I finally updated my vendor reviews in the sticky and thought I would throw them here too. At the end of the day, I have to say that there isn't one vendor we would have changed. We really got the best of the best thanks to all the ladies on TK. Thanks especially to Corinne who I got quite a few of my vendors from. If you are looking for good, dependable vendors who know how to have a good time, then hire the ones I did. I've gotten more compliments about our wedding. I'm so happy I used everyone I did. Thanks ladies!
Ceremony
Ceremony Site - St. Therese of Lisieux
Officiant - Father Matt
Ceremony Music - Stephan Pawl
A+ - Everything about the church was great. We did our rehearsal on Thursday night and they were very accomadating. The day of the wedding was great. We were able to get in there early and there were not any problems staying after the ceremony for pictures. The only bad thing that happened was someone's car was broken into during the ceremony, but the church didn't have any control over it.
Reception
Reception Site Villa Penna $55/per person without appetizers - around $75 with appetizers but George will work with you to give you a great deal.
A+++++++ - Everything was absolutely wonderful here. Words cannot even describe how great everyone here was. George, the owner, gave us a great deal. The hall is absolutely gorgeous and the food is fantabulous. You get so much food there that you really don't even need appetizers. We got them because we wanted extra time in the hall. The waiters and waitresses had drinks for DH and I without us even asking for them.
Caterer - same
Chair Covers/Linens - Candlelite Chaircovers $1.50 chair cover, $12 tablecloth, $.65 napkin
A- - The linens were absolutely gorgeous. Rita did a great job making the hall look amazing. I went to meet her 3 days before the wedding to finalize everything and she let me upgrade to a much nicer tablecloth for the head table for the same price. The only reason I give her a A- is because she was a little hard to get in touch with a few months before the wedding and she had an altercation through email with my DOC. If I had to do it again, I would still hire her because she is very reasonably priced and definitely willing to work with you on what you want.
Bakery - Josef's Bakery in Grosse Pointe Woods for a 4 tier round cake and 2 sheet cakes, 6 different flavors $685 - just over $2/per person.
A++++++ - our cake was exactly what we were looking for. It came out exactly how we wanted it and tasted amazing! It was super moist and very reasonably priced. I can't wait for our anniversary to order another one, much smaller of course.
DJ - Sunshine Entertainment - Paul Taylor $750
A++++++ - Paul too was amazing. I am so glad I hired him. He kept everyone on the dance floor all night, and if he played a song and it wasn't working, he changed it right away to get people back on the dance floor. I would definitely recommend him to anyone!
Favors - no favors - doing Photobooth
Lighting
Other
Limo - Dream Limosine $864 for 6 hours
A+++ - DH set this up, so I didn't deal with them, but he said they were very easy to work with. We were able to pay them the week of the wedding. They showed up about 15 minutes early to the hotel to pick us up. He had to wait until we were ready, then he dropped us off and picked up the guys and took them to the church. He knew all the back roads and the best ways to navigate around traffic in our area. I really gave the driver props for that and would definitely use them again.
Florist - Michelle Nonis $2800 for brides bouquet, 8 bridesmaids bouquets, kissing ball, 11 bouts, 8 coursages, 30 centerpieces, pew flowers, and head table flowers - all roses and hydrangeas
A++++++ - Michele was great. From the first time I met her, she was like an aunt I haven't seen in a while. She is so sweet and I got so many compliments on our flowers. They were beautiful and so reasonably priced for what we got. The flowers were huge. I've never seen flowers opened up so beautifully. She really did a great job and I am so glad I hired her.
DOC - Rachel from A Beautiful Day Events $250 for 6 hours and wedding timeline
A++++++ - Rachel is awesome! I met with her only 1 time before the wedding and she made an amazing timeline. She contacted all my vendors the week of the wedding to confirm the times. The day of the wedding she brought an assistant so she could help at the wedding and her assistant was at the reception hall to make sure everything was set up properly. I am so glad that I hired her so I didn't have to worry about anything at the reception hall or at the ceremony. She was there helping to put bouts on all the guys.
Shuttle Bus from hotel to reception venue and back – Royal Transportation - $440 for 4 hours
A+++ - They were awesome. I didn’t get any complaints. They were willing to let us break the 4 hours up however we wanted. Since we knew we needed more time at the end of the night, we did an hour from the hotel to the venue and 3 hours from the venue to the hotel. They were great and I would hire them again.
Photography
Photographer- The Camera Chick - $1500 for unlimited hours, 2 photographers, an engagement session and the rights to the photos.
A+++++++ - Sandy and Tim are AMAZING! They came to the hotel where I was getting ready right before I got dressed. After I got dressed, Tim took off to meet the guys and Sandy stayed to get some more pictures of me and the girls finishing getting ready. They stayed until almost 11pm and by 1am in the morning, they had posted around 30 pictures on facebook from our wedding. They are so much fun and so easy to work with. They really made the day. I am so happy that I decided to use them for our wedding and not just our engagement photos. They were willing to try some new shots and they turned out so cool. They also give really sweet gifts to their clients. They are the best! If you haven't already, hire them!
Videographer - Paul Briles Videography $700
A++++++++ - Pending the full video of course. – We already got a sneak preview of our video and we love it. I cannot wait to see the rest. Paul was wonderful. I hardly knew he was there all day. For the price we paid, we got one heck of a deal.
Photobooth – Infinity Photobooth $900 for 7 hours and unlimited photos for each guest
A+++++ - They were amazing. The scrapbook turned out awesome. Our guests raved about what a great time they had in the photobooth. Everyone seemed to love it and we got a lot of great pics. Would definitely do it again given the chance.
Picture Locations – George George Park - A+ Great place for outdoor pictures.
Engagement Pictures - The Camera Chick see above for review
Beauty / Attire
Rings - Imperial Palace in St. Thomas U.S. Virgin Islands - price FI is keeping from me
Wedding dress - Allesandra's in Warren - $1385 , veil and headpiece $385 A+++++ Only 1 time did I have a bad experience here and it’s because the girl was very young so I just asked for someone else to assist me. They were wonderful overall. Alessandra herself took my dress to my car the day I picked it up. She was there at every fitting to make sure everything was exactly how I wanted it. All of the women there are super friendly.
Alterations - same - unknown
Tuxes – Men’s Warehouse $130 per GM -
B+ I only gave them a B+ because DH and a couple of the GM had to go back a second time to pick up their tuxes because they came in the wrong size. Other than that they were great and would recommend them.
Bridesmaid Dresses Allesandra's in Warren $190 for a Bill Levkoff dress
A+++ - None of my BM's had a problem with them. They were always friendly and had no issues.
Hair - FI's cousin and her friend are doing all of our hair
Makeup – Lee Radcliffe $50 Bride / $40 for BM’s
A+++ - She showed up on time and got right to airbrushing my make-up. It looked amazing and I was definitely happy with how it turned out. I’m so glad I chose to use her. She does a lot of models makeup. If you would like her contact information, please PM me.
Paper
Save the Dates - Magnetstreet.com $160 for 150
Invites Invitations by Dawn $515 for $175 invites
Programs/Menus - n/a
Brian and Cori 11-19-11