7 – 4 - 2007

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania




DIY invitations




Titanium and rose gold rings











Breakfast in the Club Lounge


View of City Hall from my suite





Dress


Shoes & Garter


Tying my Maiden of Honor’s tails


My BMs


My 11 year old MOH


Dad zips me in.


Hadn’t yet discovered I could reach my feet











My chignon


DIY make-up


Many tried to button me, only my MOH succeeded.


My grandmother was so happy


So was I


Detail of my dress


A lace hankie for tears to come


All buttoned


20 minutes to go!





Can I get these stems trimmed?


With Mom


BM bouquets were slightly smaller versions of my own, with pearled wrapping.


Me and my girls








Stephanotis matched the star theme


Cheat sheet








The Ritz-Carlton surprised us with yummy cookies and chocolate Liberty Bells.


Our ringbearer wore Colonial attire.


DIY programs


The Princeton Engelchor


Ready!


See my groom waiting for me?


So happy to see him!


Aisle décor, as we sit in silence


Exchange of rings


The kiss!


Our wedding certificate



Signing the certificate




My stepfather reading the certificate


Yay!


With my veil around my neck before the formal pictures


DH insisted on my “serious face”


I prefer laughter


Kisses are even better


Mama is so short, we squatted


Grandmother is tall enough to stand


Ben Franklin is our favorite founding father


He mingled at cocktail hour


The backdrop is so pretty, it looks fake



My favorite pictures


Look at his foot!


Mmm













Our friends outside for a smoke joined us



Moments before…


I was shat upon by a bird

Soda water got it out, but ruined the satin


Better to have good luck than perfect satin!

















My red (snapdragon), white and blue (delphinium and hydrangea) arrangements.





Red and white drowned orchid centerpieces went well with the blue water glasses.


We sat all of our friends down one very long table


Ben did our introduction.


Our first dance was a Viennese waltz








Father-daughter dance


Mother-son dance



I wanted the wedding to feel like a 4th of July picnic




We had a Southwestern station with fajitas


A crabcake station


The chandelier looks out through the eye of the dome to the sky above


White chocolate cream cheese cake








Feeding nicely


Cake kiss!


Our niece was in the spirit!


Boogie ‘til you drop


The Moms





DIY music


Guests signed the certificate


Favors = Book buffet


Our program included a map to the afterparty

Please visit my planning bio for additional information.
Copyright: For-profit businesses may not use any of these photos without permission.
The above photos (with a few non-pro pictures mixed in) were taken by Spark Photography



Afterparty

I loved telling people “Hall and Oates is playing at my wedding’s afterparty!” There’s always a free public concert before the fireworks, I just took advantage of it. I’d packed up a red pull wagon with sparklers, patriotic party hats, patriotic candy, cookie favors, a cooler with drinks, and brownies. It was a lot of fun, except for all that lucky rain. My friend took the following pictures with his cell phone.















Our friend almost got arrested for this stunt




Honeymoon

We went to Baja California Sur, Mexico.






The Honeymooners


I’d just found my missing passport


Love this picture









































































































































































































































































Music Selections

Cocktail Hour
Somewhere Over the Rainbow – Israel Kamakawiwo’ole
Unchained Melody – Harry Belafonte
Moon River – Audry Hepburn
(I love you) For sentimental reasons – Nat King Cole
‘Til the end of time – Doris Day
Baby – Os Mutantes
You Belong to Me – Patsy Cline
Come Rain or Come Shine – Billie Holiday
Here Comes the Sun – Nina Simone
Here Comes the Sun – Nina Simone remixed by Francois K
Blue Skied and Clear – Slowdive
Come Softly to Me – The Fleetwoods
Everyday (Single) – Buddy Holly
Here, There and Everywhere – The Beatles
Everybody Loves the Sunshine – Roy Ayers
You Send Me – Sam Cooke
Everywhere You Go – Doris Day
Glory of Love – Otis Redding
By Your Side (Neptunes remix) – Sade
Swisher – Quickspace
My Love – Wings
Ikebana – Kevin Sheilds
We Have All The Time In the World – My Bloody Valentine
As The World Falls Down – David Bowie
When The Sun Hits – Slowdive
I Am Your Singer – Wings

