kem215's reviews

We had our ceremony at our own parish, Holy Family, in Manayunk. The church is beautiful on the inside and out. There is plenty of parking and it is air-conditioned.

Father McKee answered all of my questions and kept me calm leading up to the ceremony. I called him countless times and he would always laugh at my stressing out over the little details. He was very accomodating and allowed us to choose our own music and he gave us a helpful book for choosing our wedding ceremony readings and verses. It felt very personal and special for us.

On the day of the wedding, Father was all smiles as he stood on the altar and oversaw the ceremony. We had a receiving line at the back of the church and then posed for photos after the guests headed to the reception site. Everything ran smoothly and the ceremony was a beautiful event in a church that means a lot to us.

I attended the Bridal Event at the Radnor Hotel during the fall of '07. I was impressed at the number of quality vendors in attendance. When my maid of honor and I arrived, we signed in and made our way to the cash bar for mimosas. There were butlers moving around the room with snacks and appetizers. There was also a large display of wedding cakes with samples.

AS we made our way around the ballroom, we visited over fifty vendors. There was plenty of room to move around and we were given large tote bags to carry all of the samples, pamplets, and handouts we received. There were musicians playing their instruments for the crowd, hair and makeup artists doing free makeovers, florists with large displays of bouquets and centerpieces, and many invitations, programs, and save the dates to browse through.

Towards the end of the bridal event, we watched a Priscilla of Boston bridal show where we saw wedding gowns, tuxedos, bridemaid dresses, and flower girl dresses modeled on the runway. At the conclusion of the runway show, the Radnor raffled off tons of amazing prizes, from gift certificates and appliances, to a free honeymoon. I didn't win any of the prizes, but it was fun to watch.

We left the bridal show with tons of ideas and names of vendors. I highly recommend this event for any bride.

I chose Profile for my wedding party transportation after calling around to several different transporation companies. We decided on a 21 person mini-bus to get the bridesmaids from the hotel to the church, and the entire wedding party from the church to the hotel. The bus was clean, air conditioned, and had a cd-player. They also allowed us to bring coolers with beer and champagne to celebrate after the ceremony, as long as we were responsible with the clean up, and we were.

I was very impressed with the customer service. I called the manager, Philip, at least three to four times with questions and he was always friendly and very helpful. Occasionally he was with other customers or on the road, but he always called me back in a timely manner. I also received email receipts and updates with our wedding day travel details.

On the day of the wedding, the mini-bus was waiting for us outside the hotel at exactly 1:00 p.m. The driver was friendly and personable. He waited outside of the church during hte ceremony and photos and then took us right back to the hotel without any problems.

I highly recommend Profile for your transportation needs.

I highly recommend Face the Occasion Makeup Artistry, especially my makeup artist, Janet. Janet was in constant communication with me before the wedding, and she really took an interest in me and my wedding planning. She arrived at my house in the spring for a makeup trial armed with cases of Bobbi Brown makeup. She really took her time figuring out the right shades, all while keeping my preferences and ideas in mind. She also gave me helpful tips and advice about my skin care leading up to the wedding day.

I asked Janet to make me look like myself, only better, as I do not wear a ton of makeup on a normal day. I loved the way it looked.

On the wedding day, Janet arrived early and set up in my bridal suite while I was still out getting my hair done. She even put some makeup on my mom while they waited for me. When I got there, she was so sweet and calm, and that helped me to relax. She took her time and let me check the progress along the way. Again, I was so excited with the finished product. The makeup lasted all day and night and looked wonderful in all of my photos.

I wish I could give this adults only resort more than five stars. We had the best honeymoon imaginable. The resort was absolutely beautiful. It was not one of the larger riviera maya resorts so we could walk everywhere with ease. Upon our arrival we were greeted with champagne and cool towels, but that was just the beginning of our pampering. The staff went out of their way to help us relax and enjoy ourselves.

We originally booked a "Tropical View" room which meant a view of the trees but as we stepped onto our balcony, we had an amazing view of the ocean. The room was spotless and included all the amenities: bathrobes, cd player, jacuzzi tub, separate shower, king size bed, dvd player, in-room safe, fully stocked mini-fridge, etc.

The pool was large and very clean. We woke up early to reserve spots in the shade since the sun was so hot during the day and we frequented the swim-up bar all day long. There were also servers who would tend to our food and drink needs as we lounged in our chairs, but we preferred drinking in the pool. There were plenty of rafts to float on throughout the day. The pool remained calm, as there were no kids splashing or jumping in, which was nice.

WE didn't spend as much time on the beach as I thought we would. I prefered swimming in the pool because there was a ton of seaweed in the ocean during our visit so it was just easier that way.

Most importantly--the food was absolutely delicious. There was such a variety in the many restaurants available daily at the resort. Our favorite part of the day was the breakfast buffet. It was incredible. Each meal felt tasted gourmet and the serving sizes were large. We enjoyed steak, lobster, shrimp, pad thai, fish tacos, pizza, lasagna, and much much more. There is also 24 hour room service available.

We highly recommend this resort for couples. We cannot wait to go back.

We chose Marc Fisher as our DJ on the recommendation of a friend and we were very pleased with his work. A few weeks before the wedding, Marc contacted us to send him a list of our favorite songs. We sent him our list and he got back to us right away to confirm all of the details for introductions, first dance, etc. He was friendly and personable, and offered valuable advice about handling the wedding day.

On the day of, he set up speakers in the garden where we had our cocktail hour and let us choose between "fun" songs, i.e. Bare Naked Ladies, Billy Joel, etc., or "classy" songs, i.e. Sinatra, etc. We chose the fun songs and it really set an energetic tone for all of our guests.

