Phew! Finally married.
Here are some quick vendor reviews for the Conway area:
1. Food and Drink and Space-- Michelangelo's Italian Ristorante. I can't speak more highly of these guys. The bartenders literally saved my wedding with the music from their iPhones. They were incredibly nice and accomodating and went out of their way to make it perfect. The rooftop bar/terrace is a beautiful space for any event, and the food was great, and the price was reasonable.
2. Southern Tradition-- Wonderful! They did my fresh flowers, which were perfect in every way. I gave them creative license to do whatever they liked using flowers of my choice, and the result was these creative water and flower filled globes for centerpieces. The bouquets and bouts were beautiful too. Very, very good price for such a great product. I mean, they literally looked like flowers out of a magazine! Also, they set up some tables and other decoration which were great too. Their late night pick up price for rentals was only an extra $75 which is a good price for peace of mind and less work.
Also, the day before the wedding and the morning of they called me to make sure everything was okay. Very helpful and sweet staff.
3. Central Events Inc--We rented a tent from them because it was a little rainy on our big day. They were there to set up early in the morning and worked with Michelangelo's to schedule the time to take it down. I literally didn't have to worry about anything with the tent, and it was actually a pretty classy looking tent!
4. About You Salon--I got my hair done here. They were fantastic. Very nice people that totally helped me relax and enjoy the ride. My hair turned out more beautiful than I could have imagined, and my bridesmaid loved her hair, too. Very good price as well.
5. Celebration Limo--Don't even bother with this company. I don't know where my now hubby found them, but the owner was a little crazy and very rude to us. He actually called my hotel room and told me to hurry up getting ready because he was in a hurry...yeah right...thankfully my friends had a few words with him. Go ahead and spring for a company that's a little more friendly and a little less sketchy...I'm still convinced he ran this business out of his basement.
6. Karaoke Caravan & DJ Service--Joe Miller--Don't. Just. Don't. The guy didn't show up to my reception! Thankfully, my friends and the bartender used their iPods and iPhones to keep the party going until our best man could get our laptop from home to play our first dance. Phew. He received a LOT of angry phone calls that night. After the honeymoon, I called him and he said that he had been in the hospital all week and yada yada. He still hasn't sent us our money back, and I have no clue what to do about that. He claims to be in hospice care...which is sad, but you would think he would have at least one person or business partner who could take care of stuff if he is like..dying. Anyway, not really sure what to do about that, but I would recommend not dealing with him because he is either shady or dying or both, neither of which make for a good DJ.
7. Sky Touch E Photos
http://www.skytouchephotos.ifp3.com/The pictures speak for themselves. AMAZING. Even offered to beat up the limo driver for me!
by the end of the night we had the photographer dancing with us! He was fun, nice, patient, and took absolutely FANTASTIC photos. Best Vendor choice that we made the whole time. We are so happy with his work. Totally worth every penny (and more!) He gave us a CD of our photos along with a copyright agreement so we can have them printed wherever we want--no buying high dollar prints or photo books. Very down to Earth, very creative and talented. He took great casual and formal shots. Edgy, photo-journalist style.
I recommend him highly to anyone in Conway or Little Rock or anywhere in Arkansas (I think he travels throughout the area). Tell him that Abby sent you.
All in all, most of our vendors were fabulous. A few bad apples, but hey that happens, our wedding was perfect anyway!
Happy planning, don't get too stressed, and a word from the other side: Being married is AWESOME.
