Hello, all! I am really more of a lurker on here, but I really appreciated all the advice and vendor reviews I read, and now that the wedding's over, I figure I should pay it forward, and post my own vendor reviews, for all those that are in the planning process.
Caterer: New York Catering in Enumclaw: A+ Ed is fantastic. His food is good and inexpensive. He only does buffet, but that's okay, because that's what we wanted. He provides all the plates, silverware and napkins, as well as the buffet table linens. He had people going around collecting plates and napkins when people were finished. He was great. He also recommended our bartender, Judy, who charged a lot less than other bartenders and did a great job of serving our alcohol.
Officiant: Rev. Ray Van Winkle: A
He did great, we had a lot of compliments on him. We meshed a few of his pre-written vows together, and got tons of compliments on how great the vows were. The only reason he's an A instead of an A+ is his communication beforehand was a little scary (he told me he couldn't find the venue on google maps, which totally freaked me out), but he showed up on time and did a great job.
Venue: My mom's yard: A+
It's my mom's yard. It was great. What more can I say?
Rentals: Grand Event Rentals: A
They were good. They had no problems changing my order several times. They delivered on Thursday and picked up on Tuesday, which gave us plenty of time to decorate and clean up.
Bathrooms: Royal Restrooms: A+
Since we used my mom's yard, and she didn't want people trekking through her house all night to use the bathroom, we had to rent port-a-potties. Royal Restrooms was pricy ($800), but worth every penny. The bathrooms are like bathrooms you would find in your house, with a sink and decorations. By far, the most comments I got were about the bathrooms, and how great they were. I got so many thank yous for not getting the standard port-a-potty. Our guests loved them.
Hair and Makeup: Daniel Ross Salon in Covington: A+
Megan has been doing my hair and my mom's hair for a while now, and did a great job with our wedding hair and makeup. Lauren came out to do my MOH's hair and makeup, and did a really great job. They were fantastic. Our hair and makeup stayed put pretty much all night (except for the lipstick), even with all the dancing we did.
Dress: Alfred Angelo: B
They were really nice when I was picking out my dress. I wandered in, kind of on a whim, and they fit me in right on the spot (it probably helped that it was a Tuesday afternoon). I loved my dress, but when I came back later to see about a bra and crinoline, they were pretty rude. It was a different person, so maybe it just depends on the person you get, but I wound up getting the bra and crinoline elsewhere, they were so rude.
Alterations: Fashion Fittings in Tacoma: A+
They did a great job. Fantastic. They put a beautiful bustle in, and charged a lot less than Alfred Angelo would have.
DJ: Tony Schwarz: A+
He's pricier than a lot of DJs we talked to, but he was by far the most professional and did a fabulous job. Everybody, from my 60-something neighbors to our 20-something friends raved about the music he played. He read the crowd really well, and was worth every penny.
Photographer: Rachelle Erikson: A+
She does such beautiful pictures, and we got a great deal with her. She did a mini-engagement session, our rehearsal dinner and nine hours at the wedding for less than it would have cost for six hours on the wedding day with some photographers. She's really discrete (somebody at the wedding told me she'd been following me around for about an hour, and I had no idea), and her pictures are just gorgeous.
Day of Coordinator: Family Friends: A+
I'm not going to say who our day of coordinator was, because she only does it for family and friends, but I did want to say that if you have the money to get one, DO IT. She worked miracles. I'm so glad she was there for us. If she hadn't been there, it would have been worth whatever we paid to hire someone.
Transportation: Bay View Limos: A+
We only wanted a limo to take us home at the end of the night, and Bay View had the shortest minimum required time (and thus, were the cheapest). The driver showed up early so we could take pictures while the light was still good, which was really nice.
Flowers: Bee's Florist in Covington: A+
The florist sold after I'd booked them which initially scared me quite a bit, but the new owner, Lynn, did a great job on our flowers. Lots of compliments. She also labelled everything, and even seperated out our centerpiece flowers for us (we ordered just loose flowers that we were going to organize ourselves). They also were the lowest quote for flowers we got.
I think that's all the vendors I got...thanks for all your vendor reviews and suggestions over the past year, and if you have any questions, let me know!