Grading System
Any vendor with an A was fantastic, and an A+ is down right spectacular. In a few circumstances I couldn't help
myself and had to give even higher grades because the service I received was just crazy beyond my wildest
dreams amazing. A grade of B or lower means I would not go back.
myself and had to give even higher grades because the service I received was just crazy beyond my wildest
dreams amazing. A grade of B or lower means I would not go back.
Venue
A+++
After looking into many other venues and seriously considering Riva's at Navy Pier and the Signature Room, we checked out the Westin based on a recommendation from a friend. From the moment we met Phyllis Washington, we knew it was the right fit for us. Phyllis worked with us throughout the entire planning process to make sure everything would be perfect. Our menu tasting was spectacular and we were blown away by both the service and the food. Phyllis was right there with us making suggestions for several of the dishes. She was always available by email and phone, and wasn't at all phased by my never ending requests. She organized our room block and made sure everyone got a great rate no matter how many days they were staying. When we were several hundred dollars away from meeting our F&B minimum, she arranged to add a sweets table which was a huge hit with our guests. She booked the same ballroom for our rehearsal the day before the wedding, and arranged to have the door locked over night so we could set up and store all of our stuff.
The day of our wedding, everyone at the Westin was so helpful and so friendly. Christine was assigned to our event, and from what my husband describes she was exceptional. She helped with set up and even came to the rescue when one of our centerpiece vases broke and we needed super glue. During cocktail hour the Westin staff (with direction from our DOC) changed over the ballroom for the reception, adding a dance floor, removing the portable air wall, and arranging all the tables quickly and quietly. While I was lucky enough to not witness any of this, my sister told me they did a wonderful job.
Phyllis upgraded us to the presidential suite for our wedding night, which was amazing. when we arrived in our room after the reception, there was a bottle of champagne and a platter of berries waiting for us with a card from Phyllis. All our presents and cards were also there, as well as my bouquet which had been placed in water. The next morning we were offered late check-out, so we invited family and friends to join us for brunch in the suite. The perfect ending to the perfect Westin experience!
I highly recommend the Westin for a stress-free wedding planning experience and a beautiful wedding. I honestly can't think of a single negative thing to say about Phyllis, Christine, or the Westin.
The day of our wedding, everyone at the Westin was so helpful and so friendly. Christine was assigned to our event, and from what my husband describes she was exceptional. She helped with set up and even came to the rescue when one of our centerpiece vases broke and we needed super glue. During cocktail hour the Westin staff (with direction from our DOC) changed over the ballroom for the reception, adding a dance floor, removing the portable air wall, and arranging all the tables quickly and quietly. While I was lucky enough to not witness any of this, my sister told me they did a wonderful job.
Phyllis upgraded us to the presidential suite for our wedding night, which was amazing. when we arrived in our room after the reception, there was a bottle of champagne and a platter of berries waiting for us with a card from Phyllis. All our presents and cards were also there, as well as my bouquet which had been placed in water. The next morning we were offered late check-out, so we invited family and friends to join us for brunch in the suite. The perfect ending to the perfect Westin experience!
I highly recommend the Westin for a stress-free wedding planning experience and a beautiful wedding. I honestly can't think of a single negative thing to say about Phyllis, Christine, or the Westin.
A++
Debbie was spectacular as both a florist and a DOC. I had a very meager budget and planned on having practically no decor at all, but she managed to come up with gorgeous large bouquets for me and my girls, orchids hanging from a canopy behind our ceremony, candlelight everywhere... it was beautiful. When planning with her I really felt that she understood the unique look I wanted my wedding to have.
The downside is that she can be quite slow to respond. I'll admit this had me very worried for a while, but the week before my wedding she was always available and shooting emails back and forth with me several times per day. If you email her and don't get an answer right away, keep trying. She's worth the wait!
I didn't participate in any of the set-up the day of my wedding, but my husband and our wedding party raved about her and said she was quite a godsend. I had packed up a bunch of extra tea lights, dollar store vases and paper cranes, not really expecting everything to be used, but she found a place for ALL of it and pulled it together in a stunning way. I consider myself to be a pretty artistic person, but her vision for this stuff is spectacular. When I walked into the space for the first time I was blown away!
Throughout the day she saved us from many disasters without even batting an eye. When it was time to meet the photographer for photos, I realized I needed to get all my luggage from the prep room to our suite (which I hadn't checked into), and she took care of it. When we couldn't find the limo driver, she had the number on hand and called him for us. When I forgot that I hadn't paid the balance to the harpist (huuuuge oops on my part), she went to our suite to find my check book and then discreetly delivered it to me as dinner was starting. The list of things she did to keep our day moving forward perfectly goes on and on. After the reception, she stayed for almost 2 hours to pack everything up and move it to the conference room for storage. I can't thank her enough!
