Mediterranean
Brilliant_Rock
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2008
- Messages
- 578
Hi guys!!!
I''m back, we got married and it was just lovely!!!
We had a really small wedding at an old art-deco hotel in Miami Beach. Our ceremony was by the pool...it was so beautiful!
Oh, my gosh, i don''t even know where to begin, it''s taken me almost a week to log in, and I was supposed to have left for my honeymoon, but wwe were so exhausted and we''re buried under an avalanche of gifts and stuff still...so we changed our flights to later this week.
Whew!
It was really better than I could have imagined! My photographer took about 2000 pictures (yeah, at my teeny little wedding, OMG!) and I''m waiting for everyone to fly back home and get situated before I can see even non-pro shots....
My vendors:
The National Hotel in Miami Beach:
I cannot say enough. They were so wonderful. Jamie Lippman, who was our coordinator, treated the entire event as though she were personally hosting an intimate family party. She never overlooked a detail, everything she planned was perfectly orchestrated. She executed our each and every wish as though she was an extension of the bridal couple, she was able to intuit and respond to our needs. The food was spectacular. Literally. I''m still getting phone calls about how wonderful it was. I know The National is a popular venue, but I never once felt like I was an assembly-line bride, or like my wedding was cookie-cutter. everything was beautiful.
OK Flowers, Miami
Mixed. They boned my bouquet and tried to pretend they hadn''t received e-mails...which was stupid, because not only had they received them, they responded to them. In the age of Blackberrys and iPhones, WHO TRIES TO PULL THAT, really? I literally showed her the e-mail on my Blackberry and the woman re-did my bouquet but it still was a mess. My centerpiece and detail flowers were gorgeous and perfect, though.
Epicure Market and Deli, Miami Beach:
THESE GUYS ROCKED!! This is the floral department of my favorite little deli (yeah, the DELI, man! REALLY!) Mere hours before my wedding they made me a LOVELY bouquet, they even SET ASIDE other work they were doing, and my flowers were stunning, elegant, luxurious and exquisitely designed by two of the kindest, funniest, SWEETEST gentlemen in the business. What a hidden gem! Also, because they felt bad about my botched bouquet, and as a wedding gift? NO CHARGE. NO KIDDING. i love them.
Ana Paz Cakes:
Scumbags. We only used them because we had a cake from them included in our package price. Well, the day before my wedding, a VERY NASTY representative calls me and tells me that because i don''t make the 50 person minimum, I can''t have my original cake: the one I PAID FOR with this package. And, yes, I paid for 50 people even though I had only 44 in my final count. They tried to charge me $20 per slice for the 6 person difference. If I didn''t want to pay up, the girl said I was only entitled to an undecorated sheet cake. WOW, way to squeeze a bride for $120 THE DAY BEFORE THE WEDDING. So, I called ther bluff. I knew they probably had the cake made up already, so I sad "fine, give me the sheet cake" to which this woman responded "Don''t you care about your wedding?" I told her I didn''t really care about the cake and we said our goodbyes. Well, what do you know? Ana Paz herself calleed back and tried to play good-cop with me and explained that they''d have a problem getting paid by the national (bull!) and blah blah blah. She then offered me my original cake. All I can say is THANK GOODNESS we had a (delicious) dessert provided by the venue in addition to the cake because the cake was AWFUL. I am, however, told that it looked nice in the photos. But shady behavior, and their attempt to randomly alter my product for the worse when NONE of my contracts (with them or the venue) say ANYTHING in print about this policy was just shady, scummy, and low. If I were a more nervous or perfection-oriented bride, I could really have gotten ripped off. Never use Ana Paz for anything. On top of it all, their cake tastes bad: stale, cheap, comes from a mix BAD.
Photo: Magda Hernandez
WOW! brilliant artist, GREAT energy, excellent eye....my fiance saw a few pics (she did all-dgital) and he was impressed. He''s a photographer/cameraman by trade, so if they impressed him, I''m going to be happy.
