Vendor Reviews

Gown: Maggie Sottero Brittanya from Atlas Bridal. A+ Atlas was wonderful. Some trouble with the bustle, which had to be redone, but they did an amazing job and it held up all night!! Alterations were pricey, however.

Bridesmaids Gowns: NetBride A+ Bill Levkoff. We saved $100 off each gown by ordering from Norah at NetBride. They were wonderful to work with, answering emails promptly, and the gowns arrived weeks ahead of schedule.

Hair: Shiloh Griffiths A+ Shiloh came to the house and did everyone's hair. Loved it!

Makeup: Friend Amy Kahl A+ Amy also came to the house and we had a blast!

Invitations and enclosure cards, maps and programs: Quaint Wedding Stationery, Wauseon, OH. A++++++ (my mom's business and she is great!)

Bridesmaid's & Mother of the Bride Alterations: A Stitch-in-Time, Archbold A+ Audrey was great. Her alterations pricing is very reasonable and she is FAST!!

Tuxedos: A+ Mens were from Lauber Clothing Archbold. Little boys were purchased from Fairytailes A+ on Ebay for $40...a HUGE savings over rental prices!

Church: Shiloh Christian Union Church A+ Anita and Chuck Whitmire were very gracious and accommodating. The fee of $150 to use the church for the rehearsal on Friday and ceremony Saturday included the use of the altar Candleabras and pew aisle candle markers. Tulle pew bows were also available for our use.

Ceremony Music: Alexandria and Brianna Hogan on Harp and Flute were amazing! A+ If you want to set the mood for your wedding ceremony, hire these sisters from Defiance! Supurb sound!

Florist: Blossoms Designs, Swanton A+. Shelly created my 18 rose bouquet from an inspiration photo and it was gorgeous! Exactly what I had envisioned. Bridesmaids gerbera daisy bouquets were the perfect shades of hot pink and light pink and tied with chocolate ribbon.

Catering: Callender's of Archbold A+ Marlene set up a gorgeous AND delicious fruit appetizer station with dips for guests prior to the buffet dinner at 6 p.m. Food was wonderful, and we had TONS left over!

Reception: Delta American Legion A- I give them an A- because their liquor prices were ridiculously high for Fulton County. Even though the hall is very nice, I would recommend a rental where you can bring in your own liquor. For some reason, they think "competitive" pricing means they can charge (gouge) you whatever they want....and they did! Totally out of line!!!

DJ- Steve and Brian Waack, Aiken SC A+++++ If you can afford these guys, hire them! Incredible job! The dance floor was FULL all night!

He also did a great job of cutting our CD for the Evolution Wedding Dance!

Hall Decorating: Jayne and Bill Throne of Something Borrowed, Napoleon A+++ Jayne was right with me in understanding my vision of elegance and drama. The head tables and backdrops were stunning. She dressed the cake table to highlight the cake to perfection! She loves what she does, and it shows!

Chair Covers: Melissa Loar A- They looked great when we arrived at the reception, unfortunately, they didn't stay on very well and most were on the floor halfway through the evening, so it was money not very well spent. Melissa did a great job, however, and her service deserves an A+

Wedding Cake: The Bake Shop, Kristy Clouse, Fayette A+++ It was a masterpiece and soooooo me! Loved it, and it tasted great. So many compliments received on the design. I couldn't have been happier!

Photographer: S.Peterson, Bowling Green. He and his wife photographed and videographed from the rehearsal, through rehearsal dinner, morning of the wedding, the ceremony through the evening reception. We pick up our photos tomorrow, and I expect they will be wonderful so will give an A+ His prices are very reasonable.

Transportation: Larry Goon transported the wedding party in his motor home. He was great! Thanks so much!! A+

Toledo Ohio Bride Review: Searching For Reviews

Searching For Reviews

I'm happy to say the site has really picked up steam. Reviews are really starting to pile up. Since this isn't my job, but more of an obsession, I frequently fall behind in updating the actual vendor links listed on the side of the page. However that doesn't mean a vendor you're looking for doesn't have a review.

The best way to search for a vendor review is to simply perform a search

At the very top of each page you'll see this search box.

Just type in the vedor you're looking for, and be sure to click on the "Search Blog" button right next to it.

HAPPY SEARCHING!!!!

