I don't have pro pics yet, but I've stolen a bunch from friends off facebook and my buddy photographer who shot some for us. They're in my updated bio, but small! Hope you can see them.I'll post my vendor reviews here, but they're also in my updated bio.And finally, I just have to AW a bit because I'm so proud of myself! My final wedding total came in at $7,630.15, which is exactly $9.85 less than my budget. I'm really very proud of us that we were able to have the wedding of our dreams without breaking the bank, paid for the entire thing ourselves, and have very little debt to show for the whole thing. Ladies, a budget wedding in Austin can be done, and you can still have everything you want!Now that I'm done bragging on myself, my rather wordy vendor reviews: Venue: Star Hill RanchA+++When we stepped onto Star Hill, we fell in love with it. It's absolutely gorgeous, very spacious, secluded and quiet, and has indoor/outdoor ceremony options (since Texas weather is so unpredictable, this was a big thing for us!) We used the regular reception hall which was plenty big enough for our 75 guests. We also used the outdoor ceremony space and arbor and it was beautiful. Because Star Hill is so gorgeous, we had to do very little decorating. We mostly added candles and table linens and that was about it. The outdoor space is beautiful lit with strings of garden lights and the lawn was very green. The brides house, grooms house, and chapel are so picturesque and made photos turn out lovely. We loved that Star Hill also provided all the tables and chairs that we need - it was wonderful not having to arrange for a separate delivery. The serving area in the reception hall was also another a huge plus - there was plenty of space and the hallway along the side of the room really helped with crowd flow. Most importantly, the owner, Adam, is AMAZING to work with. He helped work with our ridiculous time frame and budget. Back when we were choosing between venues, we narrowed it down to two and the other one was cheaper. To be competitive, Adam price-matched them. We were blown away at the customer service! He talked with us frequently about our vendors and our plans and was always helpful and friendly to the extreme. He even let us come in the night before to set up so that we wouldn't be quite so stressed the morning of. Adam alone makes this place completely worth it. So many people raved about how gorgeous the venue was.Pros: Very spacious, absolutely beautiful, needs very little decorations, comes with tables and chairs, owner is wonderful to work with, indoor/outdoor ceremony optionsCons: We didn't realize before we were about to sign the contract that for groups of 75 or more, the city of Bee Cave requires that you hire an off-duty police officer for "traffic control" at a rate of $50/hour. Fortunately our guest list came in just under this and we didn't have to do it (Adam very graciously waited until our final head count to see if we'd have less than the 100 we expected, which thankfully we did). The venue can be a little hard to find - I wish I would have put a big, colorful sign with lights out front so not as many people got lost. Aside from these two small things, I have ZERO cons to note.Wedding Coordinator: We didn't hire one, but I've got to give a major shout-out to my girlfriend Molly Lewis who stepped in at the last minute to keep the show running smoothly! She was amazing and everything went off without a hitch. There were many points during the week of the wedding that I really thought - "Man, I wish I'd hired a coordinator." If I could go back, I may have done that to save some stress, but in the end having a woman in charge who totally ran the show like a pro was just as good.Engagement Ring/Wedding rings: e-ring: Tiffany Legacy, bought off craigslist! His: Tungsten Carbide from Kruger's (in Barton Creek mall). Hers: Kruger's in Barton Creek MallA+We both got our wedding bands from Krugers (not the Congress Avenue one, but the one in Barton Creek Mall) and we could not be happier. They were so great to work with. They were our first stop when we went band shopping. I think these were actually the first bands we each tried on! They had a great selection and were really honest about what looked good with my e-ring and what didn't - I didn't feel like they were trying to get me to spend more money, but truly wanted me to be happy with how it looked. Then the sales girl (I can't remember her name, but she had a beautiful accent!) recommended that we go to several other stores and try on several other rings to make sure. We did just that, including trips to the outlet mall and other jewelry stores, and