Belle Mer (www.bellemernewport.com)

Belle Mer is gorgeous.  We fell in-love as soon as we saw it.  It’s modern, chic and has a great view.  We got married at the Island House and it was perfect for our small party.

There were a few little things that I didn’t like though.  The restrooms at the Island House were tiny and looked like gas station restrooms (e.g. imagine tiny sinks), except cleaner.  The lounges at the side of the ceremony area that you think are automatically set up when a wedding is going on, weren’t set up at our wedding.  The forecast didn’t say it was gonna rain that day, just cloudy, so I don’t know why they never set it up.  They also used a hanging rack for “coat check” and hid it behind a wooden divider (that did not fit the decor) placed at the entrance of the Island House.  I didn’t request for a coat check and it was an eyesore.

Belle Mer staff did a great job with the food.  The guests loved the food, even though the food at our tasting tasted better.  Our guests were impressed with the service.  Everything was well coordinated from serving food to retrieving empty dinnerware.  The wait staff was eager to accommodate everybody’s food requests.

I love how I get a bridal attendant who waited on me hand and foot.  I wasn’t used to having an attendant so I tried to do everything myself, until my bridal attendant told me to use her.  At the cocktail hour, two of the wait staff were assigned to serve us (John and I) food while we do our photos which we appreciated very much.  I think they were assigned to serve us during the reception too.  One was able to get the kitchen staff to cook extra scallops that John missed at the cocktail hour.  But they were delayed in serving us the courses.  There were a couple of times we were served last, the guests started eating their food and we were still waiting.

The Belle Mer event coordinator assigned to us was very helpful.  And she seemed like she really cared about our wedding.  She was quick to respond, sometimes even in the middle of the night!  She did forget about a few details, like the number of chairs at the ceremony site.  She was the one who suggested doubling the number of chairs.  But came wedding day, there weren’t enough chairs for my guests.  The place setting was set up differently from what we discussed, but it wasn’t a big deal coz it was still beautiful.

A lot of brides complained about the planning stages with Belle Mer.  I think it depends a lot on the event coordinator.  A good event coordinator can make the planning go smoothly.  Our event coordinator made the planning less stressful for me.  This does not mean that the planning wasn’t stressful at all.  Belle Mer was actually a big stress on our wallets.  Our event coordinator did help us and eased some of that money-related stress.

Instead of minimum number of guests or food and beverage minimum, Belle Mer has what’s called “event minimum.”  Unlike the food and beverage minimum that only includes cost of food and beverage, the event minimum includes everything from site fees to food to third party vendors hired through Belle Mer.

I prefer the event minimum over minimum number of guests coz we didn’t have many guests.  All of our guests were from out of town, so I wasn’t sure of the number of guests that would be able to attend.  With the event minimum, I was able to use the rentals, my DJ fee, and farewell goodie bags to meet the minimum.  If Belle Mer had to enforce a minimum number of guests, I would have had to pay for people that weren’t there.  Thankfully Belle Mer had event minimum instead.

Belle Mer (Longwood Events) consider themselves a ”full-service event company”  They can help you plan your event from catering to hiring your photographer.  Tell them what you envision on your wedding day, and they can find and hire the vendors that will implement your vision.   This is great for brides who would want everything in one place, but also have the money for it.

Belle Mer added 30% to the vendors’ prices they procured. In addition to that, Belle Mer’s administrative charge (18%) and taxes were applied to those prices as well. Belle Mer may tip and feed the vendors free of charge, but I don’t think it’s worth the extra charges they tack on. I will not pay a wedding planner 30% (Belle Mer’s upcharge) + 18% (Belle Mer’s administrative charge) to hire a vendor for me, would you? That’s an additional 53.4%! But if I were to hire the vendor myself, Belle Mer would have charged a vendor fee of $500 per vendor. Again, the 18% administrative fee applies to this $500 vendor fee, then taxes (8% total) are applied to the vendor fee plus the administrative fee. I am not sure if they still charge vendor fees, but this was based on a contract created December 2008.

