Vendor Reviews

Make-up:  Madame Makeup, A+

I adore the ladies from Madame Makeup, they are a little more pricey but worth every last penny.  They spray this stuff on your face to seal the makeup and even if you cry, it doesn't run (I bought the spray for future stuff, it's awesome).  I had three different make up artists (trial, bridals, wedding) and they were all amazing.  They had pictures from my trial and were able to match my makeup each time.  The work they do is specifically to highlight your features for photos and it shows.

Hair:  Mari from Vee's

We did Vee's because it was right across the street from the church and they were so awesome.  If you are looking for an Aveda salon with a smaller atmosphere, they were the best!  They had a spread of food for us while we were getting our hair done and made our morning a real party.  Their prices are also really reasonable.

Dress:  Mayfair Bridal

I'd never go anywhere else in town for anything wedding clothing related.  I got a ton of complements on my dress and I wish that I could have everything I own altered to fit me the way they did my dress.  I was comfortable all day!

Venue:  La Orilla del Rio Ballroom

If you are looking for a downtown venue that isn't a hotel ballroom, this is the place to check out.  It does book up well in advance on the busy months.  I heard about it here on TK and I am so thankful.  The balcony was perfect for our entrance and cocktail hour and the floor to ceiling windows looked amazing with all the candles we had.  Our DJ specifically told us there was no need for extra lighting in a space that beautiful.

DJ:  Holtz Entertainment

We didn't get all of our songs played but the night was just too short!!  We had the dancefloor packed from the first song to the last and Ruben really knew how to keep the party going.  He did play my only "no play" song (Cha Cha Slide) but our guests had fun and it ended up bieng a nice dance break for me.

Catering/Linens: Picante Grill/ Hacienda Santa Maria

Gonzalo and his crew are AMAZING.  The food was excellent and we have gotten so many compliments!  They called me last week and Gonzalo wanted to add margaritas to our bar at no extra charge as his wedding gift to me.  I am so grateful that Mauro from La Orilla set us up with him.  I'd recommend him to anyone for any type of catering.

Day of Coordinator/Flowers:  Amanda Mora from SA Budget Bridal

Everyone here talks about Eden's Echo but she didn't value my business enough to email me back after two attempts to contact her.  Luckily, I found out about Amanda and I am so glad.  Our flowers were awesome and exactly what I envisioned.  The guys bouts were so great and I loved my bouquet.  Amanda took care of every single detail on Saturday from decorating the entire room (and coming up with ideas for the extra stuff I had) to running our ceremony and the entire reception.  We could never have done it without her.  I was never stressed for a single moment of the day. 

Photographer:  Caitlin's Creations

I can't wait to see our photos but my bridals were way beyond expectation and I have total faith in her for our wedding.  I will say that I'd recommend to everyone to at least consider the benefits of doing a first look.  We had most of our pictures done before the ceremony and it was a major nerve calmer to see my husband before our wedding and have the private moment with him.  We also got up and did a Day After session with Caitlin on Sunday and I seriously considered cancelling but I am so glad we didn't!  We did pictures in front of the Alamo and Majestic Theater and the few we saw from her camera were so fun!  She's doing all our albums and Christmas cards and I know we'll use her in the future.  My family (especially my dad) adored her and she did everything we asked and more.

Riverbarge entrance:  Rio San Antonio Cruises, Lia Gomez

Ladies, if you get married downtown, definitely check into doing a riverbarge with your wedding party.  It was the best thing we did, seriously!  We had a blast celebrating on the boat with our parents and party but seeing the reactions from our guests when they saw us coming from the balcony was awesome.  Everyone eating at the restaurants was shouting "Congrats" to us and my husband was just soaking it up like a celebrity.  We had such a fun time and it was worth the time it took me to explain the logistics to the ladies at Rio San Antonio.  (it was also the least expensive part of our wedding!)

Mariachis:  Los Toritos

I had the hardest time finding mariachis and I actually called Luis from a banner I saw at a restaurant.  It was hard communicating iwth him because he only speaks Spanish and mine is pathetically bad but they looked awesome in their costumes.  I only heard a couple of songs because we were on the barge but we heard lots of great things from our guests.


I can't say enough great things about our wedding and our vendors.  We'd use each one of them again if we had it to do all over again.