Vendor Review
Here are a few reviews for our vendors we used.
Rentals: Classic Chair Rentals
Great service, i never had any issues, we checked out the room before the reception and the chairs were beautiful.
Hair: Monica Bankos
Monica did our hair. She arrived early which was great because we ended up falling a bit behind schedule. She did beutiful work. my only suggestion is to make sure you leave enough time. It was just her so it took her a long time to get through 7 girls.
Flowers: Lynn Fosbender, Pollen http://greenfloristchicago.com/
Lynn did a great job. The flowers were beautiful. I did originally want plum and rose but the green she used (instead of pink) looked very nice. They were not initially what I had envisioned (grooms input) but they were absolutely beautiful. I could not of asked for a better vendor, not only is her work great but she is the nicest person. Biggest plus, the bouquets stayed together throughout the whole day. I have seen a few at weddings fall apart by dinner but these stayed well put.
Makeup: Kim Charbonneau http://www.kimskissnmakeup.com/
Kim did a very thorough and amazing job on my makeup. i looked flawless all day, until the dancing started.but thats ok
Reception: Met club Joe Flynn
the met club was such a beautiful location, and well priced with other chicago vendors. We loved the venue. The catering director was great up untill 3-4 months before the wedding. It was hard to reach him. Anyone considering an event at this location, just be aware of it. It didnt cause a huge issue but because a big inconveniences near the end.
Cake: Sarahs candies,
I really didnt have a great deal of correspondence with Sarah’s candies but maybe that’s a good thing. the cake was breathtaking and tasted just how it looked. I can’t wait till our anniversary cake!!!!
Photographer: Orange 2 photo
Melody did a great job of capturing the moments at our wedding. She was a last-minute photographer because Nick who we hired had to leave because a death in his family. I do wish melody would of watched for more details, there are shots where my train could have looked better. Also she didn’t really correct us or how we stood that much, maybe that means we nailed it, but I guess I just like a little more direction with situations like those. I do wish I would have asked for more pics with just the girls, and Todd with just the boys but that’s my fault. Overall the photos look great but i probably would of asked for a second photographer to catch all of the candid moments.
Church: Assumption Church
Beautiful church, it looked so beautiful and fit everyone very well. Father joe did a great job with the ceremony.
Music: DJ Chicago
Alec was our DJ for the night. he started by introducing us in which was a little off our cue. Not a big deal, and from our discussions with our guests no one even noticed. The night went on with the speeches, favors and dances. after the parent dances the dance floor was packed. ALLL NIGHT. Todd and I couldnt have been happier about that. Alec did a great job with the music and catering to our friends and our parents/family.
Hotel: Swissotel
O my gosh Megan and Jennifer are so amazing, they were by far my favorite vendors. they catered to my every request and I am so thankful I had such wonderful vendors for the hotel.
All paper items: LCI Papers
I ordered most of my paper a envelopes nd through LCI papers, they are great vendors, customer service is amazing. I would recommend them to anyone who plans to DIY their invitations.
Dress: Leonardo’s bridal
I wanted to go dress shopping with mom so planned a visit last september. We went to leo’s and I loved the experience. When you enter it’s just you (appointment only), one or two staff members, and the shop is very clean and open and big. I thought to myself “ohh no big mistake, every dress will be 3k), wrong. They were very reasonably priced and I found my dream dress. I knew as soon as i saw it. my only advice with the dress is, if you can, have a corset put in or buy one with a corset in it. It makes it easier to adjust the dress without having to go to alterations.
Candles
they are great and cheap, highly recommend!
I purchased my frame for the escort cards on Craigslist and purchased the frames for the “where we come from” table at home goods. The vases were rented and linens were included with our package. The bridesmaid dresses were BCBG.
MARRIED!!!!
Thank you to all our family and friends who helped make our day so special. We will always remember your love and support for us on our special day and through the whole process. I hope to have some of our professional wedding photographer’s images up soon. We also have a few clips from the wedding we hope to post soon.
Sincerely,
The newlyweds!
Todd & Amanda
Invitation Saga- Assembling
Everything is cut, and ready to assemble. I called on my amazing assembling team to help…
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Thanks to Todd, Nagy and Max for helping me get these wonderful invitations assembled and mailed.
Minnesota Shower….
We all had so much fun. Thank you to Kathy, Lori and Sandy!
Invitations- Ordering and Paper Vendors
Invitations….. We chose to order most of the invitation supplies from LCI papers along with all the envelopes. I also looked at paperpresentation.com, papersource.com, diypapers.com, enveloper.com, paperandmore.com, and cardsandpockets.com. None of these sites had the pockets I was looking for or the inner and outer envelopes except for LCI papers. Overall my experience with the order was great. All the materials came in quick and whenever I call, a live person picks up the phone on the second ring (really like the customer service.) I also ordered the backing and vellum paper from createforless.com. The local stationery store carried the type of paper i wanted but i found it in bulk online. Now with all the materials!!
Our first gift!
We received our first gift last week!!!!
first gift!
Serving Tray
Thank you Kathy!
inspiration
Tasting
Parents are in town this weekend for the tasting. Very exciting….. More to come.
Engagement Photos
I really wanted to wait until our Save the Dates went out until I posted our engagement photos for everyone to see. Here are just a few from our fun November day. Nick was so great and took us to various areas in the city including: West Loop, North Avenue Beach, The Exchange Building and Union Station.
Save The Dates
Our Save The Dates came in and they look great. We just sent out round 1 and plan to send out the rest in the next week.
We decided to go with Save the Date magnets when we compared costs to printing our own Save the Date Postcards. We found that it was just $15 -$20 more to have our STD’s on magnets, so we decided to use Vista Print and took advantage of there half off sale. Our total cost was $80 for 120 magnets approximately 4.25 x 5.5. We used envelopes from Staples, 100 for $8.99. Below are some images of the magnets and the envelopes. Another DIY job done and checked off the list.
Our first magent style
The finished product
Group One of Three
amanda2782
A Chicago Bride 