Take note that Belle Mer does not charge service charge unlike other venues, but they charge 18% administrative charge.  Most venues charge less than 8% for administrative charge.  And remember that taxes (7% State of RI tax and 1% City of Newport tax) are applied to that 18% administrative charge.

Belle Mer’s employees are not tipped employees. The administrative charge does not represent a tip, gratuity, or service charge for wait staff employees, service employees, or service bartenders. However, the administrative charge may be used, in whole or in part and subject to the Belle Mer’s sole discretion, to pay regular wages, overtime compensation, and/or incentive compensation to various staff members engaged in the production and execution of Client’s event.

I hope I did not scare you with the costs.  If planned well, the cost can be minimized.  So yes, I would still recommend Belle Mer.  Overall, they did a great job and everybody including my husband and I enjoyed the wedding.

TIPS:

• Hire the vendor yourself if the vendor’s fee is higher than $1047.   If less than that, ask Belle Mer to hire the vendor for you, unless your event coordinator is willing to waive the vendor fee ($500).
• Don’t be afraid to ask your event coordinator if he/she can waive vendor fees if any.
• If you’re meticulous about details, make sure you tell your event coordinator every little detail.  Don’t leave out anything from decor to coat racks to timelines.

OFFICIANT
Rev. John Sweeney (www.nondenomwedding.com)

Rev. Sweeney (Skip) is very personable and fun to talk to.  He was very professional and very easy to work with.  He was also funny, which I love.  With my permission, his wife went to the wedding with him to take pictures of the ceremony and she was equally nice.  We invited him and his wife to the reception, but they respectfully declined.  Skip however offered to offer blessings at the reception.  His prices are not the cheapest, but he’s worth it.  I highly recommend him.
~ Highly Recommend

PHOTOGRAPHER
MKD Photography (www.mkdphotography.com)

I am very pleased with our photos.  I still couldn’t stop staring at them.  MKD Photography is a husband and wife team.  It was so nice to work with them.  They are a fun couple and I love hearing about their adorable kids.

I was a little disappointed that there weren’t many pictures of my husband during preparation.  He didn’t have a single posed portrait.  I am aware my husband hates getting his pictures taken, but I wish they were more persuasive.  I also wish they were more forceful in giving directions.  They said my husband and I were a natural infront of the camera.  We really aren’t and there were a few moments we didn’t know what to do.  I told them I want a lot of detail shots, but we didn’t get some that I thought were the usual must-take detail shots (e.g. photo of the reception set-up without people, photo of a whole reception table showing the table set-up).  But our photos turned out great.  They were the best pictures we’ve gotten.

I think their prices were reasonable.  But the prices of the prints on Pictage were too high ($15 for 4×6 print).  I also didn’t realize til we received the DVD of our photos that we don’t get the files from our engagement shoot.  Regardless, I would still recommend them.  Did I mention I love my photos?
~ Recommend

DJ
Alan of Moondance DJ (www.moondancedj.com)

We had Alan from Moondance Productions and we were pleased with his work.  I was very strict with the timing of the music at our ceremony, but he did great even though processional took a lot longer than expected.  Our first dance music was too long for me, so I asked Alan if he could cut it short and he gladly edited it.

At the reception, Alan stuck with our do and do-not play list. What I loved about him was that he knew the type of music we liked just by our do play list. And when a guest requested a song out of our genre, he told the guest that he would need our permission first. So he asked and I appreciated that. Some brides noted that he approached the brides too often when they didn’t really need to be bothered.  He only asked me once at our wedding.  For a day wedding, I didn’t expect most of my guests to be dancing, but they did.  I think Alan did a decent job.  Moondance prices are very affordable too.
~ Recommend

FLORIST
Florals by Alisa (www.floralsbyalisa.com)

I love my flowers and our guests were raving about them!  I can’t say enough good things.  And I want to thank Florals by Alisa for doing such a great job.

