Vendor Review: Midway Rental May 29, 2009

Vendor grade: B

We went through Midway Party Rental for our tables, chairs and tent. This was an unexpected expense for us – with the venue change, we hadn’t budgeted for a $1,000 rental bill, but we made it work.

They were great about working with us only 2 weeks before we needed the tables and chairs, and fairly responsive (though there were 2+ times when we didn’t get any sort of response for over a business day, which was worrisome on such a tight deadline.

They were responsive when I asked them discount one of the items (the order was already around $1,000), though the discount wasn’t nearly as much as another rental company we were considering (though the final cost at Midway was a bit less).

We paid extra ($165, rather than $75) for Saturday delivery, Sunday pickup, but didn’t really have a choice – as we weren’t allowed to leave everything at the venue from Friday to Monday.

My largest qualm is the quality of the tables they delivered. Our day of coordinator said that they were so old (and poor quality) that they kept closing while they were being set up, and were generally difficult to work with. They felt flimsy when we sat at them, but at that point, there was very little we could do.

All in all, I wasn’t “wowed” by their customer service, but the delivery was made on time, and picked up on time, and we received everything we asked for, so I’d call our review of Midway Party Rental “decent.”

Vendor Review – The Florist May 28, 2009

Vendor grade: A

I didn’t want to spend a lot on flowers. Though I love them, and love the look of them, photography was really our “one thing” that was most important. As items and changes were made to the budget, the floral budget shrunk.

I worried that I wouldn’t be able to find a great (smallish) bouquet at a decent price. My maids didn’t need bouquets because we planned to give them clutch bags that they could carry down the aisle — so my bouquet was our largest concern.

I knew I wanted ranunculus — and that pink just HAD to be included.

I found my perfect bouquet and the perfect florist at Chez Bloom.

Laura was fabulous to work with and she supplied me with a lovely bouquet made up of ranunculus (my only “must-have” flower), calla lillies, sweetheart roses and pink fresia. Sigh. The bouquet was perfect. Lovely size, great color and simply amazing.

The price was more than fair for what I received – and I am now slightly regretting not getting bridesmaid bouquets — I bet they would have been incredible.

I highly recommend Chez Bloom and might just have to switch from Bachmann’s to Chez Bloom as my go-to for arrangements.

Vendor Review – Caterer May 27, 2009

(note: this review is absolutely separate from the cake/cupcake review)

Vendor grade: D

We were really struggling with the menu for the reception. We wanted something nontraditional and delicious. We wanted roasted vegetables, meat and something other than potatoes. We wanted a meal that our guests would remember.

We decided to work with Miel y Leche for our reception meal.

istockphoto

I approached Sheela with a price that we were comfortable with (with room to wiggle in either direction, we were completely ready for a counter-price) – a price that was right in the range of their catered meals – and she accepted the price.

I presented my thoughts on the menu:
chicken skewers —– beef skewers
roasted vegetables —– fresh fruit
bread and butter —– couscous
cupcakes
(no drinks were included and we provided our own dishes)

When we met, Sheela suggested we add:
eggplant rolls with mint and chili
quinoa with fruit and nuts

I was all for the additions — how delicious!

When we presented the quote, we were anticipating 150 – 160 guests and MyL was to plan for those numbers, accordingly.

The day of the wedding, dinner started late. The catering team arrived late, so we gave them a little slack. Dinner was supposed to begin at 5, and they pulled up to the reception site at about 4:50 – and started to unload.

Vendor Review – Cake May 26, 2009

(note: this review is for dessert only, not for the catered meal)
Vendor grade: B+

It’s no secret that Miel y Leche cupcakes are awesome. I’ve blogged about them a handful of times, and I consider myself lucky that they aren’t easily accessible to me, or I’d probably gain 100 pounds.

