I really appreciated the reviews I read on this forum while I was planning so I want to be sure to share my feedback. Our wedding was in December 2010.
Venue : The Oasis A+
We were fortunate to have clear cool weather the day of our wedding and the atmosphere in the Starlight room was awesome. Our guests loved being out on the balcony and taking pictures in front of the lake. I would highly recommend getting a band as the room has a large stage on one side with a great dance floor. The Wedding Coordinator, Beth Simpson, was SO helpful and accommodating throughout the whole process. She did a great job of coordinating my vendors behind the scenes and setting up the reception. I brought in my own centerpieces and her crew made them look clean and professional. Their catering options for fancy sit-down meals were not too impressive but if you stick with what they do best – Tex-Mex – then it will be fine. I would highly recommend this place for a fun, unique wedding reception that makes your guests feel like they are on vacation.
Dress Alterations – Beautiful U (Houston) C
I decided to use my mom’s dress and had someone alter it with some simple new additions. Arlene at Beautiful U is really good at what she does and is pleasant to work with. Unfortunately, after our appointments she is not the one to do the work on the dress and our conversation was never clearly communicated to the actual seamstress. They seemed a little disorganized and it took several appointments to get everyone on track with what needed to be done. I ended up having 3 different “final fittings” where the dress wasn’t really finished. These final fittings cut so close to the wedding date that I had to just take the dress and have my mom finish altering it the day before the wedding.
Photographer - Lisa woods (Now and then Photography) A
Lisa was a lot of fun, very efficient, and made sure we got all the key shots. She was so very helpful throughout the day but never in the way. She set-up a photobooth in the corner of my reception, brought her own prompts, and this is where she captured some of the best shots of the night. Her work is very colorful, natural, and the final edits are clean. She provides a CD and has great connections and recommendations for other wedding vendors. Bride’s Cake - Rise & shine bakery (Michelle Brull) AMichelle was very accommodating during the cake selection process. She has good prices and a decent selection of flavors. Her best asset is her decorating skills. She is very creative and can make custom designs look very professional. Grooms cake – Austin Cake Balls A+
I’m not sure I have to even explain this. Austin CakeBalls are one of a kind. I chose to just order several dozen online to be delivered to the reception. The Oasis set them up on display for me. ACB also makes cakes with cakeballs on them but I felt they were priced a little high and everyone just wants a cakeball anyway! Band – Branded Heart (out of Waco) B
This band was perfect for our laid back atmosphere. They played a good variety but were mostly country – what we wanted. They were very affordable. They covered some Usher and Montell Jordan which were a huge hit among our guests. They also learned a new song for our first dance which was right on. They had a lot of energy and played dance songs between their sets. My only issue with them is they decided to ignore our Please-do-not-play requests and they put on their own show. I was disappointed that we spent time communicating what we would like to hear and they completely disregarded it. All things considered - our guests had a great time with them. Florist – Wild Bunches D-
Not too happy with the florist. They were so great during the planning process and they have such a colorful and unique portfolio. My colors were lavender, cranberry and navy and I requested lavender and white roses. I told them to use their creativity but I do not like pink. When I showed up at the church the lavender roses were all wilted and shriveled. Because the lavender roses in my bouquet looked sad, they chose to fill it in with pink roses L. Of course this clashed with my red theme. My coordinator told me they were disorganized with the set-up and did not bring proper materials. My bouquet was an expensive cascading arrangement and flowers began to fall out after holding it for 5 minutes. It was very poorly constructed. Overall I did not receive the professional grade floral package that I paid for - I definitely would not recommend this group. Ceremony Music A Soloist Karen Mal from Will Taylor Strings Attached
Karen was awesome. Her voice is very lovely and made the ceremony atmosphere so special. She did solos on her guitar and even brought Will with her at the last minute for a special duet. Hair and Make-up - Tiffany Lee, Studio Tilee A Tiffany and her gang were a lot of fun and did a great job of working with all of our styling requests. They offered airbrushed or regular make-up options, she brought all of her materials out to our hotel suite, and her prices were reasonable for the high quality we received. Her group really made the morning of the wedding a pleasant experience. Transportation - R&R Limousine and Bus A
We had to bus our guests out to the Oasis from our church downtown and this company had the best prices. We got two large greyhound type buses, one small wedding party bus and they even included a small town car for my husband and I to leave the reception. They were very accommodating when our reception time ran over, very punctual, and professional. I would consider this one of the best wedding day investments.