I can't believe I forgot some of the most important vendors to review from our May 8 wedding! Oops! So here are the rest (and probably most important).
Kimberly Potterf (Photography): A+
After interviewing 9 other photographers, I realized I kept comparing all of the other photographers to Kim (I met with her first). Her and I hit it off really well, she has an amazing reputation, and, most importantly, her style really fit with what we wanted for our wedding. Our engagement pictures turned out fabulous, and she made a guest book using our pictures and artwork from our invites. During the wedding, she was so calm and easy, and she made our bridal party feel comfortable being photographed. My husband and I don't like being photographed, but she made us look and feel so comfortable and natural. She paid attention to every detail and captured some absolutely stunning posed and candid moments. We just got the pro pics back and I'll be picking out an album design soon. For our pro pics, check out
pictage.com/682034MelissaRoshan (makeup): A+
Cannot say enough good things about her! I wanted a little more dramatic makeup than a typical bride. At my makeup trial, she listened to what I wanted and my makeup lasted from 9 am to 1:30 am (until I washed it off). My husband didn't comment on my makeup all day when I had the trial, then toward the end of the night said, "By the way, your makeup looks great." I said, "Why didn't you say anything earlier?" "Because I wanted to see how long it lasted." Ha! The day of the wedding, she did my makeup, 3 of my 4 bridesmaids, my MIL (who usually wears a TON of makeup and I asked MelissaRoshan if she could tone it down a little- which she did and my MIL loved her makeup so much she's still talking about it a month later!) and my husband's eye circles and some powder. When we took our seats at the altar, my husband turned and whispered to me, "Hey, the makeup woman is really good. I like what she did to me, and she's so nice." I had to smile. She was absolutely amazing, comforting, down to earth. and the perfect person to have around before the wedding. She made sure I had her number in case anything happened during the day. I never had to call because my makeup lasted until 1pm the next day!
Max the Salon Short North (hair): A+
I like going there instead of the regular Penzone salons- the atmosphere is so much better and has a more edgy style. I used Frankie for my hair, and I've been going to her for over 6 months. Amazing job, really calm (she was a great way to start my day), and recreated a picture I showed her of what I wanted. My hair lasted all day! My bridesmaids also got their hair done there, and they loved their hair!
Jodie/Night Music (DJ): A+
Really down-to-earth- and absolutely not cheesy at all! Met with her about a month before the wedding, where we went over a playlist I made and she helped me when I needed help picking a song. She was really flexible- she said I didn't need definite choices until the day of the wedding. Turns out it took until the day of to decide on our 1st dance song- I had my Godmom drop some stuff off at Creekside the morning of the wedding, including a list of a couple of other songs I wanted played. When the bridal party arrived, Jodie went over the choices again with us, and pumped up the bridal party for our entrances. She had constant communication with us regarding timing throughout the night, and didn't go through events until we were ready to do so. I also told her in advance we wanted some Persian music played and she was able to play some songs my husband's family brought with them that night (we had Italian food and Persian dancing- what a combo. I don't think our friends knew what to make of it..) She was able to stick to what we talked about in advance, but was also able to react spur of the moment. We received a ton of compliments on her throughout the night and we're so happy we had her as our DJ!
Flowers on Orchard Lane (Flowers): A+
Met with other florists but FOOL gave us the most for our money. Jan listened to the vision I wanted for the wedding and was able to come up with concrete ideas and pricing on the spot. When we realized our wedding was Mother's Day weekend (um,yeah, because we didn't realize that before...) and the prices everywhere were 10-15% more, she was really flexible with tweaking a little bit to make our vision still work in our budget. They also accepted changes up to 2 weeks before. The week of the wedding they let come in and check out the flowers they were going to use. The flowers turned out beautiful- my only complaint was that my husband's bout started browning midway through the reception. But it was a gardenia, and doesn't last long without water anyways. But the flowers turned out as I expected and looked gorgeous.
Columbus Trolley (transportation): A+
Booked them 3 weeks before the wedding (husband and I couldn't decide on limo or trolley and he finally said he wanted a trolley) and they were able to find a trolley for us. Not super flexible with time- we wanted a transfer from the salon to the church, but they don't break up the service. But we still wanted a trolley from the church to the reception. They gave me contact info for their driver, and the driver called me the day of the wedding to confirm pick up and drop off- he also flexible when I asked him to come 15 min early and drop us off 15 min early. He showed up on time, the trolley was a brand new addition to the fleet (came in that week), and was so much fun to ride on! I was skeptical at first about having a trolley, but it ended up being so much fun, with room to move, drink, and drive around the city for photos (even our photographer came along for the ride)!
Fermata Music (Ceremony music): A+
Booked a trumpet player, organist, and cantor a month and a half before the wedding. Mitch, the manager, was easy to work with, had great communication, and listened to what I wanted. He called 2 days before to wedding to go over timing and everything completely, and called my again the day before to wish us luck and congrats. All of our musicians were already trained for Catholic mass, which not all places had, and the prices were better than other places I looked. The musicians did an excellent job, and even my husband commented on how beautiful the music sounded in the Church.
Anita Kline (cake): A+
I cannot say enough good things about her. Sweetest lady, with a talent for making beautiful and delicious cakes! We chose to serve our all our guests 2 flavors: white almond with raspberry mousse filling (my fav!) and spice with white chocolate mousse (tasted like carrot cake without the veggies), for only $3 a slice. She made the buttercream icing look as smooth as fondant, recreated the lace design on my dress beautifully, and matched the colors exactly to our invites and cake topper. If you're unsure of what to do, like I was, she will walk you through to help you decide on the design. (Look at the link from the photog review for pics of the cake). She also helped me surprise my husband with a groom's cake at the reception. My husband loved the banana with banana mousse filling form the tasting, so Anita and I decided that the banana cake on top, dark chocolate on bottom, and banana mousse in the middle of the same tier would be delish. As a nod to my husband's background and most of the OOT guests attending the rehearsal dinner (decided to include OOT family at dinner), I asked Anita to recreate the Persian guardian angel charm my husband wears around his neck for the top of the cake. When I couldn't get a photo of it, I searched the web and was able to send her pics that way, and she made it with such detail and precision. My husband teared a little when he saw it and insisted the cake was passed to the tables before it was cut! We received so many compliments from both the RD and the wedding, and I have to agree it was the most delicious wedding cake I have ever tasted. And it tasted just as good for week after the wedding!
Peabody Papers (invites and stationary): A+
They did all of our wedding stationary for a pretty reasonable price, especially after some of the other places I looked. I worked with Rachel a lot, and together we came up with a custom invite design that was echoed through the other wedding stationary. My mom even went to them for the shower invites, and were able to recommend an invite based on my style and what my mom wanted. Fast turnaround time, great quality, and incredibly helpful with anything paper.