We used Mistyka for our wedding. We hired her when she was with Dulce Events (check that listing for prior client raves), then she merged with SOI Events. Mistyka was pretty much amazing and I don't know if I could have pulled off my flawless event without her. We hired her for month-of coordination, but she helped us since November 2005 or so. She ran down some stuff for us when the Pasadena Fire Dept. was being irritating with their candle regulations. She picked up my dress for me the day before the wedding when I felt super busy and overwhelmed. She was responsible for setting up all of my DIY items and stuff that we brought into the hotel.

There were some glitches on our wedding day and I never noticed because Mistyka handled everything so efficiently. All my vendors loved her and she worked really well with them. My maid of honor and mom commented on how fabulous they thought she was.

I would definitely hire Mistyka again in a heartbeat. In fact, she was one of the best hires I made during the entire wedding process.

What else could I say about Sherry that hasn't already been said?

I was nervous about finding a hair and makeup artist because, as an African-American female, there aren't many pictures of people with my complexion in people's portfolios and I had no idea if they knew how to handle African-American hair. I had my hair and makeup trial with Sherry about a week before our wedding. I went in with an idea of how I wanted my hair and makeup. While I liked my makeup, I didn't like the style I picked with my face. On the morning of the wedding, I planned to talk to Sherry about changing the style. It was a pleasant surprise for her to bring it up -- and know exactly what I wanted to change before I said anything. It was like she read my mind! My makeup was amazing and gorgeous. I felt beautiful all day. My hair was perfect and stayed put all night.

Sherry's assistant that day was Marilyn and she was outstanding. She did the hair and makeup of my maid of honor and my flower girl. My MOH looked beautiful. My flower girl's hair normally never holds a curl, but her curls stayed in tact until the next day. Sherry and Marilyn were both so sweet and fun and got us all ready in time. They were wonderful and I highly recommend them.

Our cake was AHHH-MAZE-ING!!! After visiting a couple of different bakeries, we found Rosebud. When we visited the cake studio, we saw them making a cake in the shape of Buddha. It was incredible! We were worried about how much they'd want to charge for a replica of a chocolate fondant Martha Stewart. We were surprised to find that their pricing was very reasonable. We also purchased the cake during their July discount period and saved an additional 15%.

We got 2 tiers of chocolate cake with "The Most" filling (chocolate Bavarian cream, chocolate chips, fudge, and raspberries) and 2 tiers of white cake with whipped cream and fresh strawberries. Everyone loved the cake! I usually hate fondant and went with it just for aesthetics purposes. Their fondant is actually delicious!

I highly recommend Rosebud to anyone looking for a quality, delicious cake at a fairly reasonable price.

We hired John from Schnack Studios about a week before our wedding because our original photographer backed out. Naturally that's enough to make any person freak out, but we felt that we liked John's style more than other photographers we met with that were available. We never met with John, just relied on email and his website and crossed fingers! Since we were flying by the seat of our pants, I didn't get a chance to identify key people and ensure they were in pictures.

On the wedding day, John was prompt and attentive, but unobtrusive. My husband and I really wanted a photojournalistic style with few posed portraits. During the time we took our family portraits, John was so patient and funny in dealing with the kids in the bridal party (and the whole party in general) in the uber hot mid-day July sun in Pasadena. At the end of the day (and between the day and when we got our pictures), I wondered if we had enough picture varieties. When we got our pictures back, my husband and I were both floored. They are GORGEOUS!!! I also noticed John took note of important people or asked my coordinator because there are some great pictures in there that I would have wanted and forgot to ask for (my grandmother, picture of both of our mothers, etc).

I think John is a great photographer and also is an outstanding deal for the quality of pictures he provides. I highly recommend him to anyone looking for a fabulous photographer with a great eye.

I initially contacted Danny way back in about November 2005 for our wedding which was then scheduled for June 2006. We met because we felt Danny had very reasonable prices for the two speaker set-ups we wanted (both in the courtyard for the cocktail hour and in the reception room). However, after meeting with Danny, we were impressed with his style and personality. After we postponed our wedding, Danny was really very sweet about it -- he didn't charge us a penalty or anything, just agreed to show up on our new date.

