Our 2009 Wedding Day Stories

Kelly & Michael Mellis

2011-02-13T20:01:00.000-08:00

My husband and I had Cheryl & Ed from Michaelangelo's photograph our wedding on July 17, 2010. It was the best decision we made for our wedding. When we look at our photos we remember our wonderful wedding day, and all of the fun we had. The way Ed & Cheryl photographed our wedding, it's as if we are right back there reliving the day. Our guests and wedding party loved their mellow personalities, and professionalism.

We used Michaelangelo's for our cake. It was delicious! White, butter cream, with a raspberry and chocolate layer inside. Yummy! The company was very easy to work with, and it looked awesome.

Our flowers were through a shop called Fresh Tendrils in Rocky River. These people are amazing! They gave us a great deal, and you can have a great deal too as long as you're not too picky on what kind of flower you want.
Our limo service was through Shima Limo. This bus was outstanding, and the driver was very professional. We had a big wedding party so it was nice to be able to move through the bus with no trouble. Just be sure to confirm with them a week before we almost lost our reservation because of a very small communication. Eek!
Our wedding reception was at St. Michael's Woodside. Huge dance floor, great appetizer displays, and they're very cooperative. I do suggest renting a backdrop for behind the head table. They have a huge mirror and exit sign that would end up in all your pictures, and you don't want that. We went through "Off Broadway" for the backdrop/ lighting behind the table. It looked amazing and was worth every penny because it really made the room look more formal and our pictures in that area look awesome too (Cheryl and Ed liked this too!).
Our DJ was Kevin Ward from Midnight Music out of Medina. He's AMAZING. So organized, and played what we asked. The dance floor was packed the whole night, right up until the last song.
Red-Eye Photo Booth is what we used as our guests additional entertainment and it was their wedding favor. They bring in a photo booth and they take care of everything. The guests had a an awesome time and all they kept saying was "that was so fun".
Jen Sullivan through Travel Impressions (Rocky River) was our travel agent for the honeymoon. She is so helpful and patient. She took care of all reservations, and really looked out for the best deal possible.
We got bridesmaid dresses through Anything Bridal and saved $40 on each dress. It went smoothly, but the company has recently changed hands and I'm unsure about the new owners.
Rehearsal dinner was through 100th Bomb Group. The restaurant is beautiful, but the woman in charge of our reservation was not organized. She was hard to get in touch with, and ended up shorting our count by 3 meals so my mom, and 2 other guests had to wait longer for their meal because the manager didn't let the kitchen know of the change in the count. This was a frustrating experience, but the food was good.
Happy Planning! The day flies by so enjoy it!
Kelly & Michael Mellis
July 17, 2010

Heather & Steve Salagovic

2011-02-13T19:41:00.000-08:00

After visiting five or six venues we decided to go with La Vera's Party Center in Willoughby Hills. From the second we walked in the door Anthony was more than happy to welcome us and accommodate our large party of 400 guests. In the end, we ended up having an extrordinary party of 300+ guests in the Tuscan Room with an unforgetable meal. We are still getting compliments of how good the food was! Just awesome hands down!!

The cake was also included with La Vera's pricing and was made by Cakes by Maria & Joe in Mentor. Maria was very nice when I met her to go over details of the cake which I had designed myself (something very simple but timeless). She made the process very easy and went over every detail with me to make sure we were on the same page. When I saw the cake on the wedding day it was just as if it had come to life...it was perfect!

DJ- Absolutely Unbelievable Entertainment with Deric Langton who is located in Wickliffe. When we first met him at his studio he showed us all the lights and equipment in use....which I'm not going to lie looked unbelievable. I can't tell you how many compliments I've gotten about the music. All of our guests loved it and were on the dance floor all night (even the grandma's)!

For transportation, we choose to go with Cutting Edge Limousine in Willoughby. They had a large number of vechicles to select from and we ended up going with their newest party bus. This thing was awesome and huge! The only thing that sucked was the radio very stacticy like most party buses, so if you use them I'd recommend bringing an itouch or ipod to sync your own music. Otherwise, the driver was on time, and was everywhere he needed to be and was more than polite. Very nice people to work with!

After looking into a few florist shops, we choose to go with Prestige Floral in Beachwood because her bouquets looked beautiful. The colors were just amazing and there wasn't a whole lot of greenary in her bouquets just bright lively looking flowers which we wanted. She was so helpful on the day of the wedding. She pinned the entire bridal party, and showed the girls how to hold the bouquets the proper way. Very nice, friendly, and easy to work with!

