Here are my Vendor Reviews:
I will finish my reviews once the wedding is over!
Palisades Country Club
Palisades Country Club was wonderful to work with. They answered all of my questions and tried to be as accomodating as could be. Palisades new catering director Jessica was always willing to help me through the wedding planning process. One thing that I did find difficult is that I felt (even though I know for country clubs it is important to make their guests feel comfortable) that they mentioned many times that MY guests had limited space to go, because they did not want them to get in the way of the guests. I don't necessarily agree with that. But they definitely were accomodating to me and the things I asked of them.
Reverand Rebecca Nagy
I was very disappointed when I called to make an appointment with Reverand Patrick Maloy that he could not do our ceremony because he was doing another ceremony on our date. He is one of the most popular officiants in Charlotte. Then, I called Rebecca Nagy. Ed and I met with her and I think I love her more than I would have loved Patrick Maloy (no offense to him, because I know he does a wonderful job seeing that he did my sister's wedding). My fiance and I clicked so well with Rebecca and she is a very nice lady. She is so creative and came up with the perfect ceremony address that fit Ed and I to a tee. She is great at making it soooo personal without knowing the couple personally.
Whitney Photography & Video
When I met with Ben and Kisha I looked through their work and albums and fell in love with the work they do. They are so creative and I love the photojournalistic style of photography. We had our engagement session and I never thought I could warm up to being around a camera so much. They made it feel so comfortable and it got rid of the jitters I had. The pictures and video of the wedding are one of the most important aspect to me and I was worried that I would ruin them all. But they somehow got really good pictures out of us.
Split Second Sound - Vinny Esposito
When I first meet with each vendor I have a list of questions to ask each of them before we sign a contract. They usually go through their spiel about what makes them different and why we should go with them. Well we met with Vinny and he did exactly that. He had answered every question I had in his spiel and more! On top of that, we signed a contract on the spot because he's just that good with his craft. His company has been more than accomodating. They also have so many services they can provide ( Lighting, Monogram lights, ceremony music, ceremony coordinator, video display during reception, Frank Sinatra and Billy Joel singers during cocktail hour, etc.)
The Icing and The Cake - Drema Bice
They are less well known bakery (and I went to a couple of well known ones before I decided to go with them). The more well known ones surprisingly were not as accomodating as Drema Bice. I wanted a unique groom cake and was told that they could not do it. Drema has made versions of the grooms cake I wanted and she even made suggestions to make it even better then I thought was possible. Meeting with other bakers we were told that the mini cakes we were thinking of for favors we very expensive (we were priced at about $15 each elsewhere!!) Drema said those prices are absolutely outrageous and she priced us at about $4 per mini cake and also provides the boxes for the cakes.They are inexpensive for the work they do and they have a plethora of options. One thing I liked is they provide cake stands and have so many options. (One person I actually met with at another bakery told me we would have to get a cake stand because another bride never returned it. I feel if they haven't returned it in a year that she needs to just get a new one instead of expecting all these brides to rent one). Anyways, lastly the cake was amazing and they are willing to work with your favorite flavors. If they do not have a flavor you love on their menu they could possibly still make it. Also, they are in Mooresville and my wedding is in Charlotte (There delivery/set up fee is not bad at all considering the long drive for them).
Carolyn Shepard Design Group
Carolyn Shepard and her assistant Christie have been so helpful and came up with great ideas to create the wedding ceremony and reception of my dreams. She is much cheaper than other places I have been to, but can be expensive as well. We did go over our budget on the flowers, but it was difficult to drop the prices since I loved the more expensive options. :-) Also, since it's a summer wedding we gotta go with a lot of flowers.
Catan's Fashion - Strongsville, Ohio
I have mixed feelings about this company. They are one of the biggest bridal dress places in the united states and of course they have a huge selection. I LOVE my dress that I picked. Also, the lady that was helping me try on dresses was extremely helpful. The problem was the lack of communication/miscommunication after that. I live in NC, therefore, my dress needed to be shipped to me. They told me to write down the address of where it needed to be shipped to. This confused everyone and I felt that every time I called I had to explain myself over and over again. They also have one older lady there that honestly has no business being in customer service business. She could not answer any question we had and they were SOOOO simple. All we wanted was to see a catalog of a certain designer and she looked at us like we had 10 heads. This was constant with that lady. Overall, I don't regret going there because I found the dress I fell in love with and Charlotte did not have my dress in any boutiques.
Impressions Bridal & Prom - Concord, NC
I had my bridesmaid go here for their dresses and shoes and everything has run smoothly and their dresses are supposed to be coming in earlier than expected.
Penguins Tuxedo
Penguin Tuxedo was a great shop and they have great tuxedos. I will write more once the wedding is over.
The Green Kangaroo and Wedding Paper Divas
The Wedding Paper Divas did our Save-the-dates and they have so much to choose from. I thought they did a great job and they send the Save-the-dates in a timely manner. The Green Kangaroo provided us with wonderful invitations. They are the cheapest place we were able to find pocket invitations at. Every other place we went to was charging like $1,500 to even $2,000 for the invitations. I found the Green Kangaroo and they were under $1,000 for 150 invitations! They also send them in a timely manner. Also, if you get pocket invitations I would save the extra money by getting the DIY option. It's not all that bad putting the invitations together.
