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Do these ladies look familar?
These images were taken from Kali Kraum on March 27th, 2008. I made the video slide from the images she provided through Animoto. We had our reception at Round Table Pizza because of the late hour of the rehearsal and it being in the middle of a weekday. We figured something light, fun, and fast. It was one of the bridesmaid's birthday so we surprised her with a cake which also served as dessert. There's a Pictobrowser if you want to view each photos taken from that day. return to top of page return to top of page Ceremony venue: St. Victor's Church of San Jose WONDERFUL STAFF ALL AROUND. I was very happy to get married at this church I've been a patron of this facility for a very long time. I thought I received all my current sacraments here other than my baptismal... surprise surprise .. when I spoke with our priest he had my baptismal paper. That was over 30 years ago! Our officiant is the now retired Rev. Stephen Perata. He was a major influence in our wedding planning. Just when the husband and I felt like no one understood us... Father would tell us stories of other couples that have gone before us and we leave his office feeling 20 times better. The coordinator Joanne is amazing. She maneuver our rehearsal so smoothly and made sure we didn't miss a beat. One of our requirements was pre-marital counseling that we thought was going to be dreadful. We love our classes. We got paired up with a group that we clicked with right away. Our mentors were parents of an old aquatience of mines. They were great mentors. Nice to know that people can still be so sweet to each other after 40+ years of marriage. We owe a lot to this church for setting up our ceremony so stress free.. Reception venue: Holiday Inn SFO Beautiful and amazing are what I've chosen to describe our reception venue. It surprised me in sooo many ways. Finding this spot was like fate. We were originally supposed to book this place for another event before our engagement but at the time it was too small. It had the old layout w/out the atrium built in. One weekend we made it a goal to go to several spot and meet with event planners. We went to one hotel and had an ultimately bad time with the manager. At that point we felt it was hopeless. On the way home we were about to go onto 380e then I remembered Holiday Inn SFO. We stopped and asked for a brochure. I got a business card and we called right away. The event coordinator at the time emailed me some prices and it was by far the lowest we've seen. We were so shock we had to see the place because maybe something was wrong with it. The event coordinator took us on a tour and went over the package she emailed us and gave us a physical copy. They didn't match in prices. She accidently gave us the wrong file when she emailed us. But never fear... they gave us the lower price. Already we knew we were getting great service. Another plus was that the place just been remodeled. We SCORED! Even if they were to charge us the full price we would've still gone with them and have no regrets. Their customer service was superb. They accommodated a new table layout I came up with and it was successful. We were able to manage 200 people in their ballroom w/o compromising a big dance floor. Good thing too because when the dancing started... boy the floor was packed. Everyone complimented us with how the food was surprisingly good. With the same team working with their Houlihan restaurant how could you go wrong. They allowed us to come in the night before to start the set up. Thank goodness because I had so much idea I never knew how much it would take for everything to get set up. This was a plus for us because we've gone to many weddings where DH had to dj and the room was set up in less than 2 hrs before. Of course we just got lucky they didn't have a meeting in that room prior to our event. But even then some places wouldn't let you have that benefit. This is definitely a diamond in the rust. A secret jewel in S. San Francisco. Check it out. You'll be surprised. Professional Photographer: Ed Pingol Photography LOVE HIM! He made my wedding look so beautiful. I feel like everytime i look at my wedding teaser I tear as I remember vividly what our day was like. When my father posted a comment on his blog... it reconfirmed that this is the best decision I've made. Always having an interest in graphic design photography was my priority. I gave up a lot of my ideas to fit him in our budget and I'm glad I did. Even my husband that was hesitant to spend any money... he bowed down to me. All my family and friends loves him, his wife, and brother as they made taking pictures so much fun. They are professional, prompt, quick, and have a creative side that is priceless. If you don't believe me my photos of my e-pics and wedding are in my photo album in my profile. I felt this after hiring them photos were the least of my worries. BIG THANK YOU TO ED PINGOL PHOTOGRAPHY! Day of Coordinator: Bellissima Vita The husband and I agree she was one of the best money spent on our wedding. I can't believe we were this close to not hiring her with DH being so tight on our budget. She was affordable but DH didn't think it was an investment that was a priority to us. I insisted with all my might and saved my money to make sure we get Lisa. At the end of the day my husband kissed me and said he was glad he married an insisting woman. A compliment like that from him is like send a rep from the skeptic men association. Lisa covered all bases. My number 1 stress was things were going to get missed. I considered myself very detailed but when we first met with Lisa she was more detailed than I was. It was astonishing to me and DH because I planned events for my family all the time. I was sure I would be prepared for her. Nope. She's the wedding insurance you definitely should invest in. I agree. She's so organized and calm. That's one thing I wished I had. She went over and beyond and helped us for 3 nights in a row to get everything together. I was here freaked out during those nights and she would pull me aside and calmly get me back on the focus of our goals. It was like I hired a secret moh. Thank you Lisa and I hope you read this. You made our wedding amazing. It would not be the success that it was without you by our side. Many blessing and luck on your