Wow! It came and went so fast!
You'll see that all of my vendors scored an A or higher. It's no lie-- we had AMAZING vendors that were wonderful to work with.
We had a beautiful day for our St. Patrick's Day Wedding, and I can only hope the same for all of you brides-soon-to-be!
Venue -- Anderson Center: A
The Anderson Center is a beautiful place for a ceremony on the East side of town. We really lucked out on the weather that day (sunny and beautiful and 70 degrees!), and we were able to have our ceremony outside. The green backdrop of the hill behind us was perfect in its simplicity! The reception was wonderful, with plenty of room for our guests to mingle in the lobby and the outdoor area the had a scenic view of the sunset over the lake. We also rented out the Dressing Room & Green Room, so that we could get ready-- it was a huge time saver, and the makeup room is huge and well lit with mirrors practically wall to wall. We had our hair and makeup artists/stylists come to us. I highly recommend this to reduce your stress on the day of your wedding.
Caterer -- Vonderhaars: AEVERYONE LOVED our food! Vonderhaars was wonderful to work with! They catered to our St. Patty's Day theme, as well as offering up great suggestions for non-Irish foods to pair with them. They also provided wonderful service! Jan Riordan was lovely to deal with. My only minor annoyance was with the wine at the bar. We knew in advance that it would be Boxed wine-- so that was fine, but we were assured that the wine would first be transferred to carafes, so that the guests wouldn't see the boxes, and to class it up a bit. The Bartenders (more than a few times) were seen in full view of the guests refilling the carafes on top of the bar from the boxes (NOT so classy). But really-- overall they were fantastic, and that was the only thing keeping them from an "A+" Rating!
Photographer: Nicholas Viltrakis: A++ www.nicholasviltrakis.com/
Nick and his wife Terri were THE BEST! The pictures were amazing, and ranged from classic to more modern and fun. They made the best use of every inch of our ceremony, reception and beyond! We were just blown away by the pictures! He was very affordable and so fun to deal with. It is so nice & refreshing to work with people who LOVE what they are doing and it shows!
DJ -- CSC Special Events/Jimmy Williams: A+
http://www.cscvip.com/
Jimmy Williams is so full of energy! He had all of our guests up on the dance floor, and even set up the music for our outdoor ceremony. He goes through a very detailed checklist with you in order to make sure that he is playing what you want, while still being mindful of when the dance floor could use a jolt of energy.
Florist -- Covent Garden: A
Very easy to deal with, and they had great ideas for our flowers. They did my bouquet and the bridesmaids, and ordered the flowers so that my Aunt could make the boutineres. They also found us beautiful potted shamrocks that were blooming for our centerpieces.
Cake -- The Bon Bonerie: A+
http://bonbonerie.com/wedding LOVED our cake! It was beautiful and delicious! We ordered the Opera Cream and the Tangerine Moon and it was so flavorful and moist! The cake itself looked flawless (we ordered the art deco design). All of our guests loved it!
Makeup -- Jean Folchi: AJean Folchi is a delight to work with! She is so personable and made us all feel at ease. She did the makeup for me, and most of my bridesmaids, as well as my Mother-in-Law. The airbrushing that she uses is fantastic, and for someone who normally doesn't wear a lot of makeup (Re: Me), it felt weightless. We all loved the fake eyelashes, too! She did a wonderful job, and it really shows in our pictures!
Hair -- Angie Taylor: AJean actually recommended Angie to me, and she was wonderful to work with! She knew exactly what I was looking for in my trial run, and then made it look even better on the day of my wedding! She was also perfection under pressure when it came to my bridesmaids and their varied hair styles!
Favors -- Crestline Promotions: AFor our St. Patrick's Day theme, we thought that it would be appropriate to substitute the champagne for a Guinness Toast. What better way to have a Guinness toast than with custom made pint glasses. My sister created the cartoon of our 2 dogs and we found Crestline online. They had the glasses done in record time and were very up front about the process and cost. (See Pic Below)
Hotel: Holiday Inn Eastgate: A
The Holiday Inn Eastgate offers a fantastic incentive to booking blocks of rooms for you and your guests-- they will shuttle your guests too and from the hotel & venue. That way you don't have to worry about driving, or drinking or the combination of the two. Very nice (especially on St. Patrick's Day)! They also allowed us to hang out in their lobby for a little after party.
Tuxedos -- Folchi's: A+
All of the men looked fantastic! Mark Folchi is a pro! The suits were classy, well tailored, and affordable!
Dresses -- Carrie Karibo-- A www.carriekaribo.com/
My BM's and I went to Carrie Karibo after checking out other bridal stores in the Reading District, just to look at Bridesmaid Dresses. I used to work in the area and when I drove by, they always had fun & colorful window displays. Not only did I find my Bridesmaid dresses there, I also found my perfect wedding dress! I didn't even know that they had wedding dresses beforehand, and honestly, after being treated like low-grade cattle at the other stores, I wasn't really looking to try on anymore dresses. Carrie Karibo is a smaller, boutique-style atmosphere. Honestly, it was what I had hoped shopping for dresses would be like. We didn't have an appointment, and they let us take all the time that we needed. It was no pressure, and so nice to feel like we weren't being rushed towards a decision. Extra Bonus: They encourage you to take pictures! They were also fantastic when it came to keeping me up to date on the status of my dress order, and my bridesmaid dresses. I cannot recommend them enough! Invitations: 123print.com
http://www.123print.com/Wedding-Invitations
I am very lucky to have a very talented sister-in-law who offered to design our invitations. We didn't want to spend a ton on invitations, but we still wanted them to look classy and appropriate. My future sister-in-law had previously designed and ordered her own invitations through this website, and they were gorgeous & extremely CHEAP! The main colors on my invitations were sage green, charcoal and silver, and when we received our first prints back there was a weird color discrepancy (the charcoal looked black and the green was not right), and there was a strange reddish shadow to the white script. We called 123print, and they were very easy to work with. They credited back the entire order and gave us tips on how to resubmit the designs so that they would come out how we expected.
NOTE: Make sure that you submit your files to them in CMYK-- it really does make a HUGE difference! Follow their submission guidelines explicitly!
Rehearsal Dinner -- The Art of Entertaining: A
The Art of Entertaining is a wonderful place for an eclectic Rehearsal Dinner. The space (with multiple cozy dining rooms) really encourages your guests to mingle. The food was amazing, and she has a million different menus to choose from. You can even watch the chef's cooking your cuisine. They also pair your food with wonderful wine and very nice beers! Everyone had a great time, and was asking me if we could get recipes from them.