*** Detroit Knottie Vendor Grades/Reviews ***

atiya501

Ceremony Site: Cana Lutheran Church, Berkley A Reception Site: St. Johns Banquet Center, Southfield A Chair Covers/Linens: Desires of Your Heart B Makeup: Lekeisha Perry A Limo: Detroit Metro Car Limo A Photographer: Double Exposure Photography A++ Videographer: Swensen Video (waiting) Florist: Desires of Your Heart B Bakery: Desires of Your Heart A DJ: Esosa B Bridal Salon: Alessandra Bridal A - Tuxes: Gerard's A- I loved most of my vendors. Email me with any questions. miss_keisha@yahoo.com

Gwenwhyfare

Ceremony Site: Grace Chapel -- Brighton -- A
Officiant: Pastor Jeff Oran (through Grace Chapel) -- Brighton -- A
Reception Site: Crystal Gardens -- Howell (see below separate grades)
Coordinator: B-
Venue: A
Hotel Block: Marriott -- Brighton -- B
Caterer: Crystal Gardens -- Howell -- A
Chair Covers/Linens: Sharon Boden -- Howell -- A
Hair: K Bella -- Brighton -- A
Makeup: DIY
Limo: n/a
Engagement Photographer: Emily Hutson -- Detroit -- A++++++
Photographer: Benjamin David Photography -- Lansing -- A
Videographer: n/a
Florist: April Irelynn Floral & Design LLC -- Trenton -- A++++++++++++++
Bakery: Crystal Gardens -- Howell -- A
DJ: Mobile Rythems DJ -- Howell -- A++++

*DJ Joe, the Owner, was our DJ
DOC: SIL -- n/a
Photobooth: n/a

Full review of all of our vendors (including fired ones) are in my bio.

Engaged | Married

motz0604

Ceremony Site: Woodhaven Baptist Woodhaven    Grade A+..  its our uncle's church so of course it was extra special!
Reception Site: The Grecian Center Southgate MI  Grade A+++++  beautiful setting, Food was outstanding!  The Staff is amazing and SO HELPFUL!
Caterer:  provided by reception site
Chair Covers/Linens:  provided by reception site at additional cost..
Hair:  Elevate Salon Trenton MI   Grade A+  everyone looked beautiful! plus they have complimentary mimosas! Makeup lasted all day and into the night!
Makeup: Same as above
Limo: A Night Out Limo  Taylor MI   Grade: B The Limo driver was super sweet! he brought me a rose! when he picked us up. The Limo on the other hand was in need of repair.. a few things were broken... But it was also the BEST price around, By a long shot!!!
Photographer: Molly Bennett Howell MI  Grade: A++++++ ( there is not enough pluses!)  She was absolutely amazing.. she went above and beyond!  For example someone stepped on my dress and ripped my bustle.. she grabbed a sewing kit from her bag and sewed me up in a flash!!!   I can not say enough about her!! i would recommend her to anyone!!!!  She also worked woth me to stay within my budget!
Videographer: NA
Florist: April Irelynn Trenton MI  Grade :A++ +++  THIS WOMAN IS AN ABSOLUTE GENIUS. My flower budget was tight, very tight.. But my flowers WERE STUNNING, I couldn't even believe it when i saw them !   I received So many compliments on them!
Bakery: family friend
DJ: DJ and Music Grade B- Good music but it was way to loud..
DOC: NA
Photobooth: ROCK THE BOOTH!  Grade :A++  Damien wes great!  he put together a really great scrapbook for us!!   SO MUCH FUN !

Officiant: Pastor Rick Sparks!  He's our Uncle so not even an A would do him justice!

Bridal Salon: Dior Bridal Dearborn MI Grade C+ They were great when you fianlly got someone to help you.. need more staff... ! alteration were a little pricey and they temporaly lost my headpiece.. but they do have the best selection of dresses..
Bridesmaids Dresses: The Perfect Dress Trenton Mi Grade: F 
TERRIABLE CUSTOMER SERVICE, UNORGAINZIED AND UNPROFESSIONAL , Save you and yout girls a headache and go somewhere else!
 Rentals: Mens Warehouse  Taylor MI  GRADE: A Everyone looked great

mordacious

Ceremony Site ($1075) - First United Methodist Church of Dearborn - A+
They were extremely easy to work with and Christie (the coordinator) made everything go as planned. We are not member of a church but I always wanted a church wedding and they were close to the reception and the church itself is beautiful.

Reception Site (9K minimum for 100 people) - The Dearborn Inn - A+
The Dearborn Inn was one of the best choices we made. They were very easy to work with and Michael Gibson (our event manager) was always very prompt to respond to emails or phone calls. If anything went wrong that day, we had no idea. The place is absolutely beautiful and the food was great. We got so many compliments on the reception and the food.

Photographer ($2300) - Modern Photoglyphs - Grade pending final product (but he did a fab job on our epics)
Harold was great the day of the wedding. He really pushed to stick to our timeline which was very helpful because I honestly never had a clue what time it was. He also stayed past his paid 8 hours to get some more shots in. He showed us some of the pics on his camera and they looked beautiful. Over all he is a very nice guy and he means business!

Videographer ($3000) - Lee Thomas - Grade pending final product
I have no doubt that Lee will get an A+++++ from us. His work is just amazing. He is such a nice guy and we barely noticed he was there. I would highly recommend him even without our finished video.

Florist ($1K) - April Oboza - A+
April did all of our flowers and she set up all of the other decor and packed it up at the end of the night. The flowers were exactly what we discussed and the centerpieces were stunning (and cheap!!). She was so accommodating and will to work with all of my last minute changes no problem. She is really a huge value in the flowers department and I will always try to use her if I ever need flowers again.

Photobooth (varies) - Shutterbooth - A+
I know they are more expensive than other photobooth companies but it's for a reason! They are total pros. Their booths look elegant, not scraped together with shower curtains, sheets and PVC pipes like some of the other companies I've seen in Michigan. They come with FULL backup equipment and the end product is amazing. If you book a photobooth make sure you actually see the booth first hand. Some are UGLY. Not only that but they never setup during your reception, they come hours before any guests will arrive. I HIGHLY recommend them I expected nothing less than perfection from them and that is what we got!

Linens and Chaivari Chairs ($1100) - Linenhero.com - A+
Slightly expensive but willing to price match other companies. Everything was delivered on time and looked great!

Cake (included in reception package) - Pastry Palace - A for taste, B for design
I really don't know who to fault for this one but The Dearborn Inn relays our cake design to them. We wanted a gold shimmery cake, not matte. The cake was to have clear rock candy on it. It was more of a taupe color and because they used buttercream frosting, the rock candy was falling off. Now they had never done a cake like this before but the picture I sent to The Dearborn Inn clearly shows a cake with fondant. Maybe fondant would have worked better. In the end, the cake held up enough for the short time it needed to be out and the one bite I had tasted good, not great but I'm not really a cake person.

DJ (email me for info) - Personal Friend - A+
I was a bit nervous not hiring a wedding DJ but I know so many DJs that it didn't make sense to not use a friend. My friend Joe and a friend of his DJed and they did a fantastic job. They kept things moving along and weren't corny. They are thinking about doing more wedding work so if you are interested in getting a cheaper DJ just email me for their info.

Bagpiper ($200) - Kenton Smith - A+
Super easy to work with, on time and a great bag piper. So glad we made him a last minute addition!

Uplighting ($550 for 12 uplights) - Mercury Sound and Lighting - A+
Another easy vendor. They met me at The Dearborn Inn and showed me options and I booked them. They upgraded me to LED uplights for some reason. I think it was a power issue. Either way, the color was correct and the lighting really made the room. We got so many compliments on the look and feel of the room and if I had to do it all over again and choose between custom linens or lighting, I would take the lighting hands down even though we did both. They really made everything cozy and intimate.

Dress (free) - Marias Bridal - A+
What can I say, a free dress gets an A+ from me! They did a giveaway for unemployed brides right after I got laid off last summer. They let me in early so I didn't have to stay the night in line (there was just me and one other knottie there waiting). They were very sweet!

Alterations and Viel ($295) - Mary in Garden City - A-
Mary is so sweet and comes at a good price but just be sure to try on your dress and walk around in it before taking it home. We ended up having to cut out about 6 inches of the attached crinoline because my heel kept going through it. It wasn't a big deal and didn't change the look of my dress, just kind of annoying that we had to do that in the middle of pictures. The fit of the dress was perfect though. I had to have it taken in, hemmed, and get a french bustle. She also washed and steamed the dress which made my sample gown look new again.

Tuxes - President Tuxedo in Westland - A
Of course some of the guys had fit issues but they fixed that right away. I'm not sure there is a tux rental place that is perfect, it always seems like a shot in the dark.

BM Dresses - They each bought their own black dress

Makeup ($130) - Aleksandra Adams - A-
Aleksandra is so talented and my make up was perfect and lasted all night. She airbrushed one of my tattoos and it looked good for a while but just took way too long to dry. Every little piece of lint that could stick to it did but you couldn't see the tattoo or lint at all. Other than that and being slightly late, she was great. I will definitely use her again.

Shoes - DSW - A+
Pretty straight forward, shoes were great.

BM Jewelry (varies) - Cymbaline84 and Thebrasshussy on Etsy - A+ for both
Prompt shipping, great prices and product!

My Earrings - Jeweledblossoms on Etsy - A+
Prompt shipping, great prices and product!

My Clutch - Viabella on Etsy - A-
Everything was great but the clutch smelled a bit funny which seemed to be a common complaint.

Ties - Toybreaker on Etsy - A+
Bethany is a local artist and her ties are seriously AMAZING. She screen prints and designs them all herself in any color combo you can imagine. Her designs are humorous yet beautiful. I will definitely be buying some silk scarfs from her in the future (yes, she does more than ties!).

Rings (mine $3400, his $250) - Golden Gift Jewelers in Livonia - A+
Not much to say here, my husband's family are long time customers here and get great service.

japow1984

Ceremony Site: Dearborn Hills Golf Course, A+++

Reception Site: Dearborn Hills Golf Course, A+++, I really can’t say enough about Dearborn Hills. They made sure every last detail was perfect.

Hair: Brides on Location, LLC, A+, They did exactly what I asked for and were so fun to have around.

Makeup:(Airbrush) Brides on Location, LLC, A+

Photographer: Lovella Photography, A+++ My pictures turned out fabulous. You won't be disappointed if you go with Lindsey.

Videographer: Castle Video Productions, A+++, Kristyn's work speaks for itself. She is wonderful to have around on the wedding day. Highly recommended.

Florist: Silk Thumb Florist, A, I let my sister pick out my flowers so I didn't have a whole lot of contact with them. But everything was beautiful, fairly priced and showed up on time.

Cake: Old Fashioned Bake Shop, B, This was a last minute decision after I was not pleased with our original bakery. It tasted good, however, I told them absolutely no flowers on my cake and it showed up with horrendous looking icing roses on it.

DJ: Platinum Mix Productions, A+++, I never actually met Sara, our DJ before the wedding, however I'm so glad we went with her. She was sooo nice. She made she we were happy with everything quite a few times throughout the night and just made everything go very smoothly. The dance floor was packed the whole night.

String Quartet: Go4Barqoe, B-, For as much as I paid for an hour of playing, they certainly did not play for a full hour as they were supposed to. They packed up right after the ceremony and left. What they did play was good though.

