Vendor Review -- Frequent Flyer Productions

So a few days ago I left you hanging and didn't talk about what the ultra-cool Zack dropped off at my house. The reason was because I thought he deserved his own little rave review about our wedding dvd.

Dealing with Frequent Flyer Productions have been no less than excellent to work with. He's fun, energetic, and can be a total fly on the wall. The day of the wedding he made the entire wedding party feel at ease and not even our family noticed he was there and still captured the entire event Once it was time to get down to working on our material, we started talking about music, we gave him ideas of our musical taste but really, with him, you don't need to since he seems to pick the perfect songs for it all!

The final result was nothing short of spectacular! The dvd was like any real movie dvd. The main footage was edited into the story of the day, and the "extras" had separate sections for the ceremony, cake cutting, dancing, speeches, and other fun stuff. Once we popped it in and pressed play, both the hubby and I sat there in awe of how beautiful everything was captured. He used different techniques that really enhanced each moment! It was in simplest terms: PERFECTION!!

Would I recommend him? In a heart beat!

My Carbon Footprint...

I just found out my carbon footprint is half the national US average by using this calculator. I feel good about this but I realize now I could have done better with my wedding. So, if I had to do it all over again, I would be more consious of the paper used for all my little projects and ordered it all from Paper Mojo. I am IN LOVE with all thoeir paper and want to buy it all and just play with it. I think my strange obsession with paper is coming back out!


Any case, since being green is becoming more mainstream and hoping it isn't just a trend in weddings, what are you doing to help clean up your footprint when it comes to your wedding? Hopefully more than I did! :|

Who's in charge of the clock??

Most brides take charge from the start of the planning all the way down to the big day. One thing I realized on my big day is that I was just done. I was done planning, I was done worrying, I was just done dealing with everything. With the "done-ness" I felt, and a bit of the stress that goes with "IT's MY WEDDING DAY" I kinda lost track of time and ended up being half hour late to my own wedding. If you know me personally, I am NEVER late! In fact, I'd rather be early and wait around than be late for anything. I think this is what put a little worry on my hubby who started to wonder if I left him at the alter since I was soo late.

Anyhow, if I knew then what I know now about the incredible feelings I felt, I would have put one of my bridesmaids in charge of the big day. Find a BM (your mom is too busy getting ready herself and if you have a coordinator, she'll be busy too) who is always calm and very caring to make sure everyone (and even you) is on track and on time!

Yes, it's normal...

I was talking to a bride earlier today and she was stressed out. She felt like her emotions were abnormal. My response is only one thing, "Honey, it's okay to be stressed out...everyone gets that way from time to time."

It's understandable to want to pull out your hair over the details of the wedding. I really think it's a woman's conflict aversion way to freak out about the lifetime commitment you make. We deal with the details while the man just sees the aftermath. It's overwhelming and everyone has their breaking points. Some of us just hide it better than others.

It was the stress about doing everything last minute that made me want to do everything months in advance. It was the stress that made me bawl when my cat decided he hated invitations and dumped a water bottle all over them and in return made me order everything again. It was the stress that made me subconsciously write beer kabobs on something instead of beef kabobs. It's scary and stressful but in the end, it's all worth it.

So, all you brides out there, it is okay to want to scream about wedding details from time to time. When it gets to the breaking point, just walk away and speed dial your most trusting friend who'll let you rant! Don't worry, I know you'll survive and make it to the other side!

I didn't cry...

On my wedding day, while I was getting my makeup done, I had my "OMG" moment where I realized I was getting married. The stress of it all hit and if I wanted to just breakdown. But I stopped the makeup artist and took a minute to just breathe through it and let a few tears roll down. After that, I was ready to go again.

When we are leaving the hotel to get to the church, I grabbed my handkerchief that I bought just in case. I figured I'd be one of those bawling brides. Instead, I smiled while I said my vows and didn't shed a tear. I think it was partly because I had my little security blanket in that little piece of cloth.

Every bride has that moment where it all hits. It could be when they wake up, or an their way to the ceremony. Sometimes it hits walking down the aisle, others it's after they said I do. So, if you think you're a wimp like me, I highly suggest grabbing one too, just in case!

The bio...

After finally putting all my wedding photos on a webpage, I realized that I probably should post it here too... I'm still torn about posting it on the knot but we'll see, maybe I'll post it on their little contest they are having! :)

There will be link on the side, but for y'all wanting easy access in reader, here you go!

