Things are finally calming down after getting home from the honeymoon, so I thought I would take some time to review my vendors and tell you guys about my 10/15 wedding.
The wedding was absolutely everything we hoped for. From the beginning my DH couldn't believe how much everything was costing, but after the wedding he told me he didn't regret a dollar spent. I always want to know how much everyone spent, so for girls like me - we ended up about $500 over budget at $8K, which by wedding standards I feel isn't too shabby.
I have given my advice in the marrieds thread and have shared a few memories throughout my reviews, but honestly for the unmarried girls, all I can say is enjoy it! Everything flies by and there are so many times throughout the day that you need to take a second to take a mental polaroid and never forget that moment. It truly is one of the most fun and best days of your life. /waxing lyrical and mushy
Venue: Rose Chapel A-The venue was beautiful and I got a lot of compliments from the guests on the charm of the place. The price was great and I LOVED having both the ceremony and reception at one site, it made things so easy and stress free for us and the guests. My only complaints are about the staff. The majority of the women I worked with were wonderful and would do anything to help, but as all venue staff are preservation society volunteers, some of the women were slightly abrasive when I would call to check on things. One instance that stands out in my mind is calling 3 days before the wedding to ask about leaving the alcohol at the reception venue and being told quickly and harshly "No. Because of the wedding the night before." There was no Thursday night wedding, the venue coordinator just wanted me off the phone. I also felt like the day of coordinator was a little overhyped by the venue; it seemed like we were doing a lot of DOC-type things ourselves; 10 minutes before the ceremony (45ish minutes before the reception) the candles were not lit and the floral arrangements were not on the table; both items I had been previously assured would be taken care of by the venue. A friend of mine took care of the arrangements and chased down the DOC to get her to handle the candles. Overall, these small things weren't enough to make me regret the choice, I would definetly get married there again.
Dress and BM Dresses: Bliss Bridal A
I have spoken many times about my Bliss experience, so I will keep it short here. I loved them and would recommend them to every bride.
Alterations: Becky Fowler A++We all know how great Becky is. She did my alterations and those for my BMs. She is seriously the sweetest person alive and EVERYONE should go to her for alterations, don't even second guess that decision!
Invites: Vistaprint AI was pleased with our vistaprint invites. They were a simple one sheet black invite with white print and a small design. We got envelopes, RSVP cards, rehearsal dinner invites, favor bag labels and escort cards for less than $125. Vistaprint is perfect if you are looking for simple, elegant invites.
Florist: Market Street A+I worked with Deanna at Colleyville. She did great work and her prices were awesome. I got so many compliments on the flowers. Deanna was great at email communication and I never felt unclear on anything. She rolled with a last minute change we had with no issue. I have NO complaints! Use Market Street!
Bakery: Market Street A+My cake was beautiful and so tasty. The price was one of the best I had seen and the tasting experience was awesome. Some people thought it was weird to get the cake from a "grocery store", but when they saw and tasted it all of that went out the window! I opted for a buttercream only cake with a simple swiss dot pattern. The cake was moist and flavorful and the icing was sweet without being too much. The white cake was filled with strawberry filling and I was so sad when I found out we didn't have any left over.
DJ: In Motion DJ B+Brent has excellent pricing and was a good DJ. My only complaints are that his catalog is pretty limited, there were 3 or 4 songs requested he didn't have, so people kind of stopped requesting. To be fair, he did purchase all of the songs we asked for specifically prior to the wedding. I gave him 4 must plays, but he only played 3. He did play the important ones, including an old obscure song for my great-grandmother that made her night. Our crowd didn't seem to take to well to the music in the beginning (mostly older songs), but I am not sure if this was due to the music or just due to the crowd needing to warm up (and drink a little more...lol), toward the end of the night, the dancefloor was hopping and every song was getting danced to. I loved seeing my grandma dance to Taio Cruz's 'Dynamite' yelling, "Watch Leslie, I can throw my hands up and say A-O!!"
For the price, Brent can't be beat, just don't expect a 500,000 song catalog.
Photographer: Newtown Photography AWe love Cindy! She is the sweetest thing in the entire world and LOVES it when she gets just the right shot at just the right moment (which she tends to do quite frequently!) She is a new photographer, so if you are looking for someone with 1,000 weddings and a huge portfolio, she might not be for you. If you are looking for someone who can take great shots at an affordable price, she is your girl. We have nothing but good things to say about her.
