Our day could not have been possible without our amazing vendors. You won’t find an A+ or any other type of “grading system” because I would recommend each and every one of our vendors in a hearbeat. They’d ALL be A+’s or 5’s anyway. Plus I find grades to be rather subjective and individual to the client. It’s more interesting and helpful to read about our experiences and opinions. Then you can go and form your own. Good Luck!
My Detailed Reviews
Ceremony Location: Scottish Rite Auditorium, Collingswood NJ
Reception Location: Collingswood Grand Ballroom, Collingswood NJ
This location defined our whole wedding. The only date they had open was Dec. 29 ‘07, so that’s why we had a winter wedding. It was fate. After totally stressing about a date, the 29th fell into our laps and worked out perfectly. DH & I met doing theater and have a strong passion for the arts. Getting married on a stage was our dream and the fact that this theatre also has gigantic, church-like stained glass windows, a freakin’ awesome old dressing room, and a pipe organ was PERFECT. We really connected with this space.
It’s a 3 story building – top is theatre, middle and lower are the ballroom, all are above grade. The ballroom was spectacular. There was such a natural flow from ceremony to cocktails to dinner. The space was recently renovated, so everything is very clean and classic. Good neutral color choices, too. Barbara is the Events Coordinator there and she was fantastic. Great ideas, flexible, responsive, and really got things done.
We did have a couple things that I wish were done differently.
- Guests entered through the Ballroom and walked through where cocktails were going to be to get to the theatre. I knew this was going to happen (Barb OKed it with me first) but in reality, it didn’t work well. My grandparents are elderly and it was a rather far walk. If I had it to do over, I’d just use the theatre entrance.
- We paid extra person to cover bar tips, so our guests wouldn’t have to tip. Barb went home early sick and her replacement didn’t have our contract. They put tip jars out during the cocktail hour. The mistake was caught by the end of cocktails but the jars were pretty full by then. No jars were put out during dinner – at all. My dad spoke with Barb after the fact and she refunded him the extra money we paid but my mother was still embarassed. I’d just make sure that anyone filling in knew all the nitty-gritty specifics.
Caterers: Barry Catering, serving the South Jersey & Philly regions
We first found Barry’s Catering b/c they were one of a handful of “approved” caterers with Collingswood. They were the BEST value for our money. We got SO much food at an amazing price. Dinner was served “buddakhan” style - basically family style but sounds fancier. Trays of food were brought out to the tables and people passed them around to each other. They could have some of everything (we had 3 entrees, 3 starches, 2 veggies, & bread) or just 1 thing. People could have as much as they wanted and ask for more. No tiny portions here!
Cocktail hour was fantastic. They created new apps from my ideas (no extra charge) and were open to all my wacky suggestions. There was SO much food at cocktails, I’m just sorry I could have made it around to everything. I got stuck by the staircase saying hello to people. DH & I did have our own personal attendent who would bring us drinks and apps while we stood there. I was to busy talking to eat much though.
Photographer: Dollface Studio or their Blog, Philadelphia PA
Wedding – Georgi, Mindy, & Darah
I LOVED working with Dollface. When we first met with them, they just had the vibe we were looking for. Day of, they did not disappoint. Originally, Sarah was supposed to shoot our wedding but got really sick right before, so Mindy replaced her. The wedding day was the first time meeting Mindy and it was totally fine. That was one thing about booking with a studio that made me more comfortable than a solo person. God forbid the photog gets sick, a studio can find a replacement. Still waiting on all my pics but I’m positive they’ll be amazing; the teasers are.B-pics & Trash the Dress – Siobhan & Darah @ Dollface
I did 2 sets of b-pics. The 1st was with Kamila Harris (scroll down). The 2nd was a Valentine’s Day present with Dollface. I didn’t do my first set with Dollface because they didn’t offer them at that time. But I jumped at the chance to do a 2nd set when offered. They look AMAZING!! Exactly what I wanted. Loved the location, hair, make-up and, most importantly, how the pictures turned out. DO IT!! Our Trash the Dress shoot will be Spring ‘08 sometime, date TBD.
