I know I didn't post super regularly in the months leading up to my wedding (which was seriously the best day I could have ever imagined) but reading vendor reviews of past brides was incredibly helpful for me, so I wanted to review some of my vendors.

A quick note – my wedding was a little different in that I had a simple, small, at-home wedding.  My parents have a very large yard so we brought in a tent, catering and a dance floor.  It was exactly the wedding I wanted.

Rentals: Arrow Paper Party Rental – A

We used Arrow Paper for the tent, tables, chairs, linens, and our dance floor.  They set up when they said they’d set up, broke down when they said they’d break down, and did exactly what they promised as outlined in our contract.  No complaints here!

Catering, cake, and floral: McQuade’s Marketplace – A+

We got a deal for using McQuade’s for all 3 services, and I couldn’t be happier.  We did a spread of cheese, crackers, fruits and veggies, then set up a buffet and pasta station for dinner.  The food was delicious.  The cake was soo good (we did a golden vanilla cake with chocolate mousse filling and vanilla buttercream icing with fresh flowers cascading down the side).  For floral, the arrangements were exactly what I wanted.  Simple roses, hydrangeas, and peonies for my bouquet and my MOH’s bouquet, plus matching centerpieces for the tables, boutonnieres for the men, and corsages for the moms.

Photographer: Sacha D Photography – A

I haven’t seen the photos yet (obviously) but I loved working with Sacha.  She’s so sweet and funny and really put me at ease.  She was there for the whole day, constantly snapping photos.  Her rate is very reasonable.  The photos of other weddings that she has up on her facebook are really beautiful, and I’m dying to see mine!!

DJ: Zach Dauphinais – A+

Awesome DJ, great guy, was one of my favorite vendors.  He definitely does not hog the microphone, there is no “cheese,” and he played a great mix of music.  I don’t have a big party crowd and the reception was over by 8pm, but everyone had a wonderful time.  He understood that my wedding was a little different.  Small, at home, and intimate were the key words, and I never once felt like he tried to turn our intimate party into a club.  He *got* what we wanted.

DOC/Invitations: Jen Strunk – A+

I think I would have been super stressed out without Jen.  When Arrow Paper and McQuade’s were coming in and setting everything up, she was supervising to make sure it was how we wanted it to be.  She kept an eye on everything so the moms didn’t have to worry about whether things were going right or not.  I totally lost track of time the whole day and she kept things running on schedule for us.  She also made all of our paper goods.  She did our STDs, our invitations, and our table numbers, and they were exactly what we wanted, plus she gave us a deal because we used her for DOC, too.  For an at-home wedding I think it was really worth it to have a DOC.

Dress/Veil: The Trinkett Shop – A

My dress was a Maggie Sottero VD7118 and I had a great experience there.  The only reason I didn’t give them an A+ is because I was a bit sticker-shocked over the price of alterations.  The dress fit me almost perfectly, but it was still $200 for a hem and to have the flowered strap shortened by about an inch.  Ouch.  Otherwise I was happy there.

MOH Dress – David’s Bridal Manchester - B-

It’s not that we had any problems there, but we were ignored by sales staff and the racks of BM dresses were messy.  It just wasn’t a lovely time.  However, my MOH picked her dress, paid, and it arrived shortly thereafter.  Done deal.

Tuxes: Men’s Wearhouse, Manchester – B+

I let my husband (not used to that yet!), his best man and father deal with the tuxes.  There was one snafu where a pair of pants was too short, and someone’s cufflinks were missing, but the store sorted it all out and all was fine in the end.

I think that is all of the major vendors.  Hopefully this has been helpful and best of luck to the rest of you planning your weddings!

