Vendor Reviews
Venue
Nathanael Greene Lodge: A
I had a great experience with the majority of the staff at Nathanael Greene with the exception of their one part time person (Jill), who, incidentally I ended up communicating with her more than I wished I had. We came across a couple little issued where I would relay information to her and then she wouldn’t pass it on to the other ladies and we had a couple little hiccups before the wedding because of this. Fortunately, as we got closer to the date I dealt with the other 2 ladies (Cindy and Alison) exclusively and didn’t have any more issues.
I was really surprised at how smoothly every came together because of their great staff. I dropped off the majority of my decorations the night of our Rehearsal Dinner and the next day I got a call from Cindy at the venue who had a lot of questions about where things should be set up. When we arrived the morning of the wedding everything had been set-up and taken care of and I got to relax and hang out with my bridesmaids until the ceremony. Also, several times during the day Cindy or Alison came to check on us to see if we needed anything, and they came in to set-up a snack area for us and made us coffee.
The only issue we had all day was that we ended up getting snow that day and had anticipated having the ceremony outside. The venue staff was already prepared for this and set-up the ballroom where the reception would be as well for the ceremony and then they would send everyone out and re-set the room. Well, we were also doing pictures in the ballroom because it was so cold out and instead of sending everyone and closing the doors (appetizers were set-up in the lobby for cocktail hour), they left the doors open, so our guests just wandered back into the reception room, which made me really stressed and anxious because I just wanted to get finished with pictures. After about 10 minutes, they had our DJ make an announcement for everyone to please wait in the lobby, and maybe half of the guests left. Yes, its kind of a minor issue, but still I was really annoyed by this.
Photographer:
Lisa Rice- A+
I found Lisa Rice through recs on the knot and I’m so glad for this. She was such a joy to work with! We shot our engagement pics with her several months ago and we really clicked with her and knew that she would do a great job at our wedding.
She ended up arriving a little earlier than scheduled so that she could get a better idea of the venue and areas to shoot from. Unfortunately the temperature dropped quite a bit from the time she got there to the time we started taking pictures and we could only do a few outside before we all decided it was way too cold. She was able to work around this and got some great shots inside.
During the reception she set-up her laptop and had a slideshow of all the pictures from earlier in the day so that everyone could see us getting ready and it gave us a little preview of what we’ll be receiving from her. She said it should take 3-4 weeks to get done editing our pictures and I’m very anxious to receive them, but from what I saw on her laptop, I’m confident that our photos are going to be amazing. Yes, she doesn’t have years of experience shooting weddings, but she is extremely talented and it really shows in her work.
DJ :
DJ Toad- A+
We were SO pleased with Toad as were our guests! DH and I have pretty eclectic taste in music and aren’t really in to top 40 and pop music so we were a little nervous about the type of music that might be played by a DJ, but Toad exceeded our expectations. We met with him for about 2 hours a few weeks before the wedding to talk music and he really understood what we liked and what we disliked.
Our guests were split about 50/50 with young people, and old people and he was able to get almost everyone on the dance floor and keep everyone dancing all night. We got so many compliments from our guests about how great of a job he was doing. We really could not have asked for a better DJ for our wedding.
Caterer-
Brown Dog Café- A+
Brown Dog works with Nathanael Greene so we got a great price for their services. We had a tasting with them about 6 weeks before our wedding and were really pleased with how great everything tasted and it was hard to narrow down our choices. DH really wanted a mashed potato bar and they had no problems adding that for us.
At our wedding, DH and I were able to get our food first. We had a buffet line and everything was delicious and all the food was hot. Everyone I spoke with commented on how good everything tasted, so we were really happy with them.
Hair/Makeup:
Michelle Marx-Marxey Makeup- A+
I found out about Michelle through the knot as well, and again, SO happy for the recs! I had an idea about how I wanted my hair done, but really didn’t know about makeup. I don’t really wear that much and just wanted to look like me, but enhanced. I had a trial with her a few months before our wedding and she did exactly what I wanted.