future endeavors because person like you is deserving. Florist: Huckleberry Karen Designs Karen was our first vendor after our venue that we hired. I'm sooo happy we did. She is the easy going sweetheart that'll win any FI's heart. Ha ha ha ha! Funny thing my DH went in this meeting with "we can't spend that much money.. just remember". So he naturally put on his going to the car lot going to buy a discounted car face. Once we've met her we started to look at her portfolio on her flower design and she offered other decor ideas that pertains to my theme. I remember going through what we needed as far as flowers for the wedding party and you think we should've been done with the meeting. Nope.. Karen was so warm and personal DH started to open up to her like she was his lost long time friend. All of the sudden we got into this funny conversation about Costco. She broke down his game face wall and he like I think this is going to work out. Through the wedding planning Karen was so flexible with me. I get one idea and ask her for a new proposal and bam it was in my email inbox. Then I change my mind and she would accomodate my idea and take my budget into perspective. Funny thing she never asked what it was but kept it in that budget range. Working with the budget standard DH gave me I did have my doubts with the results. But everything was BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!!! It was all that I dreamt of and more. The colors she went with fit perfectly to my needs and wants. She heard all my 10 personalities and was able to collab them into a beautiful design. Thanks Karen. Your knowledge, creativity, and friendly attitude will take you very far. Recommended! Videographer: C3 Videography C3 videography happens to land on theknot in the boards. I don't remember how or when or why... but I felt it was meant to be. We were on the fence about hiring a videographer. DH was convinced after meeting with C3 videography for the first time. They drove down to San Jose to meet with us when they live in Union City one Saturday. They didn't have any demo dvd for us to take with but they sat patiently and showed us as many dvd's as we would like. The menu and their online samples sold me. Their customer service, professionalism, and courtesy impressed DH. I waited to submit this review because we were awaiting our 1st draft. We received it a few months ago and it's amazing. I felt like I was there again, reliving every moment.. this time more clearly. The sounds of our vows were clear. There are shots that no one has ever considered before. They are so on it. The family is impressed so much they are doing my brother-in-law's wedding next year. Thank you C3! Disc Jockey: Synchronized Sounds PHENOMENAL JOB!!!! He went way over our expectations. DH himself is a wedding dj and he's extremely picky and so are his friends. But Chris manage to impress everyone with this ability to multitask and was detail oriented. He rocked the house and several of our friends continuously commented on it. You think I would be bias with him being my uncle but there are times being related to a vendor they tend to slack off and feel they don't have to put in half the work. Chris did not what-so-ever. In fact, our guests kept him pretty busy that I started to feel guilty. However he was able to handle what came to him with calmness and ease. I had a few games in mind. Chris pulled them off. It was hilarious. The one that I totally thought was going to stop the "clinking" of the glasses with the kissing game... went too far. They were clinking non-stop. The groom and I couldn't even eat a bite. I never gave Chris guidelines when to stop but when he did he completely read my mind. We had a long program but he kept to it really well. By the time we were going to dance everyone was ready to dance. Then everyone was disappointed because our time in the ballroom was up way too soon. DARN! Thanks Chris! You did a fan-tabulous (fantastic and fabulous) job! Cake Maker: Jen's Cake YUMMIE and ACCOMMODATING!!!! I love Jen's Cake. First time I tried her cake was at a bridal faire. She had one of the best tasting cake and lowest price as far as per slice. I thought "no it can't be real". We didn't have a budget for the cake since it was being bought for us as a gift. However DH and I didn't feel the need to be over extravagant in the price. With the first taste of her cake I fell in love. But this was a bridal faire it can't be that good. So I thought... maybe I should just order a cake for a birthday and try it out. Jen was totally open to doing that for us. We paid for it, so don't get any ideas. And I served the cake at a 1yrs old birthday and there was a dead silence. Then my best friend (before knowing it was a trial) busted with "THIS IS SOOOO GOOD YOU SHOULD HIRE THEM TO DO YOUR CAKE!!!!!!" LOL. Sounds hard to believe but that's exactly what happened. SO we scheduled a tasting and I agree.. Anthony is hilarious and a great person to meet with. We brought the whole groom's side for the tasting and he was very open to it. We even got into a friendly squabble over baseball. It was too funny! He's definitely a people's person. And he knows how to cut down to match your budget. It came down from fabric ribbon to fondant one and he said ... our design was already expensive we should stick to the fabric. So we did. Everyone love the design of our cake and the taste. It was definitely beautiful. Simple, classic, and delicious. Jen is very talented, prompt in responding to my emails, and very friendly. Highly recommended. Limo: SF Town Limo EXCELLENT SERVICE! We were down and out when it came to looking for transportation. We feared with it being a month before our wedding we weren't able to find decent transportation at a decent price. We can't praise this company enough! The driver showed up on time, even though we weren't. He patiently waited during our 3hour photo session. They were prompt, offer great customer service, and easy to work with. Very much recommended! Make Up: Jennie Rose She did an amazing job on me and the rest of the girls in the bridal party. I'd give her 10 stars! I've seen her work many of times and it just gets better and better. She has done my boudoir photos, variety of weddings, and fashion show. The girl is talented. Keep an eye out for her site. For now she can be emailed: click here to send your inquiry . She'll work