First of all, let me say, if you or anyone you know is planning a wedding, I would recommend using other brides' reviews when researching vendors as much as possible. Vendors can tell you what you want to hear all day, but when it comes down to it you need to know how they actually perform, and who better to tell you that than someone who has already used their services. Websites like Wedding Wire are a great resource, as well as the realie-created KC Bio. I have submitted these reviews to both. :)
So here they are!
Each vendor is listed with the category they fall under, and if you click on the name it will take you to their website. Each vendor is given a "grade" (A-F) and an explanation is listed of why they got that grade. And by the way, this is long, so make yourself comfy... I also included pictures where I could, to make it a little more entertaining ;)
Ceremony & Reception Location
Evergreen Events (Paola, KS)
[A+] I am SO glad we chose this location. I cannot say enough good things. It is a historic, restored building, and is just gorgeous. It is located on the Paola town square, so the surroundings are great as well. Julie Miller is the owner/coordinator, and she was wonderful to work with. From the first time we met her to tour the building, to the day of the wedding, she was just wonderful. She was there to make my day perfect – and it showed. She was difficult to get a hold of for a few months during the planning process, but I later found out that her husband had open heart surgery during that time, so I completely understood. She always had an answer to every question I had, along with ideas. Just after we booked she called to tell me there was an antique car show the day of our wedding in the square, and although that presented some planning challenges she was there to solve them every time. She worked with the city, the county, private business owners, and the car show organizers to get a parking situation established, and to ensure that there would be cars (not vendors) parked in front of the building. It turned out to be a great thing, and made our day that much more special. The day of and throughout the whole night her staff was there taking care of EVERYTHING. They were always asking if I needed anything, and willing to take care of it all for me so I could just sit back and enjoy. It’s also nice that they don’t have any time restrictions on your event, and you aren’t required to clean up the night of. The space was ours for the whole weekend pretty much, and that made everything go very smooth. Again, I would recommend this venue to ANYONE, it was fantastic!! We got compliments all night long on what a great place we chose.
Catering
Molly’s Table (Contracted with Evergreen Events)
[A+] When you book with Evergreen Events you are required to use their in-house caterer, Donna Nagle. This is actually a blessing in disguise…Donna is FABULOUS! Her food is delicious, her presentation is beautiful, and her prices are reasonable. We just wanted a simple hors de oeuvres buffet, and she made it happen. Even though it was all simple finger foods, it all looked amazing! I got compliments all night long on how good the food was. I would absolutely recommend Donna and Molly’s Table to anyone! I believe you can book her outside of Evergreen as well.
Wedding Dress
Bridal Extraordinaire (Dress by Saison Blanche)
[A] Overall I had a good experience with Bridal Extraordinaire. It was only the 2nd dress shop I visited, but it was much better than the first place I went. The only complaint I have is they are very pricey. However, they do make you feel like an absolute princess while you are there, and make it a great experience. I absolutely loved my dress, and am glad I went to BE because it was nothing like the styles I thought I wanted. I loved how they didn’t make you search through hundreds of dresses, but asked what you were thinking you wanted and then picked some for you. My consultant had picked a few out that she thought I’d like, different than the styles I was telling her, and this was one of them. They kept my dress until the wedding, and steamed it beforehand. Again, overall it was a great experience – just wish they weren’t so dang expensive!!
Alterations & Custom Veil
Barbara Williams “The Lady Who Makes Dresses”
(816-361-1144)
[A] I had a good experience with Barb. She knows what she is doing, and did a great job on my dress. I needed a bustle, and the hem taken up a bit. She also made me a custom veil, which was beautiful. Her prices seemed a little steep to me, but I have nothing to compare so I really wouldn’t know. The only thing I was disappointed in was my veil kept getting caught on the beading on the back of my dress all night – this wasn’t Barb’s fault, but I wish I would have noticed it at one of my fittings so that I could have worn a shorter veil. Barb has a pretty strong personality and knows what she’s doing (and isn’t afraid to tell you that!) so that takes some getting used to. Overall, though, she did a great job with my dress & veil!
This shows the detail of my veil...
