Ridge Manor Banquet Center – I love Ridge Manor! Sharon was
great to work with. So much is included here and she says “yes” to almost every
question you ask! Beautiful centerpieces, card box, tax/gratuity, bartenders,
security…it’s all included! It’s a larger place and the food is
amaaaaaazing! She even sent us home with
trays of leftover buffet food. I heard
lots of great food reviews from my wedding guests. I would recommend this venue over and over
again!
WorkShed Pictures – What a steal! I booked him over the winter when he was
offering a $100 off deal. He was a great
deal without that $100 off so with it, he was unbelievable. We got two camera guys for that price. He even came to the rehearsal so he could get
a feel for the place. I really enjoyed
working with him. I also liked that the
final payment wasn’t due until we picked up the DVDs so you couldn’t end up
with the horror stories you sometimes hear of brides not getting their photos
or videos from vendors. I really enjoyed
working with Nick and I can’t wait to see what he comes up with!<?xml:namespace prefix = "o" ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Rob Rife Photography – It should tell you something that I
had over $500 in referral credits with Rob because so many of my friends booked
him for their weddings too! He is a
seasoned professional who knows how to get the job done. He’s confidant and that made me feel better
about my decision to hire him. While I haven’t seen the pictures yet, I am
already realizing there were some shots we didn’t get that are typical
wedding shots (pics of our hands with our rings, just him and I posed at the
church, etc.). He got our pics back in just 2 weeks and 477 pics were given to us! I've been pleased with what I've seen and he chose great photos to turn into black and white. I would recommend him to anyone on a budget!
Magical Sound Entertainment (Tim Tatko) – Tim has been
wonderful to work with. I’d seen him at
an event before so I was happy to have him back. He definitely got a feel for the crowd and
what they were looking for. He’s very
professional and experienced! Two other
friends I’ve referred to him also booked him!
All Occasion Limo – Vic was a great driver. Check the Entertainment Book for a 50% off
coupon. I think our 12-person limo came
to about $280 plus tip.
Roses for Weddings – Get a quote from Ety…you won’t be
disappointed! I didn’t have a single
rose at my wedding so don’t let the name fool you. She did wonders with the calla lilies for my
wedding. She had many wonderful ideas
and her prices cannot be beat. She works
out of her home so the savings are passed along to us. She also did our chair covers. She also took care of our chair covers. It’s difficult to find them under $3.25/chair
so her price of $3/chair cannot be beat!
She’s very creative and flexible with what she can do. I found a gorgeous, expensive bouquet that I
fell in love with. I told her it was out
of my budget so by eliminating a few flowers and making it a bit smaller she
made it work with what I could afford. I
was thrilled!
Total Eclips Salon – I hate it when salons upcharge brides
to have pretty much the same thing done in terms of a formal up-do but
bridesmaids and anyone else get to pay far, far less. It’s total crap! It was only $50 for us to have our hair done
and if you’re interested in make-up too…it’s only $25 more! It’s a cute salon and I also went back to get
my highlights touched up before the wedding.
Hampton Inn – Chris, the manager, has been very
helpful. With ten room block bookings
you get the shuttle for free. I had 16,
I think. Just be sure you tell your
guests when the room block is cut off.
For us, it was 8/31 for our 9/21 wedding. People can still get the room block price
after that but it’s a big hassle to do so as they have to book and then the
booking is transferred to the manager to change the price. Our stay at the Hampton Inn was nice. They
even put out a sign and balloons welcoming the new Mr. & Mrs. I also enjoyed their complimentary breakfast
each morning. The shuttles were a
fiasco, however. We had to pre-select
the times and I had them hand out welcome cards to each of our guests staying
at the hotel that explained the times. I
don’t know how other guests got back but the shuttle wasn’t there at 11:45pm to
take the remaining people back, including my husband and I. I called them and they came only to find that
someone threw up in the shuttle. She
described him and he certainly wasn’t one of our wedding guests but it was
still less than pleasant to find so we ended up having a friend drive us back.
American Commodore – They were the biggest headache of everyone
we worked with. When my husband and I
booked our wedding with them we made our tux/vest/shoe selections. We chose two shoes with the same “toes” and
the men could choose either the ties or the loafer versions so they’re
comfortable in whatever they’d prefer.
Well, my stepdad and my husband were given loafers when we asked for
ties for them. My husband specifically
was in an accident 6 years ago and needs ties because he doesn’t have good use
of one foot. The hassle to get the
correct shoes was a complete pain. They
could order them and deliver them but I’d have to know where I’d be at one
specific time in the day before the wedding. Seriously? That’s when I’m running
around like a maniac running last minute errands! I got pissed and hung up on
them. I’ll be writing a nasty letter to
their corporate office. I was not impressed.