I am originally from Guilford but now live in Massachusetts.  My husband is catholic and his father is in the seminary becoming a priest in the catholic church, so it was important for us to find a catholic church to let us be married there with my father in law to perform the ceremony.  After looking at a few in the Middletown area, we found St. Pius and it was great.  We did all of our pre-cana through our local parish in Massachusetts and all of our documents were sent down to CT.  Father Sam from St. Pius was helpful in communication, and we paid for the organist and cantor from St. Pius as well.  Only thing I wish was there was someone in the entrance of the church to help my BMs and me time walking down the aisle as I didn’t have a DOC, so we kind of just winged it, but it ended up fine. 

http://www.saintpius.org/

Barns At Wesleyan Hills – A

Amazing.  I booked the Barns the first day I saw it, the rustic style was exactly what I wanted and being only 20 minutes from my hometown made it even better.  I worked mostly with Traci and she was so helpful always responding quickly to emails and questions I had.  The Barns (all Pavillion Catering/CT Wedding Group Venues) really does it all.  All of the tables, chairs, linens, etc is included in the per person price, I didn’t have to rent anything.  The food to choose from was delicious, there were so many options.  We had 10 passed hor d’oeuvres for cocktail hour plus fruits and cheese and crackers.  And as we were taking pictures outside servers brought all the hor d’oeuvres out to the bridal party along with drinks.  Dinner had a starter (soup, pasta etc), salad, entrée and then they have a little dessert table in addition to the cake I had.  They set up all of my décor items so I didn’t have to go to the venue the morning of.  The only bad thing I would say was dinner service was a bit longer than I expected, but I did have 170 guests and the kitchen there is kind of small.  Also, when we went to do the cake cutting we had no idea what to do and we had to find Traci to help and guests told us it was a bit strange as our backs were to people, but that isn’t a huge deal. 

http://www.pavilioncatering.com/about_welcome.htm

Kims Cottage Confections – A-

I will preface this in saying that because I booked the Barns on their Wedding Event I received my cake for free from Kim.  When I contacted Kim for a tasting (as I live in MA so time in CT was limited) we scheduled for a couple days after Christmas.  When we got there, she didn’t have anything for us to taste as it was her first time back in the bakery since Christmas and she had no supplies.  I was a bit annoyed but selected the design while there and was able to taste at the Pavilion Catering Tasting Event.  When I checked my email later the day I was supposed to taste she had emailed me in the morning, I just hadn’t checked my email so she did ‘warn’ me, she didn’t have my number.  The cake was delicious and very pretty, so no complaints on that side.

http://www.kimscottageconfections.com/

Brooke Allison Photography – A+

When I was looking for a photographer I started with recommendations on TK and emailed a bunch of people for pricing, talked to 2 photographers on the phone.  One thing I knew is that I didn’t want an ‘old’ photographer because I knew I wouldn’t feel comfortable.  Someone had recommended Brooke and I checked out her website.  She has a video of herself on there talking about her passion for photography and about herself and I instantly knew that I wanted her as my photographer.  When I emailed her to meet she came up to Boston and met us out at a bar to discuss over a drink, she was so easy to talk to and we knew she was someone we would be comfortable to be around taking pictures.  She came up to Boston for our engagement session as well and it was so easy.  Included in her package is 2 photographers (not just a photographer and an assistant).  On the wedding day one of the things I thought was amazing and other guests have commented on is how she wasn’t in the way.  I have seen photographers who get in the way during the ceremony like standing in the middle of the aisle when bridesmaids are walking down etc. Brooke didn’t do that and it was absolutely perfect.  I really couldn’t say a bad thing about her. 

http://www.brookeallisonphoto.com/

DJae Melee – A+

When getting recommendations on TK about DJ’s, Melee’s name always came up so I contacted him.  We met with him that week and booked him right away.  His rates are great and he really listens to his clients on what they want and makes the wedding that.  We didn’t want a DJ who would bring props and talking in the microphone the whole night.  We wanted someone to get people dancing and read the crowd for what to play and that is exactly what he did.  Sometimes he took a bit to respond to emails, but I understand he is busy so it was ok.  All of our guests complimented on him and how he made the wedding so much fun.  He even took a video of a 'present' (dance) my SIL and FIL did for us and sent to me as I was trying to find a video of it. 