I loved working with Florals by Alisa.  They were very responsive. I always get a response the morning after I sent my email (I usually email late at night).  They were the quickest to give me a price quote.  I was pleasantly surprised when I got the quote. The prices were very reasonable and their flower design proposal was similar to what I had in mind.  Their flower choices were perfect – garden roses, peonies, ranunculus, orchids, etc.  I didn’t have to change anything.  Their quote was the cheapest of the all the price quotes I’ve gotten. 

We met with Lisa once to see a sample centerpiece and she was very sweet.  She even admired the tissue paper mock-up I created!  They charge for a sample centerpiece, the same price as what they have in their price quote.

I highly recommend Florals by Alisa. They’re very easy to work with and you get a lot for your money.
~ Highly Recommend

BAKER
Konditor Meister (www.konditormeister.com)

I went to 5 different bakers and I loved Konditor Meister’s cakes the best. I was surprised that their prices were very reasonable too. They were actually the cheapest out of the 5 bakers I’ve gone to.  I enjoyed their tasting.  They gave us 8 huge slices of cake and they were all delicious!

They weren’t very responsive to emails. And when we went back a couple of months after our tasting to drop off our deposit, they couldn’t find our initial contract. I had to fax them our copy. However, they were very accommodating. Two weeks before our wedding, I changed the design of the cake and they were able to accommodate that. They were even able to mail me samples of ribbons for the cake for my approval in a very short period of time.

The cake didn’t turn out the way I want it to look. The cake I wanted was a bit narrow, but the cake I got was wider. I think they just stick with their regular cake pans and do not make special sizes. The cake tasted great though. They use rolled chocolate instead of fondant. The rolled chocolate looked just like fondant and tasted great. And the cake was huge! I ordered cake for 75 people ~ 3 tiers. The middle tier was enough for my 60 guests. So we got the top and bottom tier to take home. That was a LOT of cake.

I would highly recommend Konditor Meister if you’re not looking to have a complicated cake design.  If you are, make sure you ask them if they can do it and be very specific on what you want.
~ Recommend

HAIR
Sam Colavolpe

I was so happy with my hair.  It turned out better than I expected.  Sam Colavolpe was very accommodating.  I am not used to long hair so I had to cut my hair a month before the wedding.  Sam was forced to work with short hair – a little longer than chin-length.  But she did a great job.  At the trial, she first styled my hair down, then half up, then all up.  We decided on the updo.  She took pictures of my hair to remind her on the wedding day.

My wedding hair turned out a little different from the updo we had at the trial.   Thankfully, it turned out even better.  I loved it so much that I am considering hiring Sam to come down to New York to do my hair for my friend’s wedding.  She is so much fun to talk to, you won’t get bored while she does your hair. But that’s not all what is great about Sam.  Her prices are unbelievable.
~ Highly Recommend

MAKE-UP
Krystal Treanor

Krystal was great at choosing the right colors for my face.  She made a custom lip color for me.  My make-up looked very natural, the way I told her I wanted.  It didn’t feel heavy and I was very comfortable.  It lasted the whole day.  I didn’t even have to touch up.  She did however provided me and my girls lipstick for re-applying.  She also provided blotting sheets.  I love the make-up she did on my bridesmaids, but I didn’t like the make-up on my mom very well.  We told her that we weren’t very happy with my mom’s make-up and she willingly re-did her make-up.
~ Recommend

Complimentary Bridal Tasting at RSVP
June 8, 2010

Yes, you can bring the bakery to your wedding!  Enjoy Cupcakes not only creates delicious cupcakes, but they can also serve them from this adorable vintage Shasta trailer.  Oh, how I wish they’re in the East Coast.  Photos were taken by Jose Villa.

Belle Mer offers free private menu tasting for the bride and groom.  Belle Mer no longer has a menu that you can choose from.  Their new “custom menu” works differently.

