Paulaboo's Review: 11/17 Chateau Briand, Pedestals, Lucy Schaeffer, Pomatic, Houston Street, Old Westbury Gardens,
I've always loved reading reviews. When I was planning it was very helpful to read all the good and the bad of wedding planning.
Overall, I think that my advice is to be as organized as you can be. I got engaged in April, and got married in November... so pulling off a wedding was not an easy feat. We burned two months just trying to figure out a date, and so, when we started planning we only had 6 months to plan. As with everyone's advice, figure out your budget and wedding style early. Communication is super important as well.
Here's the review:
Florist: Pedestals - C
Flowers came late for the cocktail hour, which were wrong. We had a Thai water pouring ceremony that required a bowl to be hidden in the flower arrangement. HIDDEN is the key word. Instead, minutes before the ceremony, my mother was re-arranging flowers (the 2 doz roses my hubby bought for me) to cover up the bowl. I had to spend a lot of time with this vendor, since we were doing something non-traditional. I don't think that our rep got what we were trying to do, and didn't take the time to figure it out. Our centerpieces were the wrong color.. we asked for peach roses, and they were very pale.. I understand that my situation probably wasn't easy, so, I wouldn't recommend this vendor if you were doing something different.
Save the Dates: VistaPrint - A
http://www.vistaprint.com/
We ordered postcards with a picture from one of our trips. We needed quick cards, and they were great. They were blank post cards, with our wedding date and picture in front. On the back we hand wrote messages and 'Save the Date' verbiage on it. We sent them out to close friends. The left over post cards we used for Thank You cards, since there was no text printed on them. Also, since our invitations were delivered the same week as our STD's, we just shifted gears to send the invitations out.
Invitations: Costco - A
We went with Costco for our invitations. Great prices and quick turn around time, it was a great choice for us.
Make-up: Cindy Rodriguez - A++++++++++
[email protected]
I have a HUGE Tattoo on my back and sensitive skin, so it was very important to me to get a very good make-up artist. Cindy was busy with Olympus Fashion week when I tried to contact her. She's also done work for Oscar de la Renta & Ramona Keveza during bridal fashion week. She uses MAC products and I can't believe how well the make-up held up. My tattoo disappeared, my complexion was picture perfect all night, and i never noticed any of the make-up on my face. Everything was perfect! And she totally gets the Asian face!
Tattoo Before:
Tattoo After:
Dress: RK's Bridal
The price was great and everyone was super nice! I went in on weekdays during the day, and the service was great. I also ordered my BM's dresses there and had them shipped. No issues at all! It was nice and easy. I did have to follow up, but that' was okay. I had to pick up my dress on a Saturday, and it was a madhouse. My recommendation: If possible, go during off hours!
Reception Hall: Chateau Briand - A (almost a plus)
Tom and Lisa were great during the negotiations and pre-planning. Because we were the only wedding that night, we got BOTH photo studios. We started off at the hall at 2:00 for pictures in the first studio. At 4:00 we had our Chinese Tea ceremony in another room, which really made it special. The extra rooms would have given CB an A+, they were super accommodating! We got our Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches for our courtesy station... GREAT!
The *only* thing keeping this place from getting a solid A+ was that we didn't get a chance to enter the ballroom till minutes right before the guests were scheduled to enter. That left very little time for our DJ to set up their music and our photo montage screen.
Photographer: Lucy Schaeffer A++++++++++
I don't have enough nice things to say about her. Extremely professional, a super hard worker. She was there from the start till the very end! I would recommend her to everyone!
http://www.lucyschaeffer.com/
http://www.lucyschaefferweddings.com/
Videographer: Houston Street Productions A+++++++++++
I don't think that Adrian stopped working at all. I think he was behind the camera the entire time. Great guy to work with, and extremely professional.
Houston Street Productions
www.houstonstreetproductions.com
DJ and Entertainment: A++++++++++
They were great! They extended themselves time and time again to make sure that this was a smooth event. They were let into the reception hall minutes before the guest arrived and did such a great job pulling together the photo-montage, and introduction so fast!. I love them! Adam was a great MC that got the guests into the party... and Steve kept the music going.
http://www.pomatic.com/
Honeymoon: Travel Tom A+++
Almost totally perfect. He was great with following up, and it was fabulous to have an agent that does all the work for you. We left almost everything to Tom, and all we had to do was pack and show up at the airport. We Honeymooned in Hawaii: Kona, Kauai, and Maui and had a blast. The *only* hiccup was that our 3 car rentals were all made for one location in Kauai... but that was easily fixed by Alamo. He's great... if you have your honeymoon planned by Travel Tom, it's one less worry on your plate!
Old Westbury Gardens: A++++
They were super accommodating, and allowed us to take some pictures indoors. We didn't stray far from the mansion b/c it was so cold. I totally recommend taking the time to take solo pictures so you're able to get some quiet time with the hubby before the craziness of the reception. A little pricey, but worth it!
