We liked the Halcyon. It was very pretty, quiet, and serene. In that sense, it lived up the reviews we'd read. But somehow, I was underwhelmed. To be fair, we did have much of our trip affected by the hurricane. Yes, we got lucky compared to much of the island, and maintained power and running water for the whole time. But I still felt like things could've gone much more smoothly. When I write this review (like I did for TripAdvisor), I feel kind of like maybe I'm being a spoiled brat. But I promose that I'm trying hard to keep my review of the resort separate from my review of their handling of the situation. So...here goes:
The Halcyon was beauiful. For a laid back, easy-to-please, not-too-picky couple, it was just right. It wasn't a loud party spot. They didn't try to force you into group activities. There were plenty of places you could hide out to be alone.
The restaurants were a bit of a let-down. The Pier was written up as having "the best Caribbean food on the island." I'd have to disagree. Don't get me wrong, it was really good, but it certainly didn't rock my socks off. Same with Mario's. I was actually really disappointed in Mario's. I ordered a penne dish with chicken and spinach in a garlic creme sauce - the creme sauce was runny, there was no garlic that I could taste, and I'm pretty sure it was tuna. Good thing I'm not allergic to seafood, cuz that could've been a huge problem! The Bayside was good. Breakfast was a buffet and it had pretty much everything you could dream of. Dinners were sometimes buffet and sometimes a la carte. I probably would have appreciated it more had we not had to have it for 5 days straight after the hurricane.
The beach bar was good. They had all-you-can eat nachos, and the ham and cheese sandwich was actually quite delicious. For a casual, quick meal, you couldn't really go wrong there. The Irie bar and the pool bars were good - drinks were made well, they were strong, and you get them quickly.
The staff were all pretty nice. The bartenders were great, especially Aaron and Rita. Aaron bounced around a bit (at the pool bar or at the Irie bar), but we usually only saw Rita at night at the Irie bar. Rita was the only one who knew how to make a good dirty martini, so she quickly won our favor. The waitstaff in the restaurants were kind of slow, but then again - it's the Caribbean, and everything moves a bit slower there. So that didn't really bother me. It's kind of nice to be able to sit and relax and not worry about all the hustle and bustle.
I definitely think communication could have been better. About everything, but especially regarding the hurricane. We didn't even know a storm was coming, let alone a hurricane. They certainly spent time printing notes and slipping them under our doors, so I think a note on Friday afternoon warning "A storm is approaching the island. We will take all measures necessary to ensure your trip is not interrupted" or something along those lines would have gone a long way. Once the storm hit, I still felt like communication was lacking. We had absolutely no idea, until we got to the other resort, that our flights were cancelled. We had no idea how we were going to get to the airport. We basically had to beg for help. And every time I approached the desk with a question, I felt like they were annoyed. I'm sympathetic that they were overwhelmed and that they were concerned for their homes and families. But rather than huffing and giving me a nasty response, just smile and tell me you're working on it. When the shuttles weren't running, and we asked them to call a cab for us to take us to one of the resorts, they basically tried to talk us out of it. It's not like by staying there we're spending any money or anything!
Same goes with the tours desk. We went to discuss our cancelled tours with the person at the desk and kept being told "Check in tomorrow." Finally, on our last day, we said "It's clear we're not going to do any of these. What do we do?" And he just said, "I'll let the operators know you're cancelling your reservations." I had to kind of fight with them to get our money back - we didn't cancel the tours, we weren't able to do them because of weather! And their policy says that you can get your money back if the tour is cancelled due to extreme weather conditions. So that was annoying.
However. I know that this sounds mostly negative and like I wouldn't recommend it. But I would. Like I said, I think a lot of our negative experiences were due mostly to the hurricane. Had Hurricane Tomas not hit and wreaked havoc on our honeymoon, I'd probably have some different things to say about the whole thing. So, would I recommend the Halcyon to other honeymooners? Absolutely. It really is a beautiful resort. And even though it's small and the dining options are limited, you can go between the 3 resorts for free, which opens up your dining options from 4 restaurants to, like, 20. They offer a ton of excursions. They have games and group activities available but you can decline or completely avoid participation if you want to.
So that's it. Our Caribbean honeymoon. I really want to take Matt back to the Caribbean sometime soon so he can really do some snorkeling and see the true crystal-clear turquoise waters. Someday...
