here are the reviews you girls have been waiting for!!
Venue - Swan West Courtyard
From the minute I first saw the West Courtyard I knew we had made the right choice!!!
The West Courtyard is far prettier and far more intimate than I expected!!! We were thrilled with our choice of venue!!!
The beautiful fountain stayed on during our ceremony and it was gorgeous. I was a little worried that our guests wouldn't be able to hear what was being said, but it was not a problem at all!!! Only my Mum said that she didn't catch everything that was said, but she never does, bless her!!! Both my DD and DS are used to throwing their voices as both have theatrical experience, and Rev Tim manages to project his voice brilliantly. I also had only a few guests and so they were able to sit really close. I think that if you have a larger number of guests who are more spread out, or speakers who are less likely to be heard, it would be better to have the fountains turned off. Shame though, as they certainly are a beautiful backdrop for the proceedings!!
I know that some girls have been concerned about the West Courtyard being overlooked by rooms and balconies. This is, of course, true. I can honestly say though, that this was not a problem for us!! There were very few people watching from their balconies, as I suspect that on such a lovely day they were all out and about. Waving to the few we did spot, after the ceremony, added to the experience and made me feel even more special!!
The water station set up for the guests in the Courtyard was a real blessing as it was a very hot day!!
We hired two servers from the Swan's team to serve both the champagne and cake after the ceremony. I am ashamed to admit that I don't remember their names, but they were two sweet men who did their job perfectly and then boxed up the cake for us to take away. We also had some champagne and sparkling cider left over and they saw to it that these were given to my Mum so as we could enjoy it later!!
The interior of the Swan is beautiful and so cool with all the marble. It is a lovely place for the guests to wait. Some of our guests had the opportunity to see something of the hotel lobby, because we only had one limo which had to do two journeys from BLT, and all the guests loved the Swan and were very impressed with it's cool and relaxing atmosphere. The indoor fountain is beautiful too!!
To sum up, I loved the West Courtyard so much. I was lucky enough to be invited to James and Jeffery's beautiful ceremony at SBP a few days after our VR and I was prepared that I may prefer SBP to the Courtyard. I didn't!!! SBP is gorgeous too, but for the amount of guests we had, I was really pleased we chose the Courtyard!!!
Planner and co-ordinator - Karen Gingerich (JustMarry)
Those of you who have been following my ramblings know that I have always described Karen as an angel, and following our day, her halo is shining brighter than ever!!!
Throughout the planning process, Karen never once let me down. I was planning this event from thousands of miles away and it was essential to me that I have somebody who I could trust completely!!! She was the perfect planner for me!! She let me 'do my own thing' with the things I was confident about reserching and planning for myself, and jumped in with advice and help when I needed it. For example, by recommending a florist when I became disillutioned with the one I originally chose!! Karen chose the limo company for me and they were brilliant!!! She certainly knows her vendors!!
Kareen was ALWAYS quick to respond to my e-mails and always answered questions and quietened my fears with understanding and professionalism!!!
Karen and I struck up a really good relationship right fom our first e-mail on and I feel she really 'got' the vision I had for our day.
On the day itself, everything ran really smoothly and that is testament to the hard work of Karen and her team. I found out after our day was over (from Randy via my husband), that when Karen first saw my floral, she was not satisfied and sent it back to have adjustments made. She was so in tune with what my vision of my floral was, that she knew exactly what I was hoping for. That is one dedicated planner, who is not afraid to do her job!!!
I must point out too, that the floral that I got in the end was breathtaking and more beautiful than I could have dreamed!!! Karen said it was amongst the most beautiful floral she had ever seen!!!
I cannot say enough good things about Karen, and any girl who has her as their planner will not be disappointed, I am sure!!
I told Karen that as far as I was concerned, she was a deliverer of dreams - as to me that is exactly what she is!!
In this photo, the gorgeous Karen is in pink and the other lady is her assistant (who was fantastic but whose name I have rudely forgotten!!). I cannot remember what Rev Tim is saying, but it is obviously very funny!!! I think maybe he was telling me that I had clearly forgotten the 'flat arms = fat arms' rule!!!
Next up - Rev Tim and Christine our harpist