pitiya's reviews

If we could submit our review as a photograph, our cheeks would cramp up from smiling so much! We got married in an aquarium, where good pictures are really difficult to come by. Justin spent the week before the wedding practicing, so the pictures would be perfect. And, oh, they were spectacular! Working with Justin was always a pleasure -- his work exemplifies that of a perfectionist, but his high standards were not imposed on us. (And trust me, there were some photographers that made us feel like nothing we had planned was good enough.) Justin is exceptional at capturing memorable moments without ever being noticeable. (No stopping midway down the aisle to pose, or freezing mid-dance to make googly eyes at each other! Promise!) If you have the opportunity, don't pass up the chance to work with Justin!

For our consultation, Catherine sacrificed three hours drawing up sketches of the centerpieces, bouquets, and boutonnieres we had envisioned. This was before we even committed to her services! A few weeks later, she presented us with a demo of the centerpieces she had sketched. We were lucky enough to see another couple's centerpieces (for a later demo), and I was immediately impressed by Catherine's versatility. Our centerpieces were sleek and modern; theirs were classic and elegant. I am confident that Catherine will be able to cater to every whim! Now, we just need to look for another excuse to work with Catherine again!

We absolutely loved getting married in this aquarium, which served both as our ceremony and reception site. Our ceremony was outdoors, overlooking the Chesapeake Bay, while the reception was indoors, where guests were free to pet the stingrays, contemplate in front of the shark and sea turtle tanks, and roam the halls strewn with elegant rope lighting. We had no qualms inviting our friends with babies and young children because we knew they would be entertained by their surroundings. Three months after our wedding, we're still getting rave reviews from our guests about how much fun they had. If you decide to have your wedding at the aquarium, your guests will love you for it!

Since we got married at the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center, we had to go with their exclusive caterer, Sodexho. Though this sounds limiting, we actually liked that we had one fewer decision to make. We found their menu to be bountiful in choices. We ended up with an Italian station, a Mediterranean station, and a Japanese station to cover the bases. Every station was displayed attractively (the yakisoba was served in take-out containers), and the chef was very obliging in making new dishes (the Japanese station was not on the list of choices). As one of our guests wrote in our guestbook, "Well, the wedding was okay, and you guys look good, but the FOOD was the absolute highlight of the day for me!"

My husband and I are foodies. From the get-go, we knew that we would never EVER compromise flavor for appearance. Luckily, we didn't have to sacrifice either with Sibling Sweets. Tina's cakes were both delicious and stunning. She designed a gorgeous three-tiered cake for us, two of which were strawberry and one was lemon. (So if you're stuck between two or more flavors, fear not!) We had so many ideas, and Tina was able to incorporate most of them into a whimsical cake that was the marvel of all our wedding guests! If we lived in the same town as Tina, I would most certainly go back to get all my birthday cakes there!