We weren't planning on getting a limo because of budget, but decided to about a month before the wedding. Because we were on a Sunday, we got a great deal on a nice big SUV Escalade. The limo was nice and very clean. The driver was super friendly and on time. It was a chilly day and the driver followed us while we were walking around taking pictures, even if we went only 100 feet. It was nice that we didn't have to walk back to the parked limo where we started.

The only thing to remember, which is typical of ALL limos and companies, is to get one that is big enough. Our was a 14person limo. We had 8 adults and we were nice and comfy. I think you could have put about 2 more people in, but much more than that and we would have been super squished.

A perfect touch is the biggest company in the St. Louis region, and generally they get very good reviews. We talked to several companies and some of them seemed very sketchy. We felt very comfortable with this company from the first day. 


Again we were on a tight budge for the rehearsal dinner, and wanted something casual, informal, and inexpensive for about 25 people. This location of Fortel’s has a nice party room that is supposed to hold almost 40, but we I’m not sure I would have wanted a lot more people in there! 25 is about perfect. We pre-ordered a variety of pizzas/salads/toasted ravs and everything was ready for us when we got there. They were very easy to work with. Obviously this is not the place for you if you want formal (or even semi-formal) or to be waited on, but for us it was perfect. Perfect for visiting with our families and out of town guest and who doesn’t like pizza and beer?

What is there to say? Doug is perfect. Him and his wife Claire are a great team. We booked them as soon as we met with them, and about 2 weeks later, we had the first draft of the ceremony in hand. I cried reading it, it was so touching. Anything and everything we wanted to do or change, he was on top of and supportive of. On the day of, his wife took charge coordinating everyone and getting us down the aisle at the right time.

We were Doug's 50-something-th wedding of THIS year. And I have heard from probably about 30some girls who have used him over the years and I haven't heard ONE bad thing about him. Can't recommend him enough!

Savvi was great. We had no problems with this vendor. All the guys tuxes fit and we in perfect condition when they arrived. We liked that the Savvi warehouse is in St. Louis, so problems, even last-minute ones, can be fixed quickly and easily. It is also nice that they will let the guys pick up/return their tuxes to their closest location (ie everyone doesn’t have to get them from the same location). We had out of towners also, and sending in their measurements went smoothly.

Erin is also a stay-at-home mom, and usually works along with Erica the hair stylist. Erin is another sweetheart and is SUPER reasonably priced. She uses mainly Clinique products (and some others). I had a trial with her for my bridal shower and it was beautiful and lasted all day. In addition to myself, she also did makeup for my MOH and my mother and the mother of the groom. Everyone’s makeup looked great and stayed on all day… even after I totally bawled during the ceremony! I would definitely recommend Erin.

Even though the weather didn’t completely cooperate with us (rain and extremely rough water that prevented any watersports), we had a wonderful honeymoon at CSS. We chose the resort because we wanted a luxury all inclusive, adults-only, no tipping, and a smaller boutique-y resort. This resort is gorgeous… like a tropical rain forest. The size is perfect, only 150 rooms and the grounds are huge, so you and your hubby feel like you have the place all to yourselves. The suites are beautiful and all have ocean views and were recently remodeled. The food is out of this world… much better than other AI we have experienced. The beach is small and not as nice as Negril on the other side of Jamaica, but it is more than adequate. The other guests and the staff were so friendly and we had a blast. Couples has a total of 4 resorts in Jamaica and they all seem fabulous, we had a hard time choosing and hope to try others on anniversary trips. We found Couples to be more reasonably priced and to include more (excursions, SCUBA, etc) that the other AI chains. Definitely would recommend.

Erica is a stay-at home mom who does hair on the side. She’s super sweet, very talented, and is very reasonably priced. She will travel to your home/hotel for wedding day hair (which made things soooo much more enjoyable and calm on the day). I had a trial with her for my bridal shower and it turned out well, but I decided to change the style a little for the big day, and she was great! I e-mailed her pictures and she took care of the rest. My hair turned out beautiful and the style stayed in the whole day. Actually, I was too tired to really take it out before I went to bed, and it actually more or less survived a night on the pillow too!

Guest Lodging: Beautiful hotel, and everyone always appreciated the free breakfast and evening cocktails. We had 2 suites for the wedding party to get ready in (one for the guys, one for the girls) and there was plenty of room. Highly recommend. 
 


We were on a tight budget, so I chose to do DIY flowers. After looking at many online flower wholesalers, I chose to use Farmstogo.com and was very happy. I used all sunflowers in my centerpieces and bouquets. I ordered about 200 sunflowers for $200 including overnight shipping (straight from the farm in Columbia). Everything arrived healthy and packed well. The various sizes were as they described (I had contacted customer service to clarify what SM, MED, LG really meant). Our bouquets and centerpieces were simple designs, so it was easy to DIY and everything came out perfect.

This was the only vendor of the day that I wasn’t thrilled with. We had found them on Craigslist, which we knew going in was hit or miss. Their prices were much lower than other companies and we met the owner/head DJ in person and we very impressed with him. This is a small company and the owner himself still DJs the majority of the time. When we booked him, he said that he was almost certain that he would personally do out wedding, since it was a Sunday and he had no other bookings. About 3 weeks before the wedding, we find out that we will instead be having 2 of his staff DJs instead. While these guys weren’t ‘bad’ they weren’t exactly what I would call seasoned pros yet. They played all our ‘special’ music at the right times and got the right songs, etc so all good on that front. We used them for both the ceremony music and for the reception. However, in the actual reception part, they didn’t do a good job about getting people to dance. We had said we didn’t want ‘obnoxious DJs” but they seriously didn’t say a word practically the whole night. Also it kind of bothered me that they never came back to the brides room before the ceremony and introduced themselves/checked in with me. I know they talked to the groom, but still… other DJs always check in with the bride. Overall, we were just kind of disappointed with the DJs… they didn’t do anything WRONG, but they just weren’t great or memorable. I think the owner (Dave) would have done a much better job, so unless you can guarantee that you will have him… I’m not sure I’d recommend this company.