Vendor Reviews
Ceremony
Ceremony Site - Village View Church of Christ, Bowling Green, OH - A+
The church is huge and seats quite a few people. We had way more room than we needed. We were able to decorate the church the week before the ceremony and to also have our rehearsal dinner in their social/activities/kitchen room. We were able to decorate however we wanted and our photographer was able to go anywhere she wanted for any pictures she wanted to take. All of the people were very friendly.
Officiant - David Boswell - A+
David is amazing. He is the minister at my aunt's church, so I had known of him for quite some time. He ended up coming into our lives quite by unfortunate circumstances, usually dealing with death and illness, a number of times. He was a great support for all of us through those difficult times and Don and I decided that it was only right he help us through and be with us through such a happy time. We are very happy we chose him as our officiant. The ceremony was short, about 15 minutes, and sweet. We didn't really have any requests other than a traditional ceremony, but he did great with honoring the few requests we did have.
Ceremony Music - Bettie Dawn Boswell - A+
I'm going to be honest. I didn't even notice any of the music for the ceremony except the tradional bridal march that was played while I entered. We didn't have any special music we wanted played and just requested traditional wedding music. Bettie Dawn was amazing at answering any questions I had and would have been willing to learn any song(s) we had wanted if we provided the sheet music - assuming it was a song she didn't already have.
Reception
Reception Site - Lybarger-Grimm Legion, Tontogany, OH - B
Let me start by saying that we paid a deposit and signed a contract in March 2010 for our April 2011 wedding reception. The week before the wedding I was trying to call the people in charge of renting it out to confirm what time we would be able to get into the hall. After numerous phone calls and a few messages, we were finally able to get through only to find out that despite having paid a deposit and signed a contract we were not written down in the books. Thankfully no one else wanted it for the day as they had no one written down at all.
We had enough tables/seating for just shy of 170 including the 2 tables we used for the 8 members of the wedding party. We had less than 150 in attendance and I wouldn't have wanted any more than that. We had plenty of room for the first 1/3 or so of the hall to be used as a dance floor with the DJ set up on stage.
We had enough tables/seating for just shy of 170 including the 2 tables we used for the 8 members of the wedding party. We had less than 150 in attendance and I wouldn't have wanted any more than that. We had plenty of room for the first 1/3 or so of the hall to be used as a dance floor with the DJ set up on stage.
Caterer - Friends of the family - B+
The food tasted excellent, however I would have done a few things differently. Because I used family friends, I didn't really get anything down in writing until I got "the bill." I had a bit of sticker shock because it wasn't quite what we had discussed over a year ago, but they ended up purchasing quite a bit, ok all, of the produce since that would have gone bad had we purchased it when we were able to. Looking back I would have gotten something down in writing sooner, but I was overall happy about the food and everyone was raving about how yummy it all was.
Baker - Friend of the family - A+
My mom's friend's sister (did you follow that?) makes cakes. She works in the bakery of a local grocery store, so she knows what she's doing. She did an amazing job with our cake. We chose a style of cake from her book of cakes (ones she had made before) and she used our colors as a guideline for the decorations. We chose to have chocolate, vanilla and cherry chip for flavors. I wanted the vanilla tier to look like a rainbow, and boy did it! She did amazing.
DJ - Tonight's Entertainment - B+
Rusty runs in similar circles with DH, so when the DJ we'd had lined up fell through (it was a friend of a friend), it was only natural that we'd ask Rusty. His contract was for 5 hours and he arrived early to set up. He was completely set up and ready to go when we arrived about 30 - 45 min after our guests did. Things felt a little rushed and bunched up at the beginning of the reception - we ate and then did cake almost right away, the first dance, bouquet & garter tosses almost without a break in between.
The music was ok. There were all the usual group dances (YMCA, some of the slides, etc.) but then I don't remember much else about what was played except for a few slow songs and some country I think and some older stuff. In retrospect, I would have asked that mostly newer music be played. We didn't have a whole lot of dancing going on aside from kids running around the dance floor and I'm not sure how much of that was our crowd and how much was that they didn't like the music. However, he was taking requests, so it wasn't completely his fault. He tried to get everyone into things. The kids loved it for sure.
The music was ok. There were all the usual group dances (YMCA, some of the slides, etc.) but then I don't remember much else about what was played except for a few slow songs and some country I think and some older stuff. In retrospect, I would have asked that mostly newer music be played. We didn't have a whole lot of dancing going on aside from kids running around the dance floor and I'm not sure how much of that was our crowd and how much was that they didn't like the music. However, he was taking requests, so it wasn't completely his fault. He tried to get everyone into things. The kids loved it for sure.
