Posts by Aaron Bennett2

I’m getting married in San Francisco soon. I'm not even from St. Louis, so I’ve basically had to figure everything out through trial and error. I’ve learned a thing or two about what actually works and what’s a total waste of time, so I put together some thoughts on it below.

Location: The Catering Co.
Catering: Gusar (they did a tasting—the food was incredible)
St. Anthony's Church
Music: DJ Khaled
Lighting: 1-800-Flowers
Flowers: 1-800-Flowers
Photographer and videographer: what should I get them?
Nothing. Nothing.
Desserts: Luke and some lady's homemade dry cookies.
The wedding attire: Nike.
Footwear: Topshop, Mango, H&M
Suit: Nicholas (New York City)
Footwear: Strugar (New York City)
Jewelry: Medaković (New York City)
Thank you notes: A family farm from San Diego
Thank you boxes: 2have&2hold
Makeup by Lucija Spajić.
Hair style: still undecided.

I used to go to Dolce & Gabbana and Tea Mamut for desserts. I actually passed on Dolce & Gabbana for some personal reasons, even though she put in a ton of work and her selection and tasting sessions were top-tier. As for Tea Mamut, they do those flourless sponge cakes—everything we tried was delicious, honestly. My only gripe is that the prices are a bit steep. But hey, if you want to splurge, that’s your call.

Makeup: If you're looking for makeup in San Francisco, stay far away from this place. I ended up using them by pure chance for a wedding recently, and honestly? It was a disaster. I made it very clear what I wanted: no heavy black eyeliner, nothing too dramatic. I asked for a light, sun-kissed, breathable look. Instead, they gave me harsh, overdrawn eyebrows and bronze eyeshadow that made me look like the wicked stepmother out of Esmeralda, topped off with thick black eyeliner. I basically looked like a carbon copy of the woman who did my makeup. It feels like they have a "one size fits all" policy where they just crank through clients without any individual attention. It’s a total assembly line. To make matters worse, after just a few hours, the foundation started sliding off my nose and chin, leaving behind this dry, cakey texture. It was probably because they skipped the primer or used cheap products. And don't even get me started on the music playing in the studio—just some loud, unrecognizable garbage mixed with the latest Taylor Swift track. It was borderline tacky.

Hair: Anthony’s Hair Studio—I’d seen a bunch of recommendations across different sites claiming they were the absolute best in San Francisco, specifically mentioning that Thomas is the go-to guy for formal styles. So, I went in for a trial run and booked him for my big day. It was the same stylist who handled the hair for that wedding recently.
The hair looked great at first, but three hours later—while we were still sitting at home—it was completely gone. It was unrecognizable. The whole thing just fell apart in record time. Flyaways started popping up everywhere before we even stepped out the door. That hairstyle was... $83 I went to the absolute best salon in St. Louis. I sent them photos of what I wanted, they gave me some half-hearted apology, and that was it. Zero effort. Just "sorry" and nothing else. I should have been looking perfect on my big day, but instead, I'm left dealing with this mess.

If I think of anything else, I'll let you know.

I’m getting married in San Francisco this September. Since I’m not a local, I had to do some serious digging to figure out everything needed for the big day. Here’s a breakdown of what I found regarding florists:

Ivica Radan—super friendly guy and his prices are great because he charges per stem, but there's a catch: he only does arrangements. He doesn't handle any of the other wedding details I need, like table numbers, linens, lanterns by the water, or all those little extras.

Mirella—honestly, she left me with a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. She comes off as pretty arrogant, though that doesn't necessarily mean her work isn't good. Price-wise, she's on the higher end. To make matters worse, at the bottom of the quote, she just gave me one lump sum without a specific breakdown of costs.

Ira-Plodina—they have a massive selection of vases, candle holders, and various decor. They operate out of Plodina, which is a large florist chain with multiple locations. Their pricing is reasonable.

Lanterna—lovely ladies, very modern style, but definitely more expensive.

cvjećarnica Mis—never even got the quote I asked for, not even after following up once.

cvjećarnica Anda—Mrs. Ana has over 20 years of experience. She’s calm, easy to talk to, and was incredibly patient while showing me everything. She also has a huge inventory of vases and similar items. Her prices are fair, and everything is negotiable.

What kind of wedding cake should I go with? Mine needs to be three tiers—any recommendations for the Miami area or nearby?

Also, I’d really love to avoid using fondant as a coating. Is that even doable? Has anyone here actually pulled off a combination like that?

Kate Morgan66 said:I went to Šalat, and everything was totally fine.

Has anyone actually used a private clinic? Is there much of a difference?

Does anyone have a recommendation for where I can get a dermatoscopy done in Chicago? Thanks!

Does anyone know what the going rate is for formal hairstyles over at D'art or at Anthony's salon in San Francisco?

Also, any other recommendations for places that actually know what they're doing?
I need pricing for myself as a bride, plus hair for the maid of honor and two standard blowouts..