Texas-Austin

Austin Area Vendor Reviews (10/19/13 Wedding)

shaylagirlshaylagirl member
First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Answer First Comment
edited October 2013 in Texas-Austin
Ceremony Site:
Chapel Dulcinea in Driftwood/Austin.  This is a 'free' chapel.  A $400 deposit for a weekend ceremony holds your date and time.  You are limited to 1 hour and 30 minutes, but you get your entire deposit refunded the day of your ceremony.
EVERY SINGLE GUEST raved about how beautiful this site is.  EVERYONE!!  There is a bridal room you can use to dress prior to the ceremony.  Photo ops abound at this location.
Chairs are rented at $4/chair 30 days prior to your event and $6/chair less than 30 days from your event.
I did the gas lamp sponsorship for $25.  This includes a custom sign that will say whatever you want on the pathway leading to the chapel.  It was a nice touch.
It's also LOTS of fun ringing the wedding bell after you've said your vows.  My groom and I enjoyed it.

Reception site:
Trattoria Lisina in Driftwood.
EVERY SINGLE GUEST raved about the amazing food and service.  Jett (the Event Coordinator) went above and beyond for my reception of less than 60 people.  I dropped off my table runners, my guest book, my un-assembled cupcake tower, my favors for my guests and my cupcakes were delivered, and the restaurant set EVERYTHING up for me.  And it was BEAUTIFUL.  The food was amazing, and the wine copious!  If you go with them, let about 97% of my guests recommend their Moscato wine to be served for your meal.  It was SUCH a hit!  Even friends and family who don't like wine, or don't like Moscato wine fell in LOVE with the vintage Trattoria serves.
The food was also a huge hit with everyone.  The waitstaff charming and friendly and eager to be of service.
They also opened up the vineyards for my photos, which, again...above and beyond.
If you're looking for an inexpensive, yet excellent experience for a venue, I can't say enough good things about Trattoria Lisina!! 

Officiant:
Reverend Joseph A. "Joe" Calovic in Austin.
Getting the officiant was one of the hardest parts for us; my groom is Christian, I'm agnostic at best.  His church pastor couldn't perform the service for us due to this reason, so, we got Reverend Joe as a recommendation to us.
He is a sweet and touching man with a sense of humor.  Rate was very reasonable, and he helped us design a short, but sweet and just right for us ceremony that included a family portion to include both of our children from previous relationships.
He has his own chapel at his home, but as he is a sponsor at the Chapel we selected, he was well familiar with the site and was able to walk my groom and his part of the wedding party through their "parts" of the ceremony without us having to do a rehearsal beforehand.
I would recommend him to anyone!

Dessert:
Sugar Mama's Bakeshop in Austin.
Cupcake Wars winners for a REASON!  They do cakes as well (I ordered an 8" round), and they can do anything from fondant to buttercream in a multitude of colors and hues and designs.  I emailed a picture of a style I wanted for my buttercream frosting, and they replicated it exactly!  And, everyone said how wonderful and delicious the cupcakes were!! 

Dress:
Alfred Angelo at the Arbor Walk location.
My consultant was Julie, and she was AMAZING!  She knew my ceremony site when I mentioned it, and was able to tell me what dresses were and weren't fitting for the location.  Thankfully, the one I wanted was one that fit my site, but, when my sister wanted me to try on a different one, Julie pointed out that it wouldn't be suitable for my location.  Delivery was on time.  My certificate wasn't given to me with my dress, but the manager QUICKLY sent it to me so I didn't have to make a second trip to the store.  I would recommend this location to any bride if you're looking to buy an Alfred Angelo gown!

Seamstress:
Alterations and Veils in Austin.
Free consultation. 
I was initially pleased with my seamstress, and I still can recommend the quality of work performed on my gown.
However, my bustle didn't hold at ALL the day of the wedding. 
My seamstress also got 'flakey' towards the end of my fitting appointments.  I picked my gown up to do my bridal portraits, and my mother dropped my gown off on a Thursday for the final steaming, and, when she started calling the next Wednesday to coordinate picking up my gown on Thursday, she was told that it wasn't ready yet (the seamstress was out of town), could we pick it up on Friday instead (the day before my wedding).  Not pleased with dealing with the seamstress, overall quality of work was good.  Bustle was bad (at least it was 'free' and thrown in with all my other alterations).

Tuxedo Rental:
Mike's Formalwear in Austin.
Mike is a really friendly guy and his staff is also incredibly friendly.
Their prices are also very reasonable!
We rented simple black tuxedos; $99, which included EVERYTHING (pants, jacket, shirt, vests, ties, pocket squares and shoes).

Hair:
Kellee Wayne at V. Clay Salon
in Kyle.
Kellee is AMAZING!  She's friendly, professional, and will do whatever she can to make you happy with your hair.  Rate is incredibly reasonable (I did an updo).  She got up SUPER early to do my hair (my hair appointment was at 7:30 am), and she was dead on about how long it would take (an hour and a half).  She's also a great all around hair-stylist. 

Make-up:
Laura Mercier (sold at Macy's).
My sister was my MUA, but she went with this line specifically because it's designed for brides and their photos.  It was light and smooth, and, as I rarely wear make-up at all, I barely noticed it the entire day.  It held up very well, and I would recommend it simply based upon my sister's recommendations.

Music:
Charles Anastasiou in Austin.
Classical guitarist, who was fantastic to work with!  I hired him very last minute (about 2 weeks prior to the wedding).  He learned a new song for me ("Moonlight Sonata"), and was helpful in selecting my recessional song.  Sadly, as the bride I didn't get to enjoy much of the music, but, he played 30 minutes prior to the service while my guests arrived, my processional, my bridal processional and my recessional.  My groom said he was an excellent musician, and he enjoyed him.  He has a broad selection of music from Pop to Jazz to Classical music and more.  I would recommend him to anyone!

Limousine Service:
Curtis Limousine in Austin.
They honored the price quoted from Limos.com.  Booked for 2 and a half hours, and the driver was as nice as could be!  He picked us up promptly (he was actually EARLY!).  He was willing to drive where ever I needed (we needed him to turn the stretch limo around on a tight road twice), and he was so incredibly patient.  SUPER company!  The limo was clean and nice, and the driver so very friendly.

Nails:
Deluxe Nails in Kyle.
Nice nail salon who truly pampered me and my sister.  I had a cute design done on my toes, and had tips put on my nails (my real nails split about a week prior to the wedding!  GRRR!).  Free wine.  :)  Massage chairs are also ahhhh-mazing!  :) 

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