Ceremony and Reception Venue

Lodge at Little Seneca Creek

HIGHLY RECOMMEND – A++

When we were selecting ceremony and reception venues, we knew that we didn't want the standard hotel room banquet hall.  We wanted something rustic, charming and unique.  And we needed something affordable.  Seneca Creek Lodge was the perfect venue for us.  The first time that we visited, we fell in love.  The lodge itself is a huge log cabin with vaulted ceilings, hardwood floors, a beautiful flagstone fireplace, and a double tiered deck outback overlooking a large field and the woods.  The Lodge is so beautiful on its own, that it needs very little decoration.  It was very easy to find, and seemed to have ample parking.  The capacity is quoted as 125 persons for a sit down meal, but I would be hesitant to book for more than 100.  It is owned by the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning commission, and has a very reasonable rental fee.  We paid about $1600 for a 7 hour Sunday rental.  The lodge only books 1 event a day; we could bring our own licensed caterer and our own alcohol, which saved us a ton of money.  Dave, our contact at the venue, was exceptional.  He always answered emails within a few days, and helped us make a "Plan B" in the event of bad weather, which luckily, we didn't need.  Overall, this was the MOST important choice we made, and it set the tone and feel for the entire wedding.  We are very satisfied and HIGHLY Recommend!  www.wehavethewhere.org        

Caterer

Vertrae Catering Services

HIGHLY RECOMMEND – A+

Vernetta and Tracy are a husband and wife team out of PA. I contacted Vernetta after several caterers that I almost booked, bailed on me. I was running out of options and, thankfully found them. Vernetta was awesome through the entire planning process. She kept in constant communication with me and answered any and all questions that I had. She responded to emails promptly and was very professional. For our tasting, Vernetta and Tracy drove 2 1/2 hours to our house, to bring us dinner. Their food is very reasonably priced - as of this review, buffet packages range in price from $12 to $29 per person in the DelMarVa area, and include delivery fee and linen rental. The food was good - more "home style cooking" than "gourmet," but that is what we wanted anyway; their service and attentiveness went above and beyond all of my expectations. We are so lucky to have found them and were able to provide a nicer meal for our guests than we would have thought possible. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!  www.vertraecateringservices.com 

Flowers

Rose Source

RECOMMEND - B

I have mixed feelings about this vendor.  We decided to DIY our own flowers to save money.  We ordered a bulk bouquet package and 100 cherry brandy roses from Rosesource.  The ordering was quite easy.  Just go online and place the order.  The customer service personnel recommended ordering the flowers 2 - 3 days prior to the event, to give the flowers time to open, because they are shipped closed.  We scheduled our flowers to arrive on Thursday, prior to our Sunday wedding.  The flowers arrived on time, and in pretty good condition.  The roses were a little wilted on the outer petals, but I guess that is to be expected from shipping.  It was nothing that couldn't be cleaned up on the day of, but pulling off the slightly wilted petals.  We cut all of the flowers' stems and put them in buckets of water in a cool room.  Problem #1 - they didn't send us any flower food.  For some reason, I figured they would.  We used aspirin instead, which seemed to work.  We also had a problem with the flowers opening too rapidly, mostly because our window air conditioner was not blowing cold enough air.  (That was on us - and we were able to move them to a colder room, which slowed their opening).  Problem #2 came when I emailed the customer service representatives about the flowers.  While I didn't have a real problem, I wanted to see how they would handle a situation, to be able to report on their customer service.  I emailed them stating that I was unsatisfied with the flowers, as they arrived in poor condition, and I wanted them to contact me to see if we could fix the situation.  I received no email reply and no phone call.  Thank goodness that I didn't have a real problem!  That being said, I did not call them and talk to someone... I am sure that if I had, then something would have been done to correct my problem. 

