justadeb's reviews

I had read so many horror stories about tux rental places, so I was concerned. Since our bridal party was so spread out we went with Men's Wearhouse (we went through the store at the Empire Center in Burbank). They were fine. The tuxes looked good. We only had two small problems -- they gave my Dad the wrong vest, so he had to make two trips to the store to get it sorted out and my DH's coat was a little snug. But he walked out of the store with it and I'm sure if he'd put up a stink they would have remedied the situation. Ultimately, any problem we had they fixed.

We found the Johnnies through another couple who had hired them for their wedding. They rock! They made our reception. We had to practically kick people out at the end because they were still dancing! They are a rock cover band, but play some standards as well. We asked them to learn a special song for our first dance and the first time they ever played it live was at our wedding. You couldn't tell, it was perfect! Truly a group of classy professionals. They have an almost weekly engagement at a bar in Long Beach, so it's pretty easy to check them out before booking. I would highly recommend them to anyone!

I met Karri and Courtney through a mutual friend. We were in the process of hiring a day of coordinator and their prices were the most affordable. They were a dream to work with. They helped us find vendors and always answered my emails. Karri also helped to keep me on task during the planning process as I tend to procrastinate. They took care of everything on my wedding day. I think there were some issues with the site on the day of, but I have no idea what they were. They were such a calming presence I was able to relax and just enjoy myself -- a big thing for a control freak like me! My guests had a great time and my other vendors couldn't stop talking about how great the coordinators were.

Flowers are always coming to my office from Enchanted Florist and they are always amazing, so I went there first once I started looking for a florist. Kim was the perfect choice. I know nothing about flowers, but I brought in pictures of what I thought I wanted and gave her a general budget guideline. From those pictures she came up with an entire concept for the wedding and reception and once I turned over swatches from the bridesmaids' and mothers' dresses, she got really excited because the colors fit perfectly with what she had in mind. Our flowers were amazing, everything was exactly as I'd envisioned it. Her creations really tied everything together and she was affordable -- at least in the same ballpark as the other florists I interviewed. Definitely a vendor you can trust.

We absolutely loved Kim! She was so much fun to work with and our pictures are more beautiful than I could've imagined! She got through our shot list so quickly we had some time to take some fun pics before the wedding. At the reception she was just part of the party. I look at the pictures now and I had no idea she was even around for half of the pics that she got. She also did our engagement shoot, which was a ton of fun. She's an incredibly talented photographer and a genuinely amazing person. Highy, highly recommend.

My DH and I fell in love with the Mission on our first visit. It feels very pastoral -- it's hard to imagine you are right in the middle of the city. All of our guests really enjoyed the venue and our pictures look amazing. Definitely an affordable, beautiful option for Catholic weddings in LA.

Barbara was definitely difficult to deal with. Where to begin? She is impossible to get in touch with. Finally, she gave me her personal number, which I used, and got a very chilly response from who I can only imagine was her husband. Never called that number again! With less than a month to go she let me know that I owed her $150. For what, I'm not sure, since I never 'hired' her to do anything, but at that point you can't say no. She was patient at the rehearsal and everyone seemed to know what we had to do. The wedding day had a couple of minor problems -- the first one being that, because they stack weddings and the guests from the previous wedding were lingering -- there was nowhere for our guests to park. We had to delay by almost 10 minutes. Then, even though she told us that we had until a certain time to take pictures after the ceremony, that wasn't actually the case and 15 minutes before the time she had told us, she was rushing us out the door. Because she was ready to go home. Not to mention the tacky announcement she made -- asking the guests to turn off their cell phones and then asking them to stand before i walked in. That's what the bridal march is played for!!

Guess I was a little more upset than I thought. Just be clear with her exactly what you want her role to be on the day of and be up front about what you want in the ceremony -- if there is something you're not sure fits within Catholic guidelines, ask your priest, not the church coordinator.