Under Construction!

Sorry for the abrupt shut down of the old bloggy blog. I am in the middle of some "blog maintenance" if you will so stayed tuned!

Vendor Reviews - Blumgarten

I haven't been feeling so hot lately so this post will definitely cheer me up. Another one of my favorite vendors, Blumgarten. They did an AMAZING job. I was so happy with the flowers, at first I was the type, oh I don't need to spend a ton of money on flowers, they just get thrown away, but my mom is a huge flower person and convinced us otherwise and I am SO glad.

We worked with Sunny at Blumgarten and she got "us" right away and what we were going for. The few other places we met with didn't get "us", like at all. One place sent us a proposal with huge grecian columns and draping ivy, ummm, well that is pretty and all but not the look we personally were going for. I had seen a mock-up of the centerpieces but never for the bouquets, I was a little nervous but knew Sunny could rock it and oh yeah she did!

Love it, and I don't know exactly what all is in there, some peonies, ranunculus, artemisia (LOVED that, it brought in the gray) mini hydrangeas, vernonica. Varying shades of green for the bridesmaids, hypericum berries, artemesia again, kermit mums and mini versions for the flower girls (they looked SO adorable). Click to enlarge.

We had one large dogwood arrangement at the church and that was it, we let the architecture be the main focus. We had a similar and larger dogwood arrangement at the entrance to the reception in front of the fireplace. Sadly I don't have a picture, I would have loved to see it with all the favor boxes displayed but by the time we arrived they had been picked up.

Oh and if you are wondering about the wine and chocolate sitting up there I can explain later, kind of a funny story actually...

And the tables, they were GORGEOUS, perfect! Sadly, again, I don't have any great pictures.

Sunny and Michelle were a joy to work with and I couldn't have been happier, yes, it is expensive and maybe on the higher end for flowers but it was totally worth it. They were even sweet enough to bring paper for our guests to take the flowers home in (I was worried about them being wasted). No doubt, 10 out of 10.

Oh and those candleholders we bought ourselves from Crate&Barrel, I loved them but I was hoping I could sell them and make some money back but wax dripped on the inside, not sure what to do with 24 Pixie candleholders!

Vendor Reviews - Invites, Signage, Etc.

So to follow up my worst review, I thought I would review one of my favorite vendors, my super, talented (and hot!) sister. As I posted before, she was kind enough to do all our invitations and not only that but our signage and table numbers as well. This was a huge lifesaver. I am all about DIY but her design was above and beyond anything I could have come up with.

The pouches were sewn by my mom (she is also very talented) using Paper Source chartreuse cardstock.
I wish I had better pics of the rsvp card and she did this neat perforated tear card for the rehearsal dinner invite/rsvp. Genius I tell you!

We had a modified version of the invite printed as a sign for outside of the church. Loved it, we kept it and are planning on framing it.

We decided against doing programs and I think it was a good choice, we wanted to be a little more eco-friendly and have our guests focus on the ceremony.

I feel so lucky, this is her first time doing wedding invites (she is a graphic designer) and they were so amazing, get in touch with her, mail@lauramwilliams.com. Of course, 10 out of 10!

Vendor Reviews - Dessert

As OCD as I was and as meticulous as I was about everything I thought if anyone could pull off a "perfect" wedding it would be me. A lot of little things went wrong, the church roof still was not fixed, the porch at the reception was also under construction and had yellow caution tape wrapped around one side (I didn't find this out until the day before), our recessional song didn't play at the right time, tables were in the wrong place, vendors didn't follow the schedule, I got a stain on my dress within 20 minutes of the reception and yes, obviously I did notice these things, but I still had an amazing time! So really, it WAS perfect.

I almost didn't want to post about this, not wanting to be a Debbie Downer, but I realized I got so caught up in how things looked and those images from gorgeous, amazing "real" weddings, you rarely get to hear the real story. You see these splashes of maybe 10 or so pictures, or you see something in a magazine that costs 5 times your budget and probably took a staff of 100 people to create and think you can achieve it. And some people can, more power to you, I wish I could have, but I wanted to be honest and tell the story about our wedding and how even though it wasn't 100 percent how we planned, it didn't matter that day.

