Columbia Vendor List
Below you will find a list of vendors we plan to use for our ceremony. Anyone planning a wedding in Columbia knows the difficulty of finding quality vendors on a budget. I hope this list can help someone plan their dream wedding in or around Columbia, Missouri.
Courtyard Marriott - Reception Venue
Our reception will be held at the Courtyard Marriott.
Why we chose the Marriott:
1. It meets our first priority – the ability for guest to party and not have to drive.
2. Size of venue – our guest list is between 100 and 125 and other venues we looked into just seemed too small and too expensive for our budget.
3. Day of Coordinator – a complimentary DOC was a HUGE plus for us! The event coordinator for the Marriott will be on hand the day of our wedding to ensure that centerpieces are set out, the DJ is set up in the correct location and that all our vendors arrive in a timely manner.
4. PRICE! – we are very budget conscious and the Marriott was willing to work with our budget.
Pictures 1 - 4 (Below) - are photos provided by the Marriott of a wedding set-up in their ballroom. Pictures 4 - 7 are photos taken at a friend of a friends wedding.
Why we chose the Marriott:
1. It meets our first priority – the ability for guest to party and not have to drive.
2. Size of venue – our guest list is between 100 and 125 and other venues we looked into just seemed too small and too expensive for our budget.
3. Day of Coordinator – a complimentary DOC was a HUGE plus for us! The event coordinator for the Marriott will be on hand the day of our wedding to ensure that centerpieces are set out, the DJ is set up in the correct location and that all our vendors arrive in a timely manner.
4. PRICE! – we are very budget conscious and the Marriott was willing to work with our budget.
Pictures 1 - 4 (Below) - are photos provided by the Marriott of a wedding set-up in their ballroom. Pictures 4 - 7 are photos taken at a friend of a friends wedding.
Serendipity Photography
We are using Serendipity Photography out of Odessa, Missouri. We choose this photographer because she is one of my bridesmaid’s sisters and personal friend of the groom and I. I know that she will do an amazing job!
Check out her wbesite!
Check out her wbesite!
MyDJKJ - Craig Maxey
We will be using MyDJKJ out of the Lake for our wedding. The FI and I meet with Craig early in August and we loved his energy and how excited he was to see us and talk to use about our wedding. We really believe he is going to do a great job for our wedding. He provided us with reviews from previous customers and they were all great, when I emailed the customers they had nothing but great things to say!
The best thing about Craig is that the package we chose, the Gold Package, includes uplighting for the reception venue. Additionally, instead of big black speakers Craig has customer drapes and lighting that hides them.
Check out his website here!
These are photos of his set up from a pervious wedding -
The best thing about Craig is that the package we chose, the Gold Package, includes uplighting for the reception venue. Additionally, instead of big black speakers Craig has customer drapes and lighting that hides them.
Check out his website here!
These are photos of his set up from a pervious wedding -
Victoria's Bridal in Jefferson City, MO
I purchased my wedding gown from Victoria’s Bridal on September 4th and I haven’t stopped saying wonderful things about Victoria’s since.
The best way to review Victoria’s is probably just to talk about my experience. I first went to Victoria’s on August 28th. It was my first dress shopping experience. The consultant, I worked with Janna and I would highly recommend her, started off the session by asking what type of dress I was looking for. I gave her some general guidelines and then she allowed my mom and I to look through the dress with her, which I loved. We picked about a dozen dresses and I was ready to start trying some on! Several of them were very pretty but it was around the 3rd or 4th dress that I found one I didn’t want to take off. Janna brought me a headpiece and veil and completed the picture. It was great! However, I just wasn’t comfortable buying that day, I mean it was my first day looking. So I left my dress and made another appointment with Janna for the following Saturday.
Between my first and second appointment with Victoria’s, I made an appointment with a local bridal salon in Columbia, which will remain nameless. I didn’t think I could go back to Victoria’s and feel comfortable buying a dress until I had at least tried one other salon. So I did and the experience was nothing but unpleasant. The consultant didn’t really listen to me, the salon was so HOT – they needed to crack some A/C and the dressing room was small. The experience was nothing like what I had at Victoria’s.
On my second visit to Victoria’s my experience was the same – wonderful. Janna already had my top choice along with two others from the first appointment that I liked in the room. I told her I did have one or two concerns about the dress and asked if she had anything similar. She knew of something right away and brought it in. I tried on the new addition and loved it too! But I knew I wanted to get back into the dress from last Saturday. I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it since. Once back into the dress I knew almost immediately that it was the one and I would be buying that day but Janna let me take my time. She let me walk around the shop in the dress, try different veils, talk to my mom, etc. The story ends with saying YES to the dress!
A few more notes about Victoria’s Bridal
Location – Victoria’s Bridal is located in Jefferson City, Missouri which for me was just perfect. Even though I live and work in Columbia I visit Jefferson City often.
Treated like a queen – During both of my visits to Victoria’s I felt like I was treated like a queen! Their bridal dressing rooms are huge, well air conditioned, had plenty of seating for guest and huge floor to ceiling wall length mirrors. They also provided water and cookies for me and my mom.
