This is all in the sticky, but I thought I would post it here so people would see it. Overall, I would recommend my major vendors, including the DJ, photographer (pending final photos), and florist.
Ceremony
Ceremony Site: St. Mary Student Parish, Ann Arbor. $400. A. This is our parish, and we were thrilled to be married here.
Officiant: Father Dennis Dillon. No charge. Will give donation of about $200. A+. Father Dennis ran a quick and efficient rehearsal, and in addition to being a great officiant (and really laid back), really diffused the situation when our organist was nearly half an hour late.
Ceremony Music: Need to get this info from my mom!
Reception
Reception Site: Polo Fields Golf and Country Club. $100 pp includes butler-passed apps, plated meal (filet+salmon, salad, rolls, veggies, and potatoes), linens, chair covers, 5.5 hour premium open bar, late night snack, tax, and gratuity. Packages at venue range from $75-120 pp. A. The night went very well, the venue was very responsive to our concerns (i.e., if we wanted the lights turned up or down).
Caterer: Included with venue. Food gets an A-. It was delicious (I actually missed the cocktail hour, but heard the appetizers were good). A- is only because I felt the portions were relatively small compared to our tasting portions.
Chair Covers/Linens: Included with venue.
Bakery: College friend. A+. She made us a great cake at a really reasonable price. She lives in Lansing, so is probably available for Lansing area and west side brides. PM me for contact infor.
DJ: Platinum Mix, $895 for 6 hours. A. Our DJ was Paul, and he did a great job keeping the dance floor moving. He played about 2 songs that were duds, and immediately switched them to something else. Checked in with us frequently to make sure we were happy. Forgot about best man speech, but I had it done anyway.
Favors: N/A
Lighting: N/A
Other
Limo: Tecumseh Trolley (34-seat Trolley). $1300 (including tip) for 7 hours. A-. Driver was very professional. The trolley was very fun, and made a great backdrop for some pictures. We had to direct the driver a bit more than I would have liked to, given that we had provided the company with addresses/stops in advance.
Florist: Maureen's Designs, Saline MI. $2300 for 7 BM bouquets, bridal bouquet, 5 corsages, 11 bouts, 22 centerpieces, 3 altar decorations, setup, and teardown. A+. Maureen exactly created the bouquets and centerpieces that I wanted, and created an altar centerpiece that the priest strongly compliment. She/her company also delivered to the hotel, the church, and the reception venue for a reasonable fee (included in the $2300), and cleaned up the centerpieces at the end of the night.
DOC: N/A
Miscellaneous equipment: N/A
Photography
Photographer: Pure Amour Photography. $2000 for all-day coverage, engagement pics, several prints, high-res disc with reprint permission. Engagement pic grade: A. Day-of: A+. Working with Amy was fun; she was on-time, and awesome to be around. I love my sneak peaks; final grade pending the final photos.
Videographer: N/A.
Photobooth: N/A
Picture Locations University of Michigan Central Campus.
Engagement Pictures: Included in wedding package.
Beauty / Attire
Rings: Smyth in Baltimore, MD. My ring:$1000. His: $300. Service: A+.
Wedding dress: Casablanca 1847. Pruchased at Darling Bride in Ann Arbor. Including some custom changes, and a 20% discount for paying up front, came to $890. Alterations not included. B+. The dress arrived nearly a month after I was told it would, which was not a big deal because I ordered it plenty early, but was disappointing. Additionally, I never felt that "special" in the store, but they are certainly an adequate bridal shop with good prices.
Alterations: Darling Brides in Ann Arbor. $340 for creating a bustle, taking in the dress, and shortening it. Much of the cost is due to the lace layer. A. The seamstress in the store is excellent. My only complaint was the bustle on the lace layer of the dress fell several times.
Tuxes: Men's Warehouse. About $140 per. C. Tuxes were in early, and all of them were correct except for the most important one - the groom's. His coat had a cigarette hole in it, and the vest and tie were the wrong color. Luckily, he tried to pick it up on Tuesday, which gave them plenty of time to correct the order.
Bridesmaid Dresses: Jim Hjelm Occasions, Lazaro, or Alvina Valenta knee length taffeta in midnight. Purchased at various salons nationwide. Approx $200 (large regional variance). Nothing much to review here, but I loved the dresses.
Hair: Luminosity Salon in Saline. A+. The salon gave us an area to hang out in, and we used several stylists and 2 makeup artists. All were excellent. We had a really nice morning.
Makeup: Luminosity Salon in Saline. A+.
Paper
Save the Dates: Email.
Invites: Costco/einvite.com. Including reception card, response card, and acommodations insert, came to about $2.70 each. I could order samples cheaply (about $1 each) to pick. Quality is good, and service was excellent. Would definitely use them again. A+.
Programs/Menus : DIY.