North Carolina-Raleigh-Durham

Vendor reviews!

This may sound unrealistic, but I rate all of my vendors 10 out of 10. My wedding was less than a month ago and I am still in awe at how perfectly everything came together. I credit my vendors for making the experience so positive. Here are my reviews. Let me know if you have any questions! 

Ceremony/Reception Venue: The Carolina Inn (Chapel Hill) www.carolinainn.com/">www.carolinainn.com/: The Carolina Inn is known for being a popular wedding spot, well now I know why. First, the hotel and grounds are gorgeous. You will have no trouble getting beautiful photos and video here. Second, the staff and event planners are wonderful to work with. Every single detail was taken care of and I didn’t have to worry about a thing. I planned my wedding by myself, but felt like I had the benefit of having a wedding planner when working with Devon at the Inn. I enjoyed every experience, from the menu tasting, January wedding show, and details meeting, to the entire wedding weekend. My ceremony was held in the Bryan Courtyard and it was a romantic, intimate setting. The reception was in the Old Well Room, which is a gorgeous, elegant room. You will get a lot of value at the Inn, but it can be pricey during peak season and Saturdays. By having my wedding on a Sunday, I found the price very reasonable and I can’t compliment the Inn enough on its customer service, attention to detail, beautiful accommodations and delicious food. I felt like a celebrity. Take a look at my video and you’ll see how fabulous it was!
 

Photography: www.andunlimited.com/ Meredith Perdue, & Unlimited (NC and Maine): Meredith Perdue with & Unlimited is based in Maine, but she is from NC and returns frequently for work and to visit family. I was lucky enough to book her for my wedding in March. She was in NC for other jobs so we could easily schedule an engagement session (www.andunlimited.com/paige-nick/) and bridal portraits. Her work is very impressive and she has already been featured on wedding planning blogs and magazines. I wanted a mix of traditional and creative (non-traditional) photos and she captured it all. I have all the family formals to make my grandparents happy and I have some really fun, unique and creative photos from the engagement/bridal sessions and awesome photos from the day of the wedding (www.andunlimited.com/carolina-inn-wedding/). She captured special moments while I was getting ready with the girls and excellent shots of the ceremony and reception. I’m not a big DIY’er, but I created a few things and Meredith did a beautiful job of highlighting these details and making them look amazing.
 

Boudoir Photography: Story Photographers (Raleigh): I wanted to work with a local photographer who specializes in boudoir and Ashley Stephenson with Story Photographers came highly recommended. My sister and I scheduled a session together and this helped take off the pressure. Ashley made me feel very comfortable and I was thrilled with the result. If you’re thinking about taking the leap to do a boudoir session, go for it! It was an awesome experience.
 

Cinematography: www.inkspotcrow.com/" InkSpot Crow Films (Durham): My review of Philip and MacKenzie with InkSpot Crow is going to be glowing, but really nothing I say can do it justice. Just watch the video (www.inkspotcrow.com/2011/04/02/nick-paige-wedding-highlights/) -- it’s less than 4 minutes long) – it says it all. When I first started wedding planning, a wedding video was not in the budget. I thought it was something we could do without. I am so glad we decided to have the video. It is a little bit of a splurge, but if there is any way to work it into your budget, I recommend it. Wedding videography isn’t what it used to be. They captured the best moments of the night and I am so proud of my video. I have a mini-movie of the wedding day and it is absolutely my favorite thing from the wedding. They produced a 4-minute highlights video that I can share on Facebook and email around. We get 3 copies of a longer video (20 mins.) on DVD. You get so much value for the money. I highly recommend!
 

Florist: www.freshaffairs.com/" Fresh Affairs (Raleigh): Lyn and Linda with Fresh Affairs were wonderful. I mentioned before that I didn’t have a wedding planner, but Lyn played that role during our meetings. He gave me great advice about styling and wedding colors and creative ideas for my ceremony and reception. He is very knowledgeable about local venues and other vendors, which made him even more helpful. When the wedding day came, I was so excited to see my flowers. I wanted simple, classic flowers and Lyn made them beautifully, while adding a creative touch that took them beyond what I could have ever imagined. He created a romantic setting for the ceremony by hanging flowers and a memorial candle from the tree in the courtyard, and stunning centerpieces for the reception with multiple levels of flowers and candle light. Lyn absolutely went above and beyond for my wedding and I would recommend him again and again.
 

DJ: Randy Bennett with www.bunndjcompany.com/">Joe Bunn DJ Company (Raleigh): Randy was great to work with, he did an excellent job running the reception and keeping everyone dancing. He took care of all my requests and didn’t miss a thing. He also provided music for the ceremony, which was simple and beautiful. The online song selection process was easy. Randy called me a few days before the wedding to run through the schedule of events and confirmed my wedding party’s names for introductions. I appreciated this attention to detail. He accommodated us when we extended the reception an extra hour to midnight. Randy was awesome!
 

Cake: www.swankcakedesign.com/" Swank Cake Designs (Raleigh): Another great vendor experience. The tasting was fun and Wayne made a sketch of my cake during our meeting. Their cake is delicious and they delivered a stunning, elegant cake. Take a look at the pictures. Words don’t do it justice. I opted for a simple design, but these guys are the best in the business if you want something unique and artistic.
 

Minister and Ceremony Coordinator: www.trianglecustomweddings.com/" Triangle Custom Weddings, Ed and Becky Sansbury (Raleigh): I met Ed and Becky at a wedding show and instantly felt a connection. They came to our house and chatted for two hours to get to know my fiancé and me. Ed was our minister and Becky acted as the day-of ceremony coordinator (The Carolina Inn requires this if you have the ceremony there). I was so glad to have both of them there. Ed worked with us to create a special, customized ceremony and vows; Becky ran the rehearsal and kept things running smoothly during the final hours before the ceremony, which helped me stay calm and focused.
 

Dress/Alterations: www.bridalgallerymacgregor.com/" Bridal Gallery (Cary): I had a good experience at Bridal Gallery. I read a lot of nasty reviews about the owner and her shop, but brides need to know going in that this isn’t a high-end bridal boutique so you won’t get top service like you would find at Victorian Rose or Alexia’s. If you want champagne and a fancy fitting room (and there’s nothing wrong with that), then you should go to one of the high-end boutiques. I didn’t want to spend more than $1,000 on my dress in order to stay within my budget and I got a beautiful dress and the service was fine at Bridal Gallery. I also had my alterations done there and they were perfect, she also included one pressing and as many fittings as I needed. If you go in with the right expectations, you can have a positive experience and get great value here. 
 

Paper: MagnetStreet and Vistaprint: This is an area where I wanted to save some money. Our guest list was 80 people. I was very happy with MagnetStreet, I ordered small magnet save the dates (w/ envelopes) for $95. Invitations, place cards, reply cards, envelopes and thank you cards from Vistaprint cost less than $160. I upgraded to the higher quality paper and no one knew I paid so little for my invitations.
 

DIY: Menus for each table and ceremony program, place card board: I designed my menus and ceremony program in Word and had them printed at Kinko’s. Very affordable and a nice touch. I found a place card board template on the Michael’s website and made it using foam core board and multiple colors of ribbon. The place cards slipped onto the pieces of ribbon and guests picked them up at the front of the room. I saved a lot of money by not having individual place card holders.

Re: Vendor reviews!

  • cddaltoncddalton member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I loved your video, it/you were beautiful!  Congratulations.  Do you know approximately how much your cinematography was?  I am just curious!  Thanks for the recommendations!
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