couldn't find anything we liked better. We went back and they remembered us and even which bands we liked. I was so impressed. They sized the rings and had them way ahead of schedule, too. Hans really likes his Tungsten Carbide ring because it's so durable and comfortable. He doesn't have to worry that he's going to scratch and scuff it up. The drawback, of course, is that they won't be able to cut it off him should anything ever happen to him, but they could shatter it. Since my e-ring already has so many side stones and a halo, I opted for a very, very thing white gold band that Kruger's called a sider. It's even thinner than the band on my e-ring and it drops down the curve around my center stone. It's very simple, but I like that. Overall, we had an amazing experience and we'll be back for ANY future jewelry purchases.Pros: Great selection, unparalleled customer service, fast sizingCons: None!Photographers: Andrew Taylor (Blink Twice Photography), Ashley Smith (Studio 563), Laura Jenkins (Square One Creative)A++I'm a bit biased on this one.Because I'm actually a pro wedding photographer on the side, we were blessed to have every photographer I've ever worked with be a part of our wedding day.Andrew Taylor took our photos at our San Antonio ceremony and they are A-MAZING! He gets better every time I see his work. He tries new angles, artistic poses, and excels at capturing those little candid moments. I could not be more pleased with the photos.Ashley Smith took our engagement photos and our Star Hill Ranch photos. I haven't seen the Star Hill Ranch ones yet, but I know they will be incredible. She is probably the best photographer I've ever worked with and some how she still manages to get better all the time. Her technical skills are without question the best I've seen, she is artistic and soulful with her work, and manages to catch that "decisive moment" every time. I've watched our friends gape at our engagement photos and ask who did them and how, because they're so incredible. They're even more amazed when I tell them she didn't even have to photoshop them to make them look that good! She's that good.Special shout out to knottie Ejayne who second shot with Ashley. Thanks for joining the party and can't wait to see your pics!Pros: It was wonderful to have close friends involved in our special day. We did save money here since these were partially gifted (thank you amazing friends). We have more photos than we know what to do with and not a single shot was missed. The lighting, clarity, poses, everything is absolutely perfect in each.Cons: Not a single one. If you use any of theses four photographers, you will NEVER regret it.Flowers: A DIY project, ordered from Pacific Callas.AI found this company online and they had good reviews, so I decided to go with it. They were extremely affordable (I think I spent just over $200 on ALL my flowers), they arrived on time, and were beautiful. They were healthy, had great color, and were in perfect condition. My cousin added some ribbon and pins to turn them into bouquets and corsages and they were exactly what I pictured, at a fraction of the cost. Pros: Very affordable. Beautiful. Great condition. Arrived on time.Cons: Not for the DIY-shy. I had a hard time figuring out how many to order (couldn't tell how big they would be) and I wish I could have ordered more - I would have liked a bigger bouquet!Cake: Torte BellaAFirst, the cake was phenomenal. We went to probably 7 or 8 tastings and Torte Bella's was by far our favorite. The cake is so moist, the frosting is creamy without being heavy, and the flavors burst in your mouth. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. We tried three flavors at our tasting and couldn't pick between them, so we used all three. Even five days later, the cake still tastes amazing! For what we got, it was incredibly affordable - we felt like we got a really good deal. We really liked that they baked it the day of the wedding so it was fresh. We took pictures of what we liked/wanted and they were able to get it spot on. Hans said the cake was the "best thing he's ever put in his mouth" and our friend Jalaine said the bride's cake "must be what heaven is like." They were a huge hit.What keeps me from giving the company an A+ is the service. We found Susan to be a bit brusque. She didn't have the friendly, "happy-you're-getting-married" rapport with us that pretty much every other wedding vendor has had. I think it's because she's new to the wedding industry. I tried to confirm with her the week of, once by email and twice by phone over a couple of days, and didn't hear from her. It made me very, very nervous. Eventually