Vendor Review (VERY LONG w/ PIP)

brew311 · October 2010

Ceremony/Reception VenueStonebrook Manor--A-www.stonebrookmanor.com

LOVED THEM! When we first booked, I was worried about being “nickel and dimed.” They charge you for EVERYTHING! But after talking w/ other knotties and seeing what this all-inclusive venue offers, I’m really happy we went with them. We added lots of “extras” on to our package, which increased the price (groom’s cake, chair ties, colored linens, food in bride’s room), but I feel it was totally worth every penny! Our ceremony was amazing, and I made sure to have them set up extra chairs for guests who would be at the ceremony only. The garden and landscaping really was beautiful. But I have to rave about the reception! We had “captains” which were like DOCs except they didn’t do anything but help DH and me. They kept us in the loop of what was happening and when (cake cutting, etc). They kept us filled w/ drinks and they served us our dinner (which was very helpful in a giant gown). When we were cleaning up, they made sure we had our stuff and they had theirs, it was just great. The food was perfect! I was worried b/c at the tasting, it was sub-par, but on the day of, they really stepped it up! We did a buffet of salmon, beef, salad, potatoes, vegetables and bread. I’ve had many guests tell me after the fact, it was the best wedding buffet they’ve had. Our cake was also made by the Stonebrook baker (Marla) and we love love loved it! We did 3 tiers and 3 flavors (vanilla w/ strawberries, carrot and lemon w/ raspberry) and also a groom’s cake (chocolate w/ chocolate filling). I took Marla a pic, told her what I wanted and voila. With the groom’s cake, I just emailed her a pic of DH’s motorcycle and she made it based on the pics. Absolutely great job!

During the planning process, Terren was our contact and she always answered my many questions and was very helpful. I could shoot an email or make a quick call and always felt taken care of. I gave them an A- simply because I felt that there should be a little more freedom in choosing what you want. Ie, if you book a certain room, there are only certain times/days that you can have a ceremony/reception. Plus they do have a lot of rules. BUT, I knew that going in, so that is more my fault than theirs, I just wish they were a bit more flexible.

PhotographyIn Light Photography (Mike Baker)--C
www.inlightphotography.com
If you’re looking for bargain photography, this is the way to go. This company is one of Stonebrooks “preferred” vendors but I’m not quite sure why, and I foolishly did NOT shop around. They do take good pictures, but I could have taken the same pics w/ my own camera. Oh wait, my mom did. There was nothing special about them. I was in the process of making a must-take photo list and when it ended up being 3 pages long, I had to re-evaluate myself. I figured these are the pros, they know what they’re doing, and they know what pics to take. WRONG! Yes, we did plenty of getting ready and posing pics, but I never conveyed to them that I wanted art-sy pics. Like B&W or something in the foreground/background. For some reason I assumed that most photogs did stuff like that and I didn’t need to tell them to. Oh well, we do have some nice shots from the day and I do like them.

DJComplete Music (Jeff)--B-www.cmdenverdj.com/

I kind of had a rough time w/ Complete Music and the owner Marc. They are also a preferred vendor of Stonebrook. When we booked, they sent me a planner to help pick out music. DH and I had some odd requests and I emailed Marc right away. His response was “if I can find it on iTunes, we’ll play it.” But I JUST told him in my email that I had the music. So why did iTunes have to have it? Plus *I* downloaded the songs from iTunes, so I know they did. I just felt he was not being very helpful. I also had a friend sing during the ceremony and asked him for help finding the instrumental version of the song. But since iTunes, didn’t have it, he pretty much told me too bad, my soloist should take care of it. Seeing how it was a friend, and not a professional, I needed a little more to go on. Turns out, my friend had to rent studio time, get another friend to help play the music and then record it onto a CD which I gave to our DJ to play during the ceremony. Felt like a lot of trouble. We paid a separate fee for the ceremony music and I feel it was pretty unreasonable, since they didn’t do a whole lot. The reception music was pretty good. I asked our actual DJ, Jeff, to not play the chicken dance, but he did. My mom requested it, so he felt it was ok. It turned out well, the dance floor was packed, but I cannot stand stuff like that and was not happy to have to flap wings and shimmy in my gown. It may sound a little bridezilla-y, but that’s how I felt. There were a couple of times I felt noone was dancing and my ONE request (besides no chicken dance) was to keep the floor packed. When he played current hits, it was jammed, so I wish that momentum would’ve stayed.