Videographer: Kenneth Stillman – Ken & Cindy
Ken is incredibly good at what he does. He has incredible equipment and knows how to shoot professionally. My mother was very (very!) concerned about having so many cameras (photo & video). She thought they’d be blocking people’s view or loud and annoying. Ken gets the shots but stays out of the way. He captures the day as it happens surprisingly unobtrusively. Hiring a videorapher was a very late decision for us (Sept. for a Dec. wedding) and we were lucky he was available. It was one of the BEST decisions we made. Final review is pending my video which I should have early February.
Day of Coordinator: Lynn
Lynn is Ken’s cousin and offered to be our day of coordinator as a trial run of a new package Kenneth Stillman Video is creating. I didn’t think I needed a DOC b/c of Barb at Collingswood. Barb was great but Lynn did all the little things that needed to get done (that in my bridal delirium I thought I could do). She set up centerpieces, picture tables (we had 2), our seating chart. She kept an eye on our card box, if it was getting full, she’d empty it a little and put cards into our safe bag. We had a sign for the end of the night on the back of our seating chart. She moved the easle and reset it.
Lynn came early and stayed through the bitter end. What a trooper!! She kept all the vendors on the same page and made sure they all knew we had a dinner table reserved for them. She did all the little things a bride thinks they can do on their wedding day but is really just thinking crazy. It was SO nice to have things just happen. It was like magic!
Honestly, even if you don’t use Lynn (which I think you should), get yourself a DOC – just for the day. It will be money well spent!!
Flowers: David & the Haddonfield Floral Arts Guild
The Haddonfield Floral Arts Guild is a non-profit organization with the Haddonfield Methodist Church. David, the Director, is a family friend. Because they’re a non-profit group, they only charge you for the flowers and to cover their costs. All the labor is donated by their volunteers. We got SO many flowers for the money. We just did bouquets, bouts, corsages, and single stems (no centerpieces). We used 5 different colors of orange roses, mango callas & billy balls. We also had some copper wire “fiddle-faddle” twists for the bouts. The flowers showed up late (so there are several pics without flowers) but I LOVED our flowers. They were gorgeous!!! If you book with them, just know that David is a character. I was very specific about I wanted and they really delivered. Gorgeous.
DJ: Mark Shepard with MusicMasters NJ/PA
Mark was classy and professional. He kept the dance floor packed by playing music that ALL our guests could enjoy. We had several generations in attendance and he did a fantastic job reading the room and playing the right thing. We also loved their interactive website. It made everything SO easy. We could see what they had in their library and add it to our playlist. Everything was in writing and we all stayed on the same page. Both Mark & Mitch (the owner) were incredibly personable and made us feel at ease. Even my Dad loved the music!! And he ALWAYS thinks the music is too loud or annoying.
Cake: Desserts by Design, Audubon, NJ
Mmm…. cake….. Our cake was included with our caterer and this was the baker they chose, so we really didn’t get a vote. However, it tasted AMAZING! It’s a tiny little shop. We went in for a tasting and Renee (I’m not sure how you spell her name. It’s pronounced ree-knee) pulled the samples from things that were out for sale; a slice of pound cake, a chocolate cupcake with buttercream icing, etc. We had a 5 tier cake with 5 different flavors, each a different combination of vanillas and chocolates. They couldn’t get to crazy with the design, so I had to modify my vision a little. I originally wanted the tiers spaced out with ornaments filling in the space. But they could only separate 2 tiers, not all 5. The cake design wasn’t super high on my priority list, so we just did stacked tiers. My cousin Jess & I made a kick ass topper and it looked awesome. More importantly – it tasted SO GOOD!!!!!!!! I’d absolutely use them again; in a heartbeat. We’ll be getting a small cake from there for our 1 year anniversary.
Dress: Chrissy O’s Bridal, Newton NJ (ordered over the phone)
Finding my dress was no easy task. I shopped around for MONTHS; narrowed it down to what I wanted in a dress (A-line, strapless, some lace, corset back, decent size train) and found that a ton of Maggie Sottero dresses fit the bill. DH & I drove to Taunton, MA for a Maggie trunk show to see a particular dress. Hated the intended dress but found this one – Maggie Sottero “Ramona”. The trunk show price was NOT a good deal. They wanted $975 plus a “special discount” of $100. “Thanks but no thanks” and I left to shop around. See price comparison chart for all the details but, in the end, Chrissy O’s saved me 40%.