Minister: Rev. Stephen Goodrum, A for day of and rehearsal, B for communication beforehand.

Bride's Dress- Dior Bridal, A, I really enjoyed myself everytime I walked in there. I loved the consultants. Highly Recommend Dior.

Bridesmaids Dresses- Miracle Wedding Village- E - Save yourself the trouble and pay a few dollars and go somewhere else. They were so rude. None of my girl’s dresses were even in the realm of fitting them. They ordered everyone's dress 3 sizes too big. They also fail to tell you that they don't do alterations on bridesmaids’ dresses anymore which in my opinion is a huge inconvenience. 

Tuxes- Men’s Warehouse(Taylor)- A

ladysunkissed

Ceremony Site: Greenmead Historical Village--Newburg Church: A+
The ladies on-site were incredibly helpful and the church and grounds are just gorgeous. Both the rehearsal and the ceremony went perfectly and everyone commented on what an intimate ceremony the church provided.

Reception Site: Radisson Livonia: A
The Radisson was an perfect choice to hold our wedding...they gave fantastic group rates to our guests, gave us many extras (including comping a couple of rooms for my husband's brothers) and the staff went above and beyond in the days leading up to the wedding.

Two complaints, though. The first had to do with the WRIF Halloween party they hosted on the Friday night before the wedding...they didn't tell me about any of this and we had to have the ballroom locked up after each trip to drop things off. I was also assured that the partiers would not disturb guests, however, I heard MANY complaints of noisy partiers from my bridal party and guests.

Second: the bartenders kept disappearing. At one point, our best man and another groomsman jumped behind the bars to fill drink orders. I'm still not sure what went on, but it didn't affect the night.

Overall, I would definitely recommend the Radisson. They even kept open the Traveling Fork pub (inside the hotel) for us to continue the party until 2am!

Caterer: Radisson Livonia: A+
The food was incredible! Actually, better than our tasting. We had stationary fruit, veggie and cheese platters and passed mini crab cakes and spankopita for appetizers; filet mignon and chicken forestiere with roasted veggies and potatoes for the main course. They also let us bring in our own candy buffet, which was off the charts.

Chair Covers/Linens: AECC Linens: A+
They were able to come in a day early and set up...everything looked gorgeous.

My Hair: Number Six Salon, Amy: A+
Amy is my regular hairstylist and she did an amazing job on my hair. It stayed all night and into the next day!

BM Hair: Number Six Salon, Various: A
The BM's hair looked phenomenal. Unfortunately, the style was not meant to last from our appointments at 8:30 until the ceremony at 4, but the girls just used curling irons to touch up their hair. The volume stayed all night.

Makeup: Jen, Deux Adore: A+
Jen is a miracle worker! Not only was she eight months pregnant, but she had also gotten eyelash glue in her eye from a previous appointment and was still nothing but professional and competent. My make-up looked even better than my trial and I have honestly never seen my BMs look so gorgeous in my entire life!
 
Limo: Motor City Party Bus: Communication Pre-Event: C, Day-Of: A+
My husband had a heck of a time getting in touch with Tim, the owner to adjust our time (four or five months ago) from a 2:30 start time to 3, and never received a confirmation as he had asked. The week of the wedding, he called to confirm and Tim didn't have it in the books. The day before the wedding, Tim called and said that they couldn't give us the bus for the entire time we paid for because they booked another event. My husband worked out a deal and they gave us $40 off, but we were still worried they wouldn't show up.

That being said, Dan, our driver the day-of, was fantastic! He called to confirm times and pick-up, was dressed in a tux, rolled out the red carpet and even ran out with umbrellas to cover us when it started raining during pictures. The bus itself was perfect! If you can get over the communication factor, for the price ($480 for four hours), it was a steal.

Photographer: Derek Cookson Photography: A+ (pending photos)
Everyone loves Derek! He did our engagement photos and from the few shots he showed me on his camera, I am confident that our pictures will be phenomenal.

B-Pics: Amanda Williams, A+
Amanda is awesome and I highly recommend her for b-pics. I was very comfortable around her and my husband fell over when he opened his album.

Videographer: Steven Volk, Volk Video: A+
Steven is a friend and although he does corporate videos, he offered to film our ceremony and reception speeches for free as a wedding gift to us. He gets an automatic A+.

Florist: WholeBlossoms.com and my mom: A+
I ordered garden roses in bulk online and they came in and looked just as beautiful, if not better, than what I had expected. My mom and mother-in-law stripped the roses of thorns on Thursday and my bridesmaids, my mom and I had a PJ party in my suite the night before the wedding to make our bouquets--sooo fun!

Paper Products: Paperandmore.com and me: A+ (for Paperandmore)
Their paper is competively priced and had the exact shades I needed. Shipping was always super quick.

Bakery: Sweet Dreams: A+
I booked them completely online and never even went in for a tasting. The cake looked exactly as I had wanted and was delicious. I am not a cake person, but this was fantastic.

DJ: Joe Spiteri: A
Joe was off-the-charts! He also did our ceremony music and I am proud to say that when the wedding was done at the end of the night, the dance floor was still packed. He was an incredible emcee and kept the dance floor hopping all night. The only reason he doesn't get an "A+" is because he let the kissing game get a little out of hand (if someone clinks a glass, he calls the name of a couple who have to show off their best kiss and then the bride and groom have to mimic it). The kissing game was his idea and it sounded good in theory, but it started to turn into a sideshow and my husband had him pull the plug.

However, I do HIGHLY recommend Joe...just tell him "no" on the kissing game!

DOC: Rachel Caudill, A Beautiful Day Events: A+
Rachel was a last minute addition and she was fantastic. I was 100% stress-free the day of my wedding thanks to her. She went above and beyond to make sure everything looked gorgeous, even texting me pictures of the room so I could see how it looked. I highly recommend her.

Officiant: Rev. Jim Faile, Church of Our Saviour, West Bloomfield: A+
I am a friend of Jim's wife and have done some volunteer work for his church, so he graciously agreed to officiate our ceremony. He is a Presbyterian minister, I'm Catholic and my husband is not affiliated with a religion, so Jim worked wonders to make this the most meaningful time of our lives. I have heard from so many guests that our ceremony was the most beautiful and touching ceremony they have ever been to and we give 100% of the credit to Jim.

Bridal Salon: It's Your Day (LaSalle, Ontario): A, and Group USA: A+
I bought a dress at It's Your Day's sample sale in January and although it was a few sizes too big, they assured me that the alterations would be fine. I ended up having four fittings and after the third, I wasn't happy with the fit and started to get panicky (hence the second dress, which I'll get to). The straps were falling off and they took the hips in almost an inch too much. Sarah, the owner, is fantastic, though and they worked their butts off to get it to the best it could possibly be. I wore that dress as my reception dress and I'm glad it didn't have it on a minute more because they had put Hollywood tape on the straps and around the bust, which made me break out into a rash for several days afterwards. Overall, the women at the salon are really, really great, though.

A few weeks before my wedding, I ventured to Group USA to buy a formal gown for a work fundraiser and saw their wedding section. My mom and I went over and knowing how I felt about the original dress, she encouraged me to try on a few (their prices are ridiculously cheap). I fell in love with a dress, bought it off the rack and the seamstress there (amazing!) put in cups and shortened it. I got it during a promotion and with a Group USA card, so I ended up getting 15% off and an additional $100 off.

Veil: My mom: A+
She rocks. Enough said.

BM Dresses: Nordstrom.com: A
Dresses were fantastic and the girls loved them. Unfortunately, they stopped selling the dress in the store, so a couple of the girls had to order a few at once to try the sizing.

Tuxes: Men's Warehouse: A
Everyone looked great! They forgot to give a couple of the guys (including my dad) socks, but thankfully, they had extras.

Clean Up: Frosted Pink Events: A-
The gals were super quick and professional! The only reason they got an A- is because two of my larger glass pieces (one vase and one candy buffet container) were broken when my mom did an inventory at the end of the night. They packed two bud vases inside the bigger glass pieces and I think that's what cracked them. Otherwise, they were great and a HUGE help! I highly recommend a clean-up crew for any DIYers!

Rehearsal Dinner: On the Border, Novi: A+
My husband worked out a great deal with On the Border which gave us a buffet, unlimited pop and a private room. They even allowed us to bring in our own cakes.

Honeymoon: Paradisus P*nta Cana, Dominican Republic: A+
We purchased the Royal Service package and couldn't be happier. This place was absolute paradise and we are already planning our anniversary trip next year.

whrldtravlr

Ceremony Site: St. Mary of the Hills, Rochester Hills  I won’t give a letter grade given that this is a church. I will say that DH and I had a great experience working with the church office in planning our wedding. They were incredibly kind and we never felt that there was an issue with DH not being Catholic. We were able to choose for ourselves all of the readings, prayers and songs that went into our ceremony.The course of preparation for getting married was absolutely reasonable and we actually found it to be one of the most liberal and progressive around. Father Stan, who performs the wedding ceremonies, was so friendly and kind and did an amazing job with our ceremony. He met with us ahead of time to get to know us as a couple and it really came through in his homily.

 The only downside to getting married at St Marys is their horrible wedding coordinator, Mary. She made no effort in any of the conversations we had while planning to write down any of the details we discussed.  During each conversation, I would have to repeat all of the things we had talked about in the previous call. In fact, during the rehearsal- which unfortunately, she runs by herself-  she had the paper with all of our choices for the ceremony elements (signed off by Father Stan) and she could not make the effort to even look at it. She kept incorrectly directing us to do things (which weren’t going to be part of our ceremony) or leaving out parts (which should have been there) because she would not check the paper. It was a frustrating and unpleasant experience for us, our bridal party and our families. The day of the wedding, she was very nasty with my family and coordinator. She lied several times about things that she didn’t want to do by saying the priest told her they couldn’t be done- when we had discussed them with him the week prior with no problem (i.e. having an aisle runner). She insisted the aisle runner be put down during the entrance song for DH and his family and spent so much time in the aisle fixing it and playing with her roll of packing tape that DH and his family’s processional music was over before they got to walk down the aisle. Completely inexcusable.

 Reception Site: Pine Knob Mansion~ A-  Pine Knob ended up being a wonderful choice for our venue. Our guests were thrilled with the ability to move about the mansion over the course of the reception and mingle with other guests without being drowned out by party music (as often happens in a banquet hall). The food was very good and the bartenders were great. The service in the dining room was fantastic.

The only thing we were a bit disappointed with was the addition of the 20% service charge which is added to items like hors d'ouevres and the cake cutting fee (the cake cutting fee is to "cut the cake" while the service charge was to "serve the cake" was what we were told). We wish that we had been made aware of this charge when we were booking the venue.

 Hotel Block: Staybridge Suites, Auburn Hills~ A- The sales person , Christina,  was awesome to deal with. However two major glitches- a server error that told our guests the blocked rooms were all full (when they were all still available) and the front desk telling our guests that there was no shuttle (when there was)- are a little too big to be overlooked. Christina made every effort to look into the issues mentioned above and correct them as quickly as possible. Overall, the stay was comfortable and our guests were happy with the continental breakfast.