Bridesmaid Dresses
E-Bridal Superstore (tried on at Mia’s, ordered online)
[A] Our day at Mia’s trying on dresses went well, they were very helpful, and other than the store being a little small, I was pleased. I decided not to order the dresses from them, though, in attempts to save some money. I had a hard time finding them much cheaper online (unless I wanted knock offs made by random people in China…) but I did succeed at E-Bridal Superstore. We ended up getting the dresses for around $100 each with shipping and everything, which was probably $20-30 savings (I can’t remember exactly how much they were at Mia’s). I was a bit delayed in this process, since my girls changed their minds a lot (Ok maybe I changed my mind a lot) and I had to get everyone’s measurements to order, so I was initially worried about them coming in on time. They came in a month (maybe even more) sooner than I had expected, which was a nice surprise! They were great quality, and I had no problems with the order. The only problem was all the girls’ dresses were HUGE. But that’s my fault for going with an online store and having to choose their sizes myself based on the chart. I know if we would have ordered from Mia’s they probably could have helped us choose the right sizes. So I guess the girls probably cancelled out the savings of buying online by having to get alterations… *sigh*
Tuxes
Mia’s/Jim’s Formalwear
[C] I am pretty well convinced that the whole business of renting tuxes is impossible to get right. I have heard so many horror stories, and my experience didn’t go much better. We picked our tuxes out at Mia’s – that experience was great. The girl who helped us was very knowledgeable, gave us suggestions, and all around was just very nice. It stressed me out that we had to choose from a picture in a book, but I know that’s how it’s done everywhere so I guess I just need to get over that. The process of sending in measurements and them ordering also went smooth, so everything was fine until 2 days before the wedding. DH and a few of the GM went to pick their tuxes up Thursday (wedding was Saturday), as directed by Mia’s – so glad they did this and didn’t wait till Friday or even worse Saturday. DH’s tux didn’t fit at all. It was too big all around (and he was measured at Mia’s). Part of it we think is because he lost weight, but he said everything was falling off of him so I think it would have been too big either way (he didn’t lose much weight, maybe 5-10 lbs). One of the GM’s pants were supposed to be a size 34, but they ordered a 43 instead. YIKES. That same GM’s shirt was too small, but he was able to take DH’s. Another GM went that day and his shirt was tiny on him (he also got measured at Mia’s). So all 3 guys had to re-order their tuxes, get them rushed and pick up on Friday. Luckily they came in and everything was ok, but all of the guys said they felt like their pants were baggy. I didn’t notice it, and in the end they all looked fine, but that Thursday and Friday I was not a happy camper. I think they should have the guys pick them up earlier since it seems like every tux place messes up! As far as quality I thought the tuxes were very nice, and looked good on all the guys. So I gave them a C – in the end it worked out and the guys looked nice, it was just a PITA getting there.
Make Up
CaraSue Hall
[A] CaraSue did a fabulous job making myself and 3 BMs look beautiful! We ran into some challenges that day, due to traffic and another bride she ended up running late, but it was no sweat for her! She walked in, sat me down, and got to work. She was done with my makeup in maybe 15 minutes, so I could go start pictures, and then did the other BMs while DH and I were taking pictures. I think everyone’s make up turned out gorgeous. I didn’t even have to tell her what to do with mine, she just went at it and I loved it. She also did my hair and make up for our E-pics, which I think looked great as well. I always felt like CaraSue was on top of things, she knows what she’s doing and she keeps everything super-clean and sanitary. She’s also such a nice person, it’s easy to just chit chat away while she’s doing make up. I would recommend her to anyone – she’ll come to you and her prices are reasonable! The only downside was that I forgot to tell everyone she only takes cash or check, so they were scrambling to pay her apparently – my fault though. As far as the makeup goes, she is a super star!
Hair
Katie Mann, Bangz Salon
[A+] Katie is the FI of my MOH’s brother, a friend of the family. I started going to her for my regular hair cut and color needs a year or so before the wedding, and she is just fabulous! I was so excited to have her do my hair for the wedding. We did a trial about a week and a half before, and she was able to take my measly description (I really didn’t know what I wanted) and it came out exactly how I wanted! She did mine and 2 of my BMs hair the day of, as well as my Mom’s. Another girl at her salon (I can’t remember her name…) did another BM and the FGs. Everyone’s hair looked fabulous! And they even let us order pizza to the salon, and drink mimosas while we were getting ready. It was also great that she was a friend, because she was at the wedding as well so I had her there to “touch up” anything I needed, and she also helped me take out my veil at the end of the night without messing up my hair.
