Well now that we're back in to the swing of things, it's time to write my reviews.
We got married March 28 and even though it rained it was a wonderful day! You always here that something will go wrong, and it's true! Several things went wrong, but at the end of the day we were married and that's what matters. We rolled with the punches and our guests had good laughs and a great time.
Venue -
Alhambra Hall Honestly, I was kind of disappointed in them. It's a beautiful location and the price was good, but 2 tables had legs that were broken. Thank goodness we trimmed our guest list way down. We also rented another table for cocktail hour (that we ended up not using thanks to the rain) so we had it for seating. And the woman was quite rude about us not being able to use that big room downstairs to get ready in. I've seen many pictures of brides getting ready in there (I know because I see the curtains in the background). But she was saying that it's not included and maybe it will be one day an extra $600 or whatever. So my MOH and I were taping up paper to the windows in the one hallway that morning.
Day of coordinator -
Amanda Lewis with Southern Chic Weddings Amanda and her assistant, Bruce were wonderful! I don't know how we could have done it without them! The only problem was that they forgot to set out the funnel I brought for the sand ceremony. We were pouring the sand into a wine bottle, so it was very messy. But it became one of those funny moments because I ended up just saying, "well that's how we roll" when it just wasn't working. Other than that they were excellent.
Rentals -
Snyders
They showed up very early and everything was in working order. I didn't like that you could only rent champagne flutes in racks of 36, because we ended up paying for about 15 that we never even touched.
Caterer -
JBs Smokeshack They are wonderful! There was a little bit of confusion with the date. When I first contacted them for a quote we hadn't booked Alhambra so I told them the 27th and the week of they still thought it was Saturday. Luckily Amanda and Billy worked it out, but boy... that would have been bad. But the food was excellent and everyone loved it. They also loved that we had real food.
Baker Michelle Purser with Peacock Feather Cakes Michelle left Piggly Wiggly sometime in February. When I found out I called and asked what I should do because it was her I wanted to do our cake, not some random person. She said that she's taking her brides with her and keeping the same contract stuff. So the Pig kept the deposit and she still didn't charge us delivery (she didn't originally since the Pig is a mile away). I thought that was so nice of her since we had a tight budget. Our cake was delicious and so cool looking. Our guests kept commenting on how beautiful it looked.
Bar -
Snyder, Total Wine, and Walmart
We hired 2 bartenders through Snyder. They were fabulous and there was never a line. But it was beer & wine only, so I guess there wouldn't be time to form a line. We bought all the beer, champagne, and white zin at Total Wine. We bought the wine and red at Walmart. And here's the best kept secret in wine... Oakleaf at Walmart is really really good! It's only $2.97 too! We had the cabernet and the pinot grigio/chenin blanc blend. But all the whites are good and the cab and shiraz are good (we haven't tried their merlot). Seriously, if you're on a budget and doing a DIY bar... at least try it.
Florist -
Beth LeonGuerrero with Wildflowers Beth is wonderful too! I just gave her some pictures and told her that I liked spring flowers and basically left the rest up to her. I loved the results. Every centerpiece had a tall, medium, and short vase but were all different. But she used the same flowers so it still flowed. Our bouquets were simple, yet beautiful. Beth is so sweet and I really liked her a lot.
Photographers -
Phyllis and Hillary Floyd with Bee Happy Photography I found them on Craig's List and while looking through their photos I saw my friend whose wedding I went to. I called her and asked what she thought (after calling their references) and she loved them! They were all over the place and took a lot of pictures without taking a lot of time. I always hate waiting for the bride and groom to do their photos right after the ceremony and I wasn't looking forward to that myself. I wanted to get to the party! But they didn't take long at all! I was quite impressed. They posted some teasers which I love. I can't wait to see the rest!
DJ -
Rhett with Jay Maxwell's Music by Request Rhett was amazing! He kept the party going! It was so cool - my dad and I talked about doing a Bob Marley song for a while since he doesn't really like to dance. I decided that instead we'd do the same song for our dance and DH & MIL's. As they came up on the dance floor my dad goes up to Rhett and jokingly says, "so this is Bob Marley right?" Rhett laughed and played the regular song. After it was over he said, "and here's a very special request" and played "Everything is Gonna Be Alright". We laughed and thus the awesome party began!
Hair -
Tracy Wray with Beauty Mastery by Design Tracy was a life saver! I can't believe how much salons pay for bridal hair, it's like double the amount! I didn't want anything over the top so I couldn't justify paying those prices; yet, I wanted my hair to look good because I'll have these pictures forever. So the week of the wedding I was searching and while some were either booked or don't work on Sundays Tracy was available and with an excellent price. My hair was a soft curly look which stayed all night. My mom had an updo too and her's stayed put as well. We were very happy.
My gown -
Bridals by Jodi I really like the girls there. They'll leave you alone if you just want to browse, but will also help when you need it. I'm very happy with my experience and will go again!
My alterations -
A Stitch Witch The woman from there comes in to BBJ to do the alterations. She was nice and did a good job. Her prices were good too. However, a couple of my bridesmaids and MOH went there and she was very nasty to them. So I'm torn on whether to recommend them or not. I had a great experience, but my girls did not.
Bridesmaids dresses -
Davids Bridal
The main reason we went there was because my sister lives in Oklahoma and it'd be easier for her. We found a dress that we loved, which was the 3rd dress they tried on. But it was way early so no one ordered it. When it came time to start ordering though we found out it had been discontinued! Now they MAY have called me, if they had my date right. We went in there in April 2009, I told them I was getting married March 2010, but for some reason they entered it as March 2009. When we first discovered it a few weeks later I said, "no biggie, that's what happens when you have humans working. I've made plenty of mistakes at work too". But they never changed it! Anyway, we started the process again and found another dress which they ordered that week. The dresses all came in quickly and really, I think I liked them better than the first one.
Bridesmaids alterations -
Island Alterations
Two of the girls (and my mom) went to Island Alterations on James Island. They were able to alter the dresses in 1 week (well that was with a rush, otherwise I think it may be 2 weeks). They did a wonderful job and it was pretty cheap too. Another BM took hers somewhere in Summerville and they did a good job and it was under $50. I can't remember the name, but I'll find it if anyone is interested.
Tuxes -
Savvi
We went here based on the recommendation by the girls at Jodis. The owner is really nice and personable. The tuxes were affordable too. But I'm afraid I can't recommend them. When one of our GM tried on his pants there was a stain (ala Monica Lewinski, blergh). The guy was quick to change out the pants and apologize, but we were still grossed out. THEN at the wedding my FIL's shoes came apart. Both of them. Completely. The soles came off from both. Luckily he lives around the corner and was able to change after the photos but yeesh. Good thing we didn't get married in Summerville!
Please let me know if you have any questions!! We have several vases, candle holders, etc for sale and I'll be making a for sale page soon.
And now for some photos...