We used the Strolling Violin from Clayton, North Carolina for our ceremony music. He was a very nice older man with a great sense of humor. He knows how to play pretty much any wedding music. He convinced me to allow him to bring along another violin player to make the music sound fuller. I agreed without meeting the second violin player. On the day of the wedding, I found out it was a girl that was one of his student. She did pretty good but there were a few wrong notes that stuck out, especially when I was walking down the aisle. During the cocktail hour between the ceremony and dinner, he contineu to entertain the entire group with his music playing. The guests loved him and he was really great to work with in planning the wedding.

Victorian Seasons in Apex, North Carolina handled all of our floral decorations. There is so much flowers that people forget about. The people at Victorian Seasons is great about thinking of all that stuff. They were great about picking out beautiful flowers that were shockingly affordable. We were able to get all of our flowers (and there is a lot of flowers) for a very shoestring price. I was able to get a hybrid flower for my bouquet. They delivered it for a small fee. It was totally worth not having to transport all that flowers and petals around. After the wedding, we had my bouquet freeze dry. That did cost a lot but I think its because they send that out to a third party. I recommended them for a friend’s wedding and she too had a great experience with them.

Ceremony:

Barclay Villa in Angier, North Carolina was an absolutely dream come true! It’s a castle in what appears to be the middle of nowhere land. The place is absolutely beautiful. The people who own it and work in couldn’t be any nicer and helpful. They took care of everything and even made sure people don’t bother you on your special day. You have a lot of choices as to colors and set up and they take care of everything. The only draw back is that you have to work with their cater exclusively for any food that you want to have there. However, they are really affordable and the food is great. We were able to get this place for 3 days/ 2 nights. My bridesmaid and I were able to stay there on Friday night after we had our rehearsal and rehearsal dinner there. Then my new hubby and I stayed Saturday night after the wedding. Its so less stressful when we didn’t have to travel for anything. Our guests always talks about the place we got married in. They really enjoyed it.

I got my hair done at Carmen! Carmen! Salon and Spa in Belks in Southpoint Mall in Durham, North Carolina. My favorite hair stylist, Ray, did a fabulous job at getting the perfect curls in my very resistant hair. You pay for your bridal hairstyle once, but they will do it twice. You can do your practice run for your bridal portraits and the real thing on your wedding day. Ray took a really long time to get my hair done and I really appreciate his absolutely hard work. Its great to pay for your hairstyle when you do the bridal portraits or run through so you don’t have to worry about carrying money on your special day.

We purchased my husband’s wedding band at Zale’s Jeweler in Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh, North Carolina. They had a great sale and we were able to get a really good matching band (to the brides) for a really good price. They even included resizing in the price. I think it also comes with one more free resizing if needed. The only draw back of purchasing the ring at Zale’s is because it doesn’t come with free ring cleaning. At least I don’t remember that they offer that. It would be nice to for my hubby to get his ring shined up once in a while.

My engagement ring was purchased at the Fink’s in the Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh, North Carolina. They were good at accommodating to us after we purchased the ring. They were helpful in picking out the matching band. As it got closer to the wedding, they offered to lend us a matching tennis bracelet or necklace if we left a credit card as deposit. We didn’t take the risk of losing jewelry that we probably couldn’t afford. They are good about cleaner the rings pretty quickly. I had a diamond fall out during one of the cleaning. The only problem is that it was the same day as my bridal photos. They made a call and got a jeweler to come out and mount the diamond back in for no charge. They were quick and got it done really fast because they knew I really needed it. The location that we purchased the rings is no longer there but there are other stores in Cary, North Raleigh and in Durham.

We went to Mitchell’s Formal Wear in Cary Towne Mall in Cary, North Carolina. The people there were very helpful in picking out the best tuxedo for the groom. We went there because there was a lot of perks advertised. They were advertising free tuxedo for the groom as well as free vouchers for travel. It turns out the free vouchers were only good for times and places that you probably wont’ be able to use. I did the math and it actually cost more for us to use the vouchers than if we were to plan our own vacation. However, the free tuxedo for the groom was good. We ordered 10 tuxedos between the groom, groomsmen and other family members in the wedding. The only tuxedo that didn’t fit was the groom’s! The employees there were great. They got him the right tuxedo in a day. There were awesome.

There is so many choices of invitations and directional cards at Party City. I purchased my invitations and directional cards at the Party City in Cary, North Carolina. Its kind of frustrating to me because they had numerous of books from different vendors and religion, etc. So if you go in one day and found something but wanted to keep looking, you will have a hard time finding that one book again. Make sure you write down everything to remind you where the invitations are again the next time you come back. The invitations came back as scheduled. I realized the day before the wedding that the directional cards were printed incorrectly because when they printed they accidentally moved one line up so the turns and the streets didn’t match up. I still think they are okay, but make sure you triple check them when they come in.

The Triangle Forever Bridal show is not at the best locations, but it was pretty good. You can go to this bridal show and pretty much plan your entire wedding all in one day and location. There is everything from wedding locations, wedding dresses, music, photography, party favors, etc. The vendors that go there is not always the best price value. The best recommendation is to go there and get some ideas of what you may want at your wedding, but then doing a little shopping around to find the best price. I got the ideas at the show, but almost everyone of my vendors were companies that did not go to the show. Usually, if they can afford to purchase a table there at the show, they are probably charging a lot more.

David's Bridal is a great place for you to purchase bridesmaid dresses if you have bridesmaid in different locations. I had one bridesmaid in a different state and others just in different cities. However, their systems are pretty well connected and they can order from any store but get the bridesmaid dresses all cut from the same fabric so the dresses will have the same color shade. The customer service is not the best here. You can’t just walk in and expect help. Many times you have to schedule an appointment unless it’s a slow day. The price is good because you can get a good looking dress for a rather decent price. However – Buyers Beware, there is usually a no return policy. Also, if you purchase your dresses a few months ahead of time (which you should) and your girl’s dress doesn’t fit, it will be hard for them to find another dress in that size because of the seasonal stocking. More in likely, they will have to buy a second dress or pay twice the amount of the dress to alter it.