Vendor reviews:
Venue (Ceremony and Reception): Best Place at the Historic Pabst Brewery, Milwaukee, WI – A
Overall, very good. The contact person can be difficult to contact, but comes through in the end. The only issue I had was that I had to pay an additional $500 on top of the fee I was already paying just to ensure they wouldn’t rent it out for the rehearsal. Also, another negative was that they kept doing tours up until 10 minutes before my wedding was to start. After pictures, there were still people from the tour sitting with my wedding guests, presumably drinking beer I was paying for. I was not pleased about this, and would definitely inquire about their tour times prior to your wedding.
I would definitely recommend for a unique venue though. The guests all really loved it!
Officiant: Rev. Nichole Baird, Matrimonies made in heaven – B-
I had to continuously call and email her to get a copy of the ceremony, which the contract noted would be to us at least 2 weeks before the wedding. She said she was out of town, however, we booked her 9 months prior to our wedding, and felt that she should have had it to us before then, versus 5 days prior to the ceremony. Also, she was late to the ceremony, stating she got stuck in traffic. She did call to let us know, but it was additional stress we didn’t need.
The ceremony turned out really well, and was overall pleased with what she drafted for our ceremony.
DJ: DJ Express Fun, A+
This company by far has the best prices around. The DJ was very accommodating to both me and my guests. He put up with my wedding party disappearing right when the bridal party dance was to begin and honored our do not play list!! Would definitely recommend.
Dress: Savvy Bride, Brookfield, A
Loved my dress!! Also got my bridesmaids dresses here, which all turned out very nice. The staff was very nice without being pushy, and they do not rip tags here!!
Alterations: Fig Leaf, Waterford, D
We took our dresses here last year for my best friend’s wedding and they did a great job for a low price. So, a few of my bridesmaids and myself took our dresses here as well. To start, they did not do my bustle as I had asked, I wanted a French bustle, and they did a ballroom one. The bustling was not done well, and when you tied the strings up, all the under lace of my dress stuck out. It looked very uneven.
Secondly, they completely screwed up my MOH dress. They took it in too much, so that when she tried it on the eye popped off and she couldn’t breath. And, they hemmed it too much, so that she couldn’t wear heals. Given that she tried it on and they pinned it and still messed both things up, I was not happy with them at all.
I think that they may have lost their touch and would not recommend this place at all.
Catering: Infusino’s, Racine – B-
The food was great and their prices are great. My only drawback is the person who runs the catering. She is very nice, but is a complete flake. When I called to give her my final number for the catering she asked what time dinner was, what I wanted for dinner, etc. Like she had no clue even though we had met on this. The final payment was due 2 weeks prior to wedding, and she said she’d have to run some numbers and would send me a bill that day (this was 3 ½ weeks prior to wedding date)…..5 days before wedding it shows up. Low and behold, there is a charge for $950 for china rental!! Are you kidding me? One, I hadn’t budgeted for this fee as it was NEVER discussed, and two, that seems mighty steep for plate rentals. Also, she forgot, after multiple discussions to add in cake cutting.
After many phone calls expressing my displeasure with this, she finally agreed to lower the plate fee to $625, which I still think is unreasonable, and did waive the cake cutting fee. However, I was overall really upset with the lack of follow up by Diane, the catering manager. And, if they are going to add in massive fees, they need to be upfront with the couples. Their prices seem great, until they nickel and dime you, adding on over $7 per person with rental fees that aren’t disclosed in the contract.
Cake: Rick’s Bakery, LLC, West Allis, A-
Cake was great, however, the red velvet was dry. As there were 4 other varieties to choose from, I didn’t see this as a big deal! The prices are very reasonable, and I would definitely recommend.
Flowers: Crazy for You flowers, Lake Geneva, A
David was great! The prices were great, and they worked with me to find something unique that I wanted while staying in my price range. I couldn’t have been happier with the creativity. Also, he works out of his home so that the prices are lower than much of the other places that I met with.
Photographer: Greatest Story Photography, Racine, A
Great prices, and awesome attention to detail! I know that my wedding party did not make it easy for the photographers, but they were great at keeping everyone on task to get the job done. I have not seen all the pictures yet, only a sampling, but so far so good! My only regret is that I didn’t get as many family shots as I would have liked, but I suppose there is only so much time in the day.
Hair & Make-up: Root’s Salon, Third Ward, Milwaukee, A
They had bagels and mimosas for the entire party. We had the entire salon to ourselves for the morning. All my bridesmaids commented how much they liked their hair. I absolutely loved my hair and make up!! They have great specials for trials and the bride gets her hair free on wedding day if 5 others book there too!! Had a great morning the day of!
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