Toledo Ohio Wedding Review

Real brides review wedding vendors in Toledo Ohio and surrounding area

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Vendor Reviews

Overall, our day was amazing and beautiful. There were no major snags or disasters. We couldn’t have asked for better weather. I was in awe of how many people traveled to be at our wedding. Literally every person at the wedding told me how stunning, glowing or beautiful I looked. I was amazed at all the kids! They kept calling me the pretty princess, but no one told me how freakin’ hot it is under all those layers of dress! LOL I’m so glad it’s all over and I couldn’t be happier to be married. It’s the most amazing feeling in the world. Here’s some vendor reviews (sorry if they’re long):

Ceremony: Lutheran Church of Our Saviour A++
I cannot say enough good things about this church. I got so many compliments about what a great speaker the pastor was and what a gorgeous ceremony we had. Everyone on staff at the church is so easygoing about everything and they are very affordable. They did our altar flowers for free and just kept them for Sunday service. Our videographer was able to stand up front and tape the whole ceremony. They let us use their fellowship hall for the rehearsal dinner for free. Overall, we had a great experience with them.

I did hear that the coordinator was complaining that we got dressed and picked up the flowers early, then left for pictures, and what was she supposed to do just sitting there, etc., but I told her on more than one occasion that was what we were doing, so I don’t know what else I could have done.

Reception: St. Clement’s Hall A
For the price, you can’t beat this hall. Unfortunately, the hall is in need of some TLC. We were told the carpet was going to be replaced or at least cleaned by our wedding, and neither one happened. We were told this by a member of the Knights of Columbus, who frequently use the hall, but the money they’ve given the hall for improvements has disappeared. I was a little disappointed that the fluorescent lights in the hall were on for so long, especially during our first dance :(. The person who runs the hall is a little hard to get in touch with, but he is very accommodating and easygoing. Being able to bring in your own caterer and alcohol saved us a ton of money. And we ran out of wine and the hall provided all the wine people could drink for only $25. I wish we would have spent a little more on the hall, but we got what we could afford at the time, and it’s not like there are so many fabulous halls in Toledo. ;)

Caterer: Dianne Westhoven A+++
This is another vendor I cannot say enough good things about. By far, we got the most compliments on how absolutely delicious the food was. Several people said it was the best wedding food they’ve ever had. Her prices are amazing and she doesn’t have lots of extra charges. She did not complain at all or balk when I added china the week before the wedding. She hired extra busers and got it all cleaned up. We had so many leftovers that we are still eating the food almost a week later, and we gave so much of it away. The only issue I had with her is that I felt a bit shoved out of the way after we cut the cake.

DJ: Kevin Mullan B
Kevin is a really good DJ. I got all kinds of compliments about how packed the dance floor was and what a great speaking voice he has. The reason he got a B is, up until the week of the wedding, he never returned any of my phone calls or emails after we booked him. There were several things he said he was going to do, and never did them. I was upset that I spent quite a bit of time on a “must play” list for the reception, and he largely ignored the list until the very end of the night. Come to find out though, that my DH vetoed my song choices, because he felt the dance floor was not packed enough. DH and I met line dancing, and I was upset that he killed all the country music because his work friends were not dancing. My work friends left because he didn’t play any slow songs. I tried to tell DH you can’t please everyone.

Florist: Sharry Folmer B
This was probably one of my biggest disappointments. I don’t know if I should have been more explicit with her, or if we should have had another meeting before the wedding. She said my bouquet was going to be 3-dozen roses – it had 26. I wanted mostly red roses with some pink. The BMs were supposed to have mostly cream with some pink roses. They were both opposite – way too much pink. All the GMs were supposed to have cream rose bouts and they were pink.

Also, I told her I wanted greenery with the bouquets and showed her pictures. Maybe I should have specifically said I wanted leaves. She used some green spiky stuff, that shedded all over the place, and did not fit with my idea of elegant roses. She also cut the heads off all the roses and stuck them in holders for the bouquets, so all during pictures, the roses were falling out of the bouquets and we just kept sticking the heads back in like she said to. During planning, I would try to tell her my ideas, and it felt like she always had an attitude of, “This is the way I do weddings.” And like Merin has said before, some of the flowers had brown edges. The good part is you can’t beat her prices and she’s super nice.

Photographer: Cathy Kautz A+
Cathy is very easy to work with and takes great pictures. We haven’t gotten our professional pictures back yet, but I can’t wait to see them. We went to the Botanical Gardens, and she had some great ideas and posing arrangements. She spent almost all day with us and never got bossy or rude. Her price is amazing.

