I just got back from my honeymoon a few days ago and I wanted to post a few vendor reviews. While planning I relied on the knottie reviews and I wanted to pass along some of my own. Sorry some might be long. Dress and Alterations: Blueberries Bridal (A for dress and service but C for communication) First let me say that I absolutely loved my dress and I shopped around and no other place made you feel more like a bride than blueberries. They scatter their appointments so that there is only one bride at a time. 1/2 the shop turns into your dressing room and when you come out to see yourself you stand underneath a chandelier, what could be more romantic? The staff is knowledgeable and extremely helpful. The dress I ended falling in love with I didn't even want to try on but Laquan said that it would look beautiful and it was. However they were difficult to get in touch with because they are only open on certain days and difficult to get alteration appointments (not for me but for my bridesmaids). I also felt that my alterations were expensive ($450, however the dress was french lace and the neckline needed to be remade so there there was a lot to be done.) I found out after the wedding when the MOG went to pick up her dress (the appointment they scheduled for pickup) the dress wasn't even there. They told her to just come back later in the day (she lived over an hour away!) so she said where is the dress and it was at the seamstress's shop so she had to drive over there and sit in the parking lot to wait for the seamstress to come in for the day. This was two days before the wedding. There are good with what they do but they do seem a bit disorganized perhaps it was only with us since we ended up ordering so many dresses from them. (my dress, 4 bridesmaids, 2 junior bridesmaids, 1 flower girl, and the Mother of the Groom's dress there). So personally I felt they were extremely disorganized however In end I would still recommend them. Veil: White Swan Bridal C I loved my veil, it is beautiful but I had to go through a lot to get it that way. I ordered a custom veil to be made for me by White Swan based off of a model they had in the store. Several weeks later I return to pick up my veil. I was told everything would be ready at 11:30, I get there at 12 and nothing is ready. I sit there waiting for 30 minutes. I finally say I am going to go grab some lunch and I would come back to get my veil since they weren't ready. I come back an hour later and they bring my veil down. It looks funny to me, really short. I tell them I thought I ordered 45 inches, they say it is 45 inches, I argue with them and they bring out the measuring tape to prove me wrong. Well I was right it was only 31 inches. Also the comb where the fabric was connected was frayed. So I get upset and complain that this is not what I ordered and it looks very different from the model. I pulled the model out and showed the sales lady. Well she runs upstairs to the seamstress and tells me they would fix it. I said no I don't want it fixed I want another one made (they said they would just attach another piece to the veil to make it longer, well that would completely change the look and that doesn't fix the fraying) She says they would fix it and leaves me there not telling me anything. No one brought me updates, no one said it will take this much time, no one said come back in few hours, no one said come back on such and such day. No one said anything. I sat there for 2 hours, and no one would answer my questions. They finally bring down the veil and its beautiful, so I did end up leaving happy but very annoyed. Band: Doctor's Orders through Bialek's Music. A++++++++++++++++ I have no words, I have never heard or seen a band like this. They were absolutely incredible and worth every single penny paid. (They usually charge 8500 but since our wedding was in July (an off month) we were charged 6500) They are a little bit more on the pricey side but seriously nothing could compare to what they did. I originally thought I wanted a DJ so the music could sound like the artist, well they did and they sang songs from Nora Jones, Michael Jackson, Usher, to Bon Jovi and it sounded exactly like the artists. The lead singers energy level was perfect, he kept everyone going and played music based on the crowd. The dance floor was filled the entire time. Everyone continued to comment on the band and how wonderful they were. I have no words, I never in my wildest dreams would have thought my wedding band would be this good. If you can find it in your budget I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend them. Almost every guest at the wedding said it was the best music they had ever heard at a wedding. Flowers: Spot Floral Design A+ The flowers were beautiful. My bouquet was made of white peonies, even my toss bouquet was gorgeous, the bridesmaids flowers were a mix of pink peonies and other pink flowers with hints of green. The centerpieces were both short and tall. The centerpieces were hydrangea, peonies, roses, and cala lilies. I ended up ordering my linens, napkins, chairs, and chargers through them. Everything was delivered on time. For the ceremony we had arrangements on the pews and alter and everything looked beautiful. In past reviews I read that they are hard to get in touch with but I never had that issue. I would definitely recommend them. Reception: Lansdowne Resort A++ We had our reception at Lansdowne's golf club. I can not sing Lansdowne's praises more! Lindsay our catering manager has been with us from the start. We originally booked Lansdowne about 15 months prior to the wedding and in that entire time we never had to wait more than a few hours for a response to a question. Lindsay even helped my husband arrange a pre-wedding golf game the day before (giving us 4 free rounds). We had a room block there which worked out great. We checked in on Thursday and Lansdowne gave us a beautiful suite and they only charged us for Thursday night (free both Friday and Saturday night, the wedding night). There were a lot of little details going on (specific out of town bags and everything went according to plan, I couldn't believe it) Everything ran smoothly. We actually had no issues what so ever at the reception. Everything ran according to schedule, the servers were pleasant, the food was excellent. Everyone continued to tell us how amazing the food was. While I was only able to have a few bites (too excited to eat) I have to say I agree. Lansdowne was almost perfect. I highly highly recommend them, especially Lindsay! Lansdowne also did our cake, which was a 4 tier masterpiece, stunning and very yummy. I couldn't have been happier. Favors: Historical Chocolates (Fairfax, VA): B- The chocolates we ordered were mini chocolate Burruss Hall chocolates, my husband is a hokie and while they were beautiful they were a lot smaller than I would have liked. The only real issue we had was that the lady in charge of ordering was really difficult to get in touch with.