Hello everyone, hope this can help some of you in your searches for vendors. Our wedding was fabulous with only a few hiccups that really only I noticed.
Venue- The Polish Center of WI (Franklin)- A-
We had both the ceremony and reception at the center. It was absolutely beautiful and I loved the location. Tom the director was pretty good about getting back to me quickly, only once or twice did he take a bit to return an e-mail. He even jumped in and bartended occasionally throughout the night. It was a little pricey as we rented the whole building but totally worth it. My only issue with the venue was the fact you had to use the one caterer that works out of their building. This was not a huge issue but I would have liked to have an option.
Caterer- Jack Norman Catering- B
Mark Norman of Jack Norman catering was the only caterer that we had to work with. The food was good but I had a slight issue with it. I am a very picky eater though so this may not have bothered anyone else. I had asked that the candied carrots be a little warmer because at the taste testing they were a hair cold, and they were the same at the wedding. I did also ask for a little extra flavoring and they listened to that. Of the guests I have talked to, they all said the food was good. Prices were not bad but I was a little bummed most of the food at the tasting were their more expensive add ons. But they were damn good so if you can pay for it, go for it! Linens are also paid for through them. They didn't have the red sashes I wanted so I had to use an outside source which in return meant they would not move the chairs from the ceremony hallway to the reception room. We had to find a few guy guests to help do that. Not many big issues just a few things that would have been nice to be included.
Chair Covers- Platinum Premier Planners- C+
I did not start with this company but started with a lady who decided 2 months before my wedding to close down her business and not call anyone but send a random email. I was able to get the name of the company who bought her inventory, since she had a very distinct red sash I had been matching I wanted those specifically. Platinum Premier was the awesome right off the bat saying they would take me on as a client and for the same price. I did have to pay an extra $100 that they said would be refunded. (in the process of getting that back) My only reasoning for the lower grade is the fact that they came in a little after 11pm and started taking all the chair covers away. Thus, all the guests figured the party was over and started leaving. I told them we were done at 12pm. I was a little annoyed by this because I was having so much fun out dancing til I saw that.
Cake/Cupcakes- Slice (Waterford) -A+
We wanted something a little different so we went with cupcakes. My dad works with the owner's husband. He loves when the guy brings in the cupcakes to his work. We checked them out and they are delicious. The daughter made mock ups of everything we wanted right there at the tasting. She is the "artist" and the mother is the baker. They have some very unique flavors as well, which is what we loved. One of our flavors was root beer and it is awesome because the flavor is not overpowering, just enough to make it taste like your eating a root beer float!
Dress- Tres Chic (Menomonee Falls)- A
I absolutely loved working with this place. I had been around to all the typical places and found all the really expensive I could want but since my budget was not allowing those my mom suggested this place. I tried to avoid it for the fact they had some not so good reviews. Finally I caved and good thing I did. It is a house and they have to rooms with dresses. I found more there I wanted to try on than any other place. AND bonus, Their gimmick is all dresses are under $1000!! The first dress I tried on was "the one" and only $700. They are all new dresses not used. The reviews are a little right with the personality of the owners. I would totally recommend working with Belinda. Her sister could be a little nasty but Belinda was helpful. A little rough around the edges but very helpful.
Alterations- Some lady through Tres Chic- B
I went through Tres Chic for alterations. They lady that came in to do it do a great job on my dress, but I wasn't so pleased with my moh's. She needed a bit of work on hers and the lady ended up taking it in a little too much at the top and moh had a hard time breathing lol. She made it work but I just wasn't sure about her work. Also, I was actually pre-warned by Belinda to not go for everything the lady offers. She tends to say you need all this work but really don't. I didn't have that bad of a time but still felt a B is sufficient.
Flowers- Blooming Perfections (Waukesha)- B+
I am very mixed on my feelings of Lynda from Blooming Perfections. All along the way she was AWESOME! She was there to guide me through everything and actually my MOH hired her also for her wedding next April. She was super helpful and tried helping the best she could when I said I needed to cut the budget. My problem started the day off... I had given her a pic of the bouquet I wanted and the one I got was similar but not what I wanted. (It was suppose to look more like a ball of roses and ended up being very straight across.) Don't get me wrong they were beautiful, just not what I had imagined. The roses were also a darker red and the pic and everything else in the wedding is a bright red color. Along with that the girls bouquets were suppose to be white roses and they were a very yellowy off white. The two silk arrangements Maybe I just needed to be more specific and the issues could have been fixed. I totally recommend Lynda, just make sure you are specific with what you want. Another bonus to Lynda is she comes totally prepared with an emergency kit with EVERYTHING in it. Which helped when I realized it would be hard to get my tank top and my strapless pullover bra off over my head and veil. She busted out a pair of scissors and asked if I minded her just cutting it off. Problem Solved!! (Didn't think that one through totally)
Last but not least......
D.J./Officiant- Music 2 Remember- A+++++
We hired these guys from a wedding show I went to and they were awesome every step of the way!!! There are a few different guys and three also officiate which is what we needed for our non-religious on location wedding. I was a little worried about a dj as an officiant but Jason Somers did an amazing job!! We asked for him specifically because he seemed to fit our style and is the head of the company. They set us up on their website to organize our wedding and music. Then sent us a typical ceremony that we could go through and adapt to our liking. Jason even went with us when we said we'd like to do a fish ceremony with Husband's kids. He had never heard of it but looked it up and found us an idea for the wording to go with it. Jason led us through the whole day and never left us hanging, which was good because we couldn't remember a darn thing that day lol. There was a second dj who ran the booth when Jason was doing his officiant thing but I can't remember his name off the top of my head sorry. They provided uplighting and were very willing to play any song I came up with on the whim. We left a lot to them to decide what to play. And when a lot of the "typical" dances were the only ones working he went with it. I didn't care at that point. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!
Hope this all helps some of you!!!