Reception Entrance
I Want to Hold Your Hand – The Beatles

First Dance
Calico Skies – Paul McCartney

Second Dance
I Found a Reason – Velvet Underground

Father-Daughter Dance
Waltz Across Texas – Willie Nelson

Mother-Son Dance
La vie en rose – Edith Piaf

Cake Cutting
Lips Like Sugar – Echo and the Bunnymen
Ice Cream – New Young Pony Club

Dinner and Dancing
That’s How Strong My Love Is – Otis Redding
The Aspidistra Files - Stars
Catch the Wind – Donovan
The Look of Love – Dusty Springfield
Something – The Beatles
The Way I Am – Ingrid Michaelson
Bonnie and Clyde – Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardow
So Nice (Summer Samba) – Bebel Gilberto
I’m Still In Love – Marcia Aitken
Til There Was You – The Beatles
Jersey Girl – Tom Waits
Never My Love – The Association
Here I Am Baby – Al Brown
And I Love Here – The Beatles
Sleepwalking – The Ventures
Beautiful Day – U2
White Love – One Dove
In My Life – The Beatles
Sunshine of Your Love - Cream
I Only Have Eyes For You – The Flamingos
Let’s Stay Together – Al Green
Let’s Dance – David Bowie
Let’s Go Crazy – Prince
I Will Follow – U2
My Love – Justin Timberlake
My Baby Portable Player Sound – Pizzicato Five
The Word – The Beatles
I Would Die For You – Prince
Rock Your Body – Justin Timberlake
What I Like About – The Romantics
Born in the U.S.A. – Bruce Springsteen
True - Spandau Ballet
I Got You – James Brown
Fine Day – Opus 3
Want You! Need You! – Juan Molina
Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough – Michael Jackson
Best of My Love - Emotions
Work It – Missy Elliot
White Wedding – Billy Idol
Roadrunner – The Modern Lovers

Last Dance
Grow Old With Me – John Lennon


Vendor Reviews

Wedding Certificate – Sally Sanders-Garrett, Boise, ID

I can’t imagine anyone topping her customer service and artistry. She went beyond all expectations at every level. A+

Bridal Gown – Alvina Valenta

This dress was perfect A+ when it arrived, but it was easily damaged. Read below.

Bridal Shop – Bridal Garden, Marlton, NJ

The Bridal Garden was, by far, my worst vendor. I will detail the cold hard facts about my experience with the Bridal Garden.

Sales: D. First, they forbid you to take photos when trying on the dresses. Then they didn’t size my dress properly. The sample I tried on was a size 10 and totally baggy. I was a little shocked when the manager wanted to order a size 10 for me. I had to sign a release to order an 8. If it weren’t my first time bridal gown buying and the manager's thousandth time bridal gown selling, I would have insisted on the 6. The size 8 was also too big and then I lost the 5 pounds that every bride loses before the wedding.

Alterations: D. My first fitting went well, but they fired my seamstress without bothering to call me to reschedule my next fitting. This wouldn’t have been such an inconvenience if I were unemployed, lived a few miles away, or if I had extra time off from work in the month before my wedding and honeymoon. See, the BG only allows fittings during regular workday hours: M-F, 9-5.

At my third (really like my second fitting) I noticed that the lace bodice of my dress had been ripped in several places. Judging from the way it was ripped, I believe that my heavy satin dress was hung on the hanger by the delicate lace shoulder/neckline instead of the sewn in hanger loops. The BG’s response: “The lace is very delicate.” Um yeah I agree, which is why ya’ll should have been more careful.

