I cannot pass up this opportunity, and officially end this Wedding Journey without acknowledging and mentioning a few things about four people (& their associates).

Each of them played four key roles in our wedding journey.  They made our wedding journey not only fun, but an extremely easy one especially since it was the first time either my daughter or I had planned a wedding.  All of them were pleasant to deal with, good listeners, and very knowledgeable in their fields.

Bill McCluskey, Senior Catering Manager

Drake Hotel

About a year before their wedding date, my daughter and her-then fiancé  initially previewed many wedding reception venue possibilities.  My husband and I entered the picture when the options were narrowed down to just a few.  Bill just knocked it out of the park at that first meeting with all four of us, especially comparing him to the others.

Throughout the wedding planning process, my daughter and I spent an enormous amount of time with Bill whether it was in person, on the phone, or by email.  Bill was always patient, kind, helpful, and if he didn’t know the answer to a question he would look into it and come back with one in a short time.  He truly made the whole process a very smooth one for us from day 1 to the day after the wedding.

We understand Bill has retired.  It is a real loss for the event catering/sales industry, but we wish him all the best in his future.

Note:  All photos credited to David Turner Photography

–

Karen

The Flower Studio

Simply said, Karen is a very talented & creative floral designer, while at the same time a great listener.  My daughter and I never felt rushed whenever we met with Karen nor did she ever make us feel like she had just a limited amount of time to spend with us.

Most importantly, Karen took our very specific vision for both the ceremony and the reception flowers, and transformed them from paper and talk into something truly extraordinary.

–

Larry Eckerling & His Orchestra

“Momentum Talent Group”

–

–

–

First of all, a band (or DJ) ‘plays’ a critical role at most wedding receptions.  They can provide great music or horrible music, and really make or break a fun evening for many of your wedding guests.  Momentum Talent Group provided the former.  They solidified that my daughter’s wedding reception was a fabulous one – the dance floor was packed all night long.

 Larry Eckerling is Momentum’s bandleader and the main contact for information & bookings.  Larry’s knowledge of the business and his expertise really shines through.  He gave us tremendous guidance & direction for every musical aspect of the wedding.  In addition, if Larry didn’t answer the phone at the moment we called, he was always prompt in his return phone call (emails were the same).  Larry was nothing short but a pleasure to work with.

–

David Turner Photography

With the exception of budget, we left the decision for selecting a photographer entirely up to my daughter and her-then fiancé since the actual wedding pictures were going to be most important to them in the long run.  They picked an excellent photographer.

David and his assistant did a superb job beginning with all of our requests about the photos we wanted taken throughout the day.  David also took the couple’s engagement photos.  It was very special to them that he took many photos, in the same location and at the same time of day, for both their engagement photos and between the ceremony & reception photos.

The wedding day is not just about the bride and the groom.  It is also about sharing that special day celebrating with family and friends.  Both of them took so many great photos of family and friends throughout the day, and it was fun sharing the photos with them afterwards.

David & his assistant truly captured all the emotions, happiness, and fun throughout the entire day!

–

*********************************************************

We would highly recommend all/any of them (& the Drake Hotel) for an event.

Our sincere thanks and kudos to each of them!