Weddingbee boards

Hi Ladies,

I am new to the weddingbee too!  I am getting married at the Edson Keith House at Phillippi Creek Park on 3/28/09.  I am not local to the area and I am planning this shin-dig from Dallas.  So I would love to hear any Tampa / Sarasota bride's recommendations on vendors.  Right now I am in the process of shopping for a photographer and a band (ugh!)

The Powel Crosley Estate is Beautiful - we looked there but they book up fast for prime dates!

I just moved to Tampa ( this week actually!), but the wedding is in my hometown of Cleveland...does that count :) ? 

Thanks MrsC for the photo recommendation!  I took a look at Audrey's website and like her style from what I see.  Funny enough I asked my planner about her and the WP said she was meeting her in the next few days to see what she has to offer.  I have added Audrey to my list of possible photographers.  I am also looking at Barbara Banks but I think she is kind of on the pricy side.  I hope these vendors are willing to negotiate!

planning2wed - Nicole Kaney is my planner - she is great!  Her website is: http://www.nkproductions.net/nkcontact.html

I completely agree with rofvbb07, Nicole Kaney is wonderful to work with and is great at keeping the day flowing beautifully.  We've worked with her several times and highly recommend her to all our brides! 

Hi! I live in the NYC area, but am getting married in Tampa, as the majority of my family lives in the clearwater/largo area. We looked at private beach houses, too, especially since our wedding party is all from out of town, but since we are getting married in March (3-15-09) and that is high season--the prices were out of our budget. We are getting married at the Davis Island Garden Club, right outside downtown Tampa.

We are using a photographer that my fiance found online--a student starting out who has a great eye. And he is totally affordable. http://www.bensasso.com/  You can see our engagement photos there. 

I am getting married in about two weeks!  After searching high and low in the Tampa/St. Pete/Sarasota area, we are having our ceremony and reception at the Don Vicente Historic Inn in Ybor City.  It is a hidden gem in historic Ybor.  They have been amazing to work with and the site itself is beautiful!  We are the only ones from both of our families who live in Tampa so it is a travel wedding for most.  So glad there is finally some action on the Tampa board!

Congratulations Ladies!!!  WOW, this is a great board and I have so many questions and ideas!  I am a wedding officiant, so I am familiar with many of the locations you discussed.  One thing I did want to mention is that www.eventsbyspecialmoments.com is an event planner, Tammy Waterman and her staff do a great job with beign wedding planners as they are consultants with the Association of Bridal Consultants. They can do all of your planning, or just the "day of" service.  Even tho a venu tells you that they have a coordinator, they are really the hotel coordinator, and are not managing all of your day and anything that could go wrong, and it sometimes does!!  I'd also be happy to give yo my thoughts on any vendors that you are looking for.  All my best to you, and I think it is great that you are all together here!!!  There are so many creative brides that I have worked with that it keeps my spirits high!!  Happy to help you if I can.  Here are two blogs to look at http:TampaBayAreaWeddings.blogspot.com where I feature vendors, you can get to my blog from there as well. 

WARNING ABOUT SHANNON STEEVES PHOTOGRAPHY (comment from her posted above):

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I was a groom in April to the most amazing woman.  Our wedding was perfect.  And it was perfect because we lucked out when our award for a destination wedding ($5k photography package) was cancelled.  I say "lucked out" because we ended up with WONDERFUL photographers, even though they were contracted with only two weeks until our big day.

That said, I want to make brides aware of Shannon and Ford Steeves and so-called "Steeves Photography."  We have become aware that they are nothing more than scam artists.

You will likely notice another post warning about their services on this website.  The reason is that we submitted and won a destination wedding package with Steeves on this website.  The Wedding Bee needs to be made aware of their practices as well.  In the earlier post, Shannon rebutted our comments but I can assure you everything we've said has been 100% true.  And there's so much more...

A recap: last October we signed on with so-called "Steeves Photography" after winning their contest for a free destination wedding - including a $5000 photography package.  The catch was that we were to pay for their travel, rental vehicle and lodging.  We figured $1000 for a $5000 package was a deal, so we agreed.

But three weeks before our wedding, Shannon EMAILED to tell us she would not be able to shoot our wedding for personal reasons.  She then gave us the name of a photographer in Arizona to use (who we would have to fly out and pay FULL PRICE with their own packages).  Honestly, we believe it may have been a racial issue with Shannon - but that's another story.  She claimed there was an illness in the family.  While we didn't want to ask details, things started to look fishy and she said she had an aunt and a mother with cancer.  We asked her to refund our $980+ already spent on her flight & hotel and she said we'd get it back in 90 days.

Remember, this is 3 weeks before our wedding, after our budget had been reached and under the assumption our pictures (one of the most important parts of the whole day) were paid for.  Now we were faced with no photographer and an unknown cost addition to a budget we had already capped.

We got luck when we signed with some local photographers who understood our story and allowed for us to pay after the wedding instead of prior to.

It's been more than 130 days since we were told of the cancellation.  Shannon and Ford Steeves STILL have not given us back our money.  And to top it off, they have cancelled their email accounts, blocked us from Facebook (and since cancelled their Facebook accounts, we believe), disconnected their business phone, their TWO cell phones and their website is no longer active (on the site it claims you need a Flash player to view it but that's not true, the site has been removed - July 31st).

We now have a lawsuit being written up against Steeves Photography for the money they owe us (and had claimed they sent the check but when it never arrived they claimed there was a death in the family and then all those contacts for them were cancelled and we've been left with no contact from them) along with an additional monetary damages complaint for the over-budgeted wedding they've now cost us as well as the pain & suffering and STRESS it's caused us both.

We wouldn't wish this on our worst enemy's wedding plans.  This is a warning to all brides & grooms out there - avoid Shannon Steeves and Ford Steeves and their so-called "destination wedding experts Steeves Photography" - they are nothing more than scam artists, obviously upset we didn't pay for their Arizona "friends" to shoot our wedding (and thus take off with more of our money) and obviously a couple based on fraud and lies.  Please take heed and pass on this information to anyone you can.  Brides and Grooms must know - wedding are expensive and stressful - DON'T let this be an added stressor.

Thanks for listening.  Be sure to check out the previous post where Shannon actually responded (and had friends respond on her side as well).  It's doubtful she's got the nerve to respond now, knowing how obvious her fraud against has been.  Still no reibursement after an un-Godly 90 days she claimed it would take (which in itself is absurd).

Now, think happy thoughts and enjoy the beautiful life that marriage brings.  I know I love my wife with all my heart, even if I'm $980+ short at the moment.  Don't worry honey, the case against the Steeves has become a strong one.

John