Caterer: Black Eyed Pea A++This is my favorite vendor. Heather Rose is an angel sent directly from heaven to help brides and make their weddings amazing. The food was delicious, the grilled chicken tender and not a bit dry, the roasted red potatoes and green beans a huge hit. Heather helped keep the wedding on schedule, but also gave us the flexibility to flow with the party. More time to mingle before dinner? Heather was on it. Cutting the cake? She was right there.
Heather's attention to detail was astounding. At our tasting I LOVED the carrots, but my DH said "no one will eat them but you." so we passed on them. When my plate was delivered to the sweetheart table I looked down and there were carrots, I said, "oh no." and pointed them out to my DH thinking something had gotten mixed up with all of the back and forth about carrots. Nope! There were green beans on my DH's plate! Heather had brought a small portion of carrots just for me because I had loved them so much!
Her staff was amazing and professional. The bartender we hired through BEP put some Shiner back for my DH so he would always have the beer he wanted to drink even when everyone else had to switch to something else. Plates were cleared without delay and all of the guests kept telling me they couldn't believe the service. The to-go bag BEP packed for us was chock full of food including slices of cake (YAY!!) and two of every kind of cookie from our cookie bar.
The price was phenomenal! When I told a friend what we paid she was floored; she said from what she saw at the wedding she would have bet we spent three times as much. I would use Heather and BEP again and again and can not recommend them more highly!!
Rehearsal Dinner: Cantina Laredo Fort Worth Downtown A+We love Cantina and they did an excellent job with our rehearsal dinner. On a Thursday night at 6:30 the restaurant wasn't too busy, so it was almost like having the place to ourselves. We requested a friend of ours (Jacinto - ask for him!) to serve us, so we got excellent service. The complimentary valet made parking so simple for our out of town, non-city guests. Cantina allowed us to make a custom menu striking the entrees over $20, which kept the cost including alcohol in line with my in-laws budget. Everyone loved the food and we have no complaints.
Hair: Jessica @ Salon Six9 AAfter seeing JennaV's hair I asked her for a recommendation and got the name of Jessica Clanton at SalonSix9 in Fort Worth. Jessica is so nice and such a great hairstylist to work with. I have extremely heavy hair and Jessica worked with it like it was nothing. She is very talented and I would recommend her to anyone looking for a Fort Worth area hairstylist. All of my BM's also got their hair done at SalonSix9 and I was so happy with all of their styles. JuJu did an excellent job on my two girls with short hair and a third stylist helped my two girls with long hair. The salon also handled my mother in law's hair and were totally okay with fitting in my DH's two grandmothers last minute.
Makeup: Jenny Torry AJenny Torry was another Knot recommendation. Sadly, I can't remember the Knottie, but thank you! I had tradtional makeup done as Jenny does not do airbrush and was so pleased with it. She is a perfectionist and a painter, both of which you can tell when she does your makeup, your face is totally her canvas and she wants nothing more than to have a perfect beautiful end product. She did my makeup and two of my BMs. She came to our hotel and everyone looked so beautiful once we were done, I got teary. She is so sweet, loved her!
Wedding Eve hotel w/girls - Springhill Suites University Fort Worth C-I chose this hotel because it was close to hair and the venue and we had 5 girls, one too many for a traditional hotel room. We had a large room with a living room area fold out couch and two queen beds. The staff seemed put out to do anything for us, a request for extra towels (only 2 towels for 5 girls) induced sighs. A request for bedding for the foldout couch was met with "isn't there something in the closet?" (No.) But the breakfast was good and the room was large enough; we were high on wine and night before jitters, so nothing could have burst the fun bubble.
Night of hotel w/ DH - Omni Downtown FW A+ The room was beautiful and our room was straightend between when my girls and I got ready and when my DH and I arrived. We were met with waffle robes, champagne, chocolate covered strawberries and soft music. One of my very favorite memories is sipping champagne, wearing my wedding dress and eating chocolate covered strawberries and wedding cake in bed. That is a once in a lifetime, post wedding moment I will never forget.
Honeymoon Hotel - Hyatt Resort and Spa Oahu, HI A++If you are planning to go to Oahu for your honeymoon, book this hotel! We were upgraded to an oceanfront suite upon arrival, the location is amazing and the staff was impeccable. The travel desk in the hotel was so helpful and the little things like oceanfront cocktail hour, the wine and food tour and the luxe beach chairs and towels made our honeymoon worry free and special.