Wedding Planner: The Burlap Elephant - Amazing!
Couldn’t have done it without Katie and her assistant! They really turned my
vision into my dream wedding, and didn’t miss a detail! She is organized, has
helpful tips, keeps you budget, and took care of all the details so I could
relax and enjoy my day. The wedding was perfect and I received so many
compliments about the décor and set-up. Katie was quick to respond to all
emails and coordinated all vendors and contracts for me. She was definitely one
of my favorite vendors and I would recommend her to anyone.
Venue: Governor Thomas Bennett House – We fell
in love with this venue from the moment we set eyes on it. It’s beautiful
inside and out. Linda was absolutely wonderful to work with. We were able to
bring in our own caterer and rentals, which made the wedding more affordable.
We got married outside in front of the gorgeous house, followed by cocktail
hour on inside and on the balcony. The reception was outside in the gardens.
The gardens were lovely and made for beautiful pictures.
Photographer: Jennings King Photography –
Fantastic! Loved working with her and the pictures turned out to be stunning! I
felt at ease with Jennings instantly when I spoke with her on the phone, and
knew she was the one for us. She captured all the shots we wanted and more. She
had our first look up on Facebook the next day and a blog posting after 1 week.
I will be using her in the future for family portraits, and would recommend her
to anyone. Photographer was the most important vendor to us and we chose well!
Caterer: Newton Farms – The food was amazing.
Sarah was really flexible, and helped us find a menu that fit into our budget.
She didn’t say anything when we changed our minds on stations and sides several
times. The food turned out perfect and we received numerous compliments from
our guests. The bar service was great a well, every time my drink was almost
empty I found them replacing without me even having to go to the bar! Sarah was
quick to respond to email and changes in menu (even when she was on vacation!).
They even made plates for my husband and I so we could socialize! They were
very attentive and I couldn’t have asked for better food!
Cake: Wildflour – I love, love, loved my cakes!
We did 3 small cakes instead of one big cake and they turned out just as I
imagined. I emailed Lauren pictures of cakes I liked and she recreated them
perfectly. There were so many good cakes at the tasting that we had a hard time
just choosing 3. Lauren let us do different flavors in each tier and we ended
up with 5 different types of cake! The Carrot cake and red velvet were by
far my favorite. All our guests raved
about the hummingbird flavor. She is a little slow to respond to emails, but
her quality is well worth the wait! I will be getting anniversary and birthday
cakes from her for the rest of my life!
Flowers: Sara Grimshaw Designs – Amazing! I went
into my meeting with SGD and gave them my vision and showed them my Pinterest
board. I had no idea what my flowers would like until the day of, but I was
blown away! They couldn’t have designed more perfect floral arrangements for
me. My guest loved the teacup arrangements on each table and my bouquet was
absolutely stunning! Loved the team and the final product.
Ceremony music: Clelia Reardon – She was great
to work with. Very reasonably priced, played all the music I asked for and
showed up early. I didn’t get to hear much since I was getting pictures during
cocktail hour and walking down the aisle was a blurr, but what I did hear was
absolutely perfect.
Makeup: Elina Mille (Bellelina
Makeup and Spa) – Loved it! I did my trial over a year prior to the wedding,
but Elina was still able to recreate the perfect look. Loved the airbrush, my
makeup stayed all night and no mascara down my face from tears. I loved my
makeup for once and felt like I looked natural and completely like myself. I
also had an amazing facial the week before the wedding at her spa and my skin
looked and felt amazing!
Hair: Alayna Sullivan at Serendipity Salon – She did all my
bridesmaids, and I thought they all looked beautiful. No complaints. She showed
up early and was able to get 9 girls done in time for pictures!
Wedding Officiant:
Doug Farmer (Charleston Wedding Officiant) – He did a great job.I met with him
and felt immediately at ease. He listened to what we wanted and wrote up a
ceremony that was exactly what we wanted. It was quick but included everything
important to us. I wouldn’t have changed a thing.
Transporation:
Durham County School Bus – No complaints. They were on time, clean and stuck to
the schedule. We were able to bring food and drinks on the transportation (no
alcohol).
Wedding Stationary:
A. Fitterer Designs – Amanda did an amazing job! I emailed her pictures of invitations,
menus and save-the-dates and she was able to recreate similar designs with her
special artistic touch! We loved all the stationary and received lots of
compliments on the invitations!
Berlins: This was my
only vendor I was disappointed in. Allt he groomsmen called in the measurements
and picked up their suits from the downtown location where they were supposed
to take care of any alterations. They gave everyone the wrong size shirts. We
had to run back on the wedding day twice to get correct size shirts. My Husband
tried his suit on in the store and told her his suit was too big and she said
it looked fine to her. He didn’t want to argue so he took it. All I notice in
our pictures is how baggy his suit is. Plus they charged all the groomsmen the
rate of renting the suit with shoes when we specifically said that we did not
need to rent shoes, nor did anyone receive shoes. Would never go back or
recommend.
Videographer:
DreamPop Media – I haven’t received the final product yet but loved Amanda
& Jeff. They were quick to respond to emails and showed up early to shoot.
They were the cutest couple/team. I felt comfortable with them and didn’t feel
like they were intrusive and barely knew they were there. They are affordable
and I can’t wait to see the final product. Loved all the videos they have on
their site so I’m sure mine will be just as amazing.