Flowers: Allison McGeary, A+ (and then some)
The flowers were AMAZING! I was SO, SO, SOOOOO PLEASED! I just can't say enough about how beautiful they were. Allison managed to get sweet pea for my bouquet, which wasn't even in the quote as they aren't in season. That was a wonderful surprise. I personally think the bouquet Allison made was much, much prettier than the picture from MS Weddings that I gave her to work from, and the bouquet from the magazine was gorgeous. The sweet pea in my bouquet only started to wilt, just a little bit, yesterday, and the purple roses just a little bit today. I put my bouquet in water fairly early into the reception but it had been out of water for at least five hours before that and it still looks wonderful. The bm's bouquets were gorgeous! We had a problem with them (we were short a bouquet) and even that turned out great because Allison is such a professional. I didn't even notice we were short, my moh pointed it out. Allison was MORTIFIED, and I do mean mortified. My moh came up with the idea of making her a bouquet that was different, since Allison did't have any more mini callas with her but did have others. Allison banged out a BEAUTIFUL moh bouquet in about 15 minutes of lisianthus, carnations, roses and bear grass. It was different from the other girls but similar to mine, and since moh bouquets are often different anyways it totally worked. It was really beautiful. Allison insisted on refunding me the cost of the bouquet she forgot, which I told her she didn't have to do (and meant it), and at the same time it was nice to know that she was so serious about being responsible for her work, even the mistakes.
You can't go wrong with Allison, imho. Her work is fantastic, her service impeccable, and she's just a sweetheart on top of it all.
Catering/Event Planning: Yes We Cater, Food - A+; Event Planning - D
The food was fantastic! It was delicious and the presentation was beautiful. Many of our guests told Drew and I, as well as my parents, that the food was the best food that they had ever had at a wedding (or that they'd ever had ever.) The sushi bar in particular was a big hit, and more than one person (including me) really enjoyed how the pasta was prepared individually using whichever ingredients & sauce you wanted. I was very, very, very pleased with the food. I only wish I had been able to eat more of it!
Unfortunately, I cannot say the same of YWC's event planning services. Things started off well enough and John did a very impressive job of paring down the estimate so that it was more in our price range. As we got closer to the event, however, it became apparent that there had been some miscommunication about some pretty big issues. We found out nine days before the wedding that the tent we were using didn't hold 120 people AND the food stations, etc., but only 120 people seated. That distinction had not been made clear to me and since we had been planning for the food stations, dance floor, bar, & etc. to be in the tent from the start, when I heard it could hold 120 people I figured that was also with all the other stuff, too, because that's what we'd been talking about. When the guest list got a little bigger, I didn't think anything of it because I thought the tent was big enough based on what they had told me. Finding out we needed more tents (and thus more money for them) 9 days before the wedding was a development I was not prepared for and one that caused an enormous amount of anxiety and stress. I don't think this miscommunication was intentional on anyone's part, and I do bear some responsibility for it. I also think that the professionals in such an instance bear a larger portion of the responsibility for making sure everyone is on the same page by virtue of the fact that this is what they are being paid to do. They got us the two extra tents that we needed for the price of one.
My other major complaint was when the dinner tables were not set up correctly and how they dealt with it (or rather, how they didn't.) My parent's yard has a slope to it and while YWC said it was no problem when they first came to check out the yard I knew that it was a challenge we had to contend with. I didn't expect perfection, I did expect usability. John made a big deal of coming to set up the tables personally, so they'd be done right, but they weren't set up right. They were unstable and wobbly. We couldn't very well have guests eating at tables where their plates might slide and glasses tip simply by being set on a table that was not level enough, never mind if the table was jostled, because, as I said, they were wobbly, in some instances very much so.
To add to the whole situation, my SIL couldn't set up the centerpieces in their 24" high vases (filled with glass marbles, so they weighed a ton) because she was afraid they'd tip over, and on most of the tables they would have. When I called John to tell him that I was unhappy with the tables not being set up properly and how were they going to deal with it/would someone be coming out to fix it, his entire approach/reaction left so much to be desired that I am still, quite frankly, astonished that anyone could respond to a client so poorly. I explained the situation and he asked me what I meant, so I explained again and said at minimum they should have shimmed up the tables (i.e. evened them out with wood shims/blocks.) Then he said how there was a slope in the yard and I couldn't expect them to be level, and I said I knew there was a slope and I wasn't expecting perfection, but I did expect stability, at minimum, and then reiterated that they had not been set up properly and that I wasn't happy about it and what were they going to do about it? Then he said, "Anne, I have to disagree with you", and I completely FLIPPED OUT! Wrong answer, wrong approach, wrong everything, especially to the bride coming off all the anxiety about the tent. It would have been one thing if I was wrong, but I wasn't and I knew I wasn't. There's not a bride in the world that should have to tell a vendor that she's not paying them almost $10G to disagree with her, but guess what I essentially ended up saying? Exactly that.