Videographer: Family Friend
We haven’t gotten our video yet.

Cake: DH’s Uncle’s Sister A+
Our cake was done by a family member. It was absolutely delicious and we got so many compliments. I’ve never seen a line for cake like we had. And she only charged us $100. :)

My Dress: House of Brides A+
I ordered my dress online after finding it at Gallippo’s. It was less than half the price online. My dress arrived in perfect condition and before the date promised.

BM Dresses: Online Wedding Deals A
I also ordered these online. They delivered them way too close to the wedding date for my comfort, but we got them in time and the dresses looked so gorgeous.

Alterations: Jane’s Perfect Fit A++
Jane is such a delight to work with. She does excellent work and my dress fit like a dream. I can’t recommend her enough.

Tuxes: Men’s Wearhouse C
Ugh… The one vendor I thought I was going to go bridezilla on. We picked out a $120 tux (which I thought was too expensive in the first place) and I thought everything was going to be simple. Then the guys go to get fitted and I find out they’re all getting charged $150. I called Men’s Wearhouse to find out why and the manager didn’t return any calls. So I went in there, pissed as hell, and found out they’d added extra stuff we didn’t ask for. Thankfully, all the tuxes came in and nothing was wrong with any of them. I was very unhappy with them though. I still don’t understand how a friend of ours got married 1***189; years ago and their tuxes were $70.

Invitations: Rexcraft A+++
Our invitations were absolutely perfect. They were constantly available for my concerns or questions and shipping was super fast.

Rehearsal Dinner: Calvino’s A
Calvino’s catered the rehearsal dinner. The food was excellent, and we again, got so many compliments. There was some misunderstanding with the price and the owner tried to charge us more, but we ended up with the price he originally quoted us.

Vendor Reviews for 6/13/09

Our day was absolutey perfect. I would not change a thing. The weather was what I wanted...no heat, not a lot of sunshine, and a little rain for good luck. Our bridal party was super fun and everyone got along. Not too mention they looked amazing. I thought pink was an odd choice by husband but it was the best choice.

Maumee indoor theatre-A+. Ty was very accommodating from the begining. When someone wanted to rent the basement where we planned to get dressed, he let us rent it for half the price. They are very flexible with times and will get you what you need if they have it. And its beautiful inside-clean as a whistle.

Candlelight Occassions-A. Had no trouble with them. Rented 2 big columns and fabric for swag down the aisle.

Childers Limo- A+. I had them for the bachelorette party-think his name was David. Was like a security guard keepin creepy guys off the bus, while my bff was sat on the bus bc she was too trashed to get off. He had good conversation with her. On the wedding day. They were early, and he helped us get stuff around so we could get on the bus to get pictures taken.

Davids Bridal-A. Bought a dress in March 08. Loved it but thought it was too much, went back to see if they could exchange. Even though it had been almost a year, they still even exchanged it with no hassle. And I loved loved my dress. Got the flower girl dresses there too-they looked so stinkin cute.

Netbride A+. Ordered the bridemaid dresses by Bill Levkoff from there for about $80 cheaper than the store. And got it almost 2 months early. With no problems at all.

President Tuxedo-B. Guys had a few things missing here and there. My dads coat had to be fixed before we left. There were some wrong shoe sized. But overall the guys looked handsome and they were very helpful when trying to get the things corrected.

Cambridge Place-A. The hall was absolutely beautiful. They do improvements here and there and it looks so much better than when I first signed with them. The food was frickin fantastic-chicken and pork loin. Didnt know how the pork was going to go over but it was dang good. They answered the phone whenever I made husband call and were willing to do whatever. All I had to do to decorate was add my table numbers and my pictures here and there. It was so easy and non stressful.

JEM Photography-A+. I can not say enough good things about Jen. I had her take my daughters 2 year old pics, our engagement pics, and of course the wedding day. I can not wait to see them.My guests kept telling me how sweet she was.

Pollyn Flowers-A++. My flowers were so full and beautiful. She got the flowers I wanted to work with the flowes husband wanted and then added some flowers that I wanted but didnt budget for. I paid $919 for 30 table centerpieces that were awesome. 8 bouquets and about 15 boutineres(sp). When all said and done I should have paid double. Lynn was willing to do whatever I wanted and gave suggestions when I had no idea.