with you on your budget and travels around the Bay Area. Thank you Jrose! I know you'll be successful in the years to come. I'll hook you up girl. Tuxedos: Formal Headquarters International The customer service was not great at all. I'm usually a nice reviewer but I have to tell future bride that this part of their business needs serious improvements. First the constant calls. This company non-stopped called me to offer 3 free tux. We thought great. What a deal but why do they have to call me 50 times after I said I wasn't interested? This should've been my red flag. But we thought what a saving and we'll check out the place. We got there and they helped us out to pick up a great selection of suits based on our color scheme. And at the end it worked out perfectly as far as putting the vision together. Then came the picking up the tux after everyone's has been measured. My jr. groomsman ended up with a small tux. HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE? It threw the day before my wedding schedule off by a lot. My moh (mother of the jr gm) and I was supposed to go shopping but she had to put that off in order to get this fix. She thought it would be opened early but nope. It doesn't open til noon with no emergency back up. This made me nervous. So we ended up doing our errands and she picked up her son and took him back at noon. They apologize and failed to mention that they were short on his size. SHORT ON HIS SIZE. WHAT!? When we signed with them they said they had a great amount of stock. WTH!!! IF they were so unsure of the stock in his size when they measured him they should've told them to go elsewhere. And my moh said that the people in the store was completely clueless with what to do when she came in with this problem. I didn't have any bridezilla moment throughout the wedding planning on any vendors and this was the first I was ready to lash out on. They were able to finally come up with something and even then it wasn't completely comfortable for our jr. groomsman. Then the next issue was when they were told at the time of drop off where the cufflinks were in the garment bag. They told my brother in law that it wasn't there and they were going to charge DH for 3 set of missing cufflinks. DH was mad but what can you do. We weren't there at the time of the drop off. About a week later they called and said they found it. It was where they were told it was. Umph! Needless to say we don't recommend you go with this place unless they improve their services. The savings was not worth it. MOHs' & sisters' dresses: Netbride Very easy to work with. The dresses came in 1 month prior to agreed delivery time and the difference compared to the bridal shops are unbelievable. I don't have much complaint other than that they have a very old way of handling online transactions. Also getting the initial quote sometimes I get it. And sometimes I felt like my emails get lost. Eventually everything worked out and the dresses were beautiful. Bridesmaids dresses : Jcrew I also ordered dresses through Jcrew. Great customer service! the dresses came in on time, perfectly packed, and their beach dress although it's cotton seersucker looks elegant. Bridal Gown and Mother of the Groom's Dress : Papers and Petals I was not happy with this place. There was a Maggie Sottero trunk show but every dress I like wasn't available at the trunk show, wierd! The gal there had to help me take a few looks at dresses I didn't consider. I felt bad for the girl because here was this trunk show after regular work hours and she was all by herself answering the phone and helping boys picking up their tux for the prom. And I thought wow they are well under staff this time of the year. When they sized me I was soooo skeptic. They put me 2 dress size higher. I'd thought ok.. I read about this stuff and wedding dresses are usually 2 sizes up the street dress size. But I was a plus woman and if they were sizing me what I should've been it would still be fine because plus size woman sizes are usually true to size. Then I ask for guestimate of the alterations she said... it would probably be only the hem. So it won't be too bad. But what struck me as weird was that they weren't going to order me a dress that was custom made. I went to other trunk shows and they offered that for free. The only deal I got was the plus size difference waived. So I'd thought ya! Saved on the alterations. But no. I came to pick up my dress and they insist that they check out how much would it be for the alterations. IT WAS WELL OVER SIZED! So I asked for an estimate. $800!!!!! Everything need to be done. The owner said my boobs were way too small that's why. I thought why would you tell a customer that?!?! And my booty (she actually said waist but i know what she was referring to) was bigger in portion to my boobs. I know that.. but she didn't have to flat out tell me that. She laughed it off.. she didn't know me enough to say that. So I referred her to my mother-in-law to get her dress there too but do not even ask for an estimate for the alterations. She did exactly that and it was fine. But she too had problems with getting an oversized dress. Make your own assumption why this place did that. I should've done further research on this. I was too caught up on the design of my dress to worry about the history of the bridal shop. But everyone loves my dress and therefore I gave Papers & Petals 2 stars for helping me find my dream dress. Alterations: Si Arima Alterations When I picked up my dress at the bridal shop the amount they quoted me was ridiculous. It was almost the price I paid for the dress. I was ready to crash and give up on it. Then I went to Si out of the many good reviews. She said the reason I was quoted a lot was the extensive details of the beading and lace. However her quote was half the price. 