Cristy0583's Reviews 08.30.09

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions! cristy0583@gmail.com
Planning bio: www.cristinaandaian.weebly.com

Ceremony and Reception Venue - Douglas Entrance: A
http://douglasentrance.com/
I had my wedding ceremony and reception at the Douglas Entrance and I had an excellent experience. Raul was a pleasure to work with and was very responsive. I went there after looking at several other venues and I stopped looking once I saw it. It is a spectacular venue and was perfect for our wedding. I absolutely loved it!

Caterer and DOC - A Fancy Fiesta Productions: A
http://afancyfiesta.com/
I had the catering for the wedding done by A Fancy Fiesta Productions. Everything went great with them. I keep getting raves about the food and the service from guests. The food was delicious and they served the meal super quick. Marggie (with a Fancy Fiesta) was my DOC and she did a great job, everything flowed perfectly.

Flowers and Up-lighting - Petal Productions: B
http://petalproductions.com/
All of the flowers for the wedding were done by Petal Productions. They were included in the package I chose with Fancy Fiesta. The flowers looked beautiful; however, they were not exactly what I asked for. I wanted all of the flowers to be white and have some pale pink but some of the arrangements had bright pink. I was also not happy with the bridesmaid’s bouquets. They were made up of hydrangea and roses and I was expecting the roses to be open/full, but they were tight rose buds and were sticking out. The reception flowers looked amazing, and I am overall happy with their work.

Petal Productions also did up- lighting which really added a great look and feel to the reception.

Photographer - NB Photographix: A
http://www.nbphotographix.com/
(Pending photos) They have been so great to work with! We had our engagement session at the Grove and although it was super hot and we were sweating we had a wonderful time and the pictures look amazing. Bryan does a very good job of capturing nice shots and I was amazed by his creativity as he transformed one of our pictures right before our eyes.

On the wedding day I feel they did very well getting great shots. I have not received all of the pictures yet but the teasers are incredible!

Link to wedding teasers: http://tinyurl.com/mxwdp3
Link to engagement session teasers: http://tinyurl.com/lbhphz

Cake - Divine Delicacies: C

I also booked Divine Delicacies(DD) through my caterer. I went to them months before the wedding to show them the cake I wanted. I asked the girl that was helping me if it was included in the package and she takes out a list with the caterers they work with to verify. She told me that according to the list the cake I wanted was included. The week of the wedding I went to meet with Marggie(Caterer/DOC) and she was on the phone with Ileana (I think she is the owner) from DD who is telling her that the cake I wanted would cost much more and that I knew that and had told them that I would cover whatever the extra costs were!! They said the cake I wanted would cost an extra $4 per person! So I said that I will just change it. Marggie took the time to show me cakes that they had done for her before and I saw one that I liked and she printed it out for me. The cake had a fondant bow and the girl told me that would cost extra… We kept going back and forth about the cake and the girl kept going to the back to speak to Ileana, who did not have the decency to come out and speak to me herself after the mix up and the continued mix up. I ended up being so confused… For whatever reason the cake was an extra $10 so I just paid it. Marggie had told me to call her if there was any issues but I had a lot of other things to do so I just wanted to get out of there quick. In the end, the cake did look nice and tasted good.

Gown - Leggenda Bridal: A
I bought my wedding gown at Leggenda Bridal, it was a sample sale and I got it at a good price. They also did the alterations. The dress fit me perfectly and was clean and ironed when I picked it up.

DJ UBI: A
UBI did the music for the ceremony and reception. Everything flowed very smoothly and he kept everyone on the dance floor!

