Vendor Reviews aplenty
Vendor reviews! I know there are at least a couple of brides local to me on here, so if you’re interested in more specific information on anything, let me know. Overall my luck with the vendors I actually contracted was really great.
Jessica Kraft of Ketubah Kraft (A-): Jessica’s work, and her manner throughout the design process were wonderful. She was a delight to work with, and I would definitely recommend her. It only drops to an A- because there was some last minute drama with our ketubah not getting shipped out promptly enough, which left me a little stressed right before the wedding. However, anybody who wasn’t planning a wedding in two months would never encounter this issue, and she was otherwise really responsive and nice.
Jacob of Umbrella Salon(warning, stupid website has stupid sound) (A+): Jacob was sweet, helpful and absolutely obsessive about getting my hair perfect. I did a trial with him where he did the wavy, vintage look that I asked for, and at the last minute decided it wasn’t quite what I wanted. When I got there on the day I told him my concerns and he whipped up a fantastic style for me. It was so elegant and romantic, I was thrilled! I am going back to him to have highlights done after the wedding. Oh, and the price ended up being $25 less than I was originally quoted.
Alexis of A Smooth Start (No website, but comment if you're interested in contact information) (A+): I totally lucked into Alexis, because she’s my trainer’s best friend, and I was soooooo lucky. Alexis is getting married herself, this September, and she was wonderful. So sweet and friendly, and absolutely fantastic at what she did. She did airbrushed makeup on me, and I have to say, if you are a bride weighing whether or not to do airbrushing, do it! If it’s in your budget, it’s sooooo worth it. The makeup looked and felt weightless, and it held up beautifully even after hours of pictures, crying through my ceremony, and noshing through the reception. I won’t quote her specific rate, because I think I got the friend-of-a-friend discount, but she was super reasonable. I’ve had some requests for more specific info on the airbrushing, so as soon as I have some pics I will post them with a more detailed discussion of the airbrush experience.
Layne Kulwin, Officiant (A): Layne did a great job. There were a few minor errors in the ceremony, but really they were the kind of thing that make you laugh, rather than the kind of thing that’s embarrassing. He was very sweet and helpful, and responsive during the process, and the ceremony he wrote was fitting, sentimental and just a bit fun.
Asiel Designs (Stupid sound again) (A+): It says a lot about the quality of the flowers that I’m giving these guys an A+ even though they were not the best about being responsive during planning. I had a couple of email requests that I had to keep pestering them for, but it was mostly during the holiday season, so I can understand that. I can’t wait to post pictures of the flowers, because they were absolutely awe inspiring. I got so many compliments on them. They were at the site setting things up in the early afternoon, and got everything looking totally flawless. The designs they did were a little bit modular, so they were able to rearrange things easily to suit the final layout. Super smart, since we weren’t doing dinner tables so it wasn’t the standard “centerpiece” thing, but instead just floral decor for the room. They also sprinkled rose petals around our jacuzzi tub as a little surprise!
Michael Udelson, Pianist (A+): Since we had a piano in the suite, having a pianist for the party seemed like the perfect choice, and I’m so glad we did that. Michael was absolutely wonderful. He was so friendly and charming, and his playing was absolutely fantastic. Also, he played a lot of unusual modern stuff, and not just the jazz standards. We got Lady Gaga, Radiohead, Mad World from Donnie Darko, he even played the Pink Panther theme by my new aunt’s request. Totally awesome and fun, I’m so glad we did it. He was also much less expensive than anyone else I talked to. He charged me a flat rate of $400 for the entire evening, rather than an hourly rate, and stayed until the party ended. I think he was with us for about 5 hours total, maybe a little more.
Fairmont Hotel (B+): I’d actually give the Fairmont an A+ and our coordinator a B-, but everything came out well in the end. The food was great, the staff was friendly and efficient, and all our needs and our guests needs were seen to. They also did our cake, which was both beautiful and delicious. However, our coordinator was, putting it kindly, a bit of a ditz. I had to keep on her constantly during the planning process, because she kept making the same mistakes over and over, just dropping and missing small details. When it came to the actual event the only things that went wrong were she missed the vegan sushi that I requested for my vegan guest (though she brought some up hastily when I pointed out the problem), and she switched the flavors of our cake tiers so the smaller tier was the flavor that I thought was more delicious, and I missed out on a piece of it. She was sweet though, and in the end there were no major snafus.
Raegan Adler (A+): I have just started receiving my pics from Raegan (first batch came in on Sunday, barely 24 hours after we got married)! They are beautiful pictures, and I’m so happy with how they are coming out. I’ve seen mostly the posed stuff so far, but the few candid shots that have been in the mix have been wonderful and lively. I’d recommend her to anyone. In terms of planning before hand, price and her manner on the day, Raegan was awesome. She had lots of fun suggestions for the posed photography, was great with all my guests and totally unobtrusive. I really liked working with her, and would definitely hire her for portrait photography if I wanted some done.
