We got married this past weekend in Fair Oaks Ranch, TX and wanted to share our vendor reviews/experiences. Everything went so well I don't know if I'm going to deviate from giving all A's. Anyway, just wanted to get to sharing these reviews before too much time passed..
Then it's time to get to planning the honeymoon!
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Dress/Vail/etc: Alfred Angelo Bridal (A): I actually went to an Allfred Angelo store in San Diego, CA (which is where we live right now) and had a great time there... Found exactly what I was looking for and the women there were so helpful!
Pressing: Five Star Wedding Specialists (A-): Didn't know what kind of prices to expect to press the wedding dress, but it didn't seem so unrealistic. Had to get the job done in a rush and they worked with me so I could take it with me the following morning to drop it off at the venue (we had an early rehearsal and didn't want to drive back and forth to the venue another time). Dropped it off about 5 minutes before they closed on Thursday and picked it up Friday at noon. Didn't have to get it cleaned or anything, just pressed as we had been traveling with it. So, overall: fast and understanding service made for a great experience with them.
Venue/Catering: River Rock Event Center (A): I had a wonderful time working with Dixie with the RREC. She worked with me on everything and had wonderful communication! She was great to work with and wanted nothing but the best for us. The venue also did our catering since they do not allow outside catering which turned out well, also. I did not get a chance to meet the chef who we were working with, but the food and the waitstaff were wonderful. The venue has so many outside ceremony sites to choose from and more than enough room for the event we were planning. The event center has such a warm atmosphere and even though it was warm and sunny outside, we had the fireplaces lit and it added a great ambiance. They also had a smaller "intimate" room I really wanted to use, but the weather worked out so we could keep with our plans of the ceremony outside/reception inside. Overall: beautiful place, wonderful communication, completely customized wedding=amazing time.
Entertainment: 5150 Productions (A+): We absolutely loved 5150 Productions. We worked with Nick and he was a great addition to our reception. He also had an "express" unit which we used for our ceremony music. He had a great personality and clicked with our families wonderfully. The company has a great and organized website and the owner is a fantastic man who worked with us to make sure everything was exactly the way we wanted it! It was great and Nick knew exactly what type of music to play, but still took requests when we had a specific song we wanted. He was just wonderful and made the reception a lot of fun.
Florist: Eden's Echo (A): Erin was absolutely wonderful to work with! She made beautiful centerpieces and all the bouquets were so amazing. All the reviews you see of Erin is absolutely true, she is great to work with, wonderful ideas, etc! I didn't expect any less and gave her a little room for creativity and she made the decorations absolutely beautiful. The toss bouquet was so beautiful I didn't even want to throw it.
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Photographer/Videographer: Alamo Photographic (A-): We worked with Veronika for our pictures and her videographer. I didn't actually get a chance to meet the videographer, so I can't say much about him, but Veronika was a doll to work with. She got all the pictures we had wanted and even worked with us for a few more of some that we had forgotten about (or didn't plan on doing to begin with). She found us a bunch of great photo places at the venue that we hadn't thought of to use before. I don't have any pictures yet, but I cannot wait to see how they turn out! We got a little disorganized for a bit, but it was quickly alleviated and everything was back on track. Besides a short hiccup, everything was fantastic.
Hair/Makeup: Rosanne Harris (A): Rosanne was wonderful to work with! She did an absolutely wonderful job on my hair and makeup. I didn't want to take it out to go back home! She was willing to work with me on the date and time that I needed (since I was traveling in, I was limited to when I could do the trial). We started a little late on the morning of the wedding, but she got everyone done and looking amazing with PLENTY of time to get to the venue and get dressed. We would have been sitting around for a long while if we had started much earlier! She worked diligently and quickly and it turned out so well! My hair lasted all day and all night (wedding ceremony was at noon, reception at 1:30, then we went out to the riverwalk that night). It looked great!!! I don't usually wear makeup so we were going to keep the makeup to a kindof basic look and she did it so well and everyone kept commenting how great I looked and how well my hair was staying together!
Judge/Justice: Louis Jensen with Bexar County Marriages (A+): Louis was absolutely wonderful to work with! We customized our entire ceremony and it turned out perfectly. He also gave us some other suggestions of things to add if we wanted to, but we were trying to keep the ceremony shorter. He was great with communication and called to check up on us once in awhile as well!
I think that's all I've got. For now, anyway. When I finally get my pictures, I'll expand on Alamo Photographic, but for now, everything was wonderful and we didn't have any issues. Absolutely beautiful weather in Fair Oaks Ranch and everything went pretty smoothly. No real complaints anyway.
So, now for honeymoon planning and thank you cards.
Happy Wedding Planning, all!