Vendor Reviews--Here you go! I also have them on my bio in an easier-to-read format.
http://jayandmarissa.yolasite.com/vendor-reviews.php
Wedding Gown/Bridesmaids Dresses: Terry Costa A+
I loved my dress and got it 20% off at an Allure trunk show. The staff is friendly, helpful, and not at all pushy. I let my bridesmaids pick out any style in a certain color, and it worked out well—they had a huge selection and the dresses were good quality. My gown and the girl’s dresses all arrived on time. My MOH’s dress was missing a shawl, but they had it sent to her once we told them about the problem. We also got 15% off all the bridesmaid’s dresses because I bought my dress there.
Tuxes: Men’s Wearhouse A-
I only give the minus because they repeatedly wouldn’t let my dad change his vest color, even though I specified twice he should be able to. All the guys got their tuxes with no hassles or problems and they looked great. Jay’s tux was free.
Hair & Makeup: Tony Cao Salon in Flower Mound A
I ended up booking here at the last minute because I wanted airbrush makeup. It really turned out great and I was thrilled with how I looked. My mother, MIL, and two bridesmaids got their hair done at the same time, and it was all done in the promised time. We were all a little worried in the midst of it, because it looked like the makeup was too heavy and we had loads of different people working on our hair, but it really came together perfectly. I wouldn’t have changed anything about the way I looked and the hair and makeup lasted through the June heat and hardcore dancing flawlessly. If you do go, be very clear about what you want, though—speaking up helped me a lot. (I’m not a fake eyelash kind of girl)
Flower Girl Dresses: MyGirlDress.com C
I picked out a specific style for my 3 flower girls and had their parents order it. The dresses were the same style, but different brands—even the two that were ordered at the same time for Jay’s sisters! One dress looked okay, but the other two were weird lengths and didn’t poof and looked limp. The price was good, but the quality sucked.
Church: St Ann Coppell
I don’t consider a Catholic Church a venue that should be graded, since it really is a service they provided us as parishioners, but I will say our wedding mass went very well. Karen, the coordinator, can be a little tough sometimes, but she wasn’t that bad, and they provided a rehearsal and day-of (beginning of mass) coordinator for no charge, though we tipped her. Having here there helped immensely. It was a beautiful place to get married, but was especially important to us since we met there.
Rehearsal Dinner: The Ranch at Las Colinas (formerly Cadillac Ranch) D
We should have gone with our gut when we had a test dinner here back in November, but my MIL is out-of-town and just wanted to make sure it was set up. After confirming her menu choice she still hadn’t heard anything back from them a couple months later and emailed the event coordinator again to confirm it was on. They told her it was all set up, but when she arrived after the rehearsal, they had no idea what she was talking about. Luckily, the private room happened to be free, but it wasn’t set up so we were all at random tables with no way to talk to anyone easily. The menu had apparently been changed, so we got less food and cheaper choices even though I think MIL put down a deposit. The portions were smaller and cheaper compared to what they serve actual restaurant guests. The dessert was supposed to be the icebox pie for everyone, but instead they gave each table a dessert assortment to share—really awkward when it is the bride/groom, parents, and the priests! My MIL was really upset and let them know, but I don’t think they changed anything. The service was pretty poor and my siblings didn’t get drink orders for a long time, and a woman (who I think was the event coordinator) was rude to them and Jay’s little sisters. Luckily, I didn’t know about most of this until after the fact, but I felt so bad for how stressed my MIL was after she tried really hard to make it nice. I would NOT use them.
Guest Hotel: Hyatt Place Grapevine A+
We got a great rate $80 for awesome huge rooms that you would find in a Hilton (flat screen, separate living room, etc.) They also threw in a meeting room for free that our families used to catch up all weekend. We decorated it a bit and put food in there for them. They also delivered welcome boxes to the room for free and had a shuttle that went to the airport and anywhere within 5 miles. Our guests really liked the hotel.
Reception Venue: Old Red Courthouse A+++
We loved this venue, and it was worth booking over a year out! Linda and her staff are incredible, and really helped me on my wedding day when the caterer was largely useless. Linda even took a horrible phone call from my crazy grandmother, who somehow got the number of the reception and blessed her out until she found the family member she just HAD to talk to DURING the reception (different rant). Linda always responded to my phone calls and emails extremely quickly. We loved our venue and would recommend it to anyone—especially if they are trying to save money by bringing their own alcohol and caterer in. It turned out to be beautiful.
Caterer: Sissy’s Complete Catering D, maybe lower
I’m not sure what to say about her yet—I’ll post the whole story once we actually hear back from her. To be fair, her husband died very recently, and another key staff member wasn’t there because her daughter went into the hospital. That being said, it was inexcusable for her to be at another event when she implied the whole time she would be there for mine. Long story short, they really screwed up a lot of the details I worked so hard on and PEOPLE DID NOT GET FED! If my mother and sister and our DJ were not so on top of it all, it could have been worse.