As for taking pictures there was only one place we wanted to go and that was the Holden Arboretum in Kirtland. If you haven't been there before I suggest you go. The trails in the park take you to several locations that have astounding views. They actually have trams that will take you around the park so that the members of your bridal party don't have to walk and get dirty which was very nice especially on our very chilly day. Overall, just an amazing spot for photos!

After doing lots of research online for photographers, we decided to use Michaelangelo's Photography because they had amazing photos and were very highly rated by others within the Cleveland area. In fact, we were so excited to book them that we did it an entire year before the wedding just to make sure it was set in stone. For our wedding on October 30, 2010 (a lovely very-chilly day), Cheryl and Ed gladly made an hour drive out to us where they took photos everywhere from the groom's dads' house, to the church, to the park, and the reception. We really couldn't have asked for better photographers. Both Cheryl & Ed are very friendly and make you feel like you've know them for years. If you are searching for someone to capture your entire special day-----look no further. These 2 are truely spectacular!!!

Thanks Again for the WONDERFUL PHOTOS

~Heather & Steve Salagovic~

Amy & Shawn Franks

2011-02-13T19:11:00.000-08:00

Vendors we used:

The Bertram - We would totally choose them again ... they offered everything ... the venue, food, bar, cake ... everything was perfect!

TKO Entertainment - Awesome! They kept the party going all night!

Creations by Lynn - Fantastic florists! Our flowers were exceptional.

ShutterBooth - A huge hit ... it was a lot of fun to see the pictures as the night progressed ... our guests loved it!

A-1 Mr. Limo - Great service and very accommodating. Cleveland Jewelry Exchange - Great selection, great service ... sensitive to our needs and wants.

The Old Courthouse Downtown - a beautiful location for pictures ... and of course ... you ... the best photographers around ... we would recommend you to anyone getting married ... you guys were so fun to work with ... you made our day and memories perfect! Everything about our day was picture perfect! We would have not changed one thing!!

Thanks

Amy Franks

PS - can't wait to start having little Franks' so we can come for pictures and family portraits!

Stacey & Adam

2010-08-29T20:00:00.000-07:00

With a whirlwind of kindness, generosity and outpouring love, the date we'd been anxiously awaiting 9.19.09, seemed to fly by in a second. Undoubtedly the most cherished memory of our wedding day was being surrounded by all of the people we love - everywhere we looked we met the gaze of a friend with a tear in his or her eye. We couldn't help but be humbled by an overwhelming sense of true joy that day, and we count ourselves lucky that even though we expected some mishaps throughout the day, our vendors were absolutely wonderful.

My seven bridesmaids and I went to Salon Oz for our updos and makeup, where we were greeted with a tasty breakfast spread, an organized staff and smiling faces, setting the tone for the rest of the day.

Our wonderful photographers, Cheryl and Ed from Michaelangelo's, arrived at my house with a trainee in tow (meaning dozens more photos for us!), just in time to take photos of the girls before we boarded our A1 Mr. Limo bus. With the perfect combination of posed a journalistic candid shots, we couldn't have asked for more from these two. They came prepared with myriad ideas for angles, lighting, props and poses, using friendly direction and humor to coax the group into giving them different "attitudes" for each shot. They were terrific to work with and continued to "wow" us with their shots of our traditional Catholic ceremony at St. John Neumann, bridal party photos on location at Squire's Castle and our guest reception at Sammy's at Legacy Village.

Working with Sammy's, was one of the best wedding decisions we ever made. By providing a wedding coordinator, they assured us that our vendors would be informed of every detail on our big day and that we could rest easy. They were right. It was a silky smooth transition from cocktail hour, to a deliciously plated dinner to non-stop dancing, with our DJs from Cleveland Entertainment, Inc. guiding our guests with our personalized music selections and enthusiastic instructions to keep the party moving.

From the sunny weather to the food to the last song, Piano Man, when 100 of our guests gathered in a circle to sing and sway together one last time that night, I wouldn't change a thing.

After such a long time planning, the day flies by incredibly quickly. One piece of advice I can give to couples is to be sure to take the time to step back and just observe the crowd for a second. Having all of your favorite people in the same place all at once is the ultimate high. Take it all in and enjoy it!