Chair Covers/Linens: Chair Covers & Linens-~ A-  Loved picking out the linens with DeVonna. We came up with a look for the table linens that was AMAZING at my venue. However, despite having detailed notes as to where the linens should go, they failed to cover the head table (???) and several of the tables in the bar area. Fortunately, my DOC and florist caught the error and took care of things.

My Hair: Kelly at Salon Bliss~A+ What can I say about Kelly other than that she is amazing! She took my several idea photos and worked magic to come up with an updo that was exactly what I wanted and stood up to a whole day of rainy, windy weather.

Bridal Party Hair/Make-up: Team at Salon Bliss A+  All of my ladies and my mom looked absolutely fabulous on the big day! Everyone was very happy with their look and there did not seem to be any problems with hair falling over the course of the day .The girls at Salon Bliss are super professional and did an amazing job!

My Makeup: Maria at Salon Bliss~ A   Maria did a gorgeous job and achieved exactly the look I was going for on my big day. I was amazed at how light the airbrushed makeup goes on and how well it lasted throughout the entire day.

Limo: Millenium Limousine~A++  Our limo driver was a bride’s dream come true. He was right on time and went above and beyond what was expected. He helped me in and out of the car to accommodate my dress, made sure we all had umbrellas and held the umbrella for us when needed, accompanied us during our bridal party photos to make sure we were well taken care of, lent his jacket to my niece who got cold and even opened his wallet to us to help with a spontaneous photo-op of buying popcorn from the boy scouts!! My DOC also complimented his efforts as he sought her out at the church to make sure all of our plans were on the same page.

Photographer: The Shooting Gallery ~A+ (pending photos) Dionne and her husband were such a blast to work with! I cannot wait to see what her amazing eye caught through the camera lens to capture our day. Dionne brings such passion and dedication to her photography to show that she really cares about capturing the moments, big and small, of the big day which and it really shows in her work!

Videographer:  The Shooting Gallery (pending video)  This is a new service being offered by TSG but knowing what a positive experience I’ve had with Dionne and her crew in the past, I am confident they will not disappoint.

Florist: The Parsonage~A  Liz  took my crazy collection of photos and turned it into a custom-made, dream-come-true reality. I didn’t come in knowing exactly what I wanted- just an idea of how I wanted the overall feel to be- and Liz worked her magic with just that and a few photos I showed her. She spent so much of her own time working with me on fine-tuning the details of both flowers and decorations just so that my vision for the day would be exactly how I wanted it. No idea was too crazy or far out there to consider. Working with Liz is like working with a best friend and having a great time the whole way through.

Bakery: Give Thanks Bakery~A+  Gerald and his bakery are INCREDIBLE. This was the first bakery we visited and instantly knew it was the right one. With a true focus on flavor and quality, Gerald helped us to create a gorgeous, custom, fall-flavored cake that all of our guests (and we) insist was “the best cake [they’ve] ever tasted!”

Ceremony Musicians—Panache (Trumpet and Organ/Piano)~A  The musicians sounded amazing in church. The pieces were played cleanly and crisply. Jonas, the company owner, did a wonderful job making sure I had the most quality musicians for the day and he did not disappoint. Also, the price was extremely reasonable for the top-notch musicianship and professionalism we received- costing us even less than if we had hired the church’s music director by himself.

Kris Hunt (bagpiper)~A+   I surprised my DH and our guests with Kris playing the bagpipes for our recessional at the end of our ceremony. What an amazing decision! Not only is Kris super sweet and his playing fantastic, but the addition of his playing in the church added such an amazing extra emotional dimension to our wedding. So many of our guests told me that they held the tears back until they heard Kris play and it just amped up the experience!

 Band: Rare Blend Band—Sound~A, Professionalism~D-  I am so disappointed in the experience I had with this band. When I booked them, things seemed great. The band leader, Mary, was so helpful in setting up the timeline for our reception and other things. The communication was great. DH and I went and saw them play and they sounded wonderful live.

About five weeks before the wedding, we approached the band with our music selection and asked about having one or two songs played as our first dance. After we had been told many times when we first booked them that this would be no problem, we were now told that there was no time to learn any new music. Disappointing.

Then the wedding happened. I received a phone call from Mary at 4:45 pm the night before the wedding. Mary was concerned that the band would not have enough time to break down their equipment and leave the venue before the time scheduled in our venue contract. (She was told what time the venue contract required vendors to leave when we were booking the band.) She wanted us to pay our venue to extend the reception a half hour longer (during which time the band would only be packing up) or the band would be ending half an hour earlier than we had scheduled- leaving us with half an hour of our reception with no music. Fortunately, the wonderful Jill from Simplicity smoothed the situation out without our having to pay any extra.

 On the day of the wedding, Mary was taking care of introducing the various people giving toasts during dinner. She introduced the father of the bride, then proceeded to step out of the room and get into a screaming match with the catering director. We could hear the screaming from the other room during the toast. Later on in the evening, I (the bride) was practically shoved out of the way by several of the band members who helped themselves generously to my candy buffet although they were not invited to do so. I could not believe the unprofessionalism with which this band conducted themselves on the night of the wedding. They sounded good when performing but the antics and behavior off the dance floor are definitely not worth putting up with.
ETA: In January of 2011, I was contacted by Mary regarding this review. She was sorry that I was unhappy  but was unapologetic about their behavior. She continues to blame Pine Knob for what took place and assumes no responsibility for her unprofessional behavior or that or her band. This makes me want to downgrade them to an F.

DOC: Simplicity~ A+++   Jill and her assistant Mo are the most amazing wedding ninjas ever! They took care of smoothing out details at the church and venue, setting up and breaking down decorative items and coordinating events for the evening- without my ever having to worry about a single thing. Everything looked exactly how I envisioned it! DH, our families and I cannot thank Jill and Mo enough for all of the amazing work they did that night!! I cannot imagine the day having happened without them!

Photobooth: Rock the Booth~ A  I am sooo happy that I chose to book Rock the Booth!! Our guests had the best time taking photos and standing outside the booth watching others getting their photos being taken. What a blast!
Mara was fantastic with keeping up communication during the planning process and put all the photos together for us in the most wonderful scrapbook in our wedding colors. She was so friendly and helpful and RtB was by far the best value for the money out there when I was booking a photobooth.

Dress/ Jewelry/Alterations: The Wedding Shoppe, Berkley~A  The Wedding Shoppe has a gorgeous selection of gowns /jewelry that were finally something different from all of the other bridal salons. The gown I chose was so gorgeous and unique. The customer service from each and every person I worked with could not be beat! They were sweet and helpful and almost all of them even knew me by name after my first visit.

Michelle, the seamstress, was such a pleasure to work with. She was reassuring and knowledgeable. She offered me several choices of bustle- not an option you see with many alterations places. My work was all done exactly the way I wanted it and with fantastic quality!

Tuxes: Men’s Warehouse (Orion Township Store)~A-   My brother’s tux arrived and the shirts were too small and the jacket was too big. My dad’s vest was the wrong size. One of the groomsmen had a jacket that was too small in the arms. All was finally resolved (because we caught it a few days before the wedding) but that’s a lot of incorrect sizing.

Honeymoon Travel Agent: Bliss Honeymoons ~A Kim and Mike were so helpful, super organized and right on the money with their recommendations for our honeymoon. We had a fantastic time and smooth travel due to all of their hard work!

LindsayTiz

Ceremony Site: St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church. A+
Not much to say here.  It's where we attend Mass and are parishoners.  Even though we had a snag at the end (our priest had fallen ill and couldn't marry us), they did as much as possible to help us in finding a new priest.  Also, the rules for getting married seemed far less strict than some other Catholic parishes in the area.

Reception Site:  Arnaldo's A
They didn't get an A+ for two small--and nit-picky reasons: 1) The day we were in making the final payment, one of the owners said it would be a "little bit of a hassle" for them to put out my seating cards and favors.  I solved this problem by simply asking the other owner, and of course he said yes with a smile.  The only other reason is that during dinner, our food was to come out in courses  (one meat at a time), however this took FOREVER; but then again, sort of our fault becasue we chose for the dinner to be served in this manner and to 340 people.  Other than those two very small issues, LOVED the hall, food, and owners!


Chair Covers/Linens:  Sittin Pretty Chair Covers, A+
I had absolutely no issues with them, and the chair covers were a great price. 

Hair: Done by my cousin A++++++
She's great, but I'll follow rules and not give out her info since she's family

Makeup:  Jamie Clemons A++++++++++++++++++++
I am not a big makeup person, but I knew I should get my makeup done.  Jamie was fantastic.  She was friendly, quick to communicate, and did a fantastic job.  My makeup looked fresh at 12:30am when the wedding ended.  I'd highly recommend Jamie!

Limo: Milennium Limo A
These guys were easy to deal with, and on time.  No complaints here.

Photographer: Monica Byrne-Images of Style by Monica A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Hands down, my favorite vendor.  We booked Monica almost immediately after setting a date.  She does some of the best work I have ever seen, and is extremely friendly, flexible and professional.  I cannot wait to see my finished pictures, where she hosts you and your families for a cocktail slide show party!!!

Florist: Joan Claypool Bridal Blooms A+
Joan was reasonably priced and flexible with my budget.  She also added little extras that I didn't pay her for; ex. I ordered baby's breath crowns for my flower girls, and Joan made them into beautiful rose and baby's breath crowns.  My flowers were gorgeous, and very generously done.  She was also great to communicate, and gave me good honest answers.

Bakery: Cindy Ritchie A
The cake was pretty good, but best of all, reasonably priced.  Cake was the lowest thing on my list of importance, so this served its purpose.  It was very pretty, but not the best cake I've ever had.  If cake is high on your list, you might want to look somewhere else.

DJ: Paul of Sunshine Entertainment A+++++++
Paul is FANTASTIC!  Our original DJ backed out 5 weeks before the wedding, and we found Paul--I'm so glad we did!  He gave us a great rate, and offered to meet us as often as we needed.  The day of, he kept the dance floor packed, and also was great about keeping the reception flowing.

Bridal Salon: Bella Donnas A
I loved the service they gave me here.  The owner waited on my a couple times while I was in, and she was kind enough to pull dresses out of boxes that weren' even on the floor yet (one of which was my dress!) because she thought I'd like them.  My alterations were great, and my dress fit beautifully.  My only small issue with them was that they lost my paperwork and receipts, and had to ask us to show receipts during my 2nd fitting.

Julz629

Reception: Meeting House Grand Ballroom, A+
Randy and Mary who run the Meeting House are absolutely AMAZING.  My mom handled a lot of the coordination with them upfront -- from head counts, payments, seating charts, menus and everything went great.  On the day of, everything was PERFECT.  They made sure everything went smoothly, all the vendors were directed to the right place, and they even made sure Andy and I had drinks all night.  :-)  We had passed appetizers that were a hit, and they even made sure the bridal party got them since we arrived late from taking pictures.  Dinner was a plated meal (half chicken, half beef) and the food was awesome, and huge portions, as well.  And the late-night pizza was deep dish and delicious, way better than a lot of places I've seen.  There was even a mini-fire during the best man's speech and Randy was there to put it out before we even realized what was happening.  Overall, I don't think I could have asked for anything more from them.

