We had the most wonderful day and despite all the stress and family drama leading up to it... it was pretty close to perfect! I had a hard time giving ratings on my vendors, because they were all so incredible! Hope you don't mind all the positive feedback!
Dress- Bridal Traditions- A
I bought my dress from Linda about a year in advance, and the shop was very accommodating and let me store my dress there for a year. I loved how simple my dress was... it was a Bonny. I decided not to do a veil, and the ladies were fine with that. I also did my alterations there, and they turned out pretty good, but I wish I would've had it a little shorter because I kept tripping over it at the reception.
Bridesmaid Dresses - Netbride- A -
Netbride was fairly easy to use, and the price of the dresses we found was over $50 less than in the store. Some of the dresses were a little big when they came in, but the girls had no problems getting them altered.
Tuxes- Mens Wearhouse- B
Some of the guys' measurements were a little off, but overall everything was ready on time and the staff was very friendly and helpful. There were several men in the wedding party from out of town, so MW was the best option.
Invitations/Programs- Cornhusker Beverage- A
Jesse and Nicole were so great to work with! They did everything we asked and added their own ideas, and the final products looked amazing! We got so many compliments on our invites, and Nicole was able to match the color of the bridesmaid dresses with the writing on the programs.
Calligraphy- Denese Mack- A+
Denese was wonderful! Her prices are unbeatable - $1 for inner and outer envelopes and $.35 for place cards. Everyone complimented her beautiful calligraphy. Also a few days before the wedding, I realized we forgot to get a few place cards done. Denese was so helpful and did them in only a few hours!
Rehearsal Dinner- Upstream Old Market- A
Maria was great on the phone, and Patty was our manager the night of the dinner. The food was amazing as always, and we loved the basement party room! We did a buffet there, and the apple cobbler dessert was so good!
Hair flowers- everything-angelic.com- A+
Another knottie said she got her jewelry from this website, so I initially went to the site to look at the earrings but I loved their hair flowers! I bought 3 fake orchids for my hair, and everyone complimented me on them and not wearing a veil. Also, the website was easy to use and they were sent immediately.
Rings- Borsheims- A
We bought our bands over Bershire weekend, so we got a pretty good discount. Their customer service is awesome, and I was able to get my rings soldered in less than a week.
Hair/Makeup- Stacy (hair) and Payton (makeup) at Creative Hair Design- A++
I have gone to CHD for about 10 years, and the girl who usually does my hair just gave birth to twins so she set me up with Stacy. Stacy did a perfect job on my updo and even teaches updo classes to the other gals at the salon. Payton did great on my makeup, and everyone kept complimenting me on it... especially since I never wear any!
Ceremony- St. John's at Creighton- B+
Creighton is a very popular place to get married, so they have a strict schedule for brides to follow. We wanted to do all our pictures before the ceremony, and thank goodness we had beautiful weather, because we had to do all of them outside. We also couldn't get ready at the church, because we couldn't get in until 12:30 and our ceremony was at 2:00. The score is for the tight schedule, not the people who work there.
Reception- The Paxton Ballroom, worked with Chad- A++
We absolutely loved the Paxton and Chad was our favorite vendor! He was so relaxed, and everytime I called he was like "What's going on?" and was so friendly! He kept me calm about everything and lowed my stress level big time and responded to all my emails immediately. The ballroom itself is gorgeous, and we had no problem fitting 270 people into it. The staff is awesome there too! I highly recommend checking it out!
Caterer- Hap Abraham- A
Everyone kept complimenting us on the food, especially the stuffed chicken bruschetta. Overall, our menu was very tasty!
Cake- Diane Severson and Kari Machal- A+
These ladies are actually a family connection of DH, but we loved every bite of their cakes! We ordered white cake with strawberry filling and almond chocolate cake with chocolate filling, and at only $1.65, you can't go wrong.
Ceremony Music- Bircher and Bircher trumpet/harp duo- A, Tony Ward pianist/vocalist- A+
The trumpet player and harpist did an incredible job, and everyone commented on how beautiful their music was! The only bad part was that the Birchers had to cancel for something for the symphony, and they sent two other musicians in their place. They did great though!
Tony is the regular musician for Mass at St. John's, but I remember hearing him at St. Leo's in the past and had to hire him for our wedding. People told us how wonderful his singing was, and he even learned how to sing "The Irish Blessing" for us.
Reception Band- On the Fritz- A+++
We truly feel that this band made the reception 100 times more fun than it could've been! They were the ultimate wedding band and hiring them was one of the best decisions we made! They even learned how to play "All I Want Is You" just for our first dance song! We totally recommend them!
Photographer- Jeff Pope with Iconic Photography- A?
We had the most amazing engagement pics with Jeff all over the Old Market, so we knew he'd be great for the wedding pics. Although we won't see them for a while, he was easy to work with and he takes incredible photos! We did, however, use the engagement pics to make our Guestbook through Shutterfly, and everyone loved Jeff's pictures!
Videographer- Occasions by Shari- A?
Shari was a lot less involved than Jeff, but that's because we asked her not to interview guests and to just tape an overview of the day. She was great at staying out of people's way, and they said they barely even noticed anyone videotaping all day! She did exactly what we asked, and we can't wait to see the final video! Videography was definitely one of our best decisions, because people keep mentioning things that we never even knew happened!
Flowers- Mulhalls - A+
I worked with Frank, and we had all different colored pink roses (lights and darks). Everyone loved how big the roses were,(they're shipped in from Ecuador) and I loved how the pinks complemented the teal dresses. Frank was great to work with and very efficient!
Transportation- VIP Limo- A
No glitches as far as I know! We had a shuttle to take guests from the hotels to the church and back. They were there on time and very friendly!
Hotel Accommodations- Magnolia Hotel- A+
Pretty much my whole family from out of town (about 40 people) booked their rooms at the Magnolia, and we loved it! Dh and I also booked our wedding night suite here in one of the Jacuzzi suites. The room wasn't over the top amazing, but the service is incredible at this hotel! My mom was ready to move in indefinitely, and she even stayed in the same loft suite Reba McEntire had stayed in the night before. This is also where DH and I did the revealing before group pictures, and the courtyard was perfect for many outdoor photos, since we couldn't get into the church until 12:30. We plan to spend our 1st anniversary here as well!