Hans talked to her and she said that she had "been at the airport," which felt like an odd excuse for being incommunicado for a couple days. We were initially really nervous about using them because we had never heard of them, never heard of anyone who had used them (and I work in the wedding industry!) or worked with them, and couldn't find any reviews on them. Pluses on the customer service side were that the cakes were delivered on time and in perfect condition, all the way out to Star Hill Ranch. We were very impressed by that.Overall, we're very very happy with them, mostly because of the quality of the cakes. I think that as more people use Torte Bella, they'll have a more professional manner about working weddings. But the quality of the cakes was worth every penny and we'll recommend them to anyone and everyone. So delicious.Pros: Taste. Unbelievable. Can't say it enough - best wedding cake I've ever tasted. Price. Looked perfect. Perfect delivery and set up.Cons: Customer service felt forced and stiff, inattentive at times (but totally worth it in the end). Also, VERY far away for us. They're way up in Avery Ranch. It took me a grand total of an hour drive-time to return the cake stand yesterday.Ceremony Musicians: John CarneyA+!Hans' stepdad is a professional guitar player based in Houston. We couldn't decide what we wanted for music and at the very last minute (read: two days before the wedding) we asked if he could play some acoustic guitar for us during the ceremony. He learned "What a Wonderful World" and "Somewhere over the rainbow" for the processional and it was absolutely perfect. I almost cried it sounded so beautiful. For any of you Houston brides looking for a great music, check him out!Caterer: Kristine with Uncle Billy's Brew and Cue (An Austin Java company)A+++Probably our favorite vendor.We tried the food on the recommendation of someone at work and were so impressed I can't express it. The brisket was moist and tender and full of flavor. The sausage was full and tasty. And the sides!! We were supposed to pick two sides and couldn't, so we asked if we could upgrade to three. Even then we had trouble picking! We ended up going with the macaroni and cheese, green beans, and mashed potatoes. The Mac and Cheese was so good I dream about it. I actually get cravings for it now. All through dinner people kept coming up to me and asking who catered because the food was so good. One girl told me she ate more than she has in months because it was too good to stop. Ladies, if you're doing BBQ, do yourself a favor and use Uncle Billy's. On top of the incredible food, they brought out the best lemonade I've ever had, and I'm not a huge lemonade fan. They brought extra just in case and it was a good thing because we drained every drop they had. They brought enough for probably 100 people and we drank all of it. Amazing.The customer service was also incomparable. Kristine was a DREAM to work with. When we were first interested, she set up a tasting for us with everything on the menu. She called a month in advance, right on schedule, to finalize the menu. She called the week before to finalize the head count and payment. She called the day before just to confirm everything. She was in constant communication and always so nice and helpful.On the day of, they arrived promptly on time and set up without a hitch. They stayed to serve and helped everything move smoothly. Kristine noticed that Hans and I hadn't eaten yet, so she prepared us a plate each and brought it to us. I was so touched by this extra service! She helped with clean up and boxed up all the rest of the food to go. It's still in my fridge and it's still delicious, four days later.Pros: Amazing food. So, so good. Great sides. Lemonade. Price. Price. Price. Did I mention price? It was under $10 a head. You can NOT beat this. The very best customer service.Cons: Absolutely nothing. I've already referred two other brides who are over the moon happy with them.Dress: Monique Lhuillier Jacqueline top, cocoa bottom, purchased from Preownedweddingsdresses.comA++!I LOVED my dress. I bought it used, without having ever seen it or tried it on. Yes, I'm very lucky. Because it came and fit perfectly and I loved how it looked on me. The silk is of the highest quality and felt glorious. The lace was delicate and ornate and made me feel elegant and classic. The sash added color. The cut made me feel like my waist was tiny. Because of religious standards, I had to find a dress with sleeves. Ladies, that's hard to do! But this one made me feel beautiful and I loved that. And, because it was used, I paid less than 25% of what you'd buy it for in the