Vendor Cost/Location/Reviews Here!

lovedbyzac · April 2012

I'll update as we finish up planning. I've had a wonderful experience with all of our vendors so far!

Ceremony
Ceremony Site St Luke Lutheran in Ann Arbor. Wonderful! A
Officiant Both our pastor and a friend who's a pastor at St Luke are marrying us.
Ceremony Music Rondo String Quartet, Troy MI. Beautiful and professional. A

Reception
Reception Site Concordia University Black Box Theater, Ann Arbor
Caterer Angel Food Catering, Ypsilanti MI (they're the BEST!)

They went above and beyond in every way. Can't say enough good things about them! A +++++
Chair Covers/Linens Angel Food Catering,

Turned out great! A
Bakery Cupcakes from Whole Foods Market in Ann Arbor.

A! They were great! Lots of compliments.
DJ Eric Miller from An Ultimate Sound

Eric was fantastic to work with. Responsive to our requests, kept the dance floor full, professional. A+
Favors DIY Hershey's kisses wrapped in tulle, with homemade tags. They turned out great!
Lighting Concordia. They did a wonderful job in the Black Box. It looked beautiful!

Other
Limo n/a
Florist Jen House, she's also my planner

A++++ Oh, the flowers! They were gorgeous--exactly what I wanted!
DOC Jen House, A Moment in Time (HIGHLY recommend her!)

A++++++++++++ If you are considering using a day-of, you MUST hire Jen House and her fantastic team! On the day of, she kept everything running smoothly. 11 people who had RSVPed no showed up at our reception (argh...). Jen handled it calmly and I didn't even know about it until afterward. Her assistants kept bringing us beverages, and Jen even gave me her own deoderant to use when I couldn't find mine! :-) We had no worries about anything and got to enjoy our day.
Miscellaneous equipment

Photography
Photographer Juliet Fuller Photography

A++++++++++ I found Juliet through Jen House. She was a blast to work with! She's both professional and incredibly relaxed. We can't wait to see our photos!
Videographer n/a
Photobooth n/a
Picture Locations St. Luke, Concordia, and Gallup Park, Ann Arbor
Engagement Pictures n/a

Beauty / Attire
Rings Blue Nile (online). Both of my rings and my fiance's ring are from them.

A++++ GORGEOUS rings, great prices!
Wedding dress Bella Bridal in West Bloomfield. Mon Cheri 211255

A++++ Fantastic salon! They were helpful and made me feel like the only bride in the world every time I called or stopped by.
Alterations Bella Bridal.

A+++ The alterations team at Bella is wonderful! My dress fit perfectly!
Tuxes JoS A Bank
Bridesmaid Dresses Bella Bridal. My girls got a discount since I bought my dress there. Alfred Angelo 7176.
Hair and Nails Arbor Hills Hair and Body Salon, Ann Arbor

A+++++ Amy and Marie at Arbor Hills made everyone look awesome! They took great care of us, and gave us lots of room to get our hair done, including use of their makeup counters. We had a blast.
Makeup DIY

Paper
Save the Dates My fiance made them. Turned out great and saved money!
Invites Wedding Paper Divas
Programs/Menus DIY, printed at Kinko's

Bobsgrl · May 2012

I will add more vendor posts later but I wanted to post this asap to help other Knotties out there. Jos.A.Banks was to be our vendor for the men's tuxedos. What a hellish nightmare this decision was! From the start there were problems and despite their promises to fix everything the errors continued until the day of the wedding. I definitely do not recommed this vendor. It was a nightmare and the staff could not have cared less!

maya1023 · May 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_michigan-detroit_vendor-costlocationreviews-here?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:88Discussion:d2e05f5b-5cb1-4d01-9ff5-0021b038bf65Post:c1c419a1-03c3-443d-9540-9b7a04302152">Re: **Vendor Cost/Location/Reviews Here!**</a>:

Did the $35/plate include bar?

Thanks!
Lindsey

[QUOTE]Ceremony Ceremony Site- Peagusus Gardens Meadow Brook Hall, Rochester MI $4,000 location fee for renting out the entire mansion for the day. <a href="http://www.meadowbrookhall.org/" rel="nofollow">http://www.meadowbrookhall.org/</a> Officiant Pastor Mike Carlson Ceremony Music Undecided as of now Reception Reception Site Meadow Brook Hall, Rochester MI Caterer Meadow Brook Hall. We are going with chicken which is about $35 a plate Chair Covers/Linens- CandleLite chair covers, I got a deal for $4 a person which includes Chivari chairs, table linen, napkin and charger. <a href="http://www.candlelitechaircovers.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.candlelitechaircovers.com/</a> Bakery havnt picked one yet Would like to go with Home Bakery Rochester Hills DJ Adam 3DJ Services $325 - <a href="http://www.3djservices.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.3djservices.com/</a> Favors- candy buffet table - buying some and making some Lighting- not needed Other Limo- not having one Florist- April Oboza around $1800 for bridal party and all decorations <a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/April-Oboza/1119311759#" rel="nofollow">http://www.facebook.com/people/April-Oboza/1119311759#</a> !/profile.php?id=1161221022 DOC- provided by Meadow Brook Hall Miscellaneous equipment- Iron trees from Social Butterfly, Minnesota $30 for small and $60 for the large. Photography Photographer- Amy Boeve Around $3000 includes engagemnt with full CD and copywrite and full day of with CD and copywrite Videographer- Family Member Photobooth- Might possibly DIY Picture Locations- Meadow Brook Hall, Rochester Area Engagement Pictures- Aquinas College, Grand Rapids, MI <a href="http://www.aquinas.edu/index.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.aquinas.edu/index.html</a> Beauty / Attire Rings- Helzbergs about $7000 total for all 3 rings Wedding dress- Jackie Jay's Alexandria Minnesota- $1500 Alterations- Family friend- Free Tuxes- The social Butterfly Minnesota about $220 each for everything Bridesmaid Dresses- The picked their own. Hair- Deux Adore I think $65 Makeup- Deux Adore I think $85- getting airbrush done Paper Save the Dates- Did them myself about $20 Invites- Doing them myself about $300 Programs/MenusDoing them myself about $100
Posted by littlepixie2105[/QUOTE]

akupser · May 2012

Beauty / Attire
Rings: A+. Jared in Novi. Sheila helped us. She's great. No pressure to make a sale feeling,very informative.
Wedding dress: B. David's Bridal (Taylor).   Great when I was trying on and purchasing, less helpful after I had already purchased (when I went back to get accessories.)
Alterations: D. David's Bridal (Ann Arbor). Overpriced. Want to do "what [they] always do on this dress" rather than what the customer wants. My mother in law ended up doing the difficult stuff; they just did my bustle.
Tuxes: A. President Tuxedo (Ann Arbor). Good variety of styles and color choices.
Bridesmaid Dresses: A. David's Bridal (multiple locations).
Hair & makeup: A++++++. Sarah Brooks Salon (Wyandotte).   My hair and makeup were exactly what I wanted, and lasted all day long.

Ceremony
Ceremony Site: A+. Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Wyandotte)
Officiant: Father Ptak
Ceremony Music: David Saunder

Reception
Reception Site: A+. Silver Shores (Wyandotte). Our guests loved the food and the waterfront patio. Very accomodating and helpful, great service.
Caterer: See above
Chair Covers/Linens: A. Beautiful Beginnings (Wyandotte). Unique band designs available to put over chair covers rather than bows (although they offer those too).
Bakery: B+. Southgate Bakery (Southgate). Delicious cake, pretty design (although not exactly like the picture I brought in).
DJ: A. Rob @ Encore Event Group (Riverview). Very helpful.  Great customer service, quick to respond to emails/calls. Kept the dance floor busy.
Favors: DIY
Lighting: .A. Encore Event Group. We had a monogram light.

Other
Limo: A. Dream Limo. Prompt, clean.
Florist: A++. Valerie at Trentwood Farms (Southgate). Gave me everything I wanted well within my budget. GORGEOUS flowers. I felt very comfortable with her, and she was very quick to understand my style/vision.
DOC: N/A
Miscellaneous equipment: N/A

Photography
Photographer: Heather Burt Krautner, KP Studios (Fraser) Will review when we get photos back.
Videographer: N/A
Photobooth: A+. Encore Event Group
Picture Locations: Elizabeth Park, Bishop Park, Wyandotte Boat Club
Engagement Pictures: Heather Burt Krautner

Paper
Save the Dates: B+. Meijer photo machines. Very affordable. Good print quality. Limited design options.
Invites: A. Wedding Paper Divas. Excellent paper quality. A bit pricey.
Programs/Menus: DIY

lesley909 · June 2012

Linnaea Floral Design –A+ - These ladies have set my standards for a florist very high. They have amazing communication skills and I would always get an email back within a few hours. I showed up on my wedding day and everything was all set up and looked more amazing than I had been picturing in my head.

Pure Amour Photography – A+ -Amy is amazing, I knew she was from the first meeting we had with her. When a storm was rolling in she shot quickly to get the photos outside that I really wanted. We did our engagement pictures with her the summer before our wedding so I already know that our wedding pictures are going to be spectacular. She is definitely our photographer for everything now and I cannot wait to see her again when we have a little one on the way.

Motorcity HDJ – A+ - Brett is so much fun. He kept the dance floor busy all night and even came out to dance with us a few times. When a huge storm came rolling in an hour before our ceremony was suppose to start we decided to start it 30 minutes early throwing everyone off schedule, Brett got the speaker and microphone set up within 5 minutes so we could have our perfect ceremony outside. If I ever need a dj again I will be calling Brett.

Greystone – A+ - I don’t even know where to being with my venue. The main reason I picked it was for the gorgeous ceremony site outside. The second reason being Maggie, I saw so much of a good friend of mine in her I knew she would be great to work with. On the day of our wedding I showed up a few hours early and just hung out and finish a few things. Maggie really is like a friend she helps with anything you need and makes you feel like you aren’t asking for the world when you need her to help with your last minute tasks. An hour before our ceremony was going to start a huge storm came rolling in, Maggie asked us what we wanted to do and my now husband decided we wanted to start early and have it outside, she made everything go off without a hitch. The food was amazing, we had the chicken and filet everyone was raving about how great it was and they never have amazing food like this at a wedding. The bar was just as great we didn’t get the watered down drinks we usually get at a bar, and there was never a line, the bartenders were fast and very friendly.

Just Baked – C - I usually purchase from the Novi location but since my mother lives near the Canton one I placed my order there. The cupcakes were great like always but the customer service was horrible! I won’t got back and will stick to Novi.

Hampton Inn Utica – E - This hotel is HORRIABLE!! I needed to cancel my Saturday stay and keep my Sunday so I told the gentleman when I call and he cancelled my whole reservation and went I confirmed with him we still had the Sunday stay he snapped at me and told me to learn how to cancel a reservation. Then when checking out on Monday I looked at our bank account and they had charged us for a no show on Saturday and for 2 rooms on Sunday (even though I had a confirmation number from when I canceled) it took me a week to get my money back and I had to do all the calling between the hotel and banks to get it back. I will never stay at this Hampton Inn again!!!!

Grand Jewelers – A+ - i LOVE Grand Jewelers, my then FI went to them for my engagement ring and we went back for our wedding bands, they do fabulous work. We will always use them.

emcfadde · June 2012

Ceremony

Ceremony site - A+ - Hartford Memorial Baptist Church the church was simply stunning. It was exactly what i was looking for with the old school feel and high celings with the stained glassed windows! There was marriage counselig included which was 2 sessions. I found it to be extremely helpful. We had already discussed the majority of stuff but it definitely helped bring us closer together. They also provide a wedding coordinator who you can call pretty much anytime day or night with questions. I tried to stay on tasks so I didnt have that many but when I did she was there with a speedy response. They have strict rules about flash photography so we had to re-enact some scenes in front of the guest which was a bit odd but overall everything was great. I actually left some of my stuff there after the wedding and the cleaning crew gathered up all my stuff and put it away for me and I came back the next day to get it including my macbook!! only thing missing was my eyeglasses go figure
ceremony music - provided by the church. i worked with the music lady and picked the songs i wanted played and she played them on the organ. She helped guide me in the direction I was looking for which was classical music but contemporary as well. I had my cousin sing a song for me and that was about it for music

Officiant – Charles Adams – He was sooooooo great! He was funny, serious, engaging! I loved his sermon and so did everyone else! It was perfect he tied in my personal info and my husbands it was just right on time and what we both needed to hear!

Reception

Reception Site – A- - Laurel Manor Laurel Manor was a great venue to work with. When we first started planning our wedding we had anticipated not that many people showing up so we booked a smaller room, however once we sent out the save the dates and actually had names and addresses we realized we were way over the max amount our room would hold. They were able to accommodate our bigger reception and made a room change for us. The communication was great as well. I worked with Rachel and she always returned my phone calls promptly if I had any questions. The day of everything in the room looked gorgeous! The food was great, the service was great. Everyone complimented me on how tasty the food was and how nice the servers were. They especially made sure that me and the hubby were taken care of. They packed up our food for us to take with us. They received an A- only because they tried to deny one of my bridesmaids liquor because they thought she was under 21 when my other bridesmaids had literally just walked away from the bar with a drink and he didn’t ask for her id. My bridesmaid is married with 2 kids go figure! So there was a mini issue there but it got resolved quickly.

Chair covers/linens – A+ Modern Art the linens were simply gorgeous. Everything turned out beautifully just like I had picked them out at the appointment. I got everything I wanted down to the chivari chairs! They were easy to communicate with when it came down to final numbers and payment. I would highly recommend them!

Bakery – A+ Cakes by Stephanie – this is a vendor provided by Laurel Manor and was included in our package. The cake was so gorgeous!! And it was simply divine as well. I can’t wait until our 1 year anniversary so I can eat some more! I am still eating away at some that was left over!

DJ – B+ - DetroitDJ – the dj was cool he was a little slow in the beginning and playing a lot of old school songs that I didn’t particularly care for but we talked and he brought it a little more current after dinner. He did a great job being the MC for the evening. The reason for the B+ is that he didn’t have a lot of songs that were being requested which is a bummer. Overall though, I was pleased and I had a great time dancing the night away!

Lighting – A – DetroitDJ – it was provided by the dj and it really brought the room to life! It was by far the cheapest deal around compared to some of the other companies and their pricing. It was definitely worth it!

Other

Limo – A - Lavdas limo – they were a last minute addition. I was debating whether to have a limo or not because I didn’t’ understand the point when we only needed it for a few hours. But, I really wanted to get some pictures downtown and that was the only way feasible. They were great. They showed up when we asked and took us downtown and to the reception site. It was pretty easy. The party bus was clean and was big enough to fit the wedding party! We had a great time on board with the champagne and music! I am glad we decided to do it!

Florist – A- April Irelynn Dsg – She was great to work with! The majority of our communication was via e-mal and she responded rather quickly when I had questions about prices and other things. The day of she arrived on time and ready to set everything up! The flowers were gorgeous just like we talked about. The only thing that I was disappointed in was the fact that the bridesmaids bouquets were so small. I was expecting them to be a little fuller. My bouquet however was simply gorgeous!!!!! The centerpieces were beautiful as well.

Photography

Photographer – A+++++++++++Amy Boeve – what is there not to love about Amy!!! I simply adore her to pieces. She is so easy to work with, so flexible, I couldn’t have asked for a better photographer on my day. She was accommodating to the church’s no flash rule, she was accommodating with all the family wanted to take pics while we were still taking our professional pictures, she just blended right in so seamlessly that I forgot that she was there snapping away. There are some preview shots on her blog and I can’t wait to see all the pictures!

Videographer – A++++++++++++ Shutterspeed productions – I can’t stop raving about them. I had to convince the hubby that we needed a videographer because he didn’t see the need for it and wanted to go with a family friend to get some of the important shots. Boy is he glad that he listened to me! I just recently saw our wedding video preview and it is simply amazing!! Clicky here à http://vimeo.com/43512478 I am looking forward to the final video! They are a husband and wife team and they were so easy to work with. I am sure they captured all the great moments!

Photobooth – A+ - Rock the Booth – this was such a huge hit at the wedding! I am glad we decided to do this as this was the hubby’s idea so I had to let him have what he wanted a little! Everyone enjoyed the photobooth. I wish I would have booked it for more hours. There was barely time for me to get in there!

Picture locations – engagement pictures – downtown grand rapids and wedding pictures – downtown Detroit at the DIA

Engagement pictures – Amy Boeve – see review up top! They were awesome and I loved them!

Beauty/Attire

Rings - A – Rogers and Hollands in grand rapids – the rings are great! He did an awesome job picking them out and the salesman who helped us is phenomenal!

Weddings dress – A+ - Bestbridalprices.com – I actually took the risk and ordered my dress online. I ended up getting a way better deal because I received a free tiara, champagne glasses, and free shipping! The dress arrived super quickly! I wore the adorae from sottero and midgley line

Alterations – A- The wedding shoppe – I simply love Michelle!!! Everything was so quick and easy. My dress, the day of, fit pretty darn perfectly. My mom passed a week before my wedding and my final fitting was the day after and I went and told her that I would probably need another one and she squeezed me in on Thursday before my wedding on Saturday. I also ended up buying a 2^nd dress because my mom really wanted me to have one and she did the alterations on that one as well. Everything fit great! My dress was a little big on Saturday because I had lost some more weight since Thursday but you couldn’t tell and that wasn’t her fault. The only reason they received an A- was because they forgot my veil in the bag when my maid of honor picked up the dress on Friday. It had to have been my mom because I decided to check my bag early to get it out and noticed it wasn’t there. They fixed the situation right away, found my veil and delivered it to the church for me. Overall, I would highly recommend them!!

Tuxedos- A – miracle wedding village – the tuxs looked great on the guys! They were so accommodating especially since all the groomsmen were out of town. Everyone looked great in their suits

Bridesmaid dresses A – david’s bridal (multiple locations) every david’s bridal I worked with was great. Everyone got their dresses and they were delivered ahead of schedule. Even when there was a size issue they were able to fix it right away. My younger cousin gained some weight and could no longer fit her dress so we were able to take it back and order her a size up no problem!

Hair – A – my maid of honor stylist – I was nervous at first because we did a trial run and my curls fell within a matter of hours but the day of my hair was flawless! Curls lasted all day especially considering I got my hair done at 8am and the wedding wasn’t until 5pm!

Makeup – A+ - Aleksandra Adams – I make you up! I loved my makeup and so did all of my bridesmaids! Everyone looked simply stunning!

Paper

Save the Dates – A – magnetstreet.com – they turned out beautiful!

Invites – A – Michaels – we DIY our invites with the help of my bridesmaids and they looked like they were professionally done, everyone loved them!

Programs – DIY – I saw an idea on etsy for some and the seller unfortunately couldn’t do it in time for my wedding so my bridesmaid said she could do it! We bought all the supplies and made it happen. They turned out really pretty

Menu/table numbers – DIY – I made a design in photoshop and word and had them printed at my local fed ex quick and easy

mlynn1223 · June 2012

All reviews are based on the standard grading scale used in school. For those who do not know we had an 18 month engagement and planned everything from 2400 miles away. All of my vendors and venue we booked before meeting. Some I did not meet until the week of. All of our vendors own their own business and do their own work.

Ceremony

Location: Stone Creek Banquet Hall (part of Flat Rock Recreation/Community Center) - A+, $800 for full set up and removal of 150 nice white folding chairs. The ceremony is outside on the service path behind the building facing the woods. There is a bridge for the party and/or bride to walk across so guests get a few glimpses before coming fully into view. We received numerous compliments from guests about how neat it was to watch me walk over the bridge and how they could just get glimpses. There is a backup if it rains. You go inside and they set up enough chairs for immediate family and everybody else sits at their table. Jann Stahr was amazing to work with!!

Music: J.A.C. Entertainment - A+ Joe did our ceremony and reception music. He charged $750 for the whole night, 7 hours of services. The music for the guests while they took their seats and waited was great (from what our guests said) and he played the songs I had chosen for the wedding part. His timing was great! His communication is wonderful, easy to talk with, makes you feel very important. JAC is located in the Macomb area but he travels.

Officiant: Reverend Phillip Rogers - A+ Reverend Phillip was also AMAZING!! We recieved so many compliments about his service and vows. He has his own vows which are beautiful! If you want I will gladly send them to you. Our guests are still talking about his service. He did it in about 20 minutes too which was nice since it was outside and a little warm. We met with him the first time at his home which made me feel really comfortable. He was only $400 too, no pre-counseling required. He is located in the Detroit area and will travel. Day of he actually forgot his shirt and socks, first time in over 400 weddings that he forgot anything. He did not tell me about the shirt until after he arrived and told me he had just ran to Kohls to get a new shirt (he looked very nice). After the wedding he told me about the socks!

