Vendors and Reviews
Ceremony: St. Edmund Catholic Church
When we moved to Oak Park, we joined this church. Not only is it gorgeous, but we enjoy the pastor and all that the church community has to offer. The planning process has gone smoothly thus far!
Reception: Renaissance Oak Brook Hotel
The reception will be held in the ballroom on the 9th floor. We are expectly about 200 guests and with the dance floor, that is about the capacity for the space. We know the food is terrific and we were able to bargain some extras with our package. Sharon has been fantastic to work with and we will be doing the food tasting in February or March.
Food tasting in February was fantastic! We are so happy that all of our guests will not go home hungry!
Room Block: Renaissance Oak Brook Hotel
The room block rate is $99/night, which is extremely reasonable for the area. Even if a guest misses the reservation date, Sharon has assured us that they will receive the special rate. We have many OOT guests from various states that will need rooms.
Dress, Shoes, Earrings: A L'Amour in Barrington- A+
My mom, sister (MOH), and I went here on a whim when I read about a sample sale from someone on the Chicago board. It was my first time ever trying on dresses and my dress is the first one I tried on! Crystal was just lovely to work with and I had such a great time. My dress is Alvina Valenta and I literally got it for 1/3 of the original price. The shoes are by Grace and the silver pearl drop earrings are by Cristl.
Veil, Hair piece: The Wedding Etc in Downers Grove- A+
I am obsessed with this store. The women that work there are wonderful and it was so fun to go in there and try on all of the jewelry and veils. I tried on several sample veils and finally settled on Symphony # in diamond white with some beading around the edges. The hair piece is a fairly large comb, pearls and crystals, that will sit above my veil. I will take the veil off for the reception and have just the hair comb in my hair (which will be half up, half down, volumized). The veil only took about a week and a half to arrive.
Bridesmaid Dresses: J. Crew- A+
The ladies will have their choice between the Cecelia, Robin, Sophia, and Hope dresses, in Navy. Everyone at J Crew has shown seriously great customer service. If you want to use J Crew dresses for your BM- definitely call the store to order. BM will not have to pay shipping and ill-fitting dresses can be returned to any J Crew store. The dresses fit perfectly according to the size charts and the girls' normal dress sizes. They all look so beautiful and I am so happy that they are happy with the dresses!
Tuxes
Flowers: Carousel Florists in Elmhurst
This is a preferred vendor for our package with Renaissance.
Cake: Rolf's Patisserie
This is a preferred vendor for our package with Renaissance.
DJ: Chicago Spin DJ's
Adam is a friend from grad school and I completely trust him for our wedding!
Pocketfolds: Cards and Pockets- A
Although the sent the wrong type of pocketfolds at first, it was quickly corrected and appropriately reimbursed. The Champagne Metallic Signature Pocketfolds are perfect!
Paper: Paper and More- A
Cardstock, paper, and envelopes (and liner) were ordered to be used for the invitations, programs, escord cards, OOT programs, and table numbers. We received a HUGE amount of paper (150 invites, programs, etc) for about $200. We are currently going back and forth about the invitation mats, as at first they were too large and now they are too small, but I'm sure it will be straightened out shortly.
Everything is put together, besides the inserts, which just need to be printed. Again, the paper quality is outstanding and the paper is beautiful!
Rhinestones Buckles: rhinestone jewelry dot com- A+
I ordered 150 mini square buckles for $1.35 each to be used on front of the pocketfolds. They are classy and sparkly and make the invitations look so elegant! This is a great website to use if you need to buy lots of rhinestone accessories in bulk- the same buckles were $3.99 each at Michael's.
Ribbon: ribbon retreat dot com- A+
I was going to go through the wholesale division of this company, but I didn't need that much ribbon. Their regular website is still incredibly cost-efficient, especially compared to stores like JoAnne and Michael's. I ordered 5/8" navy double sided satin ribbon to go around the pocketfolds (and through the buckles), and it looks absolutely beautiful. I also ordered 1/4" navy double sided satin ribbon to use with the programs and OOT brochures.
