We initially planned to honeymoon in Tahiti and I figured we would just get a package from AAA or something of the like until we ran into Colette at a Los Angeles bridal show more than a year before our wedding date. Colette asked if we had thought of Fiji (we hadn’t) for our honeymoon and went through the pros and cons of Fiji versus Tahiti. Although we were at a bridal show, she calmly and patiently went through ALL of our questions and provided her opinions. We immediately changed our plans to Fiji. Colette was very up-front, informative, and helpful about our trip and even helped us choose between resorts and islands in Fiji. In the end, we choose Namale Resort in Fiji and couldn’t have been happier. Everything Colette had said was true – we had an amazing time and will most definitely book through her company again and again!
We booked Greg from “You May Kiss the Bride” after meeting with him and talking with him on the phone. His personality is great and we knew he’d be a perfect fit on our special day! We were right! He attended our rehearsal and gave us tips (don't stare at him unless we want pictures of the back of our heads) and kept us calm. His company provides you all the information you need for your special day. He gives you complete freedom in your ceremony, but will provide numerous examples of previous ceremonies he has performed (along with readings and vows). We took a little bit from each example, added our own wording in a few places and had our very own customized wedding ceremony. Our guests later told us that they couldn’t believe how beautiful our ceremony was. We also received an email 2 months before the wedding with detailed instructions (complete with web links) on how to receive our marriage certificate and how to later obtain and file our marriage license. After the wedding, Greg filed the marriage license with the county and 3 weeks after we were back from our honeymoon, we received our certified copies of our marriage license in the mail. The whole process couldn’t have been more seamless! We were very impressed with the level of detail Greg puts into his ceremonies and his quick response to file our marriage license. Believe me, you’ll be glad you booked him to officiate your special day!
Ever since I met my husband, he has always said he wanted to have a “fun” wedding and so, when it came to wedding planning, he couldn’t wait to choose the DJ. Robert at Station Identification met and exceeded all of my husband’s needs for a DJ. I refused to hire a day-of coordinator because I simply didn't think it was worth the money, so we created our own detailed day-of timeline with SI. Robert not only emailed the timeline to all of our vendors, but he also took that document and ran the entire reception right on schedule for us. He (or his assistant) came up to us often to let us know that we should be moving on to the next item on the agenda, and he kept the dance floor hopping all night. We actually had our wedding guests trying to come up with extra money at the end of the night just to keep the reception going for another hour because they were having such a great time! Prior to the wedding, we used his web-based system to determine our “must plays,” “do not plays,” and specific songs for the cake cutting, first dance, wedding party dance, etc. This was extremely helpful in determining which songs we wanted and at our last meeting with Robert before the wedding, he was able to print this out and make sure we were all on the same page. He's also great with managing a crowd and has some great games (that our guests, 8 months later, are still raving about) to keep your guests entertained during dinner or when the bride and groom are taking pictures. I highly recommend Robert at Station Identification. He will make sure you have an amazing time at your wedding and it’s a day you’ll never forget!
Sarah at For the Love of Sugar is amazing! From the initial contact with her to the day after the wedding, she was excellent to work with! We initially choose a few flavors and met at her house to sample her cupcakes. She’s definitely known for her cupcakes (her red velvet are to die for), wonderful frosting, and beautiful designs. We decided to do a small cutting cake on top of a cupcake tower for our wedding “cake.” She was full of suggestions and after we decided what we wanted, she spent time designing individual flowers and emailing pictures to me so that I could make a decision on the final product. With her, you are able to make design changes up to 2 weeks before the wedding (which is good since we booked well in advance and wasn’t sure what flavors and designs we wanted that early in the planning). We had a small wedding (70 people) and ordered 100 cupcakes. Family and friends were hunting us down the day after the wedding looking for extras, but there weren’t many. Definitely book Sarah – you won’t regret it! I will definitely use her again!
