Birmingham has an incredible wedding community and we were so happy with our team of vendors and how everything turned out. When searching for our wedding vendors, our primary goal was to find
vendors that “felt like us” and that could help us create a wedding that reflected our personality, within our budget. There are so many vendors out there that do beautiful work, it's so easy to get wrapped up costly details and end up spending money on things you don’t
even care about - we almost spent $2k on sheer pipe and drape, and I hate
pipe-and-drape!
Now that it’s all said and done, I realize
how important it is to know, love, and trust
your vendors. All of our vendors spent time getting to know us and making
us comfortable. They understood “the vibe” we wanted and respected our budget, which allowed us to leave many of
the details up to them. For example, I told our florist that I love the loose
wildflower look, gave her a few inspiration images and a list of likes and
dislikes, and the rest was up to her. I had no idea what the flowers would look
like but my bouquet ended up being the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen!
I can't tell you how many times I've seen a wedding that I loved but haven't been able to find who their vendors were so, here is a full rundown of all of our wedding
vendors, how we found them, and why we loved them ::
Venue :: Kress Building Rooftop, Wiggins, Childs Quinn & Pantazis
Max and I actually discovered our venue while admiring the Birmingham skyline out of a window at the McWane Center. It was the very first venue we toured and after looking at many others (gardens, barns, art museums, you name it) we realized that nothing felt quite like "us" like the rooftop. It was also more affordable and easier to work with than a typical wedding venue (no time restrictions, provide your own alcohol etc.) so it was a win-win. After my initial pipe-and-drape fiasco, I decided to embrace the space and urban vibe and it ended up being exactly what we wanted! Now we can't imagine having done it anywhere else!
Ceremony Guitarist :: Keith Beard
We found him last minute on wedding wire and he was perfect - super easy to work with, affordable, and did a great job.
Officiant :: Brad Henderson
This was a tough one. Max is Jewish, I am Christian, and we lived together. So, finding someone to marry us in Birmingham Alabama was no easy task. It was super important to me that we have an officiant who would focus on us, incorporate both Christian and Jewish traditions, and celebrate our relationship and NOT take it as an opportunity to preach to our wedding guests. A family friend recommended Brad, and after doing a few pre-marital counseling session we felt great about him marry us. He added his own personal touches to the ceremony that Max and I wrote and it was exactly what we'd hoped for. Our ceremony was one of my favorite parts of our entire wedding and we received so many compliments on how genuine and sincere it was, which meant so much to us. Brad did an
amazing job.
Day of Coordinating :: Invision Events
Having a day of coordinator was my number one vendor requirement. It was so important to me that Max and I be present on our wedding day and not overwhelmed with details and logistics. Initially, we were really discouraged because the costs were outrageous - until we found Invision. Their day of coordination package was a flat $1500 and I can't begin to tell you all the things that they took care of for us. It was worth every penny. They were our go to for the entire day, handled all the details and made sure it all ran smoothly. It was so helpful to have a wedding expert making sure it all came together. Max and I were able to take in the moments and enjoy the day because we had our day-of-coordinator Liz - and that is priceless.
Photography :: Rachel and Noah Ray
We can't say enough great things about Rachel and Noah Ray! Our friends referred us to them and we immediately fell in love with their sweet personalities, beautiful photos, and focus on capturing real moments over staged ones.
(You've heard me talk about them before here and here.) We ended up doing an engagement shoot which was such a great ice breaker and we were so happy with the photos we had absolute confidence for our wedding day. Having already worked with them actually ended up being really comforting on our wedding day. Like being with old friends! One thing I loved, is that I never really saw or felt them around. Some weddings you go to, you can't even see what's happening because the photographers are surrounding the bride and groom. We were shocked at some of the moments they captured when we didn't even realize they were there. Rachel and Noah are so laid back, so sweet and easy to work with, and felt like a part of our wedding party! We couldn't be happier with our beautiful photos.
