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Wisconsin
Wedding Vendor Review
I just got married on May 7 and have seen a lot of Milwaukee brides doing reviews so I thought I would do one for brides in the Madison area. Hope it helps!!
Dress: Vera's House of Bridal Clearance Center Janesville: A
When I first arrived, I wasn't quite sure the style nor the amount I wanted to spend. The lady that helped us took us upstairs to where the wedding gowns are housed and let us look around at each other rooms where the gowns are so we could get an idea for what I was looking for. I knew I wanted something that was more fitted and not real poofy on the bottom. To help you make a decision, she had you rank the dress and have you pick a top 3 so you didn't have to chose from a ton at the end. When you liked a new dress, she would ask you if you wanted to replace one of your top 3 with it or not. At the end, she has you look at your top 3 and see if one of them stands out or is one that you want. When I found mine, no other dress could compare to it. Once you have found your dress, they show you the veils and accessories so you can look at them and see if you want any of them. It definitely made it more surreal than! Vera, the owner, even comes and talks to you. The whole time we felt like we were special and their main priority.
Flowers: Simply Glamorous Designs Oregon: A
One of our friends who was getting married two weeks after us actually suggested Sarah and this business to me and I am thankful she did! I do not know much about kinds of flowers nor what is in season. I had some ideas for what I wanted but LOVED the ideas she suggested. She was great at showing me different ideas that she could do and pictures of arrangements she has done previously before. I was doing a snowflake themed wedding which some people thought it was weird we were doing it in May but she loved it. She helped come up with ideas for things that even I didn't think of. On the day of, she was right there helping to hand out the flowers and make sure everyone had what they were supposed to. The flowers turned out amazing too! I LOVED my bouquet and the girls' as well.She uses magnets for the boutinneires (sp?) so that you dont have to poke anyone with a needle and for the coursages for the mom's, she has pearl bracelets that the mom's can keep and wear again which we loved. Not only does she do a great job, she doesn't cost that much either!
Cake: Suzanne's Sweet Artistry Deforest: A+
I actually found this lady when I went to a bridal show with my friend when we were planning her wedding. I had used her to make a strawberry daquiri cake for my friend's shower since she loved it. Everyone loved the cake and she didn't cost much so I wanted to use her for my wedding too. She has you pick some flavors and fillings from her website that you want to taste test than you go to her house to taste them. My husband and I loved the three choices that we tried. We wanted to do sheet cakes instead of a tiered cake so we were able to do all three choices for our cakes. My husband had picked out a cake topper where the bride is fishing and catches the groom (he is a bigger fisherman) so she had the cake look like she was fishing him out of a lake. The other two cakes went with the snowflake theme. Everyone gave rave reviews of the cake and kept going back up for more pieces. We will definitely use her again if we need a cake for anything else.
Ceremony: Agora Pavillion Fitchburg: B
We were having a hard time finding a place to have our ceremony when I came across this place. It is actually a big tent set up outside by a prairie that Fitchburg uses for various things such as their farmer's market. We were debating between this and Olbrich Gardens. We chose this place over Olbrich because we would have it the whole day compared to only 3 hrs and it was hundreds cheaper. We did have to rent our own chairs but for our much we paid to rent the place, it was worth it. You did get some buildings in the background when you took pictures in certain spots but the scenery was amazing that it didn't matter. One problem my husband had while trying to set up for the ceremony was trying to figure out a center aisle. They have a cement walkway inside the tent but it makes a circle close to the edge of the tent. The center is full of mulch and has some stones in the very center for looks. We thought about having every other couple go on each side of the cement but decided we wanted to keep it traditional and everyone go through the center. Some girls (including me) had problems with the heels sinking in to the mulch but otherwise it worked out. Totally recommend it for an outside ceremony when looking to save money!