Reception

Location: Stone Creek Banquet Hall (part of Flat Rock Recreation/Community Center) - A+, Once the ceremony was done we moved inside to the reception. The way this place works is if you want a Saturday wedding you have to guarantee 250 guests. If you do not have that then you have to pay for 250 at the lowest menu option (2 entree buffet, $27) and you get to spend the remaining money on whatever you want. They also offer a complete package which includes your cake, invitations, chair covers/sashes and DJ but we did not go with this. Since we had 150 guests for a Saturday wedding we were able to spend a LOT of money. We had a one hour cocktail hour which had hand passed miniature beef wellingtons, coconut shrimp and crab stuffed mushrooms. Dinner was sweet italian sausage with green peppers and onions, grilled chicken in a lemon wine caper sauce and hand carved roast beef with au jus and horseradish sauce as our entrees. We did garlic mashed red skin potatoes and green beans with almonds. We had a 10 item salad bar as well as a fruit bar and a full coffee bar with over 10 mixing ingredients. We had a premium bar as well. At 10:30 we had a late night pizza station too. The head table is served and given champaigne for the toasts. A scoop of icecream comes with cake if you want. The refundable deposit was $650 and our final total was right around $11,000. The place is set on protected wetlands, has numerous bridges in the woods and fountains for great pictures. The staff was amazing!! The food was incredible!! Our guests could not stop talking about the food and everyone seemed to have a different favorite. We tried it all and it was amazing. The chicken was not dried, the beef was perfect and the sausage was very flavorful. Everything about this place is amazing!!

Chair Covers and Sashes - A Touch of Class - Day of A, Prior B, Chair covers and sashes were $2.00 a piece which was the best price I found. They did a great job the day of (actually set up day before). The colors were perfect. Melissa does everything out of her home and has an wonderful seletion of organza and satin sashes. Prior to the day she was really hard to get a hold of though which was frustrating. For every 4 e-mails I would send I might get 1 in response and it took about three calls to get a call back. The price and service day of were great though so I would recommend her, just keep in mind she takes a little longer to get back with you. If you are okay with this then she is completely worth it. She is located in Monroe but I know she travels. She had 4 other weddings on the 9th around Detroit and Ohio. She has a great family that works with her to make sure everything is set up and taken down.

DJ - J.A.C. Entertainment - A+, Joe did our reception mucis as well. He had a seemless transition from ceremony to cocktail hour so that there was never a time when our guests did not have music. He was a great MC making sure everything ran smoothly on the music side. Again, he was $750 for both ceremony and reception, 7 hours. We paid extra for the uplighting which included 10 lights in our color. He charges $250 for this. It was worth the extra money! The place looked so beautiful with the lights!! He worked two days before with us to make sure we had the right color and the flow was what we wanted. Two days prior to that his first child was born but he did not make us feel rushed or anything even though he wanted to get home. He really makes you feel confident that day of he knows what you want and when you want it. Everything day of ran VERY smooth and the music was exactly what we wanted! I could not recommend Joe enough for anybody needing DJ services for anything! During the day he is a DJ for a local country music radio station as well. His set up was great too. Very responsive to E-mail, text and phone calls.

Cake - Cakes by Stephanie - A+, Our cake was done by a local Monroe company. They do have an extension branch closer to Detroit but don't know exactly where. I'm sure they would deliver but there would probably be a delivery fee. We had a 3 layer cake with 2 sheet cakes in the back. We had 5 flavors: Orea with an Oreo mousse, white with a raspberry mousse, chocolate raspberry with a raspberry mousse, spice/carrot with a cream cheese mousse and a pinapple with a coconut mousse. There is a $75 refundable deposit. Our cakse was roughly $375. The cake was so moist and flavorful! I tried every single flavor and loved the pinapple with coconut the most. We hardly had any leftovers. The tasting was great and they really listened to what I wanted as the cake was perfect!

Photography

Photographer - Studio L Artistry in Photography - A+, Lance and his wife did our wedding day and Lance did our engagement setting. I cannot speak highly enough of Lance and his wife!!! From the first time I spoke with him I knew he would be our photographer and I still call him "Uncle Lance" because he makes you feel so comfortable and important! He has great communication skills regardless of how you communicate with him. For $2499 we received two engagement settings, one day and one night (we did it at the Dodge house on Oakland University and downtown Rochester), two photographers on the wedding day, a signature album with your top 30 engagement pictures (you choose), a framed picture at the reception site (you choose), cards for every guest with a picture of your choice telling them where, when and the code for accessing the wedding pictures, a wedding album and copyright free proof discs so you can print pictures yourself. Lance is located in the burbs of Detroit and does a lot of Detroit area weddings and Mexico weddings. His pictures are stunning!! I cannot say enough great things about Lance and would recommend him in a hearbeat!

Videographer - Cousin - We have a cousin who does this on the side so we received this service for free.

Paper

Save the Dates - Walmart - A, We picked an engagement picture and did a simple picture card from Walmart.com. To print 150 cost us $43. I bought a magnet strip from Lowe's for $2, cut one inch strips and attached them.

Invitations - Yuma Printing - A, Cards and Pockets - A, I ordered the pocket folds, belly bands and inner and outer envelopes from Cards and Pockets. They were the right color and worked great. I printed the addresses on both envelopes on a school printer because they were to thick for our home printer. In total I spent roughly $175 on this order. Printing our invitation, map card (which was already designed) RSVP, RSVP envelop and our return address on the outer envelop was done by Yuma Printing. They cost us $350 but it was worth it. They did the design and allowed me to pick the color. We did 4 proofs before our final printing. I then attached the invitation to the pocket fold, put the extras in the pockets and attached the belly bands. They were very nice to work with and did a great job. All of our lettering was raised and in a very pretty color.

Beauty and Attire

Dress - Dere Kiang #1191009 - A+, I bought my dress by a reputable dealer online which saved me a FORTUNE! The dress was being discontinued in May of 2010 but was still priced at over $2000 after taxes. I went through this dealer ( don't have the name in front of me because my binder is being shipped back

) and it cost be $575. The tags were in it and the receipt was legit. The dress was so beautiful and absolutely perfect, it was exactly what I was looking for!!!

Alterations - Alterations ETC. - B, Sandra is located in Mesa AZ so not much use to you fellow Detroit brides but I thought I would include it. Originally we did not take it in, she added a corset under the zipper but it was still to big so she took it in. It was then really tight but day of it fit perfectly and I never felt like pulling it up or I was going to fall out. It worked out great. She also let me rent her A-line slip to add a little extra body to the dress since it was still a little long with my 4 inch heels with a 1 inch platform. It was a $35 rental which I get my money back for. She did an outside bustle too instead of the traditional under bustle. The work was beautfiul. Even with all of the detail you could not tell she took it in. She was a little much costing me $343.

Veil - AA - A, I also got my veil offline through a veil dealer. Not sure of the website but the tag had AA and the lady who pressed my dress said she uses them. The veil was a perfect match for my dress! It was supposed to be finger tip but I guess I have short arms and it want to just above the back of my knees. It has beading around the edge and a few beaded flowers (very subtle) about 2 inches in from the edge. It cost $65.

Dress Pressing - Brides Unlimited - A+, After packing my poor dress and veil in a carry on suitcase it needed pressing! Brides Unlimited in Monroe did it for $65 and did a GREAT job with it!! She also attached the comb my mom made for my hair to my veil for $10 so that I did not have two combs in my hair. She was very nice and did my dress pressing in a week. She had a nice store too for those looking to go shopping. Her prices are very reasonable.

Hair, Nails, Make-up - Hair Graphics - A+, Anna from Hair Graphics in Monroe did most of our hair and all makeup day of. Two other ladies helped with hair, one of which did all of our nails the previous day. My hair trial was part of the final price of my hair, $75. Makeup was only $10 per person. Most up-do's were $25. Nails were $20-35 depending on what was done. Day of we had memosas, Tim Hortons and then subway. The ladies were wonderful!! Anna does travel to do hair and make-up. She is amazing and can do wonders with stubborn hair! I would recommend her to anybody!

Tuxedo - President Tuxed - A, We went with them because they were in the Monroe mall but then they moved to Toledo so this was a little pain but nothing major. They did a great job working with our groomsmen, doing the calling for me when they had not been paid. The tuxes were great. I believe our tuxes were $120 a piece but the grooms was free so that was nice.

Rings - Osterman and Kay - A, My engagement ring was purchased at Ostermans and the band was at Kay. It is a Tolkowski. Everyone was nice to work with. We received holiday bucks so the wedding band we save a decent amount of money on.

Other

Florist - One of a Kind Creation Florist - A+, Donna was incredible!! I loved working with her. She has great communication and creative skills. She did our ceremony decorations (arch and 4 bows), our bouquets (4 in total), 1 fresh throwing bouquet, bouts (5 in total), coursages (6 in total), 2 vases with flowers on the signature table, unity candle center piece, two other head table decorations, 15 tables centerpieces (1 tall and 1 short), and cake table decorations for around $1600. Some flowers (arch, bows, head table) were artificial but matched perfectly and were beautiful. The flowers were absolutely amazing, everything I had pictured! I gave her some pictures and told her my vision and she went with it. I met with her 4 days before the wedding to finalize everything and it turned out so great! She is in Brownstown (just north of Flat Rock) and does weddings in Detroit. I would highly recommend her!!

Planner/Coordinator - Family Affair Production - Day of A, Prior B+, When first starting planning our wedding I read and was told I would need a planner due to the distance. I thought it was in the budget so I hired one. Looking back I did not need a planner but a DOC and that is what my planner ended up doing even though I paid for a planner. It was 10% of our total which ended up being around $18,000 so I paid $800 for DOC. Now, day of it was completely worth it!! They did an amazing job making sure everything ran smoothly, helping guests, setting up, tearing down, etc. They were at the final meeting with the venue as well as the rehearsal. The only thing that went "wrong" was the flowers on the arch were taken down before our professional pictures were taken. It was still beautiful though so oh well, worse could have happened. The family talked about how nice it was for them to be there because they did handle everything day of. The groomsmen did not really like them because they were told what to do. Gerry and Kim are direct, which I like. They do know a lot of vendors so I'm sure would do a good job planning if you needed that. If not, DOC was great! Communication prior was a little rough which is why I gave them a B+. I would e-mail and get very little in response even though I asked questions. Texting was the best way to contact Gerry. He did not answer calls much and did not call back quickly. Once I did talk with him though he made me feel comfortable and reassured me with anything that I was having issues with. They did print the programs which were amazing (I did pay an extra $175 for this). They also printed the table names with numbers, and brought water bottles for guests day of (we were going to then decided not to when money ran out but it was hot day and they did it without charging me. They also provided a basket for the programs when my in laws did not end up having one (they picked it up and decorated it day of).

Overall we had an amazing wedding with amazing vendors and venue!! I cannot speak highly enough of the people we had the privelage of working with. I would hire every single one again in an instant and would highly recommend them to everybody!! They were all wonderful, amazing, competent people with great business ethics and practices. I am sad that our wedding is over because I had such a great time planning it and it went by to quickly. However, I am a very happily married woman to my best friend and amazing man so it is worth it being over for that!! I wish you all the very best in your planning and hope you have the wedding of your dreams (and your marriage is as wonderful)!! Best of luck!!

strokeofluck · July 2012

Ceremony
Ceremony Site: Indian Springs Metro Park EDC – A ($300). This price is for an outdoor ceremony, which includes set up/take down of the chairs. If it rains and you have to do the ceremony inside, this fee is waived
Officiant: Pastor from family church
Ceremony Music: Provided by DJ, see below.

Reception
Reception Site: Indian Springs Metro Park EDC - A++++++ ($900). The venue is beautiful, and is really easy to work with.
Caterer: Kosch Catering – A. This caterer works exclusively with Indian Springs Metro Park, and you cannot use any other caterer. That being said, I think the price for catering was a little expensive, but they did a good job. We got a lot of compliments on the food, and they have several packages that you can choose from.
Chair Covers/Linens: Kosch Catering
Bakery: Family
DJ: Mike Staff (Josh) – A ($1,200, ceremony and six hours of cocktail hour/reception music). Josh did a GREAT job. He suggested some great music and kept everyone dancing. We also got a lot of compliments on the DJ.
Favors: Brownies (Mom) – A+
Lighting: DJ provided basic lighting, see above.

Other
Limo: Royal Transportation – A ($470). We needed a shuttle to provide transfers from the hotel to the reception and back to the hotel. Royal Transportation is one of the few companies that will do this, and they did a good job. Everyone got everywhere they needed to be on time, even though he was a little late picking everyone up from the hotel before the wedding ceremony. The $470 included four hours however we wanted to split them up.
Florist: Floral Sense – A++ (~$1,000). This price included about 14 centerpieces, a head table centerpiece, four bouquets, corsages for the moms and boutonnieres. Crystal did an AMAZAING job!!
DOC: N/A, however, the DJ helped keep the day moving. I wish I had asked him to do a few things (i.e. remind the guests about the photobooth), but I forgot and so I can’t blame him for that.

Photography
Photographer: LBE Photography – A+ ($1,750). Amazing photos!! We are waiting on our final photos, but the previews we have seen have been amazing.
Videographer: Wedit – B ($200). This price does not include the video editing. Wedit provided us with five cameras, which were handed out the guests to record the ceremony and reception. We got the important stuff (i.e. ceremony, speeches, and dances), and a lot of extra stuff. Exactly what we wanted. It is a few hundred dollars for them to create a wedding video, which we will probably do. I gave them a B because the website is kind of crappy and they don’t provide you with a DVD of the raw footage, you have to download directly off the internet. We could have downloaded everything before we returned the cameras, but there was way too much going before we left for the honeymoon to do this.
Photobooth: Shutterbooth – A ($1,000). This price included the photobooth/videobooth for six hours and scrapbook. This was a huge hit and a lot of fun. Sean, our host, did a great job. We got the videobooth option, and it wasn’t really utilized as much as we had hoped, but we still got some great video messages. Remember to remind the DJ to remind the guests to visit the photobooth! I think the older guests and even some of the younger guests who hadn’t been to a wedding in a while had no idea what was going on in the corner
Picture Locations: Indian Springs Metro Park
Engagement Pictures: N/A

Beauty / Attire
Rings: Miner’s Den, Royal Oak – A++++. Our family has been going to Miner’s Den for years, they are awesome!
Wedding dress: Moni’s Bridal – B+ ($1,000 including the dress, slip, and alterations). The dress was very fairly priced, and the alterations were amazing! However, I was slightly intimidated by Moni, and I felt pressured to buy a slip (or pay $150 to shorten the dress). Accessories and bridesmaids dresses are kind of expensive here, so I didn’t buy anything else here.
Alterations: Moni’s Bridal
Tuxes: Men’s Warehouse – A.
Bridesmaid Dresses: David’s Bridal – A ($100/each). No complaints. We found really cute dresses that the girls loved and are actually planning to wear again. One of the girls even got her dress altered and was very happy with the alterations. I’m not sure who did the alterations, but she got them done at the Madison Heights store.
Hair: My hair ended up being a mini disaster for me, and I won’t be returning to the hair stylist I’ve been doing to for about 7 years because of the debacle. I won’t get into it since it has nothing else to do with the salon.
Makeup: Andrew Marke Salon – A ($60 or $65). Beautiful make up.

Paper
Save the Dates: Iheartpaperandthread on Etsy – A++++. Meg designed our save the dates, invitations, table numbers, seating chart table, and thank you cards, and we printed them. She did a GREAT job and was so quick to respond to requests. If you have access to an affordable printer and want something custom, contact Meg!
Invites: See above.
Programs/Menus: N/A

*If you want anymore information on the vendors I used, let me know!

IrishBride87 · July 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_michigan-detroit_vendor-costlocationreviews-here?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:88Discussion:d2e05f5b-5cb1-4d01-9ff5-0021b038bf65Post:5d3832bf-d9bf-4715-a3b7-de43d4739243">Re: **Vendor Cost/Location/Reviews Here!**</a>:
[QUOTE]Ceremony Ceremony Site- Colony Club A+. You can't ask for a more beautiful room. They dropped the ceremony fee because I was having the reception there and it was January. Officiant Family Friend Ceremony Music Eric Miller, An Ultimate Sound A+. $550 for ceremony and reception(special rate because he knows my mom) We had our DJ play a custom mix of Vitamin String Quartet music. All the guests commented on how they loved the modern songs made into classical. Eric did a great job of mixing the songs and timing them with everyone's entrance. It was beautiful. Reception Reception Site Colony Club . Food and Venue appearance A+, management communication and valet issue D. Honestly, I love this venue. It's stunning. The food was fantastic. The staff was very friendly and efficient. However, there are too many managers to deal with. I had Allison for everything leading up to the final meeting. Then I had to meet with Nicole to re-explain everything. Then she relays the information to Judy who actually runs the event. There were too many things that I had to stay on top of because I could tell that they weren't. Thus, my valet was paid for and never ordered. So when my guests showed up to get valet they were promised in the inviatation, there was none and they had to go find and pay for parking. It was a big mistake that a venue with more organization would not have made. The owner finally came through for my husband and I, but it took some work. If you book there, you won't regret it. Just double and triple check everything and try to work with the person who will actually be running your wedding. Caterer- Colony Club A+ Delicious! $82 per person ++ Chair Covers/Linens- Chivari Chairs and Linens from Colony Club A+ Bakery Lakes Cakes A+++, my husband is a race car driver and they made a replica of his car ($120) and then we did cheesecakes ($120)for the actual served cakes. They were soooo good and just beautiful! DJ- Eric Miller, An Ultimate Sound . A++ Book him! He listens to what you want and keeps the party going. Our dance floor was going strong all night. Favors- Sanders Chocolate Coins $.55 each. A. They were cute and went with our theme. Lighting. Colony Club A+ Other Limo N/A Florist April Irelynn B-. $1500.Had some communication issues and my tall centerpieces had pink, not dark red flowers. She spent some time trying to convince everyone that the pink flowers would look red when it was dark. Eventually, my mom gave her four dozen roses that we were going to use for something else, and she replaced the pink flowers.They were fixed but at our expense. When it was done, everything looked beautiful and I did love my bouquets. I don't think I can recommend her though. DOC Tammara Kane- Grand Jour Events A+++++++ $350. Worth it. Book her. She made the day great! Miscellaneous equipment Photography Photographer Amanda Williams A+++ $1350. She was fanstastic to work with and the sample pics I have seen are incredible. Videographer NA Photobooth NA Picture Locations Colony Club Engagement Pictures Jess Buttermore for Jessie B Photography $150 A+, loved her work! Beauty / Attire Rings Tappers and Larson's Jewelry. A+ Love it all Wedding dress Elizabeth's Bridal . $1050. A-, Dress came in on time and everything was fine but they were pretty snippy about either get it altered here or pay a monthly fee to leave it there. I just needed a week to come and get it. They weren't very understanding. Alterations The Wedding Shoppe Berkley A-, Beautiful but very pricey for a bustle, press and cups. Tuxes Men's Wearhouse A, no problems Bridesmaid Dresses Allure Bridal in Livonia , A. No problems Hair- Nikki McIntyre, Tricho Ann Arbor A+++++ Unbelievable work. My hair looked great all night. My girls looked beautiful too. Makeup Myself! Paper Save the Dates Vistaprint, A. Invites Wedding Paper Divas, A. Programs/Menus DIY
Posted by JMBsbride[/QUOTE]<div>
</div><div>
</div><div> I am currently looking for a venue and Colony Club has caught my attention. However, I will be doing most of the planning from my job in Virginia. How often did you have to meet with coordinators or do on site planning?

</div>

acaponi87 · July 2012

Some background info: my H and I are both from the Metro-Detroit area but live 5 hours away. Convience, flexibility and good communication were very important to us.

Please feel free to PM me or ask here if you have any specific questions!

Ceremony
Ceremony Site--Greystone Golf Course. A+, $700.
The ceremony site is gorgeous. It's on a lake and is cool because the seating is set up almost stadium style so everyone can see well. The aisle is also very dramatic: long and everyone is well-hidden until they are supposed to be seen. If it would have rained, the ceremony would have been in the reception area and we would have been refunded the $700.

Officiant--LaDonna Weddings--A--Rev. Tab Martin. $450
LaDonna was easy to work with. We paid $325 for the ceremony and $125 for our rehearsal. Tab married us and he did an excellent job. He's funny, wise and did an excellent job. La Donna was flexible and had no issue with us making changes to our script. We were truly able to make our ceremony exactly what we wanted.

Ceremony Music--Elite Entertainment DJs--A--$300
Jon and Evan did a great job. Jon was easy to work with and the music sounded great the day of.

Reception
Reception Site--Greystone Golf Course and Banquet Center--A+--$72 per plate (including taxes and gratuities).
Greystone is amazing and there are not words for how awesome Maggie, the banquet coordinator is. When my H and I were looking at venues early on Maggie sold us. We met her and we were very confident that our wedding and the planning process would be so much easier with her and it was.

