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!