Everything you need for a California wedding

..I was just wondering if anyone else happened to be at the Hilton in Malibu for that wedding recently..

frozencobra46 said:If you're planning on snagging a studio session, you'd better move fast. I tried to book for October 20th, 2012, and they were already fully booked by mid-December. I'm heading in to work out a deal with Studio Val-Mario Paparello... does anyone happen to have any intel on them?

A friend of mine used Studio Val, and she was seriously happy with how things turned out. I've seen the photos myself—they look solid, pretty clean work.

Anyone here dealt with Photo Adria before?

Eric Cook7 said:..but I have to wonder, what did the actual menu look like? How was the service? Was it a case of small portions versus high quality, or just both lacking? And where did the reception even take place—was it held in a proper restaurant or out by the pool?

The appetizers up on the roof by the pool were pretty underwhelming... though maybe that's just because it was freezing out there...

The menu was pretty basic—just three slices of ham and stuff like that, plus some mediocre risotto... portions were tiny, too...

That’s our take on it... honestly, it was pretty bad...

The location is incredible, and I guess this Hilton is definitely a summer spot, but they probably have all the same guest restrictions as any other hotel out here...

Eric Cook7 said:..I was just wondering if anyone else happened to be at the Hilton in Malibu for that wedding recently..

Back in August 2010.
The owner was a total con artist. We agreed on $55 per person initially, then this guy tries to
jack it up to $90 per person just two weeks before the big day.
We wanted to cancel everything and move the whole thing over to the Park Hyatt.
We ended up staying at the Hilton, but we ditched their catering staff (so they wouldn't sabotage us on purpose)
and brought in our own chef and crew. It turned out great in the end—but that was thanks to us, not the Hilton.
Anyway, the floor manager, some guy named Mario, was actually decent and really tried to make things work.

..if anyone happens to have any intel whatsoever regarding the Hilton, please feel free to drop a comment below..I am looking to gather every single scrap of information available

swifthawk17 said:Back in August 2010.
The owner was a total con artist. We agreed on $55 per person initially, then this guy tries to
jack it up to $90 per person just two weeks before the big day.
We wanted to cancel everything and move the whole thing over to the Park Hyatt.
We ended up staying at the Hilton, but we ditched their catering staff (so they wouldn't sabotage us on purpose)
and brought in our own chef and crew. It turned out great in the end—but that was thanks to us, not the Hilton.
Anyway, the floor manager, some guy named Mario, was actually decent and really tried to make things work.

Hey, shoot me a private message when you get a chance... thanks!

frozencobra46 said:If you're planning on snagging a studio session, you'd better move fast. I tried to book for October 20th, 2012, and they were already fully booked by mid-December. I'm heading in to work out a deal with Studio Val-Mario Paparello... does anyone happen to have any intel on them?

I watched the full wedding video from Studio Val, and honestly, it wasn't anything special. It’s not like there were massive mistakes or anything, but it just lacked soul. It felt a bit amateurish and bland, especially the dancing and the party scenes. And considering the price tag, I expected much more...
Papaya was booked up when I checked too, though my date wasn't one of the peak ones. A friend of mine recently put down a deposit with them, but her date is a little less high-demand. Ultimately, it all comes down to 🤷
...

..come on everyone, please tell me, was anyone else actually there in San Antonio, Texas for that wedding?..

Olivia Lee5 said:Everything about this whole process sounds absolutely wonderful, but I have to admit, I’m still completely in the dark about who is going to handle my makeup. With my big day coming up in less than five months, I’m starting to feel the pressure! So, I am reaching out for some serious HELP!
I am on the hunt for a makeup artist—and please, I don't just mean someone good, I mean someone truly exceptional. Ideally, I’d love to find someone based in the San Francisco-Oakland area, and while it would be perfect if they offered mobile services to come to me, I suppose I can be flexible on that part.

I'm in the exact same boat, looking for info in that same area. 😁My wedding is in four months.

Hey everyone, I’ve got another one where I’m honestly just looking for some direction...

We’re planning a backyard BBQ on the stone patio and I can't decide if we should go with Volar or Barbary. Also, has anyone ever been to a cookout where the Macao band or Jakov Kasalo ??? were playing?

irontrucker13 said:Hey everyone, I’ve got another one where I’m honestly just looking for some direction...

We’re planning a backyard BBQ on the stone patio and I can't decide if we should go with Volar or Barbary. Also, has anyone ever been to a cookout where the Macao band or Jakov Kasalo ??? were playing?

I was at the "Noc Livnjak i Duvnjak" festival in Kauri about a year back. They were playing... they were actually pretty good. You can find videos on YouTube if you care to look.

He’s got some footage up on YouTube, so you can probably take a look and see for yourself.

forget about wasting your money on that, you'll probably be divorced before the year's even up anyway

Jack Murphy7 said:I was at the "Noc Livnjak i Duvnjak" festival in Kauri about a year back. They were playing... they were actually pretty good. You can find videos on YouTube if you care to look.

I've watched every single video from all three bands on YouTube, and honestly, they're all pretty good—it's making it so hard to choose!

Did they play much classic American folk during that set? I'm less worried about them being too "pop" and more concerned that they might lean too heavily into country music rather than sticking to those standard Americana classics we usually hear at local festivals.

irontrucker13 said:I've watched every single video from all three bands on YouTube, and honestly, they're all pretty good—it's making it so hard to choose!

Did they play much classic American folk during that set? I'm less worried about them being too "pop" and more concerned that they might lean too heavily into country music rather than sticking to those standard Americana classics we usually hear at local festivals.

Not really, though they were likely just doing a themed set. We were actually there with the choir as a surprise guest, playing the West Coast classics ourselves—it wouldn't have made sense for them to cover our stuff then. I asked Jack Kasalo about the wedding circuit out there, and he mentioned they do plenty of those, so I doubt they'd struggle. What I did like was seeing how tight they are—you can tell they put in the work. Actually, I think bands from those regions end up being cheaper than what we deal with here...

irontrucker13 said:Hey everyone, I’ve got another one where I’m honestly just looking for some direction...

We’re planning a backyard BBQ on the stone patio and I can't decide if we should go with Volar or Barbary. Also, has anyone ever been to a cookout where the Macao band or Jakov Kasalo ??? were playing?

Barbary is definitely the way to go.👍

They’ve got me booked up through June and July, plus they have two free Saturdays in May, but that feels way too early for me 😢
Barclays is open on July 28th 🙂
And Tip Top is available on July 21st 🙂Now I'm actually sitting here thinking both dates work perfectly, so what am I going to do with my free Saturday? ???? 🤷🤷🤷

We went with the Barclays option and honestly, we couldn't have been happier 👍 if you're looking for someone to play those cheesy country songs, they won't touch them—I actually made sure of that
Even with the absolute best vendors out there, you might still miss the mark, but these guys are just too good for me 👍

Nicole Kim11 said:We went with the Barclays option and honestly, we couldn't have been happier 👍 if you're looking for someone to play those cheesy country songs, they won't touch them—I actually made sure of that
Even with the absolute best vendors out there, you might still miss the mark, but these guys are just too good for me 👍

Have you ever listened to the Volar band? They're available, and I'm really leaning toward them, but I just can't track down their DVD from any of those old bootleg sites, even though they're the most affordable option out there.

Who did your photography? I asked Papaya, but he's booked up for all those dates. Simon is free at Tip Top, and Rank Pupic at Studio Smile is also available during the slots for Volar and Barclays 🤷

Does anyone happen to know the going rate for a top-tier service? They wouldn't give me a quote over the phone, so I'm just trying to get a sense of what to expect before I head in.