The day has come and gone and despite the tornado warnings, heavy rain, flooded roads and damaging winds it was truly a perfect day. I wanted to give you all a review of my vendors to help in any decisions you may be trying to make. I will keep them brief even though a few them of them I could write a book about how wonderful they were.
Venue: Conestoga Country Club
This a beautiful venue if you are on a budget like we were. Where many local venues charge 5,000, 7,000, 12,000 etc dollars this venue is free to rent if you know a member or only $400 in you don't. The food is spectacular and extremely reasonable at about $25 a person. Hor d'eurves are $6 per person and they are hot and butlered. Drinks are reasonable too and they only charge you for what they use. Example, if you only use 1/4 of one keg they only charge you for that 1/4 not the whole keg like most places. The grounds are beautiful and allow for many wonderful pictures. The ballroom is big and very open with chandeliers and big tall windows over looking the golf course. They set all of the table up for you and even provide centerpieces if you wish to use theirs. We did not. My only complaints would be that because it is more of a country club/golf course than it is a wedding venue there were a few compromises we had to make. But nothing that dampened our day. My other complaint is that I did hear from some guests that the bar was cutting people off quite early on (which I guess isn't bad because it saved us money and also they are in charge of everyone so they can't take any chances I guess) and it seemed difficult for people to get a drink. We closed the bar during dinner and told them to reopen it after. It took them about 30-45 mins after dinner to re open. The reception ended at 11pm but at 10 when a guest asked for a glass of water they told him no because they were done for the night. I still highly recommend them, those few things arent worth spending thousands on somewhere else.
The country club
The greens at the Country Club
Photographer: Tony Gibble Photography
INCREDIBLE. I wouldn't book with anyone else. Tony and Clint were fantastic all day. They arrived at the hotel where the girls were getting ready at 2 pm and did not leave until 10:30 pm. The photos are so breathtaking and the two of them were beyond amazing and fun and easy to work with. My entire family loved them. We just got married June 1st and we have the majority of our pictures back already. Most photographers are at least 8 weeks. Here is a more in depth review on my wedding wire if you would like to know more
http://www.facebook.com/#!/notes/tony-gibble-photography-weddings/the-planks-testimonial/423799067642563 
DJ: Dj Freez
Hands down the best dj in the area. I understand there are many other recommended djs such as adam mcallister, mixed up productions etc however if you want a true professional who has been doing this for events such as jingle ball, fm97, kiss fm, working with celebrities etc this is your guy. He is easy to work with, helps you customize the whole thing, does whatever you want him to or not to and keeps the dance floor packed all night with a perfect mix that everyone will love. All of our guests had a blast and told us over and over again how fantastic our dj was. He plays his own mixes so it doesn't sound like exactly what you hear on the radio. This guy will be the one to really make your wedding memorable.
Lighting: Dj Freez
He also handles uplighting and other lights. We chose uplighting for our event and it was perfect. He knew exactly where to place them to really accent the room and details of the room.
Florist: Floral Designs by Heather Ann
Her prices are unbeatable. She works out of her home so she doesn't have to charge extra for the shop overhang. She is so sweet and was right on the same page with me from the beginning. She even helped me figure out things to cut out that no one would notice to save even more money. She set everything up for us and was a complete joy to work with. The flowers were beautiful and a few guests asked who did our flowers.
Hair/Makeup: Melissa Mchugh
Melissa is wonderful. She arrived to the hotel early the morning of our wedding and began working. The hair and makeup she did for my moh, mom, flower girl and myself was perfect. It lasted all day and night and we all looked like celebrities. SHe did exactly what we asked her to and everyone commented about how great it was. She is super friendly and easy to work with. Her prices are fantastic. Cheaper than even some local salons and she comes to you...you can't beat it.
Officiant: Robb Green
Robb was great to work with. He has done thousands of weddings over the years and has a beautiful ceremony he prepares. He allowed us to customize it and write our own vows and personal letters. He did a great job. He was loud and clearly spoken. He doesnt charge anything until the day of and even then you set the price.
Transportation: Prestige Limousine
Last minute we decided we wanted a limo after everyother plan fell through. We shopped around and was quoted anywhere from $550-$1200. We felt discouraged and then we went to Prestige. They cut us an amazing deal by only charging us for the time we were using it and not the whole day like the other places. Our total was $350 with tip included. 5 days before the wedding they called and said the limo (standard car 8 passenger limo) they were going to use for us was going to be at the airport picking up people and may not be back in time so at no extra charge to us they were upgrading us to the 14 passenger ford excursion suv limo which is newer nicer and over $100 more an hour...at not extra charge. This limo was SWEET. They were so nice there and we rly appreciated what they did for us. When the other places wouldn't work on the price at al
I hope this helps anyone out who may be looking for vendors. Also keep an eye out for my wedding items for sale. I should be getting those up on this board this week. =)l