Photographer
Josh Solar Photography
[A+] Josh and Jenny did a fabulous job at our wedding. From the first time we met them at our initial consultation, we knew they were our photographers. They are just such genuine people, and easy to get along with. I knew we’d have no problem spending our day with them. The day of went great, they were there with us through everything (we got the 8 hour package, and that was the perfect amount of time for us) and documented it all beautifully. Monday after our wedding (which was Saturday) we had some teaser pics (which we bought internet time at our resort to look at we were so anxious!) and then 3 weeks after the wedding we had all the pics. We just love them. I surprisingly find myself wishing we had a couple of more traditional pics, but then again that is totally not their style, and I wouldn’t trade the photos we do have for anything. We are working on our album design now, and I can’t wait to see how it turns out. Jenny does a great job designing the album, she makes the photos tell the story of your day, it’s amazing. The whole day and night they were a breeze to work with, and I would recommend them to anyone. DH and I have already decided they are our photographers for life. I can’t wait to have kids and get newborn, baby, family, all of our pictures done by them! I will say that they are a little pricey compared to some of the others out there, but to me it was worth it. Photography was my #1 priority, and I’m so glad we chose them, it was well worth it.
A couple of my favorites...
Officiant
Rev Dennis Hanna
(816-682-1568)
[A+] Dennis is great, especially for those doing a not-so-religious, or non-denominational ceremony, like us. He met with us twice before the wedding, and we felt really comfortable with him. He led our rehearsal perfectly (which I was SO thankful for, I had no idea what I was doing!), and the ceremony went as smooth as could be. We had no idea what he was going to say other than our vows, and we were completely happy with the result. He kept it short and sweet (at our request), but everything he said was very meaningful. He even incorporated some humor, which I really appreciated because I thought I was going to bawl about 5 different times and that really helped me to pull it together. He also incorporated our guests in the ceremony, by asking them to pledge their support for us, and I really liked that too. All around Dennis is a great guy, and a wonderful officiant. His prices are VERY reasonable compared to the others we looked at, and I would recommend him to anyone!
DJ
Craig Loftis, Elite Sounds
[A] Craig was the exact type of DJ I was looking for. Not too over the top, but definitely made a presence. When we first met him we were very impressed with him; he seemed to know exactly what we wanted already. He knew the type of music we liked, and how to make our reception flow. He was also reasonably priced, actually less than most of the others. The main thing for me is he wasn’t your typical cheesy DJ. I wanted the DJ at my wedding to play the music, make announcements as needed, and otherwise just keep to himself – Craig did exactly that. He played a great selection of music, and kept the dance floor going the whole time. He also helped us out and controlled our music at the ceremony, which was a last minute request. He really saved us on that, the music ended up sounding great and I didn’t have to bother any of our family or friends to handle it. The only reason I didn’t give him a + was because he played quite a bit more rap than we would have liked, however it kept people out on the dance floor and he told us from the beginning that he likes to go with the flow and play whatever the crowd is into. He is a great DJ overall, and I would definitely recommend him.
Cake
Annie O’s Custom Creations
[A+] I am SO thankful I found Annie. I didn’t want a real over the top cake, but I wanted something pretty of course, and I wanted it to taste great. DH and I met with quite a few bakers (this was DHs favorite part of the planning ) and Annie blew them all out of the water. Her prices are great, and simple, and her cake is delicious. The best part is she will come to you for the consultation! She came to our house one night, and brought us 5 or 6 different kinds of cake to try. That was fantastic. She also had a lot of really great ideas once I told her my inspiration for my cake, and she seemed genuinely excited to create it. She is really just one of the nicest people, and a complete joy to work with. Since the wedding I have ordered 2 birthday cakes from her, and my cousin is ordering her graduation cake from her. My family just can’t get enough of her cake! :)
Florist
Linda Dowdle, Floralyn
[A] Linda did a great job with my flowers. Originally we weren’t going to use a florist, and I was going to DIY ordering flowers online. Well apparently coral Gerber daisies aren’t as easy to find as I had hoped, because I couldn’t find them anywhere online. So we had to go to plan B and start talking with florists. I had hoped this would be a big money saver for us, by me DIYing it, but that didn’t happen. When we met with Linda, though, my mom was immediately persuaded that a florist was the way to go. I still think I could have DIY’d the bouquets and centerpieces had I been able to find the flowers, but Linda did a great job. All in all she did half of the centerpieces (the rest were candles), all of the BM bouquets, my bouquet, the boutonnieres, the corsages, and a beautiful garland for the arbor at the ceremony. Everything she did was absolutely beautiful, she found the exact coral color I wanted, and I was just thrilled when I saw everything for the first time. I have to admit, my bouquet looked nothing like I had envisioned, but I absolutely loved it. I was expecting a much fuller, and more bright pink color, but the color she chose went with the coral beautifully, and like I said I loved the end result. Unfortunately, the corsages never ended up being worn, but they were beautiful as well. I would recommend Linda to other brides for sure.
