- - We tried to hire a ceremony musician off craigslist. I should have known better.  Tim Claussen.  Turned out he didn't "know ceremony music", was going to "wing it", refused to even learn "zippity do da" as our recessional, and STILL thought he was going to play "reception" music after we insisted several times he would play ceremony and cocktail hour. Our fault for waiting too long to confirm music, but also our fault to think someone hired specifically as a "Ceremony" musician would know ceremony music.  Fortunately our wedding coordinator saved us and brought in another musician for the ceremony, had Claussen play for cocktails and take his deposit as his fee, and the balance went to the newly hired musician. All with two days to go.

+ + Lori Hungtinton of Imagen Events.  If there were any problems on the wedding day, we didn't know it . Since we only had eight weeks left (the major vendors were hired), and we were an off season wedding she made an offer we would've been fools to refuse.  By the time we talked to her again 24 hours later, she had already earned her deposit and I never looked back. After a couple quick checks early on, I did'tnt think we could afford a coordinator, then I wish we had hired her sooner. It's true what they say about event planners;  Lori saved us money (with what was left for vendors and basically it paid her fee), played "the bad guy" so we kept our friends & family, got what we wanted from our vendors, had an amazing & extremly affordable seamstress in her pocket, and allowed us to relax and experience our day to the fullest. She does weddings for a living, we are brides for a day....'nuff said. (I hope to hire her to plan my "big" birthday party in '11.)

1451 Renaissance Place, Scott and Mike.  The venue that we visited on a pipe dream, turned reality thanks to Scott and some shrewd negotiations. He was always very careful to not push any particular vendors on us, but would offer at least two suggestions without prejudice when we felt stumped. He is very thorough during the pre-meeting, and veryprofessional. His staff were on point, always smiling, and even ready with a compliment.  One small tip, ask that his staff are not so quick to remove the glasses.  Even water was disappearing when guests got up to dance. 

Saz's Catering, Ed McIntosh. International Stations? They have it hands down.  We did several tastings, and thought the same thing, Saz's? We went as a last shot, thinking we already had our choice and he won us over.  Now they have a special name for "fine catering" so perhaps that will help them win more wedding events, but if I can help you decide then take this review. We wanted amazing food, we wanted interactive, and we wanted good staff.  He had it all.  TIP: Enjoy the food at your tasting! Between the butterflies and the everything else, I hardly ate at the wedding. Perhaps he should not charge for the guests of honor, lol. One more "yes"..the guests are still raving about the food.  Goal Accomplished!

Girl Next Door Band, and Gigmasters.com  We hired them through the website after checking the band out at one of their gigs. They are everything the reviews said they were.  Angela, Freyda, and Paula are the talented core and they will add to the band as needed.  They were a six person band with a sound guy for our wedding and kept the party going till the end.  Angela will let you put together an iPod playlist for band breaks, they learned Proud Mary for a father/daughter dance, and they know how to read a crowd and interact with guests.  We only requested a few "must have" songs from their list and said, "you are the professionals so keep the guests dancing and happy".  Oh boy, did they ever. Can you say "More Cowbell!? Go see them, then hire them!  Oh, they even partied with us at the hotel after....great folks. (Facebook Fan Page)

Jess Fluer Fun Floral, Mindy. Our coordinator, Lori, is professionally connected with them and negotiated a great price.  Very friendly, beautiful work, and we got more than expected.  Mindy and her business partner attend industry events and are very current.  They found exactly the daffodils & flowers we hoped for, did amazing bouquets, centerpieces, dressed the ceremony, and proved that a few quality well chosen flowers can make the biggest difference in your theme and beautifully dressed venue. There may not have been a billion flowers, but they made it look that way.

A few quickies...

++Midwest Sound, Chad.  Did some basic venue lighting at an amazing price even though we didn't hire his DJ service. He even threw in a couple "band" lights when he met them during set up.

++A Joyful Occasion Bridal Salon, Freyda.  Naperville IL.  She is very good at listening to you and helping find The One.  Simply put girls... Just because David's Bridal and Eva's are the only (you know what I mean) shops in MIlwaukee, you don't have to buy your gown there.  Fine for BM dresses, but this is a once in a lifetime outfit for you.  Don't settle, take a drive out of town and get what you REALLY want, because it'sprobably not in Mke. + - There is a long shot, Zita's near Bayshore.  Worth a look, even if it's for comparison of styles.

- - Chef Jacks.  We heard good things but in the end, felt they were not exactly *open and were more concerned with only High Profile clientele. (read; Pretty Woman shopping scene).

+  -  Zilli Catering, Paula and the chef from IN whos name I can't remember.  This was our front runner.  We loved everything about them.  In the end, they only lost on one major point.  Saz's was far more interactive for International  Stations. (The price quote was pretty close so I won't count that, and Paula did call us back a second time to "up" her offer because they wanted us. No regrets though.

+ + Ken's Digital Photography, Ken Schaefer.  The pictures came out beautiful and he captured the story of the day.  He missed only one shot I requested and wrote on his list, and my other concern is how long the process takes after the wedding. I was trying to wait on my review till I had photos and could post them, but.... the best I can do is maybe our "album draft" is still up for viewing on collages.net (user: 060410 pass:6786) A "scroll play" will only take two minutes and give you a good look, and give feedback before we give final album approval. Everything is still in production.  All in all, there are more great images than there is room in the photo album (he showed us 698 images).  BIG TIP; remember, you can't re-do anything and when it's all over, photos are what you have forever.  Hire an artist (put up with the quirky because a true artist is always a little different), and pay for quality.  If it seems too cheap, then you are probably getting Sears Portrait Studio.  Is that what you want for your wedding day?

++ Men's Warehouse, Brookfield. MICHELLE Found Michelle at the expo in Waukesha who told us about a pilot program for tuxes. *See the end of this review why tuxes were a major/minor detail for this wedding. She also personally did the measuring and set up delivery at closer locations (Southridge would be closer to Mke, and some out of town people).  Every last piece fit correctly, no problems, they all looked Hot!

+ - Aloft Hotel for out of town guests and an after party location. Great setting, loved the room, our late checkout, the staff, and let us stay in the lounge past bar close.  However, we got nothing we were promised (drink specials, parking price, valet included) and guests had a hard time booking with our wedding rate.  The person we worked with is "no longer there", so give it a try.

LASTLY... if you read this unaware, this was a same sex wedding.  Before a final hiring of all vendors I made sure I spoke up and there were no surprises. ALL of our vendors and their staff were amazing.  They treated us with respect, like any other couple, treated our guests with respect regardless of who they were, and did their jobs without reservation and beyond expectations. The best story I heard after the event, came from Mike at Renaissance Place.  One of his staff remarked to him what "a great wedding this was".  Mike agreed and told him "now go look out the window.  See, the world didn't end ". Thanks Mike. 

Good Luck to all the knotties, hope it was helpful, and thanks for your patience if you read this all the way to the end. Comment, or email if you want more detail, more names, or contact numbers. 

 *Tuxes explained: My Bride had her tux custom made. Michelle set up the wedding party and got us in on a corporate pilot program for womens tuxes. (Women in mens' tuxes always look like drag or dress-up.) The men AND Women looked HOT. 

Happy Wedding, and a Happy Marriage!

Lora Jane