In working on the post about our first anniversary, I realized that I never put together a post about all the great wedding vendors we had used. I hope that other Sojo (South Jersey) brides find this post helpful when trying to plan their wedding!
Rehearsal Dinner:
Brio Tuscan Grille: The night before the big day we went to our venue to go through our ceremony order quickly. Afterwards, we met up at Brio in a small, private room and enjoyed a delicious dinner together with our bridal party. Everyone ordered off the menu and there were no problems on the speed or cooking style in which everything was presented.
For us, we opted to just have the dinner be those who would be walking down the aisle with us (parents, Gramma and bridal party) so that could still relax and enjoy ourselves that night. I’d highly recommend this route, versus the big, blown out rehearsal dinners that became a mini wedding in and of itself! Afterwards, we went to Unos near our hotel, where several out-of-town guests were enjoying some food and drinks.
Ceremony & Reception:
(photo credit: Brad Ross Photography)
Adelphia – Oddly enough, we heard about Adelphia as a great wedding venue from my Dental Hygienist when I was in for a cleaning! She had gotten married there a year before and raved about the food selection, staff and the whole experience. And boy was she right!
(photo credit: Brad Ross Photography)
Since we’re not really religious, we opted to have our ceremony in one room upstairs, then bring guests out to the patio for cocktail hour and then back in the recently remodeled Pan Athenian Ballroom for the reception. You can see a few photos of these beautiful spaces in the images above. For weeks and months afterwards, we heard so many compliments about the event, especially the food! There is so much food brought around and then you have to try to save room for the huge dessert buffet! As a bride, I, of course, didn’t get much food in me that evening, but having tasted it at the tasting, I can tell you it was delicious!
We had worked with Dan to plan the whole event, with custom choices on napkins, chair cover ribbons and linens, amongst all the other details. He worked out the timeline for both the rehearsal and wedding day and I never had one complaint about the whole planning process or how the day went. He was always very quick to respond and made himself available for any times we were in the area meeting with other vendors.
(photo credit: Brad Ross Photography)
The only snag we had was the ice sculpture we picked out as part of our package. We’re not really ice sculpture people but there was supposed to be a martini design with flavored martinis around it. Mistakenly, it turned out to be a martini shaped ice luge! We laughed it up as adults of all (drinking) ages, took their turn on the luge to enjoy one of the flavor vodka shots. It was not necessarily something I would’ve picked for my big day but we didn’t have a problem with this mistake and we know our guests had a great time enjoying this fun feature. And yes, Derek and I each took a swig of the flavored delights on the luge! :)
Pre Wedding Photo Locations:
(photo credit: Brad Ross Photography)
Unos Chicago Grill: Our photographer and his assistant came to us prior to the ceremony to capture those all important “getting ready” and bridesmaid/groomsmen shots. As there was conveniently an Unos Pizzeria in the parking lot of our hotel, we had asked the manager if they guys could use this location for their groomsmen shots. This allowed them to grab a cold brew and relax before a busy day and as the bride, I personally love the collection of photos our photographer got at this relaxed location.
(photo credit: Brad Ross Photography)
National Park, New Jersey: Like most women, I had a wedding Pinterest board that was in the works long before my big day. I had pinned several of those “reveal” style photo shoots where the couple meets before the ceremony to get all their nerves and couples shots out of the way. I HIGHLY recommend this if you are not too superstitious or traditional, of which Derek and I were not. It allowed us to get the jiggers out and be more relaxed at the ceremony but also got the best shots of everyone before their makeup and hair styles were falling out. While it was SUPER hot out during our shoot, I LOVED the location we found at this nearby park. This old house and grassy park area allowed us to get some great shots of us and our immediate bridal party/family. This also helped our timeline and only required the larger group family photos to be taken after the ceremony and allowed my bridal party to enjoy some cocktail hour food and drinks!
Photography:
(photo credit: Brad Ross Photography)
Brad Ross Photography: I was a big admirer of Brad’s work LONG before getting engaged. I found him through a photography site and bookmarked him for my big day. When my brother and sister-in-law were getting married two years earlier, I sent them the link and they quickly fell in love with his photography style! When it came time to book our wedding venue, we actually picked a date that worked in Brad’s schedule before a date we liked!
I can’t say enough about Brad’s professionalism in planning the event, communication and of course his awesome photography skills! He brought an assistant with him who got just as many beautiful shots of our big day. She was even known to sway her hips and do a little move to keep in disguise on the dance floor! Brad was always there to get the shot, but was never pushy, demanding or obtrusive. We were very happy with the experience with Brad and his team and would highly recommend using him for your future big day. NOTE: our venue location was a little further than he usually would travel to, so make sure to give him all your information up front!
DJ:
(photo credit: Dave McClure)
Noble Productions: We had been to several weddings where Noble Productions was the DJ company. Everyone always had a fun time, doing the typical Jersey fist pump and their best dance moves so Derek was convinced this is who he wanted for his big day. Aaron was our DJ the day of the event and one that was always out on the dance floor making sure the guests had a good time. If you’re looking for some fun dance parties, use their services!
Transportation:
Albert’s Transportation: We were recommended this company through our venue and I have no complaints on their booking or services! The price was right for us to get a shuttle system that went continuous between out hotel (right down the road) and the venue before and after the event. All the pricing was included and paid up front so we had no worries on remembering an extra check the day of. If you’re going with Adelphia, use Albert’s Transportation for your big day and make one less headache for your guests to figure out a safe commute!
Lodging:
Fairfield Inn and Residence Inn, Deptford NJ: These hotel locations couldn’t be any more convenient to our venue as they were literally a 5 minute drive! They were spacious, had the set ups we needed, including a suite for the bridal parties to get ready in, and offered a continental breakfast each morning. While I personally did have a few problems holding a room block for a larger amount (I wasn’t going to list a hotel on my invitation if I didn’t know I could reserve a full block for all the rooms I needed) my hubby put on his best customer service voice and was able to negotiate the lodging situation for the event.
One contact at the hotel did suggest that we label each of the hotel welcome bags with the guest names, which later turned out to not be such a great idea. If anything, I’d suggest to ignore that thought and just give general hotel bags that any guest could receive that was with your party.
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