We met Harvard Photography at a Bridal Show and booked an appointment with them for a month or so later. I went into the appointment not thinking we’d book them, but it’d be worth just checking out. After our meeting with them (viewing photos and looking through their packages and talking about what vision we wanted for our wedding), we knew we wanted to book them for our wedding! Their packages include everything, but they’re flexible if you want to switch things out. They are very accommodating and respond quickly to emails and/or phone calls. A huge plus for them is that they give you a CD with all your photos (engagement and wedding) after your wedding. We were especially excited because they give you total creative freedom when creating your wedding photo book. Harvard also posts the wedding pictures online (not the engagement photos); however they post EVERY single picture. We were a little disappointed that even photos with funny faces or eyes shut were posted online, but I didn’t want to root through all 2500 of them to pick out those I wanted deleted (although, I’m sure they would have if I asked them). They have a number of photographers, but we booked Jose for the engagement photos since we were having a beach wedding and he was amazing! He even got into the water with us to capture the perfect photo. He was easy to work with and very energetic – we knew we could trust him to capture our wedding day perfectly. We were right, Jose (along with Jen, as a second photographer) captured our day perfectly. Our guests kept commenting on how many great photos he got and how he snapped pictures the ENTIRE evening. We were given our CD about 6 weeks after our wedding and it did include EVERY photo that was taken (even those with eyes shut). We have not received our book yet, but we did get a framed engagement picture and our wedding DVD slideshow. Both came out really good. I would definitely recommend them. Their services are great; they’re reliable and willing to work with you!
When my mom and I went shopping for wedding dresses, we went to every shop in the area possible. Because I had been to so many shops, I immediately knew Jinny’s Bridal was the place I wanted to buy my dress from. The girls were very friendly, accommodating, helpful and truthful. I didn’t really know what I wanted and spent hours trying on dress after dress and even going back to some dresses to try them on again. When I tried on “the one”, I was able to take a picture so that I could sleep on my decision. The prices at Jinny’s are very competitive (for both bridal gowns and bridesmaids gowns) and turn-around times are quick. Even though my wedding was over a year away, I ordered my dress and it came in 3 weeks later! I choose to order my bridesmaids dresses from there also. I had no idea what I wanted and went into the shop numerous times to try to figure out what style and color would be best for my wedding. I explained my “theme” and was given suggestions. In the end, I choose Mori Lee long lipstick shade dresses. I never would have thought the color would look good, but the girls at the shop suggested it and they were right!
Julie at Just Chair Covers was great to work with! She helped us make a decision on the color of our chair covers and sashes and was full of suggestions. She answered emails very very quickly, told me ahead of time that she’d be on vacation and gave me an alternative contact, and even followed up after the event to see how our wedding turned out. She did not do the set-up and tear down, but there were 2 people who did and they set up without getting in the way of other vendors and were done very quickly! Although people think chair covers and sashes are an added expense (hey, I did), they definitely pull the room together and were a must at my wedding venue. I recommend Just Chair Covers and would definitely use them again!
We didn’t go into wedding planning wanting a photobooth, but we came across Cheesy Photobooth at a wedding show and really enjoyed being able to take photos right there and even take them home with us! We immediately booked with Cheesy Photobooth and are so glad we did! They were so easy to work with during the process and very very quick with responding to emails (within a day). They provided choices on the backdrop of the photobooth and the banner of the pictures. We were sent an email with examples of print-outs of the pictures so that we could see what the colors looked like and what other banners people have used. I gave Alex our colors and an idea of 2 banners I liked and he created a simple, elegant banner that matched our wedding theme perfectly! None of our guests had been to a wedding with a photobooth, but now, they can’t stop talking about it and how much they enjoyed it! All of our family (even the shy ones) hopped in and hammed it up in front of the camera. Cheesy Photobooth provided a scrapbook and all the supplies necessary for our guests to scrapbook their photos for us (the machine prints out 2 copies – one for the guests to take home, another for them to leave in the scrapbook). When we returned from our honeymoon, there was a package from Cheesy Photobooth – it contained our scrapbook, extra pictures that were left on the table, and a CD with all the photos from that night (which comes in handy because some guests didn’t leave a copy for us). It was great to be able to come home from our honeymoon and immediately have pictures from our wedding! I would definitely book Cheesy Photobooth again!!