On the wedding day she arrived right on time and started getting to work on my bridesmaids, our moms and myself. She brought an assistant who worked on hair while she did makeup. Michelle personally did my hair and makeup and it turned out better than my trial, so I was thrilled. They were able to get done with everyone in plenty of time where I didn’t feel rushed to get started with pictures and had a little more relaxation time before we got everything started. Also, everyones hair and makeup looked great all night long!
Cake:
Flying Buttercream- A+
Again, I found Tiffany at Flying Buttercream through the knot! We did tastings with 4 different bakers and her cake to us was the tastiest of the bunch…the price was also amazing! Communicating with Tiffany was easy once I realized that it was best to do through e-mail. She is a stay at home mom and can’t always find the time to talk on the phone, but she was quick to respond to e-mails. I loved the variety of flavors that she offered too and she let us pick a different flavor for each layer of our cake.
I had been searching for awhile for a cake design that I liked and while flipping through the knot magazine I came across the most amazing cake! I found the picture on the knot’s website and e-mailed it to Tiffany and she was confident that she could re-create it for us. I didn’t expect for it to look just like the picture, but when I walked in and saw it, I was floored! It was identical! It also tasted amazing. Thanks once again ladies for helping us find her!
PhotoBooth
RedEye Photobooths- A
I found RedEye by googling photobooths in the area and then decided to go with them based on previous reviews on the knot. They communicated mainly through e-mail which was fine with me. I was a little nervous based off a couple reviews, but for the price, I decided it was worth it.
Our attendant showed up about 10 minutes before he was supposed to and started setting up right away. He wore a dress shirt, dress pants and a tie and was extremely professional and helpful to our guests. Everyone enjoyed the booth, and we really didn’t have any issues.
The only complaint that I have is that in our contract it stated that we would get a DVD of the images mailed to us 5 days after the wedding. Instead I got an e-mail letting us know that they have decided to “go green” which meant that we were supposed to download our images and burn our own DVD. I called to let them know that we would prefer that they send us a disc since we don’t have a DVD burner and they tried to insist that they no longer offer this, but when I stated that it was in our contract they offered to send us the images.
Wedding Dress:
Madison Avenue Bridal- B+
After dress shopping at a couple different stores, I ended up falling in love with my dress at Madison Ave Bridal. Overall, I had a good experience with them. My dress came in later than they told me and then they didn’t call me when it came in, I called them only to find out that the dress had been there for a few weeks at that point. When I went in for my first fitting, one of the seams on my dress had come undone, so they sent it to get it repaired. I called to find out if it was back from being fixed and they told me yes, so I went in to try it on again only to find out that they had sent it to get steamed. Also, I paid for the dress to be hemmed before it arrived and when it came in, it was several inches too long, so they made arrangements with their seamstress (who was an independent seamstress they worked with) to get it corrected. One day I received a call from the seamstress asking if we could meet at my house because the bridal shop was going to be closing its doors. Luckily, they took care of the cost for the hem, and I didn’t have to pay anything else out of pocket, but it was kind of a headache. I will say though that while I was at the store, I got really great service from them, its just the whole miscommunication with their staff that I had issues with, and I’m sad that they closed because they really did have some lovely dresses.
Bridesmaid Dresses/Bridal Accessories:
David’s Bridal- B
I knew what I was getting myself into when I decided to go with David’s, but with 2 of my bridesmaids living out of town, it was the easiest way to go. I picked a color and length and let them pick their own dresses. The selection and price were great, but the service left a lot of room for improvement. I went to 2 different locations (Kenwood and Florence) and got much better service at Kenwood than I did Florence, but had a couple issues at both locations.
The first issue I had was that I ordered my shoes and sash from the Kenwood store. I got dyeable shoes for myself to match the color of the bridesmaid dresses. When I went to pick them up there were tons of white splotches where they didn’t apply the dye. I talked to a manager who assured me that they would correct the problem, and they did.
Another issue we had was that when my sisters dress arrived, it had a broken zipper, so they re-ordered one and the second dress that came in had a stain on it, so they re-ordered it an finally the third dress was right.
