Wow!!! Wow!! Wow!!!

Laura totally took my breath away with the gorgeous flowers she put together for our wedding. It was EXACTLY how I envisioned it. A bit whimsical, a bit asian inspired, and completely ORIGINAL!

I am so in love with Laura! She made the whole process so easy and so fun! She accommodated all the changes I've made throughout the year without a single grunt. She was always prompt with emails and other correspondences. And how many times was she at my house to pick up my stuff for the wedding?! Just about half a dozen! Now that's going above and beyond! Not only did she saved me time but saved me money as well.

Laura, I think I'm going to have to name my first child after you. Thank you so much for listening to my ideas, sharing yours, and executing on our special day! I truly appreciate all your hard work! ;)

Ava and Le's Kitchen Catering is easily my favorite wedding vendor!!

These are the reasons why:

1. Their Vietnamese cuisine is AUTHENTIC AND DELICIOUS with a contemporary flair. It is exactly what we were looking for. It's just like mom's home cook meal but presentable. I can't keep track of the numerous times our guests complimented how the filet mignon was perfectly seared or how amazed they were with the vegetarian claypot. And now, 3 months after the wedding, we are still receiving inquiries about how we managed to have such sumptuous food at the wedding. I am seriously jumping for JOY with each comment!

2. Ava Tran, the manager, is a DOLL! She made the entire process a BREEZE! All I remember doing is contacting Ava, eating their food, and paying them. It really was that easy!! Questions and concerns were quickly addressed each and every time. It's was so quick, I seriously don't even remember any glitch. I showed Ava a picture of a dessert bar that I wanted to replicate with classic Vietnamese desserts, and voila!, I got it at the wedding. The incredible part is, they don't usually even do desserts and they did it for us. It is these little things that Ava does that made it so wonderful. I felt like she genuinely cared about us, our wedding and went above and beyond her call of duty. It's almost as if she's my sister, wishing the best for me on my big day. This truly made the difference!

3. The staff working with Ava is phenomenal! They are all young, efficient, friendly and professional. The guests kept telling us how well they were treated by the staff and they don't remember a wedding with such great service! ;) Personally, for me, these comments were such a surprise because guests don't usually notice the waitstaff. So it spoke volumes for us!

Ava and Le's Kitchen Catering is a MUST-HAVE caterer. They were completely worth the extra fee by going off the preferred vendor list. They completely ROCKED IT at our wedding! We LOVE LOVE LOVE them!!!

Seriously, give them a chance to rock yours!

Ava and Le's Kitchen Catering is easily my favorite wedding vendor!!

These are the reasons why:

1. Their Vietnamese cuisine is AUTHENTIC AND DELICIOUS with a contemporary flair. It is exactly what we were looking for. It's just like mom's home cook meal but presentable. I can't keep track of the numerous times our guests complimented how the filet mignon was perfectly seared or how amazed they were with the vegetarian claypot. And now, 3 months after the wedding, we are still receiving inquiries about how we managed to have such sumptuous food at the wedding. I am seriously jumping for JOY with each comment!

2. Ava Tran, the manager, is a DOLL! She made the entire process a BREEZE! All I remember doing is contacting Ava, eating their food, and paying them. It really was that easy!! Questions and concerns were quickly addressed each and every time. It's was so quick, I seriously don't even remember any glitch. I showed Ava a picture of a dessert bar that I wanted to replicate with classic Vietnamese desserts, and voila!, I got it at the wedding. The incredible part is, they don't usually even do desserts and they did it for us. It is these little things that Ava does that made it so wonderful. I felt like she genuinely cared about us, our wedding and went above and beyond her call of duty. It's almost as if she's my sister, wishing the best for me on my big day. This truly made the difference!

3. The staff working with Ava is phenomenal! They are all young, efficient, friendly and professional. The guests kept telling us how well they were treated by the staff and they don't remember a wedding with such great service! ;) Personally, for me, these comments were such a surprise because guests don't usually notice the waitstaff. So it spoke volumes for us!

