Travis and I wanted something very "us" for our ketubah and couldn't find something that really jumped out at us. Then we had the idea to ask Amy, who is an amazing artist, to make ours. We ordered the text from MP artworks and had it shipped to her. We sent her a few ideas of what we liked on different ketubahs and she went to work. We wanted it to be a surprise so we had no idea what she would be putting on it and didn't see it until the day of the wedding when we went to sign the ketubah. I cried when I saw it and I smile when I think about it. It was not only an incredible piece of art, but it incorporated so many important things in our lives. She did such an amazing job that I immediately knew the name of the mountains she put on it and she drew them from a picture. She is now meeting with more brides that have seen our ketubah and love it, and is a ketubah artist for hire. She is also doing the text as well. This picture doesn't do it justice, this is right when it was finished before she had it matted and framed.
Travis' mom wanted to take on the Groom's dinner, which was fine with me. She decided to invite all the out of towners and bridal party to the dinner. She visited Buca's and really liked what they had to offer. They told her that she could fit a maximum of 100 people in the section of the restaurant that they would designate for us. We ended up with about 70 people at the Groom's dinner and I thank the lord that there weren't 100. The room was packed. I can't even describe how packed it was. When we arrived we couldn't even get into the room. It was a freaking mad house. The invite (and the Buca time) was 6:30, but people were standing around talking for at least an hour, which appeared to have been planned because the poor servers were trying to pass wine to people but there was no room to move. You literally could not move. When people finally sat down there were barely enough seats for every butt. Once we were sitting appetizers came out but then things slowed to almost a halt. It took over an hour for the family style dinner to be served. I was looking forward to a dinner and then getting back to the hotel and finishing up some last minute things and getting a good night sleep. We were at Buca's until 11. The servers did a great job though. They didn't let the madness get to them and they were very very sweet to everyone. They boxed up left overs, which fed the in-town family for weeks. The reason that I am giving Buca a C is because they were completely off in telling my MIL that she could have 100 people there. There was barely sitting room for 70 and I can't imagine what would have happened if there were 100! They oversold themselves and it was ridiculous.
Chair Covers/sashes, tablecloths, table runners, & Ceiling Drape: Deckci Decor www.deckci.com - A+
The room turned out nothing short of amazing. Angie was so great in the weeks leading up to the wedding. Even when I totally goofed and had ordered ivory chair covers but had white table linens from the hotel, Angie helped me come up with a solution and was so flexible. The ceiling drape absolutely made the reception everything that we had imagined. It set the tone of the evening and I 100% believe decor is worth every penny. We got so many compliments about the room. It was incredible. They made our vision of a blue and orange AND elegant wedding come to life and it was everything we hoped for.
The staff was super patient and helped me figure out and find what I was looking for. They didn't pressure me too much, but because I live out of town I felt a little pressure to just find something and buy it. Eric helped me find a beautiful gown and veil and stay within a reasonable price range. And to top it all off, the entire store was 20% off! They also let me take pictures of every dress, which I really liked. My dress ended up being a Mestads exclusive and though they told me it would take 6-8 months, my dress arrived in store in ONE month. They kept it safe for me for 5 months until I returned to MN
The same day we also decided on Bridesmaids dresses. I wanted to get Travis' input on the color and we were missing one bridesmaid. The girls that were with us got their measurements put in the computer and paid for their dresses. I called the store a month later with the last maid's measurements and the color selection and they placed the order for me. Easy as pie.
We had a Kosher wedding so we had no choice but to get our cake from Byerlys. We had a horrendous first experience with them, but after some phone calls and e-mails were sent things got better. Sharon was really sweet and really excited about my ideas. She also gave me some fantastic ideas for the cake that I wouldn't have thought of. The cake itself was amazing looking. People were super impressed and Travis was blown away when he saw it. I was so happy that he liked it. The taste of the cake was pretty good, but not the best I'd ever eaten. We also had chocolate chip and sugar cookies put out and they were AWESOME. I loved those little things and I kept going back for more.
We got tux's for Travis, groomsmen, ushers and dads. It was easy to order the tux's, easy to manage the group online and everyone looked great and Travis' tux was free. They were helpful and nice to me on the phone. The reason they get 4 stars is because my dad said a woman was very rude to him at the Ridgedale location everytime he went in. My dad is the sweetest man on Earth, so I know he did not do anything to deserve someone being rude to him. The fact that it happened more than once tells me someone there is not doing their job well.
My mom ordered these things without me knowing. Overall they were cute. The cake server was cheap and engraved with our names and date and was cute. The heart shaped boxes we used in the out of town bags, cute. The water bottle labels were total junk. Make your own if you want these. The ink was so crappy that as I was putting the labels on the bottles the ink was rubbing off on my hands so most of them were smudged or blank. They also didn't stay on and I had to tape some. Make your own.
We met twice before the wedding. The first time we talked basics (i.e- what kind of bouquets I like, what feel I was going for, etc) and then we went to the flower warehouse to get ideas about types of flowers. We met again about a week before the wedding and we went to the warehouse again. I picked the specific flowers I really liked and told him how much I wanted to spend. I also mentioned having a few small roses to put in my hair. The day of the wedding he came up to my bridal suite with a bunch of roses and created a variety of little bunches for us to pick and choose from for my hair. When I arrived at the synagogue I saw the bouquets and I couldn't help but get teary. I didn't even care about flowers when I started this process but they were so incredibly beautiful. They were better than anything I could have ever imagined. The sanctuary was gorgeous as well. Immediately after the ceremony he rushed the synagogue flowers over to the reception so that none went to waste. He stayed in my budget and made our vision of a fall wedding a reality. Truly amazing.