Jolie714's reviews

Rating: B-

Pros: She was able to take my dress from a size 10 (sample sale) to a size 6. Her turn around time was fast and she was attentive to detail.

Cons: My bustle kept falling down during the night. The button she used wasn’t secure enough.

Final Thoughts: Overall I thought Mahtab was ok. I drove from Los Angeles to South Orange County to use her because she was recommended to me but probably could have found the same quality for a better value closer to home.

Rating:

A ; post-wedding

D ; wedding-day

Pros: We decided not to go through our caterer for rentals and used Raphael’s because they matched prices with competitors, had a VERY nice show room, and had a huge inventory. The account reps were extremely helpful. I probably called them a dozen times to add, change, or delete items from our order and they were happy to adjust the order every time. They really put our minds at ease with all the rentals.

Cons: The day of the wedding did not match the experience we had post-wedding. There are so many things that went wrong. One of our signature drinks was a Martini and they didn’t bring any Martini glasses. (that drink was served in a high ball glass). The belly bar linens were 1 foot off the ground. The tables were not setup by them because they were understaffed and Brenda had to take care of that. (which took her attention away from other things). The dance floor was not leveled (as promised) and completely sloped downward. They came late to deliver which affected the caterer and the florist. They billed us after the wedding for items that they left at the venue.

Final Thoughts: I was so hopeful about the rentals and thought Raphael’s was going to be one of the vendors that we didn’t need to worry about. Their prices are high but they match pricing with competitors so I thought it was a great deal since their inventory was great! We saved a few thousand dollars going directly to the rental company. I still think that money saved was worth the headache but I would not recommend Raphael’s to anyone

Rating: A

Pros: I wanted the photojournalistic style. David is a true photojournalist and has won many awards for his work in the media. He drove all the way from Los Angeles to San Diego for our wedding! His work and eye for capturing the moment is incredible. He’s able to create a story through pictures that I respect and admire. Also, it was very important to me that I found a photographer that allowed me to have 100% ownership of the pictures after the wedding. I didn’t want to pay a photographer for each print. He as able to give us the entire wedding on multiple disks as well as created a DVD slideshow and presented it in a very nice case.

Cons: I wish I would have had more posed shots with my bridesmaids. It wasn’t David’s fault because we were running about 1.5 hours behind. David’s also not a “point and shoot” type of photographer so it’s somewhat hard for him to give direction. Even though I wanted the photojournalistic style, I realized that the posed shots need to happen as well. His specialty is capturing the day as it unfolds.

Final Thoughts: If I were to do it again, I would make a list of people to take pictures with. I would have also made a list of every area that we wanted to take pictures. Things were so hectic that day that you’re not thinking of who you haven’t taken pictures with. Photography was one of our top priorities because that’s what we are left with in the end. I’m happy with the memories that were captured by David and he would be highly recommended!

Pros: Our ceremony was very unique and he helped us put together the perfect ceremony from beginning to end. I can’t say enough how helpful, responsive, and open-minded he was to our ideas. He gave his advice and opinions when it was needed. He also allowed us to be as creative as we wanted. Although he is a devout Christian man, he was accepting of our non-denominational, non-traditional, unique wedding ceremony.

Cons: Nothing!

Final Thoughts: We knew exactly what we wanted our ceremony to include and he was able to put all of our ideas together into a beautiful ceremony. Highly Recommended!