We were married on August 27th! This was a great resource to me through the planning stages and I appreciated everyone's help and advice. I hope my reviews are helpful to you all!
Dress
Mara's Elegant Bridal
Mt. Horeb, WI
A+++
I bought my dress and jewelry (MEG) here. Mara the owner is awesome and so is Rachel the woman that helped me find my dress. The customer service is out of this world and made it well worth the drive (I live in Pewaukee and didn't think twice about the trips to Mt. Horeb). Mara must have responded to a dozen emails from me before I decided to check out her shop and it was that kind of thoughful and responsive help that she gave that made me want to patronize her shop! The shop is beautiful, the atmosphere is fun and the prices are totally reasonable. It was a really fun and memorable experience that I shared with my Mom and will treasure! I will actually miss Mara and Rachel.
Groom's Suit
Jos A Bank
Brookfield, WI
A+
My husband decided that he wanted to wear a suit rather than a tux, something he could wear again. He purchased his suit and shoes from Jos A Bank because he has bought suits there previously, the customer service and quality of clothing is exceptional.
Ties for Groomsmen
Boston Store
Brookfield Square
A++
We decided to look for ties at all of the major department stores and Boston Store had a great selection of ties, great prices and the most helpful female sales associate (I wish I could remember her name). She dug through half of the store and called other stores in an effort to help us find 8 ties. She was great! The ties were of high quality and looked really nice on all of the guys!
Church
Saint Sebastian Catholic Church
Milwaukee, WI
A++
Over a year of preparation and planning, everyone was really great and helpful in assisting us through the process of planning a Catholic wedding. Julia, the primary marriage contact for the church is incredible, I can't say enough nice things about her. Mike, the liturgical minister is also a wonderful person who was instrumental in helping us prepare for and plan our ceremony. Father Aiken, our officiant was wonderful. Overall, very organized and helpful while being more on the layed back side. We love this church and are so thankful that we found a church where we are comfortable!
Reception Venue
Hubbard Park Lodge
Shorewood, WI
A++
I am so happy that we found this hidden gem in Shorewood! It is so unique and beautiful but most impressive are their policies (not too many) and their prices! They give you a lot for free compared to other venues that we looked at (table stand, table numbers, 3 votive candles for every table, glassware, parking, cake cutting). They allow you bring in cake from where ever you want, which allowed us to have a friend bake our wedding cake, which we really wanted. They do their own catering which made that one less thing for us to look into. The food was great (despite a few complaints, burnt croutons, wilted lettuce in the salads and greasy chicken fingers in the kid's meals) and the service was even better. They also allow a lot of room to decorate and are very accomodating. Catherine, one of the banquet managers was absolutely incredible and I cannot thank her enough for all of her help, she is professional and responsive and does an impeccible job! I was so relieved that she was the one "on duty" for our reception.
We did pay 75.00 for the use of a golf cart that I never did see, but as soon as I confirm that our coordinator and decorator did not use it, I am sure that they will refund the cost. I would recommend Hubbard Park Lodge!
Florist
Kummer's in Bloom
Karen Korene
Milwaukee, WI
A-
Karen did a great job with our flowers, they were beautiful! Her prices are great and she is easy to work with as far as creativity and ideas! I wish that we would have had a higher budget because I would have loved to see what she could have done with pew decorations and centerpieces (we only had her do bouquets, bouts, flower girl pom and corsages).
She is a little high strung, which makes her very good at what she does, but is also a little exhausting at times. I wish she would have been at the church when we arrived to pin the bouts on the guys, etc. My Mom ended up having to do this. She also put purple flowers in my bridesmaid bouquets which I did not ask for or care for, but it was still pretty. I am assuming that something happened with the blue flowers that were supposed to be there but since I did not see her on the wedding day (she was decorationg our reception venue) I have no way of knowing.
DJ
Midwest Sound
Waukesha, WI
Dana
B-
They were prompt, sound and lighting were good. Price was great! Their online tools for planning and choosing songs (must play, do not play) were so awesome, easy to use and fun to do. My only complaint is that I made a special request to have a song played and dedicated to my Mom and Mother-in-Law from me which the DJ discussed with me in advance and never played. Overall, a good experience and good job.
Photographer
Front Room Photography
Bayview, WI
Carl
A+
Carl was great, easy to work with and took some great and really creative shots. I can't wait to see the CD! Front Room was great to work with! They are expensive but well worth every penny. We could not afford their packages, so they worked with us to create one that we could afford and it really has been a pleasure working with them! They are very professional and we always felt that we were in good hands and never worried about what (to us) was the most important vendor that we could hire, the one that would provide us with the only lasting physical memories from our wedding day!
The individual bride/bridesmaid and groom/groomsmen pics and the family pics in the church were not as high quality as some of the more casual ones, so if you are looking for only real formal pics, this may not be the photographer for you.
Good luck and happy planning to all of you! I wish you joy and happiness as you look forward to your own weddings!