* VENDOR REVIEWS ** 11/26 Wedding :)

djshumway · December 2011

Ok, so here are my vendor reviews finally, for you local AZ brides:

Venue: Inside the Bungalow in downtown Mesa (www.insidethebungalow.com/">http://www.insidethebungalow.com). I give them an A+++. This could not have been more perfect! I wanted a cute cozy outdoor location for a small wedding (About 70 people for me, but the location can fit more). The bungalow itself has a ton of character and was gorgeous, my photographer just adored the bridal suite. I could not ask for a prettier outside venue. Carrie & Betty were absolutely amazing, answering all questions super fast, and giving me suggestions and ideas for questions I never knew I needed to ask. Carrie was fabulous on the day of the wedding making sure everything went smoothly and always asking if I needed anything. The venue was extremely affordable and the ceremony and reception was everything I wanted. The location needs very little decorating. Such a perfect day! I highly recommend this venue if you want a small outside venue. They have open house on Tuesday nights; it was love at first sight for me.

Catering: Heidi’s Events and Catering (www.heidisevents.com/index.php">http://www.heidisevents.com/index.php). I have to give them an A+++ also. I worked with Drew and from day one they were just fabulous. Drew was super personable, answering all questions and fast to get back to e-mails. We wanted to go with Heidi’s from day one but we almost went with another caterer because of price, they are not the cheapest out there but it was very worth it. Drew paid genuine interest, looked at the other caterers offer and created a matching package for us at a similar price. They do a twice year gala tasting when the seasonal menus change, which was amazing. You got to try a huge array of their foods and see how their staff interacted with people. The food was amazing! The staff was amazing! They took care of everything on the day of the wedding; they made sure we did not miss out on appetizers while we were off taking photos during cocktail hour, they made sure to serve us first so we would get a chance to eat before needing to mingle. They even packed a cute box to take as we left for our honeymoon with food, drinks and cake from the reception for a midnight snack later. I didn’t have to worry about a single thing, it all went so smoothly. Very professional and everyone loved the food.

Cake: Peice of Cake (http://www.pieceofcakedesserts.com/). I would have to go with an A. Amy was very friendly, they were super responsive. the cake was absolutely stunning! There was one small glitch, the middle tier was supposed tobe lemon with raspberry, but was a white cake. It didn't bother me much cause it tasted amazing. When I approached Amy after the wedding there was a miscommunication and apparently it is a white cake infused with lemon which was not explained to me. Amy apologozed and offered a free lemon cake of my choosing at any time. Honestly they were fabulous though!

Dress: David’s Bridal. I know they get a lot of criticism and are not always the best to go through, but they get a B+ from me. There was one very small glitch, I called to make my first dress appointment but when I got there the girl who took the reservation over the phone had not put me in. It was a busy Friday evening; they got me in 15 minutes later with the manager. They were helpful and I found the perfect dress at the perfect price for me. The dress came in as ordered and within the time frame they stated, the bridesmaid’s dresses were great and our bridesmaid dress appointment was a lot of fun. No one had any issues, I got what I wanted and everyone loved my dress.

Alterations: Sandra Denley/Alterations etc(602-989-2871). Sandra was awesome (Another recommendation I got from this website), super friendly and my dress looked great. She is based out of her home in Ahwatukee, but when I picked up my dress she said she is moving to a shop. The fittings were great, the dress perfect.

Groom/Groomsmen attire: Men’s Warehouse @ Tempe Marketplace. I would give a B; they were ok and helpful enough. We purchased suits rather than renting. My husbands complaint was that they tried selling him a bunch of stuff he didn’t need, and he found that sales portion a little pushy.

Hair: Stephanie @ JC Penney Salon at Tempe Marketplace. Stephanie gets an A, she was wonderful, the trial was smooth, she did exactly what I wanted, and she was friendly and personable. It was affordable and she made sure the timing went perfectly for that busy day of morning.

Makeup: Jen B (www.makeupbyjenb.com/">http://www.makeupbyjenb.com/). Jen gets an A++, I picked her based on the recommendations from others here at this website and I was so glad I listened. She is freaking adorable! She was super professional, on time to the tee and just wonderful. The air brush makeup was amazing, I loved the trial and we played around the day of to get a great look. Everyone was amazed standing around me watching the transformation and they were so jealous. The makeup looked gorgeous the entire day. If you want professional makeup, then I highly recommend her.

Flowers: (www.etsy.com/shop/SongsFromTheGarden?ref=top_trail">http://www.etsy.com/shop/SongsFromTheGarden?ref=top_trail) SongsFromTheGarden. She gets an A+ from me. I wanted fake flowers and when I saw my ideal bouquet on Etsy I was sold. They were real touch flowers and it was so funny to see everyone’s reaction the day of the wedding when they realized they were not real. These flowers were amazing! They looked fabulous in pictures, so perfect and I didn’t have to worry about wilting, delivery or anything going wrong. She did the bouquet, bridesmaid bouquets, corsages and boutonnieres. She was very friendly and polite, worked with my colors and would put them together and send me pictures so I could say yes or no and adjust. Everything was delivered as ordered. These are some seriously real looking flowers and I highly recommend them.

cu97tiger · December 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_arizona-phoenix_vendor-reviews-1126-wedding?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:71Discussion:597c6c4f-2baa-499a-825f-52361b31f3d5Post:71819bf3-d5c5-46cf-8739-c50d2441575b">*** VENDOR REVIEWS **** 11/26 Wedding :)</a>:
[QUOTE] <strong>Cake</strong>: Peice of Cake ( <a href="http://www.pieceofcakedesserts.com/" rel='nofollow'>http://www.pieceofcakedesserts.com/</a> ). I would have to go with an A. Amy was very friendly, they were super responsive. the cake was absolutely stunning! There was one small glitch, the middle tier was supposed tobe lemon with raspberry, but was a white cake. It didn't bother me much cause it tasted amazing. When I approached Amy after the wedding there was a miscommunication and apparently it is a white cake infused with lemon which was not explained to me. Amy apologozed and offered a free lemon cake of my choosing at any time. Honestly they were fabulous though! <div>
</div><div><strong>Alterations</strong>: Sandra Denley/Alterations etc (602-989-2871). Sandra was awesome (Another recommendation I got from this website), super friendly and my dress looked great. She is based out of her home in Ahwatukee, but when I picked up my dress she said she is moving to a shop. The fittings were great, the dress perfect. Posted by djshumway[/QUOTE]

</div><div>I'm so glad to hear about these two, as I'm using both of them! I have my first dress fitting this Tuesday! Congratulations on your wedding :)</div>

andreamarie77 · December 2011

I'm using Sandra as well, so I'm glad that she did a good job for you! My first fitting is in January and I hope that everything goes great. Thanks for the reviews!