Is there such thing as a perfect wedding? Because ours was pretty darn close! We had an absolute enchanting wedding on October 1st. Even the weather was perfect. We couldn't have had such a magical day without our wonderful vendors. My reviews are below:
Caterer: Duvall Catering and Event Design
A+++
I couldn't have done it without Duvall! They were absolutely amazing! I had the pleasure to work directly with Event Director, Jean Fisk. I owe so much to her and the rest of the Duvall staff who helped bring together the wedding reception. I never had any issues dealing with Duvall and they were always on top of everything. Jean was my DOC and made everything run so smoothly. I never felt as if I had to manage Duvall at any point of the wedding planning process. They were an absolutely godsend in wedding planning. And the food? OMG--- I received compliments that the food was the best wedding food my guests had. We did a low-country style station setting for the wedding. The food was so good, we actually ran out of some of it because my guests kept eating!!! And ladies- the price per head for the food was VERY reasonable. I would recommend Jean Fisk and Duvall to everyone planning a wedding or any other major event. They know what they are doing and they do it well!
Wedding Ceremony Venue: The First Baptist Church of Charleston
A+
Such a wonderful historically and architecturally significant church in Charleston. The ceremony was beautiful and we had to do the ceremony flowers through their florist, Lisa Ferguson. She did an exceptional job and the floral arrangements were beautiful.
Reception Venue: Private Residence
A++++++++++++++
Was fortunate to have a garden reception at the home of my mother and father in law.
Florist: Tiger Lilly
A+++
Best florist in town. Hands down. We had the most beautiful floral arrangements created by Clara Gonzalez. Hopefully I will figure out a way to share pictures. The flowers took my breath away and I was equally pleased with my bridal bouquet. This is another vendor who you know you are in good hands with and will not disappoint.
Cake: Jacky Story - Michelangelo’s Kitchen
B+
Jacky was so nice to work with. She runs her bakery through her husband’s restaurant. Her prices are a lot cheaper than other bakeries around town. The cake was pretty but I am giving her a B+ because it did lean a bit because it was so tall. I didn't give her much direction with the cake so I can't fault her too much. If I visualized how the cake was going to turn out I would have done it differently. But the cake still looked very pretty and tasted soooo goood! Even my husband was extremely pleased with her cake and he is the pickiest eater that anyone will ever meet so this is saying a lot. I would recommend Jackie because her prices are reasonable, the cake is delicious, and she doesn't charge extra for different flavors like other bakers do.
Music: Travis Allison Band
A+++
This band rocks! I had guests from ages 16 months to 90 years out on the dance floor at some point of the evening! Even our priest got out on the dance floor! Travis played mainly classic rock, oldies, and some Motown. It was great dance music but not the total cliché wedding band songs. I didn't want them to stop! And if there was a request, Travis knew it and played it! Great band!
Photographer: Rick Dean Photography
A+++
I love Rick! He is so energetic and wonderful to work with. I got to see a few pictures but haven't seen all of them yet and they already look amazing! He also did a smaller wedding at my in-laws house a few months back and those pictures came out absolutely wonderful. I am positive mine will come out just the same. He took over 3,000 pictures that night! I had so much fun with Rick and I hope to work with him again.
Wedding Dress: Gown Boutique of Charleston
D-
I have been giving pretty glowing reviews on all my vendors up until now. I don't live in Charleston but I thought it would make since to get my dress in Charleston so I wouldn't have to transport the dress from Florida to Charleston for the wedding. I may have been very wrong about that. My experience with the Gown Boutique started out great. I had a wonderful sales associate (no longer there) who was very helpful in helping me pick out my wedding dress. But once alterations started, the experience quickly went down hill. They took in the dress and ruined the ruching. I complained for several fittings and they were very dismissive of my concerns. I basically had to come back in tears with my mother in law (a seamstress) and have her talk directly with several of the shop workers including the owners. They also did a terrible job with the bustle and we had to re-work it several times. We were doing alternations to the dress until 12 hours before the wedding. Then when it came time to the wedding, the buttons on the back zipper were already falling off and they gave terrible directions to the bustle. It took over 45 minutes of previous daylight and photography time and my helpers still couldn't figure out how to bustle the dress. I am hoping it is not too noticeable in the pictures that the dress was never bustles right. And because of this, my dress was stepped on a lot during the night and by the end, someone accidently stepped on the train and tore the dress in a few places. My dress experience was the only stressful point of the wedding and I don't think I would recommend this bridal shop to other brides. If they will negotiate refunding me some, if not all, of the $600 I spent on alterations, then I would reconsider my review. But I am not that hopeful this will happen.
Hair/Makeup: Karen Yarborough of Cover Girl Brides
A-
I really do love Karen. I think she is very nice to work with but I can see why others have given her a bad review because she isn’t too communicative. I felt like I needed to keep up with her to make sure she still had me penciled in, but she knew. I absolutely loved my hair and makeup for my wedding day. I think she also did an amazing job on my mother and my sister who was my matron of honor. She was fun to work with. She may be a bit pricey, but I was ok with it. Overall I was very satisfied!