Showcase Video Productions-A. I havent seen the video but I have no doubt it will be amazing and will remind me of what a perfect day it was. He was just a zoomin around with his camera on wheels to get lots of footage.

Ultimate Nights-A+. Steve was awesome. Kept everyone dancing, was willing to work with some strange requests. (my groomsmen had). He also had some tongue twisting last names and did it flawlessly.

Nancy Lendrim (Harpist) A. She has a passion for music and great energy. She came to the theater set up her harp. Played perfectly....I cried hearing my favorite song from the hallway.

Sarah Shriver Custom Invites C. She is a nice lady. She was kind of helpful. I have a graphics arts degree-so I know that the work she did wasnt that hard. Cause she cut and paste the pic I had from my STD magnet. She made table numbers that I hated-so I made new ones myself. My pocketfolds werent the black we discussed nor was some of the pink paper she bought. She just didnt communicate well. Should have done myself.

The Bake Shop A+. I grew up near Fayette and everyone had her make cakes for their events so I knew it was going to be delicous. She used the design from my std/invite on the cake and it was so stinkin pretty.

Salon Serenity A. They did my moms hair and then one of the girls who works there came to Toledo to do the girls hair. I gave pictures of a couple up-down-side-half dos to let the girls have variety. And the girl made them all work together:) My cousin did my hair (she use to work there) and she did a good job even though I hadnt had my hair cut in about 7 months-the last time she came home.

Chowders n Mor B. We went there for the rehearsal dinner. Food was delicious. I being the bride was just the last one to eat (thats why they get the b). We had a ton of people-and they kept them full of drinks and entertained.

I also did of online purchasing from various sites that I would recommend to anyone. Love Snapfish, ebay, vistaprint & 123print to name a few.

Think thats it. Now that wedding planning is over I get to plan a big ol birthday party for our little princess. And begin the house hunting game. The first week feels weird without needing to do some wedding stuff but luckily I have a moh getting married next weekend and a bff getting married in toledo next year who will need some help-should slowly ween me off:)

Vendor Reviews from 4/4

Well our wedding day was awesome. It was rainy and cold Friday but beautiful on Saturday for us!

New Image Photography-A- Jason and Leslie got to the church at 12:30 and the wedding was at 2. Jason is very talented and kept everything moving along from pre ceremony thru the reception. We got 3 disks full of 2,100 photos from the night. We got to choose 300 to go into an album (still waiting on that.....) and the rest we can print out since we have the copyright. Ken is a bit hard to deal with but Jason and Leslie really made the day great!

Hirzel Brother's Flowers-B- The bouquets were bigger then I thought they would be but that was not bad by any means. They were all beautiful and stayed looking nice all day. They set up the church very quick and it looked awesome. Very good quality for the awesome awesome price. Only bad I have to say was the bridesmaids greens on their bouquets fell out here and there but they just stuck them back in with no problem.

Dusseau's Reception-Antique Hall-A+++++- The hall was beautiful. It was a little warm when we got there and I asked to turn down the air but they didn't...I ended up with a bit of heat sickness.... But if it wasn't for a 40 pound dress, that may have been different. The food and appetizers were great, guests couldn't get enough of the chicken! They gave us all of our left over food, alcohol, and also the deposit check that night. Just remind them to set toasting glasses on the head table.

The Bake Shop. A+++- Kristy's cake was to die for! It was better then I could have ever thought of. We didn't have a single piece left as some people went for seconds. It was gone in a matter of 10 minutes. We took the top of the cake on the honeymoon because we have no room in our freezer to save it. After a week the cake was still moist!

Cabin Fever Vacations, Gatlinburg A- We love Gatlinburg and can't wait to go back. Our cabin was on top of a mountain, was clean, and stocked with TV's, games, a pool table, air hockey and lots of windows to enjoy the view.

DJ- Imact Sound Entertainment- A+++ The DJ is my cousin's husband from Michigan. He kept the party going until I couldn't dance anymore.

Mens Wearhouse- A- The guys all looked great. Just one short jacket and some missing socks and pocket napkins but all in all it turned out nice.

