I wanted to share my vendor reviews from our February 25 wedding. Everything went so smoothly and we loved nearly all our vendors! Feel free to PM me if you'd like any more info.
Attire and Alterations - Wedding Dress: The Wedding Shoppe
www.weddingshoppeinc.com
Final review: A for dress and service; B for alterations
Like many Minnesota brides, I knew I had to go to the Wedding Shoppe when hunting for gowns. I had the very first appointment of the day on a Tuesday morning and received excellent service from a consultant named Jackie. I tried on approximately 10-12 gowns, but ended up buying the very first dress I tried on! They estimated it would be 3-4 months before my dress was in, so you can imagine my surprise when I received a postcard saying it was in only 10 DAYS after purchasing! Great service, fair prices and a ridiculously quick order turnaround. Because I needed some major work done on my gown, I decided to have The Wedding Shoppe keep my dress and do the alterations. I had four separate fitting appointments and received good service at each one. On my wedding day, the dress fit like a glove and was incredibly flattering. I do wish I had insisted the hem was higher (looking at photos now, it seems to be dragging on the ground a bit) and my side bustle seemed somewhat loose throughout the evening. Also, the final price for the alterations wasn’t exactly cheap; I’m curious to know how that would have compared to hiring an independent seamstress.
Attire - MOH Dress: Dena Marie Bridal
www.dmbridal.net
Final review: A-
Choosing a dress for only one attendant was extremely easy and the staff at Dena Marie gave us free reign to try on dresses until we found the right one (Bill Levkoff #583 in black satin). Their prices seemed comparable to other bridal shops and the service was helpful but discreet. There was a minor snafu, as they had my phone number wrong in their computer system and kept leaving voicemails on a wrong number when the dress arrived. Luckily, I ended up calling to check on the order and we were able to get the dress with a few weeks to spare. My MOH didn’t need any alterations at all - her dress fit wonderfully!
Cake: Queen of Cakes
www.queen-of-cakes.com
Final review: B+
We had a three-tiered cake with two flavors (carrot cake and dark chocolate cake with raspberry filling) and buttercream frosting; both flavors were moist and delicious. There were two small issues with QoC: 1) I rented a cake stand with our order and was slightly disappointed that they chose to use a footed pedestal stand, rather than a solid stand with filigree, as was displayed in the shop. Looking back, I probably should have requested a specific stand, rather than leaving it to their discretion. 2) I also disliked that they put dots of frosting around the bottom of each tier (something I had not requested in my original design). It made the cake look somewhat less polished than a wedding cake should be. However, the finished product tasted great and was enjoyed by everyone - we only had a few slices left to take home!
Florist: Intuitive Blooms
www.intuitiveblooms.com
Final review: B-
The flowers were my biggest disappointment of the day. My bouquet was almost double the price of my MOH’s bouquet, yet it was hardly larger and didn’t contain many more different or expensive flowers. The flowers in the bouquets and boutonnieres already seemed wilted when they were delivered, and a few of the ivory garden roses were even turning brown on the outer petals. The bouts and corsages were not labeled, and H’s bout was not different from the others, even though I had requested this. The ivory ribbon wrap on my bouquet was not secure and kept unraveling throughout the day. The two floral arrangements for the ceremony were smaller than I anticipated. However, I was pleased with the two types of reception centerpieces (low round floral arrangements and tall arrangements with manzanita branches and hanging votives) - the tall ones especially added a lovely, romantic touch to the venue. Communication leading up to the wedding was fine and both deliveries were on time. Although my budget was met, I expected much more for the price I paid. In hindsight, I wish I had splurged on a more experienced, well-known florist, even though it may have been more expensive. On the plus side (as my photographer pointed out to me) the flowers looked vibrant and fresh in photos, even if they weren't perfect in real life.
Groom’s Formalwear: Heimie’s Haberdashery
www.heimies.com
Final review: A+
H absolutely loved working with Heimie's to get his custom suit, plus a new shirt and shoes - nothing but raves here!
