Youngs Suit Hire

Another highly recommended company we used for our wedding. We wanted four suits from Youngs (groom, bestman and two fathers) but when we came to order they advised us that if we ordered a fifth suit we would get the groom's suit free. What this meant in effect was that the fifth suit was free (apart from a small insurance fee - which was about £6 per suit) and that we were able to collect the suits up to ten days in advance. This in itself was worth the extra money as we were able to check the sizes and that we had what we wanted with plenty of time to make any necessary changes.

Cost: Comparable to other suit hire companies. Platinum deal was definitely worth the money.

Quality: The suits were great - they looked good, fitted well and there was a good range of colours and styles available to choose from.

Service: We used the Reading branch to place the original order and to collect three of the suits from. If not cheerful, they were helpful and polite - no complaints. We also used the Leeds and Thurrock stores, and had similar reports back.

Overall: Fine - good product, good price, good service.

Website - http://www.youngs-hire.co.uk/

Ti-Bihan

Ti-Bihan is a tiny two person gite in Brittany, France. We stayed there for one week on our honeymoon.

Cottage: The gite had everything you could need. The kitchen is modern and well stocked and the bedroom very comfortable. There is a living room with sofa, TV and dining/games table and chairs. The bathroom is also modern with a good power shower. The garden is also beautiful and is very open to the countryside. We went in August and it was fairly warm and sunny so we don't know whether it gets cold in winter - the floors are stone and it is quite open plan. However it does have a fireplace and thick curtains which would help.

Area: The gite is in a remote hamlet (Rotz) so there is plenty of open countryside around for walking. We took a GPS which helped us not to get lost but there are a lot of footpaths and walks marked by coloured signs. The nearest beach was also lovely (Penn Lann, about 30 minutes drive from the cottage) - sandy and not crowded. The nearest village is Caden (3km) and the website mentions the bakery although it was closed when we went so we can't comment on their croissants. Those from the bakery in Beganne (4.6km) were lovely though. We also visited Rochefort en Terre (12.5km) a very pretty town with lots of good souvenir shops. There are plenty of supermarkets reasonably close.

Service: The owners also live in Rotz and are currently renovating a couple of other cottages (the hamlet only seemed to have about ten though so don't be worried about hoards of tourists!) so they were on site if we needed them. They are very friendly and helpful and happy to recommend places to visit. When emailing before the holiday they were also helpful and quick to reply.

Cost: In August a week at Ti-Bihan cost us £385. Our security deposit was about £100 and was returned in full even though we did break a glass.

Overall: This is a lovely peaceful get away cottage for a couple. If you are looking for seclusion somewhere pretty this is ideal.

Website - http://www.escapesinbrittany.com/

Longcombe Farm Holiday Cottages

We stayed at Longcombe Farm for three nights in February, in the Dovecote cottage. Longcombe Farm is made up of six holiday cottages and the owners live on site as well. Most of this review is general, with a specific section about the Dovecote at the end.

Price: Reasonable. We went in the off season (February) and only stayed for a long weekend so it cost about £168.

Service: Friendly and efficient from start to finish. Our breakage deposit was returned in full within a week of our holiday. We appreciated the thought put in - milk was put in the fridge ready for our arrival and there were tea and coffee supplies in the room.

Facilities: The swimming pool was lovely and was a good size. We would have preferred it a few degrees warmer but overall it was fine. The games room was good - we played pool (a slightly run-down looking table but fine for amateurs like us) and we enjoyed the use of the (free) video collection. We also enjoyed freeview TV in our cottage.

Area: Very pretty, although as it was February and rained a lot we didn't go for many walks and we didn't visit the beaches nearby. Two attractions we did visit and would highly recommend are Paignton Zoo and The House of Marbles.

Dovecote: Dovecote is a pretty, tasteful, two-person cottage. When we arrived we found it clean and warm. Bed - comfortable, good size and warm. Bathroom - very nice, good shower (towels provided). A few notes for anyone thinking of renting Dovecote...
1) The cooking facilities are limited - only a microwave, kettle, toaster and plug in two-ring hob. We found cooking and washing up in this tiny kitchen a bit too much effort and went for takeaway when possible.
2) The cupboard on the wall by the door in the kitchen does not have a hinged door. It isn't really a cupboard and the front is only held on by magnets so if you try to open it (as we did) it will fall off.
3) The TV does not twist round so you can watch in bed. If you try this it will fall off the wall.


Website - http://www.longcombe-cottages.co.uk/index.html

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