First, we discussed the type of menu we like for the wedding with our assigned Belle Mer event coordinator.  The Belle Mer culinary team then created a menu proposal based on what we discussed.  We were able to make changes or add or subtract items from the proposed menu until the tasting.  Note that the Belle Mer culinary team likes to create their own version of the usual items, like duck sauce for example.  They won’t provide the regular duck sauce you can get from the grocery store, they create their own duck sauce.

When we didn’t like an item, the chef discussed with us possible alternatives.  We then had to trust them to create something better or at least something we may like, as we would not be able to taste those alternatives as per Belle Mer policy.

Before I start saying what I thought about the food, I just want to say that I’m not a food connoisseur and my description of the food is not very good.

Now on to the food (click on images to enlarge)…

BUTLER-PASSED HORS D’OEUVRES:

Vegetable Fresh Rolls with Cucumber Dipping Sauce

I’m not a vegetable fan and I don’t like cucumber, so this wasn’t my favorite.  But it was a good vegetable option.  There was a good amount of vegetables and the wrap tasted great.

BLT on a Savory Spoon

This was John’s favorite and my second favorite.  The spoon was edible, but it wasn’t crispy as I was hoping it to be.  The portion was really really tiny.

Kumomoto Oysters with Spicy Mignonenette Gelle & Smoked Sea Salt

Oysters are my favorite, but I didn’t like these oysters too much.  I couldn’t taste much of the oysters, the taste of the Mignonette Gelle was too overpowering.  It didn’t help that the oysters were tiny too.  So we told the chef to replace the gelle with cocktail sauce.  The chef told us she’ll create something similar to cocktail sauce.

Lamb Noisette on a Rosemary Spear with Lemon Mint Aioli

This was my favorite hors d’oeuvre.  The lamb was cooked just right and the lemon mint aioli perfectly complements the meat.  It was a good portion too.

Buttermilk Fried Chicken Filet with Sweet Corn Relish

The chicken was tender and juicy.  It was really good.  However, I didn’t like the sweet corn relish (I’m not a relish fan) so we asked the chef to propose another garnish.  The portion size was big.

Bacon Dusted Sea Scallops with Red Pepper Jelly

John and I love bacon and scallops.  And Belle Mer’s version of the Scallops Wrapped in Bacon hors d’oeuvre is the bacon dusted scallops.  We loved it, but I didn’t like the red pepper jelly.  I thought it was too sweet and didn’t go well with the seafood.

Grilled Littleneck Clams with Spicy Parsley-Garlic Butter

I like the Spicy Parsley-Garlic Butter on the clams.  Unfortunately, the clams were chewy so we didn’t go with it.

COCKTAIL DISPLAY

We are having a Far East Experience cocktail display and requested some Filipino items included.  Belle Mer usually don’t include cocktail display items at the tasting, but I requested some of the Filipino items and here they are…

Pinoy Pork BBQ

The pork was tender and juicy and flavorful.  However the sauce was more on the sweet side and tasted more like teriyaki instead of barbecue sauce.

Lumpiang Shanghai with Duck Sauce

Lumpiang Shanghai is the Filipino version of an eggroll.  The eggroll was great, but the Belle Mer duck sauce was very sweet.  I had to ask the sauce changed.  I really wanted the regular Chinese duck sauce, but they create their own duck sauce so they said they’ll tweak it to make it less sweet.  Hopefully it will turn out more like the regular duck sauce.

SOUP

John and I both love New England clam chowder so we requested that to be included in our menu.  But the chef suggested something lighter, as New England clam chowder might be too heavy for a Spring day wedding.  So here are the soup we had…

New England Shellfish Bisque with Pernod and Red Pepper Rouille

It was very “seafood-y” in a good way, but still not as good as a New England clam chowder.  It is lighter and it didn’t have anything in it, just soup.

Mushroom Barley Soup with Goat Cheese Croutons

It tasted good, but it wasn’t something we would order over some soups that we regularly order.

