Our wedding was almost two weeks ago and everything went so perfectly (including some fabulous weather for our outdoor ceremony), so I wanted to share reviews of our fabulous vendors!
Wedding dress: Jean's Bridal in Mt. Pleasant = A
I selected this store over a different one in N. Charleston because the girl helping me, Kelly, was so nice. Jean's didn't even have my dress in stock as a sample, but they carried the line so I ordered a dress I tried on at the other store from them. I also got it at a lower price and paid in full on the tax-free holiday so that saved some extra $ too. The only reason I didn't give an A+ is my dress took about 1.5 months longer to come in than originally quoted. I don't think it was their fault though, I think it was the actual designer, but I felt a little out of the loop and wish they had called me with updates, rather than me having to keep calling them.
Groom's suit: Men's Warehouse in West Ashley = A+
This grade is for the actual guy who helped us, James Brown (yes that is his name). He was so helpful and made everything very easy for us. I know nothing about men's suits and my fiance wanted to purchase his wedding suit, so it was great to have James' help. He also purchased during their buy 1 get 1 free sale, so the bestman got a suit also and they just split the cost of the one suit.
Ceremony Coordinator/Flowers: Candice w/Yoj Events = A+
Candice was a huge help, and I only needed her for ceremony coordination, but she also took care of all of our florals, which wasn't much and she did a fantastic job! She was very responsive and I did not worry at all about everything getting taken care of. She picked up all my diy decor from my house and set it up exactly as I imagined. I highly recommend her! Her fee was also extremely affordable for what I needed.
Cake: d'lish desserts = A+
Molly is the sweetest person and everyone raved about the cake and cupcakes! They all looked and tasted fantastic and I can't wait to eat the cake we saved! Definitely book her far in advance though b/c she only takes a few weddings each weekend.
Officiant: Jill Kruger with A Mobile Marriage = A+
Jill was so awesome and she took the custom written ceremony that I made and gave me some great feedback and comments on some things to add that really made it all come together. She was very responsive and easy to work with and I am so glad she was there for our day!
Rehearsal Brunch: Wentworth Grill at the Renaissance Hotel = C-
I picked this place because I bought a restaurant.com coupon worth $100 for $8, so I figured that was worth it. The actual food tasted great, but the service was very lacking. We had one waitress for about 13 people, and she wasn't even trying because she knew she would get her automatic 18% gratuity no matter what. If I didn't have the coupon, I would have been irate to pay full price for that kind of service, but I can't complain too much because I fed 13 people for about $180. I would not recommend them though, and I would not go back unless maybe I was actually staying in the hotel.
Ceremony venue: Confederate Home Garden = A
The garden is so beautiful that it really doesn't need much decor at all! We were blessed with amazing weather and got married under a huge oak tree with about 27 guests. Had the weather been bad, they have a gorgeous double drawing room on the second floor overlooking Broad St where we could have moved our ceremony for an additional fee (about $125 I think). The actual rental fee is tax deductible since they are run by a non-profit (I think the Aquarium is the only other venue that is also like this). The only reason I did not give an A+ is because the woman who runs the office is definitely not the most responsive because she sort of hangs out around different areas of the property because I think she also lives there, so getting her on the phone during their limited office hours was difficult at times. It also takes them awhile to deposit your checks.
Ceremony Music: Christopher Teves = A
Chris did an awesome job at our wedding and the music sounded great! I loved the acoustic guitar and it was classic and simple, exactly what we wanted for our small garden wedding. His rate was also affordable, but sometimes I had to wait awhile for a response via email from him. I think he works some strange hours, so that is why, but I never had any problems with him at all. Highly recommended!
Reception Venue/Food: McCrady's Restaurant = A++
This was the best decision I made and everyone told me how fantastic the food and the service was! The Gallery room is a beautiful space with large windows and hardwood floors and exposed ceiling beams. It was plenty of space for our small group, and we still had a dj, bar, and dancing area. It has convenient bathrooms right off the room. I also did not have to do much decorating in here, just some small table arrangements. All of the food and drinks were great and their event coordinator is so easy to work with.
Music: Jay Maxwell's Music by Request (DJ Rhett) = A+
Rhett was super easy to work with, totally understood what type of event we wanted and really just took control and I never worried about the music at all. The volume was perfect so everyone could talk at a normal level, and he made all the necessary announcements and everything went great. Highly recommend him!
Transportation: Black Cab = A+
Showed up on time, great prices, and responsive staff. Great all around.
We also used Green Taxi for a few one-way transfers because you can book them in advance, and they showed up on time everytime and have great cars, way nicer and cleaner than typical taxis.
Hair: Affair Hair by Tanesha = A+
Tanesha is great to work with, very energetic and super sweet. She did a great job on my hair and my sister, the MOH. I also recommend booking her early because she is very popular. My hair did not move all day from 9am to 11pm (except for the curl falling out of the bottom, but I expected that b/c my hair is so straight). My sister's hair also looked fabulous all day. And she comes to you, which was great b/c I needed her at 7:30am on a Sunday, which would have been impossible if I wanted a salon.
Makeup: Elina Mille at bellelina.com = A+
Elina is also a very nice girl and she is truly an artist! She did a super great job on my air brushed makeup and traditional makeup on my sister. We were both extremely happy and my makeup looked great all day. I loved the air brush and it turned out fantastic in pictures! She also comes to you.
Photographer: Amy Prikazsky Photography = A++
I am so pleased with our wedding pictures! Amy is the nicest person and made sure to get all the pictures on our list, and then some! I also hired her second photographer, Buddy, who was really fun to have around other than being an awesome photographer as well! He made us laugh quite a few times, and I am so glad that both of them were a part of our wedding! Everyone has raved about the pictures, and she got them back to me before we got back from our honeymoon, which was a fabulous suprise in the mail! She sent us 3 sets of cd's with full printing rights, which is one of the reasons I picked her. I also booked her before her current pricing increase, so I feel like I got an amazing deal. Book her early though!
Videographer: Chad Priest of eight21productions = TBD
Chad was awesome to work with on the day of, and he really seemed to know what shots he wanted and how to capture our day. I haven't received the video back yet which is why I can't rate him, but judging on his past work I have no doubt that our video will turn out great. I am so excited to see it!
Getting Ready Location for Bride: Joseph Aiken Mansion Carriage House at 20 Charlotte St = A++
I am going to expose a true hidden gem with this one, because this place was so amazing for what we needed! The prices were probably one of the best things, besides the amount of space that we got. We booked Suite D, and it had a large bedroom and full bathroom with stack w/d, an additional half bath in the hall, and a large kitchen/living room with full size fridge, oven, stove, microwave, granite counters, everything! We brought some additional fold up chairs and a table that my mom set with snacks for family that came by the morning of the wedding while us girls were getting ready.
We also decided to do a first look and I wanted a private garden that wasn't at the ceremony location and this place has a BEAUTIFUL garden that was perfect for our first look! We also took a lot of pre-ceremony portraits with family members here too in order to cut down on time between the ceremony and reception. There is off-street parking for suite guests, and there is also plenty of on-street parking for your vendors or family members who want to come by.
Seriously check it out if you want somewhere affordable downtown to get ready. It was so amazing that people were surprised that it existed! Especially at the prices! And the guy who runs it, Thad, is super nice and gave us a tour of the big house on the property also.
I think that was everyone! Sorry for the length, but I just can't say enough great things about all of our vendors! I hope this helps some of you brides out there!