My wedding was amazing. Our budget was 5k and we managed to pull it off by using very few professional vendors. We actually came out under budget if you don't include the honeymoon! Here are the reviews of the professionals we did hire.
Molook's: D
I really should separate this into three different grades. One for the alterations, one for the dress, and one for the dress shopping experience. I went to the Seattle Wedding Expo this year and bought a beautiful, one-of-a-kind, handmade dress from Molook's for $400. It had some minor issues with the stitching (some of the beads needed to be fixed) and it was dirty. The dress itself deserves a solid A- in quality, but it gets an A because it was my dress and I loved it :) The experience was a little stressful. The ladies kept forgetting that they were speaking Russian (they kept trying to speak to me in Russian). They were pushy and a little rude. The lady who was helping me get into the dress grabbed my underwear and pulled it up, giving me a wedgie (ewww). The dress did not have a price tag and we haggled the price down from $500 to $400. The fact that they were willing to go down gives them a C+. Now, the reason why the grade goes from a C+ and A- to a D is because the alterations deserve the lowest possible grade (F just doesn't seem low enough). We were told that the price of any of their dresses included a free cleaning and repair. We made an appointment to go to her salon. It took us forever to get there because her "salon" is in the basement of her home, which is in a residential area (we were expecting an actual salon). We showed up a bit late and she was not there. We waited outside for 45 minutes and she never came to the door. We tried calling her but she did not pick up. We left a message and went home. She never returned our call. Seriously, stay away from Molooks!
Pacific Cleaners in Bonney Lake: A
They did a great job cleaning my dress after all of the stress with Molook's. They were very nice and they spoke English. They even repaired some of the beads that were loose even though we had just brought it in to be pressed and cleaned.
The Chalet Theatre in Enumclaw: A+
We got married at a local movie theater. They were amazing! We got the use of the theater for the rehearsal and the ceremony, plus we got to go in the night before the ceremony (the rehearsal was two nights before) to set up. They also gave us popcorn for 75 guests (we used our own bags) and helped us fill them. All of this for $100! It is difficult to get ahold of the owner (you have to talk to him when he is outside selling tickets for a movie) but once you set up the wedding, he will give you a number to call to reach him.
El Camino Restaurant: B
The El Camino was our reception site. The banquet room we rented for the reception needed a lot of work. Once decorated, it looked very nice. The staff was kind for the most part. However, they brought the food out too early. They were supposed to bring out the food at 2:30 (when the photos were supposed to be done and my husband and I were supposed to arrive at the reception). They brought it out as soon as guests started arriving at about 2. The guests waited for my husband and I to arrive to eat and so the food was a little cold. It was still very yummy and guests seemed to enjoy it. Just make sure you are clear with them about when to bring the food out.
Nail Salon in the Super Mall: A-
The nail salon people were very nice and they did a pretty good job with my french mani pedi. However, a few days after the manicure (the day after the wedding), the nail polish started flaking off. I don't know if this is my fault, because my SIL said hers didn't do that.
Sadie and Jay Photography: A+
Seriously, I cannot stress enough how much I adored our photographer. She was fun, patient, and amazing! The only reason why I don't give her an A++++ is because it will take 8-12 weeks to get my photos back from her (but I knew this when we hired her). I did get a sneak peak about two weeks after, however.
Safeway Florist in Enumclaw: A
The florist only did my bouquet and the boutonnieres for the wedding. My mother did the rest. The florist was very nice and she did a good job. I want to note that due to the weather we had a bad shipment of roses for weeks leading up to my wedding (I know this because we were doing some of our own flowers). Despite this, the florist managed to make the roses look great.
Susan Dones from A Day For You Weddings: B
I really liked Susan. However, we had our rehearsal on a Friday so that we could have her attend (she had a wedding on Saturday, our wedding was on Sunday). She told me that she was available. Three weeks before the wedding, she cancelled and said she could not come to the rehearsal. She did send us a replacement for the rehearsal, but I really would have liked to have her there. At the very least, I would have liked to have the rehearsal on Saturday. She also did not provide as much feedback with my vows as I thought she would. Other than that, she was very nice and fit our personalities well. She even surprised us with a little joke during the ceremony in response to my husband's vows that I loved.
David's Bridal in Olympia: A-
I took all four of my bridesmaids to David's Bridal to pick out dresses. They were very patient with us. My crazy bridesmaids were a little rowdy and spent four hours trying on dresses. I think they tried on every style at least once. The only reason why they get an A- is because they lost our reservation and then later messed up my wedding date. For some reason, they lost the reservation I made to try on bridesmaid dresses. That really wasn't a big deal. I checked in a few days early to make sure I had the time right and found out that we didn't have any reservation in the books. I made one right there and the problem was solved. They also put down that my wedding was the weekend after we tried on dresses. That also wasn't a big deal. I just had to pick up my bridesmaid's dresses a little early. They did not charge us any fees to expedite the dresses, either.
Men's Wearhouse in Olympia: A-
They were friendly. There was a little issue with the computer losing our wedding information but they solved it pretty quickly.