Ava and Le's Kitchen Catering is a MUST-HAVE caterer. They were completely worth the extra fee by going off the preferred vendor list. They completely ROCKED IT at our wedding! We LOVE LOVE LOVE them!!!

Seriously, give them a chance to rock yours!

"ALL TALK, NO ACTION!"

These are the exact words I would describe Elle Lighting and Music.

I first contacted Elle Lighting because of a referral through a catering company and a couple of good reviews here. I first spoke to Lisette, who seemed pleasant and she recommended that I speak to Brandon Cruz, who will be in charge of my event.

It took over two weeks and several voice messages left on Brandon's cell phone before we were able to discuss my ideas. I was skeptical by this point. But I spoke to Brandon anyway. He apologized for the delay in response, citing a death in the family. I felt awful for questioning his responsibility. On the phone, he seemed like a very nice guy, knows his stuff, and even offer to handle our rentals through Classic Party Rentals for us. By this point, I was pretty happy and decided to book them.

Four months later, approximately 1 month before the wedding, I contacted them again to do a site visit. I brought all the lanterns with me, so I can show it and give it to him. I figure it's the most efficient way, so we don't have to meet again before the wedding. He told me he is in SF a lot and will pick it up before the wedding. He didn't want his kids to ruin it. I understood and was okay with him picking it up later.

Two weeks before the wedding, I attempted to contact Brandon via email and phone to give him the lanterns, and hoping to finalize patterns and colors. I didn't hear from him EVER!! Instead, it was Lisette who contacted me three days before the wedding to get us to bring them the lanterns. I was LIVID that I am now responsible to get them my lanterns. I told Lisette about what happened with Brandon and she quickly assures me that they will do a FANTASTIC job for the wedding. Since it was only three days before the wedding, I didn't bother to find another company.

On our wedding day, Brandon Cruz (the guy who's supposed to be in charge of our event ) never showed up!! Instead, he sent a technician who had no clue what was the layout. This technician also showed up 1.5 hours LATE and couldn't finish even half of what was contracted.

1. No market lights on the balcony. Should of been a V pattern. I rented lounge furniture and without these lights, no one wanted to sit in the dark! Money down the drain.
2. Only half the lanterns were hung in the garden area. 15 instead of 30.
3. No flower pattern floorwash. We were supposed to have two of those.
4. No sweetheart spotlight.

To make matters worse, the technician told my day of coordinator that he can't come back to take the lanterns and lights down because they had another event. He will have to do it the next day, and we (bride and groom) have to pick up the lanterns later. This venue is 65 miles from our house and with traffic take over 2 hours round trip.

Here's the NIGHTMARE of it all:

The technician reassured our coordinator that we will be reimburse for all incomplete services. I've attempted to contact Lisette THREE TIMES via email and phone. I've even sent her a statement from my coordinator and to this day, NOT A SINGLE RESPONSE.

I should've gone with my gut intuition about Elle Lighting and Brandon Cruz. " ALL TALK, NO ACTION!!" That is the motto of this company.

Learn from my mistake and RUN!!!

I am ecstatic to find Bamboo Star Studios for my wedding invitations! Evelyn is so awesome at what she does! I gave her a picture of a painting that I love, told her I wanted it to have the look and feel of Chinese watercolor, and that I need the proof within 10 days! I was doubtful that she can pull through. Not only did she deliver, she DELIVERED! The proof was so breathtakingly gorgeous. My jaw dropped to the floor! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my invitations!

What I love best about Evelyn is her ability to listen, her quickness in response, her patience and her understanding of chinese superstitions. I don't know how many times Evelyn had to re-do my Save-The-Dates! Each and every time, it was exactly how I wanted it but the moron in me didn't consult the parents beforehand and they continue to find fault. Evelyn was so understanding and kind to re-do the whole process TWICE!

Evelyn is definitely the BEST! Give her your vision and let her work her magic!