Ceremony Site: Trinity Lutheran Church (Conklin, MI) A+ Beautiful church! It has such charm as it's been around since the 1800s. My husband (hehe) was confirmed and grew up in this church so there were special ties. It's in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by apple orchards. I can't wait to see the pictures! __________________ Reception Site: Blythefield Country Club [amiller(at)blythefieldcc(dot)org] A+ Andrea Miller is the site coordinator and she was a blessing to work with! She let us use supplies that were left over from previous weddings- free of charge (bevelled mirrors, candles/votive). She gave a helping hand to set up the room prior to vendors arriving so that everything went smoothly. She was easy to get a hold of and was easy to work with. Any last minute change, we welcomed with a 'no-problem' attitude. She's a big reason why I was stress-free on our big day. Love her! __________________ Day of Coordinator: Laura Frank- White Dress Events [laura(at)thewhitedressevent(dot)com] A+ Laura is the very best! She was a recent bride herself so she knows how to relate to you. For me, that was important. I used Laura as my Day of Coordinator so she wasn’t by my side throughout the planning. However, when I needed suggestions or to confirm changes- she was only an email away. She’s full of ideas! A lot of people question if a DoC is necessary. I’m an extremely organized person and I knew that I could plan our wedding on my own. For that reason, I didn’t need a full time event planner. What I needed was piece of mind to not forget any little details that are easily overlooked and to have someone in my corner should a crisis arise. I also wanted to experience my big day without having to stress/worry about vendors arriving, set up, etc. Laura was there to take care of all of that for me. She allowed me to *enjoy* that day. ___________________ Florist: Gail Vanderlaan [gail(at)gvlfloral(dot)com] A+ WOW!! Gail’s name was given to me by a friend and I’m oh so thankful she did! Gail took my ideas and brought them to life… and THEN some!! Best of all, her prices are extremely budget friendly. I had compliments left and right from my bouquet to the centerpieces and everything in between. The reception was where I decided to use the most flowers. I walked in the room and literally gasped at how absolutely beautiful everything was. Her name and contact information was requested at least 6 times that night. If you don’t have a florist- you MUST use Gail! ____________________ Cake: Barb- Sweet Cakes Design [sweetcakesdesignllc(at)gmail(dot)com] A+ Yummy!!! I loved working with Barb. We actually decided to go with a cake that was one of her first ever designs. When we went for our tasting- she had popular flavors and then she had unique flavors. She knew that we were doing a citrus theme (lemons and limes in décor vases) so she whipped up a few of her favorite combinations. We decided to go with Pistachio cake with orange curd and French vanilla buttercream, Lemon cake with lime curd and French vanilla buttercream, & White chocolate cake with raspberry fresh fruit preserve and French vanilla buttercream. I had a small piece of all three flavors.. haha. _________________ DJ: Chip- Complete Music [Michigan(at)cmusic(dot)com] A+ Chip was great! He kept everyone dancing and he had tricks under his sleeve to get people on the dance floor. We were asked multiple times if we liked the volume and the selection. I was very impressed with that! Sadly- Chip let us know that he was retiring from the DJ business soon. I highly recommend him if you can catch him before he leaves! __________________ Transportation: GR Trolley Co. [info(at)grtrolley(dot)com] A This was a great idea! It was fun, unique, and spacious. It’s super hard to move in and out of a limo wearing a big heavy wedding dress. Most limos are meant for around 14 people. If you fill it, it’s cramped and hot. Nobody likes that combination! With the trolley, there was plenty of room to move around because it seated 28 people (and ours was the smaller trolley). It also allowed everyone to interact because you weren’t sitting in a straight line like you would in a limo. My one issue is that they have crazy hours and are very hard to get in contact with. It took us a good couple weeks to hear if our date was available. When I tried to call for confirmation, I always received the machine. To their credit, they would always get back to me but it would be days later. When I did speak to them, they were extremely friendly and helpful. When picking a trolley, I asked which ones were available for our date. Then I asked, “If it was your wedding and those trolleys were available, which one would you want them to give you?” She told me and I booked that one. We’re very happy with our decision to use them! _________________ Makeup: Julie Strating [Julie(at)juliestrating(dot)com] A+ Julie is wonderful! She’s been doing makeup for a long time and it shows. She applied my makeup at 10:30am and it was still on after our reception ended at midnight. She’s great with fake eyelashes too! Full strips to individuals.. she’ll work her magic Julie sets up a trial with you prior to make sure you’re both on board for the big day. Makeup looks different on different people because shapes of features are not the same. I did my trial, it was exactly what I asked for, but I just wasn’t loving the result.. on me. I called Julie and explained that and she set up another trial for free. Her client’s happiness is what she aims for. _________________ Invites & Programs: Tara Berghuis [TJBerghuis(at)gmail(dot)com] A+ Great job and budget friendly!! I met with other people that are frequently mentioned on this site. I got a folded invite, 4 inserts (one being my RSVP postcard), ribbon tie, and envelopes for $3.25/invite. With the other designer that I met- same exact thing- I was going to be charge $6.00/invite. __________________ Photographer: Dan Johnson Photography [dj(at)djcustomphoto(dot)com] A+ Dan & Jody are an amazing husband and wife team!! They are easy and extremely fun to work with. They make sure to capture every detail so that you will always remember the little things. Jodi was with me and the girls while Dan was with Christian and the boys. It will allow us both to see what we would have missed otherwise. Their style is your style. You tell them what you want and they make it happen. I don’t like extremely traditional pictures. At the same time, I don’t like the ultra hip graffiti walls either. I can’t wait to get our pictures back!! __________________ Candy Buffet: Joyce Hoeksema [tlhoeksema(at)iserv(dot)net] A+ Great idea that every guest loved!!!! It was a HUGE hit that was gone before we knew it (and not because we didn’t have enough candy). Joyce was very budget friendly. She purchased the regular candy from bulk stores like Costco and Sams Club. For the chocolate selections- she went to Ferris Coffee & Nut. She has a connection there so she’s able to get a great discount on the gourmet goodies. As for supplies, Joyce uses all of her own vases which include a large variety of shapes and sizes. She also has beveled mirrors and white pedestals wrapped in ribbon of your coordinating colors. She doesn’t charge you for using any of this. She just wants to make sure that you’re happy with the appearance. All that you pay for is the candy, a small fee for her set up/delivery, and a couple pennies for each cellophane bag needed if you don’t have your own bags. Highly recommend this unique idea for favors!! __________________ Chair Covers: Penny Waltman- Special Occasions A+ Our chairs looked fantastic! Penny has a small store in downtown Rockford. I recommend stopping by and seeing her in person. It gives you a better idea of actual color and combination options. In fact, thanks to her suggestion, I had white chair covers with black bows. I then alternated and had solid black table cloths so that the color of the flowers and candle light on the table really popped. Also, I didn’t pick the traditional bow tie for my chairs. After seeing some samples in the store, I went with a wrap design. I wrapped around the top half of the chair and then was then tied in a bow to the side on the front. I know that might be hard to picture but it was perfect!