I called and ordered over the phone. Petite length is no extra for Maggies (with my shoes I didn’t need a hem). I also ordered 4 yards of extra dress fabric to make a vest and tie for DH. It came in early (mentioned that my OOT BM was coming in for the weekend and they called the manufacturer to see if it could ship early – without me asking) and I drove up to get it. The extra fabric came in a couple weeks later and they shipped it for free (they usually ship the dress for free). HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend them.
Veil: OBridal.com
I originally made myself a cathedral length veil but decided I wanted something shorter with a little embellishment. I did a lot of shopping around and price comparison. Occansey Designs allowed me to easily custom order exactly what I wanted at the best prices. They mailed me samples of their bridal tulle, so I could pick the best color for my dress and it arrived to my door in just over a week.
Here’s what I ended up ordering: single tier, sheer width (54″ wide), 25″ long, ivory shimmer illusion tulle in the standard cut with a cut edge on clear plastic comb. Lightly scattered pearls and crystals all the way around the edges aprox 1.5 inches wide, scattered crystals throughout veil.
Shoes: DSW
I searched Zappos and Shoes.com and about a zillion other online shoe stores but could find anything I liked. Walked into DSW looking for work shoes and – VOILA – found what I was looking for. On sale for about $30. Some things are just meant to be. They lasted me all day and through about half of the reception. Then I switched into silver wedge flip-flops from Old Navy (bought during their end of summer clearance sale)
Accessories:
Brooch: Ebay
Earrings: Khols
Pearl necklace: My Grandmother (my something borrowed)
Alterations: Jan @ Ed’s Tailor Shop, Mt. Holly, NJ
Jan took in my mother’s dress and put a bustle in my gown. She also shortened the sleeves on my grandmother’s outfit, modified the neckline and took in the skirt (there was a LOT of work on that garment!). Everything came out spectacular! You never would have known she did anything to my gram’s outfit or my mother’s gown. Both looked like they were made that way. I LOVED my bustle. It was perfect for my dress and stayed all night.
DH’s Custom Vest: Jan @ Ed’s Tailor Shop, Mt. Holly, NJ
We have used Jan for years, so we knew the quality of work Jan does. She’s very good but it was also a great learning experience for me. If you’re having something made from scratch, make sure you go in and look at it yourself. I just sent Mr.CarrieGrace and he didn’t really know what to look for. So, I missed the opportunity to make some changes to the garment before it was finalized.
DH isn’t a small man. Jan had to enlarge the pattern and overall, she did a really good job. Being that I sew myself, I thought I’d have done a few things differently; the points at the bottom were WAY to big (looked like wings) and it was a little snug. But his jacket covered most of the “wings” and the top of the vest looked great. And she was the best deal ($) around. Way cheaper than anyone else was charging.
DH’s & Man of Honor Ties: Michael Lamont Neckwear, Newark NJ
Amazing. This custom tie guy rocks. I brought him the fabric for both ties and he just charged me for the labor ($35/ea tie). Originally I planned on making them myself but that was such a great price, I was stoked to get it off my TO DO list. The ties came out beautiful!! They’d make great gifts. We’ll def. use him again. Cannot recommend him enough.
Bridesmaid’s Dresses: made by Mom & I; Fabric – Jack B. Fabrics, Philly PA
Jack B. is fantastic! They are the same shop we got the fabric for my prom dress back in high school. I couldn’t find anything commercial in a color I loved for bridesmaids dresses, so we decided to make them ourselves. Each girl picked a pattern they liked, so they’re all different. The dresses are made out of a dark rust crepe back satin. It was more work but SO much cheaper. The fabric was $7/yard (about 3 yards per dress) plus notions (thread, zippers, etc.). They have such a wonderful selection of fabrics and can special order just about anything. Our order took about a week to arrive (we got about 50 yards of fabric – which was a lot extra but we used it for other DIY projects)
MOB Dress: Irma’s Bridal, Cherry Hill NJ
In the long and exhaustive search for my dress, we must have visited Irma’s 3 or 4 times. Then when my mom was looking for hear dress, we probably went back another 6. The staff was always pleasant and helpful. They let us look through the racks all we wanted and try on as many things as we wanted. Pictures aren’t allowed but you can usually nab a few in the dressing room, if a friend or other customer can distract the associate. I would HIGHLY recommend taking pictures of anything before you buy. My mom nearly bought a monochromatic dress with 2 fabrics (ciffon and satin). When we took pictures of it, the light absorbed into each fabric differently and she looked like a jester. She ended up buying a navy blue strapless taffeta dress. It was gorgeous; formal without being gaudy.
