Ceremony - Saint Patrick Catholic Church
Pre-wedding Thoughts:
St. Patrick is a beautiful church and the staff there is very sweet and very easy to communicate with. When I booked the church, the main secretary was out of town, so I actually never received a wedding packet. This was a bit stressing throughout the planning process because I always felt I was missing out on something. Other than that though, they were always open and ready to answer any and all of my questions.
The rehearsal was a bit disorganized and I wasn’t very happy with the coordinator from the church. She wasn’t very comfortable in English and kept going in and out of Spanish, when 99% of my bridal party does not understand Spanish. She also did not have the bridal party practice walking in and out correctly, so they were paired up wrong on the way in and out (even after being told this). In addition, she did not have the readers practice reading, nor did she know exactly how the ceremony would go. She kept saying that the priest would tell us on the day of the wedding. I think the priest should conduct the rehearsals because he knows exactly what he will do and it would have been much smoother. Everyone really felt like the rehearsal was pretty much a waste of time.
Post-wedding Thoughts:
The ceremony was BEAUTIFUL and perfect. Many people told me how beautiful it was. We did not have a Mass since Andrew is not Catholic and we believe that this was perfect for us. There was a really nice flow to the ceremony and it seemed to be the perfect length of time. The organist at the church did a wonderful job playing the organ and singing. He actually comforted Andrew right before the ceremony, told him what he had to do (since he had already forgotten since the rehearsal didn’t go so smoothly!) and even gave him a tick-tack to freshen his breath for our first kiss! ☺
Priest - Father Jesus Alberto Bohorquez
Pre-wedding Thoughts:
Father Jesus is a very sweet and caring priest. The only thing is that he has requirements for the couple to complete that are not required by the Archdiocese of Miami. Some of these things are costly and also very time consuming. I felt that these requirements were a bit unnecessary and shouldn't have been asked of us. However, we agreed to them upfront so I can't complain. Just be aware that if you get married at St. Patrick that the preparation with Fr. Jesus Alberto is more than the average church.
Post-Wedding Thoughts:
Father Jesus did a wonderful job with our ceremony. The ceremony was absolutely flawless. He spoke in English the entire time (something I was concerned about), he did the mantilla, and he also said a special prayer for Andrew’s father and had us light a memorial candle for him. All in all I think he did an excellent job. I wished he had conducted the rehearsal, as said previously, because at times we were a little confused about what to do, but it turned out perfect in the end.
Reception Venue - The Westin Colonnade
Pre-wedding Review:
Ivette is my coordinator at The Colonnade and she is AWESOME. She is always readily available via email or phone and is incredibly professional and efficient. Working with her throughout the year and a half planning process was a joy!
Overall Grade – A
Final Review Breakdown (I gave individual letter grades as well):
Coordinator –A+:
I think Ivette is an excellent coordinator. When I went to pay my balance a few days before the wedding, she informed me that she always tries to upgrade the bride’s suite the night before the wedding if the room is available (and if they are getting ready in the hotel). I had booked a regular suite the night before and she went to the front desk and then came back and let me know that she talked to them and they were able to move me to the presidential suite from the night before at the regular executive suite price. This was SO nice of her and made the getting ready process so much nicer, especially for the photos and video. I really appreciated this extremely nice gesture from her, which was completely unexpected.
On day of the wedding, Ivette stopped by the suite to see how everything was going and made sure we were happy. She also stopped by our private room during the cocktail hour to check on us again and make sure we had everything we needed. Finally, she sent champagne and strawberries to our room that night! Ivette was seriously a complete sweetheart, very organized and on top of things from the very beginning of the planning process, and I 100% recommend her to anybody getting married at the Colonnade.
Food/Drink – B-:
I didn’t attend the cocktail hour myself, but I was told by many of my family members that the cheese display disappeared almost immediately and that the appetizers were not plentiful. My friends and family said that the food ran out pretty quickly which makes me think that they didn’t plan enough food for the 170 people we paid for. Also, some guests complained that the appetizers were all coming from one direction, so the food would get scooped up by everyone on that side of the upper rotunda first and would never make it to them on the other side. I know that a round room may be harder to deal with, but I feel that they should try to come from different directions to make up for the awkwardness of the room.