Cake: Cakes by Design (Tabitha Ballard) A-
Tabitha was actually my only Craigslist vendor, and I have to say I was pretty happy with her. For only $1.50/slice, we got a buttercream frosted cake with 5 tiers (bottom fake) in 4 different delicious flavors. I didn’t get much of it at the reception, but what I had tasted good and everyone else said it was good as well. My only complaint is the cake was supposed to have fondant ribbon in our colors and turned up with actual ribbon instead—it was a little too garish looking for me, but overall it was a good deal.
Cannoli: Whole Foods Market A+
After searching around Dallas for some decently priced, yummy cannoli, I found what I was looking for at Whole Foods Market. For only .99 cents/mini cannoli ($3 plus at other places), and a $22 delivery charge, we had 125 delivered to the hall. They were delicious and were gone in about 5 minutes. I only wish we had ordered more. Whole Foods was very easy to work with.
Candy/Desserts/Welcome Baskets/Alcohol: Costco A+
We got a lot of our candy, sweet table desserts, alcohol (wine and beer), and snacks for the welcome baskets at Costco. It was all really well priced and we can return any unopened alcohol. Definitely worth buying a membership if you are doing a DIY wedding/bar.
Drink mixers: TJMaxx A+
Don’t underestimate the power of TJMaxx for low priced decorations and even drink mixers. The mojito drink mixers we found were delicious and really cheap. I also got my rehearsal dinner dress here.
DJ: Melody of Melodies and Memories A++++++++++
Melody was by far the best vendor we hired and really saved the day with the caterer crisis. Not only did she keep the reception flowing, played exactly what we had talked about, was extremely personable, and kept the dance floor full, she pretty much acted as an overall coordinator. She helped my mom put out repeated caterer “fires” and she is the only reason Jay and I actually got to eat that night (she brought us dinner when the catering staff forgot). When there were problems with the centerpieces, she made sure they were right. We got so many compliments about her and I think she will be the only DJ my family ever uses for any event again. When I booked her last summer, she negotiated her prices to something we could easily work with. She also got us a custom gobo at the last second at cost—it really added a lot to the venue. She went over every detail with us in a 3 hour meeting a week before the wedding and kept us laughing the whole time. Last but not least, she gave us some great suggestions for our Waikiki Beach honeymoon. The woman is amazing. She does what the “high end” DJs do at a reasonable price and she does it well.
Photographer: Jessica Mooney Photography A+
I love both Jessica’s work and her sweet, but in control personality! I spent months finding a photographer, as it is a personal passion of my own, and Jessica was amazing. I was very happy with my bridals, and Jessica was in control and everywhere she needed to be on our wedding day. She stayed in the background when she needed to, but took charge when it was required. I haven’t seen any photos yet, but I have a lot of confidence in her. She took some amazing downtown evening shots she showed us a little peek of on her camera. Jessica also brought a second-shooter who was new to the business at no cost to us (she was also good). My only complaint is it does take a little bit to get photos back, but I knew that when I booked her.
Videographer: Adam Kegg A
The only reason I wouldn’t give Adam an A+ is there was a little less communication than I’d like in the weeks before the wedding. However, he admitted himself that he has been overbooked lately, and it sounds like he is getting things under control. He was such a nice guy, and as my mom put it, “when something big or something small, but meaningful, was happening, he was already filming it.” He negotiated a custom package of just pure footage (no editing) for us and I think we will be getting it in the mail tomorrow. He also made sure to shoot in a format I would be able to easily edit. I would definitely recommend him!
Flowers: farmstogo.com A+
For $300 we got a HUGE assortment carnations, roses, and hydrangea that we made gorgeous bouquets, bouts, corsages, and centerpieces out of. The flowers arrived at 9:30 am the morning we had requested them, well packed and completely fresh. We had ours delivered Wednesday, but Thursday might be a little better if you have the extra time—they really opened up quickly! My only complaint is that they didn’t come with the promised instructions or flower food, but it was really a minor detail. I am still so impressed by the prices and quality—some of the centerpieces are still looking decent over a week later! Big shout out to my sister (MOH) and her sweet friend who really did most of the work—they are pretty dang talented.
Bridal Bouquet/Mothers corsages: Flowers for You, Irving A-
Jay’s mom “prompted” him to get me a bouquet of roses from this shop before we started dating 6 years ago, so as a special gift, she offered to buy my bouquet from them. I gave Joni (Yoni?), the owner, a picture of what I wanted and she said she could do it for $250, though she implied since my MIL was paying, we could do more—I told her I wanted to keep the price down and wasn’t trying to take advantage of my MIL. A week before the wedding she said she couldn’t find the yellow ranunculus my bouquet called for so I told her just to do white peonies and roses. Overall, I liked how it looked, except for these weird green stems sticking out all over it that I just cut off J I also paid $70 total for two corsages for the MOB and MOG and they were just OK. They do a great job, but it wasn’t amazing.
Floral Instruction: Fort Worth Floral Market
Take the $40 wedding floral arranging class is definitely worth it—drag a bridesmaid along! You CAN do you own wedding flowers.