Three words: I love Meghan. Understandably, she was probably the vendor with whom we've had the longest relationship, from engagement photos to the delivery of the wedding albums. Now, almost a year later (my fault, definitely not hers), we received our wedding albums and I finally feel qualified to give her a glowing review.

My then-fiance and I met with Meg after I decided that I didn't have a good feeling with the photographer we originally booked. When she showed us many samples of her work, e.g. prints, albums, paintings, I was almost sold on the spot. It helped that she is so very sweet and accommodating when it came to customizing the package we wanted.

Having an engagement session with Meghan solidly reassured me why we wanted her on our wedding day. She gave suggestions on locations (we picked the Getty Villa) and attire, which worked really well for us. I hate being photographed but she made us feel so comfortable that there were times that we almost forgot she was still clicking away. We used some engagement images in which we were holding numbers and incorporated them into our wedding as table numbers - an idea that I saw from another couple on her blog. It added such a personal touch; a couple of our guests loved them and took them home!

I was running very late during the morning of the wedding, and as soon as I got to the venue (an hour after I was supposed to be there), Meg and her assistant were there, calming me down and shooting away. At one point, she stopped and let me know that my anxiety showed in the photos, which helped me get over my stress - during that chaotic morning, that moment is something that I still remember quite vividly. She was honest and supportive, and I would've hugged her if I wasn't being strapped into my dress. Throughout the day, she was sweet, professional, and inconspicuous but firm when she needed to be, since we were on a tight schedule.

We did a post-wedding shoot (trash-the-dress, with my husband) and again she suggested the most amazing and unique location, Vasquez Rocks. We also went to a state park with burnt trees and a wheat field. It was so much fun and I loved that I got another use out of my wedding dress!

We have ordered many prints from Meg since then, and we're still always excited when we got a package from her. Everything is beautiful - probably more so than when and how the events actually happened. :) After taking me months to finally choose the images we wanted for our album because it was just THAT hard to pick, she had the album design ready within a few of weeks, and yesterday, the bridal and parent albums were finally in our hands.

This is likely the longest review I have ever written and while I understand that choosing a photographer is a very personal decision, at least have a meeting with Meghan so you can see what she has to offer. Some might like a completely different style, but if you like a more romantic and vintage feel, Meg might be the one for you. Don't get me wrong - I have every faith that this girl can do anything, but we chose her because we love seeing all kinds of emotions in photos, and like a true artist, she was the one who captured them best.

Matt was so fantastic! He was very responsive, well-organized, so helpful in giving suggestions for music. We gave him a few songs to show him what type of music we like, and he went with it, which was a success! During the day, he was quick to adapt to the timelines and various changes, he did so well on-the-fly, and I really couldn't have found a more patient DJ and MC. At the end of the day, he gave us a CD of the key songs that were played and I loved that. He really does go above and beyond!

I don't know why it has taken me this long to write a review for Pat Maki Players, but they were absolutely wonderful. My husband was mainly the one who dealt with Pat, but she was incredibly flexible and easy to work with. We originally wanted a trio, but we opted for the string quartet instead just to have her play the flute! The ceremony music was beautiful, and while we weren't there for the cocktail hour music, I'm sure it was just as great. The Pat Maki Players came highly recommended by my venue, and I couldn't be more pleased that we had them with us on our day!

The flowers for my wedding were GORGEOUS, thanks to Kerim. I am one of those brides who initially didn't care about flowers, but as soon as I told Kerim what our wedding colors were, he had a ton of ideas from linen colors to my then-groom's shirt and tie color combination. As a result, EVERYTHING looked well-coordinated, crisp, and elegant. I loved all of the flowers he suggested, especially the cymbidium orchids and green roses - they really added a fantastic pop to our three-piece centerpiece. I had the three varying sizes of vases, which worked amazingly with the square theme we had throughout the whole event. Additionally, during our final consultation, he made a substitution that made our centerpieces even better than I expected. He made sure to ask if that was okay with me, and I told him to do whatever he wanted because I trust him!

Our gazebo was stunning, and I honestly was awestruck (so was my photographer!) when I saw my bouquet. It was soft and very pretty, not overly done. My bridesmaids' bouquets were beautiful and worked so well with the color of their dresses. Everything was ready when I got to our venue, and because I was late, one of the things I regret is that I wasn't there early enough to properly thank Kerim for all the work and effort he put into making our wedding truly amazing.

I wish I could express just how thankful I am that I hired Carina to do my makeup. I was thinking of doing something crazy like putting makeup on myself, but Carina was, of course, so much better. She spent a lot of time on me during my trial, listening to suggestions, and asking clarifying questions to make sure that I got what I wanted. My makeup on the day of the wedding was even better! The funny thing? She used the exact same lipstick and gloss that I always have in my purse! She made my mom look amazing as well, and our makeup did not budge all day. Carina does what she is hired to do, and she does it well. Conversations with her are also a form of entertainment! :)

My husband and I were initially skeptical about hiring a videographer because we thought that photos would be more important to us, but I am so glad we considered it. Jeremy is AMAZING. He is very professional, accommodating, and responsive. In addition, he has a fantastic personality - he calmed me down by making me laugh when I was stressed out and very late before the ceremony, and I was told that while he was working at the boys' side, he was just "one of the guys," which I'm quite certain my husband appreciated.

Our video is so much better than we expected. First of all, the montage a.k.a. highlights is really the best part about the whole thing, which, I'm sure, is very time-consuming when it comes to editing. Jeremy was everywhere and nowhere (super stealth) at the same time. He captured a lot of the things we missed while we were taking pictures during the cocktail hour, and even some stuff that wasn't really important! :) Now that the wedding is over, he is even editing the montage to remove the not-so-important people! So my tip: make sure you let him know if there's anyone you want him to avoid because he works FAST. It probably helped that our wedding is in the off-season, but the video was waiting for us when we got back from our honeymoon!

I'm probably using an awful lot of exclamation points, but really, hiring Jeremy was one of the best decisions we ever made. I almost want to get married another time so I can hire him again!

We searched for what feels like hundreds of ceremony and reception locations and as soon as we saw La Venta, we knew it was perfect. Not only is the view just spectacular, the food was fantastic - weeks later, our guests are still talking about it! Our event coordinator, Tim Kennedy, was very responsive and easy to work with. He was ALWAYS around during the wedding and made sure that we had everything we needed.

The staff at La Venta was always available to answer any questions. Tim even did some research on photobooth vendors for us - even though we knew he didn't have to! It really is a fantastic location, especially if you have a guest count of about 100 people. The dining room is nice and intimate, the ceremony gazebo overlooks the beautiful coast line, and I can't say enough about the food! In short, I highly recommend La Venta and upon seeing the place, it became our only choice.