My biggest regret of all the mishaps was sadly -- the dessert buffet. Remember how much energy I put into planning that thing! Not to mention all the stress of what to pick and the running around to get everything two days before the wedding. Argh, seriously, my expectations were WAY high, thanks a lot Amy Atlas!. Haha. It did TASTE good (from what I hear, I was too full to eat any) but what I was envisioning in my head is not what we ended up with.

Sweet Mandy B's has some amazingly delicious cupcakes but what they didn't have in my case unfortunately were good order taking skills. Instead of plain white frosting for the vanilla cupcakes we got pastel green, purple, and orange frosting with rainbow sprinkles, cute sure, but not really the look I was going for. Plus the overall grandness and extravagance I wanted just wasn't achieved. And yes, I realize this seems so trivial, and I admit that it is, but this dessert buffet was all I could think about for a long time so for the frosting to be wrong completely changed the whole look I had envisioned.

Do not fear, there was no Bridezilla freak out at the wedding of me screaming, throwing cupcakes at guests, I noticed the mistake, was slightly bummed, didn't even mention a word of it and then moved on and had a fantastic night. It wasn't until going through the photos that I was bummed (more than slightly), irritated, and so, I blog about it, vent, and now it is done. And look, a solution -- Photoshop in black and white, now I will never know what color they were, ha!

So, Sweet Mandy B's, 9 out of 10 on taste, 0? 1? (I can't even decide) out of 10 for service (for obvious pre-stated reasons AND they wouldn't cut the bars for me even though we spent close to $200 AND they don't deliver AND they told me they would have strawberry cupcakes by the end of May and they didn't). Word to the wise, ask for a copy of your order.

Bleeding Heart Bakery, awesome, my vegan and gluten free guests were thrilled, no complaints except I wish they carried more bite-size items but they did cut bars for me and they deliver (although they did show up quite early and woke me up but hey, they got the order right!).

Vendor Reviews - Food

The food was a huge hit. We got so many compliments, especially on the chicken and beef entrees (sorry I didn't get pics of those), people were saying it was one of the best meals they ever had. Guests also loved the mashed potato martinis, I wanted to eat three of them! Sadly I didn't get to try many of the awesome hor d'oeuvres but I heard they were fantastic! The food for sure was 10 out of 10.

J&L Catering did a good job and they accommodated our vegan and gluten free guests. My only complaint is that dinner went longer than we had planned but I imagine that was due to having the extra course and the smaller space made it more difficult for the wait staff to navigate. Overall I think they did a nice job and especially considering what terrible luck we had with other catering companies in the beginning. If you go with J&L ask for Evelyn and Paul as your "captain."

Next post: desserts, yumm!

Vendor Reviews - Dress

I loved my dress, it was Watters 1027B. I suppose I can say "was" since it won't be my dress any longer, I decided to donate it to Brides Against Breast Cancer.

I ordered the dress from Netbride.com and I would recommend them if you are looking to save some bucks. You won't get the same service as a bridal salon but all in all it worked out and we saved around $800.

As far as the alterations go...if you remember that mess...I don't know if I am ready to say how I felt with the service or the end result. I did feel that the dress was still too tight and my bustle came unsnapped every 15 minutes but maybe that is typical and maybe I ate too much that week, who knows, but let me just say if I were to do it all over again I probably would have gone somewhere else. Not horrible, but not outstanding.

Oh and yes, and wish I had been a little more diligent about the arm and back/shoulder exercises...ah well!

Vendor Reviews - Morgan Blaul

And so it begins, I must say I am a little nervous posting my face all over the internet (please be kind) but hey, why did I start this blog if I wasn't going to share the end result, plus, does anyone even read this thing anymore? Ha, KIDDING, I love you my 19 followers!

My hair and makeup was done by Morgan Blaul and she was awesome! She is so down to earth and this girl knows her shit. She is super talented and very "non-bridaly" which is what I (personally) wanted. Her fee is on the high end but in my opinion definitely worth it, trial was included and she came to our hotel on the day of. Plus, I totally changed my mind from the trail to the wedding and she was completely flexible. I went with a smokey eye and natural lip for makeup and a little half up "bump" for the hair.

