Dress—(A+) The dress was a Galina (David’s Bridal) bought off craigslist for $75. That was awesome! J
Veil—Veils by Marina, (A). Her work is a bit pricey, but it’s worth it if you need something specific. The veil was great quality.
Alterations—Alterations by Beatrice (A-), I think I could have paid less somewhere else, but I was in a time crunch. She is somewhat annoyingly self-important, but her work was good.
Shoe Dyeing—Austin Shoe Hospital (A). My dye job was professional-looking, a great match to my sash, and water-resistant.
Texas Ritas—(A+), They were punctual and professional and made sure they mixed the drinks to our liking. They were a bit heavy-handed with giving people full mason jars of apple pie moonshine, but that was a communication error on our part.
Flowers—Melody Thompson (A) My flowers were very affordable and well-done. The boutonnieres were more elaborate than I had expected. Disclaimer: Melody is the mother of one of my bridesmaids.
Salt Lick—(A+), They were punctual, professional, helpful, and delicious! There was lots of food leftover, despite the fact we had more guests come than had RSVP’ed. The guy in charge personally served us at our sweetheart table, as well. Everyone raved about the food.
Texas Old town—(A+), The place is gorgeous and competitively priced. We also had the venue all day, which was a great help for decorating. The horse did bite my dress, but I don’t think that’s their fault. J I highly recommend TOT
Hair—Erica Gray (A+). Erica was great! She was willing to come to TOT just for my hair and makeup, even though my bridesmaids did decide to get theirs done too. She was wonderful with my extremely long hair and unusual style. I highly recommend her.
DJ—Ultimate Sound (A), I found the online timelines and music selections to be very convenient. There were some cheesy sound effects used for the cake cutting, but I’m sure those would have been left off if we had communicated with him better.
Mens Wearhouse Lakeline Mall—(B+), The tux shirt was very thin and sheer. They also did not do a reminder call about the fitting, like they said they would. However, they had the tux, and everything worked out ok
La Quinta—(B), The rooms and location were good. However, the hot tub was cold and I don’t feel like I got a particularly good rate.
Photography —Jean Mazac of Double Take Photography (A+), Disclaimer: Jean is a personal friend and is Oregon-based. She was unobtrusive during candid shots, helpful but not bossy during posed shots, and the sneak peek of pictures I have seen are amazing.
Cake—Ozenkoski Bakery (A+), Disclaimer: These are personal friends and St. Louis-based. The cake tasted wonderful. Many guests said it was the best spice cake they had ever had. The decorations were mainly provided by me. There was some satisfactory--but not superb--scrollwork on the cake as well.
Rehearsal Dinner—Bordeaux’s (C+), I was a little disconcerted to see that the waitstaff was wearing costumes (it was Halloween weekend), including some inappropriate ones. The back patio was a nice atmosphere, but the food was kind of mediocre. I was also a little disappointed that the butternut squash soup was not on the buffet menu, although they brought me a special bowl of it.