jinmbca's reviews

Tiffany had photographed a friend's wedding and after seeing the gorgeous photos and album I knew immediately that someday we'd meet with her about shooting our own wedding day as well! After meeting with Tiffany my fiance and I knew we'd made the right choice. We were married in November 2008 and the photos we've seen so far are truly beautiful. Tiffany is easy to work with and so, SO good at her craft. I'll write more once everything is in and we receive the album (can't wait)!

Harry and his brothers at Fashion Jewelry Design in the diamond/jewelry district in downtown Los Angeles are the best in the business! When looking for our engagement ring and wedding bands, we were lucky enough to be referred to Harry, who welcomed us like a member of the family and assisted in the design of my STUNNING and unique engagement ring. We proudly refer Fashion Jewelry design to everyone!

We did our rehearsal dinner for 60+ people at The Union Cattle Co., and it was really great! The food was phenomenal and the upstairs space was perfect for our needs. The room was so beautiful that the tables didn't need any additional centerpieces or decoration. The kids really loved riding the mechanical bull also.

From start to finish, the staff was helpful and kind while assisting in the selection of the menu, answering questions and ensuring that all of the details for the evening would be addressed. The only downside is there is a minimum charge amount to rent the space, which is not that uncommon in Southern California. I would definitely go back to UCC for an important or special event!

Hands down, the BEST thing I did when we were searching for a site for our wedding reception was to walk through the door at FantaSea Yachts. And the BEST decision we made was to hire FantaSea and entrust our wedding reception to the caring and knowledgeable staff. Not to be overly-dramatic, but these guys ROCK! From start to finish, Stephanie Ginzburg, Jasmine, and the rest of the staff at FantaSea were intent that the wedding reception that I was envisioning in my head would be the same wedding reception that we and our guests would experience in November 2008!

Many of our guests that live here in Southern California have asked how we found our venue, because we've all been to a lot of weddings but never one at FantaSea. It's truly a hidden gem! They've been in business forever....and they've perfected what they do.

We didn't do our event on one of their yachts, choosing instead to utilize their yacht club, which overlooks the Marina. The space was perfect for our event. The "flow" and design of the club is ideal -- from the bar to the buffet location to the set up of the guest tables -- and a couple of our guests have since commented that it was a very comfortable space, not too crowded and not laid out so everyone was bumping into everyone else. The staff and bartenders were super friendly, not only to the bride and groom, but to every one of guests. We used the in-house caterer and the passed hors d'oeuvres and buffet dinner was great! The staff ensured that the evening kept flowing: we adhered to the timeline that we had worked out so that everything happened in a timely manner without ever feeling rushed or ever feeling like there was timeline at all! The staff handled everything down to the last detail, my husband and I were left to do nothing but take it all in, eat good food and drink good drink, and enjoy ourselves and our time with our guests.

I had pretty specific ideas of what I was hoping to achieve for the evening -- a touch of beach/coastal vintage, a lot of candlelight, a simple and elegant feel. I sometimes wondered if we were trying to do too much or if it was getting too complicated, but every question asked of Stephanie and her staff at FantaSea, and every suggestion and wish, was met with a friendly response and even more ideas of how it could all be achieved. It was unbelievable. I must have said 1000 times while planning our wedding that it was so easy and fun! The team at FantaSea yachts made it easy and it WAS fun!

When my husband and I arrived at our wedding reception and the doors opened, I was so taken aback by the absolute beauty of the space. The team at FantaSea and all of our vendors had taken my vision and run with it, and it was so, SO perfect. Our family and friends are still commenting about our wedding and how beautiful it was. Many have said that they're sure we'll be talking about it for years to come, and that's a pretty cool feeling.

Everyone should have the same experience that we did while planning our wedding -- it was a good time and we really loved it! I realize that things could have been very different had we decided to go with one of the other sites that we were considering. We were lucky to find FantaSea Yachts!

As pictures have begun rolling in from our wedding day, one of the first things people comment on is my makeup ("your makeup was stunning", "you looked so gorgeous") and my hair. And Sheree Pouls was responsible for both!

