I got married last Sunday and it was truly the perfect day in my eyes! Everything went smoothly and all of the guests seemed to have a great time!
However, if something does go wrong, you just have to handle it as it comes. The evening before the wedding, my MOH was suppose to come over and spend the night. I spent 5 hours trying to get a hold of her, but she wasn't answering her phone or was at her house. I was so worried that something had happened to her and was wondering if I should go to the police the morning of the wedding if she didn't show up. Thankfully at about 11PM, she called and told me she had to take her grandma to the ER. I had to have my mom put a cold towel over my eyes because I was crying so much and didn't want them to be puffy for the ceremony. It was not the way I imagined the night before my wedding to occur, but you can't control these things.
On the day of the wedding it was overcast all day, but it wasn't suppose to rain until later at night. Well, just at the beginning of our outdoor ceremony we heard thunder, but the storm held up for a couple of hours! I AM thankful that it was overcast though because it will make the pictures look much better!
St. Clements Castle (Venue): A++ We had both our ceremony and reception here and I do not have a single complaint about this place. We had our own coordinator to make sure everything went smoothly and we didn't have to worry about anything! We had our own waiter and he made sure we weren't hungry or thirsty all night long. The staff was amazing to our guests and the food was delicious! It was absolutely perfect! And at the end of the night, they packed up everything for us and gave us a box with two slices of cake, two forks and a handwritten note from the staff.
Sebastian Photography: A They did any amazing job! They were so professional and really took into account our family members who wanted pictures taken. They did our engagement, wedding and trash the dress session and we had a blast at all three times. We haven't seen our wedding and TTD pictures yet, but the engagement photos were beautiful.
Digital Media Odyssey (Videographer): A We haven't seen any of the footage yet, but based on their sneak peaks on their website we think it's going to be amazing. Matt is so friendly and really made us feel comfortable; ever time I looked over at him, he had a smile on his face! He came early to film me getting ready and his assistant met up with the guys to film them. Most of the time we didn't even notice that they were there!
Michel's Entertainment (DJ and Trio): A- We went with Michel's Entertain for our DJ (Marc Joseph) and a Classical Trio for the ceremony and cocktail hour. I didn't get to hear much of the trio because I was so focused on my husband, but the parts I did hear sounded great! Marc Joseph was very professional and made sure that he was accommodating our needs. He even went around to every table to take requests from the guests! He wasn't obnoxious and helped the night flow smoothly. The only downside is that he played oldies for a while, which really didn't get people on the floor. However, once he started playing more recent music, more guests seemed to get into it. He tried his best and we understand that it is hard to have a good balance of music for every guest to enjoy. He was extremely nice and we loved having him!
Bakes and Baldwin (Florist): A- We worked with Debra and she was amazing. She is such a nice lady and really seems to have a passion for what she does. She did our bouquets, flowers for the parents, grandparents and the guys, centerpieces and the archway for the ceremony. The flowers were fresh, vibrant and high quality. The only downside was that the white fabric used to wrap my bouquet was a little messy looking and the crystals that were glued to it, fell off. The flowers in the bouquet looked great though!
Dr. Robert Henderson (Officiant): B+ We don't go to church regularly, so we found Dr. Henderson through St. Clements. He did a great job and really allowed us to shape our ceremony to fit our needs. He definitely seemed like he has been doing weddings for years and kept everyone focused during the rehersal and actual ceremony. In my opinion I though that his fees were a bit high, but he gave us a great ceremony and the family seemed to love it!
Creative Cakes by Donna (Cake): B+ Her cake came with our package at St. Clements. The cake came out great, but we weren't very impressed by how the business was ran. During our first meeting, it felt like we were rushed through it and it got cut 1/2 hour short because of phone calls and other appointments. As it got closer to the wedding, we made sure to keep track of when the payments were due. We asked them to send us the quote for the extra items we requested and they sent us a piece of paper with some numbers scribbled on it. It might seem nit-picky, but I really value professionalism especially when paying so much money for something. However, in the end the cake was beautiful!
Men's Wearhouse: D We were originally going to go to a small family owned tux rental shop, but they retired a couple months before our wedding. Since the guys were spread out over the state, we decided to go with Men's Wearhouse. According to my husband, this was the only "vendor" that he would not recommend. When they packaged up their tuxes to be taken home, the employees mixed up all of their clothes. Furthermore, the employees at each store told the guys conflicting information about their tuxes. Also, according to him the shoes with extremely uncomfortable and left blisters on his feet.
It was such a great day and I had to keep telling myself to savor every moment. It goes by so fast!
