Venue – Jones River Trading, Kingston, MA
This venue was amazing. It has a very unique atmosphere and feel to it. I liked that it was not a typical ballroom, but had plenty of space. There are neat tables and rooms on the sides for people to be around the dance floor who are not into dancing. It definitely kept guests entertained. The couple that owns the venue are great. They were extremely easy to work with, and were helpful and responsive throughout all of the planning. The only thing is they do not have a lot of pictures available there, so if anyone is interested in seeing more pictures of the venue, let me know. Everyone loved the place, and we are still getting many compliments on how interesting and unique it was for a wedding. They work with Plymouth Bay Catering Company only, so you do not have an option to bring in an outside caterer.
Caterer – Plymouth Bay Catering, Kingston, MA
The catering company basically runs the show for Jones River Trading Company, which is nice, so you don’t have to go out and find a caterer. Donna and Mark were both helpful. They ran everything smoothly, and there were no hiccups, or anything that went wrong. They were helpful throughout the planning. One thing I would recommend is trying to stick with the same coordinator throughout the entire thing. I was not sure if they switch everyone around, or because my coordinator got the flu over December that I was switched back and forth, which at the time worried me, but they had everything completely all set. Their prices are great for both the catering and the bar, but the down side is they do not offer a tasting of the food. The food was delicious, and they were helpful in suggesting meals, but it would have been nice to taste and know what you were going to be serving. One other thing to think of is they have a dessert station, so they do not hand pass the cake, which was fine by me because it saved money on cake, but they also cut the cake at the dessert station, and not in the back room. Had I known this ahead of time, I would have asked them to cut it out in back, but I had never seen that before at a wedding, and the thought did not occur to me. Also, another thing is they use little plastic cups for the wine and mixed drinks. Again, not a big deal, but we thought it was a little strange, so I thought it is worth mentioning. PBC did an awesome job putting on the entire wedding, and was extremely helpful with my bridal party in directing everyone, and helping people out. They also came and ran the rehearsal the night before. They set up the wedding the day before too, which was helpful and I was able to bring by my hand made centerpieces and set up the tables with them ahead of time, which made me confident everything was all set.
Paul Natale of Murray Hill Talent, Malden, MA
Paul did a really nice job keeping the crowd going on the dance floor all night. He got many compliments from our guests, as well as the venue owners. We chose him because of his laid back style when we interviewed DJs, and the no cheese motto of Murray Hill. I was pleased with his work, and choice of music, and I would recommend him. The one snag was when doing the announcements when my MOH was coming out, he said my name instead of hers. He corrected himself and apologized to her, and my husband and I several times, so I could tell he felt bad, but I mention it just because it was a downer for a few minutes of the evening. He also did our ceremony music, and did a great job cuing everything in perfectly. He also showed up to the venue extremely early, which was appreciated.
Photography - Mollie Filmore, Jamaica Plain, MA
Mollie did an awesome job taking pictures. I cannot even imagine how many pictures she took that night. She had great ideas, and was able to engage people in the photographs, especially the formal ones with our bridal party. She showed up early to the venue, and began taking pictures immediately. She was very easy to work with. I cannot speak to her photos yet, because I have not received them or seen them yet, but I anticipate they are going to look wonderful!
Cake – Special Cakes for Special People, Sharon, MA
Sandy who owns Special Cakes, makes the cakes out of her house. She made a beautiful cake, and it came out so much better than I had anticipated. She hand created all of these gorgeous edible flowers, and people thought I spent much, much more than I did on the cake. She listened to us, followed our budget, and created a cake for us that fit perfectly. She was really helpful throughout the planning process, and was extremely prompt. Delivery was also included in her price.
Flowers - Orchids N Bloom, Newton MA
I was really impressed by the flower arrangements that they provided for the money I was paying. They were very helpful, and listened exactly to what I said, and in my budget. Their customer service has been excellent. I could not believe the flowers in my bouquet and the bridesmaid bouquets. One thing I would mention is the Groom's bout had three roses and the Groomsmen bouts had two on them, and they were some hefty bouts. I would say maybe specify or clarify how many roses you want in your bouts. Flowers is not something I wanted to spend too much on because other things were more important to me, but I was extremely impressed when the flowers arrived on how beautiful and full they looked.
JP – Tom Welch, Weymouth, MA
We liked Tom Welch for our JP. He listened to us and kept our ceremony short and sweet as we wanted it since some people were standing. He did not try to push any of the added on rituals on us. We got so many compliments on the ceremony because he did this unique thing with community vows that people really liked. The ceremony was serious, but laid back, just as we wanted it. He was easy to work with throughout the entire process.
Transportation - First Student Inc., Plymouth, MA
I was worried about this vendor the most because they did not require a deposit and did not have a contract, but they did a great job. They were at each location earlier than anticipated, and made sure everyone was on the bus before leaving. The bus driver gave us his cell phone number, as well as a guest on the bus just incase we needed to reach him or anything came up. Nancy, who is the contact person at First Student was really helpful in answering all my questions. This was a great and economical way to provide transportation to wedding guests.