Another negative thing we noticed about the food was that the Boston Bibb Salad was smaller on the day of the wedding then at the tasting. The presentation was definitely much larger at the tasting; however it was just as delicious on the day of. I was also told that the children’s meal was cold and not good at all. Several of the children complained that it was inedible and my family members tried it and said it definitely tasted old and was definitely cold.
Also, I was told that at the cocktail hour and during dinner that they had long lines at both bars because the bartenders were moving slowly. In addition, one bar had one set of mixes that the other bar didn’t. People were ordering a certain mixed drink at one bar and then would go to the other and that bartender couldn’t do it. I feel that was a little ridiculous (shouldn’t all the liquor and mixes be standard at both bars?). Finally, the drinks they were mixing were very weak and I was told that the bartenders were withholding liquor a lot. We all ended up ordering shots in order to get over this little hump ☺. On a positive note, the dinner was extremely hot and fresh when served and was DELICIOUS. We heard countless compliments on the food when we walked around the room. They made the “michi diet-friendly” meal for everyone, and it was definitely a hit. We had chicken with a mushroom sauce, parsley potatoes, and mixed vegetables. So tasty! Also, they set the salads on the tables right before the reception began, so the salad was fresh and didn’t take more time from the dancing to serve. They also went around with the salad dressing as soon as people came in. I was happy with the timing of this.
Also, they really blew me away with the “Bolooki Burgers” display. I had asked for mini sliders and French fries. I knew from the chef that the burgers were about 2 ounces each and that there would be a mix of sweet potato and regular French fries and ketchup. I did not know that they would also have sides of bacon, onions, and cheese for those that wanted to add it, along with mustard and mayo. The burgers and fries were DELICIOUS and totally hit the spot for all of our guests. People were waiting in long lines to get their Bolooki Burgers! They also had an attendant assigned to this station that was constantly refilling the burgers and fries so that they would be hot and fresh. Two weeks later and people are still raving about this treat.
Service - A:
They had a room for us to settle down and rest in during the cocktail hour, which was very nice. We had a platter of appetizers, champagne, and our own bartender to attend to us. I think this is pretty standard at all hotels, but it was still a nice treat and made us feel special.
We also had our own servers at our sweetheart table who were taking care of us all night and making sure we were 100% pleased. The captain was always visible throughout the evening and always checking in with us and with my dad as well.
I was also told that the service at all the tables was good and was fast. They were attentive to everyone’s needs and very friendly.
Overall Review:
I think the Colonnade is a gorgeous hotel and has very competitive prices. When I was looking around for venues, there were only a handful of reception locations in Broward and Dade that had packages that were under $100 a head with tax and gratuity. We thought the hotel was the most beautiful of that selection and booked on the spot. We had also heard only great reviews about the food and service. Even though the service and food weren’t perfect on the day of, I still think we got a lot of bang for our buck, and the food was still delicious. I would definitely recommend the Colonnade to other brides, either the Merrick or Rotunda. Also, I feel that another added benefit of this location is that fact that both rooms have built in lighting/scones around the room. This was something that I didn’t budget for and I felt that the ballroom looked gorgeously lit that night, with no extra cost going to lighting! I had been concerned because the room is in the middle of the hotel, but since the hotel is small there aren’t that many guests staying there and honestly I didn’t really pay attention or care when guests would peek over the balcony. The sound was not an issue at all. We had a DJ who patched into the house system and he did sound checks from early on in the day and made sure that the music wasn’t too loud. The sound was perfect and I was so happy about that.
Photographer - Alain Martinez
Pre-wedding Review:
Alain is one of my absolute favorite vendors to plan with. I feel like we have built a great vendor/client relationship. He is always available via email and quickly responds to all my questions. He is also very open and understanding when it comes to special requests, such as large formal family portraits, and working around my sensitivity to heat.
