Venue and Catering: Krippendorf Lodge and Elegant Fare (Julie): A-
The lodge was beautiful and the food was delicious! They even sent all the leftovers home with my sister, who was in charge of getting leftover cake home. Everything was set up beautifully and quickly. The things not so great: Julie would sometimes not respond to my emails for 3-7 days. Even with numbering the tables on a drawing, they mixed up a bunch of tables (not really a big deal). Also, be sure to be vocal about your budget. The first food quotes I received were ridiculous, but Julie and I were able to work out a delicious meal with my budget. PM me for more details.
Cake: BonBonerie: A+
The cake was delicious and beautiful!! The BonBonerie was also extremely helpful and generous at the tasting.
Flowers: Kroger-Newport: A
Erica worked with me on flowers and I worried that she didn't quite see what I was going for, but flowers weren't a huge deal, so I didn't stress. You guys, she put together the biggest, most beautiful bouquets ever--totally with the vision I had in mind. She put together 4 bouquets, 3 bouts, and 7 corsages for $200. Highly recommend.
Photography: Nathan Peel:A+++
Nathan was the best decision ever! He took gorgeous, breathtaking photos and was with us for 12 hours on the wedding day. He even bought us drinks at the pub later that night. Super nice guy, very quick turnaround, very high quality. Worth every penny of the $2400 we hired him at.
Dress (Bride and Bridesmaids): David's Bridal: A
I had no problems with David's. They were attentive and helpful. They let me try on every dress I wanted to try on and even suggested dresses for me. I did not get alterations done there.
Suits: Men's Wearhouse: A
Brad had coupons from David's Bridal for 1/2 off of suits, so he and the guys all got suits they could keep. With the coupons, the cost was reasonable and he bought dress shirts at Kohls to complete the look.
Favors: Daffy Apple: A+
We made caramel apples ourselves, but ordered the caramel from Daffy Apple. If you're not in the summer, they'll ship caramel apples to you for a great price. If you're in the summer, you can order supplies from them. I thought it was a great deal and their website was very informative. Our apples were delicious and we had plenty of caramel.
I blog about the wedding, even the budget, at
www.melanieandbrad.blogspot.com. If you have any questions, feel free to comment over there or to PM me here.