I had been pinned a beautiful, symmetrical, neat bustle that lined up evenly with the rest of the hem of my dress at my very first fitting. This bustle was taken out by the second seamstress (S#2) but an alternative bustle was not pinned up for my approval. I didn’t realize that bustles could be so drastically different. The bustle that S#2 sewed in was literally asymmetrical, untidy, and left a 3-4 inch train dragging on the floor. My mother and I tried to explain how we liked the first bustle, and were told that it was “impossible” several times by S#2 and the fittings manager. My mom and I had to bring them pictures of the “impossible” bustle and attempt to demonstrate the bustle for them. S#2 didn’t like to be told how to milk ducks, so she ducked out. Once we’d convinced the fittings manager that the bustle was possible, she called S#2 back in the room and convinced her.

Meanwhile, we’re about an hour into this fitting. I notice that the fittings manager is standing on the train of my dress in her black rubber soled shoes. I say “Please don’t step on my dress” and she says “I’m not!” without looking. I reply “Look down” and she does to see her both of her feet planted on my dress.

Standing for so long, upset about my dress’s ripped neckline, the bustle, her standing on my dress, I suddenly find my fight to hold back my tears turning into a fight to hold back my breakfast (why did I ate an egg salad hoagie for breakfast?). I say “I need to sit down” and the seamstress and the fittings manager tell me that they’ve only pinned half my bustle. “But I really don’t feel well….I feel nauseous…” At that point I turn away from the pinning and try to get my veil out of the plastic bag so I could puke in it. And they scream “Don’t puke in your dress!” and they pull the dress over my head and shove me toward the bathroom. I run down the hall to the bathroom wearing nothing but my panties and my high-heeled shoes. When I returned from the bathroom, I saw my dress, hanging from the lace neckline again! I was tired, pukey, upset, and going to be late for the florist, so we left.

Customer Service: D. The next day, my mother called and spoke with the manager about the rips. The manager was busy selling dresses, she’d have a look at the dress on Monday, and call us back. On Monday, she called to tell us that the dress was perfect and she had no idea what we were talking about. !@#@$?! My dad called the owner of the store, who looked at the dress, recognized the rips, and said that they might be able to fix them. I took another trip to the BG to meet with the manager and show her all of the ripped spots that needed to be fixed. After our discussion, manager hung the dress by the lace again! $#@^%! I said “Please don’t hang the dress by the lace. I don’t want it stretched and ripped any more”. She tried to tell me that the dress was hanging by the loops, when in fact it wasn’t, right they’re before my very eyes. I reached in the dress and tied the hanger loops so tight that it would be impossible for the weight of the dress to hang on the lace. The manager didn’t apologize once for the rips, denying the rips, etc. She didn’t even apologize when she hung the dress by the lace again in front of my face.

The only good thing I can say about BG is that they did a good job repairing the damaged they’d done. Did it look like new? No. Did it look ripped? No. Unless you know what Alanson lace is supposed to look like, you wouldn’t be able to tell that there had been a problem. However, I wasn't happy with the way the dress ended up fitting but I didn't have any time to go over the fit what with all of the lace drama.

When I picked up the dress, they wouldn’t release it because I hadn’t paid for alterations. I said, “I was hoping that you would consider waiving the cost of alterations” and the staffer I was dealing with looked at me like I was crazy. “I had a really bad experience with your alteration department, and I’m paying full price for a dress you ripped.” And she replied, “We didn’t rip the dress.” I so I asked “Well what then have you been fixing?” And she said “It was a manufacturing defect.” $#@^%!

Moral of the story: the staff at the BG did not properly care for my dress or me as a customer. Throughout my ordeal, they offered no compensation or even simple words of apology, just excuses and denials. I give Bridal Garden a D.

