We were extremely pleased with this caterer. The owner/manager (Pam) was full of great ideas and very helpful. She took our relatively simple menu (roast turkey buffet with the trimmings) and added special touches to make it very memorable (ex., homemade salad dressing, squash roasted with maple syrup, etc.). She even agreed to use my mother’s stuffing recipe, and it was delicious. There was plenty of food for everyone, and many of our guests commented that this was the best food they had ever had at a wedding reception. Pam had great tips for making the meal run smoothly, and she anticipated all of our needs. She and her staff were very friendly and professional. Their set-up and take-down went very smoothly. We ran into some difficulties with our reception hall, but Pam and her staff kept their cool and managed things brilliantly. This vendor was well worth every penny, and I would have paid far more than the very reasonable fee she charged. My only complaint was that I didn’t bring a container to take some of the mini pumpkin cheesecakes home! Yumm!
We were very pleased with this vendor. We met several times before the wedding, and Chuck asked lots of questions in order to get the best idea of the type of photography we wanted. He captured many wonderful photos before, during and after the ceremony. My husband and I are both camera-shy but Chuck put us immediately at ease. We had our ‘formal’ pictures taken at Centennial Park and across the road on the waterfront, and I was surprised at how much my husband and I enjoyed the experience. Chuck has a knack for capturing interesting, meaningful pictures. He also took some more creative photos of my gown, our rings. Everyone felt at ease with this photographer, even the children. We had our choice of many different packages, and we choice to purchase our photos digitally on DVD’s. I was expecting DVDs in plain jewel cases, but they came in very professional black cases, each with a photo and label on the front. After the wedding, he also did some digital editing to a few of our photos, at no extra charge.
I was very pleased with the service we received from Deb's Flowers, a relatively small florist in nearby St. George. Deb was very helpful in creating my ideal bouquet (from a jumble of magazine clippings and rough ideas). She worked very hard to find the exact flowers and shades that I wanted. The bouquets were absolutely beautifull, and the corsages & boutaniers were fabulous as well. Extremely reasonable price, no complaints at all.
Jay did a great job providing sound and music for our wedding reception. He very quickly and quietly set up, and even provided some nice back-ground music while everyone gathered for the meal (I had forgotten to ask him to do that). He was fairly easy to work with before the wedding, although he he did seem to prefer to deal mainly by phone or email, which some poeple may not be comfortable with. He did a great job anticipating what the 'crowd' wanted to hear at the dance portion of our reception.
This vendor was not my first choice for a location to hold our wedding reception. However, we were limited by the time of year (fall, so had to be indoors) and the size of our guest list (100+). My parents dealt mainly with this vendor, so I don't know all of the details of their negotiations. Our biggest frustration with this vendor was the major construction which they started about 2 weeks before our wedding (with no prior notice to my parents). It was very touch and go for a while, and we did not know if the hall would be ready in time (this was very stressful for all involved). In the end, the hall was ready, but the smell of paint and plaster still hung in the air. We had to clean plaster dust off chairs and table legs. The table linens they provided (which were supposedly dry cleaned) were mismatched, creased and musty. My mother had to wash and iron every one. Bathrooms (men’s upstairs, women’s downstairs) are older and not very attractive.
The onsite bar is convenient, but the bar tender was not very friendly or professional. We paid for and brought in specialty wine from a winery near our home in NS, and we paid the bar an extra fee to do this. We asked for 2 bottles (2 white, 1 red) to be put on each table of 6. However, the bar staff opened every single bottle of wine, and put 4-5 bottles on each table. Since every bottle was opened, we couldn’t save any extras, so I ended up making a lot of wine jelly for Christmas gifts. I do not feel this venue was adequate for the rental fee they charge. The manager was generally difficult to meet and make arrangements with. If you are getting married in warmer weather or have a smaller guest list, I would suggest the Tara Manor Inn or Atlantic Salmon Centre. Or, if you have a generous budget, the Algonquin hotel.
I attended Wesley United as a child, so this was a natural choice. Very attractive church on the outside, simple on the inside. Lighting is very good for photographs. Seats approx 125 (we had 110 seated comfortably). No centre aisle, but the two side aisles are plenty wide for bride & Dad or bride & groom. Rev Bob Johnson has a friendly, laid back style that we really appreciated, and our wedding ceremony was simple, meaningful and beautiful. Jean Doucette did an excellent job on the piano, and I'm told is just as good on the organ.
I booked 6 mos in advance for 10-2 on the big day. A month before our wedding, the salon changed the appointment to 12-2 (to fit in another wedding party), but assured me this would be plenty of time. We requested acrylic, not gel, nails and were told this would be fine.
I had trial hair and makeup done several weeks before the wedding, and I was very pleased, particularly with the makeup.
On the big day, we were told acrylic nails were not available, but we could be done at 2:30 with gel nails. That sounded fine.
In fact, we were not done until 3:35 (for a 4:00 wedding!!)Someone who didn't normally work at the salon did our makeup (not the girl who did my trial). The makeup was very poor, lots of heavy eyeliner and way too much bronzer. And not time to redo it!
We had to rush to get home and get dressed and barely made it to the church on time. We did not have time for any photos at my parent's house beforehand.
Needless to say, I did not tip the salon, and in all my furture dealings with the salon the owner has been very rude.
The salon would likely do a good job on 'every day' hair and makeup, but I do not recommend it for a wedding or other important event.