New last name. Same old Emma.
Showing posts with label review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label review. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Friday, December 10, 2010
Vendor Review - Cocoa Couture
As I'm writing these Vendor Review posts, I count myself among the really lucky brides. Every single experience I had in planning our wedding was at the very least good, if not better. Every one of our vendors did exactly as we asked/anticipated, were there for us, answered our questions, provided a good service, and did it all with a smile on their faces. All of that = no meltdowns on wedding day = one very happy couple. Yay!
Anyway, back to the review. Cocoa Couture is a dress shop located right in Hershey (I know, shocking - a business with the word "cocoa" in it in Hershey). It is relatively new; maybe 3 years old or so? I just know that I didn't remember noticing it until my sister got engaged, which was 3 years ago. It's right along the main street in Hershey.
It's a pretty little building. When you first walk in, you're greeted with a big stone fireplace. If you go to the right, you'll find the bridal party/prom and mother-of-the dresses. To the left, is the bridal room. Hundreds of dresses. Since I was (oh, who I am kidding...AM) an avid watcher of Say Yes to the Dress, I handled the sight of hundreds of white dresses hanging along the walls of the enormous room just fine. However, I could easily see how it could be overwhelming for some. Cocoa Couture carries tons of designers - David Tutera, Nicole Miller, Pronovias - plus, they have an in-house designer, Daniel Thompson.
I went shopping with my mom, my sister/MOH Callie, and my MIL. We walked in and immediately were greeted by our consultant, Amy. Amy sent my entourage into the bridal room, while she and I sat down to talk about what I was looking for. I told her a bit about the wedding and showed her the picture of the dress I had fallen in love with. It was an Augusta Jones. I knew Cocoa Couture carried Augusta Jones, so I was hoping against hope that they had it. I showed Amy the picture and asked if they had it. She knew they didn't. She asked me what it was I liked about that dress so much, then looked at a few other pictures. She knew they had something really similar to the Augusta Jones, so she sent me into the bridal room to start pulling dresses with my crew, while she went around the store and searched for the dress she had in mind. About 20 minutes later, she showed up, triumphant. My mom, sister, MIL, and I had, in the meantime, pulled about a dozen other dresses. She was so excited that she had found the dress she was looking for, so she put me in that one first. My heart kind of stopped. She'd nailed it. It was everything I'd been hoping for: flowy, comfortable, fun (bubble hem and swiss dot!), ethereal... It was me. I walked out of the dressing room and by the look on my sister's face, I knew she thought it was perfect, too. My mom and MIL both loved it. As we stood there, admiring me in the mirror, Amy said, "You know what this dress reminds me of? You know that Jane Austen novel, Emma?" I just about died. I told her that my nickname is Emma. Also, Matt and I had already designed our cake, and it had swiss dots on it. Hello?!?!
And yet, despite all the signs screaming this this dress was the one and I should just stop shopping, I couldn't bring myself to stop yet. I don't know if it was the fun of trying on pretty white dresses all day, or the knowledge that I had 2 more appointments scheduled that day, but I just couldn't bring myself to say, "This is it. I'm done." I tried on the rest of the dresses we had pulled. Daniel Thompson (the in-house desinger) happened to be there and when I tried on one of his dresses, he helped "jack me up" (to steal a line from Monty on Say Yes to the Dress Atlanta) and I really liked it. But it just wasn't "me." So we walked out of Cocoa Couture, and away from the dress. Oh, did I mention that it was a sample sale dress, so it was nearly 50% off? Yup, I still walked away from it. And we felt absolutely no pressure from Amy or from Cocoa Couture. She basically said, "Look, if you leave here and decide later that you want it, just give us a call. We'll take a deposit over the phone!" No pressure. No guilt trips. Just a friendly reminder that they wouldn't hold it for me, but would happily sell it to me if I decided on it later in the day. We went to my two other appointments, and I found one or two more dresses I liked. I even put a deposit on one! But after we got home, I couldn't stop thinking about the first one. The "Emma" dress. That night, at 9pm, I called Cocoa Couture and left a voicemail that I wanted the dress and to please call me ASAP so I could put down a deposit. Amy called me back on Tuesday (they're closed Sunday and Monday), said "I told you so," then took my deposit over the phone, and the dress was mine. Crisis averted!
