My 8-28 wedding review with Pics
Invitations/Accessories: Simply Elegant: 10 +++
Gail runs the business from her home. I did not mind this at all after I met her. I can truly say she was the sweetest and most pleasant vendor to deal with through out the whole wedding process. We got our invitations (with a 30% discount), guest book and pen, grooms man gifts, ring pillow and guest book. She had almost every possible invitation vendor and she could get all kinds of favors. I truly recommend her.
Wedding Gown: RK Bridal: 8
I should mention that RK had almost every wedding gown designer and has so so much to choose from. The prices were also great; there were dresses for every budget and my sales lady was wonderful. This place could get really busy, so the best time to go is during the week in the morning and no appointment is necessary. However, I had a few issues with them. When I finally chose my gown, and they called me 3 months later to come try on my dress didn't?t fit!!! Somehow the measurements must have been wrong because instead of me gaining weight, I had lost 3 lbs. After a little bit of struggle with them, they ordered me a new dress and was in less than a week.
Tuxedo Rental: Men?s Wearhouse: 9
Nice prices, nice tuxes, fair service. And since nothing is really perfect, one of the groomsmen?s shirt was too small, ring bearers shoes didn't?t fit and they almost gave the groom a heart attack when they could not find his tux for half a hr.
Makeup: Kiki Freeman: 9
I found her on Nadine?s budget vendor website. Kiki is a self-taught makeup artist with years of experience. She was reasonably priced and very sweet. The make up looked great on the wedding party and me. She came out to me for a trial and on the day of the wedding. I would have given her a 10, but she was a little late to my house and that delayed the whole day. I thought the makeup on me, mom and the girls looked awesome. I recommend her.
Music/DJ: Aristocrat Productions: 10
Tony kept the party going well. The dance floor was packed all night. He was courteous and very professional. I was very happy with his services. He was great DJ/MC for a bilingual wedding. And played a good mix. Recommended.
BM Dresses: Valentina Bridal (in Brooklyn): 8
My bridesmaids dresses were reasonably priced and alterations were included in the price. However I felt they were a bit pushy. And not sure how, my bridesmaids required a lot of alterations. One of the dresses was way too big, and they had made my BM pay extra for the plus size, when possibly wasn?t necessary. Recommended, but be cautious.
Photography/Video: The Pro?s: 3
John/Dennis: 9, 8
The Pro?s were my biggest concern through out my wedding planning. We originally booked them for DJ, Photo, and video 1 yr and a half in advance at one of their ?wine and cheese? events. They were very nicely priced and offered nice packages. We met with their professionals and liked the work we saw and booked them. After we had already booked found some bad reviews on the Knot about how they changed professionals at the last minute. And the professionals they ended up sending you were incompetent. We panicked and cancelled the DJ service we were assured and guaranteed our photo and video by they NY Vice President. After many phone calls confirming vendors and fighting to keep the videographer everything was all set. Of course the week of the wedding I get a phone call from the videographer, not the one we booked, but another one!!! Called the office and to my shock they had changed my photographer too. I was steaming by now. They promised stuff to compensate, but I believe it when I see it. The photographer and videographer turned out to be very nice and seemed to know what they were doing. Two weeks later our proofs are available on-line and they look great!!
Transportation: WhiteStar Limosine: 10 +++
We got a recommendation from Giando on the Water and I?m glad we booked them. These guys were really good. They were courteous, clean, well dressed, and helpful. We got a beautiful Rolls Royce and 2 Lincoln limos. They got to the groom and my house even earlier than scheduled. The price was right and the funniest part was that they gave us a bottle of wine every time we came to look at the cars and to book them. They even came back the next morning to drop off the groom?s cake, which the groom had left in the limo on the ride home, but we had already left to the airport. :0( That was really nice of them though.
