Jim Scheiner is an excellent photographer. I have to say I like my photographs, but I do not love them. Part of which, is not Jim's fault, but more of a scheduling issue on the part of the wedding planner. We were late, the photos had to be rushed before dark, there was no time for pictures of the brides and bridesmaids until after the wedding, which took away from time from the pictures for the couple. I also needed copies of the pictures fairly quickly, so there was no editing done on the pictures, which was disappointing. Overall, I was pleased with Jim and had a great experience.
Elaine was amazing from far away, however when it actually came to the wedding she fell far short from what I expected. Her husband was the officiant, and I wanted my own vows to be read and repeated, instead he just had us read off of pieces of paper and then did his own vows anyways. We got married on Anegada, which was difficult because it was so remote. I had to pay for Elaine to charter a flight to come out to the island the day of the wedding. Not only did she not charter the flight until an hour before the wedding, which made her late. (Which made the photographer late, which made the wedding late, which meant I didn't get my sunset photos instead I got very few photos before it got too dark.) Shouldn't she have been there with us setting up the wedding? Instead that is what the bridal party did all morning. She did nothing the entire time she was there, literally she sat there the entire time. Elaine worked out a deal with the restaurant to decorate and set up, but at the end of the night, they wanted $1000 more for the set up and Elaine did nothing about it. Besides the fact that the restaurant was under the impression Elaine was bringing the decorations, but she was not there with them (nor did she show up with any). Last of all, the florist she worked with, I sent her dozens of photos explaining what I wanted. I was promised orchids, but received none. I asked for a small piece for my hair with about 3 orchids, and got a circle of baby's breath. All in all, she was the worst possible person for the job and I was extremely disappointed.
The Big Bamboo restaurant was amazing for my wedding. There were people there all day to help us set up, and clean the centerpieces, etc. Even though at the end of the night they wanted $1000 more for the set up, those ladies worked all day to help us, and it was well worth it! The food was so/so, but they are not used to cooking for such a large group at once. I have been there before and the food was wonderful. The people were open and friendly, and we had a great time!