Photography: Ben Barnes Photography A+ I looked forever for a high quality photographer at a reasonable price (under 2k, in my head) and found Ben. We got sooo much for what we paid him (2 sessions of engagement photos, over 850 high quality wedding pics, prints, albums, rights to the pictures, fast turnaround and great customer service). We barely noticed that he was there that day (although he was always around and accessible) but he came out with so many great shots. I had a ton of people comment about how they wanted to order them for themselves. He’s less formal than many (which I loved) but did all of the formal pictures that we asked him to too. Highly recommend him.
Transportation: Capital City Limo A The only reason I didn’t add a + was because they weren’t the best price ever but it was a great experience (I’d recommend a party bus for any wedding if you can afford it- some of the bridal party said it was their favorite part). Nice looking bus on the inside and Paul, our driver was incredibly nice. We drove around to several locations to take pictures (and he accommodated last minute location changes) and played music and just celebrated. Great memories.
Flowers: Judi Majka A+ Judy does freelance work and did a beautiful job on all of the flower arrangements, labor intensive centerpieces, and my bouquet. She stayed in the price range we gave her (and worked with us well on that aspect) and produced exactly what I was hoping for. I absolutely loved everything she did (especially my bouquet). (jmajka95@yahoo.com)
Quartet: Sterling String Quartet A+ This quartet was recommended to me by a friend and they did a wonderful job. I picked out most of the ceremony music from their large repertoire and they were perfectly willing to find arrangements for a few songs that I really wanted . I only communicated by email to them but they were there at the ceremony exactly when they said they would be and played perfectly on cue during the whole thing (with no rehearsal). They added a nice touch. (demersonclark@aol.com)
Dress: Cincinnati Bridal and Formal A+ Busy place every time I was there, but I got amazing customer service (and patience for an indecisive girl such as myself) and they made sure found exactly what I was looking for in my dress, price and look.
Alterations: Linda Hammond A+ Another Knot board find. Comforting person to a stressed out bride, the best price of 3 I called, and worked me in last minute (which I would not recommend- a good reason for the stress). Sweet person, very happy with her work.
Photobooth: Red Eye Photobooth A+ I emailed 3 photobooth companies and they were the first to get back to me and very helpful. Great customer service- we did everything over email. They were prompt and willing to work with us on every aspect of it (price, design, etc). They let us bring our own scrapbook to save money (which actually ended up being about the same price as theirs in the end) and the attendant (really nice) made sure to set up a table and point it out to everyone as they took their turn. Fun pictures- really happy we did it.
Just my two cents and I wouldn't take back a thing. Good luck!!!