Venor Reviews

lcarp203 · November 2010

Sorry – This will be a long post….

My husband and I were married this past Saturday (11/6/2010). We had an amazing day! Everything went as planned. I was ultra prepared and even had a 28 page schedule document for the Rehearsal and Wedding Day. With that being said, I also had 18 months to plan my dream wedding. Having not been one of those little girls who dreamt of her wedding (no, literally, when I started dating my husband, we both never wanted to get married or have children…. Now I am married…) I had no clue what my “dream wedding” would be. So, I did a lot of research! I also interviewed at least 3 vendors for each category. I picked one off of my venues preferred list and then at least 2 of my own. I think this preparation is what maid my day a success, and is also the reason that I graded my vendors highly! They all came through for me on the day of. One last word of advice – don’t stress too much! If you are here, then you must want to get married, so just relax and let the day flow. Everything will be great.

Venue (Ceremony and Reception): Starfire at Scottsdale Country Club
Website: http://sccweddings.com/
Grade: A

From the beginning the staff at Starfire was great. There was a staff change about 3 months prior to my wedding. New special events coordinators are Shane and Sandy. Shane is new to Starfire but Sandy has been there for over 9 years. Shane was flexible and easy to work with. He really accommodated my every request, even if it was a hassle for him. Sandy knows a lot about the course and the country club. She is a great resource. Another employee who deserves mention is Russ. He, like Sandy, has been around Starfire for many years. He knows the in’s and out’s of banquets and can answer any questions. He does it all from set up, manning the bar and closing everything down. All in all, every employee was great. I got complements all night on how nice they were and how hard they worked to make the night amazing for the guests. I also received a lot of compliments on the food. My only complaint was that they seemed a little rushed getting the venue set up. Some of this could be from all of my extra requests. However, my friends and family that were there helping thought they just got a late start. They also put my carving station a little out of the way. I think some guests may have missed it. But in the end, it all came together.

Hair: Sara Bonilla – Moments Salon
Website: http://www.salonmoments.com/
Grade: A+

This is the girl who always cuts my hair. She is amazing! I loved my hair, it stayed all night. Not much else to say! I would recommend Sarah for an up-do or an everyday cut and style. My suggestion to all brides no matter who does your hair is to DO A TRIAL RUN!!!! Although Sara knew my hair, she had never done an updo for me. So, this helped me and her know how many bobby pins and how much hair spray was needed to keep my hair all night! Yes, this is an extra expense, but it is well worth it when you do not have to worry about your hair on your wedding day!

Makeup: Makeup by Jen B
Website: http://www.makeupbyjenb.com/
Grade: A+

Jen is super friendly and does great work! She comes to you and creates a relaxed atmosphere on your day of. Jen is professional and was on time to my trial and on the day of the wedding. I got tons of complements on my makeup the day of. I couldn’t have been happier! Airbrush makeup is the way to go! It stayed all night! Was well worth the money spent! She took an hour on my make up and my pictures look great because of her!

Dress: Almond Tree Wedding Boutique
Website: http://almondtreeweddings.vpweb.com/
Grade: A+

Owners Pam and Pam were friendly and accommodating. They spent a lot of one on one time helping me try on dresses without the high pressure sales pitch. They have a great selection in all sizes and you can’t beat the price! If you want a designer dress at great prices, start here! Don’t forget to make an appointment – you wont be disappointed!

Alterations: Janet Kirkman
Website: www.janetkirkman.com/
Grade: A+

It was super easy working with Janet! She worked around my schedule and made the process a breeze! Great work and reasonable prices! I am so glad I didn’t even consider going anywhere else! Janet made the alterations process low stress!

Linens: Premier Events
Website: http://premiereventsaz.com/
Grade: A

I was very happy that I booked through Premier Events. They have gorgeous linens and they were great to work with! My contact with Jill and she really took her time to help me get the desired look. I went down there twice before placing an order and she never made me feel rushed. You are able to pull linens off the rack and try them on tables. I mixed and matched linens, runners and more before I finally settled on a look. I met with another linen company and there was no comparison in service, but the price was in the ball park of Premier Events. My linens showed up on time. They looked great!

Cake: Graceful Cake Creations
Website: http://www.gracefulcakecreations.com/
Grade: A

My cake was AMAZING! I would like to thank Grace for making the cake of my dreams! The design was perfect and the taste was out of this world!    The cake was so good, we ran out!   I ordered cake for 100 and we only had 75 guests. People were taking 2-3 slices and continually told me that it was the best wedding cake they had tasted! I was a little disappointed that there was none left because I was so busy I didn’t eat any. FI and I served the top as well because lord knows I don’t need to eat a wedding cake topper by myself! So, I am looking forward to my first anniversary when we get our complimentary top cake! I ordered lemon as the top, red velvet as the middle and pink champagne and strawberries as the bottom layer. People raved about the red velvet and pink champagne with strawberries! I know Grace is not one of the more popular cake vendors in the area. But, I met with all of the popular ones (Piece of Cake, Let them Eat Cake, Bamboo Bakery), and there is no comparison to Grace’s cakes! She also has the best tastings ever! We were given about 10 – 12 unfrosted cupcakes and about 6-8 cups of filling and frosting so we could mix and match! All of them were to die for, so picking 3 was hard! My only complaint was that she was a little slow with communication.

Flowers: Ever After Florals
Website: http://everafterflorals.com/
Grade: A+

I love Jen with Ever After Florals! She was super helpful and made my vision into a reality! She was well priced and easy to work with! I met with 3 other vendors including her and by far she was the most professional! My flowers were lovely and I received tons of complements from guests, the venue and the other vendors! Jen has great attention to detail and sincerely wanted to make my dreams come true! Jen also knew my DJ and Photographer so it was great to have all three working together to make my décor come together! The DJ lit the candles in the centerpieces while the photographer snapped pictures of the flowers for the DJ! This is someone who is truly passionate!

