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**Vendor Cost/Location/Reviews Here!**
Michigan-Detroit
**Vendor Cost/Location/Reviews Here!**
Hey Detroit brides and grooms. Chat here about the best tips, Knottie GTGs, and wedding planning in your area.
Based on everyone's responses regarding the vendor stickies, we are going to start a new thread that has Costs, Locations, and Reviews all in one.  Feel free to list your vendors as you book them
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Michigan-Detroit
**Vendor Cost/Location/Reviews Here!**
Hey Detroit brides and grooms. Chat here about the best tips, Knottie GTGs, and wedding planning in your area.
Based on everyone's responses regarding the vendor stickies, we are going to start a new thread that has Costs, Locations, and Reviews all in one.  Feel free to list your vendors as you book them
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Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:88
Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:88Discussion:d2e05f5b-5cb1-4d01-9ff5-0021b038bf65
Forums  >  Local Wedding Boards  >  Michigan-Detroit  >  **Vendor Cost/Location/Reviews Here!**
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**Vendor Cost/Location/Reviews Here!**

posted at 4/20/2011 8:11 PM EDT on theknot.com
Joined on
09-16-2009
DETROIT
4634887171998210
Posts: 9384
First: 9/27/2009

Last: 4/10/2012


 Based on everyone's responses regarding the vendor stickies, we are going to start a new thread that has Costs, Locations, and Reviews all in one.  Feel free to list your vendors as you book them.  Then once your wedding has past, please please please come back and add your reviews!  (Also include a link to your bio if you have vendor reviews in there as well!)

If your a knottie looking through the list, remember that costs change.  The costs are to be used more as a guide than anything.  Also remember that many vendors are willing to negotiate on their packages so don't automatically rule someone out strictly because of cost.

For reference, the prior vendor sticky threads can be found here, here, and here.

Ceremony
Ceremony Site
Officiant
Ceremony Music

Reception
Reception Site
Caterer
Chair Covers/Linens
Bakery
DJ
Favors
Lighting

Other
Limo
Florist
DOC
Miscellaneous equipment

Photography
Photographer
Videographer
Photobooth
Picture Locations
Engagement Pictures

Beauty / Attire
Rings
Wedding dress
Alterations
Tuxes
Bridesmaid Dresses
Hair
Makeup

Paper
Save the Dates
Invites
Programs/Menus
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Re: **Vendor Cost/Location/Reviews Here!**

posted at 4/20/2011 8:53 PM EDT on theknot.com
Joined on
07-06-2010
SEATTLE
8936140148473187
Posts: 3353
First: 7/6/2010

Last: 5/17/2012


 Ceremony
Ceremony Site: The Academy of the Sacred Heart Chapel, Bloomfield Hills - $995 C 
Officiant Father Eugene Power Simon (recommended by the church) B
Ceremony Music Steven Hanson -  family friend - A

Reception
Reception Site - the Italian American Banquet Center A for day of, B for communication before hand
Caterer - Italian American Banquet Center - approx $70/head for cocktail hour/apps, family style meal including filet, salad, pasta, and full open bar see above
Chair Covers/Linens - Sposa Seating - $1.75/chair cover A
Bakery Elite Sweets, Livonia - $3.00/slice I think. i do have a simple design A
DJ - family friend A
Favors - truffle trolley I got these on sale, I think they were $1.55 each www.truffletrolley.com A
Lighting - n/a

Other
Limo n/a
Florist - April Irelynn - approx $1000 for 20 centerpieces, 4 BM bouquets, my bouquet, 1 groom and 3 GM bout, and approx 10 bouts and corsages for family
DOC - Rachel Caudill of A Beauitful Day Events - I think we are paying $500?
Miscellaneous equipment - n/a A

Photography
Photographer - Miranda Hopkins from Inner Circle Photography - $2700
Videographer - Paul Briles - $800 (he was just starting out when I booked so I think he charges much more now) A+
Photobooth - n/a
Picture Locations - Miranda suggested Heritage Park, it worked out perfectly
Engagement Pictures - Family friend and Miranda Hopkins, all here in Seattle

Beauty / Attire
Rings - Shane Co for mine, Ben Bridge for his A
Wedding dress - Cynderellie's Closet, Edmonds, WA Sottero & Midgley Linley - $1195 A+
Alterations - used Fragile Fit alternations in Lynnwood, WA A
Tuxes - Men's Wearhouse - B+
Bridesmaid Dresses - they are all picking little black dresses in their price range
Hair - stylist who has done my hair my whole life in MI
Makeup - Aleksandra Adams - I make you up. I think its 80 or $90 for airbrush bridal A

Paper
Save the Dates - n/a
Invites - ordered supplies from Lucky Paper
Programs/Menus - vistaprint free postcards $10 shipping
Lost on Cloud Nine
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Re: **Vendor Cost/Location/Reviews Here!**

posted at 4/20/2011 9:02 PM EDT on theknot.com
Joined on
09-16-2009
DETROIT
4634887171998210
Posts: 9384
First: 9/27/2009

Last: 4/10/2012


 All Vendors are in the Lansing area unless otherwise noted!  Also, if you want detailed reviews, check out my married bio for more info.

Ceremony
Ceremony Site:  MSU Alumni Memorial Chapel - $675 (with a 10% Alumni Association discount) - A
Officiant:  Fr. Mark Inglot of St. John's Student Parish - $150ish - A for the day of, D for the prewedding communication
Ceremony Music:  Organized through St. John's - $250 for pianist and cantor. - A

Reception
Reception Site:  Kellogg Center - Lincoln Room  $58/pp - A+
Chair Covers/Linens:  No chair covers and linens are included at the Kellogg Center.  I am also ordering more linens from Linentablecloth.com
Bakery:  Cake Art by Beth Henderson - $350.50 for 136 slices, a top layer, and delivery fee. - A
DJ:  Matt from WED - $700 for unlimited hours - A
Favors:  Candy Buffet - Jars bought from a local knottie as well as the Salvation Army and Michaels.  Candy purchased from Metrocandy.com and ebay.

Other
Rehearsal Dinner:  Old Chicago in Okemos - A
Limo:  MSU Department of Transportation (Green Bus) - $255 for 2.5 hours - A
Florist:  Petal & Forrest - $1,245.50 for 4 bouquets, 6 bouts, 2 corsages, 18 centerpieces, and ceremony decor. - A
DOC:  Tammara from Grand Jour Events - $300 for 10 hours of DOC and unlimited calls/emails beforehand.  Detroit, Ann Arbor, and Lansing area - A++++++
Sparty Mascot:  - A for the day of, F- for anything prewedding.
Honeymooon:  Majestic Elegance - P*nta Cana, Dominican Republic - C

Photography
Photographer:  Amy Boeve - $2,250 for unlimited day of photography, engagement session, and full printing permission.  Serves all of Michigan.  No travel fee! - A+
Picture Locations - MSU Campus
Engagement Pictures - included with photography package.  Taken on Belle Isle in Detroit.

Beauty / Attire
Rings:  Tiffanys - mine and Jared - his - A for both
Wedding dress: La Sposa "Fanal" - purchased in Minnesota - A-
Alterations:  Michelle @ The Wedding Shoppe (Berkeley)  $350 for hem, taking in the sides, low french bustle, and cleaning/pressing. - A
Tuxes:  Baryames - Okemos Location - A
Bridesmaid Dresses:  After Six #6574 - purchased from a store in Minnesota - A
Hair:  Daneille Gauna from Stillman's.  $300 for bride and 3 bridesmaids - A+
Makeup:  Aleksandra Adams from I Make You Up (based out of Novi).  $280 for airbrush for bride, and 3 bridesmaids.  $40 trial - A
**It was supposed to be Aleksandra but she was in a car accident the week of my wedding.  She sent her assistant, Katrina, instead and she did a great job.  I actually liked my make up better when Katrina did it than at my trial.

Paper
Save the Dates:  Bought a template from Etsy and then printed them using Vistaprint
Invites:  DIY
Programs/Menus:  DIY
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Re: **Vendor Cost/Location/Reviews Here!**

posted at 4/20/2011 9:34 PM EDT on theknot.com
Joined on
04-06-2010
DETROIT
6913061779935645
Posts: 3732
First: 7/15/2010

Last: 1/1/2012


 Ceremony
Ceremony Site Oakland Church of Christ Southfield $1500 with $500 refundable includes 8-10 weeks of premarital counseling
Officiant  Included in ceremony but we will be using a family friend to marry us
Ceremony Music Shelby Brown (Grooms Brother)

Reception
Reception Site Hellenic Cultural Center Westland $36 includes tax & gratuity apps, family style meal with 3 entrees, salad, pasta, potato vegetable, chocolate mousse upgraded bar and late night pizza bar
Caterer Included in reception venue
Chair Covers/Linens Stephanie's Wedding Creations  $1.75 for chair covers including sash, $10.00 pin tuck table cloths and .40 gold charger plates
Bakery Sorella's Bakery $425 including Delivery and set up for 200+ people and free cake on 1 year anniversary
DJ Spike Family Friend
Favors Candy Bar Bought the containers from Marshalls and I will be getting candy shortly types and cost TBD
Lighting Pegasus Event Lighting uplights & Gobo TBD

Other
Limo  Millennium Limo $700 for 6 hours
Florist April Irelynn Designs LLC $1250 for 20 centerpieces, 9 BM Bouquets, 15 bouts, 6 mothers/grandmother corsages, flower girl petals, cake flowers, toss boquet and Bridal bouquet.
DOC Tammara @ Grand Jour Events $350 for DOC and rehearsal run through with unlimited emails and phone calls and two face to face consults.
Miscellaneous equipment

Photography
Photographer CLW Photography $1850 includes 2 albums, engagement shoot, photo editing and rights to all photos after wedding for free reign printing of up to 11X14
Videographer TBD
Photobooth $650 for 5 Hours of coverage, guestbook reprint and color prints
Picture Locations Downtown Detroit, Fox Theatre, Comerica Park, Belle Isle Engagement Pictures TBD

Beauty / Attire
Rings Kay Jewelers for both
Wedding dress Unique Lady Oak Park MI $650
Alterations Included in price of dress
Tuxes Miracle Wedding $116 including shoes and taxes.
Bridesmaid Dresses Unique Lady Oak Park Varying prices form $175 to $230 depending on the top of dress selected by BM
Hair  Family stylist Free
Makeup Make Up by Eonet $65

Paper
Save the Dates NA
Invites Designed by Alex Taebow $65 (that as far as I have gotten but I will be ordering the pockets and envelopes from cards and pockets so update coming)
Programs/Menus TBD
Wedding Countdown Ticker /br {Planning Bio updated 6.3.11}
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Re: **Vendor Cost/Location/Reviews Here!**

posted at 4/20/2011 10:16 PM EDT on weddings.com
Joined on
08-31-2010
CHICAGO
7318188698185873
Posts: 3269
First: 9/2/2010

Last: 1/12/2012


 Ceremony
Ceremony Site: St. Mary Student Parish, Ann Arbor. $400.  A.  This is our parish, and we were thrilled to be married here.
Officiant: Father Dennis Dillon.  No charge.  Will give donation of about $200.  A+.  Father Dennis ran a quick and efficient rehearsal, and in addition to being a great officiant (and really laid back), really diffused the situation when our organist was nearly half an hour late.
Ceremony Music: Need to get this info from my mom!

Reception
Reception Site: Polo Fields Golf and Country Club. $100 pp includes butler-passed apps, plated meal (filet+salmon, salad, rolls, veggies, and potatoes), linens, chair covers, 5.5 hour premium open bar, late night snack, tax, and gratuity.  Packages at venue range from $75-120 pp.  A.  The night went very well, the venue was very responsive to our concerns (i.e., if we wanted the lights turned up or down).
Caterer: Included with venue.  Food gets an A-.  It was delicious (I actually missed the cocktail hour, but heard the appetizers were good).  A- is only because I felt the portions were relatively small compared to our tasting portions.
Chair Covers/Linens: Included with venue.
Bakery: College friend. A+.  She made us a great cake at a really reasonable price.  She lives in Lansing, so is probably available for Lansing area and west side brides.  PM me for contact info.
DJ: Platinum Mix, $895 for 6 hours.   A.  Our DJ was Paul, and he did a great job keeping the dance floor moving.  He played about 2 songs that were duds, and immediately switched them to something else.  Checked in with us frequently to make sure we were happy.  Forgot about best man speech, but I had it done anyway.
Favors: N/A
Lighting: N/A

Other
Limo: Tecumseh Trolley (34-seat Trolley).  $1300 (including tip) for 7 hours.  A-.  Driver was very professional.  The trolley was very fun, and made a great backdrop for some pictures.  We had to direct the driver a bit more than I would have liked to, given that we had provided the company with addresses/stops in advance.
Florist: Maureen's Designs, Saline MI.  $2300 for 7 BM bouquets, bridal bouquet, 5 corsages, 11 bouts, 22 centerpieces, 3 altar decorations, setup, and teardown.  A+.  Maureen exactly created the bouquets and centerpieces that I wanted, and created an altar centerpiece that the priest strongly complimented.  She/her company also delivered to the hotel, the church, and the reception venue for a reasonable fee (included in the $2300), and cleaned up the centerpieces at the end of the night.
DOC: N/A
Miscellaneous equipment: N/A

Photography
Photographer: Pure Amour Photography. $2000 for all-day coverage, engagement pics, several prints, high-res disc with reprint permission.  Engagement pic grade: A.  Day-of: A+.  Working with Amy was fun; she was on-time, and awesome to be around.  I love my sneak peaks; final grade pending the final photos.
Videographer: N/A.
Photobooth: N/A
Picture Locations University of Michigan Central Campus.
Engagement Pictures: Included in wedding package.

Beauty / Attire
Rings: Smyth in Baltimore, MD.  My ring:$1000.  His: $300.  Service: A+.
Wedding dress: Casablanca 1847.  Pruchased at Darling Bride in Ann Arbor.  Including some custom changes, and a 20% discount for paying up front, came to $890.  Alterations not included.  B+.  The dress arrived nearly a month after I was told it would, which was not a big deal because I ordered it plenty early, but was disappointing.  Additionally, I never felt that "special" in the store, but they are certainly an adequate bridal shop with good prices.
Alterations: Darling Brides in Ann Arbor.  $340 for creating a bustle, taking in the dress, and shortening it.  Much of the cost is due to the lace layer.  A.  The seamstress in the store is excellent.  My only complaint was the bustle on the lace layer of the dress fell several times.
Tuxes: Men's Warehouse.  About $140 per.    C.  Tuxes were in early, and all of them were correct except for the most important one - the groom's.  His coat had a cigarette hole in it, and the vest and tie were the wrong color.  Luckily, he tried to pick it up on Tuesday, which gave them plenty of time to correct the order.
Bridesmaid Dresses: Jim Hjelm Occasions, Lazaro, or Alvina Valenta knee length taffeta in midnight.  Purchased at various salons nationwide.  Approx $200 (large regional variance).  Nothing much to review here, but I loved the dresses.
Hair: Luminosity Salon in Saline.  A+.  The salon gave us an area to hang out in, and we used several stylists and 2 makeup artists.  All were excellent.  We had a really nice morning.
Makeup: Luminosity Salon in Saline.  A+.

Paper
Save the Dates: Email.
Invites: Costco/einvite.com.  Including reception card, response card, and acommodations insert, came to about $2.70 each.  I could order samples cheaply (about $1 each) to pick.  Quality is good, and service was excellent.  Would definitely use them again.  A+.
Programs/Menus : DIY.
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Re: **Vendor Cost/Location/Reviews Here!**

posted at 4/20/2011 10:26 PM EDT on theknot.com
Joined on
04-05-2010
DETROIT
9155060875398016
Posts: 726
First: 4/21/2010

Last: 5/9/2012

Ceremony
Ceremony Site - St. Therese of Lisieux
Officiant - Father Matt
Ceremony Music - Stephan Pawl
A+ - Everything about the church was great. We did our rehearsal on Thursday night and they were very accomadating. The day of the wedding was great. We were able to get in there early and there were not any problems staying after the ceremony for pictures. The only bad thing that happened was someone's car was broken into during the ceremony, but the church didn't have any control over it.

