These are my overall reviews of our vendors. I tried to be as objective as possible here. The ratings include how vendors performed the day of as well as pre-wedding communication. Given that I was off-season the latter was notably difficult since I was trying to book during the peak of wedding season.
Jenny GG Photography – A+ (+++++)
Jenny deserves every plus after every A that she’s ever received on this board. The girl is a rockstar. I have so many great things to say about the work she does. She designed a package to work within our budget, we had a wonderful time with e-pics and loved the outcome (got many compliments), she will go above and beyond for you, always prompt with communication and professional, our photos are amazing, she didn’t miss a moment of the wedding and captured everything to a “T”, and we got our photos back very very quickly compared to other photogs. I could go on and on about everything she does right. Love!
Jen Wade/ Assistant to GG – A+. Jen was included with our package with Jenny GG as an assistant photog. I’ve got to give her a shout out here on her own though because she rocked it on our big day as well. Jen has got true talent in her own rite and captured many of the amazing detail shots. We were so lucky to have a wonderful two person team for our big day.
DOC - Exquisite Events (EE) Seattle – Shay Nohr – A+
I originally booked EE with Emily, the owner at the time. I got an amazing deal for off-season. In the fall, Emily sold the company to Shay. I was not directly notified of the switch which made me nervous when I discovered it while browsing online. However, in the end this turned out to be the best thing that could have happened. Shay is amazing! Even though we booked as a DOC, she gave her time freely and without question in the weeks leading up to the wedding. She helped with some décor – even providing some linens and mirrors at no cost just to name a few things. She handled everything really well on the big day and having her there really put me at ease because I knew things would get done. Highly recommend her!
Cake – Kelli’s Creations – Kelli Morse – A+
Our cakes were amazing! Kelli gave us a great deal on our main wedding cake and really replicated my vision exactly. I was amazed at the damask pattern she was able to do in buttercream! The flavors were delicious; I don’t think you could go wrong with any of the ones she offers. She was always prompt in her communication. Got my tax return refund back and three weeks prior to the wedding I added a groom’s cake as a surprise for FI/DH. She gave me a great deal on that one too – almost too good that I felt like I should pay her more! It was a complicated design but man did she pull it off. He loved it and so did I. Home run for Kelli! Highly recommend.
Dress – Netbride.com - A+
I highly recommend Netbride.com. I took a bit of a risk and ordered my bridal gown from them. It came in on time as stated and was totally authentic. I do recommend trying dresses on at the local stores and being sure that you have the right style number/designer written down. I found the dress I love at La Belle Elaine's and then ordered it for over half the price from Netbride! They are an actual store in Minnesota - which is a sales tax-free state and they take orders internationally so ordering in bulk from the designers gets them a better rate. I loved the dress and I loved being able to get such a better price on it. Total win.
DJ – Jay Productions – Jeff Hill – B
Jeff DJed the wedding of a good friend and we thought he was great. We contacted him during peak season; he was very personable when we met with him and prompt in his communications. We booked him for both ceremony and reception music to occur in separate rooms with two system setups. I wasn’t entirely happy with his performance on the wedding day but I also wasn’t entirely unhappy either. He argued with my DOC for quite awhile about having to setup two systems even though this was something we agreed upon prior. This was an issue he then tried to bother both FI and me about during the time we were to be getting ready/dress on/photos etc. This has been said in previous reviews but he isn’t so great with timing ceremony music. He started the music too early (officiant was not supposed to walk to music) and didn’t play out my entrance song for the time I had specified. He had a mic for the officiant but didn’t provide a mic for the reader and us for our vows. We got complaints from a few people that the volume of the music during dinner was too loud – which is partly due to the acoustics of the room but it should have been lowered. He played a few of the songs on our do not play list. This included “last dance” (which I hate) and he specifically called FI/DH and I out to dance even after I brought it to his attention that it was on our do not play list. However, on the pros side, he was affordable (as DJs go), he kept people out on the dance floor moving, and even got some of the older folks out of their seats that we never expected to see dancing. And I don’t think many of our guests noticed the song hiccups the way we noticed them.
Flowers – Loves Me Flowers – Kendra Yaple – A
I had the hardest time finding a florist to work with me. It was the height of summer and I had a very low budget for flowers. I contacted so many places and got a cold shoulder. Kendra took the time out of busy season and put together the perfect package for my budget. She had great suggestions about specific flowers to use for the season. She even includes a trial bouquet that you get about a month prior to the wedding. It was fun to see exactly what it would look like and to get to take it home. Loved that. Her email communications were sometimes slow, but she’s very prompt and professional by phone.
Venue – Landmark Event Center a.k.a. Landmark on the Sound, Des Moines – Amber Fish-Miller, Coordinator – A+
The venue was amazing and the coordinator, Amber, even more so! The building has lots of space, tons of character, great rates, and was in a perfect location for us. The staff were wonderful. Amber was always prompt in her communication, very flexible with her time and a wonderful person to work with. They allowed us to use the space for a few vendor meetings before the big day, which was great. They also currently only book one major event per weekend. This allows a lot of flexibility for dropping décor off early, having a rehearsal etc. They really take good care of their clients and it was an ease working with them, plus the place has this wonderful wow factor we fell in love with. Highly recommend!
