I got married on July 9th.
Church: St. Bernadette in Monroeville. First we had all our meeting with Father Ed and 3 weeks before our ceremony we were informed he left the church and Father Tony would be performing our ceremony. We were a little dissapointed at first since we really liked father Ed but Father Tony was GREAT!! So many people told us that we had the nicest ceremony they had ever seen. He really was awesome. Grade: A++
Venue: Doubletree in Monroeville. This is a tough one. The coordinator there Kimmy was great and got back to me very quickly with all my questions. The only down side was 2 weeks before our wedding she informed me our room was double booked. The other group needed equip that only could be used in the room we picked so we had to be moved since they wouldn't have time to tear down the room in time. I was highly irritated because how did they not know this until 2 weeks prior. The other room was nice and it wasn't a huge deal but just a little concerning that they didn't know this earlier. It's wasn't Kimmy's fault since she was out on maternity leave when we booked and i guess the computer had glitches in it and was never suppose to allow this thing to happen. Overall though the service anf food was great. The hotel bar was great and stayed open till 130AM and had plenty of room for our guests to hang out after the reception. The rooms were nice but the hallways were not air conditioned....weird. Overall the experience was a good one. Just hard to grade since they had a major flub. Grade: B-
Hair and makeup: Details Salon in Murrysville Janet did my make up and Pam did my hair. The salon was was very friendly and provided us with mamosas, and chocolate covered things. We also brought bagels for the girls. Janet did a great job with my make up and even did one of my bridesmaids for free since she was from South Dakota and had some flooding issues there. Pam did my hair and wouldn't let me leave until I it was exactly what I wanted. Several other Girls did my bridesmaids hair as well. Grade: A-
Limo: Red Carpet limosine. We got a Ford Excursion 16 person for just around 900 bucks for 4hours. He picked the girls up at the hotel and dropped us off at the church then went back and got the boys. Also took the wedding party to the park for pictures. They were on time and the limo was clean and stocked with water, pop, and liquor. We brought our own beer. He did get lost for 5min going to the park but turned around right away. Overall experience was good. Grade: A-
Photographer: David Smith. He is a photo journalist for WVU and got some great shots throughout the day. He really worked ALL day. Starting at the salon around 10AM and then finishing at 11PM. He was very resonable in price as well and had our pictures posted within 2 weeks. We also got the rights to our photos. David definately went above and beyond for us.
www.dsmithweddings.com Grade: A+
DJ's: Jeff Kridler and his 2 brothers. he was the DJ at a friend of ours wedding and we liked him so we booked him for ours. Basically its 3 brothers who DJ as a side job and more of like a hobby. They were awesome! Our dance floor was packed and even with the extra hour added to the reception it was still packed till the last song. We couldn't believe it. They played all of our requests and even took requests from our guests. They were vary laid back and weren't trying to be cool on the mic all night. Price was great too. 4 hours for 750 plus 1 hour for 150. They were terrific. Grade A+
Cake: Oakmont Bakery. We got the white almond with raspberry filling. Cake was great just thought the pieces were kinda small but no big deal since we had a ton of cookies. I am not really a cake peson but this was delicious. Grade: B+
Florist: Della Robbia. Jim was recommended from a friend and he ironically had his shop 5 min from my parents house. Jim was great! The flowers were pretty and what i had asked for. I think he is in the mid range for price. He was helpful with suggesting what goes well with what. Grade: A-
Florist for the reception: Carrie Ann Powell. She was the vendor that Doubletree works wiith and ironically she lives in the town i grew up as well. She was super sweet and just so helpful. I had no clue as to centerpieces and she sent me photos to choose from. The were very pretty. We ended up doing 3 piller vases with water and rose petals and a floating candle. Again she was super nice. Grade: A+
Honeymoon: Domnican Republic. Majestic Colonial. Awesome honeymoon great staff and wonderful all inclusive resort. Got special perks for being honeymooners. Grade A+
Hope this helps for new brides to be. If you have any questions PM me.