Royal Limousine $650 - A+
Kevin Farrell
414-761-8095
kevin@royallimousine.biz
We got a great deal with this vendor because it was based of a referral. The driver was actually the owner Kevin’s brother and was even ok with an extra stop…helped with bags and stocked up the beer and wine coolers we provided. They provided mini water bottles for free. On time or it’s free guarantee. And they were on time or early for everything.
Gourmet Cheesecake Shop & More - A+
414-456-9858
info@gourmetcheesecakeshop.com
www.gourmetcheesecakeshop.com
Cake for 120 people
I grew up with this cheesecake because my grandmother owned it in the 80's and 90's. This is by far the best cheesecake in the world. She was easy to work with but very busy. She does a lot of the deliveries her self so randomly stopping by isn't always a good idea. We gave her a picture of what we wanted and she re-created it perfectly.
Double Platinum DJ Service - A+
Bill Spindler – Owner
www.doubleplatinumdj.com
doubleplatinum_dj@yahoo.com
Unlimited time DJ service
Bill, the owner was our DJ the day of but I would have trusted any of his crew. He was really easy to work with and made our party amazing. I have heard of some people paying $600 for a DJ and they sucked, were rude and wouldn’t take requests. With this type of vendor, you get what you pay for. We paid a little over $1000 for his service and I wouldn't have it any other way. We received a discount on an added service (DVD player for our slide show) from our referral. He gave us a book of popular wedding songs that had a couple sheets about the day's events so on the day of...he knew everyone's name, the order they went in, the songs we loved (must plays) and the songs we HATED. He kept everyone on the floor all night.
KK Photography $2,000 (about) - A+
Kathy Kohl
414-861-8749
kathy@kkphotography.com
kkphotography.com
THE BEST PHOTOGRAPHER EVER – 8 or so hours with digital photo disc, proof album and one large print.
We will print the rest off the disc we get.
It may seem like a lot but it is worth it. We chose our package and adjusted from there. I opted out of a bridal session and or an engagement photo session and got the proof book ( a book of every single photo of the day in order of the events). We then get an album which has spaces for the photos we want to print on our own. We can either order them off her website or wait for the disc and print them at our convenience when and where we want to. She also included a print to go in our signature frame as a referral thank you. As a surprise she put a slideshow together of some of the memorable moments and linked it on my facebook. Completely unexpected and completely awesome.
http://animoto.com/play/jrfmZlXETJC8vwysn0SbdwAfter the dinner began she started deleting test shots and actually put our online album up in 2 days. Our prints will be back even faster than we thought.
The Flower After - A+
Lorena Garrales
262-515-1062
theflowerafter@yahoo.com
theflowerafter.com
The original package price was above $1,000 but after I got laid off and was about to cancel my reception flowers she found a way to work within our $600 budget and really make our day beautiful . She also threw in some extras, like decorating our votive candles and a wreath around our unity candle. She even stopped at Michael’s the day before to pick up extra candles for our table number lanterns (which we forgot). We also found ways to arrange the flower so we could use some things as gifts, like the vases and the centerpieces were in wine glasses which we can wash out and use.
She also volunteered to run the music for our ceremony so we wouldn’t have to ask a family member. She decorated the vases which the girls put their flowers in and which they could keep after the event. We were referred to her by our photography and received a 10% discount based on that. Because we ordered reception flowers we got some of our boutonnieres for free and a free toss bouquet (which was all roses and was the same size as our bridesmaids bouquets). She came and pined all the flowers on all the guys and made should the wrist corsages for the moms fit comfortably.
Just tell her your honest budget and the flowers you’d like to use and she will figure out something beautiful for you.
Dress: David's Bridal ~ B ---- Alterations: David's Bridal~ F-
Greenfield, WI
The dress, I loved...though it took a long time to get there. I have a size 20 body with a 5 foot frame. David's Bridal had the selection in my size to try on in the store, rather than trying on a size 8 and trying to imagine what it would look like.
However, DO NOT GET YOUR ALTERATIONS DONE AT DAVID'S BRIDAL! I paid $200 for alterations and steaming and had a heartbreaking time to get it right...and I was working with the alterations manager. They said they could pull the hem into the pick ups to avoid taking length off the dress (about 6 inches). Though they said they could do it...they clearly don't know what they are capable of. The way the alterations manager pined was wrong...the people who sew it did it the opposite way they should have but it was backwards from what was supposed to happen. After re-pining it, we came back and had them just hem it. But by then they had taken out all the pick ups and couldn't put them back. I lost a huge design element in the dress. I was heartbroken and still am a little. I paid extra for them to steam the slip and when I came to pick it up I had to wait for them to do it because they forgot.