One of the reasons I loved Greystone is because their packages include so much and there are really no hidden costs. Our cost per person was based on a plated meal of filet and chicken. It also included a 5 hour premium bar, hors d'oeuvres, late night pizza snacks, champagne toast for all guests, cake cutting and all taxes and gratuities. We had a Saturday night wedding so there was a 150 guest minimum.

The staff was extremely helpful and did a great job. The venue is gorgeous and recently has had some updates. The space is large, open and the dance floor is beautiful. They've got a good outdoor patio that our guests loved and the space overlooks the golf course.

Caterer--Greystone--A+
The food was amazing. We ended up having filet and bacon gouda chicken. We got tons of compliments on the food.

Chair Covers/Linens--Couture Chair Covers (through Greystone)--A
I can't remember exactly but I think we paid $2.50 for runners and maybe $2 for chair covers/sashes? The only thing I remember I was a little bummed about was they didn't have a ton of color options, but it all worked out fine.

Bakery--Achatz Handmade Pie Co.--A--$390
My H and I don't like cake so we decided to do wedding pies instead. Achatz is a great company and their pies are delicious. We ended up getting 3 10'' pies for display and for us to cut and then 8 half sheets--2 of each: Michigan 4 berry, Florida Key Lime, Raspberry Cream and French Silk. The cost also included delivery. The only thing to consider is that they are not open on Saturdays. We were able to have them deliver on Friday to Greystone since they didn't have an event that day but if we wouldn't have been able to do that it would have gotten tricky.

DJ--Elite Entertainment--$1,095--A
We were very happy with Elite. Jon (DJ Kool-Aid) was our DJ and he was wonderful. He played all our "must plays" and kept the dance floor packed. He was very professional and easy to work with before the wedding. We were able to do our final appointments over the phone which we appreciated. Our price included: 2 DJs to coordinate, MC and play music, deluxe light show, back-up equipment, back-up dj, planning session and 6 hours of music. We also used them for our ceremony music and that cost $300. At the end of the night they gave us a cd wtih all of our ceremony music and our special dances. Elite also does photography, photobooths and videography and offers bundle discounts.

Favors--Did not do favors.

Lighting--Just what was included with our DJ package.

Other
Limo--Did not have 1

Florist--Parsonage Events--A. $1,030
Parsonage is a smaller company that does very unique and beautiful arrangements. I LOVED our flowers. Liz is such a great lady to work with. She was so patient with my indecisions and worked very hard to make sure what she was doing worked wtih our budget (I think she ended up doing 4 quotes for me or something). The price included, my bouquet, 5 bridesmaids bouquets, 3 corsages, 9 bouts and 2 side pieces as well as delivery. We had 2 vases break right before the ceremony and Parsonage was very understanding and didn't charge us which we appreciated. Everything was delivered on time and looked great!

Hotel/Shuttle--Hampton Inn--Shelby Twp/Detroit location--C---Shuttle $262
The Hampton is the newer hotel and is the closest to Greystone. Life was good in the beginning. We blocked off 20 rooms to start. Dana was helpful. I booked the shuttle. As time went on things got a little weird. They've changed their group manager multiple times . When the wedding got close I became more confused about the shuttle and coudn't get ahold of anyone to answer my questions. The day before came and they had sign up sheets for the shuttle which is good in theory but it's like 50 minute round trip and who ever was there the night before signed up for the shuttle. We ended up calling a cab company the day before the wedding and made sure that we had cabs there at the end of the reception. The rooms at the hotel were nice and the group rate was good. I was irrationally annoyed because we didn't our room comped. Also we were 1 of 4 weddings there. And I had a friend who had issues with a room (like they said they didn't have 1 for her) but it got resolved.

Miscellaneous equipment--Petal Garden.com--A
We got fake flower petals through this website. They are great because they will send you 10 free samples of all the colors (they have TONS of colors). Good prices and they have a very helpful guide to help you know how much to order. They also have freeze-dried petals.

Photography
Photographer--Photos by Miss Ann--A+, $1,825
Ann in 3 words: Fast, fun, energetic. She is the quickest photographer there is. She will respond to you within the hour almost always. She had all our wedding photos done within 24 hours. She had our photobook done within 48 hours. Her work is beautiful and creative. Don't use her if you are afraid to get dirty. Between engagement pictures and the wedding day she had us in rivers, climbing trees, jumping, all sorts of crazy stuff. She is loud and quick and which is great for doing the wedding party pictures. She was exteremly accomodating when building a custom package for us. Our package included:an engagement session (with 50 4X6 proofs), coverage for 6-7 hours, unlimited wedding photos taken (we ended up with over 700), 1 coffee book table (which she upgraded for us), online viewing and ordering within 1-3 days of the wedding, high-res USB drive with all the pictures and rights to them and all travels, taxes and shipping expenses.

Picture Locations---Nichols Arboretum and the Law Quad in Ann Arbor.
We did our engagement pictures in the fall. These places are great and free. We had such beautiful colors (we did them middle of October). It's got it all: pretty buildings, trees, fields, rivers, train tracks, benches, whatever you want.

Beauty / Attire
Rings--Helzberg Diamonds--A
Love our rings. H bought my wedding band and E-ring together as a set. I think all together it was around $4500 (shhh I'm not supposed to know that) and his was $1100. We both have lifetime warrantys on ours.

Wedding dress--Mori Lee-Blu Style 4601--Nicole Michaels Bridal and Formal--A--$650
This is a smaller shop but is awesome. I love Nicole. She's got tons of dresses, most of which are under $1000. Great experience there

Alterations--Nicole Michaels--Michelle--$145
Michelle did mine at NMs. The price included boob cups sewn in, bustle and hem.

Tuxes--Men's Warehouse---B--$130
Our groomsmen were all over the country so it had to be either Men's Warehouse or President Tuxedo. My groom had a very specific look he wanted and MW had the better prices (slightly) and the better look so we went with them. Overall it went pretty well. My dad's tux was the wrong size but they got that fixed. I'm not sure if there were other issues. They are just kind of annoying to work with. My H wore his own tux and since we had 6 tuxes he got $450 toward a suit and that was the experience from hell but I'll try to not let that cloud my judgement as far as the actual wedding tux situation went. The price does not include vests, because we didn't wear them. I should also note that we did most of the work with a MW in Cincinnati so I can't give you a location that will help really.

Bridesmaid Dresses--Konja's Bridal---A. Dresses were Dessy (D498 in ebony) and cost about $160.
My MOH had sent them a list of dresses they were interested in trying on and they had them all pulled and ready for us. They really made the experience pretty painless. Also, they do free alterations for BM dresses

I told my girls they could wear whatever dresses they wanted within a color yet they all choose the same one and despite the vast difference in body type they all looked amazing.

Hair--Andrew Marke Salon (between $55-$70)--A
Elizabeth did my hair and it came out awesome. 3 of my BM's also got their hair done here and I honestly loved them all.

Makeup--My cousin (who was a BM) did my make-up as well as my mom's and 4 of my BMs. She's amazing. If you are intersted PM me and I can give you her information.

Paper
Save the Dates--Wedding Paper Divas--A--$133
For 115 postcard STDs. Super cute, quick to ship, easy to make.

Invites--Wedding Paper Divas--A--$366.
Here's my WPD talk. They can be expensive (IMO). However if you wait til holidays and do your reasarch you can get good deals. Look up coupon codes. Try them, even if they say they are expired. I saved $65 with an expired coupon code. I ended up saving over $200 with all the codes I found. A lot of times you can get bundle discounts, so buy all your invite stuff at onces (including TY cards). Our price included 120 invites, printed return addresses, RSVP cards, TY cards and envelopes for all.

Programs/Menu--I DIYed programs like a week before the wedding on Microsoft word. I signed up for a free trial of oneheartweddings.com and used a clipart from them and then cancelled my membership lol. I ended up printing them through the UPS store. 90 copies (front and back--1 side in color) was about $60.

spartybride3 · July 2012

Side note: We live in Chicago, so all of this was planned long distance with a couple visits to Michigan here or there. My husband is originally from Farmington Hills.
Ceremony
Ceremony Site & Music: The Inn at St. John's Chapel- A+ , $1250

Everyone there was great. I had a surprise bagpiper for our recessional & they were able to keep it a complete secret from the groom, which was incredibly important to me. They do rush you through things, like the rehearsal & pictures, but we got everything done that we wanted to. I also had them read over my programs, etc to make sure everything was correct. The ladies in the chapel were super helpful!

Officiant: Father Brian Chabala- A+

He's know my husband for years, so it was an obvious choice.

Reception
Reception Site: The Inn at St. John's Grande Ballroom, A, $12500 minimum. 2nd coordinator- B+/C

I will say that when we originally booked everything, I had a great coordinator. Then she left around March/April and I was reassigned to another coordinator, Rebecca. She was extremely difficult to get a hold of and I had to stalk her to get her to return an email or a phone call. When I was finalizing my banquet orders, etc she kept getting stuff wrong & was very slow to send the room arrangement to my other vendors. My florist finally had to go in there and make her finish it.

The day of, things were fine. At the cocktail hour I only saw 2 of the 6 appetizers we selected, but guests said they had them. We had signature cocktails passed & those were really good. They really stuck to the food allergies/restrictions I sent them, which made me happy. We also had a french fry bar for our late night snacks, which everyone loved!!!

Caterer: See above

Chair Covers/Linens: Affairs to Remember, A, $7.95/person for chiavari chair, chair pad, table linen, & napkin

Iva was really nice. I unfortunately had less people coming than the minimum I agreed to earlier, so I had to spend the money anyway

. If I would've changed within 45 days, I would've been fine. However, she had her ways of using linens I already paid for on tables I wouldn't think of. One thing I was bummed about was that I ordered 2 green napkins (Michigan State Alum's) for my husband & I and we never got them.

Bakery: Pastry Palace, A, ~$600 for 3 tiers w/sparkles & a sheet cake in back

This cake is delicious!!! I just ordered vanilla with bavarian cream frosting. The day of, I only got to have a couple small bites & my husband did not get to eat any.

DJ: Bridwell Entertainment, DJ Larry Slabosz, D, $1000

We were very disappointed in the DJ, as every time I soke with him before the wedding he seemed great. Our entrance song skipped for most of it, he was slow to get the dancing started, he played way too many slow songs, he did not play many of the songs we asked him too, and he did not play the mother/son song we asked him to. He gave us the excuse that he was on vacation & couldn't find it, however he was back from vacation earlier in the week & I gave him the name of the song 3 days before the wedding. My husband & his mom were really upset & then he tried to get them to dance to Bruno Mars "Just the way you are" & we were like "NO!!!! What are you thinking!!!!!!!" We had to keep telling him what to do & it was just an annoyance throughout the night. He seemed very unprepared.

Other
Florist: Uniquely Yours in Northville, A+

Flowers came out perfect. Everything I asked for. My bouquet was stunning & I wish it would stay alive forever!

Bagpiper: Donald Ross, A+, $225

I got this for my husband for our recessional, since he always asked for one and I would always say no. He had great communication and was able to coordinate with all the parties involved to keep it a surprise. My husband & all the guests loved it!!!

Photography--UPDATED 9/22/12
Photographer: Kelly Dobson Photography, Was A- Now giving C, $1999 for 10 hours

From what I've seen so far, the pictures look great! I cannot wait to see more. Kelly was on time & listed to what me & my husband wanted or did not want. Throughout the whole day, she was efficient. She also brought an assistant with her. Kelly has you do your payments in increments...one when you book her, one a month before, and your final payment when you get your proofs in 4-6 weeks. She does the same thing for pictures when you order them.

Update: Her communication was TERRIBLE post wedding. Our proofs were promised withing 4-6 weeks and we got them at 8 weeks because I bothered her for them constantly. She kept promising "Oh they'll be done by X." and then they weren't. Finally when we got them I was really disappointed. There are only 3 of me coming down the aisle & she is missing many shots that I know we took. Also many pictures are blurry and out of focus. I have to live with these pictures for the rest of my life & I am really upset about them. I keep emailing her & she does not respond and when I call she gives me a half ass response. I am really disappointed in her.

Videographer: Artistic Video Productions, cannot give a grade now, $1695 for all day.

I really liked that Tom stayed out of our way

I don't say that in a mean way, but I was able to carry on through the day without feeling like I always had a camera in my face or that I was acting. He was really nice & on time, but I haven't seen any of the finished product or a sneek peek, so I can't comment on how the video turned out.

Beauty / Attire
Rings: Golden Gifts in Livoinia, A

My husbands, sisters in-laws have been going there for years. We worked with David, the owner, and he did an incredible job. Both my engagement ring & wedding ring were custom designed & they turned out perfect. I was a little nervous, but he really knows what he's talking about. We got a great price on both rings & they would've costs thousands more anywhere else.

Wedding dress: Gina's Bridal in Milford, A+

The girls here are great!!! They are all incredibly helpful & don't push you to buy anything & they let you try on as many dresses as you want. Gina is frequently in the store with her mom & they are very nice!

Alterations: Paulita's Alterations in Milford (next to Gina's Bridal), C- (for her attitude)

Did she alter my dress? Yes. Did it fit the day of? Yes. Did she make me cry & give me a huge headache the week of my wedding? YES. When I went in for my final fitting, somehow the bust of my dress had a huge gap between my dress and the chest. I was like what the heck happened & she just said "I don't know." I was in 3 weeks earlier & it fit fine. She said she could take in the bust, but she would have to remove my belt & then I would be charged another $65, when my alterations in the first place were already over $300. I'm sitting there crying & mad because everything was fine & now it didn't fit & she wasn't saying ANYTHING. Finally, she was like, "well I can take in the rib cage a little more." so I let her & it ended up fitting, but seriously??? THEN I was going to pick it up on my way to the rehearsal & I called that morning & asked if I could pick it up later in the day because something came up. She said it was fine & that she would be there until 6:30. I show up at a little after 6 and she is not there & the door is locked. I am fuming!!! I ran into Gina's because they have a key to her studio, but guess what? The door is stuck & it won't open. They called Paulita & she wouldn't come over. She told them to pull harder. Are you kidding me?????? One of the girls at Gina's called her husband to come open the door, but apparently I was full of adrenaline because I got the door open with no issue (luckily).

Tuxes: N/A...guys bought navy suits from various places.

Bridesmaid Dresses: JCrew, A at both Somerset & in Chicago.

It was kind of hard to get an appointment in Chicago, but they do have a lot of dresses available to try on in a variety of colors. I picked the silk chiffon dresses in graphite. I let my girls pick whatever style they wanted. Nothing really to say in this area!

Hair & makeup: First & 2nd trial: Dean Sadler Studio in Plymouth, F (Do NOT go there!!)

I have to preface the makeup stories with this: I was walking through Macy's in Chicago while shopping during my bachelorette party. The girls at the Urban Decay counter stopped us & asked if we wanted our makeup done. We said sure & the girl there did an amazing job on me! I was like this is exactly what I want to look like on my wedding day. I bought all the supplies I needed & took pictures to accomplish the look.

I went to Dean Sadler for a trial on the recommendation of two of my husband's sisters friends. I was really excited because they have a whole bridal suite & they put out pastries, bagels, juice, and champagne. I went in for my first trial with some pictures and there is no other way to say this other than he could not do what I was showing him. I had a huge ring of hair around my head & I looked like Princess Lea from Star Wars. He told me I had too much hair & I had to cut it, which I semi-believed because my hair was down to my waist. I know first hand that its heavy & doesn't hold a curl. Then we went & did my makeup & I swear my 4 year old niece could've done a better job. It was like he put black eyeshadow on and then just rubbed it. I looked like I got punched in the face. I was like Noooooooooo this is not even close. So he kept trying, but it was just not right.

I went in for a 2nd trial (it was free) with a haircut & some new makeup in more neutral tones. He again tried to put my hair up, but it looked nothing like the picture. I orginally wanted to wear my hair down, but it was so long that it covered my dress. He put it down after trying and updo & it looked fine & was short enough so I decided to go with my original plan. Ok fine. Then we go back to makeup & it was more of the same thing. It was this dark shimmer fest on my eyes & he was not listening & could not even come close to what I wanted. I was on the verge of tears & wanted to leave in the middle of the appointment. Plus, he made me late for all of my other appointments that day. He seriously does not listen at all & I would not waste your time there!!!

Day of Hair/makeup: Salon 3 in Milford, B

I booked here as a last resort after my last trial since this is where my husband's mom and sister go. I did not do a hair trial because its really not hard to curl hair & leave it down. You would have to be pretty bad to mess that up! I did two eye makeup trials, since that was my biggest concern. I brought in the eyeshadows for my 1st trial with Dawn & again it was like a big shimmer fest on my face. Not what I was going for. I went back to the Urban Decay Counter & had the girl that did my makeup before show me exactly what she did & what colors she used so I could go back & have the salon or myself do it.

I did a 2nd trial with Jillian the week of my wedding & brought her the colors & techniques used. After a couple rounds, it looked pretty good & I felt better about it. The day of I just had her do my eyes & I did my face right before the ceremony so it looked fresh. I also touched up my eyes but nothing major.

From Urban Decay I bought: 24/7 concealor & eye liner, the cream to powder foundation, the all nighter spray, & the naked 2 palate. Through 3 crying fits (not really fits, but that is what I call them) my makeup did not budge. I did a minor touch up right before the reception, but I was also in the heat taking pictures for 2 hours & I needed to clean up.

Paper
Save the Dates: Wedding Paper Diva's

We just did postcards. I like that they proof it for you, but they only do it twice & then you have to start paying.

Invites: With Grace (Chicago)

Programs/Menus: Used Microsoft Publisher template & printed at home.

EmoryHope · July 2012

Wedding and Reception Location: The Iroquois Club in Bloomfield Hills

This venue was perfect! I would definitely give them an A+. I was planning my wedding from Atlanta, but it didn't seem that hard because the Iroquois Club helped me in every way possible. I didn't even have to worry about decorations because it is already so well decorated. The food was to die for, the drinks were perfect, and the staff seemed genuinely happy to help me make it a special day. I was so happy to have chosen The Iroquois Club.

emilynnp · July 2012

Ceremony
Ceremony Site: St. Valentine Catholic Church A
Officiant: Father Suresh A
Ceremony Music: St. Valentine Choir A

Reception
Reception Site: Italian American Banquet Center, Livonia MI A
Caterer: IABC: 129 people averaged out to 49$pp including tax and tip. Included std bar (paid extra for different beer), light appetizers, fruit display, pizza, & champagne toast. A
Chair Covers/Linens: Colored napkins provided by IABC. chair covers/sashes, two colored table runners per table, and draped satin/organza decorations for head table, cake table, and gift table was done by our florist and is included in the cost below. (See florist for grade.) The setup was beautiful, I was very happy with how it turned out.
Bakery: Sorrella’s Bakery in Livonia 515$ for cake (3$pp) plus delivery. So delicious! We had marble cake with oreo mousse filling. It was amazing. My husband ate most of the leftovers J They forgot the cake stand the day of, but I honestly didn’t realize this until several days after the wedding. We received a refund for the stand rental promptly. A
DJ: AV7 Weddings 855$ after 10% discount for 6 hours. He played from a list of songs I provided during dinner, which I loved, but I would have liked him to play more of the dance songs I had listed. A-
Favors: Two Lindt truffles inside bride and groom shaped boxes. Got the truffles on Amazon, and my mom bought the boxes online. Ended up being about 80 cents per favor. The truffles were great, but the boxes were not. A for truffles D for boxes
Lighting: AV7 Weddings. 585$ for the small lighting package after package discount. Also did 80 feet of pipe and drape with AV7 for 180$. Main reason we went with this company was to cover the divider wall and they offered the best price for pipe and drape I was able to find. I wasn’t sure about the lighting at first, but it really made the room look awesome. A

Other
Limo: My husband doesn’t drink and we had a small bridal party so I wanted to drive ourselves for pictures and to the reception. My dad insisted on a limo and ended up hiring Entertainment Express. We got the wrong size car, our driver lost his cell phone and was using BM's phone to make calls to his boss/dispatch, and we had to give him step by step directions. When we arrived at the hall the driver tried telling my parents that they owed him more money. It was just a waste of money, in my opinion. D
Florist: Wedding and Celebration Creations in Canton it was around $1800 or $1900 for a the following: Linens and reception decorations listed above, 13 centerpieces with votives, my bouquet and 2 BM bouquets, 10 bouts, 2 corsages, flower girl bouquet, unity candle arrangement, 8 pew flowers/sashes, a Madonna arrangement, and cake flowers. The flowers were absolutely stunning, the quality of the arrangements and the decorations was superb. The owners were wonderful to work with throughout the whole process and they really listened to what I wanted. A+
DOC: Did not have one, but boy that few hundred dollars would have saved a lot of headaches.

