Rehearsal Dinner
Molly B Restaurant, Estes Park - A+
www.estesparkmollyb.com
Our rehearsal dinner turned out really well. The room was set up beautifully. The food was fantastic. We had a full dinner (lasagne) including salad and dessert plus red and white wine and a champagne toast for $585. Much more reasonably priced than we could have ever hoped for along with good food and good service.
Ceremony/Reception Location
The Historic Crag's Lodge, Estes Park - A++
www.cragsweddings.com
This was one of the best decisions I made. We decided on this location mostly because the room was beautiful and had a gorgeous view. It came with a few perks that we couldn't have lived without. Mostly, the coordinator here (Keelee Doan) was fantastic. She was so helpful along the way that I thought that it couldn't get any better. I was wrong. When we arrived at the rehearsal, the officiant was late, but she kept things moving until he got there. After the rehearsal she asked what I was planning on setting up for decorations. I told her what I had. She told me where to put everything and when my groom went down the next day to set everything up, everything had already been taken care of. You got that right! The event coordinator at Crags Lodge set up my favors, my guestbook table, scattered rose petals, etc.
Not only was everyone so helpful, we also had fantastic food and service. We got so many complements on how good everything looked and tasted.
Photographer
Mark Cafiero - A+
www.cafierophoto.com
My sister met Mark on a ski lift. They were chatting and she discovered that he was a wedding photographer so she got contact information to bring back to me. The pictures on his website were incredible. I looked at other photographers and they just didn't seem to compare. Since I was in Oklahoma at the time, I had to book him without meeting him - kind of a leap of faith. The photographer turned out to be fantastic. I would recommend him to anyone in a heartbeat. He was exactly what we wanted in a photographer. Non obtrusive. We hardly even knew he was there and he was so friendly. The pictures really captured the day so well. I love looking at them over and over again to see how happy that day was for us and for our friends and family.
Videographer
High Plains Video Production - A+
www.highplainsvideoproduction.com
I booked this vendor at the very last minute relying on reviews from The Knot. Terry and Mary were very nice and helpful on the phone and easy to work with the day of. The DVD turned out great and we are so glad that we have it. They even added some footage that a friend of mine shot to the DVD. Everything was so reasonably priced too.
Cake and Flowers
Kim and Company (Kim Morrison), Estes Park - A+
www.kimandcompany.org
The flowers were gorgeous! That's really all I can say. About 7 months ago I gave Kim a picture and a fabric swatch. We worked from there and the flowers were exactly what I had imagined. She also did our cake. Same thing. I gave her a picture and she worked from there. The cake looked exactly like I wanted it to, and it tasted good as well. Another vendor that I would highly recommend.
Ceremony Music
Rocky Mountain Flute Choir - A+
www.rockymtnflutechoir.org
This was one of my favorite vendors. When I started looking for music I never dreamed I would end up with a flute choir. I was directed to this group by the flute teacher at UNC and after talking with the director and listening to some music samples it really seemed to fit. This group is semi-professional and plays more for fun than for profit, meaning that I got all 9 musicians for $250 (incredible). They really did a wonderful job. They were also one of the easiest groups to get in touch with, which really puts a bride's mind at ease. One of them even went up to Estes before the big day to check out the location. Using this group was one of the best decisions I made.
DJ
Pete Escober, Greeley - A
(970) 330-8799 home
(970) 690-3843 cell
peteescobar5@AOL.com
I was a little nervous about this one. We never had a contract because he's someone that my dad knows. We got a really good price ($375 for unlimited time) so we just went with it. I got even more nervous when he was sometimes difficult to get a hold of. In the end it turned out fine. He did a really good job. He asked if it was ok to bring his family along, and I of course said sure. He was obviously very family oriented and it was fun to have yet another happy family at the wedding. He was very pleasant and not at all cheesy. He played everything we asked for (even a couple of polkas). All in all, another good choice. I highly recommend Pete to all you Greeley knotties out there.
Hair
Bella Capelli Hair Studio (Adrienne Steckline), Estes Park - A
(970) 586-9350
I picked this one kind of haphazardly. I hadn't read much about hair in Estes. In fact, it seemed like a lot of girls were using stylists in Denver. I looked into this, but travel fees were a bit much for me. Even though I was a little unsure, Adrienne did a really great job. She really listened to what I wanted and created a really elegant hair style. Plus, she was another very reasonably priced vendor. My hair was $45 and my trial was $20. The bridesmaids' hair ranged from $30-$45.
Candy for Favors
The Taffy Shop, Estes Park - A
(970) 586 - 4548
One of my favorite shops in Estes! I just had to use them for my favors because when I think of Estes Park I think of the taffy shop. They did not let me down this time either.
Officiant
Fr. Jack Stapleton - A+ (although not really a vendor)
This is the priest at my parent's church in Greeley (Trinity Episcopal). He did a really great job and made the ceremony very meaningful and also managed to keep things light.
Alterations
A Formal Affair (Barbara), Colorado Springs - C
(719) 550-0828
This was the only vendor that I was pretty iffy about. She talked A LOT and everything she said was completely negative. She complained about other clients constantly, which I think is a big no-no. She hardly did anything to the dress. Instead of shortening it, she gave me a hoop big enough that it wasn't too long. That was ok I guess, but it made the dress hang a little oddly. She sewed in some cups, and that turned out well. She bustled the dress, and it looked good in general, but you could see the hoop and the petticoat underneath, which was a little strange looking (IMO). The one really nice thing was that she makes house calls, so she did all the fittings and everything at my house.