Overall, I was okay with the service there, and my bridesmaids were happy with their dresses.
Tuxes:
Mens Wearhouse- B
Again, I knew what I was getting myself into when selection a national chain for the tuxes. There really were no huge issues, just some service problems. When we went in to reserve our tuxes we let them know that 2 of the groomsmen had their own tuxes that they would be wearing and they would only need to rent the vests. The assured us this wouldn’t be an issue and entered this into their system. They then told us that DH qualified for a free tuxedo rental because of the number of total rentals we had. Great!
Well, we received a call a couple weeks before the wedding informing us that a couple of the guys had not been in yet for their measurements and also told us that since 2 of the guys were only getting vests that DH no longer qualified for the free rental. The same woman we had worked with when making the reservation and when DH went in to get measured is the one who made this call, so I spoke to her about it and reminded her that she was the one who entered the reservation into the computer and she remembered but still told us we didn’t qualify. I was able to speak to a manager who waived the rental fee and apologized for the issue.
We also had a couple little issued about missing pocket squares and suspenders on 2 of the guys tuxes, missing shoes, and FIL’s pants were not put into the garment bag when he left the store so we had to go back to pick that stuff up.
Rehearsal Dinner:
Pompilio’s- B+
We chose Pompilio’s because this is where we had our first date. We were actually really pleased overall with Pompilio's. They offer a set menu option for larger parties, but my MIL decided that she didn't want to pick a few entrees and let everyone order whatever they wanted. Service could have been a little better, but I think part of that was due to the number of different meals that were ordered. Also, we didn't really have an issue with it, but they sat us in the back room where they also had several smaller tables available for other customers to sit and I'm sure they did not enjoy being back there with us as much as we enjoyed being there.....we were pretty loud!
There were a couple small issues, I ordered a chicken dish and mine wasn't cooked all the way and one of my bridesmaids meals had not been entered so we both had to wait quite a bit to get our food, and the servers were a little slow to bring refills, but other than that it was a great meal and I'm pretty sure everyone enjoyed themselves.
Nathanael Greene Lodge: A
I had a great experience with the majority of the staff at Nathanael Greene with the exception of their one part time person (Jill), who, incidentally I ended up communicating with her more than I wished I had. We came across a couple little issued where I would relay information to her and then she wouldn’t pass it on to the other ladies and we had a couple little hiccups before the wedding because of this. Fortunately, as we got closer to the date I dealt with the other 2 ladies (Cindy and Alison) exclusively and didn’t have any more issues.
I was really surprised at how smoothly every came together because of their great staff. I dropped off the majority of my decorations the night of our Rehearsal Dinner and the next day I got a call from Cindy at the venue who had a lot of questions about where things should be set up. When we arrived the morning of the wedding everything had been set-up and taken care of and I got to relax and hang out with my bridesmaids until the ceremony. Also, several times during the day Cindy or Alison came to check on us to see if we needed anything, and they came in to set-up a snack area for us and made us coffee.
The only issue we had all day was that we ended up getting snow that day and had anticipated having the ceremony outside. The venue staff was already prepared for this and set-up the ballroom where the reception would be as well for the ceremony and then they would send everyone out and re-set the room. Well, we were also doing pictures in the ballroom because it was so cold out and instead of sending everyone and closing the doors (appetizers were set-up in the lobby for cocktail hour), they left the doors open, so our guests just wandered back into the reception room, which made me really stressed and anxious because I just wanted to get finished with pictures. After about 10 minutes, they had our DJ make an announcement for everyone to please wait in the lobby, and maybe half of the guests left. Yes, its kind of a minor issue, but still I was really annoyed by this.
Photographer:
Lisa Rice- A+
I found Lisa Rice through recs on the knot and I’m so glad for this. She was such a joy to work with! We shot our engagement pics with her several months ago and we really clicked with her and knew that she would do a great job at our wedding.
She ended up arriving a little earlier than scheduled so that she could get a better idea of the venue and areas to shoot from. Unfortunately the temperature dropped quite a bit from the time she got there to the time we started taking pictures and we could only do a few outside before we all decided it was way too cold. She was able to work around this and got some great shots inside.