Vendor Reviews

Ceremony Site--St Andrews United Methodist Church: A-
The church itself was beautiful. It was the perfect size for my wedding and allowed me to bring in an outside Methodist pastor to do my ceremony. They were very accomodating about DH and I using the church even though we were non-members. However, the woman I had been working with and talking to for about a year informed me 2 weeks before my wedding that she would not be there on my day. She did not do a very adequate job at passing information along to the woman who was there on my wedding day. The woman I worked with on my day did not have my contract or price sheet, so she had no clue what I still owed. I had to take my checkbook back the day of the ceremony and write a check for the remaining amount. Just a pain but not a HUGE deal. Just wish there had been better communication.

Reception Site--Holland Gardens Banquet Hall: A-
This is a hard review to write, because up until the day before my reception, Tye and the staff at Holland Gardens were WONDERFUL! They have a great menu and delicious food (we got compliments all night). Their bar menu left a little to be desired and they were carding everyone all night, including DH! I was also owed 25 tables and unfortunately there was a mix-up and I only got 24 tables. When a family arrived to my reception that I did not know was coming for sure, I had to rush around to find them seats, and was told that it would be another $300 to set up an extra table (even though it was supposed to be there in the first place). We were also supposed to have evening hors dourves and they were put out at 6:00pm instead. On the plus side, Tye did come out and personally apologize to me, saying that the lack of a 25th table was his fault, and that the hors dourves time was a mix-up as well. He went to GFS and purchased more hors dourves supplies and had my hors'dourves back out again at 9:30pm like the original plan stated. So all in all, it was a great place and I would recommend it to other brides. I was just very upset that I was having to run around at my own reception trying to find people a place to sit and argue with the floor manager (not Tye) that I was owed an extra table.

Cake--Wendy's Cakes: A+++
Wendy was fabulous and by far, one of my favorite vendors. I did centerpiece cakes on all of my tables (21 cakes) and did a 2 tiered wedding cake for the bridal party and immediate family. Wendy was great in offering suggestions and the cakes were AMAZING! She gave me 4 different flavors for my centerpiece cakes and each one was delicious. She has some of the best frosting around! She even listened to me complain about my mom just a week before my wedding. Such a sweet lady and great to work with.

DJ--Remember the Night: B+
Again, this was another great vendor to work with up until the week of my wedding. I tried to get a hold of our DJ, Andy, the Monday and Wednesday before our wedding. I called and left messages with no returned phone call. My mom and I stopped by his office to check in and found a "For Lease" sign in the window. I sent an email to him on Wednesday night and was finally called on Thursday (the day before my wedding) at about 3:00 by another DJ that works for him. I was told that Andy would not be DJing my wedding but that this DJ (Monty) would be doing my wedding instead. RTN allows you to make your requests and set up your timeline on-line, so luckily Monty was able to see my info. However, I had sent Andy an email a few weeks before and was very concerned that Monty might not know when I told Andy. Monty assured me that he would get the info and be ready. When we get to the reception hall Monty informs my MIL that he does not have their Mother/Son dance song. He says that he could not find it on I-Tunes (even though DH and I found it several weeks before). Needless to say, MIL was very upset but fortunately 2 of our Groomsmen were able to figure it out and the song was able to be played. The rest of the night went smoothly and Monty did a fabulous job! I still have not received an apology or follow-up from RTN about the evening :(

Wedding Photographer--M&M Photography (Melody McKinley): A+
I haven't received our photos back yet, but the professionalism and service that Melody displayed during that day was terrific! She did all the pictures we asked for and was such a sweet woman to work with. She was great about keeping in touch with me. Her prices can't be beat and you get 2 photographers. I'm sure our photos will look amazing and I can't wait to see them!

Boudoir Photographer--Leah Stafford: A+
I took boudoir pics as a present to DH and Leah did my photos. She is AWESOME! Her work is amazing and she is so down-to-earth and laid back you can't help but feel absolutely calm and comfortable even in your underwear! She got my proofs to me within a week and even gave me a recommendation on how to print them and which company to use online. She will do Marathon Sessions if you have at least 10 girls. So all you Toledo Knotties who are thinking about doing these, contact Leah for a great rate!

