We got married on August 11th and I thought I would provide some feedback on all of the vendors we used. They really did make our day go smoothly and it was worth all of the research in the beginning.
Reception - Quail Hollow Resort, Concord - A++
The best decision we made for our wedding was booking Quail Hollow's outdoor tent for our reception. We also booked a hospitality room for the girls to get ready and to host a luncheon and day after breakfast for our guests. We also had an after party in the Bronze Bear with a nacho bar. The extras that Quail Hollow offered made our day so wonderful. Kim Patrone was absolutely amazing to work with. She helped us plan the perfect day and was always quick to respond to any questions. We planned our wedding from WI so we communicated via email a lot and Kim made it so easy!
On our day of we had 2 concierges (Amy & Franklin) who handled any issues/questions and took care of us all day. We had told them the day before what we liked to drink so we always had a drink brought to us from the bar, I don't think I ever saw the bottom of a glass. Anytime I walked off the dance floor, Franklin was at my side asking what he could do to make the day perfect. I really felt that they were focused on making our day perfect and we got so many compliments on the service, the tent, the food and the entire resort.
Florist - Bleil's Secret Garden - Mentor - A+
JoAnn was so great to work with and went above and beyond what I could have expected! She worked with our budget and had lots of recommendations on how to save $. I gave her ideas of what I wanted and she elaborated on them to bring my vision to life. We got so many compliments on the flowers and she was just a joy to work with. Ours was the 3rd wedding she has done in the family, and she continues to amaze me every time.
Photographer - Hunter Photographic, Lakewood - A++
The second best decision we made with the wedding was working with Hunter. I'm a bit of a photography snob and he went above my expectations. He truly seemed more like a friend who happened to be taking photos, which is important when you're sharing some very emotional moments with a stranger. Our bridal party and family was amazed at how easy he made formal photos and how much fun they had throughout the process. We expected 2 photographers for the day of and he showed up with 3, he worked after his set hours were up to be sure he got the best pictures, and he improvised when schedules changed or the weather didn't cooperate. Best of all, our photos were done within 2 weeks of the wedding - much better timeline than a lot of other photographers have.
DJ - Marino Brothers, Aurora - B
Marino Bros has also done 2 other weddings in the family and the dance floor has been packed every time I've seen them. They paid close attention to how people reacted to music and if a song wasn't working, they changed it to get people back on the dance floor. Our DJ's even went to get me a drink from the bar because they didn't want me to have to leave the dance floor. They were a ton of fun.
My only complaint was that we wanted my FIL to give a speech last, after the BM and MOH because he is an awesome speaker. The DJ argued this point with me until I agreed to have my FIL speak first and the BM last. It wasn't that big of a deal, but I felt like it was a conversation that didn't need to happen and he shouldn't have questioned what I wanted. Since our reception was in an outdoor tent, it did get hot throughout the night so there were times when people weren't dancing. The DJ found me and basically said that I was ruining the dancing because DH and I were talking and not dancing, he sternly told me that if he played my 'must have' songs, I had to dance to them. It was a 30 second convo and I forgot about it that night, but after a couple of weeks it does stick in my mind as another discussion that didn't need to happen.
That said, I would still recommend them because they set a great tone for the reception and everyone loved them.
Limo - Shima Limo. Mentor - A
We didn't have any issues with the limo, they showed up on time, the limo bus was clean and the driver changed the air conditioning for me about 20 times because I would get hot and then cold.
Tuxedos - Men's Wearhouse, Mentor - D-
We originally reserved one type of tuxedo with the plan to upgrade to the new Vera Wang tuxedos when they were available. The store manager called once they were available and made the change automatically, which we appreciated. Thurs before our wedding the GM went to pick up tuxes and found that one of the 9 had not been changed, so my BIL had to go back the next day to pick up his tux. My FIL was understandably frustrated and verified with the manager that everything was set for the other tuxes that would be picked up on Fri; she confirmed everything else was fine and ready for pickup
On Fri, 3 of my brothers had arrived from out of state and went to pick up tuxes, but there were only 2 in the store. One of the tuxes was shipped to the store in IL where he was fitted instead of OH. To make matters worse, my brother had called the store in IL before he traveled for the wedding and verified he should pick the tux up in Mentor. My brother had to go back the morning of the wedding to pick up his tux and was then late for pictures. My FIL called the manager back the day after the wedding and was basically told that it wasn't their fault that the tux wasn't there, it was the IL store's fault. He asked to get the $ for the tux refunded and she replied that he already got $40 off, that should be enough. Frankly, I don't care who made the error, but both stores pointed the blame at each other and no one even apologized for the added stress. I would not use Men's Wearhouse in the future.
Cake - Flour Girl, Cleveland Heights - A
Our cake was delicious and they did a great job! We also got a groom's cake as a surprise for DH that was a 3D OSU helmet, it was amazing!!
Rehearsal Dinner - Woodfire Catering & Baking - A+
We had our rehearsal dinner in my in-laws back yard and catered by Woodfire. Mark made custom wood fired pizzas that were AMAZING!! He comes up with original combinations and even made desert pizzas (carmelized apple, s'more, bacon & chocolate). It was the best pizza I've ever had and was a great experience.