Vendors and Reviews so far.... more to come after the wedding
Photographer: Tess Moran
Grade: A
We did our engagement shoot with Tess on December 22 at Niagara Falls.
First off, Tess is just freaking adorable... like you want to hug her. Lol. She has the cutest British accent and is always tell us to "smooch a little... yes... that's perfect... fabulous" It was cracking us up.... which is why half of the pics we are laughing or smiling... like real smiles.
Her pricing is very reasonable. And her style is very natural and relaxed. She does not use flash, but rather natural light or candle light (or the glow from a fireplace like in some of our pics)... it takes away that fake brightness to flash pics and gives them a nice romantic glow.
Review:
Tess Moran Photography- A She is super sweet, returns phone calls and emails promptly. Her prices are great! I will post a much more detailed review on the actual product once we purchase/receive the actual prints.
First off, Tess is just freaking adorable... like you want to hug her. Lol. She has the cutest British accent and is always tell us to "smooch a little... yes... that's perfect... fabulous" It was cracking us up.... which is why half of the pics we are laughing or smiling... like real smiles.
Her pricing is very reasonable. And her style is very natural and relaxed. She does not use flash, but rather natural light or candle light (or the glow from a fireplace like in some of our pics)... it takes away that fake brightness to flash pics and gives them a nice romantic glow.
Review:
Tess Moran Photography- A She is super sweet, returns phone calls and emails promptly. Her prices are great! I will post a much more detailed review on the actual product once we purchase/receive the actual prints.
Reception Location and Catering: The Inn at Glenora Wine Cellars
Grade: A
The tasting at Glenora was fabulous. I am so so SO happy with our decision and this just set it in stone even more.
As soon as we showed up (kevin, my most awesome and brutally honest BM Allison and I), they gave us a glass of champagne and a quick tour. We know the place well, but I still love the tour... they really treat us like royalty.
Sherry Spotts (wedding coordinator) answered all of my questions and I really felt (at least for one day) like my wedding is just on cruise control. It was a beautiful thing.
Oh- and the food- oh my gosh... absolutely amazing. We are just thrilled and can't wait to see it all come together.
For our apps, we chose-
Bruschetta, Risotto Truffles
Coconut Crusted Shrimp, Bacon Wrapped Scallops (these were PERFECTION, btw... I am very picky about bacon wrapped anything... it is so easy to have mushy bacon)
steak skewers w/ marsala wine sauce
Meal:
Lemon Caper Chicken, Garlic Crusted Salmon
Bowtie Penne, Rosemary Roasted Potatoes
Grilled Seasonal Vegetables
Everything (even the options we didn't select for the wedding) was fabulous!!! One of the best parts was after our tasting, the chef came to sit with us and discuss the meal... he was very personable and open to suggestions/changes (which I was very surprised about)... a little more of this spice, a little less of that sauce. They were very determined to give us exactly what we wanted.
Review:
Glenora: A -- pricey, but they definitely delivered. We are paying $38/pp for the buffet and, to be honest, I was a little blown away by the price, but after the tasting I do now feel that we will be treating our guests to an amazing $38 meal (as opposed to an overpriced wedding buffet).
As soon as we showed up (kevin, my most awesome and brutally honest BM Allison and I), they gave us a glass of champagne and a quick tour. We know the place well, but I still love the tour... they really treat us like royalty.
Sherry Spotts (wedding coordinator) answered all of my questions and I really felt (at least for one day) like my wedding is just on cruise control. It was a beautiful thing.
Oh- and the food- oh my gosh... absolutely amazing. We are just thrilled and can't wait to see it all come together.
For our apps, we chose-
Bruschetta, Risotto Truffles
Coconut Crusted Shrimp, Bacon Wrapped Scallops (these were PERFECTION, btw... I am very picky about bacon wrapped anything... it is so easy to have mushy bacon)
steak skewers w/ marsala wine sauce
Meal:
Lemon Caper Chicken, Garlic Crusted Salmon
Bowtie Penne, Rosemary Roasted Potatoes
Grilled Seasonal Vegetables
Everything (even the options we didn't select for the wedding) was fabulous!!! One of the best parts was after our tasting, the chef came to sit with us and discuss the meal... he was very personable and open to suggestions/changes (which I was very surprised about)... a little more of this spice, a little less of that sauce. They were very determined to give us exactly what we wanted.
Review:
Glenora: A -- pricey, but they definitely delivered. We are paying $38/pp for the buffet and, to be honest, I was a little blown away by the price, but after the tasting I do now feel that we will be treating our guests to an amazing $38 meal (as opposed to an overpriced wedding buffet).
Cake: Club 86 Bagels and Cakes- Lori Legott
Grade: A
We met with Lori, not really knowing what we wanted for a cake and almost feeling skeptical that her business might be a little "too good to be true" because her price was drastically lower than any other quote we had received.
$2.55 a slice with a minial delivery fee- unheard of!!!
We were greeted with a few slices of the most amazing white cake w/ strawberry filling. It was so light and had the perfect "strawberry shortcake" flavor, while still looking very elegant. I was in love. She showed us hundreds of pictures of her beautiful cakes... she is the real deal!
Together we designed a cake that I just know will be beautiful and fabulous and everything we are hoping for. I have the utmost confidence in her and just can't wait to eat some more of her yummy cakes.
One negative I can tell you is that she is not the best at promptly returning emails or calls (which drives me bonkers!!!) but she does get back to you... eventually... and from other brides timeliness was never an issue on the day of... just not the greatest with communication.
Club 86: A -- the price is just great!!! And the cake was exactly the type of light, air-y deliciousness we were looking for (not big on the fondant covered heavy cakes... esp b/c this is a May wedding), communication can be frustrating, but overall, well worth the price!!
$2.55 a slice with a minial delivery fee- unheard of!!!
We were greeted with a few slices of the most amazing white cake w/ strawberry filling. It was so light and had the perfect "strawberry shortcake" flavor, while still looking very elegant. I was in love. She showed us hundreds of pictures of her beautiful cakes... she is the real deal!
Together we designed a cake that I just know will be beautiful and fabulous and everything we are hoping for. I have the utmost confidence in her and just can't wait to eat some more of her yummy cakes.
One negative I can tell you is that she is not the best at promptly returning emails or calls (which drives me bonkers!!!) but she does get back to you... eventually... and from other brides timeliness was never an issue on the day of... just not the greatest with communication.
Club 86: A -- the price is just great!!! And the cake was exactly the type of light, air-y deliciousness we were looking for (not big on the fondant covered heavy cakes... esp b/c this is a May wedding), communication can be frustrating, but overall, well worth the price!!