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Chicago Vendor Recs...Here you go, from a Newlywed

Hey Ladies,

I never took the time after my wedding this past Sept. to do vendor reviews. But since I know wedding season this year is approaching I wanted to share some higly referred vendors just incase you are in need. Feel free to email me privately with any ?'s: pajarito81@hotmail.com

Makeup/Hair: Antonette White , www.antonettewhite.com
she travels, is professional, highly skilled, and affordable pricing. She does airbrush as well, and includes a free trial with her prices. She's awesome!! I found her in a bridal magazine, her work was featured.

Photography: I used Jermey Bircher of Modern Image Studios. But if I were you, I would use him privately thru his own co. so that he can negotiate with you and have more leeway since he would work for himself and not thru a studio. He was amazing!!  I couldn't get Wes, so I took Jeremy and it was the BEST decision. He's very talented. I believe you can check out some of his work and reach him thru this website: www.3line9.com

DJ: Try Creative Sounds Chicago. Jorge is AMAZING, and professional! Has years of experience doing weddings and it shows! He works with brides' budgets.
630-301-4946,  jorge@creativesoundschicago.com

Alterations:  Egle was AMAZING! She used to own her own shop and now works out of her house in D.Grove and has a small shop inside as well with accessories including shoes, jewelery, flowergirl dresses, etc. She was very professional and her work is fast and detailed! Total trust with my dress, highly recommend!
 Egle's Creations 630-739-8539
8906 Lemont Rd Downers Grove, IL 60516
www.aeglesbridal.com

Day of Coordinator: THIS was the BEST decision of all vendors we made! We used "Sweet Pea Wedding Studio" Kristin Cavaretta.
www.sweetpeaweddingstudio.com
Kristin was awesome! She was extremely helpful the week and day of our wedding. She tied all the lose ends especially at the last minute and was there for us when things didn't go as planned. She was very professional from the beginning to end. I even had RED WINE spilled all over my dress during the cocktail hour by a guest, and Kristin was there to save me, my wedding, and my dress with her assistant and the emergency kit they brought. They got out every stain scrubbing on hands and knees within 10mins. She made my wedding run smoothly. I can't recommend her enough. Her pricing was very reasonable too and definitely worth every penny!!

Wedding Venue: Hyatt Regency O'hare, this place was so classy and chic. I can't say enough about it. Amy was our on site coordinator. She was very easy to work with and accomodating. The food was fabulous, the service was superb, the rooms all recently renovated,and that glass elevator in the middle lobby with high ceilings just makes it all that more of a glamourous ambience.  We were mins away from the city yet we did not get charged city venue pricing because it was located on the outskirts. Definitely recommend! Our guests' still talk about how beautiful our venue was!

Limo/ Limo Bus: Masters' Transportation
www.masterstrans.com
Jim Venn is owner and was so helpful, really sweet on the phone, and accomodating. Its his family business and he's been in this business for years so he takes every customer very seriously.  Prices were reasonable and pick up times were right on on schedule.

Cake: Baking Institue
Spoke and met with Igor the head chef. He is so talented at his craft. You can tell he is very experienced and passionate about what he does. He is always being featured in various bridal magazines. He's quick to respond to emails, professional about his services, and really nice to work with. Our cake was just beautiful and soo so good. Highly recommend!!!

Linens: We used Chair Covers by Sylvia.
www.chaircoversbysylwia.com
Margaret was our contact person. Their onsite location is beautifully decorated, by appt. only, but they take the time to accomodate you and show you various options. Their prices are very affordable. Very professional staff, the linens MADE our reception room. They have a variety of linen styles, and I loved that Margaret took her time to show us the various knots and ties, and napkin foldings, etc. I never had a bad moment experience with them throughout the whole process. Very professional and friendly!

Musicians: Di Arte Entertainment- Daniela Bisenius
One of our favorite vendors because of how beautiful they made our ceremony to be. Its undescribeable. I only spoke with Daniela a few times on the phone and exhcanged a few emails prior to the wedding, and her and her instrumentatlists' were on time, played so beautifully, looked and sounded professional. She has been doing this for YEARS, you can tell. SHe takes her career and co. very seriously. She will help you pick out music to accomodate your special day if you need help choosing. Her rates were reasonable. We had 3 musicians: flute, cello, violin. Small deposit up front, was easy to work with!

Ceremony Vocalist: Robyn Vitson
Sung all of our chosen music so beautifully. Did not have any rehearsals with our instrumentalists' until the morning of, and she sounded incredible! She has demos on her website. She is a very experienced ceremony singer. Highly refer.
www.tritor.net/robynhoyevitson/







Mrs. F 9-18-10

Re: Chicago Vendor Recs...Here you go, from a Newlywed

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    MrsPapsMrsPaps member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_illinois-chicago_chicago-vendor-recshere-newlywed?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:72Discussion:b0d9476e-fb71-46f2-b9ad-847d98a34cbdPost:9d577699-c9d8-48a4-94cc-ea910a937717">Chicago Vendor Recs...Here you go, from a Newlywed</a>:
    [QUOTE]Cake: Baking Institue Spoke and met with Igor the head chef. He is so talented at his craft. You can tell he is very experienced and passionate about what he does. He is always being featured in various bridal magazines. He's quick to respond to emails, professional about his services, and really nice to work with. Our cake was just beautiful and soo so good. Highly recommend!!!
    Posted by pajarito81[/QUOTE]
    we're also using The Baking Institute, thanks for the reviews!
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    TEA&CoTEA&Co member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Sounds like you had a beautiful wedding!  Congratulations and thanks for your reviews!
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    pajarito81pajarito81 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Yes, we did! Thank you! It was the perfect day!! Congratulations and wish you the best on yours!