JENNIFER & ALEX

2010-08-12T18:26:00.000-07:00

Both my husband and I lived out of state (me in North Carolina and him in Texas) so planning a wedding in Cleveland was challenging. But this was where I grew up, so we made it work. We couldn’t have pulled everything together if it wasn’t for the cooperation of our vendors. Two things were most important to me: the cake (because my mom is a pastry chef) and the photos

The photography: Ed and Cheryl were the best! I picked them from a long list of photographers in the area because I felt most comfortable with them at our initial meeting. Their laid back yet professional style was the right vibe that I wanted on my wedding day. We communicated mostly over the phone and by email to sort out the details of the day, and then had a final meeting a few days before the wedding to confirm timing and locations. Because April weather in Cleveland is always a toss up, Cheryl recommended the Old Courthouse as a location for pictures…and I am so glad she did! Our pictures were absolutely stunning. We were extremely pleased with our choice to go with Michaelangelo’s. The photographers are probably the people you will be with the most on your wedding day (even more than your future spouse) so it’s important that you are comfortable with them. We would recommend again and again.

The cake: We chose Michael Angelo's Bakery In Broadview Heights. Being out of town posed a challenge in getting the cake just perfect, but Matt was up for the challenge. We communicated over email, exchanging pictures and drawings until I was completely happy. I remember, when I walked into the reception room the cake was the first thing that caught my eye and I was so happy...it was perfect. And the "icing on the cake" was that it tasted even better than it looked! Again, we highly recommend Michael Angelo's Bakery.

The day went so fast, but we couldn’t be happier. My best piece of advice is to make your day about you. Everyone will have their opinion, but always make sure you are happy with the decisions because the memories that you are making are yours. Ed and Cheryl understand this and will help make sure your day is what you want.

MOLLY & JEREMY

2010-03-09T17:56:00.000-08:00

I consider myself lucky. I had the wedding of my dreams. I heard a lot of people tell me that the day would go by so fast, and that I wouldn’t be able to believe all the work went into that one day. Maybe it was because of that advice, but I savored every moment, and everything was worth it!!
A week or 2 before the wedding I met with Cheryl about photography. The plan in my mind was to do pictures with my girls, and Jeremy’s pictures with the boys before the ceremony then do the rest of our pictures after the ceremony during the cocktail hour. Meeting with Cheryl was a MUST. She helped us see this would not give us the pictures we wanted. Since Jer and I were not very superstitious, we agreed to see each other before the wedding and do the pictures before the ceremony. One of the best decision we made, we have soo many gorgeous pictures (I believe 1300!!!). Not a decision for all couples, but something to keep in mind. If you won’t do it this way, definitely pencil in several hours between ceremony and reception for pics.
I got my hair done at Studio Taylor, then went to the gorgeous Shaker Country Club, where we had all the events.

The club event coordinator, Alison, met me as I walked in, and told me I HAD to see how gorgeous the reception room was. This did not surprise me. Our florist, Arne from Bloom’s Plantscaping, is a genius. I cried when he showed me the centerpieces in his showroom, thinking “he’s making something that beautiful for me??”. He also did our chuppah for the ceremony (Jeremy is Jewish). Arne proposed a “natural” chuppah that looked like trees with hanging balls of flowers. He talked us into it but we were still a bit apprehensive. There was no need to worry, it BLEW us away. He also did our linens and napkins in bright but elegant colors.

Trust your vendors, but don’t hesitate to assert your style. That way, you get the vendors creative expertise with your personal touch. For example, our cake by White Flower Cake Shoppe. Lauren and Marianne are so nice and personable for being so talented! We had our consultation, they drew us up some concepts, we gave feedback, and they came back with our dream cake. It was out of this world beautiful and tasted amazing. I would recommend both White Flower and Blooms to anyone. They are worth every penny.

I got ready with makeup by Dresden Buras, slipped into my Romona Keveza gown I got at Brides by the Falls, and started pictures. I would highly recommend practicing faces in the mirror. I had no idea how to do serious, so those pictures didn’t turn out too great (not because of our photographers, they tried to work with me!!). Cheryl was with the girls, while Jer had Ed. It was really nice having two photographers. Not just for that reason, but they can get different angles when both shooting the same thing. Then Jeremy and I had our meeting. I was so happy to see him!! Cheryl and Ed were so great to work with. One of my bridesmaids is getting married soon, and asked for their info just from how great they were to work with without even seeing the pictures.

