Hi everyone, have a feeling this is going to be a long one.
I'm a little late in getting my reviews done. I wanted to get the pro pictures to share as well, but since they are taking a bit, I guess I will just have to do another post to share those later!
We had such a wonderful day and evening with everyone! the whole day went really smooth and no big problems (just a few small things). We really had a great time celebrating and have been hearing so much positive feedback from our friends that this wedding was awesome 
And we are married of course! Whew hoo, very exciting as well. We were very happy with almost all of our vendors and wouldnt' hesitate to recommend them to anyone.
La Casa Blanca (rehearsal dinner) -
We wanted to get the out of towners and family some good Mexican food - so we picked a Mexican place near our house (unfortunately one of our other favorite places, Si Senor would not accomadate a group). They have a nice outdoor patio at La casa blanca which was our plan to use for the nice October evenings, however it seemed that a storm was going to come in, it was quite windy etc. And they were able to move our whole party (40+ people) inside just in case. They were super flexible on food menu (let us just pick whatever we wanted to offer our guests) and drinks and we (well really DH's parents) paid for just what people ordered/drank.
Val Vista Lakes (venue for ceremony/reception)
Gorgous wedding site and run really well. While it seemed that maybe we ended up paying just as much as the all inclusive places, we got exactly what we wanted and they had some great places for pictures. Only downside was their residents at the pool/lagoon, but I really didn't notice them except for a few while we were taking pictures. Janet was incredible to work with - always quick to answer questions and give suggestions and ran the ceremony very smoothly. We (the girls) got ready in their bridal room there. Very happy with the location and got some beautiful pictures.
A Savory Affair (catering)
LOVED THEM! Chef Tim was awesome to even just meet with after meeting with some of the larger catering companies. He cooked us some sample food and answered questions and was super flexible with menu etc. He was maybe a little slow on answering emails, but could always get a quick response with a phone call and our food just turned out Amazing! It was the best wedding food I think I've ever had. I'm kind of bummed that I can't have it again. They picked up our linens for us and returned them. Also - I had left boxes of all the favors, etc downstairs when I started getting ready, by the time I got back down to set things up - it was all done for me (both by him and janet). After the ceremony, the servers stopped by the wedding party to make sure we got appetizers and ran and got us drinks while we were getting pictures etc as well. Chef Tim served my husband and I dinner at the sweetheart table (we did a buffet). Awesome food and a great price.
Birkett Entertainment (DJ)
We had Sarah as our DJ. I had met with her once before hiring her and then we went to her house to go over our music selection. I kept changing my mind afterwards and even was changing what the plans were the day before the wedding. Sarah got everything right and had the dance floor going all night. Most of the feedback we got on the wedding was how great the music was and how much fun everyone had dancing. Great job!
God's Garden Treasures (flowers)
Karin spent over 2 hours with me duuring the consultation looking through books to get ideas of what I liked, looking at the flowers they had, colors etc. And then went though things to try to find where we could save some money. She even called the day before the wedding when some of the flowers I had pointed out that i wanted weren't in very good shape and wanted to discuss alternatives. I pretty much gave her free rein to adjust as she thought and everything turned out gorgeous. While her prices weren't quite as low as a few florists I talked with (but much lower than others). It seemed the the low prices florists gave low price service as well. I had a really hard time with a few that just seemed to disappear after giving me a quote (for like a month or so) and wouldn't return phone calls/emails etc. They were super quick here in answering any questions or adjusting the quote as I changed things. Karin also came herself and did setup and at the end of the night someone came to take everything away so I didn't have to worry about it. The flowers were perfect and exactly what I wanted.
Muse Photography
Andy did a great job with our photography. We was fun to hang around while we were doing them and didn't seem to get in the way of any part of our day. I've gotten the gallery of the pictures and I'm having such a hard time in picking out my favorites, I haven't gotten the digital versions yet 
so will post some later when I get them. He really captured everything beautifully and the pictures make me smile every time I look at them. He blogged about our day – www.muse-photo.com/blog
Rev Barry (Rev Giovanni weddings)
We went with Rev Barry for our officiant. I met with him beforehand and he was super flexible. He came up with a draft of the ceremony and let us edit as we wanted. Several guests mentioned what a nice ceremony it was. They also were at a reasonable price I thought compared to several others I met with. We also had him do a rehearsal.
