Vendor Review: PSBridal.com

We used PSBridal.com for the bridesmaid dresses and the MOB dress.  They are definitely the cheapest place out there for non-knockoff dresses!  It was easy to order the dresses, too.  They were a little late in getting the dresses to us.  Honestly, I think they had the dresses already in the shop and forgot about them.  So, I would say, if it's getting close to the date you were promised, give them a call to find out when exactly you'll be receiving them.

Other than that, everything went peachy.  They communicated well.  They had a deal going on where I got free shipping (not sure what the deals are for now -- definitely check it out though!) and that made a big difference in price!  

I would still recommend that you go to a store to try dresses on before ordering a dress that you *think* will work for you.  You might be surprised when that dress actually comes in the mail!  We were fortunate, and the BM dresses and the MOB dresses were beautiful on their intended persons. 

Just look how pretty they are.  :)  So, yes, I do recommend using PSBridal.com.  They get 4.5 stars out of 5 from me. 

Vendor Review: JadeTime.com

I mentioned before that I bought our paper lanterns from JadeTime.com.  They were the cheapest place that I could find.  They have excellent prices!  

When the lanterns arrived, they looked great.  They were packed well and all of them seemed to be in good condition. 

When it finally came time to set them up in the tent, I was not disappointed.  The paper lanterns went together well and stayed put.  I was pleased with the colors as well.  

And, despite the crazy humidity (and rain), the paper lanterns held up well.  We actually broke them down and reused them at the Indiana reception (they were a little stretched out from the humidity, but they still worked well).  

Oh, and I received the order within a few days of ordering.  So, I was pleased with everything about this company!  I'm fairly certain that the coupon code I used is expired, but you can usually find one on their Facebook page.  And, right now they have a deal going on:  $10 off $100 order.  

They turned out beautiful.  They were the perfect decoration for the tent.  :)  So, I give JadeTime.com 5 out of 5 stars.  I would definitely recommend them to anyone in the market for paper lanterns!  Oh, and they also sell fans, parasols, placecard holders, and health balls/massage tools.  Give them a try!  :)

Vendor Review: Double H Photography

We used Double H Photography of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  Howie Hartman was our photographer.  It was one of the first decisions we made about the wedding (after honeymoon destination and colors).  He is friends with Philip's aunt and uncle (where we had the reception).  They recommended him and I immediately stalked his website.  Then I told my mom about him and she stalked his website, too.  ;)  

We both liked what we saw, so I contacted him.  He was very friendly.  We signed a contract shortly after and sent in our deposit.  We spoke a few times throughout the planning process but there wasn't a whole lot to plan for since the photography was already a done deal.  

Howie was absolutely wonderful to work with on the day of.  He kept us laughing and was just a lot of fun.  There was drama but Howie stuck it out and made suggestions.  I loved his photo shoot location ideas (Bube's Brewery and in front of an old warehouse).  

At the end of the night, I asked Howie how long he would need to get me the disc of finished photos.  He told me four weeks.  At the one month mark, I emailed him to see if the photos were finished.  He told me that they would be ready in a week.  Two weeks later, he emailed me to let me know that the photos would be ready in a few more days.  A week later, I emailed him to find out if the disc had been mailed yet.  He emailed me a day or so later to tell me that he'd be putting them in the mail the next day.  That was a Sunday.  They arrived on that Friday.  Eight weeks after the wedding.  

I know that eight weeks isn't really bad for pro pics, but it was double the time that I was told it would take.  And I was getting the run around while waiting.  It was just irritating.  I know that Howie was super busy, but he should also know not to take on more than he can handle (and still be able to get customers what he's promised when he's promised them).  

Since the photos took double the time they were supposed to, my standards doubled.  That's just how I roll.  The editing wasn't spectacular and that's what I had expected after double the time.  Zits and other imperfections can clearly be seen in all of our closeup shots.  

Also, Howie took his dinner into the house to eat.  I didn't really care at the time.  However, when we got our pro-pics back and there weren't any pictures of the dinner set-up or our MOH and BM toasts, I was disappointed.  

I probably would have forgiven all of that had it not been for the pink.  I spent over a year planning the wedding.  I had a clear vision of how it should have been.  The tent set-up looked exactly as I had hoped.  I spent months working out how to get the perfect romantic glow in the tent.  I thought I had achieved that.  

The pro-pics definitely didn't show that.  I was going for more rustic-chic.  I loved the creams/whites and the burlap and the candles and the paper lanterns.  I didn't appreciate having pink spewed all over them.  I wish so much that Howie would have let me know what he was doing so that I could have put the kibosh on that.  