Final Grade (pending final product) – A+
Final Review (Pending final product):
PERFECT! I can go on and on about Alain. He is incredibly creative, professional, and just awesome to work with. I felt like I was hanging out with a friend all day, not a photographer. My mom and dad kept raving about him the morning after the wedding and telling everyone in the family to hire him!! He would come up with the most amazing and creative shots and the entire time kept encouraging us and by telling us how awesome we looked and how awesome the shots were coming out. Him and his assistant worked their BUTTS off all night and did not pause for a second to miss one shot. They were literally EVERYWHERE. I felt like we were being followed by the paparazzi! When I say he was creative, you have no idea to what extent that I mean. He was moving furniture around, having me climb on furniture, lay on tables, etc. He is so awesome!
Our pictures are AMAZING. I am in awe of how beautiful they are and how incredible everyone looked. I cannot wait to see all of them!! You can see a link to our awesome pictures here!: http://blog.alainmartinez.com/?p=2007
We also got a photo wall from him and this is one of the unique elements from our wedding that our guests really enjoyed. He put our parent’s wedding photos up on the wall along with a couple of our engagement photos and then had huge empty frames for people to stand behind and take pictures. He also had a box filled with fun props for everyone to use for the photos. I have already seen some of the photos and they are awesome! I plan on making prints for everyone and sending them with their thank you notes (Thanks to Letty for that idea!).
Videographer - Ray Roman Films
Pre-Wedding Review:
My FI and I were huge fans of Ray’s work but originally didn’t budget such a large amount of money for our video (we were actually going to totally skimp on it at first). Once we heard of Ray’s contest, we were scrambling to find something to enter and hopefully win. We were ECSTATIC (literally running around screaming) when we found out we won. I didn’t work with Ray much before the wedding (he and I were both extremely busy) but he was always available via email, Facebook, etc. to talk about the details of our day. His website also has a portal setup where you can login and fill out surveys out about the details of your day, which I thought was very awesome and organized.
Final Grade (pending final product) – A+
Final Review (Pending final product):
AMAZING! Every time I see our teaser/highlight reel I cry!! I have already watched it at least 30 times. All my family and friends have been raving about it and I have heard that even strangers (friends of friends or family) have cried watching it! The funniest thing is that even though he and his team were everywhere, they were not intrusive at all. My FI and I were wondering when half the shots were taken because we didn’t remember or feel him and his team there.
Also, Ray is so professional and creative, and him and Alain play off each other so well. They were working together all day and making sure that each of them had time to get the shots they needed. He was a joy to work with and so sweet and gave awesome direction. I cannot recommend him enough and even though he is pricey, I really do feel that he is worth every penny and is giving us incredible memories that will last us a lifetime. If I were to start planning all over again, I would DEFINITELY put a large chunk of money aside in order to afford him. I seriously would cut in other areas, up my budget, do whatever, in order to have his incredible talent capture our day. I am so so so grateful that we were chosen as the winners of his contest.
You can see our incredible highlight reel here! - http://rayromanblog.com/2009/08/michelle-andrews-highlight-reel/
Florist - Gil Sosa (786) 295-7535
Pre-wedding Review:
Gil is another favorite vendor. He is so sweet and has such a passion for his work, which I love. He also is extremely budget friendly and works hard to make sure that you get something amazing that is within your price range. He wasn't always the quickest at responding to emails, but he has always responded, even if it took a few days. He has become especially responsive when it comes closer to the wedding and has always been readily available via his cell phone. I also love that he is very open to making changes to your contract until you pay the final balance. I have met with him three times, made changes those three times, and he hasn't cared one bit!
I have to admit that I was a taken aback when I was called just one day before the wedding and Gil had was referring to a very old contract and thought my ceremony was at St. Hugh at 4:00pm. He also had my old cell phone number. I had updated the contract twice since I switched churches. This really made me nervous and I was a little scared that some of the details we had discussed wouldn’t happen. However, we quickly went through the contract details over the phone, he noted the time and church change, along with my new cell number, and then I just told myself to not worry about it and to trust him.