Reception: The Heights Event Center Stoughton: B
We had been to a reception for his cousin at the Verona location and fell in love with it. When we found out that they had a Stoughton location, we were very excited. It is actually located inside the Stoughton Wellness and Athletic Center which houses Karate America as well as a fitness club but you can never tell. You have to go through a seperate door to get to the venue so you don't deal with the other businesses. It is a very nice, elegant looking place for half the cost of other places we had looked at. You do have to spend a minimum of $5000 but it wasn't hard after the meals, drinks and some appetizers. The bartender we had was awesome. He was outgoing, funny and made sure everyone had to drink what they wanted to drink. If you didn't know what you wanted, he would help suggest stuff. Kelly is the main person you deal with for the venue. She flips between the two locations with Verona being her main location so you had to find out when she would be in Stoughton to see the location or do anything. Sometimes it was hard to get a hold of her so the best way was email since you never knew where she would be. You also work with Chad who is the one who deals with the food. They are linked with Picasso's Restaurant which Chad owns. You actually go to Picasso's for your taste testing. They give you the menu of food ahead of time for you to decide which ones you want to try than you get to taste the ones you choose. We originally tried three options but went with two of them. Some people liked the food so much that they were eating the meals for people who didn't show up. One problem we did have was with payment. The agreement you get states one thing for payment but when you would ask them about it for clarification, they weren't sure. They are willing to work with you, though, and work on the payment.
DJ: Midwest Sound Waukesha: B
I found this company while at a bridal show with a friend. I had gotten price quotes from them as well as another business that my sister had used and found this one to be more reasonable. They give you a list of the music they have and have you chose music from there that you want. We liked that you also got to chose if you wanted certain dances that some people have at weddings or not like chicken dance, cupid shuffle, etc. There are some dances that we don't like so we liked that we could say not to do them. The DJ you get calls you the week of the event to go over everything. One problem my husband had with the DJ was that we had picked some country songs to play (including our first song) and they sent a DJ that doesn't like country. He also thought that we wanted country played the whole time but we informed him that he should play other music too as we like other music too. He did a great job of keeping people on the floor and dancing. I don't think I ever really saw the floor empty. People were always out dancing which we loved. I had told him whatever goes for the garter toss so he had my husband get on the bar and dance to earn the garter. Everyone loved it and thought it was hilarious. We had a great time the whole time.
Photographer: Photos by Yesenia Evansville: A+
Yesenia is actually a childhood neighbor of mine. I grew up two houses down from her and am best friend's with her cousin who lived across the street from me. My sister has used her for family pictures before and they turned out great. I have seen her work on her blog and we loved the pictures. Compared to other photographer's we had looked up,she was very reasonable. She charges less than $1000 whereas others were typically $1500. For our engagement pictures, she had us meet her in Janesville as we let her chose where to do them. At first we weren't sure but once we got there and started taking pictures, we loved it. We went down by the river where there were some old buildings and a bus stop so we got some pictures taken all over. She also had great ideas for pictures when it came to the wedding too. She has a blog where you get to see a sneak peek of your pictures while she is still working on them. We have already gotten to see a sneak peek of ours and can't wait to see more! One thing we love too is that once she is done with the pictures, they are yours. She gives you the cd's and rights to the pictures so that you can print off as many as you like without having to go through her. Works out real nice with our out of town relatives as well as trying to figure out who wants what.
Honeymoon: Crown Paradise Club Cancun, Mexico: A
We booked our honeymoon through the website Bookit.com and are glad we did. We did it when they were having a deal on all-inclusives which is what we wanted. We looked at all kinds of all inclusives in that area but fell in love with this one. We booked a honeymoon suite for 6 days and 5 nights. The room was amazing! We were on the end of one of the buildings (there are two buildings) and had a HUGE balcony. When you walk into the room, you actually walk into the living room which has a door to go to one part of the balcony. You than go through another door to get to the bedroom which was huge. There is also a hot tub on the balcony which overlooks the ocean. We loved our room so much that we didn't want to leave it. When the resort says all-inclusive, they really mean it. We have heard from people who have gone to them and ended up with bills they didn't know about. People have had to pay for items they used out of their fridge in their room or when they want to go to certain restaurants on the resort. Our resort was not like that. There were 7 different restaurants that were all included in your price. There are 5 of them that require reservations to eat at and have a dress code but they were easy to get into. We went to three of them and loved them all. They have a wide variety of food too besides Mexican. They have french, italian, seafood, steakhouse, oriental, etc. There is also a buffet that has a wide variety of foods that is open all the time.The place was always clean and well taken care of. We have said that we would definitely go back there again.
