I'm bored and it occurred to me that I hadn't done vendor reviews on the RI board yet. So here they are. Most of our vendors were awesome and I would recommend them/do business with them again.
Venue: Kinney Bungalo
Rating: 4/5
Kinney Bungalow is gorgeous - we're still getting complements months later on how beautiful it was. They did a number of upgrades (bathrooms, parking lot, bridal suite) between when we booked in early 2011 and had our wedding. I had a few concerns about updates to the rules after we booked, but the event went off without a hitch and my concerns were unfounded. My biggest word of caution to potential future brides booking here is I can't imagine having more than 75-80 people here and not feeling extremely cramped. We had about 45 guests and it felt like a good size event for the venue.
Photographer: Gabrielle Marks Photography
Rating: 5/5
We LOVED working with Gabrielle and Matt! They're nice, easygoing people who do great work. Going through our pictures is just like reliving the day. Everyone who has seen our pictures has absolutely loved them. I can't recommend Gabrielle and Matt highly enough.
Caterer: Blackstone Catering
Rating: 4.5/5
Danielle was our maint point of contact and she was awesome. From the initial quote through the night of our wedding, everything was about what we wanted. The food was delicious and beautiful. There was a miscommunication (at least partly my fault) that caused one of the entrees to have the wrong sauce, but it was still delicious. My husband and I had someone assigned to us during cocktail hour and dinner service to make sure we were well fed and with drink in hand -- fabulous service. I should also note, Danielle was able to get us a tasting before signing the contract, which is not their norm, but I wasn't comfortable signing without tasting.
Florist: Flowerthyme
Rating: 2/5
We booked Flowerthyme when a family friend who was going to do our flowers moved across the country. At our initial meeting, I felt like Joy was on the same page with us and her quote was incredibly reasonable. So reasonable, I ended up increasing our order. After I put down the deposit, I realized she was extremely disorganized and not on the same page with us at all. I tried to really simplify things for our final meeting a couple weeks before the wedding and brought 1 piece of paper with all the reference photos she needed. The only things that came out right were the centerpieces and the decorations for the arbor. My bouquet was a huge disappointment - it was tiny, much smaller than I thought it would be, and it wasn't based on the images I provided at the final meeting. All of the bouquets had ugly grey leaves included, which were in one of the photos I provided, but clearly indicated that I hated the grey leaves and they were not to be included. The flowers for the ceremony were tied to the chairs with burlap instead of black satin ribbon. We had single dahlias in vases for accents (mantle, cocktail table, etc) - the vases were supposed to be 4", but were 6" so the single blooms were kind of lost. I will say, the centerpieces, were stunning.
DJ: Music on the Move
Rating: 5/5
We used Music on the Move for everything - ceremony, cocktails, reception. They were great - all of our requests were accomodated, the ceremony music was queued properly. They mostly blended in to the background for the night (which I think is what you want from a DJ). I would absolutely use them again.
Transportation: Five star Limousine
Rating: 5/5
We had a vintage Rolls Royce for our getaway car. The driver arrived early so we had some time to get some pictures with it. One of our favorite shots from the night is the two of us snuggled up in the backseat together. It was a great way to end the night. The driver was polite and professional and the pricing was very reasonable.
Makeup: SERAi
Rating: 5/5
I had a really hard time booking a MUA. I filled out multiple contact forms and never received responses. Serai was extremely responsive to my initial inquery and multiple follow up questions. My mom and I both did trials several months before the wedding that went well. The same artist worked with us the day of. She must have taken notes during the trial because I never had to show her any references the day of and my makeup came out the same. She even mixed sunscreen in with the airbrush liquid for me because I burn so easily.
Bakery: Sin Desserts
Rating: 5/5
Our cake was both beautiful and delicious! Like Blackstone, we had a great experience with Sin was fabulous from start to finish. Sin includes an anniversary cake in their package -- I can't wait, but I don't know how to pick a flavor! Our wedding cake was dark-chocolate-bourbon with vanilla filling and white-chocolate with strawberry filling. Both flavor combinations were delicious.
Menswear: Anthony's House of Formals
Rating: 4.5/5
We had a great experience working with Aldo at Anthony's House of Formals. They have everything in stock, so my husband was able to try on different styles to find out what worked best for him. My husband is very tall (6'7") so being able to try on was important. Unfortunately, his vest was a little short (looked awkward with his jacket off), but this is really the only minor negative we encountered. All our men, including one who travelled internationally and had to mail in his measurements, looked fabulous. The best part - the pricing undercut Men's Warehouse.
Bride's Dress: Bridal and Gift
Rating: 4/5
Overall, I had a good experience with Bridal and Gift. My first consultant told me if I bought the sample I fell in love with at my first appointment, there would be a discount and they would send it out for cleaning at their expense. When I came back to buy, the consultant was out sick and I worked directly with the owner. Neither the discount or complementary cleaning happened. My seamstress was great and the pricing for alterations seemed pretty reasonable compared to what I've seen other brides report online. The dress I bought was 2-3 sizes too big and she took it in beautifully. She also put in what my MOH called the easiest bustle ever (she's been in like 10 weddings, so she's done many bustles).
Rehearsal Dinner: Matunuck Oyster Bar
Rating: 5/5
We love MOB and eat there pretty regularly. We had a small rehearsal dinner (13 people, I think?), so they were willing to accomodate. Our families raved about it. The food is always awesome, the view is lovely, and the prices are pretty reasonable.
ETA: left out the rehearsal dinner venue