http://www.musicbymelee.com/

Larissa Lake – A+

Larissa and her team were simply amazing.  I had seen recommendations on TK for her and others and went to their websites to see their work.  I had one phone conversation with Larissa and booked her right away.  The airbrush makeup was perfect, so light and they really listened to me and my BM’s about what they wanted and changed anything that we didn’t like.  Hair was the same way.  One of my BM’s has been in several weddings and said this was the best she has ever had her hair done.  They were nice, timely, and did fantastic work. 

http://www.larissalakemakeupartist.com/

Photobooth Planet – A-

I knew I wanted a photobooth as our guest book as I think it is more fun then seeing someone’s name just written in a book.  I did a lot of research because I wanted an actual photobooth instead of one set up with a curtain and pipes.  We were going to not book one because of the cost, but when at the tasting event for the Barns we went in the one there and just knew we had to make it work.  All of our guests loved it and said how much fun it was.  We could choose the curtain color before the event and whether we wanted a color or black and white prints.  A few things was that they offer customization of the photostrip, but the owner never asked me about it so it didn’t say our name on it.  Also, I wish I had known how many pages were in the scrapbook they provided and how many strips it would hold, as not everyones photostrips made it into the book as there weren’t enough pages.  It also would have been helpful if they brought another book and I would have paid for the next book to be filled up as well. 

http://www.photoboothplanet.com/

Dattco – A-

We booked the limo bus through Dattco, mainly because my brother in law’s father used to be the CFO there and got us a discount.  The sales guy that I worked with was a bit annoying to work with, he just didn’t seem like he cared much.  Our driver was amazing though.  He got there on time, got the guys to the church and when he came to pick us up he held my train for me and my flowers, helped get us drinks and everything.  When we got to the church he once again helped me with flowers, dress, he even closed the doors to the church after the flower girls went down so my dad and I could line up and opened the church doors for me (I didn’t have a DOC).  He was awesome.  Also when we got to the reception venue (where we were taking pictures) he took all of our purses, booze etc into the bridal suite for us so we could go directly to pictures. 

Also, I tried to book a school bus through Dattco as well but they said they don’t rent then to adult groups, so I had to go somewhere else.

http://dattco.com/

First Student – B

I wanted a shuttle for my guests and it was only a 5-10 minute ride between places so I figured a school bus was fine.  I filled out the quote request on their website and got an email back from the location local to my venue (West Hartford).  I dealt with Nancy.  I must say they are not the most responsive and don’t check their documents very well, when I was sent a contract the date was wrong and the times and I told her and she had me change them on my own copy and she did the same on hers (I hadn’t signed it yet).  I was a bit nervous that they would get the times wrong or something because of the lack of communication, but I sent a detailed schedule of the day for them to follow and it all worked out fine.  At the end of the night the last shuttle was supposed to leave at 9:30 but there were still more people left to bring back, the driver said not to worry he wouldn’t stop until he knew everyone was back which made me feel better.  I am a bit annoyed as I sent in my check in the beginning of March and they haven’t cashed it yet. 

http://www.firststudentinc.com/

Inn at Middletown – A

We booked a block of rooms here for our guests as it was the closest to the venue.  Even with the discount it was a bit expensive per room for a hotel not in a city or anything.  The hotel was very nice and the sales manager who I worked with was helpful, letting me know how many had booked, when the cutoff dates were etc.  Also about 3-4 weeks before the wedding we decided to move the rehearsal dinner location.  We were going to do it at Fiore in Middletown but we went for lunch one day and the food was awful.  So we contacted Katelin from the Inn at Middletown and asked if we could do it there, it was the same price per person, the food was great and the location was much better as well.  I will say that we went to get brunch (not for all guests just in the restaurant) the morning after the wedding and they only had about 6 or 7 tables in the place, it didn’t accommodate many people. 

