leenalay's reviews

We took the Boston to Bermuda 7-day cruise, which was a perfect way to get out of town! We got married on Saturday, slept in a nice hotel Saturday night in Boston, and left Sunday morning on the cruise. It was nice not to have to fly by plane to get anywhere-- we had a relaxing breakfast, and took our time getting to the cruise ship. Once the ship arrives in Bermuda, it stays in the same location for 3 days, which is great, because we rented mopeds and got to tour the island! You can park the moped next to the ship overnight, and then its there for you when you come out in the morning. We explored many of the old crumbling forts on the island, hiked the rocky cliffs, and walked the beaches- a truly memorable and relaxing honeymoon, which is essential after all of the chaos of wedding-planning! A highly recommended trip!

This Clambake company is owned and run by the same individuals the run Primavera, a restaurant in Millis, MA. The chef/owner's name is Jerry, and he is great to work with. We chose to have lobster and chicken as the options for our wedding, with clam chowder, corn on the cob, salad, bread, etc! There was plenty of extra food, and the service was great. I would recommend working directly with Jerry if you can, as some of his employees are a little more difficult to work with, and he will do his best to accomodate your requests. If you want a more traditional wedding meal, Primavera also caters, and would have the same wonderful service. If you contact Primavera, they also do a wedding show once a year, and you can meet many other vendors (photographers, bakers, hotels, DJs, etc), as well as sample some of their amazing food and win prizes. Highly recommended!

This florist is based out of the Lazy Bean Inn, in Onset, MA. She was extremely kind and friendly, and had many contacts in the wedding industry - DJs, rentals, photographers, bakeries, wedding officiants, etc. I showed her pictures of what I wanted my flowers (and the bridesmaids flowers) to look like, and she was able to duplicate them perfectly. She also helped me to choose centerpieces for the tables that came out beautifully. She came the morning of the wedding, and quietly set up all of the table centerpieces, and helped all of the men (groom and grommsmen) and mothers/grandmothers to pin the flowers to their shirts/jackets etc. Once she was satisfied that everything was perfect, she quickly checked in with me (the bride) to see if there was anything else I needed help with, and then left when she was no longer needed. I would highly recommend her services!

This rental company provided our large tent for the reception, and all the chairs and tables for the ceremony and reception. They were easy to deal with, and called me in advance to make sure I had the proper permits from the town. They delivered and set up the tent and tables, and we didn't have to sign anything or be there for the delivery. They also came after the wedding to take everything down, and again did not need to bother us with anything. They were very easy to work with, and stayed out of the way of all the business going on!

This was the most disappointing part of my wedding, and I regretted not asking for references prior to hiring them. Please ask for references, wherever you choose! The photographer showed up on time, as I had asked him to come and take pictures of us getting ready. He took one picture, and then I asked him to go outside to take pictures of the singers rehearsing, and to come right back. He never came back, but went down the beach to take his own personal photos (which he didn't even include with my wedding photos, and I didn't get to see). He took only one shot, every time he went to take a picture. Often someone was blinking or looking away, and many of them turned out poorly. With the formals, I specifically asked him to take a 2nd shot of my immediate family, and he responded that he had already taken one and it would be fine. Unfortunately, that portion of the roll of film was somehow destroyed, and there are bright white horizontal lines through the entire photo. Finally, at the end of the wedding, he ran out of film and was unable to take more pictures.

For all of the disappointments, the studio was not at all sympathetic, and would not give us any discounts. In addition, they charged us extra for our proofs (which wasn't in the contract), and refused to give us the negatives unless we paid another $500. Our entire experience with this photographer was highly disappointing. This photographer is based out of Marlborough, MA.

While the setting was magnificent, we had some difficulty with the manager of the inn. This beautiful house is located right on the bay of the ocean, with a gorgeous beach for a ceremony (We contacted the town for a permit to have the wedding on the beach). After the ceremony, we had the reception up on the lawn of the inn. We had rented the entire inn and guest house for the weekend, and therefore were able to have much of our close family stay in the two buildings. However, the manager (I believe her name was Kathy) was often difficult to deal with, which is the only reason they do not get a 5-star rating from me. She was very rude, and acted suspicious that we were going to break many (or all) of the rules in the contract. Dealing with Kathy was one of the most stressful parts of preparing for my wedding, and she caused me to cry on numerous occasions, and did not seem to be bothered. It got to the point where I was so stressed out, anytime I even had to call her to discuss details fo the wedding. After numerous disagreements with her, we ended up working one-on-one with the owner, Leigh, and had a much more pleasant experience.

Mr Stonefield performed an excellent job as our Justice of the Peace, to perform our wedding vows. He was very flexible, and sent us examples of vows that he had done before, so that we could pick and choose what he would say. We were allowed to delete and add words as we pleased. He was very professional, and his fee was very fair. I believe he can still be reached by e-mail at Justicejmstonefield@yahoo.com. Highly recommended!

Not only was the cake gorgeous, but it was the most delicious cake I have ever tasted. Dessert Works in Norwood, MA does an excellent job. We went first to a cake tasting, and got to look through several books to get an idea for the perfect cake. They do not charge by how many tiers you have, but by how many people you are serving. For this reason, you can ask for a top tier (to save for your anniversary or some other time) or not have one, and it will be the same price. Also, you are allowed to have different cake flavors for each tier. I have had many cakes from this bakery, not only for weddings but other occasions, and no other bakery can compare! Yum!

We went to David's Bridal in Natick, MA for the bridesmaid dresses. We made an appointment ahead of time. When we got there, however, they did ask us to wait a half hour, as it was prom season, and there were still people ahead of us. Other than that, our experience there went very well. My bridesmaids were able to pick out dresses according to the color we had chosen together. They had the option of choosing dresses of different designs, as long as they chose the same color, but they settled on the same dress. They also found gorgeous bolero jackets to wear on top of the dresses, as we had an outdoor wedding on Cape Cod, and were unsure how cold it would be. Overall, we had a very pleasant experience, and the girls working at David's Bridal were very helpful in selecting gowns appropriate for each girl.