In the coming months, I went back a few times for fittings. My seamstress was GREAT. Because of the bubble hem on the dress, she couldn't just hem it like a normal dress. She basically had to take apart the entire bodice at the empire waist, cut it from there, and put it back together. Yikes. She also had to take it in slightly, and move the straps in. And she added cups for me (yay, no bra!). She did an awesome job, and the dress fit me like a dream on the wedding day.
Cocoa Couture was a great shopping experience. The staff were friendly, knowledgeable, and wanted you to feel like a bride and look your best. The prices are kind of high, but they carry higher-end designers, so based on who they carry, you should know what to expect walking in there. They also have a great selection of bridal party gowns, partner with a tux shop, and do stationary there, too. It could be a one-stop shop for the bride who hates to shop! I would definitely recommend Cocoa Couture to any bride in the Central PA area. Definitely.
Anyway, back to the review. Cocoa Couture is a dress shop located right in Hershey (I know, shocking - a business with the word "cocoa" in it in Hershey). It is relatively new; maybe 3 years old or so? I just know that I didn't remember noticing it until my sister got engaged, which was 3 years ago. It's right along the main street in Hershey.
It's a pretty little building. When you first walk in, you're greeted with a big stone fireplace. If you go to the right, you'll find the bridal party/prom and mother-of-the dresses. To the left, is the bridal room. Hundreds of dresses. Since I was (oh, who I am kidding...AM) an avid watcher of Say Yes to the Dress, I handled the sight of hundreds of white dresses hanging along the walls of the enormous room just fine. However, I could easily see how it could be overwhelming for some. Cocoa Couture carries tons of designers - David Tutera, Nicole Miller, Pronovias - plus, they have an in-house designer, Daniel Thompson.
I went shopping with my mom, my sister/MOH Callie, and my MIL. We walked in and immediately were greeted by our consultant, Amy. Amy sent my entourage into the bridal room, while she and I sat down to talk about what I was looking for. I told her a bit about the wedding and showed her the picture of the dress I had fallen in love with. It was an Augusta Jones. I knew Cocoa Couture carried Augusta Jones, so I was hoping against hope that they had it. I showed Amy the picture and asked if they had it. She knew they didn't. She asked me what it was I liked about that dress so much, then looked at a few other pictures. She knew they had something really similar to the Augusta Jones, so she sent me into the bridal room to start pulling dresses with my crew, while she went around the store and searched for the dress she had in mind. About 20 minutes later, she showed up, triumphant. My mom, sister, MIL, and I had, in the meantime, pulled about a dozen other dresses. She was so excited that she had found the dress she was looking for, so she put me in that one first. My heart kind of stopped. She'd nailed it. It was everything I'd been hoping for: flowy, comfortable, fun (bubble hem and swiss dot!), ethereal... It was me. I walked out of the dressing room and by the look on my sister's face, I knew she thought it was perfect, too. My mom and MIL both loved it. As we stood there, admiring me in the mirror, Amy said, "You know what this dress reminds me of? You know that Jane Austen novel, Emma?" I just about died. I told her that my nickname is Emma. Also, Matt and I had already designed our cake, and it had swiss dots on it. Hello?!?!
And yet, despite all the signs screaming this this dress was the one and I should just stop shopping, I couldn't bring myself to stop yet. I don't know if it was the fun of trying on pretty white dresses all day, or the knowledge that I had 2 more appointments scheduled that day, but I just couldn't bring myself to say, "This is it. I'm done." I tried on the rest of the dresses we had pulled. Daniel Thompson (the in-house desinger) happened to be there and when I tried on one of his dresses, he helped "jack me up" (to steal a line from Monty on Say Yes to the Dress Atlanta) and I really liked it. But it just wasn't "me." So we walked out of Cocoa Couture, and away from the dress. Oh, did I mention that it was a sample sale dress, so it was nearly 50% off? Yup, I still walked away from it. And we felt absolutely no pressure from Amy or from Cocoa Couture. She basically said, "Look, if you leave here and decide later that you want it, just give us a call. We'll take a deposit over the phone!" No pressure. No guilt trips. Just a friendly reminder that they wouldn't hold it for me, but would happily sell it to me if I decided on it later in the day. We went to my two other appointments, and I found one or two more dresses I liked. I even put a deposit on one! But after we got home, I couldn't stop thinking about the first one. The "Emma" dress. That night, at 9pm, I called Cocoa Couture and left a voicemail that I wanted the dress and to please call me ASAP so I could put down a deposit. Amy called me back on Tuesday (they're closed Sunday and Monday), said "I told you so," then took my deposit over the phone, and the dress was mine. Crisis averted!