Photography
Photographer: Lovella Photography, Dearborn Heights. $2550 for 10 hours, two photographers, DVD with rights, and substituting a 10x10 album for the engagement session. Lindsey and Brandon were absolutely perfect, I am so, so happy we decided to hire them. Day of, they were calm and fun, which really helped me remain calm and have a really good time. I have a handicapped brother who can be overwhelming to some people, but they handled him in stride and got him to enjoy himself in the pictures as well. My husband and I are in love with our pictures!! A+
Videographer: Didn’t have one. Don’t regret it, fwiw.
Photobooth: Didn’t have one
Picture Locations: E-pics were done at Mt Soledad Veteran’s memorial (where he proposed!) and Windansea beach in La Jolla, CA. Wedding pictures were taken at Greenmead Historic Park in Livonia.

Engagement Pictures: Kristen Peelle Photography in San Diego, CA. A+ 250$ for 1 hour session, two locations with 30-40 edited images with DVD/rights. We actually spent about two hours with Kristen and ended up with closer to 60 pictures (over 100 on the DVD, she sent most pictures in both color and B&W or sepia). We seriously considered hiring her for our wedding, but with the added travel expenses it was out of the budget.

Beauty / Attire
Rings: My engagement ring and wedding band ($995) are from Zales A for both. FI’s band was from Kay, ~300$ A
Wedding dress and Alterations: Mori Lee 2514 from Allure Bridal Salon in Livonia, $710 and alterations were around $200. They know what will flatter your figure. I would not have tried on this dress if the woman I was working with hadn’t suggested it. Same thing happened when my best friend went shopping for her dress here. The dress took about 6 months to come in, so I was happy I ordered early. I had to schedule alterations well in advance, since I was coming in from out of town, but everything ended up great. A+
Tuxes: President Tuxedo. We had some issue with the ties for one groomsman that would have been caught had they tried on the entire tux when they picked it up. Not sure if that was the fault of the store, or the men not following directions. Otherwise, the guys looked great. A-
Bridesmaid Dresses: Mori Lee 262 in Royal Blue. 135$ after 10% discount. My bridesmaids really like the fact that this dress has a corset back and I thought it they looked beautiful. A
Hair and Makeup: Bridesmaid Beautiful. $600 for hair and airbrush makeup for myself, two BM and two moms. The ladies were fantastic and incredibly patient even though the moms were kind of resistant to the makeup and neither knew what they wanted to do with their hair. With all of the stress leading up to the wedding, I ended up with two monster pimples, but the airbrush makeup covered that beautifully and lasted all day. I highly recommend hiring these ladies! A+

Paper
Save the Dates: Magnet Street $149 for 100 A. I know Vistaprint is a lot cheaper but this site is so easy to personalize and their designs are a lot nicer than the templates on Vistaprint.
Invites: My SIL is designed and printed these for us as a gift! She’s an awesome graphic designer J A++++
Programs/Menus:Also amazing SIL A++++

mrsimsdjservices · August 2012

DJ SERVICES ARE AVAILABLE AT. MRSIMSDJSERVICESYAHOO.COM. follow us on facebook. Www.facebook.com/m.r.simsdjservices. 586/601/9709. Ty. Maureen. Owner/operator

drandreasalazar · August 2012

Ceremony
Ceremony Site-Most Blessed Sacrament Cathedral A+
Keylee R. from the church only comes in on Saturdays so sometimes there is a wait while you are waiting for an answer as she is not in on a daily basis at the office but in end she will make sure everything is right. Father Mike has been great.. makes you feel relaxed. This cathedral took my breath away, stunning. The organ is amazing.

Officiant- Included above
Ceremony Music- Included above

Reception
Reception Site- Cherry Creek Golf and Banquet- Shelby Township, B-
- 24hour email turn around time from Kelly (manager) & Brittany at first but lately I have been waiting multiple days for a response. The food tasting was a disaster. The mashed potatoes were runny like apple sauce. Gross. But in the end the food looked and tasted great the day of. Portions were smaller than at the tasting.

Caterer- same as reception site
Chair Sashes- N/A

Linens & wall Draping Linens and Beyond, A+
Really helpful... a lot to choose from. Fair prices. Gave a discount. Looked better than I thought it would which is always great. I would work with them again.

Cake- Cake by Olivia, A+
6 tier cake. Very professional. Great tasting cakes. 48 hour email response time. I would work with her again.

DJ & UpLighting JD Entertainment B+
Love their preparation website, helps you get organized for the reception. Sometimes Slow turnaround time with email from office girl emily. I would work with them again.

Favors
Quik Picz Photo Booth, A++
Guests loved it. Fun to look back at guestbook. Great price when compared to other companies. I would work with them again.

Other
Limo-
Lavdas Limo, A++
Arrived on time, very organized. Big party bus. Best price for quality that I found. I would work with them again.

Florist- Bridal party flowers by Grand Jour Events, A++

Hotel Room Block-
Hyatt Shelby Township, B-
Slow at responding to voicemails. Had to leave multiple voicemails. Better to email. Very helpful at getting you the information you need and with our welcome bags. I would work with them again.

DOC- Grand Jour Events Tammara Kane, A++
We interviewed 3 other DOC before signing with her. She was the most organized, knew what she was talking about.. Responds back to emails in less than 24 hours.

Photography
Photographer- Studio 41
informational website to see what photo packages include. Same day email responses from photographer Steve.
Videographer- n/a
Engagement Pictures- Included in photographer package price

Beauty / Attire
Rings
Wedding dress & Alterations- Arena Bridal, C+ - Maggie Sottero Decadence
I got an hour early to my appointment but when I got there they were all running around like chickens with their heads cut off. I dont think they have enough staff there.
I noticed when I took my dress out of the bag the morning of my wedding I had a black stain the size of my hand on the back side of my dress. They should have noticed that when they steamed/pressed it.

Tuxes- Mens Warehouse- matched Davids Bridal colors

Bridesmaid Dresses- Davids Bridal Farmington Hills, D-
Easy to make appointment over the phone. They only gave me an hour appointment which they didnt tell me on the phone. I felt rushed.
Also 3 out of the 5 bridesmaid dresses broke the day of the wedding.

Hair & Makeup Bridesmaid Beautiful, A++
They come to you

Paper
Save the Dates- Vistaprint A++

Invites- Beeyond Paper in Ada, MI
Takes forever to email you back.

Programs/Menus- Etsy A++

entropicbeauty · September 2012

Ceremony
Ceremony Site

$0 (included in entire venue rental), Ford Piquette Plant (http://tplex.org/), Detroit MI, D

Officiant

$0, Tom Joseph (friend of the bride), A++++++

Ceremony Music/Sound System

$0, venue supplied sound system, Bride supplied laptop to hook up, D

This rating is purely attached to the venue. The venue would not let us test the sound system at the rehearsal the night before, and then a half hour before the ceremony they realized they didn't have a cord that they needed to make it work.

Reception
Reception Site

$2,000 (for 160 headcount, costs more or less depending on QTY of people - also prices have gone up for 2013), Ford Piquette Plant (http://tplex.org/), Detroit MI, C-

There are so many things that I can say about this venue. It is hands down the most unique wedding venue I have ever seen and I absolutely loved that about it. All of the guests raved about how awesome the museum was and were thrilled to have docents show them around and talk about the history of the Model T. We were able to bring in our own food and alcohol, which was the hugest selling point. The staff of volunteers (particularly the venue coordinator) is incredibly hard to work with though and their stubbornness and unwillingness to communicate properly created a lot of issues with my wedding day going smoothly. Specific examples include...

-Air Conditioning: I asked the venue coordinator (Pat L.) about who her preferred vendor for heating and cooling was, because the weather is so unpredictable and we wanted to make sure that our guests would be comfortable in this historic building that does not have heating and cooling. Pat's response was to tell me that air conditioning would be pointless and not do anything for the space if it was humid out. I'm very disappointed that she got combative about this rather than just providing me the information I was asking for. The day ended up being miserably hot and myself and my guests would have been much more comfortable with air conditioning - I found out after the fact that events held in the middle of summer at the venue most definitely rent air conditioning units and they work marvelously to cool the space. I feel as if Pat outright lied to me about this because she didn't want to deal with another vendor.

-Sound System: When initially talking with Pat about the venue, she told us that the sound system was provided by the venue and they had a microphone and speakers. My husband looked at the equipment and said it looked like it would do what we needed to, so we left it at that...till the rehearsal dinner. We asked if we could run through our rehearsal with the sound system to which we were told "NO, absolutely not". We were told we could not touch the sound system, that there is one guy specifically who is allowed to touch it and he was unavailable. This wouldn't have been too bad...except because we weren't able to test the system, it wasn't discovered that they were missing an essential wire till 15 minutes before the ceremony was scheduled to start! The ceremony started over 20 minutes late because their "guy" had to run out to a radio shack to get the missing wire. On top of that, the speakers are of a very poor sound quality and the microphone barely works (hardly anyone could hear).

-Setup/Tear Down: For the longest time Pat said we would have a week to set up the venue and a week to clean up. We live out of town, so we could only make it in on the Friday before to do setup. Upon our arrival Pat made no mention of when we would have to clear out for the night, and rather than bring it up at any point she just decided at 8pm that we had to get out. We were given 15 minutes to gather our purses etc. and then kicked out of the venue - we weren't even done decorating yet (HUGE problem!). The day after the wedding, we went back to clean up after meeting with family and friends for a brunch...we got there around noon and began cleaning up - this time we were kicked out at 4pm with no warning! We essentially had to put all our stuff on the freight elevator and dump it into the parking lot to pack it up properly/finish organizing and cleaning it.

-Communication: It was a battle to get in touch with Pat and get straight answers out of her. She would not respond to e-mails and when making a call or going down there in person it was hard to get her to actually answer your questions (she would always start talking about a tangent and end up not fully answering what you had initially asked).

-Unprofessional: This in particular applies to Pat. At the very end of the evening when I was exhausted and ready to go home, she approaches me as we're leaving and says that she still hasn't received the final payment. I sent her the check in the mail and inquired multiple times before the wedding if payment had been received with no response from her...she waited until my wedding day to bring it up? She knew we would be back the next day to clean up and decided to harass me on my wedding day instead. I'm so very unimpressed with her unprofessional attitude. The biggest problem with this venue is hands down her. If they were to hire an actual professional to handle the weddings I think everything would be so much smoother.

Caterer

$600, Texas Roadhouse (http://www.texasroadhouse.com/) A++++++

We got 65 portions of Chicken, 60 portions of Pulled Pork, 180 portions of mashed potatoes & broccoli/carrots, and hundreds of rolls and cinnamon butter from them. My sister's boyfriend is a manager for Texas Roadhouse and he really took control of this and got us a fantastic price for the food and even went so far as to pick up the food from Slow's BBQ for us as well. The workers were competent and so very very helpful. The Manager also was a life-saver and made sure that everything worked out. I can not say enough nice things about them, I think the buffet line would have crashed and burned had it not been for them.

$968.04, Slow's to Go BBQ (http://slowstogo.com/), C

We got 35 lbs. of beef brisket, 5 pans of Mac & Cheese and 3 pans of Corn bread from Slow's. This pretty much wasn't worth the cost and hassle. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love Slow's BBQ food...their RESTAURANT is fantastic. Slow's to Go catering is a joke though. Communication from them gets an F - you have to fill out an online inquiry and the first time I did it (6 months before the wedding), I never received a response. A few weeks out from the wedding I tried to send in my actual order and get it paid for and it was like pulling teeth. The manager is incredibly hard to get ahold of (even though he gave me his "direct number"). They already had an event they were catering the same day as my wedding, so they told me they would not be able to deliver the food to our venue but that it wouldn't be a problem to make it and have someone pick it up...which was a hassle but I understood. When the Texas Roadhouse staff went there to pick up the food, they were told the food hadn't been paid for (I paid over a week in advance over the phone with a credit card)...so five minutes before I'm supposed to be walking down the aisle I've got this poor Texas Roadhouse worker on the phone saying they can't pick up the food because it's not paid for. That is not what I wanted to have to deal with at that particular moment in time. My mother had originally offered to pick up the food - if she had, she would have completely missed the ceremony or the ceremony would have started an hour late. I will never work with Slow's to Go ever again. The only reason I gave them a C rating is because the food really is stellar, but you would have to decide for yourself if it's worth the headache.

Servers

$445 (Servers & Bartenders), Great Lakes Party Professionals (http://www.glpartypro.com), D

3 servers for 3 and a half hours.

We had a buffet line set up and pretty much once the food was delivered only needed the servers to refill all the food. We released vegetarians and people with food allergies to retrieve their food first and then the bridal party went up to get food - by the time I reached the line many of the buffet items were empty. Multiple guests relayed to me that the buffet line was not full when they got up there. In addition, some of the items were never even put out (such as butter for the rolls). The servers were combative with the MOG when she approached them about some of this stuff and they directly ignored her requests. Completely unacceptable.

Bartenders

$445 (Servers & Bartenders), Great Lakes Party Professionals (http://www.glpartypro.com/), B+

2 bartenders and 1 bar back for 7 hours.

The Bartenders were a heck of a lot better than the servers! They don't get an A though because they didn't know how to mix all of our specialty drinks, and instead of asking someone they just "guessed" and made drinks waaaay too strong (multiple comments from guests about how their drink was all liquor). The bar was a bit of a mess but I will have to hold myself accountable for that because we purchased all the alcohol and beverages ourselves and it wasn't arranged as well as it could have been.

Table Cloths

$311, 25 round white, 10 rectangular white, 4 round black, 3 fitted rectangular black, B

Bought all the table cloths used from other brides on The Knot. The cost was cheap but having to iron them all the week before was strenuous. They looked great though.

Table Runners

$57.36, LinenTablecloth.com, 16 black & 16 red, A

Looked great, easy to use.

Bakery

$500, Just Baked, B+

Got 180 cupcakes plus a tower and a small cake for on top and they delivered and set it up. Everyone seemed to really like the cupcakes and we got a selection of 6 different flavors. I didn't give them an A because the tower itself looked so clunky and not elegant, it didn't look as cool as it could have and they sent over a tower that was way larger than we actually needed for 180 cupcakes, so it didn't look full - quite awkward.

DJ

$0, DIY, Venue Provided Sound System, F

The sound system provided by the venue was sub-par and because of this the music was either way too loud and breaking up, or so soft no one could hear it unless they were right next to the speakers. Most of my wedding playlists didn't even get played because the quality of the sound was just so awful.

Favors

Key Fobs

Not sure what the cost on these was. The groom's mother got them for us as a gift.

Lighting

$103.75, Paper Lanterns, http://www.paperlanternstore.com/, A+

The effect these created at the venue was awesome. I had 80 lanterns of varying sizes and they were hung at different levels. I got many compliments on how cool it looked.

$212.14, LED Throwies, B

Got batteries and LED bulbs from Amazon - the throwies took forever to assemble and get into the paper lanterns. The effect of the lit lanterns was super cool, but unfortunately it wasn't till super late at night that it could be seen properly. I think each lantern needed 10-15 more LEDs to achieve a proper level of brightness.

Other
Limo

$560, First Charter Bus, B-

We chose to do a bus because it was significantly cheaper than the alternatives - we got two 4 hour chunks (8 hours total). I think the idea of using the bus is fine, but the execution just wasn't what I needed it to be. We used the bus before the ceremony to take the wedding party around the city and take photos, then the bus dropped us off at the venue, went back to the hotel to get guests and come back to the venue before the ceremony - that portion went okay (though the bus driver seemed less than excited about how many stops we were making around the city). The problem was the latter part of the evening when the bus was supposed to act like a shuttle and take guests back to the hotel throughout the evening. Part of it was definitely not the bus driver's fault (traffic was horrendous from the Tigers/White Sox game), but I'm extremely dissatisfied that during the whole 4 hour chunk of time at the end of the evening, 2 trips were made to the hotel and back to the venue....we had guests who waited for over an hour and a half to get back to the hotel. The bus driver attempted to call my cell phone once to notify me of the delay (I did not receive the voicemail till the next day). I feel that the driver should have found an alternate route if traffic was as bad as everyone tells me it was, to take more than an hour and a half to go less than 2 miles is ridiculous. While I'm extremely unhappy with how this all went, I can't give them a truly bad rating because the first chunk of time did go pretty smoothly and the second part is definitely not entirely the driver's fault.

Florist

$0, Tiffany Esshaki (friend of the Groom), A+

Tiffany put together the gentlemen's boutineers. They turned out great and lasted the entire day! The only other flowers were for the bouquets and I made them with paper flowers.

DOC
$350, Grand Jour Events, A+

I worked with Stephanie from Grand Jour and she was absolutely fantastic. Her communications before the wedding while planning helped smooth things out in advance and helped keep my husband and I on track (she would ask us questions and I would go "hmm, I hadn't even thought about that!"). On the day-of she was instrumental in making sure things didn't go more epically wrong than they did (none of which was her fault or could have been avoided by her). She was constantly running around and made sure to come up to me and let me know everything I really needed to. This was absolutely the best money we spent for the wedding. I can not recommend the services of Grand Jour Events enough, particularly Stephanie!

Dance Instruction

$175, Swing Detroit, B+

We hired dance instructors to come to the venue and teach our guests how to do the Charleston and the Lindy Hop. We did a 1920's themed wedding so we thought it would help get people in the mood. The instruction part was great - Paul Carryer and his partner did a fantastic job. It was so hot that not many of the guests participated, but the performance itself was still great. B+ because communication prior to the event was not amazing - I would still recommend this vendor though.

Photography
Photographer

$650, Amy Pruder Photography (http://amypruder.com/), B+

Unlimited time, no assistant or prints. Amy Pruder is such a wonderful person. She is kind and on her game! My only critique is that I wish she had been a little more commanding and suggested more poses/set-ups. I also feel that she did not snap enough pictures of each pose to ensure that people weren't blinking and everyone was smiling nicely. I was disappointed that I didn't see any photos of guests at their tables, which is one of the requests I made on the photo list I gave to her. Everyone is really impressed with the photos and in the end I am very happy and would definitely recommend Amy.

Videographer
$0, Ronnie (soon to be cousin-in-law), A++++

My cousin's fiance Ronnie was kind enough to take our video camera and film all the important moments, and then he also went around and filmed some testimonials from our guests. I didn't cry once during the wedding, but watching the testimonials and everything on film definitely made me tear up.

Picture Locations

The Westin Book Cadillac, Detroit, A+

The Westin is absolutely GORGEOUS. What a fantastic building! The staff was kind enough to let us into one of the ballrooms to get some photos. There are so many great spots to get photos here.

The Guardian Building, Detroit, A+

The art deco architecture was gorgeous for snapping pictures for our 1920's wedding. The staff didn't bother us at all and visitors to the building were excited to see the bridal party posing (lots of people ended up taking pictures of us). Lots of great spots to pose.

The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, B+

I love the DIA - I used to volunteer there. The exterior of the building has some beautiful fountains that we posed against, and the building itself looks really awesome. Only gets a B+ because we weren't able to photograph on the interior (costs a lot of money to get permission to get photos inside the building).

The Ford Piquette Plant (T-Plex), Detroit, B

I love this location, the visuals (especially for formal photos) are such an interesting juxtaposition. The venue coordinator combined with no air conditioning made it pretty miserable to take photos at though.

Engagement Pictures

$0, Kim Gusway (friend of Bride), A+

We went to Yates Cider Mill and just had some fun. It was very informal, but we got the photos we needed for our save the date cards.

Beauty / Attire
His Ring

$30, Amazon, A+++

He loves his ring, he wanted to start wearing it before the wedding.

My Ring

$229, Amazon, B+

I love the design of my ring, but it is incredibly thin. I worry about it breaking. I will probably take it to a jeweler and ask to have something added to it to make it a bit more sturdy. It is 14k white gold with a blue topaz (stylized claddagh)

Wedding dress

$1000, Bombshell Bridal Boutique (http://www.bombshellbridalboutique.com/), A++++

http://www.sinceritybridal.com/sip/4544

I love love love Bombshell Bridal. They are hands down one of my favorite vendors. They actually ended up picking out my wedding dress for me, they had figured out my tastes and found the perfect dress for me. I will always recommend them to brides or anyone looking for formal wear, they are absolutely a pleasure to work with.

Alterations

$120, Marianne (through Bombshell Bridal), C

The top part of my dress ended up being really ill-fitting. She managed to take the top in a lot (I lost about 20 lbs. after buying the dress, and the top was already going to have to be taken in because my hip measurement was so much bigger than my bust to begin with), but it just...looked funny. The cup size of the dress was probably a double D and I am only a C cup, so I felt like it looked really silly and nothing was done to modify the cups. The photos of me in my dress without my bolero jacket are what made me realize just how ill-fitting the top was. I'm disappointed that the seamstress didn't say anything at the fittings and that I paid so much money for a dress that didn't look as great as it could have.

