Hey Girls!
It has been almost 2 weeks since my day, and I am catching up since the honeymoon an getting back into work- but wanted to do some vendor reviews for yall- since I found them so helpful when I was in the early stages of my planning!
Everything was so wonderful for our day- even though so many little things went a little bit wrong, I didn't even care! It was still absolutely perfect! All my girls went out of the room so I was left by myself watching everything happen and then all of a sudden it was my turn, and I forgot my bouquet! But, it was comical and I will always remember that! There were so many other little things that happened, but I just didn't stress them, and no one even noticed.
My biggest piece of advice is this- get as much done prior to the day as possible. I woke up on Saturday and literally had nothing to do because I had done it all. It was so nice! I got to just sit there and enjoy the morning and not stress about anything because I knew I had already taken care of everything. It was the most wonderful morning and afternoon.
OK- onto my vendor reviews:
Photographer- Kevin's Photography- A+: I cannot say enough about them. Our engagement pictures are amazing. My bridals are incredible. Our wedding pictures are great- and were online within 4 days!! Kevin did our Engagement and my Bridals an April did our Wedding pictures- I called and we went to their studio numerous times and we were always on a first name basis with them- they always knew who we were and were always very welcoming and more than happy to oblige any request we had. I can't wait to get our wedding album put together.
Cake- A Cake Odyssey- A+: My Cake was unbelievable!! I gave Karyn a picture and she produced it to the T! The flavors were so delicious- the hotel cut the slices too small so we were eating cake for days after, but no one seemed to mind that at all! They delivered on time and without me calling to bug them a million times. They were by far one of my favorite vendors. My bottom cake flavor was pistachio, since we are from the pistachio area of the state, and oh my gosh, it was seriously some of the best cake I have ever eaten.
Ceremony/Reception Site- El Monte Sagrado, Taos, NM- A/B: I give them a two fold grade for a couple of reasons. The higher grade because everything ended up beautifully and I was so happy with the end result. The lower grade because of the process- the original event planner quit 3 weeks before my wedding, the only person I had ever spoken to about my event, and sent me an email her last day. Up until about 2 days before my wedding I was very unsure how everything was going to turn out and it really stressed me out- so I was very unhappy with how they handled the situation, since they were supposed to send me an email many weeks prior to let me know what was going on. There were a couple of hiccups- I specifically asked for a couple of things that weren't done- but it didn't make our wedding any different, and none of the guests knew any different. El Monte is a beautiful place to get married and I am 100% glad that we chose that location- it is about 4 hours away from us. It has a beautiful grounds and a great chef and really is all inclusive for a wedding- and I really do recommend it!
Hair- Diana Roger- A-: She is there in Taos, I got her name from the original event coordinator at El Monte- and she really did a good job. She came on site and did hair which was nice. She did a couple of run thrus with me when I went to Taos for wedding business for a reasonable price. A couple of the bridesmaids weren't really happy but they didn't give specific guidelines on what they wanted- so that would be my advice- know what you want and request it.
Makeup- Katelynn Hodges, out of Albuquerque- A+- She is awesome. She traveled from Albuquerque to do my makeup and my bridesmaids makeup and did a great job. She did my makeup for my bridals also and is so sweet and really cares about the work she does. Her email, with her permission, is khodges_07@yahoo.com. She will come to you and she does amazing work!
Ceremony music- Omar Villenueva- A+ He was incredible- I just gave him a list of what I wanted played and told him I wasn't really sure what all I wanted played where and he made it flow so nicely- he is so talented. He also traveled from Albuquerque.
Dress- Bridal Elegance by Darlene- A++ Again I cannot say enough about the ladies at this salon- they are absolutely incredible!! I live outside Ruidoso and when I had my bridals in Albuquerque they kept the salon open a little longer so I could come there and change out of my dress. They are all so nice and incredibly caring. They will do anything to help you out. Most of my bm's are from out of state and they did all of their measurements over the phone and really helped out with that situation. My dress came in 2 months early and the alterations were perfect!
Suits- Men's Wearhouse- A+: Again all the measurements came in over the phone as the guys are all outside Ruidoso and never could get to Albuquerque and they made sure all the suits fit just right when the guys went in to get them. Returning was simple and everything looked great!
I think that is all of them!! Please feel free to ask any questions! Good luck with all of your planning! I stressed and stressed and it ended up that there were still things that went wrong and you just have to let them roll off your back- just sit back and enjoy the planning and enjoy your day!