Hotel Accommodations--Courtyard by Marriot at Spring Meadows: A
My event rep, Nicole, was great to work with. They allowed me to have a great block of rooms at a really good rate. Nicole even let me add last minute rooms a couple days before my wedding. The hotel offers shuttle service from the hotel to Holland Gardens which was my main reason for reserving rooms there. My only complaint is the cleanliness of the hotel. My BIL and his FI found a random sandal under their couch, DH and I found a dirty towel and piece of paper crumpled up and thrown in a cabinet in our wedding night suite, and my in-laws room had a pretzel on the floor and the toilet was not the cleanest. Great service, great staff, but the appearance left a little to be desired.

Wedding Day Hair & Make-Up--Definitions by Design (Maumee): A++++
What a great salon and it was suggested by a fellow Toledo Knottie (although I can't remember who, so whoever you were, THANK YOU!). The staff at DBD was amazing! They were able to schedule all my girls together and make everything work for both hair and make-up. My hair was done by Lynn and she was AWESOME. It didn't budge the entire night and she totally listened to my request and thoughts. Her prices were VERY reasonable and the entire bridal party was happy with their hair. My make-up was done by Kelly and she was great too. I told her I wanted "DRAMA" and when I asked her to add more, she happily obliged. She did a good job at creating just the right look.

Flowers--Becky Estep: A++++
After a huge mess with firing a florist I found from Craig's List (yes, I learned my lesson about Craig's List) my co-worker gave me the name of a woman from her church who did silk flower arrangements. Becky was a life-saver and my flowers turned out EXACTLY how I wanted them. I bought all my own supplies, with her help and guidance, from Flower Factory, and she put the arrangements together. Unfortunately for you Toledo Knotties, she lives in Columbus. But if you're getting married down this way, I'm happy to pass along contact info :)

Dress--Making Memories event with Brides Against Breast Cancer: A+++++++
What a cool way to buy a wedding dress! The hosted an event in Cleveland back in March (it's coming again to Cleveland in March '09) and I was lucky enough to go. I went knowing that I would buy my dress that day and that's what you have to do. With over 5,000 dresses in stock, any bride could find their dream dress. The best part was that 100% of the proceeds went to breast cancer research. I found my dress and paid only $299 for it. It was perfect!
***I allowed my bridesmaids to purchase any black dress they wanted, thus not having a review for a bridal shop***

Lucas County Marriage License Bureau: F
LOL. Okay so this is my own dumb*** fault but it's a funny story NOW so I have to tell it. DH and I went downtown to get our marriage license on Wednesday afternoon. We both thought you had to get it in the county you are getting married, not the county you live in. So when we get down there, the clerk informs us that she cannot give us a marriage license. I immediately break down crying and run from the office. I call my dad who promptly calls his attorney. DH is on the phone with his mom asking about getting a license in Lorain Co. (where he's from and his driver's license still says he lives there). So I'm CONVINCED we're going to have to either:

a) drive back to Columbus early Thursday morning and make the 2 1/2 hour trip there and back to get our license
b) drive the 1 hour and 15 minutes to Elyria and get our marriage license from Lorain County.

Lucky for us, my dad's lawyer comes through and we only had to go back to the courthouse the next morning at 8:30am and get a license. I had to give them my parents address but we weren't given any hassles and got our marriage license in about 10 minutes. Crisis averted!

FINALLY got around to posting our vendor reviews!

I FINALLY got around to posting our vendor reviews! Overall the day was AMAZING and I would not change anything if I could!!!!!


Ceremony Site - Rosary Cathedral A+++++!!! - I absolutely LOOOOOOVED our ceremony site! We worked with Chris from the church and she was super nice and extremely helpful!!! She made sure that I had thought of EVERYTHING (which I hadn't, I almost forgot a flower for Mary when we did our prayer to Mary so three days before the wedding I called back the florist to order another flower!!!) She was there on the day of the wedding to make sure everything went smoothly and she ran the rehearsal which went very very smoothly!!!! The church was absolutely gorgeous and worth every penny!!!

Reception Site - Nazareth Hall Lady Glen A+++++!! - Nazareth Hall is a little bit pricey but it is all inclusive! We worked with Kevin and he was super great! He answered all of my crazy e-mails I sent!!! (There was a point where I was sending like 2-3 a day!) Actually all of the staff there that we ran into was great!!! Our seating hostess, Stacy, was also amazing! She came out to take our drink orders before we went into the hall and I ordered a margarita but was to excited to drink, so she brought me out a water (I didn't ask for one) and she's like you have to drink something!! Aww!!! They were great to work with, the food was amazing and it was better than I imagined!