Hair/Makeup: Obi Reyes Miami/National (travel)/International(travel)
AMAZING. Just AMAZING. People were stopping and staring everywhere I walked. One cute moment; a little girl who was in the lobby of the hotel where I was waiting to walk down the aisle asked her Mom if I were a princess. It was then that I was CERTAIN that Obi pulled the look together. She boosted my confidence times a thousand. PLUS, we''ve had a rainy, humid couple of weeks here and the hair and makeup held all night long. Just such conscientious, impeccable work. Excellent, talented, and so so sweet.
Hairstyle/Highlights:
Dania Galarce at Hair Healers, Miami
this is my usual hair stylist. She did my cut and color. I''ve never done color with her before (I don''t usually color my hair--not professionally anyway) and she did a brilliant job. People were raving about the highlights. Her haircuts are excellent by nature, so i felt totally confident about her work. Consistent excellence. She''s a perfectionist and it shows.
Dress/Veil:
Chic Parisien, Coral Gabes (Reem Acra gown):
Fabulous. From selection to final fitting, everything was 100% the experience I would wish for each and every bride to have. My SA was there every step of the way, directing every fitting, and their seamstresses are TOP NOTCH. Absolute, top notch. Full disclosure; I am a very small-framed person, and I am 5''6" tall, and I weigh 105 pounds. They had to un-do and re-do a heavily, intricately beaded empire bodice that had a chiffon skirt with a gathered detail in front to make it fit right, and they did so PERFECTLY. I mean, you can''t tell where the seams were undone and redone. The bustle looked like the dress came manufactured with it, and even on a chiffon gown, which is an unforgiving fabric that doesn''t handle change well, the bustle simply made the train disappear without interrupting the line of the gown. you couldn''t tell it was bustled; it just made my train shorter. Just GORGEOUS.
So, now, all that''s left to do is get my gown back from the preservationist and go on my honeymoon...
and of course...OF COURSE......I will come back with a million pictures, I promise!!!!
Thank you guys so much with the planning! This was my little island of fun and sanity while I planned this whole thng, and it is so much fun to hang out here...and again...I PROMISE you guys pictures!!!!!
I''m back, we got married and it was just lovely!!!
We had a really small wedding at an old art-deco hotel in Miami Beach. Our ceremony was by the pool...it was so beautiful!
Oh, my gosh, i don''t even know where to begin, it''s taken me almost a week to log in, and I was supposed to have left for my honeymoon, but wwe were so exhausted and we''re buried under an avalanche of gifts and stuff still...so we changed our flights to later this week.
Whew!
It was really better than I could have imagined! My photographer took about 2000 pictures (yeah, at my teeny little wedding, OMG!) and I''m waiting for everyone to fly back home and get situated before I can see even non-pro shots....
My vendors:
The National Hotel in Miami Beach:
I cannot say enough. They were so wonderful. Jamie Lippman, who was our coordinator, treated the entire event as though she were personally hosting an intimate family party. She never overlooked a detail, everything she planned was perfectly orchestrated. She executed our each and every wish as though she was an extension of the bridal couple, she was able to intuit and respond to our needs. The food was spectacular. Literally. I''m still getting phone calls about how wonderful it was. I know The National is a popular venue, but I never once felt like I was an assembly-line bride, or like my wedding was cookie-cutter. everything was beautiful.
OK Flowers, Miami
Mixed. They boned my bouquet and tried to pretend they hadn''t received e-mails...which was stupid, because not only had they received them, they responded to them. In the age of Blackberrys and iPhones, WHO TRIES TO PULL THAT, really? I literally showed her the e-mail on my Blackberry and the woman re-did my bouquet but it still was a mess. My centerpiece and detail flowers were gorgeous and perfect, though.
Epicure Market and Deli, Miami Beach:
THESE GUYS ROCKED!! This is the floral department of my favorite little deli (yeah, the DELI, man! REALLY!) Mere hours before my wedding they made me a LOVELY bouquet, they even SET ASIDE other work they were doing, and my flowers were stunning, elegant, luxurious and exquisitely designed by two of the kindest, funniest, SWEETEST gentlemen in the business. What a hidden gem! Also, because they felt bad about my botched bouquet, and as a wedding gift? NO CHARGE. NO KIDDING. i love them.
