Venue: The Winfield Inn - A+++++
I honestly cannot say enough WONDERFUL things about this place and its staff. April & Robyn are the Coordinators and although April was the DOC for me, they worked in unison through the whole process. They were super accommodating, worked with ALL the requests and changes I made (some last minute) and were always very fast with email and phone responses. They are full service too—I organized and labeled all of my décor boxes and just dropped them off the morning of the wedding. I stopped by just before my hair and makeup to answer minor questions and they handled the rest!! I was more stressed out in the weeks before the wedding than I was on the actual day!! The buffet was SOOO good and I loved our food! The place is so beautiful, it is magic. We felt it the moment we arrived for our tour and so many of our guests commented about the same thing the day of the wedding. Also, we paid a little extra to rent out the house that night which includes 3 bedrooms (and breakfast). We gave them as “thank you gifts” to some folks and they loved it! We also worked with The Winfield to host a breakfast Sunday morning for all of our out of town family/friends. The food was excellent and the presentation was awesome. It was a nice morning so they set up tables on their front porch and it was so relaxing!
Ceremony Music: Encore! - A
This is a group of college kids that is managed by one of their mother's. The were the most reasonably priced and so easy to work with. They met with me twice to let me hear them play and choose my selections. The also worked closely with our family friend that they acoompanied while she sang. They were GREAT!!
Alcohol: Precinct Line in Kyle – A
The Winfield requires that you bring in your own alcohol but they will serve it for you. I called and made all my arrangements by phone, paid over the phone and they emailed me a copy of my order. It was that simple. They calculated almost perfectly, arrived on time and even provided ice and limes for the beer. I did check their pricing against Spec’s and found them to be about the same – but Spec’s wouldn’t bring ice. This was one of the most simple wedding arrangements I made!
Wedding night hotel: Mansion at Judges Hill – A+
We had been debating on where we wanted to stay the night of the wedding and Sunday night. We wanted something special and not just your average hotel. Then Mansion had a Groupon for half off one night’s stay! The Groupon actually expired a few weeks prior to our wedding. I emailed the GM and asked if she would consider extending the date for us. She responded immediately and said yes! It is a GORGEOUS hotel in downtown and they rolled out the red carpet for us… even putting champagne and rose petals in our room. They also helped me set up a couple massage in our room as a surprise for my husband. I can’t recommend them enough and we look forward to some anniversaries there!
Rehearsal Dinner: Palmer's in San Marcos – A
There aren’t a lot of options for an RD near The Winfield so we asked them for a few recommendations. We were skeptical about Palmer’s because it seemed far away so we went one night on a date to check them out… we loved them! We worked with the manager, Monte and he helped me create an impressive custom menu. (He isn’t the best with follow-up but I gave him some slack since restaurant hours can be different than mine!) He worked with me on price and selection and I was very pleased. Their room minimums are very reasonable for a private room- no additional cost other than food/bev. We finished our Rehearsal earlier than expected so April called ahead to tell them we were on the way… they were ready for us even 30 minutes early! Not only that but at the last minute, he moved us into their largest private room with no additional charge! Each place setting had a custom menu with “Last Name – Last Name Rehearsal Dinner” on them. We had our own dedicated team of servers that were awesome and everyone had a blast!
Photo Booth: Booth 66 - A
We haven’t gotten the disk back for all of the images taken in the booth but the copies people left us in the scrapbook were HILARIOUS. People that we never expected got creative and everyone REALLY had fun. This was one of the most talked about things at our reception and folks loved it!!! We got in and took a fun one with our “Thank You” signs that I can’t wait to send with our Thank You notes! We chose Booth 66 because they offered a 4x6 picture format instead of the strip and their booth allowed a LOT of people enough room to squeeze in. I am so thankful we made room for this in our budget.
Video: Tribe Docs (Heather Olsen) - A
We won’t get our video for some time so I can’t speak to that yet. I can tell you that Heather has been very responsive through the whole planning process and was great on the day of the wedding. So great that I barely saw her that day! We booked her before she raised her prices so she was cheap! One of the things that sold us on her was that she offers a web link to the videos. We had some out of town folks (like DH’s Grandparents) that couldn’t make the trip, so this will be great for them! I with come back with another review once we get the video.
Photography: Providence Photo (Ryan Herring) – A+
Another vendor I can’t say enough about. He is actually a very old friend of DH’s and they were able to reconnect through this. Ryan is so good at what he does. He has great ideas but also allowed us to make specific requests. He was quick and very professional. I felt like I every time I turned around, he was there capturing the moment but he was never in the way. He did our E-Pics late last year and they were fantastic… I can’t WAIT to see the wedding pictures!
