I hope these aren't too long. If they are hard to read, I also added them to my bio.
The Tribute, Ceremony and Reception – A-
The Tribute was a wonderful place to get married. There was a coordinator change between the time we signed our contract in 2009 and when we got married in 2011. The new coordinator (Bethany) was very nice, but was not as awesome as the first (Erin). Bethany agreed to uphold all of the side agreements that Erin had made via email, so be sure to always get things in writing. The venue staff worked hard under the leadership of our planner Kathie to help set up the reception room to the exact vision Chris and I had. They allowed us to drop off our DIY projects (and there were several) the Tuesday before the wedding, and made room in their fridge for our DIY chocolates and water bottles. There was an issue with their email for a couple of weeks, where I did not get a response asking for the final amount due so I could drop off a check. Since there was no wedding the night before, my girls and I were allowed to get into the bridal room early. We get there only to find it locked and someone sleeping in it. I had a minor break down when they said it would take 30 mins to clean the room (which would have been after the time our hair and makeup team would have started). I told them to get it done quicker and Bethany provided some mimosas to help calm me down. Overall the venue was amazing, but those little things did happen so I can’t give it a higher grade.
Kathie Seeley with Grand Events, Planner – A+++++
Kathie was simply amazing! She was actually the first vendor that we booked and helped us out along the way for a year and a half. She attended a handful of vendor meetings with us, and reviewed each and every contract to act as another set of eyes on the fine print. She also did our flowers which turned out so beautiful! I’m not big on flowers, so that is really saying something. She built upon our vision for the day and made sure everything was set up just as we wanted. She has one assistant, but we ended up hiring a second (through her) because of the extent of my DIY projects. She was one to speak up when the venue wanted a weather decision made at our rehearsal the day before the wedding (we lucked out and the weather held out for our outside ceremony). She contacted all of our vendors leading up to the wedding to confirm times and was the one I trusted with the tip envelopes for certain vendors. She was an all star and I don’t think our wedding would have been out together correctly without her!
Lynn Michelle, Photography – A+++++
I LOVE Lynn!! Chris loves Lynn and after our wedding day, our whole family and all of our friends love Lynn. She is just so awesome!! We booked her back in 2009 for our 2011 wedding. Early, I know but after meeting her there was no way we were going to go with someone else. Photography was a bigger percentage of our budget, and she was worth EVERY cent we paid her. With our package we had 3 shooters on the day of the wedding, which ended up being really handy when we realized that I left the marriage license at home. Audrey (her 3rd shooter) drove out to our apartment to get the marriage license so that we could sign it at our reception. We did engagement pictures with Lynn and used those pictures throughout our wedding, as a part of our invitations and have 2 beautiful canvas prints in our home. Lynn had 12 teasers ready for us the next day (shared here) and I know that the rest of the pictures will be worth the wait!
Blair with Party All the Time Productions, DJ & Lighting – A++
Blair was a find through our planner Kathie. He did an amazing job with the uplighting and pinspotting in our room. It really transformed the venue! Blair also provided the lapel microphones for Chris and our officiant and wireless mic for our readers. During the receptions he played all of the songs that we asked for on our must play list and used it as a guide for the type of songs to play to keep our dance floor packed. He made sure the music kept with the flow and was a good MC to announce different aspects of the night like the cake cutting and bouquet/garter toss. I would recommend Blair to anyone!
Candy Haven, Cakes – A++
The Candy Haven cakes turned out exactly like what we envisioned! Our tasting was so delicious (with several different cakes and fillings) and they took our inspiration pictures and perfected them to a t! The cakes were so tasty, and we had so many guests compliment us on the cake flavors. We only had the bites that we fed each other, but we found a huge piece of the groom’s cake in our room at the end of the night, and it was so tasty! We have our top tier in the freezer for our anniversary, but we may just order a new top tier because I’m not so sure year old cake is all that great.
Islands in the Sun Productions, Steel Drum Ceremony music – A+
Steve with Islands in the Sun was a breath of fresh air after we had issues trying to get a contract from the first steel drummer that we contacted. Steve played all of the songs that I requested, and then played for the cocktail hour, although I’m not sure many heard him since the weather was looking very sketchy outside. I can’t wait to see our video to actually be able to hear all of the songs in the processional. This was a surprise for my dad, who was born in the country that the steel pan originated and he was so happy to have some of his culture as a part of our wedding day.
Austin Walton Productions, Videography – TBD
Austin was great, very fast on all email communications and very sweet when we met in person. Haven’t seen any footage yet (should take 5-6 months), but I know that he was there during all of our picture sessions and I saw him here and there during the reception. He really blended in with the crowd so I’m excited to see what he captured!
Premier Photo Booth – A++
Premier was great to work with! We brought some of our own blue and green props, but they had an abundance of fun props as well. The guy that manned the booth was very nice, and did a great job of making sure that one strip from every sessions was saved for us. We also received the CD with the strips and individual pictures by the time we returned from our minimoon to San Antonio.
Makeup Logic, Hair and Makeup - A++
Vetty and Jackie did an amazing job on me, my 4 bridesmaids and my mom. The company is owned by Kelly, but she was booked for my day (she did my hair for my friend's wedding which is how I met her) so my trial and day of was done by Vetty. I love Vetty, she is just so sweet! Jackie did the makeup for all of the girls, while Vetty knocked out 6 up dos and my makeup in no time. They were on time and finished on time for our pictures.
Fairfield Inn & Suites, Hotel Block & Send Off Brunch – B
There were some minor issues with the hotel, again another coordinator switch between the time we booked and the time our wedding rolled around. Overall they were great and newer so all of the guests loved their rooms. Some of the issues included the front desk not handing out OOT boxes to our guests who checked in Thursday night (we were told that they were locked in a room due to inspection and never unlocked for the night shift). After I called them Friday morning, they did ensure that all the guests from Thursday night were given boxes, and no other issues for the rest of the guests. We were originally told they could do 2 shuttle trips back from the venue, but I was told a week before that they could only do one. It ended up working out because those that took the shuttle lasted until the end of the night. The send off brunch was great, according to our guests (Chris and I ate at the Tribute Sunday Morning as part of our package), but I have to thank my mom and family for the room looking amazing. They repurposed all of the flowers from the reception and other parts of our décor to make the brunch room look awesome. Minor issues aside, I’m glad that we were able to find a new/clean hotel so close to our venue.