FAVORS - Gifts and Romantic Wedding D
I bought 80 little trinket boxes for my wedding favors here. First, I thought it was odd that they charged me for the shipping costs, I don’t know if that is common practice. They told me the order would arrive in 2 weeks and they arrived in 3 weeks. My mom went to pick them up and they each came in individual boxes. We didn’t open them until a couple of weeks later and we noticed that many of them were damaged. We separated 26 of the ones that were very damaged and the store agreed to order replacements. When we went to pick up the replacements we began to open them in the store to inspect them and found that many of them had damages. The lady in the store also made a point to state the vendor they ordered them from told her that they accepted replacing the damaged ones once but would not do so again. We ended up taking the ones that were in best shape, but by no means perfect, because the wedding was in a couple of days and there was no time to find alternate favors. We were not offered any type of reimbursement or credit despite the trouble we went through and ending up with damaged favors.

Hair and Make-up - Noel: A
Noel did my hair and make-up. He did a wonderful job, I was very happy with how I looked. He was great to work with and he made my time with him fun and relaxing. I highly recommend him!

Chiavari Chairs - Hitched: A
I rented the white wood padded chairs for the ceremony and gold chiavari chairs for the reception from Hitched and I had a very good experience. I also asked about specialty linens and he had them for a very good price. I did not get the linens because I was already over my budget, but they had the lowest prices that I found.

Linens - AB Cover Designers: B
I booked them through my caterer and was originally using them for chivaris and linens before I found the chairs much cheaper through Hitched. I met with them months before the wedding to chose the linens. I told them I had the basic package and that I wanted ivory linens. The man who was helping showed me beautiful ivory crinkled linen. I asked him if he was sure that those were included in the basic package and he said yes. Of course in the end I found out that they were not included and that is why they get a B!

DIY Invitations
Paperandmore.com: A
I bought all of the paper and envelopes for my invitations on this site and the paper quality was very good.

Staples: F-
I printed my invitations at home with a color laser printer so I only needed to have them cut to the exact measurements. I had a thick card stock for the backing and the text cardstock for the top layer with the crop marks. I took them to staples to get cut. I went to pick them up and as soon as I looked at them I knew they were off… I layered them to see how bad it was… It was terrible! Not only were they off in the measurements, they were also slanted. . I was devastated! I spoke to the manager and he tells me that it is not possible for them to cut to exact measurements and the employee should not have taken the job. Luckily I had bought extra paper and I reprinted them and took them to be cut at SirSpeedy.

SirSpeedy: B
They did a good job at cutting the paper. They do not get an A because one of the sides was a tiny bit longer and I had to trim them myself.

Barby26's Reviews 08.01.09

Ceremony: St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church
They were amazing and so was my priest Father John.


Coral Gables Women’s Club A+++++
They accommodated us on very short notice.


Caterer (incl. floral, linens, & DJ): Elegant Party Production
I have to break this down.

Caterer-B!!!
as far as the food goes it taste great, I also liked that they provided top shelf liquor for us. The reason they got a B is because they seem to be a bit disorganized prior to our arrival and we they took longer than usual to serve dinner. I am not sure why this was. We also had a chocolate fountain provided by them but there were no plates for the fountain. They also provided chargers at no extra cost.

Linens A!!!!!
They also provided linens they had a large variety and my colors matched perfect.

Floral A+++++
Elegant provided the flowers and I have to say they were amazing I was extremely pleased with my flowers and the centerpieces.


Cake: Divine Delicacies F!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I do not recommend this vendor. I did change my color scheme a few times on the cake but the day of the wedding the flowers that I paid extra for which were supposed to be hot pink were brought in a peach color no where near to any color pink. Aside from that the fondant was cracked and the cake on one side was sunk in. I was extremely disappointed since this was the vendor I was most excited about. Once the caterer and my coordinators saw the cake they contacted divine delicacies and they were supposed to come back to fix the cracked fondant and they never did. Once I called to complaint about the cake they never even returned my call. My coordinators and caterer saved the cake by adding hot pink flowers on top and having some flowers cascade down the cake where the cake was sunken and cracked.


Up Lighting: Liquid DJs A+++++!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The lighting in the room was amazing they did such a good job they also had very good pricing.