After party dress

I bought my second dress (Watters & Watters 1081b) as a sample off eBay. The dress was gorgeous and well made, and it survived an umbrella-less walk through the rain on my wedding day. A+ I had it cleaned and altered (from a 10 to a 4) at Chris French Cleaners, Astor Place, New York, NY for $140. They did a fabulous job even though the lace was as thick as rope. I wish I’d taken my BG gown to Chris French! A+

Shoes – My Glass Slipper, New York, NY

They have the best selection (A). However, their shoes are often worn out because so many brides have tried them on. It’s the luck of the draw. The customer service is beyond rude and they have bizarre business practices (F). I filed a BBB report.

Veil – ebay

My veil was perfect in every possible way. A+

Garter – Penny Mays, Memphis, TN

She hand-makes garters with materials from all the women in a bride’s family. The lace on the bottom was from my great-grandmother and was beaded with pearls from my great-aunt. The top layer of lace was from my mother’s veil. Pearls and charms attached to the ribbon were from my grandmothers and other great aunts. American women’s craftwork is still alive. The toss garter she included was nicer than the ones I’d seen at the store. After the wedding, I noticed that the garter had been pinned to a ring bearer pillow. A+

Maiden of Honor’s Dress - Bonny

I’m not sure where her mother ordered this dress. It was a nice dress, but something strange had happened to the tails. The tails weren’t crisp and flat they way they were in the store. The kimono bow ended up looking pretty good though.

Bridesmaid’s Dresses – Bloomingdale’s, New York, NY

My BMs picked out their BCBG dresses off-the-rack at Bloomingdale’s.

Mother of the Bride’s Dress – Sophy Curson, Philadelphia, PA

I’m not sure of the designer, but the store treated my mother very kindly.

Groom’s attire – Various, New York, NY

The white suit idea (in my planning bio) got nixed when all the ones we could afford were wrinkly white linen (good for a beach wedding) and the one we loved (Prada) was beyond the budget. His suit was purchased at Zara, shirt at Thomas Pink, and belt at Zara. We ordered his shoes from Giorgio Brutini and his tie from Target.

Rings – Various, New York, NY

My rose gold wedding band was purchased at/made by Doyle and Doyle, which I would highly recommend for estate, custom, standard, anything. A+. The groom’s titanium band was purchased off of ebay. A+. My titanium and diamond engagement band was made by Boccia of Italy and purchase at Penzer Architectural Jewelry.

Dance Lessons – American Ballroom Dance Studio, New York, NY

We loved our instructor Paul so much we invited him to the wedding. He's an awesome dancer, an amazing instructor, and a great guy. Everyone was very impressed with our Viennese Waltz for our first dance. A+

Nails – Pastel, New York, NY

I do not take good care of my nails. So I got silk tips the day before my rehearsal and they looked perfect and stayed perfect until the end of the honeymoon. A+

Pre-wedding facial – Glow Spa, New York, NY

I’m not the best judge because it was my second facial ever, but they did an amazing job and the facialist offered to do a last minute extraction if I got a zit before the wedding. Alas, I didn't have any spare time to take her up on her offer. A+

Wedding day hair stylist – Meghan Cahill, Philadelphia, PA

Meghan saved the day when my scheduled hair/make-up person backed out three days before the wedding. I can’t tell you how much I appreciated this, especially given that my wedding was on a holiday. I’ve noticed that everyone on theknot loves Meghan, but a few knotties have complained that her styles didn’t hold. I also had that experience after my trial with her. The morning of the wedding, my Mom and I wet set my hair in rollers with styling cream. And Meghan waxed and sprayed like crazy and put 43 bobby pins in my hair! My style stuck over 12 hours and through a rainstorm. The style was exactly what I wanted. Meghan gets points for not killing me when I took it down after noticing that my part wasn’t perfect and asking her to start over again. My mom’s hair and my bridesmaids’ hair also looked good, stayed in, and was just what they wanted. A+