store. Phenomenal.Pros: Gorgeous design. High quality. Amazing price. The website has such a great selection! Found exactly what I wanted, in my budget, and arrived in less than a week. No problems. Loved, loved, loved the whole experience.Cons: Because it was used, it did have a few stains, one on the train and one under the armpit. I didn't think the one on the train was noticeable, so I left it, and the armpit one came right out. It was a bit nerve-wracking buying a dress I'd never tried on, and from a buyer I'd never met!Alterations - Nelda's TailorsAThe alterations were quick and easy, and high quality. Plus, they looked amazing! My train was so long that I could hardly walk in it. Nelda's made it so comfortable that I could dance, run, sit, whatever I wanted in it and very comfortably. They even color-coded my french underbustle points so the bridesmaid could figure out which went where easily. The only drawback was the price. I was quoted much cheaper elsewhere and kind of wonder if I would have been better off. Nelda's ended up doing something like 20 points and I wondered if that was really necessary to have so many. When I picked up the dress and paid for it I was floored when it was twice what I expected. Make sure they give you a pretty solid quote up front so you're not surprised like I was.Pros: Speed. Quality. Very high quality.Cons: PriceBridal Accessories: Shoes - turquoise satin ballet flats, "Heaven" by Steve Madden, from DSW. Hair pin by Liz Claiborn, bought at Dillards. Earrings also from Dillards.A++Who knew Dillards had such great accessories? I searched high and lo for a brooch to use in my hair. Dillards was about my 15th stop and there was the perfect pin..... for $20. I saw comparable pins at Unbridaled that were vintage and therefore over $100 bucks. This worked perfectly and didn't break the bank. Earrings too! I think they were about $20 for very simple drop pearls. And DSW made finding shoes great. Even though I'm short, I knew I wanted flats for the very long day. These were so comfortable all day long. I even wore them for the rest of the weekend because I forgot to take other shoes to the hotel. My little cousins got all excited during the ceremony when they could see blue shoes poking out under my dress. It was fun and I loved them!Bridesmaids Dresses: J. Crew, twist sash dress in warm shellAI love J.Crew's bridesmaids dresses. They make dressing your bridal party so very easy. I picked out a color I liked and the girls went from there. That way they got to find a cut that they liked and were comfortable in but there is consistency and all the dresses LOOK like they're supposed to go together, even though they don't match exactly. We were able to get them on sale, too, plus an additional 20 percent off for a coupon. The sizing was just right and looked great.Pros: the best selection. Variety of colors and cuts. Able to mix and match for a bridal party that looks great, but not exactly the same. Great sales!Cons: Bridal wear not in stores, so can't try on before you buy.Hair: Alex at Edelweiss SalonAAlex is a sweetheart and I absolutely LOVED the way that my hair turned out. I got so many compliments and I felt absolutely gorgeous. It complimented the look I was going for and it stayed up all day (from like 10 a.m. until midnight, never fell down). It was beautiful and simple and perfect. She's an amazing hair stylist and I was very very happy with it.That being said, the reason I didn't give her an A+ is because it took several tries to get it right. The first hair trial I had, I took in photos of what I liked just for inspiration (not "re-create this," just "here's what I had in mind'). My main concerns were that it was small and simple, and stayed up. Our first trial left me in tears for the rest of the day. It was huge and ornate. It looked like a pony tail that had been split in two and put into rolls on either side of my head. Think: Princess Leia or butt cheeks. not cute. Plus, it started falling down within two hours. I called Alex in tears and she suggested another trial. She cut off a bit of my hair, saying that it would help with the weight. Granted, I have a lot of hair, but many of my friends remarked to me that a hair stylist shouldn't make excuses about how your hair fell down because you have too much of it. But the second trial went much better and i was really happy with it. It stayed and it was cute and small and elegant.Fast forward to wedding day. I had taken tons of pics of the second trial to help her remember what she did. Nevertheless, she started doing something very similar to the first one, which I hated. I think she could tell by my face that I