Texas-Dallas and Ft. Worth

Vendor Reviews!

The wedding is finally over and it feels so strange!  I have no idea what to do with my time now.  Its a little sad that we planned every intricate detail of this wedding for so long and it was over in the blink of an eye, only to be recaptured in photos.  Not really sure why I'm so "bummed" its over, but I am a little bit, and I can't seem to get out of planning mode and just relax for once.  

BUT - let's get back to me being less depressing and do some vendor reviews, shall we? ;-)


Becky Fowler (Alterations) - A+++
This is a given and most of you ladies already know full well how wonderful Becky is.  I swear, this woman has the gift to make you feel so special and beautiful.  I walked into my first fitting with doubts about how my dress looked on me, and when I walked out of said fitting I felt that I looked gorgeous in the dress.  It's how every bride should feel, and that's what makes Becky stand out so much.  Not only does she do professional alterations and a ridiculously great price, she works very hard to make sure you feel as beautiful as you should in your dress.  I just love her and I can't really add much more to what other Knotties have already said.  

McGowan Images (Photography) - A+++
Another review in which I really don't have much more to add to what other Knotties have already said.  The McG's are fabulous.  Period.  Not only have they captured some amazing, special images for us at our e-pics and wedding, but they made sure that our wedding day went as smoothly as possible.  Chelsea and Mack were aware of our current family situation and what H had been through recently, and they made every effort to make sure we were incredibly happy that day and have everything we could possibly need.  Chelsea tried to work with us in every way possible when other situations came up prior to the wedding and I am so touched that they cared about us enough to even offer those things.  When our other vendors were entirely inflexible, Chelsea and Mack did everything they could to help us.  I have no doubt our wedding images will be stellar, even if I forgot to make sure a few pics were taken (I'm a little bummed about that, but forgetting them was my fault completely).  I hope we can take some B&G pics with them in the future.  It was such a pleasure to work with Mack and Chelsea!

Ruth Robbins (Cakes) - A+
I can't begin to tell you how many compliments we received from our guests and other vendors about our bride and groom cakes.  They were EXCELLENT!  Bridal cake was strawberry swirl and another layer was amaretto-filled white cake.  Flavors were excellent, the cake was moist and delicious, and the outside was done beautifully and exactly as we had planned it.  Groom's cake was just as spectacular -- done exactly as planned with a large layer of chocolate/chocolate mousse and a smaller layer of chocolate/chocolate orange.  Cakes were delivered exactly on time and in perfect condition.   Ruth's cakes to me are second only to The Cake Guys, and her pricing is very, very reasonable.  I would highly recommend her whether you are a bride on a budget or not.

Melody with Melodies & Memories (DJ) - A+++
Again, what else is there to say?  Melody is INCREDIBLE and worth at least twice as much as she charges.  She helped me plan our timeline down to every last detail, which is something our venue wanted but didn't offer to assist us with.  Melody knew about our family situation and H's situation as well, and she told me up front that she would do anything and everything she possibly could to make our wedding awesome, and she delivered.  Melody is so willing to step outside of the DJ role and to help you with literally anything at all to help your day be great.  When we first started planning, it was hard for me to imagine shelling out hundreds or thousands of dollars on a DJ when we could simply use an iPod to play songs.  Melody doesn't just "play songs" -- she organizes everything, makes sure the even runs oh-so-smoothly, and assists however she can.  Well, well worth the money and I would HIGHLY recommend her to any bride with a budget big or small.  LOVE Melody!

Executive Car Service (Transportation) - A
We didn't need a fancy limo and only needed a ride from the reception to our hotel about 10 minutes away.  I found ECS about two weeks before the wedding and we rented a sedan.  I didn't really know what to expect, but the car was beautiful and very clean, and they arrived on time.  Our driver was friendly, although a bit quiet.  I feel like we got a fair price on the service and based on our experience, I would definitely recommend ECS.