SALAD

Caesar Salad with Baby Green & Red Romaine with Ciabatta Crostini and Parmegiano Reggiano

It was good and Caesar Salad is the only salad that I eat, so we went with this of course.

Field Greens & Watercress Salad with Haricot Vert, Shaved Red Onion, and Creamy Cucumber Dressing

I thought there weren’t enough dressing on it.  But it was alright.

INTERMEZZO

Champagne and Lemon Intermezzo

The lemon intermezzo was creamy while the champagne is more “icy.”  John preferred the lemon, I preferred the champagne.  So we decided to get small scoops of both.

ENTREE

The entree portion of the tasting was my favorite, even though I was already full by then. All the entrees were delicious! It makes me hungry now just thinking about them.

Olive Oil Poached Free Range Chicken with Crispy Pistachio Crust + Parsnip Puree & Bay Scallops Sautee with Garden Peas & Wild Mushrooms

The chicken was again very tender and juicy.  The parsnip puree perfectly complements the chicken.  I don’t like pistachios but the pistachio crust was great.  The peas and mushrooms were alright.

Grilled Filet Mignon with Sweet Onion Parsley Relish + Shrimp & Leek Risotto / Lobster Risotto & Vanilla Baby Carrots

Like the chicken, the filet mignon was tender, juicy and flavorful.  I loved the shrimp & leek risotto, it was creamy and not too seafood-y.  We were served lobster risotto as well as another option to pair with the chicken or filet.  I loved it too and chose it over the shrimp & leek risotto.

Truffled Spring Vegetables + Pearl Onions, Leek Puree & Hand Rolled Potato Gnocchi


I don’t like vegetables, but the leek puree and potato gnocchi were great.

All photos were provided by Belle Mer.  It was nice for them to do that so we only needed to focus on the food at our tasting.  Our event coordinator also brought 8 (more than we requested) sample linens and chargers for us to look at!  She was very helpful and very responsive.

John and I don’t have a song, so it took us longer than usual to find a song to dance to.  We didn’t really want a slow one.  I also don’t want the song to make me cry.  I’m a big crybaby and and I don’t need another one to cry to on my wedding day.  We also don’t want the song to be too fast since we’re not really great dancers lol.  A simple ballroom-y dance will be great, so here’s what we’re dancing to…

Here’s the French version:

Now… how do we dance to that?

What is/was your first dance song? I would love to feature them here as well for my readers who are still looking for their song.

I still don’t know what I am gonna do with our seating cards.  But I’ve collected a few inspirations and here they are!  Which do you like best?

Let’s start with nautical-inspired ones:

Seaside-inspired:

I’ve been back and forth with the idea of using nautical-themed seating cards or the classic style in our color motif, navy.

Montilio’s Bakery
638 Adams St, Quincy MA

Tasting Experience
Frank of Montilio’s was waiting for us when we arrived.  We were the only ones there for cake tasting.  Frank took all our info including the cake design we wanted, then he proceeded to cut us some slices of their cakes.  He was sweet.

Cake
We were served 7 different flavors.  They were all delicious.  The buttercream was on the sweeter side, but the cakes themselves were moist and the fillings were delicious.  We decided to do two flavors for our cake – Strawberry Grand Marnier (my new favorite cake flavor) and Chocolate cake with chocolate mousse filling for John.

Customer Service
I had to call Montilio’s to set up an appointment since I couldn’t find an email from their website.  I left a message and I got a call back the next day.  While on the call, I asked a list of their flavors sent to me and I received the email right away.

