Posts by Karen Roberts16

Megan Cook5 said:I'd suggest checking out Disney Studios—those guys are flawless. Or maybe look into Buffett’s studio. If you want to talk numbers or see their packages, just hit me up.
:)a

We ended up going with Buffett. Their communication via email was solid, and once we met in person, they walked us through every single detail without any guesswork.

You should also check out Pope Francis and Mark Zuckerberg; I thought their work was equally fantastic!

David King72 said:Walmart, hands down!!!!!
I've been there for several barbeques and family celebrations, and the food and service always get nothing but rave reviews.

Exactly my thoughts!

gentlewolf69 said:And who was behind the lens for you? You can always just shoot me a DM if you'd rather not say it here in public...

I’m curious about that too... though I'm inclined to agree—they definitely earned their share of public scrutiny.

Taylor Perez51 said:Can anyone give me a quick rundown of good photo studios or freelancers doing photography and video work in San Diego? Thanks! 🙂

Every single friend of mine who’s had a wedding in San Diego ended up "importing" their photographers from Miami or Washington, D.C. Honestly, you get a much broader—and frankly, superior—selection that way. Plus, if you play your cards right, you can often find great deals; a lot of them won't even charge you for travel expenses at those distances.

I completely misread the situation—honestly, my mistake. I was under the impression the photographer was running behind schedule, which is why I assumed you hadn't received any shots yet. My apologies 🙂

gentlewolf69, who exactly is this photographer?? Honestly, that’s completely unprofessional—it's a massive red flag in my book!

In my book, anything north of $2,000 feels like a stretch—frankly, a bit excessive. That said, everyone’s got their own set of priorities and personal tastes, and I suppose we can't all live by the same logic.

Joshua Miller18 said:Back when I was looking for a photographer, I remember hearing some pretty notorious stories about California Photo being incredibly rude. To be honest, I can't recall the exact details, just that they apparently gave some young people a really hard time, though I'm not entirely sure what happened.

I hadn't heard much about Bonačić Studio lately, so I took a quick look at their work. It’s quite heavy on color manipulation—not nearly as simple or natural as some people have claimed. I suppose that's just the current trend, which is why it doesn't stand out as much, but fundamentally, it feels rather aggressive. My impression is that all the shots are either overly orange or way too washed out. The framing feels a bit unfinished, too. The whole thing comes across as somewhat amateurish...
My favorite group is Tempo Band from San Francisco; I've heard nothing but great things about them, and I was really drawn to the fact that they incorporate extra instruments! I believe they're touring other cities soon too.😉

Well, everyone has their own taste, I suppose. Personally, I was actually impressed by Bonačić Studio's recent blog posts. They feel full of emotion and capture those spontaneous moments. I went through five or six of their full albums they sent over, and I think I'll definitely book them.

California Photo is off the table for the usual reasons...

Thomas Scott5 said:Look, I don’t have much experience with weddings in San Francisco. I’ve only been to one there, and if my memory serves me right, it was at the President
so I can't really offer much comfort regarding your venue choice. Hopefully, we didn't make a mistake with ours either.🙂Yeah, I really need to start calling photographers and bands soon, because I could easily end up with zero options left.
It drives me crazy that you can't just research everything you want and book it a month before the big party; instead, you're forced to scramble the second you get engaged because everything is already booked up!
edit:
It's good to hear that feraljackal2 thinks Pirate is a solid choice.🙂 We loved that the space is smaller and has that massive terrace with an ocean view. I’ve heard the food is excellent, which is huge for us. Now I just need to figure out the tablecloths, high-top tables, linens, and lighting—basically, how much we actually need to step in and handle ourselves.
As for that photography studio, I'm a little wary of those places that use more than one lead photographer.🤷

That's exactly why I think we might pass on them. Honestly, I also feel like they've priced themselves a bit too high. A basic photo and video package would run upwards of $2,200. Handing over that kind of money without knowing exactly who is going to show up to capture the wedding doesn't exactly feel like a smart move.

Sam Grant3 said:I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!!
What date are you looking at? Personally, I think Doris is a bit nicer than Bolero. I was at Bolero back on August 30th, and it felt to me like they might have switched up their kitchen crew, because the food wasn't exactly anything to write home about...

Please don't take this the wrong way, I'm truly just speaking my mind.

You know, I had no idea. Last time I made it out there was mid-way through last year. It was fantastic—the food was top-tier and the band was absolutely incredible. They had the Foo Fighters playing, though I have to admit, the prices were a bit steep for us.😢

Sam Grant3 said:Honestly, I have no idea what your experiences have been like with the owner of Doris, but mine? Pretty clear-cut—he's arrogant, overbearing, totally unapproachable, and just plain unpleasant... it’s awful. Even though the venue itself is wonderful, I’m officially passing on it just because of his attitude. Thumbs down to Doris!

We haven't actually made the trip out there yet; we first need to check if Bolero is available and if they can accommodate a crowd of about 200. The venue looks great to me, the food is always solid, and the staff is top-notch.

Wish us luck!

Has any of you ladies picked up any pastries from Viadel lately? I stopped by their shop a few years back—though, honestly, who knows if they’re even still in business?!