I booked Salon Nouveau in South Bend for my bridal party and I. They were very accommodating in scheduling us all at the same time. They made it work for all 6 of us to get our hair done at the same time. It was a fun environment and the salon provided bagels and orange juice for us. They even allowed and encouraged my maid of honor to bring in champagne for mimosas. Salon Nouveau allows you to cancel any of the bridal party appointments up to a week before the wedding. This was helpful, as I had to cancel two of my bridal party appointments. I also decided a week before the wedding that I wanted to have my make-up done as well. They were very accommodating and were able to switch some other things around in order to get me in at the time that I wanted. All of the girls were very happy with their hair and mine as well. My make-up lasted the whole day, so I was impressed with that. They give you the lipstick to keep for touch-ups. My stylist was great, she noticed I had a chip in my freshly manicured nails (I had them done the day before at a nail salon) and she offered to touch it up for me.
Overall, we were very happy with how everything turned out. The only slight complaint that I have is that my flower girl was charged the same amount for her simple updo. She didn't have extremely long hair and they had told me beforehand that hers probably wouldn't cost as much as the rest of ours. Other than that, we had a great time and were very happy. For the quality of the salon, the prices are very competitive too!
My husband and I used Kay Jewelers in Mishawaka, IN for all of our wedding jewelry needs. I originally had hoped that my then fiance' would purchase my engagement ring from a local jeweler, one that was not part of a chain. However, when I saw my engagement ring, I couldn't have been happier! Kay Jewelers offers a beautiful selection of jewelry at a competitive price. I was also very happy to find out that if you purchase the lifetime warranty with the jewelry, your jewelry will basically be taken care of for life. As long as I take my ring in every 6 months for a quick inspection, if I lose a diamond, they will replace it for free. I can also send my rings in as often as I like to get resized, polished, or re-rhodium plated. This is all included in the warranty! My rings will always look brand new! Paying a little extra up front for the warranty is well worth it. My husband and I couldn't be happier with our rings from Kay Jewelers. Don't think that just because they are a national chain they won't have something unique for you. Make sure if you visit the Mishawaka, IN location, you ask for Chelsea. She was very accommodating and helpful in our search for the perfect wedding rings!
We booked Wayne with D & T Productions for our wedding reception and couldn't have been happier. He was very accommodating and responsive in the planning process. He always responded to e-mails by the next day. We never had any unanswered questions. His contract was very straightforward and thorough. He makes sure he knows what kind of feel you want for your event and he gets it right. Our dance floor was full the entire night. He knows how to keep the party going.
Wayne was very professional and didn't post any signs advertising his services at our reception. He brings back-up equipment to every event, not that he needs it. He also brings along an assistant, so there is never a break in the action. His prices are very competitive. Our original choice for a DJ was booked. In the end, we were happy that he was though, we found D & T Productions because of this. D & T Productions offered us a lower cost and higher quality. Wayne even surprised us with a CD of songs from our reception. Book D & T for your next event, you won't be disappointed.
We used the Martin's Floral Shoppe at the South Bend location at Ironwood and S.R. 23. We met with Martin's after meeting with another local florist to discuss bouquets and boutonnieres for our wedding. The cost for our floral needs at the competition was shocking. We were happy to find that Martin's offered the same flowers at half the cost. Upon signing your floral contract, you are informed that colors of flowers can't be guaranteed. This is slightly scary, if you are planning a wedding. I didn't think it would be much of an issue though, since our flower colors were just different shades of pink. However, I was disappointed on our wedding day to find that the shades were not at all what I had hoped. My bridal bouquet was a beautiful bouquet of peonies that I was complimented on several times throughout the day. However, the shade of pink was the shade that the bridesmaid bouquets were supposed to be. The bridesmaid bouquets were supposed to be a light shade of pink and my bouquet was supposed to be a fuchsia pink. Instead, the bridesmaid bouquets were almost peach and mine was the light pink. I would have been okay with this if the groom and groomsmen boutonnieres would have matched up with this. My groom's boutonniere was supposed to match the shade of my bouquet and the groomsmen boutonnieres were supposed to match the bridesmaid bouquets. Instead, the groom had a fuchsia boutonniere that didn't match anyone's bouquet and the groomsmen had the light pink boutonnieres that matched my bouquet. Nothing was said to explain this to the person that picked up our flowers. I just wish that if they had to change the shades of the flowers, they would have at least matched the flowers up like they were supposed to. The bouquets weren't as big as I was led to believe they would be either.
Overall, Martin's offers very competitive prices. If you are hoping for an exact shade of flower though, you may want to think twice. If you have a basic color, Martin's may be the place for you. They can make beautiful bouquets. The location I was at, which is where all the South Bend/Mishawaka stores refer weddings to, does not deliver. This wasn't an issue for us, but it may be for you.
We couldn't have been happier with our wedding cake from Cakewalk. The cake was absolutely beautiful and it tasted even better than it looked! From the very beginning, Alexis was very responsive and helpful with everything that we asked of her. We were looking for a cake that could be designed to our liking, but one that also tasted great. Other cake designers in the area that designed cakes in the style we liked, charged up to twice as much as Cakewalk for a cake that didn't taste as good. We were happy to stumble upon Cakewalk.
Cakewalk has so many wonderful flavors of cakes and fillings. It was very difficult to narrow it down for our cake. Our 250 serving cake consisted of their "basic" sour cream butter cake with Swiss meringue butter cream filling, along with a dark chocolate sponge cake with chocolate mousse filling. You can't go wrong with any choice though. Alexis designed a beautiful cake for us. Since we didn't have a cake stand, Alexis offered to make a fabric covered cake stand for our cake. We paid the low cost for the materials and Alexis took care of the rest. It matched our colors and made the cake look even more beautiful. Choose Cakewalk for your cake. You won't be disappointed. We are still getting raves about our beautiful and delicious cake!