Flowers: Jack and Rose Florist: 8
The personal flowers were beautiful. The Centerpieces were also very nice. There were a few things that bothered me though: The church flowers were terribly cheap and were a little dead when I got there, but that must have been because of the heat. The service was sometimes rude. The florist has his ideas of what is nice and tries to sell what he wants to do. Jack promised a beautiful flower piece for my house which never arrived. The arrangement for the card table turned out to be a dozen roses in a simple vase. When I went to make final payment for the flowers the secretary was very pushy about paying a tip in advance. His prices were good, but make sure you know exactly what you are gonna get before you sign anything. Again, you get what you pay for!!!
Reception: Giando on the water: 8
This place is much prettier than I was thinking. Has a beautiful view of the NYC skyline, which hopefully look nice in our pictures. And the food was good. I thought the banquet manager was a little strict at the beginning and they don?t give any samples of dinner or cake. They have a restaurant downstairs, that was one thing I liked, because I thought the food would be much better that way. They also only do one wedding at a time. The food was good, I truly don?t remember tasting the cake after the cake cutting, but my family liked it. After all the instructions were given to the banquet manager, the Maitre D? and the staff had no clue about the stuff we had spoken about to the banquet manager. The favors were supposed to be at each place setting, we had 2 bathroom baskets, we wanted the cake moved over to the side, and the cake hat box card holder was supposed to be next to our table. They did none of this until everybody was at the hall and we started asking where everything was. They did put our votives on the tables and some gifts we had for our fg and rb?s. They were apologetic but the damage was already done. No1 noticed these things but I did and it only added to the stress.
Honeymoon:
Oahu: Hilton Hawaiian Village: 10+++
The most beautiful hotel ever. A beautiful ocean front room with a stocked bar, dinning table, two Lanais.
The hotel was huge, beautiful and service was great. There were lots of shops and restaurants in the hotel. Overall the island and was beautiful, but very commercial, very much like a big city.
We got attacked by mosquitos though.
Maui: Maui Sheraton: 10+++
Absolutely gorgeous. Nice hotel, service was even better. Wonderful pool. The island was very nice and relaxing. There were nice beaches and so shops and lots of restaurants in the little town of Lahaina.
Gail runs the business from her home. I did not mind this at all after I met her. I can truly say she was the sweetest and most pleasant vendor to deal with through out the whole wedding process. We got our invitations (with a 30% discount), guest book and pen, grooms man gifts, ring pillow and guest book. She had almost every possible invitation vendor and she could get all kinds of favors. I truly recommend her.
Wedding Gown: RK Bridal: 8
I should mention that RK had almost every wedding gown designer and has so so much to choose from. The prices were also great; there were dresses for every budget and my sales lady was wonderful. This place could get really busy, so the best time to go is during the week in the morning and no appointment is necessary. However, I had a few issues with them. When I finally chose my gown, and they called me 3 months later to come try on my dress didn't?t fit!!! Somehow the measurements must have been wrong because instead of me gaining weight, I had lost 3 lbs. After a little bit of struggle with them, they ordered me a new dress and was in less than a week.
Tuxedo Rental: Men?s Wearhouse: 9
Nice prices, nice tuxes, fair service. And since nothing is really perfect, one of the groomsmen?s shirt was too small, ring bearers shoes didn't?t fit and they almost gave the groom a heart attack when they could not find his tux for half a hr.
Makeup: Kiki Freeman: 9
I found her on Nadine?s budget vendor website. Kiki is a self-taught makeup artist with years of experience. She was reasonably priced and very sweet. The make up looked great on the wedding party and me. She came out to me for a trial and on the day of the wedding. I would have given her a 10, but she was a little late to my house and that delayed the whole day. I thought the makeup on me, mom and the girls looked awesome. I recommend her.
Music/DJ: Aristocrat Productions: 10
Tony kept the party going well. The dance floor was packed all night. He was courteous and very professional. I was very happy with his services. He was great DJ/MC for a bilingual wedding. And played a good mix. Recommended.
