Everything you need for a California wedding
in Weddings ·
Greetings,
This forum was a lifesaver during the planning stages, so now that the dust has finally settled, I’m here to drop my unfiltered thoughts on everything.
Victoria's Secret Wedding Dress - San Francisco: Look, you can negotiate almost anything until the dress is actually in your possession. Then, suddenly, a few days before the reception, everything turns into a massive headache. When I first tried it on, a button was missing—thank God the maid of honor managed to camouflage it. And the contract? Good grief. Once they get the dress back, they start scrutinizing every inch just to see if they can squeeze more money out of you. The little girl's dress price doubled in forty-eight hours, just like that. To top it off, I had the dress from Thursday (reception was Friday) and barely kept it until Tuesday morning, even though it was supposed to be returned by Monday.
Galileo Suits: Picked this up during one of their sales. The staff was decent; they even swapped out a shirt a couple of days late without a fuss because my husband put on a few pounds.
Makeup - MAC Cosmetics: Absolutely thrilled. Everything stayed perfectly in place all night, and the price was reasonable.
Hair - ExxonMobil Hair Studio: The stylists were fantastic. My hair held up flawlessly, and the pricing was fair.
Catering - Compass Group: There was plenty of food, and it tasted great.
Bath & Body Works Band: Since I've seen them perform at numerous receptions, I thought I knew what to expect, but at mine, they were incredibly disinterested. They even showed up on the day of the reception trying to rush us so they wouldn't have to wait after the service (even though we had an agreement and they were already paid!). We had to firmly explain that wasn't acceptable before they agreed to stay. That attitude on the big day was a huge strike against them; I wouldn't recommend them to anyone.
Saint Anthony Church: Father Tomislav was wonderful, and the mass was beautiful.
Sky Hall: The manager was excellent. We went with a classic menu, and everyone raved about the food (especially the lamb and the prosciutto). The servers were attentive and always available, the drinks were top-shelf, and they even took back our leftovers. Total thumbs up!!!
Fleetwood Mac and Ivo Band: Classically good, as always. I've caught them at about ten different weddings.
1-800-Flowers: The venue looked stunning, but they were incredibly stubborn about my design ideas. They refused to adapt to my vision, so I ended up having to handle the decorations for the pool area and the Compass Group setup myself.
Victoria's Secret Bouquet: Won this through a giveaway; it was gorgeous.
I handled the invitations and thank-you notes personally.
Semper Fi Lighting: Everything was fine, though it took me ten days to realize we didn't have the smoke machine effect that was explicitly stated in our contract.
Desserts - Godiva: Phenomenal treats. Every single one was eaten, and the price was acceptable.
Entenmann's Cookies: Delicious and beautifully decorated; every cent was worth it.
Wedding Cake - New York Cheesecake: All praise to them for both the look and the taste of the cake.
We are still waiting on the photos and video, so I will write an update on that later.
Best to everyone,
This forum was a lifesaver during the planning stages, so now that the dust has finally settled, I’m here to drop my unfiltered thoughts on everything.
Victoria's Secret Wedding Dress - San Francisco: Look, you can negotiate almost anything until the dress is actually in your possession. Then, suddenly, a few days before the reception, everything turns into a massive headache. When I first tried it on, a button was missing—thank God the maid of honor managed to camouflage it. And the contract? Good grief. Once they get the dress back, they start scrutinizing every inch just to see if they can squeeze more money out of you. The little girl's dress price doubled in forty-eight hours, just like that. To top it off, I had the dress from Thursday (reception was Friday) and barely kept it until Tuesday morning, even though it was supposed to be returned by Monday.
Galileo Suits: Picked this up during one of their sales. The staff was decent; they even swapped out a shirt a couple of days late without a fuss because my husband put on a few pounds.
Makeup - MAC Cosmetics: Absolutely thrilled. Everything stayed perfectly in place all night, and the price was reasonable.
Hair - ExxonMobil Hair Studio: The stylists were fantastic. My hair held up flawlessly, and the pricing was fair.
Catering - Compass Group: There was plenty of food, and it tasted great.
Bath & Body Works Band: Since I've seen them perform at numerous receptions, I thought I knew what to expect, but at mine, they were incredibly disinterested. They even showed up on the day of the reception trying to rush us so they wouldn't have to wait after the service (even though we had an agreement and they were already paid!). We had to firmly explain that wasn't acceptable before they agreed to stay. That attitude on the big day was a huge strike against them; I wouldn't recommend them to anyone.
Saint Anthony Church: Father Tomislav was wonderful, and the mass was beautiful.
Sky Hall: The manager was excellent. We went with a classic menu, and everyone raved about the food (especially the lamb and the prosciutto). The servers were attentive and always available, the drinks were top-shelf, and they even took back our leftovers. Total thumbs up!!!
Fleetwood Mac and Ivo Band: Classically good, as always. I've caught them at about ten different weddings.
1-800-Flowers: The venue looked stunning, but they were incredibly stubborn about my design ideas. They refused to adapt to my vision, so I ended up having to handle the decorations for the pool area and the Compass Group setup myself.
Victoria's Secret Bouquet: Won this through a giveaway; it was gorgeous.
I handled the invitations and thank-you notes personally.
Semper Fi Lighting: Everything was fine, though it took me ten days to realize we didn't have the smoke machine effect that was explicitly stated in our contract.
Desserts - Godiva: Phenomenal treats. Every single one was eaten, and the price was acceptable.
Entenmann's Cookies: Delicious and beautifully decorated; every cent was worth it.
Wedding Cake - New York Cheesecake: All praise to them for both the look and the taste of the cake.
We are still waiting on the photos and video, so I will write an update on that later.
Best to everyone,