I was married in Dayton on May 21st. Sorry I am a little behind with my reviews!
Ceremony - Lutheran Church of Our Savior, Oakwood - A+
We absolutely love this church. Its gorgeous and has alot of character. The pastor, Gary, was wonderful to work with. We met with him 3-4 times over the course of a year and each time he was easy to talk to and very laid back about the things we wanted for our ceremony.
Reception - Country Club of the North, Beavercreek - A
This place is sooo beautiful. If you haven't been there yet, go. Its such a beautiful location for a wedding reception. We had dinner inside the club, and dancing was outside on their patio under the HUGE permanent tent that overlooks the golf course. The food was fantastic and everyone talked about how wonderful the service was. We were able to use the locker rooms to get ready in, and they are super nice - big mirrors, lots of space, hot tub
My only gripe would be communication - Pam is sometimes hard to get a hold of and takes a long time on responses. But the wedding day was wonderful so it all worked out
Flowers - Sherwood Florist, Kettering - A+
Jessie was so easy to work with! I know absolutely nothing about flowers, just had an idea of the colors I wanted. I trusted her with a vision and she pulled it off flawlessly. I couldnt have been happier with the way all of the flowers turned out - my bouquet, the BM bouquets, bouts, and centerpieces were all perfect, not to mention her prices were best of the 2 other places I checked.
Cake - The Cake Movers, Englewood - A+
Courtney is a home baker who did a fantastic job on our cake. On our first meeting, she brought 2 boxes full of samples to try and her pricing couldnt be beat. The cake was fantastic and sooo beautiful!
DJ - Dan Edwards - A
Dan is the anchor for Channel 2 news and also has his own DJ business on the side. He did a great job with keeping the party going and has been in the business long enough to know how weddings work. He played all the music we asked for and kept the crowd entertained.
Wedding dress - European Bridal, Cincinnati - B
I cannot begin to say how many compliments I got on my dress. It was unique and my absolute dream dress. I gave them a B b/c they caused me a minor freak out. I ordered the dress in June and they said 6 months. I wait til December and call to follow up, they tell me they have NO record of my order. You can imagine my reaction. They ended up finding my paperwork AND the dress in their shop so I picked it up that week.
Bridesmaid dresses - Linda's Bridal, Union - A
Linda's is a little bridal shop on the other side of Englewood in Union. They have a TON of dresses to choose from and if you don't see it there, they can order it. The girls there were really helpful and actually like their job unlike some other shops I went to where the girls totally ignored me or were just plain rude. The dresses were all beautiful!
Hair & Makeup - Michelle Marx, Cincinnati - A
I had such a hard time finding anyone in the Dayton area who would do airbrush makeup. I found Michelle and she was willing to come to Dayton. She did a wonderful job on my makeup - I love the airbrush! She had an assistant with her who helped to get all of our hair done, and they did a great job on that as well.
Photographer - Leclere Photography, Beavercreek - B
We searched high and low for a good photographer. We chose Debbie b/c she has been in the business for a long time and knows the ropes. She is very professional and organized. She brought along an assistant which was nice. We are happy with how all our pictures turned out and we would recommend her services. My B rating is b/c I do have one complaint - she advertises that you get all of the picture files and rights to your photos and a free engagement session. HOWEVER, after our epics were done I contacted her to get the files and she said if we wanted them now, we would have to pay for them, otherwise we dont get the files until AFTER the wedding. The E pics arent of much use after the wedding! So if you want any of those pictures, you have to pay extra for them now, and she will go ahead and give them to you later. I was NOT happy about this. But like I said, everything else went smooth.
Honeymoon travel agent - VIP Vacations - A+
Jennifer was my favorite wedding vendor. She was sooo easy to work with, gave very fast responses, didnt mind all the questions I had, was very orgainized, gave her honest opinion when I asked, I could go on and on. We will definitely be using her again next time we travel.
If anyone has any questions at all, please dont hesitate to ask