Round two, let's start this party!
Ideal Stones
After searching through hundreds of web sites and speaking to countless jewelers to find something that spoke to me, I was recommended to Oren at Ideal Stones, which is an independent jeweler in Toronto. I had a vision of what I wanted, but had a very difficult time finding a jeweler that carried something similar or would be willing to craft it in the materials I was looking for (without trying to change my vision).
Oren was very prompt to respond to all of my questions via e-mail, and I never once had to prompt for a reply to my questions. I have never felt forgotten or neglected, or as though my business was not appreciated (even in the inquiry stages). I did everything by e-mail from the other side of the country, and sent an example photo of what I was looking for (a gemstone with no prongs and not channel set). The person who made the recommendation to Oren let me know that he's very easy to work with with pricing, and was able to meet or beat the big names like Tiffany, etc., but could also beat places like Costco for pricing.
Oren and Ideal Stones have been above and beyond professional and have far exceeded my expectations. Oren took his time to explain to me the different types of metals an benefits and drawbacks of each, the different types of stones and diamonds and their cuts, as well as the settings and how they would all work together to create my final desired design.
Ultimately, Oren was able to design the perfect ring for me, and was even able to upgrade some of the materials to a higher quality. It's a perfect fit, is beautiful and contemporary, fits all of my criteria I was looking for, and was under budget.
The package was delivered in a very secure manner (literally, it was a box in a box in an other box, in an envelope, which was in another padded envelope, which was in another envelope...), and Oren was quick to follow up to confirm delivery. Best of all, the independent assessment was significantly higher than what I paid for the ring (more than double!).
Sauced Food Truck
Originally, I was looking at hiring Scott at Masterpiece to cater our in-suite ceremony and reception. Scott was awesome at replying to my e-mails, but a drop-off service for food was quoted at around $750 or $24 a person, or $27 a person with non-alcoholic beverages. At the recommendation of @adverb, I reached out to Mike at Sauced.
Mike was freaking awesome. I knew or expected from other reviews on this board to expect to wait for a reply for a day or two, so I was always thrilled to hear from him faster. In most cases, he replied to my emails in minutes, regardless of what time I sent them (most times, my emails were sent around 10pm). I think the longest wait was maybe two hours, so for those of you who were and or are nervous about that correspondence delay, I don't think you have anything to worry about.
Now, keep in mind, our goal with our wedding was to have something extremely low key, casual, and most importantly: fun. I emailed back and forth with Mike, asking about options on providing beverages, special requests like punch, etc., what happened if we changed our minds and wanted staff instead of just a drop off service, etc., and ultimately went with something pretty simple. We had no issues whatsoever.
Sauced came in way under budget compared to Masterpiece; our total price was $500 for 23 people for food, beverages, taxes and drop-off/delivery service to the MGM Grand. I didn't eat a lot, but I was definitely in love with the mac & cheese. Mike was right on time with our scheduled delivery, was super friendly, and the food was delicious.
I wish I had thought ahead and had the food delivered a little earlier, so that the wedding party could have eaten before the ceremony rather than kind of racing around afterwards.