I really disliked this company very much. I signed up online on their webpage for the chance to win a bridal dress, and then a few weeks later I started to receive emails even thought I’m pretty sure I clicked the box that said I wasn’t interested in receiving emails about their promotions. I was also really surprised to receive a call from Men’s Wearhouse saying that they would book my husband for a fitting. I really don’t like when my contact information is distributed, and for this reason I don’t like the company. I feel like if they distribute a potential client’s information, or bombard a client with emails, then they really don’t understand or care about customer service.

This was the single most important part of the wedding. My fiancé proposed in January, and he wanted to be married by summer. So we needed to have the cards in the mail as soon as possible. We found it easier to pick cards online, and I fell in love with how cute and whimsical the Laura Hooper invitations were. I loved that we could get cute save-the-dates, and invitations, and thank you cards all at the same place. My mother also thought it was important to get maps so that family members would know where they were going. JH had great customer service, and I think they also make it easier to figure out what the wording should be on the cards with their samples.

We blocked rooms for our guests at three hotels, but I can only remember two of them. We picked a low, a mid, and a high price hotel and provided the directions to the hotels on maps in our invitations. The reason why we did this was so that guests could find a hotel in their price range, or so that they could spend what they wanted on a hotel. I think this was a good idea because we were giving the choice to the guests. The only problem we had was that the Super 8 canceled our blocked rooms, or lost it, or it expired, but there was still room for the guests that stayed there. We had no problems with Comfort Inn.

We blocked rooms for our guests at three hotels, but I can only remember two of them. We picked a low, a mid, and a high price hotel and provided the directions to the hotels on maps in our invitations. The reason why we did this was so that guests could find a hotel in their price range, or so that they could spend what they wanted on a hotel. I think this was a good idea because we were giving the choice to the guests. The only problem we had was that the Super 8 canceled our blocked rooms, or lost it, or it expired, but there was still room for the guests that stayed there.

We were having an outdoor wedding, and we wanted to decorate the site with lots of pretty potted plants. My sister and future sister-in-laws undertook the challenge and bought dozens of plants from the Menard’s Garden Center. They have amazing hanging flowers that look great on gazebos, and they also have really beautiful potted plants. We had a local florist give us a quote on what it would cost to have several large flower arrangements, and the price was outrageous. I was really happy with buying potted flowers because not only were they half the cost, but they also could be planted in someone’s backyard afterwards. Everyone in my family took a potted plant home at the end of the day, which was great.

My mother had a really wonderful idea for a party favor for our guests. My aunt, who had passed away several years ago, had a really wonderful sugar cookie recipe that she would make for holidays and special occasions. Her cookies were always in the shape of a heart, because she thought it was a great way to give love. For our favor, we had the cookie recipe printed on the cards, and attached a heart-shaped cookie cutter to each card. I loved that I was able to share the story of my aunt and her wish to give love with our guests. It was really a cute gift, and it also looked great on the guest table. I also think it was a very thoughtful gift, because it really was a gift that could be used again.

I had never eaten cake at a wedding before, mainly because I find that the cakes are really sweet and they follow the end of the meal. When we went ‘shopping’ for a wedding cake, which we though was necessary, we found that we couldn’t find a wedding cake for less than $300. We thought that it was a waste to get a big cake that maybe only half the guests would eat, so we opted for a late night cookie and dessert table. We bought several trays of mixed desserts from the OutPost Coop, which make amazing and delicious desserts. Avonell was excellent at understanding what kind of desserts we wanted, and she helped us pick the best trays that would give us the most food for our money. I really recommend the mini cookies, and I also recommend to bring out the cookies around midnight, because that’s when people want and need the sugar rush.

I had three bridesmaids, and I told them that they needed to get dresses in the same muted color palette of pink hues. Two of them found their dresses at Forever 21, and my third bridesmaid had her dress made for her. I think Forever 21 is a great store, they have really pretty frilly clothing and it’s not that expensive at all. They found the really pretty dresses, and they cost half of what the dresses in bridal stores were charging. It’s inexpensive, and it’s a great place to pick out dresses when there is only a short time between the wedding date and the engagement.

I will say 3 stars because this is a bit of a pricey place to come for a bridal shower, even though the cakes are really excellent and the food is really good. My mother explained to me that she wanted to have a bridal shower ‘out’ because she didn’t think our house could host many people. My girlfriends really wanted my shower to be at the Cheesecake Factory, because they know I love cheesecake. You need a reservation. They were also really nice about giving us a nice table, and it helps if you go at an odd hour because then the place isn’t usually as busy. The cake was great, the food was nice, we did NOT get a deal or a free slice of cheesecake, which was too bad.

I am giving Craigslist 5 stars because they have so many wedding items for sale on the site. I was able to find my wedding dress on craigslist and I got it for about $1000 less than the retail price. My experience is that there are lots of brides that want to sell their dress and make money, but then you will find some sensible people that want to see their dress because they know they will not wear it again, and they are willing to give a bride-to-be a great price. I also think it’s funny when they write “only worn once”, because I think, yea, you only wear your wedding dress once. I also was able to find my veil on craigslist.