Sheree took the time to do trial runs so that I was completely happy with the direction we would take on the day of the wedding. She offered suggestions to really make the makeup "pop" on the day and for the camera, and I am so glad that I listened to her thoughts and suggestions! I also wanted a bit of a complicated up-do for the day, one I thought was reminiscent of old Hollywood and sort of Audrey Hepburn-ish (my husband's vintage crush!), and Sheree went with it and completely pulled it off. It was also Sheree who suggested that I find the perfect vintage brooch to pin in my hair on the day to add a bit of subtle, vintage art to my hair. It was something I never would have thought of, and it was perfect!

Equally as important, Sheree showed up on time on the morning of the wedding and was a calming influence as she helped make me beautiful for the big day. I'm glad she was there to keep me breathing, make sure I had some food in my stomach, and to reapply my eye-makeup after I opened my wedding gift from my husband! My bridesmaids looked beautiful too, and Sheree worked with each individual girl to achieve their hair and makeup look for the day.

Sheree Pouls is fantastic. I was lucky to be able to work with her!

Brad Miller's Rhythm City Entertainment provided the music for our reception and Brad Miller himself was our DJ. He was fantastic! We had never considered hiring a band to provide the entertainment; we always wanted a DJ for the variety of music that one could play. Brad had come highly recommended by our reception site, and after we met him ourselves we could see why. He really cares about the work that he's doing, and about each individual couple and the vibe that they are trying to achieve for their event.

We met with Brad at least three times in the months leading up to our wedding reception. He was incredibly organized and intent on doing what we wanted, and only what we wanted. We were hoping to achieve a bit of an "old school" and vintage vibe at our reception, and we were also hoping to somehow remind our guests of their own marriages and own love stories while they were attending our reception. By working closely with Brad on our hopeful play list for the evening we were able to subtly do both. As early in the evening as cocktail hour, our guests were commenting on music: that the selections were really great and the pairing of tunes was fitting for the setting and vibe of the evening. An even more obvious sign that we had chosen the right DJ was how packed the dance floor was all night long, all the way to the last song of the evening. It was unbelievable how much fun people were having...the dance floor was seriously packed for 3 solid hours!

Brad did a great job at keeping the reception flowing appropriately and making each of our guests feel important, without ever getting "cheesy" or over-the-top. People always say that your choice of music and entertainment is so important, and they are right. We definitely made the right choice to hire Brad!

American Martyrs is the church to which we belong in Manhattan Beach, so there was no question that we would and hoped to get married there! It's a beautiful church and the process leading up to our marriage ceremony was really great. The Monsignor and Deacons who helped to prepare us for marriage were helpful, and they cared about us as a couple. It was a great experience. The coordinator assigned to help our day go as planned was Maureen, and she kept us on track and, perhaps more important, she kept us calm and focused on the day! The musicians were phenomenal, our guests are still commenting on beautiful music. We were lucky to be married at American Martyrs!

Yummy and unique cupcakes, helpful suggestions, a friendly staff and attentive customer service....THIS IS BABYCAKES BAKING COMPANY IN TORRANCE!! We didn't want a traditional wedding cake, and decided early on to serve cupcakes and milkshakes at our reception instead, so the search for the perfect cupcake began.

We had such great vendors when planning our wedding, vendors that we were lucky to work with and lucky to have been given recommendations for, and BabyCakes in Torrance was no exception. Khryste Langlais, the owner and head baker (cupcake queen extraordinaire) was fantastic from the first day we walked in to "test" the cupcakes.

As you may imagine, the tasting and testing of various cupcakes around town was one of the most grueling parts of planning our wedding...it was rough, but it had to be done! We tried many varieties all over Los Angeles -- from the well-known giants to the local grocer, and everything in-between -- but once we tried Khryste's creations we knew we'd found the place. Her cupcakes are anything but standard. The cake is heavier, almost "substantial" in a way that I can't quite describe. Basically, the cupcakes we chose for our wedding weren't light and fluffy, our guests weren't going to go hungry...these were CUPCAKES!

