It’s been two months since our wedding day and the memories are still fresh in our minds. We haven’t seen the official photo’s yet, but a few friends and family have shared their pictures with us and they look great. Looking back, we can’t help but smile at the great time had by all. We were very fortunate that everything went off without a hitch. Of course, that’s no accident – we put in a lot of planning to make it the perfect day and had the help of some fantastic local vendors.
Interestingly, we didn’t interview a lot of different vendors for each role. We did some research, picked one or two names, met with them and made our choice pretty quickly. That just seemed to work well for us, and helped to get us through the planning process very quickly. There’s a brief write-up on each below, along with their contact information. We would highly recommend all of them!
The Liberty Warehouse
We can’t say enough good things about Jeff and the rest of the team at the Liberty Warehouse. They did everything they promised and a whole lot more to make sure we had a memorable day. They were extremely professional, well organized, and totally on top of everything in the lead up to and on the day itself. Jeff was totally open to letting us drop stuff off the night before and collect things the next morning, which definitely made it a lot easier and less stressful. The food was incredible, the service prompt and efficient and the demeanor of the staff was very friendly and helpful. There is no doubt in our minds that we got full value from the team at the Liberty Warehouse.
175 Van Dyke St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Phone: (347) 987-3121
Web: www.thelibertywarehouse.com
Reverend Annie Lawrence
Annie is so nice and helpful – we are so glad we found her! From the first meeting with her, where she spent an hour learning about us and listening to our history, we felt like Annie really fit our idea of what an officiant should be. Annie was in touch with us regularly in the lead up to the day, helped us craft the ceremony to our taste and gave us plenty of pointers and help for our vows. On our wedding day, she had extra copies of our vows just in case and made sure to take some time with us before and after the ceremony to calm nerves, talk through what was happening and conduct the formal license signing. Annie was truly wonderful and made us feel so comfortable throughout – we are so glad she was part of our wedding day.
Phone: (917) 620-6307
Web: revannielawrence@gmail.com
Email: www.revannielawrence.com
Opalia Flowers
Jason had gotten really nice arrangements from Opalia on a few occasions. Their flowers are so fresh and really brighten the place up. So it was inevitable that they were one of the local vendors we really wanted to work with from the outset. Barbara was very helpful in crafting the order to meet our budget while giving us the look and feel we really wanted. On the day itself everything came out so well. The flowers were all delivered on time, and Kim got to the venue early to decorate and setup. She was so nice, and really put in a lot of effort to make the place look great.
377 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217
Phone: (718) 643-9160
Web: www.opaliaflowers.com
Cheryl Kleinman Cakes
Initially we were not planning to get a cake, seeing as how we opted for an ice cream bar. In the end though, we gave in to our sweet tooths, and decided to get a small cake. We were a little concerned that we had left it kind of late in the day, but the folks at Betty Bakery and Cheryl Kleinman were very helpful and didn’t seem to think time would be an issue. We met with the team, saw their facility and picked out a cake design at the initial meeting. From there, the team took care of everything and delivered the cake to the venue on the day. A really seamless and stress free process. And the cake … delicious! It was so good, we even decided to cut into small pieces the layer we saved and eat a piece each month rather than waiting for our first year anniversary.
448 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217
Phone: (718) 237-2271
Web: www.cherylkleinman-cakes.com
Email: ckcakes@gmail.com
Wiggle It DJ
A lot of the local services we contacted wanted exorbitant fees for the six hour party, so we took a different route and ended up finding Noel through the Gig Masters web site. We traveled up to West Chester to meet him and see him in action before signing off, and were impressed with his setup and library. We agreed a good price, a list of services, and a playlist that included a few songs that we wanted in and some that we wanted out. Noel came through on everything. In fact, on the day itself Noel and his partner were onsite from early in the morning to setup. He worked well with the venue and coordinated his music around the venue’s schedule, so that everything ran smoothly.
Phone: (888) 944-4532
Web: www.wiggleitdj.com
Email: wiggleitdj@gmail.com
Marilu Donovan
We didn’t really want piped music for the ceremony and felt like a combination of a harp and some other instruments would make a great sound in the space. Like Noel, we also found Marilu through the Gig Masters web site. When we met, she asked us a lot of questions about our style, preferences, etc. and we talked about some key tunes we wanted to have feature in the ceremony. Marilu was open to learning some new tunes (such as Jason’s walk-in song) and had an extensive list of musicians whom she could bring onboard for the event. We ended up going with a threesome of harp, violin and cello. Marilu and her partners showed up on time, got setup and started playing immediately as people started to arrive, which really helped to set the tone and atmosphere for the day. All the pieces they played sounded flawless and Jason had a big smile on his face as he walked in to the sound of the Greatest American Hero theme!
Web: www.mariludonovan.com
Email: marilu.donovan@gmail.com
Pane e Vino
We chose this restaurant as the location for our rehearsal dinner. It has a special meaning to us because it was also the site of our first date Brooklyn date back in 2011. We stopped in one day for a cocktail and got talking to their event manager. He outlined the menu options, bar options, and services along with an estimate of cost. What really appealed to us, besides the quality of food, was the private room. The restaurant has a section in the back that’s like a sunroom, so we could enjoy the bright evening without the risk of rain. The private room was also a benefit given that we would have ten young children – they could run around to their hearts content without interfering with other diners in the restaurant. On the evneing itself, everything went perfectly. There was plenty of food, the bar was well stocked, and the service was efficient. Both our families and someo out of town guests had a great time, which really helped set the mood for the rest of the weekend.
174 Smith St., Brooklyn, NY 11231
Phone: (718) 501-1010
Web: www.panevinony.com
Marriott Brooklyn Bridge
We had quite a few guests traveling from out of town. In addition, given that it was a holiday weekend, we anticipated a few guests choosing to extend their stay in New York by a couple of days to take in some sights around the city. We liked the Marriott becuase it is within walking distance to the Brooklyn Bridge and right next to a major subway hub, so very convenient for all guests. The folks in the hospitality team were very helpful when it came to giving us a reduced rate and providing a block of rooms for our guests. They held the rooms for quite a lengthy period of time, so everyone had time to get their travel plans organized. They also helped distribute welcome bags on arrival day, and expedited check-in and check-out for our guests.
333 Adams St, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Phone: (718) 246-7000
Web: www.marriott.com
Custom Coach & Limo
The folks at Custom Coach & Limo really saved the day. Unbeknownst to us, we had scheduled our wedding on the biggest prom night of the year. Organizing transport for our guests from the hotel to the venue was one of the last things on our list and because of the clash, we ran into a brick wall with every vendor we called. Thankfully, Custom Coach & Limo don’t cater to the party bus & prom crowd! They had a few options available to us and their pricing was well within our budget (and far below any of the other vendors who were not booked out by prom event). The driver was on time for our pick ups, the bus was clean and in excellent working condition, and ultimately our guests got to the venue and home again without incident.
Phone: (866) 952-8737
Web: www.usbusrentals.com
Email: info@usbusrentals.com
A big thanks for all of our vendors for their hard work and support!