wasn't happy and I told her I felt like it was too big and didn't like the crack down the middle (looked like a butt again!) She took down the top part and tried something else and BAM! Gorgeous. As much as I loved the final result and couldn't have been happier with my hair, I was a bit put off by how difficult it was to get there and how I felt like she wasn't really listening to what I wanted.Pros: Alex knows hair and her finished work was absolutely gorgeous. She's really sweet and I felt very comfortable going to her salon. It was very affordable, too.Cons: Kind of does her own thing, not your thing. Just don't be afraid to speak up and tell her if you're not happy with it and she'll change it in a flash.Makeup: MAC at Nordstroms and ULTAA-I decided not to hire a make up artist mostly because I wasn't sure we'd have time! The week before the wedding MOH and I went the MAC counter at Nordstroms and asked them to help me pick out everything I'd need. The way theirs works is they'll do a makeover for you and you have to buy $50 worth of product. Let me tell you, it's hard to buy JUST $50 worth. I think I did about $80. I LOVED the foundation and the eye shadows they picked out, so I got those. On a daily basis, I use bare minerals but find that I look shiny in pictures. With liquid foundations, I find that my face tends to look reflectively white (way off from the rest of my skin). The "studio tech" foundation was very matte and not reflective at all. It made my skin look flawless (which is far from the truth!). My complaint with MAC was that when they did my makeover, the caked on SO MUCH makeup that I looked like a Geisha. The girl kept streaking on blush saying "Oh, this will help it show up in pictures better!" Well that's great, I want to look good in pictures, but I don't want anyone wondering what a hooker is doing in my wedding dress standing at the altar with my groom. On the day of, I was able to follow what my stylist had done, but tone it down a bit for a more subtle look. I added my own Bare Minerals blush and mineral veil over the top and it was great. The girls at ULTA had helped me pick out brushes to apply said make up, as well as some lipstick. I really never wear lipstick, so they helped me find one with staying power that wasn't too far off my natural lip shade. I was being a bit picky about lip color but the ULTA girls were so sweet and patient and helped me find just the right shade. They were also having a good deal on the brushes (buy one get one free) so I saved way more money than if I'd have bought the brushes from MAC.Pros: Great quality make up that lasted all day, looked great in pictures, and was very natural.Cons: Not sure I saved any money by doing it myself, but I liked being able to control the look better. I don't think I'd have actually used MAC on the day of because it was just piled on way too thick.Groom's attire: Banana Republic outlet. Hard to find a pic of it online, but I think it's the Brown glen-plaid wool/linen two-button suit A++Freaking love the BR outlet. Since our wedding had a more casual, country feel, a tux would have been out of place. Hans wears suits a lot, so we figured we'd invest and buy one. We hit the San Marcos outlet on tax free weekend because they were having crazy sales. We found this gorgeous three piece suit for about $130 and managed to save an additional 20% by opening a banana republic card. He looked great and He'll actually wear it again!Groomsmen Attire: Ties from Banana Republic outlet, slacks and vest from Kohls!A+We didn't want the guys to spend money on suits, so we told them to wear something neutral colored (khakis and a white shirt, a tan suit, etc). They did not like this. Two days before the wedding they hauled us out shopping to find something matching. We tried several places and then to our great surprise, found these great suit slacks and vests at Kohls, marked half off! I think they spent about $80 each on their cute suits. At first I wasn't sure I liked the combo, but when I saw all four of them in it, they looked hot! and matched great with Hans. Yay for bargain shopping.Officiant: Scott Stebbing, LDS church Capital Ward bishopA+++What can I say? I love Bishop Stebbing. He did a quick talk about marriage in our religion, we had a reading from a Lovely, Love Story (so cute, read it if you haven't), exchanged rings, kiss, and back up the aisle! short and sweet.Save the Dates: DIY design, printed from Vista Print. Cute stamp and ink from Hobby Lobby.A++So easy! And cute! And cheap! I love, love love Vista Print. It took 10 minutes to order (seemed idiot proof!) and they arrived earlier than the time we were quoted! They