Courtyard Marriott Livonia, D
I had mixed feelings about the Courtyard leading up to the wedding...  For starters, I was told the block would be reserved until 3 weeks before the wedding.  After that, guests would still be able to get the block rate, but they would not continue to hold the rooms.  This was not the case -- about 10 people booked after the block was released and only 1 of them was given the block rate.  However, my coordinator was excellent and I could simply email her the names and she would move them into our block.  It was frustrating that I had to do this, but she was so good to work with, I couldn't really complain.  However, we were given a private shuttle that was supposed to run for 2 hours at the beginning and end of the wedding.  The shuttle was supposed to run from 2:45-4:45 -- some family members went to catch the shuttle a few minutes before 4pm and they were told it was no longer running because they were short-staffed and they had 4 wedding blocks to accommodate.  Most of my family was able to use their own transportation, but an aunt and uncle missed the actual ceremony.  All the guests in our block were given a complimentary breakfast to apologize for the inconvenience.  I expressed my concerns to the coordinator after the wedding and she thanked me for my feedback, but that was it.

DOC: Simplicity (Jill), A+
I don't think I can say enough great things about Jill.  Originally, I didn't plan on having a DOC since the hall provides the coordination for the reception.  However, since we were having an outdoor ceremony, we really needed someone to help us out with that -- making sure equipment was set up, everyone had flowers, officiant and musicians were directed to the right place, etc etc etc.  I had an initial meeting with Jill to go over all the details and then she was on-site for 8 hours the day of the wedding.  She was SO helpful -- the ceremony was as smooth as could be, and she even helped me when I had a mini-panic attack after my dress zipper started ripping.  She made sure we stuck to the timeline at the beginning of the reception and even made sure everything was taken to the cars before we left (gifts, leftover cake, favors).  I am so glad we hired her -- definitely $300 well spent!

Ceremony Site: Kellogg Park, A
Kellogg Park was pretty painless to work with, which is always a good thing.  I paid a fee of $200 upfront and that was pretty much it.  I had to call them a week or so beforehand to let them know that we were planning to use power for our ceremony and everything went smoothly.

Officiant: Reverend Carl Vogler, A
Reverend Carl officiated my sister's wedding a year prior and he did a great job so I booked him right away.  He can come across as a little absent-minded because he doesn't seem to be that good with computers/email.  Phone calls are the best way to get a hold of him and he always responded promptly.  He did an AMAZING job at our rehearsal dinner -- since our wedding was in the park, we didn't really have any formal guidance.  He took total control of the group and pretty much ran the rehearsal.  He let us have as much input as we wanted in the ceremony in terms of readings, what we wanted wanted to include, etc.

Ceremony Music: Go 4 Baroque String Trio, B (communication), A (day of)
The music was absolutely perfect the day of the wedding and it provided a very nice touch to the ceremony.  However, there was one small hiccup through the process...  When I booked the string trio over a year in advance, I wasn't positive on the ceremony time so I put 4pm on the contract.  Over a month before the wedding, I emailed Janel and told her the ceremony was at 5pm.  But 3 days before the wedding, my DOC was confirming details with the vendors and it turns out that they thought this ceremony was at 4pm and told me they didn't have musicians available at 5pm.  This issue was resolved by the next morning and they were able to find other musicians, but it was a very stressful evening for me.  In the end, it was both of our mistakes -- while I did inform them of the ceremony time change, I should have requested an updated contract to reflect this.  But they were very quick to find a resolution which made me happy.  And as I said, they did a great job the day of.

Equipment Rental: Your Event Party Rental, A
We rented 250 chairs, an arbor, and a pedestal from Your Events Party Rental to use during the ceremony.  I worked with Christi and she was so great to work with -- we communicated mostly via email and she responded to my emails very timely.  We had to change some of the equipment throughout the planning process and she would always email me an update quote.  Also, she provided their recommendations on set-up in the park and did a great job.  Due to another ceremony taking place in the park following ours, we were able to pay $50 extra so the equipment could be taken down within half an hour.  Everything went very smoothly.

DJ: Best DJ, A+
I cannot say enough amazing things about Brendan and his assistant, Eric.  They were referred to us by a friend and I will continue to refer him to anyone.  For starters, Brendan provided equipment for the outdoor ceremony -- a couple speakers, mic for the officiant, and mics for the readers.  The sound was absolutely amazing.  He would do this thing with the mic where he would turn up the officiants' mic when Andy and I were saying our vows so every guest could hear every word we said.  Very impressive.  During dinner, he played a great mix of music that people knew (versus that stuffy elevator music) and he did a great job at reading the crowd later in the night.  He played all requests, and even showed the group how to do a couple dances (without being in the way).  Andy's Grandpa wanted to sing for us and provided his own music and he was able to use their sound system.  Brendan was very helpful before the wedding, and even went out of his way to find an obscure song that my dad wanted for the Father/Daughter dance.  I feel that a DJ can truly make or break a wedding and I am so happy we had such an amazing DJ!

Photographer: Chuck Cloud Photography, A+ (pending results)
Several friends and family members have used Chuck and liked his work so I didn't hesitate to book him.  His style is a bit more "posed," but those were the kinds of photos we wanted.  I gave Chuck a timeline for the day of, as well as a list of all the photos that we wanted and as far as I am aware, he followed it to a T.  Chuck showed up early and stayed late to get all the pictures he could and I'm excited to see the results.

Photobooth: Amanda Williams Photography, B- (communication), A (day of)
The guests LOVED the photobooth, and we love having the album (versus a traditional guest book).  I was less than impressed with the communication the week of the wedding though.  I emailed Amandal a few weeks before asking if I needed to provide graphics for the bottom of the photostrips.  Derak (her husband) handles that portion of the business and she told me he would get them to me a week before the wedding.  On Tuesday, I tried to call her and her phone was out of service.  I emailed her and she responded on Wednesday and told me Derak said he emailed them to me and to email him.  I emailed Derak and heard back from him on Thursday that he meant to send them to me, but they were still in his draft folder.  He wanted to make a few more changes though and he would send them shortly.  I called him on Friday when I still hadn't received them and he told me he was at work, but would email them on his lunch.  He finally called me when I was at my rehearsal dinner and told me he had just sent them.  Luckily, I liked them and all was well, but I definitely would have liked to seem them more than 24 hours in advance and wasn't too impressed with this aspect.  But Derak and his assistant did an amazing job the day of, my scrapbook looks amazing, and they were very professional.

Florist: Parsonage Flowers, A+
As everyone around The Knot says, Liz at the Parsonage is AMAZING to work with.  She is truly passionate about what she does and while I don't really care all that much about flowers, she made it all very exciting.  I took her in some inspiration pictures of flowers and centerpieces that I liked.  We made some changes to the pictures so we could still get the same effect, but stay within budget.  For the centerpieces, I was able to pick up the vases two weeks before the wedding, wrap them myself (to save $$), and return them the week of the wedding.  Everything looked beautiful the day of the wedding and was exactly what I was expecting.

Cake: Elite Sweets, A
Everything went very smoothly with the cake.  We booked them about 6 months in advance and then I went back about 3 weeks before the wedding with a picture of a cake I liked and they basically recreated it.  Our cake was very simply, but it was exactly what I wanted.  And it was delicious too!  I think they underestimated how many people it will serve though -- our 3-tiered cake was supposed to serve 100 and the two sheet cakes were supposed to serve 80-90 each.  We had 255 people and we had over half of a sheet cake, as well as the top tier of our cake left.

Invitations: Invitations & More (Marcia Rilko), A
Marcia works out of her home in Saginaw and we were referred to her by a friend.  She orders from Carlson cards and offers a 30% discount on invitations since she doesn't have to pay the overhead costs to run a store.  When we met with her, she was great at showing us samples of invites that we would be interested in.  She let us borrow her books for a week while we reviewed them.  My mom handled the actual ordering of the invites and stuff and everything went well with that.

Rings: Diamond Castle Jewelers, A+
Andy got my e-ring and we got his wedding band from Diamond Castle.  We didn't get my band from there since we got it for an amazing deal on Amazon.  It is great working with a local jeweler, they are so helpful in helping you find exactly what you want.  They offer everything on-site like appraisals, resizing, fixing loose prongs, cleaning, and redipping.  All of that comes free with the purchase of the ring which will save money in the long run, too.

B'Ella Bridal (Dress), A
B'Ella was my favorite of the bridal salons that I went to, which is why I ordered my dress from them (even though it wasn't where I found it and they didn't even have it in stock).  The people there were really friendly and helpful, and actually listened to what I wanted (and didn't want).  They knew I was in love with my dress, but it was out of my budget, so they knocked off a couple hundred dollars to bring it into my budget if I was willing to order that day.

Alterations: Bella Alterations, A
Angela at Bella was excellent to work with!  I had two fittings with her and at my second fitting, she was able to make the final tweaks on the spot.  I am not sure how prices typically run, but I paid $220 for the straps to be taken in, sides taken in, cups sewn in, and a bustle.  She also made my veil for $60 which was much cheaper than they are at the salon!  I was very pleased with how everything turned out.

Tuxes: Men's Warehouse, B
Everything went as well as can be expected with tuxes.  Andy and I went in and picked out the tuxes and got frustrated because they really kept trying to talk us into the ivory shirts.  I told them the color of my dress was "natural" and they seemed insistant that we needed ivory (which was very yellow looking).  When they called back closer to the deadline, they had entered in the wrong color for the groomsmen and had them in lilac instead of green.  All worked out well in the end and everyone's tuxes were ready at least a week in advance, and in the right colors!

Box Bar (Rehearsal Dinner), A
The Box Bar was great to work with -- we had a private room in the back, ordered directly off the menu, and we got great service.  They even allowed us to bring in our own cake.

Beener0514

• Mac and Ray's Harbor, reception site & wedding cake: A

The view of Lake St. Clair from Mac and Ray's is what convinced us to book this location. It paid off because on our wedding day, we had a rainbow that appeared over the water that the guests enjoyed before we arrived! Lisa Kliza at Mac and Rays was wonderful to work with. She pays attention to every detail so we knew we were in good hands. We went with the filet mignon and chicken picatta dish and the guests loved it! Mac and Ray's also does a limited vendor menu to help keep costs down. They also had a great kids' menu since we had several guests under the age of 10. We went with the upgraded bar, as well, and were pleased that they were serving strong drinks to guest instead of the watered-down ones you usually find at weddings. The layout of the room we used (the Commodore Room) was great because it has a separate bar area near the dance floor with several high-top tables guests could gather around. This is where most peple were after dinner! To save money on cake-cutting fees, we went with Shelly, their pastry chef, for our wedding cake. Guests complimented us the whole night on how great that cake was and it looked absolutely beautiful, too!
www.macray.com/MacRay/banquet/">http://www.macray.com/MacRay/banquet/

 

• Immanuel United Methodist Church, ceremony: A
   

Matthew and I are not religious and therefore do not belong to a church. We wanted something that looked historical and had a terrible time finding a place that would marry nonmembers. Then we found Immanuel United Methodist Church and were so pleased! Pastor Lynne is incredibly friendly and personalized our ceremony with items we shared with her during our two pre-wedding meetings. One of the requirements to gettting married here is going through three couples counseling sessions which we weren't too thrilled with at first. But, the sessions are with an actual counselor, not anyone affiliated with the church, so you spend the time working on your relationship, not on hearing religious propaganda. We really liked the counseling sessions!
www.eiumc.org/templates/System/default.asp?id=33214">http://www.eiumc.org/templates/System/default.asp?id=33214

