It's so great to finally be married! We tied the knot October 8. We were so fortunate to have amazing vendors all around. I put reviews below that have the typical grading scale. You can read the whole blub or just the bullet points for each if you're in a hurry. Everyone got an A or an A+ not because I'm an easy grader but because they really deserve it. If you have any questions about our experiences with these vendors, feel free to contact me: lauren.donaldson@gmail.com
Reception - Soldiers & Sailors - A+The ballroom at Soldiers and Sailors, in Oakland, isn't necessarily one of the first venues people think of when planning a wedding, and that makes it a truly hidden gem. This space is perfect for a wedding reception, and the people who work there are phenomenal. Marjorie is in charge, and she's one of nicest people I've ever encountered. The whole team is so sweet and accommodating. Throughout the whole process they answered as many questions as we could throw at them and helped us determine the best way to coordinate all the pieces of our reception.
- Fantastic team to work with.
- Flexibility to arrange the room exactly how you want it (the whole floor is a dance floor)
- Ability to have cocktail hour outside (amazing when the weather is nice)
- Equipment for slideshows
- Gorgeous ballroom space
Caterers - All the Best Catering - AThe only reason I don't have a plus next to the A is because sometimes it takes some nudging to get a response through email or voicemail, but I think that's simply because these guys are so busy doing a fabulous job at the event(s) they're working any given week. We needed a flexible catering team that would allow us to incorporate some Indian dishes. Their chef was nervous, but he executed two Indian dishes wonderfully. They even allowed us to have an extra tasting to make sure he could get those tasting right.
The day of coordinator, Judee, gets an A+ for sure. She's the person who's in charge of all the servers, but she did so much more than that. She really coordinated the whole reception (made sure everything went on the tables, set up our escort cards, set up other tables, completely laid out the entire cookie table, etc.). Without her, we would have had to come and do it all ourselves.
- Flexibility to go "off menu"
- Delicious food
- Friendly wait staff
- Helpful day of coordinator
Photographers - The Brand Studio - A+Sean and John, the dynamic duo that makes up The Brand Studio, are fantastic. They were a pleasure to deal with throughout the entire wedding planning process. Not only did they give us wonderful information to help us make sure we got the best photos, but they also offered their recommendations for other vendors when we asked, and helped with the finer details of the day when we sought their advice. They are true pros and their pictures are just stunning. You will pay a bit more for them, but they are worth every penny.
- Friendly and knowledgable
- Gorgeous album layouts that tell a story
- Stunning photos and slideshows
Videographers - Video Horizons LLC - A+*Eric and his wife Marger are the Video Horizons team. Eric has an impressive resume (he used to do videos for David Copperfield, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Juanes), and his professionalism is apparent the first time you speak to him. He is also so incredibly helpful during the planning process--he has a lot of contacts and is always willing to offer vendor recommendations.
During the day of the wedding, I only saw Eric and Marger if they came up to me specifically to ask or tell me something. They were the most unobtrusive videographers I have ever encountered at a wedding. It is a true compliment to Eric that I can say I hardly knew he was there.
I put the asterisk because I don't have the video yet so I am only grading on the experience of dealing with Video Horizons before and on the wedding day. But after viewing past videos they have done, I am sure our video will be phenomenal.
- Great husband and wife videography team; incredibly professional
- Incredible past experience
- You won't even know they are around... so unobtrusive
- Sample videos I saw weren't schmaltzy
DJ - Dave Penn - A+Here's a fun fact: DJ Dave Penn is our videographer's brother. And DJ Dave Penn is awesome. We told him exactly the type of vibe we wanted for the night, and he nailed it. He played the perfect songs and had everyone on the dance floor all night. And it certainly helps that he's been blessed with a "DJ voice." You can find out more about him on his brother's website (he created a video about him):
http://www.videohorizonsllc.com/DJ%20Dave%20Penn.html- Great "DJ voice"
- Will craft the night based on the type of music and vibe you want
- Incredibly easy to get in touch with
- Tons of experience (he's been doing this for many, many years)
Florist - KS Kennedy - A+Kerry Kennedy is an AMAZING florist. I can't say enough kind words about Kerry as a person. As for his work, it speaks for itself. He's a talented man who knows how to put together beautiful arrangements. I told Kerry the colors I wanted in my bouquets, reception arrangements, etc. I also told him I love texture and gave him a few printouts of things I had seen online that I liked for one reason or another. Then I told him to just go and work his magic. I didn't worry about how my flowers would turn out for one second before the wedding. I just knew they were going to be amazing. It was so easy to trust Kerry, and I'm glad I did. He came through and then some. All of the flowers were beautiful. He captured the look and feel I wanted perfectly, and everything was where it needed to be on time (early even!). Kerry is a gem and I am so happy I got to work with him. If I ever need flowers again, his shop will be my one and only stop.
