✨Vendor Appreciation Post ✨
Note: I made it my mission to only work with and support small business owners. And everyone exceeded my expectations! Everybody gets ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Also this post is super long because I’m longwinded but my vendors were amazing.
Venue: Yorktown Freight Shed - Chris and I had toured several venues in the Richmond area and nothing made our jaw drop. Plus several venues quoted us one price, then after several necessary add-ons the price increased by $1500-2000. So I expanded our search and found the Freight Shed. I toured the space and immediately fell in love with the venue! This was also the only venue Chris actually had a reaction to. From day one the staff was always super friendly and helpful! Of course with COVID stealing our original date I had several questions for the venue over the course of four months. I was able to easily move our date with no extra cost or hassle. The day of the wedding we had someone on call that was available when we needed them. The best part was that they were not “hovering” during the wedding/reception, but were only a call away. Also! The price was a flat rate and we had access from 10:00am-11:00pm.
Catering: 5 Gals Catering (Iris Black & Loretta Broaddus) - When I tell you I hit the gold mine with these ladies, I am not lying! I knew from my first conversation with Mrs. Iris that I was in good hands. She kept me on point throughout this entire process. I trusted her with everything. The food was AMAZING! My guests are still talking about the seafood salad. Their team even enjoyed themselves after dinner and danced with us like one big family ♥️
Bartender: The Drink Mistress Charlene Jefferson - MY GIRL! Me and Charlene hit it off from work so I already knew we were in good hands. She told me what we needed and she handled the rest. My guests couldn’t get enough of her. Her personality was great throughout and she always had a smile on her face. She, too, enjoyed some dancing with us and fit right in with the family. My family is still talking about how good Charlene was, how they got her card, etc.
Cake: Creative Cakes by Gloria - The sweetest lady in the world! Chris and I enjoyed meeting her and talking to her. The cake was soooo delicious! The design was just what we wanted. Delivery was on time and set up perfectly. We ordered cake for 130 guests but ended up only have 50 due to COVID. Despite having significantly fewer guests, the only piece of the cake left was the top piece that we froze. I have NEVER been to a wedding where the entire cake was eaten. Again, I am still getting calls about the cake and people want to order the same exact cake for themselves. Highly recommend!
Sweets Buffet: Tammy Edwards "The Candy Lady". I met her at the Richmond Wedding Expo and my sister made sure I went back around to talk to her about booking. Best decision ever! Besides her amazing personality, her work is beautiful! And she took care of everything. Creating the bags, décor, manning the table, setup/breakdown, etc. The kids even got special bags! We talked several times throughout this entire planning process and she was always so friendly and sweet. She is definitely proud of her business and takes care of her customers!
DJ: Harold Billups (DJ GQ) - Y’all! Harold came in clutch! The DJ I had been communicating with FOR MONTHS basically went MIA two weeks before the wedding. So I freaked out and Paula Burse and Bridgette Hill told me they will handle it. They reached out to Harold and he was ready! The reception was lit... he had people from the beach dancing outside of the tent/wedding area. Chris and I planned to leave at 9:30pm.. we ended up staying til 11 because Harold kept playin all the best music. A guest at the hotel told us that he heard our wedding was lit lol. Harold please know that I will always call you for any party I have!
Dress: Blush Bridal - My beautiful wedding gown came the lovely ladies that own this boutique. They were my first and only stop. I gave Carmen my desired style and they had both styles in stock! She also helped me find other dresses that made me feel comfortable and were within my budget. I had no hesitation about working with Blush Bridal and have no regrets! They were so helpful and accommodating throughout the entire process! Absolutely loved working with them!
Makeup: Blush757 Makeup Artistry - Omg Noelle is amazing! I knew from the minute I met with her for my makeup trial I was going to enjoy working with her. We had conversation as if we had known each other for years. My makeup was sooo beautiful, light, and natural. And her communication was on point and still is! My favorite part of working with her was how she interacted with Arielle when she was upset about her hair 20 minutes before the wedding 🤦🏾♀️ She calmly talked to her and did a little makeup on her face to make her feel better. This helped me out so much because I was already stressed and nervous so it was once less thing I had to worry about.
Photography: Ebony Campbell Photography - Sooo easy to work with and patient! Chris and I are not the “posing” type of couple lol so anyone who photographs us must have patience because we are the basic smile and pose type. Brielle Robertson and Adalberto Hernández can attest to that as they did TWO engagement sessions for us. Both of which turned out great! I have been so impressed watching them grow in their craft! They are definitely #bffgoals lol I love their relationship!
Videography: K and A Moments Photography and Videography - Absolutely sweetest couple! So friendly and easy to talk to. I had NO idea what I was doing when I called and asked about videography for our wedding. They gave me so much help with figuring out a schedule for the day to make sure I was able to find a package that fit our budget. The day of the wedding I almost forgot they were there because he was so in the zone capturing moments without being in the forefront of everything. I highly recommend working with them!
Bouquet: Flowered Up Boutique - She created the exact bouquet I envisioned and it was done so quickly! Even after the bouquet
was finished and shipped I was able to talk to her like we were old friends. My bouquet complimented my theme and colors so well. I received numerous compliments about my flowers. I sooo appreciate her!
Hair: Chi Reed - ♥️♥️ I’ve known Chi for a few years now and when I text her to get my hair done she always finds time to fit me in. We talk so much about any and everything. Not to mention how stinkin adorable her son is. I think he knows now that I’ll always play with him even if I’m getting my hair done lol. Unfortunately the original style ended up coming down before the wedding (my fault 100%), but her work made it easy for me to put it up in a simple cute bun!
Welcome Sign: Hannah Loftis - She is the definition of sweet. I remember first meeting with her to talk about what I needed and I knew in that moment that everything would be perfect. Due to COVID things changed but Hannah video chatted with me to check in and reassured me things would work out. She delivered the welcome sign to my house (which was super nice and she didn’t have to do this) and I was in awe! It was EVERYTHING and perfect for our ceremony!
Day Of Coordinators: I can’t believe I forgot these two ladies 🤦🏾♀️ Maybe because I was with them all day yesterday or because I keep telling them how much I appreciate them. But I owe a HUGE thank you to Brittany Harvin and Bridgette Hill for stepping in and helping me during the final weeks before the wedding and the day of! Everything ran so smoothly, everyone was where the were supposed to be, they stayed on top of things. As much as I didn’t want them to do anything for the wedding, because I wanted them to enjoy themselves, they knew I needed them! I can’t thank them enough for everything! 💞 ... See more
