Hello Knotties!
I survived the wedding, had a blast on the honeymoon, and am now moved into my new husband's apartment and adjusting to life as a WIFE!
This board was my savior during wedding-planning time, so now I'll return the favor and give some vendor reviews for our Milwaukee-area wedding. Here we go!
Photographer: Lisa Mathewson = A+
I don't have enough great things to say about Lisa! She is such a raw talent, so easy to work with, and her photos are GORGEOUS! She posts a blog a few days after every wedding she does with some preview pictures, so here's mine if you'd like to check it out:
Cannot wait to see the rest!
Reception: Silver Spring Golf & Banquet Center = A
This country club is in Menomonee Falls, and everything about it is gorgeous! The grounds, the building, the banquet hall. Our room was the largest, called the Tremont Room, with large floor-to-ceiling windows to give the venue a TON of natural light. Also, a huge dance floor! The staff did a great job making everything look beautiful, and the food is FANTASTIC!
DJ: Midwest Sound = A+
I booked Midwest Sound despite mixed reviews from messaging boards like this. I went with them anyway because their price was unbeatable, and I am not disappointed in the least! Our DJ, Alfonso, was the best! He communicated everything with me and my husband throughout the night, coordinating things so I didn't have to worry about it. And when the Cupid Shuffle came on, he was out on the dance floor with us! Loved him!
Cake: A Little Slice of Heaven = A
Lynn Reimer heads Little Slice of Heaven, baking wedding cakes out of her lovely home in Oconomowoc. Her prices were more reasonable than store-front bakeries, and I knew her specialty, the champagne cake with raspberry filling, was THE cake when my guy and I went to the tasting. I don't even like cake (not kidding) but liked this one. Then at the wedding, I got several compliments on how good the cake was, one guest told me it was honestly the best wedding cake she's ever had! Not to mention, the cake was beautiful. Here's her website:
http://litlsliceofheaven.com/
Dress: Kay Bridal = A
This Wauwatosa bridal shop is tiny, but superb. It carries a great line of gowns, and the owner, Lisa, is so helpful and sweet! The shop is so small that she literally takes one appointment at a time and locks up the shop so it's just you and your party in there. Makes you feel pretty VIP. She keeps her sample gowns in PRISTINE condition, so much so that when I found my dream dress several hundred dollars over my budget, she sold the sample to me at half price. The sample was in great condition, only needed the zipper replaced and the size taken from a 10 down to a 6. Total steal! Which brings me to...
Alterations: Becky's Custom Sewing = A+++
Probably one of my favorite vendors. Maybe my favorite, I don't know, but she is AMAZING. She came highly recommended to me right here on this Wisconsin wedding board. The shop owner at Kay Bridal had sent me first to her go-to wedding gown seamstress Mary Robbins, who quoted me at over $600 for alterations. No thanks! So following the advice of my fellow Knotties, I took the gown out to Becky in Bay View, who said it wouldn't be any more than $200. She did a FANTASTIC job on my gown, it's seriously unbelievable! Took it down from a size 10, replaced the zipper, sewed in bra cups, created a beautiful French bustle, and pressed it all for the grand total of $135. I cannot recommend her enough!
Transportation: First Choice Limo = B-
I booked a party bus to take my wedding party from the ceremony to the picture locations and then to the reception. I wanted a party bus so badly, but was pretty deflated during my research to find they were priced usually between $600-$900 even though we only needed them for 2 hours (most demand minimum of 3 hours). I began to worry our budget couldn't make room for this, until I found First Choice Limo, which is based out of Kenosha. Their minimum was 2 hours (perfect!), for a total of $400 (not including driver's tip). I nabbed this great deal, but felt some uneasiness as to the lack of professionalism. This is a startup company run by a pair of brothers. I was nervous leading up to the wedding, since they had never signed their end of the contract or gotten back to me on it, so I was worried they wouldn't show up on the wedding day. Lo and behold, they did, and it was great! I gave them a slightly lower scoring only due to the less-than-professional business of booking, contracts, etc., and also, because the air conditioning on the bus wasn't enough to compete with the hot August day. Other than that, can't beat the price!
Hair: Carenza = A
I was told about Carenza in Brookfield by a friend of mine who got married back in April. I decided on them due to their pretty reasonable prices (my updo for the wedding was $55--not bad!). My stylist was Jacki, an extremely bubbly, opinionated, and talented girl who I felt 100% comfortable with. We volleyed around ideas during the trial, and when I still felt like something was off about it, she agreed and on the wedding day made it totally right. I loved my wedding hair and Carenza! Also, I had my false eyelashes applied for only $15 and loved them. They look great in the wedding pictures!
Makeup: ME! = A
Haha yes, that is me as in me. I did not once even consider having my makeup professionally done, because I know how I like my makeup to look and don't want some stranger making me look like a clown. Also, I don't like my face being touched. So, months and months before the wedding I hit the Lancome counter at Boston Store and stocked up on some quality stuff. I practiced with it until I knew how I wanted my day-of makeup to look. For foundation, I used Lancome's Teint Miracle, a sheer-but-buildable coverage liquid makeup that is meant to look natural, like you have perfect glowing skin. I love this stuff! Plus, it stays put ALL DAY. Not kidding. I then used their translucent mineral setting powder, Lancome blush in Cedar Rose (again,very natural-looking), and one of their eye-quads for eyeshadow. I also bought lots of Eco-Tools makeup brushes from Walgreens (less expensive than Lancome but still great quality) for application, since good brushes are loads better than makeup sponges. Pretty sure I'm now a Lancome fan for life!
Linens: Linentablecloth.com = B
For the basics, I just used the venues white linens (tablecloths, napkins, etc.), but I wanted some color and wasn't about to pay $4 a pop to rent their table runners. So I found linentablecloth.com and found satin table runners in exactly the color I wanted (Sage!) for almost half the price. When they arrived, I was extremely pleased with the color and texture of the satin. My only complaint would be the workmanship of the pieces, the sewing seems to be a little uneven in some spots, but hey, who would notice? Can't beat the price. (side note: If anyone is in need of some sage satin table runners, I have 25 total to sell! In great shape. Inbox me)
Florist: Judy Hill = A-
Judy Hill does flowers as a hobby out of her Wauwatosa home. She was recommended by my now-MIL, who used her for my husband's sister's wedding. Judy's flowers were gorgeous (can be seen on my photographer's blog, linked in the first review). Her creativity is great, her prices very reasonable. My one complaint would be lack of communication. She often didn't respond to emails, which can be extremely frustrating for a bride who likes to keep in close contact with her vendors! But I'm still so pleased with how all the flowers turned out, my bouquet especially!
I think that's it! If I'm missing anything important, let me know. Or if you have any additional questions, please ask!