NOW WITH PICS - My 6/12/04 Chateau Briand Wedding and Aruba Honeymoon Review!
Hello all! I'm back from the honeymoon. The wedding was wonderful, amazing, and went by very fast! The weather was perfect for our outdoor ceremony. And the honeymoon was awesome. Here is my review of all our vendors, etc. If you want more information, feel free to FM me!
Ceremony/Reception - Chateau Briand - A+
The CB was so very good to us. Throughout the planning process, they granted our every request and accommodated everything we wanted. The food was unbelievable. The DaVinci room (and outdoor garden) was gorgeous. The staff was super attentive. The Viennese tables were overwhelming. The Krispy Kremes, bagels, and coffee on the way out was so unique. People have been calling my parents nonstop to rave about the wedding, saying they have never been to anything like it in their lives. We don't have a single complaint.
Flowers - Flowers by Brian - A+
Brian is amazing. We were so annoying with what we wanted and he did everything we wanted, going above and beyond. Even his staff was so awesome. The white roses in the centerpieces didn't brown at all throughout the night, and he put tuling (sp?) and lights on the reception room which made a BIG hit. He decorated the ceremony gazebo with tons of flowers too. (We had another florist do the bouquets b/c it's a family friend so I can't comment on those). I love him!
Tuxedos - After Hours - F
I can't even get into it. I mean, tuxedos are supposed to be the EASIEST part and they were one of the most difficult. First they sold us suits instead of tuxedos. Then we were able to change it, but when they came in, many were the wrong sizes and the groomsmen had to go back the morning of the wedding. The store (Huntington) is run by teenagers. And even though they had THIRTEEN weddings our weekend, they only had TWO people working the entire weekend so each groomsman had to wait an hour to get his tux and try it on. Horrible.
BM Dresses - Bridal Couture of Manhasset - C-
The only reason I gave them such a high rating was because at the end of the day, everyone had a dress to wear. But there were a lot of tears along the way. I know that many stores always order the wrong size, but usually it's BIGGER so they can alter it. Well, they measured everyone and for some reason, everyone's dress was way too small. Not much you can do about that! They were Vera Wang dresses so I thought they must run 4 sizes too small, but many people who have Vera Wang told me that wasn't the case. Anyway, my girls were very unhappy. And the management wouldn't even return our calls about it.
Gown - Eve of Milady - Bridal Reflections - B+
I'll start by saying that I LOVED my gown. We went to BR despite all the negative reviews b/c we wanted to go somewhere that sold EOM, had been in business awhile, and was close enough to get to fittings. The staff was snotty sometimes, yes. And they were supposed to order the dress already hemmed to my height due to all the beading on it. The dress didn't come in that way though so they had to redo it. Anyway, the seamstress (Lee) did an amazing job. And at the end of the day, BR was able to get me my dress, and alter it, within 4 months. Can't complain.
Photography - Proline Studios - A-
We went with the CB house photographer because we wanted someone familiar with the venue and when we met Mike, we liked him a lot. Our photographers were Mitch for formals, and George for photojournalism. Mitch was very competent and to his credit, tried to get all the pictures we wanted, but our personalities just didn't mesh and I felt like he was being a little annoying. I'll report back when I get my proofs. George was the nicest, friendliest guy, I liked him a lot.
Videography - Proline - A
We haven't seen the video yet but we liked Mario a lot, mostly because he wasn't in our face bothering us all night - we barely saw him, but knew he was getting all the moments on video.
Ceremony Music - Sterling Music - A+
We had a harpist and a flutist and it was beautiful. Just what we wanted. They were easy to work with, showed up on time. No complaints.
Band/DJ - Steven Scott - Jump Street - C+
I am most disappointed with this vendor because I was sure it would be our best vendor. During the planning, they were very easy to work with, accommodating, responsive, etc. And we know they have a great reputation. They gave us a cd, let us watch a video, etc. But the problem was that we gave them specific lists of songs TO play and NOT to play, and they didn't follow it. In fact, they played some songs TWICE, some not a ALL, and some that we requested not to play. Plus, they rushed the best man speech before everyone was quiet so we didn't even hear it. They rushed some other things too and didn't even give me a change to give my thank you speech, which I asked to do. And one of the singers was NOT good, and one we had heard previously was not there. Plus, they mispronounced everybody's name after promising they wouldn't. Overall, everyone danced all night and had a great time regardless so maybe it was just me because I was paying special attention.
to be continued...