http://www.innatmiddletown.com/

White Dress by the Shore – A+

I got my Modern Trousseau dress at White Dress by the Shore.  All of the staff there is amazing and make me felt very comfortable.  They even sent me the dress in Massachusetts when it came in so I was able to not pay sales tax as it wasn’t in CT. 

http://www.thewhitedressbytheshore.com/

Fay Carrher – A+

I got my alterations done by Fay Carrher up in MA as it was easier for me and much cheaper than White Dress.  She was simply amazing, she did everything perfectly, made a veil for me and charged a reasonable price IMO.  If anyone wants her info, let me know, she doesn’t advertise just gets business off of recommendations and word of mouth and she is pretty busy. 

Mens Wearhouse – A

We actually went to a store in MA (Dedham) to pick everything out, but all of the GM’s when to a different store as they were coming from all over.  There were no problems, even when we decided to switch something.  And the Best Man just returned everyone’s suits together which is nice about Men’s Wearhouse, so not everyone had to make it back to their store on Sunday. 

Sandals Grande Saint Lucian – A

We knew we wanted to go somewhere warm and all-inclusive.  We looked online for a while and researched different islands and decided on St. Lucia and this specific Sandals because it had good reviews and looked beautiful.  We were not disappointed.  I will say that when you fly into the airport the drive to the resort is long and bumpy as St. Lucia is all hills and mountains.  As soon as we got to the resort we were given a drink, talked through everything, they brought our bags to our room.  The resort is beautiful, it has the Caribbean on one side and the Atlantic on the other, a few pools, lots of beach, restaurants, bars etc.  The food was good, the staff was friendly and they always had something going on, but didn’t force anyone to participate.  We would go out in the morning reserve a couple of chairs in the shade on the beach go eat and relax. 

http://www.sandals.com/main/grande/gl-home.cfm

I am originally from Guilford but now live in Massachusetts.  My husband is catholic and his father is in the seminary becoming a priest in the catholic church, so it was important for us to find a catholic church to let us be married there with my father in law to perform the ceremony.  After looking at a few in the Middletown area, we found St. Pius and it was great.  We did all of our pre-cana through our local parish in Massachusetts and all of our documents were sent down to CT.  Father Sam from St. Pius was helpful in communication, and we paid for the organist and cantor from St. Pius as well.  Only thing I wish was there was someone in the entrance of the church to help my BMs and me time walking down the aisle as I didn’t have a DOC, so we kind of just winged it, but it ended up fine. 

http://www.saintpius.org/

Barns At Wesleyan Hills – A

Amazing.  I booked the Barns the first day I saw it, the rustic style was exactly what I wanted and being only 20 minutes from my hometown made it even better.  I worked mostly with Traci and she was so helpful always responding quickly to emails and questions I had.  The Barns (all Pavillion Catering/CT Wedding Group Venues) really does it all.  All of the tables, chairs, linens, etc is included in the per person price, I didn’t have to rent anything.  The food to choose from was delicious, there were so many options.  We had 10 passed hor d’oeuvres for cocktail hour plus fruits and cheese and crackers.  And as we were taking pictures outside servers brought all the hor d’oeuvres out to the bridal party along with drinks.  Dinner had a starter (soup, pasta etc), salad, entrée and then they have a little dessert table in addition to the cake I had.  They set up all of my décor items so I didn’t have to go to the venue the morning of.  The only bad thing I would say was dinner service was a bit longer than I expected, but I did have 170 guests and the kitchen there is kind of small.  Also, when we went to do the cake cutting we had no idea what to do and we had to find Traci to help and guests told us it was a bit strange as our backs were to people, but that isn’t a huge deal. 

