NatiSylv's reviews

We originally booked Bella for our wedding because we thought they were the only ones who would fit our budget and had a photojournalistic style. We got our photographer match 3 months before our wedding, and I really wasn't thrilled with his samples or the fact that we wouldn't be able to meet him until the day of the wedding. His samples weren't very photojournalistic despite us having gone through their process of rating images online so they could gauge our style and tastes. After doing some research on some wedding boards and hearing negative things about Bella from wedding photographers that have worked with them before, we decided to cancel. The good thing is that they give you a full refund on your deposit, so that wasn't an issue, and surprisingly we were able to find a great photographer who fit our budget and took amazing pictures! I think it's a great resource for brides on a budget, but only if you're lucky enough to be matched with someone whose work you're crazy about. For us it just didn't work out.

I can't say enough great things about our photographer! We found Emily just three months before our wedding (we'd gone with another one but I had second doubts about them). She was so punctual and easy to work with every step of the way, from our initial meetings, to the day of the wedding, to afterwards when we were selecting pictures for our album. The day of our wedding, Emily was so well-spirited, enthusiastic and fun to work with, she put our guests right as ease from the very beginning, and I really think her enthusiasm was contagious because everyone was just so excited to take pictures with her, and it really shows in the images! We got to see all of our pictures online just a few days after getting back from our honeymoon, and they completely took my breath away. They were in that perfect photojournalism style that we were hoping for (we never even noticed her taking pictures of us half the time), very romantic-looking and really capturing the mood of the day. My sister and best friend also booked her for their wedding and I can't wait to see their pictures too!

My husband and I were raised Catholic but really wanted to do an outdoor ceremony, which the Catholic Church doesn't allow. We consider ourselves more spiritual than religious, but some members of our family are very religious, so we wanted to have an officiant who could reflect these beliefs. Father Ricky was so wonderful, he had some great suggestions for readings from the Bible but also let us write our own ceremony so we could incorporate the Bible and also our personal beliefs and views on marriage. He also performed the ceremony in Spanish and English. We had plenty of tears at our wedding and everyone commented how beautiful the ceremony was!

We had a backyard reception, and I was worried about damaging the septic tank and having our guests wait in line for the restroom. I wanted something nicer than a porto-potty but couldn't afford those super-luxurious granite countertop trailer bathrooms that I heard are out there. KomfortZone was the perfect in-between for us. The bathrooms were clean, well-lit, had running water and flushed. We put some cute toiletry baskets inside them and our guests were RAVING about the bathrooms, some even joked that they were nicer than their own! And we still managed to stay on budget. AJ Mitchell, who was my contact there, was very reliable. They showed up on time the day of our wedding, set-up was quick and easy and they were there the next morning to pick up the trailer without a hassle.

We went to Nella after having gotten quoted by many other florists but not being too satisfied with their work samples. Nella's by appointment only, so she really sits down with you to see exactly what your vision is and is great about giving suggestions as to how to achieve it, and how to achieve the look your going for with the budget that you have. We used her for just our bouquets and bouts, since we did our own centerpieces. They came out absolutely beautiful! I would definitely recommend her anyone, in fact my sister, who's getting married in May, is hiring her for all her decorations!

The Deering Estate is an absolutely beautiful place for anyone that wants an outdoor ceremony by the ocean (but not sandy). We had our ceremony on their garden, overlooking the ocean. We did consider having the reception there, but it was way above our budget so we stuck to just renting it out for the ceremony and having the reception elsewhere. I wouldn't have had the ceremony anywhere else! That being said, I didn't give it five stars because their special events coordinator was often hard to get a hold of and somewhat cold when I did. Also, as a warning, in November (don't know if this is year-round) right around sunset (this was after our ceremony but when we were doing portraits) these mosquitoes come out for about an hour and they are just killer! We had bites up and down our arms well into our honeymoon! But the pictures were amazing...

We LOVED our wedding cake from Todo Dulce. We had gone to two other wedding cake shops that day, both on Bird Road and both very popular. We were a little disappointed with the quality of the cakes and drove by Todo Dulce's store and decided to try it out. It's a small store with two owners, one of which always greets you. We loved that they sat down with us and gave us their personal attention instead of handing us a book and a letting us figure it out on our own (like at other stores). The owner sat down with us and showed us her designs and was open to customizing any design for us. The samples were delicious! Their cake is brandy-based instead of rum based, and so moist and rich! Our cake was a big hit at our wedding, alternating layers of almond cake and lemon cake. My husband and I are planning on using them again for his birthday coming up.

My bridesmaids bought their dresses here and we had a great experience. The staff was very helpful and suggested dresses for each girls' figure. They had the Dessy line, Jim Helm, After Six and a bunch of others I can't really remember. I do wish they had more variety of dresses from each line, as there were some I saw online that I couldn't find in the store. The prices range anywhere from $100 to upwards of $300, depending on which dresses we were looking for, so there's definetly something for every budget!

I loved this store! When I first started shopping for wedding dresses the first place I went was Miracle Mile, thinking it's THE place to go. Some shops there are great but others, the salespeople are a little snooty depending on your budget. I found Brides of Florida because I saw a Maggie Sottero dress I loved online, and they're an authorized seller. Macky, the owner, and MJ were soooo nice and laid back. They never pressured me at all to go with something I didn't like, and had some great suggestions on dresses I might have never looked at. The dress I fell in love with wasn't available at their store, but they had it sent from another store in Florida so I could try it on. It arrived within a week, I tried it on, placed the order and I had my dress in February (I was told it could take till July, so I was pleasantly surprised!). I would totally recommend this store, they were so enthusiastic, helpful and excited for me, which is what a bride needs at such an exciting time in her life!

My husband, his groomsmen and my father rented their tuxes from the Sacino's in South Miami (across the street from the Shops at Sunset Place). The whole experience was so easy (guys have it so lucky). They have some great tuxes on display and the guys really liked the vest/suit ensemble on one of the manequins. They had a nice variety of colors for the vest too, which is good because my bridesmaids dresses were not a very common color, so we found the right hue to match. I know the prices were just a little bit higher than a few other places, but all the guys said that their tuxes seemed like a nicer quality and that they breathed better. The staff was also very helpful. Great experience overall!