We chose 4 flavors for our wedding:

White chocolate with raspberry mousse
Chocolate with peanut butter mousse and chocolate ganache
Carrot cake
White cake with lemon filling and vanilla buttercreme

The cupcakes were delicious and our friends and family went on and on about them.

image from mielyleche.net

The only negative to them is that the staff from Miel y Leche took FOREVER to get them out. We’d told them that we’d like them out by 6:15 — at 6:45, my groom marched into the kitchen at the reception site and brought our cake (carrot) out so we could try to keep on schedule and cut it.

On a similar note, a few of our guests dug into their cupcakes because they asked the MyL staff if they could have one (before we cut ours — grr) – and they said, “I don’t care, it’s not my problem.” Soooo, we started the cutting late and we already had a few guests munching on cupcakes by the time we were able to cut our cake.

Once we cut the cake, it was indeed delicious and moist, but tempered slightly by the staff. One note on our cake: we asked for a carrot cake for our little bride & groom cake – we also asked for “spackled” frosting, and didn’t request any sort of decoration. Imagine my surprise when they showed me our cake and there were frosted carrots all over it. It felt as though it was a mini-birthday cake. I was crestfallen to see all the carrots piped onto the cake, but there was really nothing I could do. Sigh. So if you do work with them, please, please, please make sure they understand that you don’t want any stupid decorations on your cake – and make sure they understand EXACTLY what you want it to look like.

I would recommend Miel y Leche, just consider having them drop off the cupcakes, rather than actually preparing them to be served, and all will be well.

The cost: between $2 and $3 per cupcake, depending on quantity.

Wedding Details – The Cardbox May 24, 2009

I wanted something a little different for our cardbox.

I stalked eBay, Craigslist and online stores for the perfect birdcage. It had to be large and difficult to simply pick up or open (I’ve heard too many horror stories about staff, guests or crashers stealing wedding cards, or the entire cardbox!).

We finally scored a sweet birdcage, originally from Pier 1, for under $20. I went to work removing a few bars, and R used some sort of saw or other machinery to cut through a metal bar (so we could make a slot).

R took the cage out to the yard and went through 3 cans of spraypaint to turn it from a dingy brown to a luscious ivory color.

I finished it off with a layer of Paper-Source scrollwork paper in the bottom.

As a finishing touch, we added the sweet sign “Cards and Kind Wishes” and hung it by ribbons.

It served a function while also looking pretty gorgeous on the gift table.

Photos below the jump:

Vendor Review – Makeup Artist May 22, 2009

Vendor grade: A

I found my makeup artist on craigslist (I know!). She shared some great work that she’d done, and I booked her for a trial, just to make sure she’d be able to make me look good.

Elida showed up at my house with an arsenal of makeup. It was on rollers, had handles, and was made of that pounded metal… I was a little impressed and a little intimidated.

She got to work immediately, laying out 2 different combinations for my eyes (after asking what I wanted and assessing my coloring). I was thrilled that she was using MAC cosmetics — they’ve been my go-to brand for years.

The first combo was a smoky mix of browns and taupes. The second combo had some pops of pinky purples, with the majority of the colors being neutral. I went with the second combo because, as a green/hazel eyed girl, I know enough about color to know what makes my eyes shine.

Elida started working, and we chit-chatted while she did her thing.

I loved the results (see them here).

On the wedding day, she showed up 10 minutes early (awesome) and started to set up. She did SUCH a fabulous job — the highlighting, the contouring, the false lashes, the airbrush (!!!) — everything came together for a natural, yet gorgeous look.

I received SO many compliments on my appearance that day! I only wish I could have Elida do my makeup every day.

Her prices were certainly manageable too. Under $100 for the day-of (at your location) and under $50 for the trial.

Contact her here or e-mail me for her info.

Vendor Review – The Photographer May 21, 2009

Vendor grade: A+++

I could not rate Laura Ivanova any more highly than I do now.

She’s professional, her prices are fair, and she has an amazing eye for composition. I’m not one to gaze at photos of myself for long periods of time, but I just keep going back to our wedding day sneak peak — she did SUCH an amazing job. I’m so excited to see the other photos she’s captured!

