djc315's reviews

Fran is my grandma, and was a professional florist for over 20 years. She hasn't done a lot of weddings lately, but I knew I wanted her to do mine. She talked me out of my orginal idea (18 roses in a fish bowl vase) and guided me towards a high center piece. We ended up doing calla lilys. I didn't give her much guidance for the bouquets or centerpieces, and everything was beautiful. She really has an eye when it comes to flowers. I received so many compliments - even a few from men! - on the centerpieces. She did an amazing job on the head table and really made the room beautiful. She is for hire and wants to do more weddings.

We had an excellent experience with the War Memorial. We worked mainly with Cheryl. Cheryl was extremely helpful. She was quick to answer my questions via e-mail and returned phone calls quickly as well. They were accommodating to changes we had, even adding appetizers just the week before the wedding. The day of, service was perfect. While we were waiting to be introduced, the "captain" (the War Memorial employee in charge of the event) made up a plate of appetizers for me since I hadn't eaten since 9am that morning. I had no complaints about the food - only compliments that everything tasted delicious. Two of my bridesmaids were socializing when dinner was brought to the table, and the server put a cover on their plates to keep it warm until they got back. All in all, this was a beautiful reception site and I received nothing but compliments on the food, and how beautiful it was

A few things that were not perfect: There was an event booked before ours, which I was not told about when I booked. When it got closer to the date, we were told that vendors could enter the War Memorial at 4pm (for our 6:30pm event). A few days before the Wedding, they told my Day of Coordinator that they could enter at 4:30! Thankfully, that was enough time for everything to be set up. I was told there were over 30 people "flipping" the room from a garden show using rectangle tables to my 27 round table Wedding Reception. I was also told that there was a conflict with dinner being served that resulted in it taking 30 minutes longer than it was supposed to. I was unaware of this the night of my wedding. Also, we cut our cake right after our entrance. It was supposed to be taken back to be cut after that, but it sat on the dance floor for the entire length of dinner. As a result, many people were out of their seats by the time the cake and ice cream were served. Lastly, we were required to bring in our own beer, wine and alcohol. We had it delivered, chilled, brought in a refrigerated truck at about 4:15. When my dad arrived to the site, around 5:15, it was sitting out, no longer cold, instead of being refrigerated, as promised. I was not aware of any of these "problems" the night of the wedding, and although it would have been nice if they didn't happen, they definitely did not ruin anything! The wonderful service outweighed the few slip-ups and they deserve 5 stars.

I booked the Academy Chapel without seeing it after having issues with another church we were hoping to use. I had seen a knottie's (Mrs*Lauren*&*Justin*) pictures and loved it. I booked it over the phone and saw it for the first time at the Rehearsal (2 days before the Wedding). The coordinator was extremely helpful. She had worked with our officiant before, so she was able to give us pointers about how he runs the ceremony. They day of, we had the same coordinator, and again she was helpful. I wish they had put signs out front to direct guests, because the driveways are slightly confusing. As a result, we had about 20 people that were not able to be seated before I walked down the aisle. After the ceremony was over, the coordinator told the photographer that we had 5 minutes for pictures, even though the paperwork said we can either take pictures or do a receiving line for about 15 to 20 minutes. We were able to stay inside for pictures for 15 minutes before we were actually kicked out (they were going to bill us for. The chapel is beautiful, our guests loved it, and we were able to finish up pictures at the War Memorial, but I did not appreciate being told to leave the chapel, which is why they get 4 stars.

Fr. Bob married three of my cousins, and since neither DH or I belong to a church, we asked him to marry us also. We enjoyed our counseling sessions with him, and he made the ceremony extremely personal. We received many compliments on him and our ceremony. He kept the guest's attention during the ceremony, and it was definitely not boring!

My very favorite vendor! She was a blast to work with!! She kept the mood light and kept us entertained through all the pictures. The pictures we've received so far are amazing. Without me giving her too much guidance, she delivered exactly what I wanted. I loved her artsy style and let her go with it and I couldn't be happier. She was laying in the dirt at the church and stopping traffic on Woodward to get our shots. She is very passionate about her work - and it shows! I would highly recommend her to anyone! We're on her blog too!

We ordered our large calla lilys for centerpieces from them. The prices can't be beat and the flowers were beautiful! I wish they offered mini-callas also, but they didn't, so we had to go through another company. The customer service on the phone was excellent - they are very helpful!

Our mini-callas came from here. I thought I read to give them a 10 day lead on the flowers, but when I tried to order them 11 days out, the earliest option for delivery was March 18th! (for my March 15th wedding, they recommended a March 13th delivery). I called, and it turned out they needed to special order them from South America. They asked if I needed them before the 18th, and when I told them it was for a wedding, they said it was no problem, that I would have them the 12th! The flowers arrived when promised and were beautiful!

I only met with Maya once, but corresponded quite a bit through e-mail. They didn't have the linens I wanted orginally, which was a blessing in disguise. I ended up with Ivory Satin everything - tableclothes, pillowcase chair covers, and napkins. Her prices are extremely reasonable, also! The linens were beautiful! We opted to fold our own napkins since we were placing menu cards in each one. None of the 234 napkins had a single stain on it - my mom thought they were brand new! She did require a final payment in cash, which was a slight inconvience. The linens really made the room though. The satin fabric looked so rich and elegant, the whole room shone!

Carol is the mom of our best man, and she's been making wedding cakes for 20+ years. I gave her a picture of what I wanted and she delivered. The cake was delicious, too! I only managed to get one bite at the reception, but had a slice of the leftovers the next day. She does a complimentary top layer with detailed instructions on how to store it so it still tastes good on your anniversary!

Kurt was awesome! He kept the dance floor packed all night. He played a wide range of songs since we had just as many older people as we did young people. He communicated with us about timing for the dances, which was nice knowing we had x amount of minutes before a dance. And when my sister talked me into doing the garter/bouquet toss before we were introduced, he didn't even flinch. He picked out a few songs and worked it in. He was very patient on the phone when we were going over song choices on the Monday before the wedding. I wish I had given him a list of songs that I wanted played because there are a few things I wanted to hear and dance to, but I didn't and that's not his fault. Overall, he was everything I expected from a DJ and more!