Groom's Suit

$174.88, JC Penny, A+

Exactly what we were looking for - we got it during one of their sales.

Bridesmaid Dresses

$180, Bombshell Bridal Boutique (http://www.bombshellbridalboutique.com/), A++++

Simply wonderful. None of my girls had any issues.

Hair

$65 per person, $65 trial, Bridal Beauty on Location (http://www.bridalbeautydetroit.com/), A++++

Sylvia Farmer was great to work with. She asked all the right questions and made sure I had all the information I needed in advance. Sylvia is the owner of the company, but Amber K. was the hairdresser who actually came to my hotel and did my and my girl's hair. Amber listened to what I wanted and worked from reference photos and she ended up giving me a fantastic hairstyle that is exactly what I was looking for. I would definitely recommend this vendor - super easy to communicate with and them traveling to me saved me a LOT of hassle.

Makeup

$0, DIY, A+

We did our makeup ourselves. Between me and my bridesmaids we had enough makeup and we helped each other out.

A lot of people loved my lipstick and wanted to know where I got it from. I got KAT VON D lipstick in red from Sephora. The lipstick was absolutely what I was looking for - I needed something long lasting that was kissable, not to mention the color was perfect! People were astounded that I was kissing the groom with such red lips and not getting it all over him.

Paper
Save the Dates

$44.60, Overnight Prints (http://overnightprints.com/), B-

The price was right, but the quality is not the best (image quality is grainy) and shipping takes foreeeever.

Invites

$232, DIY, A+

Most expensive part of my DIY invites was the postage! I got my pocketfolds from http://cardsandpockets.com/ along with the cardstock and envelopes I needed. I'm a graphic designer so I was easily able to design what I wanted using Adobe Illustrator. I received numerous compliments on these.

Buffet Cards/Escort Cards/Bar Menu/Table Numbers

$80.33, DIY, B

The design was spot on, but I ran out of time so the production/craft quality ended up being not as great as I would have liked.

KBLDC2012 · September 2012

emily no longer works at mirror mirror....she is still at sephora in Somerset and also works at H2O salon in birmingham.

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_michigan-detroit_vendor-costlocationreviews-here?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:88Discussion:d2e05f5b-5cb1-4d01-9ff5-0021b038bf65Post:00ff746f-1d46-4917-adb7-b0703db0cd65">Re: **Vendor Cost/Location/Reviews Here!**</a>:
[QUOTE]Ceremony Ceremony Site- The Masonic Temple of Detroit- $1100, A+ Dorothy is the woman in charge and she's very upbeat. The chapel inside the building is gorgeous and needs no decorating. Officiant- Friend ordained on line -A , she did a great job. Ceremony Music- Stanley Cuiross, scuiross@yahoo.com, he was referred by our primary DJ and we hired him the day before the ceremony because we were going to do the music ourselves (on an ipod). Absolute great decision to get the DJ! A $100 Reception Reception Site- Pi Banquet Hall in Southfield- $49 a plate (discount for February wedding). Plated dual entre with Salad and Pasta courses as well. B+ for my personal expirience with the owner and the hall. It's beautiful for a banquet hall, the owner is super accomodating when planning the wedding, and the food was great. However, at the wedding, a few of the employees rudely asked me to move out of the way while I was talking to my guests. Also, I supplied very few decorations, including 150 small votive glass candleholders. All the candleholders were thrown away by the staff even though I notified the owner that I would be there the next day to pick up my stuff. The owner fished most of them out of the garbage but I felt he didn't really care to admit the mistake. C- for the report I got from vendors after the wedding. I was told the hall was not ready when it was scheduled to be for the other vendors to do their work and there was a bit of unprofessional fighting. (thank god I hired a coordinator to handle all of it) Caterer- Pi Banquet Hall- A for food (salad, lobster mac and cheese, prime rib with mashed potatoes and veggies.) Chair Covers/Linens- Inlcuded in banquet package Bakery- Elite Sweets in Livonia- A- we had a very small two tiered cake traditional cakes and then a large assortment of torte cakes. The different flavors (12 of them) were a huge hit. My only complaint is probably more my fault. One of the cakes were incorrect but after looking back over the contract, the employee filled it out wrong and I should have caught it prior to the wedding. DJ- Ron Johnson from Night and Day Productions- A++++ ($1000)- I think I told him he was a life saver at least 12 times. Two nights before the wedding, he spent two hours (until 10:30 pm) remoting to my computer (he's an IT guy by day) to download songs to make it possible for us to provide our own music for the ceremony because we couldn't find the songs we wanted plus if it's not on I Tunes, I don't really know how to DL it correctly. Then when I had a tiny melt down, he suggested a DJ (he was busy during the ceremony) to use and it was a true "Life saver." Also, the owner of Night and Day (Natalie) is amazing. She was my part time wedding planner in the very beginning answering any questions I had early on, even non-DJ wedding questions. Favors- Photobooth and Photo holders hand made by our invitation pro Lighting- Lighting was provided by the Hall- Looked great- Included in package Other Limo- Blue Diamond Limousine- (B-) $695 (including Grat) for 5 hours- We had 25 people in the party so we needed a large bus. The bus we were contracted for, we were told is a 30 person bus. Not the case. Not only was it not 30 people, 4 of the guys had to stand the entire time. I was really upset about it. The reason their grade is still good is because it was still a beautiful new limo, the driver (Kevin) was great. He showed up 15 minutes early. Also, we use a lot of party buses and this one all around was still the best we have used. Florist- Petit Fluer, Ferndale- (B++) (approx $3000 for 11 bm bouquets, bridal bouquets, 12 boutineers, 3 corsages, and all my table decs(25 tables)) So this is mixed because the service and company mostly deserve an 'A' but the problem I had, in my own opinion, was very disappointing. The company isn't considered a florist but more of decoration coordinators. They did all my flowers and table decorations. The tables looked amazing and everyone loved the flowers. Here is my issue: at the initial meeting and the meeting to finalize, I expressed my opinion regarding hydrangeas. I think they look like summer flowers and are boring. I wanted my bouquets to be dramatic and wintery looking. I said this many times. The contract listed the flowers to use and hydrangeas were not included. The only agreement for hydrangeas was to use them on some of the guest tables for small mint julep cup arrangements. All bouquets, including mine, were about 50% hydrangeas. So even though they were still very pretty, it's not what I wanted. Either way I would still definitely recommend the company and even use them again for events and their price was pretty unbeatable for everything that comes with it. DOC- Shelly at Simplicitydoc.com-($350 for the ceremony and most of the reception) A+++++ Prior to the wedding I wasn't sure if I needed a DOC bc I didn't do DIY and most decorations were done by Petit Fluer. However, this was the best decision I made! She provided far more value that what I paid for :) Afterwards, hearing about some of the events I missed, I realized how much stress she saved me from on the day of. Coming from a control freak (me) I still think ALL weddings need a DOC!!! Miscellaneous equipment- NA Photography Photographer- Derek Cookson Photography- ($2500 for engagement, all day coverage, second shooter, and some extra prints and book) A+++(of course pending the photos when I get them back edited) I was a yearbook editor in high school and college so although I am not a pro photographer, I know what to look for in good photos. I met with probably 15 photographers and spoke to another 10 on the phone. I was super picky. I came accros Derek in a facebook advertisement. I only trust photographers that show you full albums, not just their best work. Our engagement photos were amazing. He's such a fun laid back guy! He stayed at the reception longer than I expected. I can only imagine my wedding day photos will be just as amazing as the service he provides! Videographer- Family Friend Photobooth- Infinity Photo Booth- ($750 for 5 hours with a break during dinner)- A+ The two attendants were so laid back. The booth is big enough to fit tons of people and they print a copy for each person. The leather binder/book we got is beautiful and we also got a CD of all photos! Picture Locations- Masonic of Detroit, Downtown detroit, the Town Pump Engagement Pictures- Ann Arbor (big UofM fans and husband went there) Beauty / Attire Rings- Wedding bands and the engagement band- Jareds- $1200- (B-) they don't have the best service once you have purchased something. Engagement diamond was purchased through a wholesale DaBeers diamond distributor (unsure of cost) Wedding dress- Demitrios in Troy- (B)- $800- Love/Hate relationship. I love the manager, Kaylin (sp?)! She was perfect the first day I went in. She brought dresses that were exactly what I wanted and when I asked to see more, she was honest and told me they have more dresses that are what I want but they are higher than my price point which I completely appreciate. The problem I had was that she wasn't at two of the scheduled appointments I expected her at (pretty legitimate reasons) but thats when everything went downhill. The same employee helped me and the first time she was rude and akward while trying on bridesmaid dresses and the other appointment was to try my dress (fully paid for) and while removing it, she pricked her finger and got blood on my dress in several spots and sort of argued with me about it. I tried to stay calm but I definitely complained. They had the dress cleaned and I recieved a complimentary head band (valued at $180). I also got great prices for the bridesmaids dresses. So long story short, I would still recommend it but get a good salesperson and be clear that you ONLY want to work with that person. Alterations- Annie from Haggerman's Fabric- $180- A+ she did exactly what I wanted, and my dress was beautiful. Tuxes- President Tuxedos- $120 a piece- B+ tuxes turned out great and they gave my groom a free tux and free suit. A couple of the guys had minor fitting issues but they cleared it up. Bridesmaid Dresses- Demetrios- $120 to $135- 4 dif styles- see the comment under bridal dress for details Hair- Stephanie from Duex Adore (thats here own weekend bridal company, she also works at Bianci's in Royal Oak on weekdays)- $55 trial, $65 updo. B- Part of her grade is probably a little bit on me though. I had a trial done with a full updo and I slightly changed what I wanted day of. I have super thick really long hair so it's very hard to do and my mom is normally my hair dresser. my hair still looked pretty but the curls fell out before the ceremony so I had to have my mom fix them. But I would definitely recommend her if you need someone to come to you rather than going to a beauty shop, day of. Makeup- Emily from Mirror Mirror Salon in Shelby TWP and Sephora in Somerset- $60 makeup, $10 eyelashed- A - my makeup looked great and she is super fun and very professional. She does a lot of commercial work on the side. Paper Save the Dates- Celeste Filiatrault- A+ -$250 for 100. She is actually a graphic design pro (website- c313ste.com) but she is a highschool friend. She took serveral designs I found online and combine them perfectly and made the design exactly how I wanted. The cost was far cheaper than if I would have used any website. Invites- Nancy with NRC Designs LLC. She does custom paperwork out of her home. She's also a family friend. A+++ , $625 for 170 pocket invitations, 160 photobooth photo strip holders, 50 menus, all table numbers, name cards, and ceremony programs. Everything was beautiful and so much cheaper than it's real value.
Posted by KBLDC2012[/QUOTE]

SarahMayne · September 2012

Ceremony
Ceremony Site

$700. Greystone Golf Course, Romeo, MI: A+ Beautiful Red Brick with White Pillars overlooking a 35 acre lake. My guests really loved it.

Officiant

$300 including rehearsal, Rev Tab Martin, Wishing Well Weddings, A++++++. Many guests asked where we got such a funny, laid back officiant. Super responsive to emails and made the ceremony beautiful.

Ceremony Music/Sound System

$200, Randy Parker of Mike Staff Productions. Great job.

Reception
Reception Site
Greystone Golf Course and Banquet Center, Romeo, MI
Plated filet and bacon gouda chicken, green beans almondine, butter parsley potatoes with penne marinara and salad. We had the wedding package so appetizers, late night pizza snacks and ultimate bar were included. Ran about $63 a plate before tax. Food was amazing, and I am still getting phone calls about it. Service was fast, food was hot, and vegetarians raved about their meals as well. Maggie, the DOC, is amazing too!

Linens:
Through Greystone. Chair covers with sashes and double table runners with napkins and chargers ran about $700. The linen company ran late and made a frenzy to decorate tables in time, but Maggie stepped in and helped.

Bakery

$500, Personal Friend.

DJ

$995, Randy Parker of Mike Staff. A+. There is a reason why this company is voted #1 over and over yearly! Randy was super personably, super upbeat and enthusiastic. He played a great mix. Dance floor lights were included in the package. Randy was a great find for our wedding!

Favors

Self Made Apple Butter. Canned.

Lighting/Centerpieces

$220: Ordered Wired Pumpkins with LED lights from Collections Etc. Everyone liked them, and I only ended up with 2 out of 20 after guests took them! I also ordered leaf place card holders via amazon for .75 a piece. A+

Other
Limo

$150 for Limo, $600 for Shuttle. Lavdas Limo: A.
Great customer service, always kept in touch. No hidden fees, and very reasonable. Used them for a hotel shuttle as well.

Florist

$311 including tax. Sam's Club 17 Piece White Wedding Collection. A+++++
Amazing value. Flowers delivered Thursday morning at 8 am for Sat wedding. Flowers were secured in, bouts were made and corsages looked great. Placed in the basemet with provided food and buckets fom dollar store.

Photography
Photographer

$1200. Kris of Kreativ Imaging. A. Great to work with, sometimes slow on email response. Came with an assistant. Sometimes felt rushed but understood why due to initial vendors running behind. Very accomidatng.

Beauty / Attire
His Ring

$17, Amazon, A+++

Tungstun Carbide. Hubby didn't want a fancy ring. He loves it.

My Ring
Jared. B. There are some major communication issues within the company. Sales woman was pushy, and lied mulitple times about the arrival time of our wedding bands. Store manager is friendly.

Wedding dress

$2000. Bella Rose Bridal. C+. As a plus size bride, I felt ignored during my inital appointment, but at the time, they were the only store with my brand of dress I wanted. I felt that other brides had 2 or 3 assistants while I had 1 that was barely paying attention. My dress was ordered 2 sizes too big that caused me to need over 3 inches taken out of my corset in the first fitting. Phone manners need some serious work. The ladies got attitudes with my bridesmaids frequently and they said they'll never use the salon for their weddings. I had to call 5 times to get my fittings scheduled starting 1 month before my wedding, and I got attitude every time. Hope other brides have better experiences than I did.

Alterations

$600+, Kendra of Bella Rose, A

I had 2 dresses put together, which is the reason for the high cost. Kendra was the only reason I liked Bella Rose. She's friendly and a hard worker, and the only reason I kept coming to Bella Rose for alterations.

Groom's Suit

$177. Men's Wearhouse, A for Suit, C for Customer Service. Suits fit great and staff was awesome except for the initial consultation. I had a young female employee who acted like I was an annoyance and not a bride. The other employee just sat and stared at the computer when I was asking her questions. She kept trying to pressure me into an orange tie and black vest, even after I told her that it isn't Halloween and those aren't my colors. When I chose my suits, she still had an attitude. Not impressed. But at least the suites came in early and everyone after that was friendly.

Bridesmaid Dresses

$180. Bella Rose Bridal. C. My bridesmaids felt like they were treated like 2nd class citizens and none of them will use the salon again. They told my pregnant MOH that he dress could be taken out 2 sizes, then was told by Alterations that it was/never will be possible. As a result, MOH needed expensive alterations. My other BM was charged extra for a plus size dress that was eventually taken in to a regular size dress even though she didn't lose weight.

Hair

$45 and up. Marissa of Shores Hair and Nail in Chesterfield. A+. I love Marissa, and I have had my hair done by her for over 10 years.

Makeup

$80 for Me, $40 for BM/Mom. Aleksandra of I Make You Up. A+. Very great work, friendly, and reasonably priced. She's amazing!

Paper

Invites

$200. MagnetStreet. A. Loved them. Went with the fall "Carved in Love". Matched my theme perfectly. Website is easy to use, they always have coupons, and they are very thourough in ordering to prevent errors.

mbjk29 · October 2012

hello ladies! back from the honey moon and already feeling the effects of real life!!

so over all our wedding was amazing! I really have good things to say about all our venders and would recommed all of them!

Ceremony:
Location: Inidan Springs Metro Park: A+ $300 for chairs and use of a 6 person golf cart to escort the elderly and handicap down to the ceremony location. it ended up raining right before our ceremony and the staff was so helpful when it can to moving all the decorations to the discovery center for plan b.

Officiant: family friend got ordained and did an amazing job at making the ceremony very personal

Flowers: Dynamic Flowers royal oak: A+ $370 for 11 bouts. and 5 cors., flower petals and bulk flowers for 6 bouquets. they were great!! I originally wanted to make everything but after doing some research it was going to cost more to buy everything in bulk and the supplies for the bouts/cors. than it was going to cost for dynamic to make them. we did white spider mums with green button mums and purle chrasanthymums for the boutquets which we did put together ourselves. the ladies at the store did spend a lot of time with me and my sis explaining the eaisiest way to make the bouquets, they were extremely helpful!

Dress: Bombshell bridal: A+ $1500 these girls are amazing, they make you feel so special and I never felt pushed or pressured to buy anything from them.

BM dresses: Bomshell Bridal: B $180 the expierence at bombshell was great the girls loved amanda and amy but my wedding party was the first time they ordered from Bill Levkoff and they didnt know that the dresses run really big so all the girls needed a lot alterations. after the dresses came in they even remeasured everyone just to make sure they didnt make a mistake and they measured within the size chart given by the manufacturer.

Alterations: Maryann with Bombshell: B $120 for the bussel, bodest and shortening the dress. she did an awsome job with my dress but some of my girls had to come back for 2nd and 3rd fitting partly bc the dresses were so big. over all the dresses looked amazing!

Tux: President Tux: B $130: a couple of the groomsmen and both dads needed to send things back to get a different size but they came in on time and was not a huge deal. we did camo vests with black tux and the boys wore cowboy boots so there was no charge for shoes.

Reception:
Location: Indian Springs Metro Park: A+ $900 for the rental of the room tables and chairs. AMAZING!! this place is so pretty and we got really lucky to have all the trees turning colors so our pics came out amazing!! but Tamara is the coordinator and she was great, always got right back to me with any quesitons I had and was always willing to meet with us. All the staff was great!

Caterering: Kosch Catering: $9600 A for premium bar pulled pork and BBQ chicken, roasted potatoes, salad, and pasta salad for 145 ppl. it also included table clothes, napkins and servers and gratuity. the food was amazing!!!!!! They dont let you try the BBQ selection at the tasting so we were a little worried about how it was going to taste but it was the best pulled pork I think ive had! Cass the Coordinator was helpful but his communitaction wasnt the best over all we had a great expierence with them!

Photos: Camera Chick: $1800 A+++++ this included the rights to all the pics and a disk with all of them on it and you had them for the hole day withunlimited locations. I could not say more about Tim and Sandy they are a great team and they are so creative!! we took our motorcycles out to indian springs and they had so may good ideas to incorporate them into the pics. the seek peeks that she posted on FB are amazing I cant wait to see the rest! they definilty were are favorite vender!

DJ: John Davis Davis Entertainment: $450 A++++ this included our ceremony and reception and he came to our rehersal for free. Since our friend was marrying us john was a huge help at organizing our wedding party and helping us figure out how to walk out. He played everything that we requested and really made our night run smoothly! with the last minute change of location bc of the rain he really helped orgaize everyone and kept everything running smoothly! I cant say more about him!

Rings: Kay Jewlers: E-ring $3000, Wedding bands $1200

Invites: Card and Pocket: $150 A+ we did dark brown pocket invites that looked like tree bark with purle and cream inserts with a pic of us in the center with the wedding info printed out on cream velum. they came out amazing and we got so many compliments on how unique they were.

Cake: Candes cakes and cookies: $475 A+ we met with Cande one time and her cake was amazing! we had a pic of a cake that we wanted that incorporated our woods outdoor theme and it came out better than we expected! she even threw in a free grooms cake to make up the rest of the servings we needed.

Overall our wedding turned out great! way better than I could have hoped. our day was amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hjewell29 · October 2012

Please feel free to message me if you have any questions. Hope my reviews will help!

