so in unobtrusive and non-tacky ways. John the DJ also did a great job of selecting and mixing the music. Again, everyone at Big Hits was clearly very experienced, and just plain professional. Another good vendor to work with.


----CAMELOT LIMOS (Transportation): A-
We booked a 9-passenger Lincoln stretch with Camelot. The limo itself was great - clean, snazzy, and with free champagne. The driver was very punctual, snazzily dressed, and professional. He helped the ladies exit the vehicle and popped the champagne open for us.

The only 'minus' came from the courtesy car which Camelot threw in for us at the end of the day: the courtesy car driver was punctual, but he seemed a bit confused (and not as polite as our morning limo driver, who was great). He told us he was there to pick up a different couple before he checked his papers and realized he was there to pick us up after all. But all in all, we had a good experience and would recommend Camelot Limos.

Re: May Wedding Review: North Ritz Club, Hidden Essence, Right Angle Studios, Big Hits Entertainment, Chamberlain Brass Quintet

Beautiful congrats ...

Re: May 2012 Wedding Review: North Ritz Club, Hidden Essence, Right Angle Studios, Big Hits Entertainment, Chamberlain Brass Quintet

Thanks for sharing & Congrats!

Re: May 2012 Wedding Review: North Ritz Club, Hidden Essence, Right Angle Studios, Big Hits Entertainment, Chamberlain Brass Quintet

i love your flowers!

Re: May 2012 Wedding Review: North Ritz Club, Hidden Essence, Right Angle Studios, Big Hits Entertainment, Chamberlain Brass Quintet

great colors! congrats

Re: May 2012 Wedding Review: North Ritz Club, Hidden Essence, Right Angle Studios, Big Hits Entertainment, Chamberlain Brass Quintet

congrats, thanks for the review.

Re: May 2012 Wedding Review: North Ritz Club, Hidden Essence, Right Angle Studios, Big Hits Entertainment, Chamberlain Brass Quintet

Congrats! I'm using George for the reasons you stated above! He's just such a good guy and makes you feel comfortable! Please share your pro pics when you get them! Thanks for the review!

Re: May 2012 Wedding Review: North Ritz Club, Hidden Essence, Right Angle Studios, Big Hits Entertainment, Chamberlain Brass Quintet

love your colors!! congrats!!

Re: May 2012 Wedding Review: North Ritz Club, Hidden Essence, Right Angle Studios, Big Hits Entertainment, Chamberlain Brass Quintet

congrats!!!!!!!!

Re: May 2012 Wedding Review: North Ritz Club, Hidden Essence, Right Angle Studios, Big Hits Entertainment, Chamberlain Brass Quintet

Congrats!

Re: May 2012 Wedding Review: North Ritz Club, Hidden Essence, Right Angle Studios, Big Hits Entertainment, Chamberlain Brass Quintet

Beautiful flowers, congratulations

Re: May 2012 Wedding Review: North Ritz Club, Hidden Essence, Right Angle Studios, Big Hits Entertainment, Chamberlain Brass Quintet

Congratulations!

Re: May 2012 Wedding Review: North Ritz Club, Hidden Essence, Right Angle Studios, Big Hits Entertainment, Chamberlain Brass Quintet

I love your colors and the flowers were beautiful. Congrats!

Re: May 2012 Wedding Review: North Ritz Club, Hidden Essence, Right Angle Studios, Big Hits Entertainment, Chamberlain Brass Quintet

Great review! Beautiful!

Re: May 2012 Wedding Review: North Ritz Club, Hidden Essence, Right Angle Studios, Big Hits Entertainment, Chamberlain Brass Quintet

Congrats!! Your flowers were beautiful. Would love to see your dress

Re: May 2012 Wedding Review: North Ritz Club, Hidden Essence, Right Angle Studios, Big Hits Entertainment, Chamberlain Brass Quintet

---

Posted by Bride2Be78

Congrats!! Your flowers were beautiful. Would love to see your dress

---

Re: May 2012 Wedding Review: North Ritz Club, Hidden Essence, Right Angle Studios, Big Hits Entertainment, Chamberlain Brass Quintet

Re: May 2012 Wedding Review: North Ritz Club, Hidden Essence, Right Angle Studios, Big Hits Entertainment, Chamberlain Brass Quintet

great review, i so excited you had a great experience... btw was there a safe in the wedding suite?

Re: May 2012 Wedding Review: North Ritz Club, Hidden Essence, Right Angle Studios, Big Hits Entertainment, Chamberlain Brass Quintet

Congrats! Love your bouquet.

Re: May 2012 Wedding Review: North Ritz Club, Hidden Essence, Right Angle Studios, Big Hits Entertainment, Chamberlain Brass Quintet

Congratulations! Thanks for the review. Beautiful pics.