Hello everyone – here are my reviews! (I’m going with straight A-F to keep it simple for me)Venue - Georgetown Ballroom: BReally loved the place, and so did our guests. It worked out really well with the two sides of the venue and the outdoor area. They were quick to get back to us via email, but there were two people we were dealing with, so it was a little confusing sometimes. We booked the venue over a year before the ceremony, and they made some changes to their rules in January, so some of what we agreed on initially was different from what they wanted by this summer (as far as us using their rentals, etc.), but our planner was able to work it all out. Also I think the price was a little high ($4300 for 3pm – 1am including set up and take down).Catering, flowers, cake, rentals, bar staff – Blue Ribbon Cooking: BOverall, they did a great job, and the fact that it is sort of “all-inclusive” style was a big plus for us. Less vendors to keep track of, less coordination. The things I didn’t like were sort of minor and didn’t truly impact the event, but they bothered me nonetheless. They did ask us what we wanted them to wear on the day, but somehow I didn’t understand or they didn’t explain well, because I didn’t like what they wore – t-shirts with writing all over them. It just looked a lot more casual than I’d hoped. Also, they were pretty flexible with the menu, creating a vegetarian option for us that wasn’t among the original menu choices. They messed up my idea of the cakes as well, but no one else knew. The flowers weren’t what I wanted, exactly, but again, no one else knew and they were beautiful. They did a good job of adjusting things last minute as they needed to, it just didn’t quite work as well as I’d have liked. I think if you are relatively low-key and don’t have really strong opinions about what you want (and you don’t mind things not working out exactly how you’d imagined) this was a low-stress option overall. Good communication, although it was a little bit cloudy with how the whole “package” situation and payment worked. The planner we ended up with, Brittany, was easy to work with and pretty much ran the show that night, coordinating with the other vendors really well.Photography – Chris Sollart: BWe don’t have any prints yet, but the website was up just a few days after he said it would be, and there are lots of really nice pictures. I wish there were more of the guests and more creative pictures of the two of us, but this is definitely partly our fault, as he asked us what we wanted but we didn’t really have any ideas for anything different. I think a little more guidance would have been nice. He brought an assistant along for before the ceremony who was very personable and did a great job. They both were very unobtrusive during the ceremony and reception.Transportation – Stita Taxi: DWe wanted to have vouchers available for guests to get a free ride home from the venue. The organization of it was a little bumpy, and I still haven’t heard anything from them as far as how much we owe for any rides taken. They also were slow with getting taxis down to the venue. The woman I set it up with asked if we wanted taxis waiting, and I said I didn’t really know how many we’d need, etc., and I figured with cell phones it wouldn’t be that big of a deal for people just to call, but I guess that was the wrong option. So, I don’t know really how this will shake out – maybe they just aren’t that concerned with getting payment, but communication is definitely lacking. I’ll have to come and amend this if it turns out that no one actually used the vouchers – but it would still be nice to know that.Rings – Greenlake Jewelry: AHad a great experience with them (our designer was Elise) from beginning to end for my e-ring and both our wedding bands. I picked the design, the stone (a sapphire) and the metal, and the band is designed to perfectly fit around it. They were on time with their estimates and up front about pricing. I brought it back once already to get the setting tightened and polish it up before the wedding with no problems and quick service.Officiant – Frank Harlan: AFrank did a great job. He gave us a serious but fun ceremony without any religion. He gave us a template of a ceremony he uses, and we changed the wording and cut parts out to make it fit us perfectly. He stayed throughout the reception to run the toasts, get the dancing going, etc., for no extra charge (but we did give him a nice tip). He definitely has his ideas about how things should go, but since they all sounded good to us, it wasn’t a problem! Registry – Macy’s: AThey were really easy to use, and every problem we had they were able to help us either over the phone or in person. We didn’t really even have any problems, I just mean exchanges, and also the pots we registered for get sent from Europe without any packing slip that says who sent it to us – they were able to tell us right away. I’ve been to a few different stores in the area depending on what other errands I have, and the ladies at the registry department have all been great.Stationery – UPS Store on Aurora (Oak Tree Village): AWe did our own stationery, but wanted nice laser printing. They also cut the paper for us, including the background colored paper that we didn’t even have printed. Since we only used black ink, it was very economical! The customer service was great, very quick and professional. We got our envelopes and colored paper from Paper Zone and our return address stamps, decorative stamps and ink pads from Impress in U Village, both of which were great.Band – the leader lives in our building, Bernie Jacobs: AThey were great! I’ve never been to a wedding with a live band before, but I recommend it highly! They played during dinner for background music, and then for the dancing. The pianist, Eric Verlinde, played at the ceremony. It was all wonderful. I think the price was comparable to a DJ, maybe a little more. We didn’t really make too many requests about specific songs, but they would have been accommodating. We met with the pianist to pick out ceremony music, and with Bernie to discuss general stuff. We told them the song we picked for our first dance that evening from a long list of their usual songs. If we’d had a special request, they would have done that for us, too. Really a great evening of entertainment.Flipbooks - Fliptography: BWe hired Fliptography for the reception. People really loved it, but I was a little disappointed with the quality of the books compared to how much we paid. I guess it’s sort of a trendy thing to do right now, but it was a lot of fun. I would recommend them for sure.Dress – Belltown Bride: AI found my dress at Belltown Bride, and I really loved it. The owner, Melissa, was great. I give a A because although there were some hiccups that made it a little more stressful than I hoped, it wasn’t necessarily their fault. The dress came in too short, but I don’t know if that was the store’s fault or the dressmaker’s. They were able to reorder and it came in in time. The store had an alterations lady, and since I was too lazy to do any research, I just went with her, but I think the prices were high. It was $400 for really just basic alterations. They got them done in time, though, and it was steamed and ready the day of with no problems except part of the overlay on the bust got steamed a little goofy which irritated me all night. They were able to order me an extra yard of the sash fabric for the flower girl’s dress, and I don’t think they charged me extra.Groomsmen and groom all wore their own suits (groom got his at Nordstrom – no problems) and we bought ties and pocket squares at Macy’s.
I used Etsy for a lot of details, and all of the sellers were great. I highly recommend using Etsy for anything you want to be special, as they are always willing to customize and make it perfect. I got: hair pieces for bridesmaids, flowergirl, and myself, wooden keepsake boxes for ring bearer and flower girl, pill boxes for bridesmaids, ring dish, and cake toppers.
This ended up being pretty long, but I guess people want more details, not less, in this situation!