Price Quote
Strawberry Grand Marnier and Chocolate cake with Chocolate Mousse filling, round, 3 tiers, buttercream frosting, anniversary tier:
$4/slice
$75 flowers
$100 delivery to Belle Mer
Total = $535

Other Bakers
Cake Tasting #1: Sin Desserts, Providence RI
Cake Tasting #2: Corby Cakes and Cookies, Cranston RI
Cake Tasting #3: Diane’s Delectables, Warwick RI
Cake Tasting #4: Konditor Meister, Braintree MA

Konditor Meister
32 Wood Rd, Braintree MA

Tasting Experience
The place was packed when we arrived.  We were told Saturdays are usually that busy.  So don’t expect special or undivided attention.  We were given a big portfolio of their cake designs.  The portfolio was divided into categories, buttercream being the cheapest and custom fondant being the more expensive ones.  We were then served 8 different cakes.  The slices were pretty huge.  We were left alone to taste the cakes then Julia came to us to discuss details.  She priced our cake right there, wrote all the information on a form and gave us our copies along with a checklist, policies, and instructions.

Cake
John and I are both chocolate people, but all the 8 cakes that were served to us were delicious!  I liked them all.  They were so moist.  If we could have all the flavors in our cake, we will.  But of course that is not possible.  My favorite was the Strawberry Grand Marnier.  I wanted more strawberries in it though, but it was still very good without strawberries.  John chose the Chocolate cake with chocolate mousse filling.  I loved the Black Forest as well, but without the cherries and cherry liquor which was at the bottom layer of the cake.  In the end, we decided to do two flavors for our cake.

Customer Service
Konditor Meister never responded to my online inquiry through their website.  We usually get our cakes from there, so I really wanted to have a cake tasting with them.  I called them to set up an appointment instead.

Price Quote
Strawberry Grand Marnier and Chocolate cake with Chocolate Mousse filling, round, 3 tiers, buttercream frosting, anniversary tier:
$3/slice
$40 flowers
$100 delivery to Belle Mer
Total = $410

*Konditor Meister uses rolled chocolate instead of fondant and costs $30/tier.

UPDATE: My review of Konditor Meister at our wedding is up.

Other Bakers
Cake Tasting #1: Sin Desserts, Providence RI
Cake Tasting #2: Corby Cakes and Cookies, Cranston RI
Cake Tasting #3: Diane’s Delectables, Warwick RI
Cake Tasting #5: Montilio’s Bakery, Quincy MA

Diane’s Delectables
830 Strawberry Field Rd West, Warwick RI

Tasting Experience
Diane of Diane’s Delectables prepared 7 flavors for us to taste at our tasting appointment.  What is so surprising is that she didn’t have the flavor (chocolate cake with chocolate mousse filling) that I chose when we initially communicated.

Diane had tons of cake photos and they were beautiful.  I showed her the cake that we wanted and we were able to pick from her samples the flowers that we wanted to use.

According to Diane, it is cheaper to go with a dummy cake and sheet cake on the side for guests.  Her dummy cakes looked very real and there’s a portion of the bottom tier you can cut for cake cutting.

Cake
I wasn’t able to take note of all the flavors of the cakes we tasted.  The cake texture was good.  The cakes were moist, but could be better.  None of the cake samples have the flavors we usually go for in cakes, so we didn’t choose any of the flavors.  We told Diane to give us a quote for the chocolate cake with chocolate mousse filling.

Customer Service
Diane was quick in responding to my emails.  She didn’t have any appointments available on the day of our appointment, but that was the only day I could come to RI so she tried to accommodate us.  We could either just pick up the cake samples and talk on the phone another day if we have any questions or sit with her for just a few minutes.  But she was able take the time to sit with us and discuss all the details we needed to discuss.

Price Quote
Chocolate cake with chocolate mousse filling, round 3-tier dummy cake, buttercream frosting, sheet cake serving 90 people:
$2.45/slice
$40 flowers
$55 delivery to Belle Mer
Total = $315.50

Other Bakers
Cake Tasting #1: Sin Desserts, Providence RI
Cake Tasting #2: Corby Cakes and Cookies, Cranston RI
Cake Tasting #4: Konditor Meister, Braintree MA
Cake Tasting #5: Montilio’s Bakery, Quincy MA