Florist - Emery's - A+++++ - All I can say was WOW! Ken knew exactly what we wanted and made it all happen!! He was so nice and very friendly! I would definitely recommend him and his prices are amazing!

DJ - Ryan Hatfield - A++++++ - Ryan was also great to work with! He created out first dance song mix and everybody LOVED it! He is super affordable and kept people on the dance floor all night long! He kept in contact with us throughout the whole process and I can't complain about anything from him! I would definitely recommend him too!!

Tuxes - President's Tuxedo - C - I'm giving President's a C for a couple reasons. First, two days before the wedding, one of our ushers sends me a pix message with him in the tux, his bowtie is wine, but his vest is WHITE!!! We had specifically gone in there, pointed at the color swatch we wanted and said WINE for the groomsmen/ushers and WHITE for the groom. Not that difficult or so you would think. So we call them in a panic and they said they would have it fixed. Well they send in a couple more groomsmens tuxes and for some reason they switched the colors on the ring bearer and one of the groomsmen. The ring bearer was supposed to be white vest white tye just like DH... they mixed up the name of the ring bearer and the name of one of the groomsmen (Even though there is a significant size difference) so one of the groomsmen now had all white!

Photographer - Cathy Kautz - A+++++ - Cathy was another wonderful vendor to work with! Very easy to talk to and she is very spunky! We just got our pics back a couple days ago and I absolutely love them! Her prices are very reasonable :)

Cake - Thrush's - A++++ - OMG I loved my cake!!! I designed this wonderful cake and they created it exactly how I wanted it!!!! It was absolutely beautiful! Now taste, I"m not sure! Our guests said it tasted amazing, but we actually didn't get a chance to eat any! :) Except for our tasting which was great :)

Dresses - Atlas Bridal - A+ - I know no extra plusses! I guess that's not really Atlas Bridals fault. They were amazing! I changed my dress three days after I ordered it (major dress regret) and they fixed it and ordered me my dream dress :) My only quelm was that some of my BM were a little larger and had to pay extra for a plus size! I did not know that at the time until afterwards when one of them told me. I know there are some designers Alfred Angelo who don't make you pay extra. All in all Atlas was great :)

Hair - Dillards Linda Simmons - A+++++ - Linda at Dillards did my hair and I loved her! My hair stylist recommended her to me since she doesn't feel comfortable doing wedding day hair. Linda worked wonders with my hair! During the trial she peridically would give me the mirror and ask if that is what I had envisioned before she finished. I really appreciated that because I have had some really bad hair experiences! My hair looked wonderful and stayed the whole night :)

Limo - Dagwoods - A+ - Dagwoods was great to work with! They showed up on time, the driver was nice. He took us to our apartment so we could get some champagne DH got from his uncle in France before we headed to the reception.

Videographer - New Image - NA - We are waiting on our video still. They did warn us before hand that it will be a couple months. Once we see the video I will post more. But funny thing is, we booked them 3 days before the big day :) I hadn't made up my mind until then. They were very accomodative and since we booked so close to the wedding they gave us a great deal!

Invitations - Odds and Ends - Michaels - A++++++++++++++++++++++++++ - OMG I LOVE MICHAELS!!! 40% off coupons :) What more can I say! They also have a great selection!

Wedding Night Accomodations - Belemere Suites - A+++++++ - The Belemere was sooo nice!!!!!! The staff was very friendly and the room was PERFECT!! Oooh and the towels smelled wonderful :) I asked her what her secret was and she said she just DUMPS detergent into the laundry and when they towels come out they are still blue, but she puts them in the dryer and they turn white again!! The only thing that I would have liked was maid service. We stayed two nights and usually house cleaning will come in, it's probably because it's a "romantic getaway" and they don't want to disturb, but I do enjoy coming back to a hotel room that has been cleaned :)

Overall the day was amazing and the only thing I wished was for a longer day :)

Vendor Reviews & Kinda long (10/18)

