Dress – David’s Bridal: A. I didn’t want something expensive and found the perfect dress there. The staff was always friendly and helpful. The alterations ladies were wonderful. They spent a lot of time creating a custom bustle for my dress that was very reasonably priced. The only annoyance I had with them is that the company prefers you to do bridesmaid dresses there and tuxes at Men’s Warehouse, which we didn’t want to do. They were slightly pushy about it in the beginning, but other than that they were wonderful.
Tuxes – Charpia’s Formal Wear (James Island): B+. While it’s much smaller than Men’s Warehouse, they had much more interesting and location specific styles. We had some size issues when the boys went to pick their stuff up but most of it was able to be resolved.
Rings – Hanchey Jewelers: A+. We had ours custom made at very affordable prices by Ashley at Hanchey. I cannot say enough wonderful things about the staff there or Ashley’s work. They were absolutely fantastic and we will continue to go there for any jewelry needs in the future.
Venue – Legare Waring House: A+. Julie Ann is absolutely wonderful. She was so sweet and so great to work with. It’s a gorgeous venue. We wanted to do a lot of the planning ourselves and they were very accommodating to anything we asked for.
Day-of Coordinator – Amanda Assey Lewis at Southern Chic Weddings: A. Amanda was wonderful. She is very personable and did a great job. We did most of the décor ourselves and she did a great job putting it together that day. Everything was set up well and ran perfectly. I would definitely recommend her to anyone.
Hair & Makeup - Covergirl Brides: B. We chose Karen based on reviews on here and I really wanted someone to come on site since we were getting ready at the venue. I wasn’t totally impressed, because she took a long time to ever answer emails and I had to re-explain who I was and what I wanted any time I spoke with her (even though I always prefaced my emails with the location, date, and our names). Fortunately I took pictures of our trial run and brought them to the wedding because I don’t think she would have had any idea what we did otherwise, and we had to do my hair 3 times that morning because she kept changing it. It is also definitely pricey, but most on site stylists are. But aside from some of the communication stuff, in the end she did a really wonderful job and I felt really great about the way I looked. I would still recommend her, but would just tell others to be prepared and not really expect a personal experience.
Ceremony & Cocktail Hour Musicians – Palmetto Strings: A. Again, they were great. Lauren is easy to work with and always had prompt communication.
DJ – Jay Maxwell with Jay Maxwell’s Music by Request : A. We had Jay himself and he was a great guy. Very professional, not cheesy, and did a good job gauging the feel of the reception. We had a lot of guests tell us after that they loved him.
Bar – Mix Charleston: A. Craig was very easy to work with and always replied promptly. We had a bar with beer, wine, and a punch we made at the cocktail hour, and a second full bar for the reception. They also poured our champagne toast. Would definitely recommend them to anyone.
Rentals – Snyder Rentals: A. They were the only company with a clear top tent in the size we needed. They are one of the bigger companies that obviously does a lot of business here. They let us pick a bunch of the stuff up early, which was great. They arrived at the venue early and setup went smoothly.
Catering – Gerry Kieran: A++. Groom’s friend – by far the best food we’ve ever eaten at a wedding (or at many restaurants!). We’re still having guests tell us how good it was, and begging for his grits recipe. He has an omelet stand at the Farmer’s Market that’s worth stopping at. J