I put all of these on the vendr list, but wanted to highlight on our main vendors.
Historic Bowens Mills
We are having our events at this historic village! We are really excited about it - it was the first and only site we saw. We knew we wanted something unique, and this was perfect. We are not cookie cutter people, and the standard wedding is not us! This is the biggest chunk of our budget,even more the the food (which we have to have all brought in), but its worth it!
Updated: The venue was fabulous! We were able to go in the night before to decorate, which relieved a ton of time in the morning. We had paid the late cleanup fee, and since we were completely cleaned up and torn down by 11:30, the owners came down and returned our clean up fee. We would definately recommend Bowens Mills to any one!!! A+
Adeline Leigh catering
We are super excited about our caterer!!! Wewent to two tastings - the first was to a well known caterer and restuarant in Grand Rapids, MI. We went, were not impressed and very disappointed actually. Two days later we went to Adeline Leigh. At first I was a little confused as the showroom is in an industrial area, but we went in, and I was blown away! The food is phenominal! What was worse is that Jim had to make me stop eating after 3 plates - it was so good! I am truely excited to eat lots of food at my wedding! if it turns out we are too busy greeting people, I will be walking around with my plate!!! This is the only vendor that is not considered a "local" vendor, but its only after considering every single restuarant in our area first! They are one of three caterers listed in The Knots Best of Weddings for 2008 and 2009, and the only one in West Michigan!! Prices are really good too! We are looking at doing anywhere from $9 to $16 a head.
Updated - LOved the food!!! For appetizers we had deviled eggs and deli rollups, then for dinner we had the barbeque buffet - bourbon bbq chicken, grilled portablla mushrooms, bbq salmon, steamed greenbeans, escalloped apples and pecans, salad, veggie tray and rolls. In addition, we had the childrens buffet of chicken fries, pigs in a blanket, apple sauce, plus more. Not too bad for 10.50 an adult and 5.50 a kid (including apps).A+
Laura Munro - Munro Photography
I am so excited to have booked Laura! We met with her back in June, but then things got crazy and while we wanted to call her back up and book her, things kept happening! Anyways, her work is fantastic, and her prices super wicked! She worked for years as an assistant to another photographer, but when they got out of the business, they refused to allow her to use any of the stuff she took, which meant she had to start all over with her portfolio. I found her on Craigs List, had a nice meeting with her (she handled Jim's teasing very well), and while he wanted to look a little bit longer to see what else was out there, there was no one else we looked in the price range. Really excited to have her there on our special day!
Updated -loved working with Laura. She loves details, and I got a quick peek at some of the pics, and am really excite to see the finished product!! Plus she is extremely reasonable. As of 2010, our package included our engagement pictures, the wedding (arrived 2.5 hours before the ceremony and was there till almost 10PM, so roughly 8 hrs) plus we get shared copyright to all of our photos! A steal at $500! A+
DJ - Jim McKinney
Wiser Productions
Kalamazoo, MI
Really excited about booking Jim! I met Jim 13 years ago when he was a substitute teacher at Plainwell High School when our regular teacher was out a semester. He was one of my favorite teachers that year. When I saw him DJ'ing my best friends wedding, I knew he had to do mine!
Updated - very easy to work with, made changes easily and kept the music spinning all night. Played everything exactly like I wanted it. Only downfall was that my slideshow started before it was supposed to, but I think that might have been my brother in laws fault! A
Fantastic Finds
Found my incredible dress at Fantastic Finds in Lansing, MI. My consultant is Donna and is absolutley wonderful. I am truly excited about my wonderful dress! Will put a pic in soon!
Updated - if you want an incredible shopping experience, then go here!! I had been to so many shops, and they felt like they were just crowded and out to make a buck. If you want a Say Yes to the Dress experience, go here. The dresses are incredible!! You get a private room, and they simply cater to you. I purchased and Essence of Australia dress that was not in a 150 mile radius (I know I called all of the other Essence stores). Also had alterations done here, and the work was wonderful. Very easy to get to in Lansing. Prices are a little higher, but the quality of the dresses are incredible. This isnt Davids Bridal! Paid 1450 for my dress thats including it being custom built due to height, 150 for alterations. Ask for Donna, she knows what she is talking about!
After shopping at many stores, we finally found the bridesmaid dresses at Alexa Claire in Portage, MI. We originally went there looking for Mori Lee dresses, only to discover that they were not in yet. We found 2 dresses we loved, but agreed on one by B2, a part of Jasmine Bridal. The dresses were in our budget, we are getting them in the color "Tahiti" and tea-length.
Updated- they turned out fabulous!! The girls looked incredible and my girls all told me they could easily wear it again, either to a nice dinner or a cocktail party! What I liked about the salon is that you are the only people in there so no bumping in to others!
A+
Officiant - Sharon Zinser, Rose Ministry
We met Sharon at the local Barnes & Noble store for our first meeting. Jim and I had a wonderful conversation with her. Will post more as we continue through the process with her.
Updated - Sharon was fabulous. We truly enjoyed her being there. She made sure everything went smoothly at rehearsal and helping my overall vision come to life. $400 A+