• Amber Hunt Photography, Wedding & engagement pictures: A+

  Amber works for the Detroit Free Press and does wedding photography at night. Matt & I were looking for someone who brought a photojournalistic style to their work so Amber was a perfect fit for us! She is a great to work with, very funny, and her pictures are amazing. We were so happy with the prices of her packages- we received two photographers for the entire day and own the rights to our pictures so we can print them at any time! If you are looking for a photographer, check her out!
www.amberhuntphotography.com/">http://www.amberhuntphotography.com/

• Two Penny Productions, Wedding video: A

We absolutely recommend Two Penny if you are looking for a video that is unique. They are incredibly artistic, arrived on time, and are easy to work with. They worked nicely with our photographer and we never felt like we had cameras in our face all the time. The end product was amazing, although it take them almost nine months to get it to us. www.twopennyproductions.com/main.html">http://www.twopennyproductions.com/main.html
http://vimeo.com/twopenny

•  Sposa Seating, Chair covers: A
  
  

  Maya was the easiest of all our vendors to work with. We communicated with her via email the entire time, gave the final payment to Mac & Ray's to give to her, and the chair covers looked great. We loved that she was the leastexpensive company we could find and that they set up and take down the chair covers. Perfect!
http://sposaseating.com/

• Bliss Weddings, Month of wedding planner: C

  We have mixed reviews about Amanda. Our contract stated that we had unlimited meetings with her the month of the wedding but could contact her via email as many times as we wanted leading up to the wedding. I emailed her several times asking for recommendations for vendors, asking her to proofread invitations, and similar requests. She was terrible with responding back. Finally, after not hearing back from her for OVER A WEEK, I contacted her again, telling her I was not pleased with her work. She told me Bliss was getting a lot of business, and they bit off more than they could chew. Sherecognized the problem and said she was hiring another assistant. After that point, things went more smoothly but I was really nervous with how things would turn out. The day of, everything went well. She and her assistants did a great job setting up our tables and everything else we asked them to do. She did, however, show up an hour late to start setting up the reception site, which we weren't thrilled with.
www.yourblissweddings.com/">http://www.yourblissweddings.com/

• Entertainment Express, limo: F

This is the one vendor we were extremely disappointed with. To start, they were 45 minutes late to pick up the guys which put everything off schedule. Luckily, we were able to adjust so that the ladies were only 15 minutes late to the church as a result. We had a terrible time trying to change a pick-up location with them (they "forgot" to file the paperwork), the limo driver HIT acar on the way to pick up the ladies, and she passed our locations twice and had to turn around. The icing on the cake was when she charged us $60 for us going over an hour on our time. HELLO! We went over an hour because YOU WERE LATE!
www.ee-mi.com/">http://www.ee-mi.com/

•  Jamie Flannagan, DJ: A

Jamie is a friend of a coworker of mine and works on the weekends at 96.3. He is very reasonably priced, has the top-of-the-line equipment, and played a variety of songs. He comes with an amazing old-fashioned microphone that our guests commented on throughout the night. We were pleased that at 11:00 p.m., he still had the crowd up dancing!

•  President Tuxedo, Tuxedos: C-

 The tuxes looked great, but took several attempts to get them correct. Apparently, the people who work here cannot measure properly because we had two groomsman go to pick up their tuxedos the day before the wedding and their tuxes did not fit. In addition, our wedding planner had to pin the sleeves on the ring bearer's shirt, a groomsman's shirt, and a groomsman's coat because they were too long.
http://presidenttuxedo.com/

• Zazzle.com, Save the Dates & custom stamps: A+

We ordered our save the date postcards and custom stamps for save the dates, shower invitations, wedding invitations, and response cards. The siteis easy to navigate, the products arrived quickly and they looked great! My advice is to check the internet for discounts, though, because they frequently offer great deals!
www.zazzle.com/">http://www.zazzle.com/

• Viviano Florist, florist: C

We are pleased with the customer service we received from Viviano but were not pleased with our flowers. The bridal bouquet was supposed to have stephanotis in it and when it arrived, it didn't. We called them and they delivered them to us, though. Additionally, the bridesmaid bouquets were ridiculously small in size, even though on the paperwork we told them we wanted something "big and showy." Many of the flowers also looked wilted.
www.viviano.com/">http://www.viviano.com/

• Kathleen at Plush Paper, Wedding invitations: A+

  I have to admit that I was disappointed when I couldn't afford to have Gourmet Invitations do my invites but after seeing the final product Kathleen created for us, I wouldn't have it any other way. Kathleen was so friendly to work with and she is great with responding quickly to emails. I had to be difficult to work with because I didn't have a clear vision of what I wanted (I just knew I wanted them to look classy and elegant). Kathleen took that and created masterpieces with our invitations! In fact, the invitations turned out so well that Matthew and I decided to splurge on wedding extras! She did a great job on these, as well, and we especially love the kids’ menus she put together for us.
http://plushpaper.blogspot.com/2009/08/lisa-matthews-wedding-invitations.html
http://plushpaper.blogspot.com/2009/10/lisa-matthews-wedding-extras.html

 

• Gina's Bridal, bridal gown & accessories: A+

  I shopped at a *ton* of stores before I found "the gown." I was getting desperate and my fiance's coworker recommended Gina's in Milford. I was hesitant because it is a 45 minute drive from my house but it was WORTH IT! What impressed me most about Gina's what they genuinely love what they do. They are friendly, welcoming, and know their stuff! They are a small boutique, packed with a huge variety of dresses and accessories. If you haven't found the dress, you need to make a stop into Gina's in Milford!
www.ginasbridal.com/">http://www.ginasbridal.com/

• Netbride.com, Bridesmaid dresses: A

  I ordered the dresses through Netbride because the dress I wanted was cheaper there than anywhere else. They offer free shipping to one address so I ended up ordering the dresses for the girls. I didn't think this would be a problem but it was awkward asking my bridesmaids for money and two of them waiting months and months to actually pay me which was reallyfrustrating. (This is why I gave them an A, not an A+, which is unfair to them but the experience overall didn't warrant the +.) The dresses, however, came in two months earlier than they quoted me (bonus!) and look great! NOTE: We ordered from the Dessy Collection and the sizes ran about 1-2 sizes too big. Order the size you normally wear in street clothes, not the size they recommend.
http://netbride.com/

• Cardstore.com, Shower invitations: A+

  Sorry to give out all these A+ grades but we've been really fortunate with the people we've worked with! The cardstore had a really cute invitation for the shower where all we had to do was change the names and information. Quick & easy to order and they arrived quickly, too!
www.cardstore.com/">http://www.cardstore.com/

• Cloverleaf Restaurant, Rehearsal Dinner: B+

The food and service were great here. We loved having the heated patio all to ourselves. We weren't happy that the pizza took 45 minutes from the time we ordered it to arrive and the $50 deposit was not a deposit at all- it was a charge for the room rental which they did not tell us at the time of booking. Overall, though, everyone enjoyed it and it was a great choice for us! 

ezeckzer

Ceremony Site: Victoria Wedding Chapel, Waterford - A
Reception Site: Lafayette Grande, Pontiac - A
Caterer: Lafayette Grande, Pontiac - A
Chair Covers/Linens: Linens & Beyond - A+
Hair:  Joana, Love Your Hair, Keego Harbor - A+
Makeup:  Steffany, Love Your Hair, Keego Harbor - A+
Photographer: Tammy LaBar - C - This was is difficult for me to judge...our pictures are nice but I walked away feeling they are a bit unreliable.   I received a text message approximately an hour prior to Tammy's scheduled arrival informing that she was too sick to make it.  However, no need to worry as she was sending her back-up.  The back-up photog was an hour late and missed an entire location.  Our pictures are nice but they aren't the pictures I wanted.  When I hired Tammy, I hired her because I wanted HER to take our pictures not someone else.  Her back-up was very nice and, like I said, our pictures are nice but I'm not so sure I would recommend her services.
Florist: Liz, Parsonage in Clarkston - A+
Bakery: LIsa, So Let Them Eat Cake, Macomb - B - Communication was difficult with this vendor and not very reliable.  Our cake was very tasty but did not look like it was professionally done.
DJ: Jimmy T, Mike Staff -  A
DOC: Jill, Simpliciy DOC - A+ She was wonderful and made it possible for me to have a day with no worries.
Photobooth: Shutterbooth - B+, Great product, not so great communicationC

Bridal Salon: Bella Bridal, West Bloomfield -C, My dress was beautiful and I was treated very well on MOST visits.  My MOH and I had an appointment for a veil & head piece trunk show at the salon after I purchased my dress and actually left because the customer service was so awful. However, they were very busy so I gave them the benefit of the doubt.  My low grade is due to the, in my opinion, unprofessional alterations on my dress.

jlfick

Ceremony Site: Dearborn Inn B
Reception Site: Dearborn Inn A
Caterer: Dearborn Inn A
Chair Covers/Linens: N/A
Dress: The Wedding Shoppe A
Hair: Bridal Beauty On Location A
Makeup: Bridal Beauty on Location A-
Limo: N/A
Photographer: Amanda Williams A (have only had a sneek peek of the pics so far)
Videographer: N/A
Florist: Viviano A+
Bakery: Pastry Palace B
DJ: MaryAnn Productions A

jdgardin

FLOWERS: Linnaea Floral Designs A+++++


I held my wedding up north, so the only vendor that I used from down state was Linnaea Floral Designs and they were FABULOUS!  The two founders were actually childhood friends of mine and I was very nervous about letting a friend do my flowers.  I took the plunge anyways and couldn't have been happy that I did.  Since doing my wedding the two lovely ladies have decided to start their own wedding and special events flower company.  Here's their website:

http://linnaeafloraldesign.weebly.com/index.html

I paid a lot less than any of the big flower shops were quoting me.

breeamber

Wedding was only 4 days ago; i am on top of my game here! hehehehe. It was an AMAZING day! Truly dreamy. I am so grateful to all of our wonderful vendors for making it exactly what I envisioned. And also thankful to everyone on this board for helping make our decisions easier!


Ceremony Site: St. Constance Catholic Church Taylor, MI A+++
Father Leo was our priest at St. Thomas Aquinas is Dearborn/Detroit for years, so when I heard he was at St. Constance now I had to follow him. He is truly wonderful. We were not members of the parish before the wedding, but he let us join only 3 months out and welcomed us with open arms. We had a maltitude of guests (even those who do not ever attend church) comment on how personal and touching the ceremony was, and how they enjoyed it more than any they had ever attended; and this was becasue of him. You have to meet him to know what I mean

Reception Site/Caterer: Arnaldo's Banquet Hall, Riverview A+
Arnaldo's was wonderful from the start. Their prices could not be beat, and the food was superb. Many guests told us it was the best food they have EVER had at a wedding! Mario, John and Robin were excellent in terms of communication and accomodating all of our needs. The starlit ceiling made for beautiful photos.

Chair Covers/Linens: Glamorous Elegance, A
Delonna was always quick to return phone calls and emails. She even sent me a sample of the chair cover and sash to test out at the hall. Everything looked beautiful at the reception. Very professional and they were only $1/each!

Hair: Erin Tardif, A
Erin is a friend of mine from High School and she came to my parents house the morning of the wedding to make me and my bridesmaids pretty. She did a phenomonal job, my hair was better than I had imagined.

