Because my day ended up being pretty much everything I could dream of, I have to give credit to the great vendors I deal with. I am going to post pretty much every company I used because they were all pretty spectacular. I will say that everyone I know has told me I was probably the most laid back bride they ever met, so while there were some mishaps with some things- I just kept rolling with it and everything turned out just fine.
Catering- Charleston Cafe- A++: We did stations, and I have to say, this was a great choice. All of my guests said they loved the fact that the food was there to "graze" and that they could eat what they wanted when they wanted to. EVERYBODY raved about the food. People were able to try lots of different kinds of foods and they all said they absolutely loved everything. I used Melissa as my coordinator and she was also amazing. She took so much weight off of my shoulders and was not overbearing. She was there when I needed her, but she was also not in the way. She set up all of my rentals and they basically set up my venue. It literally took my breath away, as well as my mother's, and brought my mother-in-law to tears.
DJ- DJ Rob Duren- A+: I didn't speak to Rob much, which was a good thing because I never had to go over and ask him to play something, or not to play anything. He kept everyone on the dance floor- including some who never dance- and he kept the party going, which is what I asked. He got in touch with me to make sure he pronounced everyone's names correctly and we went over everything else for the wedding ahead of time as well.
Florist- Beth at Wildflower's- B: In the end, everything worked out, and like I said, I'm extremely laid back, but I could see how other brides would be very upset with some of what happened. When we arrived, we were missing two things: a wreath to go on my flower girl's head, and a basket with flower petals also for flower girl. I had discussed the flowers I wanted for my centerpieces, but most of the centerpieces did not include any of those flowers. The flowers that were there were fine in the end, but again, not what I asked for. Paper lanterns were to be hung from the beams all over the venue at different heights. They were all hung at the same level from a piece of string and just seemed kind of lazily done. At the end of the evening, the person was late coming to clean up, leaving my mom to have to pick up most of it. All of my ceremony decor was great, but I was a little disappointed in not getting some of the things we paid for.
Venue- Alhambra Hall- A: I didn't really have to deal with them much, so there isn't much I can say. They let us in at 10 am to set up. They were a little anal about some things, but I could also understand why they would be. At the end of the night, the lady kind of followed my mom around and rushed her a little bit, but all in all, it was a beautiful venue and we got lots of compliments. We did both ceremony and reception here- ceremony on back lawn under the tree. I did a Friday wedding, so we were able to get out there for a rehearsal the night before, but if you do a Saturday wedding, you will most likely not be able to get out there Friday night to rehearse.
Hair and Make-up- Paloosh Salon- A-: I was extremely happy with my hair (done by Chelsea), and I was fairly happy with my make-up. There were other unforeseeable circumstances that kind of affected my opinion (ie. I gave myself a black eye 3 days before and although they promised that they could cover it because they can cover tattoos, they could not cover it with make-up; also, Jill was supposed to do my make-up, but got called to do a Playboy photoshoot, so the day before my wedding, I was informed someone else would do it). Most of my girls seemed happy with their hair, some weren't. We had an issue (which could have been one of my bridesmaid's fault) where it took one girl the entire time to do one bridesmaid's hair which caused us to run late.
Photography- Amy Prikaszky- A+: I haven't seen pictures yet, but I was very happy with her being prompt, with the packages she had, and the fact that she kind of stayed in the background most of the time. I also did my bridal portraits with her and was very happy with them. We took the portraits on a Tuesday, the CD with editted photos was at my house on Friday. She's also very easy to work with.
Transportation- A Star Limo- A: They were on time, he knew where he was going, and even stalled a little so that the guys would not see us taking pictures. On a side note, I had paid a deposit to White Tie Limo a year earlier to have a limo, and they never returned calls or e-mails, so I would definitely not recommend them.
Invites- Wedding Paper Divas- A+: This was all online. I loved my invitations and so did everyone else. They were very quick and they are always running a sale. You can order extras very easily as well.
Fan Programs- Julie Hanan Design- A: Found her on Etsy and she was very easy to work with. The problem I ran into with most of the people on Etsy was they would tell you it was $2 a program, but then it was an extra dollar to assemble and there were other hidden fees. Julie charged exactly $2 a fan for everything. I sent her swatches and she matched everything perfectly. My only issue was that the back of the program with all the information was a little hard to read- VERY small.
Alterations: Stitch Witch- A-: All in all, I was very pleased and they pulled off a miracle with my dress, but it did not fit in my chest. I paid over $300 to get it altered, so I expected it to fit in my chest. Some of my pictures from the side look really bad because I have a huge gap. They suggested I get double-sided tape, but it really didn't work that well and was kind of a burden all night.
Rehearsal Dinner- Sweetgrass Pavilion at Mt. P Waterfront Park- B: The place itself is gorgeous and lots of people loved it there, but it had a few cons. You have to provide everything- tables, chairs, trash cans, etc. It was somewhat hot because the breeze is blocked by some of the buildings out there. There is no refrigerator or kitchen for that matter. The lady who worked there meandered through several times and looked at us as though she was ready for us to leave. Some people literally walked right through the event. We had a family friend cater, so that was fine, and it turned out just fine in the end, but I could see how some of those things might bother people as well.
Nails- Silver Nail and Spa in Mt. Pleasant- A+: I have to brag on them- they were great and got us all in (7 people) in about an hour and a half to two hours. They gave us a bottle of wine on the house and were just very friendly and accommodating. It was a great experience for me and my girls, very relaxing.
Cake- Artistic Cakes by Linda- A++: EVERYONE raved about the cake as well. Linda dropped it off on time and decorated it with the flowers the florist had left. People said it was the best wedding cake they had ever had- still moist. People are still talking about it. We did Amaretto Poppyseed.
Groom's Cake- Something Sweet by Ashley- A+: She bakes out of her house, but you can find her facebook. I showed her a picture of what I wanted, she did exactly that, and the cake tasted wonderful! I was very pleased with it, and she was easy to work with as well.
I would be happy to answer any other questions if you have them. All in all, everything turned out to be absolutely wonderful and I loved every minute of it. I would certainly recommend any of these vendors to anyone.
