I am married!!!!! Now that life has slowed down a little bit, I am back with my review on vendors! Thank you to all of you here for your ideas, feedback, opinions etc. This website and this board have been a complete life saver to me during the whole wedding planning process! You girls are great!!
** I apologize in advance for my spelling here..I can't spell !** Our wedding was on Sept 26, 2009 in Albert Lea, MN. WHAT AN INCREDIBLE AND VERY EMOTIONAL DAY. We could not have asked for a more amazing day!! I wish I could relive that day over and over again
VENDORS Wedding decorator/florist/: Christina Welke from The Creative Side, Elgin MN- A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ I have posted about Christina here before, but really I could go on and on about her. She is the reason that our day was so sucsessful. She was on the ball w absolutely everything and honestly she is a true genius at what she does. She is way more than a florist and decorator!!I had no idea that I would also be having a day of coordinator. She was the go to girl for absolutely everything, kept everyone in line, ran errands for the ppl in the wedding party and parents, helped the photographer,kept the bus driver on time, kept everyone organized . I could go on forever about her! When I saw our reception room for the first time, I burst into tears....every little detail I wanted was there! The room was way more than I ever expected it to look. My Mom is still getting phone calls asking who did our decorations and flowers. Christina and her staff know exactly what they are doing, and put myself, my husband, and our families completely at ease. Her goal was for us to enjoy our day, and she would take care of the rest! Mission accomplished
She does not just work around Southern MN!!! Check her out I can GUARENTEE you won't regret it!!
www.tcseventdesign.com (507) 876-2800 Photographer: Sally from La Vie Photography and Tamika (her associate)-A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.laviephotography.com These girls were AMAZING! Definitly tied for favorite vendor with my florist/decorator! I have not seen any pictures yet, but I am not worried at all! Sally and Tamika were so fun to work with, have an incredible talent, and were extremelly professional! I decided to hire Sally and her company back in January after reading all of the amazing reviews about her here from you girls. FOR WHOEVER POSTED INFORMATION ABOUT HER THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!I am so thankful that we decided to hire her. Our wedding party included 18 people. Sally and Tamika always kept everyone on time, had really fun ideas for pictures, and I feel they truely knew how to capture the emotions of our day. I am SO excited to see our pictures. Sally also does an amazing job with boudoir pictures. My husband was so surprised!!!
We will for sure be working with Sally again in the future! Hair/Makeup Smart and Chic Bride-KIRA (stylist) A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ I have naturally curly hair and was super nervous about how my hair was going to be done for the wedding. If any of you have curly hair you know that not ANY stylist knows how to work with curly hair! Kira does an incredible job! I loved my hair so much that she is now my regular stylist! During my hair and makeup trial Kira worked with me until everything was exactly how I wanted it. I had never experienced having airbrush foundation before, and wasn't so sure how it would turn out. I am now addicted. I recommend the airbrush foundation for any bride, or if you ever have a special occasion to go to, night on the town etc.. etc.. The airbrush foundation felt completely light, was sweat proof, tear proof (thank goodness) and looked great on camera. You will not have to retouch your makeup at all during the night!Kira also did the lashes for my sister,cousin, and Mom they all looked beautiful and very natural. Kira is a true gem to work with and knows the art of makeup and hair! Reception venue Wedgewood Cove, Albert Lea MN Alexis (wedding coordinator)-A+++++++
http://www.wedgewoodcove.com/ Wedgewood Cove opened in June of this year. Before this there were not that many options for where to host a formal event in Albert Lea. This venue was exactly what Albert Lea needed!! Alexis and the staff at Wedgewood Cove did an incredible job.Alexis was very professional, and made sure that all of our questions, requests and needs were taken care of. Everything went perfectly with our cocktail hour, reception, and dance. The food was amazing, and the wait staff was very helpful. We could not have picked a more perfect place to have our reception!!! Eyelash Extensions- Brooke Mckinney, Albert Lea MN 507-373-3822 A++!! I was debating having these done, and am so glad I did. Brooke did a great job! As of today all of my extensions are still in place, feel completely normal, and look great! I was worried about the damage they would do to my eyelashes. A friend of mine had them done by her earlier this year, and her normal eyelashes are not damaged at all. I am for sure getting a refill
. Her work is way more afordable than anything I found in the metro area
! Cake Sugar Chic Cake Designs, Albert Lea Mn-Karrie- A!
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5199100 Sugar Chic is a little cake shop in Albert Lea. Karrie has an incredible talent and knows her stuff! We offered our guests 5 different flavors. Lemon cake with a lemon whipped moose filling. Chocolate liquer cake with chocolate moose filling, Strawberry cake with cheese cake filling, Vanilla with vanilla bean whipped filling, and carrot cake with a cream cheese filling. We ordered enough cake for 300 people (sheet cakes and our main cake) and it cost us $450. We had ButterCream make my husband a cake for his birthday, and I thought our wedding cake was so much better and way more affordable!!
http://www.sugarchiccakes.com/ Mestads- Rochester,MN A I purchased my dress during a sample sale back in March 08. I made a bunch of changes to it. (changed the neckline,changed the back of the dress, shortened the train) They did a great job, were very professional, and always were on time with my schueduled fittings (I had 6 of them!) My dress was exactly how I wanted it
Definitly worth the drive for me!
http://www.mestads.com Jewelery for my bridesmaids and myself
Http://www.etsy.com seller: The beautiful garden boutique jewlery-Trisha A Trisha was so great to work with. She was very patient with me, and came up with so many great ideas for my jewelery and my bridesmaids jewelery. Once I made my decision she had the jewelery to me in 1 week. Everything turned out exactly how I wanted, and was very affordable. I have a new addiction to her jewelery, and will be buying from her soon for Christmas presents!:)
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5199100 Party Bus- Jay Wadding We wanted our wedding party to have a fun way to relax in between events before and after the wedding ceremony, and this party bus was perfect! We were not looking for anything fancy! This bus is basically a handicapped bus (short bus..heehee) that was painted white. YES it was just that and it was SO FUN! Jay allowed my Mom to put up signs on the sides of the bus that she had made, and it looked so cute! Jay was so great with us and very patient with the big group that we had! We rented our party bus from 11am-1am for $400 TOTAL!!! It was a great way to also bring all of our guests home or to their hotels safely! DJ Midwest sound a lights D! I decided to save this one for last. I am sure Midwest Sound and Lights is a great company, they just were not the right company for us. I prefer not to go in detail regarding our dj here. If any of you have questions about this, please feel free to email me at root.erica@gmail.com Ok girls sorry for the long message, but I think that covers everyone! If any of you have questions about anything please email me! root.erica@gmail.com AND AGAIN thank you for helping me with all of my wedding plans!!