Chad and Amanda's Wedding
St. Paul, MN, USA, June, 2008
"Our wedding was wonderful--we could not have been more happy with the band, venue, caterer, officiant, and jeweler. The photographer did not deliver as advertized, and the equipment & tux rental was problematic (read comments for details).
Many many many MANY guests commented to our parents that the ceremony and reception were the *best they had been to*. (And just FYI, we went very cheap with everything except the band and photographer, and then those were both ~$2000. So don't feel like you have to have chair covers or super-fancy served dinners or wedding favors or any other "must have" stuff that you hear about. They won't be missed if the big stuff is enjoyable!)."
Vendors
- Photographers: 1 Fine Day Photography
- Bands/Live Entertainment: Red Rock Swing Band
- Caterers: Kane's Catering
- Rentals: Midway Party Rental
- Tuxedos: MW Tux
- Officiants: Judge Tom Armstrong
- Jewelry/Accessories: James Hunt Designs
- Caterers: Kowalski's
Photographers
1 Fine Day Photography
St. Paul, MN, USAWe definitely DO NOT recommend this photographer. 1 Fine Day advertises documentary photography, but our photographer (Jen T.) failed to deliver. We contracted her for 4 hours, and for 47 minutes we received NO pictures. When contacted about this problem, they provided a refund of ~6% of what we paid, when we got ZERO coverage for 20% of the time we contracted Jen for. The worst thing was that gap in coverage was during the reception, when we had assumed we would get pictures of our family and friends. Instead we got about 12 pictures showing anyone other than us, our parents, and our sisters. When contacted they tried to explain that it was just impossible to take pictures while some people were eating. Of course, 150 people were not ALL eating at the same time, constantly, for nearly an hour. Additionally, she failed to take pics of the guests while the dancing was going on--they were at the tables, NOT eating, but no pics. The pictures she did take of us dancing are all blurry. She knew there would be dancing (dancing was how we met), and yet ALL the dancing pictures are blurry.
Bands/Live Entertainment
Red Rock Swing Band
1638 River Bluff CourtEagan, MN 55121, US
651-457-6799
The band was AWESOME! Professional but easy-going and very flexible. They played great songs that everyone enjoyed dancing and/or listening to. It was a pleasure working with them.
Caterers
Kane's Catering
1560 Payne AveSt Paul, MN, United States
The food was great--many compliments--and CHEAP! No problems whatsoever with the food or the service. The staff were efficient, professional and friendly. Janet Kane was very helpful and competent.
Rentals
Midway Party Rental
2110 Gilbert AveSt Paul, MN, United States
From the start it was difficult to get a response from anyone in the company. This pattern only continued when we had more questions crop up as the wedding day approached. With the exception of 1 person, none of the 6 people we dealt with was professional or very helpful. To get any answers we had to repeatedly call and/or email. One of the wireless mics we rented did not work. (Getting reimbursement for that was a pain, too, of course). In hindsight, we would NOT have gone with them again. First impressions are important!
Tuxedos
MW Tux
St. Paul, MN, USAWe rented our tux and paid in full 5 months prior to our wedding. When we went to pick it up the day before the wedding, it was the WRONG TUX. The manager was incompetent at addressing an error that was the company's--instead, she kept trying to say it was somehow our error. We had to tell her to confirm our original choices by looking at our receipt (we had showed her), and we had to push for everything. Eventually, after saying that there were none of our chosen style around, she managed to find one of similar size that "might" arrive by the next day. It did end up arriving, so the morning of the wedding we made a special trip to pick it up. After the wedding, when we contacted the company to get compensation, we were told (paraphrased) "we got it right eventually, so we're off the hook. Oh yeah, and we're sorry for any additional stress we caused." When I outlined the deplorable customer service that we received from the store manager, we received a $15 customer service dissatisfaction credit.
Officiants
Judge Tom Armstrong
St. Paul, MN, USAHe was wonderful to work with--even long-distance over email. We were able to write our own ceremony and have things just as we wanted. It was great to write our own ceremony (using bits and pieces of others from his site and from our friends' weddings). He was friendly, very professional, and humorous. We were very glad to have chosen Tom to officiate.
Jewelry/Accessories
James Hunt Designs
227 Chestnut St E # 5Stillwater, MN, United States
Jim was very accommodating and friendly, and he does wonderful work. His pieces are truly beautiful art. He will work with you to design new rings, and also has a large selection of extant rings ranging from fancy to simple (we went the simple route). Definitely stop in and see him in Stillwater, MN.
Caterers
Kowalski's
5327 Lyndale Ave SMinneapolis, MN, United States
Food was awesome for our "day after" picnic. Delivery boy (emphasis on boy) "couldn't find us" to deliver to, even though 15 of us were standing right there waiting. So it took about 30 min. longer than needed to get the food.
Ceremony
Ceremony @ Harriet Island Wigington Pavilion
We would not have gone with any other location. The cost is comparable to other St. Paul/Minneapolis locations of similar size--if not cheaper. It was one of the cheapest places that we found. It was beautiful without any decorations, and people really enjoyed the chance to be out in the fresh air by the river while chatting and listening to music. Plus, when the severe weather sirens went off, the Pavilion provided good protection. :) Having the ceremony outside was a lot of fun, too. Oh, and we had a "day after" picnic at Harriet Island, which went great and was another awesome day.
