I'm happy to post that our wedding was wonderful and better than we would have ever guessed! Of course, we have a lot of family, friends, and vendors that helped us make our day what it was.
We got married in my hometown in Nebraska, but planned from Chicago and hosted a reception in the suburbs. So, not your typical vendors, but definitely they deserve a shout out. Here's the ones we used in the area:
Sway Dance Studio - the BEST thing we did a few months prior to our wedding was to take dance classes. We did a 6 week course and it was the one hour a week that we just had fun, and learned a lot too! I highly recommend it. Teresa is awesome, totally chill, and will make you feel comfortable. We should have taken a private lesson from her right before the wedding, but time ran short. However, we did a lot better on the dance floor because of her!
Adam's Skin Care - go see Adam. I did a microderm treatment 4 weeks before the wedding. Adam does a great job, I didn't break out or was red or anything - just had great skin!
PhotoBooth Express - one of the best things we did for our reception. I love the pictures, my guests had a great time, and we were able to capture some guests that we didn't get a formal shot of, which was nice.
Photographer - we were able to use a great friend of ours for both engagement and our second reception. He did an amazing job! I'd be happy to share with anyone his contact info and some of our pictures. His rates are definitely reasonable.
Smarty Had a Party - if you haven't checked out this website, and you need party stuff, you really should. They are reasonable, unique, and have a quick turn around on products.
Portillo's - Since we hosted a reception here as well, we catered in Portillo's. I was a bit worried that Chicago friends/family wouldn't enjoy it, but they did! The food is excellent, easy to order/set up and they also assisted us in ordered just the right amount for our size of group.
The majority of what we did here and in Nebraska was DIY. We were lucky to have venues that allowed for that - from food choices to bartenders to the decorations. Because of that, I've got a lot of decorations in black and green if anyone is interested in them!
For everyone planning their wedding - here's my best advice: It's going to suck, having to pick, choose, stick to a budget, frequent trips to Michael's, etc. But when that day comes and everything you had planned is in place and all your friends and family are gathered....it is worth EVERY minute. Enjoy that day, it does go by fast!
If anyone has any questions, please send me a message!