Bombshell’s (Hair/Makeup): I was thrilled with the work that Amber and her coworker did for us. Amber did all of the hair. She even made squeezed in my mom for hair, even though I hadn’t booked an appointment for her. I sent pictures of what I wanted for hair and makeup, and they definitely turned out better than I expected. I was nervous because I opted not to do a trial, but Bombshell’s was professional and reliable and made me feel very comfortable.
Hairoics (Hair Saviors): I have to give a shout out to Hairoics too, even though I didn’t use them for the day-of wedding hair. I had terrible highlights done in Pittsburgh before leaving and had no time to correct it before I left. Amber (from Bombshell’s) recommended Hairoics; they squeezed me in, and Elizabeth definitely saved my hair and made it look much more natural. Phew!
Klassy Nails (Manis/Pedis): They scheduled appointments for my bridal party and I without any sort of deposit. They were professional and quick, and everyone was pleased with the outcome!
Chris Bickford (Photography): I can’t give a full review yet, because I haven’t seen the pictures. However, Chris was wonderful to work with, and his photos are always amazing. He truly understands how to find (or create) the best lighting, and everyone was amazed and commented at how he caught every “moment” and how easily he worked with us. My husband’s son (6 years old) also tried to tackle him a few times (still not sure why), but Chris was a really good sport about it! Chris is really busy (he travels the world and takes pictures) and now I think you have to book him through Julie Dreelin, but he took time out of his schedule to meet with us in person and talk over the phone and via email to make sure everything was lined up. We were all very happy with our experience with Chris.
Renee Landry (Bouquets/Bouts/Flower Wristlets/Rentals): Renee Landry is a wealth of knowledge and creativity when it comes to designing for a wedding. We met with her in person, and I knew that we just clicked; she totally saw my vision and helped to bring it to fruition (I met with another florist who was not on the same page as me at all). The flowers that she provided were gorgeous, and I know that she had to work around some flowers that she wasn’t happy with, but the end product was beautiful and high quality (and well worth the price). The rentals were a bit overpriced (I rented 2 housing pillars for the ceremony), but they made the ceremony site. We DIY’d some things (like the flowers that hung from the pillars), and she was willing to work with us on that. My only problem was that everything arrived really late the day of the wedding. It created a bit of stress, and we had to make the trolley stop at our house to pick up the bouts for the guys who were on their way to the ceremony, but it worked out; everything was beautiful!
FiftyFlowers.com (Centerpieces/Reception Flowers): YES. Use them. They were easy to work with, the price was very reasonable, and they stayed in contact (one of the flowers I ordered came in a different color due to the weather, so they allowed me to make changes and refunded me the difference in price). The flowers were unbelievably gorgeous and plentiful. They delivered them early on the day that I requested (right to the rental home). The flowers were a little sleepy at first, but we followed the directions and everything looked just perfect (we got them on a Wednesday for a Friday wedding). This was a much better experience than I anticipated.
Maggi at Harris Teeter (Ceremony Flowers): No. Do not use her. This is the only “vendor” that I had a major issue with. She was extremely unresponsive (phone or email – it doesn’t matter), and she lost my order and continued to be unhelpful even upon realizing that she lost my order (she informed me that the flowers I want would cost $3 a stem to rush an order – no thanks). I had gone down to the OBX and spoken to her in person in October, and we planned everything out; needless to say, I felt very comfortable. But she’s either in over her head or just doesn’t care (or a combination of the two). She ended up setting aside some of the flowers (roses) that I needed, but it was pretty much too little, too late. I had to run to several stores to get the colors I had supposedly ordered through her. I was not pleased with her at all, actually quite pissed. I’m glad she wasn’t at Harris Teeter when I went to pick up the ones she set aside (which she also failed to put my name on and that caused me about a 20 minute delay while they tried to contact her).
Metro Rentals (Ceremony Seating/Bistro Tables for Reception): I have mixed feelings. They were tough to get a hold of sometimes. I would ask a question and no one would respond. Also they had told me that my order was more or less ready to go – and the emails said “payment due before delivery.” However, my order apparently was not ready to go and the chairs that I wanted were given to someone else (without anyone contacting me even though I had the order for about 6 months). Well, after some freaking out the week of the wedding (I guess someone up and quit recently which caused many problems), they gave me the chiavari chairs, which cost more than double what the chairs I wanted cost, for the same price as my original orders. The chiavari chairs with the rest of the ceremony décor was just gorgeous. So in the end I was happy, and I guess that’s all that matters. Just make sure to pay off your order as soon as you know what you want to avoid this confusion. They also quickly refunded me for a table that I decided I didn’t need (I wasn’t expecting that).
