Bio

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Our wedding was amazing! Everything went as planned and we couldn't have been more happy being surrounded by all our friends and family. I wanted our wedding to be modern and chic with a touch of asian/hawaiian flair. It was difficult at times to convey the modern sense of style I was going for as well as finding items that were not cheesy/too bridal. While I stressed over the details of the wedding, I realized what truly mattered was marrying my best friend, the heartfelt emotions and fond memories we will always take with us after the day is over.
We found that most vendors work between LA and the OC quite frequently since we live in LA but were having the wedding in the OC (where I grew up). Most were accommodating to meet us in between the locations too. Please page me or email me at shirls125 at yahoo.com if you have any questions. Thank you knotties for your ideas/suggestions during the planning process. Hope you find these reviews helpful.

**VENDOR REVIEWS***

Venue: The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel
Grade: A
The service at the Ritz was phenomenal the entire wedding weekend. We were especially impressed with their service during our wedding. They made sure we always had a drink in our hand and were always checking up on us. I really appreciated how the Ritz was so detail-oriented (since I am very particular about details too). They asked us how we wanted our napkins folded, the type of goblets we wanted etc. Right after we walked back up the aisle, they already had a server with glasses of champagne to serve us. They even had hors d'oeuvres that we missed out on during the cocktail hour waiting for us at our sweetheart table. We also received many compliments on the food from our guests. Everything was super tasty...just wish we could have enjoyed it more.
The reason the Ritz does not get an A+ is because we had a few issues with them. They didn't have a dressing room available for either the bride or groom. But we ended up reserving a room for the night before which the girls and I got ready in. Since we complained, they set up a dressing room for the guys and upgraded our honeymoon room. We were also told that we could not taste the passed hors d'oeuvres since they had to be made in batches. DH though that was ridiculous and complained. They ended up letting us taste them at our tasting.
When dealing with the Ritz, we realized they will accommodate you as long as you let them know about the issues. Once we mentioned the things we were unhappy about, the on-site coordinator did her best to please us. She was really nice, even letting people book rooms within the block after they had missed the deadline. We also negotiated a reduced valet parking rate and got a GREAT deal on the chivari chairs.

Coordinator: Ruth with Behind the Scene (www.plan2perfection.com)
Grade: A+
Ruth was wonderful to work with. We hired her for almost the entire planning process because her price was so reasonable. She has A LOT of experience working with the Ritz and knew exactly what items we would be needing from the hotel. Ruth and her two assistants took care of everything on the day of the wedding. She also contacted all the vendors the week of the wedding with the timeline and times to be at the venue. We didn't have to worry about a thing or even lift a finger which made the wedding day so much more relaxing. Ruth also had great recommendations and was always cheerful and sweet whenever we met with her. After the reception, we came back to a room filled with flowers that she had set up! Ruth also works with venues in both LA and OC and was super accommodating since we live in LA. She is highly, highly recommended! If you're unsure of hiring a coordinator, I'd highly recommend one. You want to be able to enjoy your wedding day and not have to stress about anything!

Photographer: Fina Photography (www.finaphotography.com)
Grade: A
Jenna and Aaron are the sweetest couple! Not only are their photos great, they were also easy to work with and so helpful during the wedding day. They carried bouquets, parasols, helped with getting items etc. etc. Jenna took sooo many photos of us that it was overwhelming to go through. We also loved our engagement pictures that we used for the guest book. The only reason they do not get an A+ is because I didn't necessarily like some of the detail shots that were taken. Also, it seemed like there were teeny details in shots that were overlooked. But I am super picky and I doubt anyone would notice but me. Overall, they did a wonderful job!

Florist: Paradise Delight (www.paradisedelight.com)
Grade: B+
Our coordinator recommended Paradise Delight to us since we mentioned we wanted to incorporate Hawaiian touches to our wedding. Paradise Delight was perfect since Steve is originally from Hawaii. The reception flowers were exactly what I wanted...two distinctly different orchid centerpieces for round vs. square tables. The flower cascade on the cake was beautiful too. The reason he gets a B+ is because of the ceremony flowers. They weren't exactly what I had in mind at all. But I guess I should have been more clear in what I wanted. We had thoroughly discussed the style of the centerpieces (which he produced exactly as I wanted). I thought that after that discussion he would have understood what I wanted for the ceremony flowers too. But apparently, he didn't get the modern/minimal look I was going for. They didn't look bad, but I wanted more of a simple and clean look with bolder colors. I also thought my bouquet could have been fuller with callas that weren't so dark. The lei garlands across the aisle and bridesmaid leis were exactly what I wanted though. If you have a very specific look in mind, I would recommend you tell him exactly what you want with photos etc. He was always very eager to please and had extra leis on the day. He also fixed the BMs leis when they started to shrink a little. He even had centerpieces for the cocktail tables which we didn't ask for. Overall, we were pleased with his work, but he didn't exactly get the vision I was going for and needed more examples than I had provided him.

Hair/Make-up: Sherry McAnelly (www.onlocationbeauty.com)
Grade: A+
Sherry was SO wonderful to work with. I cannot say enough positive things about her! She made me feel so beautiful and was super, super nice. I made a few last minute changes on the day of and she had no problem accommodating me. She even air brushed me free of charge since she had practiced with her new airbrush during the trial. She brought one assistant with her to do the bridesmaids and my mother in law. The bridesmaids were pleased with the assistant's work but not my mother in law. Her assistant fixed it and it ended up being fine.You can't go wrong with Sherry....highly recommended!