were sturdy and withstood mailing (I still see them on friends' fridges). Colors were good, clarity was good, overall very very happy.Invitations: DIY - Stamp, raffia, and glue dots bought from Hobby Lobby, Custom address stamp from Sweet Papery, and Paper gifted from Ink Smith Printing. RSVP cards from Paper Source and RSVP envelopes from Cards & Pockets. Printing from the S. Lamar Quik PrintStamp - A: We absolutely loved the stamp we got from Sweet Papery. It's so cute, affordable, and saved us a ton of time and money on return address labels. We used it for STDs, invites, AND thank yous and loved it. Our only complaint was they said 2-3 weeks for production and delivery and ours was closer to five. In fact, the very day I sent an email questioning where it was I conveniently got an email saying "your product shipped today!" Didn't feel like a coincidence - felt like they forgot until I reminded them. Nevertheless, loved the stamp.Paper - A++: I'm a little biased here, but I love Ink Smith Printing. The paper they gifted us was an amazing quality and absolutely gorgeous. The RSVP cards and envelopes were perfect, too. Beautiful, high quality, and arrived right on schedule.Quik Print - B+ : I wasn't quite sure how to rate this one, but I think overall this was my least pleasant experience with a vendor. I did plenty of shopping around before picking Quik Print. When I went in and asked for digital printing, they did one sample print and the colors looked NOTHING like what showed on the screen or printed off my home computer. Their answer was that all digital printers print different colors and the only way to get a true color would be to use offset printing and pantone ink. We priced that out and I found it very reasonable, so we opted for Thermography printing and I was really excited! The day I came to pick up the invites, I knew immediately they were wrong. They were flat printed when we're cleared ordered thermography! I was so disappointed, but at that point they'd already used my gifted paper so we couldn't redo them. I was on the verge of tears but I was tired and completely out of time so I said I'd just take them. He wanted to charge me $80 for them! I thought that was ridiculous when it would have been $50 to print them digitally and it looked exactly the same. To his credit, Rick realized that I was upset and wanted to make it right. He ended up giving me the digital pricing, since that's what it looks like, and then an additional discount because of their screw up. So the low part of this score comes from their big mistake and how I didn't get my thermography type because of it, but the positive part of their score is because of Rick and his willingness to find a solution that worked.Pros: Quick. Cheap. Looked good. Good customer service.Cons: Messed up big time, and knew it.Reception Decor: Lanterns from Marshalls. Tree bark candles (these, except not metallic) from Pottery Barn outlet in San Marcos. Cloth for runners from Hobby Lobby sewn at 1 a.m. the night before my wedding by yours truly.A+ for Marshalls and Hobby Lobby!I didn't want to do flowers because they're expensive and die. Bargain shopping totally paid off! I found all these amazing garden lanterns on sale at Marshalls for between $5-$10 each. They made quick and easy centerpieces. If you troll the aisles at Hobby Lobby and Marshalls, I guarantee you'll find tons of vases and fruits and runners and other gorgeous, original ideas for affordable centerpieces.Rentals: Premiere Party CentralA+In a bizarre and stressful turn of events, the friend that was supposed to loan me table clothes fell through the day before the wedding. Another girlfriend of mine is getting married this weekend and using Premiere Party Central for her linens, so she suggested we give them a call. They were so nice and sympathetic and helpful! With just under 24 hours to go, they found us the table clothes that we needed and gave us a "pain and suffering" discount! It was close to our house (Off Manchaca, good for all you S. Austin ladies). Hans was able to pick the linens up at 9:30 the morning of the wedding and get them thrown on the tables before leaving for San Antonio. We returned them Monday morning. There were no problems and they looked great.Pros: Have a lot on hand for emergencies! Very kind and responsive and total life savers.Cons: None!Dance Lessons: Kjersti Burnham, free lance dance instructorA+++!!Kjersti is AMAZING! Hans was so nervous about our first dance because he gets very self conscious in front of people. We decided about a week and a half before the wedding that a lesson or two might be in order. Kjersti fit us into her schedule, even