Florals + Dรฉcor :: LSL Event Design
Laure of LSL Event Design was one of the first vendors we met with and was an
incredible resource to us. Flowers and decor are one of the things we struggled with most because on the one hand, it sets the mood and makes the space, but on the other, people don't really remember the flowers and it can get so expensive. Laure was willing to work with us to find a solution that gave us the look we wanted but within our budget, and she also let us use so many of her beautiful decor pieces. She was very hands on and involved every step of the way. Most of LSL Event Design's work is through Rucker Place, which is a very different vibe than our rooftop wedding, but I knew she would do a fabulous job and she truly did. I loved everything about our flowers and the decor, it was everything I wanted and more! My bouquet was incredible and my flower crown was better than I ever imagined.
Hair + Makeup :: Gypset Beauty Company
I found Gypset after searching online and just loved her boho vibe. So many of the hair and makeup vendors in Birmingham do the overdone "beauty queen" look which is just not me. I have more of a natural style and really wanted to look like myself (just better) on the big day. Kim with Gypset got that and she did a beautiful job! She was the sweetest thing and gave me the look I was dreaming of for my big day.
Floral Robes :: Sandy Waters Store on ETSY
Catering :: Savoie Catering
Max and I are total foodies so having a great caterer was really important to us. Savoie has an excellent reputation and we kept hearing their name recommended by vendors, friends, everyone. Initially, we didn’t think we could afford them but after telling them our budget they worked with us to develop a menu that fit our style and budget. Anyone we told that we were working with Savoie would respond with “Oh they are SO great!” – which you know is a great sign, and I can’t tell you how many of our guests commented on how great the food was. The presentation and quality was amazing and they were so wonderful to work with.
Cakes :: Cakes by Audrey
I have to admit, at most weddings I'm too busy dancing and drinking to even remember the cake but it was important to my mom that we had a traditional southern wedding cake. "The good ole' dense kind like they used to always have at weddings", she would say. We tried lots of local wedding cake vendors but nobody had what we were looking for. I reached out to a friend on facebook who got married in Bham to see who she used and she referred me to Audrey. Audrey's classic white wedding cake was
exactly what we'd been looking for and her prices were crazy-low. She even offered to bake us a new cake for our 1 year anniversary, so we don't have to eat the freezer burned top layer. How sweet is that?
DJ + Lighting :: Albatross Entertainment
This was a bit of a leap of faith. We knew we wanted a DJ but kept getting crazy high quotes from local vendors. Our florist recommended Albatross and when we met with him, and showed him a list of a few songs we had in mind, there was immediately a connection. He just got it! He was our same age, went to school at UA, and liked our style, so we decided to go for it. He gave us a great rate, kept the party going all night and even created shortened versions of our first dance songs to keep us from being too awkward (great tip btw). He rocked our wedding without rocking our budget and we would absolutely recommend him!
Save the Dates and Invitation Suite :: Minted
Free address printing was a huge cost saver and we loved our save the dates and invitation suite.
Program Fan :: Rocky Heights Print & Binding
I used our invitation artwork from Minted to custom create the program fan and print locally with Rocky Heights. (This was so much cheaper than the wedding fans you find online or on Etsy.)
Wedding Dress :: Allure Bridal from Bridal Bliss, Homewood Alabama
Bride’s Shoes :: Sole Atlanta
Garter :: handmade by my Mother in Law
Earrings :: BHLDN
Bridesmaids Dresses :: Joanna August in All Tomorrow's Parties and Silver Bells / Bella Bridesmaid
Grooms and Groomsmen Suits :: Mr. Burch Formalwear
We got so lucky with our vendors and can honestly say we wouldn’t
change a single one. In the spirit of full disclosure, our only gripe was that we
didn’t end up with any of our leftover alcohol. There was a communication breakdown, so we’re not sure how exactly that happened but if losing a few cases of beer and two-buck chuck is our biggest wedding day disaster, we’re pretty happy with that.
Word to the wise: have a plan for leftover stuff…and a backup plan.
See something I didn't include a vendor for?
Ask me!
I'm happy to help make the planning process a little easier for some of you brides-to-be out there.