Ceremony
Ceremony Site – Infinity & Ovation Yacht Charters (IOYC) $750, the ceremony was actually supposed to be on the shores of lake St. Clair at Jefferson Beach Marina, but due to the chilly weather it was changed to inside the Ovation Yacht which turned out beautiful - A
Officiant – Kirk Haas – $275 A, Kirk was awesome and loved the way he let us tailor our own ceremony. He was the perfect match for us.
Ceremony Music – Pat with Double Trouble DJs - A

Reception
Reception Site – Infinity & Ovation Yacht Charters (IOYC) Our package with IOYC included many vendors so all we had to do was pick what we wanted from each vendor. For the most part this set-up was ideal for us because we did not have the time or wish to search and coordinate with multiple vendors. IOYC took care of all that for us which was wonderful and virtually stress free. A
Caterer - IOYC
Chair Covers/Linens - IOYC
Bakery – Baked Impressions (IOYC Vendor) – Olga was great and created exactly what we wanted. It was also delicious and many guests complimented the taste - A
DJ – Double Trouble DJs (IOYC Vendor) – Pat gave lots of good suggestions for ceremony which helped and he kept a great pace on the dance floor and was able to play some salsa music for my husband’s family who are Puerto Rican - A

Other
Transportation – $400 Royal Transportation – hands down the most affordable place we found that allowed us to split our time. Preston the driver was on time, friendly and even graciously made an unexpected stop for us. A
Florist – Emerald City Designs (IOYC Vendor) The final product we were given was beautiful, but they are getting a B because I did not like their lack of communication and flexibility. It was difficult to book a time to meet with them and getting in touch with them after for further questions was a challenge. - B
DOC – IOYC provided a ceremony coordinator and cruise director day of - A

Photography
Photographer – Captured Couture Photography $1000 one photographer 6 hours – I have not seen the photos yet, but Jennifer was awesome to work with. It was cold and windy, but we still did outdoor photos which was a challenge although it did not seem to bother Jennifer a bit. She had great ideas for poses and we never felt rushed. I can’t wait to see the finished product. A
Videographer – family friend

Beauty / Attire
Rings – MCD Diamonds for e-ring, Ace Diamonds ($400) for my wedding band and Gibralter for DH band ($50)
Wedding dress – Davids $500– Love my dress and the service I received - A
Alterations – Davids, $120
Tuxes – President Tuxedo
Bridesmaid Dresses – Davids, $120
Hair – Deux Adore, Stephanie, $130 for me and my MOH. Despite having a rough trial my hair turned out great and my curls lasted all day, A
Makeup – Deux Adore, Jen $85 for me only. I did the airbrush makeup and fake eyelashes and I loved it. The makeup wasn’t heavy and made me look flawless. Jen and Stephanie truly made me feel like a princess!, A

Paper
Save the Dates – Vistaprint $75
Invites – IOYC $350, I actually think we overpaid for these, but they looked great! B

Hotel – Greektown – Affordable and accommodating, A

Rehearsal Dinner – Texas de Brazil, so yummy! I love this place and there were 16 of us and we were able to get a semi-private room.

StephLove12 · October 2012

Ceremony
Ceremony Site - T-Plex/Piquette Plant in Detroit. Ceremony is included with the reception –See Reception Site Review.

Officiant - My uncle, he was fantastic. He didn’t even cry until the very end ;-)

Ceremony Music - DJ is covering it. See DJ review.

Reception
Reception Site - T-plex/Piquette Plant. $2400 for 200 guests

I had heard a ton of horror stories about the T-Plex before my wedding, so naturally I was stressing out. We didn’t run into many problems, however. The biggest complaint I have, is when we first picked the venue, Pat (the event coordinator) told us about doing our grand entrance in a Model T. That sold us on the place. Then, a couple weeks before the wedding, we were told we could no longer do that. Of course, we didn’t have any of it in writing, so there was no fighting it.

Pat also tried to tell us TWO DAYS BEFORE THE WEDDING, when we asked for more chairs, that they would only accommodate 160 people. We had 200 people coming, and had a signed contract that states that. Pat tried to argue that ‘the board said’ blah blah blah, so my mother threatened to go talk to the board. That shut Pat up quickly.

My only other complaint is that during our rehearsal the Friday before, we were told we could stay until about 6/6:30. 6 o’clock rolled around, and we were wrapping things up, and Pat came stomping in telling everyone to go home. She gave me attitude when I asked for just a couple more minutes to finish the last things.

Other than that, we had an amazing time. People are still talking about how that was the coolest venue they have been to. Everything looked perfect, and went smoothly the day of. The workers there are extremely helpful. We had to move all 200 chairs from the ceremony space to the reception space, and they all pitched in and got the job done quickly without us even asking for help.

Caterer - Veronica's Catering, $2000 for 200 guests

Food was DELICIOUS. I couldn’t help but be nervous, because when we kept trying to go over menu items and details, she didn’t want to talk until the week before the event. That’s just how she runs. Everything turned out perfect, everyone loved the food. She made WAY MORE than enough, and even threw in extra desserts for free. Best priced caterer around, and you get way more than your money’s worth.

Chair Covers/Linens - Linentablecloth.com, $700 for 200 chair covers, 29 table cloths, 26 runners, 200 chair sashes, and a few other miscellaneous things.

Looked great. Arrived on time. Linentablecloth was sold out of black chair covers when we went to place our final order (we ordered half a few months back, and waited to order the rest until we had our final count) so we ended up ordering the rest of the chair covers from smartyhadaparty.com. The quality of smarty’s was wayyy lower than linentablecloth. You could visibly see the difference in fabric between the two. It all worked though. But I definitely recommend linentablecloth.

Bakery – Walmart- $160 for a 3 tier, white cake with white frosting and a purple frosting ribbon around each tier. We added purple roses to it as a decoration.

DJ - CC King Entertainment, $75/hr. He's SO much fun! And super great for the budget!

Tony is by far my favorite vendor we worked with. He wanted to make sure everything was perfect, even more so than I did. He was the life of the party. So many people were talking about how great he was. He knew how to read the crowd, he kept people on the dance floor and having fun. And he’s probably one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. We weren’t going to have him at our rehearsal, since we didn’t want to hog his Friday night, and didn’t feel like paying the extra money. The week before the wedding, he called me to let me know he’d be at the rehearsal, free of charge, because he wanted everything perfect. It was perfect. He was amazing. I can’t say enough good things.

Favors - Photobooth, Qwikpicz, $695 See Photobooth Review

Lighting - I'll be hanging lights and lanterns up, I probably spent $200 on all of those.

Other
Limo - Party Bus Detroit, $600 for 3.5 hours and includes gratuity, tax, fuel, red carpet at every stop, ice, cups, champagne, bottled water, decorations, and they write our name on the vehicle.

Our itinerary included three pick-ups and drop offs. The first one was a pick up at my parent’s house to get me and the bridesmaids. That was fine. They were on time. We got to the venue on time. They were then supposed to go pick up the guys at the hotel, bring them back, and do another trip to the hotel to pick up our guests staying there. Well, they were 45 minutes late picking up the guys (IT WAS ONLY 5 MILES AWAY), so the guys had to stay and wait to leave with the guests because there wasn’t enough time for two trips. We ended up not getting any pictures before the ceremony, except for our ‘first touch’ which was rushed. We never found out why the bus was so late, and at this point I don’t care. I just didn’t like being inconvenienced at the time.

Florist - Purchased 4 silk rose corsages, 1 silk rose cascading bouquet, 1 silk rose toss bouquet, 10 silk rose boutonnieres, 2 silk rose kissing balls, 1 silk rose garland, 10 silk rose stems, 3 one dz silk rose bouquets, 1 two dz silk rose bouquet all for $237.67 fromwww.thebridesbouquet.com. SERIOUSLY recommend this site. The flowers look unbelievable. My sister asked me why I purchased my flowers 6 months in advance... I actually had to tell her they were silk flowers, and were not real.

Photography
Photographer - Kreativ Imaging, $300 for 8 hours of coverage, unlimited pictures, unlimited locations... I found a groupon :-)

I ended up firing them. AWFUL communication skills. I found out later that I would not even be getting Kristofer as my photographer, I was getting his assistant Nicole. He was unable to show me a portfolio of Nicole’s work. I wanted to talk to Nicole directly, and Kristofer kept trying to set up meetings at random places in Detroit. I kept having to tell him that I live 2 hours away, and would not be able to attended a week day meeting… so he told me to just send him my timeline, and he’ll give it to Nicole. FINALLY, months later, I was able to get Nicole’s email address out of him because I kept stressing that I actually wanted to have a conversation with my PHOTOGRAPHER. When he gave me her email, he mentioned that her computer was in for repair, so she probably wouldn’t be able to respond. All of this was incredibly fishy to me. She never responded to my emails (I sent six over a 2 month span). Then I found out that printing rights were not part of the package I got. I would only get a proof CD that had low res pictures with their logo. It’s an extra $500 for the high res pictures and printing rights. Now, I’m a very laid back bride. I literally did not give a crap about much throughout this whole process. But that was the last straw with this company. I ended up emailing Kristofer and told him that Nicole shouldn’t show up and waste my time.

I had a close friend photograph our wedding instead. She does great work, and when I told her all of the problems, she offered to step in for free. I’m still waiting on her pictures.

Photobooth - Qwikpicz, $695 for their wedding package. 6hrs, unlimited reprints, memory book, personalized logos, DVD.

Tons of fun. Easy communication. The booth is advertised as able to fit 10 people in it, but we had trouble getting more than 6. Not a big deal.

Beauty / Attire
Rings – Ering $4000 at JB Robinsons. Wedding Band $1000 at JB Robinsons. His band $550 at JB Robinsons.

Wedding dress - Becker's Bridal, Private Label by G, $1060

Loved my dress. Worth every penny. Becker’s was such a great experience.

Alterations – My best friend’s mother hemmed my dress, and all of the bridesmaid’s dresses.

Tuxes - Mens Wearhouse, $155 each. No issues.

Bridesmaid Dresses - Becker's Bridal, Morilee style 230, $145. Looked great!

Hair - Bridesmaids Beautiful, $60 each. They travel to you!

I was somewhat disappointed in my hair. I blame it on myself for not getting a trial, but since I live out of town, it was hard for me to make it into the salon for the trial. Pieces were falling all night, and I just didn’t LOVE the outcome.

Makeup - Bridesmaid Beautiful, $60 for airbrush.

My makeup was good. I also was somewhat disappointed, but again, blame it on not getting a trial done. The airbrush was great, I just wasn’t crazy about my eye makeup.

Mrs0toBe · October 2012

Ceremony

Ceremony Site - $300.00

ConCorde Inn - Clinton Twp A+

http://www.concordeinn.com/ctbanquet.html

The promenade area is gorgeous. Plenty of places for pictures. Our guests commented that they'd never seen such a unique and beautiful space.

Officiant - $275.00

Rev Kirk Haas - A+

http://secularceremony.com/

We can't say enough about Rev Kirk. He was amazing!

Our friends/family are still commenting on what a fabulous job he did.
Ceremony Music - our own CDs

Reception

Reception Site - $60.00 pp for appetizers, family style sit-down meal with three entree choices, top shelf open bar, pizza (snack) and dessert table.

ConCorde Inn - Clinton Twp A+++++++++++

http://www.concordeinn.com/ctbanquet.html

Nothing I write here will do them justice. Andy, Donna, and Robert made our wedding day perfect.

The food was excellent, everything was on time. We booked the hall approx 15 mos before the wedding and anytime we contacted them they were wonderful. Guests couldn't stop talking about the food. Delicious! Just contact them! You'll see for yourselves how amazing they are.

DJ

Bosca Brothers DJs - A+

couldn't ask for more! The dance floor was packed all night. Mr Bosca gets bonus points for wearing a top hat.

Photography

11-4 productions - Not Recommended

a heartbreaking, complete disappointment. This is the one thing I wish I could redo. What I wouldn't give to be able to go back and choose a different company. . .

you can read my complete review here

http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_michigan-detroit_photographer-review-our-disappointing-experience-with-11-4-productions

Photobooth

Rock the Booth! A+ $1000.00 for 6.5 hours + props, unlimited photos, b/w, sepia, color, CD of pics, 100 photo strip frames.

http://rockthebooth.com/

This is a no-brainer! Considering a photo booth? DO IT! It will be the hit of the night.

RtB was great to work with from day one. We did everything by mail/email. Terrific!!
all our pics were on their website gallery the next day, we rec'd our CD by mail in less than a week.

*******************************
Review of original officiant

LaDonna Weddings - F

we contacted and booked Donna approximately 15 mos before our wedding. She was very pleasant at the meeting and assured us that in the 20+ years she'd been doing this she'd missed only one wedding due to a medical emergency. We stressed to her that we did not want to be married by someone we didn't know/had never met. She assured us she would be there.

We scheduled our rehearsal dinner approx 4 mos before the wedding. A few weeks after that we started getting emails from someone else in Donna's office saying that our officiant "Tab" could not attend the rehearsal. We had two choices - change the date or have another officiant show up.

??? We had no idea who Tab was. We had met with and hired Donna. After replying to the email with this info, I heard nothing. That's never a good sign.

I ended up calling and speaking with Donna. Turns out she was not going to be in town the weekend of our wedding and HAD FORGOTTEN TO TELL US. What? That's ridiculous! My husband had called and spoken with her a few weeks before to schedule the rehearsal dinner. She assured us that we would love Tab and everything would be okay. I was not happy with this at all and Donna said "If you're getting so upset about this I'd hate to see how you handle the important things in your life!" What??? Our wedding is the most important thing in my life! I told her her services were no longer needed. She did end up refunding our deposit but there's no way to make up for the stress she caused four months before the wedding.

kd1986 · November 2012

Hi ladies!! Here are my vendor reviews from my perfect 10.20.12 wedding! Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or want more info

Ceremony Site: Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament, Detroit. A+, $1250. This was an amazing beautiful venue. Our pictures that we've seen so far are wonderful. This place is worth it. Reception Reception Site: MacRay Harbor: A-, approximately $62-63/plate to include plated dinner, hors douerves, premium bar, and late night pizza. A- because the communication was lacking at times. Overall everything was executed perfectly and we had a great reception. Chair Covers/Linens: Sposa Seating: A+, $1.75/chair cover, which included set up and tear down. No problems at all! Bakery: Cake Pazazz, A+, $665 for 220 servings. The cake tasting was great, the cake looked exactly how I was hoping. Delicious!! DJ: Tim with Mike Staff Productions, A+++, just under $1000, Tim is AMAZING. We booked him because our friends used him in 2010 and we remember loving the music. He was so on top of everything, I trusted him completely. The night was flawless and be honored our must play/do not play lists 100%

Favors: Shutterbooth, B+, $845, the night of the wedding was fine, the problems I've had have been following the event. Turns out the host we selected is not the host who showed up, and there are also photostrips that did not end up in our scrapbook or online. Seems to be a disconnect in their process... Other Limo: A+, Lavdas, $693 ( including tip) for 4.5 hours, the driver showed up 15 minutes early, and got us everywhere we needed to be, on time. Couldn't ask for anything more! Florist: A++, April Irelynn Designs, $1916 for 10 high arrangements, 11 low, 7 BM bouquets, bridal bouquet, 9 boutonnieres, 4 corsages, cake flowers, toss bouquet, head table arrange,net, misc petals. April did a sample arrangement for me months ago, to assure I liked what she planned to do. Ever since that time I was completely in love. She was on time with the bouquets at the church, and had everything set up perfectly at the reception. You get a lot for your money, highly recommended!! Photography Photographer: A++, Emily Dowd Photography, $2700 for 9 hours, Emily did everything in her power to assure I got the pictures I wanted on my wedding day. All I wanted with a fall wedding was pictures with the trees. She was concerned it was getting too dark outside but pushed through for me and we haves ended up with some of the most gorgeous pictures!!!! Videographer: A+, Mike Staff Productions, approx $2000, Tim did a great job, we're still waiting to see our video though so I can't comment on that...yet! Photobooth: A-, Shutterbooth, $920 for 4 hours, I was happy with everything, except we're missing one pictures in our online gallery and in our scrapbook. I sent an email to the event team, and the owner ended up giving me a call to try resolving the issue. I would still recommend the company! Beauty / Attire Rings: A+++, Chantelle Jewelers in Madison Heights, we were referred to Randy by my husband's best friend, whose family has always used this jeweler. They truly care about e customer and the quality and value can't be beat. We are so happy with our rings! Wedding dress: C, Arena Bridal, $1300, I ended up here because they happened to have the dress I wanted for the best price, with alterations included. I feel that the quality of customer service here is lacking, and I often felt we were thrown into a room and left to fend for ourselves until going to search for someone to help us. There are a couple young ladies working here who are wonderful, if you end up with them, you WILL have a great experience! I was just unimpressed overall. Tuxes: B-, Men's Wearhouse, $160, I don't understand how tuxes get sent to wrong locations, and sizes are consistently wrong. Almost all of our guys had some sort of issue with their tux. I guess Men's Wearhouse is probably one of the best options out there, but there was a lack of attention to detail. Bridesmaid Dresses: A+, Demetrios in Troy, $190, I.LOVE.THIS.PLACE! The ladies who work here are wonderful, this is a true bridal salon. We got a great deal on the girls dresses, they were wonderful to work with. Hair/makeup: A+++, Amy Wright, blackthesalon in Royal Oak, she only did my hair and makeup, not the bridal party. She 100% made me look how I wanted, I was so happy, got so many compliments, and the pictures look amazing. Highly recommended! Paper Save the Dates/invites/programs: MOH is a graphic designer and did these! Place cards/table numbers: A+++, Color Bar Creative, Suzie does the best work!!! I got place cards to designate different entrees, and she was able to perfectly match the font my MOH used on our invitations. The quality is excellent, and at 0.85 each, I felt I was getting a great deal

kerryforward · November 2012

Ceremony Site - St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Allen Park, MI - We donated $250. A+
Small enough to feel at home and large enough to fit everyone, the staff are wonderful and open to whatever we had in mind, and the courtyard worked beautifully for pictures.

Officiant - Rev. Bill Hale. We donated $250. He was one of the most awesome parts of my wedding. We had very particular thoughts on the religous part of the service, and he was extremely open to making tweaks and changes to make everyone comfortable. Plus he danced all night at the reception. A++++++

Ceremony Music - Rush Entertainment (Aaron). Normally $250 but we got a friend/family discount. B, he did not play the songs I requested for the Prelude, but he did play the last minute request I had of an acoustic guitar version of Here Comes the Sun for the Unity Candle lighting.

Reception

Reception Site - Silver Shores Waterfront, Wyandotte. A-, $7175 for 114 guests, a higher level bar package, a couple special alcohol choices, a 3-meat buffet, 2 hors d'oeuvres and 1 late night snack. Their sales manager quit after we booked the place, so I got scared, but it turned out OK. They were friendly, accommodating, and their food is fantastic. The chef on staff is wonderful and kind. I would give the service a B, however -- there was lipstick on the groom's water glass, and they forgot to give the head table any plates. A November wedding here gets you a 10% discount off the food, but it got dark so early we could not see the river.

Caterer - Silver Shores Waterfront, Wyandotte - A

Chair Covers/Linens - Beautiful Beginnings by Arlene. $2.50/person, including tax and setup, for white or black elastic covers (they looked so sleek) and an elastic band with rhinestone buckle. We alternated navy and teal. These were gorgeous. I wasn't going to get chair covers at all, but these added so much to the room. Recommended. A
.

Bakery - Iversen's in Dearborn. $400 for cake to feed 120. This place was perfect from the first day we tasted with them. Rhonda did my decorating exactly as I asked. I also had her make a complicated groom's cake in the shape of a dragon, and it was better than I could have hoped for. It was $150 for the dragon cake. The groom was delighted with it. All my guests complimented the taste of the cake, too. Highly recommended. A++++

DJ - Rush Entertainment (Aaron). We got a friends/family discount. He said everyone's name perfectly, was very thorough in preparing us for our grand entrance, and did a great job getting people up to the dance floor. His taste in dinner music was a Sinatra heavy (one of the DJ's personal favorites, but I would really have rather heard my requests than Sinatra on repeat). He ignored most of my requests, which bugged me. He also omitted my Anniversay Dance, which was my replacement for the garter/bouquet toss, which we did not do. I don't know why he left the Anniversary Dance out. But overall he did a good job keeping the party going. B.

Favors - Harwood Heritage Gold Michigan maple sugar candies. $114 for 7 pounds of maple-leaf shaped candies. We gave 2 per guest in a cellophane bag from Michaels, print-by-hand gift tags, tied with Michaels ribbon. Terri at Harwood Heritage Gold is very kind. The candies were made to order, so they were fresh and tasty. A

Lighting - We strung our own G40 bulbs (ping-pong-ball sized) in a fan shape from the ceiling and they were gorgeous. We got the bulbs for $9 a strand from Target in their Christmas section. Way cheaper than buying them online. A+ to my husband for his hard work and good taste!

Other

Limo - Lavdas Limousine. $582 for 5.5 hours in a 14-passenger Navigator and a Towncar sedan transfer at the end of the night. This company will beat any deal you send them. The driver did not know where he was going and showed up almost 30 minutes late! This caused immense stress for me and the groom. We confirmed with them twice the day before, and they were still 30 minutes late. The limo was also not clean -- there were purple feathers in there. The ceiling mirror was also hanging down and the groom and best man had to fix it. Not in great shape, and the service was not awesome. If the driver is not going to be on time, for God's sake, CALL THE GROOM. He didn't know if they were even going to show up. It was 30 minutes of pure stress. D.

