Venue: Red Barn Farm in Weston, Missouri. A++
As soon as we saw this place, I knew we had found it. It's a huge red barn on top of a big hill. You can see 360 degrees around you for miles and miles. Right at the top of the hill, next to the barn is a very green apple orchard. We're getting married in the orchard and having our ceremony for 150 in the barn. The barn doesn't completely close as one side is like a porch area. It's the most beautiful sight. Steve Frye, the owner, keeps the barn well maintained and clean. He keeps Christmas lights strung up in the rafters and along the edges of the barn. Steve is also one of the nicest guys I have ever met. I think he would bend over backwards to make sure everything goes as planned. He showed us his calendar and they maintain a high booking number but ever so he made us feel like we were the only ones. I would HIGHLY recommend this venue to any one looking. For a Saturday night wedding and we have access as of 8am the day of, we are paying $3000 for this place and couldn't be happier
Caterer:Shining Stars Catering A++
Deb and Jessica were such a pleasure to meet with. Originally, my fiance and I wanting to use a restaurant we love but they were horrible at responding so we looked other places. I found Shining Stars in Perfect Wedding Guide Book and on TheKnot.com. All reviews were great so we gave them a call and set up a meeting. When we got to sit down with them, we explained the restaurant we hadn't wanted to go with and the style of food we were looking for from them. Deb was familiar with the place and immediately had some great ideas. When we were finished, we had exactly what we wanted! Plus, Deborah offered a gift for us, a lemonade bar. It couldn't be more perfect. They're food also tastes amazing. The chef Suzy is a genius and she makes everything from scratch. No frozen reheated food. Can't say enough good stuff about them.:)(We splurged a bit on food so we're spending about $3000.) But Deb will work with ANY budget.
PS: They are also doing our cupcakes. We had originally gone with Baby Cakes but Deb suggested we tasted their cupcakes and we did. They were amazing!! Plus they were $1 per cupcakes cheaper.
Photographer: LC Images-Lon Campbell A++
Lon is great! We found him through a friend of mine. His work is amazing. We definately splurged on photography. It's the only real physical reminder you'll have of the day. He met with us at his home office. He showed us his work and told us why he wanted to do our wedding. We were convinced. He offers package deals and he gave us a great deal. He only does so many weddings a year so that he doesn't get burnt out. I strongly suggest him for any photography occasion.
Bartender: Diamond Girls B-
We're going with Mary from Diamond Girls because they were running a special and the price was right. As far as customer service..It wasn't very good. I've never actually talked to Mary as she only communicated through email. Just felt like she was way too busy to deal with me sometimes.
Photobooth: SuperShots Photobooth A
We had wanted to do one of these as they are super fun and good guest favors. We originally thought we couldn't afford it but we found Supershots at a bridal fair and they were Prices very good. We're paying $600 for 4 hours plus a free photobook. I gave them a call, they got all the details, sent us a contract via email, we signed and paid deposit. All is well.