Hi everyone - I'm posting these vendor reviews for my daughter's wedding on 5/22/2010. I hope these are helpful for the brides-to-be on this board:
Buon Affare Events - Rachel Stepanov: Grade: A+
We hired Rachel as our day-of coordinator based on recommendations on this board. She completely fulfilled all of our expectations. Professional, budget-friendly, and personable. She has a take-charge personality and we could not have been happier!
Signature Bridal - A+
Dress & Alterations- The staff there, Tiffany, Ashley and Barbara (alterations), are fantastic. My daugther found the perfect dress by Maggie Sottero that made her look and feel like a princess. Barbara does alterations and her work was flawless. The bustle on her dress HELD all day without any problems. As I am an experienced seamstress, I am hard on my reviews of other peoples (sewing) work, however, I have no problem in giving Barbara an A+ and beyond.
St Thomas More Catholic Church - A+
This is our family church so there was no question as to where the ceremony would be held. The church is beautiful on it's own and doesn't require any additional decorations. Since we were still in the Easter season there were flowers at the altar and celebratory banners hanging from the rafters. The coordinator there is experienced and sooo nice.
Renaissance Hotel - Glass Oaks Ballroom - Jenny Hernandez - A+++++
Absolutely Fantastic!! My favorite review. The ballroom is beautiful with its natual light, copper lined ceiling and stone columns. We had 180 people attend and everyone raved about the food. The menu included top sirloin, salmon and roast turkeyj, mashed potatio/macaroni bar served buffet style. The presentation was beautiful...the staff was exceptional. We had several grandparents that needed to be served in the traditional waiter style and Jenny quickly ensured that they were taken care of. Jenny, herself took care of us personally and was there every minute to ensure that the event ran smoothly. I cannot recommend this venue enough.
Bouquets of Austin - Becky Diaz - A++
Funny, we also received a quote from the Glass Fountain and it was considerably lower than everyone else we met with. I'm experienced enough to know that you get what you pay for...and, for this reason we chose Bouquets. They came highly recommended from our planner and our venue. My daughter's bouquet was beautiful as were the bridesmaid bouquets. Boutineires were made of roses and orchids. We had rented hurricane centerpieces from Mancino Iron, and Becky filled these with rose petals and candles (that stayed lit all nite). The head table had 4 ft iron candleabras with flower wreaths surrounds. We were extremely happy with the flowers and the service Bouquets provided us.
Studio 563 - Jenna Vincent - A++
Here's the link to the preview pictures:
http://www.studio563.com/jenna/?p=1350you can judge for yourself. We can't wait to see the rest of the pictures!
Simon Lee Bakers - B+
Both the groom and bride's cake were delicious. I wasn't that happy with the final design, but I feel we should share responsiblity for this. The cake costs for both cakes was $1500.00, which i feel was way overpriced. Plus, we didn't have any cake left over. I would recommend before you choose this vendor that 1) you do a better job negotiating price than what I did, and 2) you communicate very clearly on the design.
Mariachi Estrella - A++
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them. Great music, professional folks. I wish I would have booked them for a longer period of time.
DJ & Videographer - Altared Weddings -
My daughter was happy with the DJ - if she's happy, I'm happy. Music is such a personal thing. The grade is still out on the videography because we haven't received the video yet. I'll come back and post the review later.
Overall, it was a fantastic day and it went off without a glitch. If anyone has any questions, I'll be happy to answer them.