We had a beautiful wedding this past weekend, I could not ask for a better day. I wanted to leave some vendor reviews because they really helped me when I was planning.
Reception
Cleveland Airport Marriott - A+
Our reception in the grand ballroom was incredible. The staff did an amazing job and they were all so nice. They handled a snafu with the cake beautifully and brought out all the stops to help us out. Mary Frances was our planner and I can't say enough good things about her - she responded to my questions promptly and accomodated some special requests we had for the day. The food was excellent, everyone was complimenting it. Someone said to me "I usually don't care for wedding food, but I would legitimately order this at a restaurant". The hotel was recently renovated and it is beautiful - the lobby, the ballroom, the courtyard, the guest rooms. The guests really appreciated being outside in the courtyard for cocktail hour. I can't say enough good things about the Marriott - I looked at many reception venues and this is the best value in Cleveland, in my opinion.
Photographer
Todd Carlson - A+++++
Todd was the best money we spent on anything for the wedding, hands down. I cannot say enough good things about him. I was initially nervous about picking a photographer because the photographs are all you have left of the day and I had some friends who had bad photographer experiences, but the nerves quickly dissipated when I saw our engagement photos. Todd went above and beyond what a wedding photographer should have to do. He was all over the place (but not in a distracting way) trying to get the best shots. One of my friends said "I want to get married again just so I can have him shoot my wedding". So many of our guests said how great he was and some even asked how long we've been friends - he fit right in with the wedding party. His ideas for our photo locations were creative and unique - I gave him a vision of what I wanted, and he did research to find the best spots. I am so happy with the photos I've seen so far, and I cannot wait to see how the album turns out. I would recommend him to anyone looking for photojournalist style photography.
Limo
All Occassion Limo - B+
Overall, we had a positive experience with them. It was a good value (we used a coupon from the Entertainment book), the staff I talked to on the phone were helpful, and the driver was professional. My only complaints are that the AC didn't seem to be working for a while and we were all boiling up, and my brother had to direct the driver a lot. I would use them again.
Flowers
Roses for Weddings - B+
We were on a tight budget for flowers, and Ety was very receptive to this. She was very sweet and helpful, and they turned out nice. There was some confusion with the delivery, however. A friend of mine was going to pick them up the morning of the wedding, and the night before, Ety was calling her, saying she could drop them off, and there was a lot of back-and-forth and confusion. I would recommend Roses for Weddings, but I would say just spend the money to have them delivered to the church to avoid confusion.
DJ
Selective Sound Entertainment - A
I called/emailed a lot of DJ's (I found Selective Sound on the Cleveland Hot List) and this was the company I felt most comfortable with. They answered all my questions promptly and they have a super convenient website that I used to pick the music for the reception. Rich was our DJ and he did a great job balancing the music selection for the older crowd and newer crowd. He handled last minute changes seamlessly. I would definitely use them again.
Wedding gown
Catan's Bridal - B-
The store has a ginormous selection and the staff was very nice and helpful. However, they ordered my dress a size too small and it was a bit of a fiasco (not to mention I was a nervous wreck about it). I ended up keeping the size and dealing with it in alterations because I didn't have enough time for them to take it back and send me a new one. Be very vigilant about your measurements and what size they order for you if you use them.
David's Bridal
To be fair, I won't actually rate them because I didn't buy anything here, but I need to say something about my experience. I went there to try on gowns and look at bridesmaids dresses and the staff was nice and helpful, I just didn't find anything I liked. However, they made me fill out this form with all my information when I came in. I had heard from others that they spam the heck out of you, so I didn't put an email address down. However, I started getting calls from telemarketers and junk mail a few weeks later, and I asked one of the telemarketers how they got my number. They said Davids Bridal and I was quite angry. Apparently they sell the information you put on the forms to marketing companies. Very annoying.
Bridesmaid dresses
eBridal Superstore - A
No complaints here, except that one of my bridesmaid's dresses came in horribly wrinkled. Nothing a good pressing couldn't fix. The dresses I picked were $40 cheaper here than any bridal shop, and they were all delivered within 2 months of ordering them. I liked that I could have the girls go on the website and individually order their dress, as opposed to a bridal shop where you have to have them all call in their measurements and they do a mass order.
Tuxes
Men's Warehouse - A
They had a good selection and they have locations all over the country, which was helpful for us because our groomsmen lived in different cities. 2 of the tuxes didn't fit in the initial fitting 4 days before the wedding, but they handled it great and got them new tuxes 2 days before.
Good luck to all the other Cleveland brides to be! Feel free to message me with any questions about these vendors.