Piece of Cake
We went to two cake tastings and this was our favorite and a little cheaper. Cake turned out great (although we didn't eat much that night, only the bite we fed each other) We did get the top layer and had some the next day. Great service and got exactly what we wanted.
Point of Perfection (transportation)
Recommended by the hotel we were staying at. Prices for the shuttle were cheaper than we had seen anywhere else. They were a little slow in getting back to us by email, but showed up as needed and driver was really nice. He even came back to the hotel when he realized someone had left a camera in the shuttle.
Ynot Party Rentals (linens)
No problems here, just reserved the linens I needed.
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (favors)
We got our favors from the Scottsdale store – they assembled them all and it ended up not being as expensive as I thought. Very good service.
Suzanne's Bridal (dress)
They could get busy and hectic at times but the prices, selection and service were some of the best I had seen in the Valley (and I shopped for dresses quite a bit). Suzanne did my alterations perfect and was fun to work with.
Men's Warehouse
Had a small problem where the groom didn't get a tie with his tux. But I guess he went over day of wedding and they worked it out. Fine service and tuxes turned out ok.
Etsy
I got quite a few things from etsy that I loved – veil, ring bearer dish, earrings. Great site
Kensington Makeup
We had a total of 7 of us (me, 4 bridesmaids, a jr bridesmaid and flower girl) to get ready – we had 4 hours to do this and the kensington team had us done in plenty of time and everyone loved their makeup. They also were able to schedule me in pretty last minute, as my original plan fell through. I did really like my makeup – but a few negatives were that when scheduling I was told I could do airbrush makeup, but the makeup artist they assigned did not do that. I felt I was ready a bit earlier than optimal (I was done at 11:30) and they forgot to put my veil in (course I forgot about it too). I did the trial as well, so was able to adjust a few things. I was really happy with the hair and makeup and all of the girls were as well, so I really don't have too much to complain about. They were super flexible and quick to respond and answer questions etc.
The Bar Guys
Hired the bartender with mixer package and bought the alcohol ourselves. Did a great job – and poured some good drinks. Only thing was we had pre-pad gratuity and they still put a tip jar out.
BevMo
We hit the 5 cent wine sale to get wine and champagne for the wedding. They were super helpful in store and we were even able to return unopened bottles.
BlueNile
We got my engagement ring and his wedding band here. Great service and value.
Tiffany
I got my wedding band here, after looking all over the place for other options. While I felt it was expensive for the “name” I really love my bad and its gorgeous!
SanTan Legado
Here was the downer of the wedding. This is a new hotel in Gilbert right by the SanTan mall. I thought it would be a great location for guests as it was close to our house and with the mall and stores right there. They were booked full the Saturday night of my wedding. We had one guest that did not have a room for that Saturday (but had a room from Tuesday – Friday and then Sun – Tuesday), so I had two of my bridesmaids share a room so that would free up a room for this guest. Since the bridesmaids were getting ready with me starting at 10am and checkin wasn't until 3 – one called to let them know they would need a late checkin, and was told that would be fine. Well – when we showed up after midnight, they had given this room away. Totally not acceptable. My bridesmaids ended up staying with a family member who had two beds in their room, but I am very not happy with how this situation happened. My husband and I stayed there this night too – I was hoping for some champagne or something special in the room, but nada. Also our room had a funny smell and the sink was leaking in the bathroom. They do weddings here and I had a great experience with Monique, so I hate being so harsh on the review – but we really weren't too thrilled with them.
Overall we had such a wonderful day with all of our friends and family. And while it did go by quick we really enjoyed ourselves as well. Everyone we picked to help with our big day did a great job and it was really nice knowing and trusting that they could take care of things.
(putting some pics in another thread since this one is so long already!)