Sorry this took so long. Let me know if I left anything out. ~ Susan
Ceremony/Reception Hall: Ballroom at the Ben, Philadelphia, PA
{A++} The venue, as you can see, was beautiful. The food was excellent. The ambiance and lighting was very romantic. Our Maitre’d, Ott, was fantastic. He really was what he claimed to be, “Maitre’d to the stars.” Totally catered to us. Not a beat-around-the-bush type of guy. The entire staff was awesome as well from the waiters,custom bobblehead, to the kitchen staff, to the bartenders. They were just all down-to-earth and very warm.
Bridal Gown: Amsale at Kleinfeld / New York,Effortless Tips For Finding Unclaimed Money, NY
{A+} Ok we all know that Kleinfeld carries a huge array of gowns you can choose from. Plus it’s clean there and they may be snooty but if you dealt with bridezillas constantly coming in and out of the store every friggin day you’d be snooty too. The 2 women that I dealt with was Barbara, who helped me when I first started my search for the perfect dress, and Yulia, who was my seamstress. I even brought in my veil (which I didn’t purchase there) and it came with a velcro attachment and comb. Yulia took it from me and had their veil specialist sew the comb onto the veil instead and for FREE! Nothing is free at Kleinfeld! So if you’re nice to them, they’ll be nice to you.
Note: It does not hurt to ask for a discount. So don’t be shy and ask for it. Also if you can have it shipped out of NY you’,personalized bobbleheads;ll save a lot on taxes – the only setback is that you have to get a form notarized.
Veil: WeddingVeil.com
{A++} They have so many veils you can choose from,custom bobblehead. The bonus feature on their site is that they show you so many different angled photos of what the veil looks like on the manequin! I loved my veil,custom bobbleheads. It came in less than a week and they even left a comment on weddingbee.
Jewelry: Regina B. & Macy’s / New York, NY
{A++} Regina B -This is where I bought my earrings and my hair comb and can I just say I loved my hair comb! Yes it was more than what I was willing to pay but it was so worth it and it matched the applique on my dress as well. The earrings were also beautiful. When you walk in it’s just a small room but they have a shelf just full of beautiful jewelry. They give you a tray and you go around picking whatever pieces you want and Regina is really, really nice. They also rushed it for me since I literally had less than 2 weeks at no extra charge.
{B} Macy’,customized bobbleheads;s – I got the necklace at the Macy’s on 34th Street. I loved it when I first saw it so CHA CHING!
Tuxes: Men’s Wearhouse / Edgewater, NJ
{A+} I don’t know about the other Men’s Wearhouses but the one in Edgewater, NJ was pretty good. The staff was genuinely nice. I hate the vendors that are kiss-assey. Mr. Ladybug looked so handsome in a tux on our wedding day. We went to the one in Queens too but the guy there kept trying to sell us suits even though we told him we wanted to rent tuxes. Hello! Work with us people!
Bridesmaid Dresses: Saeyoung Vu Couture / New York, NY & Atlanta, GA
{D} I really want to give them a good review but overall I was really disappointed. When we first started going there to pick the dresses they were great and very helpful. It’s after we payed for everything that all hell broke loose. They kept giving us the run around when the dresses were going to come in. The sales woman I was dealing with, Ms. I. (NY Boutique), was just really patronizing and almost never called me back. I’m sorry, she did call me back once but that was the day after she told she was going to me back.
One of my bridesmaids, Shawnie, thought that the boning on her dress was off center and when I called Ms. I. she made it seem like I had no idea where the boning went. WHATEVER! Ms. I. only changed her attitude once my sister sent a complaint letter to the GA and NY branch along with the main office.
When Shawnie took her dress in for alterations at her tailor she found out that the boning was inserted upside down. Um, HELLO!? Yes they compensated us by reimbursing us what we already paid for the sashes, the tier on Hannah’s dress,custom bobbleheads, and the shipping costs but I felt they should have compensated us more – they only compensated us when I brought it up. Jasmine in the GA branch was great though. If you’re going to go with this company PLEASE, PLEASE,Environmentally Friendly Solution For Water, PLEASE follow up with your order well ahead of time. Like I said, I really do want to give them a good review but who they hire represents their company and I can’t say I was happy with who they chose.
