August 8th, 2009. The rain was pouring. Our dream of an outdoor wedding was quickly fading. I had spent months trying to find the perfect wedding location, to be surrounded by flowers in a beautiful garden … and that we could afford of course. Holden Arboretum was the place. In late summer, the butterfly garden there is filled with life & beauty. In contrast, I remembered the ‘rainy day’ backup building as dreary, with an old musty stench. I had been dreading the possibility of being married in this room, and now was faced with no other alternative. To my pleasant surprise... my memory was wrong.
When I arrived, Ed and Cheryl, our husband and wife photography team, along with the wedding coordinator at the site, had already begun making the backup building fit for a wedding. They found large potted flowers from other areas to bring in. The room where the ceremony was to be held no longer had an unpleasant smell. The curtains were up and the nearly floor to ceiling picture window overlooked the garden as rain drops landed onto the flowers. It was the perfect backdrop for our wedding. This was our perfect wedding location. Throughout the evening, we were continually amazed by the team we had hired & entrusted to make our wedding all we had envisioned...
Michaelangelo's Photography: Ed and Cheryl went above & beyond, including standing in the rain & taking some"experimental" photos, to find the most exquisite shots of us. They even stayed hours later than we had paid them to continue taking photographs late into the night. . We would hire them again in a moment.
Culinaire Pavane, our caterer: They made barbeque chicken & steak on the grill in the lawn of the Holden Arboretum. Guests could smell the alluring smell as they enjoyed their cocktail hour on the patio. We heard numerous times that our dinner was the "best I've ever had at a wedding." Not only was the food exceptional, but Lauren, the owner, also helped to decorate our reception hall along with our florist.
Havel's Greenhouse, a family owned florist greenhouse: Mark, the owner, was patient with me as I constantly changed my mind as to what flowers I wanted. I always had a slight doubt whether the flowers would turn out the way I wanted. When I entered the reception hall for the first time & saw my first view of the bouquets, I knew Mark had managed to tap into my vision & exceeded it. I was definitely impressed.
Michael Angelo’s Bakery: The bakery is owned by two brothers. They are easy to talk to & their work is superb. We had a chocolate & vanilla cake with raspberry& chocolate mousse & a cream cheese icing. They had perfected the flowers & colors I had given them to match our wedding invitations and bridesmaid dresses. It looked beautiful & it tasted even better. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
Dedication & excellence was demonstrated by Michaelangelo's Photography, Culinaire Pavane, Havel's Greenhouse, & Michael Angelo's bakery. I am extremely grateful for their service & am beyond satisfied with their work.
No comments:
Post a Comment