I got married March 4th so I figured it was about time to write up my vendor reviews. Hope this is helpful!
Sarah Dickerson Photography - A+++ She has been amazing and professional from the beginning. We have gotten so many compliments on our engagement and wedding photos. She has a way of making everyone look good and really capturing the moment. She is great at everything from detail, traditional and candid shots, as well as capturing the emotions of the moment. She was so cool from start to finish, even helping us carry stuff to the limo when we were running late! When I first started looking at photographers, I thought prices were outrageous- now I think we got a steal on her. Plus she gives you co-copyright on your pictures so you can print more any time you want. A++++
Adria at Bloom 47- A+Such a sweet person and so talented. Great prices and SOOO flexible. I must have changed the order a dozen times as different people were requesting different things. She was so understanding and professional and the flowers were just gorgeous! Breathtaking, wonderful, exactly what I wanted and much cheaper than anywhere else I found. She found all sorts of ways to help me save money here and there but you would never know because everything was so beautiful- I definitely recommend her!!!!!
Ride: Pech Limousine service A+
We got a limo to drive the bridal party to the wedding and my husband and me to the hotel afterwards. Very clean, on time, very professional, very flexible when we had to change some times last minute. Actually drinking champagne in the limo on the way there with my closest family and friends was on of the funnest parts of the day, I'm SO glad we did this! Definitely recommend them!
Venue: Californos in Westport - A
We looked at several places before choosing them. Not only were their prices some of the best but the food is amazing and the venue is gorgeous! We barely had to add anything to decorate the place because it already had that cool urban feel and beautiful wood and french doors. We worked with the wedding coordinator there Aaron- he was so nice! The ONLY reason I'm docking them some points is we talked about where tables and stuff should be set up ahead of time (so we knew that the mic could reach from the DJ table to the bridal party table, people could see, etc) and it ended up not being set up that way at all. Not a big deal- we were able to get the mic to reach anyway. They also forgot to serve one of our cakes- I think they thought it was the same as our wedding cake but it was a different flavor. The wedding and groom's cake was 100% eaten so we really could have used it too. I'm sure if I asked about it they would have had no problem serving it but I just plain forgot! Other than that- we had our ceremony and reception there and it was a perfect venue for us. Such a beautiful place and everyone there is so nice and helpful!! Great price for all you get!
Cake- Prairie Village HyVee- A
The cake we got was lemon and we got a separate chocolate sheet cake (didn't get served- read above- oops!) but they were both beautiful and a great price...and tasty!!! The only thing was the top tier was way sunken in but I'm sure it was from my heavy cake topper and probably arrived fine. It was there on time, it was really easy to add or change orders or anything like that. Very easy simple and straight forward, which when you're planning a wedding is always nice!!
Officiant: Dr. Reverent Michele Gamm, DD A/ F
Ok this is a weird one to explain. We didn't get married in a church and we come from different backgrounds so we decided to just do a ceremony with readings that meant a lot to us and to write our own vows etc so we found a flexible officiant. We met at her house months ago and went over what we were thinking and loved her so we put down the down payment. One thing I really wanted was a person who could lead everyone (including me) on the rehearsal and day-of and basically run the entire ceremony since I had no idea about it myself. She did a great job on the rehearsal and the wedding- everyone listened to her and she told us all our options etc. It was great...now the part that wasn't so great...
Ok so two days before the rehearsal I asked her if she included our down payment in the total we owe her. Here was literally our emails:
I have $250 written in my notes because we put a $50 deposit down is that correct?
Thanks,
Me Since we do not agree on the services or fees, I wish you the best. Thanks so much.