Final Grade – A+
Final Review:
BREATHTAKING!
First, our personal flowers were out of this world! My bouquet was so amazingly beautiful, and the crystals added a sparkle, which I wanted to match my dress. The bridesmaid bouquets were more than I had anticipated, with gorgeous orchids, roses, hydrangeas, and Queen Anne’s lace. My flower girl pomanders were also beautiful, all the little girls wanted to keep them and dry them.
The boutonnieres were also very nice (My FI and his groomsmen had orchids), but there was a little misunderstanding. My FI was supposed to have a rose and orchid bout, the groomsmen were supposed to have orchid bouts, and my father was supposed to have just a rose bout. Gil instead made all orchid bouts and one calla and orchid bout. I requested no calla in the bouts (because I don’t love callas), but in the grand scheme of things, this was totally not a big deal. My dad wore the calla/orchid bout and all the other men wore orchid bouts.
The ceremony displays were not what I had requested (I had wanted something similar to what was in my planning bio) but they were still beautiful and went with my theme. They were just more traditional then what I had wanted.
I did not peek at the ballroom all day in order to be surprised that evening. When I saw the entranceway display I literally GASPED. Everything was above and beyond what I had anticipated. I mean it was absolutely breathtaking all around. The flowers were so fresh and gorgeous, more than anything I could have ever imagined. I had actually only anticipated three floral displays on this entrance table, and was so surprised to see four. Gil also provided us with cocktail arrangements (which I have yet to see pictures of!), which was a total surprise to me and something that I had not even asked for!
Gil provided us with centerpieces that lit up from the inside, which added such a unique feel and look to the room. The centerpieces also had hanging votives and crystals, which were gorgeous. The fountain display was something that I don’t think the Colonnade has ever seen before. Apparently there was someone that wanted to take the display from the fountain before the wedding even began!!! The sweetheart table was also amazing. I loved the various white vases with different types of flower arrangements.
When we walked around the room to greet our guests, so many people commented on how gorgeous the flowers were. I was asked by quite a few people who my florist was. Even the hotel workers came to tell me (and both of our parents) that it was one of the most beautiful and elegant weddings they had ever seen (referring to the flowers).
Gil is a pleasure to work with and so incredibly sweet, I am so grateful for him for making my wedding decor an absolute dream come true! I cannot recommend him enough. Even though the bouts weren’t exactly perfect, and the ceremony displays weren’t what I expected, everything else was unbelievably beautiful (way above my expectations). I gave Gil TOTAL control over my entire day and told him to do whatever he wanted (within my color scheme and floral preferences) and I really feel that he is an artist and he does his best work when he isn’t very restricted. I know he isn’t organized when it comes to paperwork, but I felt he totally pulled through for me on the day of and is extremely talented.
Cake - Ana Paz
Pre-wedding Review:
At the time when I booked the Colonnade, there were only two cake vendors available, Ana Paz or Cake Designs by Edda. My fiance and I met with Edda first and were not impressed at all. The cake was extremely dry and tasteless and they wanted to charge us $2 per person for adding space between each layer of the cake for fresh flowers. I asked them why there was a per person fee for this, not a flat fee, and they had no answer for me. I met with Ana Paz immediately afterwards and it was a huge difference. The cake was moist and delicious (we went with their classic chocolate and vanilla flavors) and they did not charge me extra for leaving space between the cake. They also took my DIY cake topper and stored it for me in their store, two months before the wedding.
A few days before the wedding I got a call telling me that in order to have the five tiers of cake that I had originally had on my order for 182 people, I would need to pay $25 dollars more because I only had 170 people attending. I think this is a little ridiculous and felt that they were totally nickel and diming me because I had a package cake. I know that they told a friend of mine that you needed a minimum of 170 people for five tiers, so I think they just call you and charge you for the extra people if your amount is any less than what you told them originally. I ended up paying the $25 because I think having a fifth tier adds a lot to the height and made a big difference. If you are getting your cake from them, I recommend you ask them upfront how many people you need for the five tiers, commit to that minimum amount (if you have enough people) and then add people later once your venue balance is paid.
