Rating My Wedding Vendors + Other Helpful Wedding Tips

I got married this past weekend! One of the most useful things for future brides I believe is recommendations and reviews. 

Venue St. James 1868 The Hyde 10/10!!!

We specifically used The Hyde part of St. James. You can rent the whole property which includes the Abbey, but we decided against it. If you're thinking of a Photo Booth, live wedding painter, stuff like that you may want to rent both. Also with the Hyde you don't get the court yard until later if there is a wedding in the Abbey on the same day. We had ~100 guests and didn't feel cramped in there at all. JSYK we opted out of the Photo Booth. 

The property itself is beautiful! We added on the coordinator and worked with Danielle. She was amazing, totally worth it, and the day was perfect. There was a forecast for potential rain, but we made it through the ceremony and cocktail hour without a drop. Would 100% get married here again. 

There is a getting ready room for the ladies which is another fee. Because of this, we got ready in my apartments community room which was way better for our budget. But the room at St. James worked out perfectly once we got there to put our purses, gifts, etc. 

Street parking is free on Saturday/Sunday but there is also a lot available to rent. So there are plenty add ons that might put you over budget. Just something to think about. 

Flowers All That Blooms 10/10!!! (A recommendation of St. James.) 

Julie was amazing to work with! I didn't get to see her the day of, but she was so great with communication and making my vision come to life. Her minimum was within our budget and she did amazing work! We ended up using our bouquets for decor on the main/kings table so we ended up saving some money that way. You need to put them in water anyways so it worked out well. I'm 2 days out from the wedding currently typing this and my bouquet still looks amazing. 

Catering All Occasions Catering 10/10 (A recommendation of St. James) 

There are some allergies in my family (mainly shellfish) and they were very accommodating. I've heard plenty from the guests that they loved it, especially the desserts! When we finally sat down, there was a plate of appetizers for me and my husband which was a nice touch as I feel like sometimes if you're taking photos during cocktail hour, you never get to eat those. 

DJ David Charles Productions 9/10 (A recommendation of St. James)

There was a couple communication problems, nothing major, that got resolved very quickly. The night of, they did that thing where one song blends into another, and the blend time was longer than I expected. This isn't really my favorite, I like where it's more where it blends very quickly. However I never specified that in any of our meetings so if you have a preference let them know! The music was loud - which it should be. But as the crowd got smaller, I feel like the volume could've gone down a smidge as well so it's easier to hear each other. We did try and ask them to turn it down as it down later, but it never seemed like they did. Although at that point, maybe it was my hearing lol. Would totally use them again, with the above in mind. They have the option to rent a photo booth and flower walls as well.

Make Up Nadiya Mashkina 10/10

I was worried about my makeup because a) I never wear makeup and b) I wanted someone comfortable with Asian features. Nadiya was amazing to work with. What I didn't like from the trial, we fixed for the day of. I'm rather reserved, so make sure if you don't like something you let her know - she will treat you right! 

Photography Timeless Tree Weddings 9.5/10

We won a raffle and got 50% off what ever package we chose. Still waiting for the finals to come in, but was great working with them. Will update once pics come in! 

Update: 8.5/10 We never got photos of family. You know the ones, where your aunts, uncles, and cousins all squish in. Although I feel like that's not high on my priority of photos. However, I feel like our photographer could've given us more direction. The style is fine. But more so "hey, can you more more to the left? lift your chin? etc." I would've appreciated that. But there are some photos that I absolutely adore. I feel like sometimes that's how it is. You find a handful that are your favorite, and the others just kinda supplement. 

Dress Shops

I went to 3 different stores to find my dress. First was Vow'd in Brookfield. Probably my favorite experience, but just went with a different dress. All dresses there are less than $2000. Then to David's Bridal. They were very proper, but our stylist felt less casual/happy/excited? It was perfectly fine, but just a very different vibe. Finally ended up buying the dress (Miss Stella York) at Bucci Bridal. 

Staff at Bucci Bridal was amazing. The day I said yes, we were coming back from Illinois and I kept calling the shop to say "sorry I'm late!" and pushing back the time. They said not to worry about it and if I still wanted to come in, they would wait for me. I'm so glad they did! 

Things I Did to Save Money 

A cutting cake from Sendik's

Shoes from Shein 

Dashing Diva Nails 

No chargers, but we did get two for me and my husband to designate bride/groom! 

Moving the arch from our ceremony space to behind where we were sitting for dinner

DIY'd all my place cards, menu cards, welcome signs, seating chart, and other signs (like memorial table signs) 

To all future brides, good luck out there! 

You've got this.