Hello!
I got married about 3 months ago and I finally had a minute to sit down and write my reviews. For the most part I was really happy with most of my vendors. I based so many of my decisions based on this board and other knotties reviews so I hope this helps you! If you want to see pics or have any questions feel free to emai me at Smickler425atgmaildotcom
Flowers: The Glass Fountain: A+. I had a lot of flowers. I changed my mind almost every week leading up to the wedding and kept adding flowers in different places and numerous wreaths. Rebekah was very east to work with. She does almost all of her communication through email. At first she wasn’t as responsive but the closer we got to my wedding she would respond the same day. Her prices were so reasonable and the quality was great. I have no regrets whatsoever with my decision in choosing her!
Photography: JMARK Photography: A+ I LOVED my pictures. We didn’t want to spend more than $2500 on pictures so we shopped around for a while to make sure we really loved who we picked. We wanted to make sure we got the formal pics and some journalistic ones as well. The fact that there were 2 photographers the entire time really captures every moment. We received our pics a week after our wedding which was really nice. As I was going through our CD I could really see how the story of our wedding day was drawn out. I was completely satisfied with not only my wedding pictures but also my e-pics and bridals.
Venue: Vintage Villas: A++. We could not of asked for a better venue. They took care of everything the day of. I did not need to worry about a day of coordinator because I simply told Lisa what I wanted and needed to happen and it was done. They are really good at what they do and I received compliments all night about how nice the venue was. Their pricing includes so much and the venue is all inclusive so there is no need to worry about finding a caterer and liquor. We also reserved a villa which was really nice because 90% of my family simply stayed the night at the hotel.
Officiant: Brother Scott Johnson. A+ He managed to give us a “Catholic” wedding outside. He was short, sweet, and funny. We didn’t want a long ceremony so he was perfect for what we needed. His price also included the rehearsal which was nice.
Cake: Matty Cakes: We felt truly lucky to find Matty. We received so many compliments on our cakes, especially the groom’s cake. I seriously just showed him a picture of my cake and he replicated it to the T. The cakes weren’t only beautiful they were delicious!
Linens: Marquee: B Although our venue came with basic linens we wanted to add our own as well. They delivered and picked up on time. We also were lucky enough to book them during their annual sale we received a heavy discount on several linens. The reason they received a B instead of an A was because we had ordered and paid for 120 sashes and the day of only received 50 sashes. Of course I was the only person that noticed. They did however reimburse us for their mistake.
Bridal gown and bridesmaid’s dresses: B+ Bridal Galleria (San Antonio) Girls dresses were Bill Levkoff. I wasn’t too picky on what kind of dress I bought. I knew I wanted a mermaid style dress and I found it right away here. It was the 3rd dress I tried on. Bridal Galeria was very accommodating by also having a nice selection of bridesmaid’s dresses as well. We ended up going with Bill Levkoff dresses for the girls. I loved how different their dresses looked. I would recommend ordering them at least 5 months in advance because although they were supposed to come in within 3 mths they didn’t arrive till a couple weeks before the wedding.
Shoes: Belle Saison. I received simple dyed shoes from here. They were great and matched my colors almost exactly. They came in with in30 days of purchasing them.
Hair: Austin Wedding Hair, A She was very reasonable as far as pricing. I want to say she charged $50 per girl and did not charge a travel fee. I found her just by googleing “Austin Wedding Hair”. I was skeptical because no one had heard of this company, but after she did my bridals and showed me her pass work I was sold.
Makeup: Katie with Modern Muse Makeup A+. I wanted a dramatic look for my wedding and absolutely LOVED my makeup. She is a true perfectionist and she is an all around sweetheart. She is a pro and what she does and would recommend her hands down!
DJ: Byrne Rock DJ. A+ We gave him a play list and a do not play list and he followed it all. Our dance floor was never empty and he knew exactly how to read the audience. He was also very reasonably priced.
Quartet: Sarinda String Quartet B They arrived on time and played great. The one issue that was kind of weird was that after the ceremony they kept playing outside instead of going inside to the cocktail hour which might have been more my fault by not specifying where I wanted them to play for the second hour. Other than that they were great!
Videographer: Johnny Ramirez: Craigslist A. We were not planning on getting a videographer and this was extremely last minute…week of decision. I found him on Craigslist and he was reasonably priced and we decided to book him. I did not even notice he was there. We just received our video and he captured our entire day including the Toast. He went above and beyond and was a lot better than we expected. I would definitely tell anyone out there that is unsure about getting a videographer to do it. I was in tears when we saw it for the first time and definitely do not regret this decision.
Rehearsal Dinner: North by Northwest: A+ Ever since we moved to Austin this was our favorite spot for dinner. The food is delicious and we love their home brewed beers. The process for booking was very simple. The made our food and drink menus for our dinner and we had a quaint room in the back where we were not bothered.
Tuxedos: Men’s Warehouse. B The process of ordering the tuxes were simple. The pants seemed a bit baggy and didn’t look that way when we ordered them at the store. Also they mixed up the “free” suit for our 12th person but that mistake was later fixed. Other than that it worked for us because our wedding party was from all over the country and they had stores that were located everywhere.
Invitations: Paper Place A We received many compliments on our invitations. I am not a do it yourself kind of gal so we ended up shelling out the money for our invites. They have a ton of books for you to thumb through so you will definitely find what you are looking for. It took about 4 weeks for them to come in once we ordered them. They give you a proof before they begin production which was really nice. I think the pricing was a bit high but we were willing to pay for them to get done professionally.
Lighting: D& H Stage Lighting A We loved our lighting. We had a monogram in the middle of the dance floor as well as cake lighting. They have amazing prices. I was also able to pick from different monograms and styles and colors for each.