Overall...  customer service left something to be desired, however, my flowers were BEAUTIFUL and AFFORDABLE!  I would not have been able to get 1 bridal bouquet, 1 toss bouquet, 5 bridesmaid’s bouquets, 12 boutonnières, and 3 corsages, with all of the flowers that I did, for less than $300 anywhere else.  www.rosesource.com

Cake

Artistic Cake Creations  

HIGHLY RECOMMEND – A+++++

Margie - what can I say? You are AWESOME! Our cake was a HIT! Margie came highly recommended from a lot of local brides, and for good reason. Her cake was as beautiful as it was yummy. And it was affordable. We ordered a 3 tiered cake w/ different flavored filling. (1st tier - cherry chocolate cake w/ bailey's Irish cream butter cream filling; 2nd tier - white chocolate cake w/ peach schnapps butter cream filling; 3rd tier - butter pecan cake w/ caramel butter cream filling). The cake was exactly what I didn't know that I wanted! We gave Margie a sketch of what we had in mind, and she made it happen beautifully. Margie is a stay at home mom who only does 1 cake per weekend, so she books up fast. Her prices start around $1.25 a slice; she is based out of WV, but does travel, for a nominal delivery charge and does free tastings out of her home. She also made us a custom cake topper which was soooo cute. By far, one of my favorite vendors!  www.artisticcakecreations.com


DJ

Greg – Lake Ridge Entertainment 

HIGHLY RECOMMEND – A+

We knew that we liked Greg the moment that we met him.  Very laid back, but very professional.  His motto is that he can be as “corny or not corny as you want.”  He is strictly an event DJ, not a club DJ, which is what we wanted.  His prices were reasonable and his service proved invaluable.  He has an online planner that you can use to build a song list.  He is very receptive to using a must play and do not play list.  He was able to set up an outdoor wireless microphone for the ceremony and set up the DJ table inside.  He uses a combination of CDs and laptop music, so that if one fails, he has a backup.  If there is any song that he doesn’t have, he can get, as long as you give him a few days…  (and he just recently got a wireless card for his laptop, so if someone requests a song that he doesn’t have on hand, he can download it there…  awesome!)  Greg really helped to hold our wedding together.  The ceremony and reception started late, and we had to modify the original plan… he was very flexible and did not miss a beat.  He kept everything rolling.  We could not have done this without him.  Thanks Greg!  www.lakeridgeentertainment.com


Photographer

Brian – Brian Ray Studios 

HIGHLY RECOMMEND – A+++++

Oh my god… Brian.  AWESOME is the word that comes to mind.  I found him after a lot of searching, and fell in love with his pictures on his website.  Out of the 20 or so photographers that I contacted, he was the one person that I really wanted, but never thought that I could afford to have.  At the time that I contacted him, he was new to the area; he had just moved here from CT.  He called me within 2 hours of my email, and was willing to work within my budget, so I booked him on the spot.  On the day of the wedding, I barely saw him, but he was everywhere.  He had asked me to send him a list of pictures that I wanted, but I never got around to it, which I feel kinda bad about, because he didn’t have much direction, however, he didn’t seem to miss much of anything.  I am in love with my pictures, and can’t stop looking at them.  He posted about half our pictures on the website within 1 week of the wedding, and I am getting all of the pictures on DVD soon.  All total, there are almost 900 pictures, and he wasn’t even there the entire day. 

www.brianraystudios.com


Bagpiper

Robert Mitchell

RECOMMEND - A

Michael and I really wanted a bagpiper for our wedding.  Bob was one of the most affordable bagpipers in the area.  He played the bagpipes for about 20 minutes prior to the ceremony, for the processional and recessional and then for the cocktail hour.  He even coordinated a duet with my uncle who plays violin.  All told, he was there for about 2 – 2 ½ hours.  I was locked away in hiding before the ceremony, and we were taking pictures during the cocktail hour, so I only got to see and hear him during the ceremony, which was, of course, amazing.  I love bagpipes, so I wish that I could have listened more, but oh well.  Everyone said that it added a nice touch.  

www.thereelpiper.com

 
Dance Lessons

John - Studio DNA

RECOMMEND - A

John was as awesome as everyone said that he was.  He charges $50 per private lesson, which is quite reasonable.  We took 4 lessons with John in the 2 weeks prior to the wedding.  John choreographed a simple routine that we could learn for the wedding.  Everyone was very impressed with our first dance!  

www.studiodna.com


Dress and Bridesmaids Dresses

David’s Bridal – Bowie, MD

RECOMMEND - A

There are always mixed reviews about DB, but I was very satisfied with their service.  I found MY dress at the DB in Bowie.  My associate was very helpful… not pushy at all.  I made sure to tell her my price range up front, and she only brought me styles in that price range.  I thought that as a larger woman, I would have a hard time finding a dress that I liked, but the store had a ton of Plus sized dresses in stock to try on.  I bought my dress off the rack on the only day I went shopping. 