I came down the aisle to music by Celestial Strings. We chose the combination of harp, cello, and violin. It was beautiful. I was really nervous before walking down the aisle, but seeing Jer before helped a lot. He still got teary eyed when I walked down, so did my dad. I was surprisingly calm when it came to the moment, just wanted to be married! The ceremony flew by, it was non-traditional in a parlor room with a reverend from my church, and his cousin ordained on the internet. Can’t get more personal than that!

The reception was a blast. Special Request was our amazing band. Can’t say enough about how much fun and accommodating they are. They learned in a month Jeremy and my first song, were able to play CD’s when needed (our wedding entrance to ACDC’s Thunderstuck), and even let my musician brother join them for a few songs. We also had a photobooth by Cleveland Photobooth there. They brought props, and the picture strips had a signature with our wedding date and names. It was a hit!
The food was amazing. I do have a word of advice when doing your tastings though. Remember they will be cooking the food they just made for one person for hundreds. I say that because the filet at our tasting was the best steak I ever had. The one at my wedding was the second or third best. Still fantastic, but just something to think about.

Overall, my day was a dream. The best piece of advice I have is to remember the marriage is what is important; the wedding just gets you there. There will always be someone who doesn’t agree with the way you want your ceremony, someone getting you angry on the wedding day or saying something you don’t like. But if you go into the day thinking “nothing will ruin this for me”, then nothing will. How can it, as long as you are married at the end, that’s all that matters. Ed and Cheryl know this. Cheryl actually had to bring Jer and I back to that mind frame after we began to stray, caring too much about other things going on. They are fantastic photographers. Not only did I end up with pictures some have called “the most beautiful they have ever seen”, but they know what is really important about your wedding day.

SHELLEY & DALE

2010-03-03T19:22:00.000-08:00

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.

DIANA & KEITH "Our Destination Wedding"

2010-02-25T19:37:00.000-08:00

My new wife and I had a great wedding day due mostly to the ability of our vendors. Being both from out-of-state, my wife from Florida and I from California, a lot of planning had to take place in order for our special day to happen. Since both of us were originally from the Cleveland area, we thought it easiest to bring the wedding to the family instead of the family to the wedding. It’s pretty funny how people travel to both California and Florida to have their dream “Destination” wedding and we traveled from those places to have ours in Cleveland. We must really love our family and friends.

Planning from out-of-state was quit the challenge. Coordinating our schedule and meeting with all the vendors to pick the best of the best, seemed to be impossible. A lot of our final picks were based on our experience and recommendations. When we finally completed this we knew we had the best team to help us on our wedding day.

Here is our final list of vendors with a little information on each:

Church:

Assumption

My Uncle is a Deacon there and of course it made working with the church a lot easier. If you’re looking for a very traditionally full mass Catholic Wedding, this is the place. No messing around.

Reception Hall:

Carrie Cerino’s

The food was phenomenal to say the least. We chose Prime Rib, Chicken Marsala, and Pasta. Carmen Cerino was great to work with, and I didn’t even know he was the owner. Plenty of room to dance, eat, and of course drink at the two bars on each side of the room.

Flowers:

Blossom Shoppe

The owner was great to work with. Looking from the outside, you would never think the place could turn out the product they did. Reasonable prices and awesome quality.

DJ:

Spin Productions

The owner did my sister’s wedding 6 years prior. He set us up with a great DJ who did a fabulous job getting the crowd going. Everybody danced all night.

Photographer:

Michaelangelo’s Photography

Cheryl and Ed are simply awesome. Of all the vendors they were the most fun to work with. We had a limited time set aside for pictures, but they made it happen. They took photos at the Palace Theater, Voinovich Park, Assumption, and the Reception. One unique thing Cheryl did was meet up with my wife in the morning and take pictures of her getting ready with her parents. Really cool. They landed up taking over 1,000 pictures and every one was great. I don’t know how they did it.

ANN & JEFF

2010-02-25T15:34:00.000-08:00

We had a traditional Catholic ceremony. It was held at Ascension of Our Lord Church in the Westpark neighborhood of Cleveland, OH. We are both parishioners there, and that is the main reason why we chose it for our ceremony. The unique layout of the church as well as the warm, earthy dÄcor was an added incentive to have our wedding ceremony there. The reception was held at St. Clarence Catholic Church in the Pavilion. The venue itself was beautiful; the sliding glass doors open to reveal a huge patio with trees and other greenery surrounding the back of the building. This venue uses Ahern Catering exclusively. I was a bit nervous about not having a choice in the matter, but the food was delicious.