Dr. Reverend Michelle Gamm, DD
So at 1am, two days before our rehearsal she backed out of the wedding because I asked if she included the deposit in the total we owe. It's entirely possibly and even likely that she told me this before... personally in the last couple days before the wedding my brain turned to mush with all the details. I must have asked every vendor ten times what we owe and what did we already pay etc etc etc. All of them were SO professional and patient with me that this totally shocked me. Me, being stressed and not 100% rational I started crying hysterically thinking we had to find an officiant the day before the rehearsal. I couldn't sleep that night and I had SO many people help me try to find a replacement. At 9am the next morning I called and left a message apologizing for offending her and begging her to change her mind. I waited a couple hours before hearing back from her saying she would do it. She never apologized and I had to miss work that day thinking I would have to run around looking for an officiant.
So now I was a sleep deprived stress ball- whereas I had been pretty good before this. She wanted $300 cash. My parents were afraid she wouldn't show after getting the cash, because we didn't know what sort of person would bail on us like that- I thought it was so cruel.
I know I'm going on and on. In the end, she did a great job but I can't see ever recommending her to anyone. We had talked back and forth for months about the ceremony and dates and times and locations etc and one email and she ditches us? We had always been on really friendly terms too. Who knows. I'd just say stay away if you think you might ask about money ever.
Hotel: Raphael: A- Beautiful place, really friendly people. We booked the honeymoon suite but when my husband checked in apparently it was under construction or something so they moved us to a regular room and gave us some champagne. Too bad but it was still beautiful there. Very chic, great location and Kurig coffee machine in room- mmm.
Travel Agent: Preferred Travel, 135th and Quivera: A+
We went to Maui for our honeymoon- it was amazing. They did a great job making sure we got a great view and the most amazing breakfast included. She got us a jeep and knew what needed to be reserved ahead of time and what we could book there. Price came in WAY under anything I was finding on my own so it was well worth it!!
Oh the dress!
Nolte's Bridal: A+
Oh they were great- second dress I tried on was the one- so easy. It was more expensive than my budget so I bought the sample dress for a discount and they threw in the veil. They did a great job, so many gorgeous dresses.
David's Bridal: eh, B or C
Got only my shoes there. They were a great price and pretty- I had them dyed one color but they were dyed another. I made sure it was my order and it was so I let it go. They were still pretty, so not a big deal. The bad part was I guess I got put on all these mailing and phone call lists after that. I managed to avoid it before but I started getting tons of junk mail. If you go there don't give them your address- ugh!
Rings: Moshiri- A
My then fiance went here on a recommendation. I guess he was in a rush to get the ring to propose but Homi (the owner) convinced him to slow down and talk about what all he wanted in a ring and asked all about me and my size etc and made suggestions. I ended up with a ring more beautiful than I could have picked myself- stunning!!! Went back for our bands and of course, Homi suggested the perfect one right away. He really knows what he's doing! The only thing is my husbands ring got scratched up fast (it's only been 3 weeks) and it sort of looks like the diamond chipped (he has a tiny diamond inset in the ring). We haven't gone in to have it fixed or looked at yet but I'm sure they'll take care of it no problem! I'll let you know.
Hair: Oliver's Salon: A
Pretty straight forward, I get my hair done there and they did a great job. The only thing is you have to make the actual bridal appointments in person, they won't do it over the phone. Not a big deal and my difficult hair stayed in place all day!
Couple more:
Registered at Target, Bed Bath and Beyond and used Registry 360: C, A, and D Ok we registered at these three places. Registry 360 allows you to register from anywhere online. Amazon has the same feature I found and works much better so use that because 360 has a lot of bugs.
Targed deleted a bunch of stuff we added- I think it gets moved around or something- I checked our registry months later and like half our things were gone. Weird.
BBB was great and easy to use/ return things to. Make sure people know that their 20% coupons never expire!
And my simple product recommendation...
Oil of Olay microderm kit- A++ I have acne prone skin...that also peels etc and is basically a disaster this time of year. I've gotten real mircodermabrasion treatments several times- it's basically like sanding your face, it gets all the dead stuff off and helps prevent acne and stuff- It works great for me personally! Well they can be expensive so I decided to try this kit- I LOVE IT. It feels like the real thing and is way more affordible. It really helped my skin to look good for the big day!