Final Grade – A-
Final Review:
I think our cake looked absolutely perfect, exactly what I had imaged it would look like. Half of that was due to Gil, since he decorated it with the flowers and he did the flowers for my inspiration cake as well. The reason Ana Paz gets an A- is because the taste wasn’t as good on the day of as it was at the tasting and also because they charged me more for the fifth tier. The vanilla was a little dry and stale tasting. The chocolate was just as good. Even though I felt this way though, I heard a lot of people liked it.
Drapery - Gables Linens
Pre-wedding Review:
Sarah and Wendy from Gables Linens were both a joy to work with. They are both very sweet and efficient. I made multiple changes to my order (went from ordering chair covers and linens for some of the tables to just getting drapery) and they never asked questions or cared that I made the changes. They are also extremely organized and even made changes for me over the phone and emailed me the updated invoice. Their customer service is definitely top notch.
Final Grade – A+
Final Review:
Once we switched to the rotunda, Ivette recommended that we get drapery for the entrance of the room so that we have some privacy (since the room is in the middle of the hotel). Since it was so close to the wedding, I had no time to meet with Gables Linens and discuss this with them in person. I made a call over the phone, they updated my invoice, emailed it to me, and that was that! I really had no idea what it would look like, and imagined almost a simple curtain for some reason. WOW is all I have to say about the end result. The drapery made ALL the difference and made the entrance look so grand. I am so glad we added this!!
Chivari Chairs, Linens, and Chargers - Hitched -hitched305@gmail.com
Pre-wedding Review:
Luis has been great to work with. He is extremely responsive via email (usually within minutes!) and negotiates. I had never had any interest in getting special chairs, linens, etc. for the wedding. This was just always an area that I cut in. Finally, after seeing a few weddings with chair covers, I decided to bite the bullet and put the extra money towards the chairs. I did some hard negotiations with Luis and was able to get him down to $3.50 a chair – woohoo!! This was such a deal. I also was originally going to get overlays from the Internet, but they had seams and I now needed to rent them as well. Luis offered me linens (not even overlays!) as such a good price that I ended up just paying extra to have them as well. A few days before the wedding, I was organizing my gold chargers and noticed that quite a few of them were damaged from my friend Katie’s wedding. I was planning on just using them anyway because we were having preset salads. Luis called Letty and offered gold beaded chargers to me at a great price and since they were the much nicer and more expensive looking chargers, I decided to add them as well. Can you tell I totally caved in this department?
Final Grade – A+
Final Review:
Luis and his team were great. They showed up on time, the linens were all pressed, the chargers were clean, and the chairs were in good condition. We actually needed one extra linen than anticipated on the day of because the entrance display that Gil had done was so huge that the place cards would not have fit (or looked good) on that same table. Letty contacted Luis, requested an ivory crushed satin linen (upon Gil’s request that it would be ivory and not gold to take the décor up a notch) and Luis had the linen delivered quickly and never even charged me for it. I highly recommend this company. They negotiate, worked with my budget, and pulled through on the day of even with a little mini crisis.
Ceremony Musicians - Claudio Osorio on Trumpet and String Trio (305) 595-1535
Pre-wedding Review:
I heard Claudio Osorio and his string trio play at St. Hugh when I originally was going to have my ceremony there. Let me just say that the music was INCREDIBLE. I cried at almost every song. Claudio is a busy man working the wedding circuit, but he has pretty good communication via the telephone. He isn't too responsive via email, but always returns calls within a few days.
Final Grade – B
Final Review:
Claudio and his musicians did a beautiful job playing and they played all the music I requested. They couldn’t play as much as they normally do for a Mass, but they played a little more before the ceremony in order to make up for this a bit. I still feel like they should have tried to squeeze even more music in, but I guess there was really no time for it.