coming to my house, and helped us learn basic dance moves. By the end of our first lesson, we felt confident that we could get through our first dance looking good. After she left, Hans even said (to my utter surprise): "That was fun!" At her suggestion, we did one more quick lesson two days before the wedding and she showed us a few harder moves including a sweeping dip at the end. It was really fun and I think made for great pictures at the wedding. She is one of the nicest people I've met, so accommodating, and a really efficient and quick teacher. I highly, highly recommend her. Contact me if you would like her email/phone.Wedding website: mywedding.comA+Very, very helpful and easy to use! Lots of cute design schemes to choose from. I actually loved our design scheme so much that I used it in our invitations! All the different tabs and sections really helped our guests figure out where they needed to be and when and where we're registered and all those important details.Pros: Free! Easy to use, it took me no time to set up. Very pretty and many designs to pick from. Helpful for our guests.Cons: Nope!Favors: Bags from Party City. Graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows from Walmart! Twine leftover from invites.Not much to say as far as vendors go. Yay for walmart being super cheap! I think our favors cost us all of $30. Party City had tons of great favor bags and I think it cost me a grand total of $6.Wedding night hotel: Lakeway Inn Resort and SpaASo beautiful!! I love this hotel so we stayed the whole weekend (our mini-moon). It's really upscale, clean and cushy. We had a lake view room and the sunsets and sunrises were so gorgeous and romantic! The rooms are quiet and comfortable, even though it was a busy weekend we still felt like we were very secluded. We especially love the pool area. We were able to lounge by the pool all day Saturday. There are three and they are GORGEOUS! It was a perfect weekend.Pros: Beautiful! Luxurious! Quiet. Pools are amazing. Felt far away and Lakeway isn't that far.Cons: A little expensive. Didn't get any "it's your honey moon - yay!" treatment like I kind of expected. Don't expect any upgrades because your honeymooning.Honeymoon: Matachica resort in Ambergris Caye, Belize. Flight from American Airlines.Not til January, so I'll let you know then!Registries: Crate and Barrel, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Honeyfund.Bed Bath and Beyond gets an A+! It was wildly popular and we got almost everything we registered for off of it. We've already found that they're great about returns - we don't have to have a receipt and it's very easy. They also let you do 10 percent completion, meaning you get a 10 percent discount off any remaining items that you have to buy yourself. Our guests loved this registry and with so many stores and easy online shipping, it made gift giving easy.Crate and Barrel gets an A. It was actually our favorite registry and we're in love with everything in the store, but it wasn't popular as a registry mostly because there's only the one store in Austin and it tends to be a bit pricier. We were sad more items didn't get purchased off this registry. They also have the 10 percent completion program, so we were able to go back and get all the pots and china that we wanted. So we were very very happy with this registry, just wish it were more convenient for our guests.Honeyfund gets an A, too! This was a fund registry. I'm not all the way done with it yet, so I don't know how easy it is to get your money via paypal yet. But many people thought it was neat to contribute to our honeymoon and we got some fun gifts like snorkeling and parasailing and help with airfare. I think this registry would have been more popular if anyone had ever heard of it before - I think the idea of registering your honeymoon is still too new and needs to catch on more to be more successful. But the people we told about it thought it was the coolest idea and were really excited to contribute.*Note! I discovered while doing returns why people warned me about registering for Target. We received two crock pots - one that we registered for and another random one. I shopped around and found the same crock pot at Target, so I'm pretty sure that's where it came from, but we didn't have a receipt. Without a receipt, Target will only give you credit for the lowest selling price EVER. That means if your crock pot sells for $50 but they were having some crazy sale two months ago and it sold for $5, that's all they'll give you. Not fun, seeing how many guests didn't include a gift receipt. A full registry at Target would have been a returns nightmare.