Make – Up & Hair – Make Up by Brigid, Marlboro, MA
Brigid was fantastic. I was originally worried about getting my make up done because I am not an everyday make up user. She was fantastic. At the trial she made sure I was comfortable with all of the make up, and I was so excited because she did such a nice job. On the wedding day she did my make up just as the trial, and also included a lipstick for touch ups throughout the night. She was very prompt in responding to my questions, and travel was included in her fee. Her prices were very reasonable. I was very pleased with her work on all my bridesmaids as well. Tracy is the hair person she works with. You can book both of them, or book just Brigid. Tracy did a great job with everyone’s hair as well. Everyone was pleased with how their hair looked, and she was able to take their ideas for hair and create them into something beautiful. I would definitely recommend both of them, and they seem to enjoy working together as well, which is a nice touch.
Dress - Maria of Italy, Plymouth, MA
When we got there, Louie picked out the dress he said was mine in about five minutes. I absolutely loved the dress. He did such a great job being patient with me while I decided, and he found a perfectly matching veil, and threw it in if I bought the dress that day. We also got all alterations done by Maria there, and she did a fantastic job. Even the bussell looked so pretty, and stayed in perfectly. She had the dress completely molded to my body, and I would highly recommend her. She seemed to really know her stuff. Also, they kept the dress there until my wedding day, so I was able to swing by and pick it up the morning of, which was helpful because I was getting married in that area, and did not have to worry about transporting it place to place or storing it prior. Great to work with!
Bridesmaid Dresses – Bridal Bells, Berlin, CT
The woman who owns this shop in Berlin, Barbara comes through, but she is a little rough around the edges and scattered. We had no problems, and my bridesmaids were all from out of state, and she was good about them calling in their sizes and everything. The dresses arrived in as promised, and the dresses looked great. She was very understanding that when due to other circumstances one of my bridesmaids was no longer in our wedding. She kept the bridesmaid dress in her shop to show off the color, and did not ask or charge any other money regarding canceling the order
Tuxedos – Men’s Warehouse
We did not have many options because everyone in the wedding just about was out of state, so we went with Men’s Warehouse. I kept expecting something to get messed up, especially because on of our groomsmen owned his own tux, and was only renting the vest and other accessories, but everything went fine. The only hiccup was the Best Man’s pants did not fit, but they were able to accommodate him rather quickly.
Favors - Moo USA, online
I bought mini photo cards from this website and made favors with them. One side had our picture, and the other side explained we were donating to a charity in the guests’ honor. This website was extremely easy to use. They shipped pretty quickly. The only down side is you have to order the mini cards in packages of 100, so I have a decent amount left over.
Save the Dates – Etsy.com / Sparz84
I order the STD ahead of time from this seller on etsy. She was very accommodating and easy to work with. She custom designed the save the dates, and stayed within the budget I gave her. She did nice work, and it was great working with her.
Invitations - The American Wedding, online
We got our invitations from this online website, which was very simple, prompt, and great to work with. The customization was extremely easy, and they send you free samples of different invitations and fonts. Everything came out exactly as we wanted, They gave you complimentary tissues and inner envelopes, which helped out with my decision of whether or not to purchase them. We got many compliments on the invitations, and we got everything at once including the thank you’s. This was a great company to work with that had many price reasonable options. As a side note, we printed out the envelopes in Lucinda Calligraphy on a laser printer from work, and we got many compliments on that as well, and it did not cost a cent.
Rings – Sevan Jewelers, West Hartford, CT & Titanium Kay, online
We loved Sevan’s Jewelers. He custom made a beautiful wedding band to match my engagement ring at a great price. He was extremely prompt, and the ring looked gorgeous. He also complimentarily re-sized my engagement ring, which was really nice. We would highly recommend Sevan’s to anyone in the area. He was straightforward and his prices were great for the quality of his work. My husband got a tungsten ring from Titanium Kay. Again, their prices were great, the ring was shipped quickly, and we were very happy with this purchase as well.
Hotel - Hilton Garden Inn, Plymouth, MA
This hotel was fine to stay in. We stayed in their room number 507, which is the closest thing they have to a suite. As far as I heard, most people received their hotel bags. I have no complaints, but nothing was really special either. Also, they had been sold out for like five months before my wedding along with the other hotels in the area. They do not do a hotel block, but a room rate reservation. My guests kept calling in, and most of them got into the hotel, but it was pretty annoying that they sold out so early when I booked with them extremely early.
Rehearsal Dinner – Mattapoisett Inn, Halifax
This venue was awesome. The food was delicious. We had about 30 people in a private room with a deck overlooking the water. It was very private and personal, and I would highly recommend it.
Honeymoon – Royal Playa Del Carmen, Mexico
Amazing!! We cannot wait to go back to this resort. It is an all inclusive couple’s only resort. We had an ocean view room, and the room was beautiful. We honestly thought that everything about the resort was great, the people were very friendly and accommodating, the room was clean and large, the location was excellent with easy access to the beach, pool and town and we were impressed with the food and presentation all around.