The downside is that she can be quite slow to respond. I'll admit this had me very worried for a while, but the week before my wedding she was always available and shooting emails back and forth with me several times per day. If you email her and don't get an answer right away, keep trying. She's worth the wait!
I didn't participate in any of the set-up the day of my wedding, but my husband and our wedding party raved about her and said she was quite a godsend. I had packed up a bunch of extra tea lights, dollar store vases and paper cranes, not really expecting everything to be used, but she found a place for ALL of it and pulled it together in a stunning way. I consider myself to be a pretty artistic person, but her vision for this stuff is spectacular. When I walked into the space for the first time I was blown away!
Throughout the day she saved us from many disasters without even batting an eye. When it was time to meet the photographer for photos, I realized I needed to get all my luggage from the prep room to our suite (which I hadn't checked into), and she took care of it. When we couldn't find the limo driver, she had the number on hand and called him for us. When I forgot that I hadn't paid the balance to the harpist (huuuuge oops on my part), she went to our suite to find my check book and then discreetly delivered it to me as dinner was starting. The list of things she did to keep our day moving forward perfectly goes on and on. After the reception, she stayed for almost 2 hours to pack everything up and move it to the conference room for storage. I can't thank her enough!
Photographer
To view all our professional photos visit http://brianmorrisonphotography.com/photocart and use access code f05ef9de. We are Lindsay & T.K.
A
Brian was a real joy to work with prior to the wedding and on the day. I really love his photographic style, so I was expecting a lot from him. He posted my proofs online less than 2 weeks after my wedding, and I received my high-res files as soon as I returned from my honeymoon. The DVD arrived in a gorgeous case that looks like a small album and has two printed photos in it -- a totally wonderful and unexpected surprise!
The photos I received are truly gorgeous. My only complaint is that I wish there were more. I had written in the schedule I sent him that I wanted pictures of the food at cocktail hour, the harpist, and a few other things, but these sadly did not get photographed. I definitely recommend Brian, but if there are specific things you want photos of you should make it very clear and delegate someone on your day to make sure those things/people get photographed.
The photos I received are truly gorgeous. My only complaint is that I wish there were more. I had written in the schedule I sent him that I wanted pictures of the food at cocktail hour, the harpist, and a few other things, but these sadly did not get photographed. I definitely recommend Brian, but if there are specific things you want photos of you should make it very clear and delegate someone on your day to make sure those things/people get photographed.
A+
Kari is truly wonderful. Her music is so beautiful and we were so excited to have her play during our ceremony and cocktail hour. She has some really interesting music in her repertoire, which is what drew us to her initially. We selected our ceremony music at our consultation with her, but for cocktail hour we just told her to go crazy with rock and other popular music. We had several guests rave about her rendition of a Metallica song! I highly recommend her to anyone considering a harpist.
Disc Jockey
One Stop Chicago DJ
A-
This company isn't very good at communicating pre-wedding and the forms they have you fill out to indicate your DJ and music preferences are really outdated. That said, there were very inexpensive and our DJ was great. We were assigned Cory, and I was a little worried because my only pre-wedding contact with him was on the phone 3 days before the wedding and he had not read the information I sent about our song choices or schedule. Fortunately, everything went smoothly on the wedding day and he played all the music we asked for (even the part of one specific song for our entrance, which I half expected would be screwed up). Everyone was dancing up a storm and the amount of interaction he had with the crowd was limited to introducing speeches, which is what we wanted. All in all, One Stop was perfect for our needs.
A+
Monique was fabulous. I highly, highly recommend her. I booked her because she was very reasonably priced, but I was blown away with her talent. My trials were wonderful, but my hair and makeup on the wedding day were spectacular. She arrived promptly, set up quickly, and was an utter joy to spend time with for the few hours she worked on my bridesmaids and I. I told her I wanted a few changes from what I had done in my trial, and it was no problem at all. It looked stunning and lasted all day and night.
B+
We used Oak Mill because the cake was "included" with the Westin's wedding package. Our tasting last fall was very disappointing. We had just gotten the star treatment at our menu tasting with the Westin, so we were expecting a comparably positive experience with the bakery they use. When we arrived, we were told to look through several photo albums of cakes and to choose one of the ones that had an orange dot. Anything without an orange dot was way more money. Anything other than round was more money. We finally selected one we liked and tweaked it a bit to make it more us. We were asked to select 5 different cake options for tasting, and then brought us little pieces on a paper plate. All but one of them were stale, so it was hard to gauge which we would like best. One of our options was with raspberry mousse, and they just brought us plain cake and a small plastic tub of mousse. It was basically a mix-and-match and assume it all tastes the same inside kind of deal.
