Hi girls,
This took me longer than anticipated, but with the wedding, the honeymoon, the thank-you cards, and then getting sick (ewww), I'm only now finding the time to do reviews. I'm going to break the reviews down into three categories: Vendors I would ABSOLUTELY recommend using; vendors I'm INDIFFERENT on; and vendors I would NOT RECOMMEND - since I think the A / A+ / B / etc. ratings are hard to really use. Here goes:
ABSOLUTELY RECOMMEND
Four Seasons Hotel, Seattle (venue): WOW! What an incredible venue and what exceptional customer service. The single best decision I made for my wedding (apart from saying "yes" and "I do") was to trust my special day to Gerald Lim and his incredible team at the FS Seattle. I had looked at other venues around Seattle, including the Columbia Tower Club, the Edgewater Hotel, the Dome Room, Newcastle, and the Bellevue Club, but the second I walked into the Four Seasons ballroom, I knew it was what I wanted. Their view isn't as good as the Edgewater (there's a kind of heinous Public Storage building below, but you look past it to the water and mountains), but they excel on everything else. Their space is so conducive to a wedding - the ballroom accommodates about 300 guests; there's plenty of room for cocktails; there are rooms the bride and groom can use to get ready in, a room for your vendors to set up in, and we had a room for childcare as well. There's also a small room directly outside the ballroom which was great, because DH and I used that immediately following the ceremony for a few minutes so that we could sip champagne, eat our appetizers, and relax before being thrust out into the throng of people. All night long guests told me how exceptional the service was from the FS staff (one described it as a "ninja-like execution of changing courses") and the food was INCREDIBLE. Usually when you're preparing food for a couple hundred people, the quality suffers, but not here - they designed it so that the kitchen is directly off the ballroom, meaning that the food is piping hot and fresh for all your guests. They worked with me on any food allergies and special requests - no matter what the request was (absinthe in a signature drink? Sure, no problem). Seriously, from start to finish the service was flawless, Gerald was ALWAYS responsive (I consider him a friend now after all this!), and it was just the absolute best venue I could have chosen. It's not cheap, but if you can afford the Four Seasons I don't know why you'd look elsewhere because they were just incredible.
Azzura Photography (photographer): Another exceptional vendor - they were voted the best wedding photographer in Seattle and for good reason! I had the chance to work with both Ken and Tania, as both of them (along with super-talented assistant, Kramer) photographed our wedding. They were so great - friendly, funny, professional, and their photographs are AMAZING! I've only seen about 20 of them so far, but I love each and every one of them, and I know there are hundreds more that I get to pour through later this week. They were always really responsive and easy to work with, and they are so creative! They had us posing in ways that I sometimes would think "This is ridiculous!" and then I'd see the photo and I'm like, "Okay, that's actually incredible!" Also, all of my guests found them to be pleasant and courteous, which I think is a big issue - you want your vendors to be polite to your guests and as unobtrusive as possible. They are just the connsumate professionals and I look forward to hiring Ken and Tania to shoot pictures of any major life moments DH and I have (vow renewals, baby photos, family portraits, etc.).
Aaron Horton Productions (videographer): Wow! What a talented and genuinely wonderful person. While we haven't yet received the final video from him (our fault - we're terrible at selecting music), Aaron was SO GREAT to work with day of, and I've seen so many samples of his work already, that I have no concerns about our finished product! I have to be honest - I was 110% opposed to videography at the beginning of the planning process... I did not want some large, obtrusive camera (and camera man!) going up to my guests, shoving his camera in their face, and asking them to leave well-wishes for us. How awkward is that? Also I hate being the center of attention so the thought of having a camera on me the whole time was terrifying and caused me to freak out a little bit. However, on the day of, Aaron was there shooting and he was so subtle you never noticed him unless you were looking for him - some of my guests didn't even realize he was the videographer (his camera looks much more like a standard camera than a large, bulky video camera). He was so responsive on the phone and over e-mail, and he went above and beyond by staying late (after our contracted time was done) to shoot the last event of the evening (late-night snacks), which I thought was just so sweet of him! He is incredible and I can't sing his praises enough.
