Wedding Vendor Reviews-
My FI (now DH) was laid off 8 months before our wedding. What was supposed to last only 2-3 months dragged on and changed the way we planned our wedding. Especially since DH had knee surgery 9 weeks prior to our wedding and our income was reduced even further (read: one income). Instead of postponing our wedding since we paid for it all ourselves - we forged ahead. And even though we did most of it DIY - it turned out pretty good. We found great vendors!
So this is our Budget Wedding…. J
Dress- Silk Taffeta Maggie Sottero from Brides Against Breast Cancer- What can I say? Where else can you get a designer dress, in silk, for $500? And the money supports a great cause? No where. Grade: A
Alterations- Tacoma Alterations (Beth)- She did a great job and communicated well. When I met her at BABC- I tried the dress on…. And really, really, liked it… but was not 100% sold on the strapless aspect of it. She came over introduced herself, explained her background in design and sewing, and offered up a few suggestions. She showed me what it looked like with a sweetheart neckline and cap sleeves- and I was sold! I ended up having 3 fittings with her. She was always on schedule. I think her prices were fair- $256 (incl tax) for creating the cap sleeves, 6 pt French Bustle, darting the bustline so there was no chance of slippage, and creating the sweetheart neckline. She also pressed the dress. Grade: A
Photographer- Jenny GG- What can I say? I love, love, love her energy and her artistic eye. We still have people commenting on her weeks later. Guests loved her. Her prices are not the most inexpensive; but they are not the most expensive either. Months after we had her under contract when FI still was not back at work, she was flexible and worked with us to create a “new” package we could afford. I only wish we could have had a little more time with her. Several things went behind schedule so I felt kind of rushed. Oh well.Not her fault.. but with 6 hours we didn't get enough pre wedding picture time. Our pictures are amazing and our gallery is up only 10 days after the wedding! Grade: A
Officiant- June Jordan from We Do Weddings Seattle- She did a great job. We were looking for a service that had a good mix of casualness, humor, and faith. She was good at listening to our wants and wes receptive to us giving her vows we wanted/liked. She sent us the final copy to review prior to our ceremony. And once she was on site she went over the vows and made sure the speed was good for us. Price $125. Grade: A
Wedding/Reception Venue- Browns Point Lighthouse Park & Improvement Club- The use of the park was free. (since it’s a public park) Our ceremony was in the park and the reception was held in the clubhouse. For the rental fee, you get the venue from 9am to 1am, tables, chairs, and white/off white plates. They hire a security guard (who’s very nice!) to keep the parking lot for your wedding guests. The venue also has a huge covered patio, a full size kitchen, and a gas fireplace. This venue was perfect for us because it allowed us such a long time to decorate and self cater. You can have any form of liquor there as long as you get the banquet permit from the liquor control board. The only odd thing about the venue is that the Rental manager Alice takes days to get back to you on the phone and that she only shows the venue on Thursdays. But the view is spectacular and the price is right. Price $1525 plus a $300 damage deposit that we will get back soon. Grade: A
Waitstaff: Tammy of We Do Weddings Seattle- We ended up hiring Tammey because our family friend/chef was cooking our food, but when that was done we wanted him to take off the chef’s hat and join us in the party. So she did all the buffet line set up including linens, restocked food items/trays, bussed tables, put food away, washed dishes, cleaned the kitchen- including mopping the floor! She was on top of things. And she had 2 helpers. We also rented 15 tablecloths from her and 2 chafers. And the final bill included 96 linen napkins that we now own. To get the color we wanted she ended up selling them to us. She showed up on time, got everything set up, and was great communicating with me-beforehand and at the wedding. Total bill was $363. Grade: A
Bartender- Janice’s Bartending Service- She was fantastic. Great communication… and she’s fun! She was on time / early. She and her assistant were dancing and having a good time right along with the music and all the guests. She poured great drinks. When we ran out of something, her assistant went to the store and then just gave us the receipt. It made things completely stress free. She was very professional and organized. And did not freak out when we took the bottles to run the Shotski. Guests commented that they thought she was fun and friendly. And she poured quickly! So no huge lines!! Price $150 Grade: A
Flowers- DIY- Planned to use Lilacs from my yard and from the yards of friends and family. But with such a light winter, all our lilacs bloomed weeks before the wedding. When it looked like there wouldn't be any lilacs I ordered our tulips and roses from Sam’s Club as a back up around 12 days before the wedding. The flowers all arrived on time (Thursday morning) and were in perfect shape. Not a single flower was dead. Amazing. And the price couldn’t be beat! For 100 tulips and 125 long stem roses with tax and shipping it was only $202! Grade: A
