rmalfi's reviews

For my wedding, I am working under a very tight budget. Not only are my fiance and I paying for a good deal of our wedding ourselves, but we are planning on attending graduate school, which will be a very large expense. So, when I say we're under financial constraints, I really mean it. When looking for dresses, I knew I couldn't be spending more than a few hundred dollars. I was told this was impossible, but kept looking anyway. Finally, I was talking to a girlfriend that knows far more about the clothing world than I do, and she suggested that I look at the J Crew bridal line. I did, and I found a beautiful silk dress for under $300 (style = Sophia). It's made very well, it's flattering, and the staff members I worked with were very helpful in getting me fitted and ordering the correct size. Additionally, many J Crew stores have in-house tailors that can perform alterations on your dress. There are only two drawbacks I encountered. One, alterations are not free unless you have a J Crew credit card. Two, most J Crew stores do not have the wedding line in the store, so you can't necessarily try the dress on before ordering (apparently New York City stores have the line in-house). I was uncomfortable with this at first, but it was made very clear to me that if necessary, a return or exchange would be very simple. All in all, I highly recommend J Crew if you are looking for an affordable gown that is of high quality.

Perhaps somewhat unconventionally, my fiance and I are having our wedding in a natural history museum in Philadelphia. In keeping with this "theme," we decided that we wanted to give our guests seed packets as our wedding favors. The online company, American Meadows (http://www.americanmeadows.com), specializes in favor-sized flower seed packets for occasions such as weddings. In fact, they have a whole portion of the site devoted to which flower seed packets are most popular for weddings and how you can customize your packets yourself to say your names and the date of your special day. We chose wildflowers, since our families are from all over the nation, and these flowers can grow anywhere. It's a very neat and economical idea!

Every couple seeking wedding bands is searching for something different. In my case, my fiance and I wanted simple white gold bands, which you can find at just about any jewelery store. The reason why I recommend Robbins Diamonds is based less on my specific purchase, and more on the service that I received. My fiance and I are operating under a tight budget, a fact that we let the jeweler in the Philadelphia Robbins Diamonds store know right away. He was very patient with us as we looked over the bands (and their costs) carefully. Unlike other jewelers I've encountered, he was very sensitive to our price range. He did not treat us as second class customers because we had to ask about the "money factor." As people with many upcoming expenses (we are paying for our own wedding and going to graduate school next year), it was nice to encounter a business that made us feel comfortable despite our financial constraints. I was also happy to support Robbins Diamonds, as it is a small, local Philadelphia chain with a good reputation. For me, it certainly lived up to its good name, and I suggest this store for your wedding jewelry needs.