Park Slope Wedding Raves and Recommendations!
Hey all!
I got married at the Picnic House in Prospect Park in April 2009 and, after doing nearly a year of intensive research, wanted to share my findings and vendors to hopefully help some brides to be in their search!
Please note that i am not affiliated with ANY of these vendors but merely want to spread the joy and wonderfulness that they all brought to our amazing super fab day!
Here goes:
*VENUE:
Prospect Park Picnic House:
95 Prospect Park West
Brooklyn , NY 11215
http://www.prospectpark.org/parties_permits/weddings-occasions/weddings_picnic_house
They were AMAZING!!!
when you book your day you can choose ANY 8 block time period you want.
they were always pleasant, communicative, the place was GORGEOUS and JUST PERFECT.
would recommend 100000000%!!!!!!!!
CATERING:
World Wide Events Ltd.
New York, New York
http://worldwideeventsltd.com/
Dorrie Parriser
A+ service all the way!
They took care of EVERYTHING.
I have NEVER heard people compliment wedding food as much as they did at our wedding!!! NOONE could believe how incredibly delicious and beautiful EVERYTHING was!!
They were impeccably organized, graceful, elegant, personable, reasonably priced, treated us and our guests graciously, and were all around fantastic.
The food was beautifully prepared and one of my all time favorite and best meals of my life!
Could not recommend them more highly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
CUPCAKES:
'snice
315 5th ave
brooklyn, ny 11215
718.788.2121
THE. BEST. CUPCAKES. EVER!
And vegan! (even the heartiest carnivores could not believe how delicious they were! and got seconds!)
These cupcakes have been our faves ever since 'snice opened. As soon as we got engaged we knew we had to have them at our wedding. Sarah (the chef) was SO helpful and accommodating with flavors, amounts, etc!
They were PERFECT!
USE THEM!!!
WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER:
Joshua Zuckerman
http://www.jzweddings.com/
LOOK NO FURTHER THAN JOSH!
really. he was OUTSTANDING in EVERY way (you might want to grab a sandwich as there are MANY aspects of his fantasticness and i promise to not holdback my opinions.)
Being a photographer myself, i had looked at well over 200 photographers and his work always stood out ahead of the pack as dynamic, alive, fresh and new. I'd seen SO much 'wedding shlock' (slightly overexposed bouquets, over vignetted cliches, and just the same.... exact..... tone...... for ALL the weddings even though they were clearly very very different... i called them the 'acme wedding photographers') less expensive perhaps but nowhere near as creative, interesting, stunning, emotional and capturing as josh's work.
josh has an incredible ease and talent (genius? i sometimes fear that term is overused but in this case, it's truly well well deserved) and has an incredible eye and knack to capture the moment and then take it to an even better place beautifully, naturally, creatively, with a sense of humour and fun to it. none of his images looked fake or overdone... just fantastic, compelling and with a deep true soul to them.
We had narrowed down my search (as i was in charge of finding the photographer) and finally, after several months of research (really, crazy but true) ended up meeting with three.
we met Josh last.
he immediately made us feel at ease. he's very laidback, knows his stuff inside and out and was just so open and nice and wonderful and solid (and funny) i just knew he was 'the one'. he let his work (which is so awesome!) speak for itself and truly took the time to let us get to know him openly and naturally.
On "The Day" there were absolutely no shortcomings whatsoever. He was phenomenal. In fact, i could not imagine our wedding without him. Our wedding (and yes I'm completely bias) was incredible and i really really really think that so much of that had to do with josh. he always made us feel comfortable. he was on time. beyond prepared. had such a great easy vibe/energy (which may sound super west coast of me to say but it is SO IMPORTANT to feel comfortable and it is SO EASY for that day to be a giant hot mess that it is CRUCIAL to feel at ease and know that you're in good hands THROUGHOUT it!) Josh took in the ever changing moods of the day with grace and ease and always kept it open and fun. Never forced or invasive.
We never felt judged, embarrassed, self conscious at any moment. And my fiance (who is very very shy) also always felt comfortable and entirely open around him and, as did i, trusted him implicitly. If josh had told us to lie down in the middle of the road we probably would as we knew it would have been a crazily amazing shot and we would have had a great time doing it.
it was so exciting and wonderful to have him there.
in fact, it seemed that he was magically always there yet completely unobtrusive at the same time (so many of our wedding guests commented on how unobtrusive he was). He made everything better.
