***gladiola***

texangator

I must have missed your vendor reviews!  Are they posted on a bio somewhere, or can you repost them?  I'm especially interested in your comments on Bouquets of Austin and Michelle's.  Thanks!  (And again- your wedding was lovely!!)

Gladiola09

Date: 8/16/2009 at 11:19 PM Hi there! Re-posting review- I don't know where it went! A handful of photos (taken by friends) from the wedding are at jeffreyandmaria.com (pword is fredignger628)as well as my photographer's blog (listed below). Rehearsal brunch: Chez Zee. These people really know how to run a smooth event, even at their busiest time- brunch! Banquet manager Mark Fleming is on top of things at all times. They let us customize our menus and granted our every request. I feel the restaurant is fine-dining enough to feel “special”, but not as expensive as the more upscale-dining places. Highly recommend! Wedding Photographer: Allen Doberenz. We interviewed 7 photographers because photos are a HUGE deal to me, and I wanted THE BEST regardless of cost. I was willing to skimp in other areas to get great photos. This is the one item you’ll keep for a lifetime! Of course, a few days after the wedding, we haven’t seen photos but Allen is simply a master at his craft. My Jeff HATES to be photographed, but somehow Allen put him at ease. He is also a very likeable guy and super-creative. I just know our photos will be amazing. Doberenzphotography.com Hair: Alexandria Derer (Edelweiss Salon) Alex is amazing. I didn’t do a trial because I had seen how she did another bride's hair and knew I’d like it. She did my hair exactly as I wanted it, and was so easy to communicate with. She is also priced reasonably and came to my hotel room downtown to do my hair. For my next special occasions I will definitely come back to Alex. Her salon is on West Oltorf. Highly, highly recommend! Makeup: Katie Astoria, Modern Muse Makeup. Like my hair gal, Katie came to my hotel room downtown. Such a convenience! We had done a trial and it was clear that Katie was listening. I also appreciated a few “reality checks” when I wanted to do something completely unwise with my makeup. She is not just a makeup artist but a skin and makeup educator! Katie will be my go-to person next time I need to look great for an event. Calligraphy (Place cards, invitation envelopes, table number cards, seating chart): I do calligraphy myself and am "okay" at it, so I did the wedding invitation envelopes. But certain things I wanted to be PERFECT. My calligrapher and friend Teri Gaus does PERFECT, stunning calligraphy, fit for royalty. You can see her work in my place cards and table number cards. Music: Marc Devine (jazz) Marc is a long time Austin jazz pianist who has played with only the best names in Austin and in New York (he divides his time between the two cities). He is very reasonably priced. If you want a classy act that still gets people dancing, this is the way to go. They did both instrumental, fast jazz tunes and vocal jazz standards. I requested to have a 5-piece band (plus vocals) but he can do any configuration. He and his singer, Denia Ridley, did my processional song and it was amazing (she sang “At last”). www.Marcdevine.com Flowers: Bouquets of Austin. They are the nicest, sweetest people, but there was a MAJOR misunderstanding with my ENTIRE order that dramatically affected the end result. My bouquet, centerpieces and boutonnières ALL had something wrong. A disappointment. At least we did have lots of flowers and they were all fresh (just the WRONG kind). Sure, guests don’t know that those flowers are not what YOU intended, but YOU know; and when you are paying close to a thousand dollars, you kind of expect to get what you paid for. If you choose them, make extra darn sure you are speaking the same language and don’t rely on photos to convey your vision. Use actual flowers to show what to do and what not to do. Manicure/pedicure: T-nails on Burnet Road near North Loop. I went because a friend said you could get a mani and spa pedicure all for $30. I have had better manicures. Since I chose a sheer color, no one noticed and it wasn’t a big deal… but I would not go back to this place. Invitations, save-the dates, and stationery suite: Paper Place. This place is amazing in how many fine paper names they carry, and their service. Our invitations were gorgeous. Venue: Shoreline Grill. We didn’t want to bother with separate vendors as far as venue, caterer, linens, chairs, etc. This restaurant’s banquet room was exactly what we needed. We had a formal, seated dinner (they do buffet, too but I wanted a plated two-course dinner) and with an open bar all night, it was still a reasonable bill. It doesn’t require any décor at all, and it affords a view of the lake. Patty and Julie were very good at running the event smoothly. I had SO MANY things in the timeline, that there were a few very minor glitches (as are in every wedding, I suppose), but nothing I would hold against them. I highly recommend this venue. Gown: David's, Sunset Valley location (Brodie Lane). You have to understand that I’m the gal who DID NOT want to wear a bridal gown. I went to David’s and a dozen other places looking for formal evening gowns. I didn’t care the color as long as it wasn’t white AND I could wear it again. 'Cause brides are stupid in spending $1,000 on a dress they wear just once, right?! So I bought a $100 dress at Macy’s and 48 hours before my wedding, decided I wanted to be a stupid bride and wear a white wedding gown! SO I went into David’s bridal on Friday (wedding was Sunday) and found THE dress. Those ladies were GREAT (although they couldn’t believe it!). They altered the dress and said I would have to go back on my wedding day to pick it up. But they called Saturday and had me try it on (good thing, ‘cause it needed so many more alterations). I was VERY HAPPY with a store I had always bashed. I am a convert! Now I have to sell the dress, but it was SO worth it! Cake:Michelle’s Patisserie. Michelle is a sweetheart and she bakes a delicious cake. It was a tough decision, though, because I also LOVED Krissy’s cakes. The cake tasted exactly as it should, and although the final look was not like in the photo I had sent her (from a Martha Stewart cake), and the color was not what we had agreed upon, it was still a beautiful cake. We had set up boxes so guests could take a piece home as a favor, and they were gone fast!