Favors - DIY
We made sugar cookies and iced them with Royal icing and some icing that my mom makes. We made over 160 cookies in total (to account for any that may have broken in transit) and it took FOREVER. It took one whole day to bake them, four hours to frost the red part and seven hours to frost the white part and bag them up.
Cake Topper - PrimitiveSeason on Etsy - A+
I knew from the beginning that I didn't want a typical bride & groom cake topper. I wanted something that would also look fine just sitting on a shelf as decoration. After scouring the stores and many websites, I finally found these by PrimitiveSeason on Etsy. After a quick conversation about what I was looking for, I found that they could be shipped in just a few days, which was great because I found them with just over 3 weeks left before the wedding.
Linens - Linentablecloth.com - A+
I got all my tablecloths and runners from linentablecloth.com. They were of amazing quality and everyone really liked them. I was just happy to not have to use paper or plastic table coverings.
All tables had black tablecloths. The tables where guests sat had ivory runners and all other tables (head tables, gifts, cake, buffet, etc.) had red runners.
The ordering process was easy and everything arrived within a few weeks of ordering.
All tables had black tablecloths. The tables where guests sat had ivory runners and all other tables (head tables, gifts, cake, buffet, etc.) had red runners.
The ordering process was easy and everything arrived within a few weeks of ordering.
Other
Florist - McKenzie's Flowers, Weston, OH - A+
JoAnn did an amazing job. We use her as our florist for so many other occasions that it was only natural to have her do the wedding flowers. We only had live flowers for the bouquets and the flowers we gave the mothers. Everything else (grandmother's corsages & bouts) were artificial. I've heard that tulips are hard to work with and/or just generally not recommended for wedding flowers, but I was so happy with how ours turned out. They even lasted several days (up to a week for some!) after the wedding.
Photography
Photographer - Rae McKee - A+
Rae is a cousin of a friend who does photography as a hobby. Thus far I have only seen a sneak peek of the pictures she took, but she said she took over 1000 pictures and after weeding out the bad ones (blinking, etc.) she still had over 500 good pictures. She will be editing them and getting us all of the good pictures on CDs within a few weeks.
After getting the CDs and looking at all of the pictures, it's clear that she did a great job! She did great with the posed pics and especially with the candid ones.
After getting the CDs and looking at all of the pictures, it's clear that she did a great job! She did great with the posed pics and especially with the candid ones.
Beauty/Attire
Dress - Atlas Bridal - A+
I got a tip from another Knottie that Atlas was having a $99 sale in July 2010, so I headed up on the first Monday of the month to check things out with my mom & sister (MOH). I did not have an appointment, but the lady who helped me was very nice and helpful. She showed us where the $99 dresses were and then also pointed out how the other, regular priced dresses were arranged in the store. She left us alone for about 10 minutes or so to look on our own before coming over to help. She was very helpful in the fitting room, and it was obvious to everyone when I had found my dress.
I've heard some not so great things about Atlas, and I went in with the expectation of not so great service. I was very surprised and happy to have had the personal attention I did. I'm sure that much of this was influenced by the fact that I went during the week as opposed to a weekend.
Picture is from the Bonny website. It is from the Unforgettable line, style 1712.
I've heard some not so great things about Atlas, and I went in with the expectation of not so great service. I was very surprised and happy to have had the personal attention I did. I'm sure that much of this was influenced by the fact that I went during the week as opposed to a weekend.
Picture is from the Bonny website. It is from the Unforgettable line, style 1712.
Dress Alterations - Lin Mears - A+
Lin has previously worked at a bridal salon and knows her stuff with wedding dresses. She currently makes costumes for plays and clothes for dolls/models, as well as doing alterations on the side. She is extremely nice and accomodating since she works from home, her schedule can be a bit more flexible.
She was very open to the changes I wanted to make and the changes that needed made so the dress would fit properly. She was also great at suggesting how things could go as far as giving options for bustles and what to do about the sleeves.
Her prices were very, very reasonable and I know that I would have paid probably double had I gone to a bridal store for sure.
She was very open to the changes I wanted to make and the changes that needed made so the dress would fit properly. She was also great at suggesting how things could go as far as giving options for bustles and what to do about the sleeves.
Her prices were very, very reasonable and I know that I would have paid probably double had I gone to a bridal store for sure.
Bridesmaides Dresses - Macys.com - A-
I had originally wanted to just let my girls pick whichever black dress they wanted, but after thinking about it for a while, it just seemed easier to choose a dress that came in their sizes and give them the information. I wanted it to be a dress that they could wear again for another event if they wanted and I didn't want it to be too expensive.