DJ- Karr Productions- We had originally booked another DJ… but when he did not want to work with us on altering our contract/price due to our circumstances we released him from the contract. Even though we notified him of our intent over 60 days prior to our wedding he kept our deposit. Not nice. Especially when he pressured us to let him out since he “had another bride inquiring about/wanting to hire him” for our wedding date. We called his bluff – he kept our deposit. We were going to go the iPod route but literally, 2 weeks prior to the wedding we found Karr Productions. They did a great job communicating and following up with us. We had a really hard time picking songs so he sent us a top 100 list… and then met us 3 days prior to the wedding to go over final details and song selections. The day of, they showed up on time. Robert played a great mix of songs. He used to work clubs so he can read the crowd pretty good. The only slight ding was the fact that he was slow to play slow songs. But I think that might have been because DH told him he wanted it like a club. And after several requests to play slow songs, he then played 2 or 3 in a row. Kind of odd… but on the whole pretty good. Price was $600. Grade: B+
Rental Items: Alexander Rentals in Tukwila. Got a great deal even before the 20% off coupon. We picked the items up on Friday and they were not due back until Monday! All for a one day rental. Grade: A
Wedding Cake- Celebrity Cake Studio in Tacoma- We ended up getting a great deal on our cake. My Dh was going to make our cake since he loves cake and I’m not a big fan. But with the surgery and everything he didn’t get as much practice in as he had hoped. So he stopped by CCS one afternoon. He walked in and saw a design he liked. He asked them what were the prices for various sizes- 6”, 8”, 10”. And then he asked if he could get all three on May 1st. When he said they were for his wedding, they kind of started back pedaling and said they charge $6-$12 a slice. And those 3 cakes add up to 90 servings! He said- nope you quoted me those prices and that’s what I want. They said fine, but they weren’t going to stack them. That they were going to come as 3 rounds. That was fine to us. So we got 3 yummy cakes- chocolate with chocolate crème filling, carrot cake with cream cheese filling, and marble with Bavarian cream filling. They were SOOOO good. Even to me- a non cake eater. And all three were good several days later. Total cost since we picked them up- out the door at $138!! They took a small swatch of my fabric (Victorian Lilac) and the frosting matched perfectly. Grade: A
Ring engraving- Kay Jewelers in Kent- I called them on a Thursday and wanted to know if they could have a ring done by the next Thursday. She said she would call the shop that does the engraving and get back to me. She called right back and said yes they could provided I had the ring to them the next morning so it could go out with the other items to the shop. I was there at 10am when they opened, filled out my paperwork, and paid my bill. She put ok per the shop manager’s name at the top and had the due back date as Thursday, the 29th. So I call on the 29th to verify it’s in before I make a special trip to get it, and it’s not in. It’s still at the shop! It didn’t come in until Friday (the day before the wedding!). My mother had to make a special trip to get it since I was in the Tacoma area all day. Great price but Yikes- the stress! Price: $20 Grade:B
Sun Kissed Airbrush Tan- Jennifer Fitzgerald- She comes to your location and spray tans you. All she needs is an outlet. She brings a pop up tent, an air compressor, the tanning supplies. It’s great because you can do it in the nude or if you’re modest like me- in my bra and panties (or bikini). It lasts for 7-10 days. You instantly have color and then it deepens over the next 6-8 hours. The solution is not orange based you don’t get an orange/artificial look. I was really worried because I am (was) so pale. I told her I just wanted a slight glow. Just a hint of color to warm me up- especially since I had an ivory dress. And she nailed it. I had just enough color. She charges $35 for each tan. If there are 5 or more in the group then it’s $25 each. If there is a party of 7 or more – the host’s tan is free. She will travel within 25 miles of SeaTac or if it’s greater than that it’s a $5 travel fee. I loved the convenience of having her come to my house. She did my tan and my mother’s tan. Grade: A
Honeymoon arrangements- Time Travel in Fairwood- Mary is great. She is the owner of Time Travel and has been in the travel industry for over 25 years. She set up a Honeymoon Registry for us so guests could donate to our Honeymoon. And she didn’t take out any fees like the online services. Great with communication- whether it’s email, call or messages on Facebook! I so appreciated all the time and effort she gave us. We couldn’t decide between a cruise, Southern California, and Hawaii. She gave us several options in each category. She would give me an itemized breakdown so I could really compare apples to apples. Grade: A
Misc resources-
Cudge.net for candles
Antique stores for the cake stands and milk glass vases
My rings are antiques
Nordstrom Rack for the MOH dress and my shoes