My Oh My Events (Diana Louzado) www.myohmyevents.com A++++++++
I don't even know where to begin. They did such an amazing job. I would recommend her with my eyes closed. She was on top of everything with the cake the caterer she made sure everything I wanted was done. She also was great help during my wedding planning she assisted me with my unity candle, wedding ideas, and so much more. She also did such an amazing job on my sweetheart table, menu and on our place card. I also have to thank Marisol her assistant and her husband Orly for everything they did for us as well. My hubby left his phone in the limo and Orly bent over backwards for us and made sure the driver came back to give us our phone. We had some wedding crashers and Marisol and Diana very tastefully escorted them out of the room. I cannot say enough about what an amazing job My Oh My Events did and I know my wedding would not have been the same without them.


Photographer: Anthony W. Photography A!!!
So far I have only gotten some samples which I love. They look great.


Greynolds Florists, Inc. 305-893-7630 Flowers for Church A!!!!
They provided the flowers for the Church and did a good job.


Tuxes Zayas Fashions Inc. C!!!
The tuxes were all ok but the only issue I had with them was that both my ring bearers are small both are about 1 1/2 old they kept telling me the shoes would not be a problem. On the Thursday before my weeding the shoes were too big on them and they did not give us a discount for the shoes being big. We had to purchase shoes separately for the boys.


Padrino Limousine 305-871-6767 A!!!!
They did a great job. The driver even returned when we left our phone in the limo.


David’s Bridal (Coral Gables) -B+++
I have to say my dress was beautiful. The only complaint I have about the store is that they are super overcrowded and when I was going to have my dress fitted the lady was not picking up the back of my dress correctly so I ended up taking my dress to a private seamstress to get it picked up.

I also have to thank my Hubby for all of his great ideas & Carolina (my best friend) Designs by Carolina. Carolina provided the invitations for the wedding and bridal shower.


Anna Noriega-Makeup A+
She did an amazing job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Angelica—A+
My hair was beautiful and lasted the entire night.

Allhallowsbride08's Reviews 10.31.08

Let me start off by saying that I was a pretty laid back bride. I had my lists of everything that needed to get done and my budget ready. I had a list of questions ready prior to each meeting and read every contract carefully. I probably only had to contact each vendor once throughout the planning process and again at the end to confirm everything for the big day. We had a very small bridal party with just a maid of honor and a best man. We wanted the reception to be just a fun dinner party and did not include most of the traditional wedding activities, i.e. no bouquet toss, no garter removal and no conga line.
My wedding day was everything I could have hoped for and more. I think there were probably a couple of things that did not go exactly as I had planned but who cares. My guests, DH, and I had a blast and I have fantastic pictures and video of the day.

Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church - Ceremony/Officiant/Organist
There was no doubt that this was the church I would get married at. I received all my sacraments there and went to the school. The assistant at the rectory was great to work with. She was very clear about all the requirements and followed up with me to make sure I had all my paperwork in order. Father Lopez was the officiant and I also brought in a former teacher of the school to co-officiate. Both were wonderful to work with and very laid back. I had a full mass which they held in Spanglish. I love the look of this church as well. It has a very long aisle which is something I really wanted. The aisle is also carpeted which is great because I did not want to hear the sound of heals while I walked down the aisle. Note for people with large bridal parties/families: you only get 15 minutes after the ceremony to take formal portraits. You need to be organized and let everyone know that they have to stay in the church for the pictures. I gave my photographers a list of the portraits I wanted. I included people's name so they would pay attention when their name was called out loud. Overall my experience was great and I recommend this church.