Wedding make-up - DIY

I put on make-up maybe once a month. I was looking forward to leaving this task to a professional. With all of the last minute things that happened the few days before the wedding, I didn’t have time to find a replacement make-up artist so I decided to do it myself. I used my digital camera to check my progress throughout the application. The camera picked up things my eyes didn’t see in the mirror. I smeared on foundation and patted on powder until all the stress zits were covered. I used brown and golden lipstick to shade my eyes; it goes on evenly and stayed on all day. I used a Stila lip stain (which is like a Sharpie marker) and covered that with some lip gloss. Then I used more mascara than I’ve ever used in my life. I wish I’d had false eyelashes but I was afraid I’d glue my eyes shut. I think a professional could have done a better job, especially with my eyes, but I was free. A-

Venue – Ritz-Carlton, Philadelphia, PA

Facilities: A+. This hotel couldn’t be more beautiful or clean.

Hotel staff (the door guy, the cook, the bartender, the cleaning staff, the valet, the bellhop, etc): A+. They go out of their way and beyond their job descriptions to make the RC experience extraordinary. They take pride in their work. If only I could say the same for everyone employed at the RC.

Sales/negotiations: B. They would have had an A, but it took Loews less than a day, and the RC over a month, to produce the customized menu package I was looking for.

Room block: D. It took 2 months of me reminding, them making promises they never kept, and me foolishly passing on these false assurances to my guests who called me when the hotel said “no such room block” before I complained a manager. The manager told me she couldn’t do it today and wouldn’t be done in the next few days because “We’re experiencing whether in Philadelphia. There’s no one here to do it today and they won’t be in tomorrow either.” I’d never heard of sleet causing an urban East Coast hotel to be incapacitated for days. Philly wasn’t experiencing a blizzard or a blackout; roads weren’t closed; no businesses were shutting their doors; I doubt the schools even had a snow day. I had to take my complaint to the general manager to get the room block done. Does the average hotel issue numerous false promises (by the end of the week, by the end of the day), taking 2 months after the contract is received to set up a room block?

Spa: E for effort, D overall. This was the most expensive ($200 for hair and $150 for make-up) bridal trial I had. Comparing the pictures I took, it was, by far, the lowest quality. The stylist at my first trial literally couldn’t get past a ponytail after 1 hour of effort. The make-up artist rescued me from his failed attempts and scheduled me for a second hair trial. The second guy gets a C. He did the style, but there were bumps and bobby pins showing, and a weird piece falling on my neck.

Tasting: A+, leaving out the weird sangria as a fluke or matter of personal preference. They did an excellent job, even accommodating an unexpected taster. I expected the food to be amazing, and it was even better than that.