Hair & Makeup: Smart & Chic Bride/Creative Beauté Agency
www.smartandchicbride.com
Final review: A for my artist; B for the company
I had a difficult time trying to book S&C when they were going through a management transition back in the fall of 2011. They are now called Creative Beauté Agency (is that the dumbest name ever or what?) and while they seem to have worked out some of their kinks, it’s a bit unsettling for a bride to not be able to have everything confirmed right away (phone calls and email messages had no response when I first inquired about their services). I did enjoy working with my hair and makeup artist, Kelly. She gave me an elegant low chignon with curls and a classic makeup style highlighting my eyes and lips. My airbrush makeup felt wonderful, stayed put all night long and looked fresh even in the harsh light of the photo booth.
Honeymoon: The Royal Playa del Carmen
http://www.realresorts.com/The-Royal-Playa-Carmen
Final review: A-
Service is clearly a huge priority here - the staff was always smiling and willing to go above and beyond for guests. We were greeted with cold towels and welcome drinks at the "Romance Concierge" desk, and had some special honeymoon treats waiting in our room (champagne, cake, apples, wine, and rose petals and towel animals on the bed). The facilities and grounds are beautiful, clean and extremely well-maintained, and the beach was breathtaking - white sugar sand and turquoise water. It was a huge plus to be located in the heart of Playa del Carmen, only a block away from 5th Avenue. We walked around this popular area nearly every night after dinner and felt extremely safe; it was nice to get out of the resort and into the local culture. Our room was beautifully decorated and had a lovely balcony with a hammock; great for reading and listening to the crashing waves, and the in-room jacuzzi was also a nice amenity. If there was any disappointment with our stay at The Royal, it was the food. Our meals were not necessarily bad, but somewhat average and lacking in certain details - overcooked seafood, under-seasoned dishes, lukewarm temps, etc. However, eating breakfast al fresco next to the beach was a definitely highlight each morning!
Hotel - Getting Ready & Wedding Night: Saint Paul Hotel
www.saintpaulhotel.com
Final review: A
I spent the night before the wedding in a Landmark King room with gorgeous views overlooking Rice Park and the Landmark Center. It was so relaxing and convenient to wake up and already be in downtown St. Paul, waiting for my bridal party and vendors to come to me. Staying at the Saint Paul Hotel is definitely not cheap (ridiculously overpriced room service), but it was a nice treat for our special day. The room was lovely and a great location for getting ready and taking a few bridal portraits before heading outdoors for photos. H and I also enjoyed staying here on our wedding night. Everyone applauded as we walked through the lobby at the end of the night - we felt like celebrities!
Hotel - Guest Accomodations: Crowne Plaza St. Paul Riverfront
www.cpstpaul.com
Final review: A
My mom took care of the room block for our out of town guests, so I don’t really have a personal review for this one. There were no problems that I heard of, and the proximity to our reception venue (6 blocks) was very convenient.
Invitations: Wedding Paper Divas
www.weddingpaperdivas.com
Final review: A+
I am not a crafty person, so I knew that DIY invitations wouldn’t be worth the time and effort for me. I was impressed with the selection and quality of WPD’s free samples and loved the online customer service chat feature when I had questions about my order. The shipping was quick, the invites looked beautiful, and I received so many compliments on them.
Photobooth: The Photoboxx
www.thephotoboxx.com
Final review: A+
Although this was a late addition to our reception (booked just 8 weeks prior), it was one of the biggest hits of the evening. We got a sweet deal (50% off a 3-hour package with a prop basket and customized photo strips) thanks to one of their booking specials, which they run frequently. It was easy to see that our guests LOVED the photobooth - everyone from my 80-year-old grandparents to my 8-year-old cousin used it! We were extremely impressed with the quality of the photo strips, the appearance of the booth, and the great customer service (a disc of photos was waiting in our mailbox when we returned from our honeymoon). Very highly recommended!
