Vendor Reviews
Ceremony: The Alvirne Chapel, Hudson, NH - B+
The Alvirne Chapel was a great site for our wedding. My only complaint is that I wish it was a little bit bigger, but that's beyond anyone's control! Mary-Ellen, the caretaker, was great to work with. I found communication with her to be easy. She was quick to respond to my questions and very accommodating. However, looking at my pictures, I noticed that Mary-Ellen and her husband were taking up seats at my ceremony. That would have been ok, but we had so many people at our wedding that they had to stand. I thought it was rude of them to be taking up seats from my guests.
Reception: Fratello's Restaurant, Manchester, NH - A++
I was extremely happy with our choice to use Fratello's for our reception. The food was amazing and the space is pretty. I found the waitstaff to be very helpful the night of the wedding. Loretta, the coordinator, was super easy to work with. She was on-site for the entire evening and was catering to our needs every step of the way. I found the prices to be reasonable and really, for what we got, I felt it was a bargain. My only complaint would be that some of the guests felt that the waitstaff was removing drinks and food from the table too quickly.
Jewelers:
Engagement Ring: Barmakian Jewelers, Nashua, NH - A+
We love Barmakian and have been happy with the quality of service we have recieved there. I brought my engagement ring in to be cleaned and polished before the wedding and the ended up rhodium plating it (making it white again) for free. I felt like they really went above and beyond for us.
Her Wedding Band: Hannoush Jewelers, Nashua, NH - A-
I got my wedding band at Hannoush during a sale. Our sales associate was very helpful and knew exactly what I was looking for. I did feel that my band was a little overpriced to begin with (in comparison to its acutal value) and it was only worth it because of the sale. I would be wary of buying a full price item there.
His Wedding Band: E-Wedding Bands.com - A
Patrick was really having a hard time finding a ring he liked in our price range. We finally turned to online shopping after we exhausted all the stores in the area. We found E-Wedding Bands to have a large variety at very affordable prices. They also have a large selection in other metals besides just gold. The ring came promptly and as advertised.
Photography: Amanda Perkins - A-
Amanda was really great to work with. She's very easy going and friendly. And the pictures came out amazing! For what we paid, this was totally a steal. I loved that during most of our day she was completely invisible, but was really capturing some great shots. She even stayed a little late to get a couple more shots, which I know my family appreciated. The reason I gave her an A- was because she did miss our meeting a few weeks before the wedding. However, I could tell this was not something that normally happened and she compensated us with an extra half hour of time on our day. Really, she is worth checking out and don't let her low prices scare you into thinking she's not a good photographer. Because she really knows what she's doing.
Attire:
Bride: Modern Bride, Bedford, NH - B+
In terms of the shopping experience, Modern Bride was not my favorite. Their set-up is one where you do not have a dedicated sale associate and personally, I was looking for the personalized attention. However, I did fall in love with my dress there and you couldn't beat the price. I waited for their after-Thanksgiving sale and was able to get a good deal on the dress. The dress came before the promised date. I also used Modern Bride for my alterations. Overall I was happy with the alterations, but we had trouble with the stitches that were meant to keep the bust closed. In the end, it all really looked beautiful.
Groom: Men's Wearhouse, Nashua, NH - B+
Men's Wearhouse worked out ok for us. I thought the whole process was just a bit on the lengthy side. It took each guy about 15-20 minutes to check out. I will say that my dad lost a lot of weight and went down the week before the wedding and they changed his order, no problem. And the prices were pretty reasonable, which was a bonus.
Cake: Patisserie Bleu, Nashua, NH - B+
We went with Patisserie Bleu because they were willing to make our cake using my grandmother's recipie. And really, it was sooo tasty! It looked nice too. It wasn't exactly what I was envisioning, but I think it still looked really pretty. We are disappointed, however, because they recently went out of business and we were promised a small cake on our 1st anniversary. We served our entire cake at our wedding so now we don't have any left. :-( We're just a little aggrivated because they closed the week after our wedding and could have given us a heads up.
DJ: Bob Kirby, Get Down Tonight - A++
Bob was amazing and completely exceeded our expectations. He kept the dance floor packed all night long. He got people on there that I never would have imagined (i.e. my 99 year-old great-great-uncle!). Every song he played was great. He was very professionaly through the whole process and let us choose the things we wanted and the things we didn't. Really, Bob is an awesome DJ!
