Hi ladies,
I thought I would share my vendor reviews from my wedding on April 17, 2010. Hopefully, these help the future brides out there!
Church - St. Timothy's Lutheran Church - A+
I have nothing but good things to say about St. Tim's. I have been a member of St. Tim's for years, and Pastor Fred did an awesome job with out ceremony. The wedding coordinator, Connie Grabow, was very easy to work with and they allowed us to come in early to decorate.
Reception - The Ridge Banquet Facility - D
I had heard several negative things about the owner of The Ridge. However, I love the caterer there, and decided to go with The Ridge anyway. The entire reception went well until the last 30 minutes, when the owner suddenly told us that our outside wedding coordinator had been rude to one of his staff members, and we needed to have everything cleaned up before we left. Mind you, we still had about 30 minutes of our reception left before we had to be out of the building. AND we had arranged with The Ridge to be able to come back the next day to pick up linens, uplighting, etc. We were told that The Ridge would bag up the linens and put all of our stuff toward one end of the room, and we could come back on Sunday to pick it up. That night, the owner changed his mind and acted so unprofessional. That was the first time that I was told that our DOC was acting rude to staff at The Ridge. Honestly, I don't think that DOC was rude - I just think that the owner decided to be a jerk that night. We would have argued with him, but he kept holding our $1000 deposit over our heads. All in all, not a good situation.
Catering - Fresh Catering (Bob Freshman) - A+++
The food was fantastic and we had so many compliments. Like I said, the catering is the main reason that we had our reception at The Ridge. The caterer will do other venues too, and I strongly recommend this company.
Cake - Diane Severson - A
We had two flavors of cake, and both were delicious. Diane was so easy to work with, and her price is hard to beat.
Flowers - Debbie Pitt - B+
The flowers were gorgeous and exactly what I wanted. Debbie does a great job of staying within your budget. The only reason that she is not an A is because she is difficult to get in touch with sometimes, and is not that quick about returning emails/phone calls.
DJ - Teeroy Caldwell - A
Teeroy gets lots of rave reviews on The Knot, and he did not let us down. He did a great job of keeping things moving, and the dance floor was filled pretty much the whole night.
Videographer - Hamilton Productions - A
I give Chris an A for now, since we have not seen the actual video yet. But, I have confidence that it will be great. Chris was very easy to work with, and I forgot he was there most of the time. He comes, does his thing, and stays out of the way.
Photographer - Iconic Photography - A
One of my favorite vendors. I suspect that Jeff will be an A+++ once I see the pictures! Our engagement pictures were great, and I can't wait to see the wedding pictures. Jeff and his staff are so easy to work with, and his pictures are beautiful. I had several compliments about Jeff from family members and other guests. He seemed to always be taking pictures, but not in an intrusive way. He has a very laid back personality, and made all of the formal pictures fun to take. The slide show for the reception was fantastic!
Dress - Bridal Traditions - A+
The reviews for Bridal Traditions seem to waiver between good and bad, but I had a GREAT experience. My main consultant was Linda, and she really knew what she was talking about. She helped me find a dress that I didn't even know I wanted! She has a knack for knowing what will look good on you. All of the women at Bridal Traditions were extremely helpful. I used Ruth for alterations, and she did a great job. Overall, a great experience!
Bridesmaid Dresses - David's Bridal - A
Make an appointment! The store was easy to work with, and the bridesmaid dresses all came in very quickly. No complaints! (I also looked for wedding gowns here, but was not that impressed with the selection).
Day of Coordinator - Margo Livingston - A
After my initial DOC bailed on me a couple of months before the wedding, Margo came to my rescue. I am so happy that I hired a DOC. She made the day run very smoothly, and it was so nice for me (or anyone else) not to have to worry about details. Margo also really helped me with decorating ideas and helped pull off the final product! Her prices are very reasonable, and she is well worth it. My only regret is that I didn't hire her from the very beginning of the planning process!
Okay, I think that is all of them. Let me know if you have any questions or want further information.