She did hair only for my bridesmaids, I think they look super hot.

AND my hair and makeup still looked good after sweating and dancing. 10 out of 10 for Morgan Blaul (book her!)

Most photos taken by Dan Chen/Chennergy (more on his fabulousness later).

Oh and PS, Red 7 in Evanston did my color, I am a natural redhead but I had it touched up. They did a nice job, I would recommend them too.

Vendor Reviews - Winberies

We are back and I have pictures! But first to continue with some vendor reviews leading up to the wedding.

We had our rehearsal dinner at Winberies in Oak Park.
Everything was delicious, service was great, and they even gave us three $25 frequent diner credits to use in the future. Unfortunately I don't have too many pictures of the restaurant or the food but trust me it was good and not even a block from the church where we had the rehearsal so it worked out great!

9 out of 10 for Winberies (only because a private room would have been ideal).

Vacation, all I ever wanted!

Taking a break for the big honeymoon but when I am back I will have many more vendor reviews and professional pics, yay! Can't wait to be here with my husband, cruising along in our Mini Cooper convertible.

Image source

Vendor Reviews - The Carleton Hotel

The Carleton is a historic hotel in Oak Park and was steps away from our reception site so it was a no-brainer we would use this hotel and recommend it to our guests. We did get a discounted rate and they blocked off rooms for us well in advance. My mom communicated with them the most but overall they were helpful and prompt with e-mails.

The Carleton also has several ballrooms to host weddings and/or events. Some of the guest rooms are a little old fashioned but they were spacious and comfortable. Our suite had a full size fridge and good size kitchen which came in very handy.

Our OOT totes were handed out when guests arrived and there was plenty of free parking. This hotel also has a bar, Poor Phil's, in the lobby which was very convenient and we spent a few nights hanging out there (free popcorn!).

8 of 10 for The Carleton Hotel (only because some of the rooms could use updating and are a little musty).

Vendor Reviews - Spa Space

After a great night of partying I treated my girls to manicures and pedicures at Spa Space. All of us got the "signature" manicure and pedicure. This place is super cute inside, modern and relaxing. Everyone I spoke to there was very friendly and they were great when I made the appointments as well. One of my girls was pedicure only but decided at the last minute to get a manicure and they were able to accommodate her. We also showed up lugging tons of bags and they were nice to put them away for us.

Our pedicure ran about $40 each and manicure about $25 each which I gather is pretty typical. Although we didn't feel like drinking they do allow you to BYOB and they also have a private room for two if you want something more intimate.

10 out of 10 for Spa Space.

Vendor Reviews - The James Hotel

So while we are waiting for our pics (should arrive next week when we are on our honeymoon!) I thought I would post a few vendor reviews and I am going to attempt to go in chronological order here.

The Thursday before the wedding my maids of honor threw me the most fun party and I just needed to give The James a big shout out because everyone there was awesome. So friendly and accommodating, the hotel is beautiful, perfect location, I highly recommend it.

Don't get me wrong, this place is not cheap, another friend who attended the party had two bottles of champagne brought up and it was $100, but hey, what do you expect. I thought it was amazing and they had hook up for the Wii, we had room service for breakfast and it was delicious, Kiehl's bath products (which we all fought over) seriously, not a single complaint.

10 out of 10 for The James Hotel.

Polaroid Guest Book - Sneak Peek

The James Hotel

I'm BACK!

I have today off work, yay, so I thought I would stop in to say hi. We had the BEST time EVER! It was so much fun and all our guests had a blast. I don't have pics yet but here is a video from my bachelorette party in the meantime. My girls threw me the most fun party at the James Hotel on Thursday night. Hours of AI karaoke, Gossip Girl "never have I ever," and delicious wraps from Karen's Cooked, seriously awesome.

It was an amazing wedding,with amazing friends and most of all I have an amazing husband, I couldn't ask for anything more!

Stay tuned for recaps and pics.