My vendors were incredible. Seriously, everyone was amazing.
Hair: Jack Alexander Salon, Diana Fink, Des Plaines A+
Diana is my regular hair stylist, but has a ton of experience in
wedding hair. She did an absolutely gorgeous job on my hair, and
everyone at the wedding wanted to know who did my hair. I vaguely described how I wanted to look, and she took care of the rest. My hair was half up/half down and curled, and it stayed put throughout the entire night of dancing. She is affordable and incredibly sweet. I highly recommend her.
Make-Up: Karina Hupf A+
Karina was referred to me by Diana and also did an amazing job. As someone who doesn't wear much make-up, I had no idea what I wanted. We had a trial and she knew exactly what to do. My make-up was beautiful without being too overwhelming or heavy, which was exactly what I wanted. She even drove me to my hair appointment on the day of the wedding! I highly recommend her, and she is also very affordable. PM me for her contact information.
Ceremony/Reception Venue: Carnivale A+
Jesus was my coordinator, and he was awesome!! He took care of everything and answered every question I sent him. I cannot say
enough about how much I loved this venue. The ceremony was in the main dining room and was just stunning. The cocktails and reception area were in private rooms upstairs, and were perfect for a fun and bright wedding. My guests raved about the food and ridiculously awesome drinks (the mojitos are phenomenal). The tasting was my absolute favorite part of the wedding planning, and they go all out for it. The staff were attentive and extremely thorough- nothing went wrong!! PM me for more information, but I could not be happier about the venue and entire ceremony/reception.
Flowers: Natural Beauties A
I had no idea what I wanted when I met with them for my consultation. Jill and Jan helped me pick out a few flower preferences and took over from there. Although I never saw any of my flowers until the day of the wedding, they turned out better than I expected. The centerpieces were unique and beautiful. I loved my bouquet and thought all the accent flowers in the ceremony and cocktail space were perfect. They did a great job.
DJ: Toast & Jam- Sarah A+
Sarah was amazing. Not only did she play exactly what we wanted, but she kept everyone dancing the entire time. I felt so bad that she had to deal with a few unruly guests who kept requesting songs on my “do not play” list. She listened to me and did not let my crazy aunts take over the wedding music. I loved her and highly recommend her.
Officiant: Rev. Anne Styx A+
Rev. Anne was possibly our favorite vendor!! She was absolutely fantastic and much more affordable than anyone else we researched. She performed our ceremony with ease and made it incredibly personal. She listened to everything we wanted and wrote a beautiful ceremony for us. Guests kept asking if she was an old family friend because she seemed to know us so well. I couldn't be happier with her.
George Street Photo & Video (no grade yet)
Thomas (photo) and Eddie (video) were great. They kept me calm and took care of everything. I haven't seen their work yet, but they were terrific to work with and I really enjoyed having them around. They did everything I asked and had terrific suggestions all night. Other people commented on how nice and accommodating they were too.
Dress: Bella Bridal: St. Charles A
This was the first and last bridal store I went to and was definitely pleased with their selection. Dresses were affordable and the process was pretty smooth. The alterations were done well and timely. My only suggestion is to look elsewhere for accessories, as they were horribly overpriced at the bridal salon. Everything else was great.
Favors: Wells Popcorn (Clark & Diversey) A
This was by far the cheapest place I could find to purchase caramel corn for our favors. We bought our own paper bags and personalized tags, but the popcorn was incredibly tasty. We made way too many bags, but people had no problem taking them home.