This was a perfect choice! They provided bagels and juice and we got the whole place to ourselves. There were 3 hairstylists doing updos for 7 people. We got done in about 2 and a half hours, which was perfect. The cost was average, 45 per person. I had a run throught one week before and my stylist, Jenna, did a great job figuring out what I wanted. She took a picture to make sure she did it exactly right for the actual day. I ended up loving my hair more on the actual day and it took quicker since she knew what she was doing. Every one of my bridesmaids really liked their hair (which is rare!).
Sharon did our wedding cake. She is the head baker at Hy-Vee at 27th and Superior in Lincoln, and she used to own her own shop. We chose her after a recommendation from a friend.
I absolutely love the cake flavors we had. The brochure we got did not list everything she could offer so that was a little frustrating, but we still got a chance to try everything we wanted to try. There was a lot of variety…we ended up with white cake with a raspberry Bavarian cream filling, chocolate cake with Bavarian cream filling, red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting, and a brownie grooms cake. Our frosting was a whipped frosting since I do not like regular frosting. I had been told by others that this frosting wouldn’t hold up as well, but she assured me it would and it was perfect. We had lots of great comments on our cake flavors. We only wish there could have been a little more filling in each layer.
We were given 2 or 3 containers of little pieces of cake to taste test.
I gave Sharon a picture of a cake I loved, and then she drew a sketch of it and some extra touches we discussed. The look of the cake turned out great. We gave her our cake topper and fake flower petals to use on it about 2 weeks before the wedding. There were pearls on our cake that she added at no extra charge.
The price was a little more than we would have preferred, but we wanted the fillings and different flavors that another Hy-Vee wouldn’t be able to provide. It was also cheaper than other specialty bakeries around Lincoln. So it was right in the middle. We were able to choose the sizes of our layers after looking at model at the Bridal Gown Outlet on North 27th Street. That is where a lot of Sharon’s cakes are displayed. Looking at these is what we needed to decide a size. We went with 3 round layers, 16’’, 12’’, and 8’’. I definitely didn’t want a cake that looked to small, and the sizes we chose were perfect.
We chose Melissa at Blooms n' Bouquets after a recommendation from a friend. After meeting with her for the first time I knew I could trust her to do a great job. She was incredibly organized which was necessary for a bride that changes her mind a lot or just can't decide at all! She was very good about responding to emails about the questions and changes I had. Every time we changed something, she made it very clear what we were adding and how much it would cost. Our contract was very specific so we knew exactly what we were getting. I provided pictures for Melissa about what I wanted some of the flower arrangements to look like, and she included those in the contract.
I didn't give full 5's because the day of the wedding the altar flowers were not what I wanted. Part of this was because one flower in the arrangement was not in full bloom so it looked very different. Also, the altar flowers were not in the vases I thought was had decided on. We immediately talked to Melissa and she brought us new vases. She also asked me what changes I'd like to make to the arrangements. It was stressful, but she did a great job being flexible and taking the time to get what I wanted. I had light pink and dark pink flowers, and the light pink was a lot lighter than we decided on, but I do know she doesn't have control on how the flower color turns out. She talked with us in detail about how the flowers that grow every year can turn out a little differently. I was bummed about the color, but I understood. All other bouquets, boutennieres, corsages, and bows were great.
Melissa worked with us a lot on pricing. We ended up cutting comee things such as baby's breath, and greenery on the boutennieres and corsages to get the cost down a little. We also switched from pew flowers to pew bows, which I actually liked a lot more.
Blooms n' Bouquets was a good choice, and we alos got floating candles from them for a good price.