Here are the vendor reviews I keep promising from our 10/2 wedding…this time I’m doing them in Word first so I don’t lose them if my internet freezes again!
Venue ~ Alden Hotel ~ www.aldenhotelhouston.com/">www.aldenhotelhouston.com ~ A We knew we wanted to get married at the Alden Hotel the minute we walked in. I’ve always said if I could live anywhere, it would be in a loft in downtown Boston or Chicago, and the Veranda at the Alden very much reminded me of that. My husband and I have been to ten weddings together (six of them last summer!) and we wanted a venue completely different from anywhere else we had been. It was also important to me for people to be able to stay somewhere close so no one had to worry about being the designated driver…I would say the great majority of our guests stayed in the hotel that night, and that created quite an awesome party (and after party in the bar downstairs!)! The staff (especially Catherine Bradley) was great to work with. My only complaint is that the food was not quite as good as I expected it to be, nor was the presentation / serving of the food…but I don’t believe people go to weddings for the food, so if that’s my only complaint, then I’m happy! I would recommend this venue to anyone looking for something a little different than the rest of the venues in Houston…they won’t disappoint!
Photography ~ Love Lee Photography ~ www.loveleephotography.com/">www.loveleephotography.com ~ A+ Margaret is such an amazing, kind, creative, and warm hearted person. The minute we met her, we could see how passionate she is about her career, and that’s just the type of person we wanted to photograph our wedding. During my bridal portraits, she was laying on the ground in the lobby of the hotel taking pictures of me…while we were getting ready the day of the wedding, she was taking all of the detail shots…she gets a bit of absolutely everything! We could not be happier with our choice! Here is one of my favorites!
Music ~ Avalon Music / DJ’s Unlimited ~ www.theavalonmusic.com/">www.theavalonmusic.com ~ A We booked a string trio and a DJ through Angela with Avalon Music…she has a team of musicians to perform during the ceremony, and hires someone from DJ’s Unlimited or another DJ company. I must say that the string music during the ceremony & cocktail hour was exactly what I wanted...they did a beautiful job! Our DJ was Sky Mike (from 93Q) – we thought he was great! He went above and beyond to ensure we had everything we needed, including things completely out of his responsibilities, such as drinks, etc. He was great, and if you choose to go through DJU, I would recommend requesting him!
Cake ~ Cakes by Gina ~ www.cakesbyginahouston.com/">www.cakesbyginahouston.com ~ A+ My cake was exactly what I wanted, and when we were talking to Gina, we knew that she was the person who should create it. She had made the cake before, and knew exactly how it needed to be built. Beyond that, though, it was the most delicious cake ever! We chose almond cake, raspberry filling, and almond buttercream for my cake; and chocolate cake, Bavarian cream filling, and chocolate buttercream for the groom’s cake…both were amazing! In fact, almost all of my friends have used Gina as well!
Flowers ~ Weddings in Bloom ~ www.weddingsinbloom-tx.com/">www.weddingsinbloom-tx.com ~ A+Pat & Cherie were both a joy to work with. They are so kind and want to make the wedding day absolutely perfect…and they certainly did! My flowers and centerpieces were precisely what I was expecting and I received so many compliments on them. Again, I would recommend this team to anyone…their creativity and love of the business shows in their work!
Jewelry ~ Robichau's Jewelry ~ www.robichausjewelry.com/">www.robichausjewelry.com ~ A+My ring is absolutely everything I wanted and more! People (strangers) are constantly telling me how beautiful my ring is and I completely agree. They also custom made my band to fit against my e-ring. It's funny...there are rings that I used to drool over that I see now and, while I still think they're nice, they just don't compare to mine in my eyes! The rings they have at their store are so unique and beautiful and they are great to work with. Chris' ring is also very nice, and exactly what he wanted!
Pastor ~ Pastor Mike Lehmann ~ not sure of website? ~ A+ We hired Pastor Mike because we were getting married in a hotel, and therefore, the Catholic Church would not marry us (i.e., it is outside of sacred ground). We met with him once, and when we got in the car, we both talked about how easy he was to talk to, how he really seemed to care, and that he seemed to really care about the couples he met. His message during our ceremony was personalized to us and our story, and we received several compliments about it from our guests.
Dress ~ Weddings by Debbie / Pronovias ~ A+Oh my gosh…do I love my dress! I kept telling everyone all night that other than Chris, my dress was my pride and joy! My experience with Weddings by Debbie was great, and I truly cannot imagine having worn any other dress on my wedding day. If you are looking for something a little more modern and unique, I would highly recommend checking out Pronovias dresses!
Stationery ~ Ab Fab Paper Emporium ~ Alma Vasquez ~ A+ Our invitations were made by Paper Duvet. I didn’t want to spend a fortune on invitations since they sit on people’s refrigerators for a month, then get thrown in the trash. Paper Duvet makes very reasonably priced invitations that do not look it at all…ours were exactly what we expected (if not a little more) and Alma was fantastic to work with! Even if you don’t live in The Woodlands/Spring area, I would still recommend making the trek to work with her…she has a huge selection of invitations in all price ranges.
Save the Dates ~ www.agiftfulheart.com/">www.agiftfulheart.com ~ A+ We wanted to use magnets for our save the dates, and had my sister take pictures of us with our dog wearing a sweater embroidered with our wedding date. The company was extremely responsive, and the magnets came out even better than we anticipated! Would highly recommend using them!
Honeymoon ~ Wyndham Aura Grand Bay Cozumel ~ A+We returned from Cozumel last weekend and it was everything we had imagined for our honeymoon! We were on the third floor of the all-inclusive resort, and our room had a private pool on the fourth floor / rooftop…it was as cool as it sounds! There were also swim-up suites, if that’s your kind of thing, however, you don’t have a view of the beach/water from your patio, and that is always important to me when traveling somewhere like this! The sand was a little rocky, so uncomfortable to walk on, but the water was unbelievably gorgeous (I’ve been to several other tropical destinations and none compare to the water here!). We did not leave the resort once the entire time we were there, and in fact, we were having such a great time, that we ended up deciding to extend our trip by a day while we were there! It is an incredibly romantic resort (adults only (don’t even allow spring-breakers), and very quiet and peaceful). If you’re looking for somewhere close & easy to get to (it’s about a two hour flight from Houston – direct on Continental) that is incredible, this is it! Here is one of the pictures I took while we were there...it's from the beach grill:
Miscellaneous ~ Etsy Sellers ~ All A+ I would recommend the following Etsy sellers (also noted what I bought from them):
wreathartist – unity candle set
gartercentral – garters
mollyandmom – handkerchiefs
I am sure I am missing a very important vendor or two, but for now…I’m going to sign off…I think I’ve left you with enough to read J Good luck planning your wedding! I hope these reviews help!!!