Flower Girl Dresses: Pegeen
{A++} I loved their dresses. I remember when I first got the box and opened it to find these 2 little dresses I wanted a little girl so bad! I actually said it a couple of times and Mr. Ladybug had that look on his face like “Ok,personalized bobbleheads, um,custom bobblehead, one thing at a time. Let’s take care of the wedding first psycho.” Plus if you call,personalized bobblehead, Marge,Great Golf And Spa Vacation Destinations, she will help you pick the best size and is really good about following up on your order and calling you back. The dresses fit perfectly on both girls and they look SOOOO cute!
Disc Jockey: Schaffer Sound Productions Philadelphia, PA
{A+} I loved our DJ, Jason. He rocked. He didn’t play anything corny, played all our music on cue,Start Your Own Martial Arts Business, and played hip-hop when it was time to dance like I requested. He even signed my guestbook and wrote “You are the first bride to request all hip-hop.” I highly recommend Schaffer. I originally called Silversound but they got really pushy and really rude when they found out that we weren’t going to go with them. Not the type of venue I want to be doing business with.
Hair / Makeup: Robert Johnson Makeup Philadelphia, PA
{A++} Oh Robert. Let me just say I love Robert. He’s so sweet. He’s black,personalized bobble heads, he’s gay, and he’s fabUlous! He’s such a warm guy and so easy to get a long with. He’s worked with a lot of celebrities such as Madonna, Eve,personalized bobble heads, Naomi Campbell,,, Kevin Bacon, and the list goes on. Yes, he is a little on the pricey side but he’s well worth it. He’s worth every cent. When I took my hair comb out after the wedding that comb was in there TIGHT! My hair didn’t move all night. He had everything secured so well. And when I first looked into the mirror after he did my makeup that morning I gasped. I looked beautiful. Yes that sounds conceited but I really did! For reals! I love Robert!
Hair / Makeup: Davida Salon (2nd Reception) / Hoboken, NJ
{A+} Davida and the girls were soooo nice. I went with an updo the 2nd time and it came out beautifully. The staff welcomes you with chocolate covered fruit and beverages like coffee, tea, or BEER. The makeup came out well. The only complaint that I would have is that I thought they put on too much eye shadow. So just tell them exactly what you want.
Photographer: Life In Blue – Jeremy Evan Thomas / Philadelphia, PA
{A++} The pictures speak for themselves don’t you think? Jeremy was great! His prices were reasonable. He doesn’t do albums. He just takes the photos, cleans them up,customize bobblehead, and then sends them to you on a disc. He can have the photos developed for you but that would be at an additional cost. He’,.;s working on his site so if you are interested in using him please contact him at delegate@thedelegation.com. He’s currently away on vacation but just drop him an email. Let me know if you have any questions.
Limo Service: Escape Limousine Services / Philadelphia, PA (800.909.9140)
{B} Here’s another thing we procrastinated on. We called them the day before the wedding. This was Mr. Ladybug’s job. He’s actually giving them this rating because the bar inside wasn’t open. I’m not sure if we got a good deal or if we got ripped off but we were charged $320 for 4 hours They got there at 11:30,customized bobbleheads, we got in at 12:30 because my hair and make up were running late, and we got back from taking photos at 3 but you need to pay for a minimum of 4 hours.
Florist: Fresh Garden Florist / Ridgewood, NY (718.418.9741)
{A+} Uno was a friend of ours so he gave us a great deal and worked with our budget. I wasn’t really too picky about my flowers just as long as the bouquets went with my color theme and he used peonies for my bouquet and for Mr. Ladybug’s boutinerre. I ordered these little vases to put pink and white hydrangeas in for each of the tables but they were really small and he kinda freaked out when he saw them. But somehow he made it work and made it look beautiful. Just a heads up which I’m sure you know but peonies are pricey!
::Other Info::
Aisle Runner: Bride’s Village
Save The Date Cards:
Designed by yours truly
Magnets were purchased at Staples
Envelopes and paper for envelope lining were purchased at Paper-Source
Wedding Invitations / Reply Cards / Envelopes:
Invitations & reply cards designed by Jane Yoon
Paper & Envelopes purchased at Paper Presentation
Letterpress done by Sweet Lily
Maps:
Designed by Jane Yoon
Flower Girl Baskets:
Simply Silk & Etc on Ebay
Vintage Flower Pins:
Puchased at Tinsel Trading Co.
Guest Book / Polaroid Camera / Film:
Adesso Albums
Backdrop Fabric:
Ikea
Rehearsal Dinner:
Vietnam Restaurant / Philadelphia, PA
No comments:
Post a Comment