In the coming months, I went back a few times for fittings. My seamstress was GREAT. Because of the bubble hem on the dress, she couldn't just hem it like a normal dress. She basically had to take apart the entire bodice at the empire waist, cut it from there, and put it back together. Yikes. She also had to take it in slightly, and move the straps in. And she added cups for me (yay, no bra!). She did an awesome job, and the dress fit me like a dream on the wedding day.
Cocoa Couture was a great shopping experience. The staff were friendly, knowledgeable, and wanted you to feel like a bride and look your best. The prices are kind of high, but they carry higher-end designers, so based on who they carry, you should know what to expect walking in there. They also have a great selection of bridal party gowns, partner with a tux shop, and do stationary there, too. It could be a one-stop shop for the bride who hates to shop! I would definitely recommend Cocoa Couture to any bride in the Central PA area. Definitely.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Vendor Review - Steele Salon
I might be a little biased, but Steele Salon is the best place in the Hershey/Palmyra/Hummelstown area for hair/makeup services. Why might I be biased? Well, I went to high school with 1/2 the staff. One of the stylists was one of my best friends in high school. One of the other stylists is my "fake" little sister. I kind of love the staff there. On a deep, personal level. It feels like home when I walk into Steele. So when I needed to decide where to get my hair/makeup done for the wedding, there wasn't even a consideration.
I booked 8 appointments (me, my 6 girls, and my mom) with 3 stylists, plus a makeup artists for me. Easy-peasy. We were given Rachel (my stylist/close high school friend), Staci (my "sister"), and Mindi; Sara did my makeup. Rachel has been styling and/or playing with my hair for at least 10 years, so she knows the texture of my hair and what works and doesn't work for me. There was no doubt in my mind that she would do an awesome job on my wedding day look.
We arrived at Steele at 9am. And we basically took over. My dad dropped off bagels from Panera, we brought champagne, and the salon also had champagne and coffee and water for us. There were 8 of us, plus BM Abriel's baby boy and her mom. We were easily more than half of the people in the salon all morning. They had on a fun mix of music, and we basically spent the morning talking, laughing, eating, and sipping mimosas. Kind of a perfect morning with my best girls.
Unfortunately, no one got a picture of our spread, but we had tons of stuff there! We were there till about 1. During the time at the salon, I was calm and relaxed. It didn't feel real yet. And time was moving at a normal pace. In fact, it kind of seemed like it might have been crawling. I just wanted it to be 4:30.
Anyway, this is supposed to be a vendor review, not storytime. Steele Salon was great - accomodating, friendly, quick, and - best of all - talented! Each of my girls looked absolutely beautiful. The stylists really listened to what each girl wanted, and everyone ended up looking like a perfect version of herself. Definitely, definitely, definitely - if you're looking for a salon in Central PA, go to Steele.
*all photos courtesy of BM Mel or BM Tina
I booked 8 appointments (me, my 6 girls, and my mom) with 3 stylists, plus a makeup artists for me. Easy-peasy. We were given Rachel (my stylist/close high school friend), Staci (my "sister"), and Mindi; Sara did my makeup. Rachel has been styling and/or playing with my hair for at least 10 years, so she knows the texture of my hair and what works and doesn't work for me. There was no doubt in my mind that she would do an awesome job on my wedding day look.
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| Me and Rachel. I look 10. And thrilled. |
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| Done. With the feather. |
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| "Sister" Staci and BM Stephy |
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| My sister/MOH Callie, making a mimosa |
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| BM Abriel with her son and her mom |
Unfortunately, no one got a picture of our spread, but we had tons of stuff there! We were there till about 1. During the time at the salon, I was calm and relaxed. It didn't feel real yet. And time was moving at a normal pace. In fact, it kind of seemed like it might have been crawling. I just wanted it to be 4:30.
