Vendor Reviews
Before going into all the nitty-gritty details - I just have to say that ALL of my vendors were fantastic, absolutely fantastic and made our day a magical one!!
I've included my Minneapolis, DC area and Etsy reviews:
I've included my Minneapolis, DC area and Etsy reviews:
Minneapolis Reviews
Ceremony: Lake of the Isles Lutheran Church- A++
Everything went splendidly, Kerri, the coordinator, was always very prompt with emails. She also was very helpful at the rehearsal, had great ideas/suggestions for things that I hadn't even thought of. The church of course is gorgeous and I got many complements from guests and my pastor (who officiated) about both how pretty and how efficiently the service was ran.
Reception: The Semple Mansion - A
To be sure the place is an A++++++++++++++ space, there are very few places that can match its beauty, elegance and grandeur. But they also know this and charge for its beauty, there is a lot of nickle & diming - you have to pay an exorbitant fee to even HAVE alcohol or soda ($1500 for us), then pay for the alcohol separately. sigh. You also pay $25/hr for Katherine to just be there during the event, but she does NOTHING. They didn't even shovel the front walk way....
All in all though the venue was gorgeous, my guests had a blast and everything went smoothly. I also do appreciate the very wide variety of caterers you have to choose from, that definitely kept costs down!
All in all though the venue was gorgeous, my guests had a blast and everything went smoothly. I also do appreciate the very wide variety of caterers you have to choose from, that definitely kept costs down!
Caterer: Russell's on the Lake- A+++++
There are not enough good words to say about Darek and his team...they were FANTASTIC from the moment I contacted them. I asked him to help me create a Thanksgiving-ish dinner without feeling too much like Thanksgiving and he came up with the PERFECT menu the NEXT day. Our tastings were AMAZING, he had soo many things to show us, but did not make it overwhelming. It also really helps that he is the one that holds the liquor license for The Semple. The day of went splendidly, I heard from many guests that it was not only the best wedding food they've ever had but some even said the best FOOD ever. Seriously, this guy is AMAZING, oh and his prices CANNOT be beat. For all of the food (including appetizers, carving station, 2 entrees), linens, place settings (including gold chargers), he was about $24/head.
Florist: Simply Stated Elegance- A+++++
Jeni's work was simply AMAZING, seriously there are no other words to describe it. All of the bouquets were simply STUNNING, so tightly gathered, soooo GORGEOUS and full. The only complaint is that because of that it was heavy, haha. All of the boutonnieres were different and creative, which I thought was sooo cool! The centerpieces and other decor were AMAZING, seriously, AMAZING. Even one of my bridesmaids who had spent 7 THOUSAND dollars on her wedding-day flowers thought mine were better. Her price CANNOT be beat either, for EVERYTHING she was $1100, perfect! (If you didn't know she does this cool pricing thing where you pay the wholesale price of the flowers and then $30/hour for her labor). Oh and in the last week I forgot about the heritage/card box table decor and she figured out something that was SOOOOOO elegant and gorgeous I couldn't believe my eyes. SHE IS AMAZING, HIRE HER!!!!
Photographer: Spencer Combs (and Alex, his wife)-A+++++ (pending pro pics, but I'm not really worried)
What else is there to say?? It's Spencer, he is amazing.period. His energy level and enthusiasm are through the roof! His photographic style is out of this world! He was everywhere and anywhere on the day. My bridesmaids (and myself) thought he was adorable and fun. At the end of the night it felt like he was apart of the group! He was also such a trooper with regards to the blizzard that was coming down, he was always thinking of places to go outside. Alex is such a sweetheart, she was fantastic to have around!! I will never forget her hanging outside of Spencer's Land Rover to scrape snow off of it because their windshield wiper stopped working, hilarious!!
Videographer: Matt Brue (Capture Studios)- pending, but I'm pretty sure A++++
Again, not much to say other than, his work is simply amazing! He is also a super fun person to hang out with! Because of the snow our original first-look idea (the Stone Arch Bridge) was not going to work, so he and Spencer came up with a pretty cool idea to do it at the Semple...yay! They were everywhere the day of, never had to call their attention to what was happening as one bridesmaid said she had to do at her sister's wedding. I CANNOT wait to see the video!!
