I rented white wooden wedding chairs for my ceremony. Sara was very helpful and the chairs were in decent shape.

This family owned business is very welcoming and has a lot to offer. Toshi (jeweler) designed my engagement ring and I absolutely love how it sparkles. I've gotten numerous compliments from family, friends, and even strangers. They are very accomodating and friendly.

I absolutely do not recommend Connie & Jeff's Photography to anyone at all because your wedding photographs is what you will have to relive your special day. My husband and I booked CJ after being referred by a friend, and after looking at some pictures on their website.

We never met CJ face to face because they said that they were giving us a special price for doing everything over the phone. First mistake. During our phone interview, Jeff was very aggressive and selling their service as one of the kind. We booked them because we figured it was "good enough".

As my wedding day got closer, I emailed CJ a few times asking questions and then sending them my ideas. I was annoyed when I spent time making a list of "MUST HAVE" pictures, only to be told by Jeff that "we don't go by a list". I replied via email and told him that I really wanted certain pictures, like my grandmother and other special people. Unfortunately, those pictures were not taken that day and I regret not having a picture with my grandmother. (I figure if I tell my photographers that I want it, they would do it and not need me to remind them).

One week before the wedding, Jeff calls me and insists that I check into my hotel earlier than the time given. I told him I would try.

The day of, I received 4 phone calls from Jeff within 1.5 hours HARASSING me about checking in. My day was not starting at that moment. I already had a Chinese ceremony earlier in the day and was rushing to get ready for the next ceremony, and he would not stop calling me, which STRESSED me out. I did not appreciate it at all. Who needs their vendor to stress them out?

Also, he asked that we tell the hotel to put their parking on our bill, which I was fine with. However, I told both CJ that parking validation was being offered to all my guests at the front desk. At the end of their night, Jeff went up to my husband and asked him for money for parking. (My husband did not want a hassle, so he just gave him the money).

Connie was with us girls. She was energetic and fun. Much better than her husband. However, the pictures she took of me solo were all horrible. When I was posing, I was very uncomfortable and it reflected in the pictures. All the poses were generic and not what I had in mind. (classier and more sophisticated). When my husband and I reviewed the pictures, we were very disappointed and thought the rest of the CD would be so. However, with 1900 shots taken, there were bound to be "some" that were good enough.

Our post ceremony shots at the location were also very disappointing. We chose the location for the architecture, which it was not utilized to its best. I had to insist on certain locations for shots, which Jeff was not willing to listen to, but his wife was. Apparently, he didn't care about the wedding pictures he was taking for us.

Again, the poses were very outdated and uncomfortable. Also, Connie paid some attention to detail, but Jeff certainly did not, as there were lightbulbs sticking out of our heads. (positioning could've been better). Some pictures were not centered. Some pictures had the A/C controller in the background.

I also felt they missed some of the key emotions at the ceremony, which was very disappointing. They spent a lot of time taking pictures of my behind or only the mid section of our bodies. (Why????)

At the reception, Jeff's rudeness continued. He pushed one of my friends out of the way so he can take a picture instead of asking nicely. I got feedback from a few guests that he was a "jerk".

After returning from our honeymoon, CJ asked us for our address to mail our pictures out. (we had 2 on file). We replied immediately, but I had to email him again a week later when we didn't get the pictures. We finally got it, and we are sorely disappointed.

Overall, we were very disappointed in their service.

My fiance and I are having an outdoor ceremony in the Pasadena City Hall courtyard. The location is very beautiful in the heart of Old Town Pasadena. We love the architecture of the location and thought it was perfect for our outdoor ceremony as we did not want a church wedding, and couldn't afford a beach wedding.
The city offers a permit for use of the location (only one wedding allowed per day). The Dept. of Public Works is the one that provides the permit, and a $300 deposit is required (applied to total cost).
We've been back to plan the ceremony and have seen a lot of wedding pictures being taken at the location (a popular place!).


Update:
OUr wedding was on Nov. 1, 2008. As the girls and I arrived, we saw about 5 different wedding parties all outside the City Hall taking pictures (you cannot take pictures on the property unless you have a permit, which worked out for us because we didn't have disturbances during our ceremony). We had planned on having the ceremony in the courtyard, but because it was raining on and off that day, we moved it to the rotunda, which was just as nice).

No problem with parking, although it is metered. We had a lot of options for backgrounds to use for our pictures after the ceremony. The permit covers cost of using the location, restroom, and electrical box. It does not include anything else (ie. chairs, aisle runner, speakers, etc).

Obtaining the permit requires leg work, but they are easy-going about everything.

My fiance and I met with Tom about 2 months ago. I found his through this website, and chose to meet with him based on positive reviews. In the height of soaring gas prices, Tom offered to drive to meet with us. He was very professional and answered all of our questions. He seems very down to earth and seems to be a hard worker. He is very responsive via email. The price is affordable but can get pricier if you add on all the extras (lighting, special effects, etc). Also, when asked about vendor meals, he told us frankly that he and his assistant do not eat vendor meals because they are there "to work and its too expensive". I appreciated that.

