Hi Ladies - I just wanted to share my vendor experiences with everyone. Hopefully this info helps someone out!
If you would like additional info any any of these vendors, just let me know.
Sorry in advance for the long post! And sorry for my overuse of the word "wonderful" :-)
I have to say that I absolutely LOVED all of my vendors and would highly recommend all of them. They all get an A+++ . My day went perfectly - no hiccups at all - and everything was ahead of schedule the entire day.
Hair - Christy at Salon 325 - I adore Christy! She has been doing my hair for 8+ years. She also does the hair of 3 of my 4 bridesmaids (my fourth bridesmaid if from out of town). I have heard great things from others who have used Christy just for their wedding hairstyles. She really does a fantastic job and I am completely comfortable telling her "just do what you think will look the best". She did gorgeous hairstyles for all of my girls.
Makeup - Sharon Powell with Face First Makeup Artistry. Sharon was wonderful to work with. She met us at the salon and did makeup for myself and 3 of my bridesmaids. It was an airbrush makeup and I loved it - it stayed put all day. This was my first experience with her, but I will use her again for any other special events that may come up. She was recomended by one of my bridesmaids who has used Sharon's services several times before. My BM loved Sharon's work so much, that even if I had done my own makeup, my BM would have booked Sharon for herself for that day.
My skin is less than perfect and Sharon did a great job covering the imperfections that I'm normally self-conscious about. I really felt beautiful after I saw how she transformed my look. The makeup was also very lightweight and natural looking, but had excellent coverage.
Nails - TS Nails on University Ave - I received a gift cert at my bridal shower. This was my first time there (only my second time getting a set of nails put on) and I think they did a great job. The prices were much more reasonable than what I've seen at spa's/salons. It was $16 for a basic pedi with color, and $25 for a set of nails with a French Manicure. My mani/pedi still looks great a week and a half later.
Church - Holy Cross Catholic Church - hubby and I have been attending Holy Cross for a couple of years now. Father Tom is wonderful. The ceremony was beautiful, and we received so many compliments on his homily.
Music - Marcia Knoebel - Marcia is a pianist/vocalist at Holy Cross, but is available for weddings etc. at other locations. She has a beautiful voice, and can play a wide variety of musical selections. She has been playing piano for many years. All of the music for the ceremony was seamless and error free. We also received many compliments on Marcia's performance as well as our music selections.
Reception - The Meadows (part of Country Inn and Suites on the East side) - everything about the venue was wonderful. Jessica Kontny is the event co-ordinator and is amazing to work with. She is very polite, professional, knowledgeable - and most importantly - patient. ha ha. I worked with her for over a year and had soooo many questions for her, but she never became frustrated with me. She was available to meet with the florist, the cake delivery person and the dj on the wedding day. I did not need to arrange to have someone there to meet with the individual vendors - that was a huge help for me.
The food was fantastic - everything was perfect. Again, we received many many compliments on the food, the venue and the staff. Many of our guests were from out of town, so they really appreciated that the venue was connected to a hotel.
We hosted our rehersal dinner there too, so that was also convenient for our out of town guests.
They also have a bar connected to the reception hall, so we were able to hang out there after the reception was over.
Flowers - Marshall Florist of Kaukauna - Ross was great to work with. He was very helpful in making the selections for my bouquets, boutonnieres, and corsages. My flowers for the wedding day turned out exactly like we discussed - which was wonderful considering that when I met with Ross, I didn't have pictures of exactly what I wanted. I also felt that the prices were very reasonable.
DJ - Sara with Elite Music Service - Sara was also wonderful to work with. She had suggestions for music for different parts of our reception, she made sure to play all of our "must play" music, and none of our "do not play muic". She worked with me and with Jessica (from the Meadows) to create a timeline for our reception. She helped make sure that everything stayed on schedule and that nothing got missed. Everything flowed seamlessly from our cocktail hour through introductions, dinner, first dance, father daughter dance etc. She even made sure to help keep the glass clinking to a minimum (per our request).
Cake - Bernies - the cake was exactly what we wanted. It was beautiful and delicious. We only had leftovers becuase a number of guests were not able to attend at the last min. We were eating the cake a week later and it still tasted great! Bernie really know's what she is doing with the baking, and her son Ron can come up with some awesome designs.
Photographer - Jordan Destree - Glitz Photography - I met Jordan at a Bridal Expo when my friend was planning her wedding. As soon as I saw his work, I knew I wanted him for my wedding day. I can't wait to see the pics! My husband hates having his picture taken, but he enjoyed working with Jordan. The posed pics went very quickly because we developed a detailed shot list, and Jordan was able to pose people very quickly. The rest of the time we barely knew he was there (which was GREAT because my husband and I suck at candid shots)
I also have to recommend the Aesthic Spa of Green Bay - I started going there 6 months before the wedding to treat existing acne and some old acne scarring. The treatments I received made a huge difference in my skin. I really enjoy working with Crystal and will continue going there now that the wedding is over.