Dress: Vera's House of Bridal Clearance Center Janesville: A
When I first arrived, I wasn't quite sure the style nor the amount I wanted to spend. The lady that helped us took us upstairs to where the wedding gowns are housed and let us look around at each other rooms where the gowns are so we could get an idea for what I was looking for. I knew I wanted something that was more fitted and not real poofy on the bottom. To help you make a decision, she had you rank the dress and have you pick a top 3 so you didn't have to chose from a ton at the end. When you liked a new dress, she would ask you if you wanted to replace one of your top 3 with it or not. At the end, she has you look at your top 3 and see if one of them stands out or is one that you want. When I found mine, no other dress could compare to it. Once you have found your dress, they show you the veils and accessories so you can look at them and see if you want any of them. It definitely made it more surreal than! Vera, the owner, even comes and talks to you. The whole time we felt like we were special and their main priority.
Flowers: Simply Glamorous Designs Oregon: A
One of our friends who was getting married two weeks after us actually suggested Sarah and this business to me and I am thankful she did! I do not know much about kinds of flowers nor what is in season. I had some ideas for what I wanted but LOVED the ideas she suggested. She was great at showing me different ideas that she could do and pictures of arrangements she has done previously before. I was doing a snowflake themed wedding which some people thought it was weird we were doing it in May but she loved it. She helped come up with ideas for things that even I didn't think of. On the day of, she was right there helping to hand out the flowers and make sure everyone had what they were supposed to. The flowers turned out amazing too! I LOVED my bouquet and the girls' as well.She uses magnets for the boutinneires (sp?) so that you dont have to poke anyone with a needle and for the coursages for the mom's, she has pearl bracelets that the mom's can keep and wear again which we loved. Not only does she do a great job, she doesn't cost that much either!
Cake: Suzanne's Sweet Artistry Deforest: A+
I actually found this lady when I went to a bridal show with my friend when we were planning her wedding. I had used her to make a strawberry daquiri cake for my friend's shower since she loved it. Everyone loved the cake and she didn't cost much so I wanted to use her for my wedding too. She has you pick some flavors and fillings from her website that you want to taste test than you go to her house to taste them. My husband and I loved the three choices that we tried. We wanted to do sheet cakes instead of a tiered cake so we were able to do all three choices for our cakes. My husband had picked out a cake topper where the bride is fishing and catches the groom (he is a bigger fisherman) so she had the cake look like she was fishing him out of a lake. The other two cakes went with the snowflake theme. Everyone gave rave reviews of the cake and kept going back up for more pieces. We will definitely use her again if we need a cake for anything else.
Ceremony: Agora Pavillion Fitchburg: B
We were having a hard time finding a place to have our ceremony when I came across this place. It is actually a big tent set up outside by a prairie that Fitchburg uses for various things such as their farmer's market. We were debating between this and Olbrich Gardens. We chose this place over Olbrich because we would have it the whole day compared to only 3 hrs and it was hundreds cheaper. We did have to rent our own chairs but for our much we paid to rent the place, it was worth it. You did get some buildings in the background when you took pictures in certain spots but the scenery was amazing that it didn't matter. One problem my husband had while trying to set up for the ceremony was trying to figure out a center aisle. They have a cement walkway inside the tent but it makes a circle close to the edge of the tent. The center is full of mulch and has some stones in the very center for looks. We thought about having every other couple go on each side of the cement but decided we wanted to keep it traditional and everyone go through the center. Some girls (including me) had problems with the heels sinking in to the mulch but otherwise it worked out. Totally recommend it for an outside ceremony when looking to save money!