Day of Coordinator: Lasting Impressions (Sarah Trotter)-A+++++
Sarah is fantastic, the day NEVER would have been able to happen if it wasn't for her. She was always on top of things, moving around constantly to make sure things were set up the way I wanted. She had an assistant in the morning who helped divide and concur the decorating of the Semple and the church, which happened perfectly. She also helped out by allowing me to ship stuff to her, which was a MAJOR help considering I was trying to pull off several DIY projects from half-way across the country!
I definitely recommend Sarah and if not her you HAVE TO HAVE A DAY OF COORDINATOR - honestly I was able to enjoy the entire day without worrying about a thing!
I definitely recommend Sarah and if not her you HAVE TO HAVE A DAY OF COORDINATOR - honestly I was able to enjoy the entire day without worrying about a thing!
DJ: Steve from Instant Request-A++++
Steve was FANTASTIC, from the moment we talked on the phone a week before till the big day he was fabulous. I even got compliments from a few guests on how the music was at a perfect volume where they could still talk without having to shout over the music. He was also very flexible with timing of things since it was still snowing as the reception was going and people started leaving a little earlier than expected he moved up our timeline without any problems :)
Cake: Penny Steele-A+++++
First of all, her cake is FANTASTIC!!!! Soooooo delicious and this is coming from someone who doesn't usually like cake! Secondly, her work was gorgeous on both the wedding cake and grooms cake. She also offers a military discount of 10%, sweet!! I thought she was also pretty affordable, grooms cake + wedding cake for ~110 people was $800ish, there was barely any cake left over (and we had 100 people with about 150 servings of cake!).
Make-up & Hair: Smart & Chic-A+++++
As always, they were FANTASTIC, Anita was very prompt with emails and even added an additional stylist (Annie) at the last minute when our timelines changed last minute!! Our stylists (Cathi, Amber & Annie) were fantastic!!! They even gave us two "national-level" stylists at "regional" prices since we were off-season. My hair and makeup stayed put until the next day even, haha! Love them!!
Photobooth: The Original Traveling Photobooth- A+++++
They were a literal last-minute (3 weeks before) add on because budget permitted - they were sooo easy to work with and even were able to change the time the week before without any issue! They were a TOTAL hit, especially with their prop kit (worth it to my DIY-ed out mind). We had sooo much fun looking through the photobook the next day, which was really worth every penny! If you have the room in the budget or can make the room in the budget I HIGHLY recommend it!!!
Transportation: Renee's Royal Valet- A++
This is a task that I delegated to DH, completely, in fact he kept it a surprise until the day of! Fortunately DH thought ahead and thought that since it might snow to get a Hummer limo. What a day for a Hummer limo! Without it I highly doubt we would have gotten to some of the back roads that we did! They were prompt, very friendly, knew where they were going and the limo was awesome!
Tux Rental: Mens Wearhouse - A++
This is another task that I delegated to DH, completely, so I had zero interaction with them, but he says everything went smoothly and that he was able to have some last minute tailoring done on the spot so that it would fit perfectly. I think the guys looked rather handsome, so as far as I'm concerned, yay!
Candy Buffet Rental- Making Memories Decor-A
Pretty inexpensive ($36 rental), fast communication. It appears that some of the glassware was not there in the setup from the picture that she had given me of the glassware included in the rental. But thanks to my amazing DOC this was not a problem and it still looked fantastic :) And, much easier than trying to buy and/or ship the glassware from Maryland!
Hotel Block #1: The Hotel Minneapolis - A++
So, they were a pain in the butt in the beginning because they were changing from a Doubletree to a Marriott and trying to get the hotel code for my invites was SUCH A PAIN!!!!!
However, after that fiasco they were great, I worked with Amanda and she was very helpful and even offered to hand out my OOT bags free of charge (they charge $1/bag to hand out normally) because of my difficulties. Not much of a savings, but every little bit helps!