Also, due to the size of St. Patrick and the size of the organ at St. Patrick, you could barely hear the other musicians. My FI and I felt that they should have had their instruments hooked up to microphones and speakers so that they could at least be near the same level as the very loud organ. I’m not sure if the church perhaps doesn’t allow them to do this, but I didn’t feel it was worth the money we paid. If I were to do it again, I wouldn’t have had these musicians; I would have only had the organist/singer from St. Patrick.
Cocktail Musician - Bob Folse
Pre-wedding Review:
We heard Bob Folse play at a friend's cocktail hour and loved it. He played a mix of Spanish/Classical type guitar with some popular hits as well. He plays an acoustic/electric guitar with the assistance of an ipod which makes all the difference. We loved the ipod playing background music because it adds some variety to the songs so every song doesn't sound like the same old thing. He has always been extremely responsive to me via email and telephone.
Final Grade – B
Final Review:
I didn’t attend the cocktail hour, so I couldn’t hear Bob play myself, but I heard that what he played was very good. My friends and family told me he was situated in a weird location in the upper rotunda, far away from people. I don’t know if this was due to the awkward shape of the room, but I know that some of the people couldn’t hear him because of this. I was disappointed that a lot of my relatives didn’t even know I had a guitarist. Like I said, I don’t know if this is due to the shape of the room, but I feel he should have arrived early to sound check and make sure he was in a good spot. I have heard him play at other weddings, so I would recommend him still, but if you have your cocktail hour in the upper rotunda, I would make sure you specify where you think he should be seated to play.
DJ - Kenny Mondo Productions
Pre-wedding Review:
We saw DJ Lindsay do a friend's wedding and loved his style. He isn't the typical cheesy DJ, but he also isn't quiet to the point where you don't know he is there. He talks when is necessary and kept the dance floor packed all night. We especially loved that he was able to mix two different of cultures of music easily. This was something that is important to us. Jerry, the person you interact with during the planning, is extremely responsive via email and is always available via phone.
Final Grade – A-
Final Review:
I think Lindsay did a very good job with our wedding. He arrived early to set up and sound check and made sure everything was perfect. He played the variety of music I asked for and kept the dance floor packed all night. The reason he gets an A- is because he said a couple of cheesy things (apparently that the Rotunda was one of the best places to get married in Miami – ick!) and also because after the garter/bouquet toss he started playing OUR song and wanted the couple to dance to our song with them. I actually was saying, “NO NO!” to him and then he played a slow song for everyone to get up and dance to. I don’t know if this was supposed to be a joke, but I thought it was very cheesy. He definitely saved it though and everyone got up to slow dance, so it was okay. He is older and he is slightly cheesy, but he definitely knows what he is doing and how to keep the dance floor packed.
Hair and Makeup - Amy Palma
Pre-wedding Review:
Hair and makeup was one of the HARDEST vendors for me to book. I went through four trials and many tribulations! I heard great reviews about Amy and decided to have a trial for my bridal shower. She did an EXCELLENT job. She is great with communication (we talked for 30 minutes the first time on the phone!) and is also great at communicating via email. When I met her in person, I absolutely loved her sweet and understanding personality. She listens to you and makes sure you are 100% happy. She doesn't mind if you give input or offer suggestions, which is something that was important to me. She is pricey, but I feel that she is worth it!
Final Grade – A+
Final Review:
I think Amy Palma did an EXCELLENT job on our wedding day. She arrived 30 minutes early and was relaxed and chatty which was nice. Since she arrived early, we were never rushed and had time to stop to eat and just not be in a hurry. She did my hair and makeup, and my mom and sister’s makeup. She also stayed until 30 minutes before I left for the church in order to continuously touch up my hair and makeup through the getting ready photos. This really meant a lot to me since sometimes my hair definitely needed touching up after the climbing Alain had me doing!
