Earn cash as you plan. Get a $20 gift card for every 200 points with The Knot Rewards
Minnesota-Minneapolis and St. Paul
Photography--Britt at Render Photography: A+++ (pending final photos)
Florist--Intuitive Blooms: A-
Married! With Vendor Reviews and PIP (Long)
I'm married! Our day was amazing, no complaints except the traffic/road construction from the church the PEC....UGH. Many of our guests were a little disgruntled about it and it delayed our dinner. Below are my vendor reviews...enjoy!
Vendor Reviews
Ceremony--St. John Neumann Catholic Church: A
Vendor Reviews
Ceremony--St. John Neumann Catholic Church: A
I grew up attending this church and knew I wanted to have my wedding there. They were very accomodating since I wanted to have my mom's uncle (a priest who lives in Europe) to preside over the ceremony. The prep classes were great and the coordinator is very nice to work with. No complaints here!
Reception--Profile Event Center: A+++++++++
Reception--Profile Event Center: A+++++++++
Like most people that use this venue I have nothing but amazing things to say. Heather is incredibly prompt returning calls and emails and if she isn't there Patrick always returns an email in her stead. We have been so pleased with this venue. We booked in February 2010 and have ZERO negative things to say. I'd recommend this place in a heartbeat.
The wedding was AMAZING. All of our guests raved about how beautiful and unique the space was. And the food was awesome! Several people told us it was the best wedding food they had ever had. As well as the best wedding they'd ever been to=one happy bride :0)
The wedding was AMAZING. All of our guests raved about how beautiful and unique the space was. And the food was awesome! Several people told us it was the best wedding food they had ever had. As well as the best wedding they'd ever been to=one happy bride :0)
Photography--Britt at Render Photography: A+++ (pending final photos)
We have been so happy we chose to go with Britt over the photographer we original booked. (To make a looong story short we booked a photographer and then after I began posting on the knot I realized how much we were getting ripped off. Such as no rights to our photos plus we'd be paying him a ridic amount of money.) I knew I needed to find a new photographer if I kept doubting my decision. We started looking for a new one in January. We're so glad we picked Britt, she funny, talanted and great to work with!
The wedding day went perfectly with Britt. Her and her assistant Anna arrived right on time and were great about getting photos done quickly and efficiently. Anna also did a great job trying to coax our less than cooperative RB into being in some photos. We also asked Britt last minute to stay an extra hour due to bad traffic delaying our reception start time and she and Anna both stayed. I have nothing but amazing things to say about her.
Photography (Boudoir)--Laura Ivanova Photography: A+++
Photography (Boudoir)--Laura Ivanova Photography: A+++
I LOVE Laura. We orignally looked at her as a possible wedding photographer but ended up choosing Britt but I was such a huge fan of her work I decided to hire her for my boudoir photos. She made me feel super comfortable even though we had never met before the day of the shoot! She was quick to also get my photos back to me (about 3 weeks). I know she's a little spendier than other photogs but soooo worth it in my opinion. I felt like a supermodel and loved my photos.
Videography--Capture Studios: A+++ (pending video)
Videography--Capture Studios: A+++ (pending video)
Originally we weren't planning on having a videographer but then I saw Matt's videos and fell in love. And we decided he is worth every single penny. He has been great to work with and quick to respond to emails. He did forget our initial final meeting but totally made up for it, he's awesome.
Wedding day went awesome with them as well. Matt and Tyler arrived on time and began filming right away and were all but invisible to us. They also helped time my arrival to the church to make sure Tom didn't see me :0) They were so great to work with and I think so highly of Matt, like I said he's awesome!
DOC--Stephanie at First Blush Bride: A
DOC--Stephanie at First Blush Bride: A
Again a DOC was something we also weren't planning on having. (I blame TK for all these vendors!). We met with Maria from Ispiri and Steph and basically flipped a coin to decide. We really liked both of them.
Wedding day with Steph went really well! We met with her at the church after we were done getting ready. She helped put on bouts and made sure I drank water and ate before the ceremony. She left the church after our ceremony started and put the flowers on our cake at the PEC and set out last minute stuff. After we arrived we noticed I'd forgotten to have her put out of favor boxes that were in the fridge so she quick did that while guests were arriving. My mom remarked that it was great to have everything boxed up for us and put into the proper cars. My mom was worried that was going to be left to her, my stepdad and brothers. And she did all this without us hardly noticing. Her help was money well spent!
Florist--Intuitive Blooms: A-
I LOVE Lacey. She has such a great sense of humor and is incredibly talented. Originally I thought about doing my own fake flowers but then decided we wanted real flowers. We only met with Lacey, H and I both loved her as well as my mom. I will admit she's hard to get a hold of at times and not the quickest with email.
Wedding day with Lacey was good. I FRIGGIN LOVED my bouquet, the BM's bouquets and the alter arrangement. However, I had asked her to not make one of the corsages since my grandma was not able to attend and we still got the corsage, I know though, not a big deal. Lacey was also about 15ish minutes late to deliver the flowers. I'd asked her to meet us at the church at 2:45-3pm so we could do our first look right after that. At 3 I sent a text asking where she was and she said she was stuck in traffic. We ended up doing our first look and first couple photos of just H and I without our flowers since I didn't want to throw off the timeline. In the end it was not a big deal, we were very happy with the flowers, my mom was raving about her to a friend of hers and I know traffic happens but it would have been nice to have our flowers for the first look.
