BNS4EVER's reviews

Because of the number of guests that were coming from out of town, we rented a block of hotel rooms at the Sheraton. We choose the Sheraton because it was somewhat closer to Stephanie’s parent’s house, which was the unofficial greeting place. Milwaukee is big, but it’s still small enough that most hotels, even those on the outskirts of town, only take about 20 minutes to get to. Also, we were able to arrange shuttle services between the Inn and the Sheraton, so that after the reception people could get back to their hotel without worries.

On the eve of the wedding, my family organized a special dinner for Stephanie and me in the Sutra Lounge and the Karma Bar. Part of the reason why we had the ‘rehearsal dinner’ here was because my brothers were coming from out of town, and I hadn’t seen them for a really long time, and they really like going to places that are trendy and hip. This was more of a chance for me and my brothers to hang out, which was hard given the short amount of time they were staying in town. We had made the reservations about a month ahead of time, and I also got ahold of the menu for my mom and Stephanie’s mom to look over before we got there. The atmosphere may be trendy, but they still have really classic meals, and they really liked the grilled steak sandwich. I know that everyone loved the food, and it was great that we had our own room to hang out in. I also liked that our parents were able to meet and socialize in a setting other than one of their houses. People felt really at ease, the staff was great, and after our parents left we all moved to the bar for a few more drinks before heading home.

This was where I had rented my tuxedo for my prom, and ten years later I would be buying my first suit from Harleys. At the other weddings I had been a part of, I always wore a rented tuxedo, but I thought it would be nice to have my own suit. I made an appointment to have a suit fitted. I was also able to get button-down shirts that fit my neck properly and they were also able to tailor the shirts I bought, which was great. They have free delivery, so everything was sent to our house once it was ready. I felt really comfortable with the staff, I thought they were all very professional and they were able to make great suggestions to help me pick out a suit I look good in.

This was where my best friend had bought the ring for his fiancé, and I had gone with him a few times to look at rings. The staff at Stein’s is really nice, really kind, and they don’t put any pressure on the buyer. I really felt that they wanted me to understand the ring rather than try to sell me the ring. I found a really special ring in the Artcarved collection, I took down the information and did some research on the internet about the cost and such. In the end I bought the ring and then the bands from Stein because they offer great prices, great warrantee, and I felt confident in working with them. I also want to say that they have nice wedding bands, for both men and women.

Snapfish is a program that lets you upload your pictures and then they make invitations and cards for you, which they’ll deliver to your house. We had made our Christmas postcards through them in the past, and the quality if always good and we never have any problems with delivery. The online system is kind of like the self-service photo-stations at a Walgreens, where you plug in your USB memory stick and then have a list of templates to choose from. We went with making our own cards because we wanted to use our engagement pictures. Also, this is the sort of thing that Stephanie can spend hours working on. It’s not expensive, and I know that people like pictures.

I would have to say that the website really does the place no justice. The website is actually pretty awful when you compare it with so more trendy and expensive looking graphics that other vendors used. The Inn, though, was by far our favorite venue that we visited, and we are very happy that this was the place we choose for our wedding reception. The dinning room is beautiful, it’s rustic looking but still elegant, and it has this great charm to it. The staff here is accustomed to accommodating large parties, so they had no trouble managing all of our family and friends that were arriving at different times from all over the state. The room felt very formal when we were giving our speeches, but then it was a great place for dancing at the end of the night. There is also a huge menu to choose from, and the food is excellent. Again, because they are used to working with very large groups, we may have been an easy group to handle with only 200 people. Also, they are great when it came time for decorating, helping to get the flowers on the tables, and the place settings, too.

The Bavarian Inn provided us with a menu selection from which we could chose from entrees for our guests. There was a great selection for those that ate meat, and they also had some good selections for the non-meat eaters. But this really is a place that serves traditional german food, so expect some great meat selections cooked to perfection.

A few years back when we were vacationing in Hawaii, we found out that the Cheesecake Factory made wedding cheesecakes. We both agreed then that we would have cheesecake at our wedding! When it came time for our wedding, we found out that they no longer offered that service. We went with another cheesecake favorite, Simma’s. We’ve both gotten birthday cakes there before. If you like cheesecake, it’s great. I’m a big fan of cheesecake, it’s the only kind of cake I like. In our consultation, Stephanie was able to show the decorator what kind of flowers she had chosen, and the decorations on the cake matched. It’s expensive to serve cheesecake to a large number of guests, but if we had chosen the cheaper alternative of sheet cake, we only would have saved $200 off the costs of our total wedding, which didn’t seem necessary. We had saved so much with our invitations; Stephanie and I both felt that it was okay spending more on the cake.

(From my wife): I went to two bridal shows, and to one bridal trunk show to look at dresses with a very eager bride. I only went as a bridesmaid, and never directly for myself as the bride, but I was still able to come away with lots of great ideas and tips for planning. I was surprised at how fancy it was, and how dressed up everyone gets. It’s a real event, not a regular expo show. The bride I went with had the objective of finding a wedding planner, so I was able to learn from the tips/time management to make my wedding better. There are lots of wedding planners in the area, I really had no clue how popular this profession was. The bride I went with, Sam, also made the smart choice of bringing her fiancé to the shows with her, so he had a say in the decisions. If Brian would have come to a Bridal Show with me, I think we could have gotten lots of great ideas for our wedding together.

(From my wife): In the week before the wedding date, as girlfriends and cousins showed up from all over the state, I had arranged a “Tea Time” for us. Anaba’s is maybe one of the nicest places in Milwaukee, I really love going there with my mom and sister. I feel that it’s a place that is calm and where you can feel really special. The daintiness of the food, and the elegant presentation of all the plates, makes the experience really nice for everyone. I think it was a great way for my mom, sister, Brian’s sisters and mother, best friends and close cousins to spend a few hours. They can rent out the whole tea room to a private party, which we did, and it was able to hold about 35 people comfortably. We also chose the menu ahead of time, so there was a constant stream of small sandwiches and cakes.

(From my wife): At Vino 100, they have special nights where you can paint pottery and then taste different beers and wines at the same time. It’s a wine tasting for people who like to do arts and crafts! They also accommodate for bachelorette parties. We let them know ahead of time that there would be about twenty of us and that we wanted to paint pottery and taste wine. I think this was good because many of my friends hadn’t met my co-workers, and I wanted everyone there. Wine and art makes it easy for people to socialize, and also the staff there is amazing. They were really nice with us, and we all had a great time. It’s great to go back, and they hosts more events now and have different theme nights now.