Anyway, this is supposed to be a vendor review, not storytime. Steele Salon was great - accomodating, friendly, quick, and - best of all - talented! Each of my girls looked absolutely beautiful. The stylists really listened to what each girl wanted, and everyone ended up looking like a perfect version of herself. Definitely, definitely, definitely - if you're looking for a salon in Central PA, go to Steele.
*all photos courtesy of BM Mel or BM Tina
Monday, November 29, 2010
Vendor Review - Linda's Cakery
Our cake was not something we'd planned on. During our first meeting with David (coordinator extraordinaire from JDK), he asked us about the cake. We weren't sold on having a cake-cake. I always thought the tradition of cutting the cake was so weird - nobody really wants to stand around and watch people cut cake. We considered cupcakes, but I felt like cupcakes were so trendy (not just in wedding world, but in the real world, in general). So David suggested doing a display of petits-fours on sticks. Like Cake Pops (which I've totally made and are absolutely freaking awesome)! We loved the idea. So began our search for a bakery who would be willing/able to do this. I must have contacted about 10 bakeries, and each time I was told they couldn't do it, or it was out of our budget. Finally, I got in touch with Linda at Linda's Cakery. She said she could do it for about $1.50 per petit-four. Banking on about 150 people, 2 pops each, we were looking at $450. Well within our budget! We made an appointment to meet with her to see what she could do.
When we got to her bakery (the basement of her home), we were less-than-pleased with what we saw. The petits-fours were enormous (about 3x3x3", not 1x1x1" like we'd been picturing, and they were covered in a messy chocolate ganache rather than a nice smooth fondant. They looked majorly W.T. and we were hugely disappointed. Luckily, Linda herself admitted they looked terrible and said that she realized she couldn't do what we asked. Again, hugely disappointed, but really glad for her honesty. She asked if wanted to look through samples of her previous work. At this point, I was just anxious to make a decision about the cake, so we said sure. We ended up really liking with this one design, and after discussing our colors and such with her, we came up with a good plan for a cake.
Based on our estimated guest list, we ordered a 3-tier cake plus a 1/2 sheet cake. We tasted several different flavors, and ultimately ended up choosing 3: chocolate with peanut butter filling, french vanilla with raspberry ganache, and pink champagne with strawberry whip filling. Each would be covered in white chocolate buttercream. After telling Linda our colors (navy blue, peacock teal, apple green, and brown), she suggested marbling the colors together in order to make it more interesting. OK, so if you remember, this was our inspiration picture:
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| (source) |
Here is what we ended up with:
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| (source) |
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| (photo from my mom) |
LOVE! Not only did Linda make a beautiful cake, but it tasted amazing, as well. And JDK did a great job with adding the flowers/feathers. We ended up with just the 3 tiers - 2 pink champagne and 1 french vanilla. We cancelled the 1/2 sheet cake because our guest list ended up being smaller than we'd anticipated. Initially Linda gave us a hard time about cancelling it - she thought that we would run out of cake. I spoke to David, though, and he assured me that it would be enough.
Looking back, I wish I would've taken Linda's advice so that we could have saved the top tier. We really didn't want to save the top tier, because it sounds just gross, but my sister and her husband also had JDK and she said they wrapped it so well that it still tasted fresh on their year anniversary. Oh well. We still plan to go out and have a wonderful dinner with a beautiful dessert. And I'm actually considering ordering a tiny cake from Linda to surprise Matt for our one-year anniversary.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Vendor Review - MixedUp Productions
Book them. Book them right now.
Ok, seriously. Initially we booked with Top Hat DJs. They were the Bride's Choice winner on Wedding Wire for 2009. They're prices were pretty in line with what we planned to spend. And the communication I had with the DJ was pleasant. Unfortunately, a few weeks after booking with them, I got an email stating that they had accidentally double-booked for our date, and wouldn't be able to DJ our wedding. D'oh!
