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Amada Plaza
7025 Firestone Boulevard
Buena Park, CA 90621
(714) 739-4473
amadaplaza.com

Ordered:
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Review:
Here’s the thing with Amada Plaza: It is kind of crazy looking on the outside. The sign is a huge, funky pole that shoots straight up… and it says “AMADA” really big in chunky red and purple letters. When your guests are on the 5 freeway, they literally will not be able to miss it. In fact, before I was invited to a wedding here, I always wondered what it was when I drove by.

The most obvious pluses and minuses about this place are appearance and location. On the outside, it looks like a large warehouse/office building. You know, the generic kind that constantly changes tenants and has black tinted windows? Drive down the 405 freeway and exit off Bake in Irvine, you will see a ton of buildings just like it.

The outside is no frills. And it is right in between a row of other similar buildings (which DO use them for business). On the inside, you can tell they try really hard to remedy the sterility of the place. They do a fine job. I mean, the place still looks like a business building on the inside. Same horizontal blinds, tinted windows, hard carpeting, stark beams. But it does offer some pretty cool features. There is a lovely water fountain in the middle of the reception area. The roof of this area also opens up to create a pretty neat display.

When our friends, Rob and Toni, entered their reception, the roof opened and the Star Wars theme boomed through the audio system. It was kinda different, but a lot of fun!

TA-DA!:

If you get married in September like Rob and Toni did, the weather will still be pretty nice. The main reception area of the Amada is covered by a sky roof, which takes advantage of natural light and allows it to flood in. If the evening is warm enough, you open up the roof to showcase the romantic night sky. At Rob and Toni’s wedding, I was amazed that – even in Buena Park – we could still see the twinkle of stars.

Interior 1:

Interior 2:

One strange thing about Amada is how much square footage they lose by having such a large water feature. Not only is the fountain big, it is placed smack dab in the middle of the room. So the head table is far away from most of the others. And the guests’ tables are forced to position themselves in an awkward backwards “C.” This makes moving about for guests a bit difficult, and really does not encourage a lot of mingling. It also pushes the dance floor and any buffets up the stairs and to the side… which is something to consider, especially if you have many children or elderly people who will be attending your big day.

In Rob and Toni’s case, they wanted to set up a place for the photographer to take a photo of them with each table. They decided to do that in the upstairs right side area (immediately when you walk in). Tables were called 2 at a time. After each table took their photo with the couple, we were directed to a separate room where a buffet was served. Later that night, the area where we took photos was changed into a dance floor.

Interior 3:

Interior 4 (“Where’s Mightypen?”):

The buffet was pretty good as far as wedding buffets go. I believe there was some chicken breast dish, a couple cold salads, breads, pasta, rice pilaf, and salmon. Nothing was bad.  I don’t think anyone will moan about the food at The Amada.

Water feature:

Pretty fountain, right? It looks much better at night when the spotlights turn on.

Wedding cake:

Chocolate marble. In case you’re wondering, Disney has no particular significance to Rob and Toni. They were just visiting the Magical Kingdom, and found this figurine which they thought was cute. Too bad Disney didn’t make them in traditional Filipino wedding garb!

Tablescape:

Favors:

Rob and Toni share a great love of spirits. They decided to name each table after a favorite drink. We, their classiest friends, received the great privilege of being seating at table A.M.F.

Iamme groovin’. Me – I dunno – checking out his junk?

Last Dance:

For their last dance, their Deejay played “I’ll Stand By You” by The Pretenders. Everyone got into a spontaneous circle and danced around the happy couple. It was really the most magical moment I have ever experienced at a wedding.

In conclusion, Amada is a perfectly nice place to have your wedding. Rob and Toni chose the option of offering a signature drink at their bar, called the “Wedded Bliss.” Many people liked it, and have tried to recreate it since. People also enjoyed the cocktail hour food, particularly the miniature fried chicken fingers. I heard a lot of people going on about that. On a side note: when you are thinking of finger foods for your cocktail hour, please do guests a favor and choose at least a few more substantial options. We are usually hungry by the time the ceremony is over… and if we have to drive awhile to get to the reception, we get downright famished!

The only thing I have to warn you about is the coordination service at Amada. I don’t know how often this happens, but on the day of Rob & Toni’s wedding, their reception coordinator (employed by Amada) called in sick or with an emergency. The coordinator just flat-out didn’t show up, and Amada did not supply another one. At the reception, one of Rob and Toni’s friends had to jump in and try to fill those shoes. Not an easy task because there were a lot of people, and all the details had to be learned at the very last minute. This was unfortunate, too, because their friend should have been able to enjoy the party as a guest. I don’t believe she even got to eat when everyone else, including her husband, sat down to dinner.

On another side note: My old roomie, Dean, also got married at Amada this past March.  Here are a few of the lovely photos.

I must say that Studio 7 really made Amada Plaza look polished.  To see all the photos from the reception above, click here to visit Studio 7.  Go to “Slideshows,” then select “Jennifer and Dean.”

Stay tuned, folks! More reviews are coming up!

*Jennifer and Dean’s images courtesy of Studio 7 Photography

Rating:
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Value:
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