My wedding was on September 10, 2011. My husband and I are not "traditional" people and wanted to have a non-traditional wedding. We chose to have a small wedding of about 100 guests. I wore a vintage inspired gown and jewelry. He wore a tan suit with an ecru shirt and vintage inspired pattern tie that incorporated our wedding colors: shades of purples, tans, browns, and oranges. Our ceremony was outside and we incorporated mason jars to hang on the chairs with flower arrangements in them. Our reception was at Brick Street Cafe and included a cocktail hour with an open beer and wine bar and appetizers. We had a buffet dinner that had southern inspired dishes. Our day was perfect in all ways possible...weather was great, my dress and his suit fit perfectly, no family drama, and guests left happy with bellies full of good food!
Here are my vendor reviews:
Ceremony Location: A+
Rock Quarry Garden, Cleveland Park, Downtown Greenville, SC
The Rock Quarry Garden is a little hidden garden on McDaniel Avenue at the of Cleveland Park in downtown Greenville. The Garden Club of Greenville began it's revitalization in 1930 and it has become one of the most beautiful and serene places in Greenville. My fiancé and I fell in love with it the first time we saw it and instantly decided that's where we wanted to say our vows. It is the perfect place to have an outside ceremony for a small number of people. It holds 100-125 chairs comfortably. Not to mention the reservation cost can't be beat. Only $150.00 reserves the garden from 8:00am - 9:00pm for your wedding day. The only downside is that the City of Greenville doesn't allow tents, anything staked in the ground, or amplified sound. So, you better have a lot of faith in Mother Nature!! Just contact the City of Greenville and reservations can be made over the phone. They'll mail your contract and receipt of payment. I would recommend this site to anyone who wishes to have a beautiful and peaceful place for their ceremony! Our guests still comment on how beautiful our ceremony was!
Officiant: A+
Reverend Heather Rogers, All Seasons Wedding Ceremonies
She was amazing to work with. My husband and I wrote our own ceremony and she helped us piece it together and chose the best wording to fit our style. We wanted it to be young and fresh. We aren't very traditional people and opted out of doing a lot of traditional things, so we didn't want our ceremony to be the boring traditional route that people are so accustomed to. Revered Heather Rogers was awesome at helping us make our ceremony exactly what we wanted it to be and a lot of our guests noticed how unique and special our ceremony was. A lot our guests commented on how great our officiant was!
Wedding Dress Shop: B
David's Bridal, Greenville, SC
David's Bridal was the last wedding shop I visited looking for my wedding dress. I'm a simple girl with unique taste and wanted something I couldn't find in the other - fancier stores. I received a David's Bridal magazine at a wedding show in Greenville, SC and saw a dress that I really liked. It was lace from top to bottom and strapless...(which is not what I had in mind for my dress, but something about it made me like it). I also received a $50 gift card for making an appointment at the wedding show. So, I went to my appointment and tried on the dress and it was exactly what I wanted for my vintage inspired, outdoor ceremony. Since I was having an outdoor ceremony, I decided from the get-go that I didn't want to spend more than $500 on a dress. This dress was $500.00 on sale for $450.00 and with my gift card I received at the wedding show, I only paid $400.00. I ordered it in Ivory and it came in three weeks early! I also purchased my sash and flower fascinator from David's Bridal. (I opted out of having a veil because I think it just looks like you're covering your face with mosquito netting). I can't even count how many compliments I received on my dress. My family and friends were blown away at how beautiful it was and how my vintage inspired accessories made the dress look stunning.
Makeup Artist & Hair: A+
Cotton Rouge - Makeup & Hair by Katie Cotton
I can't say enough about Katie. She's super nice and such an amazing make up artist. I found her online and contacted her about my wedding day hair and makeup. She was awesome to work with. We scheduled my consultation and I took her a couple pictures to give her idea of what I wanted for my wedding day. She took my idea and put a cool twist on it and my hair looked amazing! My makeup was flawless! I felt beautiful and confident! On my wedding day, my family and friends all commented on how cool my hair looked and thought it was so intricate and neat! I wish I had more reasons to have my hair and makeup done just so I could work with Katie again!
Wedding Jewelry: A
Lulu Spledor on Etsy.com
You can also find her on Facebook. Her jewelry is all handmade and it's amazing! I chose a piece that is vintage inspired, but she makes all styles! Check her out! Once you place your special order, she'll ask for a deposit. It takes her about 2-3 weeks to handcraft your pieces and then she'll ask for the remaining amount to be paid before she ships. Her prices are reasonable and shipping is reasonable. She ships from Australia, but don't fret...it's gets to you within 10 days!
Custom Garter: A+
Sew Unique Garters
A mother and daughter owned company that make all kinds of custom garters. If you have any questions, send them an email and they will answer you promptly! Prices are great and they had it made and shipped to me in about a week!