Ceremony/Reception - Chateau Briand - A+
The CB was so very good to us. Throughout the planning process, they granted our every request and accommodated everything we wanted. The food was unbelievable. The DaVinci room (and outdoor garden) was gorgeous. The staff was super attentive. The Viennese tables were overwhelming. The Krispy Kremes, bagels, and coffee on the way out was so unique. People have been calling my parents nonstop to rave about the wedding, saying they have never been to anything like it in their lives. We don't have a single complaint.
Flowers - Flowers by Brian - A+
Brian is amazing. We were so annoying with what we wanted and he did everything we wanted, going above and beyond. Even his staff was so awesome. The white roses in the centerpieces didn't brown at all throughout the night, and he put tuling (sp?) and lights on the reception room which made a BIG hit. He decorated the ceremony gazebo with tons of flowers too. (We had another florist do the bouquets b/c it's a family friend so I can't comment on those). I love him!
Tuxedos - After Hours - F
I can't even get into it. I mean, tuxedos are supposed to be the EASIEST part and they were one of the most difficult. First they sold us suits instead of tuxedos. Then we were able to change it, but when they came in, many were the wrong sizes and the groomsmen had to go back the morning of the wedding. The store (Huntington) is run by teenagers. And even though they had THIRTEEN weddings our weekend, they only had TWO people working the entire weekend so each groomsman had to wait an hour to get his tux and try it on. Horrible.
BM Dresses - Bridal Couture of Manhasset - C-
The only reason I gave them such a high rating was because at the end of the day, everyone had a dress to wear. But there were a lot of tears along the way. I know that many stores always order the wrong size, but usually it's BIGGER so they can alter it. Well, they measured everyone and for some reason, everyone's dress was way too small. Not much you can do about that! They were Vera Wang dresses so I thought they must run 4 sizes too small, but many people who have Vera Wang told me that wasn't the case. Anyway, my girls were very unhappy. And the management wouldn't even return our calls about it.
Gown - Eve of Milady - Bridal Reflections - B+
I'll start by saying that I LOVED my gown. We went to BR despite all the negative reviews b/c we wanted to go somewhere that sold EOM, had been in business awhile, and was close enough to get to fittings. The staff was snotty sometimes, yes. And they were supposed to order the dress already hemmed to my height due to all the beading on it. The dress didn't come in that way though so they had to redo it. Anyway, the seamstress (Lee) did an amazing job. And at the end of the day, BR was able to get me my dress, and alter it, within 4 months. Can't complain.
Photography - Proline Studios - A-
We went with the CB house photographer because we wanted someone familiar with the venue and when we met Mike, we liked him a lot. Our photographers were Mitch for formals, and George for photojournalism. Mitch was very competent and to his credit, tried to get all the pictures we wanted, but our personalities just didn't mesh and I felt like he was being a little annoying. I'll report back when I get my proofs. George was the nicest, friendliest guy, I liked him a lot.
Videography - Proline - A
We haven't seen the video yet but we liked Mario a lot, mostly because he wasn't in our face bothering us all night - we barely saw him, but knew he was getting all the moments on video.
Ceremony Music - Sterling Music - A+
We had a harpist and a flutist and it was beautiful. Just what we wanted. They were easy to work with, showed up on time. No complaints.
Band/DJ - Steven Scott - Jump Street - C+
I am most disappointed with this vendor because I was sure it would be our best vendor. During the planning, they were very easy to work with, accommodating, responsive, etc. And we know they have a great reputation. They gave us a cd, let us watch a video, etc. But the problem was that we gave them specific lists of songs TO play and NOT to play, and they didn't follow it. In fact, they played some songs TWICE, some not a ALL, and some that we requested not to play. Plus, they rushed the best man speech before everyone was quiet so we didn't even hear it. They rushed some other things too and didn't even give me a change to give my thank you speech, which I asked to do. And one of the singers was NOT good, and one we had heard previously was not there. Plus, they mispronounced everybody's name after promising they wouldn't. Overall, everyone danced all night and had a great time regardless so maybe it was just me because I was paying special attention.
to be continued...