There are so many great "mom and pop" places to go for alterations, where that is all they do, they know their stuff and they communicate. My only regret is that I didn't research that part of the process and just lay my trust in the company I got my dress from.
Tux Vendor: Men's Wearhouse
They were fine...the guys were used to the process and the price was right so it worked out.
Our Ceremony Venue: The Polish Center of Wisconsin - B +
Franklin, WI
414-529-2140
www.polishcenterofwisconsin.comThis is a great place for a ceremony if you don't want your wedding in a church or have different religus views. The great hall is beautiful and there is a flower garden behind the building which you can see from the windows. This is also a popular reception site.
We paid $250 - which included the hall and a dressing room for the girls.
My only complaint was that the coordinator during our rehearsal was less than professional (ie running a dishwasher in the bar when we were trying to adjust the music volume (music is behind the bar). He disappeared a lot and we didn't get a lot of focused attention. On the day of we had a different coordinator who didn't even stop by the bridal room to check if everything was ok but my girls found her for anything they needed. We didn't have a complicated ceremony so it wasn't a big deal but just a thought. For the price though...you can't beat it. A non-denominational church was going to charge us $895 to get married which included the officiant (which we paid $100 for separately).
Reception Site: Pulaski Inn - A+Cudahy, WI
414-481-3068
www.pulaskiinn.comThe Pulaski Inn was great. The $16.99-$18.99/per plate meal price was great. The food, unbeatable! My parent's were married there 8 years ago and our friend's were married there 5 years ago. The food is really what you go here for and the space is huge and really versatile. We paid the extra for them to tool and light the tables, which turned out great. The only bad thing is parking..they have a small parking lot but a ton of street parking. None of our guest complained about it at all.
My hair and make up were done by friends as a wedding gift to me.
We had the PERFECT wedding. I have no complaints about our vendors at all for the day of. If you are planning a wedding in Wisconsin, in my opinion (and my hubby's) these are the ONLY vendors you need.
ADVICE:1. Get sleep the night before, as much as you can. I was up doing programs and stressing over having everything we needed. I was really tired by the end - more than I should have been.
2. If you need help, plan for it. Have a party, invite early and confirm who is coming. I hosted a small party but got the invites out too late and no one could come so I ended up putting favors, programs and centerpieces together with the FI and it took a lot longer than planned.
3. Keep your budget real. If you have a number in mind, calculate how long it will take you to save up. It may take you longer than you have. If you haven't set your date...think about your budget and how long it will take to get it together and THEN set your date. (Don't count on Tax return money - I did and I ended up owing rather than getting the $1,000 I had gotten in the past).
4.Really think about alcohol at the reception. We wanted to do a cocktail hour with a hosted bar but we really couldn't afford it. People paid for their own drinks but got complimentary soda and beer. With the amount of alcohol that was consumed in the cash bar...I would be scared to see the bill for an hour. We did let everyone know in the invite that the cash bar would be available with free beer and soda. So they were prepared.
5. Pay for what is important to you and what you want to take care of for your guests. We wanted to be sure no one had to drive to each photo location, we wanted a really tasty cake, we wanted fresh flowers, we wanted amazing food and a great time for our guests...so that is what we put our money into.
6. Don't expect everything to go perfect. On the day of, let it go to the cosmos, God, what have you. Because by then you can't control it, you can't fix it.
7. Be prepared for SOMETHING to go wrong. We had a death in the family and one of our groomsmen get into a motorcycle accident the week before the wedding. The groomsmen couldn't walk in the wedding and his wife (a bridesmaid) opted out to take care of him and make sure he got there as a guest. We embraced it and they were even in some of the photos. We made the best of it and they had a great time. It could have been so much worse, we could have been going to two funerals.
8. Only register for things you really want. It's a pain and time consuming to return things. We tried to register for things we might want but we really didn't have room for.
9. Register at places you shop often. If you register for specific pieces at specific places...don't register for things you registered for elsewhere. We shop at Target a lot and got some double from Kohl's and Target, we returned to Target to get the gift cards and picked up some last minute things for the day of. We have a credit at Kohl's that I am not sure what we will use it for.
10. Realize when you are caught up in the details. I am not going to say don't get caught up, because you will. But put yourself in check and remember what is important.
11. Don't try to print on vellum paper if you can avoid it. I think this was the most time consuming/stressful part. Kinko's doesn't print on it and we had a hell of a time finding somewhere that would. And wasted a lot of paper in the process.
12. Take a break. After the event, even if you can only get away for a weekend...do it. Don't work, don't unpack your gifts or make to do list. Take time to reflect with your hubby and relax. You need to take the time to settle and get ready for your new life together.
Congrats to all you brides out there...I am really happy to say I am now a wife.