800 vs. 350. I was sooo excited. I had a second dress she did and a shrug she made and it still wasn't equivalent to my original quote at the bridal shop. Si did an amazing job with the alterations. I was so shock. It looked like it wasn't at all mended and it fit perfectly. She was able to instruct my sisters how to properly put on my lace corset and I'm so glad she did. I didn't think it would be complicated but the education was very helpful. Si is very affordable and sweet. She offers the best advice in regards to wedding dresses because she's been doing this for so long. Its nice to meet vendors that doesn't do it entirely for the money but for the love of what she does. And you can tell she totally loves doing alterations. Shoes : Zappos I heart Zappos. You can order as many shoes you want and return them with free shipping both ways. I could never find wide pretty shoes. The selection has more than department stores. I'm glad I used this for my wedding shoe hunt! Stationary: DIY'd here are the stores I used Michaels (Milipitas, CA) I was able to find most of my supplies that's the heart of my projects. I thought I can save money by going online but with their crazy amount coupons they put out every now and then it was more worth it to go here. Kelly Paper (SF, CA) Affordable quality paper can be found here. I found my invitation paper and program paper here after admiring some of our local stationer's paper. They open during office work hours which sucks. But once you go in there it's worth it. I spent hours in there. Kinkos (Daly City, CA) They get 4 stars only because they let us cut paper for free with their long paper cutting board they have out by the copy machine area. Customer service varies. Sometimes they are on it and deliever right away and sometimes I can be standing there for 30 mins while the employees joke with each other wasting time when there's a line of customers. Paper Source (San Jose and Marina SF, CA & online) Customer service, quality products, and pretty things forced me to give them 5 stars. Yes it is quite expensive but if you do enough research and willing to put the work you can save a few pennies here and there. I used their poster papers and cut to size for my invitation project. And they do bulk discounts. The more you buy of one paper in one color the more discount. Which is very considerate. Target (Milpitas, CA) For my last minute convient store I used Target. It had what I needed but I knocked out 1 star only b/c there's not enough of what I needed. Hiromi Paper(online) I recieved my basho paper in perfect condition and received it super fast. Beautiful paper. No complaint. Paper Mart (online) I used Paper Mart for my favor box and ribbons for my invitation. For some reason their single face ribbon is corse vs their double face satin. I guess you pay the price for that. Other than that... great price and fast shipping. Just order all at once to save yourself some money. Every new order seems to be more costly for some reason. But recommended because of their prices. Just order in advance. Other Supplies Stores: These are the stores I used for the other DIYS and other things not listed in the invitation Island Bliss Hawaii formerly Tropic Essentials(online) Beautiful satin ribbons. I used it for my flower girl basket and the ring pillows. I love the textures of their ribbons. I don't remember the customer service other than when they went through a company name their site was down. I remember this fondly because I emailed the owner and she was able to let me order though the site was going through changes. Thank goodness. I really needed that particular ribbon in their vanilla color. Romantic Flowers (online) We used the glassine envelope for our tears of joy packets. Cheap, fast shipment, and very nice. However their system at the time for online purchases was odd and my order didn't go through. I emailed the owner and she said there was another step that I didn't do for the order to be confirmed. She rang me up via paypal and I just paid it that way. JKM Ribbon (online) Allow yourself some time before you need it. It's not for the quick fix. And especially if you personalize ribbons. Your best bet is to go to local shop for personalized ribbons. Discount is by far the cheapest for certain ribbons. For double sided satin go to Paper Mart. wedding FAVORites (online) We had a last minute change of heart and added a second favor for the older ladies in our family. They like those things you decorate the box and take home and proudly show off favors. So we went with fans. This site has by far the cheapest fans with box and shipping. Even with expedited shipping it was pretty inexpensive. However the fans broke too easy and the box can fall a part but either happens if you don't take care of it well. Daiso (Daly City, CA) Love this store. Lots of little things I can find here and most of it is $1.50. Even if you don't think it'll be there it's there. Great place to test out DIY projects since supply is cheap. Save on Craft (online) Discount is ok. The shipping is a little more for a place that's like 1 or 2 hours away. return to top of page Will update soon! return to top of page My Other Sites Click on either image to be directed to that sight return to top of page The Madbraves' Wedding Program These are most of the songs from our wedding. There's just one song missing from our processional, for the garter toss, and some dancing music of course. I will list what song was used for what later. return to top of page Last updated: 9/16/08 LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU! Beep! Leave a message. <a href="http://www4.shoutmix.com/?madbrave">View shoutbox</a> ShoutMix chat widget We have been visited by: guestsHughesNet return to top of page
Ceremony venue: St. Victor's Church of San Jose WONDERFUL STAFF ALL AROUND. I was very happy to get married at this church I've been a patron of this facility for a very long time. I thought I received all my current sacraments here other than my baptismal... surprise surprise .. when I spoke with our priest he had my baptismal paper. That was over 30 years ago! Our officiant is the now retired Rev. Stephen Perata. He was a major influence in our wedding planning. Just when the husband and I felt like no one understood us... Father would tell us stories of other couples that have gone before us and we leave his office feeling 20 times better. The coordinator Joanne is amazing. She maneuver our rehearsal so smoothly and made sure we didn't miss a beat. One of our requirements was pre-marital counseling that we thought was going to be dreadful. We love our classes. We got paired up with a group that we clicked with right away. Our mentors were parents of an old aquatience of mines. They were great mentors. Nice to know that people can still be so sweet to each other after 40+ years of marriage. We owe a lot to this church for setting up our ceremony so stress free..
