Hi all, I didn't write much on the boards the last year or so, but used to more frequently (long engagement)...I just wanted to provide vendor reviews as I know that all helped me in planning my wedding!
Flowers - Fiftyflowers.com and Costco.com - A. We did all the flowers ourselves, and I think they turned out great. We ordered garden roses through Fiftyflowers that looked JUST like peonies. Our photog actually thought they were peonies at first. We ordered hydrangeas from Costco. The Costco flowers came 1 day early (Wed) but lasted through the wedding day beautifully. The roses were supposed to also come Thurs but didn't arrive until Friday. Still, all was good and they looked great on Saturday. I'd give both companies and A because even though arrivals weren't exactly as stated, communication was great and the flowers were beautiful.
Reception Hall - Rogers Community Room - A. It's a community room, so nothing special but Kathy is the woman in charge and is so nice and helpful.
Chapel - Little Mountain Chapel in Monitcello, MN - A. I think this place is a little hidden gem! It's a little white chapel owned by the Community Center, so we were able to do whatever we wanted and it was so cute! Tricia and her staff were also super friendly and easy to work with.
Officiant - Rev. Gary Ritner - A. Gary was so nice, great communication, we got to write our own ceremony - and using his online tools helped alot! He baptized me, my sister and her fiance rehearsal night for no charge, showed up early and did a great job officiating!
Coordinator - Kirsten of Fab.you.lous Events and Designs - A+. I would say anyone having a wedding where there isn't someone (other than you!) in charge, should hire a Coordinator - and Kirsten would be great! We hired he for day of, she was wonderful and made sure all of my planning and details were exacuted. She also helped keep things running smoothly and on time through the day.
Caterer - Famous Daves - A+! It's Famous Daves! Food was EXCELLENT, so much better than normal wedding food. My guests loved it and I think loved it being something different. It was also very reasonable, the staff was so great. They even brought extra dishes for food my mom made, and served that too! The went above and beyond.
Event Photobooths - A. Rob is the owner, he showed up Friday to set up. We did a photo and video booth. Haven't got the videobooth DVD yet, but guests LOVED this and I love the memories. We had a prop bucket and it was great! The booth isn't as nice looking as other companies, but hey, for at least $500 less, it was worth it and most of my guests had never seen a photobooth at a wedding before, so they'd know no different anyway! He's a little bit of a talker, but a nice guy and took care of business for me!
Photog - Laura Ivanova - A. She showed up when she said she would, stuck around until she felt she got what she needed and asked me before leaving if tehre was anything else I needed. We were really strapped for time for groups shots, and I haven't seen the final product yet, but I'm confident they'll be great. She is great to work with and the engagement pics were great.
DJ- Complete Music - Darrin - B+. Darrin was great for our type of crowd, and maybe that is what he was feeling off of, but there was some swearing over the mic. I didn't care, but some people would not be happy about that...again, he might have just been feeling the crowd. He did drink some of the alcohol as well, again, I don't care...but others might. I liked his music choices and he was fun for us. One thing about Complete Music I was not impressed with is that they have their online list of music to choose from, but then in talking with Darrin the week before the wedding, he informed me he didn't have most of the music I had selected for our dances/etc. so I had to bring it myself, even though it was on the Complete Music list.
Limo - Profile Limosuine - A. We hired the party bus for taking the bridal party and guests out and about. It isn't real attractive from the outside, but its black and alright enough for me. Basically an old city bus painted black...the inside was totally redone though and much like a stretch limo inside. It was great for our large crowd (could hold 40). The we hired the stretch limo for shuttling guests later. They always showed up on time, and were friendly and easy to work with.
Dress - Raffine - A+. They worked with me when I first ordered a different dress, to get the new dress. Great staff and great prices.
Bridesmaid Dresses - The Wedding Connection - B+. They were great in our last minute order and made sure the dresses arrived in time to get altered. They slyly charged $45 extra for women's sizes...which may be standard across all shops, but they didn't tell the bridesmaids what the charge was or that there was one. They also charged $5 to make any payment over the phone which is kind of BS.
Groom/Groomsmen Suits - Mensusa.com - B. We were able to order the men's suits online for cheaper than renting. The measurements on their website seemed true to the sizing, as most of the suits fit. They arrived on time. We had to mention the free ties/hankies that were advertised at ordering and then had to mention that it included free colored ties (not just black/white) in order to get those. Communication was not very good. We had to exchange 2 of the suits and when I bought them, I was told that if you exchange you don't have to pay the $25 fee, but when I called to discuss exchanging, they said I did have to. I think the suits are sold by wholesalers that are not directly with the company or something. All in all, we ended up getting the suits and ties (2 sets, LOL), and I would recommend people consider it because it was cheaper than renting and now the guys all have a suit! The quality of the suits were great. I would just recommend doing everything early and maybe getting fitted for a suit (can do this at JC Pennys, Mens Warehouse, etc) to be sure your sizes are right the first time ordering.
Whew, I think thats most of the vendors.
Good luck to all you ladies out there!