Link to Unedited Photos:
http://maddiepiecreations.zenfolio.com/p491601378http://maddiepiecreations.zenfolio.com/p25146189http://maddiepiecreations.zenfolio.com/p257990850http://maddiepiecreations.zenfolio.com/p484472027http://maddiepiecreations.zenfolio.com/p316833516
I didn't rate these vendors--I'm just not good at that, but hopefully there is useful information for people.
Photographer:
Brooke Lowther with Maddiepie Creations: I was so happy to come across Brooke on The Knot via a recommendation. Not only did she fit my smallish photography budget, but she included so much in her package—including her awesome self! We started out with lots of email communication and working out a custom package.
Then we had a great engagement session down in the Bishop Arts District. She works super-fast so we had our photos in plenty of time to put our Save-the-Date cards together.
Next, Brooke also did my Boudoir shots—which were amazing! New hubby really liked them… and I never felt uncomfortable. It was just me and Brooke at a hotel at 9 a.m. in the morning. She gave me my book right before the wedding and I gave it to him on our wedding night. This was extra outside of the package, but was still very affordable. Her prices have gone up since then, but she does great work!
On the day of the wedding, Brooke did text me asking for the address, which was weird since I had already given it to her. But, she more than made up for that the rest of the day. She was with us almost all day and took tons of photos of us getting ready, at the church and at the reception. We even stopped at the Mustangs of Las Colinas in between for some great shots.
At the reception Brooke not only took some amazing photos, but she helped coordinate the evening! She let us know when it was time to cut the cake, throw the bouquet and do our final exit. She coordinated everything with the caterer and band—since the reception venue doesn’t help out in that area. Less than two weeks later and I actually already have my photos—some people wait months!
Videographer: (TBA)
Rod with Lasting Visions Rod was very nice and stayed out of the way—I’ll have more to say when I get my video in a couple of weeks. He is very affordable.
Cake:
Ruth Robbins at Tastefully Yours Ruth works out of her home in Southlake, but boy our her cakes yummy. I did white velvet with Strawberry filling for the main cake; and a layer of chocolate and a layer of vanilla with chocolate frosting for the groom’s Cookie Monster Cake. Both cakes were very moist and delicious, in addition to the main cake being very pretty—and just what I wanted. I had some the next day and wish I hadn’t given away the rest.
Catering:
Jim Lee Events Jim really helped us work out a great menu for our budget, but I was a little worried after our trial about the food. To explain, at the trial the best things were the appetizers, but none of the food wowed me. So, we made some changes. Instead of Caesar we did a traditional salad with a yummy balsamic dressing and instead of a risotto bar we switched to a mashed potato bar. We also added a grilled veggie platter to add more variety.
At the actual event the food was so good! Was very happy with everything and so were the guest. My favorites were the crab cakes and the lemon caper chicken. At the end of the night we had Godiva shooters with whip cream and pistachio dusting. People luved them! On top of that the presentation of the food and staff was exceptional and I would definitely recommend.
The only issue that came up was the communication between La Buena Vida and Jim Lee and who was providing the tables. We ended up having Jim Lee rent extra tables and linens for an extra $200. For being the preferred caterer of La Buena Vida those two companies really need to work on communicating with each other better! [I’ll discuss the table situation in my La Buena Vida post.]
Cake Topper:
RedLightStudio on Etsy Very cute, but you need to give the designer months of advance notice! My toppers arrived the day before the wedding and it was very stressful. Funny side note, when I kept saying I was waiting on my birds, my BM thought I was talking about real birds.
Venue:
La Buena Vida in Grapevine, Texas The venue was perfect for the type of wedding we wanted and everybody loved it!
Word of warning, they do not coordinate anything the day of and that includes set-up and take-down. My mom said she asked for help taking down the linens after—and the event person there Roxie—said she was busy mopping. Make sure you have your own help. Another bride said this was explained to her by the previous coordinator, but I never got that memo. If that had simply been explained I probably wouldn’t have been so disappointed with them.
That said, Roxie did help me through a “bridezilla” moment with my now in-laws. I was asked to rearrange seating 2 days before the event! They thought there family would melt in the heat and wanted to be seated in the shady area… it all worked out. Roxie calmed me down and gave me a glass of wine.
As part of the package here you have to buy the wines from them and they are really good! We bought 2 cases and ended up having to buy 3 more that night. We underestimated by a lot or else we just have a lot of heavy drinkers. The wine glasses and pours are very large so consider this when budgeting for cases. That was an extra $1,200 we didn’t budget for. Their bartenders are very good and cleaned up any broken glasses in seconds!