Makeup: Stephanie Dicck, A
I also went to high school with Stephanie, and she is now a professional makeup artist at Nordstrom Somerset. She also came to the house and did a beautiful job.

Limo: Trinity Transportation, A
We rented a full-size, yellow school bus to take us around all day. It not only held us and our bridal paty, but also all of our guests staying at the hotel. What a blast! We had the bus for a total of 9 1/2 hours at a cost of $585. Pretty good deal, methinks!

Photographer/Videographer: Platinum Mix Productions, A (so far)
Sara and her crew were so much fun and so easy to work with. She sent me a sneak peek of finished photos within 48 hours! They also did our videograhy, which I will post more about as soon as we see it. She said we'll get the final edit within 30 days.

Florist: Blooming Dreams, A+
Daniela and Linda were a pleasure to work with. We met several times to ensure she understood my vision, and Daniela's artistry took it to the next level. They made several trips to our home to pick up vessels, and even set up the cady buffet, escort card table and memory table beautifully. So grateful to have found them, and at a reasonable price.

Bakery: Iversens, Dearbron, A-
The cake truned out BEAUTIFUL and so delicious. There was one minor error - they only made three of the four flavors we selected. My mom went in to speak to them and they are gladly making a cake in that flavor my grandma's birthday this weekend. I think it was an honest mistake. Overall they were excellent to work with.

DJ: 80's Inc. , A+++
We hired 80's Inc. to play live. They were amazing! The dance floor was full all night long. They also DJ'ed during breaks and there was enver a dull moment. They play mostly 80's hits and some 90's current stuff. I cannot speak highly enough about them. they also learned out first dance song and performed it beautifully just for us!

DOC: Didn't have one, but our florist took care of all the odds and ends for us. And my mom was an amazing help.

Photobooth: Rock the Booth, A
Excellent communication, they created our monogram, and they were professional. They even reopended the booth for me and my BM at the end of the night.

Hotel: The Henry Hotel, Dearborn (formerly The Ritz Carleton) A+
Beautiful hotel, gorgeous lobby for photos, and reasonable group rate ($99/night)

weddingcourt

Sorry they are a little long but I have a lot to say. I can't thank all the knotties enough! Without your help and recommendations my wedding wouldn't have been as wonderful as it was. So thank you!!

Ceremony Site: Kensington Community Church - The Chapel   Grade: A
This church is amazing! The people are extremely welcoming, the chapel is beautiful and the wedding coordinator is simply amazing! Debbie made sure everything went perfectly and it truly did. The only reason they don’t get an A+ is because when we booked no one told us about all the construction that was going to be taking place on the church campus, and while it wasn’t their fault a heads up would have been nice.  

Pastor: Steve Andrews
He is one of the church founders and just overall an amazing person. He has had a very interesting life and makes himself an open book. Our first meeting with him went better than we could have ever expected. It felt like we had known him forever. The ceremony went even better. People kept commenting on how nice it was to see a ceremony that was truly reflective of DH and me and not solely on the religious beliefs. People kept asking how long we had been going to the church because it felt like Steve had known us for years. I don’t feel right grading a Pastor, but I can say he was wonderful. 

Ceremony Music: Panache    Grade A+ (recommended by The Knot)
I was completely stuck in a bind when last minute, about 3 weeks before the wedding, the pianist I hired broke her hand and my singer cancelled due to personal problems. I called Panache and they literally came to the rescue within minutes of my frantic call. They worked hard to ensure I had some of music the day of because their pianist was booked. The next day they called and said they had talked to one of their pianist that was hired out for a wedding 2 hours before mine and he would be happy to perform at my wedding. Both weddings were in the same area and while they usually don’t allow for events so close together, they knew my position and wanted to work with me. I was so grateful for their help during such a high stress time; I booked with them right away. To make it even better their pianist knew all the songs we had been planning, and even helped in the areas we had no idea what we wanted. He was wonderful during the ceremony and was completely professional throughout, we couldn’t have asked for anything better. I really felt they went above and beyond with all the communication and help they offered to us.

Reception Site: Villa Penna    Grade: A+
I love Villa Penna, it’s beautiful and George is wonderful! It’s not often that an owner of a business is as involved in the day to day activities as George is, and it’s wonderful. He is such a nice person and loves what he does. We were sold after the first meeting, we didn’t book right away but they will hold your date for 2 weeks. We looked around, but didn’t find anything that even compared. We had originally looked online solely at the prices and weren’t impressed, but my parents really wanted us to check it out, so we did. I didn’t realize how personally George took everything and how willing he was to work with us. He negotiated with himself half the time just to see if we would be happy and if not then he added more. He added a lot of stuff to our package that we might not have been able to afford otherwise. I also really appreciated that he didn’t try to up sell us on anything. He flat out told us certain things were a waste of money and we really appreciated his honest opinion. Also, his assistant in charge of weddings was wonderful when it came to communication. I would have random (I am sure annoying) questions and each person I talked to was more than happy to help me out. Also, if they didn’t know something they would find out and were sure to ALWAYS call back within an hour or so, regardless of the questions.  

It was important to us to have good food, because of how many weddings we had been to with terrible food and thought it was such a waste. We decided on the fillet and chicken combination and couldn’t have been more impressed. The servers actually went to each table and asked how each person would like their steak cooked, and if someone wanted the option of 2 pieces of chicken or 2 pieces of steak they were more than happy to oblige. Everyone raved about the food, and how it was just too much, our meal came with soup, salad, pasta, main course, and an ice cream sundae along with wedding cake for desert, it was this reason we didn’t do appetizers, but instead opted for a pizza midnight snack. We were really impressed with everything! Oh and for the few guests that RSVP’d but didn’t show up, we got their meals in boxes to take home! 

Lastly, we had been planning on a card box, but VP offered a locking podium where we could put the guest book so people could sign in and just slide the card into it. It was so nice to have. The only people that could have it unlocked that night were either myself or DH. So when the reception was ending and we were getting ready to leave a bouncer type guy escorted us to the cards to unlock them and put them in a bag for us. Then we all double checked to make sure nothing was left inside. It was really nice to have that sense of security and not have to worry about anything.  

Overall we loved Villa Penna. Everything about it helped to make our night perfect, the ambiance, the staff and of course George. 

Chair Covers/Linens: Candlelite    Grade: B+ (recommended by the knot)

I really liked Rita when I met her, but I felt like she wasn’t very organized. After our first meeting I had decided I wanted to go for something different entirely, so I changed my colors. Two weeks before my wedding she emailed me to confirm my original colors, so I have to quickly email back to remind her about the change. I also added on napkins, which she said shouldn’t be a problem, she then tells me that she is out of town and that her cousin would be handling my wedding. Luckily, almost everything turned out perfectly. The chair covers and sashes looked amazing and I loved the table cloths and charges, but she didn’t bring enough napkins. Luckily my DOC took care of it and I didn’t know until well after the honeymoon. Also, when I first booked with Rita she said she would include the head table for free and has her own design that she does to make it look beautiful. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case. It didn’t look terrible per se but it didn’t look great. I didn’t notice at the time, but looking back in pictures the linens on the head table were lopsided and the black from the underneath was showing in sporadic places. It just looked very messy and I wasn’t impressed. However, I am sure no one else noticed so I gave a B+.

Hair: Jessica F    Grade: A+
Jessica just switched salons so if you want the info let me know. She works in Shelby/Utica Area. I absolutely loved my hair. I loved it even more the day of than I did at the trial. Jessica does amazing work; my hair looked fabulous the whole night. Even the curls didn’t fall out, which is a rarity!  I didn’t give her much to go on, so she worked with me and my hair to find the perfect style. I can’t say enough good things about her.

Makeup: Aleksandra Adams    Grade: A (recommended by the knot) Aleksandra is wonderful at what she does. She really is an artist when it comes to makeup. I loved the trial, but decided last minute that I wanted to stand out a bit more than the natural look we had done originally. She didn’t even blink at my request and just went to work. I loved that she came to the house, it make everything so much easier. Everyone loved her work and thought she was amazing. However, she gets very busy and had another event after mine so was in somewhat of a hurry. While this didn’t hinder her work at all, I only made an appointment for 5, because that was how many people had originally told me they were interested. Well after seeing her work 3 more people wanted her to do their makeup but she had to go. So in no way shape or form is that her fault at all, but make sure if you book her, tell your wedding party they have to decide right away because she may not be able to fit them in if they change their mind last minute. Overall she was wonderful to work with and I was happy she was available for my wedding J

Limo: Dream Limo Grade: A
They did exactly what I asked them to and everything was in excellent condition. I don’t think you can ask for more from a limo company. Their drivers were excellent and have used them multiple times before and after the wedding. Each time they have been spot on with no complaints.

Photographer: Amanda Williams    Grade: A- (recommended by the knot)
I only looked at 2 photographers and fell in love with Amanda right away. She has an amazing personality and is so much fun all around! She is wonderful with communication and always responds. Our engagement pictures were incredible, so we were super excited about the wedding pictures. Regardless, if you take pictures before or after the ceremony she will come 2 hours before the start of the ceremony. I didn’t think it would be enough time for us, since we were doing pictures before so I paid for an extra hour and thank goodness I did because it still wasn’t enough time. We were very rushed and I didn’t get some of the pictures I really wanted at my parents’ house because of it. I didn’t love the fact that they took 10 weeks to get back, but she is super busy so I understood. I wish I would have thought this through though because our thank-you cards were held up because I was waiting for our thank you picture, still my fault. When we got our pictures back I was really happy with them, however, I feel like there really aren’t a ton of pictures of DH and I. I feel like this was because we were so rushed before the ceremony that we missed out, so while I am happy, I am a little disappointed. I wish I would have had an earlier ceremony and not rushed though pictures before. So while I am happy with the pictures and would totally use Amanda again, I still feel a little cheated.  

Photobooth: Spitin’ Image Photobooth Amanda Williams    Grade: B+ (recommended by the knot)
First let me say that getting a photobooth was one of the best decisions we made. With that said I wasn’t overly happy with Spitin’ Image. They emailed me a week before the wedding asking if we have a monogram or any preferences for the bottom of the photobooth strip. I sent them our monogram and heard nothing, so I kind of thought they were going to use it. Well imagine my surprise when I see them and it was nothing that I indicated I wanted, nor was it sent to me for approval. I take some blame, I probably should have followed up, but I was a little busy and thought since they asked for my monogram they would have used it. Also, there is a small box of props that were hidden in the corner that many guests were disappointed they didn’t see right away. Overall, it was extremely popular and there was a line almost the whole night and it was nice of the photobooth team to get DH and I to make sure we made it in there at least once that night. I would use them again, but would probably want a little more communication. 

