We booked with Maggiano's the week before the wedding, and they were wonderful about fitting in a large party on a busy weekend night. When the party swelled to larger than the reserved number, they worked quickly to add a table and make sure that everyone was seated. Our waitress was extremely nice and on top of everything, and when a member of our group felt ill, the staff was great about summoning assistance and working with us to make sure everything was okay. The one thing I don't particularly like is that you have to order family-style for large groups, and it was nerve-wracking to pick a menu that would hopefully appeal to everyone. It worked out okay in the end, though, and the chef took special orders from people with dietary restrictions (such as gluten allergies) to make sure everyone had something delicious to eat.

The mansion at Ridley Creek State Park is such a beautiful place for a wedding, our friends and family were blown away by how gorgeous it is! The park is very hands-off, which means you have to coordinate everything yourself, but that's what my husband and I wanted and it worked out perfectly. They will provide a list of vendors that have worked there before, but you're not limited to the ones on the list. The office staff and rangers were wonderful and completely unobtrusive. The thing I like most is that my husband and I can go hang out at the park pretty much whenever we want, and relive memories of our wonderful day!

Our original plan for the cake fell through, and we were having a hard time finding a bakery that was still available to make a cake for us and that would also deliver on a Sunday. Chef Patrick and his staff at Aux Petits Delices came through for us, and I'm SO GLAD we found them! Wish we'd found them right at the beginning, actually... Even though we over-ordered a bit, guests were having seconds and even thirds because the cake was so good, so we scarcely had any left over! We'll definitely be going back there whenever we need cakes for future events.

Mrs. Bruin's alterations were flawless. I had the straight neckline on my dress changed to a sweetheart, and it was gorgeous. Also, I had only a 1-point bustle, which I was slightly worried about before the wedding, but it held up all day - even when we went on a small hike through the woods for photos! April and Michelle (who are quite fabulous themselves) are lucky to have Mrs. Bruin as a seamstress. Highly recommended!

I booked Cali on very short notice, and fortunately she was available to come to the venue to do our hair. It was awesome that she was so flexible! She did a fantastic job, I got tons of compliments and my mom and bridesmaids were also very happy with the way their hair turned out. Cali promised that my hair wouldn't budge all day, and she was absolutely right - I can't say that my husband was as happy about that as I was, since I needed him to help me take my hair down afterward and that wasn't exactly what he had in mind! But I can say without hesitation that working with Cali was great, and I definitely recommend her!