Austin Beaver (DJ): Seriously, Austin is the best-of-the-best in Seattle. He's the most expensive DJ out there, but for a good reason. He had our dance floor PACKED until 2 AM - I think he actually saved us $$$ on the open bar because people were having so much fun dancing! You don't really understand it until you meet with him and see him in action - the DJ is such a crucial part of the wedding. We've all been to weddings where the music sucks, and they're no fun. Austin is who you hire to guarantee your guests have a good time. He doesn't bill hourly, so he's there for as long as you need him (and he has an assistant the whole time); he can do the audio for your ceremony so you don't pay an extra charge; he includes lighting of the main venue area with his quote - and he is worth every penny and then some. Neither my husband nor I were initially sold on spending so much on a DJ (DH wanted to do "an iPod" but I said no!) but after the wedding we both said, "We are SO GLAD we hired Austin!" In fact, two guests at our wedding had gotten Austin's name from us and, after attending our event, raced to hire him. He's really just that good. If you Google him, you'll see some comments about how good he is, and you won't understand why all the hype because you're like, "It's a DJ... really, how much does it matter?" But if you hire him, or attend a wedding he DJs at.... you'll understand. Would hire him again in a second for any social event I had (even if not in Seattle - I'd pay for his travel to het him, that's how much I liked him!).
Marcella's La Boutique (dress): I was nervous about shopping here, because the reviews on Yelp were really all over the board, and it's a LOT of money to spend and also one of the most critical parts of your wedding! However, working with Elissa meant I didn't need to be worried about anything. She totally respected the budget I had, and helped me find great accessories (veil, earrings, sash), and was so responsive via e-mail. My dress came in and it was perfect, she helped with all the fittings, and the day before the wedding I picked it up and it was gorgeous, pressed and packed perfectly. If you're going to Marcella's to look at dresses, ask for Elissa as she was awesome (and like I said - the Yelp reviews made it seem like your experience was really affected by who you worked with at the store)!
Rented Elegance (Florals & Decor): I elected to use two florists for my wedding, and chose Rented Elegance to provide the silk draping, the lounge furniture for soft seating, and these gorgeous T-stands lining the windows of the ballroom which were filled with candles and hydrangeas and which had crystals dangling off them. Everything was perfect, and their staff (especially Michael!) were great to work with. On the day of the wedding, Michael realized I hadn't planned for silk draping on one side of the cocktail area... and threw it in, free of charge! It seems like such a small gesture, but it just was SO appreciated because it really made the look so much more perfect! He was great - so friendly and always willing to have us by their studio in Bellevue to look at pictures so that we could get ideas for decorating, and my only regret after the wedding was that I didn't use Rented Elegance for ALL my floral needs across the board. I'd recommend them in a heartbeat to anyone, and if I have an event in the future where I need floral arrangements in Seattle, I wouldn't even look around - I'd go right back to Michael and Rented Elegance.
Creative Ice (ice bar): Steve is really the only option for an ice sculpture or ice bar in Seattle. I didn't interact with him much, and never met him in person, but the ice bar was just perfect - our guests LOVED it! The entire bar, including the center area (with our monogram) was carved out of ice and it lasted the whole night (9-ish hours). Steve had the ice bar installed before the ceremony began (we hid it behind silk draping that we pulled back during the ceremony to unveil it at cocktail hour), and he removed it that night L-A-T-E (extra fee for that but well worth it). It comes with the stand, the lighting, and everything you need, and it just looks incredible. There are two other companies in the Seattle area that claim to do ice bars, but they were TERRIBLE to work with (see reviews below). I'd only consider using Creative Ice for your ice sculpture / ice bar needs.
Espresso Elegance (espresso card & service): Our wedding planner suggested an espresso cart as something our guests might like, and it was a real hit - we used Espresso Elegance and they were great! They have cute named drinks they serve (like the "turtle dove latte" and whatnot), but they offer a full range of espresso service if your guests want their own drink. We did 3 hours of service for 200 people and I got rave reviews - they were there on-time, set-up nicely in the lobby, the barista was dressed professionally and was very courteous to all our guests, and the drinks were tasty. Such a great little treat for our guests, and also so iconic Seattle.
Sweet Fountains (chocolate fountain): We decided to have a chocolate fountain open for our guests for 2 hours, after the cake cutting but before the late-night snacks. We used Sweet Fountains for the chocolate fountain - they provided set-up, take-down, and I believe they manned the machine for two hours as well (amazingly enough, neither DH nor I ever made it over to the chocolate fountain!). They also provided the fountain, the chocolate, and dipping sticks (the Four Seasons provided the dipping items and I had custom-printed cocktail napkins put out there). They were good to work with and responsive (I assume - they coordinated mainly with my wedding planner who has worked with them before).
