Choosing vendors for your big day can be a difficult task.
You want to ensure you’re investing your time and money into individuals who
are going to make your vision come to life. Luckily for us, we had an amazing
team that did just that. I’ll be sharing all the vendors we used and why we
chose them. I’ll also link each vendor’s social media and/or website for you to
check out as well in case you’re interested. (All photography by Abbie Tyler Photography.)
Wedding Planner – Exhale Events
So if you’ve been following along
the blog for some time, then you know my sister Nicole is the founder and head lady behind the Exhale Events team. Needless to say I don’t think any of our
family or friends are surprised that she’s so successful in this business.
She’s always been a planner. When we were younger she would come up for the
themes for each of our birthday parties, decorate, plan the menu, etc. I always
tell everyone I have a hard time making decisions on these things because
growing up it was always taken care of for me.
So when it came time to make
decisions about our wedding, I was lucky to have someone to turn to. And after
being on both ends (from helping assist weddings time to time, to being a bride
myself) I 1000% recommend getting a wedding planner. They are SO helpful!
I told Nicole from the very
beginning my vision and she helped find these amazing vendors to make my vision
come to life. There would be little details that I didn’t even think of that
she brought up and made happen. Nicole even helped me fine-tune some details to
help make it even better. They helped us stay within our desired budget and are
very upfront about things that may or may not work with what we were going for.
And from someone who hates confrontation, if there was ever an issue that
needed resolved or taken care of, they stepped in and took care of everything!
Team Exhale is always on top of
things. I see how hard they work first hand and sometimes I can’t believe how
passionate and talented they are at what they do. I have assisted on weddings,
but I could never do what they do. From helping design my vision and gathering
of the vendors, to creating timelines for the day of and making sure my big day
was stress free was incredible. All of the details in these pictures wouldn't of happened without their help. Shout-out to Anna who was a gem that day so my
sister could also enjoy the wedding! I didn’t have to worry about a
single detail the day of. Imagine that!
A lot of people said I was a very laid back
bride. Well here’s my secret to that! These ladies also just won Event Planner of the Year in Pittsburgh Magazine! SO proud of them!
Venue – Event Center at
Waterworks in Greensburg
After visiting this venue for the
first time, I instantly could picture my vision coming to life. The space was
bright, airy, white, clean, and simple. It was the perfect space for lots
greens, our DIY floral wreath, and earthy tones. One thing I wanted when
choosing a venue was a place not only with a good atmosphere, but good food.
After our taste testing, we were both happy with everything. Our
guests were very pleased with the food as well, which is something I was hoping
to hear!
The venue is located in
Greensburg, PA which we chose since we were doing the wedding where I grew up.
It was really nice too that we were able to get in all day Friday to decorate
and set up most of the stuff we had so that Saturday our vendors just had to come and add all
the details to everything.
Photographer – Abbie Tyler
Photography
So I was a bit nervous for this
part – searching for a photographer that is. It wasn’t until Nicole recommended
that I check out Abbie. As soon as I saw her work, I knew she was exactly our
style! Light, airy, authentic, and absolutely gorgeous! We had the pleasure of
having Abbie take our pictures for both our engagement and our wedding. They
are the best! I don’t think I’ve stopped looking at our wedding album since we
got them. I highly recommend checking her out if you’re in the market for a
fabulous wedding photographer!
Videographer – John Fuller Films
Vimeo
John is such a blast to work with! He is actually Abbie's husband and together they are the perfect dynamic duo. Having John and Abbie work together is nice because they know how to get quality shots without getting in each others way. He is good at capturing those real, authentic moments. John also shot our engagement video, which we loved so we are excited to see our wedding video once it's finished!
Videographer – John Fuller Films
Vimeo
John is such a blast to work with! He is actually Abbie's husband and together they are the perfect dynamic duo. Having John and Abbie work together is nice because they know how to get quality shots without getting in each others way. He is good at capturing those real, authentic moments. John also shot our engagement video, which we loved so we are excited to see our wedding video once it's finished!
