Better late than never......here are my vendor reviews:
Venue ---we got married on the beach which was AMAZING and had our reception poolside in the backyard of Woodstock (my aunt and uncle's beach home). It's not technically an event home but it is a rental from May through September and it worked peeeeerfect! If anyone is unsure of whether to have their reception at a rental home or at a restaurant/hotel, I would hands down recommend the rental home! All of my guests loved the fact that the party really never ended!
Catering -- Enchanted Cuisine (formerly Culinary Majick) ---Gwen is AMAZING! She is a true professional, as well as her entire staff were on top of everything the entire night! I was not the most detailed bride and the things I didn't think of, they did! The food was amazing and all of my guests absolutely raved about her chicken parm specifically!
Cake -- CakesbyRobin ---- Delish! Robin was easy to work with, delivered the cake right on time and was in and out in a flash! I didn't get a whole lot of time to chat with her but she was affordable and the cake was moist and exactly as we imagined!
Hair/Makeup -- Hairoics --- I wasn't sure throughout planning how I wanted my hair. I grew it out hoping that I could wear it down, but having a beach wedding I wasn't sure if that would be the best bet as I didn't know how the weather/wind would be that day. When I went in for my consultation with Elizabeth she said it was up to me but she could tell I was unsure so she tried to give the pros/cons. She was terrific and so down to earth! I ended up wearing it up and I couldn't have been happier!
Rentals --- Ocean Atlantic --- My experience with them was pretty good I'd say. There were a couple of times where I had emailed them and didn't hear anything back, so I'd follow it up with a phone call and then was able to speak with someone on the phone. Other than that it was fine. I rented tables, chairs, tablecloths and linen napkins for the backyard recption and it went very smooth. I did feel bad for some of my more hung over family and friends that got up early to tear down everything the next morning since the contract says the items have to be back in the driveway (where they were dropped off) by 8am the next morning.....if I would've had the money I would have paid for the set up/break down service just for that.
Officiant --- Rev. Shirley Anne @ Carolina Wedding Co. --- Let me just say she is as sweet as sweet can be! I really enjoyed meeting with her but there were 2 small hiccups. First she was 25 minutes late.....there was some sort of traffic delay which I can understand was not her fault BUT the thing about it was that I was not a nervous bride...my new husband and dated for almost 6 years before we got engaged. But around noon the day of my wedding it happened....I got nervous and the butterflies started. So when I got down to the ceremony site and had to sit in the car an extra 25 mintues I was freaking out a bit. Also, the fact that I didn't rent chairs for our beach ceremony because it was going to be so short, my poor guests were standing down there waiting for it to start. In fact, it turns out that everyone thought it was me having cold feet ---which is kind of a cute story. THEN....when the ceremony started, she used both of our names correctly, until we got to the vows, ......wait for it......she turned to my husband and asked him to repeat after her "I take you Emily".....that's right folks. My name is not Emily....she called me by the wrong name. I have to say though, I love telling the story. I didn't get mad about it and I just think I'll have a really cute story to tell our kids and our grandkids someday. All in all Rev Shirley did a lovely job.
Photography --- Lauren Cowart --- LOVE LOVE LOVE her! She is actually the officiant's daughter. They work together on some weddings but Lauren works on her own as well. This was the one area I was willing to splurge on considering "photos last forever" and even though I've only seen a couple of the pics so far, they are AMAZING. I really liked her style from what I saw on her website but I also liked that she has a young, fun flair about her work. She listened to every single one of my "requests" and she had a ton of ideas herself which we loved!
I would say if you're on a budget ---these vendors are definitely worth talking to and seeing if they're what you're looking for. Also, if you're the kind of bride I was: not into details, not really sure what to do/where to start/etc. ---these vendors can help. Sorry this is so long but I hope this helps those in the planning stages!
Katie