Ssze's reviews

We originally went to the Presidio to look at the Officier's Club but didn't really like it. We loved the Golden Gate Club - it was a little more secluded and it had a great view. It's expensive to rent though. On Saturdays you have to rent the whole building which is around $5,500. And that's just for the building, nuthin' else. ( 10.05)
It was convienent to have the reception steps away from the ceremony location. We tried to use as many of the rooms - cocktail, kid's room, chill lounge, and dining - since we were paying for all of it. Some guests told me that they loved the venue. I wish the weather was better so some of the cocktail hour would be outside in the cute courtyard. The Presidio Trust has strict guidelines regarding use of decoration and candles. However, they were responsive to questions and are well-organized. ( 09.06)

FI just booked the plane tickets and hotel room. We're staying at Le Palais de la Mediterranee. It looks so beautiful! FI is good .. I think I'll keep him. ( 4.24.06)

I wanted a Polaroid guest book and thought about making a cool one from Paper Source but I got lazy and bought it from Adesso instead when they had a sale for the red ones during Valentines Day. Prices start at $60. ( 2.06)
The guests liked this idea. I had my younger brother and his wife manage this. Still, I think some of my guests are missing from it. But, it's a great way to have guests memorialized. Although the Poloraid cameras and film are a little expensive especially for not really using them in the future - they are a great idea. It's been fun so far to look back on the pictures. Buy more film than you need - guests were enjoying themselves by taking multiple pictures and even taking them home. ( 09.06)

I wasn't sure if I needed a purse so I didn't want to spend a ton of money on one. Target actually has some decent looking purses for inexpensive prices. I bought a couple different types and my mom ended up using the one I didn't use. I ended up not needing a purse but it was good to have it close by. Otherwise, have your mom or bm hold your lipstick and other stuff. ( 09.06)

We only went to Men's Wearhouse. FI had to rent a tux from After Hours earlier this year for a friend's wedding and thought the prices were similar (After Hours cheapest package is ~ $100) and the service was poor (overworked high school kids). My only and biggest beef with the whole tuxedo rental industry is you can't try on tuxedos! FI is stocky and would look wierd in certain shapes. ( 7.06)
Most of the tuxedos came in 3 days before the wedding which helped because there needed to be changes made to some of them. According to my DH, 5 out of the 9 tuxedos in our group needed some alterations. The shoes were extremely uncomfortable for DH. But, I think this is typical for renting tuxedos. We got a $20 off online coupon that everyone was able to use and we selected a cheaper tux for the ring bearer because I couldn't justify my friends paying $100+ for their son's tux. ( 09.06)

My MOH Catherine is the best! She found these at crazy low price because Ann Taylor had them on sale. All the BM's liked them so decision made. BM Lisa even bought the shoes which I'll wear instead. They're looking for gold shoes now. I let them decide on what they will wear because I didn't really care if they wore the same dress as long as they liked it and it could be worn again. Secretly, I just didn't want to decide. I think they would've preferred that I handed down a decree of dress and shoes but I'm glad they figured it out for themselves. heheheh! ( 1.06)
Get dresses from a non-bridal store. In the end, all dresses look bridesmaidsy anyway. I'm also glad I left it up to my MOH and BM's to figure out what they wanted to wear. hehheheh! (09.06 )

Unique Bride is a good salon - not snooty or pushy. Most of the salons I went to left me alone and gave help when asked. Don't let anyone push you around. The only places I didn't like were the ones who wouldn't let you take pictures. What's up with that? We managed somehow.

At the beginning of my gown search, I swore I would never spend more than $500 on my dress. "Ridiculous!" I exclaimed, "It's only for 1 day - a mere few hours at that!" So, I searched and tried on several dresses, aghast at the exorbitant costs, and eventually bought a dress on Ebay (source of all bargains great and small). But, unfortunately, I had already tried on the dress - that @$#%^ dress. I was slowly letting it go when my fi convinced me otherwise. So after months ... well, weeks .. okay, more like days, I went back during a trunk show and bought it. Of course, I love it and can't wait to wear it. Needless to say, I'm eating everything I said when this whole crazy wedding planning business started.
Regardless, I highly recommend trunk shows. Jenny Lee took my measurements and informed me how the dress would be shaped to my body. The sales person was nice but not as informed. If anything, it made me feel better about buying the dress. Unique Bride is a good salon - not snooty or pushy. Most of the salons I went to left me alone and gave help when asked. Don't let anyone push you around. The only places I didn't like were the ones who wouldn't let you take pictures. What's up with that? We managed somehow. Jenny Lee dresses start at $2,500. ( 2.06)

I'm now getting my dress altered at Unique Bride. I just need a hem ($175) and bustle ($30). I was going to take the dress somewhere in the East Bay where I live and work but I wasn't going to save that much money. ( 7.06)
I loved my dress. My guests loved my dress - they told me that I looked gorgeous and womanly (lol!). It was light so I didn't feel weighed down and it was form-fitting so I didn't have to worry about my bad slouching habit. It was simple - no beading, no lace - but interesting in its shape, color and rouching. There is a small train which had a 3-point bustle. The alterations at Unique Bride are expensive and they said that they put on a metal clasp which they didn't. I also had to force them to press the dress which is the main reason I let them do the alterations in the first place (they told me that pressing was included). No points for them. It still is hard for me to justify buying an expensive dress for just a few hours but it was a great dress for me so we're happy. Now, what do I do with it!? ( 09.06)

We bought the luminarias from this online store. Shipping was quick and easy. Lights weren't as bright as I expected.

Gotta love Ikea. I live practically next door to the Emeryville Ikea so I bought pillows for the kid's area and a bunch of Bubbla picture holders for the table holders. Now I gotta figure out what to do with all this stuff.