Invitations – Hello Rachel
Creative
Rachel was also a recommendation for us to check out from team Exhale. I also had noticed that Rachel was a new
vendor for Burgh Brides at the time so I instantly visited her Instagram. I
loved how simple, yet beautiful her designs were. It fit perfectly with our
theme, so needless to say it was a good match! Rachel also does other wedding
stationary if you’re looking for that as well!
Flowers – Blossoms by Jilliann
Jilliann was such a pleasure to
work with! Not only was she budget friendly, but the quality of her work was
absolute perfection! We gave Jilliann the inspiration for our florals and she surpassed
all expectations. She did the boutonnieres, bouquets, centerpieces, and greens for the tables and mantle that sat behind us. She even special ordered the King Proteas for our wedding
since they were out of season (as it is just entering Spring in South Africa
right now). We got asked a lot about our flowers so I’m so happy to share
Jilliann’s information for you to check out!
Vintage Rentals- Pippa’s Pieces
I had the pleasure of meeting
Patty at a styled shoot a little over a year ago where she supplied all the
vintage rentals – one including the gorgeous mantle that sat behind us at our
reception. As soon as I saw that mantle I knew I had to find some way to
incorporate it into our wedding. Not only did we use the mantle, but we also
rented the geometric shapes that were used throughout the reception tables as
well. The french doors that had guests names and the tables they were seated at were a crowd favorite and also another thing we rented from Patty. All three pieces added the perfect touch and Patty is the sweetest to work
with! If you are ever in need of vintage pieces – not only for a wedding, but
any event, I would check her out!
Cake & Cupcakes – Tasty
Bakery
So my mom actually took care of
booking this vendor to help us out, however we were so thrilled by how
delicious everything turned out! Not to mention, Beverly was so easy to work with. For our cake
tasting we chose a weekend that she had to go out of town, however she was able
to get us all of our options so we could still taste them all and not have to
move our schedule around. Everything tasted amazing! With her being able to make such
a clean design, Jilliann (Blossoms by Jilliann) was able to go in and add the
flowers for a woodsy touch.
DJ- Sam Crawford
Where to begin with DJ Sam? After
doing my sister’s wedding almost 4 years ago, I’m pretty sure my whole family
requested that he be at ours. One thing that many of our friends and family
kept saying is how fun our wedding was and how once people got dancing (which
was probably around like 7:30 or so) they never stopped! While people said the crowd was a great time, they also said a lot of it had to do with our DJ
and how he kept the party going. And they are SO right. DJ Sam killed it! He
even made sure he got all the Portuguese songs that we requested. Everyone had
a great time and we can’t thank DJ Sam enough for making that happen!
Hair – Brooke Rockwell Hair
Design
When it comes to wedding hair,
Brooke is the best! And needless to say, I was so happy that she was available
to do our hair the day of the wedding! For my trial, I was pretty vague with
what I wanted. I showed Brooke a picture and within minutes she had my hair
done perfectly! For the day of the wedding, her and her sister Harbor came to
do our hair. Not only did they make everyone’s hair beautiful, but they were so
efficient with their time. So much so that some of Roberto’s family originally
said they weren’t going to get their hair done, but changed their minds after
they saw how good everyone’s hair looked. Brooke and Harbor managed to fit in 4
extra people for hair and still get done on schedule. Our hair seemed to hold
up well throughout the day even with the humidity. If you’re interested in
booking Brooke, Harbor, or the team I would book them as soon as you can
because they book up fast for weddings!
Make-up – Lyndsie Hinch at Make
Up Design Studio
Speaking of booking up fast for
weddings – Lyndsie was the first person I booked for my wedding because I knew
how quickly she booked up. When I was in beauty school, I was able to assist
Lyndsie with some weddings so I knew first hand how hard she worked, how
passionate she was about her work, and how talented she was. Needless to say
she did not disappoint with our make-up. She made everyone look flawless and
feel amazing! She’s professional, but also so fun to work with! She will do
anything to make you look and feel perfect on your special day!
