Planning a wedding can be a daunting task, as many couples have never planned such a large event, and it's especially hard when you're planning in an area you might not be very familiar with. After I got engaged, I wanted to jump in with both feet (what can I say, I'm a planner) but wasn't sure where to begin. When Josh and I began looking for vendors and venues, we very quickly determined that we definitely wanted to work with people who genuinely seemed to want to be a part of our day. This means different things to different people, but to us it meant that the vendors were professional, easy to work with, and wanted to do their best to make our day as smooth as possible.
With that said, I wanted to share some of the vendors that we personally used for our wedding a few years ago. None of these people have paid me to say these good things about them (this is not an infomercial!), I just thought that it might be useful to another bride that is planning an Iowa City/Coralville/North Liberty wedding and might not know where to start.
We looked at several venues, and I know that a few new ones have popped up since we got married but South Slope was wonderful. I liked that the room was basic and we could decorate pretty much however we wanted to make it our own. I also appreciated the fact that we could chose our own caterer, which helped keep costs lower than some other venues we checked out.
I can't say enough good things about The Bread Garden, and neither could our guests! The food was phenomenal, the staff was so helpful and professional, and I loved that they arranged all the rentals for dining (glasses, plates, silverware, etc) based on what I wanted.
A DJ, in my opinion, can make or break a wedding reception. If you want someone who will play great music and keep the dance floor full, you should definitely check out Murphy Sound. I especially appreciated how he made announcements as requested, but otherwise kept a low profile (there's nothing worse than a DJ who thinks he's the star of the show).
We weren't sure where we wanted to purchase Josh's wedding band, but his sister had a great experience with Colin Andre so we made sure to take a look. I was very impressed with the selection, price, and the fact that it's locally owned.
I LOVED my flowers. They were 100% exactly what I wanted, prices were reasonable, and they looked gorgeous all day/night.
Straightforward and easy to work with, and we had no issues with fit when the guys went to try on their tuxedos the day before the wedding. We got the groom's tux for free with a certain number of rentals, and 50% off of two others which we offered to the ring bearers since their tuxedos were half the size.
I adore everyone at the Michael Tschantz Salon, the atmosphere is just what a salon should be and it was perfect on the morning of the wedding. Katie C. did my hair and it was exactly what I wanted. I felt beautiful, natural, and best of all - no one had any crazy bridesmaid helmet hair!!
Although they aren't from the Iowa City area, I can't go without mentioning our photographers. Although I wasn't doing photography at the time, it was something that was extremely important to us and we adjusted our budget accordingly. Mindy and Paige are absolutely amazing, and incredibly sweet. In fact, Mindy (and possibly Paige as her second shooter) is photographing my sister's wedding in January and I can't wait to see her again. (Click here to see some of our photos on her old blog.) *Note: Both Josh and I were happy with pretty much every vendor we chose, but some (like where I bought my dress) are not listed here because they are out of the area or have closed their business to pursue other ventures (such as the place where our cake was from).