Our Wedding Bio

I know there aren't any DIY projects or invites shown there but I figured with all the blogging I've done on it all, you can just go do the DIY tag! :P

Enjoy!

VENDOR REVIEWS!!! ...photography

Toby Tucker Photography took my breath away. There I said it. We used Toby for both our Engagement and Wedding photos. We had an absolute blast with him during our engagement session. He put us at ease and gave us great direction. The photos turned out fantastic. For our wedding, again he put everyone at ease. He paid attention to details and has an eye for the perfect shot. When we got our proofs, everyone we showed were amazed at his work.

From start to finish, Toby Tucker has been not only professional and courteous but also generous with his time working with us. Hands down, he was one our best vendors!! Would we recommend him to anyone, in a heartbeat!!!

Here is a sample of his work:

ENGAGEMENT PHOTOS



WEDDING PHOTOS







Here's Toby at work:


Toby Tucker Photography

Grade: A+++++

VENDOR REVIEWS!!! ...alterations

I had my dress altered by the wonderful and amazing Reene of In Stitches in Woodland Hills, Ca. While I loved my dress, she helped customize the dress to make it more me!

The dress before:


Source

The Dress after:

She took off that random bead thing and added this beautiful brooch my parents bought me.


Hemmed the back of the dress so the train would only be lace. She also took off about 10,000 inches at the bottom since I'm short. :P


Added our names to a ribbon and sewed it on for a keepsake! My husband got a HUGE kick out of it!!!!


Me just feeling great!

Photos courtesy of Toby Tucker Photography.

If you ever need to get in touch with her, send me an email and I'll give you her number!

Grade: A+++++

VENDOR REVIEWS!!! ...online buys

Papermart: SUPER FAST and everything we ordered was perfect

Envelope Mall: They were courtous and helpful! Well priced and delivery was fast. Overall: A

Zazzle: We bought all 4 different types of stamps, and three types of stickers from here. I really liked how easy and well priced it all was. Overall: A

Bulk Foods: Prices were unbeatable and shipping was fast. If they don't have something in stock, they refund you. Overall: A

My M&Ms: Prices are a little steep and they forgot 30% of my order. They shipped it out superfast and refunded what they messed up on and so I never had to pay for it at the end. Overall: B

Best Bridal Prices: I bought my wedding dress and BM dresses here. They were super kind and the prices are OUT OF THIS WORLD! There was a mix up with my dress but they quickly shippped mine overnight to me. Overall: A-

I think that might be all my online purchases... Any questions?

Writing reviews,

I've realized that writing a review and either help or hinder a company's business. At the moment I've been compiling all my reviews up and have been trying to post them at various different sites. The latest and greatest site I found was ProjectWedding. I spent the evening uploading some photos and posted a few reviews on there.

Any good sites you might know about where I can write a review and help out a fellow bride?

VENDOR REVIEWS!!! ...the reception site

We planned our wedding within weeks of getting engaged. I just didn't want the hassle of it hovering over my head. One of the non issues for me was the site,Bella Victorian Vineyards. I blogged about how I choose the site.

I must admit, weather was the ONLY thing that worried me about the site. Nothing else. And well, it did but just enough to make everything get a little damp and make the area smell FRESH. As for what we and all our guests thought about Bella? WE LOVE LOVE LOVED IT! I worked with Kimberly over there and she was soo wonderful to me. Even when I'd email random questions about the place, she put up with me! My photog took a ton of photos but here are some of my favorites of their estate!


They have a trolley pick up and drop off guests from the parking area to the estate.








Photos courtesy of Toby Tucker Photography.

From start to finish, Bella Victorian Vineyards was worth every penny!

Grade: A+++++++

Speechless...

Late last night, my photographer, Toby, send over photos for me to see from the wedding! All I can say is that I am speechless how amazing they are! Here is just a few I stole from the site ;) to show you!



He gets a A+++! Thanks toby for such an amazing job! :)

VENDOR REVIEWS!!! ...the travel agent

I hate writing less than admirable reviews about people but sometimes you gotta help out the fellow bride or just anyone in general. We're going to work backwards for this one and start with the grade: "C" for Fiji Travel.

