So - finally getting around to writing up these vendor reviews - wedding + honeymoon and then getting back into the normal flow of life is quite a project! I hope they're helpful! :-)
Officiant: Reverend Judy Burroughs
Rating: A++
I cannot say enough about how wonderful Reverend Judy is. She is what every officiant should be. She offers free consultation to see if the "fit" is right - and will work to customize your ceremony to be WHATEVER you want it to be. We received so many compliments on how beautiful our ceremony was - and how much it seemed like "us". Not only was the ceremony perfect - she arrived an hour early and helped with attaching corsages, etc. Any negative reviews on her are ridiculous.
Ceremony Music: Sabra Thomas (Harpist)
Rating: A
She arrived about 1.5 hours prior to the ceremony - began warming up - and then began playing music as guests arrived. Again - very highly complimented part of our wedding. The music she played was beautiful - and she was very easy to work with. Offers consultations - where she will play music for you - prior to booking.
Ceremony Space: The Sanctuary, Newport KY
Rating: C
We chose The Sanctuary because it was a secular location - that allowed us to bring in any officiant we want. The location has BEAUTIFUL stain glass windows - which absolutely cannot be beat - and it's located in historic downtown Newport. Even the building is historic - 1800's Masonic church.
Looking back - I would have changed venues, however. This place is street parking only - and on a Saturday - it was a bit cramped. The scenary around the location led to some OKAY pictures - very "urban" feel - but no beautiful flower gardens or anything as a backdrop. The "getting ready" area is a bit dark -and Michelle had some difficulty with my hair and make-up, and the back of the building is apartments - so some people were wandering around in the halls. (I knew this ahead of time - but on the day-of, it was a bit odder than I thought it would be)
Annette, the owner, is very nice to work with. They held up their entire end of the deal - but on the day-of, it just wasn't what I had imagined fully.
Hair and Make-up: Michelle Marx - Marxey Make-up
Rating: A+
Michelle is wonderful. She is well-supplied and very talented. I had ABSOLUTELY no idea - beyond a "bun" - as to what I wanted for my wedding hair - and I never wear make-up (other than eyeliner) - so she had a lot of work on her hands with very little direction. She was patient and nailed it on the very first try with just a few questions. She is all-around a cool person to be around as well - and entertaining to boot. ;-)
Reception Space: Embassy Suites Rivercenter
Rating: A+
Embassy Suites is a place where you get what you pay for. We went with a Saturday afternoon reception - as the minimum is only 2,500 - but on a Saturday night, I believe it's 8000. We were in the room with floor to ceiling windows that face downtown Cincinnati/Ohio River. The room was extraordinary - and the view, even in the day time, was quite a sight! There is also a walk-out area that was nice for pictures. Rachel is a joy to work with and very friendly - she knows her stuff. The food is the BEST wedding food ever - at least that's what a lot of our guests said. They are almost a "one stop shop" - as in they supplied all the linens and chair covers, the food, the set-up, the clean-up. With 75 guests, you also get a free honeymoon suite...which was lovely. Absolutely no complaint about Embassy
.
Flowers: Lutz Flowers
Rating: B+
The price was right - my bouquet was only 40 dollars - and the staff was very friendly and helpful. It MIGHT be because of the colors we had chosen (blue and green), but the bouquet was not quite as beautiful as others I've seen - but for forty dollars - it was wonderful - I just expected a bit "more".
Photography: Rachel Spears
Rating: A+++
Rachel Spears rocks. Plain and simple. She is a REAL person - and that's what makes her so great. She's not snobby nor stuck-up. She understands real life and the needs of real brides. Her work is phenomenal - and she is insanely pleasant to work with. She also includes an engagement session in her package. The nice thing about that is it gives us more bashful brides a chance to work with her and get use to the camera before the big day - which was priceless as I was not too keen on the camera at first, but warmed up to it by the end of the engagement session, and was ready to go for the wedding!
Dress: David's Bridal
Rating: A
Great experience - no complaints. Loved my dress. Loved the staff. I did go during the week though - and had 1 on 1 attention from the consultant. I hear the place is a mad-house during the weekend. Lots of selection. I also had my tailoring done here. It was convenient - but over-priced IMO. Staff in the tailoring section were a bit temperamental.
Cake: Sweetwater Bakehouse
Rating: A
Becca is a good sport. We approached her with our need for Mario-themed wedding cake - which scared almost every other big-name bakery in the city away - and she gave us a enthusiastic yes. We had a red velvet cake - with bavarian and apple butter filling - but honestly all the cakes we tried were so delicious it was really hard to narrow it down. My husband designed the cake on the computer - sent her the mock-up - and she turned it into real life. Our cake was a hit - both for appearance and taste.
DJ: Jeff Cowen - CincySpinner DJs
Rating: A
Chill guy. Huge selection of music + online planning tools. Very email accessible or phone if you choose. Has a very clever/cute game called the newlywed game - which was a HUGE success with our guests - they really got a kick out of it and everybody thought it was so unique. Still receiving compliments regarding the game. Only met with him once prior to the wedding - but he really "got" us. He even went out of his way to find the Mario theme for us to enter to - at our request!
Rings: Zales (Northgate)
Rating: A+
Almost all of my jewelry - including our wedding bands and my engagement ring - came from Zales. The selection is great - but almost as important - the staff is very patient and not very pushy. They want to help - not necessarily just make the sale. Unrelated - they have their own brand of "Persona beads" - much like Pandora beads - which was well-worth checking out.