http://www.pavilioncatering.com/about_welcome.htm

Kims Cottage Confections – A-

I will preface this in saying that because I booked the Barns on their Wedding Event I received my cake for free from Kim.  When I contacted Kim for a tasting (as I live in MA so time in CT was limited) we scheduled for a couple days after Christmas.  When we got there, she didn’t have anything for us to taste as it was her first time back in the bakery since Christmas and she had no supplies.  I was a bit annoyed but selected the design while there and was able to taste at the Pavilion Catering Tasting Event.  When I checked my email later the day I was supposed to taste she had emailed me in the morning, I just hadn’t checked my email so she did ‘warn’ me, she didn’t have my number.  The cake was delicious and very pretty, so no complaints on that side.

http://www.kimscottageconfections.com/

Brooke Allison Photography – A+

When I was looking for a photographer I started with recommendations on TK and emailed a bunch of people for pricing, talked to 2 photographers on the phone.  One thing I knew is that I didn’t want an ‘old’ photographer because I knew I wouldn’t feel comfortable.  Someone had recommended Brooke and I checked out her website.  She has a video of herself on there talking about her passion for photography and about herself and I instantly knew that I wanted her as my photographer.  When I emailed her to meet she came up to Boston and met us out at a bar to discuss over a drink, she was so easy to talk to and we knew she was someone we would be comfortable to be around taking pictures.  She came up to Boston for our engagement session as well and it was so easy.  Included in her package is 2 photographers (not just a photographer and an assistant).  On the wedding day one of the things I thought was amazing and other guests have commented on is how she wasn’t in the way.  I have seen photographers who get in the way during the ceremony like standing in the middle of the aisle when bridesmaids are walking down etc. Brooke didn’t do that and it was absolutely perfect.  I really couldn’t say a bad thing about her. 

http://www.brookeallisonphoto.com/

DJae Melee – A+

When getting recommendations on TK about DJ’s, Melee’s name always came up so I contacted him.  We met with him that week and booked him right away.  His rates are great and he really listens to his clients on what they want and makes the wedding that.  We didn’t want a DJ who would bring props and talking in the microphone the whole night.  We wanted someone to get people dancing and read the crowd for what to play and that is exactly what he did.  Sometimes he took a bit to respond to emails, but I understand he is busy so it was ok.  All of our guests complimented on him and how he made the wedding so much fun.  He even took a video of a 'present' (dance) my SIL and FIL did for us and sent to me as I was trying to find a video of it. 

http://www.musicbymelee.com/

Larissa Lake – A+

Larissa and her team were simply amazing.  I had seen recommendations on TK for her and others and went to their websites to see their work.  I had one phone conversation with Larissa and booked her right away.  The airbrush makeup was perfect, so light and they really listened to me and my BM’s about what they wanted and changed anything that we didn’t like.  Hair was the same way.  One of my BM’s has been in several weddings and said this was the best she has ever had her hair done.  They were nice, timely, and did fantastic work. 

http://www.larissalakemakeupartist.com/

Photobooth Planet – A-

I knew I wanted a photobooth as our guest book as I think it is more fun then seeing someone’s name just written in a book.  I did a lot of research because I wanted an actual photobooth instead of one set up with a curtain and pipes.  We were going to not book one because of the cost, but when at the tasting event for the Barns we went in the one there and just knew we had to make it work.  All of our guests loved it and said how much fun it was.  We could choose the curtain color before the event and whether we wanted a color or black and white prints.  A few things was that they offer customization of the photostrip, but the owner never asked me about it so it didn’t say our name on it.  Also, I wish I had known how many pages were in the scrapbook they provided and how many strips it would hold, as not everyones photostrips made it into the book as there weren’t enough pages.  It also would have been helpful if they brought another book and I would have paid for the next book to be filled up as well. 

http://www.photoboothplanet.com/

Dattco – A-

We booked the limo bus through Dattco, mainly because my brother in law’s father used to be the CFO there and got us a discount.  The sales guy that I worked with was a bit annoying to work with, he just didn’t seem like he cared much.  Our driver was amazing though.  He got there on time, got the guys to the church and when he came to pick us up he held my train for me and my flowers, helped get us drinks and everything.  When we got to the church he once again helped me with flowers, dress, he even closed the doors to the church after the flower girls went down so my dad and I could line up and opened the church doors for me (I didn’t have a DOC).  He was awesome.  Also when we got to the reception venue (where we were taking pictures) he took all of our purses, booze etc into the bridal suite for us so we could go directly to pictures. 

