I'm back! And with this terrible rain I figured I might as well do some vendor reviews
Ashton Gardens (venue/catering) – A++
The place is gorgeous. The food is yummy. The entire staff is wonderful to work with. Our wedding was the only one that day so I can’t comment on dealing with another wedding, but if that’s your concern, have your wedding on Friday and you may luck out like us. This is the perfect place if you have OOT guests that don’t know their way around the area or if you don’t want a lot of DIY. It’s beautiful by itself which took away a lot of our wedding planning stress. Laura Arrendondo was my wedding coordinator and she made everything seamless. She helped us throughout our planning not just the day of and when we got a little behind our schedule at the wedding she never made me feel rushed and I really appreciated that. Plus she is super nice and got married there so she knew how to make things flow well.
Out of the Garden (florist) – A+
Donna has a great vision and is reasonably priced. I’m no fan of flowers so I showed her one picture of a bouquet I found on Pinterest and she took it from there. All the bouquets, corsages, boutonnieres and centerpieces looked great. We used the BMs bouquets as the centerpieces to save money and there was some miscommunication about what vases the BMs bouquets would go in. We used the vases they arrived in and it worked out well. My advice would be to make sure after your initial meeting you go in again to see her exact plan. My work schedule was packed the last few weeks before the wedding so we discussed over the phone which is why there was some confusion (I need to see pictures lol).
Glenn Roush Productions (DJ) – A++
Use Glenn!! As a fellow Baylor alum I knew he’d be perfect and I was so correct. He helped us with everything from our day of schedule to assisting us during our wedding. His setup looked incredible and the uplighting he brought worked well in our venue. We gave him a listing of songs to play but he used that to figure out what we liked. Everyone loved the music he played during dinner and the dancing. People were asking to get on the dance floor before the “official” dancing started lol And of course he updated us on the Baylor game and helped lead a Sic ‘Em Bears!
J Christopher Films (Videographer) – A++
If you haven’t seen their work you are missing out! They produce such amazing films and are great to work with. Their prices have gone up some but they are COMPLETELY worth it!
Evan Godwin Photography (photographer) – A++
He’s great! When we booked him his prices were a little lower than they are now. But he’s also completely worth the raised prices. I gave him my must have shot list and he made sure to take those but the ones he took on his own were amazing. There is a black and white photo DH and I will have put on canvas in our living room.
LuLu’s Bridal Boutique (Bridal gown and Bridesmaids dresses) – A
The lady I worked with for my bridal gown was great. She listened to what I wanted and helped me find the perfect dress for my personality. It was the best experience I had at a boutique and I went to over 5 different places. They have lots of bridesmaids dresses as well and if you purchase your gown you get a discount. I knew I wanted Alfred Sung so I’m not sure what discount dresses they have. My only semi-complaint was that communicating when my 2 MOHs dresses would arrive was done very poorly. It was back and forth with people who didn’t sound like they knew what was going on. I’m pretty patient but I got pretty annoyed. Still highly rated by me even with that!
Becky Fowler (Alterations) – A++
She is amazing. Use her if you don’t already have a seamstress. She hemmed my dress and did the bustle and like everyone else will say she’s a wonderful person and reasonably priced. My bustle came undone but I was a dancing machine so it was definitely my own fault. Becky did put a safety pin under my dress in case that happened but at the reception it was difficult to put it back up.
Confections in Cake (Baker) – A++
We did a wedding cake and then 10 dozen cupcakes in 5 different flavors. Everything was so yummy and moist if Laura hadn’t separated some of the cupcakes for us we wouldn’t have gotten any lol. I was very impressed with how everything looked and tasted.
Rae Michelle (MUA) – A++
She’s based out of Houston but I’m pretty sure she travels (we know each other from college so she may have been somewhat biased towards me lol). She does excellent work and was able to get through 9 people in 5 hours. She estimates about 30mins for BMs and other VIPs and 45mins on the bride and her pricing is reasonable. She uses regular foundation instead of airbrush and it lasted the entire night for everyone.
Men’s Warehouse (Grooms/Groomsmen/Ushers/Fathers Tuxes) – B
The men looked great in their tuxes, they offer a variety to choose from and if you are coordinating men from all over it’s easy for them all to find a Mens Warehouse. The reason they got a B is because one of the tuxes came in the wrong size. Instead of the staff fixing the problem DH had to drive around the metroplex to pick up various pieces of his groomsmen’s tux. He was pretty upset and felt that this situation could’ve been handled much better.
