Everything you need for a California wedding

Douglas Reyes3 said:Is that the one located down by the marina?
I picked up some of their flyers a while back, so I can check my house to see if I still have them somewhere.

Yeah... if you end up needing one, let me know. 🙂

Has anyone here ever ordered a wedding cake from Bobis based on a custom design rather than just picking something pre-set? I stopped by their bakery in town today and they told me they only do the cakes listed in their catalog, but then I saw all these different styles at the wedding fair that weren't in there at all, so I'm a bit confused... Maybe I should try reaching out to their main production facility directly, because I find it hard to believe they can't whip up something based on my own ideas...
Also, how many hours before the ceremony did you guys schedule your hair and makeup appointments? My wedding starts at 6:00 PM, and guests will be arriving around 3:30 or 4:00 PM...

The ceremony kicked off at 5:30 PM. We started getting everyone together around 2:00 PM. Hair was done from 8:00 to 10:00 AM, followed by makeup from 11:00 to 12:00. 😉

gentlewolf69 said:As for Amadea, I know her makeup services start at $117, and it's about 450 if you go with false lashes. I'm not entirely sure how her work holds up in person, though the photos on Facebook look pretty good. Then again, most of those are just selfies where she's doing her own face, and we all know how easy it is to be your own best critic, so it's hard to tell how she handles everyone else...

I’ll weigh in with my own experience—Amadea did the makeup for the bride, the maid of honor, the mother of the bride, and the groom's sister at a wedding I attended last summer. She also did the makeup for both the bride and myself (as the maid of honor) at a wedding last fall. I paid for my own makeup as a gift to the friend I was supporting. I have to admit, we looked fantastic in the photos—we took them about half an hour after the ceremony during the cocktail hour—but in person, we were wearing a massive amount of product. We didn't actually get the looks we requested; instead, we were made up identically. The shades varied slightly, but there was zero consideration for our individual facial features. At the reception where she worked on five women, they all ended up looking heavily overdone and practically identical. Two older ladies were given makeup that was far too heavy for their age. Use caution with Amadea; she seems to have one specific style that she applies to everyone. It photographs well, but in real life, it looks like a mask.
I attended a wedding where she did the makeup for Tina, the maid of honor, and the bride; it was lovely and professionally executed. The bride has one eye that sits slightly lower than the other, which was quite noticeable, but Tina managed to balance them out perfectly using eyeshadow and liner.

I've also been to weddings where the makeup was done by that woman who used to work as a stylist for RAI in Italy—I'll have to try and recall her name—she does excellent work. It’s that lush, elegant Italian style, using brighter colors than the standard palette. I think it was Maja Banić, or perhaps Banović or Bačić.

Anyway, if anyone has her contact info or any additional feedback, please send it my way. I'm the maid of honor and I'm handling the arrangements for my friend; we would love to book her, but I'm struggling to track her down because I'm not entirely sure of her surname.
If we can't find her, we will definitely go with Tina (sorry for the caps, typing on my phone)

So, what are your experiences with Lipoto's bridal salon?
I have this total bridezilla who wants a princess-style gown from Ppapela, but a coworker told her a horror story about buying a wedding dress that was heavily altered and delivered at the very last minute, just the morning
of the wedding. Apparently, the undergarment she was given had stains on it, so now she’s second-guessing whether she should even step foot in the shop. I’ve heard they are professional and decent enough, and I haven't personally heard of anything like that happening, but since she's hearing it firsthand, well...

electricangler, the Woods Sminkerica you're talking about is Maja Banić 😉

electricangler said:So, what are your experiences with Lipoto's bridal salon?
I have this total bridezilla who wants a princess-style gown from Ppapela, but a coworker told her a horror story about buying a wedding dress that was heavily altered and delivered at the very last minute, just the morning
of the wedding. Apparently, the undergarment she was given had stains on it, so now she’s second-guessing whether she should even step foot in the shop. I’ve heard they are professional and decent enough, and I haven't personally heard of anything like that happening, but since she's hearing it firsthand, well...

Honestly, everything I've ever heard about that shop has been positive, and I actually really like that they limit rentals to just three uses. I picked out my own wedding dress there, and I know a bunch of other girls who did too without any issues at all.
I guess it might just be one of those things where you either have luck or you don't... kind of like everything else in life, I suppose. :-)

northerncrane49 said:electricangler, the Woods Sminkerica you're talking about is Maja Banić 😉

Thanks, I found it on Facebook. I wasn't sure if the name was Baneli or Banovac...

William Chavez10 said:Honestly, everything I've ever heard about that shop has been positive, and I actually really like that they limit rentals to just three uses. I picked out my own wedding dress there, and I know a bunch of other girls who did too without any issues at all.
I guess it might just be one of those things where you either have luck or you don't... kind of like everything else in life, I suppose. :-)

Same here. I love the dress—it's gorgeous and fluffy without being overdone, and the skirt is lovely. But, well, a colleague mentioned it... I scrolled through the thread a bit to find some positive reviews to show her.

