MilGroom's reviews

Ambassador World Travel took the time to show us other options other than the popular honeymoon locations such as Mexico and other exotic locations. Ultimately, we decided on Riviera Maya and our agent provided us a ton of information, brochures, etc. that helped us make our decision. She was never pushy and only offered suggestions when we need a nudge in one direction or another.

Carol is photographer for a local newspaper who does weddings on the side. She easily could make wedding photography a fulltime gig. Her professionalism is unmatched and her variety of wedding-day packages gave us plenty to choose from. Her prices included online proofs and online ordering options, all proofs in an album and all negatives, which was a huge draw for us. If anything were to ever happen to the originals, we can have new photos made from the negatives. The online ordering service was nice too – we could direct friends and family to the site to order photos for themselves instead of having to take care of their orders for them. Photos were ready in timely fashion and communication throughout the process was great.

Our tuxedo rentals went off without a hitch. We had a relatively large wedding party, and not one of the men who got their tuxedos at Men’s Warehouse were given incorrect attire. Everything was perfect. We even had a very young ring bearer, and though his tuxedo was too large for him, the company did their best to keep him as comfortable as possible. The group fitting was a lot of fun – and the people at MW were patient and helpful despite the large group. Also, we got a great discount by visiting a local wedding show that helped keep the costs down.

One of the best experiences we had was picking out rings. The person who worked with us, Mike Mapes, seemed to know what we wanted before we even spotted it ourselves. And he didn’t try to sell us something more pricey than we wanted. The groom, for example, wanted something simple. He picked out a more expensive metal initially, but Mike showed us a similar ring (in style) that was hundreds of dollars less that we ended up choosing. As for the brides rings, Mike kept things simple yet elegant and prevented us from going overboard in both style and costs. Shallows has become our family jeweler. We go back often just to say hi and wouldn’t think of taking our business anywhere else.

For a relatively smaller hotel without the name recognition in terms of receptions, Comfort Suites helped us put on a big show. Every detail was covered and every special request we had was met. The staff was friendly and knowledgeable. The ballroom was spacious enough for our group, a nice lobby right out side the room gave people a location to go for some “quite” and smokers could use the outdoor patio just a few feet away. Again, a perfect setup to suit the needs of all guests. Comfort Suites also used its own caterer – at the time, you could only use their service – and after an informative taste-testing months in advance, the caterer delivered what he promised: great-tasting food done exactly the way we wanted. Price was much cheaper than many of the ‘name’ hotels we looked into.

The hotel block was at the same site of the reception, and the Comfort Suites provided enough room options onsite as well as at another hotel down the road. Rates were much cheaper than usual and I did not hear of any complaints from any of our out-of-town guests, most of who stayed right at the hotel because Comfort Suites had blocked off more than enough rooms.

Parkway Floral made picking out flowers easy and painless, for both of us. They had a handful of experts at our disposal to answer all questions or weigh in on any questions we had. They explained the costs of certain flowers – why some were more expensive than others – and were not pushy with their suggestions. All flowers ordered were fresh and vibrant upon arrival at the church and reception, and everything came exactly as ordered. There were no hidden costs. A detailed breakdown of item-by-item pricing was provided and the costs did not stray from the estimate. The family owned and operated business has been around for more than 50 years – they must be doing something right.

Our experience with All-Star Music started out well enough. We had been to one or two weddings they worked and were impressed. Our original meeting with the owner went well, and while he said he may or may not be the DJ to actually work our wedding, he indicated he didn’t see why he wouldn’t be. As it turned out, the DJ we got was someone we had never met. That DJ did an OK job, however, at times, he was not taking the bride’s requests to heart. A few specific requests were ignored and a time-sensitive request was delayed for no apparent reason. Overall, they were just minor complaints, but they were issues we didn’t think we should have had to deal with.

What I liked first about WPLC was that they had no policy about being members of the church in order to hold your ceremony there. Rates were different for members vs. nonmembers, but the services available/provided did not differ. We have since become members largely because of their acceptance. In addition, the church provides premarital classes that proved both helpful and enlightening. The church is small and quaint, providing an intimate atmosphere that all in attendance can enjoy. The facility, however, has a downstairs floor that allows the bride and her party to get ready without distraction and a lobby area for any early-arriving guests. The pastor who presided over our ceremony is no longer there, but the current pastor is great. The church also has an in-house organist available.

The bride’s father suggested this place, and we’re glad he did. The taste-testing was a lot of fun, and they didn’t mind that the bride’s parents came along for the cake. The styles and flavors of cakes gave us plenty of options to choose from, and they worked well with our overall flower scheme, incorporating the lily we had chosen into the design of the cake. And you will not find a better-tasting cake. The filling inside the cake is a big hit. And after an accident at the reception ruined the top layer of the cake, Brookfield Wedding Cakes provided us with a new one to enjoy on our one-year anniversary. They certainly didn’t have to do that, but they went above and beyond what was expected.

The people at Amelishan were friendly and helpful throughout the entire process. My wife was able to find a beautiful dress – exactly what she dreamt of – for a price that did not break the budget. Alterations were also done here, and the dress fit perfectly and for a reasonable cost.