Premiere Photo Booth (Photobooth) – A++
I met Hunter at a Bridal show, loved his professionalism and their booth. They take care of everything for you (set-up, teardown, props, etc.). We brought a chalkboard for our guests to use and in one of the pictures the booth attendant used it to wish us well (I thought it was cute lol) You select your own logo for no extra cost and if you select the traditional layout you get doubles which worked well for our photo booth guest book.
Homewood Suites Denton (hotel) – A
Definitely not a luxurious hotel but it’s close to Ashton Gardens and they provided our guests with limo transportation to the venue. We were expecting a shuttle but because we booked enough of the room blocks they provided us with the limo instead. The room is small for 8 girls, 2 toddlers, videographers and photographer but that was only for a couple of hours. The people at the front desk tried to book my parents in the adjoining suite. They ended up changing their room but it was still super weird.
Riu Palace Aruba (honeymoon) – A++
Some people on the honeymoon boards said all-inclusive hotels in Aruba were a waste. DH and I completely disagree. It was our first time there so we didn’t know anything about the island. Having an all-inclusive allowed us to eat 3 meals a day in the hotel (we ventured out a few times to outside restaurants) and the liquor flowed forever lol. I didn’t think I was a huge drinker but with a fully stocked bar in your room, and several bars in the hotel you’ll end up drinking a lot. There are plenty of watersports, excursions and tourist things to do on the island or you can relax on the beach. The Riu does allow kids (which initially concerned me) but honestly I didn’t notice many. It was a relaxing and romantic honeymoon location.
Hertz (B&G transportation) – A++
DH handled the rental car and he ended up getting the 2012 Buick Lacrosse. We had to transport several people around the days before and after the wedding so this car worked out well. The Hertz at DFW has a lot of newer models so if you want a car to leave in that’s nicer than your everyday car this is a good option.
Rehearsal Dinner (BJ’s Brewhouse) – A+
This is where DH and I had our first date so it’s always our go to place. They had a room for us and provided us with salad, pasta and pizza. We didn’t provide the liquor but that can be added onto the package.
Magnet Street (Save the Dates) – A+
Not much to say other than it’s an easy site to use with tons of designs for reasonable prices.
Jane McAdams Press (Invitations) – A++
Neither of us wanted to spend a lot on invitations so I searched for a loooong time for reasonably priced invitations and stumbled across Jane. She started her business after she got married so she understands the stresses brides go through. She was easy to work with and helped me out with layout and wording of certain parts of our invitations. I know that’s her job but she could’ve let me do whatever I wanted and it end up not looking as good as her suggestions. It took about a month to get everything printed and shipped which is her general time frame.
Zazzle.com (wedding programs) – A+
Thanks to ProfessorScience I found this site for my programs. Navigating through the site at work wasn’t easy but once I found a style we liked I was able to adjust it exactly how we wanted. On the programs we purchased they had set quantities so we ended up with extras but we saved a lot by using the site so no complaints here!
Bridal Cute Hangers on Etsy (personalized hangers) – A++
I attempted to make these hangers myself but T’s and K’s are tricky lol so I broke down and purchased. The wire she uses isn’t the 12 gauge most people suggest so it’s a little thinner but that didn’t take away from how amazing they looked. She can also write on the hangers (I had the wedding date and bridesmaid/moh written on the ones I purchased) and add a satin bow. All are very cute touches. The turnaround time for the 8 I had made was fast. I purchased on Aug. 4th and they were shipped Aug. 12th. Not sure if she does all this fast but she will communicate the estimated time frame.
MyClearStamps on Etsy (address stamp for invitations) – A+
I don’t like my handwriting and DH didn’t want to write on over 100 invitations so we bought this stamp. The vendor has tons of designs to choose from and can custom make one for you if you like. It arrived fairly quickly and ended up looking great on the invitations.
EdensWake on Etsy (cosmetic bags for BMs) – A+
I gave my BMs cosmetic bags/clutches with little items inside. These bags are so soft and come in a variety of colors. They handmake them so it takes a while to receive them but they give you an estimated date and stay pretty close to it.
CrystalcreationsbyJ on Etsy (garters) – A+
This vendor makes all types of customized garters. I contacted her to purchase and she sent me a code for a sale she was having. Very easy to work with and the garters came within a week.