Vendor Reviews

Park Congregational Church - Ceremony Site - A

Picture
We are not members with any church and kind of had a hard time choosing/finding a church for our ceremony that would marry non-members and someone recommended we contact Park Church and we are so glad we did. It is a BEAUTIFUL church! We loved the architecture and the pastor, Ed Hielman, was awesome and very willing to work with us. The ceremony was perfect and Pastor Ed helped us through every step of the process and we were very happy with them. They are non-denominational and a United Church of Christ.
http://www.parkchurchucc.org - 419.382.5654


The Toledo Hilton - Reception Venue - A++++++++++

Picture
We seriously cannot give enough pluses to the Hilton! They are probably the best venue in Toledo for a wedding reception as far as all-around service and selection are concerned. We worked with Theresa Carroll, their Catering Manager and event coordinator, and she is probably the biggest reason we chose the Hilton. Theresa is absolutely amazing! She definitely went above and beyond to please us and help us with every single aspect of our wedding - from recommended vendors, to decorating the ballroom, to food choices and even helping straighten us up prior to our entrance to the reception! It was almost like having a free day-of coordinator! We had the Birch, Elm and Maple rooms of the main ballroom and it was more than enough space for our reception of approximately 100 people. The food was INCREDIBLE and people raved all night about it. We had a custom Italian buffet dinner with Mediterranean grilled chicken breasts and lasagna as our entrees. Theresa helped us to cut some costs by customizing our menu for us and it was still plenty of delicious food. They even gave chicken fingers, mini-corn dogs, french fries and fried macaroni and cheese meals to all of the little kids and Theresa even a kids meal made for DH as a surprise and he loved it!! We also used them for chair covers at a very reasonable price. We loved that everything was included in the price that they give you - food, open bar, linens, setup, take-down, cleaning, waitstaff, gratuity, wedding cake, food tastings, cake tastings and coordinator services. They even gave us a room with champagne, chocolate-covered strawberries and two pieces of our wedding cake waiting for us at the end of the night and the next morning, we got to order free room-service breakfast!
http://www.hilton.com (Toledo link) - 419.381.6800


Jordan Powers - Photographer - A+

Picture
Jordan was awesome!! He did a great job. We love all of the photos and we love his photojournalistic style. He had our teaser pics online within just six days and our proofs were all online within eight days of our wedding date! He took some very unique and artistic shots and we are very happy with all of them! He even risked his life, jumping in front of traffic in downtown Toledo, to get some great street shots! :) His prices are VERY reasonable as well.
http://www.jordanpowers.com


Mary Poppins Cake Factory - Wedding Cake - B

Picture
Our cake was certainly beautiful and VERY delicious! They have THE best fondant we have ever tasted! They also did a great job designing it using only my ideas/suggestions. Our only problem with the cake was that it was very crooked and uneven. A few people told us they were calling it "the leaning cake of Pisa"... We cut the cake immediately after our entrance into the reception, so it was only really on display for the cocktail hour, but it was obviously noticed. *The price of our cake was included in our cost with the Hilton.
http://marypoppinscake.com - 419.849.2997


Ultimate Nights - Reception DJ - A+

Picture
Ultimate Nights did an amazing job at our reception! We had Jeromy Danielski as our DJ and he was awesome! He even made us a CD with most of our song selections (plus a few extras) and gave it to us at the end of the night! You really cannot beat their prices, either. We had them for five hours and we thought it was a GREAT deal! The owner, Brian Cahill, was very helpful in getting us set up and he was very easy to work with throughout the planning process. We also loved their new "Online Event Planner" feature - you can add and subtract songs from your request lists and set up your entire reception timeline from the convenience of your home computer!
http://www.ultimatenightsdj.com - 419.350.3629



Pam Thomas - Veil/Alterations/Seamstress Extraordinaire! - A++++

Picture
Everyone knows Pam is the BEST! She altered my gown and three of my bridesmaids' dresses and also put the bustle points in their dresses for us (their dresses had sweep trains and required a single bustle point - the fourth bridesmaid had her dress altered and bustled in her home town). She created a lovely 9-point bustle for my gown and it was beautiful! She even did some quick alterations to my bodice when I lost 20 pounds between my first and second fittings... :) Pam also makes and sells BEAUTIFUL veils and I ended up getting my veil from her at a VERY reasonable price! She has TONS to choose from and they're all very high quality! I cannot say enough good things about her - she is just perfect!
419.893.GOWN(4696)


