Alright, here they are. If you want to know any more specifics, please page me and I can email you.
Crow Collection of Asian Art (A) Ceremony Site
I was truly impressed with The Crow Collection. The museum is stunning and an incredible place to have your ceremony. The staff was awesome. Jennifer was helpful and professional the entire time. She wasn't there the weekend of our wedding but made sure her backup staff was well informed. I didn't have a wedding planner or day of planner but I really didn't need one for the ceremony. The staff handled everything for us. If you are looking for an unusual and unique place to have your ceremony, this is it.
The Starlight Room (C+) Reception Site
I am so torn on this one. The venue is incredible. I love the aesthetics of it and it was a perfect fit for our personalities. But, we had several issues with them throughout the process. Without going into full detail, I would just say that they are lacking in customer service and when some of their contacts are in a bad mood, it's very obvious. I am still emotionally attached to some of it and I don't want to bash them on here. I would say consider this venue because it really is amazing. But, have a day of coordinator and make sure you are comfortable asking all of the right questions, because they certainly will not make sure everything is taken care of for you.
Jackie Spratt Cakes (A) Bride and Groom Cakes
Jackie's cakes are truly the best cakes I have ever tasted. We tried three other places and no one's cakes were nearly as tasty. Jackie can be a bit abrasive and she refuses to do fondant so if you want something complicated, she won't do it. However, I do respect her for that because she will not sacrifice the taste for the look. Our cake was gorgeous. It looked exactly like I had pictured it and people LOVED the cake. We had enough for two pieces for everyone (including our groom's cake) and we had very little left over.
Turquoise Productions (probably A) Videographer
It's hard to grade because I have not seen the video yet (takes 3-4 months to get everything back). However, so far, I would say A. The slideshow they did for our rehearsal dinner was awesome. We just loved it. We knew we wanted to hire them after looking at their videos online and instantly after meeting Adrianne. She is so upbeat, sweet and was always quick to get back to us. I highly recommend them and am sure the videos will be amazing.
Bridal Designs in Southlake(A) Bridal Gown and Bridesmaids Dresses
I bought my gown and the bridesmaids dresses here. I fell in love with a dress I found at this salon and figured I would just order it from a salon in Dallas since I live so far away from Bridal Designs. But, after shopping in several Dallas salons, I wanted to give Bridal Designs my business. The ladies there are so helpful. The cost was so reasonable and included a free veil. All of the dresses came in early. I highly recommend this store. We had a great experience.
Figment Productions (A+)DJ I was really blown away by Figment Productions. We were a bit hesitant because their price was so much cheaper than some of the highly recommended Dallas DJ's but we really liked them and decided to hire them. I didn't have a day of coordinator and was a bit nervous about it but Doug and Laura ran the show. Laura acted like a coordinator so much so that people thought she worked for our reception site. She made sure everything was where it needed to be, she gave us drinks all night (so nice) and asked us if/when we wanted to move forward with the events or just keep dancing. Everything went so smoothly. Their online planners were fantastic and we spent a lot of time picking out music so Doug had great ideas for songs that we liked. It was truly wonderful. I would recommend them to anyone. And, their price is incredible for Dallas. $650 for 5 hours. We ended up extending our reception to 6 hours and it was only $75 more!
Ari Gray of Alternative Wedding Services (A+) Officiant
Ari was one of our favorite vendors. After our first consultation with her, we immediately knew that we didn't need to look for another officiant. We are not religious but wanted our ceremony to be special and we didn't want it to be 5 minutes long either. She was on board with us the entire way. She gave us great ideas and helped us put together a truly special ceremony. It's a few weeks after our wedding and we are still getting comments about how special and "us" it was. Ari is professional, funny, down to earth and cares about her clients. I would recommend her to anyone looking for a ceremony they will never forget.
f8 studios (A)Huy Nguyen, Kym Skiles
This was very emotional for me. I actually scheduled my wedding date according to when Huy could photograph my wedding. An old friend used to work for him and he had done some photography for me in the past so I was personally attached to this vendor. He shot our engagements and my bridals and they were awesome. But, he got stuck in Russia and couldn't make my wedding because of the volcanic ash. Who could have planned that? Part of me was upset that he had booked his trip that close to the wedding date (he booked his trip after he booked our wedding) but I know that he had a great opportunity in Russia and I can’t really fault him for it. He had scheduled a backup (one of f8's big 3, Kym) as well as his assistant. But, he was freaking out and felt so bad. So, he called his friend Joe that could not make it to Ireland to shoot his wedding (due to volcanic ash!) so Joe flew to Dallas instead to help shoot our wedding. It really was amazing to see them all work together and all three photographers were great. I will always be a little sad that Huy couldn't be there but he is making up for it with a beautiful photo album. We get to view our photos on Wednesday and I will definitely post them!Kim May (A+) Florist
Kim is truly amazing. She met with me several times (I mean, probably 3 or 4 at least) before the events. Her prices are so reasonable and she has really unique ideas. I enjoyed working with her and even had her do the rehearsal dinner flowers for my MIL. Erin Blair Gobin (B) Hair/MU Artist I like Erin and really liked her work. We had a few snafus with scheduling but they were resolved in the end. I gave her a B for two reasons. One, I was really clear about wanting to make sure we would be on time. We ran at least 30-45 minutes over and it started to rain right when we got outside to do photos. Two, I wanted my makeup to look like my bridals and she assured me that she remembered what I looked like. My eye makeup was WAY too dramatic for my taste. She toned it down a bit, and it still looked good, but when I see photos, I think my eye makeup is too heavy. When I see my bridals, I love my eye makeup. But, I would recommend her. Just be clear about what you like. She also did all of my bridesmaid’s hair and for the most part, they really liked her work. She is definitely talented.