Florist - Say It With Flowers, Allen Park. $1100 for 4 BM bouquets, 1 bride bouquet, 4 groomsmen and 1 groom bout, 2 ring bearer bouts, 2 flower girl pomanders, godmother and 1 reader wrist corsage, 2 mother wrist corsages, and 3 father bouts. Also included 8 tall centerpieces and 6 short centerpieces, which they set up in the church aisles (beautiful) and then moved to the reception hall. The wrist corsages looked a little cheap, and the flower girl pomanders had some silk flowers. The centerpieces were pretty, but they were mostly white flowers and I specifically requested no white. He left out the color orange, and I requested lots of orange for fall. He gave me lilies in my bouquet, when I requested no lilies. He was very willing to work with my budget (we gave him a price and he said he would find the flowers to make it work). He did not confirm with me the names of my readers, and they walked around looking for people who were not even there. It was not as good as I thought it was going to be. C

DOC - none

Miscellaneous equipment - Candy buffet was done by my sister and friend. TONS OF WORK but it was beautiful. I might recommend that if possible, you just pay the $300 to have a pro do this for you. Cleaning it up at the end of the night was the worst part.

Photography

Photographer - Jason Laurain Photography. $1400 for 8 hours, one shooter. TBD - we have only seen 6 shots so far. Those 6 shots are good.

Videographer - Donahue Wedding Photography. $1500 for 3 cameras all day. Matt & Sarah are a husband and wife team who can photograph or film. Grade is TBD - we have not seen any product yet. Personality wise, they're awesome. On-time, hardworking and super enthusiastic.

Photobooth - Photobooths by Lavdas. $310 for 3 hours, props, unlimited prints for guests, and an album. This company will beat any deal. High quality equipment. They beat a competitor deal I found on Groupon, which was awesome. However, they were supposed to be set up from 8 to 11, and they were set up and running around 7, so at 10, they approached me and told me they were going to leave. I thought this was unfair because I did not ask them to arrive an hour early. They should have stayed until 11 no matter what. C

Picture Locations - Elizabeth Park in Trenton, A. Bacon Memorial Public Library in Wyandotte, A. Very pretty old library.

Engagement Pictures - Jason Laurain Photography. Free with package. We only got 10 images, and out of those, 2 shots we liked. Jason is awesome at candids, but we are not models and weren't comfortable for the first half of the session. Not completely Jason's fault, but it shows in the shots.

Beauty / Attire

Rings - Lavdas Jewelry. $4500 engagement ring (1 carat center stone, 2 side stones .22 carats each), $1800 for the 2 bands (mine is channel-set diamonds, his is white gold). They are beautiful and we could not find them online for cheaper. Nick Lavdas is a great jeweler. A

Wedding dress - David's Bridal. $399 plus some extra charges ($10 garment bag, $60 slip, $99 preservation kit). David's is for budget shoppers. Service is just OK. B

Alterations - Dena DOnahoe in Warren. $40 for a last-minute letting out of the bodice and a simple bustle, plus steaming the dress and the slip. She was completely awesome. She did not let me feel bad at all for needing my dress let out one inch. I could not believe her pricing. She worked out of her home. Highly, highly recommended. A++++

Tuxes - Miracle Wedding Village. $99 for groomsmen and dads including shoes, groom's was free. Weird little place, but it got the job done. Fitting was a little funny. They didn't have the guys try them on and check everything, but they should have. B

Bridesmaid Dresses - David's Bridal. Beautiful gowns, okay prices, craptacular service. B

Hair - Daybreak Salon in Woodhaven. $130 for a trial and day-of hairdo. The trial was awesome, the day-of was OK and fell flat, but I give my stylist Amanda an A anyway. (Originally I scheduled with Salon Epiphany in Taylor, and my stylist left the salon but they did not even call me about it, so I found out 3 days before the wedding that in actuality I had no appointment. Why can they call me to confirm my other appointments, but not call me when they are cancelling my appointment? Salon Epiphany gets an F minus.)

Makeup - Daybreak Salon. $45. Crystal did my eyes and face but forgot to do my lips, so I had to have my hair stylist do lipstick and a touch-up at the end. Their makeup is Aveda and does not really last. B-

Paper

Save the Dates - Papersnaps.com $131 for 80 magnets and envelopes. Very cool designs. A

Invites - Weddingpaperdivas.com, $282 for invitations, inner and outer envelopes, and response cards and envelopes. Beautiful and the 8 free trial invitations were an awesome bonus. A

Programs/Menus - none

Jacks2913 · December 2012

Ceremony Site - St. Martin de Porres. We thought about the big cathedrals down town, but being that I've made all of my sacraments at St. Martin's and have so many ties to them, it just felt right to have it there. No problems at all with the church/ceremony!! A
.
Officiant - Father Roman. Monetary donation. Father Roman has done many funerals, baptisms, weddings ect for my family. He kept everything personal & interesting for those who are bored to death by a catholic mass. A+

Ceremony Music - Ivybrooke Strings (Susan). My sister used Susan for her wedding, then was also used by a friend of mine. She was a clear choice for us!! $330 got us the Violin & Piano duo for 1 1/4 hours. She also sang the Ave Maria at communion & has a voice that will bring you to tears. A+

Reception

Reception Site - Andiamo Italia, Warren. It was a $16,000 minimum to book the ballroom. For just a little over that we had 3 hot hor devours, plated filet & chicken meal, champagne toast, late night pizza, premium bar upgrade & a cookie buffet for 216 guests. I still keep getting compliments about how amazing the food and service was. Dawn & the rest of the staff were so helpful, I had absolutely nothing to worry about all day. A+++++++++

Caterer - See above

Chair Covers/Linens - Loretta from Linens & Beyond. Again, another vendor tested out by my sister & passed along to me. I can't remember the exact cost, but I know it was around 1,800 for about 220 satin chair covers & sashes with rhinestone brooches, 21 pintuck table clothes, 4 sequined table runners, charger plates & head table backdrop. Since I was on the fence about the backdrop, she took off an extra $100 & even added a few extra things to it. Loretta's work is amazing & she takes pride in everything she does A+
.

Bakery - La Petite Bakery, Clinton Township. $400 for a 4 tier cake with raspberry filling. Cake was beautiful & was good...it looked just like the picture I showed her!!! It wasn't the best I've had but my guests seemed to like it. We got a good deal on the cake since DH is a friend of the owner's son, so I'm not sure how much it would have been otherwise. A-

DJ - A Team Productions (Aaron) Another old family friend! $800 plus $100 tip. Aaron was worth every penny!!! He kept the flow of the reception going & people on the dance floor! A

Favors - Bottles of Barefoot Moscato, one per couple. I overestimated when I bought (because I'll enjoy the leftovers) So I paid $795 for 150 bottles. My concern is that people wouldn't take them home & I was very happy to see that very few were left behind. Bottles served as placecards too & also had a snowflake ornament tied around the neck. A+

Lighting - The Lighting Guy (Kim) Our package was $3500. This included specialty "tree branch" lighting on all of the walls, "starry night" lighting on the ceiling above the dance floor, snowflake projections on the dance floor, and pinspotting for all of the centerpieces. The lighting transformed our room in ways that regular uplighting could not. It was by far my favorite part of our decor & I'm so happy we splurged & went with it!!!!! A++++++

Other

Limo - Lavda's. $1044 for a 34 passenger bus for 6 hours. The bus was nice, but the service was nothing special. We got from one place to another without any issues. B+

Florist - Viviano Flower Shop. My total was around $3000 for one bridal bouquet, 6 bridesmaids, one flower girl, two nosegay's for the moms, 2 godparent's corsages, 10 bouts, entryway decorations at the hall, aisle runner, pew bows, unity candle arrangement & 21 centerpieces (7 tall, 7 medium, & 7 small). I'm sure there's more that I'm forgetting about. My consultant was Marena & she is just full of good ideas!!! A+

Photographer - JS Photography (Jason) $2695 for unlimited shots, unlimited amount of time. My cousin used Jason in 2006 for his wedding & I passed him along to many friends throughout the years. He was very creative with his shots and there were no overly cheesey poses. We recieved our proof book & high resolution dvd one week after the wedding. We own the rights to all of them so we can print them where ever we want. It's safe to say that I am OBSESSED with my wedding pictures!!! A+

Videographer - Complete Video Solutions (Tom) The videographer was the last thing I booked and I really didn't want to spend a huge amount of money on one. Tom offers monthly specials & I had kept in contact with him over the course of a few months until he worked out the best deal. For $1895 we had unlimited time & locations. He was prompt & very professional, and to be honest I didn't even notice him half the time which I thought was perfect!!! He works with my photographer quite a bit so that also made it much easier knowing that they are familiar with each other's styles. A pending the outcome of our video!

Picture Locations -Downtown Birmingham! So sick of downtown Detroit for wedding pictures. Jason sugguest a few locations & I just told him to lead the way. I was very pleased with the results

Engagement Pictures - Our pictures were a gift from a friend of mine. We went all over the Grosse Pointe area. She didn't take very many shots, which was what I wanted because in 6 months they would be shoved aside for wedding pictures!!!

Beauty / Attire

Rings - Lavdas Jewelry. $8500 engagement ring (1.2 carat center stone with a halo and channel set diamonds on just about every inch of the band), $1200 for both of my wedding bands to match my e-ring. His wedding band was $585 for plain white gold. So happy with my bands & engagement ring. Nick is an awesome jeweler & gave us a great deal

Wedding dress - Arena Bridal. I bought my dress at a Maggie Soterro trunk show so it was slightly discounted to $1,200. This included my bustle and alterations. Aubrey helped me every step of the way & was so easy to work with. I highly reccomend them!! A++++

Alterations - Included in the cost of my dress. Alterations were quick and easy and I had no problems at all! A+

Tuxes - President Tuxedo. I was happy with how they looked, however I wasn't the one who had to wear them so I can't say much about them other than they looked nice! A

Bridesmaid Dresses - Arena Bridal. Girls got a discount on their dress since I ordered mine from there. We had no problems with ordering or getting everything in on time! A++++

Hair - Angela Marc Salon. Styles started at $55 depending on how detailed it was. I LOOOOOVED my hair & all of my girls were pleased as well. Cheryl, the owner, provided mimosas & food for us. The salon was comfortable and we all had a great time getting ready!! A+

Makeup - Angela Marc. $70 for airbrush and eyelashes. Makeup was done by Roxy Star & Tami Lomedico. Both girls did such an awesome job. We hardly needed any touchups throughout the day & I still looked as good at the end of the night as I did when I left her chair!! A+++

Paper

Save the Dates -Wedding Paper Divas. I honestly cannot remember how many we ordered or how much it cost. I do know that I was happy with how they came out and how quick we got them!!! A

Invites - I ordered my invites through Viviano's since they were 25% off. I believe they were around $400 for 150. They were classy & just what I wanted. Only downside was that I had to pay a lot more in postage because of the size & shape. A

sarahsaturday2701 · February 2013

Ceremony
Ceremony Site: Sweetest Heart of Mary. A+ for location, B for communication. $1500 ($500 is a deposit you get back) fee is waived if you are a member for 2+years before your wedding The church is absolutely stunning, probably the most beautiful Catholic church in the Detroit area that I have been to. Before I even met my H I saw a picture of this church in a photographer’s album (I was at a bridal show with my friend for her wedding) and I asked the photographer to give me the details on it because I wanted to see it in person. It is one of Detroit’s hidden gems and it is amazingly well-preserved. It does not have air-conditioning which is something for summer brides to keep in mind, but it was perfectly fine for our fall wedding. Their communication was not always prompt (we were informed of a change with our officiant at the last minute) but ultimately everything that needed to get done was done.
Officiant: Father Leroux A He is actually a retired priest but our original priest had a vacation planned during our wedding so Father Leroux agreed to officiate. He was easy to listen to, made some good points, and even made a couple jokes to pan to the guests (which we much preferred to the heavy stern preaching that I’ve heard at some weddings)
Ceremony Music: David Carle A David is the organist for the church as well as the cantor. He sang and played beautifully.

Reception
Reception Site The Henry Autograph Collection A+ for Location and for (most) staff $79-$85/plate (not including 6% tax or 22% gratuity), cake included, suite included This is a hotel/banquet facility (it is actually the old Ritz in Dearborn) and it really is a remarkable space. They recently updated the entire facility and it is the perfect blend of modern elegance. We had many guests tell us how much they liked the hotel. In fact one of our guests who is from Chicago but travels to Detroit on business actually changed his next reservation to The Henry from The Dearborn Inn because he liked it so much. We got a free honeymoon suite on our wedding night and that was amazing as well. Everyone who works here also seems to be eager to help in any way they can, they definitely go above and beyond Bartender Attitude (not sure what else to call this?): B- The bartenders were polite to H and I but the following is something we were just recently told about or we would have mentioned it to The Henry at the time it happened. We had two bars and after the first one closed for the night one of our guests (who had been going to the other bar) went to the remaining bar to ask for a drink. Apparently the bartender accused him of being a wedding crasher since she hadn’t seen him all night and was rude to him, although she did end up serving him his drink. At this point I don’t even remember the bartenders’ names or what they looked like but thought I would mention it since I am pretty annoyed that this happened to one of our guests
Caterer: The Henry Autograph Collection A We did plated meals and were allowed 3 choices. I’m a vegetarian and I can attest to the fact that the veggie meal was awesome (not tasteless or bland which can sometimes happen with veggie meals). The other choices we picked were Chicken and Fish and we got rave reviews on both. The mashed potatoes were also yummy! Breakfast Buffet at Tria (also in the hotel) B- This is one aspect I think the hotel needs to work on. They actually ran out of food on the buffet and so we had to wait. When the food did come out it was bland and/or lukewarm. If this was a complimentary breakfast the food would’ve been fine, but I believe they charge around $20 for the breakfast buffet and for that amount of money I would definitely expect more
Chair Covers/Linens: Affordable Elegance A   $6/chair, $1.50/charger, $22/overlay, $15 table linen We got chiavari chairs, charger plates, napkins, tablecloths, and overlays from them. Their chairs were in great condition (better than many other places we looked at) and the linen selection was great. Everything arrived on-time and they set everything up beautifully. Jessica was our poc and she was great to work with.
Bakery: The Henry Autograph Collection A+ The cake was included with our package and all of our guests raved about it. We took the top tier home and it was absolutely amazing. Also we asked them to add fresh berries to the cake layers and they did it at no extra charge.
DJ: Mark Hudy of Music by Mark A++ $895  One of our favorite vendors, I had seen Mark at two other weddings and knew I wanted him to be our DJ. He has a great mix of songs, is extremely professional, and knows how to read a crowd. He could easily fit in with the most formal event or a laid-back good time. He also made sure he had the pronunciation of my last name down (it’s kind of a tough one), in fact he has you speak into a recorder and say the names of your bridal party/parents etc. so he makes sure to pronounce them correctly. That is a sign of someone who wants to do a good job for sure! Not to mention he picked great songs that fit us perfectly and our dance floor was packed the entire night!
Favors: Lindor Truffles A+ The truffles were shipped promptly and packed to avoid any melting/freezing from the outside temperatures. They were fresh and delicious!   Bags and Bows Online D We ordered boxes from this site to use for the truffles. First we ordered 200 and they only shipped us 100, I contacted the company and they gave me a hard time at first, then checked the shipment weight and agreed they did only ship ½ the product. They told me they would ship the rest of my order out that day but it took them almost another week to ship, then they tried invoicing me for 100 extra. Honestly it was a headache to deal with them, would not recommend!
Lighting Some Included with DJ

Other
Limo: Tecumseh Trolley A- $1500 The trolley arrived clean and on-time and was exactly what we ordered (something I heard is not always the case with Limo companies). The only small complaint I have is that the driver did not seem to know the route (we had provided them our stops ahead of time and I believe they use GPS) so my brother had to sit at the front and direct her at one point. All in all a pretty minor issue and we really loved the trolley!
Florist: English Gardens in Dearborn Heights A++ around $4000 Ron was in charge of our flowers and he did an amazing job. I gave him a color scheme and a budget and he showed me a few ideas...I trusted him and I am not a floral expert so I told him to go ahead and do whatever he thought looked best. I was not disappointed (although I could tell he was nervous about not getting more of the bride’s input lol)! Our flowers looked gorgeous, were delivered on-time, and lasted through the evening and a few days after. I would recommend EG to anyone!
DOC: Tammara of Grand Jour Events A++ around $600 One of the best decisions we made was to hire Tammara. At first I didn’t think we even needed a DOC, then we decided to hire her just to have someone to do things like set up our DIY table numbers and pack things up at the end of the night.   About a month before the wedding we had a major issue come up with our photographer and videographer and asked Tammara if she could possibly work the whole day for our wedding. Her response was of course! She and her assistant were able to help us out with some things on the photography issue, righted the flowers on the guys’ tuxes (I didn’t even know they were supposed to go on a certain side but she did), was there any time we needed anything, and was just generally a superhero that day. Her pricing is also pretty reasonable compared to what some DOC’s charge so if you are even contemplating a DOC I strongly suggest meeting with Tammara. I truly cannot say enough good things about her. She was a life-saver!

Beauty / Attire
Rings: Lucido in Sterling Heights A They are extremely professional and helpful there, my H got my engagement ring from there and after looking elsewhere at closer stores we ended up making the drive back out there for my wedding band as well. Orin Jewelers A- We got my H’s ring from here, the salesman was a little pushier than I would have preferred but he delivered the ring on-time and as promised
Wedding dress: Piera’s Bridal A Piera the owner is genuinely sweet and so nice and everyone there was very helpful
Alterations: Piera’s Bridal A I ended up losing more weight than I thought I would so my dress needed to be taken in considerably, even though they commented about having to take off so much of the dress they ended up doing a great job and it looked beautiful
Tuxes: Men’s Warehouse A- $99/tux with shoes included, groom got voucher for free suit There was some miscommunication when my H ordered his tux to try on initially which caused some delay but for the actual wedding everyone got the right size and style and the tuxes were clean and pressed
Bridesmaid Dresses: Miracle Wedding Village A The line of dresses that I was looking at was $20-$50 cheaper here than anywhere else I looked. I did not want my girls to have to spend any more than necessary on a dress they would only wear once so we ordered through here and the dresses came in right when they said they would
Hair: Michelle Neagly at Mystique Day Spa Bridal Hair A+ around $60/person Michelle did mine and my mom’s hair and both looked perfect. She is so sweet and skilled and I would recommend her to anyone. Various stylists for Bridesmaids Hair A to B+ Some of the girls liked their hair, some were just meh about it. Everyone had updos and they seemed to hold up pretty well but I would definitely recommend doing a bridal trial just to make sure you and the stylist are on the same page.
Makeup: Same deal as above, Michelle @ Mystique did mine and my mom’s and it looked great

Paper
Save the Dates: A Giftful Heart A $1/ea They do save-the-date magnets, lots of styles and layouts to choose from, plus they send you a proof before shipping the final product
Invites: David’s Bridal A- around $4/ea We had a few people compliment the invites. We chose one of the more cost-effective styles (they just get thrown away anyhow) so the color choices were limited which would pretty much be my only complaint. That and you have to assemble them yourself, but they tell you that very clearly ahead of time
Programs/Menus: Makemynewspaper.com A- We wanted to do something different than just standard programs so we decided to make a newspaper. It was really fun for us to write the articles and do the research (we included some history of Detroit since our ceremony was in Detroit). One issue I had is that the website is touchy and not what I consider user-friendly. I actually lost patience with trying to format it so my H took over and while he too had some difficulty he was able to make the end product look great. They also printed and shipped very quickly. I would definitely recommend this to anyone since the end product was worth it, just be prepared to spend some time playing around with the tools and formatting on the site

Photography: We have not received our photo or video previews yet so I cannot give them a final grade. I will post a review once we get our products
PhotographerVideographerPicture LocationsEngagement Pictures

rach21613 · February 2013

Ceremony

Ceremony Site - Hartland Music Hall. A-.
Communication could have been better. $95/ hour. No major issues but could have been smoother.

Ceremony Music - Organist Emery Robbins A-
$100. Recommended by the Music Hall. Discussed song choice over the phone. Met the day of the wedding. I was nervous about our lack of meeting / reviews but he did well. Annoyed me that he apparoached me right before the ceremony for his payment when I had someone else handling it for him.

Reception

Reception Site - Waldenwoods A
They definitely know how to do receptions! The whole process was perfect. Excellent communication, immediate responses. Day of was perfectly smooth. They were accommodating and flexible as we got ready there before the ceremony. We invested significantly in our reception and were very pleased with the decision. Also to note - much less expensive in the winter!

Caterer - See above. A
Food was fantastic, many compliments on the plated meals.Upgraded to a premium bar, well worth it. Throughout the night the servers kept appropriate communication with us. DId a late night pizza snack that was well appreciated by the guests.

Chair Covers/Linens - Special Occasions East A+
Preferred vendor of Waldenwoods. 3.50 / sash. Told them what I wanted and they did it. What more can you ask for?!