Reception
Reception Site Villa Penna $55/per person without appetizers - around $75 with appetizers but George will work with you to give you a great deal.
A+++++++ - Everything was absolutely wonderful here. Words cannot even describe how great everyone here was. George, the owner, gave us a great deal. The hall is absolutely gorgeous and the food is fantabulous. You get so much food there that you really don't even need appetizers. We got them because we wanted extra time in the hall. The waiters and waitresses had drinks for DH and I without us even asking for them.
Caterer - same
Chair Covers/Linens - Candlelite Chaircovers $1.50 chair cover, $12 tablecloth, $.65 napkin
A- - The linens were absolutely gorgeous. Rita did a great job making the hall look amazing. I went to meet her 3 days before the wedding to finalize everything and she let me upgrade to a much nicer tablecloth for the head table for the same price. The only reason I give her a A- is because she was a little hard to get in touch with a few months before the wedding and she had an altercation through email with my DOC. If I had to do it again, I would still hire her because she is very reasonably priced and definitely willing to work with you on what you want.
Bakery - Josef's Bakery in Grosse Pointe Woods for a 4 tier round cake and 2 sheet cakes, 6 different flavors $685 - just over $2/per person.
A++++++ - our cake was exactly what we were looking for. It came out exactly how we wanted it and tasted amazing! It was super moist and very reasonably priced. I can't wait for our anniversary to order another one, much smaller of course.
DJ - Sunshine Entertainment - Paul Taylor $750
A++++++ - Paul too was amazing. I am so glad I hired him. He kept everyone on the dance floor all night, and if he played a song and it wasn't working, he changed it right away to get people back on the dance floor. I would definitely recommend him to anyone!
Favors - no favors - doing Photobooth
Lighting

Other
Limo - Dream Limosine $864 for 6 hours
A+++ - DH set this up, so I didn't deal with them, but he said they were very easy to work with. We were able to pay them the week of the wedding. They showed up about 15 minutes early to the hotel to pick us up. He had to wait until we were ready, then he dropped us off and picked up the guys and took them to the church. He knew all the back roads and the best ways to navigate around traffic in our area. I really gave the driver props for that and would definitely use them again.
Florist - Michelle Nonis $2800 for brides bouquet, 8 bridesmaids bouquets, kissing ball, 11 bouts, 8 coursages, 30 centerpieces, pew flowers, and head table flowers - all roses and hydrangeas
A++++++ - Michele was great. From the first time I met her, she was like an aunt I haven't seen in a while. She is so sweet and I got so many compliments on our flowers. They were beautiful and so reasonably priced for what we got. The flowers were huge. I've never seen flowers opened up so beautifully. She really did a great job and I am so glad I hired her.
DOC - Rachel from A Beautiful Day Events $250 for 6 hours and wedding timeline
A++++++ - Rachel is awesome! I met with her only 1 time before the wedding and she made an amazing timeline. She contacted all my vendors the week of the wedding to confirm the times. The day of the wedding she brought an assistant so she could help at the wedding and her assistant was at the reception hall to make sure everything was set up properly. I am so glad that I hired her so I didn't have to worry about anything at the reception hall or at the ceremony.  If there was a problem, I never knew about it.
Shuttle Bus from hotel to reception venue and back – Royal Transportation - $440 for 4 hours
A+++ - They were awesome.  I didn’t get any complaints.  They were willing to let us break the 4 hours up however we wanted.  Since we knew we needed more time at the end of the night, we did an hour from the hotel to the venue and 3 hours from the venue to the hotel.  They were great and I would hire them again.

Photography
Photographer- The Camera Chick - $1500 for unlimited hours, 2 photographers, an engagement session and the rights to the photos.
A+++++++ - Sandy and Tim are AMAZING! They came to the hotel where I was getting ready right before I got dressed. After I got dressed, Tim took off to meet the guys and Sandy stayed to get some more pictures of me and the girls finishing getting ready. They stayed until almost 11pm and by 1am in the morning, they had posted around 30 pictures on facebook from our wedding. They are so much fun and so easy to work with. They really made the day. I am so happy that I decided to use them for our wedding and not just our engagement photos. They were willing to try some new shots and they turned out so cool. They also give really sweet gifts to their clients. They are the best! If you haven't already, hire them!
Videographer - Paul Briles Videography $700 for two camera coverage of ceremony and reception, a 15-20 minute short film of the whole wedding day, a 2 minute trailer, and three edited DVDs of your wedding.  ***Edit - he is charging $1200 for 2012 weddings.
A++++++++ - Pending the full video of course. – We already got a sneak preview of our video and we love it.  I cannot wait to see the rest.  Paul was wonderful.  I hardly knew he was there all day.  For the price we paid, we got one heck of a deal.
Photobooth – Infinity Photobooth $900 for 7 hours and unlimited photos for each guest 
A+++++ - They were amazing.  The scrapbook turned out awesome.  Our guests raved about what a great time they had in the photobooth.  Everyone seemed to love it and we got a lot of great pics.  Would definitely do it again given the chance.
Picture Locations – George George Park -  A+  Great place for outdoor pictures.
Engagement Pictures - The Camera Chick see above for review

Beauty / Attire
Rings - Imperial Palace in St. Thomas U.S. Virgin Islands - price FI is keeping from me
Wedding dress - Allesandra's in Warren - $1385 , veil and headpiece $385  A+++++  Only 1 time did I have a bad experience here and it’s because the girl was very young so I just asked for someone else to assist me.  They were wonderful overall.  Alessandra herself took my dress to my car the day I picked it up.  She was there at every fitting to make sure everything was exactly how I wanted it.  All of the women there are super friendly. 
Alterations - same - unknown
Tuxes – Men’s Warehouse $130 per GM  -
B+  I only gave them a B+ because DH and a couple of the GM had to go back a second time to pick up their tuxes because they came in the wrong size.  Other than that they were great and would recommend them.
Bridesmaid Dresses Allesandra's in Warren $190 for a Bill Levkoff dress
A+++ - None of my BM's had a problem with them.  They were always friendly and had no issues.
Hair - FI's cousin and her friend are doing all of our hair
Makeup – Lee Radcliffe $50 Bride / $40 for BM’s 
A+++ - She showed up on time and got right to airbrushing my make-up.  It looked amazing and I was definitely happy with how it turned out.  I’m so glad I chose to use her.  She does a lot of models makeup.  If you would like her contact information, please PM me.

Paper
Save the Dates - Magnetstreet.com $160 for 150
Invites Invitations by Dawn $515 for $175 invites
Programs/Menus - n/a
Image and video hosting by TinyPic
Brian and Cori 11-19-11
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Re: **Vendor Cost/Location/Reviews Here!**

posted at 4/20/2011 10:44 PM EDT on theknot.com
Joined on
02-07-2010
DETROIT
7525011648694269
Posts: 482
First: 3/29/2010

Last: 2/18/2012


 Ceremony
Ceremony Site Home church $150 includes wedding arch and prayer bench.
Officiant  My cousin who is a ministed will be marrying us free of charge but we're still going to give him something
Ceremony Music TBD
Reception
Reception Site Shriners Silver Garden in Southfield. We're paying about $45 per person for 150 people with buffet style (2 entrees, salad, pasta, bar with beer and wine plus ice cream served with the cake). A. The staff was very friendly and helpful through the night. I had some guest comment on how great the staff was but then some guest were saying they didn't get cake. When people started asking for cake they were told we don't have any more left and I was confused because we had more than enough as some people didn't show up. I went and told them and some how they managed to bring cake out from the back wrapped up on plastic plates. I'm not sure where this cake was hiding but it somehow worked out.
Chair Covers/Linens Stephanie's Wedding Creations  $1.75 for chair covers including sash, $10.00 pin tuck table cloth. All together paying $514. A+++ Okay I know she has a very bad reptuation but I can only speak on my experience with her and it went really well. She always emailed me back in a timely manner and followed up and documented all changes that I had discussed with her. She also made she to follow up when I notified her that I sent a payment in. Also, my reception hall had a policy that the table cloths had to dropped off the Wed before the event and she was able to accomodate this request. She also hadd some additional runners to my head and cake table at no extra cost to make sure the room popped all the way. I'm still getting comments on how nice every thing look.
Bakery Holiday Market Bakery in Royal Oak.  We're getting a 2 tier cake with 2 sheet cakes in the back for serving  including Delivery and set up for 150 people and free cake on 1 year anniversary. A+++. I love their cake and would eat it any chance I get! I def recommend them. I've gotten a lot of comments from guest on how good the cake was.
DJ DJ Chuck $450 www.detroitdj.net, A+++ Chuck is simply amazing. He was able to play to my crowd and play some nice songs during special moments during the ceremony. He even was able to accomodate a last minute change I sent him the day before the wedding. He's very professional and a pleasure to work with. I got a lot of compliments on him as well!!!
Favors TBD
Lighting NA
Other
Limo  Metro Cars: Free MOG paying for. A +++ they were on time and where I needed them to be when I needed them to be there.
Florist April Irelynn Designs LLC $1000 and I get a $100 deposit back for 18 centerpieces, 6 BM Bouquets, 11 bouts, 3 mothers/grandmother corsages, cake flowers, toss boquet and Bridal bouquet. A. The flowes and centerpieces were great!! I loved how the centerpiecese were full and looked amazing.
DOC Free: Family Friend providing
Miscellaneous equipment

Photography
Photographer Dan Harris of Idodsh.com $800 but last time I checked his site he went up to $1200. We're getting 6 hours of coverage with 2 photographers, a deluxe photo album, photo dvd and slide show. A+++ Seriously Dan and his wife are AMAZING! He was able to capture some amazing shots. He even had posted a few shots on facebook the same night of the wedding and I loved each and every one of them. Dan has a very artist view and was able to capture some shots that I hadn't even thought about before. His package comes with 2 photographers (Him and his wife) which I love beause he was with DH when he was getting dressed and his wife was with me. It all worked out.
Videographer NA
Photobooth Rock the booth$583 for 5 Hours of coverage for strip color prints. C-The attendant was very unprofessional and rude. Some people did not get prints and I heard it was taking like an hour to get prints.
Picture Locations Downtown Detroit, Belle Isle, Riverwalk
Engagement Pictures It was done by Carole Enger of Carole Engerphotography.com. She gave us a discount but pricing is on her website.

Beauty / Attire
Rings Lovers Fine Jewely in Southfield MI
Wedding dress Victoria's Bridal in Dearborn: $800.Alterations Included in price of dress.A+++. They are amazing!!! The dress price includes alterations and my dress came out beautiful! I got so many compliments on the dress. It fit like a glove, just what I wanted.
Tuxes President Tuxedo: $135. A+++ All tuxes were in order and ready on time.  
Bridesmaid Dresses Victoria's Bridal $198.A+++. They are amazing!!! The dress price includes alterations and my dress came out beautiful
Hair  Family stylist Free
Makeup Make Up by Racquel Simone makeup Aristry. $45 for regular and $55 for airbrush. She's on FB for detailed pricing.  A+++ I Just heart Racquel. She was amazing, on time, professional, and she really has passion for what she does.
Paper
Save the Dates Vistaprint (only paid shipping of like 5 bucks for 100)
Invites Designed by Alex Taebow $65 for the designs. A+++ Alex is a true please sure to work with. She's very responsive and creative.  
Programs/Menus: Printed on home computer. Had a friend make the design for free.
Wedding Countdown Ticker
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Re: **Vendor Cost/Location/Reviews Here!**

posted at 4/21/2011 8:12 AM EDT on theknot.com
Joined on
08-25-2010
DETROIT
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Posts: 1156
First: 9/7/2010

Last: 1/30/2012


 Ok here are my reviews!!

Ceremony
Ceremony Site: St James in Novi, MI A++++
I'm a little bias because my uncle is the priest but the church is beautiful and you can get married at 2:30 PM which is a little later than some other churches. 
Officiant: Fr George Charnley A+++++
Ceremony Music: Pierre  A+
Pierre did a great job (he is the organist at the church) He even learned my processional song.  
Reception
Reception Site St Mary's Cultural Center Livonia, MI
Caterer St Mary's Cultural Center Livonia, MI A+
Food was great, hall was great.  Keith is pretty flexible.  There was a problem with the veggie meal and they fixed it right away.  Great place!
Chair Covers/Linens Sposa Seating A+
Maya is great - the linens looks amazing.  We got white chair covers with black sashes and black runners on the table.  Everything was perfect and they take care of set up and tear down. 
Bakery Just Baked A+
Cupcackes were amazing.  They dropped everything off on time and everyone raved about them!
DJ/Band: The Crutches A++++
I cannot say enough about this band.  Not your typical "wedding  band" but it was exactly what we wanted.  They kept everyone on the dance floor all night!  They were amazing. 
Favors: Candy Buffet - MetroCandy.com A 
Typical candy, good prices and quick delivery
Lighting: James Chambers A
Lighting looked amazing.  Exactly what I pictured.  Great price ($325) and they set up and tear down.

Other
Limo: Metro Party Bus D
They got us where we needed to go but the bus was dirty when they came to pick up the guys.  Some cards are missing and the company still will not answer any phone calls, voice mails, or e-mails.  I'm gonna fight my deposit with my CC company. 
Florist: April Irelyn Designs A+++
Amazing flowers - great price.  I am still in love with my bouquet.  I never want it to die
DOC: Alyssa Hamblin (Friend) A+++++ Best DOC ever.  Was there all day on saturday and stayed and helped clean up.  I had guests come up to me telling me how great she was.  The reception wouldn't have been as amazing as it was without her. 
Miscellaneous equipment

Photography
Photographer: Marci Curtis A+++
Can't wait to see the pics.  But she was amazing and a trooper.  She even sets up a slide show at the reception of all the pictures she already took.  It was great to see that!
Videographer: n/a (bought flip video cameras)
Photobooth: n/a
Picture Locations: Our house
Engagement Pictures: n/a

Beauty / Attire
Rings: TBD
Wedding dress: B'ella Bridal Northville, MI
Alterations: B'ella Bridal Northville, MI A++++
B'Ella is amazing! Larry is great, one of the best.  I loved my dress!
Tuxes: Presidents Tuxedo
Bridesmaid Dresses: B'Ella Bridal Northville, MI (Jasmine)
Hair: Elizabeth at Gerald's Salon in Plymouth, MI A+
Elizabeth is my normal stylist but some other stylists did my BM's and everyone looked great and they let us bring mimosas in while we were getting our hair done. 
Makeup: Alexendra Adams A+
Loved my make up, stayed on all night and she even comes to your house!

Paper
Save the Dates: Snapfish
Invites: Vistaprint
Programs/Menus made our own
August 2011 sig challenge: Honeymoon!! (We bought a boat!!)
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Re: **Vendor Cost/Location/Reviews Here!**

posted at 4/21/2011 9:32 AM EDT on theknot.com
Joined on
06-03-2010
DETROIT
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Posts: 53
First: 10/13/2010

Last: 8/17/2011


 Ceremony
Ceremony Site- Calvary Baptist (because his family are members, the cost is donation)
Officiant- FI's Pastor
Ceremony Music- SoundDog Productions- $150

Reception
Reception Site- La Sala Banquet & Event Center
Caterer- same
Chair Covers/Linens- LinenHero.com- $2100 for all linens, chair covers, sashes w/ rhinestone clips, and napkins
Bakery- Papa Joe's (Chef Ken)
DJ- Mike Staff- $1095
Favors- Assorted sweets from Papa Joes- Approx $6pp
Lighting- already included at La Sala

Other
Limo- Entertainment Express- $600 for 5 hours
Florist- Mark at Papa Joe's- Approx $2800 for everything
DOC
Miscellaneous equipment

Photography
Photographer- Christopher Belli, the package I chose was approx $2600
Videographer- none
Photobooth- none
Picture Locations- not sure yet, Rochester maybe?
Engagement Pictures- Christopher Belli, included in wedding package

Beauty / Attire
Rings- Private jeweler
Wedding dress- Bella Rose Bridal Shelby Twp, approx &1700 when all is said and done for dress and all my accessories
Alterations- Bella Rose Bridal, cost ?
Tuxes- Bella Rose Bridal- $135
Bridesmaid Dresses- Jessica Simpson $200
Hair- TBD
Makeup- TBD

Paper
Save the Dates- Christopher Belli Photography
Invites- Magnetstreet.com
Programs/Menus- TBD
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Re: **Vendor Cost/Location/Reviews Here!**

posted at 4/21/2011 12:01 PM EDT on theknot.com
Joined on
04-11-2010
DETROIT
4210065781832485
Posts: 669
First: 5/4/2010

Last: 5/9/2012


 Ceremony
Ceremony Site - Lobby of Arnaldo's, Riverview -  $600 (see below for review)
Officiant - Friends of ours, we did give them a nice gift card to their favorite resturant.
Ceremony Music - DIY - We are using an ipod hooked up to a speaker for our ceremony music.