Rev. Jay Bowman (Officiant): Yes. He was great. I questioned a little about why I didn’t just ask a friend or relative (after I’d booked him of course), but he helped me through some issues with ceremony location and seating, and he just did an amazing job. Mike and I and our families were very pleased. I definitely recommend doing a rehearsal if you can swing it – it made us feel so much more comfortable. Jay wove in personal details about us and did the ceremony exactly like we wanted. He’s also so personable and inspirational, that he makes you feel very loved, even though you probably just met him that day!
Stella the OBX Trolley (Transportation): Wow – what an awesome and beautiful way to get around. Amanda and her dad (he was our driver) were lovely. They were easy to work with and just genuinely sweet (I just got a handwritten ‘thank you’ card from Amanda, or “Stella” the trolley). It was so nice to have a reliable way for everyone to get from place to place. I think the driver’s name (Amanda’s dad) was David –he was so nice. He helped us onto the trolley (holding my flowers and my hand) and even allowed the guys to bring back the rented tables on the trolley at the end of the night, haha. A great experience all-around.
Club Violin (Ceremony Music): Beautiful – no complaints. Leslie had just had a baby, so she sent Beth to play violin and Steve on the guitar. They sounded great together, and were very professional and played all of the right music. I could hear them from over the dunes too, so I know they must have been well-amplified (but not too loud either).
DJ Professionals and Video (Reception DJ and Photobooth): They were fine. The photobooth was a blast – although I was a little upset that they set it up downstairs at the reception when I had requested for it to be upstairs (George, who I dealt with the most, told my mom that he “didn’t know where to put it” but never verified and just put it downstairs – I have emails saying that he could do it upstairs). I think that it was a bit of an eyesore downstairs, but maybe more people used it since it was right there… I don’t know. The DJ was Will Smith, and he was ok. He pretty much just played music though and seemed a little nervous at times. He pronounced our name differently a few times, and my husband was a little irritated with that. I probably would have gone a different route had I gotten more recommendations first.
Kelly’s Restaurant and Tavern (Catering): Yes, one of my favorite vendors for sure. Mary Ann is such a professional and they are SO EASY to deal with. There’s no list of everything that they’re going to nickel and dime you for – they have plates and tablecloths and glasses so you don’t have to rent anything if you don’t want to (I bought tablecloths and napkins but used everything else). The food was also DELICIOUS with lots of leftovers (the BEST crab cakes that I’ve ever eaten – and I love crab cakes). Mary Ann was so attentive – bringing us our salads, appetizers, drinks to my parents – what a wonderful person to work with. My mom stopped her to thank her at one point because it was just that wonderful. We had a big get-together the next night and tried to finish off the leftovers. The tasting was even a great experience with so many leftovers and complimentary drinks. So happy that we chose them. Fantastic service and food.
Pamlico Jacks (Rehearsal Dinner): Doug was a lot of fun to work with – tough to get a hold of at times but everything turned out perfectly. In fact, even though we had a small group, Doug bumped us up into the big room with the beautiful sunset view. The food was AMAZING (sister restaurant to Kelly’s), and just like the wedding food, people kept raving about it. My in-laws were way more stressed about getting everything perfectly figured out, but I knew it would come together – and it did! Doug even had little menus made up just for our event.
Just Desserts (Cakes): Melinda is great to work with. I changed my mind on the cake, and she easily adjusted my order (flavors and style). She did a beautiful peach-colored cake with pink hydrangea flowers for the reception and a pirate ship cake “Mike’s Revenge” as a surprise for my husband-to-be at the rehearsal dinner (he loved it). She was always in touch with questions. She also ended up bringing the pirate ship cake to the reception even though we had discussed my dad picking it up (she wanted to make sure it arrived in one piece). Overall, her cake is a little expensive, but it’s delicious too – especially the carrot and the chocolate mousse – yum!
108 Budleigh (Reception Site): Just beautiful. Everyone was amazed with how pretty the Budleigh is. I fell in love with it from the moment that I walked through the door. Bonnie was so nice and easy to deal with and just wonderful all-around. Having this location all day was a relief since we knew that it could serve as a back-up in case of rain (thank goodness we didn’t need it though!). I have nothing bad to say – it was just as beautiful as I knew it would be. We only had 55 people or so, and it didn’t feel empty like I thought it might. I think it’s a pretty easy space to work with no matter how many or few people you have. We did cocktail hour upstairs, dinner/dancing downstairs, and some bistro tables outside that my husband and his friends enjoyed drinking beers around.
Alli in all our day was pretty much perfect. I still can’t believe that it all came together… thinking about it makes me smile all over again!