Since the entire wedding planning seems to have landed on my shoulders, I have a few more questions while I'm at it:

1. Any experiences with cakes from Creme de la Creme? Are they actually worth the premium price tag? She's set on them, but I've only had one of their pastries from a local bakery once, and it wasn't anything special...

2. Has anyone used Urban Bridal for hair? Specifically, can they handle an updo that needs to hold for several hours? I've seen plenty of great colorful or geometric styles from that salon, but nothing classic or any updos. We like Urban because it's the closest option to the bride's apartment (literally right across the street...).

William Chavez10 said:Honestly, everything I've ever heard about that shop has been positive, and I actually really like that they limit rentals to just three uses. I picked out my own wedding dress there, and I know a bunch of other girls who did too without any issues at all.
I guess it might just be one of those things where you either have luck or you don't... kind of like everything else in life, I suppose. :-)

Look, I’m sorry, but I’m really not buying this whole story about them limiting rentals to three times. Maybe I'm wrong, but from a business perspective, it just doesn't seem like it would make financial sense... after three rentals, they've barely covered the cost of the gown itself and that's it. Besides, when I was actually there, I noticed they tend to alter dresses however they feel like doing it. For instance, I wanted to try on a specific Pronovias's gown I saw in the catalog, but they told me they didn't have that exact one because they weren't fond of the bodice, so they ended up cutting it apart and sewing on a top from a Demetrios's dress instead. Then, while trying on a dress similar to mine—mine has a slit, you see—and mentioning that I preferred mine better, the woman started questioning me about whether girls actually liked that kind of slit... which gave me the distinct impression she was planning to redesign the dress soon enough to add a slit on the right leg too...

gentlewolf69 said:Look, I’m sorry, but I’m really not buying this whole story about them limiting rentals to three times. Maybe I'm wrong, but from a business perspective, it just doesn't seem like it would make financial sense... after three rentals, they've barely covered the cost of the gown itself and that's it. Besides, when I was actually there, I noticed they tend to alter dresses however they feel like doing it. For instance, I wanted to try on a specific Pronovias's gown I saw in the catalog, but they told me they didn't have that exact one because they weren't fond of the bodice, so they ended up cutting it apart and sewing on a top from a Demetrios's dress instead. Then, while trying on a dress similar to mine—mine has a slit, you see—and mentioning that I preferred mine better, the woman started questioning me about whether girls actually liked that kind of slit... which gave me the distinct impression she was planning to redesign the dress soon enough to add a slit on the right leg too...

I also have my doubts about the three-rental limit, especially given how high their prices are. However, the most significant issue I've heard involves a colleague of Amy Johnson's, who received her dress late—on the morning of the wedding—and it was dirty. On the other hand, a colleague's sister purchased a gown there this fall for $667. The dress is quite elaborate and shows no signs of wear or damage; the price even included alterations. The owner claimed they rent dresses out three times before selling them, but I question the math. If multiple brides want the same dress, what happens once those three rentals are up?
The idea of them altering dresses to suit themselves is unsettling...
Regardless, we are heading there this Saturday to look at that princess-style gown...

I almost forgot to mention one more thing—my maid of honor actually reminded me about it today. Back when she was trying on a dress at Lipoto's, she noticed this tiny little hole in the fabric, honestly looking just like a cigarette burn... The consultant there insisted it was part of a brand-new collection that had just arrived, claiming it came that way from the manufacturer, and that it wasn't even an issue since nobody else had noticed it yet...
When we went dress shopping, both Lipoto's and La Perla mentioned that if you put down a deposit during your very first fitting, they offer a 20% discount, so it might be worth hitting up a few different boutiques on the same day to see what sticks...

So, they finally sorted out the venue and the photographer for us... now we just need to nail down a band. My friend Prija actually suggested checking out this legendary group from San Diego, but I haven't been able to find much about them online. If anyone happens to have any intel or knows what they're like, I’m all ears.🙂

gentlewolf69 said:I almost forgot to mention one more thing—my maid of honor actually reminded me about it today. Back when she was trying on a dress at Lipoto's, she noticed this tiny little hole in the fabric, honestly looking just like a cigarette burn... The consultant there insisted it was part of a brand-new collection that had just arrived, claiming it came that way from the manufacturer, and that it wasn't even an issue since nobody else had noticed it yet...
When we went dress shopping, both Lipoto's and La Perla mentioned that if you put down a deposit during your very first fitting, they offer a 20% discount, so it might be worth hitting up a few different boutiques on the same day to see what sticks...