Reception
Reception Site - Arnaldo's, Riverview ($28 a head for buffet, standard bar thrown in for free cause of being in the off season) - A Arnaldo's was beautiful.  We were in the smaller hall.  The staff was great.  And the food was amazing.  We had so many compliments about everything all evening.  Communication with one of the ladies there was a bit slow at times, but the night of was great.  Everyone made all the details perfect.
Caterer - Arnaldo's, Riverview see above
Chair Covers/Linens - Table Linens are included with hall
Bakery - Just Baked $2.50 per cupcake A+ Communication was great.  The cupcakes themselves tasted wonderful.  We paid extra to have them deliver and set up the cupcake tower.  We had ordered their Guiness cupcakes and the Vanilla stuffed.
DJ - Tom Downey, a friend of a friend.  Being given as a wedding gift, so unsure of price.  A++  Tom was amazing.  He kept the dance floor full all night.  He made sure that all of our requests were played and he stayed away from all of our do-nots.  At one point a guest requested something questionable, so he came up to double check with us about it.  It was great.  I highly, highly recommend him for your wedding.
Favors - Photobooth see review below

Other
Florist - DIY (Silk flowers bought from Afloral.com) Good quality of product from Afloral.  Shipping was fast and quick.  Recommend getting on their mailing list and getting some coupon codes

Photography
Photographer - Mark Moore $750, includes one location (since everything is at Arnaldo's) and pictures on CD (no prints or albums).  A++  Mark was great.  So many times I didn't even realize that he was there.  And yet from the pictures he was at every moment of the wedding.  And not only do you get Mark, but his wife comes along as his assistant.  She was always making sure that I had water or making sure that my hair was right or that my necklace was straight.  They both are amazing.  I am so happy with my photos.
Photobooth - Qwik Picz Photobooth $656, includes 6 hours, attendant, memory book, prop box, etc (we won 25% off in a contest)  A+  Qwik Picz was such a hit at my wedding.  Everyone had such a blast going in and out of the photo booth all night.  And the album we got to take home at the end of the night is priceless.
Engagement Pictures - included for free with photographer

Beauty / Attire
Rings - $50 for mine, $55 for his - CelticRings.com
Wedding dress - David's Bridal -  Style T8923 $200 (sale, plus coupon from bridal show) Dress A, Service E.  I knew going to Davids that their service was terrible, but I also knew their prices fit into my budget.  So I went with my mom and we prepared ourselves for that.  I went in with a list of dresses I wanted to try on.  And she would bring them to us.  But that was about all that the girl did for us.  We had to ask for a crineline to borrow, so we could see the full affect of the dresses.  She never helped me try them on or lace me up for the corsets.  But we managed and I did find a beautiful dress that fit my budget.  They quoted 6-8 weeks for the dress to arrive and said they would call me.  At 9 weeks I called and they had happen to have my dress for 5 weeks already.  They claimed to have called, but that never happened.  I wanted to try my dress on before taking it home (again, I wanted to make sure things were right).  This time I was treated as though it was a hastle for me to try my dress on.  Good thing I did, cause it was made improperly and the whole dress was uneven in the back.  They tried to tell me that it was because it needed to be altered.  Which was garabage, cause the sample in the store did not do the same thing.  After some argueing they did order me a new one.  The new one was perfect and fit great.  I had heard horror stories of their alterations so I went somewhere else.
Alterations - Bella Alterations.  No hemming needed.  I did add a corset back to my dres for $120.  A+  These ladies are great.  Their communication is great.  And they are just so sweet.  They altered the back of my dress with no problem and it still fit great!
Hair - MI Amore - Trial was $85 and included hair and makeup. A.  Love how it was done for the trial.  And she was able to come to me.  Wedding day hair/makeup was $185 (This was higher as I had also included false eyelashes and additional makeup to cover a scar on my arm)  A.  The day of makeup was even better then the trial.  I had so many compliments on how I looked.  And the makeup and hair lasted all the way through the night and through the after party at the hotel bar.
Makeup - MI Amore - see above

Paper
Invites - DIY, supplies and printing ordered from cardsandpockets.com A.  Ordering was simple and quick.  And came printed exactly how we wanted them.  We did the assembling ourselves.
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Re: **Vendor Cost/Location/Reviews Here!**

posted at 4/21/2011 12:16 PM EDT on theknot.com
Joined on
07-28-2010
DETROIT
8115159502494801
Posts: 1633
First: 7/28/2010

Last: 4/2/2012


 Grading scale is like school, A+ is the highest.


Ceremony
Ceremony Site - Holy Name Catholic Church (Birmingham) - we are members (donation). I love my church and am so happy we were married here. Turns out our coordinator knew my sister and I from elementary school! A+
Officiant - Our priest (donation). Father Kiser gave a beautiful homily, everyone kept coming up to me and saying how beautiful and personal our ceremony was. I cannot wait to watch our video! A+
Ceremony Music - Cantor and organist through church (donation). Lydia and Stephanie were so amazing I had chills the entire time. Music is extremely important to me and they were able to perfectly perform lesser-known selections. A+

Reception
Reception Site - The Wyndgate Country Club (Oakland Twp). I cannot sing enough praise. The venue was breathtaking, the food was first class, and the coordinator (Olivia) was better than any planner I could have hired. If something went wrong, I never knew about it! We had the entire club to ourselves and it was simply magical and was the wedding I always dreamed of! A+
Caterer – Wyndgate. See above.
Chair Covers/Linens - The Parsonage (Clarkston) - $1500. Linens and table decorations were exactly what I wanted. Susan and Liz at the Parsonage used my ideas for a gold/champagne/ivory wedding and created a wonderfully elegant setting. A+
Bakery - Josef's (Grosse Pointe Woods) - $460 for 4-tier cake for 220 ppl. Anthony and Jimmy were wonderful to work with. They may seem a bit abrasive at first (imagine a character from The Godfather…”we got chocolate cake, vanilla cake…”), but I got exactly what I wanted (simple, yellow cake with dark chocolate mousse, covered with vanilla buttercream). I do not like fondant and all the other bakeries looked at me like I was crazy. Josef's is now my go-to bakery for everything. A+
DJ - Mike Staff (Troy) - $1200. This one is hard. They were amazing at communication and organizing the day for me. Our DJ was the MC for the reception and did a great job, but I was disappointed in the some of the song selections. I didn’t have a large “do-not-play” or “must-play” list, but the music seemed a bit dated. However, by the end of the night the floor was packed. They were much more expensive than other companies, so, my expectations were high. B+
Favors - Chocolates from Juliet Chocolates (Romeo). Best hidden secret; a box of 4 truffles for $2.35pp can’t be beat! They were so good I ordered extras! They were pretty far away from me, but totally worth the drive! A
Lighting - N/A

Other
Limo - Millenium Limo  (Farmington Hills)- $725 for 6 hours. They were on time and our party bus (Bently Bus) was clean and stocked with chilled champagne. The driver was professional and very helpful in getting us around town. They were more expensive than other limos, but I have heard so many horror stories about cheaper limo companies. A
Florist - The Parsonage - $3500. This wedding was very flower heavy (ivory garden roses, hydrangeas, button mums, and greenery) and most other florists quoted me double. Susan and Liz were so easy to work with and created the exact look I was going for. Some roses in my bouquet browned a bit on the tips, but I didn’t keep it in water like I should have. A
DOC - N/A
Miscellaneous equipment - N/A
Day-of Suite: The Townsend (Birmingham) - $790. I love love love staying at the Townsend! They are pros at taking care of you, but you sure do pay for it. A+
Honeymoon - Kauai and Maui, Hawaii - $6500 for air, resorts and car. We stayed in a penthouse suite at the Waipouli Beach Resort in Kapa’a in Kaua’i and a one bedroom suite at Honua Kai in Ka’anapali Beach in Maui. I am completely spoiled for all future vacations! We went through VRBO and spent 1/3 of what the resort normally charges. A+

Photography
Photographer - Melany Hallgren (Walled Lake) - $4300. Amazing! So organized that we wound up ahead of schedule and were able to relax! She brought 2 additional photographers and 2 assistants. Melany is my photographer for life! I haven’t seen our wedding proofs yet, but our engagement pics were beautiful and perfectly captured us as a couple J A+ for now until I see the final product.
Videographer - Mike Staff - $1600. I forgot that he was there most of the time – which is a good thing! He blended in seamlessly with us and the guests and worked very well with our DJ and Photographers. A for now until I see the final product.
Photobooth - N/A
Picture Locations - Ceremony and reception locations only
Engagement Pictures - Included with photography package. Downtown Birmingham and Quarton Lake

Beauty / Attire
Rings - Golden Gifts Jewlers (Livonia) - Engagement and our wedding rings. The owners are good friends of DH’s family and were so helpful. Our rings are beautiful! I cannot stop staring at my rings! A+
Wedding dress - Alessandra's (Warren) - $1200 for dress and veil. I loved my dress and they did a wonderful job on the alterations, but sometimes the language barrier made it difficult to communicate. However, I would still recommend them to anyone because good alterations and well-made dresses are hard to find. A
Alterations - Alessandra's - $180. See above.
Tuxes - President Tuxedo (Rochester) - $155 pp. The guys looked dashing! The tuxes were ready a few days prior. A few guys needed different sizes and the new items were available the next day. A
Bridesmaid Dresses - Alessandra's - $192 pp, including alterations. My sisters picked the dresses and I wished I had bought one for myself! Very good alterations, but smaller selection of BM dresses to choose from. A
Hair & Makeup - Posh Studio (Milford) - $300 for me, $135 for BMs. They were very good at communication and arrived early. I did not like my hair/make-up, but I generally prefer to DIY because I am very particular and use the same professional-grade products. Everyone else liked their hair and makeup but didn't love it. C

Paper
Save the Dates - Magnet Street (www.magnetstreet.com) - $175 for 225 mini-magnets and card holders (ordered 225, they sent 250). Quick and easy processing online and great customer service. A
Invites - The Parsonage - $850. I loved my invitations. They were very large rectangle pocket-folds and Sharon worked with me to customize the layout. We printed through Carlson Craft. I didn’t care for the sticky dots provided for assembly, so, I bought my own. A
Programs/Menus - DIY, $63 for paper (matches invitation cardstock). All cardstock bought through Write Impressions in Royal Oak. Pricer than online stores, but they have the highest quality product and customer service. A
Guestbook - DIY, about $65 for book, pockets, paper, glue and ribbons. Bought all supplies from Write Impressions and Archivers.
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Re: **Vendor Cost/Location/Reviews Here!**

posted at 4/21/2011 12:30 PM EDT on weddings.com
Joined on
08-11-2008
DETROIT
7408540418793437
Posts: 4148
First: 7/20/2009

Last: 5/17/2012


Ceremony
Ceremony Site-Holy Cross Lutheran-$300
Officiant-Reverend Fred Jolicoeur-$425
Ceremony Music-Music by Hope-$250

Reception
Reception Site-The Meeting House Grand Ballroom-$60/pp (this includes premium bar, butlered style apps, and buffet style meal)
Caterer-see above. They have their own catering
Chair Covers/Linens-Sposa Seating-$1.75/chair
Bakery-Sorella's Bakery-$400
DJ-Sunshine Entertainment-$750
Favors-DIY with flower seeds as the favor-$200
Lighting-N/A

Other
Limo-A Dream Limousine-$400
Florist-Bakman-$1300
DOC-Friend-FREE!
Miscellaneous equipment

Photography
Photographer-Kreativ Imaging-$1500
Videographer-Paul Briles-$400
Photobooth-N/A
Picture Locations-Downtown Plymouth
Engagement Pictures-Kreativ Imaging-included in package-Belle Isle

Beauty / Attire
Rings-Jared Jewelry-$4K for both rings
Wedding dress-Dior Bridal, Maggie Sotterro-$2K
Alterations-Mary in Garden City-$75
Tuxes-Men's Warehouse-$150
Bridesmaid Dresses-Moni's Bridal for Impressions dresses-$100
Hair-Family friend-FREE!!
Makeup-I Make You Up-$120
Jewelry-Mary in Garden City-$100
Shoes-Village Shoe Inn-$65

Paper
Save the Dates-MagnetStreet-$180
Invites-So In Love Invitations-$500
Programs/Menus-So In Love Invitations-$290 (this includes programs and seating chart. All misc. paper items were free).

I have vendor reviews in the old sticky. If you need to contact me, e-mail me at cnpouch at gmail dot com.
Anniversary Photobucket
My Chart
TTC buddies with gatorwife
September 2011-Begin TTC
November 2011-Dx w/ PCOS, 50mg Clomid--O! BFN
December 2011-50mg Clomid--No O.
February 2012-100mg Clomid--O! BFN
April 2012-No meds--O!
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Re: **Vendor Cost/Location/Reviews Here!**

posted at 4/21/2011 1:45 PM EDT on theknot.com
Joined on
07-29-2010
4245159858791600
Posts: 12
First: 11/17/2010

Last: 5/13/2011


 Ceremony
Ceremony Site: St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, Troy (member)
Officiant
Ceremony Music: TBD

Reception
Reception Site: St. Nicholas Cultural Center
Caterer: Opus One, about $50/pp includes four passed hors d'ouerves, plated chicken or beef dinner with salad course, dessert served with cake, cookie and coffee station, linens, and bar service (we are bringing in our own alcohol). Their food is excellent, and they let you bring in your own desserts for a sweet table.
Chair Covers/Linens: Included in package
Bakery: Lakes Cakes, about $470 for 3-tier cake with premium filling and any design I'd like (includes delivery charge to Troy)
DJ: Pannos and Mannos, $1000 for 5 hours, $100 for each extra hour
Favors: TBD
Lighting: $25/light for 4 uplights behind head table

Other
Limo: Wyandotte Trolley, about $300 for 3 hours
Florist: Katherine Zikakis, probably around $2000 for 7 bouquets (including mine), 9 bouts, 20 centerpieces, cake and escort card table flowers, petals, and 2 corsages.
DOC: N/A
Miscellaneous equipment: N/A

Photography
Photographer: Marci Curtis, $2000 for 8 hours of coverage and all rights
Videographer: Paul Briles, $700
Photobooth: N/A
Picture Locations: Probably downtown Birmingham
Engagement Pictures: Cranbrook

Beauty / Attire
Rings: $900 for both from Blue Nile
Wedding dress: Blue by Enzoani, bought it in Cincinnati
Alterations: Michele at the Wedding Shoppe, $350 for American bustle, significant hemming, taking in at the sides, and pressing
Tuxes: Men's Wearhouse, about $140 per tux, groom's is free
Bridesmaid Dresses: Bought Bill Levkoff #528 online at bestbridalprices.com for $137 each including shipping.
Hair: Sara at Red the Salon in Birmingham - about $100 including tip
Makeup: Danielle at Todd's Room in Birmingham - about $100 including tip

Paper
Save the Dates: Wedding Paper Divas, $60
Invites: JWD Paperie - about $600 for 125 customized invites.  Sonja is great to work with!
Programs/Menus: TBD
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Re: **Vendor Cost/Location/Reviews Here!**

posted at 4/25/2011 12:47 PM EDT on theknot.com
Joined on
07-14-2010
CHICAGO
5602147330415368
Posts: 1
First: 4/25/2011

Last: 4/25/2011
Ceremony
Ceremony Site- Grosse Pointe War memorial *highly recommend*
Officiant- Rev Steve Goodrum $350
Ceremony Music- Pianist Russ Allgaier $200 -found on gigmaster,com ***highly recommended**

Reception
Reception Site -GPWM
Caterer-GPWM
Chair Covers/Linens-n/a
Bakery-Christines cakes and pastries $350
DJ-n/a
Favors lollipops and plantable placecards from various websites
Lighting-n/a