Blessing in disguise. I swear. I mean, I'm sure Top Hat would've done a great job, but we're so glad we found MixedUp Productions. I don't even remember how I found them; probably Martha Stewart Weddings. My first communication with Mike Miller was great, and I felt really good about booking them. When we finally got the chance to meet Mike, it felt like we'd been friends for years. We bantered back and forth, and he totally got what we wanted. We met him at the radio station where he's a DJ, and so when we mentioned that we wanted to have him edit down our song ("Chasing Cars," by Snow Patrol), he took us right into the studio and remixed it, right in front of us.
He was totally on board with us not wanting to do any of the traditions - the bouquet/garter toss, dollar dance, etc. And he suggested the Kissing Game for during dinner. We gave him a list of couples that he could call one whenever people clinked glasses, and the couple he called on had to get up and kiss (creatively) and then Matt and I had to copy it. It was SO much fun and I'm really glad he suggested it.
The day of the wedding, he came out to say hi when we got the reception and make sure things were moving smoothly. He went over everyone's name again. During dinner, he came over to me and Matt to make sure we were happy and see if we needed anything; he did that throughout the night, as well. He played what we asked him to play, avoided what we asked him to not play, and checked with us before playing something that he considered "questionable." The next day, as I perused facebook, I found that Mike had already put up a slideshow of pictures he'd taken throughout the night set to our song.
Really, we could not be more impressed with Mike and MixedUp Productions. We had so much fun at the wedding, and our dance floor was absolutely packed all night long. Definitely look into them if you're looking for a DJ in the Harrisburg area. You will not be disappointed!
Ok, seriously. Initially we booked with Top Hat DJs. They were the Bride's Choice winner on Wedding Wire for 2009. They're prices were pretty in line with what we planned to spend. And the communication I had with the DJ was pleasant. Unfortunately, a few weeks after booking with them, I got an email stating that they had accidentally double-booked for our date, and wouldn't be able to DJ our wedding. D'oh!
Blessing in disguise. I swear. I mean, I'm sure Top Hat would've done a great job, but we're so glad we found MixedUp Productions. I don't even remember how I found them; probably Martha Stewart Weddings. My first communication with Mike Miller was great, and I felt really good about booking them. When we finally got the chance to meet Mike, it felt like we'd been friends for years. We bantered back and forth, and he totally got what we wanted. We met him at the radio station where he's a DJ, and so when we mentioned that we wanted to have him edit down our song ("Chasing Cars," by Snow Patrol), he took us right into the studio and remixed it, right in front of us.
He was totally on board with us not wanting to do any of the traditions - the bouquet/garter toss, dollar dance, etc. And he suggested the Kissing Game for during dinner. We gave him a list of couples that he could call one whenever people clinked glasses, and the couple he called on had to get up and kiss (creatively) and then Matt and I had to copy it. It was SO much fun and I'm really glad he suggested it.
The day of the wedding, he came out to say hi when we got the reception and make sure things were moving smoothly. He went over everyone's name again. During dinner, he came over to me and Matt to make sure we were happy and see if we needed anything; he did that throughout the night, as well. He played what we asked him to play, avoided what we asked him to not play, and checked with us before playing something that he considered "questionable." The next day, as I perused facebook, I found that Mike had already put up a slideshow of pictures he'd taken throughout the night set to our song.
Really, we could not be more impressed with Mike and MixedUp Productions. We had so much fun at the wedding, and our dance floor was absolutely packed all night long. Definitely look into them if you're looking for a DJ in the Harrisburg area. You will not be disappointed!
Friday, November 12, 2010
Vendor Review - Weddings by JDK
Since it looks like it'll be a while until we have full rights to all of our professional photos, I thought I'd take some time to review our vendors. I have no idea how many (if any) Central PA brides are reading this, but in case you are, hopefully this will help you. So, to kick things off, I'm starting with our biggest vendor - Weddings by JDK.
JDK was our caterer, our florist, our event designer, and our equipment rental company. Our day-of coordinator, David, is one of their lead designers. This was the easiest decision we made, and hands-down the best decision we made (after, you know, agreeing to get married and stuff). To be honest, we didn't even consider another company. My sister had hired JDK for her wedding 2 years ago, and I was really impressed with everything they did for her. Even then, I knew there was no question that we would use JDK when our day arrived.
We called and booked our first appointment with David just a week or so after we got engaged. When we met with him, it instantly confirmed what we already knew - that this was going to be the day of our dreams. We told David our vision - using peacock feathers, casual yet elegant, fun, reflective of who we are - David took it and ran with it. He told us he was going to have fun with our wedding, and boy did he!