When we checked in they saw me with the wedding dress and asked if it was our wedding weekend - because it was they offered us an upgrade to a rather nice suite - which was REALLY helpful! They were also great to our guests, so their final rating by me is so higher than I thought.
However, after that fiasco they were great, I worked with Amanda and she was very helpful and even offered to hand out my OOT bags free of charge (they charge $1/bag to hand out normally) because of my difficulties. Not much of a savings, but every little bit helps!
When we checked in they saw me with the wedding dress and asked if it was our wedding weekend - because it was they offered us an upgrade to a rather nice suite - which was REALLY helpful! They were also great to our guests, so their final rating by me is so higher than I thought.
Hotel Block #2: Holiday Inn Express Convention Center- A++++++
These guys were FANTASTIC, from the moment I signed the contract until our guests checked in they were easy to work with and very professional. Our guests said they even DELIVERED our OOT bags to their rooms, which was SOO nice of them. They also delivered their free hot breakfast to our guests rooms, which was also REALLY nice!
I HIGHLY recommend them!!
I HIGHLY recommend them!!
Wedding Night Hotel: W Foshay-A+++++
This was a complete surprise by DH and boy was it FANTASTIC!!!! There are no words to describe how awesome it was to have a SUPER suite to come back to with a warm bath, champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries. The bed was SOOO comfy and sooo welcomed after a long day :) Their roomservice was phenomenal, it was so much fun!!
DC Area Reviews
Dress Shop: Juliet's Bridals- A+++
Very nice to work with, great prices, dress took a long time to get here (6 months to ship, 1 month IN shipping [but I don't think that's their fault]). The dress turned out GORGEOUS, nothing else to ask for in a dress shop!
Seamstress: Irene from Juliet's Bridals-A++++
She is extremely sweet and did a fantastic job on my bustle, which is pretty much all that it needed. The bustle lasted all night to my knowledge, haha. Her prices were pretty reasonable too!
Engagement Ring Diamond: Mervis -A+
Excellent selection at EXCELLENT prices (according to DH, who is a comparison shopper-extraordinaire). Arnie worked with us and he was very attentive while in the store but a bit hard to get ahold of by phone/email.
Wedding Band: Charleston Alexander-A+++
We went to Charleston Alexander for the wedding band because they had a wider selection of Tacori bands than Mervis. They have great customer service, great selection and as far as Tacori goes great pricing (Tacori notoriously does not give discounts on their rings EVER).
Etsy Reviews
Wedding Certificate: ArtfulCelebrations-A++++++
There are not words to describe how gorgeous this certificate is, it is hard to believe that it was done by hand! Very easy to communicate and deal with and very prompt shipping. This is definitely going to be a keepsake for a lifetime!
Invitation Design: Idoityourself- A++
She was very reasonably priced for print-your-own design...I am probably too much of a perfectionist for her as I stressed about the fonts for quite sometime. Towards the end she became harder to get a hold of and she lacked some attention to detail. In the end, though they turned out great!
Candy Buffet shortbread cookies: SunshineBakes -A+++
Apparently so good I didn't even get to taste one because they were gone SOO fast!! Great price, fast shipping, very easy communication!
Garter: gmarasa - A+++
Fast shipping, lovely garter, decent price. Love that it has something blue on the inside :)
Rehearsal necklace: Ellemariedesigns-A+++
Gorgeous necklace, beautifully pacakged, great price, fast shipper!
Wedding day necklace: EuropeanBride-A+++
I LOVE this necklace, it was the perfect touch! Fast shipping, beautifully packaged.
Bridesmaids gift- Wolfecandleco -A+++
I got them all cinnamon-spice candles in a small tin, they were perfect and smelled divine!! Very fast shipping!
Bridesmaids gift- bathbombconfections-A+++
In addition to the small travel candles I got them a bath bomb so they could take a long bath after all the mayhem. Very fast shipping, smells great and she threw an extra (white) one for me, how appropriate!
Bridesmaids glasses vinyl stickers- ACJinspirations- A+++
She does beautiful work and matched my colors (which she didn't have on her site) perfectly!
