Xandra's reviews

We took a road trip honeymoon, and we spent our last two nights at the Halsey House B&B in the Finger Lakes area of upstate NYC. It was our first B&B experience, and it was pretty fun. The house is this grand old Victorian that has been updated with modern plumbing and amenities. The rooms are pretty, with very comfortable beds. The owners are friendly and knowledgeable about the area, and make a wonderful breakfast! There is lots to see and do in the area. We chose to go to several of the wineries one afternoon…lots of fun and we learned a lot about wine. The rooms are reasonably priced. I would recommend this to a friend.

We stayed our first night at the DoubleTree Hotel in Murfreesboro, TN. The accommodations were nice (if a little dated), everything was clean, and the price was reasonable. The best part was when we checked in…they gave us warm chocolate chip cookies! It was perfect, because neither my husband nor myself had gotten a chance to eat at the reception. It was a perfect way to start a romantic evening! The drawback was the block room booking…they wanted us to sign a contract that basically guaranteed if all the rooms we blocked didn’t get reserved, we would pay for them! And the discount they were offering was only 5%...not worth it in our opinion.

This caterer was very good. Joelle and her partner Eleni met with my husband and I months before the wedding. They are very creative and helped us come up with a brunch reception menu that was both elegant and southern. We even had an omelet bar…our guests chose the ingredients, and Eleni made omelets on the spot! Our guests loved it. Joelle also met with us a couple days before the wedding to review the layout and make minor adjustments to the schedule. Overall the food was yummy, presented well, and the staff were courteous and professional…not just a bunch of teenagers! I would definitely recommend them.

Liberty Party Rental was a pretty good vendor. We rented pretty much everything from them…tables, chairs, linen, china and flatware, a tent and a dance floor. They have a great selection of items, they are reasonably priced, and the delivery and tent setup went off without a hitch. When we went to select all of our china and linens, however, they weren’t expecting us. We made an appointment, but somehow got lost in the system. They did get someone to help us, but I guess they had just moved to a new showroom so every time we wanted to see something…water goblets, different sized plates, etc…our helper kept having to go back into the warehouse to get things. Besides that, though, I think they were a good vendor and I would recommend them to a friend.

My husband and I are both in creative fields, so we knew we wanted to have great photos of our wedding. When I saw Michael’s website, I knew he had to be the one to shoot our wedding. The photos are beautifully framed…even the candid little snapshots look like they could be in a magazine. The color is gorgeous. Michael came out and met with us at our site the day before (at no extra charge) to scout out the best photo locations…this really helped on the day of the wedding because he knew exactly where to go and what to shoot. The price was definitely over our budget, but we splurged on this and are so glad we did! I strongly feel that with photography, you get what you pay for. We have had so many compliments on our photos.

I found Myra on etsy.com…it is a bit like ebay but for artisans and craftspeople only. Myra makes absolutely gorgeous little bouteniers, corsages, headpieces, favors, etc., all out of dried or millinery elements…no fresh flowers. I sent her an email telling her our color scheme and also a few photos of some other bouteniers and corsages I liked, and she did the rest. We ordered bouteniers and corsages. Each one was a little different, so they were all unique. Our attendants loved them, and they make perfect little keepsakes because they are made out of all dried or fabric elements. Myra has a huge backorder, so you have to schedule your wedding several months ahead. Her prices are so reasonable, and she is very prompt and responsive with her emails.

We had our wedding in TN, but my husband and I live in NYC, so I know what a great salon and spa is like and trust me, this place is awesome. I spent a luxurious afternoon a few days before my wedding having a mani and pedi and trial hair and makeup done. The atmosphere is wonderful…clean and modern design, and so relaxing. My makeup artist (Wendy) was fabulous. She captured exactly the look I wanted to achieve. My stylist (Erin) was great too. She gave me a wonderful shampoo and head massage the morning of the wedding…exactly the way to start out my day. I treat myself at this place every time my husband and I visit our family. The prices are not inexpensive, but are definitely reasonable.

This is a Canadian vendor that specializes in Titanium jewelry. Titanium is a hard metal that doesn’t scratch very easily. My husband is a woodworker, so it was important for our ring choice to be very durable. He selected a beautiful tension set engagement ring for me and a sleek little band for himself. The bands are very reasonably priced, and they have alloy and coating choices to upgrade the durability. The only drawback for us was that they don’t have any showrooms. But, if you can get past that, their customer service is great and they have a rigorous quality control system.

The idea of wearing rented clothes on our big day seemed wrong. Instead, we decided my husband would wear a great suit instead of a rented tux (it was an outdoor wedding, so a suit seemed more appropriate anyway.) We purchased a Ted Baker ‘Slim Jim’ suit. These suits are designed specifically for men who are thin or ‘skinny.’ It seriously made my naturally slender husband look like a model! The suit also has really great details, like a contrasting lining under the collar. We have some great photos of him with his suit jacket collar ‘popped.’ Obviously buying a suit is more expensive than renting, but it is a good investment: he is going to wear that suit way more than I will wear my wedding dress! Everyone at Ted Baker was nice and helpful, and they recommended a great tailor for us.

I bought my dress from RK Bridal in NYC. This is a really great place…it is huge, and they have pretty much every dress you see in all the wedding magazines. The dresses are organized by designer. All of the straight (ie, not large and poofy) dresses are pulled away separately from the other dresses, which was great for me because I wanted something not so princess-like. You don’t have to make an appointment, you just sign up on a sheet when you arrive. You pick out five or six dresses, and your attendant (who helps you try on the dresses) will pick out a few more based on your picks and your body type, etc. It can get hectic on the weekends, but my attendant was really fun and didn’t rush me at all. And, most importantly, they have lots of dresses that are reasonably priced! My dress was under $700. Don’t even bother with the website, though, it is awful.