Most of these are just copy/pasted off of my WeddingWire but I figured I should add them. Photo link at the bottom. Peace Out Girl Scouts!
Ruthe Jackson Center – Venue A+Cheryl and the RJC staff will always hold a very dear place in my heart. I remember when my mom first told me about the venue, all I could think about is that it was so close to my high school and I swore it was a grocery store back then. She eventually convinced me to go see the venue, and from the moment I stepped inside, I knew it was right. Cheryl immediately made me feel welcome and has become one of my favorite people through this process. She helped me define my vision, brought me to vendors who could help finalize that vision, and was there for me every step of the way. The garden was magnificently gorgeous this April, no doubt due to all of the staff's work at nurturing the floral after the brutal summer last year. The staff even went so far as to replace trees that had been killed over the summer with freshly blooming ones. The gazebo is perfectly lit to cast a pretty glow and doesn't need much decor. My favorite part of the venue was that all the chiavari chairs and tables were included in our cost (woohoo!) For the reception, we utilized the full ballroom even though we only had 125 guests, and it worked beautifully. Not too sparse, not too cramped. The food was delicious, the bartender was generous, and at the end of the night, I knew Cheryl and her team had executed everything I asked of them down to the smallest detail. I would recommend RJC to any bride, regardless of budget or style. It can transform into just about anything you want!
Creative Cuisine – Catering Taste: A+
, Service: C
We opted for a heavy hor dourves menu with a mixture of stations for our cocktail hour and reception. Geni really outdid herself in regards to taste. We had amazing soups, tender cooked meats, and beautiful displays. My favorites included Duck spring rolls, butternut squash shooters with crostini croutons, Coconut Curry Chicken bites, and the clothes pin s’mores. Taste 100% A+. As for their event staff, I wasn’t very impressed. While most of our stations were supposed to be to order, they cooked them and served with very few options. We were also a bit turned off by their lack of professionalism during set up.
Frosted Art Bakery – Bride and Groom’s Cake – A++
I had loved watching Bronwen create masterpieces in her various TV competition shows, but being able to get a cake from her bakery meant the world to me. Upon our first tasting at the bakery and meeting with Melissa, we knew all the other tastings could be cancelled. The cake was light and moist. The fillings were just strong enough and the atmosphere was perfect! We ended up ordering 2 cakes - a 4 tier buttercream bridal cake and a carved fondant covered grooms cake. It's 2 weeks later, and people are still asking where our cake was from. The taste was fabulous, the look was spot on, and the team literally took my drawings/ideas, and put them into cake. The Bridal cake was drop dead gorgeous from the rosettes, to the stripes, to the sugar flowers and all 4 flavors (Key Lime, Vice, Hummingbird, and Red Velvet) were delicious. The true star of the night was the groom's cake - A carved Nintendo cake and sculpted controller, game, our dog, etc. Everyone was blown away that it was made from cake and tasted as great as it did (carrot).
Dallas Drape and Light – Pipe/Drape/Uplighting – B+
Noel is one of the sweetest gentlemen you will ever meet; however, he is extremely disorganized/scatterbrained. Before we bought our house, we were going to drape the entire ballroom ceiling, the gazebo, the cocktail hour, etc. In the end, we decided to stick mainly with draping the aisle from the bridal chamber to the actual aisle down to the gazebo, the two ends of the ballroom to make them match, the sweetheart table backdrop, and up lighting throughout the venue to make it fit in our reworked budget. Everything turned out lovely and Noel added a draped dance floor and extra up lights throughout the fountain free of charge to make up for how awful his response time had been. He has hired some office help and has much better reply time now so hopefully that is no longer an issue. For anyone looking to use pipe/drape, he has several different price ranges in terms of drapes from Poly-blends up to silk chiffons.
E3 Events – Linens – A+
Tamara was a life saver. 2 months out, I still hadn’t found the perfect linens. Then I found C’Ole in Tamara’s book and fell in love. In order to make our set up work, Tamara had to custom order squares and rounds, find matching chair ties to frame the edges of the table, and find the perfect pewter color sashes for our chair rosettes. With less than a month to go, she found everything and had it all delivered to the venue the night before. That night we realized we were short 1 square and 1 round over what we needed. Tamara quickly called her manufacturer and by the time I arrived at the venue the next day, the new linen was in place.