Doubletree Grand Hotel Biscayne Bay - Reception
When I started planning my wedding I had already been to 2 weddings at this location. I was pretty much set on this hotel because it had everything I was looking for. I did go to several different hotels in the downtown, grove, and airport area but none had what I was looking for. I knew that I was going to have a small guest list and that I would have small centerpieces so I did not want the room to look empty. I was basically looking for something that was not too big and had a great view. The Doubletree was perfect; the view at night is fantastic. The ceilings in the ballroom are not as high as say the Rusty Pelican (another location with a great view). I also liked that the reception area was right next to the ballroom making it easy to transition my guest from cocktail hour to reception. The DJ was also able to pump music into the balcony during the cocktail hour. Another plus was that the balcony was accessible during the reception so I knew I would not lose my friends that needed to get fresh air during the party. I also wanted the reception to be at a hotel. I have a very crazy worklife and really liked the convenience of having a lot of things taken care of with just one vendor. I did not want to worry about hiring caterers or renting chairs and linens. I also got ready at the hotel and stayed there the night of the wedding.
The planning process was very smooth. Adriana was extremely helpful throughout the whole planning process. The night of the wedding, she was there along with an assistant. When we arrived at the hotel, they took us into a separate room for us to wait for everyone to come in from cocktail hour. They gave us a platter of the appetizers and drinks while we waited. They were always making sure that DH and I had everything we needed throughout the duration of the reception. My guest all said the service and food was great as well. They never ran low on food during cocktail hour. We had one of the chicken entrees and it was great. Most people expect dry chicken at a wedding but the food was fresh, warm and juicy. The week of the wedding I had some guests let me know that they would not be able to attend. Adriana was very helpful in helping reallocate the funds to upgrade some of my food and beverage options. Overall my experience was great and I recommend this location.
We had a great experience and I recommend this hotel.


Divine Delicacies - Cake
Out of all the bakeries that were included in my package this was by far our favorite. They do not have many upgrades included in their basic hotel package, but they make up for it in the flavor of the cake. The most important this for me was to not have a cake that was overly sweet. The cake was awesome!!! It was a marble cake with vanilla filling and buttercream frosting. I also used Divine Delicacies for the Groom's Cake. That cake was chocolate with chocolate filling. It had a buttercream frosting with the Oakland Raiders shield made out of fondant. Everyone raved about both cakes. I highly recommend them.


Ambrosio Photography - Photography
By far my favorite vendor! Craig and Stacey Ambrosio are the sweetest people I have ever met. Both of them are professional photographers and are unbelievable talented. They have a photojournalism style. Their pictures are very natural and look great without touchup. They shot our wedding day as well as our engagement pictures. I decided with a little over a month left to go that I wanted engagement pictures and that I wanted to use those pictures for a guest sign in book. I selected the images I wanted for the book but because we were cutting close on time I did not see the layout before it went into processing. I trusted their artistic abilities to just run with it. It turned out beautifully and everyone was raving about it.
The day of the wedding Stacey was with me from the moment I started getting ready at the hotel. Craig was with DH and the bestman while they got ready. They arranged a private meeting for me and DH before the ceremony. They took us to a park next to the hotel to take pictures and then over to the Venetian Causeway to get shots with the Miami skyline in the background.
I had printed proofs as part of my package, but I was able to first see them online. I fell in love with them and upgraded to receive my printed proofs all in 4X6. For the album I opted for a coffee table style from Graphistudios. It has a black leather cover with our names and wedding date embossed on the cover. I do not remember what type of paper I used, but I remember that it was a cross between glossy and matte paper. I think that the paper we used made the colors stand out even more.
I am planning on doing a post wedding/trash the dress shoot. DH and I are also planning and doing a first anniversary shoot with them. I highly recommend these guys with my eyes closed! No joke, their work is flawless.


Artistry Wedding Films - Videography
Videography was a completely last minute decision. I hired them the week before the wedding. Luckily I had done my research many months before and there were only 2 vendors I really liked. Artistry came highly recommended by a friend of mine. Alan is very professional and always responded to my emails. There were two shooters but I barely noticed them there. They were very unobtrusive but still captured all the moments that I wanted on video.
The final product is fantastic. It is perfectly edited to a mix of songs we selected and Alan suggested. The camara work is great and very steady. It is more than just a video, it is a little movie. I would say it is the video equivalent of photojournalism. Overall I had a great experience with this vendor and I highly recommend them.

