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Michigan-Detroit

Vendor Reviews

Yes! I am finally writing them four months after the wedding!!! They are posted on the sticky but I am re-posting here in case anyone has questions. :)

Ceremony
Ceremony Site A++ - First United Methodist Church Birmingham.  Beautiful church, easy marriage counseling (one Saturday group session) and very well organized.  They have some strict rules on photography but they ended up not enforcing them very tightly.  They provide a wedding planner on site (and forbid outside wedding planners, although I brought mine and she worked behind the scenes...I don't think they minded the help).  The church receptionist who will work with you up unti the wedding day is a bit stuffy, but don't let her get to you. 
Officiant  A++ Dr. Jack Harnish.  Great sermon, not too preachy.  Very humble and down to earth. 
Ceremony Music A+  Doris Hall, FUMC Birmingham organist
.  She comes with the ceremony pacakge.  I picked out several songs about a month before the wedding and it was no problem.  She does have some rules about playing more contemporary music, so if you're expeting Coldplay this is not the place for you.     
Post -Ceremony Music A+ Panache - I hired a string trio to surpirse my husband after the ceremony with "All you need is love."  They did a great performance.  Panache was great about being patient with me as I waivered back and forth on deciding wether or not to hire them.  The only hiccup I had was that they forgot to turn on their online song-selection tool after I paid them...they corrected that after a phone call. 

Reception
Reception Site and Caterer - A+ Troy Marriott on Big Beaver - 
The Marriott team did an exceptional job coordinating room reservations (over 50% of our guests were from out of town), setting up the room, storing our decorations, and even turning over our room from the wedding reception to a brunch the next morning.  The servers were excellent and really attended to me as the bride...even to the point of packing up pizza for me to take to the honeymoon suite because they thought I hadn't eaten. :)  The only reason this site did not get a A++ is that when I brought my relatives from out of town for our tasting, the Marriott forgot we were coming.  My inlaws did not get to do a tasting, but the Marriott did discount their room reservation to compensate.  Also, I had a few other miscommunications with the wedding planner at the Marriott, Shanina, but mostly she did her job.  There were so many details to juggle and everything exceeded my expectations in the end. 

Chair Covers/Linens A++ Linens and Beyond (.net)
 - Loretta works from her home and makes all of her linens by hand.  She will do custom fabric if you are looking for something particular.  Her prices are excellent - You cannot beat her prices for charger plates.  She set up a gorgegous room and picked up everything.  Her communicaton is great too.
Bakery - A++ - Mrs. Maddox Bakery - This coud have been a really awful experience....right before the wedding the ownership of Mrs. M changed and it violated a contract I had with the Marriott, who includes cakes in their package.  Since the venue and the bakery could not work out their contract, the new owners of Mrs. Maddox gave me a 20% discount, free delivery and picked up the stand of the wedding cake I would have had to return. They were so totally awesome.  The cake tasted really good and everyone complimented it.  They also did a somewhat difficult structure and nailed the picture I had torn out of a magazine.  Very pleased!  (They also include a free annivsary cake in your purchase...yummy!) 
DJ - Rock Out Entertainmen, Wayne Kinney - A+++++++ 
- I was so impressed by the DJIng Wayne did.  Literally everyone at our wedding was dancing, from our 2 year old cousin to our 91 year old Grandma.  He plays such a great variety - rock 'n rool, Sintatra, to this week's pop hit.  Communication was excellent.  He's super laid back and easy to work with.  Made sure to pronounce everyone's names right, kept us on schedule for the first dance, and wrapped up nicely.  Also, he won't play cheesy songs unless that's what you're looking for.  His basic package starts a bit high (around $900) but is worth it in my opinion.Lighting - Provided by DJ - The basic package from Rock Out includes a custom monogrammed light on the floor.  I ordered some additional uplighting that looked great...just right without being over the top. 
Favors - I forgot where I bought them...they were compasses bought in bulk from a non-wedding website


Other
Limos - Razz Limos - A++ -  Razz Limos is really cheap.  They provided us with a blue F150 limo and the guys LOVED it.  Arrived on time and were very patient when we were running late.    
Town Cars - Metro Cars A++ We used Metro Cars for the bachelorrette party and to drive my parents to and from the ceremony.  Arrived on time, patient drivers, and were really generally pleasant to be around.  Prices are very reasonable and cars can be purchase for an hour at a time - helps save some money. 