BM Dresses: Valentina Bridal (in Brooklyn): 8
My bridesmaids dresses were reasonably priced and alterations were included in the price. However I felt they were a bit pushy. And not sure how, my bridesmaids required a lot of alterations. One of the dresses was way too big, and they had made my BM pay extra for the plus size, when possibly wasn?t necessary. Recommended, but be cautious.
Photography/Video: The Pro?s: 3
John/Dennis: 9, 8
The Pro?s were my biggest concern through out my wedding planning. We originally booked them for DJ, Photo, and video 1 yr and a half in advance at one of their ?wine and cheese? events. They were very nicely priced and offered nice packages. We met with their professionals and liked the work we saw and booked them. After we had already booked found some bad reviews on the Knot about how they changed professionals at the last minute. And the professionals they ended up sending you were incompetent. We panicked and cancelled the DJ service we were assured and guaranteed our photo and video by they NY Vice President. After many phone calls confirming vendors and fighting to keep the videographer everything was all set. Of course the week of the wedding I get a phone call from the videographer, not the one we booked, but another one!!! Called the office and to my shock they had changed my photographer too. I was steaming by now. They promised stuff to compensate, but I believe it when I see it. The photographer and videographer turned out to be very nice and seemed to know what they were doing. Two weeks later our proofs are available on-line and they look great!!
Transportation: WhiteStar Limosine: 10 +++
We got a recommendation from Giando on the Water and I?m glad we booked them. These guys were really good. They were courteous, clean, well dressed, and helpful. We got a beautiful Rolls Royce and 2 Lincoln limos. They got to the groom and my house even earlier than scheduled. The price was right and the funniest part was that they gave us a bottle of wine every time we came to look at the cars and to book them. They even came back the next morning to drop off the groom?s cake, which the groom had left in the limo on the ride home, but we had already left to the airport. :0( That was really nice of them though.
Flowers: Jack and Rose Florist: 8
The personal flowers were beautiful. The Centerpieces were also very nice. There were a few things that bothered me though: The church flowers were terribly cheap and were a little dead when I got there, but that must have been because of the heat. The service was sometimes rude. The florist has his ideas of what is nice and tries to sell what he wants to do. Jack promised a beautiful flower piece for my house which never arrived. The arrangement for the card table turned out to be a dozen roses in a simple vase. When I went to make final payment for the flowers the secretary was very pushy about paying a tip in advance. His prices were good, but make sure you know exactly what you are gonna get before you sign anything. Again, you get what you pay for!!!
Reception: Giando on the water: 8
This place is much prettier than I was thinking. Has a beautiful view of the NYC skyline, which hopefully look nice in our pictures. And the food was good. I thought the banquet manager was a little strict at the beginning and they don?t give any samples of dinner or cake. They have a restaurant downstairs, that was one thing I liked, because I thought the food would be much better that way. They also only do one wedding at a time. The food was good, I truly don?t remember tasting the cake after the cake cutting, but my family liked it. After all the instructions were given to the banquet manager, the Maitre D? and the staff had no clue about the stuff we had spoken about to the banquet manager. The favors were supposed to be at each place setting, we had 2 bathroom baskets, we wanted the cake moved over to the side, and the cake hat box card holder was supposed to be next to our table. They did none of this until everybody was at the hall and we started asking where everything was. They did put our votives on the tables and some gifts we had for our fg and rb?s. They were apologetic but the damage was already done. No1 noticed these things but I did and it only added to the stress.
Honeymoon:
Oahu: Hilton Hawaiian Village: 10+++
The most beautiful hotel ever. A beautiful ocean front room with a stocked bar, dinning table, two Lanais.
The hotel was huge, beautiful and service was great. There were lots of shops and restaurants in the hotel. Overall the island and was beautiful, but very commercial, very much like a big city.
We got attacked by mosquitos though.
Maui: Maui Sheraton: 10+++
Absolutely gorgeous. Nice hotel, service was even better. Wonderful pool. The island was very nice and relaxing. There were nice beaches and so shops and lots of restaurants in the little town of Lahaina.