One guest commented to me today: “Your photographer was awesome! She seemed like she was always looking for the right photo, and snapping away, but she wasn’t in our faces, we barely noticed when she was shooting photos.”

Laura put us at ease at our first meeting, we knew that she’d be great to work with. So great, in fact, that we chose to lose a $750 deposit we had with another photographer, just so we could work with her. And boy, are we glad that we did.

Check out the preview of our pro session. You’ll see what I mean.

Click here to view the preview.

We had 6 hours of photography – and I can hardly wait for another reason to hire Laura!

Details – The DIY Photobooth May 20, 2009

As I mentioned before, we decided to do a DIY photobooth. We borrowed those tripod/stands with clips to hold the backdrop, and put together a box of props. We hired a local photography student to man the booth for 2 hours.

Costs:
photographer: $30
props: est. $30
backdrop: we went with fabric we had on hand, instead of the $30 shower curtain

total cost = $60

Here are a few shots:

My brother, sister, mom and I

Sister and friend

guest

We had the DJ announce and recommend the booth a few times.

My only regret is that we didn’t get more photos!

Vendor Review – Day of Coordinator May 20, 2009

Rating Grade: A+

I love, love, love our Day of Coordinator – and probably would have had a breakdown if it wasn’t for her.

Monica of Moments Like This was an absolute gem!

She arrived with her assistant, Amber, about 15 minutes early, and presented me with an awesome emergency kit (that seriously contained… everything!).

I left them with a little bit of crazy. The tables, chairs and tent hadn’t been delivered, and the last few family members working on set-up were… chaotic.

And did I mention that it was windy? Like 30 – 40 mph wind gusts?

When I arrived at the site around 3:45 (they’d been there for 4 hours), the transformation was AMAZING. There were lights strung within the tent, and dotted with the rice paper lanterns I’d left. All the tables in the tent were set (despite the poor quality of table the rental place provided us), the chairs were in place and each detail I’d planned was executed flawlessly.

Per our plan, Monica was to be there for 4 hours. She and Amber were there for that and more, and neither uttered a peep of complaint.

My only regret, after working with Monica, is that I hadn’t found her sooner, I think she would have saved me a LOT of stress with vendors and planning and organizing the event.

Love this woman!

Vendor Review: Mac’s Liquor May 19, 2009

Grade: (Solid) A

As you probably are aware, it’s been awhile since my last post.

That said, I had a few jobs to do for the wedding and thought I’d get the ball rolling on the reviews of our vendors from the wedding.  I know the Bride is prepping several more of these, but I’ve got time on my hands.  Plus, I could talk about beer all day.

We used Mac’s Liquor in Hopkins for all our beer.  Mac’s is right off Highway 169 and Excelsior Boulevard.

The service at Mac’s was fantastic.  They always called back when they said they would and they worked with us to come up with options based on what we wanted. 

The trick for us was that our site required 3.2 beer.  Many vendors told us they didn’t carry it or only had a limited supply, but Mac’s went the extra mile, called their reps and gave us a whole host of options (Blue Moon comes in 3.2!!!).  We might have even snuck a keg of regular stuff in there, but… of course we didn’t….

The other real differentiator  for Mac’s was the flexible and inexpensive keg delivery, which was a HUGE relief during the morning of the wedding.  Finding a vendor who delivers kegs, much less at an affordable price, was not easy.

Mac’s prices are right in line with most of the liquor stores around the metro.  The cost was much less than we thought it would be and the delivery charge was pretty much negligible (I’m tight fisted on tipping vendors and I tipped our delivery guy because it was so cheap).

Mac’s does offer to pick the kegs up, but it wasn’t necessary.  I can’t say enough about how nice it was to work with a vendor that was responsive, courteous and delivered on their promises.  As you’ll learn, that wasn’t always the case….. 

Stay tuned to find out how it all went.