Ricky was great! He played what I asked him to play and even found obscure songs for my ceremony. He also didn't play anything I didn't ask him to. He kept the reception flowing. My favorite thing he did was he provided me with a CD of all of the music I requested including my ceremony songs, it was an awesome idea!

What can I say about Arthur’s? They are phenomenal! I went to a couple of tastings at Arthur’s, if you get the chance, definitely go, they are done so well. We never had any time to actually do a one on one tasting of all the things we ordered for the wedding, so I just crossed my fingers that everything would come out great. People are still raving over the food, it was delicious! They served Mojito’s as our signature drink and they were the best Mojito’s I’ve ever tasted. Their staff seriously treated me like a celebrity. We had a buffet dinner and they served a plate for DH and I before we even sat down at our table. It was nice that I could just relax and didn’t have to walk around with a plate in my dress and heels. We also did a martini mashed potato bar as an extra station and you would think people have never eaten mashed potatoes before, but it was the biggest hit of the night! They were extremely attentive to us the entire evening, it was really nice. Arthur’s is a bit of a splurge, but if you can afford it, they are well worth it. I’d recommend them for any occasion.

Sherri was recommended to me by Angie at The Courtyard when I had a lot of reservations about how logistics of the ceremony and reception in the same location would all work together. Sherri doesn’t have a website and works only on word of mouth. She knows a lot of vendors in the area and really came through for me with a florist dilemma. She was available to me via phone and email before the wedding and pretty much took over 2 weeks prior. Sherri came through for me the morning of the wedding with four heat lamps because it turned out to be a cold night. Again, couldn't have pulled it off without her. She offered to tie the ribbons on my programs for me at my rehearsal. When she ran out of ribbon she sent her husband out to buy some more, it really saved me a lot of time. My day went smoothly and if there were any problems she took care of them and I never knew about them, which was what I wanted. I highly recommend Sherri, she was an absolute lifesaver and really went above and beyond my expectations. She really went out of her way to do whatever it took to make my day perfect.

Heather is awesome! When we both saw her pictures, we immediately knew we had to book her! We were so lucky that she had our date available! She is so sweet and fun to work with. All of her Heather’s packages include an assistant photographer. She brought two assistants with her for my wedding. I was so excited and thrilled! They were all so much fun, all of the guests kept commenting about how great they were. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my pictures! They are exactly what I wanted and more.

My original florist was Debbie at DSR Designs. It kills me to make this review because she really is so nice and when I met her I liked her instantly, but I feel like I have to be honest about my personal experience. I decided to book her right away because of the fabulous reviews I got about her because she is really awesome. One of the things that frustrated me is that Debbie does not email. She has her daughter, Ashlie check and respond to all of her emails. This may not be a problem for everyone, but it was for me as email is really the easiest way for me to communicate during the day. On at least 2 occasions I never received paperwork that they were supposed to send. I waited about a week and a half both times and never rec’d the email. The 2nd time this happened, I got the wrong paperwork. It was just more frustrating than anything else. There was also a missed appointment and if anyone knows Debbie lives out really far. I work in Sarasota, so I had to take days off just to meet with vendors. I took leave from work and drove all the way out to our appt. and she wasn’t there. She was extremely apologetic and tried to do whatever she could to make it up to me, but we never could get together after that day. I was also not thrilled with the mock-up she sent me via e-mail and we tried to connect over the phone to discuss it and 1 week and a half later I still hadn’t gotten the call, this was about 2 weeks before my wedding. I really liked and still do really like Debbie, but I was just feeling uneasy about things and I didn’t want to feel that way on my wedding day or the last two weeks leading up to it. She was extremely sorry and admitted that I did fall through the cracks. I do think she has done some great weddings, but for me personally, it just didn’t work out.

Lee came through for me just 2 weeks before my wedding. Lee is amazing and super talented. We spoke on the phone and I told him what my vision was. I instantly hit it off with him when we met and he knew exactly what I was looking for. Since we did everything so quickly I didn’t get a chance to see any mock-ups beforehand, but I wasn’t worried. Let me tell you, my flowers absolutely blew me away! Lee also through in some extras, just to make it even more gorgeous! Lee was one of my favorite vendors, I’d hang out with him everyday if I could ;) I HIGHLY recommend him.

I highly recommend The Courtyard to anyone who is considering it. I wanted a venue where I could have both my ceremony and reception at the same place and I wanted a garden type/vintage feel. Out of all of the possible venues that I looked at, The Courtyard won because their customer service was by far superior to any other venue I contacted. Angie was awesome to work with and always answered my emails or phone calls in a timely manner. She even gave me her personal cell at one time because I had so many questions and she was leaving the office. It was so nice of her that I never did use the number. The venue is absolutely gorgeous at night with the way all the trees are lit up. All day groundskeepers cleaned the courtyard and swept up any leaves so that it was absolutely perfect for my wedding. There are 3 guest rooms in the I.W. Phillips House, I stayed in the Bridal Suite Friday and Saturday (the night of my wedding), one of our GM and his wife stayed in another room, and one of my BM and her husband stayed in the other. I highly recommend doing this! We had the entire house to ourselves the whole weekend and it was great. It really allowed us to spend more time with our friends who we don’t get to see often and really make a weekend out of it. To sum it up, The Courtyard at Lake Lucerne was awesome and everything I was hoping for!

Kimberly is so talented and great at what she does. She also does fabulous eyebrows, they were the best my eyebrows have ever looked! I went in for a hair and makeup trial and I gave her a few pics and she was able to give me the look I wanted on the first try. My hair is really hard to deal with because I have a TON of it, and she was great. My makeup was even better the day of my wedding than at the trial so I was thrilled. The total for my hair and makeup (she came out to my venue) was $95. I thought it was a great price after all the other quotes I had gotten, and well I felt beautiful which is the most important thing.

I only had 1 maid of honor and 1 bridesmaid, so I felt that I should be the one to purchase their dress (I allowed them to select their own heels and accessories). I originally saw the halter 50s-esque gown that I bought for them on Amazon.com, but when I went to order them online, they didn't have the color or one of my girl's size available. I saw that it was Pacific Plex that had the dress, so I checked them out directly online, and contacted them directly. The girl who helped me out was really helpful and sweet and honest, saying that the particular color I wanted wasn't going to turn out the way it looked online. I really appreciated it because I wanted my colors to be true to the vision I had for me wedding. Talking to her, I decided to go with the black, and I would have my girls accent them with my color, and it really worked out more beautiful that way! I felt that their prices were very reasonable, compared to other places I looked at. I paid express shipping (which was only $25 for both), and I got the dresses in 2 days time (all the way from California to Florida!) They have a great variety of dresses for so much less than at a bridal store, so definitely check them out!

I bought my dress from Something Blue, and I had no complaints or issues with them. I received great customer service, and I have to say that their prices are very comparable and reasonable, compared to other bridal stores that I visited. I had in mind a couple of dresses that I wanted to try on, and they had all of them at really great prices. What really sold me was their customer service because they made me feel like I was the only person there that day. Yes, my dress was a little pricey, but definitely worth it!