Reception: The Heights Event Center Stoughton: B
We had been to a reception for his cousin at the Verona location and fell in love with it. When we found out that they had a Stoughton location, we were very excited. It is actually located inside the Stoughton Wellness and Athletic Center which houses Karate America as well as a fitness club but you can never tell. You have to go through a seperate door to get to the venue so you don't deal with the other businesses. It is a very nice, elegant looking place for half the cost of other places we had looked at. You do have to spend a minimum of $5000 but it wasn't hard after the meals, drinks and some appetizers. The bartender we had was awesome. He was outgoing, funny and made sure everyone had to drink what they wanted to drink. If you didn't know what you wanted, he would help suggest stuff. Kelly is the main person you deal with for the venue. She flips between the two locations with Verona being her main location so you had to find out when she would be in Stoughton to see the location or do anything. Sometimes it was hard to get a hold of her so the best way was email since you never knew where she would be. You also work with Chad who is the one who deals with the food. They are linked with Picasso's Restaurant which Chad owns. You actually go to Picasso's for your taste testing. They give you the menu of food ahead of time for you to decide which ones you want to try than you get to taste the ones you choose. We originally tried three options but went with two of them. Some people liked the food so much that they were eating the meals for people who didn't show up. One problem we did have was with payment. The agreement you get states one thing for payment but when you would ask them about it for clarification, they weren't sure. They are willing to work with you, though, and work on the payment.
DJ: Midwest Sound Waukesha: B
I found this company while at a bridal show with a friend. I had gotten price quotes from them as well as another business that my sister had used and found this one to be more reasonable. They give you a list of the music they have and have you chose music from there that you want. We liked that you also got to chose if you wanted certain dances that some people have at weddings or not like chicken dance, cupid shuffle, etc. There are some dances that we don't like so we liked that we could say not to do them. The DJ you get calls you the week of the event to go over everything. One problem my husband had with the DJ was that we had picked some country songs to play (including our first song) and they sent a DJ that doesn't like country. He also thought that we wanted country played the whole time but we informed him that he should play other music too as we like other music too. He did a great job of keeping people on the floor and dancing. I don't think I ever really saw the floor empty. People were always out dancing which we loved. I had told him whatever goes for the garter toss so he had my husband get on the bar and dance to earn the garter. Everyone loved it and thought it was hilarious. We had a great time the whole time.
Photographer: Photos by Yesenia Evansville: A+
Yesenia is actually a childhood neighbor of mine. I grew up two houses down from her and am best friend's with her cousin who lived across the street from me. My sister has used her for family pictures before and they turned out great. I have seen her work on her blog and we loved the pictures. Compared to other photographer's we had looked up,she was very reasonable. She charges less than $1000 whereas others were typically $1500. For our engagement pictures, she had us meet her in Janesville as we let her chose where to do them. At first we weren't sure but once we got there and started taking pictures, we loved it. We went down by the river where there were some old buildings and a bus stop so we got some pictures taken all over. She also had great ideas for pictures when it came to the wedding too. She has a blog where you get to see a sneak peek of your pictures while she is still working on them. We have already gotten to see a sneak peek of ours and can't wait to see more! One thing we love too is that once she is done with the pictures, they are yours. She gives you the cd's and rights to the pictures so that you can print off as many as you like without having to go through her. Works out real nice with our out of town relatives as well as trying to figure out who wants what.
Honeymoon: Crown Paradise Club Cancun, Mexico: A
We booked our honeymoon through the website Bookit.com and are glad we did. We did it when they were having a deal on all-inclusives which is what we wanted. We looked at all kinds of all inclusives in that area but fell in love with this one. We booked a honeymoon suite for 6 days and 5 nights. The room was amazing! We were on the end of one of the buildings (there are two buildings) and had a HUGE balcony. When you walk into the room, you actually walk into the living room which has a door to go to one part of the balcony. You than go through another door to get to the bedroom which was huge. There is also a hot tub on the balcony which overlooks the ocean. We loved our room so much that we didn't want to leave it. When the resort says all-inclusive, they really mean it. We have heard from people who have gone to them and ended up with bills they didn't know about. People have had to pay for items they used out of their fridge in their room or when they want to go to certain restaurants on the resort. Our resort was not like that. There were 7 different restaurants that were all included in your price. There are 5 of them that require reservations to eat at and have a dress code but they were easy to get into. We went to three of them and loved them all. They have a wide variety of food too besides Mexican. They have french, italian, seafood, steakhouse, oriental, etc. There is also a buffet that has a wide variety of foods that is open all the time.The place was always clean and well taken care of. We have said that we would definitely go back there again.
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