I ended up finding these at Macys.com on clearance. Each of the girls was able to purchase her dress for around $30 each. They were shipped quickly once ordered, which was great. I wish Macys had something that told you how many were left in each size, especially for things that are selling out quickly. There was a bit of drama about whether or not a bridesmaid would be able to get her dress or not since they sold out rather quickly in all but the smallest available size. It was by complete fluke that we were able to get her dress at a later date.
My only complaint about the dress itself was also addressed in the reviews on Macys.com about it, so I knew it was a possibility. Some of the stones in the center embellishment were loose upon arriaval and fell out. You can't really notice the missing ones from a distance and we saved all we could find in case we need to glue them in.
I ended up finding these at Macys.com on clearance. Each of the girls was able to purchase her dress for around $30 each. They were shipped quickly once ordered, which was great. I wish Macys had something that told you how many were left in each size, especially for things that are selling out quickly. There was a bit of drama about whether or not a bridesmaid would be able to get her dress or not since they sold out rather quickly in all but the smallest available size. It was by complete fluke that we were able to get her dress at a later date.
My only complaint about the dress itself was also addressed in the reviews on Macys.com about it, so I knew it was a possibility. Some of the stones in the center embellishment were loose upon arriaval and fell out. You can't really notice the missing ones from a distance and we saved all we could find in case we need to glue them in.
Groom's Outfit - Pants - Macys.com - A+
Don is 6'8" tall. It's nearly impossible to find decent pants for any occassion that are an appropriate length. We usually end up having to buy them bigger in the waist so they sit lower on his hips and even then they're dangling a few inches from his shoes.
I was able to find these pants on Macys.com with a 36" inseam. They came in the mail rather quickly (Macy's is pretty good at fast shipping) and fit perfectly. They are the first pair of pants I've ever seen him wear that went all the way down to the floor.
I was able to find these pants on Macys.com with a 36" inseam. They came in the mail rather quickly (Macy's is pretty good at fast shipping) and fit perfectly. They are the first pair of pants I've ever seen him wear that went all the way down to the floor.
Groom's Outfit - Shoes - Zappos.com - A+
Along with his massive height, Don has enormous feet - size 18 to be exact. We decided that he, along with his groomsmen, could wear black tennis shoes since we were having difficulty finding shoes in an 18 that would look anywhere near decent. FI chose these DC shoes.
Thanks to being a Zappos VIP, I got free overnight shipping too.
Thanks to being a Zappos VIP, I got free overnight shipping too.
Groom's Outfit - Shirt - Wal-Mart - B-
Don is tall and by tall I mean he's 6'8. He got a 4x white dress shirt to be sure it would fit, but it was still too short in the arms. He ended up just rolling up the sleeves and it looked fine. It would have just been better if they had a better assortment of sizes for big and tall guys. However, part of it was our fault for waitint until the week before the wedding to really look for his shirt.
Rings - His Ring - justmensrings.com - A-
Along with the other difficulties outfitting Don, the ring was no small task. He apparently wears a size 16 ring. We found www.justmensrings.com by doing a search for size 16 rings online and after finding pretty good reviews, we decided to take the chance. FI opted for a Tungsten ring after reading about the durability of it.
The only real complaint we had was partially user error and partially error in the design of their payment processing. When entering payment information, we had a couple things mixed up and it kept prompting us that we had not entered the correct information and to make the necessary changes. Instead of holding our billing information until all of the information was correct, the submitted the full payment amount for payment each time. We messed up about 4 times and that resulted in $70 being taken out of FI's bank account EACH TIME! I don't remember if he had the money in his account so it didn't overdraft or not, but he called them as soon as he realized what had happened and they said it would take a few days to take the mistakes out.
The only real complaint we had was partially user error and partially error in the design of their payment processing. When entering payment information, we had a couple things mixed up and it kept prompting us that we had not entered the correct information and to make the necessary changes. Instead of holding our billing information until all of the information was correct, the submitted the full payment amount for payment each time. We messed up about 4 times and that resulted in $70 being taken out of FI's bank account EACH TIME! I don't remember if he had the money in his account so it didn't overdraft or not, but he called them as soon as he realized what had happened and they said it would take a few days to take the mistakes out.
Rings - Her Ring - walmart.com - A+
I just wanted something nice and simple to match my engagement ring. We found this on walmart.com and it was perfect. It looks nice with my engagement ring and the ordering process was fast and easy. It arrived within a few weeks.
All Things Paper
Save the Dates - Vistaprint - A+