Party Players - DJ
I did not do any shopping around for the DJ. I was looking for two things, reliability and experience. I had hired the Party Players several years ago for another event so I new they had the experience I was looking for. Since I knew I would hire them I just told my mom to please call and get the contract for me. That day one of the co-owners happen to take the call, DJ Andy. My mom had a great feeling about him and wanted him to be our DJ. He was very polite, professional and honest. He told my mom that since we were having a small g I wanted a fun party atmosphere. I wanted my guest to have fun from the moment they walked through the doors. We hired them to start playing music during cocktail hour all the way through the end of the reception at 2 AM. We requested DJ Andy, one of the co-owners, and that's who we got for the wedding. He did an amazing job. I had submitted my play list but most importantly I wanted him to read the crowd and work with that. That is exactly what he did. He took my friend's requests as well. Everyone had a great time and we danced the entire night. You can't go wrong with the party players. I highly recommend them.


Vivian Colls - Flowers
Wonderful lady! She came highly recommenced by a friend of mine. I actually first met with a couple of the highly recommened florists from the knot, but I came out of those meetings disappointed. It seems like they took a look at my modest budget and did not really care to do business with me. They did not offer much creative input either. All they were offering was the same design done in most of their weddings. In fact I told them of them the one thing my DH did not want and this person responded that I should not listen to him. I found this to be extremely unprofessional. Vivian on the other hand treated me like I was her one and only client. She looked at my magazine clippings, listened to what we like and even asked DH if there was anything in particular that he wanted. She was the one and only florist willing to meet with me on the weekend. She hand delivered the final proposal to my house bringing along with her the vases she thought would work. I loved loved loved my vases. I wanted something elegant and simple and that is what she gave me. My one and only must have request was to have a bouquet with mini black callas. I have seen mini black callas bloom in different shades from deep burgandy to deep purple. I wanted the deep purples. She assured me that she will do what it takes to get those to me even if she has soak them a few days before. This happens to be common practice if you need to achieve a particular shade. I bring this up because she is the only one that gave me this option. Another florist said sorry I can't promise anything and don't believe anything another florist tells you. So on my wedding day I had my bouquet of dark purple callas! I also hired Vivian to set up the guest sign in table and the favors. She even came back to the hotel after the reception was over to clear out the flowers. Fantastic and sweet lady. I highly recommend her.

Bellisima Bridal (in Coral Gables) - Wedding Dress
I purchased a Cassablanca dress from them. I am in love with my dress! The service was good. Although I did not use them for alterations, I recommend them due to the variety of styles that I saw in the store.

Occansey Designs (obridal.com) - Veil
This was the best decision I made. I wanted the most simple one tiered layer. For some reason simple means expensive. I could not deal with a $300 price tag for a veil so I too my chances and ordered from an online vendor. They were very helpful in helping me figure out which dimensions would work best for what I was wanted. It was great quality, great service, and great prices. I highly recommend them.

Rey's Cleaners (in Coral Gables) - Alterations and dress preservation
I was not really happy with the seamstress they had at the bridal store so I decided to take the dress somewhere else. Reina (a knottie favorite) was just too far from me that I would end up spending money on gas just to save money on alterations. One day while I was bridal shoe shopping I stopped at a bridal store in the grove. I asked them if they knew of a place for me to take my dress for alterations and they told me that they usually send their bridesmaids to Rey's Cleaners. So I was off to Rey's Cleaners. By the time I had gone to get the dress altered I had lost a good amount of weight so the bodice had to be fixed up a bit. The seamstress did a great job and the dress was delivered on time as promised. I also plan on taking my dress there to get cleaned and preserved. They don't use chemicals to preserve the dress, the preservation comes from the fabric it is wrapped in and the type of packaging. I highly recommend them.

DSW.com - Shoes
I ordered my shoes from DSW.com I had already tried on a pair of shoes from the same brand but in a different style at the store so I knew what size I needed to order. They fit perfectly and were comfy. They were gorgeous and matched the sash on my dress perfectly.