Doing the cupid shuffle

FlowersFlowers Elite (Kathy)--B
www.flowerselite.com/">http://www.flowerselite.com/
This is also another one of Stonebrook’s preferred vendors. I was very pleased w/ how the bouquets looked, as well as the centerpieces. I’m not a big flower girl, so I can’t really rate the quality. I gave them a B because I requested specific ribbon and she called the day before the wedding to tell me it didn’t come in. Luckily, I had plenty of extra ribbon from my DIYs, so I had to bring it day of so she could wrap all of the bouquets. I also requested the aisle bows be brought in from the ceremony to the reception and that didn’t happen. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but I purchased them as an extra so we could get dual-use out of them. Had I known they would not be moved, we would have not bought them.

Flowers at the altar

BM bouquet (with my own ribbon) and her place card (made by an etsy seller)
VideographerWolff Paw Video (Paula)--B
http://www.wolffpawvideo.com/
Went w/ Paula and videographer VERY last minute. She actually called me when she had a cancellation for my date (she got my name from the bridal show). I figured it was meant to be. We didn’t have a budget for video, but I knew we could make it work once Paula offered me a discount. We did 4 hours w/ an unedited video and it was well worth it! Even if we watch the video only once, there will be guests that are forever memorialized, and we can send copies to people who weren’t there. Just a tip: let your guests know you’re having a videographer, so when they get a mic and a camera shoved in their face, they expect it and know what to do! My mom thought Paula was a bit brusque, but I have no complaints and I love our video.

HairShear Perfection (Debra Muse)--A+
Debra has been doing my hair since 2005, so we both really knew what to expect. Did a trial in August and it turned out pretty, but on the day of, she really went for it! I’m pretty easy and knew whatever she did would be great, so I let her run w/ it. She kept the same style as the trial, but vamped it up a bit. You only get married once, right? She also did my 3 BMs hair, MOB, MOG, GMOG, FG, officiant, and 2 cousins.

MakeUpLea Curry--A
Lea did my makeup last year when I was MOH in a wedding. I knew her work and was very confident it would turn out great. Of course it was, she was on time, we had a blast drinking mimosas (us, not Lea) and she did me and my 3BMs. I got a LOT of compliments on my makeup. She did two sets of lashes and also vamped it up more than my trial. Again, I was easy, so I let the experts to what they do best.

Hair & Makeup all done!
Up-LightingEvent Lighting Rentals (Dan)--A+
http://eventlightingrental.com/
I googled around for up-lighting pricing VERY last minute (within a month). I knew Stonebrook had chandeliers, but I didn’t like their carpet and wanted something to camouflage the floor. Up-lighting is DEFINITELY the way to go and Dan gave me the best price around. He did 6 cans and had them rotate through 6 colors. It completely made a difference in the entire tone of the reception. Again, still getting compliments after the fact. A lot of my guests had never seen up-lighting before, so that was a special treat.

When it was pink

HotelRamada Plaza--B
http://www.ramada.com/Ramada/control/Booking/property_info?propertyId=15337
VERY pleased w/ the Ramada. I read a scathing review of them about a month before our wedding and really freaked out. But I had none of the issues the other bride complained about. I was really on top of them about our shuttle and our room blocks. I made sure that I NEVER spoke to Lori (she’s a b*tch), and even went so far as to request the girl on the phone help before transferring me to her. Lori is the catering manager and I made sure to always talk to Virginia after I found out the hard way that Lori was really mean. I will actually write the Ramada a letter about Lori. But everyone else was very helpful with the blocking, setting up the shuttle schedule, and explaining what was included in our Stonebrook package. The buffet breakfast was decent and had it not been there, I wouldn’t have eaten the day of the wedding. But my bed was hard and the elevators were slow and you had to use your key to get to the 6^th floor. Not a big deal except we all got ready in my room so people were constantly running downstairs to let someone else up the elevator.

