ehsaylor's reviews

Lori Keck lives in Barbourville, KY. Lori took our engagement pictures and we were thrilled with the outcome so we decided to use her for our wedding photos. She was very reasonably priced, so patient with us and so very talented! Kudo's to Lori. She was just the greatest!

We ordered some snickerdoodle cookies from Sams Club to have a cake alternative for our wedding guests. The ladies at the Sams Club bakery were very kind and helpful and informative. They called the day before pickup to confirm our order. The cookies were great and very tasty.

We also picked up cups, plates, napkins, mints, mixed nuts, forks, and numerous other things from Sams. Our membership was $35 and it was well worth it. We saved quite a bit of money while we were wedding planning and since the wedding we've been able to drop in every couple of weeks to pick up a few things we need.

I am a plus sized woman so I was really nervous about dress shopping. David's Bridal in Knoxville had numerous dresses for me to choose from. The sales lady who helped us was fantastic. She was very kind and very honest. Our dress buying experience was great. David's Bridal offered 12 mos no interest and no payments. We bought the dress, paid for alterations, even ordered our invitations through David's Bridal.

My dress buying experience was great. We also bought the bridemaids dresses there but were less than impressed with service then. No one seemed to know the answers to our questions when we were buying my sister in law's dress. Suddenly they told us we couldn't order dresses for the other girls when we had been assured we could before. There were numerous small problems. Once I finally spoke with a manager I was able to work things out. I'm sure there's a high turnover rate so it's quite likely that we were talking to someone who was new and didn't know how to do everything.

My alterations experience was great too. I didn't like the dressing rooms because the curtains were not wide enough to cover the doorways and they didn't stretch to the floor. There was little privacy.

The White Lily Florist is located in our hometown of London, KY. London is about 90 miles from Knoxville. We have used the White Lily for years and they always have beautiful & very fresh flowers. Betty (the shop mgr) was great. She took time to sit down and talk with me and my mom, gave me prices based on exactly what I wanted and then helped me scale back to fit my budget without really compromising anything. There were a few things that I wasn't sure what to do with and she was able to fill in the blanks for me. The day Mom and I went in to consult with her, she handed us each a fresh cut rose wrapped in paper tied with a pretty bow. She sent me a hand written note thanking me for my time, detailing the total cost plus delivery to Knoxville. We talked to a florist in Knoxville who my sister in law has used numerous times. We assumed that they would likely be a little cheaper since they wouldn't be driving so far. I was wrong. The price they quoted me was $100 more than White Lily. In the end we used White Lily and I couldn't have been happier. They took a special interest in us since we had used them for so long and since we were hometown people but they always, always, always have great products. AND- they set up a payment plan with us allowing us to pay in increments with the balance being due two weeks before the big day. The Knoxville florist wasn't willing to do that.

I really can't remember the exact amount we spent here I'm sure it was between $250 and $300. We opted for finger foods for our afternoon reception and ordered 4 sandwich trays from The Fresh Market. The sandwiches were delicious, especially the Rotisserie Chicken Salad! They were fresh. They were just finishing putting everything together when we got there to pick it all up. Everything was correct, everything was the price we were quoted and everything was tasty. We had a few sandwiches left over and packed them in a cooler for lunches on our honeymoon! My advice: go in and talk to them, buy a sandwich from their deli so you know what you're getting. Everything was great quality.

We registered at Target and they gave us a coupon for a free 6 inch sample wedding cake. We figured we'd take the free cake and keep looking for our wedding cake but it was SOOOO good! Our cake came with white fondant and white buttercream icing underneath. We ditched tradition and went with chocolate cake. I didn't like the topper it came with so we ditched that, saved $20 and used fresh roses on the top. It was beautiful and simple and totally our style. They were easy to work with, called the week before to confirm everything and called again the day of. The top layer was very slightly off center and my husband who was tasked with picking it up freaked out when he got there. So I ran across town, looked at it and decided that by the time the roses were on it you wouldn't be able to tell. I was right. Target took another $10 or $20 off for the trouble and everyone raved about how beautiful and yummy our cake was. I'm sure some of the bakeries in town would have made something even more yummy and beautiful but for HALF the price, I'd go with Target again in a heartbeat.

Calvin is the director of the Mabry Hazen House foundation. He was awesome to work with and in constant communication with us. We had a few bumps in the road along the way but none of them were his fault. He went out of his way to help us, give us the scoop on vendors, etc. Mabry Hazen House seems to be a lesser known historic property in Knoxville but out of all the others we toured, it was our favorite. The surrounding area is not the most desirable but once you're up on the hill, it's as though no one else exists. All you can see is the beautiful Knoxville skyline, the trees, the gorgeous Civil War Era home, etc.

I have to say that we got away for much less than future wedding parties will likely pay. We signed a contract in the midst of a Kitchen remodel. The old kitchen was not exactly caterer friendly. The new one is. The contract we signed was the "pre kitchen remodel" contract so we got lucky and got the old price with the new facilities. We didn't use a caterer, we brought food from difft places and had finger foods. Some of the places we looked at required you to use a caterer and one that they recommended at that.

If you're interested in hosting your wedding at an historic property, go talk to Calvin and tour the Mabry Hazen House grounds. I can't say enough good things about this place. We had our dream ceremony.

We went with All Occasions Party Rentals for tables, chairs and table cloths. Everyone we talked to recommended them. Initially we reserved a tent in anticipation of the possibility of bad weather. We cancelled the tent when we realized there was no chance of rain. Everything was great in the beginning with AOP. They sent a rep out to measure at the Mabry Hazen, talk to us in person about our needs, etc. We paid a deposit for the tent and were able to add items later. As the date drew closer, some things didn't jive.

We were told that someone would call us the week before the wedding to request final payment, verify everything we would need, etc. No one called. On Thursday we called. We were able to cancel the tent, make the final payment, etc. From the beginning, we discussed the fact that we needed chairs and tables to be delivered on Friday morning since rehearsal was Friday night, the rehearsal dinner, and there were too many things to do Saturday morning. We discussed this again on Thursday and they confirmed my cell number, said they would call before delivery and everything was on track. Friday morning came and went and no one called, no one showed up, etc. Each time I called I was assured that they would be heading out way very soon. They didn't show up until nearly 5 pm. Our rehearsal was scheduled to start @ 4:30 pm. Everyone pitched in and helped while AOP just dropped the tables and ran (we specifically asked them to put tables in one spot and chairs in another). They did agree to set up chairs @ no add'l cost for our trouble.

Saturday morning I got a call while I was getting my makeup done that we were short two round table cloths. So we call AOP, they hurried out and delivered them. But they delivered one round and one square. Each time I called throughout the planning process I spoke with a different person and each time I was very politely informed that they would look into it, call me back, etc. I got the brush off.

My sister in law hosted our rehearsal dinner at her home in Oak Ridge, TN. AOP was great to her, delivered everything on time, set it up, followed through, etc.

In the end, they apologized to me and my husband, admitted that they made a series of mistakes and offered us about half of our money back. Everything came together the day of our wedding but it made us have to rush more. My husband and I had decided that we didn't want to see one another the day of until I was in my dress and doming down the aisle. Because AOP dropped the ball, we had to rush Saturday morning just to finish getting everything ready. We didn't get to carry out our plan of not seeing one another and by the time I walked down the aisle I was super stressed. We were really surprised that they refunded that much of our money and impressed that they admitted fault but we were very disappointed that things we as poorly as they did. I can't say we'd never use them again but I can say I'm not sure. Everyone else we spoke to highly recommended them & they did a great job at my sis in law's. All I can say is good luck & proceed with caution...