Wow! That day went SO FAST. Everyone tells you to slow down and enjoy it, and they are right! Best advice: take a moment (or 2 or 3) with your new spouse and breathe, kiss, sit in silence, whatever.
Also, just a note that my overall budget goal was $10,000 - 15,000 (when judging whether you would consider my costs reasonable for you or not).
Now the vendors!
Brandi’s Bridal Galleria: ABrandi's was the last shop in a series of five or six that I went to for dress shopping. I wanted to find the nicest dress at the best price and don't particularly like looking for girly clothes, so it was an adventure. This shop was excellent at listening to what I was looking for, letting me browse, and making an effort to keep prices low (reducing alterations that weren't necessary). The dress was absolutely gorgeous, fit perfectly (needed no major alterations, just hem and french bustle loops) and was a decent price. Vera's House of Bridals/Nedrebo's: BI had high expectations for Vera's - I grew up in Madison and have been hearing about them since I can remember. They didn't end up being a great place to find a wedding dress in my price range, but they did help me figure out what to do with bridesmaid dresses.I ended up deciding on gem (dark red/burgundy), tea-length dresses in taffeta from Watters/WToo, in any style the girls wanted. The designer is found nationally, so my out of town maids had no trouble going to other shops. (Also, employees warned me on 2 occasions that ordering dresses from different shops could end in disaster - different dye lots, etc etc - but the dresses looked perfect. So I'm a fluke? Or the danger is inflated to make a sale? Who knows.) On a bad note, three maids got measured and ordered by Vera's - all of their dresses came in TOO SMALL. While it's difficult to say whether this was a measurement error or just a trend with the designer, I want others to be aware of it. The reason for the "B" rating is that several Vera's employees were less-than-helpful when the size issue arose, accusing my maids of essentially getting too fat for their dresses (not the case) and being generally condescending. I personally never felt treated poorly by anyone at Vera's, and would generally recommend the shop to others - just be an informed consumer and prepare to be your own advocate if necessary![In terms of service at Nedrebo's for the men, everything went pretty smoothly, although the employee working with us was trying to simultaneously accommodate everyone who came into the store after us, no matter how long it made us wait, and so we ended up being there for 2 hours. Not okay.]
Metcalfe’s Sentry Foods (Cakes): A We ordered 35 single-layer cakes (~$11 each) for the tables in various flavors (all with white icing so people didn't know what flavor they'd get) - we talked to the bakery department 2 months beforehand and they had us call 2 weeks before the event to place the order. Cakes were delicious - process couldn't have been easier! They delivered as well right to our venue in town. French Paper Company: AI screenprinted my save-the-dates and the main part of my invitations, had a friend lasercut the placecards, and wanted specific colors in a heavy cardstock. French Paper is a mill/company in Michigan that has tons of options at very reasonable prices. I ordered enough to take care of everything I planned for, plus extras that came up at the last minute. Would highly recommend!
Fifty Flowers: A-
I was quite hesitant to order flowers for my wedding online, and I found it hard to believe online reviews of different retailers - but I took the plunge anyways! We ordered gladiolus flowers from another retailer online and mini calla lilies from Fifty Flowers. The callas arrived in great condition exactly when they were scheduled to show up.
I did have to call to get the FedEx tracking number, as FF didn't send me the number in an email the day before (after 5 pm) as they indicated they would (the ONLY negative about the experience). After that, FF called to update me about the package several times, including a few minutes after FedEx delivered the flowers (to confirm that I knew how to care for them), which was nice. I had a very good friend prep and arrange my (very simple) flowers, and I would highly recommend DIY brides consider finding a willing (and hopefully knowledgable) accomplice to help, because it was MUCH MORE work than I had anticipated, and my friend was the best thing I could have hoped for.