The varieties offered in the shop at any given day are varied and unique, so it took quite a few visits to sample and decide on the flavors for our reception. Ultimately we decided on four flavors: Vanilla Bean (a classic at BabyCakes), a ginger spice cake with Mango frosting (so yummy), chocolate with a candy baked in and topped with a peanut butter mousse frosting (to die for), and chocolate with raspberry and whipped frosting (so good!). The cupcakes served at our reception are still much-talked about even today, two months later....safe to say that they were a hit!

Khryste oversaw everything personally, and she went above and beyond to help us find the perfect toppers for each of our selected cupcake flavors. We topped 1/2 of them with a chocolate-molded "D", our initial, and the other 1/2 with a hard-to-find candy flower topper, which she worked to be able to find for us. The delivery and setup at the reception was flawless, and the display of the cupcakes on a variety of vintage cake stands was exactly the look I was hoping for. Everything looked truly beautiful, and that is because of the care and dedication of Khryste and her team at BabyCakes Baking Co. And did I mention that these cupcakes are GOOD!

I really enjoyed the experience of shopping for and buying my wedding gown, and much of that has to do with Laura and the girls at Brides of California in Torrance. I was on a budget when searching for my gown, and wanted to spend less than $1000, which many people said would be impossible in Southern California. Not so! My mom and I contacted and visited many of the popular shops and boutiques around town, but many times there simply weren't any gowns in our price range, unless it was off-the-rack and dirty or missing beads or in need of some serious TLC. Then, we walked into Brides of California.

The shop isn't fancy like some of the other boutiques, but they have a great selection, a variety of gorgeous gowns, a knowledgeable, friendly and helpful staff, and they delivered everything on time. THESE are the qualities I was looking for in a bridal shop.

I loved my gown, it was very "me"...and the staff at BoC ensured that we found the right one! They were also instrumental in ordering the bridesmaids' dresses. My bridesmaids live all over the country, so it was helpful to have the shop handle everything from start to finish. The girls called in with the measurements and the shop took it from there!

So many people have asked where I got my "stunning" and "gorgeous" gown (their words! And mine!), and some of them were the original doubters that to find a beautiful, elegant gown for less than $1000 wasn't possible. I've told them all to tell their friends about Brides of California. I had a really great experience with the shop. I think they are a hidden gem!

Hiring Michele and Bill at Flowers By Appointment Only to do the flowers for our wedding ceremony and reception was one of the easiest decisions that we made! They came highly recommended by our reception site and I also read some great online reviews, but once I contacted them myself I knew we were in good hands.

From the very first call and email, Michele was so helpful in designing our day and helping to select flowers that were very "us". I'm not very knowledgeable about flowers...I see what I like and think is pretty, but that's about it! All I knew at the outset was that I was hoping for simple and elegant. Michele understood and respected that, listened to what we wanted and made suggestions, and before we knew it we had a plan!

Our in-house consultation with Mr. Bill and Michele was fun. We further identified everything we wanted for the day, from size and color/shade, right down to the color and type of ribbon and wrap. My husband even enjoyed the session! Bill and Michele guided us through the process, which was what we needed. We relied on their experience and expertise.

In the end, everything went off without a hitch. I was so confident in the team at Flowers by Appointment Only throughout the entire process, that I never even thought about the delivery on the day of our wedding....if it was on time, if it was correct....and of course everything went perfectly!

We had absolutely gorgeous flowers that complemented (not overshadowed) the overall look of our day. My bouquet was so stunningly beautiful that I got a little weepy when my mom first showed it to me at the church, and the bridesmaids bouquets were exactly what I was hoping for. There were no unpleasant surprises, which is what a bride hopes for on the wedding day, right?!? The placement and arrangement of the flowers at the reception was so amazing that I had to take 5 minutes after our arrival to just walk around and take it all in. It was obvious that Michele had stuck around to make sure that everything was perfect. Our guests kept coming up to me to remark about how simple, elegant and lovely the arrangements were.

We were extremely pleased with Flowers By Appointment Only. All of this, and we stayed within our original budget also. These guys were really fantastic!