DressesAmanda’s Bridal--A+ for wedding dress (Sherry)D for BM dresses (other staff)
http://www.amandasbridal.com/
I bought my wedding dress @ Amanda’s and had an absolutely WONDERFUL experience. Sherry helped me find what fit my body best as well as what fit my style. I also used them for alterations (Bernadette) and LOVED how my bustle turned out. I will recommend them until I am blue in the face…for wedding dresses only! BM dresses is a WHOLE other ball of wax. I was not happy w/ the service (which was a different girl every time) or the product. We had drama w/ the measuring vs. which size to order, they lost the measurements on my BM who lives in Germany, and the girl who rang us up over-charged us, then had to refund and re-ring it up. GAH! I was really just happy to wipe my hands of the whole BM dress issue. However, I think the dresses turned out amazing!

TuxesAl’s Formalwear (SW Plaza)--A+
www.alsformalwear.com/">http://www.alsformalwear.com/
I won a free groom’s tux and $45 off GM tuxes at a bridal show, so I naturally went w/ Al’s. Didn’t shop around and didn’t have to. They had exactly what I wanted (colors and styles) and the store manager at SW Plaza was awesome! She knew me by name and was always friendly. Helped the boys get measured and helped them dress when the tuxes came in to try on. She also gave FIL a spare vest for free when my color-matching skills sucked. Highly recommend!

Rehearsal DinnerCinzetti’s--A
http://www.cinzzettis.com/indexColorado.php
Great food, perfect banquet room w/ privacy. Everyone had a really great time. We had about 35-40 guests and it went off without a hitch. Granted, noone wanted to mess w/ the bride, but I think it all turned out really well. In-laws did an open bar and everyone always had a drink from the staff. Great job.

Boudoir Photo ShootDreams Come True Photography (Mary)--A+
www.dreamscometruephotos.com/">http://www.dreamscometruephotos.com/ or dreamscometruephoto@hotmail.com
Mary was great to work with. I was very nervous and she made me feel at ease. We started with the least revealing outfits and moved on from there. By the end…well, the full monty. DH adores the book I made as well as the disc we have of all the pics. Mary was professional and did a great job (cool angles, black and white, etc). I wish we used her as our wedding photog too.

Paper ProductsEtsy Seller PlatinumDesigns (Nancy)--A++
www.etsy.com/shop/platinumdesigns?ref=seller_info">http://www.etsy.com/shop/platinumdesigns?ref=seller_info

I cannot rave enough about Nancy! She did our invites (with 4 inserts), menu cards, escort cards and table names and programs. I feel that after the bajillion emails, we are friends. She made everything to my exact specifications, let me proof it, and the final product was perfect! We got a lot of compliments on our actual invites and people have saved their escort cards from the wedding to put on their desks or in their office.

Etsy --A+
www.etsy.com/">www.etsy.com
I used Etsy for GM/BM/FG/RB gifts, our thank you parasol, our unity sand kit, my garter and my wedding jewelry. I love how it is homemade and made our wedding look DIY even though it wasn’t. Using etsy gave our wedding a very personal feel and I love how our guests understood that.

Hope that helps some of you ladies out. If you ever have questions, just let me know and happy planning!

Misty

JessieR933 · October 2010

Cool. You looked amazing. I was at Amanda's bridal when one of your girls took her dress in. HA!

Giulianamd · October 2010

You look so pretty! Congrats!

If you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay for your uplighting? I would love to have this featured at our wedding and your room since to be the same size as mine. Every vendor I have talked to is WAY expensive.

Thanks much and congrats again!

Giuli

JessieR933 · October 2010

I just contacted Mary, thanks for the review. I am excited.

brew311 · October 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_colorado-denver_vendor-review-very-long-w-pip?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:59Discussion:616f3e33-670d-4edc-9c27-91d0edbde111Post:bd8d81ca-802e-4d3b-8a0a-253377c5f15f">Re: Vendor Review (VERY LONG w/ PIP)</a>:
[QUOTE]You look so pretty! Congrats! If you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay for your uplighting? I would love to have this featured at our wedding and your room since to be the same size as mine. Every vendor I have talked to is WAY expensive. Thanks much and congrats again! Giuli
Posted by Giulianamd[/QUOTE]
It was only $300 for 6 cans. I was amazed. Other quotes I got around town were in the thousands. You can also email Dan to make sure you get that same price. <a href="mailto:eventlightingrental@hotmail.com">eventlightingrental@hotmail.com</a> Good luck!

Vendor Review (VERY LONG w/ PIP)

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