DJ:
DJ GAZA (aka: Gary Hoffman)
http://djgaza.com/
I would recommend Gary (aka dj gaza) 10000000%!!!
he was incredible!
Outstandingly professional, prepared, organized, NICE, considerate, polite, sweet, knowledgable, not 'your cliché sleazy wedding dj' and all around awesome.
Incredibly reasonably priced and worth every penny.
He really is the king of wedding DJs and could dj ANY type of wedding with style and with class.
Our wedding was this in April 2009 and could not have imagined our wedding without hiring Gary. He made our night over the top special and amazing!
Things went exactly as prepared (he even showed up earlier than neccessary) and he was ALWAYS unbelievably organized, kind, and incredibly respectful of both us and our guests. He was not invasive, intrusive or loud. Just respectful, gracious, well dressed and well mannered and more than any of that, knew how to get the party started and keep it rolling all night long!
He could read the crowd and the mood instinctually and knew how to accommodate the moment perfectly.
He played all the songs we had requested, and at the perfect time. He was elegant and cool and laidback and easy and FUN and just all around SPECTACULAR!
You couldn't be luckier than to have him dj your wedding.
We've even thought about getting married all over just to get to work with him again!!
FLOWERS:
Opalia Flowers
http://opaliaflowers.com/
377 Atlantic Avenue
between Hoyt & Bond Streets
Boerum Hill
Brooklyn, NY 11217
A+++++++++
Phoebe was UNBELIEVABLY AMAZING!
She stayed within our (very small) budget and gave us the most beautiful flowers imaginable.
We wanted to keep things very simple but gorgeous and elegant. All white. Peonies and freesias and Phoebe was just phenomenal. She worked with (and stayed within!) our budget and did so beautifully. We were SO HAPPY with her!!!
Her style and taste is impeccable and she is so wonderful to work with too!
Lovely, easy, accommodating and all around awesome!
BOOK HER NOW!!
INVITATIONS:
LION IN THE SUN!
http://lioninthesunps.com/
232 7th Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11215
They were very helpful (and a bit pricey but definitely worth it.) We went with a tri-fold to keep everything on one page (staying both economical and ecological) and they were terrific!
We got to design our invites and they were patient and helpful and when we got our invites back with an error they were beyond gracious about fixing it immediately and with no charge. Would highly recommend.
DRESS:
craigslist!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://newyork.craigslist.org/clo/
REHEARSAL DINNER:
Scottadito
788A Union St.
Brooklyn, NY 11215
718.636.4800
We had 20 people and were able to use their super cool "wine cellar" room to house us all and give us enough room to walk through the ceremony! it was intimate and private and we could be as loud or quiet as we wished!
They had a "banquet and event" menu with different prices and even though we chose the lower priced options, the food (and service) was beyond plentiful and amazing!!!
They were a bit 'challenging' to get in touch with (I believe their management was changing hands at the time) but it was certainly well worth it!
(for the record we had also looked at Convivium Osteria at 68th 5th ave which looked AMAZING. The woman there (Michelle) was fantastic and we wished that we could have afforded to splurge... their room is slightly more intimate and super cool but we just couldn't afford them. But those who can should definitely look them up!)
I got married at the Picnic House in Prospect Park in April 2009 and, after doing nearly a year of intensive research, wanted to share my findings and vendors to hopefully help some brides to be in their search!
Please note that i am not affiliated with ANY of these vendors but merely want to spread the joy and wonderfulness that they all brought to our amazing super fab day!
Here goes:
*VENUE:
Prospect Park Picnic House:
95 Prospect Park West
Brooklyn , NY 11215
http://www.prospectpark.org/parties_permits/weddings-occasions/weddings_picnic_house
They were AMAZING!!!
when you book your day you can choose ANY 8 block time period you want.
they were always pleasant, communicative, the place was GORGEOUS and JUST PERFECT.
would recommend 100000000%!!!!!!!!
CATERING:
World Wide Events Ltd.
New York, New York
http://worldwideeventsltd.com/
Dorrie Parriser
A+ service all the way!
They took care of EVERYTHING.
I have NEVER heard people compliment wedding food as much as they did at our wedding!!! NOONE could believe how incredibly delicious and beautiful EVERYTHING was!!
