Really straight-forward renting. We rented plain, white chairs here for about a dollar a chair. They dropped off and picked up. Done and done. Definitely try to make it an in-person transaction because the guy was glued to his TV and I couldn't hear him over it when we talked on the phone :) Seems like a nice family business, anyway.

Goooooooood food! I really liked the setup of this caterer. Granted, this was the only one we looked at because my mother in law had used them before and liked them, but whatever. We chose an $8/person menu with sauerkraut, baked chicken, vegetarian lasagna and a bunch of sides. They had a few vegetarian entrees to choose from but absolutely no vegan entrees. When I asked the guy if they had any vegan entrees, he said the vegans could eat the au gratin potatoes. Ummmmmmm..... no, they can't. We just ordered an extra side of hummus and our couple of friends who are vegan just had to make due with that and the steamed vegetables. Sorry, guys! Food aside, the customer service was really nice. They provided the plates and utensils, and even though they said they wouldn't bus tables, they did.

Well, first of all, it's free to rent this bar out for the evening. This is where we went after the ceremony and the reception, for the music and drinking. Jessica is the event coordinator and is very very bad about getting back to you. You have to hound her. She's really nice and everything worked out fine, but keep in mind that it will take a bit of work for her to get back to you. My aunt did spend some money by getting us some finger foods but I'm not sure how much she spent. She also had a hard time getting Jessica's attention. I think it's worth it, though. It's a cool little bar and you can play your own music and have your own bartender. Lots of fun.

Great place for fun little accessories. I bought two tin robots here, a boy and a girl, and they sat at our table during the reception to let everyone know whose table that was. I also bought a greeting card with the two robots on it to write a note to my husband for him to read before the ceremony. Just a very random, cool store for those extra things you didn't think you needed.

The absolute best site for ideas, support and pictures galore. If you are an independent bride, you need to go here. Also join the group, the offbeat bride tribe, for forums and blogs all about wedding planning. The single best move we made was joining that site. It took all the stress and confusion out of wedding planning and gave us the ideas and balls to do it however we wanted!

We had our ceremony in the beer garden and the reception in the lounge. That cost us $250. The rest was for beer and wine. Beth is the event coordinator and she was there the entire time that day helping out. She is super sweet and you cannot beat that price for such a cool site.

I don't even know really how much I spent on Etsy.com. It was a lot. Here are the things I bought there:
- French beaded flowers for my bouquet and for the bridesmaids and the mothers (foreverflowers and laurasbeadcreations).
- Headband for me (mixbaby)
- Necklace for me (kgarnerdesigns)
- Necklaces for the bridesmaids (nutraj, reyney, citizenfox, jeweledambrosia
- Original poster for the ceremony focal point (fuzzypear)
- Husband's wedding band (robandlean)
- Guestbook (bookjournals)
- Necklace for husband's aunt (artisticdetour)
It's the best site for unique, handmade and affordable stuff. You can find anything on there!

I bought my dress here because I loved the customer service, price and selection. Everyone who helped me there was super nice, even when I said I wasn't looking for something long and white. They were even super helpful to my friend who came along for the ride but ended up trying on a few dresses as well!
My only complaint was the tailoring. I had to order a larger size to accommodate my chest, but they never took it in around the waist, where the smaller size had fit perfectly, so my dress was a little baggy around the middle. It wasn't a huge deal but hello, that was kind of a big thing to miss. Also, the head seamstress, Wilhemina, was SO RUDE. She actually ARGUED with me when I said I wasn't going to have the train of my dress (yes, I ended up going with a long one!) down during the ceremony. I THINK I WOULD KNOW. And she yelled at me when I said I hadn't brought the EXACT SHOES I was going to wear. FLATS ARE FLATS, LADY. Oh my god, she made me so mad.

AWFUL. I made an appointment with them because I know bridal shops can get very busy on the weekends. When I arrived the sales lady was very short with me even though I said I had an appointment. She asked me what kind of dress I was looking for. I told her I wanted something short and fun, like a yellow tea-length number. She cut me off and said "That is not a bridal gown! That is a bridesmaid dress!" and sent me upstairs alone to look at bridesmaid dresses. Pardon me, lady, but whatever dress the bride chooses to wear is a bridal gown. Anyway, I wasn't at all looking for bridesmaid dresses. My mom wanted to leave right then but I wanted to give them a second chance. I came back down and said I was looking for something more along the lines of Stephanie James, who has a whole line of colorful tea-length dresses. Oh, as soon as I dropped the name of a couture line I was their favorite customer. They didn't have any tea-length dresses to show me then, but gave me all sorts of information about their trunk shows and designers who would have shorter dresses, etc. Too late. I never went back and I make sure to tell everyone how they treat their customers.

I didn't end up buying my dress here, but the service was awesome. They didn't bat an eyelash when I said I didn't want a long, white dress, but started pulling out short, yellow dresses left and right. It was a really relaxed, fun atmosphere. I recommended them for a friend and she got her dress there the first day!