Hi Ladies! I haven’t been on in a long time and didnt post too much when I was, but I was recommending this site to someone the other day and that got me thinking that I never did post a vendor review because I wasn’t up to it at the time but I am now and I know how helpful that can be to brides in the planning stages, especially for Durham region venues! First I guess I should give a wee bit of background information about my wedding to help explain my vendor “grading” a bit. Most of you probably won’t remember, but my father passed away somewhat unexpectedly 2 weeks before my wedding. The way I felt then is inexplicable, but the best I can come up with is just imagine trying to have the happiest day of your life in the midst of the most horrible time of your life, conflicting to say the least. The point of this anyway, is that all of my vendors were wonderfully understanding and so flexible with all of the changes I needed to make and me giving them information sooo much later than they would probably have normally needed it. Because of this I think almost all of my vendors deserve 1 million out of 10, but I know that most brides won’t be dealing with anything of that sort, so I will do my best to grade them as if things had been more “normal” Reception Venue – Ajax Hilton Garden Inn 10/10 The Hilton was FANTASTIC. DH and I were soo happy with our choice when all was said and done. I know they have built the convention centre now, but I have no experience with that as our reception was in the actual hotel. I dealt with 3 different people over the course of the year we were planning our wedding and they were all wonderful and the change in staff didn’t affect our service level in the least. The Hilton really is a one stop wedding place. We had so many extra things included like centerpieces, set-up, decent head table décor, cake cutting etc. We had to do almost nothing on our wedding day. The food was AMAZING. Everyone raved about it and I really couldn’t have been happier, everything from hors d’oeuvres to late night sweets was perfection. Bar service was great! My silly Uncle even started serving people at the bar when the bartended stepped away for a moment, which was totally inappropriate and illegal of him, but they simply told him politely that he couldn’t do that. I didn’t even know it happened until my mom told me a few weeks later. The Hilton also let us use their lobby for pictures which turned out beautifully. I also overpaid them by $1000 when I brought the final cheque before the reception because I had forgotten about the deposit we already paid before, but it was no big deal, they reimbursed me the money promptly after the wedding. The co-ordinator I hardly knew even gave me a big hug and sincerely offered to do anything that we needed when I came in for my final meeting shortly after my father died. I could not speak any higher of this venue DJ – Extreem DJ services 10/10 I will admit I was a little skeptical about using this company in the beginning. DH is Greek and Greek music was of the utmost importance to him. I initially felt they were overpriced, but knew how much it meant to DH, so I agreed. After our final meeting before the wedding, I still felt a little uneasy, I can’t really put my finger on why, I just felt like things were going to turn out different than I was hoping. Well, I couldn’t have been more wrong. Angelo was fantastic. I had to email him last minute to change everything, no father/daughter or mother/son dances, no songs mentioning anything about parents/children etc, no speech to be made by my father and on and on. He followed all of my wishes exactly, switched very nicely between Greek and English music and had the dance floor packed the whole night, which is an enormous feat for my family because they simply do not dance, but most of them were on the floor shaking it all night! Photography – Karolin Balash Photography (called BK Gallery I think now) 10/10 Karolin was wonderful. I had the hardest time choosing a photographer because we didn’t have a huge budget, but I wanted nice pictures. Although she was priced a little above what we wanted to spend, I thought she was still a steal for the quality of her pictures and I also saw on her gallery that she had photographed Orthodox weddings before which was important to me. On the day of the wedding she was fantastic. DH said she arrived to the church earlier than needed (we didn’t do any “getting ready” pictures”) and started taking pictures even though she wasn’t contractually obliged to take any pictures yet. He also said she asked him how I was doing and if she should tone herself down or if it was going to be a happy day, which to me was above and beyond. She could have just viewed it as a pay cheque, but she didn’t. She made everybody laugh during pictures so we have so many beautiful natural smiles and I am just so happy with all of our pictures. Transportation – Request Limo 10/10 DH and I had no intention of having a limo. My dad was going to drive the girls, my mom and I in his truck and DH’s parents were going to bring all the guys in their van and DH and I were going to leave the Church in our car. It was just too painful to use my dad’s truck so we booked a limo extremely last minute. Request was great. They gave us a wonderful rate because it was off season and so last minute. The driver was on time, extremely polite and we got everything we needed. Flowers – Michaels – 10/10 I’ll be honest flowers were of almost no importance to me. I was planning on making them myself when one day I was in Michaels and I saw red rose bouquets on for $13.99. I thought, why not? And purchased 5, one for me and 4 for the girls. I found matching flowers in their floral department and made my own bouts and corsages for next to nothing. They look stunning in the pictures and no one can believe I picked them up pre-made for less than $15. I would recommend this route to any bride who isn’t too concerned with flowers and is on a budget! Here is a picture of the flowers: 
Hair – Aquilibrium Salon and Spa – 9/10 The only reason I am giving them a 9 is because we ran a little late, I had left a bit of room so it didn’t matter, but they didn’t know that, so I will take away one point for that, but otherwise everyone was happy with their hair and makeup. Freeman’s Formalwear – 6/10 The guys looked great, but there were some bumps in the road. We picked Freeman’s because we were told you could go into any store in Canada and be measured and have the measurements sent to any other store in Canada. This was great for us because one of our groomsmen was in Saskatchewan. For whatever reason the store in Saskatchewan would not co-operate, so our groomsman had to be measured elsewhere and send the measurements to us and we had to take them to our local store. It wasn’t a huge deal, but I don’t see the point of advertising something like that if it doesn’t really exist. Also, when the guys picked up their tuxes they ALL had at least one item that didn’t fit right. All was fixed prior to the big day, but it was just an inconvenience I didn’t need to deal with. I wrote a polite complaint the head office but have never heard anything back from them. Those are my main vendors. Almost everything else was DIY or made by friends and family. I just wanted to end my super long review with a little note from my heart to the brides to be: Some people say that weddings bring out the worst in people and they certainly can, but also remember that weddings can bring out the best in people too. I had so many offers of help to pull things together at the last minute and even had several male friends / relatives offer to walk me down the aisle if needed, which was just so touching. Every bride deserves to have things go the way they planned and all of their little details executed the way they wanted and to have their day exactly as they have envisioned it for the longest time. But again, also remember what truly, truly, matters. I would have walked down the aisle in a garbage bag if it meant I could have had my Dad walking with me, or had a special dance with him and I think most of you would feel the same. So, all I am really trying to say is enjoy your day and remember all of the wonderful things you DO have when thins DON’T go the way you planned, of course you can be upset, but don’t dwell to much, as they say… Keep the love and throw away the rest! Steph
Stephanie and Christos January 12th, 2008
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