Photographer: A+
Molly Flanagan Photography, Anderson, SC
Molly Flanagan is South Carolina's best kept secret in photography! She is a natural light photographer who loves to convey raw and honest emotion through her images. She is a stay at home mom with three adorable children. So, she books a limited number of sessions and weddings a year. She is a wonderful person to work with, trustworthy, and totally honest. We booked her for our Engagement session and Wedding. I opted not to do a traditional bridal session or she would have shot that one too. By the time our wedding came around in September 2011 we felt like we were old friends with Molly! She's great and will make you feel completely comfortable in front of the camera!
Wedding Stationery: A+
Visual Graphics and Printing, Greenville, SC
I am a graphic designer and designed ALL of my wedding stationery. Visual Graphics and Printing printed all of my stationery. I opted to have my stationery printed on a conventional press, but they have the option to print digitally as well which would be a huge help for a budget bride! They have great customer service and had everything finished in a week! Their prices are very fair too!
Reception Location: A+
Brick Street Cafe, Greenville, SC
We rented out the entire upstairs and shut down the restaurant for our private reception. Brick Street is a unique restaurant with southern inspired cuisine. Sara, Brick Street's owner, is a unique soul and marches at the beat of her own drum. Her unique sense of style surrounds you when you walk into the restaurant. It's like no other place Downtown Greenville. When my husband and I got engaged, we immediately made the decision to have our reception at Brick Street Cafe. The food is great! The atmosphere is comfortable and artsy, just like our style. We planned an appetizer and cocktail half hour where they served fried green tomatoes (which our guests are still raving about), fruit and cheese platter, and jalapeño pimento cheese with crackers. The bar was open with beer and wine. We planned a southern style buffet dinner with beef tenderloin, jezebel chicken and the most amazing crab cake balls you've ever eaten in your life!! All the fixins included mashed potato bar with toppings, collard greens, black eyed peas, macaroni and cheese, squash casserole, walnut coleslaw, and spinach salad with vidalia onion dressing. Instead of having a wedding cake, we opted to have a dessert bar where we had a Sweet Potato cake, Brick Street's very own Paddy cake, a carrot cake, strawberry cake and mini love muffins. Our guests are STILL talking about how amazing the food was!! The cost was more than reasonable for all the food and detail that went into our reception. The staff was extremely helpful. And our guests were treated very well during the entire night. Contact Sarah or James to book your event!!
Musicians: A+
Adelle Cotton, Greenville, SC
Sarah Clanton Schaffer and Darby Wilcox of Adelle Cotton are the best pick for your wedding music. My husband and I initially heard them play as O Mello Cello Tree a few years ago. Since then, they have revamped their sound and style and changed their name to Adelle Cotton. Sarah plays a cello and Darby plays guitar and their unique sound is amazing. We hired them for our wedding ceremony and reception. They were open to playing the traditional and non-traditional songs. Whatever we wanted. We opted for non-traditional music for our ceremony and they played songs we requested like Green Eyes - Coldplay, While My Guitar Gently Weeps - Beatles, You and Me - Dave Matthews Band, and a few others...When we asked if they would play our songs, they were excited and started rehearsing them immediately! They cover a lot of songs and can send you a list of songs for you to chose from, but they are always excited to learn new stuff. Their taste in music is a lot like my husband and I, so our chemistry working with them fit perfectly.
Florist: A+
Dahlia A Florist, Greenville, SC
Kristi and Dahlia A Florist has done MANY arrangements for my family and I. So, there was no question she would be the florist for my wedding flowers. I chose to have a small wedding of about 115 guests. I did not have bridesmaids or groomsmen. Just me and my husband. Kristi did not turn me away when I couldn't meet the minimum cost for my wedding day. Instead, she opened her door to me and treated me as she would any other client paying the minimum cost for my day. She arranged all of the flowers for my wedding. Bouquet, corsages, boutonnieres, chair arrangements...etc. All I can say is they were absolutely beautiful and exactly what I had pictured my flowers to look like! Not to mention, I put my bouquet in the fridge while we were gone for a week on our honeymoon! When we arrived back home it was just as fresh as when I left it. I used it for a centerpiece arrangement on our dining room table for another week after that!! You get a HUGE bang for your buck with Dahlia A Florist!
Rentals: A+
ABC Party Rentals, Greenville, SC
We rented our wooden folding chairs with padded seat from ABC Rentals and the quality was great! Their prices beat all the competition. The rentals were delivered and set up in a very timely manner and picked up on time as well! Their customer service is outstanding! Will rent from them again in the future!
Honeymoon: B
Paradisus Palma Real Resort, Dominican Republic
Paradisus Palma Real Resort in Dominican Republic looks just as beautiful in person as it does on the website! It's amazing! The resort was great! The rooms were clean! We took our marriage license and they upgraded our room! The resort offers all types of excursions to do and you can book through the resort which makes it convenient. We went snorkeling and parasailing which was the best part of the whole week! The food is unique and isn't kind to a sensitive stomach. But, everything else is wonderful!
Travel Agent: A+
Linda Long Travel, Greenville, SC
We booked our honeymoon through Linda Long Travel. I would recommend her to anyone! She is awesome to work with and we plan to use her on every trip we take in the future! Linda Long gets A++++++++++++++!!!