rhbbride's reviews

Easy-to-use, nice templates, lots of functionality. We had our guests RSVP via the website, which worked out well. We posted lots of pictures and information about the event, and we received lots of great feedback in return. http://www.mywedding.com/rachelandraj/index.html

After two failed attempts at Kinkos, we went to Staples to have our wedding programs printed. They helped us find nice-looking paper and optimized the printing so that the program looked really sharp. To create the program, I scanned an original drawing from my aunt and used Photoshop to insert text. Then I used PowerPoint to design the program with the Photoshop-generated image as the cover.

Our out-of-town guests stayed at the Homewood Suites behind Crabtree Mall. They have a large comfortable common area with couches, a big fireplace and dining tables. We wanted a place where people could gather together before and after the wedding, since many friends and family members were coming from afar and would appreciate spending time together. The hotel is set back from the busyness of Glenwood Ave. and Crabtree Mall, yet incredibly convenient to everything. We highly recommend this hotel! The windows open (2nd floor and above) and you can get suites with balconies. The complimentary breakfast is pretty good, too. Our sales coordinator John Jordan 919-785-7156 gave us a good group rate ($99 for king, $119 for 2 double beds), esp. compared to the other places we saw.

We purchased the "3 Private (50 minute) lessons for $135" with Kat. She was a good teacher and really made us practice, practice. We had fun, built confidence in our dancing, and felt much more at ease in front of everyone at the reception as a result. We recommend A Step to Gold and Kat! For lesson 2, Kat allowed my husband's sister to observe us, which we really appreciated.

Jason, our DJ from Island Sound, did a great job. While planning the wedding, we weren't sure if our guests would dance or if we even needed a DJ. We sure are glad we decided to go for it! We had a lot of fun dancing. It was easy to pick songs ahead of time, and Island Sound was quite accommodating. We chose polkas, Hindi music, 80's music, jazz, country -- an eclectic mix -- and the dance floor was alive. For one song, Jason had all the guests form a circle around the bride and groom while playing "That's Amore." When "That's Amore" was sung, everyone moved toward us and gave us a big group hug. Fabulous! Remember, you are supposed to tip the DJ, and it's not cheap.

Cost = $850, including tip, to have Jason DJ during the cocktail hour and reception.

Catering Works catered our reception, which was a Thanksgiving dinner buffet. They also provided the cake, all the linens, place settings, and the flowers. EW was our event coordinator and Joseph Barnes did our flowers. The flowers were exquisite--we HIGHLY recommend Joseph's work.

Overall, the food and service were excellent. I did not care for the vegetarian entree and broccoli, but everyone thought the turkey was delicious and seemed to enjoy the food. Several people commented favorably on the local cheese that was served during the "cocktail hour" before dinner.

The serving staff was exceptional--considerate, accommodating and quite charming as well. At the end of the reception, they worked hard to clean up quickly so that we were out of the building by our deadline. This was much appreciated!!

Catering Works also set out our table decorations, which we provided. Given the blandness of the room, we wish we had decorated a bit more. Having some white Christmas lights strung around the room would have been nice and made the room feel brighter.

Although we were pleased with Catering Works' service, while planning the event, I found EW tough to work with. I needed someone a little more nurturing, supportive and patient, who offered guidance during a new and challenging process--planning a wedding!

Total cost for 80 guests = $5,815, includes linens, serviceware, service, all flowers, cheese table for cocktail hour, dinner buffet, some beverages (water, ice tea, coffee and hot tea), and the wedding cake. My father provided the wine and champagne; a friend brewed beer for us.

We found Dawn Williams, the pianist for our ceremony, on Craig's List. She was pleasant to work with and very professional. We met with her before the wedding to hear her play and to go over song selection. Dawn made great suggestions and played beautifully during the ceremony. She played a mix of classical pieces and favorite church hymns.

Cost = $195

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We did not want to spend a lot of money on the wedding; however, we knew some aspects were more important to us than others. The photography was very important to us. We ended up choosing Bianca Palmer with A Moment Like This as our photographer. We knew of Bianca's work because one of my bridesmaids, also a photographer, had worked with her in the past. She takes stunning pictures and did a beautiful job capturing our wedding. The slide show is incredibly moving. https://www.amomentlikethis.net/112208/

I regret not asking Bianca to take more pictures of important family members, however. In terms of guest photos, she ended up taking a lot of pictures of the more "interesting looking" guests and not enough of others. She also took way too many photos of shoes and certain frivolous objects such as the food and wine glasses. My mom and bridesmaids put together really cute baskets with gourds and fall decorations for each table, and she didn't take any pictures of them, which was disappointing. Also, she took very few pictures of me and all of my bridesmaids together, and the group photos were so-so.

Some advice: if you are nervous about walking down the aisle and being the center of attention and often feel self-conscientious/shy around others, do NOT have the photographer in the room when you are getting ready. Instead, ask him/her to take pictures of the guests arriving, wedding party and parents as they anticipate the start of the wedding. To take advantage of the natural outside light, we chose to have portraits taken together before the ceremony. I did not like this! I felt nervous and uneasy and had to end the portrait session early.

Cost = $4,270 for 5 hrs of coverage, CD of >500 images, online slideshow, album with >400 4x6 prints and video.

Our photographer's husband, Seth, made a video of the wedding for us. Overall, we are pleased with the video. Some of the ceremony is difficult to hear, but that may have been because of problems with the acoustics and microphones in the church. Video was included in the photography package (above).

We found Pt. Bhat through the Hindu temple in Morrisville. He was a pleasure to work with. We met with him several times before the wedding and his flexibility was much appreciated. We could not have a sacred fire in the sanctuary, as we had hoped, and he was able to accommodate with suggestions from Rev. Grigolia. Pt. Bhat was always kind, pleasant and patient with us. Cost = $552, including tip

Rev. Grigolia did an outstanding job of helping us create a unique and very personalized Christian-Hindu wedding ceremony. Her guidance, support and leadership were invaluable throughout the process of planning the wedding. We highly recommend her to anyone looking for an experienced, kind and effective wedding officiant. Cost = $550, including tip