A Nanny For U (on-site childcare): We wanted an adults-only ceremony and reception, but we didn't want our out-of-town guests to be discouraged from coming, so we provided complimentary on-site childcare for any out-of-towners kiddos. We only had about 5 kids using it, but they were great to work with. The woman who coordinates the nannies was always responsive and the nannies called beforehand to confirm they were coming and to ask what was expected of them. You can also have the nannies bring activities for the kids (an extra fee, but it was nominal - something like $50?), which is great. Kids AND parents had fun that way!
Paper Moxie (STD's, invites, menus, programs, escort cards, drink cards, signs): WOW! Sheryl is a creative genius, and while she may be difficult to get a hold of at times (she's crazy busy), she is SO talented that you'd be silly to go with anyone else (and she always gets done in time, trust me). She delivered jaw-dropping pieces for our wedding time and again - from the STD's (which were wrapped in a printed velum with a bow, and the inside was triple layered with Swarovski crystals) to the invites themselves (ours were made of lucite, wrapped in velum, with a ribbon around them with our monogram on the outside), to the printed coordinates... menus, programs, etc.... everything was so beautiful and unique! So many of my guests exclaimed over the STD's (they thought it was the actual invite!) that I was worried how the invites wouldn't be a "statement" piece after.... no need to worry about that! I shipped them in small boxes and the lucite was such a cool idea - sophisticated and modern, just like our venue. In fact, we liked the lucite idea so much that I had Sheryl make all of our table names out of lucite as well, just like our invites. She also did an incredible job with all the various signs we had up (signature drinks, chocolate fountain dipping items, espresso flavors, slider condiments, scrapbook instructions, etc.) AND she was great about working with us on a special project where she had to do text merges for each individual guest. She can be pricey, but if you really want a piece that people will be unable to throw away... Sheryl is who you go to!
Salon Maison (hair and make-up): They were great. Affordable (compared to other vendors I looked at), and they come to you. They did me, my six bridesmaids, the two moms, and my brother's girlfriend. They were responsive, on-time, and friendly. We had three stylists the day of. Everyone looked incredible, and they were super-easy to work with. I had Brianna as my stylist - would highly recommend her!
Merry Beth Turpin @ Aisle of View (Wedding Planner): Saving the best for last - Merry Beth was not just our wedding planner for the past 14 months, she was our friend, my part-time counselor (stressed about anything? She wanted to know!), and the person I turned to if I couldn't get a hold of any vendor. She has been planning weddings for years, and has plenty of experience doing all types - from large galas to intimate outdoorsy weddings. She bills hourly, so you can use her as much or as little as you'd like, and she will be 100% honest with you when you have a bad idea, a difficult-to-execute idea, or if you're talking to a vendor that she hasn't had good experiences with (which is invaluable given that this is a one-time shot thing). She's quick to answer any question you have and really willing to do anything she can to help - no task is too big or too small (she offered to deliver my goody bags for out-of-town guests when I was busy). To say she is thorough is an understatement - she's the most detail-oriented person I know! She put together a comprehensive day-of timeline, and the day of executed to perfection! I never once had to worry about a vendor delivery, a set-up question, or anything else, and I knew that EVERYTHING would go smoothly from start to finish... it was absolutely perfect because of Merry Beth's help and her watchful eye!
INDIFFERENT ON
Photobooth Services (Photobooth): So we chose Photobooth Services for a photo booth after numerous back-and-forth e-mails with the people who owned it (at the time). I wanted to make sure I could get the photobooth wrapped for our event (I did not want it to be ugly and generic), and was told it would be included. Well, the company changed hands, I had about 7 months of no-communication from anyone (I finally had to go out to their website to submit an info request to get a hold of someone), and then I was told that the photobooth wrap would be an additional $500! I was so ticked off that I threatened to cancel the contract and contest the charge on my credit card (I'd already paid my designer to develop the wrap graphics for me!). They did offer to do the wrap free-of-charge, which made me happy (since that's what the previous owners had promised us), and the booth looked fabulous day of. The pictures were great and they were prompt in sending us a CD with all the photos after, and our guests loved it. If they've worked out the transitions from previous owner to current owners, they could be a great vendor, but given the hiccups I encountered, I can't rave about them the same way I do about so many other vendors I dealt with.
NOT RECOMMENDED
Amazing Ice Sculptures (ice bar): I worked with Amazing Ice back and forth via e-mail... what a classic bait-and-switch he pulled! I outlined, in explicit detail, what I was looking for and he provided me a quote, all-inclusive. When I e-mailed to say I wanted to move forward with him, he then jacked the quote up $300+, claiming he didn't realize how complex what I was requesting was! Really? Because all I said in that e-mail was "I'd like to use you for my wedding" and so it wasn't like I shared any more information! Also, Janson was terribly unresponsive, never calling me back (I had to follow-up with him for weeks), and taking WEEKS to respond to e-mails. I'm quite certain that if I'd used him on my wedding, it would have been a disaster and I'm so glad I went with Creative Ice instead.