Other
Limo-n/a
Florist-Mandels greenhouse about $900-5 bouq,8bout, 6coursa, budvase flowers for the tables ***absolutely beautiful flowers**
DOC n/a
Miscellaneous equipment

Photography
Photographer- KBL Photography $1500. haven't seen the pics yet but she was great to work with
Videographer-n/a
Photobooth- Rock the Booth $650(?) **BEST INVESTMENT OF THE WEDDING**
Picture Locations GPWM
Engagement Pictures _n/a

Beauty / Attire
Rings-Lucido's Fine Jewelry-make sure to double check the engraving
Wedding dress-bridal salon in vermont
Alterations- done out of state
Tuxes- mens warehouse
Bridesmaid Dresses- davids bridal
Hair- Lamia and Lamia $60 *did an absolutely beautifful job*
Makeup- Lamia and Lamia

Paper
Save the Dates-n/a
Invites- David's bridal,com $150 *great value and beautiful product*
Programs/Menus-n/a
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Re: **Vendor Cost/Location/Reviews Here!**

posted at 4/25/2011 4:10 PM EDT on theknot.com
Joined on
02-08-2008
DETROIT
9544380790299062
Posts: 233
First: 5/22/2010

Last: 9/11/2011


 Im planning an October 14, 2011 Wedding. I will continue to update as I go:o)

Ceremony
Ceremony Site-Cobblestone Farms Ann Arbor, MI/ Included with reception fee
Officiant- Tom Jeffers/IL's priest/ $50.00 donation to church
Ceremony Music- Making my own for ceremony/cocktail hour Also a family friend will be playing bagpipes for my walk down the aisle

Reception
Reception Site Cobblestone Farms AA- $1100.00 for 10 hours, all 10 acres
Caterer- Angel Food Catering Ypsilanti- They have been great so far! Michigan themed menu 150 people $3500.00
Chair Covers/Linens- Sposa 1.75/chair cover 3.00/table runner
Bakery- MIL
DJ- Adam from 3DJ's - $350.00 for 6 hours
Favors-DIY Caramel apples
Lighting-N/A

Other
Limo-
Florist- still looking for boquet Making bout's (www.omalgals.etsy.com), making pomanders
DOC-n/a
Miscellaneous equipment (table/chair rental for outside)

Photography
Photographer- Kreativ Imaging 1200- unlimited hours, 2 photographers, rights to the photos, engagement session
Videographer-n/a
Photobooth-n/a
Picture Locations- Downtown Ann Arbor (State St.)
Engagement Pictures-Probably Heritage Park, Taylor MI

Beauty / Attire
Rings- Custom made at Trenton Jewelers
Wedding dress- Family herloom Cleaned/restored wth wedding gown specialist in AA - $350.00
Alterations
Tuxes
Bridesmaid Dresses- Pretty Maids at Bella Donna Wyandotte, MI
Hair
Makeup

Paper
Save the Dates
Invites Hearty Designs on etsy.
Programs/Menus
Image and video hosting by TinyPic Sandals Grande St. Lucia
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Re: **Vendor Cost/Location/Reviews Here!**

posted at 4/25/2011 7:03 PM EDT on theknot.com
Joined on
11-15-2009
DETROIT
5943938691941589
Posts: 7018
First: 11/20/2009

Last: 5/17/2012


 Ceremony
Ceremony Site: Greenmead Historic Village, 8 Mile & Newburgh Rd, Livonia. Cost for the banquet venue and Chapel there, $1000 for Livonia resident
Officiant: My DJ! See bio below for link under "vendors"
Ceremony Music:  Violin: Angela, can be reached angelanicole1981@gmail.com . She's $150 for an hour of violin music, another $75 if you need her for the rehearsal. I heard her play at a mutual friend's wedding and her version of "Ave Maria" made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I'm perfectly comfortable with her AND her fees.
Reception
Reception Site: see above
Caterer: Holiday Market in Royal Oak. Cost roughly $30 per person, plus they include the rentals we need, another $13 per person
Chair Covers/Linens: Through caterer
Bakery: Cake from Holiday Market, "2 layer cake to feed 100 with "dessert sized slices" about $180,
DJ: Davis Entertainment (link in bio under vendors). Cost with veteran discount (my fiance is 22 yr vet of Air Force) was under $600, which includes 2 bartenders!
Favors: DIY, glass coasters from The Knot (when they were 99 cents for 2)
Lighting: included by DJ

Other
Limo: Aristocat Limo, Warren: we are doing "transfers" versus hiring for a set number of hours, as we don't need that type of service. The Lincoln Navigator limo that seats 12-14 (10 comfortably) is I think $240. The sedan coming to pick my aged parents up around 10 pm is about $100 I think.
Florist: Costco, wedding package of $399 OR bulk flowers we'll DIY arrange
DOC: Simplicity, $500 when I booked for 8 hrs

Photography
Photographer: Captured by Brian, but he's not doing this all the time, just a hobby.
Videographer: N/A
Photobooth: N/A
Picture Locations N/A
Engagement Pictures: Done at our venue (see bio below for "Photos" Engagement

Beauty / Attire
Rings: Jeweler going out of business, significantly discounted
Wedding dress: Making my ceremony dress, silk on sale for $5 a yard from Joann's, 2 patterns, lining silk $10 a yard....probably $80 total. Reception dress from Allesandra's Bridal on Hoover north of 12 Mile in Warren, $235 at a sample sale. Alteration price still not known.
Tuxes: Guys are getting their own black suits, including my fiance. Kevin's suit was about $150 at Sears, where you can buy pants and jackets separately.  We ordered silver silk ties and pocket squares for the GM from Macy's (on sale for less than $20 each, groom's vest, tie and pocket square from Penney's for less than $25 on sale)
Bridesmaid Dresses: Told everyone to choose a black dress they like that is flattering. My daughter's (MOH) was under $100 at Lord & Taylor
Hair: Deux Adore, Stephanie
Makeup: Deux Adore, Jen: I think it's less than $100 for myself for both, BM are like $35 each for hair or makeup, $70 if both.

Paper
Save the Dates: DIY, maybe $20 total for the vellum and pictures of us from Costco
Invites: DIY, sale table at Michael's, $10 for 100 with reply/RSVP cards & envelopes
Programs/Menus: DIY. Programs from Michael's sale table, $10 (I think), menus and placemats from www.cakevintage.com


If anyone needs any DIY help, just PM or page me.........I've done a lot already, and am doing more, LOL.
Image and video hosting by TinyPic Wedding Website and Bio Wedding Countdown Ticker
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Re: **Vendor Cost/Location/Reviews Here!**

posted at 4/25/2011 10:13 PM EDT on theknot.com
*Moderator*
Joined on
01-18-2010
DETROIT
5136994480047684
Posts: 10354
First: 10/12/2010

Last: 5/17/2012


 Ceremony
Ceremony Site Rivercrest, Rochester, MI $346 for everything
Officiant Josh Yorks - friend Donation to his church $75
Ceremony Music DJ doing (see below)

Reception
Reception Site Rivercrest, Rochester, MI $3,318 for 90 people
Caterer Rivercrest (included in venue package)
Chair Covers/Linens N/A
Bakery My uncle (professional chef) - Free
DJ Mike Ziamba (The Music Butler) $750 for 6 1/2 hours and lighting
Favors Homemade truffles - total price TBD
Lighting DJ/venue doing (see above)

Other
Limo N/A
Florist DIY (silk) $100 for everything
DOC N/A

Photography
Photographer Larry Roels of lwrphotography $1000
Videographer N/A
Photobooth N/A
Picture Locations TBD
Engagement Pictures included in package A

Beauty / Attire
Rings - Private jeweler/friend $300 for both rings A
Wedding dress Brides by Demetrios $675 - A
Alterations TBD
Tuxes TBD
Bridesmaid Dresses Various - girls are getting their own dresses (I only specified color, material and length)
Hair Either Aunt or coworker's SIL
Makeup DIY

Paper
Save the Dates DIY - printed with Vistaprint - $18.16 plus postage
Invites DIY - printed with Vistaprint
Programs/Menus DIY - printed with Vistaprint $4.54
Wedding Countdown Ticker
90 Invited!
29 Are ready to party!
0 Will be missing out!
61 Are having trouble finding the mailbox!
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Re: **Vendor Cost/Location/Reviews Here!**

posted at 5/11/2011 12:55 PM EDT on theknot.com
Joined on
08-18-2010
DETROIT
7916177364931809
Posts: 807
First: 9/13/2010

Last: 5/12/2012


 Ceremony
Ceremony Site - Shepherd's Hollow - $500 + $3.00/chair A++
Officiant - Friend - $0  A++

Reception
Reception Site - Shepherd's Hollow - $1000 rental fee A++
Caterer - Shepherd's Hollow - $69.99/person + tax/tip included apps and champagne toast for all guests.  A++
Bakery - Family Friend - $300 A
Band - Joshua & Jeremy Sprague - $1750 (inc. ceremony)  A++
Favors - Chocolate heart candies - Morley's - total about $150 for 100 guests A
Transportation - Metro Cars  A
Hotel - Crowne Plaza in Auburn Hills, MI.  B

Other
Florist - Lori Secord - $1350  A
DOC - All Things Creative (Rachel Cytacki) - $550 A

Photography
Photographer - Chris Klau Photography - $500 (family friend/just getting into the business and cost includes all rights to the photos)  A++
Videographer - Wedit - $499 (Groupon) A++
Engagement Pictures - Chris Klau Photography (FREE) and Laura Gravelle ($50 + $150 for CD of 15 photos...also a Groupon discount) A++

Beauty / Attire
Rings - JB Robinson (engagement ring/band) and Zales (grooms band) A
Wedding dress - Alessandra's Bridal - $1250 A++
Alterations - included
Tuxes - Men's Warehouse C
Bridesmaid Dresses - N/A (told them to pick out a hot black dress)
Hair - Brittany (my cousin)  A++
Makeup - DIY

Paper
Save the Dates - Vistaprint.com  A
Invites - Cards & Pockets - $149 for 100 pocketfolds/mats/envelopes/response envelopes and stock paper (and shipping/taxes)  A

As you can tell, I was really happy over-all with our wedding.  I LOVE our wedding video that Wedit put together from the footage captured on the their flip video cameras.  I am in love with our venue.  I would recommend Shepherds Hollow to anyone planning a wedding.  And Alessandra's Bridal was great....so easy to work with and they have beautiful dresses.
Road Ends 5 mile Rev3 Cedar Point IAmPregnant Ticker
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Re: **Vendor Cost/Location/Reviews Here!**

posted at 5/25/2011 11:08 AM EDT on theknot.com
Joined on
03-12-2010
DETROIT
5522040227211072
Posts: 524
First: 9/15/2010

Last: 1/25/2012

Ceremony -The Promendate inside Concord Inn $708 with fees and rehersal.

B- : The coordinator there worked really well at our rehersal and getting everything organized the day of. However, they didn't read my contract, and set up most of their Christmas Decorations, even though it was clearly stated in my contract not to. And when asked if they could atleast take the trees off the ceremony stage there answer was "it would be too hard too"


Ceremony Site Concord Inn Hotel, Clinton Township, MI

Officiant-Donna from LaDonna Weddings-$350 including rehersal

B-. She tried to change our rehersal. She "took the pleasure" of calling the Concorde Inn to change the rehersal because her schedule conflicted. Although at the time of booking the rehersal, she said she was available. Got slightly snoody when I told her that we couldn't change it because well, I had what 20 people already taking that day off work,and one of my bridesmaids father was having a kidney transplant. She ended up not being there for the rehersal but sent one of her partners. The ceremony went by pretty flawless.

Ceremony Music: Alex Mason-A+Violinist. Family Friend. Did it for free but we tipped her $100. Beautiful. She learned a few songs we had asked her to, and it was top notch. Beautiful.

 

Reception-The Mirage $34/pp Family Style, 2 meats 2 pasta's, friday night, off season. A-.

They were more than accomodating to Chris and I and our Guests. The venue was beautiful, and they did everything possible to make sure we had a great night. The only thing that went wrong was 1. When we had told our "coordinator" that we didn't want to cut the cake as soon as we came in we were promptly told "no". But-we ended up figuring out a plan and it worked. Also, dinner came out slightly slow, but it was family style. Other than that food was delicous and the service was amazing.

Reception Site-The Mirage, Clinton Township, MI

Caterer-Included in cost

Chair Covers/Linens-Always Special Linens, Eastpointe, MI -$2.25 for chair/cover sash, $17/table cloth. $2/table mirror.

A: They were more than helpful through the whole process. They were slightly pricey and my linen bill ended up being alot more than desired, but my hall looked AMAZING. The only thing that I noticed that was wrong, is that my mirrors were supposed to be square and apparently they just came and put the table clothes on, and didn't put any underlay (provided by the mirage). My DOC ended up coming and fixing everything, otherwise it would have looked like a hot mess.

Bakery-La Petite -Clinton Township, MI $398 for 180 people. My cake was AMAZING. So beautiful. Tasty (even though we didn't get much more then our one bite)

DJ-Memory Makers DJ, Scott $799

A: Scott was more then a pleasure to work with. He was great at getting back to your phone calls, emails. He did great with my bridal party names which aren't the easiest. Also-He kept the party going all night. He knew the right things to do. He was amazing.

Favors-Photobooth -FotoFun Photobooth (See below) and Candy Bar-Provided by Bombshell Bridal Boutique. I have never seen a table of candy go that fast in my life. I ran over to look at it as soon as they opened it because there was a swarm of people, and then it was gone! I'm more then grateful for my candy bar from my amazing friends!

Lighting-Included in cost at Mirage

 

Other

Limo None.

Florist-Tammara Kane-A+++Grand Jour Events- $511 for 5 bouquets (including mine), 5 boutineers, 2 moms , 2 dads, 2 grandma's and 1 grandpa, rose petals to line the isle with, and rose petals for the tables. Everythign was BEAUTIFUL. Stunning.

DOC-Tammara Kane -Grand Jour Evets-$350. A+ Tammara is great. AMAZING. She saved my bustle, and she kept me from worrying about the small thigns of the evening. She set up the hall, which looked amazing, and everything looked how I wanted it to. Also-When the linen company came and set up the head table , candy table and cake table, and didn't put an underlay, she re did everything to make sure it looked perfect.

 

Miscellaneous equipment- $380 for our centerpieces. Ordered from Dillards.com, bridesmaid vases for the bouquetes -$3 per vase at Hobby Lobby, $49 for 50 10 hour floating candles (ebay) and $16 for 72 10 hour votives from quickcandles.com,

 Corinthian Columns-Hobby Lobby. $20.  D+ The only reason they are getting a D+ is because the pillars weren't in several peices. First, they were supposed to clean up the pillars, nope, they were disgustingly dirty. Second-When my MIL went to go and pick them up, they had no idea what was going on and left my MIL standing there for over 35 minutes and didn't realize what was going on. Second-When I went to return them, they were more then rude because I had lost my paper work (I'm sorry, I just got married the day before, and everything is EVERYWHERE) So...I got the "Well if you had your paperwork this would go alot more quickly, but since you DONT I have to go in the back and pull it out, and you're going to have to wait a minute because I am busy" Seriously LADY? So anyway after waiting about 15 minutes for her to run in the back to get my paperwork, she stuck me in another line which took another 20 minutes and I finall got my deposit back. I do NOT recommend renting anything from them.

Photography-The Camera Chick-$1000

A+++ I cannot say what a pleasure it was to work with Sandy and Tim. They are top notch professionals, and our sneak peaks have came out AMAZING so far! The best part was, they acted like your friends, friends who took amazing photo's for you. By far-my biggest recommendation from our wedding.

Photographer-Sandy and Tim   

Videographer-None

Photobooth-Foto Fun, LLC.  $249. A

Bought the Groupon, and payed an addition $50 for our name on the photo strip

Foto fun exceeded our expecatations. I was slightly skeptical with them being that I payed so little for it on Groupon. They brought an entire table full of props, and even through in a free guest book! They were super friendly too!


Picture Locations-Engagement photo-Veterans Memorial Park, St. Clair Shores, MI with Amber Choike, and Pre-Wedding photos with Sandy, “The Camera Chick” at Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum in August 2011.

First Look/Wedding photo's-George George Park, Clinton Twp, MI

Engagement Pictures-amber choike 10/2010 $50, and Sandy, The Camera Chick included with wedding photography purchase.