All that aside, on the day of the wedding the cake was beautiful and absolutely delicious. We paid just 20 cents per guest extra to have different shapes, so ultimately we got a great cake for next to nothing.
All that aside, on the day of the wedding the cake was beautiful and absolutely delicious. We paid just 20 cents per guest extra to have different shapes, so ultimately we got a great cake for next to nothing.
A-
We had a little trouble finding the limo when it was time for us to go, and that's the main reason for the lowered grade. Fortunately, my DOC called them and they arrived within a few minutes. After that we really didn't have much contact with the driver but he took us where we wanted to go and the limo was nice. We got a crazy good deal because I didn't book it until 3 days before the wedding and they were still available. Of all the places that gave me quotes, M&M was by far the best and they came recommended by a few other Knotties.
Gown Cleaning
Barry Regent Cleaners
http://www.barryregentcleaners.com
http://www.barryregentcleaners.com
C-
The Good...
The guy I spoke with was very nice and assured me that he would personally inspect my dress after it was cleaned. I paid $130 after using a coupon from their website. At first he said it would take 4-6 weeks, but when I told him my wedding was just 3 weeks away he agreed to do it in 2 weeks. It was ready on time and looked great at first glance. They did a good job of getting out the dirt on the hem, which I wasn't sure was possible.
The bad...
When I got the dress home I took it out and discovered that there were a few clear marks on the train that were not removed. Similar marks were removed perfectly from other parts of the dress, so I think they just missed these. More importantly, the bra cups that were sewn into the dress were totally torn up. This was a huge hassle as I had to buy new bra cups and re-sew them myself two days before my wedding so that they wouldn't be visible and the dress would fit properly. Also, I think the color of the dress was a little bit darker than before they cleaned it, but I actually like it that way.
The guy I spoke with was very nice and assured me that he would personally inspect my dress after it was cleaned. I paid $130 after using a coupon from their website. At first he said it would take 4-6 weeks, but when I told him my wedding was just 3 weeks away he agreed to do it in 2 weeks. It was ready on time and looked great at first glance. They did a good job of getting out the dirt on the hem, which I wasn't sure was possible.
The bad...
When I got the dress home I took it out and discovered that there were a few clear marks on the train that were not removed. Similar marks were removed perfectly from other parts of the dress, so I think they just missed these. More importantly, the bra cups that were sewn into the dress were totally torn up. This was a huge hassle as I had to buy new bra cups and re-sew them myself two days before my wedding so that they wouldn't be visible and the dress would fit properly. Also, I think the color of the dress was a little bit darker than before they cleaned it, but I actually like it that way.
Gown Alterations
B-
The Bad...
They quoted me $275 for alterations, which they said included everything. Then they had me sign a form that said they do not uphold verbal agreements and everything must be in writing. I asked if they would write down all the things the $275 would cover (taking it in, hemming, adding bra cups, and shortening the halter), and the woman pointed to the word "alterations" on my receipt and said, "it's right here". When I returned for my fittings, I was told that adding bra cups would be an extra $25. I reminded them that I was told it would be included, but it didn't matter. They said they would spot clean the one dirty spot on the bust for me and since they were hemming the bottom (which was the only other really dirty part) I might not need to get it cleaned, which would save me money. That made sense to me, so I let it go. When I returned to pick up the dress, they had not removed the spot on the bust, and since the train was not hemmed the dress was still very dirty. Also, when I went to pick it up they didn't give me the opportunity to try it on, and as a result I left with a dress that was too big for me. The only reason they didn't get a lower grade is because I never went back so I didn't give them the opportunity to resolve the size issue.
The Good...
They were friendly and the place was pretty clean. They worked around my schedule and allowed me to have both my fittings in one day, which was very helpful.
They quoted me $275 for alterations, which they said included everything. Then they had me sign a form that said they do not uphold verbal agreements and everything must be in writing. I asked if they would write down all the things the $275 would cover (taking it in, hemming, adding bra cups, and shortening the halter), and the woman pointed to the word "alterations" on my receipt and said, "it's right here". When I returned for my fittings, I was told that adding bra cups would be an extra $25. I reminded them that I was told it would be included, but it didn't matter. They said they would spot clean the one dirty spot on the bust for me and since they were hemming the bottom (which was the only other really dirty part) I might not need to get it cleaned, which would save me money. That made sense to me, so I let it go. When I returned to pick up the dress, they had not removed the spot on the bust, and since the train was not hemmed the dress was still very dirty. Also, when I went to pick it up they didn't give me the opportunity to try it on, and as a result I left with a dress that was too big for me. The only reason they didn't get a lower grade is because I never went back so I didn't give them the opportunity to resolve the size issue.
The Good...
They were friendly and the place was pretty clean. They worked around my schedule and allowed me to have both my fittings in one day, which was very helpful.