Symphony Jewelers - Bridal Jewelry
I discovered this boutique a few years ago. I love love love their selection. The pieces they carry are very unique. The only thing I purchased new for the wedding were my earings and the wedding band they custom made for me. My bracelet, my other ring (my something blue) and my necklace were purchased there a few years ago. I highly recommend them. They are really great people and I love their service.

Genesis - Hair comb
It was probably two weeks before the wedding and I still didn't have a comb for my hair. My plan was to remove the veil for th reception and just have a nice comb decorating my hair. I had almost given up because everything at the bridal stores were too pricey. Then one day a knottie mentions that she got her comb from a kiosk at the mall. I was curious so I went over to international mall to find this place. When I found it I could not believe that I hadn't thought about them before. They had a great selection of combs at reasonable prices. I wanted something simple and elegant. I bought 2 combs from them. The price can't be beat and the girl is really nice too! I highly recommend them.

Daisy Tarsi - Maid of Honor Dress
I did not care too much for the service there. However if you are looking for certain designers that only they may carry on the mile, you have to go there. My maid of honor picked her own gown and purchased it there. She was not interested in shopping around for a cheaper place. They also did not have the alterations done at the time they promised. They kept messing up as well. The dress was finally delivered on Oct. 30th. For service I don't recommend them, but for selection I do.

Manny's Formal Wear - Tuxes
Great service! DH, the bestman and our brothers got their tuxes there. I highly recommend them.

Syms - Dads' tuxes
Both our dads felt they needed to purchases tuxes. Syms has great prices and a good selection. Both were happy with their purchases.

Nordstrom - MOB dress, MIL dress, and SILs dresses
What can I say I love this store. The service is exceptional. Many people think that it is a very expensive store but you'd be surprise how many deals you can find if you just look. They are much more affordable than a bridal store. Alterations were also done at the store. Very clean work and delivered on the date promised. I highly recommend them.

Meilan - Bridal Car
This is a family run business. They are very professional and honest business people. The driver was super duper nice. He arrived on time. The car was beautiful, clean, and well air conditioned antique silver Bently. I highly recommend them!

Madeleine - Makeup
I have said it a bunch of times, I highly recommend this girl!!!! She is amazing at what she does. The makeup stayed on all night, I did not look or feel cakey, I felt fantastic! Madeleine also did the makeup for my e-pics

Zorayda - Hair
She did a great job on my hair. My hair was looking thinned out but I did not want to use extensions. She managed to make it look like I had a lot more hair than I really do. My hair has never ever stayed put from an updo or any type of styling, but my hair did not fall the entire night, yet it felt so soft! I was so amazed. I highly recommend her as well.

Palomilla Grill - Rehearsal Dinner
The rehearsal dinner was held at the Palomilla Grill, cuban restaurant. The service was great and the food was yummy! Can't beat the price.

We DIY'd the invitations, the place cards, the card box and the favors. We bought the supplies at Michaels, Office Max, Party City, Papermart.com, Walmart, and Jo-Ann's. I'd like to give DH an A++++ on this. He put all of this stuff together.

Tracy Ahrendt Photography - Bridal Shower photographer
Hiring a professional photographer for the bridal shower was the best decision I made. She understood that I wanted to capture all the moments of my party without having to stop to pose at every moment. She also had a little portrait session for DH and I. Tracey was an absolute pleasure to work with. The pictures were amazing and captured all the fun moments of the day. I highly recommend her.

Diana Carvajal Event Planner
We hired Diana to cater the meal for my bridal shower. I had a mashed potato martini bar. The food was a hit. It was set up buffet style, and we purchased large plastic martini glasses at party city to serve the food. There was shrimp, shredded chicken, and ground beef, mashed potato and mashed malanga. Additional toppings were also served. It was a small party for 25 people so we only needed one server. She stayed until it was time to serve the cake. She cut the cake (not provided by them) and served to the guests. I highly recommend Diana.