GTA vendor reviews (part 2)

Some more of our vendors that we would definately reccomend to anyone!

Ok.... so here goes, part 2 of our vendor reviews:

TRANSPORTATION: Two of a Kind Limosuine (Woodbridge)
We originally went with a 35 passenger limo party bus because we knew there were 15 people minimum in our wedding party and then our mom's. A couple of the people in the wedding party had no ride from the church to the venue so we thought 35 would be lots of room even with an extra 3 or 4 people. We booked it for 6 hours. The first pickup was to meet the guys at the venue becuase they went there to drop off any of the cars that would be needed to get home at the end of the night. When the bus pulled up, Carlos was shocked!! They sent the 45 passenger bus instead! The one we were supposed to get was stuck in a storm or something in the states so they upgraded for us. YEAH!!!!! We had the "red carpet" service which was such a nice touch. The driver helped every single passenger in and out of the limo and even wore white gloves and a tux. Included in our 6 hour package was champagne for everyone.
We had booked the limo at the Bridal show that we went to last January. The total cost of it was $1050.00.

PHOTOGRAPHER: Beyond the Window (Waterloo & GTA)
Our photographer was so great. Her name was Jillian and she was so accomodating. I booked her just based on her website and for some reason I got such a good vibe. We did a telephone interview because she is in Waterloo and we were in Scarborough. The vibe I got from her website was just confirmed. What a great person. On the day of the wedding she was there on time and got right to work taking pics of the girls at the hotel. Before coming to us, she went to the best mans house to get pics of the guys getting ready. We decided that it would be cool for her to come with us in the party bus to get some candid shots of everyone. we just dropped her off back at her car at the hotel on the way to the venue. She was back at the venue waiting for us when we got there. She had a difficult task because most of our pics would have to be taken in the dark. When I decided on a winter wedding, I never took into account that it gets dark much earlier! I can't wait to get my professional pics. Only 1 more week!! YAY!!
Our original budget for a photographer was $2500 which is REALLY hard to do. Our price with her came in waaaayyy under that. It was around $1600.00. We will have to print our own pics but it is still so much cheaper than some of the photographers out there.

FLORIST: Flowers by Radika (Scarborough)
I was soooo impressed with our florist. We had got a quote from another florist for aprox $1000.00. We only wanted a bouquet for myself, 6 bridesmaids bouquets, 6 boutineers for the guys, 2 corsages for the moms, 1 boutineer for the ring bearer and a flower girl basket. We mainly wanted cala lillies with some greens and some berries (winter wedding). When we booked the church, the lady at the church suggested Radika. She said it was a teeny tiny little flower shop that you probably would never even think of going into but to give her a try. A few weeks later I did. When I walked in and told her when the wedding was, she knew me by name. The lady from the church told her I'd be coming! lol
Anyway, for the same flowers less one of the guys we got a price of...... READY for this?????........... Under $425!! I was totally shocked!!
When we got the flowers I was pleasantly surprised. They were perfect. I'll post a picture when I get the professional ones.

DJ: Toronto Disc Jockeys (Carlos' friend Rene)
Our DJ was soooo amazing. I know that there are alot of factors that contribute to a successful wedding but I believe that the music is a big one. Rene interacted with the guests and just had a blast. He played such a variety of music. The dance floor was literally PACKED the entire night. I know that he is a friend of ours and was also a guest but he did such an amazing job. For us, the best part was he was FREE. It was his wedding gift to us.

PIANIST: Avril Dell (GTA)
I wanted something a bit different for our cocktail hour so I booked a pianist to play for 3 hours. She was to play during cocktail hour and through most of dinner too. She played beautifully. Again, there was a variety of styles etc. The only thing that went slightly wrong was that Rene (our DJ) insisted on playing a few songs inbetween. It worked out very well. I would honestly highly recommend Avril to anyone looking for something a bit different. She even brought her own electric keyboard. She charged us $100 per hour.To me that was a great price.

HAIR & MAKEUP: (Makeeba and Monique)
The bridal party and moms had our hair and makeup done by two friends. Makeeba went to school for hair and Monique is actually a Mac artist. They both did such a great job and the best part was they came to us. We booked a room at the Delta hotel for the night beore and night of the wedding. They were both there early and done with lots of time to spare. They did such a nice job. I would recommend them to anyone but if you are interested let me know and I'll message you because I didn't ask them if I could post their info or not.

DAY OF WEDDING PLANNER: (Julie)
Another friend. Julie defiantely saved the day and helped me keep my sanity. If anything went wrong, I didn't know it. She came to the hotel to meet us and pick up the guys flowers. She delivered them to them for us, handed out programs and ribbon wands at the church, set up the decor at the hall, set up the placecards, communicated with the manager at the hall etc. She was a godsend! I highly reccomend a wedding planner for the day of for anyone. It really helps keep things organized without having to stress. If you're interested just message me and I'll get the info to you.

Ok... well I think that's it (for the most part) Phew.... I hope some of it can be helpful to someone out there!