They’re playing games with those dresses. I only went to Victoria's Secret—had a fitting scheduled there and then went to V. Spose a week later.
Gotta admit, I only hit up Victoria's Secret to browse. Signed up for a fitting at the bridal expo and entered their giveaway, so figured why not...
I was expecting rude staff (saw their Facebook page, they seemed to have some issues, deleting any comments that weren't praise, idk... felt like they couldn't handle criticism), but honestly, I was pleasantly surprised.
The girl helping me was sweet, super nice, didn't rush me at all. After I tried on my picks, she brought out 3 or 4 more she thought would look good on me... wasn't expecting that. Found "the one," put a deposit down right then, and scored a $333 discount because of it. The prize drawing is in a week, maybe I'll win a free rental... you never know! 😁
After that, I canceled my appointment at V. Sposa and stopped scrolling through wedding dresses online altogether... 😁

Since nobody got back to me in the photographer thread, I figured I'd just ask here instead. Has anyone actually worked with Toni Photo Studio in San Diego before?

Paul King5 said:They’re playing games with those dresses. I only went to Victoria's Secret—had a fitting scheduled there and then went to V. Spose a week later.
Gotta admit, I only hit up Victoria's Secret to browse. Signed up for a fitting at the bridal expo and entered their giveaway, so figured why not...
I was expecting rude staff (saw their Facebook page, they seemed to have some issues, deleting any comments that weren't praise, idk... felt like they couldn't handle criticism), but honestly, I was pleasantly surprised.
The girl helping me was sweet, super nice, didn't rush me at all. After I tried on my picks, she brought out 3 or 4 more she thought would look good on me... wasn't expecting that. Found "the one," put a deposit down right then, and scored a $333 discount because of it. The prize drawing is in a week, maybe I'll win a free rental... you never know! 😁
After that, I canceled my appointment at V. Sposa and stopped scrolling through wedding dresses online altogether... 😁

I was pretty skeptical about Victoria's Secret too, but once I actually got there, I was blown away by how attentive, professional, and easygoing the staff were. Not to mention how they welcomed my maid of honor without any issues, even though she didn't have an appointment. It was such a contrast to Vesna Sposa, who practically kicked us out twice—even though our second visit was actually booked, she just wouldn't make time because she "had to go photograph some gowns and accessories," and since we're from San Francisco, it was apparently no big deal if we just came back a third time to see her.

We stopped by Lipoto yesterday. She spotted this one specific dress in the window, tried it on, and honestly, it’s fine—but she won't be wearing it until May, just a week before my friend's wedding. It’s also quite pricey for a rental, coming in at about $1667. We’ve barely even started looking, and since she doesn't have the time to drive out of San Francisco, we'll probably just stick to Victoria's Secret and maybe a few other spots (she’s obsessed with what’s in the Victoria's Secret window, bless her heart 🙂). I’ve heard conflicting things about the service there, ranging from wonderful to terrible, though nobody has said anything negative about the actual dresses.
Does anyone have experience with Galic Bridal? Are they even still in business? I've heard their selection can be pretty tacky, but then again, I saw a bride at a wedding once wearing a stunning white tulle ballgown that was definitely from Galic...

I actually bought my prom dress from them once, and honestly... what a nightmare. They couldn't even get the tailoring right, and the beadwork started falling off everywhere, so I ended up having to fix the whole thing myself at home. If you aren't planning on leaving the San Francisco area, you might want to skip them entirely—unless you're looking at La Perla, maybe check out Victoria's Secret instead. I actually got my wedding dress there, and the owner is such a sweetheart. It’s located just as you're heading down from Firul toward downtown, right before you turn toward the Brooklyn beach area, just before you hit the New York Public Library on your left.

gentlewolf69 said:I almost forgot to mention one more thing—my maid of honor actually reminded me about it today. Back when she was trying on a dress at Lipoto's, she noticed this tiny little hole in the fabric, honestly looking just like a cigarette burn... The consultant there insisted it was part of a brand-new collection that had just arrived, claiming it came that way from the manufacturer, and that it wasn't even an issue since nobody else had noticed it yet...
When we went dress shopping, both Lipoto's and La Perla mentioned that if you put down a deposit during your very first fitting, they offer a 20% discount, so it might be worth hitting up a few different boutiques on the same day to see what sticks...

To be honest, I haven't really spent much time browsing all those different boutiques because, after looking at a handful of photos, everything started to look exactly the same to me. I ended up visiting just two shops and called it a day. I mostly reached out to them over Facebook first to get an idea of the pricing, and I have to say, I wasn't really feeling Vesna Sposa—to be fair, their prices felt a bit steep to me, and they were kind of pushy about everything having to be handled strictly in-store and blah blah blah...

Regarding sweets—I’m not sure if anyone else has checked out eM-ka lately, but they’ve completely overhauled their whole setup and started doing these incredible wedding cakes. I swung by the other day and I was actually pretty blown away. Their prices are surprisingly affordable and the variety is honestly great, so just in case anyone needs a lead:

Chloe Barnes5 said:Since nobody got back to me in the photographer thread, I figured I'd just ask here instead. Has anyone actually worked with Toni Photo Studio in San Diego before?

I think I remember someone mentioning they were decent, though maybe their rates are a little on the steep side, but I'm not totally sure.
I ended up going with Marina Photography out in Boise, and honestly, they did an amazing job and the pricing was actually pretty reasonable.