Whew, I think that’s it, and my word processor is telling me that I’m up to 1,083 words, so I had better shut up! I’ll post reviews for places we bought stuff another time.
Jessica Kraft of Ketubah Kraft (A-): Jessica’s work, and her manner throughout the design process were wonderful. She was a delight to work with, and I would definitely recommend her. It only drops to an A- because there was some last minute drama with our ketubah not getting shipped out promptly enough, which left me a little stressed right before the wedding. However, anybody who wasn’t planning a wedding in two months would never encounter this issue, and she was otherwise really responsive and nice.
Jacob of Umbrella Salon(warning, stupid website has stupid sound) (A+): Jacob was sweet, helpful and absolutely obsessive about getting my hair perfect. I did a trial with him where he did the wavy, vintage look that I asked for, and at the last minute decided it wasn’t quite what I wanted. When I got there on the day I told him my concerns and he whipped up a fantastic style for me. It was so elegant and romantic, I was thrilled! I am going back to him to have highlights done after the wedding. Oh, and the price ended up being $25 less than I was originally quoted.
Alexis of A Smooth Start (No website, but comment if you're interested in contact information) (A+): I totally lucked into Alexis, because she’s my trainer’s best friend, and I was soooooo lucky. Alexis is getting married herself, this September, and she was wonderful. So sweet and friendly, and absolutely fantastic at what she did. She did airbrushed makeup on me, and I have to say, if you are a bride weighing whether or not to do airbrushing, do it! If it’s in your budget, it’s sooooo worth it. The makeup looked and felt weightless, and it held up beautifully even after hours of pictures, crying through my ceremony, and noshing through the reception. I won’t quote her specific rate, because I think I got the friend-of-a-friend discount, but she was super reasonable. I’ve had some requests for more specific info on the airbrushing, so as soon as I have some pics I will post them with a more detailed discussion of the airbrush experience.
Layne Kulwin, Officiant (A): Layne did a great job. There were a few minor errors in the ceremony, but really they were the kind of thing that make you laugh, rather than the kind of thing that’s embarrassing. He was very sweet and helpful, and responsive during the process, and the ceremony he wrote was fitting, sentimental and just a bit fun.
Asiel Designs (Stupid sound again) (A+): It says a lot about the quality of the flowers that I’m giving these guys an A+ even though they were not the best about being responsive during planning. I had a couple of email requests that I had to keep pestering them for, but it was mostly during the holiday season, so I can understand that. I can’t wait to post pictures of the flowers, because they were absolutely awe inspiring. I got so many compliments on them. They were at the site setting things up in the early afternoon, and got everything looking totally flawless. The designs they did were a little bit modular, so they were able to rearrange things easily to suit the final layout. Super smart, since we weren’t doing dinner tables so it wasn’t the standard “centerpiece” thing, but instead just floral decor for the room. They also sprinkled rose petals around our jacuzzi tub as a little surprise!
Michael Udelson, Pianist (A+): Since we had a piano in the suite, having a pianist for the party seemed like the perfect choice, and I’m so glad we did that. Michael was absolutely wonderful. He was so friendly and charming, and his playing was absolutely fantastic. Also, he played a lot of unusual modern stuff, and not just the jazz standards. We got Lady Gaga, Radiohead, Mad World from Donnie Darko, he even played the Pink Panther theme by my new aunt’s request. Totally awesome and fun, I’m so glad we did it. He was also much less expensive than anyone else I talked to. He charged me a flat rate of $400 for the entire evening, rather than an hourly rate, and stayed until the party ended. I think he was with us for about 5 hours total, maybe a little more.
Fairmont Hotel (B+): I’d actually give the Fairmont an A+ and our coordinator a B-, but everything came out well in the end. The food was great, the staff was friendly and efficient, and all our needs and our guests needs were seen to. They also did our cake, which was both beautiful and delicious. However, our coordinator was, putting it kindly, a bit of a ditz. I had to keep on her constantly during the planning process, because she kept making the same mistakes over and over, just dropping and missing small details. When it came to the actual event the only things that went wrong were she missed the vegan sushi that I requested for my vegan guest (though she brought some up hastily when I pointed out the problem), and she switched the flavors of our cake tiers so the smaller tier was the flavor that I thought was more delicious, and I missed out on a piece of it. She was sweet though, and in the end there were no major snafus.
Raegan Adler (A+): I have just started receiving my pics from Raegan (first batch came in on Sunday, barely 24 hours after we got married)! They are beautiful pictures, and I’m so happy with how they are coming out. I’ve seen mostly the posed stuff so far, but the few candid shots that have been in the mix have been wonderful and lively. I’d recommend her to anyone. In terms of planning before hand, price and her manner on the day, Raegan was awesome. She had lots of fun suggestions for the posed photography, was great with all my guests and totally unobtrusive. I really liked working with her, and would definitely hire her for portrait photography if I wanted some done.
Whew, I think that’s it, and my word processor is telling me that I’m up to 1,083 words, so I had better shut up! I’ll post reviews for places we bought stuff another time.