Update:

Tom was very good about calling me a week before the wedding to touch base, which made me feel better. He did a great job at our wedding (Dj for cocktails and reception). Our dance floor was full the minute dinner. He was very professional and worked well with my coordinator. I highly recommend him to others. He's also very inexpensive compared to others.

I found Jenna through this website and decided to go with her because of positive reviews, and because I wanted to work with an independent makeup/hair artist vs. a group/company. I met with Jenna about 3 months ago to do my hair/makeup trial. She seems very knowledgeable about makeup application. She listened to what I had to say, and answered all my questions. My hairstyle was done to my specification, although the front part couldn't be done specifically because my bangs were too short. She advised me to grow them out.
Her trial was $50, and the deposit is $50 as well. My MOH and I will be getting our hair and makeup done by her the day of. She does charge for travel (I don't blame her considering gas prices at this time), but it can be waived if you are willing to meet at her salon, which is in Glendora (which is down the street for me).
She is responsive via email (not instant, more like 1-2 days).

UPDATE:

I loved my hair and makeup for my wedding, as well as many of my guests. The makeup was very light, which I appreciated. I had 2 ceremonies and a reception, and the makeup lasted from 9am - 12 midnight. I only needed to use blotting paper throughout the day and touched up my lipstick.

My hair turned out better than the trial, which I was happy about.

Jenna was very calm and relaxing the morning of, which helped me stay calm. If possible, I recommend future brides to get their hair/makeup done away from everyone else so you can stay calm.

I am having my wedding at the Sheraton Pasadena Nov. 1st. So far, Kelly has been very helpful. I instantly fell in love with the design of the rooms when we went for a tour. They offer two separate rooms - one for the cocktail hour and dancing, and an adjoining room for the reception/dinner time. It didn't cost more. It required a deposit to hold both rooms, but deposits would be applied to the overall cost.
J and I went for our menu tasting a few months ago, and thought the food was mediocre (sp?). However, there's nothing we can do (as we've already put down a deposit) but to hope that it will turn out better the day of.

Included in our package is: hotel stay for the couple, validated parking for guests, wedding cake through their vendors (Jaqkis and another one), wine/punch service, linen, etc.

Kelly has also been very responsive via email and accomodating.

UPDATE:

The catering staff were all very professional. We had Jennifer to work with my coordinator that night, and everything worked out great. Jennifer was very accomodating and made all the changes I requested right away.

The meal was again mediocre but my guests definately loved the 3 wine bottles per table that came with our package.

We are very happy we chose to use both the Justine's and Piazza room. It was nice that the guests that wanted to dance was in one room while the other guests that wanted to visit with others sat in the other room where it wasn't as loud.

I went to David's Bridal two times before I found my dress. The first time wasn't as exciting but the second time around was fun and exciting. Asia is very helpful, but I think Vicki (the manager) made it fun and exciting. Vicki was able to look at my body type and to help me find a dress that complimented me well, and she gave me feedbacks that were genuine. The staff were all very enthused when I decided on the dress. I am excited to get my dress. The price was good for the dress, although I thought the accessories were pricey. We'll see if there is anything else to say when I do get my dress. Also, they give you a book of savings for everyone else in your wedding party, which is nice.
My bridesmaids also got their dresses there. We got lucky because the plum color I wanted was going to be discontinued shortly. The dresses complimented my wedding dress well. The color was the exact color I wanted so I was excited. Also, my bridesmaids liked the dress style, so they were happy.
The dresses were on sale, so we couldn't apply the coupon that offered $20 off a bridesmaid dress.
I was also happy that they were able to do an exchange for me. I initially purchased a tiara that was too expensive, but purchased it impulsively. After deciding I couldn't afford the tiara, I called DB and asked what I could they. They offered that I can do an exchange, which worked out because my mother-in-law needed a dress. I appreciated that they were accomodating.
I am getting my dress altered at this store because of my positive experiences, despite other locations being closer. During the alteration fitting, the lady - Maria (?) was doing a sales pitch with me, which was a bit annoying. However, I was firm enough to only sign and agree with what I wanted. The alteration was more costly than I expected, but I don't regret it. I also got their preservation kit. Although I don't plan to keep my dress, I thought the cleaning, and box that comes with it would help keep the dress in good shape so I can sell it. I figured the cleaning cost would be equally priced at a dry cleaners.
UPDATE:
I was very unhappy with the alteration done by Maria Elena (alteration manager). She is very pushy and insisted that I had to move my back panel to make it bigger so my skin is not bunched up. However, I told her I planned on losing weight and toning up. She said that I needed to do it. One week before the wedding, I tried on my dress and was very concerned when my dress did not fit me and was going to fall off my body (its a strapless dress). My bridesmaid began telling me that I needed butt padding, and that I had one week to gain some weight to fit into the dress. It was very disappointing that its her job to know what's right, and she gave me the wrong recommendation. It was one week before the wedding, and I had no time to find someone to alter it for me again, so my only choice was to gain weight, and to tighten up the corset backing.