Reception venue: Holiday Inn SFO Beautiful and amazing are what I've chosen to describe our reception venue. It surprised me in sooo many ways. Finding this spot was like fate. We were originally supposed to book this place for another event before our engagement but at the time it was too small. It had the old layout w/out the atrium built in. One weekend we made it a goal to go to several spot and meet with event planners. We went to one hotel and had an ultimately bad time with the manager. At that point we felt it was hopeless. On the way home we were about to go onto 380e then I remembered Holiday Inn SFO. We stopped and asked for a brochure. I got a business card and we called right away. The event coordinator at the time emailed me some prices and it was by far the lowest we've seen. We were so shock we had to see the place because maybe something was wrong with it. The event coordinator took us on a tour and went over the package she emailed us and gave us a physical copy. They didn't match in prices. She accidently gave us the wrong file when she emailed us. But never fear... they gave us the lower price. Already we knew we were getting great service. Another plus was that the place just been remodeled. We SCORED! Even if they were to charge us the full price we would've still gone with them and have no regrets. Their customer service was superb. They accommodated a new table layout I came up with and it was successful. We were able to manage 200 people in their ballroom w/o compromising a big dance floor. Good thing too because when the dancing started... boy the floor was packed. Everyone complimented us with how the food was surprisingly good. With the same team working with their Houlihan restaurant how could you go wrong. They allowed us to come in the night before to start the set up. Thank goodness because I had so much idea I never knew how much it would take for everything to get set up. This was a plus for us because we've gone to many weddings where DH had to dj and the room was set up in less than 2 hrs before. Of course we just got lucky they didn't have a meeting in that room prior to our event. But even then some places wouldn't let you have that benefit. This is definitely a diamond in the rust. A secret jewel in S. San Francisco. Check it out. You'll be surprised.
Professional Photographer: Ed Pingol Photography LOVE HIM! He made my wedding look so beautiful. I feel like everytime i look at my wedding teaser I tear as I remember vividly what our day was like. When my father posted a comment on his blog... it reconfirmed that this is the best decision I've made. Always having an interest in graphic design photography was my priority. I gave up a lot of my ideas to fit him in our budget and I'm glad I did. Even my husband that was hesitant to spend any money... he bowed down to me. All my family and friends loves him, his wife, and brother as they made taking pictures so much fun. They are professional, prompt, quick, and have a creative side that is priceless. If you don't believe me my photos of my e-pics and wedding are in my photo album in my profile. I felt this after hiring them photos were the least of my worries. BIG THANK YOU TO ED PINGOL PHOTOGRAPHY!
Day of Coordinator: Bellissima Vita The husband and I agree she was one of the best money spent on our wedding. I can't believe we were this close to not hiring her with DH being so tight on our budget. She was affordable but DH didn't think it was an investment that was a priority to us. I insisted with all my might and saved my money to make sure we get Lisa. At the end of the day my husband kissed me and said he was glad he married an insisting woman. A compliment like that from him is like send a rep from the skeptic men association. Lisa covered all bases. My number 1 stress was things were going to get missed. I considered myself very detailed but when we first met with Lisa she was more detailed than I was. It was astonishing to me and DH because I planned events for my family all the time. I was sure I would be prepared for her. Nope. She's the wedding insurance you definitely should invest in. I agree. She's so organized and calm. That's one thing I wished I had. She went over and beyond and helped us for 3 nights in a row to get everything together. I was here freaked out during those nights and she would pull me aside and calmly get me back on the focus of our goals. It was like I hired a secret moh. Thank you Lisa and I hope you read this. You made our wedding amazing. It would not be the success that it was without you by our side. Many blessing and luck on your future endeavors because person like you is deserving.