Ceremony Musicians: Angelica Strings (www.angelicastrings.com)
Grade: A
I fell in love with Angelica Strings once I heard their samples on their website. Cheryl (their manager) was very easy to work with. Everything was worked out via email/phone. They sounded great at the wedding...maybe a little quiet but that may not have been their fault. I wish I could have enjoyed the music more that day, but I have the video to look forward to.

Reception Music: Jack Lantz Big Band
Grade: A
Our coordinator referred the Jack Lantz Big Band to us since we were looking for a jazz band. They were very reasonably priced compared to other 5-piece bands and the singer was SUPERB! We got lots of compliments on them. They sounded great at the reception and got lots of people on the dance floor! They play everything...not only jazz/big band/swing. We had a lot of fun with our song selections. They also play once a month at a lounge in Pasadena where we went to check them out. We booked them right after seeing them play. Highly recommended!

Videographer: Mike Mills Productions (www.videotapemywedding.com)
Grade: pending
We decided to hire a videographer at the VERY last minute (two weeks before the wedding). We had been wavering because we didn't see many demos that we liked (either too cheesy/wedding-ish). We wanted more documentary style. We ended up hiring Mike because he offered unedited footage for a very good price. I know TV/film editors that can edit the footage exactly the way we want it. Mike was also very unobtrusive at the wedding and easy to work with. We booked him via email and didn't meet him until the wedding day. We are VERY glad that we decided to hire a videographer because the day goes by so fast and you end up missing so many details.

Officiant: Rev. Stephen Stewart
Grade: A
We met with several officiants before deciding on Steve. Steve had the best personality and seemed genuinely interested in us. He also seemed very passionate about his work and was extremely articulate. Steve's price is definitely higher than most officiants but so worth it. We got SO many compliments about our ceremony because he completely customized it. We each wrote statements about each other that Steve read during the ceremony. It was very touching and heartfelt, especially since we had NO idea what the other had written. We negotiated a lower price so that he wouldn't have to attend the rehearsal. But he came anyway! His price also includes a pre-counseling session. We were very happy we chose him as our officiant.

Cake: The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel
Grade: A
We ordered our cake through the Ritz which turned out perfectly! The cake was exactly what I wanted...modern and minimalist. We had two different flavors and they both tasted great. They even saved the top for us and had it ready when we checked out.

Lighting: The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel
Grade: A
We went through the Ritz for the lighting because their prices were surprisingly reasonable in comparison to other lighting vendors. All I had to do was tell the on-site coordinator our colors and what we wanted. Very easy!

Dress: Reem Acra "Adored" from Saks Fifth Avenue, South Coast Plaza
Grade: A+
I tried on so many dresses at many different salons. I finally decided to purchase from Saks even though I had tried on the dress at other salons. Saks seemed the most professional and trustworthy. They give you 10% off for opening a credit card. Saks also has special days where you can get gift cards for spending a certain amount of money. The salesperson rang up my order on one of those days and I ended up getting a gift card that paid for my alterations. The dress came in early and I had no problems with my dress fittings at all. They even let me set up a third fitting just 2 days before I was supposed to pick up my dress. The seamstress really wanted to make sure I felt comfortable in my dress and even sewed in a corset into the backless dress after the bra cups weren't working. I highly recommend them. The service was phenomenal and very professional!

Veil: Occansey Designs (www.occanseydesigns.com)
Grade: A+
I ordered my cathedral length veil from them and saved over $250 if I had bought it at a salon. The veil came SUPER quick (within two days of ordering) and in perfect condition. She even gave me a 10% discount because the swatches arrived a week after I ordered them (I didn't even think it was long at all).

Bridesmaid Dresses: Vera Wang ordered from Pearl's Place (www.pearlsplace.com)
Grade: B
I paid for the BM dresses so I ordered the dresses from Pearl's Place because of the great price on the Vera Wang dresses. They unfortunately did not come in when they said they would. I had to call a few times and never got a real answer as to why they hadn't come in yet. They finally came a few weeks later but with the wrong color sash. I called them about it and they were very apologetic and said Vera Wang was sending them out within a few days. A few weeks later I still hadn't received the sashes so I called them again. I finally received them within a few days. The dresses were perfectly fine, but just late. I think there were problems with Vera Wang, but they should have been more on top of it.

Tuxes: Friar Tux Shop (www.friartux.com)
Grade: A
We had no problems ordering the tuxes from Friar Tux. It was quick and easy...always a bonus when dealing with guys. The tuxes fit perfectly and were ready for pick-up two days before the wedding. I changed the color of the ties a few weeks before the wedding and there were not any problems. We even returned the tux a day late (some of the other GMs did too) and were not charged.

Invitations: Lucky Paperie (www.luckypaperie.com)
Grade: D+
The invitations were the most frustrating part of the entire process. Since I am a designer, I had designed the invitations myself and just needed to find a letterpress printer to print them. I chose to go with Lucky Paperie because of their close proximity to my house and their work looked good. The owner seemed really scatter-brained and unprofessional whenever I had to contact her about getting envelopes or when the invites were expected. The invitations were late coming in and were printed wrong. The color was way too dark on the invite but looked right on the response card. She said she would have those reprinted within 2 days. After we got home, we realized they had printed the return address on the INNER envelopes and left the outers blank. So we ended up having to get those reprinted too. They ended up not being ready within the two days she had promised. We didn't even get the invites until a full week later and she was full of excuses as to why they weren't done. DH made lots of trips to the studio and phone calls to check up on them, but they were always unorganized and gave him the runaround. The invitations were late going out and were printed on a lighter stock of paper than the original invitations. The color didn't seem that much lighter either. I would not recommend them unless you allow A LOT of time for them to correct mistakes. In hindsight, I probably should have gone with another printer that had a better quote but was much further away or just printed them myself since I had access to a letterpress printer.

PRO-PICS by Fina Photography