My Vendor List

Happy 2010! Wow. That was long overdue. I know "they" say when you blog to never apologize for the lack of posting and to just continue on like its no big deal. But I think my lack of posting deserves some major apologies!

Now that the holidays are over and the new year is underway, I'm making a commitment to share as many Michigan vendors with you as I can. As I've been planning my own wedding in Kalamazoo- I have come across some extremely talented individuals and companies. If I had an unlimited budget, I'd find a place for all of them in my wedding- but I don't :( So I've chosen the best of the best for what we wanted for our big day. Whether that includes style, price, personality, or just general awesomeness :)

With 100 days to go until our big day, I wanted to share some of these talented vendors on Wed Michigan. I HIGHLY suggest you check them out if you're planning a Michigan wedding!

First Congregational Church
Although I had grand dreams of getting married barefoot in my mother's backyard, we chose to go the traditional route and get married in a church. Downtown Kalamazoo has some amazing historical churches and FCC was an easy choice for us. It sits at the edge of Bronson park, welcomes non-members, and the main Sanctuary is pretty much the most gorgeous room I've ever been in. I heard a rumor that people drive from all over Michigan just to hear the organ. Yeah... we get to become husband and wife in this place :)

Cityscape Events Center
Being one of the last to get married, I've been to many weddings in Kalamazoo. Each were unique and wonderful, but many of them were in the same venues. We chose to use Cityscape and I'm so happy about our choice. Owned by Millenium Restaurant Group (you know- Fieldstone Grill, The Union, Epic Bistro... mmmm), the loft-style event space is located on the Kalamazoo Mall in the heart of downtown and has such a cool vibe. The best part (besides the ridiculous food and the amazing location) is our in-house event coordinator, Renee. It's a bride's dream to have someone as trustworthy and professional as Renee, and I know we will have zero worries on our wedding day :)



Samantha Vanderlist of Shutter Sam, Photography
When we first got engaged, we both agreed that photography wasn't a big deal on our wedding day. We kept saying that we'd just find whoever and not worry about it. Sam- I am admitting to you right now- WE WERE WRONG. I can't tell you how important it is to find a photographer that you connect with and who you know will capture the most important moments of that day. There are going to be moments that I totally forget about, that I miss completely, and that no one will even see, and I know that Sam will be there to document all of those memories. When I met Sam for the first time at a Starbuck's in Grand Rapids, I immediately felt connected with her and realized we had made such a great choice (and she's budget-friendly!). Now if only the rain would stay away for our pictures!


{Photo by Shutter Sam}

Two Penny Productions, Videography
Ok, as soon as you click on their website, you're going to spend hours watching all of their ridiculous videos. So just wait until you're done reading this post or else you'll never come back! I cannot tell you how excited I am for this vendor. First of all, the fact that we're lucky enough to have a videographer... I am thankful every single day. But the fact that we got THIS VIDEOGRAPHER? I'm just going to say it- go ahead and be jealous :)

Shabby Chic Cakes & More
When I met Dena of Shabby Chic, she made us a huge bag-full of cupcake samples to taste. I'm talking 12 cupcakes. Who does that?! We scarfed those cupcakes down in about 5 minutes flat. I'm not going to go into our flavor choices or any of that, but I will tell you that I'm totally craving her cupcakes as I write this. Oh, and she gives you a free Anniversary Cake with your order- somehow I don't think that cake will be making it anywhere near our first anniversary :)



Andylous Flowers
I've always been a little hesitant when it comes to ordering flowers for my wedding day- I had grand dreams of assembling all of our centerpieces ourselves and saving a ton of money. And then I found Julie at Andylous. She is wonderful! Budget-friendly, creative, smart, and- she listens. She understood exactly what I wanted and came up with some crazy cool ideas. I cannot WAIT to see all of the flowers are our reception!



Studio 6.23
I want to give a special shoutout to Mindy and Ben of Studio 6.23 for our AMAZING engagement photos. We wanted to capture Boston and how our relationship grew in such an amazing city, and they did exactly that. I am so thankful that they traveled out East and took the time to drive up to Beantown to do this for us and I am so thankful that we will have these pictures to cherish forever!


{Photo by Studio 6.23}

Lila Designs
Ok, shameless plug :) I had to add this one in there. As you know, I started doing custom stationery work this past Fall and of course, am designing all of my own wedding stationery :) I just had to add Lila to the list! :)


{postcard photo by Studio 6.23}

So there you have it- these are our main vendors. Like I said before, we talked to so many awesome vendors when making our decisions, but chose who we did based on our budget and what fit in with our personalities and criteria. I can't wait to see how our wedding comes together with all of their contributions and help!