My hair and makeup lasted ALL night. I have curly hair that can definitely frizz, and even after being outside taking photos in the August heat and humidity, dancing all night, sweating, etc. my hair and makeup STAYED until I went to sleep. No, it wasn’t as perfect as it was in the beginning of the evening, but it looked pretty and I didn’t look like Mufasa from The Lion King. I only needed to reapply powder and lip-gloss once. She is incredible and worth every penny!
Dreams Belly Dance, Jenny - Dreams Belly Dance
Pre-wedding Review:
We had originally hired Nathalie to be the belly dancer at our wedding. We had seen her perform many times at one of our favorite restaurants and thought she would be a great addition to our wedding. We sent the deposit, signed the contract, and were so happy with our decision. However, I received a call from Nathalie about a month later letting me know that she accidentally booked us on a day where she would be out of the country for a performance. I was extremely disappointed at first, and thought that we may have to skip out on the belly dancer altogether, until she offered me an alternative dancer to take her place. She sent me photos and video footage of the other dancer and we were SO impressed with the quality and professionalism of the new dancer. She apologized profusely and considering how organized she seems to be, it seems that this double booking was a fluke. Jenny is now dancing for our wedding and after seeing her videos, we cannot wait!
Final Grade – A+
Final Review:
EVERYONE that attended our wedding has raved about the belly dancer. I mean EVERYONE! She was unbelievable. She came in with a candelabra on her head, danced with some wings, danced with a sword, did some incredible hip shakes, then pulled us up to dance with her. Then, she got the audience got up to dance as well. She was INCREDIBLE and worth even more money than what we paid her! After she performed, we looked around and NOBODY was sitting in the seats. She got the party started and entertained everyone. Highly, highly, highly, recommend!!
Day of Coordinator - Letty from LMG Events
Pre-wedding Review:
Letty has been AMAZING to work with thus far. Even before I had ever hired her as my planner she was offering me help and advice via facebook messages and IMs. I hired her in April and ever since then she has been SO much more than a day of coordinator. She has been available to give me advice on various situations (from etiquette, to family/bridal party issues, to just general advice on everything wedding related!). She has excellent taste so I absolutely love running ideas by her and getting her feedback, she really takes every idea I have and kicks it up a notch. She has also been able to de-stress me quite a few times via IM or the phone - love her! On top of that she has created and maintained a day-of timeline and will be contacting all the vendors the week leading up to the wedding to confirm everything for me. My family and I are 100% confident in her abilities.
Also, I came to Letty and told her that I wanted to do a “Bolooki Burgers” station for a late night snack at our wedding. I knew I wanted to do this, but had no idea how to execute it or display it. She took the idea and ran with it. First, she told me to contact the Colonnade and get quotes for sliders and fries from them from the chef. Originally, I was going to try to get the burgers from a restaurant and bring them to the hotel (to save money). Letty pointed out that this would probably cause the food to be cold and that the Colonnade also probably did not allow it because it would be outside catering. She was right on both accounts! She offered up her concession stand display that she has used for candy bars in the past for the burgers. She actually revamped her concession stand and made it look more fancy and also made it match my color scheme. In addition, she gave me the idea of having fry cones with a “Bolooki Burger” logo sticker inside. Also, she took the font from the logo and hand painted the “Bolooki Burgers” sign herself. I didn’t even know she was doing this until it was almost done! She really took this whole idea and made it incredible.
Final Grade – A+
Final Review:
Letty was the best wedding decision I made! Having her take care of our day made the entire day and evening so relaxing for my family and I. She did an incredible job and I know I can recommend her to anybody with my eyes closed.
She arrived early in the morning to make sure that Gil and Hitched were setting everything up according to plan. This is when the mini-crisis came up where we needed an extra linen. She immediately called Luis and took care of it. She also came in to check in on me while I was getting ready to make sure everything was going well.