Wedding Dress – One Enchanted
Evening
When it came time to start
looking for a wedding dress, I turned to my good friend Pinterest. After going
through some pins I had saved, I quickly realized that a lot of them were by
the same designer – Justin Alexander (JA). I then went on a search and saw One
Enchanted Evening carried JA. And not only that, but they were having an
upcoming trunk show. I went to the trunk show and tried on a variety of styles,
but every time I put my wedding dress on, everyone said I looked so happy. And
honestly, I felt happy in it. We had a great experience and my consultant was
so helpful in helping me make the perfect decision.
Luckily everything about my wedding dress fit, however I needed to get it hemmed and I needed bustles for my super long cathedral length train. Nera had done all my dresses for my high school dances, so of course I trusted her to make my alterations perfect. And let me say this was no easy task. I had to have 15 or so bustles put in to place. It took her an hour just to map out a game plan and pin where they all should go. She said my train was one of the longest she’s ever had to work on. I had to go to multiple fittings, but only because she wanted to make sure each bustle was placed perfectly. And she did not disappoint. As annoying as my train was at times during the day, I really did love it down – but I also really loved it bustled too! Cost wise, this was up there for sure, but she does quality work so I had no problem with it.
Wedding Dress Alterations –
Nera’s Tailoring
Murrysville, PA
Luckily everything about my wedding dress fit, however I needed to get it hemmed and I needed bustles for my super long cathedral length train. Nera had done all my dresses for my high school dances, so of course I trusted her to make my alterations perfect. And let me say this was no easy task. I had to have 15 or so bustles put in to place. It took her an hour just to map out a game plan and pin where they all should go. She said my train was one of the longest she’s ever had to work on. I had to go to multiple fittings, but only because she wanted to make sure each bustle was placed perfectly. And she did not disappoint. As annoying as my train was at times during the day, I really did love it down – but I also really loved it bustled too! Cost wise, this was up there for sure, but she does quality work so I had no problem with it.
Bridesmaids Dresses – Adrianna
Papell at Nordstrom
I’m sure this isn’t the first time you’ve seen
these gorgeous gowns, but let me say they were so perfect for our big day. The
girls looked beautiful and my mom's dress was actually Adrianna Papell as well! We chose these gowns because we loved how simple they
were, but also they had a bit of glam with the beads. We didn’t go dress
shopping together since some lived further away and others had crazy busy
schedules, but it was so easy for them to order them online from Nordstrom.
Most of them ordered two sizes and then returned whichever size didn’t work.
I will say if you
have your bridesmaids order them online, to send them all the link to order
from with the specified color to be safe. I noticed this particular dress on
other websites would say the same name as the ones we chose (Taupe/Pink), but
the color would look completely different. Just a tip!
Tuxedos – Calvin Klein at Men’s Warehouse
For the guys, we wanted classic
black tux’s. Men’s warehouse was so easy to work with so that is where we
chose. It was nice that with the Calvin Klein tux, the guys had the option to
choose slim fit or regular (in case they had a preference). We didn’t require
them to get the shoes with it unless they wanted to and we also got them black
and white polka dotted suspender to add a little something, so they didn’t need
to rent those from the store either. Men’s warehouse was helpful with all our
questions and there were no issues with any of the tux’s so it was a success!
Before picking your vendors, I
think it’s important to have an idea of the vision of your wedding. There’s
nothing worse than having a beautiful vision and having vendors with a style
that doesn’t match what you’re trying to achieve. (If you need some inspiration on
this, check out my post I shared on how we chose our wedding theme!)
I know this post was highly
requested so I hope it was helpful. Any questions you have, feel free to reach
out!
Happy wedding planning! xo
Fantastic day - brought all together by phenomenal people!
ReplyDelete