I worked with one of the agents at the company to book our honeymoon and while we had a great time, there was one reason they received such a low score, their customer service. Before booking I repeatedly told them EXACTLY what time we needed to fly out. After they agreed, we sent out our deposit and all was good. One month later I got a weird thought and wondered if they could send us the itinerary. When I opened it up, they booked us to fly out the NIGHT of the wedding, not the day I requested (the day after). At one point, I was yelling in the phone (if you can tell, I really am not that pushy) telling him HE was the one that made the mistake. For 45 minutes, I wasn't budging and was pushing the point he screwed up. I even had the emails to prove it. He finally changed the flights to the correct date.

If it wasn't for this one event, they would have received a better grade. The trip they booked primarily consisted of airfare, one hotel (that I picked out and found prices for), and transport to/from airport at destination. I did the rest of the work picking our our excursions. Would I ever recommend them to anyone? No. I'm not afraid that they would make the mistake to them, I'm afraid they would treat them as poorly as they did to fix it.

Little things I Learned along the way...

When planning my wedding, I felt soo lost at times. You get into a territory that is a world of its own. You don't know what is worth the stress and what isn't. You learn what you should skimp on and what you shouldn't. Sometimes you get hung up on minor details you forget that NO ONE will notice what color the ink is on a menu or that you didn't drink from personalized flutes (or that you didn't drink from them at all --like us).

**The lists below are showing my own personal opinion.

Venue -- When looking at locations, think about the little things like, if you want to dance where will that go? How about a bar? How many tables? Is there special lighting in the room (dimming or areas that spotlight)? What do the walls look like? Also, what is in the surrounding area outside? What is the food like? Do they have the options for serving you prefer? How much time do you REALLY have at the site?

I think you should feel comfortable with what the price tag is with what you like. Spend what you need!

Photography -- These photos are going to last you a lifetime. Not only are they yours, they are your kids, grand kids, parents photos of your wedding! When you start researching, start making a list of what style you like best. Then start narrowing it down by that. Also ask for details about who owns the copyrights of the photos, do you get proofs? How many? What about albums?

It isn't soo much of a splurge item... but it is definitely a necessity.

Videographer -- Even if you hate yourself on video, think about how your kids and grand kids would love it! Even if you don't hire anyone, at least, get someone to tape it.

I didn't want it at first but I remember one of my favorite things growing up was watching my parents video of their wedding. And when I found a videographer who shoots the style like my parents video, it was fate! Now our children will be able to watch their parents get hitched...again and again and again! I definitely wasn't cheap on this part for me!

Flowers -- Whatever you do, make sure you ask to see a mock up of the centerpiece before the wedding...even if you have to pay! Outline EXACTLY what you want and make sure to get multiple quotes. Find ideas of the style you like and take them with you.

I was timid with our florist and my flowers suffered. I'm a perfectionist and this is my one regret, not speaking up. Spend the cash to get what you want. If you want them professionally done, great, if not, research on what type of arrangements you want and price it out. Anything is possible! Realize that your centerpieces are going to be the MAIN thing your guests will be noticing during the reception!

Stationary -- Invitations, STDs, programs, menus, etc etc etc. Most importantly invitations. Realize that by making your own you might not be saving THAT much money. The programs and the rest, if you have the time to make them, great, if not, who cares! No one will be mad if you don't make them!

From start to finish, all my stationary supplies cost around $$$$. It would have been less expensive for me to just order than and save me the heartache and time!

Favors -- What is someone going to do with that thing after your wedding? This should always be your number one question.

We wanted to complement our mood with our favors: Mumm's Sparkling Wine in velvet bags, little mini velvet bags with chocolate coins, and a candy buffet. We spend a GOOD chunk on this and frankly I thought it was worth it for me. It brought in both styles I wanted to convey.
Finally...

Attire -- Find the style of dress you like! And if you are saving money, there ARE alternatives to David's Bridal! Check out local boutiques and even higher end stores for their sample sales. And when you shop, only try on dresses in your price range. Why hurt yourself if you fall in love with a $5k dress when you only have $1000 to spend. Don't settle either. Find the dress that you LOVE!

I found the dress I loved in the price range. It gave me the excuse to splurge on the shoes!

..........I know there is a ton more to talk about these are always the biggest things! When you first set out, before making a budget, talk to a few others who just got married. Learn what the basic costs of things are. THEN set your budget! Also budget for MISC. You never know what may come up!

In the near future, I will be posting my budget and how it came out but it will be after I finish up posting about everything else!

VENDOR REVIEWS!!! ...the limo

Back in April (6+months before the wedding) I researched costs of transportation before I settled on Executive limo. It seems like the most reasonable and in the price range.