Bakery - Nicole's Sweet Toppings A-
Around $400 for 175 guests. Preferred vendor of Waldenwoods. Very good communication, generous tastings, and very flexible to work with. Her buttercream is incredible!! Only disappointment was that the design did not knock me off my feet, but the taste definitely made up for it.

DJ - Brendan Pfaff A+++
I love Brendan!!! He has so much fantastic insight and wisdom on wedding planning. An absolute pleasure to work with. Our dance floor was packed all night, I couldn't believe it! He kept our older guest lists out there, having a great time. Worked well with our other vendors (photog. & videog.)
www.bestdjservice.com

Lighting - DJ Brendan Pfaff A+
He did additional uplighting outside. I had not considered it but he was very eager to try an idea he had. Ended up incredible!!

Favors - Saykllys A+
We ordered 'Yooper Bars' to represent where we met. Pleasure to work with, immediate response, fast delivery, and delicious product!!!Our guests loved them. I was bummed there weren't any leftovers!
http://saykllys.com/chocolates/yooper-bars-box-of-12.html

Other

Transportation - Liberty Transportation A
Provided a shuttle for guests. Excellent communication, very flexible and appreciated by our guests. Around $85 / hour.
https://sites.google.com/site/libertytransportationservices/

Transportation - Holiday Inn Brighton Shuttle B
$150 shuttle that was not very flexible.

Florist - Eden Events A+
Hollie is incredible! I showed her a few pictures of things I liked and she created gorgeous arrangements. Flowers were low on our priority list but ended up pulling our details together beautifully. A true pleasure to work with - excellent communication and worked within our budget.
https://www.facebook.com/edendesignsllc

Photography

Photographer - West Park Photo A so far.
Our teaser photos are incredible, a truly talented duo!!! We invested almost 3k for 2 photogs., 9 hours and all files. They were a pleasure to meet with but email communication was lacking. The day of they did a great job putting up with our obnoxious groomsmen and were very flexible and relaxing to be around.
https://www.facebook.com/westparkphoto

Videographer - Family

Engagement Pictures - Rawlinson Photography of Plymouth C-
Ugh, what a waste of time!!! I 'won' a session with them at a bridal show. He was creepy, late, and was incredibly negative to be around. Even though the session was supposed to be free, I ended up paying $200 for the files. He obviously does not know how to use manual settings on a camera, the lighting was pathetic. There was a small handful worth keeping / using for a save the date.

Beauty / Attire

Wedding dress - Becker's A-
The process was easy enough. They have a crazy huge selection, good price range and consultants if you make an appointment. After ordering, I discovered that my dress had a large floral embellishment on it that 'fell off' the sample. My seamstress was able to remove it but it was just an annoying thing to deal with.

Alterations - Perfect Fit Alterations by Gaby. A+
Works out of her home in Canton. 30+ years of experience, she knows what she's doing! Hem, sweetheart neckline, added cups, bustle and small adjustments under $300. Also did my mom's and bridesmaid's dresses beautifully and inexpensively!
http://www.gabysperfectfit.com/

Tuxes - Men's Wearhouse A
Very easy process, no problems. Liked using their website group manager to see who had been measured in the bridal party. They were incredibly flexible with one groomsman that was fighting overseas.

Bridesmaid Dresses - B Ella Bridal, Plymouth D
Ugh, what a bother!! I'll try to keep it short. They have a nice selection and kiss the ground you walk in when you're shopping. After the sale - they are terrible! Excessively rude to the out of town / pregnant bridesmaids calling in their orders. I was assured the dresses would arrive on time to ship to oot bms, I even offered to pay for a rush fee. Nope, arrived 2 weeks before the wedding. All needed alterations, no apologies. Tried to double charge those that paid in full. Do not go here! I can't even imagine how they could screw up a wedding dress order.

Hair & Makeup - Posh Salon in Milford A
Ahh, they were incredible!!! Gina and Julie came to Waldenwoods for 7 bridesmaids, 2 moms and me. Got us all done ahead of schedule and beautifully!! I had airbrush done and it was totally worth it! I can't believe how flawless my skin was. Gina did a fabulous job with my curly hair - it stayed beautiful all night! Their communication was fantastic, trial run was smooth and really helped, Gina also did my eyebrows the week of the wedding. I have never had so many compliments on them! Highly recommended! There is a reason they have so many Knot awards.
http://www.posh-studio.com/

Paper

Save the Dates - VistaPrint A-
Originally ordered magnets and was not happy with them. They refunded me fully! With a Groupon, I made postcard save the dates. Nice paper, decent print quality. Overall a decent product for a very low cost. About $40 for 140 postcards and then $70 on postage.

Invites - Paper Source (Birmingham) / DIY / FedEx A

I ended up doing DIY pocketfolds. Designed them myself based off of a very expensive Paper Source design. Printed at FedEx on cardstock. Then assembled with pocketfolds / envelopes from Paper Source. I was very pleased with the final product, but it definitely took time! Would have been around 2k at Paper Source, I ended up spending around $500 total.
http://www.paper-source.com/cgi-bin/paper/personalized/wedding-invitations/textures.html

Programs/Menus - FedEx A
Designed myself and printed there. Easy to work with and immediate results.

Guest Book - Shutterfly A
Used a Groupon. For a total of $24, we got a really cool keepsake guestbook.

Honeymoon

El Dorado Royale Riviera Maya, Mexico A

Booked through AAA based on many good reviews. Gorgeous all inclusive, adults only, gourmet resort. We stayed for 6 days in an ocean front room. Decent honeymoon package - massage, 1 free night, candle lit dinner on the beach, breakfast in bed, bottle of champagne, free wifi, etc.. Only our of pocket expenses were parasailing and the spa.

vk2204 · April 2013

Ceremony
Ceremony Site - St. Raphael Catholic Church in Garden City ($150 donation)

Officiant - Father Ray. We really enjoyed our premarital sessions with him ($150 donation)

Ceremony Music - church organist. ($200)

Reception
Reception Site - Italian American Banquet Center - A - Roughly $60PP. Price includes Family Style - veggies and dip, cheese and crackers (instead of soup) salad, pasta, 2 entrees, 1 potato, 1 veggie, italian ice, pizza and premium bar. They are running a special where we got Friday pricing for a Saturday wedding.

Caterer - see above

Chair Covers/Linens n/a

Bakery - A - Joe's Produce for our 'pretty cake' $210. and then we served Costco cake $100 for 5 half sheets.

DJ - Matt from DJ WED $700 - A-. My only issue was that he played 3 slow songs right in a row and then no more for the rest of the evening. But other than that he was amazing.

Favors - B - bookmark photostrip holders from Shutterfly. I think they were $.50 a piece. Our photobooth was around $800. Our host did a great job with the booth, but when we spoke on the phone I asked about our escort cards; he was bringing them with him at 3pm and I asked that because we were not getting them earlier could he set up or let me know and I can get someone to do it. He said it shouldn't be a problem. On the day of he didn't do it and our DJ and my aunt ended up doing it for us. And the names on the escort cards were the smallest font possible when printed.

Lighting n/a

Other
Limo - LAX Limo. $600 for 6 hours. A+ Our driver was great and did not mind our rowdiness!

Florist - Cardwell Florist A+++. I love this place. We went in kind of last minute and Colleen totally helped us out. She help put together my brooch bouquet. We had 3 different centerpieces: wheat grass. babies breath, and babies breath with mums for like 24ish tables. My girls had one large calla lilly. Our total was around $600 for everything.

DOC - n/a
Miscellaneous equipment-n/a

Photography
Photographer- J & E Fusion (formerlly known as Sky Photography) A - Our package was the Platinum I believe. Instead of engagement photos I did boudour. I went to HS with the photog so I was very comfortable with her. The only issue is that I did my boudoir photos a month before the wedding, and was told they would be ready so I could give them to my H the day of the wedding, and I still don't have them yet. (wedding was April 13th). Other than that I had a blast with her and she takes amazing pictures.

Videographer - J & E Fusion $750 A+. Ezekiel was great to work with. We got a 25% discount for video because we booked them for our photos too. He is very creative and kept us pumped up after the long day.

Photobooth - see favors

Picture Locations - Dearborn Community Theatre. I am not sure if that is the exact name. But due to a last minute change because of weather we ended up indoors and they were very accomodating!

Engagement Pictures - n/a

Beauty / Attire
Rings - My engagement ring and both of our bands were done by a family friend that owns Mason Jewelers. He is great! We get all of our jewelry from them, and if there is something he does not have he will recommend someone to us.

Wedding dress - My dress was made by a family friend. I had to pay for materials and then $600 for making it. In total the dress was about $1000. I absolutely loved it, the top was peach and the bottom was tulle. I bought a belt to wear and she threaded peach ribbon throughout it. I recieved so many compliments on it.

Alterations - n/a

Tuxes - Gerard Tuxedo in Livonia A+. They are great to work with. The owner is there all the time and helped my indecisive H pick out everything. It was around $120 for tuxes, shoes, suspenders and hankerchief. We got 2 free tux rentals out of this, and we gave it to both of the fathers.

Bridesmaid Dresses - Alfred Angelo - I cannot remember the style number. But we ordered through Pearls Place. Normally the dresses are $200 in local stores. Through Pearls they were $129.

Hair - Ashka Salon in Canton. A++ Josephine did an amazing job. I went in for my trial with no real idea of what I wanted to do and she created something beautiful. The day of was even better than I could have imagined. Same with the make up, I never wear any. I got airbrush and for the trial I had too much concealer prior to the airbrushing so for the day of she kept it more natural and it was gorgeous. Hair $85, Airbrush $80 False eyelashes $25

My BM's and my mom got their hair done too and they all loved it. Each girl got their own stylist so no one was really waiting around. BM hair was $60

Paper
Save the Dates - n/a

Invites - Vistaprint. $175 A+

Programs/Menus - n/a

harperjs · May 2013

Ceremony

Ceremony Site - Cobblestone Farm, Ann Arbor MI. We had the reception here too.

Officiant - Andy Webster. $350 with rehearsal. A.

Getting a professional officiant was a late-in-the-game decision for us, and I was so happy with the secular ceremony Andy designed for us.

Ceremony Music - Mackenzie Lerchen, $300. B.

She plays fiddle in local country bands and does weddings. Friend of a family friend. Played "Don't Stop Believing" as requested for the recessional.

Reception

Reception Site - Cobblestone Farm, Ann Arbor. $1276 for 11 hours. B.

Cobblestone is great because you have so much freedom in picking your vendors, and you can supply beer/wine. It is a lot of work compared to other venues though, but beautiful and worth it to me. We had about 150 guests and I really can't imagine having more tables. The dance floor was the perfect size.

Caterer - Angel Food Catering. $6487 for taco bar, appetizers, coffee/lemonade/iced tea, bar tender, plate/linen/etc rentals for 145 people. A.

I really liked working with Judy at Angel Food, she was great in determining what we would need for our event. She also has worked Cobblestone before, a big plus. It probably was not the most cost efficient, but I liked the simplicity of being able to get all of my rentals from one company and was happy with the results.

Bakery - Self-catered. I spent about $115 on 160 cupcakes. Just do it.

DJ - Madman Mike Your Musical Slave. $750. A. We picked Mike after he DJed our friends' wedding. He is very affordable and great at keeping people on the dance floor.

Florist - Grand Jour Events, Tammara Kane. $443 for bride, toss, 5 BM, 11 bouts, and 2 corsages. B. Flowers were affordable, seemed good. This wasn't something I cared very deeply about.

DOC - Grand Jour Events, Tammara Kane. $500 for 10 hours of coordination. A. I think getting a day of coordinator was the best decision I made, and you should do it too. Especially at Cobblestone. Tammara was very quick at responding to any of my Qs before the wedding, helped me construct a day-of timeline and was my point person for the wedding day.

Alcohol - A&L Wine Castle. A. We bought one keg and had it delivered. Had some issues with my deposit but their event coordinator took care of it immediately when I called.

Also supplied homebrewed beer and wine from Sam's Club.

Rehearsal dinner - The Original Cottage Inn, Ann Arbor. A. ~$24 pp after tax/gratuity, before booze. This was the only location we could find in AA that didn't charge you to use the banquet room on a Friday night. We had a whole nice big room to ourselves and a private bar. Very happy, would recommend.

Photography

Photographer - McKibben Photography. $3110 for 10 hours, photobooth and engagement session. B+.

This was definitely one of our splurge items and I am so happy with our pictures. Dustin and Corynn are a great team to work with. I wish we had been able to get the digital files for our engagement session sooner, but that is my only complaint.

Photobooth - We had a photobooth table as part of photography package. It was about $300 to add this and the pictures are so fun.

Beauty / Attire

Rings - Roger and Hollands. Seems good. A.

Wedding dress - Davids Bridal, $545. A. Really happy with my dress and the price. Would not recommend going on a Saturday though!

Alterations - David's Bridal, $180 for hem, bustle, 1 should adjustment and strap to thread bra through. B. This was surprisingly expensive. My dress fit perfectly in the bodice and I hate to think what it would cost if that needed to be altered to. Ugh.

Tuxes - N/A, had our groomsmen wear suits they owned.

Bridesmaid Dresses - N/A, had our bridesmaids wear sundresses.

Hair - Brittany and Amber from Regis Salon in Ann Arbor. $40 bride, $30 BM. A. Brittany was our second stylist and our other stylist had to cancel. Amber was a last minute addition and she and Brittany did a great job. Very happy!

Paper

Save the Dates - Vistaprint. $21 for 100 magnets. B. Bought the Vistaprint groupon for this and was very pleased with the final cost. B grade because their business is gimmicky and their website hard to use. Order 10 thank you cards and you can get extra envelopes that will fit your magnets.

Invites - Catprint. $63 for 80 invitations and 100 envelopes. A. I designed the invitations myself, and really wanted a high-quality paper. Catprint has about 20 different papers to pick from (order their sampler!) and I loved the heavy shimmer cardstock. We also did online/phone RSVPs so there were no response cards. Highly recommended.

mrsbee · June 2013

Ceremony Site - The Community House in Birmingham B+
$2000 ($1800 ballroom and $200 ceremony space, I think) My only complaint is that their paperwork makes it seem as though they are not willing to help the bride in any way. They said that they will not place anything and that they recommend hiring a coordinator. I panicked over this for months. In recent weeks, they have been very accommodating, and on our big day, they were fantastic. I wish we could have gotten off to a better start. They don't allow vendors to set up until 3 hours before the ceremony starts. This wasn't really emphasized before I signed the contract. It worked out, but this was one of the most expensive things: hiring extra people and paying people more money to make this timeframe work.

Officiant - Miriam Jerris A $600
She has done thousands of weddings and knows how she wants things done. I stood my ground on the ceremony order, and I think it worked perfectly for us. She is a secular humanist rabbi and does all sorts of non-traditional ceremonies. She is very thorough about getting to know the couple and making the ceremony fit them.

Ceremony Music - Rondo String Quartet A+++
$480 plus sheet music for learned songs
I didn't get to hear everything as I was behind the scenes, but EVERYONE raved about them, and what I heard was wonderful. We paid a little bit extra for them to learn two songs (No Surprises by Radiohead and The Simpsons Theme) Since they found sheet music, it really didn't cost very much extra. I dealt with Kim, and she was always wonderful and professional. I'm so glad I chose them!

Reception Site - The Community House in Birmingham (see above)
Bar cost: about $4200

Caterer - 2 Unique Caterers A+++
About $45 pp including tax and paying the staff, not including bar
Even our pickiest guests were raving about the food. I was afraid we had picked stuff that was too plain and boring, but they made it so perfect. The staff was phenomenal. They saved a piece of each flavor of our wedding cake for us, which was huge because the cake was really important to us. Everyone was so attentive and fabulous. And their prices were extremely reasonable.

Linens - Loretta at Linens & Beyond A+++
About $900 We rented satin tablecloths with lace overlays, satin napkins, and gold bead glass chargers. I picked them up myself because we could barely afford them without the delivery fee and squeezed them into our budget. It was so worth it. Her prices were better than other places I spoke with, and she happens to be great to work with too. The wedding wouldn't have been the same without the overall look that it gave to the room. I can't wait to see the professional pics! (I definitely recommend paying the delivery fee if you can so you can have more free time. haha)

Bakery - Baked Impressions in West Bloomfield A++++++++
$980
I want to marry my cake. I want to have them make a Styrofoam replica of the cake. I'm tempted to see if my photographer can make an 11" by 17" gallery wrap of a cake picture. We had them make a custom strawberry mascarpone tier, an almond joy tier, and two hummingbird tiers. Each one was fantastic. They're not the cheapest around, but worth the extra money if cake is important to you. I gave Olga a pocketfold from our invitations and she matched the color perfectly. LOVED IT.

DJ/Band - Hidden Agenda Band - A++++++
$3000 and up (got a deal through a friend)
Best party band in Detroit. I met with Larry and Kat ahead of time and had dinner at their house. We made sure we were both on the same page. They learned a song for us (Give It Everything by Al Green) and kept the crowd dancing. The catering staff and bartenders actually thanked us for hiring them and said they never heard such an awesome band. lol

Valet - Elite Parking Solutions A
About $500 for 4:30pm to 12:30 am
Didn't have any contact with them on that day, but no complaints. Richie Abbo was great to work with.

Florist - Michele Nonis - A+
About $1300 for 3 bouquets, 15 centers, 3 corsages, 6 bouts, garland for the chuppah and various side table arrangements.
I adore Michele, and she did exactly what I asked. There was a very specific vintage look I was going for, and none of the other florists I spoke to seemed to get it. The week before the wedding, I took it upon myself to order some peonies online to add to what I had already told her. They were not the exact color I wanted, but that was my fault. She made everything look so beautiful, and it turned into something unique that I never expected. Our guests took all of the centerpieces home at the end of the night.

DOC - Tammara with Grand Jour Events A++++++++++++++++++
$500 package based on # of hours and guests
Please book her for your wedding. Even if you think you don't need a DOC, please book her anyway. She had everything organized ahead of time and confirmed with all my vendors. I thought I could do it myself, but I didn't have time AT ALL. Then, on the day of, she had everything done perfectly. My only regret is not hiring her as a full planner of the whole event. In hindsight, there are things a wedding planner can help you with, like contracts and things you don't think about. We spent more money on bonehead mistakes and lost deposits than we would have spent on having her guidance from the start.

Photographer - Pure Amour (Amy Schrodt) A+++++++++++
Package was $1200. Prices appear to be going up because she is awesome.
Best photographer in the area because she not only has excellent photography skills, but she saved me from having a nervous breakdown before the wedding. She is so great to work with, and our sneak peek is unbelievably beautiful. I cannot wait to get the rest of the pics!

Videographer - Fairytale Productions A++++++++++++
Package was about $3000 for all-day coverage and photo booth.
I know, you all are thinking I just give away the A pluses, but we had some seriously phenomenal people handling our wedding. Igor and Yuri were our videographers, and they were extremely professional, even though stuff started going haywire. We had some scheduling conflicts so there wasn't really a whole lot for them to shoot. They made the best of it. Yuri showed us a little bit of one shot, and it looked so cool! I can't wait to see everything!

Photobooth - Fairytale Productions A+
Price included in videography package
I feel bad that I didn't get their names, but the two ladies who ran the photo booth were friendly and kept things moving along. We got the book and disk immediately after the wedding, and the online gallery was available the next day, I think. It was a big hit!

Rings - Zales at Genesee Valley Mall A No complaints. Got the band soldered to my engagement ring. It came back on time. No big deal.

Wedding dress/tuxes - AdoraBelle Bridal in Waterford (Allure 8850) A
$1600
I love these people, but there were a few miscommunications. They put my husband's brother's name as the groom on the tux order. They said my dress would be in any day, then I found out it was actually one of the bridesmaid's dresses. I paid for rush shipping on the bridesmaids' dresses, but one of them came in late and they didn't refund the rush fee. They were very nice and everything worked out. And in fairness, I ordered the dresses pretty late.

Alterations - Dawn Sews (Part of AdoraBelle Bridal) in Waterford A+++++
$160
I had budgeted $300 and it only cost $160 for what I needed to have done, including the bustle. She did everything beautifully and even did some custom work on a bolero I had and a shawl for my sister. Even though our dresses were really late, she made time for us.

Hair - Kelly O'Hara - Randolph Salon in Clarkston A+++++ She is the best! I recommend her highly.

Makeup - The Glam Doctor (Rashida Williams) A+++++++
$360 for airbrush for three of us including my trial and one airbrush makeup for a pre-wedding party. She came to the hotel suite to do our makeup. Since she had to do it so early, her assistant came to the venue to touch-up before the ceremony. I loved working with her.

Save the Dates - Vistaprint A It did the job.

Invites - Cards & Pockets - A- Their only drawback is that they're so damn expensive and never offer deals.

Menus - Cards & Pockets A - Again, expensive. They were the only place that would do round menus.

Vendor Cost/Location/Reviews Here!

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