Videography – Istarimedia – Ryan Graves – A+
We booked Istarimedia to capture raw footage in HD of our big day through his online booking. He was the most affordable videographer I could find and was recommended by a coworker. I did not see the old review on the Seattle bio until after I had booked with Istari. However, my experience was the complete opposite of that review. Ryan was very prompt and professional in all his communication. His booking and prep sheet were easy to complete. We didn’t meet in person until the rehearsal; which made me a little nervous. However, once we met Ryan we knew we were in good hands. He is so genuine, friendly and wears his heart on his sleeve it seems. He was a surprise standout vendor for sure. He captured all of the moments we wanted, got well wishes on camera from some of our shyest guests, and all around was a pleasure to work with. He had our raw footage transferred, cataloged, and ready for us to pickup the Monday after the wedding! Very speedy. We couldn’t afford to have him edit something together for us just yet. However, we enjoyed working with him so much that we will probably have him do some editing of the footage in the future. Highly recommend!
Pyramid Catering – Ben Jablonsky – A-
Our venue allowed outside food and drink. The hunt for a caterer was on. However, this was another vendor that was difficult to book during peak season. Ben gave us a great quote to start from and took the time to meet with us. He put together the details in a convenient workbook. We made a major changeup to the arrangement for the reception part way through planning and Ben was prompt in revising our quote and workbook. The day of, the food was delicious, the staff was friendly, and everything really came together. There are two reasons for the minus – they ran out of mashed potatoes well before everyone had gone through the buffet...sadL and more importantly Ben failed to show for one meeting we had scheduled prior to the wedding. I had confirmed with him just two days before but when he didn’t show he said he had written it down on the wrong day. Overall, I would recommend Pyramid for the price, service, and because they really know what they are doing.
Officiant – June Jordan – C
We met with June, liked her rate, and thought she was personable enough to get the job done. June showed up on time for the rehearsal and wedding day. She read the ceremony, signed the paperwork and was done without hassle. She was affordable and not a friend or family member, which is what we wanted. However, the reason for my rating is that she was AWOL for several months and did not respond at all to email communication. She doesn’t require/do contracts so we were left wondering if she would show up…to the point that my best friend got ordained online just to make me feel better. J She did not help to write any bit of the ceremony or provide any examples – even after she said she would. This was disappointing to me and the most stressful part of my planning. I’m glad she pulled through for us in the end but I have a mixed perspective on whether I’d recommend her.
Rentals – Abbey Party Rents – A
Abbey was booked for us through the caterer. They delivered on time, picked up on time, provided quality items at a good rate without hassle. They had the right number of everything even with our final guest count coming in only 5 days prior to the wedding.
Towncar – VIP Transportation – A
This was the last vendor I booked. I Purchased a groupon deal for 2 hrs. of towncar use. The car arrived on time, the driver was friendly, he had the addresses already so we just had to sit back and relax. No problems.
Tuxes – Mens Warehouse Northgate – A
Tuxes looked good, fit well, were ready on time, etc. Ordering, even with out of town groomsmen wasn’t an issue. FI/DH thought the tux shoes were pretty comfortable compared to the dress shoes he owns. We had no problems and would recommend them.
Alterations/Custom Veil – Debra Heeden, Ballard – A+
Deb did an awesome job altering my dress and her rates are wonderful! She extended the boning in the corset, moved the panel, put in a bustle and sewed in some pop-up straps that I could use for dancing later in the evening. It was all perfect! I had a little back fat overflow but I think it was from retightening the dress a second time. Oh well. Deb also made a custom lace trim veil for me. The lace was from the bridal gown worn by my mom and two aunts so it has a special place in my heart. The veil was perfect and she handled the precious fabric with great care. She also altered my pregnant MOH’s BM dress to fit her. Highly recommend!
Hair/Makeup – Offwhite Seattle – Megan Bingham – A+
Megan was prompt and professional in her communications and an ease to work with. Megan and team came onsite to the hotel where we were staying and did hair and makeup for the big day. I had a trial with Megan and loved her new little shop space. The whole time was so much fun and just like hanging out with the girls for an afternoon. I loved my trial and she repeated exactly what I wanted for the big day. My hair held pretty well and the makeup stayed looking great for a long time. The lashes were great fun. I think all of my BM’s and the moms really liked their hair and makeup too. Highly recommend.
Sandals Travel Agent – Molly’s Carribbean – Molly Sumption – A
We knew we wanted an all-inclusive and Sandals looked nice but we needed some insider tips. That’s what Molly provided. She helped us pick the right resort and right room category for us. She booked everything for us and put together a package of travel documents that made the whole honeymoon pretty stress free for me with little planning.
Sandals Grande St. Lucia Spa and Resort – A
The resort was wonderful. Very clean, very luxurious and just what we needed…no planning. It was all-inclusive. The food at some of the restaurants was just ok and fabulous at others. I think we made up for it by ordering a lot. The pools were not that crowded which was nice, the beach was white sand/blue water. You can stay on resort the whole time or arrange for an off-resort excursion. We did two excursions and it was fun to see the gorgeous island of st. lucia. My best tips - Oceanside is just as good as beachfront side and cheaper so we would have downgraded the room in order to stay longer.
For EMT-mommy – the socks are from Sock Monster in Wallingford. They have a lot of cool ones – A+ J