Whole Blossoms: A
Whole Blossoms was the second online retailer that I used for my wedding flowers (Fifty Flowers was the other) - we ordered 150 gladiolus flowers that arrived exactly as scheduled and in great condition. Communication was great by email with WB and the flowers were beautiful for the event 5 days later! I had very simple centerpieces (24" vases with five 40-48" white gladiolus flowers per vase) but I would still highly recommend finding a friend/relative at least somewhat familiar with flower prep/care. We had 30 tables, and even with a troop of helpers the morning of the wedding, the friend who did the prep was SO valuable.
Aveda Beauty School (Brenna, student): A+
I wasn't impressed by other salons (and their prices!) when I did a trial appointment a few months before the wedding. I had been to the Aveda school numerous times for haircuts, and not only love the smell/feel of products but also how attentive the students are in terms of likes/dislikes for style and cut.
Since our wedding was on a Sunday and the school is closed then, Brenna (who did my mini-trial appointment the week before the wedding) came to our house and did my hair, as well as that of 3 of my bridesmaids (and makeup if desired) - the price was extraordinarily reasonable and she loves doing bridal styling. Highly recommended!
University of Wisconsin Memorial Union: A
We were stuck trying to find space for 200-300 people in Madison, WI this summer for our wedding, and wanted something a little more special than a large conference room in a hotel. The Memorial Union is usually booked out 18 months in advance for Saturdays, but we managed to reserve a Sunday, which brought costs down with most vendors (including the Union) and worked out perfectly (it was July 3rd - no work on Monday!).
Working with the staff at MU was great - we always felt that we were informed about the important things (both during planning and on the day of the reception). In terms of arranging a food tasting, it is quite important to call the Central Reservations office early on in the process, since tastings are offered only at a few scattered times during the year (but they are included for bride + groom!). Finding a time to meet with Stephen Lucas, the catering director, was also a little challenging (he has a lot of events to coordinate all year at the two Union sites and at assorted other venues). However, once we had a meeting time, things went very smoothly. Stephen was so honest and up-front about everything - very appreciated.
The *only* gripe I had was that everything (table numbers and cards, especially) was cleared from the center tables - to clear space for dancing - too fast for me to save my own card! The staff was a little too efficient, but I also did not have the foresight to set those things aside that I wanted to keep. Overall, our Union wedding was elegant (the space needs little/no decoration!), affordable (250 people served a delicious meal for ~$6000), and fun (we are from two Badger families, so it was almost a no-brainer). Would highly recommend this venue!
Velocity (ACA Music & Entertainment): A+
We really wanted a live band for our wedding but had a tight budget to stay within. Velocity provided 3 hours of awesome, dance-floor-filling entertainment for less than $2500. The band (from Milwaukee, but willing to travel) has a great song list to look over, and once we gave them a general sense of the type of songs we liked and which ones we wanted to leave out, they created a set list that stayed pretty true to our wishes. The floor was full the whole time the band was playing, and everyone had wonderful things to say about them - we even have friends who got engaged just after our wedding who are interested in booking the same band. We only wish we had booked them for longer that night!
Arthur Murray Dance Studio: C
My fiance and I wanted to do something more than the high-school sway during our first dance, but we didn't have particularly high expectations. We also didn't have much time (<2 months) to become less awkward on the dance floor, so our instructor focused on teaching us a few simple variations of a style similar to foxtrot. She was engaging at the beginning but seemed not to recognize when and how we really needed help to improve. We actually ended up with a different, younger instructor at our 3rd and final private lesson who brought us up to speed and did a lot to get us more ready for the big day.
Overall, I'm not sure that the regular pricing for lessons is a great deal. Private lessons helped us the most, while group lessons didn't really teach much detail (which is the point but is also not as interesting). We didn't attend any of the parties they host. If we hadn't gotten the lesson package as a gift (Groupon), I don't think I would have gone to this studio, and I doubt I'll go back. I've since gotten recommendations from friends about smaller studios in our area (South-central Wisconsin) that are a better value.
If you have any extra questions or want to see photos of any of the tangible things I've talked about, let me know!
Happy happy planning!
Michele