The upshot of that conversation was that my Dad, brother and a bm's boyfriend spent an hour cutting wood blocks, shimming up the tables and digging holes on the opposite sides of the shimmed legs so the tables would be level, stable and wouldn't tip regardless of where stuff was put on them. My dad is a carpenter (my brother too) so he has lots of wood, circular and table saws to get the job done, but he'd also had cataract surgery on Tuesday and was only allowed to do so much. Luckily my also-a-carpenter brother was in from Kentucky for the wedding. If a person didn't have the materials and equipment at their disposal that my dad has, as well as the expertise, I don't want to even think about how many trips to Home Depot they would have had to make or how much time the task would have taken. My mom told me that at the reception John asked her how we got the tables leveled out & stabilized. Yeah... (rolling eyes)
There was no attempt made to level out the dance floor, which was not even installed until some time on Saturday. I had been told they'd bring in as much sand as necessary to level it out but that didn't happen. I was never told the dance floor would not be installed correctly (i.e. as I had been assured it would be, leveled out), or why. By the time the reception rolled around and I found out about the dance floor it was too late to do anything about it. One section of the tent that had four (of eleven) tables in it was very cold by all accounts, although I think that had more to do with the shapes of the tents than the heating units, which worked quite well. Perhaps some fans would have taken care of that.
Don't get me wrong, there were things that YWC did well. The linens were wonderful, the china was beautiful. The bartender they lined us up with was very good and a total sport about having the bar outside (under a huge old tree so very sheltered) for most of the evening. The tents were very beautiful even though we needed more and spent more than we'd initially planned for. My wedding was wonderful despite all the things that YWC did poorly or didn't do at all. I had a great time, as did our guests, and the food was fantastic. YWC are wonderful caterers, and the things that caterers do they can do for you (like rental of china, linens, bar staff, etc.) but in my opinion they are not event planners. They facilitated rentals, which any caterer worth their salt will do for a wedding, but they did not plan the event in the manner that I have subsequently heard that other event planners do. A good event planner will present you with options so that, if you want, all you have to do is choose from those options if that's the level of involvement you desire. That wasn't the case with YWC when I used them. Their customer service and problem-solving leaves way too much to be desired in my opinion, especially when confronted with situations where they think a situation can't be improved upon or solved but you know it can (like the tables), or if it's something they just don't want to deal with.
It wasn't just these two incidents that soured my opinion of them. They were super available during the sale but once we signed the contract they fell off the face of the earth. All along they were slow to return phone calls. I cut them slack because my wedding was months away but as it got closer that got to be very annoying and frustrating. They were vague in their answers to our questions to the point that my mother felt they were being evasive while we discussed the menu at the three day meeting. Whenever I'd express concern about something John would come back with "Your wedding's gonna be great, Anne!"; or, "All you're going to have to do is show up on the wedding day and enjoy yourself!", neither of which had anything to do with what I was asking him. Unfortunately by the time I realized that I had a problem it was too late to reconsider our options, time & money-wise. I do not recommend them as event planners, because they aren't. They are personable and quite charming, especially during the sale, but apart from catering what they offer in the way of event planning is, in my opinion, more style than substance (and that's being exceptionally generous.)
When a vendor promises the moon & the stars, and YWC did, then they need to deliver the moon & the stars. YWC didn't.
Dress, Carlisle's of Pgh, A; Alterations, Clarissa's Boutique, A+
Carlisle's was great; easy to deal with, I was very happy with all my interactions with them. Clarissa's was WONDERFUL!!!! Gretchen was a doll and very understanding of my concerns, and the price was super reasonable.
DJ Andy Hutelmeyer, A+
Andy was great! He was super professional, easy to work with, and kept the dance floor hopping all night long. He played all the music we wanted, was very flexible about nixing introductions that just didn't make sense given the flow of the reception, and was great about the photographer using the dance floor to get more bridal party pics (see photography review.) I just can't say enough about what a pleasure it was to work with Andy, and I can't recommend him highly enough.
Photography, Chris Chirdon, A+; Laurence Goodby, A+
Our pictures are wonderful! Chris is a childhood friend who only does wedding photography for friends; we were lucky enough to qualify. I just got the proofs book a few weeks ago and it is so much fun to see all the moments he captured. He really got the overall feel of the day, and our portraits are phenomenal!!! He took another complete set of bridal party pics inside the tent because he wasn't happy with how the outdoor ones were turning out on account of the drizzling rain (he ran up to his parents house (two up from my folks) to download the pictures so he'd have more room on the card & to see how they were turning out.) He was also not feeling well at the wedding or for the two days prior but he didn't say anything until he was leaving. Poor guy! I really appreciated him going the extra mile for us when he wasn't feeling well, and I am really looking forward to seeing our pictures!
Laurence's pictures were just amazing. Amazing! I never knew he was taking them and he captured so many amazing moments. He is so creative and took many pictures that are among my favorites, like the lanterns one in my signature (in fact, both the pictures in my signature are his.) Laurence also took most of his pictures using high speed film instead of a flash, which I am so thankful for because his pictures really capture the golden-y warmth of the tent. The pictures taken with a flash completely lost the glow created by the lanterns and the candles (we had super low overhead lighting), but Laurence's pictures have it in spades. Between Chris & Laurence we have such amazing pictures, which was obviously very important to us!