Transportation
Custom Limo / Pech Limo
[C-] This was a hard one to rate. I would really like to give them an F, because we did not end up with the car that we reserved. The only reason I went with this company was for the vehicle. We wanted some type of antique car for our getaway, since there was an antique car show the day of our wedding. I saw that Custom Limo had a 1940s Cadillac limousine, and both DH and I knew we wanted it. I had seen other antiques from some other companies, but this one was just super cool looking. Well, the DAY BEFORE our wedding I got a call from them saying that the vehicle had broken down and there was no way it could be fixed in time for our wedding. I was devastated. DH was really mad, this was like the one thing he actually picked and was excited about. He called them back and basically told them that they needed to find us an antique to pick us up, no matter the cost and no matter where it came from. They originally offered to replace with a stretch limo, but that’s not what we wanted. In the end, they came through and got us a 1950s (I think, might have been 1960s) Bentely, which was still great. The Bentley was actually from Pech Limo, and we received great service from them. Our driver was very nice, and the car was great. It wasn’t the Cadillac limo I had hoped for, but it was definitely a good replacement. I can’t give Custom Limo an F because I know it isn’t their fault if a vehicle breaks down, and they did get us a replacement which I’m sure ended up costing them in the end – we didn’t go with Pech originally because they were more expensive. I am still really disappointed that we didn’t get our Cadillac, but I’d give Pech Limo an A for the service we did receive from them.
The car we reserved:
The car we got:
Wedding Night Hotel
Sheraton on the Plaza
[A] We didn’t leave for our honeymoon until Monday after our wedding, but we didn’t just want to go home the night of. So we decided to splurge and get a hotel on the plaza. (We didn’t want to stay in Paola, or close to home, since we did have a cool car for a whole hour!) The Sheraton was a great hotel, and we really enjoyed our room. DH asked for some champagne and rose petals or something of the nature in our room when he went to check in, but they said he had to have arranged that in advance so they upgraded us to a suite instead (which was totally ok with me!). Our room was really nice, and the bed was the most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept in! (It could have just been how tired I was, but I slept like a rock that night) We were only there from about midnight to 9 the next morning, but we enjoyed our experience!
Sorry, no pictures of this night! ;)
Invitations
Design: Ashley Miller (RB Bridezilla411)
[A-] I originally planned to design my own invitations, in attempts to save some money. I changed my mind pretty quickly though, as I have no experience and don’t have the right software. I had already planned on BZilla creating a map for me, so I decided to just go ahead and have her design the invites as well. This turned out to be quite a long process, but definitely worth it as I ended up with a very unique design that I loved. I’m sure I was a huge pain in the butt to deal with, because I changed my mind about a million times. BZilla was a trooper, though, and hung with me. She did a great job, and I really love how the design turned out. The only reason I gave her an A- was because of the amount of time it took us to finalize the design. I know most of this was my fault because of all the changes, but there were just times where it seemed like it was taking a while for her to get back to me. I know this isn’t her full time job, though, and she deserves to have a life, so it wasn’t a huge deal. I am glad that in the end I got a really unique design out of it, at a price we could afford.
Printing: Vista Print
Can’t really grade VP, there’s not much to it. VP is really a self-service website, but their prices are great and I can’t complain about the quality. I ended up having to re-order everything several times, but that was totally my fault. Even though I spent more than I planned by re-ordering and rush shipping, I still saved money going through them. I also used VP for our Save The Date magnets as well as our Thank You cards…saving money every step of the way! :)
Video Montage
KC Montages (RB KUAmber)
[A+] Amber did a GREAT job on our montage! I still love to watch it All I had to do was pick out a bunch of pictures and 3 songs and send to her, and they did the rest. They even incorporated my colors and design into the montage. I got a DVD with our picture on the front, which turns out to be a great keepsake! I’m sure this is something I could have figured out how to do on my own, but no way would it have looked as professional, and I wouldn’t have had the time anyway! All of our guests loved the montage, and most of our family has requested to see it again! The only thing I wish we did was play it while we were around instead of while taking pictures…I would have loved to see all of our family and friends’ faces while it played!
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