Throughout the planning process, David listened to us and reflected our ideas back to us. I showed him inspiration pictures and he pushed the creative envelope on them. We told him ideas and he took them one step further. He made suggestions and offered advice. He created our entire menu based on our likes, dislikes, and things we're "known" for serving at our own parties. Every single time we walked out of his office, we could not stop talking abou thow excited we were to see the whole picture come together. David was so excited about the design he was creating, it made us even more excited.
The days leading up to the wedding were, of course, stressful. But knowing that David would be there, handling any crises that came up, made me feel loads better. David came to our rehearsal and went over the timeline with the entire wedding party. He handed out itineraries to everyone, and provided a timeline and important phone numbers. He stressed to everyone: "If there is a problem, call me. Don't call Erin or Matt. Call me. I will handle it."
The day of the wedding, he was right there. He held my hand and helped me breathe. He made an extra trip to the museum and back to get some arrangements for the church because he didn't like the way the bouquets on the altar looked. He helped to organize the family for family photos. He made sure everyone kept moving and did their job. He kept me and Matt fed, hydrated, and happy. He assigned a waitress just for me and Matt. He corraled the wedding party when we needed them, and sent people on their way when they were crowding us.
The bouquets that JDK created were absolutely breathtaking. They were everything I'd wanted and more. They wired my grandmother's ring right into the flowers, and it looked awesome.
The centerpieces at the reception were just incredible. The tall ones completely blew my expectations out of the water, and the shorter ones were just as elegant.
And the bars. Oh, my God, the bars. I know what you're thinking. "What could possibly be so great about a bar?" Um, this.
JDK also did the flowers for our cake. Hello, lover.
The table layouts looked fantastic. With the navy pintucks and the white dishes and the wine bottles and...and everything. They set up everything. All we had to do was deliver boxes to the museum and they took care of everything - the gift table, the escort card table, the guest book, the group photo sign.
I seriously cannot sing the praises for JDK enough. If any bride is planning a wedding in Central PA, call them. I promise you, you won't regret it. Oh, and look for my sister's picture in the office. And on their website. I'm determined to bump her out, but for now, it's still pretty awesome that she and her husband are featured.
JDK was our caterer, our florist, our event designer, and our equipment rental company. Our day-of coordinator, David, is one of their lead designers. This was the easiest decision we made, and hands-down the best decision we made (after, you know, agreeing to get married and stuff). To be honest, we didn't even consider another company. My sister had hired JDK for her wedding 2 years ago, and I was really impressed with everything they did for her. Even then, I knew there was no question that we would use JDK when our day arrived.
We called and booked our first appointment with David just a week or so after we got engaged. When we met with him, it instantly confirmed what we already knew - that this was going to be the day of our dreams. We told David our vision - using peacock feathers, casual yet elegant, fun, reflective of who we are - David took it and ran with it. He told us he was going to have fun with our wedding, and boy did he!
Throughout the planning process, David listened to us and reflected our ideas back to us. I showed him inspiration pictures and he pushed the creative envelope on them. We told him ideas and he took them one step further. He made suggestions and offered advice. He created our entire menu based on our likes, dislikes, and things we're "known" for serving at our own parties. Every single time we walked out of his office, we could not stop talking abou thow excited we were to see the whole picture come together. David was so excited about the design he was creating, it made us even more excited.
The days leading up to the wedding were, of course, stressful. But knowing that David would be there, handling any crises that came up, made me feel loads better. David came to our rehearsal and went over the timeline with the entire wedding party. He handed out itineraries to everyone, and provided a timeline and important phone numbers. He stressed to everyone: "If there is a problem, call me. Don't call Erin or Matt. Call me. I will handle it."
The day of the wedding, he was right there. He held my hand and helped me breathe. He made an extra trip to the museum and back to get some arrangements for the church because he didn't like the way the bouquets on the altar looked. He helped to organize the family for family photos. He made sure everyone kept moving and did their job. He kept me and Matt fed, hydrated, and happy. He assigned a waitress just for me and Matt. He corraled the wedding party when we needed them, and sent people on their way when they were crowding us.
