Ceremony - Gratz Park - A++
For no other reason than they have beautiful flowers everywhere already...I didn't have to do any decorating! Cheap too... $50! No electricity though...we had a cellist instead.
Music - Yoonie Choi on cello and David Reich on bass - A+++ People are still telling me how wonderful they sounded and how different and beautiful it was to listen to stringed instruments instead of someone who really can't sing.
Ceremony chairs - Events with Design - A+++
I am amazed than anyone could deal with our possible rain issue we had...they were extremely fast at getting back to me and even offered a same day pickup! (for a fee of course)
Transportaion - Lexington Livery - A+
Don't expect them to call you back...email works best. It's not because they don't care it's because they've been doing this for so long it's nothing to them. For a first time bride it can make you pull your hair out though! They were very accommodating the day of with our possible rain issues and super nice and helpful.
Reception Hall - Arts Place - A
They were very helpful with letting us in when we needed to come see things. Very limited with what you can do with the event hall and you have to fit everything into an 8 hour window instead of coming the night before and decorating. Beware...do NOT go over your allotted time...they will charge.
Caterer - Thompson's Catering (Winchester) - D-
Most of the food was good...except it wasn't what I ordered. The asparagus was WAY over cooked and so limp you could barely pick it up with thongs. This next bit of info is partially our fault but they definitely took advantage of us. My mom...being overly worked, overly excited and overly distracted ended up writing the final check for the full amount and did not deduct our deposit from that. Thompson's was nice enough to let us know and so we rewrote another check. However, that amount was incorrect too. They ended up getting about $250 more out of us than they should have received...with a tip on top of that. When we got back from our honeymoon and I found out about it I called...very nicely...and asked for that amount back. They said no that it ended up costing them more in manpower anyway. It did not match the quote that I had them redo only 2 months before the wedding with the final headcount etc. This excuse was all written to me in an email as well...instead of a return phone call as I requested.
DJ - Toddytunes (Louisville) - B
Didn't really play any songs off my song list...ended up making his own list...and played numerous songs I requested not to be played. At least we got a slight discount for being a friend of a friend.
Cake - Babycakes Cupcakes - A+++++
Their cupcakes are by far some of the best I've had from ANY bakery. They have so many amazing flavors and they are extremely accomodating. They love what they do and you can tell. We also got a mini cake (to cut) from them that was deeeelish and they also made our groomscake (tirimisu cheesecake!) and decorated it PERFECTLY. We left numerous flowers for them to decorate with and they did a great job.
Hotel - Gratz Park Inn - A+++
Talk about elegant charm. I am amazed that this little inn exists and even more amazed that it's not booked every night. It is BEAUTIFUL and the honeymoon suite is a picture friendly brides dream.
Flowers - Stems LLC - A+++
This lady is a hoot. To find someone in this world that loves flowers more than I do is pretty rare....she lives and breathes them and loves every minute and it shows. Much less than getting a floral designer...very very very helpful in all aspects. I was super impressed with what she came up with for my bouquet.
Officiant - Mickey Hyder from David's Fork Baptist Church - AAAA+++++
Love this man. He had our audience laughing...crying and cheering all within a 20 minute ceremony. I cannot say enough for how special he made our day.
Photographer - Stephanie Lyell (Wilmore) - A+++
This girl is one of the sweetest people I've ever met...her husband too. They stuck it out with us to the sweet end. So accommodating and very creative. They blended in so well I sometimes forgot they were even there...so I'm sure there are lots of shots I will be blackmailed with because of this
Dress - Bridal and Formal (Cincinnati) - A-
Too many dresses to go through...between the bridal and bridesmaids and prom there are about $4,000 dresses in the store...all tightly crammed on racks. Hard to navigate and actually look at anything. Ended up buying off the rack which knocked my price from $2,700 to $1,200 and nothing wrong with the dress. Be prepared to completely strip in a room full of other women...no walls.
Tux - Men's Warehouse (Cincinnati) - C-
If I had it to do all over again I would NOT go there. The lady who took our order not only screwed up the color of shirts we needed but almost every single measurement was wrong and also tried to force us to get complete tuxes for the ring bearers when all we needed was the shirt, pants and cumberbun. Too much drama.
Nails - Euro Spa - A+++
Amazing pedis and great pricing. Multiple chairs so all the girls could sit there and chat together.
Hair - Rejuvination Station - A
Ended up ok in the end but there were a few too many bumps to get there. Maybe up dos were not really their thing...not sure.