They were impeccably organized, graceful, elegant, personable, reasonably priced, treated us and our guests graciously, and were all around fantastic.
The food was beautifully prepared and one of my all time favorite and best meals of my life!
Could not recommend them more highly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
CUPCAKES:
'snice
315 5th ave
brooklyn, ny 11215
718.788.2121
THE. BEST. CUPCAKES. EVER!
And vegan! (even the heartiest carnivores could not believe how delicious they were! and got seconds!)
These cupcakes have been our faves ever since 'snice opened. As soon as we got engaged we knew we had to have them at our wedding. Sarah (the chef) was SO helpful and accommodating with flavors, amounts, etc!
They were PERFECT!
USE THEM!!!
WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER:
Joshua Zuckerman
http://www.jzweddings.com/
LOOK NO FURTHER THAN JOSH!
really. he was OUTSTANDING in EVERY way (you might want to grab a sandwich as there are MANY aspects of his fantasticness and i promise to not holdback my opinions.)
Being a photographer myself, i had looked at well over 200 photographers and his work always stood out ahead of the pack as dynamic, alive, fresh and new. I'd seen SO much 'wedding shlock' (slightly overexposed bouquets, over vignetted cliches, and just the same.... exact..... tone...... for ALL the weddings even though they were clearly very very different... i called them the 'acme wedding photographers') less expensive perhaps but nowhere near as creative, interesting, stunning, emotional and capturing as josh's work.
josh has an incredible ease and talent (genius? i sometimes fear that term is overused but in this case, it's truly well well deserved) and has an incredible eye and knack to capture the moment and then take it to an even better place beautifully, naturally, creatively, with a sense of humour and fun to it. none of his images looked fake or overdone... just fantastic, compelling and with a deep true soul to them.
We had narrowed down my search (as i was in charge of finding the photographer) and finally, after several months of research (really, crazy but true) ended up meeting with three.
we met Josh last.
he immediately made us feel at ease. he's very laidback, knows his stuff inside and out and was just so open and nice and wonderful and solid (and funny) i just knew he was 'the one'. he let his work (which is so awesome!) speak for itself and truly took the time to let us get to know him openly and naturally.
On "The Day" there were absolutely no shortcomings whatsoever. He was phenomenal. In fact, i could not imagine our wedding without him. Our wedding (and yes I'm completely bias) was incredible and i really really really think that so much of that had to do with josh. he always made us feel comfortable. he was on time. beyond prepared. had such a great easy vibe/energy (which may sound super west coast of me to say but it is SO IMPORTANT to feel comfortable and it is SO EASY for that day to be a giant hot mess that it is CRUCIAL to feel at ease and know that you're in good hands THROUGHOUT it!) Josh took in the ever changing moods of the day with grace and ease and always kept it open and fun. Never forced or invasive.
We never felt judged, embarrassed, self conscious at any moment. And my fiance (who is very very shy) also always felt comfortable and entirely open around him and, as did i, trusted him implicitly. If josh had told us to lie down in the middle of the road we probably would as we knew it would have been a crazily amazing shot and we would have had a great time doing it.
it was so exciting and wonderful to have him there.
in fact, it seemed that he was magically always there yet completely unobtrusive at the same time (so many of our wedding guests commented on how unobtrusive he was). He made everything better.
DJ:
DJ GAZA (aka: Gary Hoffman)
http://djgaza.com/
I would recommend Gary (aka dj gaza) 10000000%!!!
he was incredible!
Outstandingly professional, prepared, organized, NICE, considerate, polite, sweet, knowledgable, not 'your cliché sleazy wedding dj' and all around awesome.
Incredibly reasonably priced and worth every penny.
He really is the king of wedding DJs and could dj ANY type of wedding with style and with class.
Our wedding was this in April 2009 and could not have imagined our wedding without hiring Gary. He made our night over the top special and amazing!
Things went exactly as prepared (he even showed up earlier than neccessary) and he was ALWAYS unbelievably organized, kind, and incredibly respectful of both us and our guests. He was not invasive, intrusive or loud. Just respectful, gracious, well dressed and well mannered and more than any of that, knew how to get the party started and keep it rolling all night long!
He could read the crowd and the mood instinctually and knew how to accommodate the moment perfectly.