The bouquets that JDK created were absolutely breathtaking. They were everything I'd wanted and more. They wired my grandmother's ring right into the flowers, and it looked awesome.
The centerpieces at the reception were just incredible. The tall ones completely blew my expectations out of the water, and the shorter ones were just as elegant.
And the bars. Oh, my God, the bars. I know what you're thinking. "What could possibly be so great about a bar?" Um, this.
JDK also did the flowers for our cake. Hello, lover.
The table layouts looked fantastic. With the navy pintucks and the white dishes and the wine bottles and...and everything. They set up everything. All we had to do was deliver boxes to the museum and they took care of everything - the gift table, the escort card table, the guest book, the group photo sign.
I seriously cannot sing the praises for JDK enough. If any bride is planning a wedding in Central PA, call them. I promise you, you won't regret it. Oh, and look for my sister's picture in the office. And on their website. I'm determined to bump her out, but for now, it's still pretty awesome that she and her husband are featured.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Holy. Crap.
You guys. There's only 100 days left until our wedding day! *squeee!*
I feel pretty good about our progress. We have finished a lot of our DIY projects, which is hugely awesome. The absolute last thing I want to do is save things for the very last minute. We still have to print, cut out, and assemble the programs; copy the maps for the Out-of-Town bags; print the labels for the Out-of-Town bags; and purchase/assemble the items for the Out-of-Town bags. We should easily be able to get those done by the time the wedding arrives. I have faith.
The boys' clothing is taken care of. My outfit is nearly complete, with the exception of the dreaded shoes. The girls are dressed and have been instructed to accessorize however they choose (within reason, of course - no tiaras, ladies!). Moms have been outfitted, as well. They both found great dresses at killer prices, all without our input. Just picked something off the rack and loved it!
All important vendors are booked. We have our tasting scheduled with David and JDK in August. We have to finalize the ceremony music with the organist, and go over the ceremony details with our Pastor. We have to provide a bit more guidance to the DJ, and schedule a meeting with our photographer to go over the schedule and must-have (and must-leave-out) shots of the day. I have my hair and makeup trial scheduled at the salon. Our bachelor/ette parties are scheduled, although not exactly planned yet.
Everything is really coming together. And it's been so much fun. I keep wondering if I'm missing something. Everyone says that wedding planning is so stressful but...I'm not really feelin it. Maybe because Matt is involved and helpful and supportive. Maybe because my mom is awesome. Or maybe it's just because planning the day that I get to marry my very best friend in the world is just so exciting, I can't get stressed over it. At the end of the day, all I know is that I am marrying the love of my life, and celebrating that marriage with all of our favorite people in the world. And I. Can't. WAIT.
I feel pretty good about our progress. We have finished a lot of our DIY projects, which is hugely awesome. The absolute last thing I want to do is save things for the very last minute. We still have to print, cut out, and assemble the programs; copy the maps for the Out-of-Town bags; print the labels for the Out-of-Town bags; and purchase/assemble the items for the Out-of-Town bags. We should easily be able to get those done by the time the wedding arrives. I have faith.
The boys' clothing is taken care of. My outfit is nearly complete, with the exception of the dreaded shoes. The girls are dressed and have been instructed to accessorize however they choose (within reason, of course - no tiaras, ladies!). Moms have been outfitted, as well. They both found great dresses at killer prices, all without our input. Just picked something off the rack and loved it!
All important vendors are booked. We have our tasting scheduled with David and JDK in August. We have to finalize the ceremony music with the organist, and go over the ceremony details with our Pastor. We have to provide a bit more guidance to the DJ, and schedule a meeting with our photographer to go over the schedule and must-have (and must-leave-out) shots of the day. I have my hair and makeup trial scheduled at the salon. Our bachelor/ette parties are scheduled, although not exactly planned yet.
Everything is really coming together. And it's been so much fun. I keep wondering if I'm missing something. Everyone says that wedding planning is so stressful but...I'm not really feelin it. Maybe because Matt is involved and helpful and supportive. Maybe because my mom is awesome. Or maybe it's just because planning the day that I get to marry my very best friend in the world is just so exciting, I can't get stressed over it. At the end of the day, all I know is that I am marrying the love of my life, and celebrating that marriage with all of our favorite people in the world. And I. Can't. WAIT.
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