DOC: Shelly from Simplicity     Grade: A+ (recommended by the knot)
We had originally not planned on a DOC but a few months coming up to the wedding I thought I should check out a few just in case. Seriously, it was the best decision I made. Communication with Jill and Shelly was flawless. They were always on top of their emails, full of answers and were always helpful and better yet affordable and always willing to work with your budget. I was still in the deciding phase when I met with Shelly and in our short meeting, I realized I needed someone. I am not a party planner and there are a ton of details that I didn’t want to delegate to friends or family, so I decided to book with Shelly. She asked me every question that I probably wouldn’t have thought about until the day of, weeks before the wedding. It was so nice to just have the extra support. Then the day of when everyone does their best to not stress you out by asking tons of questions, it was so nice to respond with Shelly’s got it. By nature my MIL loves to ask question after question after question and with each one it was so nice to say Shelly’s doing it, or has it, or did it. I don’t know how I would have gotten through it all. She was really on top of things. Just a few examples: when we arrived she grabbed everyone’s stuff so we didn’t have to walk in with it, she set up the candy buffet and was on guard when needed, my mom had to bring a special drink for my grandma and lost it…Shelly came over to what was wrong and found it within seconds. Best of all I didn’t know of any of the chaos, issues or problems because she didn’t let me know. She took care of everything and really made the day stress free for me. If you are even thinking about hiring a DOC…do it! It was the best thing I could have done for myself! 

Florist: April Oboza    Grade: A+ (recommended by the knot)
April was one of my favorite vendors. She is wonderful when it comes to communication, she never leaves you hanging. She is super sweet and amazing at what she does. I saw these stupid crystal branches and fell in love with them, then nothing could compare. Unfortunately, everywhere I looked, they were way out of my price range. Also, I love roses and apparently they are super expensive too…awesome. I interviewed every florist that was recommended to me from anyone and everywhere. By far, April was the least expensive (I almost cried when she gave me the quote because it was way under my budget) and didn’t try to get be to change my mind and use cheaper flowers. She had wonderful idea to compliment what I wanted not to change them all. She was fun to work with and even introduced me to flower coloring to get exactly what I wanted. When I saw my bouquet I was so excited, but when I walked into the reception I was floored. Everything looked beautiful! She really listened to me and everything I wanted and made it all happen. I was so impressed; from the cake table to the centerpieces she didn’t miss a thing. I feel like she really went above and beyond my expectations.  I can honestly say she was a huge part in completing my wedding vision if you will. I would recommend her to anyone!

Bakery: Friend – Laurie L.    Grade: A+
I really had a hard time spending a ton of money on cake, because I really haven’t been impressed in the past with wedding cake, well that changed. A friend from High School has been working on breaking into the wedding industry and I was so happy she did. We had 5 cake flavors: Lemon (DH and I love lemon), chocolate, raspberry, caramel apple, and vanilla. It was seriously so good. She made edible bows on the side with edible gems in the middle. It really was stunning! Best of all she is extremely affordable! Let me know if you want her info.  

DJ: TNT Productions Tony Thomas                  Grade: A+
Up-lighting: TNT Productions Tony Thomas   Grade: A+
Tony was such a fun DJ. I loved that he checked in with me throughout the year leading up to my wedding. He was one of the first vendors booked and would email me just to see if I have any questions or needed anything. It was really nice to just get a “hey how are you” email throughout the process. He would always answer email promptly and seemed like his phone was always on. Prepping for the wedding was so much fun. He has a lot of really great ideas and is just such a fun person. The night of the wedding he kept the dance floor packed and was really good at reading the crowd. There was still quite the crowd at the end of the night and they were ready to keep dancing when the lights came on. The DJ can really make or break a reception and he made it! 

Tony also provided up-lighting which really added to the room. I really wanted up-lighting but I wasn’t able to find anything in my budget. I mentioned it once to Tony and he was just getting into the business of providing it. He was able to get within my budget and his equipment is really new and safe. His lights aren’t the kind they get extremely hot and are the latest technology. It was completely worth it to get up-lighting; I loved how it completed the room.

Invites: Paper and More     Grade: A (recommended by the knot)
We made our own invitation and they turned out amazing! Everyone thought they were professionally made; it was so wonderful to receive so many compliments after we worked so hard! I would highly recommend it if you have the time and patience, it really saved us a ton of money. We looked at cards and pocket and paper and more. Paper and More had a better selection for what we were looking for and they didn’t disappoint. I loved everything we ordered, it was all true to color and perfect for what we were looking for. I don’t think this is something I would have tackled myself though, DH was saint and helped me throughout the entire process and we wouldn’t have changed it for anything. It took one weekend and the results were priceless.

Save the Dates: Me via vistaprint.com  Grade: A (recommended by the knot)
Vista print is easy to use and everyone loved the magnets. I decided to get the larger magnets and it was totally worth it. It’s pretty cool to go to my friends house 3 months after the wedding and still see my save the date on their fridge.

Dress: Alessandra Bridal              Grade: A
Alterations: Alessandra Bridal     Grade: A-
I love Alessandra! She is just wonderful! My consultant was Fatima and she was so sweet and actually picked out my dress. I explained to her what I liked and she picked out a few dresses and let me pick out a few. I really liked a lot of the dresses, but after I tried on the first dress she stopped me because she knew the perfect dress. She had a hard time finding it, but it was because someone else had it on. The sample was gold and when she showed it to me on the other bride, I didn’t like and neither did the bride, but she asked me to trust her. I was so happy I did. It was perfect! I feel in love instantly, none of the other dresses even compared! I had been to 3 other bridal shops and Alessandra’s had the best service and dress choices. My consultant really listened to me, while still trusting her instincts. I felt like she actually wanted to help me and I didn’t feel rushed or pressured at all.  Also, their alterations, while a little pricy were wonderful. They did an excellent job making sure the detail was still intact when they were done and my dress fit perfectly.

Bridesmaids: I decided to let the BM pick out their own dresses, I just picked the color - I didn't want them to be too matchy so I picked 3 different purples!
Arena Bridal (2)    Grade: C+
I let all of my Bridesmaids and Jr. Bridesmaid pick out their own dresses and 2 really liked a dress I wasn’t able to get online, so we went with Arena. They were terrible. When ordering the dresses they told one of my BM that she needed a larger size and not to kid herself….umm seriously? I told her to order the size she felt and not to listen to the consultant, thankfully she did as I told her to because the dress came in and was too big. It needed to be taken in and we only had 3 weeks to do so. It wasn’t a problem, but if the dress would have been a full size bigger it could have been. We only had 3 weeks because the dresses came in over a month after they said they would and every time I called they acted like it was a huge inconvenience to them. I finally called and when the attitude came on I lost it! It was less than a month to my wedding and I wasn’t going to take the lies anymore and wanted an exact date of arrival. Finally the call back I received was with a genuine apology and date of arrival, but it was a little too late. I would never use them again.
Netbride.com (2)    Grade: A
Netbride gave us a great quote and were significantly cheaper than any store we went to. We were a little leery about sizes without being there to be professionally measured, but they were true to their size charts and everything worked out perfectly, even for my pregnant Matron of Honor. The dresses came in as promised with no problems.
Jaysbridal.net (2)    Grade: A
Pretty much the same as above, Jays Bridal gave us a great quote and were significantly cheaper than any store we went to. We were a little leery about sizes without being there to be professionally measured, but they were true to their size charts. The dresses came in as promised with no problems.
David's Bridal (3)    Grade: A
We went to the DB in Troy and had a wonderful experience. My MOH and Jr. Bridesmaids got really cute dresses that they loved for a reasonable price. Also, the MOH dress was on backorder but still came in 3 weeks before the schedule date they told us.

Honeymoon: Secrets Resorts - Wild Orchid in Montego Bay, Jamaica    Grade: C
Read the reviews on tripadvisor.com, they pretty much sum it up. It looks like a nice place and we really enjoyed ourselves, but because we were a younger couple I guess the staff didn’t think we were going to tip? I don’t know, but half the staff was rude and would barely wait on us. We let it go and got what we needed ourselves. The rooms were okay, but the shower leaked, the tub on the balcony was gross and when the room was cleaned each day the door was open letting in a while new bunch of little friends to fight with. Overall we had a great time, because it was our honeymoon, but we would never go back to Secrets.  

Candy Buffet: Bulk Food Market Place    Grade: A
I bought jars from another knottie and bought the candy from Bulk Food Market Place. Their prices were reasonable and they had quite a bit of candy that was .99/lb which really helped to cut down on cost. The Candy buffet overall was a huge hit!! 

Favors: JAC's Wholesale NC  Acrylic Picture Frame 2 x 8   Grade: A
JAC’s was the most inexpensive place we could find for the size we wanted. They were super easy to work with. Everything came in on time and in great shape. They do warn you that a few can break in shipping and we had 2 that did, but for the price it was worth it just to buy a few extra and not worry about it.

mikeynkrib2011

Ceremony Site:  Lutheran Church of the Master- A++
      -We are members.  Our Pastor is phenomenal and the church is beautiful. 

Reception Site:  The Iroquois- A+++++++++
      - We cannot give enough credit.  The food, venue, staff were so amazing.  They even serve your beverages/alcohol, appetizers and meal.  Our guests didn't have to get up for anything.  Amber, the events coordinator, set up and took down our decor and she was detail oriented and fabulous.  She even arranged a shuttle with our hotel!  
   
Chair Covers/Linens:  AECC Linens-A+
     -Jessica at AECC is so personable and nice.  They are flexible, incredibly well priced and offer an unbelievable array of options and variety.  ($340 for top of the line linens for 14 tables and napkins for a party of 90!) 

Hair: Star @ Runway Salon and Spa - A/ Runway Salon and Spa - B-
     -Incredible!  She knew exactly what I wanted.  I would have given her an A+ except for at my trial she just did what she wanted.  That created some nerves on the day of because I wasn't sure it was going to turn out the way I envisioned....but she exceeded my expectations!  And I got compliments all day/night long!

     -Runway Salon and Spa was unbelievable the day of.  Leading up to that...not so much.  They are quite disorganized, forgot that I paid a $50 deposit, and don't pencil in appointments very far in advance.  They had the 'day' reserved for my bridal party but I couldn't book my time slot until a month before.  This wouldn't have been a problem except for they booked another party and her time slots before mine even though I had reserved with a deposit a year in advance.

Makeup:  Christie Couch-A++++
     -I have never felt so beautiful.  She is truly an artist.  All my girls said it was the best money spent on a wedding and they will use her at their weddings as well. She's worked at fashion shows in New York and LA, and on celebrities like Lauren Conrad.
  
Limo:  Lavdas Limosuine - A+
     -  On time, professional, friendly and accomodating.  Our limo driver was fun, personable and a great guy all-around.
 
Photographer:  Matt Mollan with Mollan Photography - pending
     -  After our previous photographer went MIA (three weeks before our wedding and after we had paid in full!) he swooped in and saved the day.  He was so great, my hubby even mentioned how personable and easy to work with he is!  We don't have any pics, but for his professionalism, humor, and ease in working with...I give an A+ already!
   
Bakery:  Laura Amodeo (www.eleganceinsugar.com) - A+
     -Laura is incredible at what she does, especially if you're looking for buttercream frosting rather than fondant.  Ours was so smooth it literally looked like fondant, and our guests were SHOCKED to find out it wasn't.  Cake was soooooooo moist and delicious.  Better yet, she made sugar flowers that look so real you want to touch them.  On a personal note, she's a tad....well, full of herself.  If you can put that aside, she's an exceptional artist.

DJ:  Brian w/ Platinum Mix Productions - A+
     -Partied all night long!!!!  He was so friendly, called us a few times the week of to confirm everything, and really kept the night smooth sailing.  Unbelievable.  Everybody raved about him.
 
