I went with Wed Clean based for the most part on other people's recs posted online. When I sent in my dress, the cost had gone up to $129.95 to start. Shipping and handling is added on top of that. I also had my crinoline and shawl cleaned just so everything would be in the same place. Cost for each extra item was $14.95.

After you've paid, they send you a shipping kit that consists of a box, tape, a dress bag, and the shipping label and receipts. After I sent the dress back, I didn't hear anything for a couple of weeks, and then randomly received an email saying that I would be charged $20 extra because my dress doesn't fit in their standard sized box. There wasn't anything in their policy documents that I could find that stated the possibilities of extra charges. I was less than pleased, but they had my dress. What could I do. Then I got a form email notifying me that they were unable to get out all the stains on my hem, but it was pretty badly stained by tire dust from when I stepped from a busy hotel driveway onto the curbs, so I wasn't really expecting too much.

When the dress was returned, I was a bit less annoyed. It was packed very securely and the dress box itself was sturdy.

Final cost breakdown: $129.95 for dress, $14.95 each for shawl and crinoline, $19.90 for insurance, $29.95 for shipping, $10.00 for handling, and an after-the-fact charge of $20.00 for a larger dress box. For the price, it was an ok experience. I would have been less displeased if prices hadn't gone up that much, and if there weren't so many other charges tacked on top.

We rented audio equipment for our wedding from Avista. They were very responsive in terms of answering our questions on what kind of equipment was needed for an event our size.

We ended up renting two speakers with stands, a mixer, wireless mic, and mic stand for around $230 total (I think -- it's been a while and I don't have my receipts handy; payment is 50% upon reservation and 50% upon pickup). The equipment was in great condition and worked well. It's tested before you get there, and tested again when you pick up. The technician will run through the setup with you and answer any questions -- everyone we dealt with there was very nice and very helpful.

They have two service locations, one in SF and one in Sunnyvale (which is kind of hard to find -- read the directions on their website before trying to find it yourself or with an online map!). I believe they also deliver/setup/takedown for an extra fee, but I'm not sure on this. They're closed on Sundays, so if you pick up on Friday for a Saturday event, you return the equipment on Monday. They'll lay it all out clearly for you.

All in all, a great experience. They have a lot more A/V equipment than just audio setups. If you're ok with DIY'ing the entertainment portion of your wedding, Avista would be a great choice.

I felt really lucky to work with Jack for our wedding! And it wasn't just because I've known him since high school, when he used to help me with calculus, either. Jack's an amazing photographer who has a great eye and a great style that really fit in with the vision we had for our wedding. He's also an awesome guy who's really easy to work with and who takes his work to heart. I was so excited in the months leading up to the wedding because I got to see so much wonderful work coming from him. On the day of the wedding, he gave us lots of tips on what helps for photos (like taking a moment before sliding the ring all the way on so that we can get that moment captured), worked with our must-take photo list, and put everyone at ease -- even my mom, who's afraid of having her photos taken! We were *so* happy with the results, and were also really pleasantly surprised at how many little moments were captured when we weren't even aware that he was there at the time! Looking through them was really like re-living the entire day again, and I *highly* recommend him to everyone.

This is a perfect wedding location for the smaller wedding. Ours ended up being 43 people, but I think they can accommodate up to 80 in the ballroom with a banquet setup.

The ceremony was in a cute little courtyard with lots of greenery and a water feature along the wall. There was street noise, but it didn't really bother us at all. We didn't hear the CalTrain go by, although I was waiting in the bridal suite so I couldn't hear much. I noticed some people peeking out of the windows of their rooms to look at our ceremony, but it was kind of fun to see them -- made us feel like the center of everyone's attention! The courtyard can get quite windy, though, and on the day of our wedding it was pretty brisk. But the staff brought out heat lamps ahead of time, which made it bearable. This probably wouldn't be a problem in warmer weather.

Pros: Very classy hotel, new and modern, great rooms, and excellent service all around, from the front desk to all of the banquet staff, and of course the catering manager who worked so hard to bring together all the details of our wedding, and who had great suggestions for us and always responded to our questions promptly. The food was excellent, too! All in all, a perfect choice for our wedding. I can't say enough good things about them and I'm really glad we chose the Westin.

Meaganne was great to work with. She's very responsive to phone and email, and was super patient with me during the entire process, from trial #1 to trial #2 (because my husband wasn't used to the way I looked in trial #1), and on the day of the wedding. She did an excellent job with my hair and makeup; the hair didn't budge one bit throughout the entire day, from 2 p.m. until I took it out well after midnight. She also did the hair and makeup for both the mothers of the bride and groom; they were both very happy with their looks (and my mom is super picky!). I was so glad to have been able to work with her.

Karen was great to work with, very responsive and detail-oriented, and had a lot of helpful ideas and suggestions for me, as I was clueless about flowers. The end results were amazing, and we got a lot of compliments from the guests. Definitely recommended!

Guests were telling us that they were going back for seconds of the cake! I tasted two of the flavors, which were amazing. I wish we had leftovers for the next day, but we didn't!

Margaret is very upbeat and easy to work with. Definitely one of my favorite vendors.

I liked that mygatsby.com had such a wide variety of colors; it was semi-DIY.

Their sample pack costs $10, but it's worth getting so that you can see and feel the paper.

We picked a format and the colors for our paper, and then had complete control of wording and formatting online. The printing turned out nicely.

However, there was one major problem: The cut of the card stock that wasn't printed (the backing layers) was not square. You can see the slantedness with the naked eye. For the price we paid, I feel like it should not have been an issue -- and it took us more than 10 days to review our order and discover this, so we couldn't pursue options with the company; just make sure to check it and try to put it together as soon as you receive it.

Everyone on the sales staff I've dealt with has been very friendly, with no pressure at all. There's no snootiness about being on a budget here; you can be up-front about your budget and your sales person will help you pull dresses from the rack in your range. They also don't force you to get alterations through them -- when you pick up your dress, you get a list of recommended seamstresses.

This was the only bridal store I visited. I did not price my wedding dress anywhere else, but since they press everything you purchase here for no extra charge, I suppose it's worth a mark-up.

I also purchased my crinoline here when I picked up my dress. It is nicer than all the ones I saw online.

I did not get a veil or other accessories, and was not pressured at all.

The only thing that irked me was that I wanted to pick up my dress on a Saturday afternoon, and the person on the phone scheduling my appointment said that they reserve their busiest hours for ladies who were still deciding on dresses. I paid for it, I should get to pick it up whenever I want! But that's a minor issue.

We ordered both our wedding bands here because they have a huge selection of styles and metals, and they offer engraving. Their prices are also pretty awesome.

Order their free ring sizers, which are a complete set of whole- and half-size plastic rings that you can try on and wear. Much better than those expanding ring sizers from other sites.

E-weddingbands.com offers whole, half, and quarter sizes, which is rare. I ordered a size 4 3/4 ring, which fit perfectly. (I tried on the 4 1/2 and 5 ring sizers -- one was a bit large, one was a bit small. So this site is perfect for those with Goldilocks fingers!)

We got the 3-mm domed platinum band for me, and the 5-mm pipe-cut platinum band for Hubby. The rings look great, and despite being simply packaged in a piece of tissue paper and then placed in a small drawstring bag, they arrived in perfect condition. For the price, this was a great deal, and we keep taking the rings out to admire them. We can't wait to be able to wear them permanently!