Hey fellow Knotties...
I'm excited to say I have vendor reviews from my wedding that was on
Oct 15, 2011...I was an out of state bride- so this website was detrimental in helping me to pick out my vendors. I hope I can be of help with all of you.
Catering- Austin Catering: A++
We worked with Kristin from AC- she was very helpful and extremely organized at the wedding. I was initially confused by the timeline and the many questions she had- but in the end, I was so thankful for all the preparation she did ahead of time. The food was FANTASTIC and the service was top notch. We had turkey, beef tenderloin, martini mashed potato bar, sweet potato fries, fried pickles, veggies, and a few more appetizers. Everyone was commenting on how great the food was and not your ordinary "wedding food buffet". My only recommendation: make sure you make time to eat yourself! The food was too good to pass up.
Photography- Jeff Campbell: A++
This is a preliminary review because I haven't seen the photos yet...but from the experience I had prior to and at the wedding- I can tell you that he is great. He checked in with me about a month before to go over what photos I wanted and the timeline. Then, a few days before, we went over the timeline again. The comments I received about him post-wedding were "Man- that photographer of yours worked really hard!" and "Your photographer was really nice and funny and I want to buy some of the photos he took of my family". Overall- I would definitely recommend Jeff Campbell.
Rentals- Premier Party Central: B
I am giving a lower score for them because there was initially much confusion with my quotes and the woman I was working with was not helpful. It wasn't until I complained that I was able to work with someone who actually knew what they were doing. Overall- the rentals were beautiful and dropped off at venue on time and in order. I did not rent a tent from them because I found a much lower price that Premier Party Central could not match.
Tent Rental- Alexander Tent Rental: A++
Charlene was SO helpful and accomodating. Being an out of town bride- I had a vision of what I wanted but really the only way to discuss it was through email and via phone. In the end, I met with her the day before the wedding and she described what I wanted to a tee. The tent was a 40x60 with lights and some drapery. She was able to beat everyone's price and even threw in the pole covers for free. I would absolutely recommend them over any other tent vendors.
Venue- Le San Michele, Buda TX: (D+)
I will be brief and to the point. If anyone is planning on having their wedding there- please read over the contract and then read it again. .
Transportation- Carey Limos of Austin: A
I worked with Kandy and she was very helpful to accomodate 3 shuttles to/from downtown Austin to Buda. Her prices were better than any other shuttle service I found and she even gave me a discount on top of that. I did not want anyone driving intoxicated, and I found this vendor to be very important. The only negative I have is that she can be hard to get ahold of because she is so busy...in the end, their services were fantastic.
DJ- Barnstormers: F
I had a horrible experience with Bruce from Barnstormers. To make a long story short, he hung up on me several times, sent me cd's in the mail of my ceremony that were wrong on THREE seperate occasions (I never got the correct one), he was absent and unavailable and it wasn't until I called and complained that he sent me the first cd. In the end, it was two weeks before the wedding and I was still trying to get ahold of him to talk about the music because we had NOTHING set up. I gave up when the 2nd cd was sent because it too was wrong and fired him upon listening to it. He then sent another cd-- and it was wrong again!!! Also- he will not give me back my depost of $156 because I fired him within the two weeks of wedding- however, I couldn't get ahold of him to fire him before!!!
DJ- Tunes Across Texas: A++
I wish I had picked them to begin with. They are SO organized with an online portal to input all your musical choices and timeline of wedding (i.e. what to play and when to do things like cut the cake, etc). Al was my DJ and he was very professional, fun, and I got many compliments on him throughout the night.
Cake- The Sweet Stuff Bakery, Kyle TX: A++
My cake was exactly what I had wanted and tasted wonderful. I gave her a photo of a Martha Stewart Cake and she was able to replicate it to a tee. I also wanted a "basketball" groomsman cake and I was nervous how it was going to look--but it ended up being the hit of the party. My groom LOVED it. Both cakes were $475 and I had 80 people in attendance.
Misc: I used sites such as this one, weddingbee.com, weddingwire.com, ebay, and craigslist to find certain items I didn't want to pay full price for. I got my veil from weddingbee.com for only $35 and it was in perfect condition and exactly the one I was going to purchase from David's Bridal. In addition, I bought all my personalized mason jars online as well as my napkins, sashes for chairs, speciality bottles, favor boxes, etc. I saved quite a bit of money and was able to add my own personalized touch to everything.
I hope this was helpful. If anyone has any questions- please feel free to contact me.
texasbrandy33@hotmail.com.
Oct 15 is just around the corner!