Invitations: Designed by me, assembled by us and our amazing friends & family. Please see the invite page for more details.
Pocketfolds: TextstyleDesigns.com, in Pennyite – I wanted a very specific pocketfold. This site carried the Envelopments Product line for the cheapest price I could find (in-store or online). Their website was easy to use and the shipping was rather quick.
Paper: We got paper at 2 places but mostly from PaperandMore.com
Used Warm White text weight & card stock, Metallic Copper text weight & card stock. Paper & More had the cheapest paper around and the lowest shipping costs ($3.99 ground). The orders always shipped out early but the ground shipping did take a couple weeks; which was fine since I was earlier out in my planning. I did call the cutting myself.TextStyleDesigns.com for creme Brulee cardstock (see above)
Hair & Make-up: Moments Salon & Spa, Rt. 38, Mt. Laurel, NJ
Tessa did my hair & Lori did my make-up. Lori is my regular waxer/facial-ist (is that a word??) but it was my first time with Tessa. I did a trial with both and I think the final result speaks for itself. They are both such sweet people! The morning of the wedding, we took over the salon. 6 bridesmaids, 2 mothers, 3 aunts and a grandmother ALL got their hair done, some got make-up too. Lori did MOG’s make-up and Fae did MOB’s. The mom’s got a bagel tray from the place next door and Moments has a room that has a little cafe table and chairs. It was the perfect staging area for the food and all our stuff.
Rehearsal Dinner: Villa Barone, Collingswood, NJ
We had about 70 people for our rehearsal dinner and the staff at Villa Barone were amazing. The food was delicious and my MIL said it was very reasonably priced. It was BYOB, so we were able to bring in whatever wine we wanted (which, of course, called for a “wine tasting party” in the months preceeding the wedding).
Photobooth: Masters of Fun
The photobooth was the biggest hit of the evening! People got such a kick out of it! It made our guests feel like kids, even for just a moment. There was line ALL night. The staff at MoF had everything set-up on time and helped our guests put their pics in the album – which they also supplied. It is SO much fun to go back and look through. One of my favorite picture strips is of our typically serious great aunt, with her sister and brother all squished together, in the booth, making funny faces with their tongues out. This was probably the one “splurge” thing we had and I am SO glad we didn’t cut it from the budget. We have the best guest book ever!!
Boudoir Pics: Kamila Harris or her Blog
I did b-pics as a wedding present for my hubby and Kamila did an amazing job. She was so much fun to work with and put me right at ease. I felt comfortable and that really came through in the pics. Her make-up/hair gal did a brilliant job. I felt gorgeous. If you’re thinking about doing these – JUST DO IT! When I’m old and saggy, I’ll have these pics to look back on and prove I was once hot. Check out my b-pic tips page for some quick pointers.
Bags, gift wrap & More: Nashville Wraps
This website was like a candy store for me! Here’s what we used:
- Milk & Cookie Bags: 5.25×3.25×8.50 Clear Frosted Bags
- Out of Town Bags: 8×4x10 Clear Frosted Bags
- Wrapping Paper for everything: Copper Kraft
- Ivory Ribbon: 3/8″ for Favor Tags Ties & 1.5″ for Gift Wrapping
Christmas Ball Ornaments: Christmas Lights Etc.
- Used 10, 1.25″ Champagne Pearl Ornaments per tree
- Cake Topper: some 1.25″ Champagne Pearl Ornaments & some 1.5″ Cognac Matte Ornaments
- NOTE: Colors on website do NOT look the same as in real life. Order the sampler if you need a specific color
Hotel: Wyndham, Rt. 73, Mt. Laurel NJ
We booked rooms at the Wyndham because they had a restaurant in house and gave us a decent rate. We stayed their for our wedding night and the room was nice enough. Not incredibly snazzy but the bed was comfortable and there was free champagne. Sunday morning, we had breakfast with our guests down at the restaurant and it was very tasty. Omlettes were cooked to order, nice selection of hot food, fresh fruit, bagels, etc. The restaurant is a little small and there were other people there, so seating was kind of an issue. People seemed to eat in shifts and it worked out ok but a larger space would have been nice. But the service was good, they gave out our OOT bags, and we slept great.
