Wisconsin

Vendor reviews - Madison wedding (long)

CEREMONY - Olbrich GardensPatti was great to work with; she responded to all e-mails very promptly. The day went off without a hitch, and we were able to schedule a rehearsal too. We only did the ceremony here, and we were lucky to have beautiful weather (our ceremony took place at the outdoor Event Garden). There is a dressing room available - the floor could have been cleaner, so I recommend bringing a sheet to lay under your dress while you are getting dressed.RECEPTION - EdgewaterStay away!The food and view here are great, but the people are absolutely awful to work with.  The room for our reception was not ready when we requested (10am the day of the wedding). Tables were not decorated properly (red skirts instead of white), tables were in the wrong location, and the room had not been vacuumed or cleared of debris from the previous night's engagement (i.e. shoes and toothpicks were left on the floor). We called at 10:45am to let the staff know about the situation so that it could be remedied before the cake and florist arrived.  When we returned to the hotel at 2pm, we discovered nothing had been fixed and was not fixed until we pulled the event manager out of a meeting. Furthermore, at dinner, the red wine was served chilled - we had to request for it to be removed from the fridge.We had to remind the servers to offer beverages to our guests, and no water was offered.  They also persistently removed food and beverage items from tables before guests were finished with them.Lastly, we had difficulties communicating with the event coordinator. For example, we would send her a bulleted list of 5 simple questions (such as, what is the charge for adding a vegetarian entree for one person), and she would respond with an incomplete answer to 1 question (and would ignore the other 4 questions).  This happened repeatedly.After we complained, we did receive a $250 credit, but unless you have unlimited patience, don't spend your money here.Also, if you do choose to stay here, be aware that their smoking floor is floor 4, and floors 3 & 5 are designated as non-smoking.  Because it's an older establishment, however, the ventilation system isn't great, and floor 3  (non-smoking) smells like a bar.  Floor 2 does not smell, but the view isn't as good.FLORIST - Garden LaurelsDonna was great to work with. The flowers looked amazing, especially the bouquets. She listened well and made them look exactly as I was hoping, which I didn't think was possible. She was very responsive too, and let me make a few last minute changes. She would call back within a few hours of me leaving a message. I highly recommend her! PHOTOGRAPHER - Angelic AnglesJennifer is wonderful to work with and very professional (and graciously put up with a few obnoxious guests who hit on her the entire evening). She made us feel comfortable when taking pictures, and she had lots of great ideas for poses. We just got married a month ago, so we haven't seen the proofs yet, but she did show us one right after she took it, and it looked fantastic!CAKE - Craig's CakesVery tasty! And decorated exactly like the picture we showed them.  Flourless cake was also very good.HAIR & MAKEUP - AniuThomas did my hair, and he was wonderful. I showed him a couple of pictures at my trial, he made a suggestion, and then he went to work. Soon after, my hair looked exactly as I was hoping (but I hadn't been able to describe it). And it stayed all day long! 12 hours later, not a hair was out of place. Karen did my makeup, and while I liked the end result, she did not seem happy when my mom and I disagreed with the lip color she had initially chosen. But other than that, she was great.

Re: Vendor reviews - Madison wedding (long)

  • edited December 2011
    Thank you so much for your reviews! I am getting married at Olbrich next May. I am glad it was a great experience for you.  I am also making my hair/makeup appt at Aniu, that will come in handy, too.One quick question- who did you go through for ceremony chairs?  We are still debating between Bucky Rental and A to Z.Best wishes,Hillary
    BabyFruit Ticker
  • edited December 2011
    We went through Bucky's Rentals and had no problems. They set up the chairs and took them down for us at the gardens (and didn't need us to direct them anywhere). I think Bucky's was cheaper too.
  • edited December 2011
    I'm sorry to hear about Edgewater. That really sucks. I always heard they were such a great place.
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