Jared the Galleria of Jewelry - Our Rings - A+

Picture
We used the store on Monroe Street in Toledo and are very happy with the service we receive from Jared. DH bought my rings as a set, which made it very easy on me! DH had a really hard time finding a ring that he liked and after searching high and low, we returned to Jared and they offered to custom order a ring in the style he liked (he wanted at least an 8mm-wide ring in a certain style and none of the area stores had anything that wide in this style) for the same price has smaller-width rings in other stores! We both have their Extended Service Plan on our rings and we love it - we especially love that we can have our rings re-plated, re-sized and/or cleaned all in a few hours! A lot of our friends and family are required to send out their rings for these services for days or even weeks and we didn't want to have to deal with going without our rings for that long every time we needed these services. We worked with several different employees (we like Enrique!) and all of them are very helpful!
http://www.jared.com - 419.480.0072


Sharry's Touch - Flowers - A

Picture
Sharry did our bouquets, bouts and corsages at a VERY reasonable price! We were very happy with her work and I would definitely recommend her for any Toledo area budget brides! She was very easy to work with and very happy to help us with ideas, sample photos of her work and the logistics of our day/delivery!
419.866.5045




Birmingham Limousine - Day-Of Transportation - A+

Picture
We used Birmingham Limousine for our day-of transportation from the wedding ceremony to pictures and to the reception hall. They did an AWESOME job and our driver, Mike C., was very professional and courteous. We orignally had a count of 18 people to have with us in the limo (we wanted our friends to come around with us for pictures, not just the bridal party), so they recommended a stretch Hummer H3! We ended up only having 12 people and we had more than enough space for everyone. The Hummer even had a FIREPLACE in it!! It was VERY nice! The price was awesome, too - it was only $680 total for three hours! We got a free wedding package with colored napkins (in our wedding colors), ice, bottles of champagne and glasses and a "Just Married" magnet on the back of the limo! The driver was on time and knew his way around Toledo very well. Someone even joked about stopping at Fritz and Alfredo's (local restaurant) for some burritos and he even drove to the restaurant while we were wasting time after the pictures! Mike was a great guy and a good sport. (photo by Birmingham Limo)
http://www.birminghamlimo.com - 419.882.5466


BRIDES DIY Kit - Invitations - F

Picture
DO NOT buy this kit if you're looking for something quick and simple! It took me about three weeks, working on them every single day, to get them printed. The texture of the paper makes it impossible for you to print on it because it has small ridges and dimples and the ink from your printer will not adhere to the paper (I tried both laserjet and inkjet printers). The ink and wording from every component of this kit was rubbed off VERY easily and even every single RSVP card and envelope that we got back in the mail was almost illegible by the time it got back to our mailbox, so we can only imagine what the rest of the actual invitations looked like. Also, Kinko's, Office Max and Office Depot cannot print these for you because of the unusual sizes of the papers - I tried all of them.



David's Bridal - My Dress - A

Picture
I have no complaints about David's Bridal. I went in a few times to try on dresses and the girls were very helpful. I bought my dress during their big summer sale and saved $400 on my Oleg Cassini dress.
http://www.davidsbridal.com (Monroe Street store) - 419.841.1000



MW Tux/Men's Wearhouse - Tuxes - B

Picture
DH chose a mid-level tux - three button jacket - and it was kind of expensive, but they looked awesome. We chose black tuxes for everyone. The groomsmen had black vests with "pool" ties, DH had a white vest with white tie and the fathers had black vests with black ties. Everything looked great and DH even had to use both of his tux shirts (initial shirt and backup) because of a shaving incident, so the backup shirt really came in handy. However, the one major issue with them was that his backup shirt was WAY too big for him! He is 6'6" and the sleeves on that shirt were at least six inches too long! One of his groomsmen had to actually tape the sleeves at his shoulders so that they didn't hang out so much at his wrists, which meant he couldn't take off his jacket the whole day/night.
http://www.menswearhouse.com




Bridal & Formal, Cincinnati, OH - Bridesmaid Dresses - B

Picture We used Bridal and Formal in Cincinnati, Ohio for our bridesmaid dresses. We found an Alfred Angelo dress (7026) that we liked and the girls tried it on at a local store and we shopped around online to see if any of the discount websites had a lower price on it and we discovered Bridal and Formal and they will price-match any price you find! We found the dress for $65 below retail cost and they matched the price for us with no problems! The girls just had to call in their sizes (one of my BMs is 6'1" and needed extra length, so they matched the low price we found on that aspect as well!) and they were able to get their dresses delivered straight to their homes. Our only problem with them was that the dresses ended up taking 14 weeks from order date to delivery date and they were delivered to each girl only two weeks before the wedding. The employees were very nice about it and even called me weekly with updates on the status. It set a little panic but they were all able to get them altered in time and everything was fine.
http://www.bridalandformalinc.com - 513.821.6622