Other Vendors: We did not have a professional DJ, wedding planner, or makeup artist. We did those ourselves. My mom's friends did the cupcakes for the wedding. We had salted caramel cupcakes, red velvet cupcakes, and coconut cupcakes. They were amazing and I wish she had a bakery so that I could recommend her to you. However, she is not a professional baker and only makes cupcakes for people she knows. My mom's friend also did my hair. She is technically a professional at a salon but she doesn't usually do formal hair styles for work (she does it for friends). She did a good job but insisted on bringing her very sick 12-month-old baby to my apartment when she did my hair (with no warning). My bridesmaids spent time they should have spent getting ready taking care of the woman's child. Overall, our wedding was amazing. We stayed under budget and managed to have a very nice-looking wedding :)
Molook's: D
I really should separate this into three different grades. One for the alterations, one for the dress, and one for the dress shopping experience. I went to the Seattle Wedding Expo this year and bought a beautiful, one-of-a-kind, handmade dress from Molook's for $400. It had some minor issues with the stitching (some of the beads needed to be fixed) and it was dirty. The dress itself deserves a solid A- in quality, but it gets an A because it was my dress and I loved it :) The experience was a little stressful. The ladies kept forgetting that they were speaking Russian (they kept trying to speak to me in Russian). They were pushy and a little rude. The lady who was helping me get into the dress grabbed my underwear and pulled it up, giving me a wedgie (ewww). The dress did not have a price tag and we haggled the price down from $500 to $400. The fact that they were willing to go down gives them a C+. Now, the reason why the grade goes from a C+ and A- to a D is because the alterations deserve the lowest possible grade (F just doesn't seem low enough). We were told that the price of any of their dresses included a free cleaning and repair. We made an appointment to go to her salon. It took us forever to get there because her "salon" is in the basement of her home, which is in a residential area (we were expecting an actual salon). We showed up a bit late and she was not there. We waited outside for 45 minutes and she never came to the door. We tried calling her but she did not pick up. We left a message and went home. She never returned our call. Seriously, stay away from Molooks!
Pacific Cleaners in Bonney Lake: A
They did a great job cleaning my dress after all of the stress with Molook's. They were very nice and they spoke English. They even repaired some of the beads that were loose even though we had just brought it in to be pressed and cleaned.
The Chalet Theatre in Enumclaw: A+
We got married at a local movie theater. They were amazing! We got the use of the theater for the rehearsal and the ceremony, plus we got to go in the night before the ceremony (the rehearsal was two nights before) to set up. They also gave us popcorn for 75 guests (we used our own bags) and helped us fill them. All of this for $100! It is difficult to get ahold of the owner (you have to talk to him when he is outside selling tickets for a movie) but once you set up the wedding, he will give you a number to call to reach him.
El Camino Restaurant: B
The El Camino was our reception site. The banquet room we rented for the reception needed a lot of work. Once decorated, it looked very nice. The staff was kind for the most part. However, they brought the food out too early. They were supposed to bring out the food at 2:30 (when the photos were supposed to be done and my husband and I were supposed to arrive at the reception). They brought it out as soon as guests started arriving at about 2. The guests waited for my husband and I to arrive to eat and so the food was a little cold. It was still very yummy and guests seemed to enjoy it. Just make sure you are clear with them about when to bring the food out.
Nail Salon in the Super Mall: A-
The nail salon people were very nice and they did a pretty good job with my french mani pedi. However, a few days after the manicure (the day after the wedding), the nail polish started flaking off. I don't know if this is my fault, because my SIL said hers didn't do that.
Sadie and Jay Photography: A+
Seriously, I cannot stress enough how much I adored our photographer. She was fun, patient, and amazing! The only reason why I don't give her an A++++ is because it will take 8-12 weeks to get my photos back from her (but I knew this when we hired her). I did get a sneak peak about two weeks after, however.
Safeway Florist in Enumclaw: A
The florist only did my bouquet and the boutonnieres for the wedding. My mother did the rest. The florist was very nice and she did a good job. I want to note that due to the weather we had a bad shipment of roses for weeks leading up to my wedding (I know this because we were doing some of our own flowers). Despite this, the florist managed to make the roses look great.
Susan Dones from A Day For You Weddings: B
I really liked Susan. However, we had our rehearsal on a Friday so that we could have her attend (she had a wedding on Saturday, our wedding was on Sunday). She told me that she was available. Three weeks before the wedding, she cancelled and said she could not come to the rehearsal. She did send us a replacement for the rehearsal, but I really would have liked to have her there. At the very least, I would have liked to have the rehearsal on Saturday. She also did not provide as much feedback with my vows as I thought she would. Other than that, she was very nice and fit our personalities well. She even surprised us with a little joke during the ceremony in response to my husband's vows that I loved.
David's Bridal in Olympia: A-
I took all four of my bridesmaids to David's Bridal to pick out dresses. They were very patient with us. My crazy bridesmaids were a little rowdy and spent four hours trying on dresses. I think they tried on every style at least once. The only reason why they get an A- is because they lost our reservation and then later messed up my wedding date. For some reason, they lost the reservation I made to try on bridesmaid dresses. That really wasn't a big deal. I checked in a few days early to make sure I had the time right and found out that we didn't have any reservation in the books. I made one right there and the problem was solved. They also put down that my wedding was the weekend after we tried on dresses. That also wasn't a big deal. I just had to pick up my bridesmaid's dresses a little early. They did not charge us any fees to expedite the dresses, either.
Men's Wearhouse in Olympia: A-
They were friendly. There was a little issue with the computer losing our wedding information but they solved it pretty quickly.
Other Vendors: We did not have a professional DJ, wedding planner, or makeup artist. We did those ourselves. My mom's friends did the cupcakes for the wedding. We had salted caramel cupcakes, red velvet cupcakes, and coconut cupcakes. They were amazing and I wish she had a bakery so that I could recommend her to you. However, she is not a professional baker and only makes cupcakes for people she knows. My mom's friend also did my hair. She is technically a professional at a salon but she doesn't usually do formal hair styles for work (she does it for friends). She did a good job but insisted on bringing her very sick 12-month-old baby to my apartment when she did my hair (with no warning). My bridesmaids spent time they should have spent getting ready taking care of the woman's child. Overall, our wedding was amazing. We stayed under budget and managed to have a very nice-looking wedding :)
