I got married on June 12th. Here are my vendor reviews:
Ceremony: Caldwell Chapel (Louisville Presbyterian Seminary) - A
The church is beautiful, we loved the stain glass and the organ. Neither my H or I live in Louisville we decided to get married there because that's where I went to HS and where my parents currently live. Neither of their home churches were able to help us because they have Saturday service so that's how we found Caldwell. It was reasonably priced and the coordinator they had to help was very nice. The only draw back was since we were getting married in June and the location is very popular we had to participate in a "lottery" and we didn't get our first choice date of June 5th. That was a little annoying but everything worked out in the end.
Reception Space/Catering: Oxmoor Country Club- A+
My parents are members of Oxmoor which is why we ultimately chose to have the reception here. We didn't have to pay for the room but its very reasonably priced for non-members. They recently completely remodeled the ballroom and entry way to the clubhouse so it was up-to-date and beautiful. The colors are neutral so any wedding color combo can work. Their wedding coordinator is extremely helpful and I felt like they really went above and beyond to help us execute the reception. The food was also good, they have lots of choices and it's all very reasonably priced. We had lots of compliments on the food. They also gave H and I to go boxes of our food and cake to eat that night which was a nice touch because I hadn't really gotten an opportunity to eat much.
Cake: Plehn's Bakery A+
Plehn's in fantastic. They make a delicious cake. They use buttercream, not fondant which I prefer taste-wise- but the cake still looks polished and beautiful. They executed my idea perfectly and it tasted amazing. People were stopping us to ask us where the cake was from. They often attend bridal shows in the area and give coupons so we got 15% off as well!
DJ: Hay DJ- A+
Heather rocks. She gets an idea of the style of music you and your fiance like and then creates the atmosphere from there. A lot of our guests aren't big dancers so I was concerned there wouldn't be much activity on the dance floor but it was packed all night. She seemed to know what songs to play to get them out there. She was easy to work with and also reasonably priced. She mentored under Yancey Entertainment who is also good but more expensive to book.
Photography: Kriech-Hidgon A
Jessie and Chris are great to work with. They are easy and laid back. We don't have any wedding pictures back yet but judging off what I know they shot and how our engagement pictures turn out I'm sure I won't be disappointed. They think outside the box and are able to find some great places to get pictures!
Florist: J. Elizabeth Designs- A+
Jill was awesome. She perfectly executed my vision. I love love loved my bouquet and our centerpieces and arrangments. She was also good at working with your style, taste and budget. She spent a lot of time with us during the consultation and knows venues well enough to be able to provide recommendations on what will look good and make the most of your money in the space.
Organist: Ann Wells- A+
If your church has an organ but no organist I highly recommend Ann. She was awesome and had a great personality. We really had no clue on ceremony music but when we met with her she had several picked out and let us pick the ones we liked best. She came to both our rehearsal and ceremony which was great and was so affordable!
Wedding Planner- Vicki Dukes A+
We used Vicki primarily as a day off wedding planner but she helped us a little bit along the way as well. She had great suggestions and was in charge of decorating the reception space and coordinating with vendors. She thought of all the little things I would have forgotten and completely took the stress of me. If anything went wrong on the day of-I had no idea.
Beauty:
Z's Salon- F
I had originally booked Z's salon for me and my bridal party (6 total people) They were a nightmare to work with. It's rather pricey and you have to pre-pay for everyone 30 days before the wedding. I had my hair trial scheduled for 3 weeks before my my wedding. About a week out I was called and told my appointment time had changed. I was not asked if the new time would be okay. Just told that it was changed. I was frustrated but it still worked for me so fine. 2 days before my trial I was called and told it was changed again. Not only that but my stylists for the trial (and subsequently wedding day) had been changed too. I was livid because once again, I was not asked I was told. I thought I was the client? And I was told when we signed the agreement that if you were within 30 days nothing could change. The new time did not work for me (I was an out of town bride as well so it's not like I could pop over at any time) I was incredibly frustrated and upset and lacking confidence in the salon--what if this happened on my WEDDING day? I called them and told them how unhappy I was. The coordinator, Deanna, never expressed any concern she didn't even say "I'm sorry" I told her I wanted to cancel all our appointments and expected our money to be returned because the terms of our agreement had been violated. They agreed. Actually, that didn't seem concerned at all that they were losing hundreds of dollars of business. Awful, just awful stress for a bride to have to deal with so close to her wedding day.
Joseph's Salon- A++++
After the fall out from Z's I called Joseph's and explained the situation and asked if they had room to accomodate a wedding party of 6. This was just 3 weeks out from my wedding. The person handling my call was amazingly nice and friendly and she told me she'd be able to accomodate not only my wedding party but that they could also get me in for a trial when I was going to be in town (which was the next day) They were absolutely awesome. Everyone was very pleased with their hair and make-up. They even give you an emergency kit for the wedding day. They apparently had 13 weddings at the salon that day but made you feel like you were the only one. It was great customer service. They were also a lot more affordable.
Paper- Charms- A
We got our Save the Dates and Invitations at Charms. They were great to work with and helped us pick great invitations and save the dates that fit our style. They were a little expensive but that was also my own fault do to choices I made like thermography on the invites.
Hope that helps! If you have any questions/need contact info or wants to see pics from any of my vendors I'd be happy to help!