I hope that you find this helpful.
Dress: Eva's Bridal (Oak Lawn)- A++
They were so helpful in picking out my dress. The dress I bought was actually one that the saleswoman picked out for me. Alterations went very smoothly. They charge one flat fee for all alterations and they fixed every little thing that I pointed out until I was happy with everything. I highly recommend them.
Bridesmaid dresses: David's Bridal (Oak Lawn)- A
Dresses came in early. I only had 2 bridesmaids so it was a pretty easy order. Very pricey for alterations, but they did a good job.
Veil: House of Brides (Orland Park) F
I had heard warnings not to go to House of Brides, but I figured that it was only a veil, how bad could they mess up. I was so wrong. I had an ivory dress which was a very light ivory, not a yellowy ivory, so I was looking for a veil which was in between white and ivory with an ivory ribbon on the edge. I ordered the veil from House of Brides and when it
came in, it was a white veil with an ivory ribbon. When I asked them to show me the veil that they had shown me to sell me the veil, somehow they couldn't find it. When I kept showing them my very white veil and complaining that it wasn't ivory, their defense was that the veils on the salesfloor are dirty because they are old, so the color isn't accurate. They forgot to tell me that when I paid them $200 and ordered the veil. They don't accept returns, so I was stuck with a veil that I didn't like. Please save yourself the worry and don't do business with House of Brides.
Invitations: Fitzgerald's Fine Stationary (Oak Park)- A
I browsed here many times looking through their books of invitations and they were always helpful and never pressured me. When I placed my order, the invitations were ready within 1 week and they showed me how to put them together. Would definately do business with them again.
Rings: Oak Park Jewelers A++
Another vendor that I will gladly do business with. We bought both of our bands there and I bought a pocket watch as a wedding gift for fiance. They are so helpful and they sell good quality jewelry. I was having trouble finding a pocket watch that I liked, so they showed me their catalogs and I ordered one and they told me that if I didn't like it when it came in, I could reutrn it. They then engraved it for me. This is another place where I browsed many many times without ever feeling pressure to buy.
Save the Date: Weddingpaperdivas.com A
Good price.
Reception: Brookfield Zoo. A-
It was a very unique location. We worked with Stephanie and despite being new, she was great to work with. She was always very responsive to our questions. My only negative feedback is the the food was not nearly as good as it was at the tasting, and for the price that we paid, we felt that the food should have been better. We had our cocktail hour at the giraffe exhibit which I highly recommend and the dinner and dancing were at Bocaditos.
Hair- Mario Tricocci (Oak Brook) A
I think that her name was Jennifer. She did exactly what I wanted.
Make-up: Mario Tricocci (Oak Brook) F
I had my make up trial here and it was awful. I left feeling so self conscious because I thought it looked to awful. I was glad that I did the trial here though so that I knew not to go here for the actual wedding day.
Make-up: MAC (Oak Brook) A
Much better than Mario Tricocci. Basically, they do the application of make-up for free and you have to buy $50 worth of make-up which is a great deal. They listened to what I wanted. They are located directly next to Marion Tricocci, so it was convenient to get my hair done at MT, then go to MAC.
Limo: Empire Limo A
On time. No problems. Good price.
Table runners for reception: efavormart.com D
I ordered table runners because it was cheaper than renting them. They were very cheap ($3 each). I ordered them in June and was sent an e-mail a few days later that they were shipped to me. 2-3 weeks later I realized that they had not arrived so I tracked them and they had not been shipped. I couldn't find a phone number anywhere on the website to talk to anyone, so I had to do an on-line chat and I was told that they were held up in customs (I think that they import them from China) and should arrive the next week. 2 weeks later, I went through the same things. 2 weeks later, the same thing. I was always told that they were held up in customs and would be arriving soon. I asked for my shipping to be refunded and it was. In the end, I did get the table runners for a great price (especially since the shipping was refunded), but they arrived more than 2 months late and it was frustrating to not be able to talk to anyone on the phone. The table runners themselves are very cheap (some frayed edges), but I ordered more than enough, so I used the best looking ones and with the reception hall being a little dark, no one could tell. I would only do business with them if you have plenty of time and don't need your items next week.
Photographer: Heidi from Timothy Whaley: B+ (pending pictures)
Heidi was great. She was with me all day, yet in a good way, I hardly noticed her. She was never obtrusive, yet all of my guests remarked that she got pictures of them. When we had our initial appointment at Timothy Whaley, we made it clear that we wanted a photographer who had done weddings at Brookfield Zoo before and the first photographer assigned to us had not. Initially we were disappointed in the company (for the amount that we were paying, we felt that we should get what we wanted), but then Heidi was great. I can't wait to see the pictures.
Hotel for guests: Marriott Oak Brook A
Nice accomadations and good price for our out of town guests. They have a nice indoor pool and good brunch buffet.
Flowers: Waterlilly (Chicago) A
I only oredered bouquets and corsages, no flowers for the reception. Good price. They were very easy to work with.
If you have any more questions about these vendors, please e-mail me at kerrywedding@yahoo.com.