Photographer: Samantha Warren Weddings
Cannot Recommend Highly Enough!
If you’ve been following along with any of my wedding recap posts, then you already know that I am very much in love with the photos taken by our amazing photographer, Sam. She gave us over twelve hundred photos that together tell the story of our wedding day beautifully. It’s hard to pick favorites, but I’d have to say the ones I love the most are the photos she took of Mr. Tiramisu and me, all the great detail shots, and the wonderful shots of our guests enjoying themselves. A lot of the very sweet comments that you all left on my recap posts mention how much emotion there is in the photos. I think a lot of that has to do with Sam and her great eye for capturing the reactions and interactions of the people she photographs. If you want your wedding captured in a beautiful photojournalistic style that will really help you relive the day every time you look through your photographs, please don’t hesitate to contact Sam, who regularly travels all over New England and beyond.
Wedding Coordinator: Karen Gazzara of Affordable Occasions
email: dream@affordableoccasions.us
Cannot Recommend Highly Enough!
Working with Karen was truly one of the most enjoyable aspects of planning our wedding. We hired her as a “day-of” coordinator a year in advance, and communicated with her at least weekly, sometimes daily- and okay, and sometimes emails were shooting back and forth every few minutes for hours! What I was looking for in a coordinator was someone with experience who could help me make my vision come to life, and Karen did just that. She made it clear that she was available all hours of the day, also played the roles of counselor and cheerleader, and was a calming and reassuring presence in the stressful process of planning. I can’t believe the things that she had to deal with for us- a huge storm that destroyed our cocktail hour setup, a river in the tent during dinner, and a mostly powerless reception. She handled all of these issues, and more, with grace. I can say with certainty that we just could not have done it without her!
Band: Brick Park Entertainment, Boston, Massachusetts
Cannot Recommend Highly Enough!
I’ve already written an entire post about how much we loved our band- you can see it here.
Florist: Poppy of The Ladyslipper Flower Shop, Gray, Maine
Very Highly Recommended
I know very little about flowers, and showed up for our first meeting with a swatch of my bridesmaid dresses and a few scattered ideas in my head (”I like blue.” “No roses.”). Somehow, the Ladyslipper magically turned that into the beautiful flowers that appeared on the wedding day. They ran with my vague idea of wands for the flower girls, found the most beautiful dark blue hydrangeas for my bridal bouquet, and achieved the perfect blend of simple and elegant in the wildflower centerpieces. Even better, they did all of this within our budget!
Cake: European Bakery, Falmouth, Maine
Very Highly Recommended
What is not to love? Extremely easy to work with, great communication (even with a last minute change), beautiful and delicious cake! We tried only one other bakery, which was twice the price and less delicious than the European Bakery. I’m a pretty discriminating cake-eater and I couldn’t get enough of this one.
Videography, Revel Video, Northampton, Massachusetts
Highly Recommended
We didn’t have a big budget for videography, but Revel Video was more than happy to work with us. Included in the package they custom-created for us were DVDs of a highlights video set to music, a video of our full ceremony, and a long (but edited) video of our reception- all of which are priceless to me. They are documentary-style videographers, and we were really impressed with the final product. Revel was super easy to work with, and perfectly unobtrusive on the wedding day. Many of our guests, when shown the video, couldn’t recall ever seeing them in action. I can’t believe that we almost didn’t get a videographer- our wedding video is something we’ll always treasure- it would have been a big regret to miss out on the opportunity to capture it.
Tent Rental: One Stop Party Shoppe, Portland, Maine
Highly Recommended
We actually hired a different tent rental service, but were so frustrated with their lack of customer service that we went looking for a different one. One Stop Party Shoppe was awesome to work with, and even unexpectedly saved us some money as well. They were able to deliver and pick-up the tent on our schedule, it looked great, and held up in a ridiculous storm.
Other Rentals: Festive Occasions, Woburn, Massachusetts
Highly Recommended
Our coordinator had worked with this company before and had great things to say about them, so we hired them for our all of our other rentals: tables, chairs, linens, glassware, dance floor, and stage. I can’t say I loved spending money on all of those items, but Festive Occasions was easy to work with and had a great selection. Their showroom was great and we were able to see the whole table set-up and try out different options. I was in LOVE with our blue glassware and stemless martini glasses, and I think they made a huge impact on the way our tables looked. I would definitely work with them again.
Transportation: York Trolley Company, York, Maine
Highly Recommended
This wasn’t as much of a splurge as I had expected it to be, and we were able to transport our bridal party and parents to and from the church- almost thirty people- in one trip. I hired them via email, mailed them a check, and they showed up on time on our wedding day providing us with a sweet ride that grabbed lots of attention as we rode through town. It was so much more fun than a stuffy limo.
Beverage Delivery: RSVP Beverage Center, Portland, Maine (207) 773-8808
Very Highly Recommended
I know this seems like a random vendor to review, but they made my life so much easier, and I really want to mention them. Our caterer was supposed to provide all of our liquor but flaked out on us less than a week before the wedding. One quick call to RSVP and we had arranged delivery of liquor, beer, and all mixers. They helped us figure out how much we needed, had recommendations on which types were best, and dropped it all off at our reception venue for a really fair price. It was seriously a lifesaver.
Caterer: -shall remain nameless-
Not Recommended
Although our caterer did provide us with good food at a great price, we encountered so many problems working with them that I cannot recommend them to anyone. We had many issues with their lack of communication, and unwillingness to work with our coordinator. They let us know less than a week before the wedding that they would be unable to provide liquor or bartenders, as previously agreed on. As if that weren’t enough, they cleared our FULL plates of food from our sweetheart table, before we could get a single bite. I don’t want to drag anyone’s name through the mud, so I won’t mention it here, but please email me if you need a caterer recommendation in Southern Maine.
Mrs. Tiramisu, Annapolis, MD/Maine
Age and Occupation: 26, Eye Doctor
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Project Manager/Real Estate Management grad student
Engagement Date: May 15, 2007
Wedding Date: July, 2008
Blogging Since: March 4, 2008
Venue: Oceanfront lawn and tent
About Me: I was born and raised in Maine, now living in Annapolis, Maryland and planning a hometown wedding from afar. I’m nothing short of obsessed with wedding planning, and am loving the do-it-yourself madness that has now taken over my life! As for me, I’m a craft-loving, martini-drinking, girly-girl who loves traveling, photography, my schnauzer, and above all, spending time with Mr. Tiramisu.
Latest Gallery Pics