Coordination/Details: D. It wasn’t so much the things they didn't do. It was the things they said they would do, and then did not do.
-On three different occasions, I told the RC that I am allergic to nuts. First, when doing the menu, second at the tasting, and it must not have sunken in because I had to remind them a third time just one week before the wedding when a salad change included pecans. The day before the wedding they placed a tray of three sweets on the coffee table in my suite: one was a greenish tart. Good thing I let my bridesmaid eat it; it was pistachio.
-One of the biggest problems with the wedding day coordination started the week before the wedding. The RC kindly offered to store some of our stuff (A+). When we dropped it off the week before the wedding, I mentioned to my coordinator that I had a busy weekend ahead of me: finishing programs, shopping for attendant presents, doing the seating chart, making the escort cards and place cards and table numbers. My coordinator said “We can do the seating chart for you!” I was like “Really?” With God, my DH, and the banquet captain, as my witnesses, she said something like “Absolutely, we can do that for you. It’s no big deal, I have assistants who can print out the place cards. And we have table numbers. Just send me the guest list by Monday at noon.” I was like “Awesome! Thank you so much, that totally saves me, I had so many things to do this weekend.” So the coordinator goes out of town on vacation the Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday before my Tuesday rehearsal and Wednesday wedding (huh?). On Monday morning I email the list knowing her assistant will get it. Monday afternoon, I receive the following in an email from the coordinator herself: “So, you need for us to make the place cards? I guess we hadn't discussed that, but it's no problem. There is a charge of $3.00 per card though, because they're pretty labor intensive to make.” I called her assistant to explain that we had in fact discussed this on Thursday and that she hadn’t mentioned that it was going to cost (150 escorts + 150 place) x $3 = $900! Otherwise, I would have done them myself on the weekend as I had originally planned! He basically said I was SOL and at that moment a giant stress zit erupted on my forehead but I didn’t have any time to get an extraction because I had cards to make! So on the Monday night before my rehearsal, instead of going to my scheduled bachelorette party, I was at home doing the cards until 2AM! As for the table numbers, they were, literally giant print out of numbers, unevenly space, on plain white paper stuck in large bent acrylic frames. I didn’t think that the RC would even own bent acrylic frames.
-I wanted to hire a wedding coordinator but I was told that it wouldn’t be necessary, the RC provides the coordinator, etc. My father advised that if there were two coordinators, it would confuse matters, like if the outside coordinator told the staff one thing and the RC coordinator told them something else. I wish I'd hired my own.
-My cake was wheeled into the middle of the floor before the toasts, before the father daughter dance, and before the mother son dance. That was not the schedule, but I graciously rolled with it, no big deal…except one of our wedding guests had given us a Tiffany cake cutting set to use at our wedding and it was missing (up in the coordinator’s office). I was put on the spot with the banquet captain urging me to just cut it with his server and my obligation to honor my guest’s generous gift. I would have appointed a friend or relative to deliver it to the reception, but no, our RC coordinator had said she would take care of that and she was nowhere to be seen at my reception. She was seen showing another couple the ceremony room.

Ceremony set-up: A+. The room was exactly as I’d requested and our coordinator did a good job with that.

Cocktail hour: D. According to my father, they didn’t have the cheese display out until half way through the hour. It’s not like our ceremony ended early. It’s not like cheese gets cold. Why wasn't the cheese display we paid for out for our guests to enjoy? Also, I’d requested that plates of the canapés be brought to the bride and groom’s places during the reception so we could try them and have a quick nibble before visiting tables during dinner, and they had said “absolutely.” If they weren’t going to do it, they should have told us so we could have appointed a friend to collect some for us.
Reception: A-. The reception room was set up just as we wanted it. The food was fantastic. The cake was amazing. However, they need to have an electrician take care of the power problems. Brown-outs plagued my reception. According to a staff member, it always happens when chef stations, lighting, music all fill the Grand Ballroom.

Honeymoon suite: A. We really appreciated their decorating efforts.



Paper products - DIY

All of the retailers I purchased materials from get an A. Textstyledesign.com, ebay.com, Paper Presentation (NYC), Staples, etc. I give myself an A for the invitations, an A- for the programs, a B+ for the Thank You notes, and a B for the place cards.

Book buffet favors – Dover publications

For anyone interested in doing a book buffet, I highly recommend Dover Publications. They have plenty of books in the $2.00 range to suit a wedding of any theme. The more you order, the less they cost. We had a sticker inside the front cover with our picture, name and date.

Ceremony Musicians – The Engelchor, Princeton, NJ

The Engelchor endured endless music selection indecision on my part, which I suppose was due to my first choice entrance music not being in their repertoire. They were very accommodating. I didn’t get to hear more than 3 songs on my wedding day but they sounded great! A

Benjamin Franklin Impersonator – Bill Robling, Philadelphia, PA

Everyone at the wedding was delighted that he was there. He did a great job and looked very authentic. A+

