We were married this past Saturday and everything was exactly as I pictured/dreamed. Here are reviews for everyone in case you're looking for any vendors!!
Venue:
Val Vista Lakes in Gilbert, Arizona. We have been working with Janet Marhover. I could not have been happier with everything about our venue. Janet was super easy to work with, and answered all my questions no matter what they were. We got the package deal with the ceremony location, the gazebo for cocktail hour, the reception hall and the dance floors, tables and chairs.
The staff from Val Vista had everything set up on the grass for the ceremony and the entire reception hall. We didn't have any problems at all!
Grade: A
Catering:
Special Moments out of Tempe, Arizona. We have been working with Brad Taylor. Special Moments did an incredible job for us! They brought the appetizers and set them up outside for cocktail hour, had the salads all plated and on the table before everyone came in for dinner and plated my meal and Jim's for us. They also provided all the water, coffee and tea for everyone as well.
Another bonus? They made up a couple of antipasto trays for me and the girls while we were getting ready during the day! It was great having little bites to munch on so that we didn't get hungry!!
Grade: A
Bartender:
Arizona Bartenders out of Phoenix, Arizona. We have been working with Tracy. Our two bartenders from Arizona Bartenders were fantastic! Our family and friends kept them extremely busy all night long and they were great! They had to turn down any requests for shots, unfortunately, but that was the venue's rule, not theirs!! Everyone was good with it though.
Grade: A
Photography:
Expressive Photography out of Phoenix, Arizona. We have been working with Rachelle Panzer. Rachelle did an amazing job! She showed up right on time and explained that her partner had an emergency, so she wouldn't be coming. But she brought another photographer with her and promised that he would be great! She got pics of us getting ready, me putting on my dress, ceremony shots, family and wedding party shots and never left the dance floor for the rest of the night! I can't wait to see how the pictures all turn out!
Grade: A
Florist:
Flowers by Jodi out of Phoenix, Arizona. We have been working with Jodi White. Jodi did a great job with the flowers. Everything looked really beautiful - I was supposed to have peonies in my bouquet and my girls were supposed to get blue muscari. However, due to weather, neither of those were available. So Jodi called prior to the wedding to let us know that she would have to substitute. I was glad that she let us know instead of just going ahead with it, just in case we didn't want what she was going to use.
I did sort of feel like we were being pushed in a certain direction during our consultations though. It kind of seemed as if she wanted us to use certain flowers instead of what we were leaning towards. But since everything worked out in the end, it's not a big issue.
Grade: B
DJ:
NDK Entertainment out of Phoenix, Arizona. We have been working with Dan Bare. Dan did an amazing job during the reception - he kept the dance floor full, played all the songs we had requested and was a great emcee during the evening!
My only issue with Dan is that once he gets an idea in his head, he refuses to let it go, even if you don't want to do it. He mentioned something to me that he wanted to do because he had done it at our friends wedding. I said no, because I didn't want to copy them. He kept insisting and I eventually just gave in, but changed it up slightly so that it wasn't exactly like theirs.
Grade: B
Cake:
CC's Sweet Sensations out of Glendale, Arizona. We have been working with Cheryl. Cheryl did a wonderful job with our cake!! It looked exactly like I had pictured, and even better - it tasted fantastic! Well, that's what I was told... we were too busy to eat any of it! But judging from the tasting, I'm sure it was good
Grade: A
Linens/Table Centerpieces:
Encore Creative out of Tempe, Arizona. We have been working with Stefanie Lerner. All our linens and centerpieces were rented from Encore. They looked wonderful - everyone was very impressed with the setup. We also had them bring in white backsplashes and blue uplighting for behind the head table.
Stefanie was a bit hard to get a hold of sometimes and moved a couple of my appointments - but she ended up turning everything over to Jennifer and things went very smooth from there.
Grade: A
Hair/Makeup:
KLM Artistry out of Scottsdale, Arizona. We have been working with Kim Macchiaroli. Kim is fabulous. There's really no other way to put it. She came with an assistant, and they were there about 15 minutes before we got there! They were all set up and ready to go as soon as we walked in the door.
Kim included my flower girl in our contract, so total they did all 5 of us girls, my mom, Jim's mom and the flower girl. They kept right on schedule and we were ready to go in plenty of time.
Kim stayed with us after we were ready so that she could do makeup touchups during pictures and after the ceremony. But she went above and beyond. She offered to pin the guy's bouts on, she was always offering to carry my shoes and flowers, she ran to collect family members when we needed them - she really was amazing.
Grade: A
Officiant:
Arizona Ministers out of Phoenix, Arizona. We have been working with Phil Waring. Phil did exactly what we asked for - we said that we wanted a short and sweet ceremony... no long, drawn out speeches, etc. He had us married in about 10 minutes! It was perfect! Then we signed the license and he was on his way. I couldn't have asked for anything better!
Grade: A
Alterations:
I took my dress to Sandra Denley Alterations, Etc. At my first fitting, she told me that my dress was too small but offered an option to do half the back in a corset style to make it work. That was great.
She pushed back my second fitting by about a week. When I went in, she made my appointment for my final fitting for the Saturday before my wedding (already making me a little nervous). Then she called me the day before my fitting and said that she hadn't even started on my dress! She had it for two weeks! This was cutting it way to close to the wedding, so I insisted that it had to be ready that Saturday, not later in the week. She managed to get it done for me by Saturday evening.
Grade: C
Invitations:
We used Paper Crazy in Phoenix. They were super easy to work with - have a TON of selections to choose from and will work with you on your budget.
They also print the envelopes for you! Just give them your names and addresses in an Excel document and everything is taken care of. Fantastic!
Grade: A
All in all, we had a fabulous wedding. I wouldn't have changed a thing!!