- Lots of experience in the flower industry that makes him incredibly knowledgeable
- Simply a pleasure to work with
- Able to create beautiful arrangements without a lot of direction (just let him do his magic!)
- Easy to get in touch with
Cakes - Prantl's Bakery - A+I ordered two cakes from Prantl's--a wedding cake and a surprise groom's cake. Both turned out fabulous. I wanted a very specific design on my wedding cake, and Prantl's was the first bakery that didn't tell me they would charge me an arm and a leg to do it. They were happy to do it, and it came out beautiful. As for the groom's cake, the owner of the bakery spent time on the phone with me going over ideas for the perfect cake. It was sweet of her to help me brainstorm. In the end, they made an awesome cake (it had the Pittsburgh skyline around the side and the Steelers, Penguins, and Pirates logos on top with the words "Pittsburgh Pride"). But that A+ isn't awarded simply for decoration. They tasted amazing, too.
- Willing to use designs you want.
- Great wedding cakes and groom's cakes.
- DELICIOUS!
Makeup - Susie K. - A+Susie is actually a friend of my sister-in-law, and she's been doing bridal makeup for a few years now. She was amazing. She was super calm and worked on me, 6 bridesmaids, my Mom, and two Grams by herself. Everyone looked stunning. She really knows how to bring out the best features on a person's face. And, most importantly, when she's done she really wants to know what you think. She doesn't take offense if you want more or less of something. She just wants you to feel awesome. If you want her info, get in touch with me.
- Talented and so friendly.
- Can do airbrushing and lashes
- Will do a trial
Wedding Dress - MB Bride - A+I had nothing but positive experiences at MB Bride. During my first dress shopping experience, at Alfred Angelo, I found a dress I loved. When I went to MB Bride, I told my consultant our goal was to beat that dress or that's the one I would go with. Sue was phenomenal. She helped me try on lots of different dresses. They even had the one I fell in love with at Alfred Angelo, and ultimately I did get it... but at MB Bride. It was cheaper there. I also had a great experience with the alterations department. They made the dress flawless and they were a joy to be around during the appointments. I was really pleased with the service.
- Friendly consultant and alterations staff
- Can send questions by email or call
- Nice to have alterations in your package
Limo - Exceptional Limousine - AWe hired the 18-person limo coach for four hours. It limo showed up on time exactly where it was supposed to. The driver was incredibly friendly and knew where he was going. He got us where we needed to go in good time and did it with a smile on his face. They don't get the added + only because the limo would get a bit hot, especially before the ceremony when I was feeling a bit overheated from the nerves anyway. It seemed like it wasn't easy to keep it really cool. But other than that, everything was great. The limo was stocked with plenty of drinks and my whole wedding party fit well (13 people).
- Arrived on time
- Friendly driver
- Some A/C issues
Buses - Quest Coach - AWe hired two buses to help get guests from the hotel to ceremony and back to the reception. The buses arrived on time and followed a schedule of getting people between the ceremony, reception, and hotels throughout the night. One of the vehicles did break down when it was supposed to shuttle folks to one of the hotels. But the driver alerted us, got a new bus, and made sure to find the people who were supposed to be on it so she could get them back.
- Bus break down! But they fixed the problem perfectly.
- On time
- Pretty good rates
Other Incredibly Useful Stores and Sitescardsandpockets.com: I ordered the invitation pocketfolds and envelopes from this site. Really good prices and everything came in perfect condition.
catprint.com: I used catprint to print our Save the Dates. The printing was beautiful and they are so, so helpful. If you send a question by email, you will get a response that day.