When dealing with them on the phone, they were nothing but helpful! Come the day of our wedding, the limo arrived prefectly on time and the bar was stocked for our entertainment! :)

We were able to pile thirteen people with lots of room to spare!

We had a complete blast driving to our photography shoot between the ceremony and the reception!


All in all, I'd have to give them 4 Stars, an A, and a 10 out of 10!



**photos were taken by one of my BMs Kim!

Uncontrollable...

From the beginning of planning once we picked our venue, I was worried about the weather. I knew that it was the one thing out of my hands and it would play a HUGE part on our reception. When the time came to checking the weather, I became obsessed with weather websites. I checked 10 times a day, blogged about how it changed from one site to the next. But in the end it didn't matter, I still couldn't control the weather.

The morning of the wedding, I stood by the door of the salon with my hair all in curls, watching the rain drizzle down on the streets. By the time I got the church, I waiting in the limo because the rain didn't want to let up. After the vows were said, and I kissed my husband for the first time, we walked out to beautiful grey skies and the rain finally let up.

With this chance to finally go take photos, we threw our bridal party into the limo and headed over to Channel Islands State University to take some photos and the colors were just soo vibrant! After we were done, we went back for our bridal party lunch and waited till it was time to go to the reception. By this time, the rain found us and blessed us with more of it.

On the trolley ride, my new husband's tux got drenched with dirty muddy water from the side of the trolley and while I thought I would freak out, I laughed. We got off the trolley with our guests under their own umbrellas and under anything else that looked like refuge while I waltzed around without a care in the world. By the time it was dinner, the drizzling subsided and we took our slightly wet chairs and started to have a great time.

By the time it was our first dance, I looked up and noticed the stars came out to join us. Throughout such a emotional day, the rain blessed us and made it so very memorable! Now if I could go back to change it, would I want it differently?

Not in a million years!

**photo of me and a few of the groomsmen and was taken by one of my BMs Kim!

VENDOR REVIEWS!!! ...the music

I have to say if it wasn't for the amazing work of Mike, the owner of Ambassadors of Sound, I don't think I (or our guests) would have had as much fun as we did! He played everything we asked for and kept the party moving. He was an amazing MC too! If you live in Southern California, I'd HIGHLY recommend him!

Here is a photo of us dancing our first song to "Cheek to Cheek" by Sinatra



Photo from my friend Frank! :)

Grade: A++++++

Total counts...

Something I did right was give a lower count than what we expected to the caterers. Below are our final counts:
Sent out 100 invitations...

* 80... RSVPs received
* 20.. RSVPs AWOL
* 126...Yeses
* 140... TOTAL Yeses (from RSVPs or just told us)
* 2... unknowns
* 15....Nos
* 31... Nos (from RSVPs or just told us)
* RSVP DATE has PASSED!!!

What was the real number who finally came? 130. There was about 10 people who RSVPed yes that didn't show up. Some I knew wouldn't make it cause of the fires in the area, others I have to admit I was a bit surprised about.

In the end, we ended up paying for 1 extra meal! :) Not too shabby!

Yummy vendor review Part 1

Since early on, we went with cupcake idea and wanted to find a local bakery. We found TC Bakery and everything fell into place. We even sent photos over of our ideas of what I wanted and I think they did a great job! Everyone LOVED the cupcakes and they were soo moist and tasty I was bummed after the reception I didn't get have more! Luckily someone packed some up and my wish for cupcakes were fullfilled!





Photo came from my dear friend Frank! Danke Frank-uh!

On a grading scale, TC Bakery gets an A!

Hand cramps...

That is what I didn't have! Why, because I didn't address my envelopes! I had the BEST CALLIGRAPHER IN THE WORLD do my invitations. Here name is Monica C. and lives and works in beautiful Hawaii. Even though she lives far away, she went beyond any other vendor I've used thus far! She is my favorite and I love every vendor I have! :) She's sent out examples of her work, kept in contact with you and gave updates from time to time and double checked names with you if she had questions. Amazing! Here is an example of her artistry.


(my apologies for my horrible photo taking skills.)


When it was time to get the envelopes back, she packaged them well and even put the cutest little card in there for me!

She is reasonably priced and has an eye for detailing and the end result is perfection. I can't think of a better way to add that extra touch of class to your invitations.

Her email address is monica.choe [at] gmail [dot] com. ([at] = @ [dot] = .) Again, I can't ooze more praises for her! Now... go inquire!