I just hate pink and now all of our reception photos are covered in it.  I don't remember specifically telling Howie that I do not like pink.  However, I think it's something he should have mentioned before going ahead with it.  I just didn't think it would come up.  I mean, I did all the decorating so I didn't think to mention to my vendors the colors that I don't like.  

Especially since I didn't think anyone would think this:

Photo courtesy of Howie Hartman of Double H Photography.

...would scream "PINK!"  Oh, well.  Note to all brides: Make sure your photographer knows all the things that you do not want, even if you don't think they're relevant!

Anyway, this review is hard for me.  I really did like working with Howie.  He's a great guy and he's a lot of fun.  However, he did mess up our reception photos.  And he took twice the quoted time to get the photos back to me (and kept stringing me along about it).  

I give Howie 3 out of 5 stars.  His great personality is really what saved him there.  Honestly, I do recommend Howie.  Just make sure you are very clear on everything that you want from him.  And whatever time frame he gives you, double it.  ;) 

I hope that Howie will either hire some full time assistants or stop taking on more than he can handle.  It's obvious that he's taken on more than he should since he can't complete orders in the time that he's quoted (and the fact that the photos he's producing are becoming less creative -- our detail and ring shots were bland).  But, Howie has a ton of potential.  I say give him a shot. 

Vendor Review: Enck's Custom Catering

We used Enck's Custom Catering in Lancaster, Pennsylvania for our reception.  They were hired to simply cater the meal.  

I am SO glad that we chose them.  The food was fantastic and they went FAR above and beyond what they were hired to do.  

There were two people working the event.  They weren't responsible for cleaning up (beyond their chafing dishes and whatnot), but they cleared tables.  They even went around and refreshed drinks.  And, they stayed and cut/served the cake.  

They were so friendly and just wonderful.  Before they left for the evening, they were sure to find and congratulate Philip and I.  They truly did go above and beyond what I expected of them.

Unfortunately, I have very few photos of dinner.  This one was taken by my mom.  We were seriously enjoying it!

But, it wasn't just the servers who were fantastic.  The food truly was fabulous.  I was a bit concerned about the buffet.  I mean, come on.  Who hasn't been to a buffet that was awful?  With the cardboard meats and flavorless vegetables?  

I didn't have to worry a bit.  The meats (stuffed chicken breasts and roast beef) were moist and delicious.  The vegetables were seasoned perfectly.  The salad bar was filled with salads that actually tasted good and the dinner rolls were awesome!  The punch is all that I drank all night!  And, to top that all off the appetizers were great.

Basically, I cannot recommend Enck's enough.  They were perfect.  I give them 6 out of 5 stars... they were that good!  I definitely encourage everyone to use Enck's.  You won't regret it!

Vendor Review: Hess Tent Rental

** Sorry, folks.  This one was supposed to have been published last week, but for some reason it didn't show up!  I just caught it tonight.  **

We used Hess Tent Rental in Lancaster, Pennsylvania for all of our rental needs: the tent, the tables, and the chairs.  

I could not have been more pleased with them.  The tent was beautiful.  I wasn't there, but apparently the set-up was really quick.  The tables and chairs were in perfect condition.  And, Mike Hess was really great to work with.  

Also, after a LOT of research, I found that Hess is also one of the most reasonable rental places in the area.  They have the cheapest tents (for the most part) in the Lancaster area and they also do other rental items besides tents (tables, chairs, lighting, portapotties, decor, etc.).  Their tables and chairs weren't the cheapest place I found, but it was worth a little extra to get a reasonable tent and have the tables and chairs coming from the same place.  

I definitely do not regret it.  The tent was gorgeous.  The chairs were perfection.  The tables were covered, of course, but they were in great condition.  Everything looked exactly as I hoped it would.  

I never had any problems with Hess Tent Rental.  They were a dream to work with.  So, I highly recommend them.  

I give Hess Tent Rental 5 out of 5 stars.  I can't think of any complaints.  You can use them without any worry.  :)

Vendor Review: The Flour Child

We used The Flour Child in Columbia, Pennsylvania for our groom's cake and our wedding cake.  

Groom's Cake: 

I wanted a 3D R2D2 cake for Philip because he loves Star Wars.  I thought that the cake looked pretty good.  It really did look like R2D2.  It wasn't as smooth as I had hoped, but it definitely did the trick. 

However, I thought the cake itself was not good.  The cake tasted like it was over a week old.  It was dried out and didn't have a good flavor.  I also requested that she use as little frosting as possible because Philip doesn't like frosting very much.  Well, it had a TON of frosting.  