Florist – Carl Alan Creations, Philadelphia, PA

You get better flowers if you aren’t picky. I was very picky. I wanted certain colors, certain flowers, and certain designs. The flowers themselves, distributors, and florists all add a certain X factor to your vision. I really wanted to do my flowers myself, but I realized I wouldn’t have enough time. I got price quotes from four different florists. Carl Alan’s was ½ as much as the others, so the decision was pretty easy. The best thing about Carl Alan is that you get to see your bouquet mocked-up in advance and again the day before the wedding. I told them I wanted lots of steph but only got 5 in my bouquet. The personal flowers would have had to be fresher, trimmed, and better wrapped (with the ribbon) to be perfect. You don't see any close-ups shots of my bouquet or corsages/bouts because the tips of the mini callas were crusty brown. The other thing that irked me was that I asked that the rose petals be placed down the long table, and instead they put them on the round tables. The round table centerpieces looked busy and the long table looked sparse, IMO. For my wedding, they get a B, but I was the crazy control freak who have done her own flowers if I’d had the time. I would totally recommend this vendor, especially for a bride who can relax and let the professionals show you their best. Rumdrinx used them and had a kick-butt bouquet.

Décor Flowers – semi DIY

I placed an order at Fisher and Page, New York, NY to be picked up the day before my wedding. Good thing I went to pick them up a day early because there was a sign on the door that said closed 7/3/07-7/5/07. F for nearly causing my wedding to be flowerless. Thank goodness I went one day in advance.

I also picked up a bunch of different things (candles, ribbon, and flowers) at other stores in the flower district. Overall, the NYC flower district gets an A because you can’t buy fresher, cheaper, more interesting flowers anyplace else.

I ordered the rose petals from fiftyflower.com. Beautiful, amazing - the best price I could find. They made each room smell fantastic, which is necessary when using fragranceless orchids or submerged flowers. A+

Reception music and slideshow - DIY

The playlist, soundsystem, slideshow, get an A. The execution of the music gets a B. An amazing friend of the groom rented, picked-up, set-up, took-down, and returned the sound system. And he cued up every song correctly. He gets an A+ and lots of gratitude and love. One guest thought it was a BYO IPod wedding and plugged hers in. The execution of the slideshow gets an F. It played fine at the RD, but it wouldn’t project on the wedding day. Also, I forgot to set up the photobooth, because I was so busy dancing, so an F for that. All of these things could have been prevented with better planning on my part. However, I was a real bargain. Overall, I give myself a D.

Photography – Spark Photography, Philadelphia, PA

They were very accommodating while customizing a package, very professional in all their dealings, and I was flabbergasted by how lovely the pictures came out. I knew they were talented but they exceeded all expectations. A+

Videography – HXN Productions, Philadelphia, PA

Hoai is awesome. I can't wait to see how the video turns out.

Honeymoon – Baja California Sur, Mexico

Flight: A. We booked Continental through cheaptickets.com.
Car: D. We booked Advantage through cheaptickets.com. When we got there, they “said” didn’t have any automatic cars. I didn’t have the energy or desire to argue. So I agree to drive a stick shift to the hotel because they said they would come and switch the car for an automatic in the morning. That never happened. So I drove back to the company to get my automatic and they charged me extra. You should get the car you reserved for the price you were quoted.
Las Ventanas al Paraiso: A+. This was the nicest hotel I’ve ever been to. Everything was perfect: the room, the food, the service. We booked through fivestaralliance.com.
Hotel la Perla, La Paz: B. The food and the service were great. The pool was nice. The only thing that needs improvement is the smell and lighting in the rooms.
Baja Bungalows, Cabo Pulmo: A+. Our room had an amazing view, comfy furnishings, interesting books, a nice bathroom, stocked kitchen, hammock, balcony, everything. It was also eco friendly (solar powered, no AC). The owners are nice. The whole town is awesome. Great meals at the restaurants. We booked by emailing the owners.
Cabo Surf Hotel, B: This place is overpriced, but gets away with it because of the amazing surf. The food tasted good but the crab tostadas made DH sick. Overall: Cabo is a great place for a honeymoon.