I found the BMs dresses on DB website  (style F12688).  I was looking for a dress that came in a variety of colors that would look good on a variety of body types.  All the reviews about the dress are A+, and for good reason.  I made sure to take each one of my BMs to DB in Bowie so they could try the dress on in their size, because they had a ton of sample sizes.  All my BMs LOVED the dress.  It made everyone look beautiful, no matter what shape they were.  It was reasonable priced as well, so that made everything nice too.  All the dresses came in a few months prior to when the BMs were told they would be in.  I will probably get one of the dresses, just to have myself!  As for the customer service, we knew what we wanted, and I went in several times, walked straight to the rack, and picked out the dresses for the BMs to try.  We always had someone ask if we needed help, but they were not pushy, and when we told them that we were ok, they left us alone.  Overall, I was very happy with my DB experience     


Seamstress

Diana Adams – A+

HIGHLY RECOMMEND (although she is retiring)

Diana was great.  Her prices were very reasonable and she was so sweet.  My dress did not need much alteration… just a bustle and let out the bust area a tiny bit.  She was also very accommodating to one of my BMs who flew in 10 days before the wedding, and needed alterations.  Unfortunately, she is retiring from doing wedding gowns, but may continue to do bridesmaid’s dresses.

www.marylandseamstress.com

Kilts

Kilt Rental USA

RECOMMEND – B+

The Kilts were beautiful…  they looked great on the day of the wedding and in the pictures.  The staff was very accommodating over the phone and via email.  The kilts arrived a week prior to the wedding, which gave us time to get some of the small issues that we had fixed before the wedding.  There was some confusion though, with getting the proper measurements, since we had to take them and send them in, as opposed to the groomsmen going to a store and being measured.  There was also issues with sending the kilts back (I didn’t realize that were responsible for paying for the return shipping – my fault, since I obviously didn’t read the contract close enough).  At first, they wanted the kilts returned to Arizona 4 days from the wedding.  FEDEX ground shipping takes 5 days.  We were able to get an extension, so everything was good.  Overall, I would recommend this company…  just make sure that you are prepared to pay return shipping, and ensure that the company schedules 5 days for you to return the kilts, so you don’t have to pay for rush shipping.  www.kiltrentalusa.com

Hair

Ellen Page – Pandora’s Locks

HIGHLY RECOMMEND – A+
Ellen is a braider at the Maryland Renaissance Festival.  I had always pictured having my hair up in an elaborate braid for my wedding, instead of a curly up do.  Ellen came to our house early in the morning before the Renaissance Festival.  All told, 5 people got their hair braided (me, my mom, 2 bridesmaids and my aunt), all in different styles that fit their budget and style.  The braids held all day; they were secure but not tight or painful.  Everyone LOVED their hair.  And, Ellen was affordable.  I refused to pay hundreds of dollars to get my hair done.  My hairdo, which was the most elaborate, cost $65…  Ellen does require a $100 minimum for travel to you, and charges a small travel fee as well, based on distance (I think ours was $15?), but was totally worth it.  If you are looking for an affordable alternative to wedding hair, defiantly consider her!  www.pandoraslocks.com   Here is a good website for more braid examples; if you find something you like, show her the pic, and she can probably do it:  www.dreamweaverbraiding.com       


Circlets

Elnara – Medieval Bridal Fashions

HIGHLY RECOMMEND – A+

I ordered custom made circlets from Elnara for myself and my Bridesmaids several years ago, when I was planning my previous wedding (that never happened).  Even though the wedding was cancelled, I had already placed the order, so I went ahead and got the circlets.  They are beautiful, and really added to everyone’s look on the wedding day.  However, when I first ordered them, I think Elnara was just starting out, so they were more affordable than they are now.  If you have the money, they are definately a nice alternative to the standard tiara, and are quite stunning in person.  Or if not, they are still fun to look at:  www.medievalbridalfashions.com 


Rings

Titanium Era

HIGHLY RECOMMEND – A+

We ordered titanium wedding bands for our wedding.  Since we were on a small budget, this seemed the best way to go.  The bands cost about $135 each, and are fully engraved on the outside with trinity knots, and have an inscription on the inside as well.  They are really comfortable.  They have a large selection of carved rings, especially bands with Celtic designs.  We also added a small amethyst stone in the center of the ring for a small fee.  We love our rings… they are beautiful and unique.  www.titaniumera.com