I had a tented wedding in our front yard last weekend in Orleans, which was planned long distance from Baltimore. Not a small feat and everything went EXTREMELY well, thanks to the following vendors:
Tent-American Tent (A+): Tent was gorgeous. They were in constant contact with us in the days and weeks leading up the wedding and were amenable to every little change we requested. Simple, no nonsense, extremely easy to work with.
Planning-Desiree Spinner Events (A+): We didn't hire a wedding planner originally and thought we could save some money by doing so, but I'm SO GLAD we did. The wedding would not have been possible without her (we may not have had food but that's a long story..) and her girls and they thought of several details we never would've thought of and avoided many a disasters. I would advise anyone planning a wedding that a planner is definitely worth the money and DSE is AWESOME. Honestly, if you don't spend the money on the planner I think you're wasting a lot of the money you put into all the other things, but I'm sure others have differing opinions. Desiree and her team had so many suggestions from little details to bigger picture items and we got so many compliments on how much everyone loved the personal touches they recommended. Not to mention, from RD on, I didn't have to worry about anything. It just happened and I could enjoy every moment without having to stress. Desiree and her girls were incredible and I would recommend DSE to anyone and really encourage you to give them a call just to chat if you're planning a wedding.
Flowers: Petals by the Sea (A+): Flowers were gorgeous and exactly what we wanted. Karen also shops around and buys a lot of her stuff wholesale to save you money, which she doesn't have to do but it really helps the final bill. She's honest and straightforward about what will and will not look good, which makes her really easy to work with.
Catering: Crazy Chefs (A+): My new husband and I LOVE food and it was really important to us to have wedding food that didn't taste like wedding food and Crazy Chefs
pulled through and more. EVERYONE universally loved the food and commented on how it was far better than any other wedding food they had ever had. Jim (chef/owner) and Debbie (event planner) are possibly the nicest people ever. They even accommodated random requests (like we wanted this dessert, affogato--gelato drenched in espresso and it was INCREDIBLE). Debbie also made sure (without us asking) that we got to try every single piece of food served at the wedding. They are amazing. If you don't go with Crazy Chefs, you're crazy.
Cake: Cottage Street Bakery (A+): Let me just say I've never seen my Mother-in-Law eat dessert and she ate four pieces. Incredible.
DJ-2WayEntertainment, Mark Friedman (A+): Save money on a band. Mark and his emcee were amazing. I came to the Knot to find recs on a DJ and most of the most popular people were taken, but I'm so glad they were. We hardly even told Mark what we wanted except for a few requests and it was incredible. The dance floor was literally filled from open to close. He knew so much about how to keep a party going but was not cheesy or loud at all. We got tons of compliments from everyone about the music. Except for my grandfather who thought it should be all Glenn Miller, but you can't please everyone.
Photography-ShoreShotz1 Photography, Amanda Considine (A+): I love Amanda and would recommend her to anyone. She is the sweetest person ever and knows her stuff but was also really fun to hang out with during picture taking. Her prelim pics I've seen are amazing. I also had a slightly ridiculous list of must-have photos and she worked with me to make sure they all happened, including big family photos which was sort of a nightmare to take and she was unbelievably patient.
Trolley-Cape Destination (A): I actually didn't hear how trolley service went, but I didn't hear anything bad, so that's a good sign. Michaela was so easy to work with and accommodated ridiculous requests for stopping at a ton of places because our guests were scattered about.
Limo-ProLimo (A): Prompt, really nice drivers. They delivered exactly what they said they would. Great to work with.
Bathrooms/Electricity-MA Frazier, On the Spot (A+): Bathrooms were gorgeous, believe it or not. We got the luxury trailers and everyone loved them and couldn't believe how nice they were. He also got us our generator and no mishaps with the electricity which was my major concern.
If anyone has questions about planning a cape wedding long-distance or an outdoor tented wedding, please feel free to email me questions: emilyspengler@gmail.com. I feel like a year of planning should benefit someone other than just me.