He played all the songs we had requested, and at the perfect time. He was elegant and cool and laidback and easy and FUN and just all around SPECTACULAR!
You couldn't be luckier than to have him dj your wedding.
We've even thought about getting married all over just to get to work with him again!!
FLOWERS:
Opalia Flowers
http://opaliaflowers.com/
377 Atlantic Avenue
between Hoyt & Bond Streets
Boerum Hill
Brooklyn, NY 11217
A+++++++++
Phoebe was UNBELIEVABLY AMAZING!
She stayed within our (very small) budget and gave us the most beautiful flowers imaginable.
We wanted to keep things very simple but gorgeous and elegant. All white. Peonies and freesias and Phoebe was just phenomenal. She worked with (and stayed within!) our budget and did so beautifully. We were SO HAPPY with her!!!
Her style and taste is impeccable and she is so wonderful to work with too!
Lovely, easy, accommodating and all around awesome!
BOOK HER NOW!!
INVITATIONS:
LION IN THE SUN!
http://lioninthesunps.com/
232 7th Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11215
They were very helpful (and a bit pricey but definitely worth it.) We went with a tri-fold to keep everything on one page (staying both economical and ecological) and they were terrific!
We got to design our invites and they were patient and helpful and when we got our invites back with an error they were beyond gracious about fixing it immediately and with no charge. Would highly recommend.
DRESS:
craigslist!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://newyork.craigslist.org/clo/
REHEARSAL DINNER:
Scottadito
788A Union St.
Brooklyn, NY 11215
718.636.4800
We had 20 people and were able to use their super cool "wine cellar" room to house us all and give us enough room to walk through the ceremony! it was intimate and private and we could be as loud or quiet as we wished!
They had a "banquet and event" menu with different prices and even though we chose the lower priced options, the food (and service) was beyond plentiful and amazing!!!
They were a bit 'challenging' to get in touch with (I believe their management was changing hands at the time) but it was certainly well worth it!
(for the record we had also looked at Convivium Osteria at 68th 5th ave which looked AMAZING. The woman there (Michelle) was fantastic and we wished that we could have afforded to splurge... their room is slightly more intimate and super cool but we just couldn't afford them. But those who can should definitely look them up!)
Comments
-
Hi chaplin's mom,
Would you be so kind to let me know a rough estimate of your total wedding costs? I'm hoping to have the very same kind of wedding you outlined for around 75-85 people - for maybe $15,000-20,000... Is that even remotely possible? I contacted your photographer... his work is stunning. He quoted $5600 for 8 hours. It got me thinking maybe my pricing is way off. Thanks for your insight. -
erkrose wrote: I contacted your photographer... He quoted $5600 for 8 hours.
We paid our wedding photographer, a photography professor at School of Visual Arts $200 per hour we paid for the film, yea old school, film, and developing and my wife did all the albums. But we own every thing and don't have to pay her for each pic.. What do you get for $5,600? -
we got all the images, 4x6 prints of each image and totally kick ass documentation/celebration/memories of our wedding!
-
are there any photographers that will also provide you with a nice wedding album? All of the one's I've contacted just provide a disc and dont even mention an album as part of the basic package. Also, is it possible to find a photographer for around $1,000. I've started looking and am shocked at how expensive it is - especially the photographers on craigslist.
-
I just got married this past summer. My photographer was from the PA/NJ border but was wonderful to work with and will travel (my wedding was 2 hours from where he lives - so comparable to coming to Brooklyn). He was $1400 or so and we got a book (put together similarly to a yearbook) as well as online proofs of all of the pictures.
His name is Steve Klaver, and while his website isn't so great, his work is wonderful. I can PM you my pictures (they're uploaded to a private website so that family/friends could see them and/or order them). Here's his website:
http://www.steveklaverphotos.com -
Where did you go to dry clean your wedding dress after the wedding? Thanks.
-
This may be more work than you want when having a wedding, but if you have the pictures on a cd, there's a website my friend has used to "make" her own book and the results are awesome. She used it to make a book of her 365 project (take a picture every day) for one or two years but I imagine there are good options for wedding books.
http://www.blurb.com/make/flip/ -
If you want a wedding dress cleaned and preserved try Madam Paulettte
http://www.madamepaulette.com/ I know they do work for the Fashion Institute of Technology and the Metropolitan Museum. I've never used them but my wife is a textile conservator and knows them
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