Bridal Registry: Bed Bath and Beyond A++++
Simply for the fact that you're able to return ANY GIFT off your registry for CASH. Wonderful isn't it?
Overall, I think that my advice is to be as organized as you can be. I got engaged in April, and got married in November... so pulling off a wedding was not an easy feat. We burned two months just trying to figure out a date, and so, when we started planning we only had 6 months to plan. As with everyone's advice, figure out your budget and wedding style early. Communication is super important as well.
Here's the review:
Florist: Pedestals - C
Flowers came late for the cocktail hour, which were wrong. We had a Thai water pouring ceremony that required a bowl to be hidden in the flower arrangement. HIDDEN is the key word. Instead, minutes before the ceremony, my mother was re-arranging flowers (the 2 doz roses my hubby bought for me) to cover up the bowl. I had to spend a lot of time with this vendor, since we were doing something non-traditional. I don't think that our rep got what we were trying to do, and didn't take the time to figure it out. Our centerpieces were the wrong color.. we asked for peach roses, and they were very pale.. I understand that my situation probably wasn't easy, so, I wouldn't recommend this vendor if you were doing something different.
Save the Dates: VistaPrint - A
http://www.vistaprint.com/
We ordered postcards with a picture from one of our trips. We needed quick cards, and they were great. They were blank post cards, with our wedding date and picture in front. On the back we hand wrote messages and 'Save the Date' verbiage on it. We sent them out to close friends. The left over post cards we used for Thank You cards, since there was no text printed on them. Also, since our invitations were delivered the same week as our STD's, we just shifted gears to send the invitations out.
Invitations: Costco - A
We went with Costco for our invitations. Great prices and quick turn around time, it was a great choice for us.
Make-up: Cindy Rodriguez - A++++++++++
[email protected]
I have a HUGE Tattoo on my back and sensitive skin, so it was very important to me to get a very good make-up artist. Cindy was busy with Olympus Fashion week when I tried to contact her. She's also done work for Oscar de la Renta & Ramona Keveza during bridal fashion week. She uses MAC products and I can't believe how well the make-up held up. My tattoo disappeared, my complexion was picture perfect all night, and i never noticed any of the make-up on my face. Everything was perfect! And she totally gets the Asian face!
Tattoo Before:
Tattoo After:
Dress: RK's Bridal
The price was great and everyone was super nice! I went in on weekdays during the day, and the service was great. I also ordered my BM's dresses there and had them shipped. No issues at all! It was nice and easy. I did have to follow up, but that' was okay. I had to pick up my dress on a Saturday, and it was a madhouse. My recommendation: If possible, go during off hours!
Reception Hall: Chateau Briand - A (almost a plus)
Tom and Lisa were great during the negotiations and pre-planning. Because we were the only wedding that night, we got BOTH photo studios. We started off at the hall at 2:00 for pictures in the first studio. At 4:00 we had our Chinese Tea ceremony in another room, which really made it special. The extra rooms would have given CB an A+, they were super accommodating! We got our Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches for our courtesy station... GREAT!
The *only* thing keeping this place from getting a solid A+ was that we didn't get a chance to enter the ballroom till minutes right before the guests were scheduled to enter. That left very little time for our DJ to set up their music and our photo montage screen.
Photographer: Lucy Schaeffer A++++++++++
I don't have enough nice things to say about her. Extremely professional, a super hard worker. She was there from the start till the very end! I would recommend her to everyone!
http://www.lucyschaeffer.com/
http://www.lucyschaefferweddings.com/
Videographer: Houston Street Productions A+++++++++++
I don't think that Adrian stopped working at all. I think he was behind the camera the entire time. Great guy to work with, and extremely professional.
Houston Street Productions
www.houstonstreetproductions.com
DJ and Entertainment: A++++++++++
They were great! They extended themselves time and time again to make sure that this was a smooth event. They were let into the reception hall minutes before the guest arrived and did such a great job pulling together the photo-montage, and introduction so fast!. I love them! Adam was a great MC that got the guests into the party... and Steve kept the music going.
http://www.pomatic.com/
Honeymoon: Travel Tom A+++
Almost totally perfect. He was great with following up, and it was fabulous to have an agent that does all the work for you. We left almost everything to Tom, and all we had to do was pack and show up at the airport. We Honeymooned in Hawaii: Kona, Kauai, and Maui and had a blast. The *only* hiccup was that our 3 car rentals were all made for one location in Kauai... but that was easily fixed by Alamo. He's great... if you have your honeymoon planned by Travel Tom, it's one less worry on your plate!
Old Westbury Gardens: A++++
They were super accommodating, and allowed us to take some pictures indoors. We didn't stray far from the mansion b/c it was so cold. I totally recommend taking the time to take solo pictures so you're able to get some quiet time with the hubby before the craziness of the reception. A little pricey, but worth it!
Bridal Registry: Bed Bath and Beyond A++++
Simply for the fact that you're able to return ANY GIFT off your registry for CASH. Wonderful isn't it?
