Hello Ladies - I know all about the scramble to find the vendors that are going to meet your vision. Below is a review of the vendors that we used. I will preface this by telling you that I am a low-key bride who was looking to have a fun and inexpensive wedding. I prioritized not getting crazy stressed and looked for vendors who were a pleasure to work with and affordable. Best of Luck to you All!
Vendor Reviews:
Rehearsal Dinner Caterer – Brandon Dolan A+
Brandon use to own a restaurant and now does catering. He lives over the line in CT, but will cater anywhere in RI. He runs a small operation, so he is inexpensive and the food was delicious (eggplant parm, sausage and peppers, prosciutto wrapped fish, etc - all my guests raved!)! He can be reached at brandon_dolan28@yahoo.com or 860-383-6618
Venue – Twelve Acres Banquet - A
We used their outdoor pavilion and had a bbq (which was a really fun and affordable option). Everyone loved the food, there was plenty of room, and the staff was great. We found that the people who own the place were really flexible and willing to work with us (which is why we chose them). My one piece of advice to brides is to take a few people off of your guaranteed count, you can always add them when you do the final count but we had to pay for about 20 people who did not show (this is a rule of events and I should have known better but literally the day I gave our guaranteed count, we had almost 10 people tell us they couldn’t make it and we could not adjust our count). http://www.twelveacresbanquet.com/
Officiant – Mike Egan, Heavenly Weddings – A+, B
Mike was fantastic the day of the wedding, which I knew he would be. He had been the officiant for my friends’ wedding and did a great job then too. He was timely, professional, and a great coach who made the whole thing seemed seamless, so I would give him an A+ for the day of the wedding. Leading up to the wedding he was okay. I think he balances a lot and since I was pretty organized, he really didn’t worry about me. I found him a little slower to respond and a bit less organized than I expected, which is why the second grade was a B. Of course like I said, the day of things went great. He can be reached at heavenlyweddings@cox.net
DJ – John Laing – A+
Cheap and easy. This guy is super affordable! I had some specialty songs and I created a cd and mailed it to him ahead of time so that we had the music. He was on the ball getting back to me and always professional. He is low-key and not an entertainer who tries to coerce the audience (I just wanted someone to simply play music), he was just what I was looking for and did a great job. He can be reached at johnlaing244@comcast.net
Florist – Whole Foods Cranston – A
Reasonably priced and flowers looked good. We just had them do our bridal bouquets. I was going to do them myself, but decided it just wasn’t worth the potential frustration. I worked with a woman named Karen. She was really good about listening and offering suggestions. I told her my budget and what I wanted and she told me what everything would cost and what adjustments she could make to stay within my budget. When she wanted to make adjustments, she called me and emailed me photos first. Karen can be reached at Karen.Campopiano@wholefoods.com