Florist: Huckleberry Karen Designs Karen was our first vendor after our venue that we hired. I'm sooo happy we did. She is the easy going sweetheart that'll win any FI's heart. Ha ha ha ha! Funny thing my DH went in this meeting with "we can't spend that much money.. just remember". So he naturally put on his going to the car lot going to buy a discounted car face. Once we've met her we started to look at her portfolio on her flower design and she offered other decor ideas that pertains to my theme. I remember going through what we needed as far as flowers for the wedding party and you think we should've been done with the meeting. Nope.. Karen was so warm and personal DH started to open up to her like she was his lost long time friend. All of the sudden we got into this funny conversation about Costco. She broke down his game face wall and he like I think this is going to work out. Through the wedding planning Karen was so flexible with me. I get one idea and ask her for a new proposal and bam it was in my email inbox. Then I change my mind and she would accomodate my idea and take my budget into perspective. Funny thing she never asked what it was but kept it in that budget range. Working with the budget standard DH gave me I did have my doubts with the results. But everything was BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!!! It was all that I dreamt of and more. The colors she went with fit perfectly to my needs and wants. She heard all my 10 personalities and was able to collab them into a beautiful design. Thanks Karen. Your knowledge, creativity, and friendly attitude will take you very far. Recommended!
Videographer: C3 Videography C3 videography happens to land on theknot in the boards. I don't remember how or when or why... but I felt it was meant to be. We were on the fence about hiring a videographer. DH was convinced after meeting with C3 videography for the first time. They drove down to San Jose to meet with us when they live in Union City one Saturday. They didn't have any demo dvd for us to take with but they sat patiently and showed us as many dvd's as we would like. The menu and their online samples sold me. Their customer service, professionalism, and courtesy impressed DH. I waited to submit this review because we were awaiting our 1st draft. We received it a few months ago and it's amazing. I felt like I was there again, reliving every moment.. this time more clearly. The sounds of our vows were clear. There are shots that no one has ever considered before. They are so on it. The family is impressed so much they are doing my brother-in-law's wedding next year. Thank you C3!
Disc Jockey: Synchronized Sounds PHENOMENAL JOB!!!! He went way over our expectations. DH himself is a wedding dj and he's extremely picky and so are his friends. But Chris manage to impress everyone with this ability to multitask and was detail oriented. He rocked the house and several of our friends continuously commented on it. You think I would be bias with him being my uncle but there are times being related to a vendor they tend to slack off and feel they don't have to put in half the work. Chris did not what-so-ever. In fact, our guests kept him pretty busy that I started to feel guilty. However he was able to handle what came to him with calmness and ease. I had a few games in mind. Chris pulled them off. It was hilarious. The one that I totally thought was going to stop the "clinking" of the glasses with the kissing game... went too far. They were clinking non-stop. The groom and I couldn't even eat a bite. I never gave Chris guidelines when to stop but when he did he completely read my mind. We had a long program but he kept to it really well. By the time we were going to dance everyone was ready to dance. Then everyone was disappointed because our time in the ballroom was up way too soon. DARN! Thanks Chris! You did a fan-tabulous (fantastic and fabulous) job!
Cake Maker: Jen's Cake YUMMIE and ACCOMMODATING!!!! I love Jen's Cake. First time I tried her cake was at a bridal faire. She had one of the best tasting cake and lowest price as far as per slice. I thought "no it can't be real". We didn't have a budget for the cake since it was being bought for us as a gift. However DH and I didn't feel the need to be over extravagant in the price. With the first taste of her cake I fell in love. But this was a bridal faire it can't be that good. So I thought... maybe I should just order a cake for a birthday and try it out. Jen was totally open to doing that for us. We paid for it, so don't get any ideas. And I served the cake at a 1yrs old birthday and there was a dead silence. Then my best friend (before knowing it was a trial) busted with "THIS IS SOOOO GOOD YOU SHOULD HIRE THEM TO DO YOUR CAKE!!!!!!" LOL. Sounds hard to believe but that's exactly what happened. SO we scheduled a tasting and I agree.. Anthony is hilarious and a great person to meet with. We brought the whole groom's side for the tasting and he was very open to it. We even got into a friendly squabble over baseball. It was too funny! He's definitely a people's person. And he knows how to cut down to match your budget. It came down from fabric ribbon to fondant one and he said ... our design was already expensive we should stick to the fabric. So we did. Everyone love the design of our cake and the taste. It was definitely beautiful. Simple, classic, and delicious. Jen is very talented, prompt in responding to my emails, and very friendly. Highly recommended.