I was disappointed, but I knew that this cake was more complicated than our wedding cake and probably took a lot of time.  So, I just hoped for the best for our wedding cake.

Wedding Cake: 

First off, let me give you an idea of the kind of cake that I had requested.  I told Alixe that I wanted a square, three tier cake.  I wanted it to be smooth and sleek.  I wanted navy ribbon around the bottoms of each layer.  And next to that, I wanted big, creamy pearls (I used pearls in lots of places in the wedding).  I even sent her some sample photos of what I was looking for (all courtesy of The Knot).  

The ribbon (but in navy) and the smooth texture.

Again, smooth and this time with creamy pearls. 

This time square with ribbon.

She told me she understood and I believed her.  I had confidence that she'd deliver the cake that I wanted.  After all, I think it's actually a pretty simply cake.  

However, I was seriously disappointed to walk into our reception during the cocktail hour and find this:

That cake is not smooth and sleek.  The layers were lumpy and not even (you can even see that from a distance in the pictures!).  Yes, that cake is square, but the edges were not sharp -- they were wavy.  And the pearls were not pearls at all.  They were almost nonexistent which probably would have been better than the sloppy mess that they pretended were "pearls."  

Here, you can see what I'm talking about.  There are tiny little dots along the edge of the ribbon (NOT pearls).  And they were so sloppily done that most of them had tails.  You can also see that the ribbon was put on so poorly that it's squishing the cake out over the top of it.  You can also see what I mean about it not being smooth/sleek.  

This is an actual screenshot from The Flour Child's Flickr Gallery of our cake.  Even in the photo that they chose to display shows all the imperfections and crappy pearls. 

Thankfully Howie was able to get a few good shots of the cake that make it seem like it might have been pretty... But it wasn't.  It was not what I asked for and I am honestly surprised that they thought it was acceptable.  

What they gave me was not a professional grade cake.  I am an amateur and I could have made this cake.  I honestly feel confident that I could have definitely made the pearls much better than that!

The wedding cake did taste better than the groom's cake, but I still didn't think it was a good cake.  And a lot of our guests agreed with me on that.  

So, in light of all of that, I do NOT recommend The Flour Child.  Alixe was pretty good to work with in the months before the wedding (her communication was lacking towards the end but she said it was because she had a TON of weddings going on at the time -- I think that she seriously overextended herself and it showed in her work!), but her actual work left a LOT to be desired.  

I give The Flour Child 2.5 stars out of 5.  They do not get a passing grade from me.  I guess I shouldn't have looked at so many cakes online and watched so many cake decorating shows before the wedding!

Difficulties

I live just outside of Denver, Colorado. Philip and I are having our wedding in Lancaster, Pennsylvania (most of his family lives in that area). That's about 1,600 miles away.

FYI, that is a major pain in my you-know-what. It's incredibly difficult to plan a wedding from that far away. That's one of the reasons that I'm doing so much DIYing... that and for financial reasons.

The biggest problem has been with the venue. I can't just drop everything here in Colorado, buy a plane ticket to Pennsylvania, rent a car, and scout sites for the ceremony and reception. First of all, we just moved here and I just started a new job... I don't have vacation time yet! Second, I don't want to blow a bunch of money from my wedding budget on that!

So, I have had to depend on my new best friend, Google, and some wonderful relatives of Philip's in Lancaster. I did decide on a venue:


It is Chickies Rock Park in Columbia (just outside of Lancaster), Pennsylvania. It is gorgeous. Unfortunately, I cannot officially book the venue until September 27, 2010. However, that means that no one else can have it booked that day. :)

I think it will be absolutely perfect. :) The wedding will be September 24, 2011, so we should have at least a little bit of color for the trees! But, it should still be relatively comfortable temperature-wise.

With the venue situation relatively settled, I still have to deal with finding other vendors. How do I decide on a baker without having tried their cakes? How do I decide on a caterer without trying their food? How do I decide on a florist without seeing their work?

Well, here comes the DIY. I refuse to do my own cake. That's a hassle times a hundred. However, I will be doing my own flowers. Most likely silk. I have a few other ideas in mind, but that's an entirely different post alltogether.

We will also be handing the food. We will be doing some sandwiches and other simple ideas for the reception. It's a park, so no alcohol is allowed. Not really an issue to Philip or I... there are a few people in our families that we don't want getting liquored up and causing a scene. We plan to take our wedding party out for drinks afterwards, though.

We are also doing our own music and a friend of ours will be the MC.

I will post about all of this in more detail later. I just wanted to get the general ideas down right now. :)