Reflections on Spring Creek (Venue) - A
I would highly recommend RSC.  When we booked there, I felt pretty good about it.  They are more along the lines of an all-inclusive venue as they will provide everything except the cake, DJ, and photographer if you want.  They do have their own decor you can use but we opted out.  I was a little unsure about the blue walls inside, but when I saw the reception hall done up the night of our wedding, it was GORGEOUS.  I had many guests tell us it was one of the most beautiful venues/weddings they had been to, which was a pleasant surprise.  I was so happy with how everything looked.  Our guests and vendors also raved about the food.  Chef Jason will literally make anything you want -- anything at all.  We had beef tenderloin with a choice of 3 sauces, chicken breast with the choice of two sauces, a mac n cheese bar (omg, this was SO GOOD and our guests went nuts over it), salad,  green beans almandine, and several apps.  We were told it was the best wedding food that our guests had ever had.  Again, I was pleasantly surprised and I can say that the food was really damn good.  The kiddos were provided chicken fingers at no extra charge, which was awesome.

Our wedding coordinator at our venue was Kim and she was absolutely fantastic.  She was very organized, personable, easy to work with, and she was always close by to make sure we were taken care of.  She helped make sure all the little kiddos at our wedding were assisted as well.  Everything went so smoothly that night thanks to Kim!

One last note about Reflections -- Jason, the chef, does most of the front-end customer service at Reflections, and he is really great.  He oftentimes bent over backwards to help us when he didn't have to, and it meant the world to us.  Great guy that makes some killer food! I would highly, highly recommend this venue.

Jackie Hildebrand (Floral) - A++
And I'm not saying this because she's my aunt.  She doesn't do this as her career, but my god, she should.  Hopefully our wedding photos do her work justice, but this woman is a rockstar when it comes to floral.  If any Knotties are ever interested in potentially getting her help with their wedding floral and decor, I would definitely be willing to ask her if she'd like to do so.  Her H does not support her making it a full-time career, which is very sad, but she absolutely LOVES doing this and has done it for many friends of hers.


ETA:

Jorg's Cafe Vienna (Rehearsal Dinner) - A+
How did I forget to review Jorg's?!  H and I LOVE Jorg's, and now my family is totally on board.  The food was excellent, the service was prompt, all of the orders were spot on the first time, and everything flowed very smoothly.  Reasonably priced, easy to work with, and delicious food with expedient service in a private room for not extra cost... what more could you possibly want?  Highly recommend!

** Thank YOU, Knotties, for all of the recommendations and vendor reviews in the past.  Without you, I wouldn't have had such a killer line-up, and I am so, so thankful for all of you!

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Re: Vendor Reviews!

  • I'm SO glad you had all-A vendors! I can't wait to see the pictures.

    As for coming down from all the planning -- I personally didn't experience it, but almost every one of my IRL friends did. (In fact, I felt like the odd duck because I was just plain elated that wedding planning was over, lol). Don't feel bad about it at all -- I think it's completely normal to feel a little disoriented after the big day you have been planning forever is over.

    If you can't just switch the 'relax' button (I never can), maybe you can instead find another project to consume your energies. I've been so lucky that I've had constant projects (house-hunting, house renovations, house decorating, vacation planning, dog-shopping, dog training). I wish I could find a less expensive way to direct my energy!
  • Yay for great vendors! I have said it before and I will say it again: you cannot put a price on photography or a DJ. The good ones are so much more than just that. I missed wedding planning but I think I missed our HM more! Both were so perfect I just wanted to do it all again. But I just love weddings in general and watching and helping brides on this board gives me so much joy it's almost as good as having my own. I can't wait to see how everything turned out!
  • So glad to hear all your vendors rocked. I'm sure it made your day all that more special.
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  • I'm so happy it went well!  Yay for all-A vendors!
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  • Congrats!! Glad all your vendors were A's and I love the sneak peak on the McGowan blog!!
  • Thanks, everyone! :)
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  • Glad everything went so great and can't wait to see the pics! :) 
  • Jen6862Jen6862 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    Sounds like a great wedding. Congrats!
  • Hi,
    do you have the contact info for your amazing florist/aunt? I googled her and couldn't find her.
    Thank you!
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