The Alvirne Chapel was a great site for our wedding. My only complaint is that I wish it was a little bit bigger, but that's beyond anyone's control! Mary-Ellen, the caretaker, was great to work with. I found communication with her to be easy. She was quick to respond to my questions and very accommodating. However, looking at my pictures, I noticed that Mary-Ellen and her husband were taking up seats at my ceremony. That would have been ok, but we had so many people at our wedding that they had to stand. I thought it was rude of them to be taking up seats from my guests.
Reception: Fratello's Restaurant, Manchester, NH - A++
I was extremely happy with our choice to use Fratello's for our reception. The food was amazing and the space is pretty. I found the waitstaff to be very helpful the night of the wedding. Loretta, the coordinator, was super easy to work with. She was on-site for the entire evening and was catering to our needs every step of the way. I found the prices to be reasonable and really, for what we got, I felt it was a bargain. My only complaint would be that some of the guests felt that the waitstaff was removing drinks and food from the table too quickly.
Jewelers:
Engagement Ring: Barmakian Jewelers, Nashua, NH - A+
We love Barmakian and have been happy with the quality of service we have recieved there. I brought my engagement ring in to be cleaned and polished before the wedding and the ended up rhodium plating it (making it white again) for free. I felt like they really went above and beyond for us.
Her Wedding Band: Hannoush Jewelers, Nashua, NH - A-
I got my wedding band at Hannoush during a sale. Our sales associate was very helpful and knew exactly what I was looking for. I did feel that my band was a little overpriced to begin with (in comparison to its acutal value) and it was only worth it because of the sale. I would be wary of buying a full price item there.
His Wedding Band: E-Wedding Bands.com - A
Patrick was really having a hard time finding a ring he liked in our price range. We finally turned to online shopping after we exhausted all the stores in the area. We found E-Wedding Bands to have a large variety at very affordable prices. They also have a large selection in other metals besides just gold. The ring came promptly and as advertised.
Photography: Amanda Perkins - A-
Amanda was really great to work with. She's very easy going and friendly. And the pictures came out amazing! For what we paid, this was totally a steal. I loved that during most of our day she was completely invisible, but was really capturing some great shots. She even stayed a little late to get a couple more shots, which I know my family appreciated. The reason I gave her an A- was because she did miss our meeting a few weeks before the wedding. However, I could tell this was not something that normally happened and she compensated us with an extra half hour of time on our day. Really, she is worth checking out and don't let her low prices scare you into thinking she's not a good photographer. Because she really knows what she's doing.
Attire:
Bride: Modern Bride, Bedford, NH - B+
In terms of the shopping experience, Modern Bride was not my favorite. Their set-up is one where you do not have a dedicated sale associate and personally, I was looking for the personalized attention. However, I did fall in love with my dress there and you couldn't beat the price. I waited for their after-Thanksgiving sale and was able to get a good deal on the dress. The dress came before the promised date. I also used Modern Bride for my alterations. Overall I was happy with the alterations, but we had trouble with the stitches that were meant to keep the bust closed. In the end, it all really looked beautiful.
Groom: Men's Wearhouse, Nashua, NH - B+
Men's Wearhouse worked out ok for us. I thought the whole process was just a bit on the lengthy side. It took each guy about 15-20 minutes to check out. I will say that my dad lost a lot of weight and went down the week before the wedding and they changed his order, no problem. And the prices were pretty reasonable, which was a bonus.
Cake: Patisserie Bleu, Nashua, NH - B+
We went with Patisserie Bleu because they were willing to make our cake using my grandmother's recipie. And really, it was sooo tasty! It looked nice too. It wasn't exactly what I was envisioning, but I think it still looked really pretty. We are disappointed, however, because they recently went out of business and we were promised a small cake on our 1st anniversary. We served our entire cake at our wedding so now we don't have any left. :-( We're just a little aggrivated because they closed the week after our wedding and could have given us a heads up.
DJ: Bob Kirby, Get Down Tonight - A++
Bob was amazing and completely exceeded our expectations. He kept the dance floor packed all night long. He got people on there that I never would have imagined (i.e. my 99 year-old great-great-uncle!). Every song he played was great. He was very professionaly through the whole process and let us choose the things we wanted and the things we didn't. Really, Bob is an awesome DJ!