Also, I tried to book a school bus through Dattco as well but they said they don’t rent then to adult groups, so I had to go somewhere else.

http://dattco.com/

First Student – B

I wanted a shuttle for my guests and it was only a 5-10 minute ride between places so I figured a school bus was fine.  I filled out the quote request on their website and got an email back from the location local to my venue (West Hartford).  I dealt with Nancy.  I must say they are not the most responsive and don’t check their documents very well, when I was sent a contract the date was wrong and the times and I told her and she had me change them on my own copy and she did the same on hers (I hadn’t signed it yet).  I was a bit nervous that they would get the times wrong or something because of the lack of communication, but I sent a detailed schedule of the day for them to follow and it all worked out fine.  At the end of the night the last shuttle was supposed to leave at 9:30 but there were still more people left to bring back, the driver said not to worry he wouldn’t stop until he knew everyone was back which made me feel better.  I am a bit annoyed as I sent in my check in the beginning of March and they haven’t cashed it yet. 

http://www.firststudentinc.com/

Inn at Middletown – A

We booked a block of rooms here for our guests as it was the closest to the venue.  Even with the discount it was a bit expensive per room for a hotel not in a city or anything.  The hotel was very nice and the sales manager who I worked with was helpful, letting me know how many had booked, when the cutoff dates were etc.  Also about 3-4 weeks before the wedding we decided to move the rehearsal dinner location.  We were going to do it at Fiore in Middletown but we went for lunch one day and the food was awful.  So we contacted Katelin from the Inn at Middletown and asked if we could do it there, it was the same price per person, the food was great and the location was much better as well.  I will say that we went to get brunch (not for all guests just in the restaurant) the morning after the wedding and they only had about 6 or 7 tables in the place, it didn’t accommodate many people. 

http://www.innatmiddletown.com/

White Dress by the Shore – A+

I got my Modern Trousseau dress at White Dress by the Shore.  All of the staff there is amazing and make me felt very comfortable.  They even sent me the dress in Massachusetts when it came in so I was able to not pay sales tax as it wasn’t in CT. 

http://www.thewhitedressbytheshore.com/

Fay Carrher – A+

I got my alterations done by Fay Carrher up in MA as it was easier for me and much cheaper than White Dress.  She was simply amazing, she did everything perfectly, made a veil for me and charged a reasonable price IMO.  If anyone wants her info, let me know, she doesn’t advertise just gets business off of recommendations and word of mouth and she is pretty busy. 

Mens Wearhouse – A

We actually went to a store in MA (Dedham) to pick everything out, but all of the GM’s when to a different store as they were coming from all over.  There were no problems, even when we decided to switch something.  And the Best Man just returned everyone’s suits together which is nice about Men’s Wearhouse, so not everyone had to make it back to their store on Sunday. 

Sandals Grande Saint Lucian – A

We knew we wanted to go somewhere warm and all-inclusive.  We looked online for a while and researched different islands and decided on St. Lucia and this specific Sandals because it had good reviews and looked beautiful.  We were not disappointed.  I will say that when you fly into the airport the drive to the resort is long and bumpy as St. Lucia is all hills and mountains.  As soon as we got to the resort we were given a drink, talked through everything, they brought our bags to our room.  The resort is beautiful, it has the Caribbean on one side and the Atlantic on the other, a few pools, lots of beach, restaurants, bars etc.  The food was good, the staff was friendly and they always had something going on, but didn’t force anyone to participate.  We would go out in the morning reserve a couple of chairs in the shade on the beach go eat and relax. 

http://www.sandals.com/main/grande/gl-home.cfm