Cake
Alice Mudlaff
A+
Aly was so amazing. She really worked with us to make exactly what we wanted. She initially asked us what kind of desserts, flavors we liked and then had a tasting with things she thought we would like. We had cupcakes and she did some mockups with different designs at our tasting also. I changed my mind quite a few times and she was with me every step of the way suggesting what she thought would be best. You can just tell how passionate she is about her job.
Florist
Monique Krainz
A
Monique is a hoot! I loved working with her. I told her what kinds of flowers I like and told her to be creative. She also recognized I was trying to stay on a budget, without me having to tell her, and actually told me how I could save money! The only thing I didn't love was the ivy leaves in the bridesmaid bouquets, but they were hardly recognizable and I can't really fault her since I didn't give her much direction. We toyed with clipping them out before the wedding, but figured it wasn't worth it. They still looked great.
Photographer
Carrie Bower
A
Carrie was so great to work with! She had one assistant with her, which we didn't know when we hired her, but it was a pleasant surprise. It took about 7 weeks to get our pictures back and they are so great. We have such a wide variety of unique photos. We got about 500 digital photos and were not required to buy any prints from her. For the price we paid, we are SO pleased.
Church
Fr. Charlie Conley (Officiant)
Jim Pluer (Liturgical Director)
A
I grew up going to St. Jude AND it is where Jon and I met (at my sister and brother-in-law's wedding). It was a no brainer to have our wedding there. Fr. Charlie delivered a really nice sermon also. We had a lot of compliments on how we were facing the congregation for most of the service.
Jim was also easy to work with. He was pretty straight forward. We brought in some musicians/singers that he seemed cool about also.
Reception
Chris Wright (Banquet Manager)
A+
Caterer
A
Chris was really great to work with. He was really quick getting back to us with any questions we had. He also made me feel really confident that everything was going to get done. Since we didn't hire a day of coordinator, I was worried about who and how all the centerpieces, favors, table numbers, etc were going to be put out...but he assured me that his wait staff would do it all for us. I gave them a picture of how I wanted the centerpieces to look and they did it all flawlessly!
My only gripe about the room is that it is really long. Some of the tables had to be behind a short wall and weren't able to see us during dinner. Besides that though, the scenery is beautiful, there is a patio right off the room, and the bar area is nice and large. We chose to have the dance floor by the bar, rather than on the other side of the room (there are permanent dance floors on both sides of the room and we could choose where we wanted it) I am glad we chose to have it by the bar. We also had the photo booth right by the dance floor and it didn't seem crowded at all.
Saz's is Western Lakes' in-house caterer. We had no choice...but that was fine with us because Saz's is so delicious! Their prices were quite reasonable also. The prices did go up $1 per plate from the time we booked though and the prices weren't honored from the day we booked. That was stated in the contract though and we didn't realize that. We offered the Chicken Cordon Bleu, Top Sirloin and Portabella Ravioli (the veg option), along with garlic mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables. Everything was so delicious and the portions were huge!
DJ
A-
We got a lot of compliments on how great the music was all night long and the dance floor was packed all night. However, they didn't have some songs that people requested that I think they should have had...mostly brand new music, but I think a DJ company should be up on all the new stuff. They weren't digital either. Not that that made a difference in sound or quality, I just found it odd that they are still using CDs.
Despite all those things, they were able to keep people on the dance floor and we had so much fun. That's what matters in the end, not that we didn't hear Disturbia by Rhianna :)
Seamstress
Carol Wiske
A+
Carol is so sweet. She used to do alterations at Zita's, but is now retired and does alterations out of her home. She is so affordable, I almost felt like I should give her more. She chopped my dress and made it look really good tea length (it was originally a long dress). She also did my mom's dress, a pair of jeans for me and made some totally last minute alterations to my sister's BM dress the day before the wedding. All were so great. I will definitely have her do alterations for me in the future. Email me if you'd like her phone number
klcoffey(at)gmail(dot)com
Invitations
Transportation
B
We got the white Chrysler 300. We had 10 people and we all fit comfortably, (I did not have a big dress though) we maybe could have fit one more person in it, but it would have been a tight squeeze.
Our driver was ok at best (don't know his name unfortunately). He picked the guys up at their hotel and immediately asked directions to the church, even though we gave them directions to all the places when we paid the deposit. Jon said he wasn't the best driver either - had to slam on the breaks a couple times, didn't follow directions they were giving him and had to do a U-Turn in the middle of traffic. He said he was very nice, but a little crazy. I didn't notice any issues when I was in the limo after the ceremony though.
Photo Booth
A++
This was a total hit and worth every penny we spent on it. All our guests could not say enough good things about them and the concept in general. We got a copy of each photo in our guestbook and each person in the photo got a copy as well. The prints were unlimited also, which was nice. We got our own scrapbook and paper and they set up a station for our guests to be able to write a message to us next to their photo. We looked through the book as soon as we got to the hotel. It is such a great momento! Mike and Michelle run a smooth operation. They are awesome.
Hair Stylist
A
Kali came to my parents' house to do our hair. This was one of the best decisions I made. It made everything a lot more relaxed. She was so fun and I think she did a great job on everyone's hair. Mine fell out a little at the reception, but it was probably my own fault (taking my veil off, hugging people, dancing)
Makeup
I did my own makeup and my bridesmaid, Meghan, did everyone else's makeup. She doesn't have any professional training, but she is so good at it! She has only done this kind of thing for family and friends, but I am sure she would be open to being hired also. Email me for her info.
klcoffey(at)gmail(dot)com
Rehearsal Dinner
Water Street Brewery - Delafield
A+
We had a pretty small group (about 20), so we weren't required to reserve a room or meet a minimum cost. We basically just made a reservation. We requested a more private area if it was possible. They said it would all depend on how busy it was that night, which we understood. Luckily we got a room all to ourselves for no extra charge! The fish fry there is really yummy!
Wedding Dress
Bridesmaid Dresses
Embossed Beach Dress
I loved that the girls could buy their dress at their leisure off the rack. They were able to get them on sale too, which is a bonus. For a casual dress, I think they all looked great..and I know they can wear it again.
Suits
Stafford Super Suit
Our groomsmen all bought their suits during one of JC Penney's doorbuster sales for $115 each.
We got the tie and pocket squares as a set from Penney's also.
Honeymoon
Hotel - The Palazzo
A
The Palazzo is so luxurious! If you are looking for a quick, less expensive honeymoon, this is a great place! We did not do the typical Vegas things and had a really great time. We hung out by their amazing pool area, saw a couple shows and had amazing dinners. It was perfect for us!