the vendor reviews
the photography
the main photographer sun-dance photography 3639 harbor blvd., #110 ventura, california 93001 805-644-7566 www.sun-dancephotography.com main photographer- blendi assistant photographer- jessica
service and products delivered grade: A+++ attitude and personality: A+ professionalism and work ethic: A+
***Update: I just picked up my pro-pics today and… I am still speechless at this point.
Blendi has a very laid back and non-intrusive personality. I haven’t received my pro-pics yet, but I felt that she really knew what she was doing. I was able to have a sneak peek at a few pictures she took and they all look postcard potential photos. I remember feeling really giddy when I saw them. Her assistant Jessica was very sweet and anything I asked her to take photos of, she was all over it. I initially hired Blendi after seeing pictures of amerasianchic and pompong’s wedding. They did a ton of knottie weddings, but those two bios stood out to me and I thought to myself, if my wedding could look like theirs, I would be the happiest person on earth. When I first met Blendi, I was blown away at how gorgeous and how well she carried herself. She was previously a fashion model turned photographer. So I knew immediately she was a shoe in because she not only knows how to work a camera, but knows what looks great on the other end.
A couple of concerns I had was firstly the price, although Sun-Dance is really considered a steal for their caliber of work. I researched quite a few photographers and even made an excel sheet that contained about a hundred photographers. When I started to narrow down my options, I realized that all the prices I was looking into was around their range, if not more. I kept finding myself gravitating towards the two previous bios stated above, and thought long and hard and came to the point where I realized that I knew what I wanted from the time I found Sun-Dance and went with my gut. My second concern was the time duration we had hired Sun-Dance for. The difference about Sun-Dance was that their packages are based on hours. Although it was very enticing to find photographers out there that shot for the entire day, I really fell in love with their work. I decided that I would hire a second photographer that shot the entire day.
We had a budget to work with, but if you find yourself without a budget, please do not hesitate to hire Sun-Dance Photography! The price was steep for us, but I was constantly reminded that pictures are forever. I am confident that Blendi and Jessica captured every special moment of our wedding and feel blessed to have found them.
the second photographer jacob with atomodo photography 626-372-0100 www.atomodophotography.com
service and products delivered grade: A+ attitude and personality: A+ professionalism and work ethic: A+
Jacob was a diamond the ruff. I can’t tell you how truly lucky I was able to meet him and hire him for $300.00 per event for the entire day. I initially hired him to photograph the rehearsal / rehearsal dinner because I thought I had a second photographer lined up for the day of the wedding. But due to some unfortunate circumstances, the second photographer I lined up back out and Jacob pushed everything aside for us last minute and came through for us 100%.
He is currently running a CRAZY, NO CATCH promotion from now until September: $300 for 10 hours All raw photos on CD
Obviously any fancy post-processing stuff with the photos is extra because of what he already charges. Please refer to second photographer photos to see his work.
Jacob is such a hard working person. He stayed from beginning to end at both the rehearsal / rehearsal dinner and the wedding. He was everywhere, but I swear he was a ninja. He caught so many pictures that I didn’t even realize anyone was photographing. When went over to his studio to pick up our CD, he showed me a few of the pictures and I was completely blown away.
the videography
today’s the day weddings (joe rosenberger and mike cook) 818-371-5965 joe@ttdweddings.com www.ttdweddings.com
service and products delivered grade: pending attitude and personality: A+ professionalism and work ethic: A+
Joe and Mike was one of our most favorite vendor and knowing that they captured our big day brought us much joy, excitement and anticipation. Joe and Mike were an outstanding dou, they were both professional and funny. We mainly worked with Joe throughout the planning process. We were so impressed with Joe from the get go, he has great attention to detail, listened intently on our needs, and excellent customer service.
We truly enjoyed having Joe and Mike at our wedding. They were on top of everything, knowing exactly where to position themselves without being obtrusive in any way. The highlight of the wedding was the photo montage they made for us. It captured both of our personalities and who we are as individuals. Guests at the wedding couldn’t stop talking about the photo montage afterwards, especially the in-laws (and that is HUGE). They came up to me and said that the photos really help them see me for who I am and they were just blown away.
They were the epitome of professional and we know that they will produce a great video for us.
the wedding coordinator
oc’s finest wedding and event coordinators (jennifer johnson) www.ocsfinestweddings.com ocfinestweddings@hotmail.com 714-412-9298
Ah… what can I say about this truly passionate, detail-orientated, conscious, caring, above and beyond woman. I guess I will try to sum it up in a few words to describe how incredibly lucky and thrilled I am to have hired Jennifer: My wedding would NOT have been the same. Jennifer executed my vision to the nth degree. I was blown away at even some of the things I told her a few months before the wedding that she still remembered to do the day of. Jennifer is extremely passionate in what she does and takes her work very seriously. I remember the day of, I kept finding myself looking to Jennifer for calmness. When I realized I was doing that, I thought to myself that she is so calm and relaxed for having such a huge task before her. Nothing phased her and she kept plugging away at all the set up needs and coordination. Jennifer even set up a special time for us to see the venue after everything was all set up. The moment I walked into the room, a flush of emotions came over me, everything from the floor to the ceiling, walls to the corners, just absolutely took my breath away. It was everything I had envisioned, dreamed about that came to life.
