Vendors
The wedding Cake was hand made by Eileen Oliveira. Eileen has her own business called Special Creations that specializes in custom made cakes for any occasion. She makes and decorates them by hand. She can even copy cartoon characters or drawings on your cake to match any theme you might have. My wedding cake was goooooooooood. If you would like Eileen to make a cake for you, feel free to contact her at 978-858-0336 and leave a message.
Our DJ was Neil "Romeo" Paris from KISS 108 FM. I didn't hire him from KISS though, he's got his own Wedding DJ company called Paris Productions. They supply DJs, Videography, and party planning. But don't hire him expecting to get Romeo. Romeo is just a character that he keeps separate from his business.
The food was provided from Lenzi's Catering in Dracut. When Christine, Laura and I went there, the people seemed really nice and the food they gave us was AMAZING. The fruit of the gods. But the food they actually served at the wedding didn't taste as good. Not sure what the difference would have been, but it just didn't taste the same. I have also heard a LOT of complaints about the servers taking food (especially the wedding cake) off of people's tables before they were finished eating. I can assure you, I did not tell them to do so. And if I had known about it, I'd have said something. Eileen apparently did attempt to say something about the cake, but when she went back there, they were all already gone.
Our Photographer was Larry Brewer from Best Value Photography. Larry was awesome and another vendor who helped me out along the way. I hired him because he seemed to have a nice photojournalistic flair, and no one can beat their pricing. These guys really were the best value. I'll keep you updated on how the quality came out.
The Videographer we used was Larry Deutsch from Bay State Productions. Larry was a great find. I was very picky about the videographer. I knew what I wanted and didn't want to settle. I walked into every videographer meeting with my own Wedding Video Storyboard. They all looked at me like I was crazy. I met some real winners too. Guys who use the same camera I saw on sale at Best Buy last week, guys who say "And I've got a BIG spotlight on my camera, so I can help the photographer out too," and one guy who said "You want your own audio voiceover? Sure. You can record it yourself and give it to me. But keep it nine minutes exactly. Oh no, I can't record it for you, but if you keep it nine minutes exactly, I can put it in there." Larry was great. He read my storyboard and asked if he could use the set up for future videos. He gave me his input and worked with me to make the video. (He even put up with that annoying trait I have of thinking of myself as a filmmaker. So he's patient too.) He put together the photomontage, too, and it came out awesome. I'll keep you updated on how the whole video comes out.
Christine ordered the invitations from her work. We did all of the design and work ourselves. Then we handed it off to Sir Speedy to mass-produce. Of course, there was a typo that snuck past me, but it actually wasn't even mine. Sir Speedy made the typo and I didn't catch it on the proof. DAMN! I'd feel a little better if it were at least my own mistake. Ah well.
The Wedding Dress and Bride's Maid's dresses were all purchased from David's Bridal. The girls all looked beautiful, but that's all I know.
The Hotel that we booked for the Out of Towners was the TownPlace Suites in Tewksbury. They dropped the ball on a few things, but handled some other things great. It was really cheap ($69.00 a night), so we got our money's worth. The Residence Inn is a nicer place though. I'd suggest that in the future.
The Wedding Bands and Engagement Ring were all purchases from Barmakian Brothers in Boston. They were great. Laura and I went in there to get the engagement ring. We custom made the ring in no time with their help. Custom making Christine's Wedding Band to fit around the engagement ring was easy too. And I love my LotR Wedding Band. Nice place.
The Tuxes were rented from Tux Formal Center in Dracut. Dot is the owner there and she was really nice. I wanted the ascot instead of the boring old necktie, but what can you do. I think we all looked pretty spiffy.
The Limos were rented from Lynette's Limousine Service. There are some people who hate Lynette's, and others who love them. They have great limos though. And after talking to Marco about a few things, he set me up with the best service he could provide. The wedding day went great.
The Groomsmen gifts and the parent photo albums were all purchased at Things Remembered. Not much to say about them. Had a few troubles with typos and pens falling apart. But it's Things Remembered. You know what to expect.
Christine got the flowers from Raymond and Garland Florist in Tewksbury. Again, I wasn't there, so I don't know too many of the details.
A few of the other things, like the cake top, unity candles, guest book, etc. we got from Michaels. I was there this time, but not much to report. Just a craft store that has a nice wedding section.
And here's the part where I offer my own services to my friends. If anyone is getting married and needs any help, I'm more then capable. I've had more then one person tell me I should be a wedding coordinator. It can be a very stressful time, feel free to ask me if you need any help relieving that stress.
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