Officiant: Pastor Mark Faul
Website: http://www.tperfectwedding.net/
Grade: Grade A+++

This was the vendor that surprised me beyond belief! I could not have asked for a better person to perform my ceremony! He worked to understand my and my husband! The ceremony was amazing and beautiful! I have several Jewish friends who attended my ceremony and every single one of them raved about how unique and positive his message was! Some of my more religious friends could not believe that he could prepare a ceremony so true to us and asked us when we started going to church because they thought there was no way someone could have known us so well. I wish Pastor Mark still was part of a church – then maybe we would actually attend more regularly! He gave an absolutely beautiful non religious ceremony!

Transportation: AZ Sedan Transportation
Website: http://azsedantransportation.com/
Grade: C

This was the only vendor that I let FI book without me. And, I was a little disappointed. They showed up on time to get me to and from the venue, however, the drivers were not friendly and the company seemed to not be very well run. They were not sure if they got paid or not, which was something I did not want to deal with on my wedding day. If I had it to do over again, I would have looked into a more established or larger transportation company. This was just a little snag, but was annoying at the time. Not a horrible vendor, just not the best.

Photographer: Drew Brashler Photo
Website: http://www.brashlerphoto.com/
Grade: A+

Great photographer! Great bang for your buck! Drew is young but has an amazing talent for catching great moments. I think that his age is what made us connect with him. His style was just what we wanted and he was able to really capture the moments and emotions on the day of. We have not received our wedding pictures back yet, but based on my engagement session, I know they will be great! Communication with Drew was great. His assistant Rick was great too! If you need a great photographer and a good price, look no further! I really wish we had our photos back because I feel like I am not doing him justice on this review. But, at least meet with him, I don’t think you will be disappointed!  I meet with 8-10 photographers and ended up going with Drew and I am so glad I did!

DJ: Teffanie with Face the Music
Website: http://www.facethemusicentertainment.com/
Grade: A+

Teffanie was the life of the party! I heard lots of guest whispering “the DJ is a girl”, but, don’t be worried, this girl was amazing! She was well organized, up beat, positive but most of all, she got the guest involved. Guest were commenting all night how my husband and I included them in everything, but that was not us, that was Teffanie! My parents loved her, which was great, because what 60 year olds love a DJ! She really took the time to know my husband and I as well as our families! My wedding would have not been the same without her!

Photobooth: A2Z Photobooth
Website: http://www.a2zphotobooths.com/
Grade: A

Booked with the owner Chris because of a 50 percent off Cinco De Mayo promotion. They were good and easy to work with. I didn’t have a lot of communication with them after booking, however, why would you. But, the 2 weeks before my wedding they were great! They delivered the booth on time and then set a lovely young girl, Mary, back to run it. Mary was great! She was super friendly and truly enjoyed being there! She was dancing by the booth all night while helping my guests in the booth! If you are interested in a photobooth, I will let you know that it was worth the money I spent. I did the basic package for 4 hours and no props. It was perfect. You walk away with the book that night!

Tux/Suit: Macys The wedding party got their suits from Macys. We bought them. Nothing too much to report on.

Veil: The Veil Shop
Website: www.veilshop.com/
Grade: A

It was simple. I ordered the samples, matched it to my dress and then ordered the final product. They provide tons of informational videos on their site so you know what to order. No complaints, however, I just wanted a simple veil. This was a great option for me.

Invitations: Cards and Pockets
Website: http://www.cardsandpockets.com/
Grade: A

This is a great company to work with. I ordered all of my paper products from them as well as hiring them to do my design work. They were quick and really worked with me to get the final product to be just what I had envisioned. Their prices can’t be beat for the design work or the paper! Their printing prices are extremely low as well! My only compliant is that their shipping cost is very pricey. So, make sure you order everything you need at once. Also, they are a little slow to ship. It took a good 7 business days to get shipments. I did have one mix up where they mailed me the incorrect size of something. They fixed the problem, but did not really offer any compensation. I was a little annoyed because it delayed me about 2 weeks in mailing my invites. I started the process early enough so they were still mailed well enough in advance. It was just a little annoying and a small snag in the process.

Rehearsal Dinner: Grimaldi’s Old Towne Scottsdale
Website: http://www.grimaldispizzeria.com/
Grade: A

This is a great inexpensive place to hold your rehearsal dinner. My only concern going into it is that the staff seemed to change frequently in the banquet department. I went through 4 different contacts from the time I booked to the time of my dinner. However, the last contact (Joey) was great! His communication was great, everything went smoothly the day of and the food was amazing! I got tons of complements on the food, which is always a good thing! Also, the bar tenders and the wait staff were accommodating and friendly!

Celles · November 2010

28 pages?! Wow! I wish I was a tenth as organized as you! (btw, Teff said that she was completely blown away by how organized you are. She's never had a bride who was so prepared.

)

Thank you for these, Lindsay! Needless to say, this makes me incredibly excited for my own wedding.

Especially the A++++ on Mark Faul, since that's the one vendor that has FI and I nervous. Not because we don't trust Mark, but because we want such different things from a wedding ceremony we have no idea how he'll manage to blend them.

I can't wait for your pictures. The one in your sig is awesome! You look so pretty and happy!

sarahbutchin · November 2010

Thanks so so so much. These reviews are really going to help out :-)

guamibear · November 2010

Great reviews! Congrats on being a MRS!

evilstepmom · November 2010

Thanks for taking the time to give reviews!

Congrats!

Venor Reviews

Re: Venor Reviews

Choose Another Board

Search Boards