Imagine this...four days before the wedding I dyed my hair myself (my fiance is still surprised that I didn't go to a salon). Biggest mistake ever! I wasn't too careful and their were splotches all over my face and neck. I was so depressed and worried. Luckily, I booked Lisa and opted for airbrushing a month before. She covered everything, and my co-workers who first saw the splotches said they couldn't tell. I got my pics and it looked fabulous. Also, she has a great personality and my hair and makeup time was the most relaxing time I spent that day. She even managed to fit in my mom who wanted to get her hair done. She really knows how to ease everyone during the wedding tension.

Our wedding took place in late September. My friend recommended white robed monks of St. benedict, and I went to yelp and project wedding and read the reviews. Everyone raved about Father Dittler, and so we went with him. We met with him a couple months before our wedding. He was organized and I felt like we were in good hands. At the wedding, he was exceeded our expectations. My bustle kept falling and he brought some safety pins and pinned them up. He also helped removed the money after my money dance and I found the money later in our "card" box. Everyone asked whether he was someone that we grew up with, and said the ceremony was so intimate. Someone had a "block party" nearby and a live band was playing during our ceremony. He knew how to make it a part of the ceremony. One of the best choices we made at our wedding.

I found Gloria on Project Wedding. My fiance liked her style out of the 15-20 other photographers that I sent him. The other plus was that she was within our budget. She was totally flexible with our timing and we were able to book her for our Sunday wedding in September. This week, we got our photos and CD. Our photos were beautiful and she did a great job capturing all the emotions throughout the day. I received tons of compliments from family and friends, and I love that there is an online gallery to share.

My co-worker recommended Lidia. I checked out her website and loved the modern, lush bouquets in her photos. I told her that I wanted sunflowers as the main flower for the wedding. I felt like I was in good hands and trusted her judgement. She has the experience and background, so I never second-guessed her advice. The arrangements were beautiful. I loved the centerpieces, altar floral arrangement, bouquets...just about everything. After the wedding, the flowers last about 1-2 weeks after the wedding. Good quality flowers! Also, she's not the type of florist who has hidden fees, as some other florists might have and she worked within our budget. One of the best decisions at our wedding!

I really, really wanted cupcakes for my wedding, but the biggest challenge was my fiance. He's not a cupcake person, something about the frosting to cake ratio. We went to a caterer tasting and she recommended Teeny Cake. We decided to give it a shot, and chose about 12 flavors we wanted to try. Well, the cupcakes passed the test -- my fiance loved them!!! He said they were moist, and the cake to frosting ratio was perfect! It was a tough decision, but we narrowed it down to 4 flavors for our wedding. The owner, Michelle, is very responsive via email, and she is totally affordable, since she is still starting her business. I can't wait until all my guests get to taste these delish cupcakes!


**UPDATE** The cupcakes at our wedding were perfect! Michelle made a small princess cake for us to cut. It was delicious. One of our guests tried the princess cake and said it was one of the best princess cakes she's had. Everyone raved about the chocolate mint and cookies and cream. My only regret is that I didn't take the leftover cupcakes to my room after the wedding. I guess it's an excuse to go see her at one of the farmer's markets. :-)

If I could give no stars, I would. I had been working with Christine on our proposal, and told her that I was going to choose her as our florist. We hadn't signed any contracts, and just today when I went to make a possible addition to the proposal, she wrote and told me that they weren't going to work with anyone if they didn't have any contracts. Say what!?! Let's just say, that even from the beginning, I was a little hesitant in working with them since they were changing their name from Bluume to Outburst, and their studio wasn't done yet.