Taking a break from the job search and avoiding the massive amount of cleaning for a bit to give a shout out to some awesome vendors and rant about a few not so awesome ones.The GoodThe Ceremony: St. Lawrence O' Toole, Garfield AThis is Chris' church he grew up in. I never joined a church when I moved here and wasn't going to drag everyone to Derry, so we got married in his. I originally wanted St. Paul's or Heinz, but couldn't get in. I have a few funny stories about the rehearsal and ceremony that I will share in the next post.The Reception: The Cathedral and Crystal Rooms at St Nicks, Oakland A+Was not my first choice venue, but it was off the parkway and not too far for all of my family coming from Westmoreland county. It also had ample (free parking-a rare find in Oakland) and was a blank canvas, which fit in well with the decor I chose.I had a few issues with the site coordinator initially, not returning calls, etc. Then a few months before the wedding, they changed coordinators and a lot of their policies without letting anyone know. Which I was not happy about. Thankfully, everything worked out well and I really liked working with the new coordinator.HIGHLY RECOMMENDCaterer-All the Best Catering A+Despite some major staff changes took place there right before the wedding, they were wonderful to work with! The food was excellent, the staff was very professional and accommodating...Highly recommend!!Day of Coordinator: Jessica Holloway of Holloway events A+++I originally was looking for someone to help decorate the hall, because my family was not able to help and most of my Bparty lived out of state. I had met with several individuals for this service and found Jessica to be the most reasonably priced and willing to go out of her way to make the day spectacular! She is new to the business, but very professional and was able to translate my ideas into reality!!She did some small projects for me (assembling favor bags, attaching placecards to favors, opening flower poms,etc.) But her main job was dealing with the vendors the day of (by the end--I was so done)!! Most importanly, she put together the centerpieces, put them on the tables, added flowers to cupcake tower, etc. Hiring Jessica was the best thing I did and she was very affordable! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!DJ-ANDY BOOTH -A+++ Fantastic knottie recommendation, as usual!! I never got to meet Andy before the wedding. Things were crazy at work and I just ran out of time. We exchanged emails and talked a few days before the wedding. I had no doubts that he would be anything but awesome. And of course--he was AWESOME!!My guests ranged in ages from 1 month to 92-94 (my gram made it and so did her older sis). I gave him a massive list of eclectic music (which he made fun of me for) but he translated my selections into a great mix. He also accommodated a lot of requests from my 11-13 year old cousins who kept going up to him and asking him to play songs.HIGHLY RECOMMEND!Photographer-Kate Miller-Captivating Imagery A+++Kate was wonderful to work with. A craigslist find, along with Jessica. She was very affordable, unique, easy to get along with and professional. She did our e-pics as part of our package, and am anxious to see how the wedding pics will work out!!HIGHLY RECOMMEND!Cupcake Tower-Dozens Bakeshop, LawrencevilleI LOVE DOZENS CUPCAKES!!!! Nuff said! HIGHLY RECOMMENDHair and Makeup-Clare and Monica A+++Another wonderful Knottie recommendation!! Both ladies very professional, very easy to talk to and accommodating. They dealt with the endless parade of family members coming into my room and did their hair and makeup--they even spruced grammy up!!HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!Honeymoon -Disney's Port Orlean's Riverside Resort planned by Sunbeam Travel agent Jen Stover (a good friend of mine) A++++Jen is a good friend of mine and Disney is one of her favorite places! She did a phenomenal job and planned our itinerary for us and made all of our dining reservations, etc--HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!ETSY.COM A+++All of my stuff that could have been DIY'ed if I felt better or had the time was done by etsy sellers:Mini-Ring Pillow--A+ Creative Bridal--perfect size for my pint sized ring bearer (my 2.5 year old nephew Giovanni)Fuji INstax custom photo guest book- A-TheHandmadeBoutiqueBeautifuly made, however the photo sleeves were too small for the photos. Custom table cards (seasons and love in different languages)-A yinvivoCute cards, smaller that I expected. Had a bit of problem with payment as one money order was not accepted and one got lost in the mail--overall great!Tissue paper pomanders- A annemusingdesignsA bit smaller than expected and difficult to open, but very cute!Unity Candle-wreathartist AVery pretty monogram and design.Custom favor bags and stickers LittlebeaneBoutique-AGreat design!!Custom tree return address stamp -lovetocreatestamps ASuch a cute stamp!!HIGHLY RECOMMEND--I LOVE ETSY!!The Bad and the UglyAlfred ANgelo -Monroville--F for Customer Service A+++ for dressesI have posted in the past about all of the problems that I had with this store...In the beginning, they ordered the wrong jacket color (they ordered ivory and I wanted brown) then argued with me about it.Many of their sales staff were rude, unprofessional, and gave incorrect or conflicting information.They kept calling us telling us we had to pick up dresses, tiaras, etc, when we had nothing left in the store--they never updated their system...They tried to give one of my girls the other ones dress...etc, etc, etc....That store was a NIGHTMARE!!! The BM and my dress though were FABULOUS!!!! HIRE WITH CAUTION!The Decorator-Dream Makers Wedding and Events --F customer service- A+ decorI had a lot of issues with this vedor's professionalism overall. Total lack of customer service and follow up skills. It would take them weeks to return calls, no one in the store could answer a simple question, could not get a hold of the owner, etc. When she finally returned my call close to the wedding, I told her off about how unhappy with the manner in which I was treated as a customer. She offered me my deposit back, but at that point it was too late to find anyone else. She did come thru the day of the wedding though.The decor was wonderful though--they hung paper lanterns, brought 5 live trees from their farm, brought overlays and chair covers, etc. Great decor, just very unprofessional and needs to learn some customer service skills.HIRE WITH CAUTION!!All in all --a wonderful day that went by so quickly!!!