 

Beauty / Attire

Rings-Engagement Ring-$1600, Wedding Band purchased from Zales.com, $304, fh ring-JCP $300. A+ on everything. All beautiful

Wedding dress-Bombshell Bridal-St. Clair Shores-A+++++++$700. My dress was/is stunning. These women are more than a pleasure to work with. I honestly cannot say enough. I was having trouble with knowing which size to order and they contacted the designer to see when was the latest possible time I could order. (I went from a size 20 dress to a size 14) We ended up being able to wait until the end of September to order! Everything came out perfectly.

Alterations-Marianne -Works out of Bombshell Bridal $95 A+ Marianne is phenominal. She works at a fast but brillaint pace, she also doesn't stop alteration appointments until you are 100% satisfied with your dress. She has excellent appointment times and she is VERY reasonable.  .

Tuxes--Bombshell Bridal $99. A+ Our wedding party was the first one to use a new company that they contracted to work with them. Everything was in PERFECT condition. The guys looked so handsome! No smelly shirts, or ripped pants, everything came in correctly sized the FIRST time.

Bridesmaid Dresses-Bombshell Bridal $158/dress.A++

They had a HUGE selection for us to choose from. My girls all wore different dresses, but the same color and length. They let us know what our options were, and we ran wtih it. My girls looked beautiful. I couldn't say more.

Hair-Stacey and Chrissy from David Houston Salon- $45 Bridesmaid $55.A+

Stacy and Chrissy were more than amazing to work with.  I kept changing the start time (the day before) and they were so accomodating with it! They even remembered that I like Tim Hortons coffee and brought me some. Their work was amazing. They took their time and we're true professionals, but we still managed to have fun with them!

Makeup: Amy Pruder-$25/pp A

I don't even know where to begin with this! She was so phenominal! All of our make up looked amazing. I was REALLY concerned with my red cheeks, dry skin. She calmed my nerves and made everything smooth and covered up. Everyone's make up looked GREAT.


 

Paper

Save the Dates : $12, found a free template online, and then printed them off Vista Print for $12.

Invites-VistaPrint. $76. They are beautiful. Messed up on my order, but QUICKLY fixed it and had my new invitations to me in 2 ddays!

Programs/Menus -NONE.
Photobucket Married at last! *11-18-11*
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Re: **Vendor Cost/Location/Reviews Here!**

posted at 5/29/2011 8:19 PM EDT on theknot.com
Joined on
12-14-2006
MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL
4553017201347936
Posts: 403
First: 3/4/2010

Last: 1/14/2012


 Ceremony
Ceremony Site- Peagusus Gardens Meadow Brook Hall, Rochester MI $4,000 location fee for renting out the entire mansion for the day. http://www.meadowbrookhall.org/
Officiant  Pastor Mike Carlson
Ceremony Music Undecided as of now

Reception
Reception Site Meadow Brook Hall, Rochester MI
Caterer Meadow Brook Hall. We are going with chicken which is about $35 a plate
Chair Covers/Linens- CandleLite chair covers, I got a deal for $4 a person which includes Chivari chairs, table linen, napkin and charger. http://www.candlelitechaircovers.com/
Bakery havnt picked one yet  Would like to go with Home Bakery Rochester Hills
DJ Adam 3DJ Services $325 - http://www.3djservices.com/
Favors- candy buffet table - buying some and making some
Lighting- not needed

Other
Limo- not having one
Florist- April Oboza around $1800 for bridal party and all decorations http://www.facebook.com/people/April-Oboza/1119311759#!/profile.php?id=1161221022
DOC- provided by Meadow Brook Hall
Miscellaneous equipment- Iron trees from Social Butterfly, Minnesota $30 for small and $60 for the large.

Photography
Photographer- Amy Boeve Around $3000 includes engagemnt with full CD and copywrite and full day of with CD and copywrite
Videographer- Family Member
Photobooth- Might possibly DIY
Picture Locations- Meadow Brook Hall, Rochester Area
Engagement Pictures- Aquinas College, Grand Rapids, MI http://www.aquinas.edu/index.html

Beauty / Attire
Rings- Helzbergs about $7000 total for all 3 rings
Wedding dress- Jackie Jay's Alexandria Minnesota- $1500
Alterations- Family friend- Free
Tuxes- The social Butterfly Minnesota about $220 each for everything
Bridesmaid Dresses- The picked their own.
Hair- Deux Adore I think $65
Makeup- Deux Adore I think $85- getting airbrush done

Paper
Save the Dates- Did them myself about $20
Invites- Doing them myself about $300
Programs/MenusDoing them myself about $100
My Bio : Updated November 14 Wedding Countdown Ticker
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Re: **Vendor Cost/Location/Reviews Here!**

posted at 6/3/2011 6:52 PM EDT on theknot.com
Joined on
12-31-2007
DETROIT
9905347042780625
Posts: 116
First: 10/7/2010

Last: 9/2/2011
Ceremony
Ceremony Site: Tina's Country House Garden ($500)
Officiant: Pastor Sylvester Herring
Ceremony Music: TNT Sound Productions (Included in below price)

Reception
Reception Site: Tina's Country House ($45/pp)
Caterer: Tina's
Chair Covers/Linens: Tina's (Included)
Bakery: Home Bakery ($695)
DJ: TNT Sound Productions ($545)
Favors: Personalized M&M's ($150)
Lighting: N/A

Other
Limo: Motown Limo ($931.50)
Florist: Courtyard Flowers ($542)
DOC: N/A
Miscellaneous equipment

Photography
Photographer: Double Exposure ($1950)
Videographer
Photobooth: N/A
Picture Locations: At Tina's & George George Memorial Park
Engagement Pictures

Beauty / Attire
Rings: Zales
Wedding dress: David's Bridal ($399) (Madison Hgts) My consultant's name was Shawn. She was amazing every time that I have went in so far. I highly recommend her.
Alterations:
Tuxes: Men's Wearhouse (Groom free) (Groomsmen $ 160 
Bridesmaid Dresses: David's Bridal $150
Hair:
Makeup:

Paper
Save the Dates: DIY Magnets
Invites: DIY invites& RSVP's Pocketfolds from Cards and Pockets
Programs/Menus: DIY
Wedding Countdown Ticker OurPlanningBio 140 Made The Cut!
104 Are Ready To Party! 6 Are Missing Out! 30 Can't Find The Mailbox!
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Re: **Vendor Cost/Location/Reviews Here!**

posted at 6/7/2011 9:28 PM EDT on theknot.com
Joined on
05-18-2010
NORTH CAROLINA
7678098108073200
Posts: 562
First: 5/19/2010

Last: 6/7/2011


 Ceremony
Ceremony Site- St. John the Baptist Church- Monroe, MI-- A                     
Officiant- Fr. Jim-- A+

Reception
Reception Site- Summit on the Park- Canton-- Day of: A   Communication: B-
                          $54pp including tax, tip- out the door. Under 21 was a lower price and kids meals were even lower. I cannot say enough good things about our day of host- Justin. He was around the whole evening, without being obvious. Anything we needed, he was there. Throughout the process, we worked with Emily. Suddenly at the end of April, she was no longer there and we were only informed of this when I emailed her and someone else responded. From then on, communication was not up to par and I didn't feel like they really cared about our wedding. Emails went unanswered and when we went to drop off items they requested the week of, our new contact was on vacation and had left no information about our drop offs. This made me very nervous. I had rented linens for all the tables in the lobby and the ballroom. They promised I could use one of their very nice wooden tables for our escort cards, but  I was one linen short when they decided the day of that I was not allowed to use that table. They put white skirting and linen on it and it looked out of place, but didn't ruin my day. They matched the pricing we found at another venue and have since made that their plated option. I had many people tell us it was the best food they had ever eaten at a wedding . Overall, we had an amazing reception there and I would recommend them as long as you get everything in writing and stay on top of them about everything. 

Caterer- included in hall.

Chair Covers/Linens- Affordable Elegance Chair Cover and Linens- A+++++-- I loved working with Jessica and team. I would recommend them to all brides. They were amazing from the second I first contacted them. The linens were one of my favorite parts of the wedding. I booked when they were running a special- $4.50pp for any table linen, chair cover and napkin. This was an amazing deal and they were worth every penny! 
 
Bakery- Gwen's Cakes-- A-- I found Gwen on the knot just looking through the baking recommendations. She was amazing and her cake is fantastic. Dan and I were not big on cake so this wasn't a huge deal to us, but Gwen's cake blew us away. Paid $435 for 150 slices excluding the top layer and we get a free cake for our wedding anniversary.

DJ- Brian from Surround Sound- A+-- We booked Brian through my MOH and her husband. We met Brian as we walked into the reception. He was great to work with over the phone, via text and email. He played exactly what we wanted and the dance floor was packed all night!

Favors-- See PhotoBooth

Other
Limo-- Aristocrat Limo-- A We booked a limo bus and it was a little old looking on the outside, but it fit it all perfectly. Trish our driver was amazing and so much fun. We loved her. They were on time and took very good care of us. I think we paid $800 for 3 hours including champage, red carpet, and bus signage. This also included all of our tax and tip. Trish was so great we did tip her an additional $40 or $50.

Florist/DOC-- Mary Iacoangeli- VanAngelies-A+++++  Mary works out of her house and is one of my BM's moms. I have known her my entire life and she treated my wedding as if I was her daughter. I sent her pictures along the way and she took me to the flower wholesaler to pick out what I wanted. I LOVED the flowers at the wedding. I forgot to hang up my flowers before we left for our honeymoon and so they were in the frig for over 9 days and when we came back they still looked like our wedding day. Amazing. We paid $1500 for all our wedding flowers, reception centerpieces (23 tables) as well as reception decorating and misc items.


Photography
Photographer-- Alicia Loos- Purple Frog Photography $2600 for 10 hours as well as a huge package with 2 albums and many prints--A so far. We won't get to see our pictures until July 1st, but I am in love with our sneak peeks and our engagement pictures. Alicia and her assistant were fabulous the day of and I cannot wait to see all our pictures. I am a little disappointed becuase she didn't take any of just Dan or Dan and his groomsmen. Very light on the formal pictures so I'm anxious to see all the pictures. Alicia was great with Communication as well. I wish the package came with all the digital rights, but that is an extra $2000.  

Photobooth-- Shutterbooth- $850 with discount from our linen company. Day of- A  Communication- B+-- The only reason I give a B+ for communication is that our contact changed two weeks before our wedding and our new contact seemed very flightly and didn't seem to know anything about our wedding. After I called and talked to a manager things were great. Brent was our Host and was awesome! Our scrapbook was also our guest book and we will love that book forever. One of my favorite parts of the day. :)

Picture Locations-- Downtown Monroe and Ford World Headquarters
Engagement Pictures-- A Charlotte Photographer ($100 for all day session and digital rights to all photos) and Alicia from Purple Frog (Sitting fee was part of our wedding package, but $640 for actual pictures and digital rights to the 8 pictures we chose)-- We took them at a community barn in Trenton. I loved both sets of pictures. Both were very different, but it was nice to have the contrasting styles.
Beauty / Attire
Rings-- bought in Charlotte-- Mine is a Christopher Designs
Wedding dress-- Casablanca 1930-- Bought in Charlotte
Alterations-- Bridal Salon in Charlotte-
Tuxes- Men's Warehouse-- Various Loc
ations-- Novi- C-  Toledo- C--- Our Best Man and my Dad has major issues with their tuxes. Neither were exactly right on the day of, but issues weren't too noticable. Everything was correct with the other guys and those who sent in their measurements. My Dad and Justin had been fitted at their respective stores and had major issues.
Bridesmaid Dresses-- Da Vinci- Bought in Charlotte

Hair-- Staci Drummonds- Attitudes Salon- A  I was not crazy about my first trial, but Staci worked with me on a second and I think the day of was definitely the best!  I loved my hair and all the girls loved theirs as well. I think my mom was a little disappointed, but she has really short hair and just wanted it styled.

Makeup-- Amy at Blue Water Spa and Salon--A+++ I cannot say enough good things about Amy. I have HORRIBLE skin and the day of the wedding was probably the worst breakout I've had since high school. Amy spent extra time making sure I felt beautiful and comfortable with my make up. I haven't noticed any bad skin in any of the pictures yet. I spent the day before the wedding sobbing because of my skin and Amy made me smile the whole day of the wedding.

Paper
Save the Dates-- Dan's mom created these.
Invites-- Ordered via Dan's parents-- Carlson Craft-- LOVED them.
Programs/Menus-- ordered blank invites and Dan's parents printed our menus. Dan's mom created our programs.
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Re: **Vendor Cost/Location/Reviews Here!**

posted at 6/15/2011 8:27 AM EDT on theknot.com
Joined on
03-21-2005
DETROIT
4564035848308346
Posts: 59
First: 4/21/2010

Last: 6/18/2011


 Ceremony
Ceremony Site- Christ Lutheran Church, Monroe, MI-beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Officiant- Pastor Bux (from Christ Lutheran) I think we gave $300- he was so welcoming and we could not be happier that he married us
Ceremony Music- Jon (member of the church) $100- he learned a song for me to walk down the aisle to, he was truly amazing

Reception
Reception Site - Links at Lake Erie $36/pp- the food was awesome, the cake was beautiful, they ended up doing everything I asked/paid for; however, the coordinator, Jenny, was extremely hard to get in touch with. My emails were never returned and my phone calls sometimes took weeks to be returned. I made it clear I wanted the reception to end at 11:30 and have the bar open until 11 and that I'd pay whatever it costs to do so. The bar was completely shut down by 10:30.
Caterer - Best Banquets (thru reception site)- we did prime rib and chicken mediterranean, had lots of compliments on how good the food was!
Chair Covers/Linens- included by the Links
Bakery - Cakes by Stephanie- included in the Links package. The tier I had a piece of was red velvet and it was amazing. I also received lots of compliments on the white tier. My mom said the chocolate tier was not bad, but not the best she's ever had.
DJ - Classic Sounds DJ- in the Links package- The week of my wedding I talked to the DJ and said the reception was to end at 11:30. He was completely packed up by 10:45, didn't do a last call announcement, and didn't say anything like "thanks for coming out, we're concluding the evening now". He just stopped and packed up and left within just a few minutes. He did do a great job during the reception though.
Favors - Homemade Italian wine, not sure of the cost; however, the taste was fabulous!
Lighting- Whatever the Links had. The entrance I did put up vineyard lighting for $10/strand.

Other
Limo - Bozzo's limo $485 - can't say enough good things about them! The driver was fun, and they gave me a discount when I went and checked out the limo
Florist - My Aunt Jean (she's a pro but I don't know if she officially has a business anymore) - AMAZING! I think the cost was $650 for all the bouquets, corsages, pew decor, head table decor,  bouquet to throw, and cake decor.

Photography
Photographer - Emily Smith from Smith Gallery $2000- I can't say enough good things about her. Of everything people could have commented on at my wedding, just about every person said something sweet about Emily. Even the groomsmen said how cool she is! She had a preview up in less than a week and the photos capture some really beautiful moments!
Videographer -Tom from Fairytale Productions- not sure of the cost, my grandparents covered this. At the last minute I found out that my grandma wouldn't be able to come to my wedding because of health reasons, so within 2 weeks I had to find a videographer so Grams could see her only granddaughters wedding. He worked with my last minute needs and I haven't seen the video yet, but his sample videos are flawless.
Picture Locations - Downtown Monroe, Christ Lutheran, the Links
Engagement Pictures - Emily Smith again- they were part of my wedding package. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!