Despite my calling and changing things several times, the flowers were perfect. I have to admit, I had no idea what I really wanted for the flowers, but Judy talked to me about what I like and what I don’t like, and somehow managed to design beautiful bouquets, centerpieces, corsages, boutineers, a flower girl basket and headpiece, a piece for the alter, and loose flowers for my hair. We used Floral Images, based in Kamm’s Corners.

Total Eclips Salon and Spa in Parma did hair and make-up for myself, all of the bridesmaids, and the mother of the groom. They offer several bridal packages, and I chose the on your Wedding Day package. It includes hair and make-up as well as fruit, bagels, coffee, tea, and mimosas. It was the perfect beginning to the day.

The cake was done by Cakes by Jo Anne. We wanted the cake to be pretty, but to also look like a cake, not a sculpture. We also wanted the cake to be much more than just a forgettable plain white cake. We had cassata cake, peanut butter cup cake, spice cake with apple filling, chocolate cake with chocolate filling, and white cake with raspberry filling. Jo Anne told us that she would make sure that there would be more cake than we actually needed, just to be sure that there would be enough. Jo Anne and I agreed that when it comes to food, it is better to have too much than not enough, but at the end of the night, there were maybe five pieces left. Our guests were getting seconds and even thirds! ╩Thinking back on all of the weddings I have attended over the years, I cannot remember a single wedding cake, but four months later, I am still getting compliments on mine.

To be honest, using anyone besides Michaelangelo’s never entered my mind. Cheryl and Ed had worked with my father on various commercial advertising projects through the company he worked for, and when my father was remarried in March of 2001, he and my soon to be step-mother chose Michaelangelo’s again to photograph their wedding. My step-mother also chose Michaelangelo’s to take a series of family portraits of her large family (about 70 people). My much smaller family (5 people at the time) also enlisted Cheryl to take our family portrait. Two of my four step-sisters chose Michaelangelo’s as their wedding photographers, and I had no doubts that I would do the same. My confidence in their ability was reinforced throughout the entire wedding day. Cheryl was not only incredibly professional, but also, as it turned out, was a skilled wrangler of the slightly unruly (and possibly tipsy) groomsmen.

LAUREN & GEOF

2010-01-26T18:18:00.000-08:00

I am often accused of being a little obsessive and weirdly organized. I figured planning our wedding was going to force me to become more of both. I decided to go the other way. Yes, I was still organized but if I was going to keep my sanity and my stress level low, I couldn’t obsess over anything. I focused on a few major points and the rest just fell into place. I didn’t worry about the little things. Not everything was going to be perfect, so I tried to stay calm when something went wrong.

When I started planning there were only two things I was sure of. I wanted to get married in a garden and have an amazing photographer. Shortly after becoming engaged to my wonderful husband Geof, I started my research…wedding web sites. Most of them were too cliché for me so, I simply found a checklist and a timeline and was on my way. Word of mouth guided us to our location, The Holden Arboretum. The Butterfly Garden is beautiful, engaging, and a lovely location to get married. Once we had our date I could really start planning. My next order of business was a photographer. I had stumbled across Michaelangelo’s Photography on one of the Cleveland wedding websites and fell in love. Geof and I went for our appointment to meet with Cheryl and Ed. While waiting for Cheryl we found ourselves looking at Geof’s brother’s wedding pictures in some of their books. Somehow we ended up at the same photographer. I saw their wedding pictures a few years earlier and loved them. In fact, his pictures were what inspired me to find a great photographer.

Apparently my search was over just as it began. Once I finished the two things that topped my list, the rest was easy. I found a good bakery- Gartman Model Bakery, florist-Gilson Gardens and caterer- Rideout’s IGA. I tried to keep my choices local, supporting family owned and run businesses. I found with doing that the people we worked with were more relatable. I suppose when you are with your family at work and at home you become flexible and easier to work with.

It was 73 degrees in August and on the morning of our wedding my step-son fell off his bike onto his face, poor kid. He ended up with a large bandage on his forehead and a nice shiner

Now, I said I was obsessive and organized but no one would ever accuse me of being graceful, so when I dropped my bouquet of roses into the pond there was no surprise.Our wedding day was perfect as judged by my husband and me. In hindsight I’m glad I didn’t worry about the little things because I wouldn’t have had as much fun. We surrounded ourselves with fun people from our bridal party; Heather, the wedding planner at The Holden and Cheryl and Ed from Michealangelo’s (Geof thinks Ed is hilarious, I favor Cheryl). Regardless of how you plan on your big day turning out, let your hair down and enjoy yourself!