Once again, working on a small budget in a large city like Milwaukee is difficult. Riteway was able to provide a bus to fit my fairly large wedding party at a reasonable cost. They came out lower and included all the charges at once, no hidden fees or extra tipping. They were willing to drive from Brookfield, to Whitefish Bay, back downtown, back to Whitefish Bay and back downtown again. The driver was so friendly and helped all of the ladies in and out of the bus. Also, my sales rep always got back to me with every question within 24 hours. I would definitely recommend using this service.

The War Memorial Center was such an amazing price for it’s location. It’s placed right on Lake Michigan, downtown Milwaukee, with a huge outdoor plaza overlooking the Lake and the Milwaukee skyline. If you rent this out, you have to use contracted food vendors, but they do offer a pretty good variety to choose from. There was no extra charge for tables or chairs, but the extra fees to stay past 5 hours seemed to add up pretty quickly. There is parking right on the property with a minimal fee and is within walking distance to a few hotels. The décor colors are slightly outdated, but the overall room is very large and nice.

Formerly Afterhours Formalwear-- it was a nightmare. They don’t computerize things, they still do orders on triplicate forms. Orders got lost and had to be reordered. Afterhours didn’t have the correct color of ties when the guys picked up their tuxedos the day prior and had to deliver the correct color ties on Saturday morning right before the ceremony. I would not recommend using them to anyone. The one positive thing is that there are locations across the country, so my out-of-town members were able to get sized in their hometowns.

Vici seemed to be the only salon large enough for me to have me, 6 bridesmaids and 4 usherettes getting their hair done all within the same timeframe. They also offered a free bridal style if you booked 5 or more bridesmaids. There is plenty of parking and the bus was able to pick us up right at the door to go to the ceremony. The atmosphere wasn’t as quiet and serene as I would’ve liked, but it’s a large and busy salon. Also, my stylist didn’t do at all what I wanted with my hair, but there wasn’t enough time to really change it.

The Astor Hotel is very charming from the outside, but I highly recommend checking out the rooms before you book for your wedding. The prices were great and parking was extremely inexpensive. But the rooms and very outdated and all of my guests made mention about the hotel looking like it is haunted because of the old décor. The staff was friendly and there was a continental breakfast included.

I worked directly with Emily, the owner. She was so fantastic. She compared the information that I received from other florists and pointed out why their costs were high: flowers not being in season, flowers being extremely rare, etc. She took my budget and presented different options to me of flowers that were similar to what I liked, but where more in-season and more cost effective. Everything was delivered on time and looked beautiful.

Music on the Move was very accommodating to the needs of us as a couple. They provide a request form that you can tell them exactly what you want from song titles, what personality you want your DJ to have, cocktail music, if you want special events to take place during the dance, etc. They also provided a nice payment plan, which was extremely helpful. The one negative thing is that my DJ’s were extremely young, so I heard some people joking about having kids as DJ’s. Overall, everything was good.

I am not a member of any church in Milwaukee, so finding a site for my ceremony seemed to be the biggest challenge. UMCWB made me feel very welcome. We had a few counseling sessions with the Pastor, and were not forced to become members of the church or attend any retreats. They provided a pianist for my singers (at an extra cost) and were extremely generous with providing time for the rehearsal and the pre-ceremony events.

I loved working with Irene’s. Deb was my sales contact there and she was great. She always got back to me no matter how big or little my question or comment. She always made me feel special and she catered to my smaller budget. They didn’t have any hidden charges, in fact did a lot of things for no charge (set up, cake cutting, etc.)The one negative thing is that they do not have their own bar service, so I had to contract out to a different bartending service.

I had a much better experience at this David’s Bridal location in Milwaukee. My appointment started right on time and the sales assistant was able to find all sizes and fit all of my bridesmaids that were present at the time. I think it’s better to go to a David’s Bridal location that is not as busy and they can give you more attention.