Tesco Photos

We have ordered photos from the online Tesco website twice now.

Delivery Speed - Reasonable, the photos came within two weeks.

Cost - Very good, especially if you are bulk buying. Possibly the best thing about this service.

Quality - Good, apart from some problems with how photos had been cropped (chopping the tops of heads off, etc) which can be remedied by using the green box cropping tool on the website.

Website - There are a number of points to make about the website. It works "best" on Internet Explorer (inconvenient for those of us who use other browsers). You can use it with (for example) Firefox but it makes it harder and slower to upload photos. The website helpfully places a green box outline over your photograph to show you which bits will be cropped. This is a really good tool, easy to use and saves chopping off the tops of people's heads. However, the green box only shows up if you are using Internet Explorer. We found that Internet Explorer also reloaded the page constantly, which made selecting numbers of prints, areas to be cropped etc very frustrating and turned it into a race against the webpage.

Customer Service - The second time we used the website there was a slight problem "with the payment details". We were emailed and told to call their helpline, quoting our reference number. Unfortunately the helpline is only open Mon-Fri 9am-5.30pm. When we called, we got a recorded message asking us to leave our name, phone number and order number and they would call us back. It took about five and a half hours for them to call. The man who called was helpful and polite and the problem was quickly sorted out. Top marks for their customer service.

Overall: Good and bad. The price is great, very cheap even with postage but the frustration of having to use the flawed Internet Explorer definitely tarnished the whole experience. If they fixed the website so you could use it with Firefox this service would be excellent.

Website - http://www.tescophoto.com/wpp/tesco/

Four Seasons Cuisine

Four Seasons catered our wedding in August and come highly recommended. They are based in Kent but were willing to come to Surrey for it. We had about 140 guests, in a large hall and they provided a three course meal.

Cost: We looked at a few catering companies and were horrified at how much they charge for sit down meals (buffets being only slightly more reasonable). We were given estimates between £4500 and £7500 for 140 guests having a three course sit down meal. We even found that some companies will charge you separately for food, linen, crockery, cutlery and the (compulsory) washing up of the crockery and cutlery (and not including drinks). However, Four Seasons charged just over £3500 all-inclusive. We bought our own drinks (wine, champagne, pimms and soft) and they were not only happy to serve and prepare them (for example buying and chopping the fruit for the pimms) but also they do not charge corkage. Overall - very reasonable.

Service: The service was wonderful. From the first contact they were helpful and courteous, assigning one person to take us the whole way through the process. They were professional and honest about what was possible with the venue facilities. On the day Andrew (who had looked after the whole thing) acted as master of ceremonies. As with many weddings we were running a bit late but he didn't make us feel at all rushed to "get on with it". The serving staff on the day were cheerful and friendly which always helps you to relax and enjoy a meal.

Quality: The food was delicious. We chose a smoked salmon starter, then lamb cutlets (which came with mash and vegetables) and then chocolate cheesecake for dessert. It was all hot, speedy to arrive and good quality (tender meat, well cooked but not overdone vegetables etc). We had told Four Seasons about a week or two in advance the special dietary needs of our guests and they catered to all of them with no problems at all. They also offered a childrens menu (chicken goujons and chips) which we offered to the parents before the wedding so they could choose what their children might like best.

Other information: Overall, a fantastic company, very helpful and excellent service. One other point to note is that they usually provide table linen but as they came so far for our wedding asked us to order our own in (that way they could leave as soon as they were finished, without having to strip the tables bare). They took the cost of us hiring this off our bill. This actually worked really well for us as it gave us more freedom in how the venue would look. (We went for coloured table cloths - supplied by Coloured Linen Hire, reviewed below).

Website - http://www.fourseasonscuisine.co.uk/

Edugames

We've been making games for several years now and this website sells lots of useful game making components. We have always found the counters and dice to be reasonably priced, of good quality, and delivery promptly. Moreover, the woman who runs Edugames is very good at answering questions by email.

Link: http://www.edugames.co.uk/

Ascot Florists by Christianne

Another company we used for our wedding, this florist supplied the bouquets, buttonholes and corsages for the wedding party and also some arrangements for the reception venue.

Service: We went in on a number of occasions to arrange or change certain details and each time the service was helpful and courteous. The bouquets arrived well on time as did all the table arrangements.

Products: The flowers were beautifully arranged and of a very high quality. They all looked very fresh and lasted well. One of the table arrangements we gave to an elderly relative who told us it lasted two weeks after the wedding.

Cost: We set out our budget for each item and by that the florist decided how much to put in of each kind of flower so we stayed on budget. However, flowers are expensive, especially if you want to go for lilies and roses. To make it cheaper you can ask the florist to fill out the arrangements with things like carnations and greenery.

Overall: Very good service, beautiful flowers, not cheap but well worth it.

Website - Ascot Flowers

Coloured Linen Hire

One of the trickiest things to find for our wedding was round coloured table cloths - this company was the only one I found with large enough round table cloths (our tables were 5' diameter and we wanted blue cloths).

