Hey ladies! We just got back from honeymoon 2 days ago and I really missed being off the grid! Our wedding was on the 17th and boy was it HOT!!! The heat index was probably about 100 or something, but people were really good sports about our outdoor wedding. We were all just dripping, but it was still a beautiful day. Here are some pics and my vendor reviews...
Venue: Washington County Historic Courthouse A+
We loved the venue! They were so helpful and accomodating to us. They were prompt in sending back our safety deposit and even gave us a gift. Everything was gorgeous and people commented on how perfect it was for our theme and how pretty the setting was. I especially loved that they let us bring in all of our own vendors. We saved so much money by picking our own caterer. The jail tour was fun, too. I am really excited to get back our pro pics with us posing in the jail.
My Dress: Unique Bridal in Blaine: B+
I loved my dress-- it was a Soterro & Midgley and I got it for half off! What a steal. This place is not your average bridal salon, but don't let the atmosphere fool you-- they have great deals and lovely gowns. They were very helpful and good at what they did. My one complaint was that they kept pushing all of my appointments back because they had so many prom dresses to do or their seamstress was in hospital. This happened at least 5 times. I understand if the seamstress had a heart attack-- that is really sad and I don't blame them for rescheduling. But the prom dress thing kinda ticked me off. A wedding should trump that. They did a fabulous job on my alterations, but I do think that those may have been overpriced.
Bridesmaids Dresses: Angeliques in Blaine: A-
We were able to get exactly the dresses we liked at a reasonable price-- Mori Lee's for about $130. When we picked the dresses out they were one price, and when we came back to purchase they'd gone up. The ladies there agreed to give us the price we were given on our first visit, which was great for my girls. They wouldn't have been able to afford the higher price. They even pressed my MOH's dress the day before the wedding since she forgot to get it done.
Tuxes: Savvi at Northtown Mall: A+
The tuxes looked great and we had nothing but good service. They were exactly what we wanted and we got a fantastic deal-- a free tux for DH and a free suit to keep plus discounts for the guys. We also liked the $30 top hat that DH bought. We couldn't find them anywhere else for near that price.
Catering: K & J out of North St. Paul: A++
We LOVED this vendor! Their food was absolutely delicious and was really really reasonable--we had full buffet with salad, rolls, 2 veg, fresh fruit, relish tray, 2 sides, punch, nuts, mints, champagne chicken and sirloin in au jus for only about $17pp. We had people going back for thirds and the caterer even gave us the leftovers. They were really good to work with, easy going, and went above and beyond what we paid for. They cut and served our cake even though we didn't pay them to. They also helped a lot with cleanup and left items for us to keep using even after they left. They are a small family business and we loved working with them.
Baker: Grandma's Bakery in White Bear Lake: B+
I was a little worried about using this place after we saw the woman we were going to work with. She was really young and I didn't think that she knew what I was talking about, but our cake turned out beautifully and tasted so good! The prices were the lowest we found at a bakery, but the product was great-- better than the Buttercream we've had at other weddings. Our only problem with them was that when they delivered the cake, they did not give us the cake stand that we'd rented. The cake was just on a little cardboard round. Since it was only a little 2-tierd cake, the plate was supposed to hold it up and make it look bigger. While we were on HM my mom called and complained. They called when we returned and apologized profusely and refunded the money. Not a huge deal, but still.
Flowers: DIY by my bridesmaids & me, provided by Sams Club A-
The Sams Flowers came looking great and I'm so glad that we used them. We paid less than $400 for the flowers and had an absolute bower that would have been thousands had we paid a florist. I had some problem with billing with Sams and strange emails the day they were to arrive that made me think they were not coming, but it all worked out. Our carnations were kinda fragile and the green roses were sort of yellow. Those are my only complaints.
DJ: Neon Express A
Dave was great to work with. He played almost all of the songs that I had on my list (it was a lot) and was really patient with my friends' everlasting requests. He didn't have a song that we wanted, so he let my MOH connect her phone so that she could bring it up. His rates were really good, too. I'd recommend him over any DJ I've ever heard.
Hair: Sams Club in Blaine A+++ to my girl/ D+ to the Salon
The girl who was scheduled to do my hair wasn't there-- she was on vacation. This was a huge panic moment because my hairstyle was historical and complicated and the girl had done a trial already. We wasted lots of time there while they tried to contact her and figure things out. It made us late and we didn't get as many pictures. I gave them an A because the girl who did my hair was an absolute genius and my hair was 100x better than the trial (which I wasn't really hep on). She did such a good job that even the other stylists were amazed. I'd go back to her any day, but the hiccup in our day made me really stressed and cut out picture time that I'd paid for.
Photographer: Shiloh Photography A+++
The girl who owns this business, Ashley Michaelson, is a personal friend of mine and she was fantastic. She was so calm and helpful during this stressful day. She was great with everyone and very professional. She tolerated all of our monkeybusiness well
Her pictures never cease to amaze me since she hasn't had any formal training. She is just brilliant.