Venue – The Vista on Seward Hill – A+This place is gorgeous, and the Sewards who run it really know what they are doing. They have it decorated beautifully, so I didn’t feel like I had to do much else, décor-wise. I just don’t have a single bad thing to say about this venue. It rained all day and our beautiful outdoor ceremony turned into a beautiful indoor ceremony. Despite the rain, the grounds still looked gorgeous, and even though people couldn't really walk around much, everyone commented on how pretty it all was, and how lovely and cozy the wedding was.DJ – Anthony Fernandez – A+Anthony is the in-house dj for the Vista, so we were taking a risk that he might not be any good. Luckily he was amazing. He played the songs we wanted, and the songs he picked might as well been my own choices, they were so in-line with our music taste. He coordinated the rehearsal, and kept everything moving on the day-of. I definitely wouldn’t have known what to do if he hadn’t been there letting us know.Caterer – Sterling Affairs – A+We only had the option of Sterling and one other caterer, and so this could have turned out bad for us, but Sterling ended up being the perfect choice. Shea was our contact, and she knows the Vista very, very well. She was basically my caterer and wedding coordinator all rolled into one, and her staff on the day-of were just amazing. It rained all day, and we had to move the ceremony indoors. Shea called me a few hours before we were supposed to arrive, to let me know what needed to happen. By the time I got to the Vista, the reception area had been transformed into a ceremony site, and I didn’t have to stress out about the rain ruining the wedding. The Sterling staff also worked quickly during dinner to transform everything back into a beautiful reception hall. And the food was amazing. Everyone I talked to said the food was so great, and wanted to know who the caterer was. The only negative was a miscommunication. I didn’t want to save the top tier of our 2-tier cake, it was a different flavor and I wanted it served, but it got saved anyway, and I didn’t find this out until after the wedding was over. No big deal though.Cake – Torte Bella – BI ended up being a little disappointed with Torte Bella. We had such a good experience with them leading up to the day, and we had loved the cake at the tasting. However, the day-of they dropped the cake off and left without talking to anyone. I didn’t even know the cake was there until the florist asked me to come see if I wanted her to put anymore flowers on it. The cake was not really what I had envisioned, although it was still a lovely cake. It was all minor details that were just slightly off, and they partially went by previously discussed designs instead of the final one in the contract. The cake tasted really good though, and since I was the only one who knew it wasn’t what I had ordered, everyone else thought it was a beautiful cake. I just thought it looked like every other wedding cake. I would just make sure when dealing with Torte Bella, that you are very clear with your vision, and that you confirm with them before the wedding. I wish I had done that.Photographer – Terry Goen of Goen South – A+(pending)I haven’t seen any pictures yet, so this review may change. However, Terry was wonderful. She took a million pictures, and told us exactly what she wanted us to do. This was really good, because we get totally awkward in front of the camera. She also blended in really well, never being in the way of the guests, but always being there to capture important moments. She was also really sweet and easy to work with. I have high hopes for her photos.Videographer – Voto Aikins of Graymask – A+(pending)Again, I haven’t seen anything yet, but Voto and her team were great. I found her on Craigslist offering a deal that was $450 cheaper than her cheapest package. We thought we were going to get the barebones coverage, but Voto came with two members of her team, and at least three cameras. We had cameras set up for multiple angles during the ceremony, and they were completely unobtrusive. She and her team, which includes her husband, were really great. Friendly and fun to work with. Also, they shoot in HD, and are cheaper than a lot of videographers who shoot in standard. I’m really looking forward to the video, and the super cute “movie trailer” Voto creates as a teaser.Florist – Rebekah Fountain of The Glass Fountain – A+Rebekah’s prices were significantly cheaper than everyone else’s. I have no idea how she does it, because her flowers are absolutely perfect. She was so great to work with, even when I had to change things at the last minute. She created beautiful wreaths for my centerpieces, which took a lot of work for her on-site, and for the head table she created an amazing spray of flowers that everyone commented on. She even added stephanotis to my bouquet for free when she had some left over from a previous bouquet. And when she wasn’t able to get any good peonies due to the recent drought, she emailed me to let me know, and ask what I wanted to replace them with, instead of just sticking in whatever she had available. After the wedding, I hung my bouquet upside down to let it dry, and a week and a half later, the roses in them still look fresh.Hair/Make-up – Brizy Tait – CI had a pretty good experience with Brizy during my trial. I liked what she did, and only had some minor things I wanted to change the day-of. She told me that with 6 people getting hair and/or make-up, we’d need to get to her studio at 11am to be done by 3:30. I had one bridesmaid that had to come later, and Brizy said if she came at 2:30 that would give her enough time. The day before the wedding she called to confirm, and even suggested we come at 10am. I said if we could be done in time if we came at 11, I’d rather do that. I felt 4 ½ hours was already too long. When we arrived, minus 2 late mothers and the bridesmaid who was coming later, Brizy wanted to know where everyone was, and why one bridesmaid was coming so late, since we would be done long before 2:30. Since she had originally told me we would be done at 3:30, I was quite surprised, and very upset, because I had nowhere to go between Brizy’s studio and the wedding, which we weren’t supposed to go to until 4pm. I managed to get my last bridesmaid, and the 2 mothers to the studio by noon, and we were out of her place before 1:30. By the time the ceremony started at 6, the lipstick was flaking off, and my face was all shiny. At least my hair looked good. I felt on the day-of that she was a bit rude, and didn’t really want fix anything I had a problem with, like the huge hole in my hair, or the red rimmed eyes. I’m also waiting to get a refund of my original deposit, which she never credited me for. I sent her an email yesterday asking for a refund, and she wrote back asking for my wedding date, and maiden name, since she didn’t recognize the name in my email. I emailed her by replying to her last email, which contained all the info about my wedding, and my name in the email contained both my maiden and married name. I should also mention that she does not do trials past 4pm on the weekdays, and does not do them on the weekends, so if you work an 8-5 job, you’ll have to take time off for the trial, which is what I had to do. Do not use her. More trouble than it is worth. She was by far the most stressful thing on my wedding day.Dress – Belle Saison – AI had an easy time finding a dress. It was the third one I tried on, pulled off the rack by a friend. They offer a lot of discounts on accessories, or you can get 20% off the dress. I got a beautiful hairpiece for $1, free shoes, and 20% off my veil, although it still would have been a lot cheaper to get my veil off ebay. The women who work there are all really sweet, and everything came in a lot sooner than was expected. They don’t do alterations though.Invitations – American Wedding – A+We went pretty cheap with the invitations, and I did not regret it one bit. So many people complimented me on the invites, so it was definitely worth saving time and money on them. They came quickly, and were exactly what I was expecting.Alterations – Nelda’s Tailors – A+I was really pleased with everything they did. I loved my bustle, and our videographer even said it turned my dress into a work of art. Nelda’s is apparently a bit pricier than some other places, but I didn’t know that at the time, and I felt 100% secure in leaving my dress in their hands, so it was worth it for me.Bridesmaids, Mothers dresses – David’s Bridal – B+We didn’t really have any big problems with DB. The only person that had alterations was my mother, and although they screwed it up the first time, they were apologetic and quick to fix it. The first time we went to look at BM dresses, they didn’t have a single dress in any style in my color, so that was a bit annoying. But after that everything was a breeze. They also exchanged a dress bought in Austin for a different size in NYC, without a receipt.Tuxedos – Men’s Wearhouse – ANo problems really, other then they are pricey for the quality. But the guys all looked great and had no problems getting the tuxes, despite some of the guys being giants.