We're back from our honeymoon and our 2nd reception in New Mexico, so it's about time I post vendor reviews....here we go!
Ceremony Location - St. Clement's Church
The MOST beautiful church I've ever seen! I don't think it's right to really give a score to our church - but just know that we love it, we continue to attend on Sundays and Father Manny is amazing!
Reception Venue - Doubletree Chicago Magnificent Mile
Food and Food Service - A
Everything else - D-
I'm really struggling with this as everything was pretty much awful with the exception of the audio/visual team, the food servers and the food, which was as outstanding as it was during our tasting, and the food service. Our Event Manager was extremely unorganized, difficult to get in touch with, and pretty much mismanaged our entire evening. My husband had to fight with her about what was promised in our contract during our cocktail hour. It was really just a big mess - that none of our guests knew about thanks to my wonderful husband and our amazing Wedding Coordinator. If you plan to have your wedding at the DT, I would strongly encourage you to have a Day of Coordinator or make sure everything you ask for is is writing. The hotel is beautiful, the rooms are great, the location is great, they just need a Event Management staff.
Side note, I can't recommend Elliot Jones from Southern Audio Visual enough. He is the AV contractor for the DT, and does a phenomenal job. Our gobo light and uplighting were amazing! He is also the quickest person ever to respond to email and never said no to any request we had!
Cake - Rolf's Patisserie
A
This was included in our package with the DT and we did not choose any of their upgrade styles. The cake was perfect - it looked exactly like the picture I left with them at our tasting and was delicious. People are still talking about good that cake was!
Wedding Coordinator - Karolina Warren, Weddings by Karolina
A+
Karolina was nothing short of amazing. We choose her middle package - where she helped us secure our remaining vendors, handled our rehearsal and did day-of coordination. Without her, the mess with our Event Manager at the DT, could really have ruined our reception. She was ALWAYS quick to respond to my emails throughout our whole planning process. She followed up with EVERY vendor to ensure everything was going as planned. She created our timeline for the day and make any changes I asked for. She was on-time and made sure that everything in her control was perfect. I don't know what we would have done without her - I know I would have been bridezilla for sure if we didn't have her! I would HIGHLY recommend her to every bride!
Photographer - Jiho Park, Lilly Photography
A+
Not only is Jiho a VERY talented photographer, he's professional, quick to respond to questions and just goes with the flow of the day. Check out his blog for our photos. His eye for great shots is second to none. Everyone that has seen our photos - on the blog, our engagement pictures and all 900+ he got posted on pictage less than 1 month after our wedding - is in awe with his work and how beautiful they turned out. He and his 2nd shooter were on time the day of the wedding and stayed late into the night to capture every last detail! I can't recommend him enough!
Videographer - Jeff Manimbo, Shoot the Bride Films
A
If you have seen his work, it goes without saying that he is very talented at what he does. Our video was so movie-like - our family and everyone who's seen the highlight video can't believe it's a wedding video. The only reason why I didn't give him an A+ is because his 2nd shooter showed up late to get the boys getting ready so we only have a few seconds of that on the highlight film. He showed up on time to get getting ready shots of the girls and stayed late into the night. He even did a same day edit for us so we could ensure we had a highlight video to watch the next day. With the controversy on the knot about him, we made sure that we talked to him about what we wanted and got him our music selections well before our wedding date. He delivered the highlight film as promised in our contract and even hand-delivered to my office to ensure we had to prior to our 2nd reception. He really is dedicated to his work. I hope that brides on the knot give him a second chance - all you need to do is tell him your expectations and he will deliver.
Florist - Kristen Janes, Kio Kreations
A+
Kristen is a very talented florist and designer. Everything turned out exactly as I imagined. I still have friends and family asking what was that one flower you had in your bouquets - because they were so unique and beautiful. She delivered everything on time and came back promptly just after midnight to pick up her remaining vases. She is really reasonably priced for what she does as well. She also designed logos using our name and initials for use on almost everything I created involving paper! The gobo we displayed above our head table was one of her designs. She's super talented!
Transportation -
Chicago Rolls Royce and Limo - Trolley Rental
A
The driver was prompt and courteous. The trolley was air-conditioned. My only complaint is that the air conditioner was leaking drops of water onto the back seat of the trolley that we had to ask to be wiped down a few times so people didn't ruin their dresses and tuxes. They also didn't take great direction from our DOC who told them to call her not the groom when they arrived at the hotel to pick up the girls. Tiny issues, but I still loved the trolley and driver was nice so they get an A. They are also the only trolley company we could find that had A/C.
Cosmopolitan Limo - Mini Bus Rental for Guests
A
I didn't hear much about this so I have to say they were good. They arrived on time, they had the A/C on and our guests were happy. I do wish however that they parked on the side street and let our trolley park right in front of the church - but I didn't think of that before so no big deal!
Dress - A'la'mour Bridal in Barrington
A
I LOVED my dress so it makes it easy to give them an A. I worked with Carmel and she was always so great. It was easy to get evening appointments. The seamstress did a fabulous job making my dress fit me like glove. I only had to go for 3 fittings - the first to try it on and make sure it was the right dress, the 2nd for alterations, and 3rd final fitting was it! I think their prices are great and they have really nice people working there.
Tuxedos - Men's Warehouse on State and Monroe
C
The only reason why they don't get an D is because the guys tuxedos were correct and ready when they said they would. The entire process was a nightmare until the new store manager started helping us a few months before our wedding. The women who took my husband's order and the guys' information on our first visit was horrible. Her customer service skills were non-existent and she didn't even get the order correct. My husband had to go back several times and then the $400 credit towards tux he purchased from them did work, so he ended up just paying full price so he could have piece of mind that he would have a tux on our wedding day. The guys looked great, so I can't complain too much about the final outcome.
All Things Paper from Cardsandpockets.com
A
Their products are great. Their price is right and they will meet any price you find online.
All in all, we worked with some really talented people! Our wedding was nothing short of perfect and I'm so happy to be married!!