Cake--Penny Steele Custom Cakes: A+
Cake--Penny Steele Custom Cakes: A+
After going on several cake tasting adventures to Buttercream (cake was ok, service was horrible), Wuollet (great cake and fillings, no complaints!), Key's Cafe (awesome cake, fillings and prices, again no complaints!) and Penny Steele. While I liked the cake of every place we went, especially Key's, you can't get any better than Penny! Her flavors are all soooo gooood. She also isn't the best at answering emails and phone calls. She admitted that she does get very busy but she is far more likely to give a prompt resonse as your wedding gets closer.
Wedding day was perfect. Cakes were there when we arrived to PEC and tiered cake and groom's cake were exactly what we wanted and they tasted awesome! Guests were raving that the cake was amazing.
Hair and Makeup (Wedding Day)--Smart and Chic: A-
Hair and Makeup (Wedding Day)--Smart and Chic: A-
Smart and Chic has been ok as far as communication. Usually I had to email multiple times to get a response from Anita. I really hope they figure out the customer service portion because they do beautiful work! However, contact with my direct stylists has not been a problem.
Wedding day went fabulous. Amber B and Kelly arrived on time and started immediately and finished ahead of schedule. My mom wasn't thrilled with her makeup when she saw pictures of it but I thought she looked fine. I loved my hair and makeup and my hairstyle held most of the night, it only started to fall out when I was dancing the night away. I would definetly recommend them even though the communication is lacking they still deliver on wedding day.
Hair and Makeup (Boudoir)--Mani Mela: A+
Hair and Makeup (Boudoir)--Mani Mela: A+
Hana is super sweet. Laura recommended her for my boudoir shoot. She was super friendly in person and made me look/feel gorgeous for my pictures. I think she's very talented considering she never went to cosmotology school, I would have never guessed. I'd also recommend her in a heartbeat.
Rehersal Dinner--Old Chicago in Eagan: A+
Rehersal Dinner--Old Chicago in Eagan: A+
We ended up going with Old Chicago after getting quotes from Bucca di Beppo (wayyyy over our budget) and Green Mill (good food but we would only be able to offer our guests pasta and salad to stay in budget). Old Chicago has awesome prices and the pizza is great.
Everything went awesome! Pizza and salad was served promptly and they even let us take home all the left over pizza (even though we were basically paying for a buffet). Definetly recommend for a laid back rehersal, or dinner anytime!
Dresses (Bride and Bridesmaids)--The Wedding Shoppe: A-
Dresses (Bride and Bridesmaids)--The Wedding Shoppe: A-
My experience getting my dress was great. Carolyn was very helpful and attentive. The BM dress shopping was another story. We went on a Saturday (which I loathe but 2 of them are from OOT) and it was crazy busy. We had an appt but that consisted of the person introducing herself, showing us our fitting room and where the dresses were, then we were on our own. The whole concept of having an appt felt pointless. I still give them a good grade because my dress was in within 12 weeks and the BM dresses took longer but still can within the quoted time frame.
Tuxes--Savvi Formalwear: A
Tuxes--Savvi Formalwear: A
We shopped around to a few places and settled on Savvi, since it gets good reviews on the board. They were very helpful and quick.
Tuxes looked great and the guys said they were comfortable, not too hot. No complaints here!
Alterations--Louise Kegley: A
Alterations--Louise Kegley: A
Another Louise fan here! I know others have had problems getting a hold of her but I never did. She always answered her phone and I never had problems getting in to see her. She did such an amazing job for an amazing price!
Louise did a great job on my dress. She hemmed it, put in a bustle, took it in, added extra loops to my corset, attached the sash I made, and made the neckline into a more dramatic sweetheart for $160! She also pressed my mom's dress and 2 BM dresses free of charge, and very last minute, we brought one to her the day before the wedding and she pressed it no problem. LOVE her.
Me and H (!!)
Holy Gorgeous Bouquet Batman!
Me and H (!!)
Holy Gorgeous Bouquet Batman!
Hitched! 09.30.11
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Married! With Vendor Reviews and PIP (Long)
We used Jim (one of the PEC DJ's) and he was great. He made sure we were having a good time and hearing what we wanted to hear as far as music selection, great price for their DJ services!
Great reviews & love your bouquet!
My Planning Bio - Update 8/5/12
Planning Bio! Updated 05.02.12
[QUOTE]Congrats and you looked beautiful! Glad to read your review on Lacey, I am using her as well, so maybe I will make sure to tell her to arrive a little earliier than I need. :)
Posted by colstj1[/QUOTE]
<div>That's what I'm thinking too! Thanks for the reviews Lisette, sounds like you had an amazing day. You looked beautiful and I love your flowers :)</div>
And the flowers are gorgeous also!
My Bio
June 18, 2011