I live in Ohio, but I'm from the Beatrice/Lincoln area so we decided to have the wedding in Lincoln. I planned everything myself using the tools on The Knot, and I LOVED how everything turned out! Here are the break downs
Reception Venue:
Apothecary Lofts, 140 N. 8th St. Ste. 500, Lincoln
Contact name: Crystal (Jaeger) Meister
Ph#: 402-474-1812
Grade: A+
I knew I wanted to have my reception here from the beginning. The character of this place is amazing and the suites that come with the weekend package are beautiful. We did the weekend package for the bigger (North) loft/suite, and rented the smaller (South) loft just for the reception Saturday night. With the weekend package we got the keys for the building and the suite Friday afternoon and had access to it all the way until Sunday afternoon. The kitchens are really nice and since we were able to be in and out of there all weekend, we had the rehearsal dinner there Friday night, and we were able to keep food and snacks in the kitchen so we didn't have to make a ton of food runs. My now husband and I stayed there Friday and Saturday night, and my bridesmaids and I were able to do our hair and make-up done in there Saturday before the ceremony. The suites also have HUGE jacuzzi tubs and the only thing i was worried about with those was if the hot water would last long enough to actually fill the tub...it did! Some things to keep in mind if you rent the Apothecary: There isn't a dance floor in the lofts so you have to rent one (I used AAA Rentals-they have different sizes and do set-up/tear down for u). They also don't do in-house catering or bartending which I liked because I was free to choose my own caterer and bartender. Crystal was amazing to work with-very fast in responding to my questions and very willing to show me the space many many times
You're free to set up the tables however you like. You just talk to Crystal about where you want everything, and they do the set-up for you. You also have to rent your own linens and table settings. I got my linens through AAA Rentals as well so they got delivered with the dance floor, and I got my table settings through Hy-Vee. The only little thing I didn't like was the chairs which seemed a little out-dated, but with everything else being as beautiful as it was, I didn't even notice when everyone was in there. All in all, loved it and would definitely recommend it!
Caterer:
Hy-Vee Catering, 5010 O St, Lincoln
Contact Name: Tom
Ph#: 402-483-7707
Grade: A+
TOM IS AMAZING! There isn't a single thing I didn't like about the catering. Tom was nice, funny, and easy to work with. He was always available for meetings when I needed to ask some questions...just make sure you call ahead because he's the head of the catering department so he's in and out of the store a lot. Jessica (the assistant manager) was also helpful when I called and had a quick question that could be answered over the phone. The food we had was delicious and we were getting compliments on it all night! The prices for everything were very reasonable and they're very helpful at helping you to stay within your budget.
Photographer:
Richmond Photography, 3203 South St, Lincoln
Contact Name: Cory Richmond
Ph#: 402-202-6299
email:
cory@richmondphoto.com Website: http://
www.richmondphoto.comGrade: A+
AAAAAAAAAMAZING
I found Cory online and decided I wanted to go with him from his website so I called my dad (who is also a photographer but I obviously didn't want my dad to have to work at my wedding) and found out that he's actually the guy that my dad refers people to when they ask about Lincoln photographers
he was a perfect mix of laid back and professional so every minute of our big day was fun and photographed haha
We ended up with some great shots including a lot of candids which is exactly what I wanted. He's very quick with getting the photos online for friends and family to see/order, and is very quick with responses to any questions you have along the way. He also has a LOT of examples in his studio of work that he's done so you can get some ideas of what you want too. Prices for their packages are good and also for ordering prints afterwards online. Very happy with Cory!!!!!
Cake:
Hy-Vee Bakery, same info as above
Grade: B+
I loved our cakes! Hy-Vee does 10% off of services if you use 2 or more, so we went with them for catering, cake, and flowers and got 10% off of each. The people in the bakery are very helpful and they have a lot of pictures for you to look at and get ideas. They are really thorough when asking questions about what you want the cake to look like. There were just 2 things I wasn't happy with. FIrst, the cake I had was 4 tiers with the middle 2 being separated with 4 glass vases filled with crystal beads and LED lights which we brought in before hand. It was beautiful in pictures but the vases weren't strong enough to hold the top 2 tiers, so the only time the cake was fully assembled was for pictures. The second thing was that my husband doesn't really like cake, so I had ordered 4 blueberry muffins (which he LOVES) to be decorated with our names and wedding date, but they never showed up
My mom did go back the next week and got reimburssed for them though with an apology. Really, not getting them didn't turn out to be a huge deal because were so busy talking to guests that the only cake we got to eat was when we were cutting it. So much for taking all that time to choose our favorite flavors!!
Flowers:
Hy-Vee floral, Same address as above
Contact Name: Ann
Ph#: 402-488-9611
Grade: A
The flowers were beautiful!! I knew what colors I wanted and I knew I wanted gerbera daisies, but other than that I wasn't sure, so I made an appointment with Ann and went in to talk to her about my 'vision' haha
By the time the appointment was over, I felt 100% confident that everything would be exactly what I envisioned. She suggested green buttons with orange lillies and my pink and yellow gerbera daisies and it turned out beautifully. The only thing I would change was the holder my bouquet was in. It was a white plastic handle and it was pretty skinny so I felt a little like I was going to drop it a few times (not because it was heavy because it wasn't, just because my hands got a little sweaty and it was kind of slippery). But it still looked great and I know I was the only person that even noticed that.
Bartender:
Meier's Cork n Bottle, 1244 South St, Lincoln
Ph#: 402-476-1518
Grade: A+
Again, very friendly staff, GREAT bartenders (there were 2 of them) and VERY reasonable pricing. We had a cash bar so the only charge we had was per hour. We talked to them ahead of time to decide what kinds of alcohol we wanted, they showed up early to set up, and were really fun all during the reception. They even left me a message on my wedding video that my cousin was making
If I had it to do all over again, I'd choose the exact same vendors, and when people ask me for referrals I tell them to go with who I went with every time. I was SO happy with how everything turned out, and everything was so seamless that I didn't worry about a thing from the time I woke up until the time I went to bed. I showed up, I had the best day of my life, and at the end of the day I had nothing but great memories! Just remember that no matter how much you plan, something will go not EXACTLY how you thought it would, but 9.9 times out of 10, you're the only person that will notice, and by that time, it's too late to change anything anyway!! So, enjoy the day, let the small stuff slide, and focus of why you're there...to become Mrs. _____!!!!