He played every slow song we requested and the dance floor was packed all night with the best party/crowd songs for a wedding. Everyone had such a great time. I am so glad we had Marc at our wedding. I highly recommend his work and he is very affordable. Also, he can add on many extras to your package included lights, speakers, etc.

Our wedding cake from The Master's Baker was included with our package at the Radnor Hotel. We were allowed to sample two cakes for free, and if we wanted extras, it was 4.00 per small loaf pan. This bakery offers many flavors, icings, and designs which you can view on their website and the cake is absolutely delicious. We definitely wanted buttercream icing so we sampled the chocolate chip cake and the vanilla pound cake. We decided on the vanilla pound cake because it was so moist and flavorful. The icing was buttery and not too sweet, the perfect complement to the cake.

We were also allowed to choose the shape, design, and colors for our cake. We chose a hexogon four-tiered ivory cake decorated with tiny swiss dots around the bottom of each layer. It also had lavendar roses (fresh flowers provided by our florist) on the top. It looked beautiful.

The staff at Master's Baker was very friendly and accomodating each time I called with a question. It was easy to find their shop and pick up my samples. Many of our guests raved about the cake--it was delicious.

I heard about the alaunbydesign.com website from other brides. Excited by their designs and affordability, I decided to pick the "Dreamy" Collection pocketfold invitation. A positive for these invites: everything is customizable from the colors, to the font, to the ribbon. It was really fun to create my own invitation. I ordered a sample and was pleased at how professional it looked.

However, when I received my invitations, I was disappointed at the quality of the invitations. I ordered a pocketfold invitation and the inside of the invite had two different layers of cardstock. Many of the invitations were coming apart, as they were shoddily held together by small pieces of double sided tape only. I was terrified that more invitations would fall apart when I mailed them out, so I spent hours added more tape and fixing the placement of the cardstock, which looked sloppy on most of the invitations.

Also, the outer envelope had my parents address printed on the back flap. Normally this looks classy, but they used a very large font that looked almost comical. It took up most of the back flap of the large, outer envelope. When I called to complain, I was treated rudely by the staff and reminded that I signed the contract. I ended up buying my own envelopes that matched and printing them on my own computer.

In the end, the invitations looked decent thanks to my repair work. I wish I had spent the extra money to go through a real printer.

I chose Alfred Angelo because it is a national chain and I had three bridesmaids that live out of the area, including one in Scotland. I chose the color, victorian lilac, and allowed my bridesmaids to chose the style of dress that suited/complemented each of them.

The dresses were beautiful but the customer service at our particular Alfred Angelo store was lacking. We had no problems ordering the dresses but we ran into problems when it was time to pick them up.

I travelled to the Alfred Angelo store in Lancaster, PA, with two of my bridesmaids. We arrived early at 10:00 a.m. and the store was already beginning to get crowded. However, the saleswoman allowed my bridesmaids to look through all of the dresses and then she ushered us into a large fitting room to try them on. The girls each found their dresses and they were measured and ordered with no problem. Each of them requested alterations when the dresses came in.

My bridesmaids received a call that the dresses arrived so we travelled back to Lancaster from Philly to get the alterations done. We walked into the store and the saleswoman told us that the seamstress wasn't coming in that day. We were frustrated that they didn't call us to let us know and we travelled all that way for nothing. The girls tried their dresses on and the saleswomen just stood around talking to one another while we tried to ask them questions and get advice about the fit of the dresses. That also frustrated us.

Instead of making the trip again, the girls decided to take the dresses back to Philly to have the alterations done there.

All in all, they looked perfect on the day of the wedding and were affordable for all of my bridesmaids. I really loved the styles and color of the dresses, but the customer service experience was a negative one.

The Radnor Hotel gave my husband and me the perfect wedding reception. They took care of everything and allowed us to fully enjoy ourselves. First off, they have a certified wedding consultant that is in touch with the bride and groom countless times before the wedding day. The consultant was quick to email or call when I had questions or needed help. One week before the wedding, the couple (and parents, etc) meets with a Day-Of Coordinator and Banquet Manager who will be there on your wedding day to review every last detail for the reception. They were so helpful and reassuring during a stressful and busy time.

Along with excellent customer service, the hotel provides many amazing features. The bridal party has use of the Roseglen Room where there is plenty to drink and eat, and waiter service for the entire bridal party before and during the cocktail hour. The Radnor has a beautiful outgoor garden that was the perfect setting for all of our wedding photos and cocktail hour. The garden is lit with white lights when the sun goes down and looks beautiful. There is also a separate room indoors for the cocktail hour for winter/rainy day weddings. The ballroom is large and impressive, and the dancefloor is built to suit the size of your crowd.

The food is delicious. We attended a tasting in the fall where we sampled all of the amazing appetizers, salads, entrees, desserts, and wedding cake. Everyone raved about the food. They also serve top-shelf drinks for the full five hours, and the waiters and waitresses tend to all of your needs during the seated dinner. Many of our guests actually tipped the wait-staff because they were so attentive. The wedding cake was included with the package, but we were able to pick the flavor, icing, and design from a large selection. It was delicious, moist and not too sweet.

After the reception, most of our guests visited the on-site bar, the Glenmorgan, which stayed open past 2:00 a.m. We were given a complementary bridal suite that the day-of coordinator decorated with rose petals and flowers. She even left champagne and two slices of wedding cake for us to enjoy at the end of the night.