Price - Very comparable to other linen hire companies, and includes all laundry charges. Delivery is free on orders over £250 but under £30 otherwise.

Quality - The table cloths and napkins were all good quality (thick linen), and were uncreased and clean when they arrived.

Delivery and collection - Prompt - no problems at all. You do need someone to be there to sign for the cloths.

Choice - They have 27 different linen colours in lots of sizes and they seem to have plenty of each item.

Service - Both the people I spoke to on the phone were very friendly and helpful and they were willing to send out swatch cards to show us the colour before we placed our order.

Overall: This is the only company we found that provides this service and they are very good.

Website - Coloured Linen Hire

SAYNOTO0870.COM

A very useful web page for all consumers living in the UK. Many companies use premium rate help lines, but also have 'normal' landline phone numbers that go to the same place. On this site you can search for a company or phone number to see if there is a cheaper alternative available.

Reliability - Every number we have tried from the 'main database' has proved successful, but we have our doubts about many entries in the 'unverified numbers database'. We have found a cheaper alternative for most companies we have needed to phone up.

Cost - Free.

Scope - Covers many 0800, 0808, 0844, 0845, 0870 and 0871 numbers.

Overall: Since it costs nothing to look up the phone number and it can provide huge savings in phone bills we would highly recommend giving this site a go.

Website - SayNoTo0870.com.

Townends

Although they were helpful when showing us around houses, Townends were extremely impersonal as soon as we'd paid our deposit. Between us, we have had two contracts with Townends, and their customer service has been appalling both times.

The first problem, which has affected everyone we know who has used them, is that they share your details with other Townends branches. This wouldn't be a problem, except that they do this even if you specifically ask them not to (and tick a box stating that you wouldn't like to hear from other branches). It is very annoying to have three or four conversations where someone is trying to book a time for you to see houses in an area you don't want to live. Often they phone you even after you've found a house (from Townends).

On one occasion our bank transferred our rent a day late (something which most banks say they may do in their small print), and Townends insisted on us paying a fine of an amount which they made up!

On another occasion the landlord did not send back the deposit for well over three months, and Townends refused to do anything about it, stating that once the letting time ends it is up to you to get your money returned.

Before you even obtain a contract it is necessary to pay them to "professionally" prepare a contract. This takes an inordinate length of time, and what comes back looks like a generic contract with the names and addresses changed. However, their contracts are also riddled with spelling and typing mistakes. One such mistake was (or presumably still is) "...upon the determination of the tenancy." which should have read "...upon the termination of the tenancy." Clearly this dramatically changes the meaning of the sentence. Another sentence, in bold and in a section entitled "IMPORTANT", refers to the "Citizens Advise Bureau". We enquired about them correcting these mistakes, and were told that we would have to pay for them to be professionally rewritten, and that it would take a long time.

We have found Townends extremely slow to pay money back, but very quick to raise fines.

We have also had contracts with different estate agents that were fine (for example Runnymede Residential Letting Services).

Dreams

Our initial impressions of Dreams were good. We were served quickly and courteously while in the shop, and found a bed we liked fairly quickly. However the bed slats arrived damaged, and so we were forced to use Dreams' helpline.

The process of getting replacement slats was long and difficult. They did not arrive on the day specified, which is particularly annoying since they can only deliver during work hours. When they did turn up the replacements were the wrong size.

We were forced back to the helpline, and were given a new date when new slats (third set) would be delivered. These did not turn up on the given day, so we phoned up again. We were given a new delivery date, and this time they did arrive on the right day.

Product - Good quality, comfortable mattress. Solid and nice looking bed frame, once we got decent slats. It was ok to put together.

Price - Very good, partly because we bought ex-display models.

Service - Great in the shop, terrible once we'd paid and left.

Overall: The complete bed was therefore half a month later than advertised, we had to wait for deliveries on five days (only three of which they delivered on), and we had to spend a long time on the phone to Dreams. We were given no compensation for our troubles.

The Morlan Hotel - Aberporth

We had a lovely stay in a little seaside hotel run by two of the friendliest people you're likely to meet. Graham and Annette were only too happy to provide us with anything we wanted from extra tea and coffee supplies to advice about the local area (and life in general!)

Room - En suite with four poster bed. Plenty of storage space, TV and sofa.

Food - Excellent food in very generous portions. There is also the option of having smaller 'take-away' meals brought up to the rooms, which were also very good.

Location - Very close to the beach, which is sandy and generally not too crowded. The view from the room was of the town. Very good for rambling, and a short car journey from such local attractions as the New Quay Honey Farm (which we found very interesting).

Service - Although the service was very friendly and personal, it can be slow in the restaurant at times because there are only two members of staff.

Cost - Very reasonable at £70 per night for bed and breakfast. Dinner is extra but well worth it.

Overall - We would definitely consider going back again, and would especially recommend a visit to those who haven't seen the area.

Website - The Morlan Hotel.