Photographer: JM Photography
www.jmphotomn.com
Final review: A+
Jessica is a great photographer and has a wonderful eye for “yummy light” (the golden hour at sunset). I had stalked her blog for several years and jumped at the chance to book her as soon as we got engaged. We received a 20% discount for our off-season wedding, which was an extra bonus. Her personality meshed incredibly well with ours and we felt relaxed, comfortable and happy taking both our engagement and wedding day photos, which is not an easy thing to accomplish for two people who are somewhat camera-shy! She had so much enthusiasm throughout the day, and was wonderful at getting our 2- and 4- year old niece and nephew to smile during the family portraits. Within 24 hours, she had a sneak peek up on her Facebook page, which we were thrilled with. We can’t wait to see the finished photos!
Reception: Christos Union Depot Place
www.christos.com
Final review: A+
There are so many great things about this venue, located in an old train depot in downtown St. Paul - the history, the architecture, the service, the food...I could go on and on. The coordinator, Georgia, has been in the business for nearly 20 years and truly knows how to put on a great event. I did feel like she and I butted heads at times, but I think it's because we both have strong personalities and are very type-A event planners. She also mentioned that she works with a lot of passive brides who want her to make decisions for them and I was sooooo not that type of bride! Georgia required a lot of pre-planning and organizing with lists, but it was so worth it because it made everything go so smoothly. Walking into the reception was absolutely stunning; I was blown away when I saw how everything came together. The staff was so dedicated to providing great service (they even brought out my mom's favorite dish, Greek hash, which she was thrilled with). We got a lot of compliments on the food, which is done by the Greek restaurant, Christos, that is in the space during the weekdays. Our menu included tenderloin and tomato-basil bruschetta, Greek salad, a duet plate of pork tenderloin/chicken in phyllo, eggplant moussaka, roasted baby red potatoes, green beans almondine and dinner rolls. They plate everything directly from the ovens without using warming carts like some caterers do, so the meals were fresh and hot for all of our guests. The venue was actually under construction when we booked back in August, so it was with a bit of a leap of faith for us that they would be finished with all the renovations. However, it totally worked in our favor to book when we did because we got an amazing deal (small rental fee, no F&B minimum, waived cake cutting fees, free soda etc.) on a venue that normally would have been very expensive in the summer months. All in all, it was the perfect locale for our wedding!
Reception Music: Reception Jazz with vocalist Rachel Holder
www.receptionjazz.com
Final review: A+
H is a big jazz guy, so his one request to was to have a live jazz trio at the reception. We added a vocalist for after dinner portion and it turned out to be a great choice. The band was wonderful to work with and extremely flexible too (their piano player stepped in at the last minute to also play at the ceremony). The vocalist, Rachel Holder, has an AMAZING voice (she sounds like Jane Monheit) and people were absolutely raving about how great she was. Although we aren't huge dancers, we did do the traditional dances (first dance, father/daughter dance) and were pleasantly surprised at how many people danced throughout the evening to old jazz standards (Louie Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald) and new favorites too (Stevie Wonder and Norah Jones). Many of our guests commented that it was a classy, refreshing change from the wild DJ dance party that happens at many weddings. Very highly recommended!
Rehearsal Dinner: The Shorewood Restaurant Bar & Grill
www.shorewoodgrill.com
Final review: A
This restaurant is right across the street from the church, so it was really convenient for our guests to attend after the wedding rehearsal. They printed special menus for our guests to order from and the food was delicious, the service was good and the owner of the restaurant even stopped by to congratulate us and give us a bottle of wine. My MIL made all the arrangements with them and said they were very easy to work with.
Rings: Continental Diamond
www.continentaldiamond.com
Final review: A
Both my engagement ring and our wedding bands came from Continental and we have nothing but great things to say about their service and products. We worked with Andy, who felt more like a friend than a salesperson. It did take a while to get a quote for my custom band, but the personal service and level of attention given to our purchase was well worth it in the end.