    Mrs. F 9-18-10
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    edited December 2011
    I am so glad you have a positive review for the Baking Institute. Our venue is now using him as a baker since their previous baker retired and I read some really bad reviews online, which has made me very leery.
    Anniversary image
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    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_illinois-chicago_chicago-vendor-recshere-newlywed?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:72Discussion:b0d9476e-fb71-46f2-b9ad-847d98a34cbdPost:e2e0f0a5-926d-4886-afe2-6e98040ed34b">Re: Chicago Vendor Recs...Here you go, from a Newlywed</a>:
    [QUOTE]I am so glad you have a positive review for the Baking Institute. Our venue is now using him as a baker since their previous baker retired and I read some really bad reviews online, which has made me very leery.
    Posted by MrsMLRB[/QUOTE]

    We used The Baking Institute for our wedding in October 2010 and they were great! Everyone still comments on our cake! (How it looked and tasted). 
    image
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    HinajHinaj member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Congrats!!  Thanks for the review, we are seeing Amy next week to look at the Hyatt as a possible venue.  Good to know its getting good reviews. 
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    MrsPapsMrsPaps member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_illinois-chicago_chicago-vendor-recshere-newlywed?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:72Discussion:b0d9476e-fb71-46f2-b9ad-847d98a34cbdPost:e2e0f0a5-926d-4886-afe2-6e98040ed34b">Re: Chicago Vendor Recs...Here you go, from a Newlywed</a>:
    [QUOTE]I am so glad you have a positive review for the Baking Institute. Our venue is now using him as a baker since their previous baker retired and I read some really bad reviews online, which has made me very leery.
    Posted by MrsMLRB[/QUOTE]
    we had our tasting and really liked everything we tried! we also showed him pics of the cakes we liked and he will recreate the best of them.
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    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_illinois-chicago_chicago-vendor-recshere-newlywed?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:72Discussion:b0d9476e-fb71-46f2-b9ad-847d98a34cbdPost:43aa6cbe-23bc-465e-b75c-bd4b1d67eda1">Re: Chicago Vendor Recs...Here you go, from a Newlywed</a>:
    [QUOTE]In Response to Re: Chicago Vendor Recs...Here you go, from a Newlywed : we had our tasting and really liked everything we tried! we also showed him pics of the cakes we liked and he will recreate the best of them.
    Posted by MrsPaps[/QUOTE]

    This is my worry- a lot of the reviewers said that the tasting cake was great but the actual cake was greasy and stale. I am glad to hear positive feedback from people.
    Anniversary image
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    pajarito81pajarito81 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_illinois-chicago_chicago-vendor-recshere-newlywed?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:72Discussion:b0d9476e-fb71-46f2-b9ad-847d98a34cbdPost:167fd1ac-0e1c-435d-abdc-a475959d29fa">Re: Chicago Vendor Recs...Here you go, from a Newlywed</a>:
    [QUOTE]In Response to Re: Chicago Vendor Recs...Here you go, from a Newlywed : ""This is my worry- a lot of the reviewers said that the tasting cake was great but the actual cake was greasy and stale. I am glad to hear positive feedback from people.""
    Posted by MrsMLRB[/QUOTE]

    We actually got 2 cakes, a 3 tier wedding cake and I also surprised my husband with a grooms cake. Both cakes turned out incredible! Not greasy, nor stale. Perhaps it was a bad day for them or a matter of opinion, but we got lots of compliments on ours and had tons left over that I ended up eating later in the week. Both cakes were different and were fresh. We didn't do fondant either, we used a mouse cream for the outside which tastes way better and our cake still looked elegant with design. Fondant is usually done beforehand, doesn't taste all that great, and is harder because it needs to be to do certain designs. Perhaps that is what that person got who told you that. ??
    Mrs. F 9-18-10
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    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_illinois-chicago_chicago-vendor-recshere-newlywed?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:72Discussion:b0d9476e-fb71-46f2-b9ad-847d98a34cbdPost:6dd6072a-39f7-4a44-aa44-96369c303108">Re: Chicago Vendor Recs...Here you go, from a Newlywed</a>:
    [QUOTE]In Response to Re: Chicago Vendor Recs...Here you go, from a Newlywed : We actually got 2 cakes, a 3 tier wedding cake and I also surprised my husband with a grooms cake. Both cakes turned out incredible! Not greasy, nor stale. Perhaps it was a bad day for them or a matter of opinion, but we got lots of compliments on ours and had tons left over that I ended up eating later in the week. Both cakes were different and were fresh. We didn't do fondant either, we used a mouse cream for the outside which tastes way better and our cake still looked elegant with design. Fondant is usually done beforehand, doesn't taste all that great, and is harder because it needs to be to do certain designs. Perhaps that is what that person got who told you that. ??
    Posted by pajarito81[/QUOTE]

    I hope that is what it is. We don't want fondant since it tastes like garbage so I am glad to hear this from people.
    Anniversary image
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    Jami86eJami86e member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    igor did not listen to anything i said. when i walked into the reception room and saw that my cake was completely wrong i was very upset. especially since the cake toppers were made a specific color because of what the cake was SUPPOSED to be. totally NOT how i wanted it to turn out. good luck to anyone using them
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