Florist - Bellisario florist - Communication prior C, Day of A+  - Ralph was key to shaping my vision of the decor of the room and was great to brainstorm with.  His staff is sometimes hard to communciate with - they are really busy and you will get a different person everytime you call.  The final bill was never really delivered to me and the quote changed everytime they emailed me a "contract" (just an Excel sheet) or I called. However, they nailed the exceution of the flowers and the room decorations on the day of the wedding.  Everything arrived on time, was set up in the right place, and we had the right number of corasages, etc. 
DOC - Daphne at Blissful Wedings and Events A+ (www.blissfulweddingsandevents.co
m) -  Daphne saved the day for me.  I hired her halfway through the wedding process after my dad was hospitalized for 6 weeks weeks leading up to the wedding.  She prepared a lot of DIY items for me, including my programs, the menus, and the place cards.  Her team set up for the wedding, all of my candles, books on tables, etc.  Found my limo and other vendors for me.  She really was helpful and organized.  Also she ran the DIY photobooth when the camera decided to have a mind of its own.  The only thing I wished had gone better was that she or someone on her team dropped a few placecards in the rain, so she had to call me while I was getting dressed and have me make a few more. (Note to DIYers - always have extras on hand!) It was just added stress that I did not need. Overall though, a great experience.  Also, they specialize in Indian Weddings for those who are looking. 
Miscellaneous -  Ordered food for the bridesmaids from Panera - arrived in time, no problem.  

Photography
Photographer - Blaine Sessier - A++++ - Blaine is so awesome.  He truely knows photography and the wedding industtry.  (He recommended both my DJ and florist.  Actually, he called a personal favor with the DJ so that I would have a DJ on the wedding day when my first DJ - a family member - backed out a month before the wedding.)  Blaine and his wife took amazing shots of the wedding that truly captured the day, from expressions on people's faces to standard family portraits.  Numerous people have complimented his shots of the wedding.   Blaine goes above and beyond his standard duties as a photographer.  His packages are expensive but his customer service and shots make it worth it.  (Note:  he does a lot of destination weddings.) 
Videographer - N/A
Photobooth - DIY 

Picture Locations - At the church and the Marriott.  Our photographer highly recommends the Marriott becase there is a field in the back, some open wall spaces, and cool interior decor. 
Engagement Pictures - Same as photographer

Beauty / Attire
Rings - Purchase in iowa. 
Wedding dress - Brides by Demetrios - B - Had a great assistant but she quit shortly after I purchased by dress.  Was a little disappointed by the dress quality after paying so much - lots of loose little strings that needed to be cut off.  Also, they give you your veil without any steaming. :(  But I loved the dress and was happy with it overall. 
Alterations - The Wedding Shoppe - A +  Really reasonable alterations prices.  Great staff.  Was very happy with the alterations - ask for Michelle. 
Tuxes - Men's Warehouse - B- The tuxes don't arrive all at once, and a couple of guys had the wrong sizes but were corrected quickly.  Mostly FI and I were annoyed with the saleclerks who kept making drama about putting an ivory shirt with a silver vest.  This happened at 3 stores we visited in 3 states.  We probably would not have gone with them except that we had so many guys in so many states to get measured. 
Bridesmaid Dresses - B David's Bridal locations in 4 states.  One of the girl's dresses ripped at the seam on the day of the wedding, right on her butt.  Service varies from location to location, as expected by a chain.  My husband had some trouble picking up the flower girl's sash because they thought he was not authorized to do so...even though he paid for the sash on this credit card!  Other than that, no complaints.
Hair - A+++++ - eClips Salon Troy - The receptionist was so awesome in dealing with constant changes to appointments, including people being added and dropped out.  They let us bring in our own breakfast and basically rented out the entire salon to us from 9 - noon.  (We did book all of their stylists.)  Prices are very reasonable - cheapest I could find in the Troy/Birmingham area.  Salon looks a bit dated but the hair styles were not. :)
Makeup - A ++ Makeup Hair by Cherhttp://www.makeuphairbycher.com/ Cher works independely but also teams up with eClips salon, who recommended her.  She does really natural makeup and works quickly.  She even added in bridesmaid who wanted her makeup done at the last minute.  All of our makeup stayed on pretty well and I was happy with the results for my photos.  (She does hollywood-style special effects makeup too, don't let the photos on her website scare you!) 

Paper
Save the Dates and Invites - DIY. Ordered paper from Paper and More - Excellent quality.  Comes really well packaged so that the corners are not bent.  The customer service centered actually called me to make sure everything was ok with my order and I was happy
Programs/Menus - DIY

After I filled this out, I realized that most of the reviews look exceptionally postitive.  I had normal wedding stress but none of by vendors truely let me down.  All came through and did their jobs.   Where there were communication problems, they are noted in the review, but overall these communication issues did not bring down my ratings. 
Daisypath Wedding tickers

Re: Vendor Reviews

  • Funny you mention that about Mens Warehouse. We just went there Friday to pick out tuxes and styles. The guy was like "Yea Ivory and Platinum are fine for your father" and the annoying chick was like "You shouldn't put ivory and platinum together. You NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED to do black". So, to shut her up I changed it to black. I didn't want too, but I didn't want to hear gums flap anymore.
  • LOL!  Oh Men's Warehouse girls...what is wrong with your heads!? :D
    Daisypath Wedding tickers
  • I don't know, but I thought it looked nice. Guess I'm wrong wrong WRONG!
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