Beauty / Attire
Rings - I don't remember the cost exactly, but I think my band was $800 and his was $300. I'm guessing. We got them from Jarred and couldn't be happier with the service. They clean and inspect my rings whenever I want, they had to order in a few different rings that I wanted to see, but didn't have in store and they were great about it.
Wedding dress - Gallippos in Toledo, Oh. $850. They special ordered the dress because I couldn't find it anywhere. It's a Jacquelin Exclusive.
Alterations - Family friend (professional).
Tuxes - President Tuxedo. $125 I think. DH's was free since we had 4 GM's and 2 Dad's who also rented.
Bridesmaid Dresses - Alfred Angelo $160. The girls received so many compliments when they went to pick up the dresses (they're all out of town, so they picked them up at different locations). Some of my girls are busty and some not so much, yet no one needed to wear a bra with the dress and they all said they were comfy and forgiving. Yay, go me!
Hair - Miracle Salon, Lambertville, MI. $150 for hair and makeup. Um... not thrilled. I didn't love my hair and I asked her to redo it at one point. I even had a trial and that went smoothly! I heard from the receptionist that the girl doing my hair is new. Why would you give a new girl a BRIDE?! Give me the older, more experienced stylist!
Makeup - See above

Paper
Invites - I designed them myself and took them to a local printer. Around $100. I love how they turned out!
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Re: **Vendor Cost/Location/Reviews Here!**

posted at 6/16/2011 10:35 AM EDT on theknot.com
Joined on
08-06-2009
GRAND RAPIDS
9953851696051411
Posts: 71
First: 12/11/2009

Last: 2/27/2012


 Ceremony
Ceremony Site: Our Shepherd Lutheran Church Birmingham (free to members - low rental fee)
Officiant: Pastor McDonald (doesn't normally do weddings, but made an exception for us) $200
Ceremony Music: Church organist & family friend $175

Reception
Reception Site: River Crest Rochester Hills 2 entree buffet (included open bar) $36/person + tax and 15% gratutiy = roughly 45/person AMAZING! Venue can hold 220
Caterer: same
Chair Covers/Linens: n/a
Bakery: Cupcake Station Birmingham- we ordered 185 mini cupcakes and a 6" cake for us to cut ( ALL delicious!!!) they delivered and assembled the arrangement $1.10/cupcake & 36/cake = we paid $330ish for everythign
DJ: Davis Entertainment - 8 hours $450, they are out of Grand Blanc.  He was amazing at helping us organize things for entrance and keep a good time table to keep guests interested.  Only downside was he was little creepy looking, not acting just looking. HAH we still loved him
Favors: DIY made 160. bought boxes from Michael's ordered candy from ACandyStore.com - overall cost less than a $1.00/favor
Lighting: included in DJ packet

Other
Limo: parents handled it and as many times as I tried to get company name didn't
Florist: Kelly Kopin (friend and growing florist) approx $1000 for my bouquet, 6 bridesmaid bouquets, 6 corsages, 9 boutonnieres, 19 centerpieces, vases, wrapping, pins, vase for individual flowers for missing family members
DOC: there is a wedding hostess at the church who coordinates there $70
Miscellaneous equipment: sand ceremony at church. used website memorysands.com ordered a complete kit, ended up not liking the bottle very much bought another bottle and used the bottles the sand came in. final cost $35

Photography
Photographer: Samantha John - Evelyn Vaughn Photography out of Grand Rapids area where we live.  We got her for the full day (she later added an assistant), engagement shoot, full printing rights for the photos for $275 - I know ridiculous right?! This package now costs $750, but still worth every penny.
Videographer: N/A we never planned on taping, but when my grandma got sick my cousin taped it on our video camera - $20 and he did an amazing job.
Photobooth: n/a
Picture Locations: all included in our location fee
Engagement Pictures: included in photography package

Beauty / Attire
Rings: both of mine - helzberg $2200 he used his great grandma's diamond for the center stone. it's amazing! his: $750 - white gold Lock Shank ring - he has a damanged knuckle and required a mechanism. Check it out it's pretty cool!
Wedding dress: David's Bridal - Galina ES9808 $379 totaly
Alterations: Aunt did for free
Tuxes: Men's Wearhouse Calvin Klein Gray Tux with orange ties/vest w/ Rewards card $140/groomsman
Bridesmaid Dresses: Davids Bridal - Malibu blue in a shorter style - each girl picked her own
Hair: B Salon at Squirrell at University $90 for me, $60 for everyone else
Makeup: B Salon " " " $60 for me $50 for everyone else
Nails: B Salon French Tips $25 and Mini Pedi french $20 She went above and beyond to make sure my nails looked perfect!

Paper
Save the Dates: n/a
Invites: bought cardstock DH designed and printed them. Cost was approx $0.11/invite, with colorful envelope $0.21/invite, with postage (we did online RSVP) $0.65/invite. Total cost: approx $65.00 for 100 invites
Programs/Menus: Programs were designed by DH $0.05/program. $8.00/160 programs; did not do menus
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Re: **Vendor Cost/Location/Reviews Here!**

posted at 6/19/2011 9:46 PM EDT on theknot.com
Joined on
12-18-2010
GRAND RAPIDS
5063283130912274
Posts: 2570
First: 12/19/2010

Last: 5/17/2012


 Ceremony
Ceremony Site: St. Michael Lutheran Church- Canton, MI  
Officiant: Pastor Jerry
Ceremony Music: Church Organist (unsure of name)
$600 for church, pastor and organist.
Overall Rating: A
St. Michael Lutheran Church will marry non-members.  With us not being super local, we are not members of a church here and it made it challenging to find someone to marry us in a church.  Pastor Jerry welcomed us with open arms and was very nice. We went through 3 counseling sessions with Pastor Jerry where he got to know us and helped us learn more about eachother.  Unfortunately he was in the middle of retiring and we are the last wedding he performed in his church.  The church feels very homey and comfortable.  We received numerous compliments on how great the church was and I could not be happier that we chose to get married there.  The organist was fantastic, but honestly I never met her.  We communicated via e-mail to select songs and the day of all of the music sounded beautiful.  I am happy I didn't stress too much about ceremony songs because honestly I barely even heard them.

Reception
Reception Site: Sheraton Hotel- Novi, MI
Food and Beverage mimum for our 3 section ballroom on a Saturday night was $11,500
Overall Rating: A-
We worked with Shaina and she was fabulous.  Everything at the hotel was beautiful.  For Saturday night, we had a suite, which was 3 rooms put together and 2 full bathrooms...it was incredible.  We also booked it for the girls to stay in on Friday and get ready in on Saturday.  It was the perfect size for us to get ready, and our room didn't feel cramped when we  brought  a lot of things back after the reception.  The staff was amazing, always very friendly and attended to our every need.  Our server was on top of things all night and we had the friendliest bartender (she even tracked down some red bull for the BM and a GM even though it wasn't included in our bar package).  Food service was very fast for our plated dinner.  The cocktail hour food was amazing and people raved about it all night...especially the mini beef wellingtons.  The only minor complaint I have is that the food was slightly bland,  but DH and I are food snobs, so take that with a grain of salt :)  We had the filet and potato crusted chicken with dijon chive sauce, along with mashed potatos and green bean medley...we would not change our choices if we did it again.  Included in the package is the option to have 2 entree options plus one for children and 1 for vegetatrians with no upcharges.
Caterer: Sheraton Hotel-Novi, MI  75.00/person base price for our package, not including the upgrades we chose.
Chair Covers/Linens: provided by the hotel or a 3rd party through the hotel...unsure of specific vendor price included above
Absolutely beautiful chair covers and tableclothes.  No complaints but nothing to rave about either. 
Bakery: Home Bakery- Rochester, MI  $880
Overall Rating:  A
OMG our cake. All night, and the following day, people kept asking where our cake was from and we kept hearing that it was the best wedding cake anyone ever ate.  We had 170 slices, and delivery from Rochester to Novi for $880.  I would give them lots of plusses next to the A but I wasn't happy with some of the staff.  We tasted 3 flavors (selected our options and got to pick them up to take home), they messed something up with each one.  The day of, we got EXACTLY what we asked for and it was delicious.  My only advice is to deal with the designer(who we believe is also the owner) directly as much as possible. 
Band- L'USA$4,500
Overall Rating: A++++++
I truly can not say enough good things about them.  SO worth the cost.  The are managed by Lorio Ross, and my dad became very close with the president of the company, Kim McKinney (male Kim) who also happens to perform as a part of L'USA. Actually, my dad took Kim golfing a few months before our wedding.  Kim kept us organized and made the night flow so smoothly.  The band had lots of energy and were so much fun to have as part of the wedding.  Also, there is an optional saxophone player, that was totally worth the extra money. 
Favors: Photobooth bookmark sleeves from Infinity Photobooth $.50/each
Overall Rating: A+
Our guests loved being able to take home photos of themselves as favors, it was something they will actually keep and enjoy.
Lighting: N/A

Other
Limo: Millenium Limo  $650
Overall Rating: A-
Overall everything was fantastic.  We had Isaac as our driver and he was very professional.  We booked a cadillac Escalade limo, which was beautiful.  It seats 20-22, and we had 8 people.  Honestly, we loved the extra room.  We never would have fit in a 10-12 passenger with big dresses and everything.  We could have gone with something in between but I am happy with our choice.  The only reason they have a "-" is because when I went to book a few days after inquiring about pricing , they tried to charge me $50 more.  It seemed shady, but I had my dad talk to them and he got it down to the original cost.  I really am not sure why they did that but I wasn't thrilled with it.
Florist: Nicki Crosby of Lasting Touch $1,600
Overall Rating: A-
Nicki was great and super affordable.  She is a stay at home mom who does this out of her home, so overhead costs are low and I love supporting companies like this.  Our centerpieces were a combination of mirrors, cylindrical vases, floating candles, sunken red roses, votives and rose petals.  They were beautiful, affordable we received SO many compliments on them.  The candles really set a beautiul mood in the ballroom.  The only reason she has a "-" is because the ribbon on my bouquet was not at all what I asked for and I was not a fan of the bouttenniers.  Small details that no one else noticed, but made a difference to me.  Bouquets were gorgeous too.
DOC: We did not hire a day of coordinator and I am so happy we saved the money.  Between the hotel, florist and bakery everything was set up for us.  Between the ceremony and reception we had a family member  double check to make sure everything was set up properly.  The pastor and photographer kept us on track while at the church and the photographer and Kim from L'USA  kept us on track during the reception. 

Photography
Photographer: Adam Czap $5,500
Adam ended up not being able to photograph our wedding so it is tough to rate anything other than communication for which he sadly gets a low score.
Overall communication rating: D

We had trouble booking a photographer.  We looked at dozens of photographers and nothing quite fit.  When we met Adam and his wife Heather our personalities really clicked. and his work was so much better than anyone else we considered.  From there the only concern was cost, in the end we decided this would be worth the splurge.  Sadly, we were wrong and this is my most disappointing vendor.  We booked them in the spring, and found out in August that his wife was due to have a baby 2 days before our wedding in October.  I thought it was VERY unprofessional to book a wedding which he probably would not be able to attend.  I was very concerned and
 even strongly considered forfeiting our deposit and booking someone else (would've actually saved money...and stress). Adam covered our back-up plan, we saw her work and spoke with her on the phone  and were very comfortable with her shooting our wedding. 
Fastforward to 3 days before our wedding.  We got an e-mail from Adam saying it was urgent and to call him.  There was a medical emergency with his wife's pregnancy and he would be unable to make it.  The person he said was our back up plan was no longer available, and we have no reason to believe she ever agreed to hold that date for our wedding.  He then decided to send someone else whom we had never met, and I was not a fan of the work shown on his website.  We felt like he deceived us from the beginning.  It was unprofessional to book a wedding on a date that he knew he probably couldn't make it.    It bothered me even more when we were thrown an unexpected plan C 3 days before the wedding.  Maybe he would be better under different circumstances but I would never recommend him.

Photographer: Marek Dziekonski
Current Pre-Photo Rating: A
If you read the above rating, you will understand why we ended up with a different photographer.  I didn't love his style on his website.  Marek was very professional and so much fun.  It took me sometime to loosen up because I did not even speak with him until he showed up for our wedding.  So far, I am happy he was there.
Videographer: N/A
Photobooth: Infinity Photobooth $800
Overall Rating: A+++++++++
I can not say enough good things about this company.  We looked at numerous different options at 3 bridal shows and kept coming back to Infinity Photobooth.  Their photo quality and personalities were great...but what really sold us was the quality of our guest book, there is no comparison to other companies.  Our guests loved it, and we have an amazing book of pictures and kind words to display in our home.  This was one of our best investments, find a way to fit it in your budget and book Infinity photobooth, you will not be disappointed.
Picture Locations: Northville Mill Race
Overall Rating: B
It was a pretty location, but not our style. This can kind of be blamed on our original photographer, back to the poor communication issue.  Photographers need to buy a permit to shoot there, but I would recommend checking it out.
Engagement Pictures: Adam Czap included in wedding day photography
We actually never had engagement photos which goes back to the poor communication listed above.
Beauty / Attire
Rings: Kay Jewelers (Mine)
Overall Rating: A
We bought my ring at Briarwood and they were fabulous.  Great customer service and great price, get the full coverage on it, it is worth the money. 
We had my ring cleaned at Twelve Oaks the day before the wedding and they were so friendly.  They even pointed out that my center stone was loose and should be sent out (free because of the protection plan).  We were told it was fine for the wedding but to look into it within the next month.  It was great that they were able to point that out and my ring shined and sparkled just like new for the wedding. Side note:  We did not get a wedding band because my ring is oddly shaped and fairly thick so nothing looked right with it.  Also, for us it was an unneccessary expense.

His Ring: Metal Masters through Amazon
Overall Rating: A+
DH had his eye on a very non-traditional band at Kay since we got my ring.  Someone mentioned buying their rings off of Amazon, so I took a look.  The one at Kay was $350...the same one from Amazon was $32.  We ended up ordering a different one for around $50, but there were amazing prices.  Save your money and order off of Amazon or Overstock for men's bands.
Wedding dress: Maggie Sottero "Emily" purchased from Becker's Bridal $1,200
Overall Rating: A
I loved my dress and it was comfortable all night.  I had a sweetheart neckline added and that added a little something extra to the dress. The women at Becker's were fantastic and I can not say enough good things.  Mona helped us out on a couple different occassions and she was just amazing.  I tried on dozens of dresses, she spent almost 4 hours with us.  There were dresses I tried on as many as 3 times to make a final decision.  We went on a Thursday afternoon and pretty much had the place to ourselves which allowed Mona to patiently spend lots of time with us.  I recommend dress shopping on weekdays if at all possible.
Veil: Becker's Bridal $190
Headpiece: Becker's Bridal $100
Ceremony Shoes: DSW- GUESS $80
Overall Rating: A+
I love my shoes and got so many compliments on them.  They were pretty comfortable.  I want to wear them again but they are covered in mud and rotting pumpkin from our outdoor photos, if they come clean I will re-wear them.
Reception Shoes: DSW...unsure of brand $32 sandals with satin flowers
Alterations: Joanne Nugent in East Lansing $550
Overall rating: B
Price seemed a little high, we added a sweetheart neckline, had it taken in, shortened, bustled and steamed.  Communication was not always the best and she re-scheduled a few times but life happens.  Overall, she did a great job and is a sweet lady.
Tuxes: President Tuxedo $155
Overall Rating: B
I don't think I would give any tux place an A, none of them ever seem fantastic.  They were kind of rude at the Rochester location when we picked what we wanted for tuxes.  They also did not have as many solid satin vest choices as we'd like, so for our color it was either going to have a print on it or we'd have to go with black.  We opted for black vest and colored ties for GMs because I don't like designs on vests.  There was also confusion on shoes included or not...and the shoes were SO shiny.  The guys looked great though.
Bridesmaid Dresses: Purchased from Becker's Bridal I don't even know the designer $220, but the girls got a discount  because I bought my dress from them.
Overall Rating: A-
I loved the dresses we chose, they were flattering on everyone.  Becker's Formal wear is across from the bridal shop and has the same owners.  The staff were not as friendly as those in the bridal shop but still good.  It may have had something to do with going on a weekend. 
Hair: Bridesmaid Beautiful $55 per updo +Travel fee for on location
Makeup: Bridesmaid Beautiful $55 for airbrush
Overall Rating: A++++++
I loved Olivia and Christy from Bridesmaid Beautiful, they work for a salon and do on location hair and makeup for wedding parties.  After things fell through with 3 other options, we booked them a few weeks before my wedding.  3 days before the wedding I found out they would be coming from another wedding and only figured in an hour and a half for 5 updos and a makeup application.  I was nervous because that is way less time than anyone else plans for.  They had us all done, plus a spontaneous updo for MIL right on time.  Olivia did my hair and makeup and she did an amazing job. My hair looked just as good at 1 am as it did at 1 pm (aside from sweaty bangs from dancing).  My makeup was still in place the morning after.  I didn't do a trial, just had inspiration photos and they made it happen. 