Tony's Ice Creations (ice bar): Another ice sculptor I contacted about doing the ice bar. He was really responsive at first, and then he just... disappeared. He never got back to me via e-mail, ever, and so I eventually had to just stop trying to use him. I also was concerned because he doesn't stay near the site during the event (what if the ice bar breaks in half? I want someone there to deal with that ish right away). Again, glad I didn't use him and paid the extra $$$ to use Creative Ice.
Aria Style (florist): This is a hard review for me to write. Aria Style was just named the BEST VENDOR (overall; not just floral) by Seattle Bride. When my mom and I met with John for our intiial consultation, we were wowed. When I saw his mock-up of my floral arrangements, I was so ecstatic I squealed. I thought for sure I had picked the right vendor for the floral arrangements for the wedding. I tried to be as explicit as I could via e-mail about my wants, and thought I'd communiacted well enough that we were on the same page. However, the flowers for my wedding done by Aria Style were my one (and only) big disappointment. They were not at all what I asked for - incorporating colors I hadn't even been consulted on (light pink came from out of nowhere! And I HATE light pink). I shrugged it off on the day of, but now every time I see a photo from my wedding with the florals (especially the cake), I get so mad at how it's all wrong. And then I get more mad, because if someone had just asked me first - the problems could have been avoided. Specifically, the following things happened:
1. The low center arrangements were both pink and white; they were supposed to only be pink - in defense of Aria Style, the quote did say pink and white, though in follow-up e-mails I specified just pink and John commented on how the monochromatic look would be great, so I figured we were on the same page
2. The table arrangements were pretty much the same size as arrangements I ordered for our lounge area, BUT the lounge area ones were 2/3 the price (so I felt like I got ripped off) - I don't really have an explanation for how this happened, because I was told they were different sizes and that the table arrangements had "more flowers" but I have pictures posted to FB for both of the arrangements and that clearly wasn't the case
3. I'd described the table arrangements as being low and spreading - I was thinking large, low glass vase / bowl with arrangements spreading out wide and covering the table (since the tables were huge). I got your standard 6-8" in diameter vase with florals in them... not at all low and spreading. I double-checked the quote and it stated "low and spreading" on it - John said that I should have requested a mock-up of that arrangement before the wedding (in retrospect I wish I had), but I also wish he'd suggested that to me since i thought, from our conversations (and the quote) that we were on the same page.
4. My cake had flowers between each layer of it - my color scheme was white, garnet (berry), and gold. My cake had at least 50% light pink roses and a few random white flowers (not roses - not sure what they were) on it. This was the point that I found just unacceptable. Apparently they ran out of flowers for my cake (they didn't order enough)... so they just used the left-over flowers from someone else's wedding! I'm sorry, but I'm not paying you thousands of dollars to get the scraps and remnants from someone else's wedding, especially when they're not in my color scheme! I still SEETH with anger when I see my cake (sure, it's beautiful, but it's also a reminder of how I didn't matter enough as a customer to have my order completed with the items I requested). I was beyond floored when I heard that explanation! If you run out of flowers, the least you could do would be to go buy more in MY COLORS (or use white, at least!).
It turns out that John was not actually the florist who did my wedding - one of his employees did, and I had no idea that was even the case. I had no idea John wouldn't be on-site, and if I had been told that prior to the big day, I would have INSISTED on a phone call / consultation with the person who WAS working on my wedding to communicate my thoughts / vision for the floral arrangements since this was someone brand new. Of course, I didn't find out about this until after the wedding. More maddening was that all of these issues could have been addressed if someone had either (1) called me to ask my preference on these issues or (2) brought them to my attention before the wedding itself started. Like when you ran out of roses for my cake - you could have asked me what I thought of light pink! Overall, the communication and the arrogance displayed in the decision-making process (making the decisions for me - which I suspect was only done because they followed the "better to ask forgiveness than permission" approach, which is NOT okay!) was appalling to me. I did complain and got some $$$ back, but I can't in good faith recommend Aria Style to anyone who is looking for flowers, and I can't sit here and let some other Knottie have her wedding flowers all screwed up.
I think that's all of them - if I think of more, I'll add them on!