Ana Paz Cakes:
Scumbags. We only used them because we had a cake from them included in our package price. Well, the day before my wedding, a VERY NASTY representative calls me and tells me that because i don''t make the 50 person minimum, I can''t have my original cake: the one I PAID FOR with this package. And, yes, I paid for 50 people even though I had only 44 in my final count. They tried to charge me $20 per slice for the 6 person difference. If I didn''t want to pay up, the girl said I was only entitled to an undecorated sheet cake. WOW, way to squeeze a bride for $120 THE DAY BEFORE THE WEDDING. So, I called ther bluff. I knew they probably had the cake made up already, so I sad "fine, give me the sheet cake" to which this woman responded "Don''t you care about your wedding?" I told her I didn''t really care about the cake and we said our goodbyes. Well, what do you know? Ana Paz herself calleed back and tried to play good-cop with me and explained that they''d have a problem getting paid by the national (bull!) and blah blah blah. She then offered me my original cake. All I can say is THANK GOODNESS we had a (delicious) dessert provided by the venue in addition to the cake because the cake was AWFUL. I am, however, told that it looked nice in the photos. But shady behavior, and their attempt to randomly alter my product for the worse when NONE of my contracts (with them or the venue) say ANYTHING in print about this policy was just shady, scummy, and low. If I were a more nervous or perfection-oriented bride, I could really have gotten ripped off. Never use Ana Paz for anything. On top of it all, their cake tastes bad: stale, cheap, comes from a mix BAD.
Photo: Magda Hernandez
WOW! brilliant artist, GREAT energy, excellent eye....my fiance saw a few pics (she did all-dgital) and he was impressed. He''s a photographer/cameraman by trade, so if they impressed him, I''m going to be happy.
Hair/Makeup: Obi Reyes Miami/National (travel)/International(travel)
AMAZING. Just AMAZING. People were stopping and staring everywhere I walked. One cute moment; a little girl who was in the lobby of the hotel where I was waiting to walk down the aisle asked her Mom if I were a princess. It was then that I was CERTAIN that Obi pulled the look together. She boosted my confidence times a thousand. PLUS, we''ve had a rainy, humid couple of weeks here and the hair and makeup held all night long. Just such conscientious, impeccable work. Excellent, talented, and so so sweet.
Hairstyle/Highlights:
Dania Galarce at Hair Healers, Miami
this is my usual hair stylist. She did my cut and color. I''ve never done color with her before (I don''t usually color my hair--not professionally anyway) and she did a brilliant job. People were raving about the highlights. Her haircuts are excellent by nature, so i felt totally confident about her work. Consistent excellence. She''s a perfectionist and it shows.
Dress/Veil:
Chic Parisien, Coral Gabes (Reem Acra gown):
Fabulous. From selection to final fitting, everything was 100% the experience I would wish for each and every bride to have. My SA was there every step of the way, directing every fitting, and their seamstresses are TOP NOTCH. Absolute, top notch. Full disclosure; I am a very small-framed person, and I am 5''6" tall, and I weigh 105 pounds. They had to un-do and re-do a heavily, intricately beaded empire bodice that had a chiffon skirt with a gathered detail in front to make it fit right, and they did so PERFECTLY. I mean, you can''t tell where the seams were undone and redone. The bustle looked like the dress came manufactured with it, and even on a chiffon gown, which is an unforgiving fabric that doesn''t handle change well, the bustle simply made the train disappear without interrupting the line of the gown. you couldn''t tell it was bustled; it just made my train shorter. Just GORGEOUS.
So, now, all that''s left to do is get my gown back from the preservationist and go on my honeymoon...
and of course...OF COURSE......I will come back with a million pictures, I promise!!!!
Thank you guys so much with the planning! This was my little island of fun and sanity while I planned this whole thng, and it is so much fun to hang out here...and again...I PROMISE you guys pictures!!!!!
All your trial pictures were lovely, I''m sure the whole package was amazing!
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