Hello everyone!
I was not active on the board but found the reviews & suggestions others posted to be very helpful, so I thought I should return the favor. I hope this information comes in handy! (BTW, my wedding was on 9/12/2010)
Dress: Bridal Arts Building, Vancouver Washington - A
My parents live in Vancouver so my mom & I went dress shopping in Portland & Vancouver for my dress. The Bridal Arts Building is a no-nonsense shop with helpful staff and, more importantly, an insane amount of dress designers/styles to pick from. My dress was an Allure and my bridesmaids wore Alfred Angelo. All were purchased at the BAB; they waived the sales tax (a benefit of shopping so close to Oregon) on my dress and gave me a 10% discount on the others.
Alterations: Elizabeth Parks, Tacoma - A+
A friend recommended Elizabeth and I was very happy she did! Elizabeth was pleasant and professional. She had to do a lot of alterations on my dress--I'd lost a bit of weight and the dress had to be taken in several inches--and it fit me like a glove. She has an amazing eye; I only needed to come in once for a (final) fitting. Loved her!
Photographer: John & Joseph Photography - A+++
My husband's parents gave us a lot of flack for wasting our money by hiring an "expensive" photographer. We'd looked at others but kept coming back to John & Joseph; we loved their photojournalistic style and creative poses. After seeing the end result of the engagement session, his parents shut up about the cost. In fact, they couldn't stop talking about how much they loved all of the photographs! We haven't received our wedding pics yet, but I have no doubt they will look incredible. John was amazingly easy to work with. He was non-intrusive, and was very clear when setting up shots.
Florist: Metropolitan Market in Lower Queen Anne - B+
The flowers were beautiful and Stacy was great to work with. She didn't even bat an eye over my odd request of my Man of Honor having a "manly" bouquet. In order to hold down costs, she suggested I furnish the vases for the altarpeices and provide the ribbon for my bouquet (since she would have to special order a ton of it and transfer the cost to me). My only complaint was that I heard later that a couple of the boutonnieres broke apart right before the ceremony and had to be reassembled. I had no issues like that with my bouquet and it was gorgeous.
Venue: Seattle Repertory Theatre - A+
We had a theatre-themed wedding in the LeoK space with the reception in the lobby. It was lovely and the staff was *wonderful.* The Rep doesn't really do weddings--we had to get special permission--but they do rent their spaces so it wouldn't hurt to inquire--especially for a reception.
Caterer: Jesse Parry, Ripe Foods - A+
Working with Jesse & her team was a joy. The food was delicious. We had a cocktail reception and her staff was good about circulating the food without getting in the way or being too present. She also made sure we had a knife for cutting the cake--our friends said they'd provide the serving set but did not include a knife--and checked in with my husband several times during the night to make sure he and I were happy and taken care of. We had no worries. The price of the food was affordable, too.
Rentals: AA Rentals - A
We changed our order around a few times and they never batted an eye. They delivered and picked up on time. Originally, they were going to charge us for a few missing plates but those were recovered and the charge was dropped. They also had great selection and a nice showroom to walk through.
DJ: Grove Entertainment
www.grooveseattle.com A++
Drew Hobson is a terrific DJ! He knows how to read a crowd and keep the party going. He is also incredibly affordable. Check him out! He is amazing!
Favors: Atomic Photobooth Company A++
I'd attended a couple of receptions with photobooths and fell in love with Atomic Photobooth Company. They constantly update their equipment so the quality is excellent and the pics don't take very long at all to print. Also, they print doubles so the bride and groom get a copy and the guests get their own as a keepsake. They have an attendant on hand all night to assist people. We used the pics for our guestbook and included decorative paper, color pens and stickers. We now have a great keepsake of the wedding. Everyone seemed to love the photobooth and Atomic Photobooth is the best company in the area.
Programs & Posters: Girlie Press - A
Since we were married in a theatre, I created theatre-style programs & posters for our guests. I wanted the programs to look like they were for a play, so that meant finding a real printer to create them. The staff at Girlie Press were both professional and patient, considering they were dealing with a very small order and a client who did not know the biz. They assisted with some of the graphic elements and were very prompt about communicating. Our order was also fulfilled a week early.
Jeweler: Green Lake Jewelry Works - A+
My husband custom designed my engagement ring at Green Lake Jewelry Works. It was beautiful, so of course we had to go back for our wedding bands. If you can imagine it, they can likely create it. They also have Canadia (conflict-free) diamonds.
Cakes: Nielsen Pastries, Macrina, and Dilettante - A
We had a total of 5 cakes: a 3-tiered marzipan, 3 1/4 sheet confections from Macrina, and a 1/2 sheet of tiramisu from Dilettante. All three bakeries did an excellent job and our guests loved the variety. The cake table looked incredible.
Hair: Alexis at Vain - A+
My hair did not move all night! Alexis did a great job of duplicating the style--even though I'd forgotten to bring pictures from the hair trial--and came in on her normal day off to do it. Two of the bridal party also had their up-dos done at Vain--and they looked gorgeous!
Makeup: Sara Kendall, SK Artistry - A++
http://skartistry.com/Site_2_Sara/Welcome.htmlSara was worth every penny! She was flexible and forgiving (I'm still mortified that I missed our first trial appointment). Her work speaks for itself, too. My makeup did not budge all night long, even through crying and sweating. The eye makeup in particular was incredible. She's amazing. And funny, too!
There you have it. Be sure to check in with your vendors a couple of weeks before the wedding, and make sure, when they are giving you the price of their services, that they are including tax (and gratuity) in their estimates. Tax can send a perfectly calculated budget way into the red.