Cake, Chatellier's French Bakery, A+
Jean-Marc rocks! The cake was as excellent as I knew it would be. I had so many guests tell me it was wonderful, the best cake (or best non-chocolate cake) that they'd ever had, etc., but here's the real proof of how good it was: Drew finalized our order with 150 servings, since we were getting sheet cakes of 50 slices each. There was not one crumb of cake left at the end of the night! I was so looking forward to having lemon-raspberry cake left over and was S.O.L. I'd have had more than the four bites I had if I'd know people were going to gobble it up like that, but I am glad that the cake was such a hit! Since the lemon-raspberry cake is a refrigerated cake and Jean-Marc doesn't make wedding cakes with it he made us a beautiful fake presentation cake. It was really pretty and gave the guests something to look at. In fact, several people asked me why we weren't cutting THAT cake, too. The French Bakery isn't cheap, but it's worth every penny!
Tuxedos, Top Hat Tuxedos (McKnight-Siebert Mall), A+
The tuxes were great! They were reasonably priced, the tailor at Top Hat was a pleasure to work with, and every tux fit perfectly, which is saying something when your wedding party includes one guy who is 5'10" & 135 lbs, another who is 5'11" and 280 lbs, and another who is 6'6" and 250 lbs! Both our largest and smallest groomsmen both said it was the best fitting tux they'd ever had. Our tall guy didn't arrive until late Friday and called his wife from the shop on Saturday morning to tell her he just might buy a tux from them because he'd never had any suit fit so well. I was there when my brother tried his on for the first time the day before the wedding as he'd been out of town too and I could hear the surprise in his voice that it fit him so perfectly.
Invitations, iCatching Cards (www.icatchingcards.com), A
I loved our invitations! And so did our guests... two people gave us framed invitations as a present, which is so, so nice. iCatching Cards' invitations were more than I wanted to spend initially but they were totally worth it. Customer service is fantastic, they were totally willing to customize, and the turn around time was really fast! Overall they are a great vendor to work with. I enthusiastically recommend them.
Votives, Instawares Office Supply, B
Our votives were back ordered so they took a long time to get to us, but when I needed to order more and they were in stock we had them within a week. The candles were great and burned within 15 minutes of their advertised burn time.
Hair & Manicures/Pedicures, Freestyle Hair Body & Soul Day Spa, A+
Freestyle was great! I've been getting my hair cut at Freestyle, by Carolyn, since I moved to Pgh in 2002 and she did an amazing job on my hair. She did my color & highlights the week before. We didn't do a hair trial, just talked about it & I brought in a picture, and you can see for yourself in my bio just how beautiful my hair looked. Not one of my four bm's who got an updo had a clear idea of what she wanted, just a general one (if any), and every one of them got really fabulous up-dos that they were all very happy with. Me too! Manicures & Pedicures were also wonderful. We had a lot of fun, Connie, who did my French manicure, was just sensational! You can get a glass of wine while you're chilling with your feet soaking, which helped me the day before and day of the wedding! Freestyle is just an all-around great salon, and I recommend without reservation!!!
Bridesmaid dresses/fabric, Transprism Artline, http://www.transprism.com/, A+
I ordered the fabric for all of the bm's dresses from Transprisms, an online merchant out of Shanghai, and was very happy with them. The fabric was a really reasonable price and of good quality. They were quick about responding to my questions and very helpful in general. When my MOH's seamstress totally trashed the dress she was making for her, she was able to order a custom made dress from Transprisms in the same fabric. It was slightly different style-wise and embellishment-wise, but since she was the MOH that was just fine. They have a page on their site instructing one how to make all the necessary measurements for custom clothes. She got the dress in plenty of time, it fit, and she looked wonderful. They all looked wonderful! It could not have worked out better!
Makeup, Lisa Wright, my cousin, A+
Here we lucked out: my MOH, my cousin Lisa, worked for Lancôme for about ten years and is an expert make up artist. She not only did my make up, but all of the girls' too. That wasn't really planned and I felt bad about it, but she was a real sport, and I totally appreciate it because she made us all look beautiful. Thank you, cuz!
DVD, by Pgh Wedding DVD, A+
Our video is AMAZING! Kevin just did a superb job and I cannot say enough about it. He is using our video as one of the samples on his site, so if you want to check it out go to Pittsburgh Wedding DVDs, click on the samples page, and we are the first couple on the left in the middle row. The editing, the moments he captured, I am just so thrilled. From a customer service and professionalism standpoint I am very happy with Pgh Wedding DVD. Kevin and Candace came to our rehearsal dinner to check out the layout, sight lines, and to see find out who was who. At the wedding they seemed to always be in the right place to catch whatever was going on without being intrusive. They weren't making things happen for the video, which I personally do not like, but instead documenting events. Kevin was great to deal with; very open to and flexible about my suggestions, and very quick in responding to my questions. I would recommend them to any bride without reservation.
I have probably forgotten some things, but if I remember anything I will be sure to add it to this review. Hope it helps you out with your planning!