Limo: SF Town Limo EXCELLENT SERVICE! We were down and out when it came to looking for transportation. We feared with it being a month before our wedding we weren't able to find decent transportation at a decent price. We can't praise this company enough! The driver showed up on time, even though we weren't. He patiently waited during our 3hour photo session. They were prompt, offer great customer service, and easy to work with. Very much recommended!
Make Up: Jennie Rose She did an amazing job on me and the rest of the girls in the bridal party. I'd give her 10 stars! I've seen her work many of times and it just gets better and better. She has done my boudoir photos, variety of weddings, and fashion show. The girl is talented. Keep an eye out for her site. For now she can be emailed: click here to send your inquiry . She'll work with you on your budget and travels around the Bay Area.
Thank you Jrose! I know you'll be successful in the years to come. I'll hook you up girl.
Tuxedos: Formal Headquarters International The customer service was not great at all. I'm usually a nice reviewer but I have to tell future bride that this part of their business needs serious improvements. First the constant calls. This company non-stopped called me to offer 3 free tux. We thought great. What a deal but why do they have to call me 50 times after I said I wasn't interested? This should've been my red flag. But we thought what a saving and we'll check out the place. We got there and they helped us out to pick up a great selection of suits based on our color scheme. And at the end it worked out perfectly as far as putting the vision together. Then came the picking up the tux after everyone's has been measured. My jr. groomsman ended up with a small tux. HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE? It threw the day before my wedding schedule off by a lot. My moh (mother of the jr gm) and I was supposed to go shopping but she had to put that off in order to get this fix. She thought it would be opened early but nope. It doesn't open til noon with no emergency back up. This made me nervous. So we ended up doing our errands and she picked up her son and took him back at noon. They apologize and failed to mention that they were short on his size. SHORT ON HIS SIZE. WHAT!? When we signed with them they said they had a great amount of stock. WTH!!! IF they were so unsure of the stock in his size when they measured him they should've told them to go elsewhere. And my moh said that the people in the store was completely clueless with what to do when she came in with this problem. I didn't have any bridezilla moment throughout the wedding planning on any vendors and this was the first I was ready to lash out on. They were able to finally come up with something and even then it wasn't completely comfortable for our jr. groomsman. Then the next issue was when they were told at the time of drop off where the cufflinks were in the garment bag. They told my brother in law that it wasn't there and they were going to charge DH for 3 set of missing cufflinks. DH was mad but what can you do. We weren't there at the time of the drop off. About a week later they called and said they found it. It was where they were told it was. Umph! Needless to say we don't recommend you go with this place unless they improve their services. The savings was not worth it.
MOHs' & sisters' dresses: Netbride Very easy to work with. The dresses came in 1 month prior to agreed delivery time and the difference compared to the bridal shops are unbelievable. I don't have much complaint other than that they have a very old way of handling online transactions. Also getting the initial quote sometimes I get it. And sometimes I felt like my emails get lost. Eventually everything worked out and the dresses were beautiful.
Bridesmaids dresses : Jcrew I also ordered dresses through Jcrew. Great customer service! the dresses came in on time, perfectly packed, and their beach dress although it's cotton seersucker looks elegant.
Bridal Gown and Mother of the Groom's Dress : Papers and Petals I was not happy with this place. There was a Maggie Sottero trunk show but every dress I like wasn't available at the trunk show, wierd! The gal there had to help me take a few looks at dresses I didn't consider. I felt bad for the girl because here was this trunk show after regular work hours and she was all by herself answering the phone and helping boys picking up their tux for the prom. And I thought wow they are well under staff this time of the year. When they sized me I was soooo skeptic. They put me 2 dress size higher. I'd thought ok.. I read about this stuff and wedding dresses are usually 2 sizes up the street dress size. But I was a plus woman and if they were sizing me what I should've been it would still be fine because plus size woman sizes are usually true to size. Then I ask for guestimate of the alterations she said... it would probably be only the hem. So it won't be too bad. But what struck me as weird was that they weren't going to order me a dress that was custom made. I went to other trunk shows and they offered that for free. The only deal I got was the plus size difference waived. So I'd thought ya! Saved on the alterations. But no. I came to pick up my dress and they insist that they check out how much would it be for the alterations. IT WAS WELL OVER SIZED! So I asked for an estimate. $800!!!!! Everything need to be done. The owner said my boobs were way too small that's why. I thought why would you tell a customer that?!?! And my booty (she actually said waist but i know what she was referring to) was bigger in portion to my boobs. I know that.. but she didn't have to flat out tell me that. She laughed it off.. she didn't know me enough to say that. So I referred her to my mother-in-law to get her dress there too but do not even ask for an estimate for the alterations. She did exactly that and it was fine. But she too had problems with getting an oversized dress. Make your own assumption why this place did that. I should've done further research on this. I was too caught up on the design of my dress to worry about the history of the bridal shop. But everyone loves my dress and therefore I gave Papers & Petals 2 stars for helping me find my dream dress.