Paper
Save the Dates: DIY inspiration found on Etsy...price went from $3.00 each to .42 each
Invites: Also DIY ordered from Cards and pockets.com
Programs/Menus: DIY, leftover materials from cards and pockets.com
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Pregnancy Ticker
11/2010- Diagnosed with PCOS
BFP #1 10/10/2011 EDD 6/19/2012; Natural M/C 10/31/2011 @ 8wks
BFP #2 5/10/2012 EDD 1/14/2013: Please stick baby, mommy and daddy love you so much already.
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Re: **Vendor Cost/Location/Reviews Here!**

posted at 6/20/2011 11:11 PM EDT on theknot.com
Joined on
12-29-2009
DETROIT
4914977269347137
Posts: 246
First: 8/24/2010

Last: 3/21/2012


 ETA- these are reviews not pricing information.  I can send pricing info if you would like.

Ceremony
Ceremony Site: Our Lady Queen of All Saints- this was the church that we both grew up at so it meant something to us to get married there.  I doubt that you would get married here unless you had a connection to the church.  I really don't want to complain about the church that I grew up at, but they do not do alot of weddings and it was obivous in the way that some things were handled. 

Officiant: Father Ron Babich- again, we grew up at this church so we knew Fr. Ron but he failed to mention any connection that my family had to the church and focused on my husband.  He also did not attend the reherasal so there were some hiccups that could have been avoided.

Ceremony Music: David Minnick- he was the church music minister.  He did a great job aside from a minor miscommunication about his fee.

Reception
Reception Site: Villa Penna- we were so happy we choose Penna's.  Husband says "there is nothing bad to say about Penna's".  We had lots of compliments on the food and everything went smoothly.  Everything they were responsible for went well.  The bartenders served shots all night even though we were told they wouldn't.  We also were a little hesitant at first about booking but we did not pay until the week of the wedding so we paid for only who came.  I had heard some werid things on this board about cancellation fees, but they did not have any of those other than you would have lost your deposit if you cancelled within 150 days.  They also helped us out on some of the bar fees and they gave us friday pricing.  Just ask to talk to George!

Caterer: Villa Penna's

Chair Covers/Linens: Couture Chair Collection -we only meet the lady once (I don't even remember her name) and then we mailed our final payment.  When the guests arrived, everything was set up and they took everything down afterwards.  I am actually glad that we didn't have to deal with them more because it was good to know that it was totally taken care of- one less thing for me to worry about.
 
Bakery: Sweetheart Bakery- we thought the cake was great, not dry.  They have fairly simple combinations, but the cake is delicious!  We were happy with them.

DJ: Elite Entertainment- Ben Yowell- he was great!  He knew how to feel out the crowd and people danced all night.  Everyone seemed to have a great time and we keep hearing that it was a fun wedding.  He also was good about keeping the night on track and making sure things happened when they were supposed to, but he was in no way overbearing and it never felt like he was dominating anything.  He was also very respectful and asked us before he played some of the werider requests, which I appreciated. 

Favors: DIY
Lighting: Elite Entertainment- it was part of our package and it was lights for the dance floor

Other
Limo: A Dream Limousine- David was awesome!  He greeted us in the back of the church with bottles of water, which was a great idea!  We had a party bus and it was clean, wtih a good speaker system.  He knew the area and everything went great.  We also had a free ride to the airport for our honeymoon, which was great because our flight left at 6am and he was there to pick us up Monday morning at 3:45am (15 minutes before we asked him to arrive). 

Florist: Harvard Florist- Cindy was super helpful and patient.  She meet with me several times over the course of my planning and made sure she knew excatly what I wanted.  The arrangements were beautiful and we were happy.  I did have to buy my own vases, which I heard is unusual. 

DOC:  we didn't have one- but I wish we had- you should get one if you are on the fence about it!

Miscellaneous equipment: n/a

Photography
Photographer: Brandy Roels, Lifetime Images by Brandy- Brandy was great to work with.  She was so comfortable and relaxed.  She got a lot of great shots without us knowing she was even there.  She jumped in when we needed some help throughout the day (like when the aisle runner got snagged).  The photos turned out great.  I do wish she had focused more on the posed pictures to make sure there were no fingers creeping around people's back.  She took amazing candid shots.  We have so many fun pictures from the reception and she managed to really capture the emotion throughout the day. 

Videographer: Matt Morey, Zenisphere Films LLC- he was great.  He was a fun presence and he got some great clips.  We paid for him only to take raw video.  This was a great middle ground between not getting any video and spending a ton of money.  I plan to eventually edit the video and I hear there are some user-friendly programs out there.  We are glad that we even have the raw video because photos are not the same.  We have enjoyed watching it already.

Picture Locations: George George Memorial Park- it was really pretty and there was a good variety of places to take pictures at inside the park.  There were alot of families there and kids, so parking was a little tight, but we didnt get any kids in the pictures so it didnt matter that the park was busy.

Engagement Pictures:  Sieloff Studios- we just had a few studio shots taken.  They turned out nice, but in retrospect it would have been better to get the more fun engagement pictures.

Beauty / Attire
Rings: My e-ring was Helzberg.  I wasnt really happy with them.  Husband bought an e-ring and no matching band so I was upset when the store was so cold about the fact that no band matched and there was nothing they could do.  His ring and my band: Maloofs- they did an amazing job making a custom band for my ring.  They matched the detail so perfectly.  I actually took the band to Helzberg today to get the rings sodered together and the store was amazed with the work they did making the band.  It was also really reasonable for the amount of work that went into the making it custom.  Husband is happy with his band.
 
Wedding dress: Alessandra's Bridal- We had almost gone to all the stores in the county when I found my dress here.  They were friendly and helpful.  I came back several times before ordering the dress. I do wish I had ordered one size down from what they suggested.  They told me that I might gain weight before the wedding and I should order a bigger size than I knew that I needed.
Alterations:Alessandra's- My biggest compliant is that my final fitting was almost a month before the wedding and by the time the wedding came, I had lost weight and the dress did not fit properly.  It was a corset back, but it had to be tied so tight that I was sore the next day and the dress lost the visual of the corset.  They also did a poor job with the bustle.  The bustle was still hanging on the floor and they sewed the buttons through all the fabric so you could see the stiches on the top layer of the dress.

Tuxes: Men's Warehouse- We went into the store to book the wedding party and the dads.  My husband was getting email updates about who had gotten their tuxes.  We were confused when he was missing one of his GMs.  We called the store and they had removed one of the GMs from the list.  Other than that, they were good and my dad said they were even helpful with folding the pocketsquares and giving him a tutorial.

Bridesmaid Dresses: Areana Bridal- they were fantastic!  They originally ordered the dresses wrong.  They ordered long dresses instead of the short verision, but they went above and beyond and custom hemmed each BMs dress.  They even accomodated two BMs the friday before the wedding since they came from out of town.

Hair: Salon Indigo- we all got our hair done here.  I loved my trial hair and I was told that it would be exactly the same the day of (it was only a week before that I got my trial done).  However, when I looked at my hair on my wedding day, it was different than the trial.  I was shocked since I thought she was clear on what she was doing and she was the one that made the point about the trial being excatly what she would do the day of.  She did fix it and try to make it match what we had done the week before, but it was too late to fix all of it and I really honestly wasn't entirely happy.  The BMs also got their hair done here and one's hair started falling out as soon as we got to the church. 

Makeup: Salon Indigo- When I mentioned to her that I thought she needed to do something about my big pores she kind of brushed off my comment, but you can see my pores in some of the pictures!  I did really like what she did with my eye makeup though.

Paper
Save the Dates: Vistaprint- I designed them myself and I was really unhappy with how they turned out.  The colors were not right and the edges looked like they had been cut with a dull blade.  I did receive a STD that was made on Vistaprint with their design and it looks much better.

Invites: American Printing and Graphics, they were AMAZING!!!  I cannot say enough good about this company.  Here is something to consider- when you buy things online- say Vistaprint- who are you sending your money to?  Why not keep your money in the area you live in?  This company has a fairly large staff of  professionals.  I designed my invitations and had them printed here.  I paid $95 for 110 main inserts, and 4 other insert cards.  They printed and cut them for us.  We could not have had them look this professional if we had done them ourselves and tried to cut them.  We also had the bachelorette party invites printed for $15 for 30 invites.  We had thank you notes printed with our picture.  They cut and folded the cards and sold us envelopes to fit for $60 for 125 thank you notes.  I don't know anyone who is affiliated with the store and I have no vested interest other than I had a wonderful experience with this company and I would continue to get things printed from them.   I did have the seating chart printed at Kinko's because American Printing and Graphics could not print that size sheet, but I had to change the speciality fonts I choose because the people at Kinko's didnt know how to get the fonts into their program.  This was never a problem here.
Anniversary Planning Bio updated 3/8/11
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Re: **Vendor Cost/Location/Reviews Here!**

posted at 6/24/2011 4:05 PM EDT on theknot.com
Joined on
11-02-2009
DETROIT
9609927845348521
Posts: 27
First: 6/7/2010

Last: 7/8/2011
Ceremony
Ceremony Site: Matthaei Botanical Gardens - Ann Arbor, MI
$1400 (typically $1200 but we're getting married on a "holiday" weekend)
VERY disappointed with the site.  They ripped all of the flowers out of the center of the Gateway Gardens so it was just a barren area.  I had seen it about a month before the wedding and they were just planting flowers.  I asked if it would be in bloom by my wedding day and they assured me they would, however, there weren't any sprouts.  Furthermore, our hostess was completely clueless.  During the rehearsal, she forgot to place the best man, maid of honor, and the fathers.  She had no idea what was going on.  On the day of the wedding she wasn't much more help.  The biggest thing she was concerned about was kicking us out of the bridal holding room in time despite the fact that I was trying to recover from a near heat stroke.  I'm sure we still got some great pictures but very poor service.  C-

Officiant: Janis Levin-Gorelick, http://www.secularceremonies.net/, including mileage she was approximately $353.
We got a lot of compliments on the service.  She let us customize the ceremony as much as we wanted.  My only complaint was she got a little power-hungry right before the ceremony and tried reordering the entire bridal party.  Luckily my DOC was there to fix things, otherwise the musician's cues would have been completely messed up.  B

Ceremony Music - Panache Entertainment, a solo piano player (and electric rental) was $150 for 1 hour
No complaints.  He was on time and played all the music we requested and knew his cues.  We were able to do all of the music planning online.  A+

Reception
Reception Site / Caterer: Weber's Inn - Ann Arbor, MI
$5500 food/drink minimum.  With the wedding package, entrees, an open bar, (rather plain) centerpieces, some Hors d'euveres (veggie/cheese tray) cost about $40-50 per person.  They were super attentive to us and served food very quickly and efficiently.  They were also able to adjust times as needed based on the guests mood and timing of other vendors.  The prime rib was giant and raved about.  At the tasting, my husband tasted the more expensive sirloin and found the prime rib to be much better. I had been very nervous about the site because I had only seen the atrium ballroom when it was empty and it was so boring and reception-hally looking (which is not what I wanted), but once everything was in there it looked much better.  We didn't get a chance to use the patio (which was something that really attracted us to the site) because it was the hottest day so far this year (95F+).  A++
 
Chair Covers/Linens: Stephanie's Wedding Creations.  Chair covers with a sash were $1.75 each, napkins were $0.50 each.  Chargers cost $0.40 each. 
The chairs looked good and matched our color scheme. Communication was sorely lacking after she got our $.  B-

Bakery: Weber's Inn (Went towards our food/drink minimum) Was approximately $375 for a three tier square cake in two flavors with sugar flowers. 
It looked and tasted fabulous.  Mary Beth did a great job and bringing my vision to life.  We got quite a few compliments about the Cassata flavor (vanilla with a twist).   There was very little cake leftover.  A+

DJ - Big Foot DJ.  Cost $795 for 7 hours. 
Communication before the event was very last minute on their part.  Luckily they had an online planner that helped immensely.  At the actual event, our DJ, Tim, did a great job at playing all of the songs we requested ahead of time, not playing the ones we banned, and taking requests.  He did a great job at feeling out the crowd and for the most part there were always people on the dance floor.  He also fixed some pacing issues around dinner time (moving times up because people ate quickly).  A-

Favors - Candy Bar with 12 selections from Stephanie's Wedding Creations.  $3.00 per person includes the candy, containers, scoops, table decoration, candy bag, and set up/take down.  We paid for 12 different candy choices, but I'm pretty sure there was more like 8 (I'm thinking she counted different colors of the same candy as two choices).  There was no chocolate, which I had asked for, however it may have melted because our wedding ended up being on the hottest day so far this year.  Stephanie didn't provide enough scoops and didn't have decorations.  Luckily Weber's was able to grab some tongs and scoops from the kitchen for us. Despite this, the guests still enjoyed it and for many guests it was the first time they had seen one at a wedding.   As with the linens, her communication left much to be desired after she got our money.  C-

Also did paper fans for the ceremony. From http://www.weddingfavorsunlimited.com/, cost $0.81 each. For fans, the quality wasn't stellar (but I guess you get what you pay for) and the color was a lighter blue than it looked on the website, but the shipping was very quick (<1 week).  B+

I also added a thank you label that I made using labels from Party City.  I got 120 labels for $3.99.

Lighting - None

Other
Limo - Arbor Limousine
We needed two limos - one for the groom and groomsmen and one for me the bridesmaids because we decided to wait to see each other until the ceremony.  We had the limos for four hours (1pm-5pm) and they cost about $795 including gratuity.  They were supposed to stay onsite during the ceremony but apparantly the groomsmen's limo left, which would have been fine BUT they left the marriage license in there so they had to track them down using our driver.  There was some sort of disagreement between our best man and the driver and the best man was fuming.  Not sure what happened but he did not like them.  B-

Florist - Flowers by Heidi.  Cost $554.10 for bridal bouquet, three bridesmaid bouquets, 7 boutteneires, toss bouquet, a corsage, and ribbons for reserved seats. 
They arrived on time and were GORGEOUS!  I kept changing my mind about the flowers and she was very flexible with me.  I didn't have a super-clear vision, I just some flower types that I liked and she did an awesome job at putting it all together.  I got a ton of compliments on the bouquets!  A+

Centerpieces - Stephanie's Wedding Creations & iLUMIEnate on Etsy.  From Stephanie we are doing 7 cylinder vases with orchids and floating candles surrounded by votives.  These cost $25 per table. 
They did not look anything like her website.  On the website it shows real flowers underneath floating candles. She had small (too small) floating candles in 3 small cylinders and then tall FAKE flowers in the tall center cylinder (which was half covered by the table number).  Not at all my vision.  I was very unhappy with it and her communication sucked.  Do NOT get centerpieces from her.  She was okay for linens.  F

From Etsy, we got luminary table numbers which will be the tallest cylinder vase at the table (Stephanie is providing the vase/candle for this).  For 12 of these at 13" tall with ribbon, they cost $80 (including shipping).  The seller wasn't great with communication.  I had to email her several times (after she got my $ of course) to make sure they were being made and would arrive on time.  Luckily they arrived two days before the wedding.  The ribbon that we paid extra for from her didn't match our colors AT ALL.  Luckily I had some leftover ribbon from invitations that I was able to use instead.  For the price, I would have expected much better customer service.  I probably could have made these myself for a fraction of the cost.  C-

DOC - Tammara Kane from Grand Jour Events.  For the day she cost $350 and met with me as many times as I wanted prior to the Big Day. 
I cannot rave enough about how amazing Tammara was!!!!!  She was on top of every little detail.  During the reception, she made sure my husband and I could enjoy ourselves and made sure we got each type of food and kept bringing us drinks.  She was our absolute best vendor.  We were so impressed by her and was the best spent money for our wedding.  She is undercharging and we are going to send her a BIG tip with our thank you card.  If you aren't sure whether you want/need a DOC, trust me, you do and you need to hire Tammara.  A+++++++++++++++

Rehearsal Dinner - Courthouse Grill, Plymouth, MI.  We got a ton of compliments on the food, everyone loved it!  Service was a little bit slow (we only had one waitress for 23 people).  B+

Accomodations - Weber's Inn ($99 a night for a standard room with either two full beds or a king bed with a pull-out couch)
The night before the wedding, we stayed in separate hotel rooms.  It was fine, unti we started doing hair and makeup in my room and it got really hot.  We thought the AC wasn't working and it took 3 phone calls to get someone to come up.  Then they said it was but it was just a really hot day outside.  They seemed to dismiss it but later in the afternoon they actually came in and REPLACED the entire AC unit.  For the night of the wedding, the honeymoon suite was comped for us as part of the wedding package.  The honeymoon suite was great - it had a giant bed (probably a California King) with a separate living area.  Room service was very reasonable.  We got four big breakfasts for $30 including gratuity.  The coffee bar downstairs is also really good.  A-

Photography
Photographer - Amy Boeve, $2500
This cost included the engagement session, unlimited hours on the wedding day (I think she stayed about 10 hours), copyright ownership of the pictures, and picture CDs.  We can order actual photos/books through her website or through any other website. 