During the setup, there was a much bigger crisis. The memorial candle vase that we had bought for Andrew’s father (which was lit by us during the ceremony and displayed during the reception) literally broke in her hands. The glass was cheap and just shattered!! I got a call from Letty that she had to leave the Colonnade in order to take care of a little crisis, but that she would take care of it and for me not to worry about. I decided there was nothing I could do about this unknown crisis, so I didn’t worry. About an hour or so later she came to my room and she handed me the memorial candle vase and asked me if it was okay. I was totally confused because I didn’t understand why she would be asking me this. I didn’t realize this was a NEW vase!!! She went to Michaels and purchased a vase, then went to Things Remembered and has the new vase engraved with the same information that we had on the original vase. UNBELIEVABLE! Talk about crisis aversion. If we didn’t have this vase it would have messed up that part of the ceremony and would have definitely hurt Andrew’s family’s feelings. Thank GOD we had her there to handle this!!
Sometime right before or after the ceremony somehow someone got lip-gloss on my wedding dress. I told Letty about this after the ceremony and when I arrived at the Colonnade she had club soda ready in our private room and removed the stain for me. At this time she also bustled my dress, which was SO difficult for my mom and sister to do when they were trying (they had never quite gotten it when Reina showed them). She had never even seen my dress before and did it in a few minutes!
The evening of the wedding I noticed that the linens on some of the key tables were pinned up in a swag. This was something I wanted to have done, but I asked Luis from Hitched and since he isn’t a linen vendor, he told me flat out that this is not something his team takes care of. I just let it go and figured it would look fine unpinned. I was so shocked to see them pinned up and I thought it looked so beautiful. I found out later that Letty saw that the linens didn’t look as good going to the floor so she pinned them up herself. I had never even discussed with her and I LOVE that she just thought that it would look better and took care of it.
There was another little crisis where I accidentally sat Andrew’s aunt, uncle, and children at my family’s head table. I had mistakenly printed their place card to seat them at Table 1 instead of Table 9. Letty saw that there was an error and then referred to the seating chart list I had given her and told them where they were supposed to sit. My mom said she was very sweet and professional during this little hiccup.
Throughout the evening she was checking in on me to see if we needed anything, let me know how the timeline was going, controlling the timeline, etc. She was always visible and ready if I needed her. She also let my parents and Andrew’s family aware that if there was absolutely anything they needed, that she was the go-to person to talk to. In addition, she went to my dad and got the money for the unpaid vendors and paid them as needed so my dad didn’t have to worry about it throughout the evening. Finally, she stayed until the very end of the party and cleaned up everything that I had purchased and packed it up for me and had it sent to my parent’s room. She did the same with the card box.
When I say Letty was worth every penny, I cannot stress that enough. She is extremely professional, has a great attention to detail, great taste, and knows how to solve problems quickly. I also love her sweet personality and loved planning with her. My entire family and bridal party all commented on what a great wedding planner I had. She’s the best!!
Rehearsal Dinner – Las Vegas in Hollywood
Final Grade – A
Final Review:
We had our rehearsal dinner in Las Vegas in Hollywood off of 441. The food was absolutely delicious (that is the best Las Vegas!) and it was affordable. They were also very accommodating for our very large party of about 45-50 people. The service was good and the parking was not an issue.
Day-After Brunch – La Palma Restaurant
Final Grade – B-
Final Review:
We chose to have a day-after brunch at La Palma in Coral Gables. This restaurant is known for their all you can eat brunch buffet. We invited our family and friends to meet there in the morning and had almost everyone pay their own way. Because we committed to having at least 20 people, we were able to have the rate be $30 per person including tax and gratuity (the price is typically $30 per person without tax and gratuity). The food was good, but we were disappointed with the omelet station. Also, the waiters and the manager kept making mistakes when it came to the bill. My dad was treating our out of town guests and he told the waiters and manager at LEAST five times which tables he was paying for, and they continued to get it wrong and had an attitude with him about it. The food was pretty good and the ambiance is nice, but I think $30 may have been a bit overpriced. However, it’s the Gables and things are typically overpriced there!