During the reception she set-up her laptop and had a slideshow of all the pictures from earlier in the day so that everyone could see us getting ready and it gave us a little preview of what we’ll be receiving from her. She said it should take 3-4 weeks to get done editing our pictures and I’m very anxious to receive them, but from what I saw on her laptop, I’m confident that our photos are going to be amazing. Yes, she doesn’t have years of experience shooting weddings, but she is extremely talented and it really shows in her work.
DJ :
DJ Toad- A+
We were SO pleased with Toad as were our guests! DH and I have pretty eclectic taste in music and aren’t really in to top 40 and pop music so we were a little nervous about the type of music that might be played by a DJ, but Toad exceeded our expectations. We met with him for about 2 hours a few weeks before the wedding to talk music and he really understood what we liked and what we disliked.
Our guests were split about 50/50 with young people, and old people and he was able to get almost everyone on the dance floor and keep everyone dancing all night. We got so many compliments from our guests about how great of a job he was doing. We really could not have asked for a better DJ for our wedding.
Caterer-
Brown Dog Café- A+
Brown Dog works with Nathanael Greene so we got a great price for their services. We had a tasting with them about 6 weeks before our wedding and were really pleased with how great everything tasted and it was hard to narrow down our choices. DH really wanted a mashed potato bar and they had no problems adding that for us.
At our wedding, DH and I were able to get our food first. We had a buffet line and everything was delicious and all the food was hot. Everyone I spoke with commented on how good everything tasted, so we were really happy with them.
Hair/Makeup:
Michelle Marx-Marxey Makeup- A+
I found out about Michelle through the knot as well, and again, SO happy for the recs! I had an idea about how I wanted my hair done, but really didn’t know about makeup. I don’t really wear that much and just wanted to look like me, but enhanced. I had a trial with her a few months before our wedding and she did exactly what I wanted.
On the wedding day she arrived right on time and started getting to work on my bridesmaids, our moms and myself. She brought an assistant who worked on hair while she did makeup. Michelle personally did my hair and makeup and it turned out better than my trial, so I was thrilled. They were able to get done with everyone in plenty of time where I didn’t feel rushed to get started with pictures and had a little more relaxation time before we got everything started. Also, everyones hair and makeup looked great all night long!
Cake:
Flying Buttercream- A+
Again, I found Tiffany at Flying Buttercream through the knot! We did tastings with 4 different bakers and her cake to us was the tastiest of the bunch…the price was also amazing! Communicating with Tiffany was easy once I realized that it was best to do through e-mail. She is a stay at home mom and can’t always find the time to talk on the phone, but she was quick to respond to e-mails. I loved the variety of flavors that she offered too and she let us pick a different flavor for each layer of our cake.
I had been searching for awhile for a cake design that I liked and while flipping through the knot magazine I came across the most amazing cake! I found the picture on the knot’s website and e-mailed it to Tiffany and she was confident that she could re-create it for us. I didn’t expect for it to look just like the picture, but when I walked in and saw it, I was floored! It was identical! It also tasted amazing. Thanks once again ladies for helping us find her!
PhotoBooth
RedEye Photobooths- A
I found RedEye by googling photobooths in the area and then decided to go with them based on previous reviews on the knot. They communicated mainly through e-mail which was fine with me. I was a little nervous based off a couple reviews, but for the price, I decided it was worth it.
Our attendant showed up about 10 minutes before he was supposed to and started setting up right away. He wore a dress shirt, dress pants and a tie and was extremely professional and helpful to our guests. Everyone enjoyed the booth, and we really didn’t have any issues.
The only complaint that I have is that in our contract it stated that we would get a DVD of the images mailed to us 5 days after the wedding. Instead I got an e-mail letting us know that they have decided to “go green” which meant that we were supposed to download our images and burn our own DVD. I called to let them know that we would prefer that they send us a disc since we don’t have a DVD burner and they tried to insist that they no longer offer this, but when I stated that it was in our contract they offered to send us the images.