Branching Out Floral and Event Design – Floral – A+++
Debby isn't a florist, she is a true artist. She has this magical gift of taking what information, no matter how big or small, and bringing a bride's ideas to life. I went to Debby with about 3000 different ideas and my mom had 3000 of her own. With Debby's help we were able to find a happy medium between traditional and modern. Saying Branching Out gave us what we asked for would be a lie. They went above and beyond what I could have ever hoped they would do. Our mantle was one of the most incredible things I have ever seen. The bouquets, corsages, and bouts were perfectly perky even after being out all day for our 8pm ceremony with no refrigeration. My bouquet was still beautiful a week later even after just being left in a vase of water while on the honeymoon. We had 1 hiccup with Debby after a centerpiece was broken a couple weeks before the wedding. She worked with me, even bringing us in during the middle of a busy Saturday, to completely rework the reception decor. In the end, I can't lie - the centerpiece I was stressed out over when it broke wouldn't have been nearly as phenomenal as the replacement “art installations” that were created from our brainstorming session in her office and I had a blast “playing” and “shopping” in catalogs with her to find the perfect items. I cannot stress to a bride how important finding someone with vision is. Anyone can cut flowers, toss them in a vase and call it a centerpiece. Debby and her team at Branching Out create more than that - they really do create art.
Becky Fowler – Alterations and Custom Veil – A+++
Can anyone ever say a bad word about this woman? She is absolutely amazing. For my gown, she replaced the zipper and added a corset and put in the most gorgeous Austrian bustle. For my mother, she had 3 gowns to alter. Her MOB dress for my wedding was a simple hem and darting. However, my mother’s gowns for my sister’s wedding included adding boning, adding straps, restructuring a skirt, making a shawl, and hemming. The one thing Becky made that takes the cake, however, was my veil. We purchased the illusion fabric and lace trim for her, but what she created was well beyond my expectations. My mother wanted an heirloom started for our family, and Becky gave us a stunning cathedral length, fully lace trimmed gift of a veil and she did it in 2 days. Ridiculously awesome.
LeForce (Jeff) – DJ – A+
We absolutely adored working with Jeff from LeForce. From day 1 he listened to what we wanted for our day but respectful of my mom who was paying for everything. He kept the music right to fit the atmosphere (older songs while the older folks were still around and Top40 as the night went on), ad-libbed some hysterical additions to our big moments, and made sure everyone had a wonderful time at the wedding - all while recovering from surgery and only having 1 good leg. You can't get much better than that for dedication and customer service!
Angie Williams – Hair and Makeup - A+
Angie is an absolute doll. I had the pleasure of working with her 3 times for my trial, bridals and on the wedding day and all 3 times, she made me feel absolutely gorgeous. We utilized extensions which she blended into my naturally shorter hair and airbrush makeup. The hair stayed perfect for hours on end even after a windy bridals shoot and crazy dancing the night of the wedding. The makeup lasted without touchup all day and night. I can't begin to thank her and her team of 2 assistances for making me, my mother, my bridesmaids, and our flower girl feel so gorgeous!
McGowan Images – Photography - A+++
There are some vendors who deserve 5 stars and then there are some who deserve 5 stars several times over as they don’t just serve as 1 role. The McGowan’s definitely fall into the several times over category. They aren’t just photographers. I can’t pinpoint exactly what they are in 1 or 2 words - they are teachers of confidence, fixers of runaway veils, wranglers of bossy mothers of the bride, inspirers of laughter, and creators of something more than just pictures. They capture all those moments that you miss on your wedding day. The moment a father sees his daughter in her dress and his face lights up, the moment that the crazy mother of the bride relaxes and lets her softer side show, or the moment when a groom who never smiles in photos slips and let’s one show. They also have an uncanny ability to capture a person’s emotion and joy in a single still image that represents all the emotions of a day. I can never begin to thank Chelsea and Mack for being part of our crazy journey through engagements, boudoirs, bridals and our wedding day. They have created a gorgeous visual guide to the last 6 months of our life together and that’s something that you could never put a star, rating or price tag on.
Altar Ego Weddings – Day Of Coordination – A+
When I first started planning, no one could understand why I wanted a venue coordinator and a day-of coordinator. After my mom worked with Jen though, she understood. Jen stepped in and handled just about everything from setting up decor, making our day run smoothly, and sending us off into the night. When I forgot my purse at the venue, she was there to help out. When my veil fell out during my walk down the aisle, she was there to put it back in. I don't know how the wedding day would have been without Jennifer's help and I am certainly glad I didn't have to find out!
Crawford Jewelers – A+
Kevin is an absolute artist. He took my unique engagement ring and custom made a gorgeous platinum and diamond band for 1/4 what the big chains quoted me. He has been my mother's jeweler for years and I can see why she adores him. He also made my something new for my mother who had matching rings made for my sister and I for our wedding days – Platinum 3 stone with side diamonds and a center Sapphire or Emerald to match our wedding colors. In addition to making my wedding band and right hand ring, he gave me one of the best wedding presents I could ask for - he allowed me to borrow the most stunning (and ridiculously out of my price range) diamond and South Sea pearl earrings for my walk down the aisle. He is truly special and one of a kind and will forever have our business.
Photos: http://proofing.mcgowanimages.com/Other/kendallalbert/23024202_ddnRWF
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