When we moved to Oak Park, we joined this church. Not only is it gorgeous, but we enjoy the pastor and all that the church community has to offer. The planning process has gone smoothly thus far!
Reception: Renaissance Oak Brook Hotel
The reception will be held in the ballroom on the 9th floor. We are expectly about 200 guests and with the dance floor, that is about the capacity for the space. We know the food is terrific and we were able to bargain some extras with our package. Sharon has been fantastic to work with and we will be doing the food tasting in February or March.
Food tasting in February was fantastic! We are so happy that all of our guests will not go home hungry!
Room Block: Renaissance Oak Brook Hotel
The room block rate is $99/night, which is extremely reasonable for the area. Even if a guest misses the reservation date, Sharon has assured us that they will receive the special rate. We have many OOT guests from various states that will need rooms.
Dress, Shoes, Earrings: A L'Amour in Barrington- A+
My mom, sister (MOH), and I went here on a whim when I read about a sample sale from someone on the Chicago board. It was my first time ever trying on dresses and my dress is the first one I tried on! Crystal was just lovely to work with and I had such a great time. My dress is Alvina Valenta and I literally got it for 1/3 of the original price. The shoes are by Grace and the silver pearl drop earrings are by Cristl.
Veil, Hair piece: The Wedding Etc in Downers Grove- A+
I am obsessed with this store. The women that work there are wonderful and it was so fun to go in there and try on all of the jewelry and veils. I tried on several sample veils and finally settled on Symphony # in diamond white with some beading around the edges. The hair piece is a fairly large comb, pearls and crystals, that will sit above my veil. I will take the veil off for the reception and have just the hair comb in my hair (which will be half up, half down, volumized). The veil only took about a week and a half to arrive.
Bridesmaid Dresses: J. Crew- A+
The ladies will have their choice between the Cecelia, Robin, Sophia, and Hope dresses, in Navy. Everyone at J Crew has shown seriously great customer service. If you want to use J Crew dresses for your BM- definitely call the store to order. BM will not have to pay shipping and ill-fitting dresses can be returned to any J Crew store. The dresses fit perfectly according to the size charts and the girls' normal dress sizes. They all look so beautiful and I am so happy that they are happy with the dresses!
Tuxes
Flowers: Carousel Florists in Elmhurst
This is a preferred vendor for our package with Renaissance.
Cake: Rolf's Patisserie
This is a preferred vendor for our package with Renaissance.
DJ: Chicago Spin DJ's
Adam is a friend from grad school and I completely trust him for our wedding!
Pocketfolds: Cards and Pockets- A
Although the sent the wrong type of pocketfolds at first, it was quickly corrected and appropriately reimbursed. The Champagne Metallic Signature Pocketfolds are perfect!
Paper: Paper and More- A
Cardstock, paper, and envelopes (and liner) were ordered to be used for the invitations, programs, escord cards, OOT programs, and table numbers. We received a HUGE amount of paper (150 invites, programs, etc) for about $200. We are currently going back and forth about the invitation mats, as at first they were too large and now they are too small, but I'm sure it will be straightened out shortly.
Everything is put together, besides the inserts, which just need to be printed. Again, the paper quality is outstanding and the paper is beautiful!
Rhinestones Buckles: rhinestone jewelry dot com- A+
I ordered 150 mini square buckles for $1.35 each to be used on front of the pocketfolds. They are classy and sparkly and make the invitations look so elegant! This is a great website to use if you need to buy lots of rhinestone accessories in bulk- the same buckles were $3.99 each at Michael's.
Ribbon: ribbon retreat dot com- A+
I was going to go through the wholesale division of this company, but I didn't need that much ribbon. Their regular website is still incredibly cost-efficient, especially compared to stores like JoAnne and Michael's. I ordered 5/8" navy double sided satin ribbon to go around the pocketfolds (and through the buckles), and it looks absolutely beautiful. I also ordered 1/4" navy double sided satin ribbon to use with the programs and OOT brochures.