WOW!  Our pictures turned out absolutely amazing.  My husband and I are both overly-critical of ourselves in pictures, but these all looked amazing.  She captured all of the moments I wanted and some I didn't even think I wanted until I saw them.  Amy is absolutely amazing.  We got the pictures a little over a week after the wedding.  The quality was great - crystal clear.  She gave us over 700 pictures (I know she took more but I kept squinting/blinking from the sunlight).  A+++

Beauty / Attire
Rings: Orin Jewelers in Northville
We ordered our rings a little bit at the last minute (about 5 weeks before the wedding).  However, they made sure that we had them.  They weren't sure my husband's ring would arrive on time (it did, the day before the wedding) but they had 3 back-ups available.  The rings were also very affordable.  My engagement ring was nearly impossible to find a match for and I was sure I would have to go the custom-made route.  However, they carry a line called Destiny that fit it perfectly.  They mentioned that this line seems to fit any hard to match engagement ring.  My ring only cost $730(14K white gold, 0.25ctw channel-set diamonds) and my husbands ring cost about $900 (14k white gold). A+

Wedding dress: Fantastic Finds - Lansing, MI. 
I wanted an Ella Bridal dress (#5482) and they were one of two places in MI that have it.  It cost approximately $1000.  I ordered the dress in October and they said it should come in by March.  It arrived in December!  My only complaint is that I when I called to make my first appointment, I asked if they had the dress in stock for me to try on, they couldn't confirm either way.  When I got there, they didn't have and had to order a sample from Ella.  It cost me $50 for that and had to drive back up there (from Livonia) a couple weeks later.  However, the $50 went towards the cost of the dress. - B+

Alterations - La Valle Bridal - Garden City
Cost about $200. I also had a 10% discount from her Best of Detroit win.   I needed it to be hemmed, a bustle to be added, and the straps to be taken in.  The alterations came out great and fit perfectly.  A++

Accessories - La Valle Bridal - Garden City
Mary made my veil (single tier, elbow length, pencil edge) for $45.  She also sells accessories at a really good price through her website - http://www.shopforbridaldirect.com/. I got a Symphony Bridal (FL805) flower for my hair for $37.  Everywhere else cost more .A+

Tuxes - President Tuxedo in West Bloomfield, MI
Groom's  Tux was free and our wedding party got free accessories because we won second place in an online raffle.  The tuxes fit well and matched very nicely with the bridesmaid dresses.  The guys mentioned that the shoes were surprisingly comfortable.  A

Bridesmaid Dresses - David's Bridal.  All of the girls got fitted at their local stores and ordered their dresses online.  The dresses arrived within 2 weeks and looked great. - A

Hair/Makeup - Bridal Beauty on Location.  Hair trials were $40 each but Kim let me try as many styles as I wanted at each trial.  $500 for hair and airbrush makeup for myself and three bridesmaids at our hotel.  Kim was absolutely fabulous!  She made all of my girls and myself look amazing.  One of my bridesmaids is thinking of flying her out to Georgia for her wedding next year.  She taught my MOH how to remove my veil without messing up my hair and left us with extra supplies in case of an emergency.  A++

Paper
Save the Dates - Shutterfly.  $72.88 for 55 (including shipping). Looked great, the colors were bright and they used heavy cardstock.  Arrived quickly. - A+

Invites - David's Bridal Invitations.  $286 for 75 (including response cards, reception cards, envelope liners, pre-addressed envelopes, shipping).  Very Happy with these.  They arrived quickly and used good-quality paper.  I added hand-made bows to the invitation to match our colors.  - A+

Escort Cards - GoldenInvites from Etsy.  $90 for 100 blank cards (including shipping).  They arrived pretty quickly and she worked with me to find the best color ribbon to match my colors.  They came out looking great!  - A

Programs/Menus - N/A
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Re: **Vendor Cost/Location/Reviews Here!**

posted at 6/29/2011 2:49 PM EDT on theknot.com
Joined on
01-02-2010
DETROIT
5451980532687536
Posts: 610
First: 1/3/2010

Last: 7/8/2011

Here are my vendor reviews. I also posted them on 12kwedding.com - link in my siggy.

~DetroitGyrl


Ceremony/Reception Venue: The Whitney Restaurant Grade: B- (Initial Communication - D, Rehearsal and Day Of - A-)

They have their costs listed on their site - they change every year. Around $35pp for premium bar, starting at around $50pp for dinner. Ceremony in garden $1200, no price to rent reception space.

The Whitney is absolutely gorgeous - inside and out. We chose to have our evening ceremony and reception at the Whitney outdoors in the garden. We had around 150 people - so it was perfect. Initial contact with the staff was horrendous and stressful - luckily they ended up replacing the original contact person with Kristine Rader. Kristine was VERY responsive and never missed our scheduled appointments. Everything we asked for happened and the Whitney staff was awesome. With the exception of some cold glares from a manager during the arrival for our rehearsal the day before and some confusion with staff telling our guests the wedding had been moved inside due to rain - everyone was accommodating. All of our guests commented on the friendliness of the staff, the great food and how awesome the bartender was. I was pleased with how quickly the staff converted the ceremony space into reception seating and the extra touches of lanterns in the back area - it made the garden look like something out of an evening fairytale. We had somewhat of a non-traditional wedding - but the Whitney let us do what we wanted and for that we are ETERNALLY grateful. Our wedding was perfect.

Hotel Accommodations/Guest Block: Motor City Casino Hotel Grade: B- (Rooms - A, Service - C-)

$149/night with block (comp. upgrade for couple to suite with 10 rooms booked)

Motor City is a gorgeous hotel. Everything is updated and modern. All my guests raved about how nice the rooms were. The premier suite we stayed in was one of the nicest rooms I've ever stayed in. It was HUGE and had every thing for the perfect 2 day home away from home. Unfortunately - their service needs A LOT of work. We had a ton of problems while we were there. I had to check in twice the day before the wedding because I requested an early check-in so I arrived at 2 - I was told it would be ready in a half hour but when I arrived at 4:30 (1.5 hours after check-in time) - it STILL wasn't ready and they lost my initial reservation - so they upgraded us to a premier suite - however - I was 30 minutes late for our rehearsal (and pissy) because of it. We had gift bags taken to all of our guests.. but our guests also received and invitation to another couple's wedding and brunch tickets for their Sunday brunch. One of my out-of-town guests ended up at the other venue because of it. Needless to say - it caused A LOT of confusion. They were supposed to clean our room while we were at the wedding - they didn't and when we returned I had to request towels at 3 am because my bridesmaids and I had used most of them getting ready earlier in the day. The day of check out they sent an incorrect bill with extra rooms on it.  So - there were just so many annoying little issues that made the stay pretty exhausting. I filled out a survey at their request and at least 3 managers have contacted me to remind me (as if I can't recall) that we were upgraded. However, most of the craziness happened AFTER we were upgraded. tsk tsk - Note to managers: never ask guests for feedback and then make excuses for poor service. One bride to another - steer clear!

Photography: Carl Jones Photography and Willy Wangsa Photography: Grade: A+++

These guys did a great job. The teaser pics we've gotten so far have been awesome. We can't wait to see the final results. We met with both gentleman and did a walk-through in the space a few weeks before. A lot of our questions were answered and it gave them both a chance to plan. The day-of picture sessions were seamless and we got all the pictures we wanted with a few extras. I know we'll be pleased with the results.

Cake Topper: CrossWireDesign (Etsy Shop): Grade: A

$66

Fast shipping, excellent communication, great price for quality work.

Cake and Cupcakes: The Cupcake Station - Ferndale, MI: Grade: A

We spent about $500 - that included two mini cupcakes pp for 175 people, 9 inch custom cake on top, cupcake tier rental, delivery and set-up

I waited until 2 weeks before the wedding to order the cake and cupcakes. Partially because that's when it was on my list and partially because I always knew we were going with cupcakes and that's how long the cupcake station said they needed for the order. They did an EXCELLENT job. We decided to stop in one day and do our own personal tasting. We got one of each of their mini cupcakes and their color brochure and got to work checking off ones we liked and X'ing ones we didn't like. It only cost us $26. It would have been cheaper on a Tuesday when minis are only $1 each. After we made our decision - I ordered over the phone and requested a custom round cake to go on top. Everyone commented on how pretty and delicious everything was. The price was VERY reasonable for feeding around 175 people.

Photobooth: Shutterbooth: Grade: A-

About $1000 - we got a midgrade package, custom logo and custom wedding color scrapbook upgrade, cd (you get ALL of the pictures your guests take) - this served as our favor so it was worth it.

I highly recommend the photobooth experience. The guests love it, the couple loves it and you end up with really great memories at the end of the night. The photobooth host did a great job and we really enjoyed the scrapbook at the end of the night. In fact - we cracked it open when we got back to the hotel (while we waited for the fresh towels) and laughed at the pictures and messages people took and left. The only reason they get an A- is because communication was odd. Emails are often confusing and repetitive and you can sign up with one person, talk to another on the phone and get yet another person as the host. Communicating with 3 different people can get repetitive and annoying. A few times the phone contact called me about a topic we'd already discussed. That's not cool when you're a busy bride. Other than that - it was totally worth the investment - as it also served as our favor. We upgraded and got the bookmarks so people could protect their keepsake. Totally worth it!

Decor: Velvet Touch Events: A

She'll work with your budget

Amber and her staff were exceptional. It was important that we have something beautiful, whimsical and eco-chic that didn't break our piggy bank. She listened to my vision and created something that was perfect for our occasion and worked within our budget. She was accommodating and came to me for a face-to-face as well as had staff on hand to decorate after the ceremony space was switched over in to the reception space. The finished product was beautiful.
Daisypath Anniversary tickers Photobucket Visit Detroit.Weddings.com

I'm a guest blogger on 12Kwedding.com

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Re: **Vendor Cost/Location/Reviews Here!**

posted at 7/2/2011 8:12 PM EDT on theknot.com
Joined on
10-16-2009
DETROIT
8583913276155503
Posts: 86
First: 8/28/2010

Last: 7/16/2011


 Ceremony
Ceremony Site - Commerce United Methodist Church - $350 for church members. I started going to this church over a year ago and I love the pastor. It was such an amazing place to have the ceremony. The wedding coordinator was very informative and helpful.
Officiant - Pastor Deane. He is amazing and made the premartial counseling sessions so much fun.
Ceremony Music - A CD I made from songs that I liked. Everyone said it sounded like a fairy tale.

Reception
Reception Site - My husband's uncle's victorian mansion. We set up a huge tent in the backyard. $1800 for 30x80 tent, 158chairs, tables.
Caterer - Italia gardens $1000 for 150 people. Everyone thought the food was amazing
Chair Covers/Linens
Bakery - Nicole's sweet toppings about $320 for 138 people. Everyone ate the cake and we only had the top tier left. The cake was the wrong design but it was the original design I asked her for. I changed my mind a few weeks before the wedding but got my original choice.
DJ - Mobile Rhythms DJ service Steve. $850 He kept people danching all night. Got a ton of compliments on his music selection & personality. He also helped me to plan my timeline and was very good at easing my mind on things.
Favors - little bells.
Lighting - Got lighting through the DJ

Other
Limo - Lavdas Limo - about $370 for 3.5hrs. It was clean and on time but nothing special. It looked good on the inside and outside though.
Florist - Linnea Floral Designs. $605 for my bouquet & 3 bridesmaids, a toss bouquet, 8 boutineers, 19 centerpeices, and a unity candle arrangement. Simply amazing! They were so much fun to work with and the price is unbeatable. GREAT communication. They were made me feel so comfortable and were extremely helpful.
DOC
Miscellaneous equipment

Photography
Photographer - Precious Memories Photography - Kathy. $1500 for 10hrs & a photo album. She came up with so many amazing ideas for shots and was fun to work with. I can't wait to see the photos!
Videographer - Ikonic Images - $750 (but now it is $1500 - I would pay that for him). Jason was amazing to work with. Everyone loved his personality and ideas. I am so excited to see the finished product. If you are even thinking that you may want a videographer get one! I wasn't going to but then I saw his work and I had to book him. Now I am looking at some raw footage of the day he sent me as a sneak and I am so happy I get to see what my husband was doing before the wedding and relive all those moments!
Photobooth
Picture Locations - Clarkston
Engagement Pictures - Precious Memories Photography - Jason. $100

Beauty / Attire
Rings - Kay Jewlers. I think $1500 for both of mine & $400 for his
Wedding dress - Davids Bridal $650. I was lucky and had no problems at all with them.
Alterations - David's Bridal $35 for bustle. Again, no problems.
Tuxes - Presidents tuxedo $150 I think. We had a lot of problems with incorrect sizes but they fixed them the next day.
Bridesmaid Dresses - David's Bridal - $120. The girls all had good experiences with them.
Hair - Imago Salon. $65 I think. It turned out better than the picture I showed them. It also stayed in place from 9am up until I took it out at 1:30am!
Makeup - Aleksandra adams $80. She was a lot of fun to work with! Not too great on communication but she was planning her wedding which was a week after mine.

Paper
Save the Dates - n/a
Invites - Michaels & then did them myself. I think $30 for 50 of them with a coupon. Nobody knew I did them myself and it was a HUGE money saver
Programs/Menus - n/a

Overall we didn't have a problem with any of the vendors.
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Re: **Vendor Cost/Location/Reviews Here!**

posted at 7/6/2011 12:03 AM EDT on theknot.com
Joined on
07-02-2011
DETROIT
4813452410070143
Posts: 8
First: 7/6/2011

Last: 8/23/2011


 Ceremony
Ceremony Site - parent's yard - free.  B+  Can't beat the price, but I would have liked a bit more room.
Officiant - family friend - $50 gift.  A+  It was wonderful to have someone who knew us so well.
Ceremony Music - Rondo String Quartet - $480 for the first hour, $100 each additional 1/2 hour.  We will hire them for the entire day.  A++  Can't recommend them enough!  Did everything right.  Very professional.  Played beautifully and kept everyone entertained with both current and classical music.  I am still hearing compliments about them.

Reception
Reception Site - parent's yard.  B+  as stated above.
Caterer - Gigante Catering - $28 per person, alcohol purchased seperately  A
Chair Covers/Linens - Linen Hero - $1.80 per chair  A
Bakery - Just Baked - $2.50 per cupcake  A  Delicious!
DJ - N/A - Quartet will be playing
Favors - hand made boxes with almonds - $2.50 per person  A  For how they turned out.  C  For all of the work involved.
Lighting - N/A

Other
Limo - N/A
Florist - The Parsanage - $1800  A  We were so happy with how our flowers turned out!
DOC - still considering - did not have, but wish I had.
Miscellaneous equipment - Great Lakes Tent - $285  A  So glad we decided to have some shelter.

Photography
Photographer - Kreativ Imaging - $1200  A pending
Videographer - N/A
Photobooth - N/A
Picture Locations - local park
Engagement Pictures - local park

Beauty / Attire
Rings - JB Robinson - $1700  A  They helped us design the rings ourselves a bit.  They were very patient with us!
Wedding dress - my mom's  A+  Made my mom cry when I came around the corner.
Alterations - family friend  A
Tuxes - Mens Warehouse - $150  A 
Bridesmaid Dresses - Each wearing their own black dress  A  This worked out great.  They all used the same material and can wear the dresses again.
Hair - N/A
Makeup - N/A

Paper
Save the Dates - N/A
Invites - The American Wedding - $109  A  Came on time and looked great.
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