Photography: Jim Gladish Photography www.photosbyjag.
com A++++++++++
One of my fav vendors for sure! I am SOOOOOOOOOOO happy with our pics and Jim and his team. (we had 3 photogs!!) They were so laid back which is exactly what we wanted! It really felt like they were part of our family and were just hanging out with us. They were with us ALL day and shot whatever we wanted. We even had Melanie (an assistant photog) ride with us on our crazy party bus with all 18 of us!! They have some of our pics up on thier site ( We had over 1500 shots!) The pics at Frickers and The Duck are my favs! For what you get for the price...the quality and profesionalism is amazing. I am so happy with our choice.
** If you want to view..Go to the website above, then click on "view events and order" tab, then click on LaPointe 10/18/08 icon**

Catering:
ONG> Dianne Westhoven Catering A+++ (and a million more plus signs!) ~ Dianne and her team are not only top notch with the food but top notch in hospitality as well. They were so generous and kind and went above and beyond. From Serving, to cutting the cake, and even taking down extra tables...they did it all. I am still having people call me and ask who did the food!!!!!!!!! Shes had so many referals from me within a week alone! You won't find another vendor in the area that can beat with what you get for the price :o)

Reception Venue: Swanton Sports Center Ballroom www.swan
tonsportscenter.com A
The staff and ballroom mgrs. at the Sports Center couldn't have been more accomodating and nice :o) There is no extra cost for set up and tear down which was refreshing as we didnt have to lift a finger! Everything was great and they were very flexable with clean-up. I got to go back the next day and take down decor so my family and I could enjoy the rest of our wedding night at an after party we were having at another location. Thanks SSC!!! :o)

Chair Covers and Ceremony coordinator: Melissa Lohr www.mybeau
tifulmemory.com A+ (And a GAZILLION more plus signs)
I origianally had Melissa as a chair cover vendor only, but as we spoke via Email I mentioned my many problems and stupid crap that kept happeneing to me. So, she in turn became my ceremony coordinator as well!! She was an absolute lifsaver since I was late to my wedding and no one had on flowers yet and my sisters showed up not dressed yet... well...nevermind! She did it ALL and was so kind to everyone:o) Also, the chair covers made such a huge impact on my decor I was going for. I was so happy I rented them & recieved so many positive comments. She also put all 200 of our own sashes on for us too!!!!! Thanks Melissa:o)

Make-Up: Amy Kahl A++
Amy is from my hometown of Swanton and I heard about her from word of mouth from other brides. I gave her a call and she was so amazingly funny and nice. She did my make up for me and I was sooooo happy with the results! ( I am nervous about other people doing my makeup!) I would highly reccomend! :o)

Alterations: Pam Thomas A++++++++
Yes, Believe all the hype you see on the Knot!! This woman is AMAZING!!! As some of you may remember from past posts, I was a 2 dress bride....Well, I am a *** and didn't like niether dress, so I thought it was smart to order one off the internet 3 weeks beofre my wedding ( I know right!) I took the dress to Pam and she made me feel good about what I had just done:o) It was also nice of her to console me after I got a ticket on my way to her house :o( She also added a custom panel for my corset and it looked awesome! And her prices are very reasonable for the high quality of work.

Cake: The Bake Shop A+++
Amazing, Amazing, Amazing.....thats all I have to say about Kristy and my cake (Which was still moist a WEEK later!)

DJ: Bobs OkeyDokey B
Once you get past the name, they are some of the nicest guys I ever met. Our MC Steve was really good, The only reason I gave them a B was becuase they announced our best mans name wrong after we went over it atleast 3 times and they played the wrong song for my cake cutting. I dont know if I am being nit picky or to nice so, B it is.....

My Dress: Julius Bridal Outlet www.nothingb
utgowns.com A
Yes, I am crazy...this was my 3rd dress in 9 months but, when I stumbled upon this site (My cousin was the one looking for a wedding dress!) I fell in love with my dress :o) And, it was a sample so it was only 150 dollars. They also added a custom color ribbon at no extra cost. They are in NYC so I had to talk to Julius the designer over the phone and he had to describe everything to me. I will say though... the box it came in was rediculous..it was about the size of a milk crate...It took Pam Thomas 4 hours to steam all the crinoline & fabric (The crinny was built in the dress, Which was really impressive!)

BM Dresses: Netbride.com www.netbride.com
> A+
My BM dresses were Jordan Couture. Atlas and House of Hilton wanted 210.00 for them. I got a quote from netbride and they were 119.00. The shipping was fast ( 8 weeks) and everything was in pristine condition and perfect. I was extremely happy and so were my Maids for the cost reduction :o)