DOC:  Amber with the Iroquois Club - A++++++++++
     -I don't have words for how incredible she is.  She thinks of absolutely everything.  She misses nothing.  I mean it.  I can say she made the day perfect.
 
Officiant:  Pastor Paul Walters w/ Lutheran Church of the Master - A++++
     -We are biased because we're members, but he was thorough, kind, and incorporated personal experiences with us in his sermon.  He had people laughing and crying.  Ceremony was best part of my day.

Bridal Salon:  B. Ella Bridal (Northville, MI) - A
     -  I love them.  They gave me a huge discount, and ordered the dress I wanted in a large sample size so I could see what it looked like zipped up.  15% off to MIL, MOB and BP.  Only downfall is seamstress has super limited hours, so I went somewhere else.

Alterations:  Michelle w/ The Wedding Shoppe - A++++
     - I originally purchased my dress a year and a half before my wedding, right after I had the flu and pneumonia.  When my dress wouldn't zip up a year later and couldn't be let out, I flipped.  Michelle was there to make my dream dress come true.  She added a corset, made a one of a kind bustle, took it in where needed, added a flower on the hip and much much more.  Not only was her work perfect, but she has a zen, calming effect.  And she's fun to match. 

Hotel Block:  The Embassy Suites - F
     -  We had so many problems, it was almost unbelievable.  From room rates, to people being told there wasn't a block available for that weekend, to the shuttle, to being passed along between ten thousand people each time we called.  It was a nightmare.  Don't book with them!

aprillm730

Vendor Reviews

Ceremony Location: St. Raymond’s Catholic Church: B+
Cost: $200 for church, $250 for organist, $50 tip for priest
This is where my parents got married 35 years ago. This is also the church that my grandparents attended for 50 years. It was important to me to get married here. Oh, and it’s totally beautiful! There were no major issues throughout our engagement. The priest at St. Raymond’s advised us to seek a marriage preparation elsewhere because their parish was too small to have their own. The only problems that we had were with the organist who seemed to want to change up my music plan and was not overly cooperative in working with the violinist that we hired. Additionally, he charged an extra $50 for working with an extra musician which made me mad because it wasn’t even like they had an extra practice or anything. He basically did what he normally does and my violinist just went along with him. The only other problem was at our rehearsal. The priest tends to talk a lot, so he spent a lot of time telling stories and not a lot of time instructing us. So, when we left and went to the dinner, everyone was confused and asking questions and clearly nervous about not knowing what to do, especially because we had a full mass. But, in the end, everyone went with the flow and the priest just needed to prompt us a bit, no problems on the actual wedding day. So, overall, the ceremony location was sentimental and beautiful and those things outweighed the stress leading up to it.

Reception Venue: Lakeland Manor: A+
Cost: 30.95/person
We booked Lakeland about 2 years out from our wedding date. From that time, they were amazing to work with. They worked with our budget, offered extras and upgraded our bar when they found out that we referred friends to their other location. We changed our mind on the food a couple of times and they always graciously made any change we requested. We mostly worked with the manager, Craig, who was totally fantastic and really aimed to please. We brought tons of bins that included all of our items to be set up for the reception a few days before. We put diagrams of how they should be set up in there for a friend that was going to go and set it up. When my friend got there, Craig had already set up everything perfectly. My friend was able to just oversee everything and double check the details. The food was wonderful and we are still getting compliments about it. We had family style serving and I really think this was the way to go. Oh, and then we added coney dogs for a late night snack which was a HUGE hit! Overall, the service, food, room/décor were terrific. I highly recommend this venue.

DJ: MEII Entertainment: A
Cost: $550 for the night
Mark is Bryan’s childhood friend. He owns his own entertainment business and gave us the most spectacular deal ever! He has a great personality, attitude and the fact that he knew us and our families made the night more special. He was able to add some commentary to our slideshow, he knew exactly what kind of music we were looking for and everyone loved the selections. He did a great job of announcing the photobooth, keeping peoples interest and keeping us on a good timeline. The reason that I’m not giving an A+ is because there was a few times that it was difficult to get ahold of him or a delay in his email responses. Overall, he did a great job and kept people dancing and having a good time, which was most important to me.  I would highly recommend him.
 
Florist: Courtyard Flowers: A-
Cost: I can’t remember the exact amount but it ended up being less than $1,000.
I visited about 4 florists and Katie at Courtyard was my last appointment. She was by far the cheapest and I felt like she understood my vision and her creativity was really exciting. We had her do our centerpieces (short and tall), boutonnieres, corsages, bridesmaids bouquets and my bouquet. We got tons of compliments on the centerpieces, that they really enhanced the vibe of the reception venue and also got compliments on our bouquets, that they were fun colors that still looked fall-ish. The reason for the A- is that there was quite a bit of hot glue visible on the bouquets, and that the bouquets were not wrapped in ribbon, the stems were in a Styrofoam holder which was then wrapped in ribbon, the white on the Styrofoam was visible and a little embarrassing. I’m not sure if this is normal and all florists do this or if this is something she just does. My bridesmaids said that they didn’t even notice, but who knows. Overall, the flowers looked great in pictures, the centerpieces were totally awesome and everyone seemed to like her work, including me! I would highly recommend her.

Linens: Stephanie’s Wedding Creations: A+
Cost: $1.75/chair cover and $8/table cloth
Stephanie was one of my favorite vendors, she didn’t bug you with questions and emails/phone calls/etc, but she was always available to me when I needed her. I booked her about 1.5 years out from the wedding date and she was always prompt with her communication and always had a positive attitude. When it got close, I was late with paying my balance because I had not received all of my RSVP’s by then, she didn’t make a big deal at all. Also, I changed my mind two times at the end and she totally went with the flow and did everything she could to get me what I wanted. And because I switched my mind at the very end, she wasn’t able to get something that I wanted, so she offered an alternative which ended up being even more beautiful than what I had wanted AND she offered me gold chargers for free just because she couldn’t get what I had originally wanted, even though it was my fault! I really like her and we got a lot of comments on how beautiful the linens were and how it really added to the vibe of the room. I would highly recommend her.

Photo Booth: Rock the Booth A+
Cost: $550
This photo booth, was by far the biggest hit of the night. There was a line the whole time. The attendant was great, keeping everything organized and moving fast! Everything worked perfectly throughout the night , no problems at all. The photo booth is such a great addition to a wedding reception, my guests went crazy for it and when I got the CD in the mail with all of the images (individuals and on strips), it was like reliving the night all over again. I recommend Rock the Booth 100%.

Photographer: Jen MacPherson formally from Amanda Williams Photography: A+++
Cost: $1325 (normally $1250, but we added an extra hour for $75)There is not enough room for me to say all of the things I want to say about Jen. We booked her about a year out from our date. We clicked right away. She “got me”. I felt like we were on the same page. She was on time and kept on a tight schedule. She had a positive attitude and made all of my attendants feel comfortable. She told us exactly what to do and never left us hanging. She was professional and friendly. The website said pictures generally come back after 9 weeks. Well 9 weeks landed on Christmas Eve, so it ended up being a little over 10 weeks, no big deal. The pictures were totally worth the wait. They were everything I hoped they’d be. I LOVE the pictures and I love Jen!

 Transportation: Luxury Limousine of Detroit: C+
Cost: $680 (Normally $580 but we added an extra hour)
I booked this vendor in January of 2009.They were always good with communication, returning calls and following up. Also, we originally booked a hummer but later changed our minds and went with the party bus. They were happy to accommodate us. They were on time and the driver was professional on the wedding day. However, the bus appeared to be dirty and many of the “perks” were not there. The TV was broken, the lights weren’t working inside, etc. Bryan was really bummed about the bus not being in tip top shape and them not offering any discount or taking responsibility and telling us or offering us another vehicle. But, in the end, the driver was good and kept us on schedule and got us to all of the places we needed to be.

Violinist: Kimberly Becker: A+
Cost: $175
Kim was one of the first vendors that I hired. I saw her at a bridal show in November of 2008 and fell in love with her. Her playing nearly brought my mom and me to tears, so we hired her on the spot at the bridal show. We met with her a couple of months before the ceremony and made all of our music selections. We met at her home where she played tons of different options for us and helped us to develop a plan. She understood that I was stressed out by my church’s organist and offered suggestions and she offered to contact him to clear things up and work things out, which I appreciated so much! The day of the wedding, it was hard for me to pay attention but hearing that violin made such a difference in the music throughout the ceremony and mass, it was so beautiful and made a huge difference. I would highly recommend her. She is kind and professional and an amazing musician.

Bakery: Achatz Pies: A-
Cost: $500(ish)
We decided to do pies rather than cake. We wanted something different and pies seemed to fit in with our fall theme and who doesn’t like pie? We booked them about a year or so out and we had to give a $200 refundable deposit. We ended up having 30 pies with about 20 different flavors. The pie was a huge hit and I loved seeing the guests going up there and looking at all of the flavors and deciding on their favorite. We had a ton ton ton ton of compliments, everyone loved the pie idea. One of the best decisions we made by far. There are two reasons why we gave them an A- though, they made us pay to use their stands, and not by a refundable deposit, but an actual fee to rent them, which was high and I don’t think it was necessary. Additionally, we had to deliver them back to the office. The other reason was that we chose more fruit pies to stick with the fall theme, but the cream pies were the ones to go first. When we returned the stands, the sales consultant said that she knew that cream pies went fast and was concerned with our order. I was mad that she didn’t say anything and suggest we order more cream pies! That is what she is there for! But, overall, everyone loved the pie and no one left hungry!

Bridal Gown: Custom made by Dena Donahoe: A+
Cost: $700 (ish)
I must have tried on close to 50 dresses. None of them were “me”. I felt uncomfortable, hot, irritated in them all. I knew in my head what I wanted but I couldn’t find it anywhere. A friend of the family mentioned that their daughter had a dress made, we asked for the designers name and met with her. My mom and I felt like we were visiting an old friend, she was great. She got my vision right away; we went to the fabric store to look at all of our options and got a plan. She drew up a design and it was perfect the first time.  She worked fast and paid attention to detail, wanting everything to be perfect. I felt confident with her the whole time. So, for $700, I got my dress, train and bolero jacket. I highly recommend Dena, my wedding day wouldn’t have been as special without her or her work. Oh, and she and her husband came to the wedding too!

Bridesmaid Dresses: David’s Bridal: A+
Cost: $145
What can I say about David’s that people don’t already know? They’re fast and affordable. We had no problems with them at all. Everything came in on time, as planned and beautiful. No one used them for alterations, but they were great for everything.

Favors: Pankiewicz Cider Mill: A+
Cost: $3.00/apple
We used a local cider mill and had them do caramel apples for us. They are a family owned company and were happy to work with us. They made the apples 2 days before, put them in bags and tied ribbons and our favor tags on them for us. They were very helpful. They did half plain caramel apples and half dipped in fall color sprinkles. They tasted absolutely amazing and they looked beautiful on the tables. I definitely recommend this business, the apples were a huge hit!

Cookies: Linda’s Edible Art: A+
Cost: $36/dozen
We did cookies for my bachelorette party and out of town bags. This lady does out of this world work. She is a true artist. The cookies are a lemon/vanilla flavor and she can do anything! She ships fast and they are super fresh. We have actually used her for lots of things since the wedding, I’m in love with her and her work!