I initially hired Jennifer as the day of coordinator, not realizing the enormity of the task at hand with the wedding. I had been a knot bride for 2 years and thought I had everything in control. However, I was planning the wedding alone as my fiancé was finishing up medical school. As the wedding day crept up, I realized that I needed more help and ended up upgrading my package with Jennifer and have never looked back since.
I was the bride who wanted to save money and thought that hiring even a day of coordinator was frivolous. However, I can attest to the fact that it was because of Jennifer and her hard work that I was able to enjoy myself as a bride. This is coming from someone who is very Type A and a perfectionist. I knew I had hired the right person and because of that, I was able to sit back and enjoy the biggest day of my life.
the florist
flower allie (Allison Becker) 444 north state college blvd. fullerton, california 92831 714-738-0100 alliebecker@aol.com
We now come to the AMAZING Allison Becker with Flower Allie. I could not have asked for a more creative, passionate, hard working florist. Allison?s work set the tone for the venue. She understood my vision from the beginning and ran with every idea I threw out. I cannot say enough about her. Did I mention that she is tremendously passionate about her work? Hands down, she went above and beyond. She was extremely in tune with my vision and even went out of her way to find the stems and flowers that I described. There would be times where I would be stuck on how to achieve a certain look and her creativity came through. Allison is definitely one of those who cares for her brides on an individual basis and takes her work seriously. She is very humble and down to earth. Every idea I provided her, she took it, ran with it and executed double of what was expected.
the dj
props productions ? dj and entertainment (brady westbrook) 909-266-0110 www.propsfx.com
service and products delivered grade: A attitude and personality: A+ professionalism and work ethic: A
Brady is very passionate about what he does. I actually booked Brady before I ever met him. He really brought everything together without us being there and constantly followed up with us throughout the year. His DJ-ing and MC talent is among the best in the industry.
Brady really knew how to gauge our guests and played all the music we wanted. We had a blast thanks to him.
the alterations
janet burton orange, california 714-639-0446 janet.burton@gmail.com
Janet has a God-given talent for alterations. She has a natural attention to all the little details I requested from her. She altered my rehearsal dinner dress, flower girl dress, ring bearer pillow and dress. All of which came out beautifully.
I will be bringing all my alteration needs to her and going back to her for a very long time.
the musician - guitarist
bella canto eric harper nyerking@yahoo.com
Eric is a world-renowned guitarist. How he came about to play at our wedding, to this day, I still have no clue. He truly set the tone for our wedding. We received a ton of compliments from our guests. A couple of my friends who are getting married basically booked him on the spot! He plays everything and anything under the sun. His style ranges from contemporary, Spanish, Jack Johnson, Gypsy Kings, etc. We feel extraordinarily luck that he was able to grace us with his beautiful music and voice. You can listen to his music on myspace at http://www.myspace.com/bellacanto **Hint listen to "Recipe for Love".
His work speaks for itself, see for yourself...
the hair and make up artist
the main mua (for bride) ec makeup (elaine chou) ecmakeup@gmail.com 626-215-8116
Elaine made me feel gorgeous on my wedding day. I am very particular with my make up and had a lot of trouble looking for an MUA for my wedding day. I went to Elaine for a trial and she just got it right the first time. I was completely blown away. I kept changing how I wanted my hair to be done even until the last minute, but yet she was so patient and in the end delivered flawlessly. She listened and handled things really professionally.
the second mua (for bridesmaids)
amica rose amicarose14@yahoo.com 510-772-0812
Apart from being a complete and utter sweetheart, Amica knows how to do hair hands down. She possessed amazing talent to bring the true beauty out of each girl. All my bridesmaid absolutely loved her and was so happy with the end result.
the cake
heildeberg bakery 949-581-7060
service and products delivered grade: A attitude and personality: A+ professionalism and work ethic: A+
Very professional, dependable and absolutely delicious! We didn?t have any cake left over because guests were going back for seconds and even thirds! Claus, the owner is an absolute hard working person. When you go there, it?s like you?re family and that?s is what we loved about him. He was so patient and really understood our vision.
the stationary
serendipity design by stacia
Stacia is extraordinarily talented for what she does and delivers. The girl has it down to a science! I was wanting to save money by doing it myself, but in the end, when push came to shove, I ran out of time. I literally gave Stacia the project two weeks beforehand and she executed beautifully, beyond my wildest dream. I absolute adored the work she produced for us and am 100% satisfied with my decision in hiring her.
the dress
maylinn?s bridal formals and tuxedo 250 south robertson blvd. beverly hills, california 90211 310-657-7100
service and products delivered grade: C attitude and personality: A professionalism and work ethic: B
review forthcoming?
the bridesmaid dresses
netbride.com contact: meg norac@netbride.com www.netbride.com
the groomsmen attire
men?s warehouse in lake forest
Four different people from four different locations, had all the measurements right and there at the right time and it was perfect.
the venue
[seven-degrees] www.seven-degree.com
[seven-degrees] was a dream venue for us. All the staff we worked with at seven-degrees did an amazing job. We literally visited over 20 locations and had a really difficult time finding a place that reflected and expressed who we were. The minute we walked into this venue, we knew that this was it. They did everything in their power to best accommodate us. We are forever seven-degrees fans and will continue in supporting their mission advocating for arts and culture.