I was really bad about giving him the forms he needed and had a lot of changes I made at the last minute. All of our music was perfect. We didn't have long or extensive must play (or do not play) lists and trusted him to select music within the genres that we liked. All of the choices were on point. He got people dancing of all ages -- from 7 years old up through guests in their 70s. In fact, some of our older guests were talking about how much fun they had dancing a week after the wedding.

I highly recommend Danny's service. He is a true professional and a good person.

If I could give Tara of Ephemera Letterpress six stars, I would. She is fantastic!

I contacted Tara in March after our original letterpress designer got sick and would not be able to do our invitations. The only guidelines I gave her were that our wedding "themes" were vintage and incorporating ostrich feathers, as well as our wedding colors. She responded within one week with a proof of the invitation design. It was perfect on the first try -- a cream cardstock with a pale pink feather-esque swirl in the background with chocolate ink text. We had our invitations almost exactly in one month after we first agreed to work together!!!

Tara is exceptionally talented and, IMO, a great deal. I did not want to spend $20+ per invitation as some letterpress designers were asking. Our invitations are beautiful and were approximately $8.50 per invite. The invitation set included the invitation itself, the RSVP card, two color printing, pink RSVP and inner envelope, and outer envelope.

If you want quality work at a fair price, Tara is the way to go!

I went into Bridal Elegance knowing what dress I wanted (Jasmine H338). I looked up Jasmine trunk shows and Bridal Elegance had one that would allow me to get my dress just in time. Being a plus sized bride is usually very disconcerting with dress shopping because many dress shops are known to actually be rude to their larger customers. Bridal Elegance was the complete opposite. Christie and Stacy were so sweet and down to earth and helpful that it truly didn't feel like they were trying to hustle you for money and there was none of that uppity snobbery like you get at some bridal shops. My dress came in and I didn't like the modifications I had made to it. Christie suggested alterations to the gown that would be very flattering...so she essentially redesigned the neckline and bodice of my gown and it is truly amazing. I highly recommend Bridal Elegance for any bride who wants a low key shopping experience with friendly and knowledgeable owners/staff.

I was surfing eBay to find a good deal on bridesmaid jewelry because we are purchasing all of the items for my BMs and I can't afford to buy them all super expensive necklaces, dresses, etc! I found Park Avenue Boutique through searching for pink Swarovski crystal jewelry. Their pieces are very pretty and VERY affordable! They normally sell one pink crystal and silver necklace and matching earrings for around $15 a piece, but they let you name your own price if you are buying a lot of jewelry (in my case, I bought a lot of three). I got my lot of three for $30 (nearly $40 including shipping and insurance), which is a steal! They are very easy to deal with and sent my order promptly. Plus, this is cute jewelry that my BMs will be able to wear again!

I got my bridesmaids' dresses from the Burbank location. One BM and I went on a particularly busy Sunday afternoon with no appointment...but since we were just there to size a dress we'd already picked out, they let us hop into a room and get it done without waiting for hours. The dresses were scheduled to come in 2 months, and they came in one month. I had nothing but a fabulous experience with the Burbank store for BM dresses.

I found this shop while searching online for the perfect piece of antique jewelry for my “something old” as well as a classic piece of jewelry for my wedding day (and possibly something to pass on to my future children). The pieces that Veronica carries are absolutely beautiful! She has a wide selection of antique and vintage designer jewelry at great prices – certainly much cheaper than a lot of new, non-designer costume jewelry! I originally was just going to purchase antique shoe clips and earrings, but decided I was also in love with the brooch and bought that. It was pricy (around $100), but it’s also an incredible antique piece that has been featured in a book on rhinestone jewelry. She was having a sale at the time as well, making her already great prices even lower! I spent around $150 for all three pieces which is one of my best purchases to date! Oh, did I mention she also includes free shipping and gift wrapping?


As a side note, for those women looking for nice clip-on earrings, this site has a wide variety of beautiful earrings.