Hey ladies,
Our wedding was almost two weeks ago and we are now trying to get back into the swing of things. I figured I would post my review in case anyone is deciding to go with a vendor we had.
Ceremony: St. Cecilia Cathedral A+
We absolutely loved getting married at the cathedral. Although they do not allow pictures after the ceremony, seeing my husband before walking down the aisle helped calm me down. It was a very hot day (close to 100*) and they had the air on prior to starting everything so that helped.
Reception: Regency Marriott B+
I loved having our reception at the Marriott since it was so close to everything and I had family traveling in from out of town. There were only a few things that I was kind of mad about, which is why I gave them a B+. First thing, our coordinator left two months prior to our reception. The good thing is that she told us at our tasting. The bad thing is that she told us at our tasting. I really wish I would have known sooner, but I understand that we were pretty much the last people to know about it. Her replacement was great though--no complaints with her. The food was TO DIE FOR. So, on to the things we didn't enjoy. We made out of town bags for people traveling in. However, some of my family weren't offered the bags at check-in. Another thing with the front desk--we were told that everyone who booked a room for our reception was to be given free breakfast tickets. Barely any of our guests got them and had to pay for breakfast. Now, usually that wouldn't be a big deal, but considering my family drove in over 8 hours, it would have been nice to have a perk like that to wake up to. The other thing that bothered us was that the reception room became too hot with all the dancing going on--my husband and I asked the front desk more than two times to turn the air down because people were getting way too hot. Nothing to write home about, but here was the kicker for us-- we decided to buy our own chair covers and sashes because renting them through the hotel was outrageous. Our previous coordinator told us that we could do this and that their staff would put them on on the day of the wedding. Well, when we dropped everything off the Wednesday of the wedding weekend, we found out this was untrue. We had to scrounge around to get family to help put them on that morning. This might not be a big deal to anyone else but me, but it really irritated me.
Transportation: Nebraska Party Bus A-
LOVED LOVED LOVED the party bus. The driver was on time at the cathedral and ready to go. It was clean and the only problem we occured was the air not being cold enough for that hot day.
Cake: our sister-in-law A+
Our sister-in-law created our cakes and she did an amazing job. She even surprised us with a groom's cake of Wrigley Field. Hubby nearly died! Everyone complimented us on how great it tasted.
Dress: ONLINE :-) A
I found my dress at Bridal Traditions, and although the staff was fablous, I just couldn't get myself to spend $1200 on a dress. Because I was already fitted and ready to purchase, I asked for a few days to think about it. I ended up finding a wholesaler online where my dress was $450 cheaper, and YES it is the real thing. If anyone would like the website please let me know. I had a great experience with them.
Hair: Boss Studios A
I had my usual stylist do my hair. I had eight other girls needing to get their hair done, too, so she enlisted some help from another stylist. Everything went great and pricing was fabulous.
Makeup: Blush Makeup A
Christine was great! You get a free trial (though I tipped her well) and on the wedding day she buys your lipgloss for you. Overall, excellent work. Oh, and it's airbrush makeup.
Photography: Optic Light Photography A+
OLP is based out of my home town in Wisconsin, but he travels anywhere. Kevin did an AMAZING job taking pictures. I haven't seen them yet, but he really took his time to make sure everything looked perfect when we were taking them. We took some at the church and also on the Ped. Bridge where we got engaged. He also hired a second shooter from here who knew the area well and who came up with great ideas for photos. HIGHLY recommend.
DJ: Midwest DJS (Kevin Kracher) A
Kevin did a great job DJing. We heard him at a friend's wedding a knew we needed him as our DJ. My only complaint is that he didn't play all songs on our do play list. Overall I definitely recommend him.
Other: Creating Atmosphere F
Ok, so let me explain. When my hubby and I first began planning I thought it would be a good idea to hire someone who knew what they were doing and who could handle multiple jobs (flowers, decorating, etc.) I found CA online and thought they were amazing, so I asked for a consultation. First consultation, he didn't show up. I'm sitting in Borders waiting and he never showed up. So I emailed--I figured maybe something had come up. Well, he emailed back that he was sick and fell asleep, but offered a $50 discount on his services. Ok, I'll bite. So we met again and went over ideas. Everything looked great. After a few weeks had passed, I began to worry because I didn't hear back from him. So I emailed...and emailed...and called...and emailed for over TWO WEEKS. Nothing. Finally two and a half weeks after the first initial email I get a response that he has just been so busy. To me, if you can't even return an email (even just to say you will get to me as soon as you can) or phone call, you're in the wrong business. You guys may think that's not a big deal, but if he's in the wedding industry and is already too busy to return emails/calls that's not a good sign--considering he would be handling multiple events on one day, I just couldn't trust him so we let him go. Others may have a good experience with him, but we didn't fromd day one.
Ok, I think that's it! Sorry it's so long. For all your soon-to-be-brides out there-- have fun and enjoy your day b/c it's true what they say--it goes by SO fast. I still can't believe we're married. :-)