Venue - Hamilton Hall, Salem MA
http://hamiltonhall.org/
Venue - excellent
We chose this venue because we were looking for a historical building. Hamilton Hall is an old assembly hall built in 1806. The venue itself was excellent. It's beautiful and was the perfect setting for us. We were told several times that they can fit 160 people and there would be plenty of room. We ended up with 100 people at 12 tables, and it would have been uncomfortable with even one more table. (We had stations, so those took up a bit more room. But we also had the DJ up on the balcony, so he wasn't taking up any of the room.)
Coordinator - mostly good
Tricia, who runs all events at Hamilton Hall, is extremely nice and friendly. She is outgoing and was very excited about our wedding. We were a bit frustrated because she isn't as organized as we are. She took notes during all of our meetings, but afterwards, was unable to decipher what she had written. We also had some difficulty communicating with her as she often did not respond to emails for several days, and voicemails always had to be followed up with something in writing, just to make sure she got everything.
The day before our wedding, Tricia ended up coming down with shingles. (Obviously through no fault whatsoever of her own.) She had an assistant who ended up taking over. Unfortunately, this assistant had never met us and didn't know a single thing about our wedding. She was also the complete opposite of Tricia--she was very hands-off and was not proactive about anything. She spent most of the wedding downstairs in the office with the door closed. Jay and I ended up running pretty much everything and we had no one to be the liaison between the DJ and caterer so things kept falling through the cracks and were a bit chaotic at times.
Venue - excellent
We chose this venue because we were looking for a historical building. Hamilton Hall is an old assembly hall built in 1806. The venue itself was excellent. It's beautiful and was the perfect setting for us. We were told several times that they can fit 160 people and there would be plenty of room. We ended up with 100 people at 12 tables, and it would have been uncomfortable with even one more table. (We had stations, so those took up a bit more room. But we also had the DJ up on the balcony, so he wasn't taking up any of the room.)
Coordinator - mostly good
Tricia, who runs all events at Hamilton Hall, is extremely nice and friendly. She is outgoing and was very excited about our wedding. We were a bit frustrated because she isn't as organized as we are. She took notes during all of our meetings, but afterwards, was unable to decipher what she had written. We also had some difficulty communicating with her as she often did not respond to emails for several days, and voicemails always had to be followed up with something in writing, just to make sure she got everything.
The day before our wedding, Tricia ended up coming down with shingles. (Obviously through no fault whatsoever of her own.) She had an assistant who ended up taking over. Unfortunately, this assistant had never met us and didn't know a single thing about our wedding. She was also the complete opposite of Tricia--she was very hands-off and was not proactive about anything. She spent most of the wedding downstairs in the office with the door closed. Jay and I ended up running pretty much everything and we had no one to be the liaison between the DJ and caterer so things kept falling through the cracks and were a bit chaotic at times.
Photography - Margaret Singer
http://margaretsinger.com/
almost excellent
We fell in love with Margaret the moment we saw her work. We absolutely love her photojournalistic style and, after we met her, we loved her laid back attitude and relaxed demeanor. Our engagement pictures came out beautifully. Here is a link, if you're interested!
Margaret, unfortunately, showed up half an hour late. (Nobody told me that she wasn't there yet, so I came out of the bridal room and there was no one there to capture the first look. I was really disappointed about that.) To be fair, we changed the start time of the pictures about a week beforehand, so maybe she was confused. But that put us very far behind schedule.
In spite of that, she did an amazing job. She brought an assistant and they seemed to be all over the place getting lots of different angles. At the same time, they were out of the way.
almost excellent
We fell in love with Margaret the moment we saw her work. We absolutely love her photojournalistic style and, after we met her, we loved her laid back attitude and relaxed demeanor. Our engagement pictures came out beautifully. Here is a link, if you're interested!
Margaret, unfortunately, showed up half an hour late. (Nobody told me that she wasn't there yet, so I came out of the bridal room and there was no one there to capture the first look. I was really disappointed about that.) To be fair, we changed the start time of the pictures about a week beforehand, so maybe she was confused. But that put us very far behind schedule.
In spite of that, she did an amazing job. She brought an assistant and they seemed to be all over the place getting lots of different angles. At the same time, they were out of the way.
DJ - Aaron Topfer
http://www.1877yourmusic.com/
excellent
We never even met with Aaron before booking him; we did it based on one conversation and all the amazing reviews he gets on The Knot. We loved the packet he had us fill out prior to the wedding, which included documenting our favorite genres of music, artists, etc. because it showed that he wanted a lot of details to really make it personal. We met with him only once, about a month before the wedding, to explain what we were looking for. We gave him a list of "must plays" and he played every one of them. (Unfortunately, the song I dedicated to my parents--which was really an important song for them--was played while they were out of the room. But that was entirely my fault; I should have pointed out my parents and asked him to make sure they were there for the song.)
Aaron also played the piano (well, keyboard) for the ceremony and he did an amazing job.
The only complaint we have is that he was difficult to understand through the microphone. Though, we take fault for that as well, because we wanted him to be on the balcony and he warned us that the acoustics with the speakers up there wouldn't be as good.
excellent
We never even met with Aaron before booking him; we did it based on one conversation and all the amazing reviews he gets on The Knot. We loved the packet he had us fill out prior to the wedding, which included documenting our favorite genres of music, artists, etc. because it showed that he wanted a lot of details to really make it personal. We met with him only once, about a month before the wedding, to explain what we were looking for. We gave him a list of "must plays" and he played every one of them. (Unfortunately, the song I dedicated to my parents--which was really an important song for them--was played while they were out of the room. But that was entirely my fault; I should have pointed out my parents and asked him to make sure they were there for the song.)
Aaron also played the piano (well, keyboard) for the ceremony and he did an amazing job.