Alterations: Si Arima Alterations When I picked up my dress at the bridal shop the amount they quoted me was ridiculous. It was almost the price I paid for the dress. I was ready to crash and give up on it. Then I went to Si out of the many good reviews. She said the reason I was quoted a lot was the extensive details of the beading and lace. However her quote was half the price. 800 vs. 350. I was sooo excited. I had a second dress she did and a shrug she made and it still wasn't equivalent to my original quote at the bridal shop. Si did an amazing job with the alterations. I was so shock. It looked like it wasn't at all mended and it fit perfectly. She was able to instruct my sisters how to properly put on my lace corset and I'm so glad she did. I didn't think it would be complicated but the education was very helpful. Si is very affordable and sweet. She offers the best advice in regards to wedding dresses because she's been doing this for so long. Its nice to meet vendors that doesn't do it entirely for the money but for the love of what she does. And you can tell she totally loves doing alterations.
Shoes : Zappos I heart Zappos. You can order as many shoes you want and return them with free shipping both ways. I could never find wide pretty shoes. The selection has more than department stores. I'm glad I used this for my wedding shoe hunt!
Stationary: DIY'd here are the stores I used
Michaels (Milipitas, CA) I was able to find most of my supplies that's the heart of my projects. I thought I can save money by going online but with their crazy amount coupons they put out every now and then it was more worth it to go here.
Kelly Paper (SF, CA) Affordable quality paper can be found here. I found my invitation paper and program paper here after admiring some of our local stationer's paper. They open during office work hours which sucks. But once you go in there it's worth it. I spent hours in there.
Kinkos (Daly City, CA) They get 4 stars only because they let us cut paper for free with their long paper cutting board they have out by the copy machine area. Customer service varies. Sometimes they are on it and deliever right away and sometimes I can be standing there for 30 mins while the employees joke with each other wasting time when there's a line of customers.
Paper Source (San Jose and Marina SF, CA & online) Customer service, quality products, and pretty things forced me to give them 5 stars. Yes it is quite expensive but if you do enough research and willing to put the work you can save a few pennies here and there. I used their poster papers and cut to size for my invitation project. And they do bulk discounts. The more you buy of one paper in one color the more discount. Which is very considerate.
Target (Milpitas, CA) For my last minute convient store I used Target. It had what I needed but I knocked out 1 star only b/c there's not enough of what I needed.
Hiromi Paper(online) I recieved my basho paper in perfect condition and received it super fast. Beautiful paper. No complaint.
Paper Mart (online) I used Paper Mart for my favor box and ribbons for my invitation. For some reason their single face ribbon is corse vs their double face satin. I guess you pay the price for that. Other than that... great price and fast shipping. Just order all at once to save yourself some money. Every new order seems to be more costly for some reason. But recommended because of their prices. Just order in advance.
Other Supplies Stores: These are the stores I used for the other DIYS and other things not listed in the invitation
Island Bliss Hawaii formerly Tropic Essentials(online) Beautiful satin ribbons. I used it for my flower girl basket and the ring pillows. I love the textures of their ribbons. I don't remember the customer service other than when they went through a company name their site was down. I remember this fondly because I emailed the owner and she was able to let me order though the site was going through changes. Thank goodness. I really needed that particular ribbon in their vanilla color.
Romantic Flowers (online) We used the glassine envelope for our tears of joy packets. Cheap, fast shipment, and very nice. However their system at the time for online purchases was odd and my order didn't go through. I emailed the owner and she said there was another step that I didn't do for the order to be confirmed. She rang me up via paypal and I just paid it that way.
JKM Ribbon (online) Allow yourself some time before you need it. It's not for the quick fix. And especially if you personalize ribbons. Your best bet is to go to local shop for personalized ribbons. Discount is by far the cheapest for certain ribbons. For double sided satin go to Paper Mart.
wedding FAVORites (online) We had a last minute change of heart and added a second favor for the older ladies in our family. They like those things you decorate the box and take home and proudly show off favors. So we went with fans. This site has by far the cheapest fans with box and shipping. Even with expedited shipping it was pretty inexpensive. However the fans broke too easy and the box can fall a part but either happens if you don't take care of it well.
Daiso (Daly City, CA) Love this store. Lots of little things I can find here and most of it is $1.50. Even if you don't think it'll be there it's there. Great place to test out DIY projects since supply is cheap.
Save on Craft (online) Discount is ok. The shipping is a little more for a place that's like 1 or 2 hours away.
My Other Sites Click on either image to be directed to that sight
The Madbraves' Wedding Program These are most of the songs from our wedding. There's just one song missing from our processional, for the garter toss, and some dancing music of course. I will list what song was used for what later.
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