Hopefully these will be helpful for anyone planning a wedding in the NW or even Northern suburbs.
Cake: Tarts and Truffles, Woodstock A
They were so great to work with and the cake was delicious! I would have given them an A+, but there was a little bit of confusion on two pieces of the cake design. We had wanted two of the words piped a specific way, instead they did fondant cut outs. It still looked cool and everyone thought it was supposed to be that way. I think it was an error on my part because I just dropped off the pictures and explained that it was how I wanted the piping done for the two words. The price was really reasonable too for such a good cake. Comparable bakers were ~$600 more.
Photography: Heather Rae Photography, Janesville WI A
Heather was so easy to work with and so nice! We did our e-pics and our wedding day with her. She was open to all of our ideas and always around when we wanted a group picture. I don't have any pro -pics yet, which is the only downside is that she does take some time getting pictures up. Once they're up though, they're great!
Reception Venue: Nippersink Golf Club and Resort, Genoa City WI, A
It's on a beautiful lake and has a large room, which was perfect for our size. The manager, Phyllis, is prompt at returning e-mails and is very specific about what can and can't be done. She doesn't play games, which is exactly what we wanted. You know what you are getting and at what price. She also doesn't take any games from other people and runs a tight ship when there is a reception going on. Her husband is one of the bartenders and he was so much fun. We had so many people tell us how much fun he was. The food was decent, it wasn't bad but it wasn't spectacular. According to the DJ, our meal was the best he had ever had there.
DJ: Spin 'N Play, Hampshire, A++
We met them at a bridal expo and knew we had to have them. It's owned by Josh and his wife. They work the reception as a team, she usually gets everyone where they need to be for intros and works the room while he runs the equipment. It turned out that they had a baby about a month before our wedding. Josh was very upfront and let us know what was going on. Even after the baby came, he tried to be as prompt as he could at responding to any e-mails. His wife wasn't able to be at our reception, but he brought his dad along to help him out. Josh still did all of the running around getting everyone in order. Everyone raved about how much fun he was. At one point, he taught everyone on the dance floor how to do one of the dances. He was awesome with our little cousins and nephew! My cousin got a picture of him with two of the boys where he was sitting behind all of the equipment, telling the boys about the equipment. It was so cool! People who never dance were dancing! He didn't have the version of one of the songs my brother and I wanted, my brother asked if he could download it on his iPhone and Josh was happy to let him and somehow transfer the song to his computer. He was just awesome and I would highly recommend them!
Hair and Make-up: Mario Tricoci, Crystal Lake
Kylie, make-up A+: She was so sweet and so much fun to work with. I had done a few sessions with her for showers and my b-party. By the time we got to the wedding, she knew exactly how I wanted my make-up to be and only clarified the colors that she was going to use. It turned out so great! I loved my make-up. I'll definitely be going back to her for other big events.
Madison, hair A+: Madison was also just as great as Kylie. I loved working with her and also worked with her a few times prior to the wedding day. My hair is very fine and doesn't hold a lot of volume. She figured out exactly how to work with it to get it to hold the style that I wanted. I would also go back to her and recommend her!
Videographer:
We hired someone from our church that has been doing videography for years, but that had recently started doing weddings. He was so much fun to work with and so easy to work with. He normally only charges $1,000...which is really good for a videographer in the area. We're supposed to get the video sometime next month, but after seeing his previous work I'm not too concerned. If anyone wants his name or contact info, send me a PM and I'll get that for you.