The only complaint we have is that he was difficult to understand through the microphone. Though, we take fault for that as well, because we wanted him to be on the balcony and he warned us that the acoustics with the speakers up there wouldn't be as good.
Caterer - Harvest Catering
http://www.harvestcateringinc.com/
excellent
Hamilton Hall offers a list of "preferred" caterers and Donald at Harvest Catering was one of them. Donald was very patient with us as we changed the menu several times. He was open to our unique menu -- grilled cheese with different breads and cheeses, soups, sliders (tenderloin and chicken) -- and played around with it a bit. The food was absolutely delicious and we got tons of compliments.
Donald sort of took over things on the day of, since Tricia was sick, and he really stepped up to the plate. He did everything he could to bring everything together and I feel he really went above and beyond.
excellent
Hamilton Hall offers a list of "preferred" caterers and Donald at Harvest Catering was one of them. Donald was very patient with us as we changed the menu several times. He was open to our unique menu -- grilled cheese with different breads and cheeses, soups, sliders (tenderloin and chicken) -- and played around with it a bit. The food was absolutely delicious and we got tons of compliments.
Donald sort of took over things on the day of, since Tricia was sick, and he really stepped up to the plate. He did everything he could to bring everything together and I feel he really went above and beyond.
Photobooth - Boston Photobooth Rental
http://www.bostonphotoboothrental.com/index.html
almost excellent
The photobooth was the one thing I was looking forward to most about the wedding. And it did not disappoint. It takes six photos and the guests get to keep three of them and the attendant puts the other three in a guest book that the guests sign. I loved it! Also, all images were uploaded to their website (password protected) the night after the wedding so everyone can see all the pictures. And, they send a CD of all the files that we get to keep and do whatever we want with. LOVED it!!
The only thing that I didn't like was that most guests didn't seem to have been told about the website so they didn't know they could see all the images. Not a big deal, but definitely something I'm going to report back to the owner so he can mention it to his attendants about it.
almost excellent
The photobooth was the one thing I was looking forward to most about the wedding. And it did not disappoint. It takes six photos and the guests get to keep three of them and the attendant puts the other three in a guest book that the guests sign. I loved it! Also, all images were uploaded to their website (password protected) the night after the wedding so everyone can see all the pictures. And, they send a CD of all the files that we get to keep and do whatever we want with. LOVED it!!
The only thing that I didn't like was that most guests didn't seem to have been told about the website so they didn't know they could see all the images. Not a big deal, but definitely something I'm going to report back to the owner so he can mention it to his attendants about it.
Hair - Fringe Salon
http://fringesalem.com/
excellent
What can I say--these people are amazing. They specialize in curly hair, and understood what I meant when I said I wanted my hair to have its natural curls. (Sorry, I don't have a great shot of my hair.) I am going back this week to get a haircut.
excellent
What can I say--these people are amazing. They specialize in curly hair, and understood what I meant when I said I wanted my hair to have its natural curls. (Sorry, I don't have a great shot of my hair.) I am going back this week to get a haircut.
Makeup - The Esthete, Crystal Germond
http://www.theesthete.com/The_Esthete/Welcome.html
excellent
Crystal was so easy for me to work with. I don't wear any makeup on a regular basis and didn't want to spent a lot of money on this. I thought her prices were very reasonable. Because I don't usually wear makeup, I was so worried it wouldn't look like me or that it would be caked on. She totally got it and did an amazing job.
excellent
Crystal was so easy for me to work with. I don't wear any makeup on a regular basis and didn't want to spent a lot of money on this. I thought her prices were very reasonable. Because I don't usually wear makeup, I was so worried it wouldn't look like me or that it would be caked on. She totally got it and did an amazing job.
Room block - Marriott Peabody
mostly excellent
We had some difficulty with the Marriott at first because we started dealing with one person (in the corporate office) and then were passed on to the local event coordinator. In the transfer, things fell through the cracks and got really screwed up. But Susan, the event coordinator, pulled through and really made up for it. The hotel was really nice, the rooms were great, the staff was nice. We know it was a busy weekend for them--being so close to Salem over Halloween--but service wasn't compromised at all.
We had some difficulty with the Marriott at first because we started dealing with one person (in the corporate office) and then were passed on to the local event coordinator. In the transfer, things fell through the cracks and got really screwed up. But Susan, the event coordinator, pulled through and really made up for it. The hotel was really nice, the rooms were great, the staff was nice. We know it was a busy weekend for them--being so close to Salem over Halloween--but service wasn't compromised at all.
Officiant - Rabbi Al Axelrad
excellent
We heard about Rabbi Al because he married Jay's coworker. He is the chair of the Center for Spiritual Life at Emerson College, as well as an adjunct professor. He used to be the rabbi at Brandeis. We were really worried about how things would go because he's very difficult to communicate with--he doesn't use email and was sometimes tough to reach at his office. We only met with him twice and didn't feel like we had a good feel for how the ceremony went. He turned out to be absolutely amazing. We got so many compliments about him. He explained all the Jewish traditions very clearly. Even though he didn't know us very well, he managed to make the ceremony so personal. He is quite pricey, but worth every penny.
We heard about Rabbi Al because he married Jay's coworker. He is the chair of the Center for Spiritual Life at Emerson College, as well as an adjunct professor. He used to be the rabbi at Brandeis. We were really worried about how things would go because he's very difficult to communicate with--he doesn't use email and was sometimes tough to reach at his office. We only met with him twice and didn't feel like we had a good feel for how the ceremony went. He turned out to be absolutely amazing. We got so many compliments about him. He explained all the Jewish traditions very clearly. Even though he didn't know us very well, he managed to make the ceremony so personal. He is quite pricey, but worth every penny.