Engagement Photos
Tara Lokey, Oklahoma City - A+
www.taralokey.com
Tara was so much fun to work with and our pictures were fantastic. We really had a lot of fun the day that we went down to the city to have our pictures taken. She was also kind enough to put together a slide show for us and design our STDs, free of charge.
Bridal Gown (Anjolique)
Moliere Bridal Salon (Lara), Oklahoma City - A+
www.molierebridal.com
Lara made shopping for my dress so much fun! She made sure that I tried on all different kinds of styles and when I found the style I wanted, she helped me find the one that was just perfect. I ordered my dress, petticoat, shoes, tiara and veil from this store and everything went so well. I also loved my dress. I felt so pretty and it was so high quality. I would definitely buy an Anjolique again!
Bridesmaid Dresses (After 6)
Pearl's Place - A+
www.pearlsplace.com
Customer service was good, everything arrived on time and in perfect condition. It was also significantly cheaper than ordering through any of the stores in Oklahoma City, and I was able to have the dresses delivered to each girls own address. This vendor was affected by the hurricanes, but I hope that they recover successfully and that brides will continue to use their services. I also highly recommend After 6. Sizes were good, material was high quality and the girls looked fantastic.
Tuxes
Mister Neat's, Greeley - A1 Dude (according to the groom)
www.misterneats.com
They got everything right. Absolutely no problems here. We even made some changes to the order in the store in Colorado Springs, and everything still turned out perfectly.
Day of Jewelry
Ebay Seller Garlen Jewelry - A+
I ordered all of the jewelry for myself, bridesmaids and mothers from this seller. Each jewelry set (necklace and earrings) cost $15-$20 and everything was stunning. I was unsure about colors for my mom, so I sent them a picture of her dress, and they sent me some crystal samples free of charge. When I placed my order, it arrived 2 days after I sent payment. Definitely an ebay seller I would use again.
Misc. Gifts
World Market - A
One of my favorite stores. I bought various items for shower hostess gifts, bridesmaids, and mothers here, including coffees, chocolates and bath sets. Everything was great!
Taper Candles
www.cudge.net - A
No complaints here. I ordered 96 taper candles. This was the cheapest price I found. Everything arrived in good condition and the candles burned through the whole reception.
Paper Products
www.stylishpaper.com - A
This is where I bought my envelopment products. They had the lowest prices on Envelopments that I could find anywhere. Shipment was fast and everything arrived in good condition.
Xpedx - A
www.xpedx.com
I went to Xpedx both in Oklahoma City and Colorado Springs. They have the biggest selection of paper I have ever seen! I bought paper for the top layer of my invitations and inserts in Oklahoma City and I bought paper for my programs in Colorado Springs. They had exactly what I needed.
www.paperandmore.com - A
This is where I bought the envelopes for my invitations as well as paper for my guestbook. They were great because it's so easy to order samples. I ordered samples of everything when I was trying to decide on sizes and colors.
www.papermart.com - A
I bought my favor boxes from them. Once again, no problems. Everything arrived in the condition I expected and they had the exact color and size of boxes that I wanted.
Jewelry
Kay Jewelers - A++
We dealt with Kay both in Oklahoma City (Quail Springs Mall) for the engagement ring and in Colorado Springs (Citadel Mall) for the wedding bands. Both places everyone was so helpful. In OKC, they helped Shawn with the 4 Cs and helped him find a beautiful ring in his price range. In the Springs, they were equally helpful and even helped us to custom design my wedding ring.
Day of Jewelry
Ebay Seller Garlen Jewelry - A+
I ordered all of the jewelry for myself, bridesmaids and mothers from this seller. Each jewelry set (necklace and earrings) cost $15-$20 and everything was stunning. I was unsure about colors for my mom, so I sent them a picture of her dress, and they sent me some crystal samples free of charge. When I placed my order, it arrived 2 days after I sent payment. Definitely an ebay seller I would use again.
Silk Rose Petals
www.petalgarden.com - A
They were running a special. 2000 petals for $34.99 and my color (burgundy) happened to be one of the colors on sale. I went for it and the petals turned out great!
Pet Sitting
A Paw Above, Colorado Springs - A+
www.apawabove.com
Jennifer was so nice and our pets were definitely well taken care of. She even left a report each time she visited and the price was great ($12 per day).
Night Of Accomodations
Stanley Hotel, Estes Park - B
The Stanley was ok, but there wasn't really anything that made me think "wow." It was more of a novelty than anything.
(Mini) Honeymoon Accomodations
Hotel Jerome, Aspen - A++
This is seriously the nicest hotel I have ever stayed in. They had turn down service, a tub and a shower in the room, daily weather reports, you could choose a time for housekeeping, etc. When Shawn mentioned that we had just gotten married, they sent up champagne and chocolate covered strawberries.
For any of you thinking of heading to Aspen, service in general was not that great (it was terrific at the hotel, but not so much elsewhere). It was, however, one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.