Flowers: Central Market – A+
I wanted pretty flowers but I wanted them simple and not expensive- they weren’t a huge priority to me. Donna at CM was fantastic to work with. I came in with a few pictures and I felt like we clicked right away. Her prices were unbeatable and I was so pleased with what we received day-of. My bouquet was HUGE and gorgeous!!!
Limo: Crown A+
They were on time and the limo was exactly what we wanted. He was very polite and they had water and Dr Pepper stocked just as we had asked. He had to navigate that limo through the AWFUL downtown Texas Relays traffic and we barely noticed. Where they REALLY scored big was when they called us the next day… we were frantically looking for DH’s camera and wallet and we didn’t know they had fallen out of his pocket into the seat of the limo!!! They called and brought it back to the hotel to us Sunday evening. So nice.
Rental Items: Mancino Iron A+
Alan is great to work with and understands working with Brides! We rented shepherd hooks, a birdcage for cards, a cake stand and a cross to hang in the gazebo. His prices are great and he is super flexible with pick-up and drop-offs. He stuff is beautiful and really “made” our décor.
Cakes: Kimberlys Kakery - A++
I “met” Kimberly through The Nest during my previous marriage and she was just starting this business. Now she is busy every weekend with different occasions! Her prices and flavor selection are great. One of the things I liked about her is that when she has a wedding, you are the ONLY cakes she makes that day. So, she isn’t frantically trying to get it done. She and I worked together over email developing the cakes and I was SO PLEASED when I saw the final product. They were exactly how I pictured and we got SOOOO many compliments on them. Not only for how they looked but how they tasted! The Bride’s cake was Butter Pecan and the Groom’s cake was split – half almond (dyed orange for UT) and chocolate chip (dyed red for Texas Tech). I absolutely cannot recommend her more… she will be my “go to” for any future birthday or special occasion!
Hair & Makeup: Beauty by April - A
When I started looking for hair/makeup, I contacted EVERYONE I could find. No one would come to me in Kyle for a small wedding party. They all flat out said no or would charge me a HUGE travel fee. Then I found April who agreed to fit me in on a Saturday she already had a morning wedding and her travel fee was very small. I was VERY pleased and honestly, I feel like my hair looked better the day of than at my trial. She also did my MIL and MOH and they were all pleased. April is very quiet and kind of reserved which I appreciated because we got behind schedule and she kept me calm. She never seemed rushed or flustered. She also hung around to help when I got dressed to check for any touch-ups or assistance.
DJ: Gobo Entertainment - B
This was a last minute decision for us after I decided the idea of using an iPod stressed me out. 
) I am SO glad we did this and we even added the custom monogrammed light that we go so many compliments on! I really liked that we had our own login to their website that allowed us to include all introductions, special instructions, song request and a do not play list. The ONLY reason I gave them a B is because I felt like the DJ Chris was a little unorganized, even though I had filled out everything for him on their website.
All Dresses: David’s Bridal - C
I can’t give them a failing grade because at the end of the day, I got a dress that I liked and it was cheap. But that is where it stops. I had an appointment for the day we tried on dresses and it was just me and my MOH. They put me with a consultant that was also working with a Bride that had about 6 Bridesmaids… I never saw her. She would swoop through and bring a dress every now and then but my MOH did all of the work- I am mad that consultant got any kind of commission. The dress I decided on wasn’t available in my size to try on so she gave me a much larger one and we clipped it. I don’t care about that … however, when it came time to order it, she insisted I needed a particular size even though I argued it would be too small. Lo and behold, when it arrived and I went in for alterations, they couldn’t even get it buttoned. The manager tried to make ME responsible since I had signed the paperwork when it was ordered… after digging my heels in they finally agreed to order me another dress (TWO sizes larger) and petticoat and do an exchange. Their customer service is awful, the manager is rude and their check-out process is SO SLOW! The alterations were expensive but they were very good at what they do and worked fast.
Chair Sashes: CV Linens – A
Like my flowers, I wanted these to be simple and cheap… nothing fancy- I just wanted them to add some color. They have a great selection and will allow you to do a pick-up at their warehouse in Austin so you don’t have to pay shipping on small orders. I did this when I just ordered about 3 or 4 sashes to match the colors to the tablecloths at The Winfield. Then when I placed the final order, it was large enough that they didn’t charge me shipping and we had it sent to our house!
All Suits: Al's Formal Wear – A-
I was a little disappointed at their lack of shirt colors but at the end of the day, the guys looked great and we got everything we needed.
Almost all decorations: Etsy.com - A+
I used several different vendors, so I can’t remember them all. However, we got all of our place card holders, flower girl baskets, ring bearer box, Thank You signs and the supplies needed for our centerpieces. This is a VALUABLE resource for any Bride.
Printed Goods: Vista Print - A
I ordered invitations, breakfast menus, thank you cards, address labels and envelopes from them. They all arrived on time and exactly like I wanted.