Palisades Country Club was wonderful to work with. They answered all of my questions and tried to be as accomodating as could be. Palisades new catering director Jessica was always willing to help me through the wedding planning process. One thing that I did find difficult is that I felt (even though I know for country clubs it is important to make their guests feel comfortable) that they mentioned many times that MY guests had limited space to go, because they did not want them to get in the way of the guests. I don't necessarily agree with that. But they definitely were accomodating to me and the things I asked of them.
Reverand Rebecca Nagy
I was very disappointed when I called to make an appointment with Reverand Patrick Maloy that he could not do our ceremony because he was doing another ceremony on our date. He is one of the most popular officiants in Charlotte. Then, I called Rebecca Nagy. Ed and I met with her and I think I love her more than I would have loved Patrick Maloy (no offense to him, because I know he does a wonderful job seeing that he did my sister's wedding). My fiance and I clicked so well with Rebecca and she is a very nice lady. She is so creative and came up with the perfect ceremony address that fit Ed and I to a tee. She is great at making it soooo personal without knowing the couple personally.
Whitney Photography & Video
When I met with Ben and Kisha I looked through their work and albums and fell in love with the work they do. They are so creative and I love the photojournalistic style of photography. We had our engagement session and I never thought I could warm up to being around a camera so much. They made it feel so comfortable and it got rid of the jitters I had. The pictures and video of the wedding are one of the most important aspect to me and I was worried that I would ruin them all. But they somehow got really good pictures out of us.
Split Second Sound - Vinny Esposito
When I first meet with each vendor I have a list of questions to ask each of them before we sign a contract. They usually go through their spiel about what makes them different and why we should go with them. Well we met with Vinny and he did exactly that. He had answered every question I had in his spiel and more! On top of that, we signed a contract on the spot because he's just that good with his craft. His company has been more than accomodating. They also have so many services they can provide ( Lighting, Monogram lights, ceremony music, ceremony coordinator, video display during reception, Frank Sinatra and Billy Joel singers during cocktail hour, etc.)
The Icing and The Cake - Drema Bice
They are less well known bakery (and I went to a couple of well known ones before I decided to go with them). The more well known ones surprisingly were not as accomodating as Drema Bice. I wanted a unique groom cake and was told that they could not do it. Drema has made versions of the grooms cake I wanted and she even made suggestions to make it even better then I thought was possible. Meeting with other bakers we were told that the mini cakes we were thinking of for favors we very expensive (we were priced at about $15 each elsewhere!!) Drema said those prices are absolutely outrageous and she priced us at about $4 per mini cake and also provides the boxes for the cakes.They are inexpensive for the work they do and they have a plethora of options. One thing I liked is they provide cake stands and have so many options. (One person I actually met with at another bakery told me we would have to get a cake stand because another bride never returned it. I feel if they haven't returned it in a year that she needs to just get a new one instead of expecting all these brides to rent one). Anyways, lastly the cake was amazing and they are willing to work with your favorite flavors. If they do not have a flavor you love on their menu they could possibly still make it. Also, they are in Mooresville and my wedding is in Charlotte (There delivery/set up fee is not bad at all considering the long drive for them).
Carolyn Shepard Design Group
Carolyn Shepard and her assistant Christie have been so helpful and came up with great ideas to create the wedding ceremony and reception of my dreams. She is much cheaper than other places I have been to, but can be expensive as well. We did go over our budget on the flowers, but it was difficult to drop the prices since I loved the more expensive options. :-) Also, since it's a summer wedding we gotta go with a lot of flowers.
Catan's Fashion - Strongsville, Ohio
I have mixed feelings about this company. They are one of the biggest bridal dress places in the united states and of course they have a huge selection. I LOVE my dress that I picked. Also, the lady that was helping me try on dresses was extremely helpful. The problem was the lack of communication/miscommunication after that. I live in NC, therefore, my dress needed to be shipped to me. They told me to write down the address of where it needed to be shipped to. This confused everyone and I felt that every time I called I had to explain myself over and over again. They also have one older lady there that honestly has no business being in customer service business. She could not answer any question we had and they were SOOOO simple. All we wanted was to see a catalog of a certain designer and she looked at us like we had 10 heads. This was constant with that lady. Overall, I don't regret going there because I found the dress I fell in love with and Charlotte did not have my dress in any boutiques.
Impressions Bridal & Prom - Concord, NC
I had my bridesmaid go here for their dresses and shoes and everything has run smoothly and their dresses are supposed to be coming in earlier than expected.
Penguins Tuxedo
Penguin Tuxedo was a great shop and they have great tuxedos. I will write more once the wedding is over.
The Green Kangaroo and Wedding Paper Divas
The Wedding Paper Divas did our Save-the-dates and they have so much to choose from. I thought they did a great job and they send the Save-the-dates in a timely manner. The Green Kangaroo provided us with wonderful invitations. They are the cheapest place we were able to find pocket invitations at. Every other place we went to was charging like $1,500 to even $2,000 for the invitations. I found the Green Kangaroo and they were under $1,000 for 150 invitations! They also send them in a timely manner. Also, if you get pocket invitations I would save the extra money by getting the DIY option. It's not all that bad putting the invitations together.
