mayann's reviews

I only interviewed one DJ and I did not need to look any further.

Tom was very easy to work with. We gave him a playlist for the cocktail hour, dinner, dancing, etc so he had a general idea of our taste and he added some other music that complemented ours. He is VERY organized. He did a great job as an MC. We were lucky that he was available 2 months before the wedding because he usually books up fast. (He did 80 weddings last year)! Thank goodness for the off season. With Tom, you are definitely in good hands!

I went to a bridal salon and I found "the one". However, it was a more than I wanted to pay (on top of tax, rush shipping and alterations) so I decided to shop some more. I ended up calling around some salons that carried this designer and asked for a price quote. Maggie gave me the lowest quote for the exact same dress. I ended up buying my dress with rush shipping. (I told her I needed it earlier instead of giving her my actual wedding date).

However, I made 2 follow-up calls to help ease my mind 1) to confirm the next day that she placed my order - which she did and 2) to call later about delivery status of my dress. I had called a few days before the delivery date and the dress had arrived early! Good because not only was it on time, it was early! Bad because she didn't notify me to say it was here.

I went elsewhere for alterations, but it is the same dress (designer tags on dress) that I tried at the first bridal salon. The total cost of the dress plus tax, rush shipping and alterations were all under the price quote that I got at the first salon.

Classy venue. Occasions is perfect for an intimate and cozy reception. We had about 100ppl (it fits 130 plus a dance floor) and the venue didn't feel too big/spread out or too crowded - just right.

Audrey (chef/owner) was great in helping with our menu and meeting our minimum food and beverage. The tasting was fun. We chose the Grilled Angus Filet as our main entree. We chose 4 appetizers and our favorites were the crab cakes and lamb lollipops. Tray passed freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and milk served in shot glass were also served as a late night snack! This is one of the few venues you will find that will let you bring in your own alcohol and we saved a lot of money!

I was concerned about one review regarding theft and I voiced my concerns to Audrey before booking the site. She is aware of this review and answered that she tried to contact the bride several times and left messages to address the situation, but she never received an answer from the bride. I also found other helpful reviews on weddingwire.com (check out the link below) to help in my decision making. We also had a gift table and money box that evening and had no problems!

http://www.weddingwire.com/reviews/occasions-el-segundo/fa222454f7c6b0db.html

Audrey, Suzie (venue's wedding coordinator) and the staff were great that evening. The wait staff was professional and very attentive making it a smooth evening. Thank you for making it a memorable event.

Mahtab did a fabulous job on my dress. She hemmed, added bra cups, steam/pressed the dress, took the sides in a little bit, and did the bustle all for a reasonable price.

I didn't know what kind of bustle to get and asked for her recommendation. She recommended a French bustle for my dress (and I originally thought maybe an overbustle), pinned it for me to see and I fell in love with it! I love the French bustle and it is very secure - no additional safety pins needed that evening. The dress fit me perfectly. She got me to fall in love with my dress even more.

I love King's Hawaiian and have tried most of their cakes before. I got a 2-tiered cake (Dobash and Fresh Strawberries with whipped cream) for display and a sheet cake (the ever popular Paradise cake). Delicious and our guests thought so too! Some tried more than one flavor. The prices are very reasonable. Christine set up our tasting and assisted with our order. She was very helpful in answering our questions. Mahalo nui loa King's Hawaiian!

I loved, LOVED my hair. Katie and her team were awesome. She transformed my stick-straight short hair into Charlize Theron Oscar-worthy waves and it stayed that way for 10 hours. Ten hours. I did not want to wash my hair.

Katie made me feel very comfortable during the trial session. I brought my camera and asked her to take photos during the session since my MOH could not come with me. I asked her if we can tone down the eye make-up and she did. She took photos of both looks. (Although once I got used to wearing it for the evening night out, I told her I liked how she did it originally and to keep it that way for my wedding)! I also tried the airbrush make-up during the trial and I liked it!

She made me look amazing on my wedding day - even better than the trial session! She also worked on my MOH, bridesmaid, mom, aunt and flower girl and they all looked great! Thank you Katie!!!

We won a free engagement session with CD photos. And what a gift it turned out to be.

Sam was fun and easy to work with. My fiance is a bit camera shy, but Sam made him feel comfortable in front of the camera.

And the photos are absolutely fabulous!! He took so many for an 1-1 1/2 hr session. When I first saw them, my jaw dropped. He definitely has an eye for details, positioning, lighting, etc. And we have gotten so many compliments. Sam truly captured the essence of us and our relationship.

Unfortunately, he was unavailable on our wedding day. However, we are so fortunate to have great engagement photos.

Thanks Sam!