Antonette White did an amazing job on my bridal hair & makeup. She also did my bridesmaids' and mother-of-the-bride. I never felt more glamorous, and all my bridesmaids looked like models! Nothing overdone or costumey...just better versions of ourselves :)
What drew me to Antonette was her reasonable prices, particularly her prices for the bridal party. I didn't want to burden anyone. Then after I went to her home studio for a hair & makeup preview, I knew she was the right girl for the job.
On the wedding day, Antonette came to the hotel, set up shop in the bridal suite, and was with us all day. She is so personable and funny, which definitely calmed my nerves.
I cannot stress the importance of airbrush makeup...it makes skin look so flawless! And Antonette does it so well. Very very high recommendation.
If you've perused theknot.com Chicago wedding boards at all, you've undoubtedly seen recommendations for Mary Catomy. She does professional alterations out of her home at very reasonable prices. She's located in Schiller Park (near the O'Hare).
I didn't need too many alterations done to my dress (which I ordered online), so I really didn't want to pay the high prices quoted by many bridal stores. Mary was able to fit me in her schedule and did an amazing job bustling and taking in my gown. She also steamed it so it hung beautifully on the big day. And on top of that, she was able to make me the short, simple veil I was looking for. One-stop shop!
Depending how important you consider your photographer to be, Bella Pictures may or may not be for you.
I know this sounds awful, but I am just not a picture person. Of course I wanted pictures to remember my wedding but I didn't want to spend as much as some of the trendy independent photographers charge.
Bella Pictures is a national photography company, but I never felt like it was. We received great customer service prior to our wedding, a free engagement picture session downtown (not in a studio), and our photographer Anthony did a great job. I can't review the album process aspect since we haven't actually started that yet.
The main consideration with Bella is that you do not actually know who your photographer will be until after you sign a contract. At that point, you view and rate several hundred pictures so Bella can determine your style. They then identify which of their photographers' styles mesh with yours, and pair you up. Once you are matched to a photographer, you do get to view several of their full wedding day portfolios, and should you be unhappy you can request a different photographer. This process might make some people uncomfortable but I decided to "chance" it, and I think our pictures came out beautifully. Plenty of great shots that really captured the day, and a photography package that didn't break the bank (and actually included an album).
Register at Macy's! If you haven't already heard, they have a great rewards program for Macy's card holders (if you don't have a card you can just open one when you register). After the wedding is over, Macy's sends you a gift card for 5% of the total value of your guests' registry purchases, plus 10% of the total value of anything you purchased at Macy's during your engagement. And not just housewares--if you bought Christmas presents or a pair of stilettos for yourself, you would get 10% of that cost back on the gift card.
The Macy's on State Street also has very knowledgeable registry consultants (ask for Korrin!).
Crate and Barrel is also a great registry option. Though they don't have the greatest sales, they do have items with great style. Also, customer service is excellent--we received some bar glasses in the mail and one was broken. I assumed it would be a big hassle and I'd have to take the broken glass to a store or something, but I called and then immediately shipped out a new glass, no questions asked.
Toast & Jam is awesome. What's cooler than a company of almost all girl DJs? And who could understand the importance of wedding music more than previous brides? :)
Sarah did a fantastic job. She was very professional and organized during our two pre-wedding meetings, making sure she knew everything from the order of events for the night to bridal party name pronounciation. On the wedding day, she played a great mix of hits that kept the dance floor packed all night! Everyone from our twenty-something friends to our middle aged aunts and uncles were getting their groove on together. When the party ended no one wanted to leave! That's the sign of a great party and I owe a lot of that to Sarah from Toast & Jam.
Since we only wanted a simple 3 tier square cake with a fondant ribbon around the base of each layer, we really didn't want to pay the exorbitant prices some of the hip cake designers charge. I called around to many Chicago bakeries to get pricing info, and Alliance was the best. We also felt good because they were a preferred cake supplier of our venue (W City Center Hotel).
We scheduled a tasting at the cute little bakery/coffee shop, chose two different flavor combinations and were on our way. Easy as pie.
On our wedding day, the cake was delivered as promised and looked beautiful. We didn't get to taste any that day but heard it was great!
Lastly, a nice little perk is that instead of saving the top tier of cake in the freezer for a year until it becomes stale and tasteless, Alliance gives all brides & grooms a certificate for a small 16" cake in the same flavor as the original wedding cake, redeemable anytime during the year after the wedding. Can't wait to use it!
Chicago Wedding Music is actually a group of DePaul music students. Though they are not professionals yet, Michael Frigo and his team are very sophisticated and great at what they do. Their pricing is also very reasonable. We had a string duet (cello & violin) play for our ceremony. The musicians were able to play every song we wanted (including some fun ones like All You Need Is Love by the Beatles). We received got many compliments and would definitely recommend them.
The Kio Kreations team did an absolutely FABULOUS job at my April 10th wedding in downtown Chicago, and I couldn't have been happier.
http://kiokreations.com/2010/04/a-w-hotel-wedding-that-wows-in-chicago/
From the very first meeting with Kristen, I felt completely comfortable. I knew what type of flowers I wanted going in, and it was clear that she understood my style and what I wanted for the Big Day. She's definitely up on the all latest wedding trends.
Throughout the planning process, Kristen consistently very responsive by phone and email, accomodating some last minute changes and add-ons with ease. On the day of the wedding, she and her team were there taking charge and setting up seamlessly. I received so many compliments on both the ceremony and reception decor. Sometimes I don't think people realize how important flowers are to creating the overall "feel" of a wedding or event, but my guests definitely took note!
I should also mention that Kristen does wonderful graphic design and wedding paper items. In addition to floral design, I had her create my rehearsal dinner invitations, wedding programs, escort cards, table names, menu cards, and signs for the popcorn/pretzel favor buffet. Everything fit together beautifully. She really does it all and it's so nice and easy to be able to get so much checked off the list with one great vendor!
Obviously I can't say enough great things about Kio. Take the time to check out all the pictures in the gallery. It's great for ideas if you aren't sure what style you want, and seriously I can't find one picture that isn't stunning.
AMAZING honeymoon! Wish we could give 10 stars. From the moment we arrived until the moment we left, we felt like absolute royalty. The staff was so accomodating, the room was full of amenities, the pools and beach were gorgeous, and the spa was incredibly relaxing. Even though the resort is just north of Cancun, it felt very secluded and worlds away from the main "hotel zone" of Cancun. And it is only a couple years old so everything is very modern and chic.
Be prepared to stuff yourself with food & drinks. There were 9 restaurants to choose from, each with a different concept. All the food we had was great, in particular th Mexican restaurant (as it should be!). There were live shows each night, some better than others but all entertaining. We especially loved the Michael Jackson tribute show :)
All the excusion options are available if you are interested in that. But the resort itself provided plenty of activities. And it was our honeymoon and we wanted plenty of time to lounge around poolside.
Lastly, we would definitely recommend going with an Excellence Club room. We got many perks with this upgrade, including a personal concierge, fresh fruit and desserts in our room daily, a couples spa treatment, and a private beach dinner! Like really private, as in we were the only people we could see on the entire beach.
We can't say enough great things about this resort and are sure we'll be back.