Hello all! I don't post much but reading vendor reviews was helpful for me throughout our wedding planning process so I thought I'd share my two cents on our vendors!
Here is a link to a few pictures we have so far:
http://bhpimages.net/blog/2012/06/19/jaime-and-pj/Church: St. Francis de Sales- A+
Sydney was awesome to work with. What can I say, one of the most beautiful churches in the city!
Reception Venue: Glendale Lyceum- A+++
I think the Glendale Lyceum is one of the best kept secrets in Cincinnati. The venue is incredible. It is absolutely gorgeous! We were going for that modern meets country club meets Victorian feel and the Lyceum definitely has that. Cindy was by far my favorite vendor to work with. She is so easygoing and will make anything happen. The little details are my favorite parts of a wedding and by having our reception at the Lyceum, I was able to do as many little details as I wanted. Bottom line: if the Glendale Lyceum is in your budget, I would make it happen. You won't regret it.
Dress: Kotsovos- B-
My first trip to Kotsovos was awesome. They actually worked with the designer to custom make a dress (basically combined two dresses into one--I liked the top of one and the bottom of another). It was when the dress came in (and was huge) and when I picked it up was where the issues were. Their staff is not exactly the most friendly. I decided to go somewhere else for alterations because of that. My mother-in-law also had a really bad experience with their saleswoman when she went to look for dresses.
Bridesmaids Dresses: New Beginning Bridal- A
It's a bit of a hike out to Indiana, but welll worth it! Carol was great to work with, she is super affordable and the dresses were perfect. The same dress that cost $125 with her cost $165 at Bridal & Formal. Check her out!
Guy's Tux's: Folchi's-A
Always reliable and easy to work with. The suits were perfect!
Cake: North College Hill Bakery-A+
Maybe I'm partial because I grew up going to this bakery, but their cakes are amazing! We did lemon and raspberry filling with white cake. and it was delicious! I took them crushed candy to put on the outside and it turned out great!
Band: Second Wind-A
This band rocks!! They are awesome. Bottom line- you won't regret using them. Don is super easy to work with. My ONLY complainant is that they told us they would learn our first dance song and a couple weeks before the wedding they said they didn't have time. It was a bummer but we just chose an alternate
They rocked the house!!!
Caterer: Vonderhaar's-A+
Don and his staff were great to work with. Doing a sit-down dinner, my big issue was how fast they could serve everyone, and they didn't let me down. The food was delicious and hot. The servers were extremely friendly. We had quite a few changes throughout the process and Don was very accommodating.
Photographer: Bh Photography- A+++
Brett and Jess are awesome to work with. They made us feel so comfortable and got some great shots! I can't wait to see how they turn out. They do a wicked photo station with props---it was one of the best parts of the wedding!!!!
Videographer: Clapboard Video- B
I obviously haven't seen the finished product but they were ok to work with throughout the process. They didn't blow me away by any means but also haven't done anything wrong. My only issue was that they are difficult to get a hold of and they do not respond to emails.
Transportation: A Savannah Nite-B+
I had some issues booking our party bus (they failed to mention a couple little service fees on the phone then when we got the invoice, they were there....). They double booked the bus I originally wanted but it actually turned out for the better. They upgraded us to the next size for the price of the smaller one. Our driver was nice and the bus was clean. Overall, we were pleased.
Flowers: Petals N Glass- A
Julie is great to work with---she is super laid back and will make samples for you to see, which I really liked. She will not nickel and dime you like some florists will. I think we got a TON of flowers for what we paid. My only compliant was that there was supposed to be a big arrangement on a table at the reception and it wasn't there. I called her and she apologized and took it off the bill. She also forgot to put little charms on the bouquets that I had made but she brought them to the church and added them. Beautiful flowers, easy to work with!
Makeup: Brideface-A
Rachel at Brideface was great- She was funny and did a good job! They are pricey but I think the quality of the make-up is worth it. Mine stayed on all night and even most of Sunday while traveling to our honeymoon!
Overall, we had some great vendors and honestly have nothing to be upset about! Happy planning!