Vender Reviews: in progress
Ceremony Venue: The Little Chapel in the Woods (TWU campus)- A This is a beautiful chapel. Seriously, I didn't even decorate it one bit. I loved getting married there. The Little Chapel only seats about 120 people, so if your wedding is larger than that, it's not the place for you. They provide a building attendant for the rehearsal and the ceremony. The woman I booked with told me that the building attendant is not a coordinator of any sort, but mine really helped out when my DOC did not.
Reception Venue: GDAC Center for the Visual Arts (Denton, TX)- B+ The only reason I didn't give them at A is because they only scheduled us for 7 hours use when we paid for 8. This was rectified to my satisfaction by the building manager (we got extra time for setup added on). Overall, the venue is a great DIY location. You can bring in your own food, beer, and wine. It also comes with the use of 35 2.5'X6' tables and 200 chairs. The room is pretty much a blank slate, but with personality. It is also a more modern-looking space than some. I love how it turned out.
Bride's Cake: My aunt Ruth- A+++! She made a beautiful 4 tier cake for us as a wedding gift.
Groom's Cakes: Candy Haven- A The cakes were delicious, and the customer service was great! I also bought bulk M&Ms in our wedding colors at Candy Haven. They have a great selection of colors, and you can mix and match as many colors as you want. This makes it much easier than ordering them from the M&M website. (Plus the shipping fees when you order them online are HUGE!)
Organist: David Pierce- A+++ I hired David like 2 days before the wedding, and he was WONDERFUL! I told him I wanted ultra-traditional music, and he just took care of it. He didn't make me pick songs-- he just played and it was perfect!
Reception Music: Bubba Turner and some iTunes playlists!- A+ Bubba is a good friend of ours, and is a frontman for a couple of local rockabilly bands. We just set up some iTunes playlists, and he hooked up 2 computers to his own PA system. He did a great job as a MC, and we saved LOADS of money by not hiring a real DJ. The dance floor stayed packed all night, and we had tons of fun. The reception proved to me that an iPod reception can be a huge success. I definitely recommend having a person there acting as a DJ, though. You may spend some money downloading songs, and I definitely recommend "gifting" your friend/DJ, but I don't think a pro could have done better for our particular party.
Catering: Sweetwater Grill and Tavern- A+ Husband and I met at Sweetwater when he was the manager there and I was a waitress, so this was kind of an inside job. Jimmy, the owner/chef gave us a great deal on prime rib, red snapper with pasta, sauteed asparagus and cherry tomatoes, au gratin potatoes, and rolls. They also provided appetizer platters. We got all of the beer and wine through them at their wholesale cost!
Wedding day Hair: SOHO Salon in Denton- A+++ Nathan did my sister's and my hair, and I can't say enough nice things about him! He loves updos and it shows! Go there! Letha and Michelle did MOH and MOB's hair, and everyone was beyond satisfied. The place is roomy, the staff is awesome, and they even let us bring in lunch and mimosas!
Event Lighting: AVSD Productions- A+ My mom and I visited their booth at the Ft. Worth Bridal Show, and picked up a flyer listing their "Bridal Show Specials". Fi and I had a meeting with Richard soon afterward, and booked right away. Richard is very professional. He met us in our venue and brought his laptop so that he could show us some options and examples. Our particular venue had some strict guidelines, but Richard was able to provide us with uplighting to make the room really special. A couple of days before the event, when I called to follow up with Richard, he let me know that he was going to upgrade our lighting from regular gels to LED lights (which use less energy and give off more light) at no charge. In addition, he added pinspotting for our cakes at no charge. Lighting can definitely be pricey, but if you can get in on a special, or even ask for a discount, I think it's worth it!
DOC: Kasie Eyestone- F+ I found Kasie on Craigslist, and when my mom and I met her in person, she said all of the right things. Plus, she was CHEAP. I'm pretty sure she lied when she told me that she had already done a few weddings. She has a background in floral design, and did a good job making corsages and bouts (except the part where she forgot to make one for the bridesman). She was totally ineffective at running the rehearsal, and wasn't organized. She dressed inappropriately on the wedding day, and I heard from several guests that they caught a glimpse of her rear because her short skirt kept riding up. Kasie wadded up my train in both hands before I walked down the aisle, and yanked my veil off as the chapel doors were opening for my entrance... Bottom line: I don't recommend her services.
Bridal Salon: Bridal Co in Denton- B+ My dress came in a few days after the estimated delivery date, and I was really anxious. They were not good at returning my phone calls when they said they would, and I really didn't appreciate that. However, they did press my dress when it arrived. They have a great selection of dresses-- LOTS of Maggies!
Bulk Flowers: Farmstogo.com- A+ The flowers were delivered when they said they would be. They were packed wonderfully, and the quality was great! Doing flowers myself saved tons of money, but was a pretty significant headache. If you are up for it, do it! Spend the money you save on something fun you wouldn't get to do otherwise!
Rehearsal Dinner: Giuseppe's Italian Restaurant in Denton- C- While I love Giuseppe's for a nice dinner or lunch, I would not recommend having a large group party there. They were very nice when we called to set up, and assured us that people have rehearsal dinners there all the time with groups of our size (30-35 people). When we arrived, they only had tables set up for about 20 people. We had to mill around and wait to be accommodated. When they finally got more tables set up, they were in an adjoining room. We should have been notified upon booking that they wouldn't be able to put our entire party in the same room. We set up a small menu with a choice of 5 entrees, however the food came in waves-- one entree type at a time. The first group to receive food was finished eating by the time the last group received theirs. This was really awkward. The flow of the event was so weird that there were no toasts and we didn't even feel comfortable giving our wedding party their gifts. We were going to go grab them from the car, and just gave up when people started needing to leave because dinner just took sooooooo long. :(