You really need to coordinate between Jim Lee and La Buena Vida. Two things: tables they need for catering and who is providing the linens and our free bottle of champagne. Roxie said it was chilled, but never told anybody so we toasted with white wine which or caterer grabbed from the bar. We never received our bottle.
Ceremony location:
St. Monica Catholic Church Really beautiful and more of a modern design church. Father Cargo officiated and it went very smoothly and he really helped us arrange a nice ceremony. He is very nice and helped us to coordinate from far away.
They had a lady helping, but she usually does that Spanish weddings and she wasn’t very good. She actually asked me while I was in the bridal suite if that was my music and if it was my que to go. Really, I couldn’t hear the music from the back and I had no idea. So we just went and it worked out. Maybe the regular coordinator was off? I also left out the wrong door, because she was supposed to point, but in the end it helped get the people out of the church faster.
They have a great garden for taking pictures after!
Rehearsal Dinner:
Ojeda's in Dallas (family owned...
by my family)
It was awesome... had a lot of people from out of town and they had never been so they loved it. My mom had the back room set up for us and then we had mariachi's for an hour. It was so much fun. Boy, do I miss those margaritas!
Alterations:
Becky Fowler:
She made my little dress fit, she is my hero.
Make-up:
Nicole Wynne Makeup Artistry So nice and really good with make-up, but she’s leaving to San Francisco. She’s worked with Trish McEvoy and others and does a lot of fashion shoots, etc.
Hair:
Sara with Premier Atelier Another great vendor. Recommended by a friend of my moms. She came to the house for four hours and did my hair, 3 bridesmaids, 2 moms and 1 relative. We gave her a nice tip! I loved my hair. I did a trial a month before and we made some slight adjustment s the day of to get it perfect.
Save the Date Cards & Rehearsal Dinner Invites:
123print.com Came out really nice! And honestly I think they are cheaper than Vista print, because their shipping is way less. I like that the postcards are glossy on one side and not on the other.
Invitations:
Michaels’ Bride Collection A lot of work to print, but worth the cost savings and they looked very professional. Guestbook: Mixbook.com Got lots of compliments and I only used one of their pre-made templates. I had a Groupon so this was very affordable!
Transportation:
Choice Luxury Limo Talked to one of their representatives on the phone and she was very helpful and excited for me. The day of the driver was everywhere he was supposed to be. The limo—a Lincoln white stretch—was really pretty and hold up to 14. They were great and honored a deal a saw on limos.com. Also, they roll out a red carpet for you. Very cute idea.
Car Rental:
Hertz [Dallas Northwest HLE location] Guy behind the counter was kind of grumpy, but it was a nice SUV for the money.
Bridesmaids Gifts:
Dogeared Jewelry (online store) Really awesome bridesmaid and maid of honor necklaces. You can see them in the pictures. Land’s End Great totes as always. Had them monogrammed when they went on sale.
Mom’s Gifts:
Handkerchiefs from The Custom Embroidery Shoppe on Etsy She is very helpful and sends you a picture sample beforehand. They looked really nice and the mom’s loved them.
Wooden Family Sign
From MrCWoodProducts on Etsy This came out exactly like I wanted and my husband loves it. We are trying to decide where to display it in our home.
Senor/Sonora and Muchas/Gracias Signs
From pertyfultings on Etsy Smaller than expected, but still cute.
Band and DJ:
John Lewis Band (one of the band members is a DJ) Full disclosure… my cousin plays the trombone in this band! That said they were awesome and they play in Dallas so you should check them out.
I was so excited when he told me they would play for a nominal fee and even more excited when he told me one of the members was a DJ. They played during cocktail hour and dinner, but then switched to our list because the crowd was ready to dance! The DJ had a lot of our songs played, but depending on the mood of the crowd added in a lot extra. And he even had lots of Latin songs for our crowd. He did a fantastic job. They also learned our first song for us and the singer sang it to us acoustically. It was a really great moment. Guest
Hotel:
Homewood Suites DFW North This hotel is so nice on the inside. Each room has its own living area with a full kitchen. Great for having people stop by and chat. The guest loved it. Some people cheeped out and booked at the Days Inn. But that was so sketch they ended up staying on the floors of other people’s rooms here (that was slightly embarrassing).
The shuttle to/from the reception was great. And they let our guest use the bonus room downstairs for the after party. We did not attend, but I hear it was epic. Plus, they have free breakfast and free shuttle to/from the airport!
Our Hotel:
Hilton Garden Inn – Las Colinas Not as nice as the Homewood Suites, but we got it for discounted points. If I had to choose again we would have just stayed at the Homewood.