Wedding Dress:
Madison Avenue Bridal- B+
After dress shopping at a couple different stores, I ended up falling in love with my dress at Madison Ave Bridal. Overall, I had a good experience with them. My dress came in later than they told me and then they didn’t call me when it came in, I called them only to find out that the dress had been there for a few weeks at that point. When I went in for my first fitting, one of the seams on my dress had come undone, so they sent it to get it repaired. I called to find out if it was back from being fixed and they told me yes, so I went in to try it on again only to find out that they had sent it to get steamed. Also, I paid for the dress to be hemmed before it arrived and when it came in, it was several inches too long, so they made arrangements with their seamstress (who was an independent seamstress they worked with) to get it corrected. One day I received a call from the seamstress asking if we could meet at my house because the bridal shop was going to be closing its doors. Luckily, they took care of the cost for the hem, and I didn’t have to pay anything else out of pocket, but it was kind of a headache. I will say though that while I was at the store, I got really great service from them, its just the whole miscommunication with their staff that I had issues with, and I’m sad that they closed because they really did have some lovely dresses.
Bridesmaid Dresses/Bridal Accessories:
David’s Bridal- B
I knew what I was getting myself into when I decided to go with David’s, but with 2 of my bridesmaids living out of town, it was the easiest way to go. I picked a color and length and let them pick their own dresses. The selection and price were great, but the service left a lot of room for improvement. I went to 2 different locations (Kenwood and Florence) and got much better service at Kenwood than I did Florence, but had a couple issues at both locations.
The first issue I had was that I ordered my shoes and sash from the Kenwood store. I got dyeable shoes for myself to match the color of the bridesmaid dresses. When I went to pick them up there were tons of white splotches where they didn’t apply the dye. I talked to a manager who assured me that they would correct the problem, and they did.
Another issue we had was that when my sisters dress arrived, it had a broken zipper, so they re-ordered one and the second dress that came in had a stain on it, so they re-ordered it an finally the third dress was right.
Overall, I was okay with the service there, and my bridesmaids were happy with their dresses.
Tuxes:
Mens Wearhouse- B
Again, I knew what I was getting myself into when selection a national chain for the tuxes. There really were no huge issues, just some service problems. When we went in to reserve our tuxes we let them know that 2 of the groomsmen had their own tuxes that they would be wearing and they would only need to rent the vests. The assured us this wouldn’t be an issue and entered this into their system. They then told us that DH qualified for a free tuxedo rental because of the number of total rentals we had. Great!
Well, we received a call a couple weeks before the wedding informing us that a couple of the guys had not been in yet for their measurements and also told us that since 2 of the guys were only getting vests that DH no longer qualified for the free rental. The same woman we had worked with when making the reservation and when DH went in to get measured is the one who made this call, so I spoke to her about it and reminded her that she was the one who entered the reservation into the computer and she remembered but still told us we didn’t qualify. I was able to speak to a manager who waived the rental fee and apologized for the issue.
We also had a couple little issued about missing pocket squares and suspenders on 2 of the guys tuxes, missing shoes, and FIL’s pants were not put into the garment bag when he left the store so we had to go back to pick that stuff up.
Rehearsal Dinner:
Pompilio’s- B+
We chose Pompilio’s because this is where we had our first date. We were actually really pleased overall with Pompilio's. They offer a set menu option for larger parties, but my MIL decided that she didn't want to pick a few entrees and let everyone order whatever they wanted. Service could have been a little better, but I think part of that was due to the number of different meals that were ordered. Also, we didn't really have an issue with it, but they sat us in the back room where they also had several smaller tables available for other customers to sit and I'm sure they did not enjoy being back there with us as much as we enjoyed being there.....we were pretty loud!
There were a couple small issues, I ordered a chicken dish and mine wasn't cooked all the way and one of my bridesmaids meals had not been entered so we both had to wait quite a bit to get our food, and the servers were a little slow to bring refills, but other than that it was a great meal and I'm pretty sure everyone enjoyed themselves.