DJ: D'Agostino's, Fairborn, OH A+
Cost: $100/hour
He was quirky and fun! He didn't have big sound equipment, but he had a few lights and big speakers. But, he kept the dance floor packed all night long. There was one point in the night he had the entire crowd involved...not one person was standing or sitting like a bump on a long. AWESOME! My guests liked him so much that they decided to pass the hat and get him for an extra hour. I found out after the fact.
Caterer: Davidson's Caterin, Hammersville, OH A+
Cost: $7.25/person or if you provide your own dinnerware $7/person
Buffet style. 4 entrees, 2 veggies, 1 potato and a 25 item salad bar. We had baked chicken, ribs, ham, lasagna, peas & carrots, green beans, and au gratin potatoes for our selections. I recommend all of it! I had several people ask for the caterer's information because the food was so good! They were prompt with set up and take down. The food tasted great!
Linens: Waymire Wedding Creations, Lewisburg, OH A+
She was very easy to work with in regards to my budget. The linens were perfect!
Flowers: Waymire Wedding Creations, Lewisburg, OH C-
I had fresh flowers, she apparently is much more comfortable with silk flowers. They flowers weren't fresh. My white roses were browning before the ceremony even started. Petals were falling off of the red roses before things got started. Everything looked great and was assembled great. I was just very very disappointed in the quality of the flowers. Would not recommend for fresh flowers...but for silk I would.
Bartender: Susie Wallace, Dayton, OH A+
She was great with setting a price within my budget. She was awesome with the guests. Everyone loved her! She was very helpful with other little odds n ends that needed to be done prior to the reception as well as cleanup. She was a lot of fun! Would absolutely recommend her for any function.
Venue: Pentz Place, Lewisburg, OH B
Cost: $550
It worked well for us as far as space and budget went. Everything was perfect. The only thing that caused me to give a B was the manager. She was a little difficult to work with. It's not a manned location, so we had to bring all of our own stuff (besides tables) in and out. But, we had to work around her schedule to let us in and out of the building because she doesn't give out keys. It made it difficult because then we were constantly on a time crunch. And, she always made us feel like we were really inconveniencing her to have to let us in and out. And, the parking rules are very strict, so that made it difficult to watch where cars were parking. We were told that if any cars park outside of property limits (which are not marked for people to see ahead of time) they will be towed w/o notification.
Dress: David's Bridal, Miamisburg, OH C+
My dress turned out beautiful. But, it didn't come easy. The alterations department caused me to have a couple meltdowns because my dress got screwed up. But, once they fixed it, it was ok. Just a ton of unnecessary added stress. But, it's a classic example of "you get what you pay for". I guess if you want a budget dress, then you get budget service.
Hair & Makeup: All About You Hair Studios, Englewood, OH A+
Kristyn did my hair...it was gorgeous! She put a lot of hard work into it and I got tons of compliments. It held up the entire night without any problems.
Kristen did my makeup. She did exactly what I asked for. It stayed on the entire night, even through all the tears during the ceremony.
Cake: Ele Cake Company, West Carrollton, OH A+
We had plenty of cake. We had a 3 layer w/ chocolate, white and lemon w/ raspberry filling all in white almond buttercream frosting. They made the cake look EXACTLY like the picture we gave them. And, it tasted absolutely amazing!