Janna – She was my consultant and I would recommend her to any bride! Sometimes I feel a little self-conscious about my body and I never felt anything but comfortable with Janna. She is the sweetest thing!
Selection – I have no idea how many dresses Victoria’s Bridal had in stock but it was a lot! They also seemed to have a nice selection of different sizes. I typically wear a size 6-8 in pants and small tops but in bridal I was a size 10. They had a large selection of dresses for my size as well as smaller and larger dresses. I saw several and I mean several racks of dresses sized up to 18 and higher.
If you live in the Columbia or Jefferson City area – give Victoria’s a try.
The best way to review Victoria’s is probably just to talk about my experience. I first went to Victoria’s on August 28th. It was my first dress shopping experience. The consultant, I worked with Janna and I would highly recommend her, started off the session by asking what type of dress I was looking for. I gave her some general guidelines and then she allowed my mom and I to look through the dress with her, which I loved. We picked about a dozen dresses and I was ready to start trying some on! Several of them were very pretty but it was around the 3rd or 4th dress that I found one I didn’t want to take off. Janna brought me a headpiece and veil and completed the picture. It was great! However, I just wasn’t comfortable buying that day, I mean it was my first day looking. So I left my dress and made another appointment with Janna for the following Saturday.
Between my first and second appointment with Victoria’s, I made an appointment with a local bridal salon in Columbia, which will remain nameless. I didn’t think I could go back to Victoria’s and feel comfortable buying a dress until I had at least tried one other salon. So I did and the experience was nothing but unpleasant. The consultant didn’t really listen to me, the salon was so HOT – they needed to crack some A/C and the dressing room was small. The experience was nothing like what I had at Victoria’s.
On my second visit to Victoria’s my experience was the same – wonderful. Janna already had my top choice along with two others from the first appointment that I liked in the room. I told her I did have one or two concerns about the dress and asked if she had anything similar. She knew of something right away and brought it in. I tried on the new addition and loved it too! But I knew I wanted to get back into the dress from last Saturday. I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it since. Once back into the dress I knew almost immediately that it was the one and I would be buying that day but Janna let me take my time. She let me walk around the shop in the dress, try different veils, talk to my mom, etc. The story ends with saying YES to the dress!
A few more notes about Victoria’s Bridal
Location – Victoria’s Bridal is located in Jefferson City, Missouri which for me was just perfect. Even though I live and work in Columbia I visit Jefferson City often.
Treated like a queen – During both of my visits to Victoria’s I felt like I was treated like a queen! Their bridal dressing rooms are huge, well air conditioned, had plenty of seating for guest and huge floor to ceiling wall length mirrors. They also provided water and cookies for me and my mom.
Janna – She was my consultant and I would recommend her to any bride! Sometimes I feel a little self-conscious about my body and I never felt anything but comfortable with Janna. She is the sweetest thing!
Selection – I have no idea how many dresses Victoria’s Bridal had in stock but it was a lot! They also seemed to have a nice selection of different sizes. I typically wear a size 6-8 in pants and small tops but in bridal I was a size 10. They had a large selection of dresses for my size as well as smaller and larger dresses. I saw several and I mean several racks of dresses sized up to 18 and higher.
If you live in the Columbia or Jefferson City area – give Victoria’s a try.
Wedding Cake - Coldstone Creamery (Jefferson City)
Instead of a typically cake we will have an ice cream cake for our wedding cake. FI has never been a big fan of cake so I had planned to do an ice cream grooms cake for him but when I attended a local bridal show I found out that ColdStone Creamery in Jefferson City does entire wedding cakes out of ice cream. FI loved the idea and I want him to be happy! We having a meeting to discuss our options on October 10th!
Update (10/11/10) - FI and I met with the Coldstone Rep, Lisa, on Sunday. It was a great meeting and Lisa took the time to talk to use about what we wanted and let us try all the ice cream we wanted. Because of the number of guest we need to feed we will have a 3-tier cake with two round cakes flanking the sides. Our main cake will look a lot like the first picture below. Our icing will be white with white swirl designs and small pearl studs to add some interest. We will also use silk flowers to decorate the cake as well.
Lisa was really great in helping us to imagine how our cake will look. She even set out the pans so we could get a general idea on size.
We chose four flavors -
For the large bottom tier we are going with what they call the "Trio of Fantasy". It's strawberry ice cream blended with whip topping and chocolate shavings on white cake. It's amazing and I am not typically a strawberry fan!
The layer right above the square piece is going to be an Oreo Cake - chocolate cake with Oreo Filling Ice Cream.
Top layer and one of the side layers is for FI. White cake with a sweet cream ice cream. Basically a white on white. He is a simple man and likes that best.
And then the last side cake is going to be Peanut Butter Playground - its chocolate ice cream with whipped peanut butter and Reese Pieces and then chocolate cake. It's super rich but amazing as well!
Below are some pictures of the Coldstone booth at the bridal show. I will post pictures of our cake after the wedding!
Update (10/11/10) - FI and I met with the Coldstone Rep, Lisa, on Sunday. It was a great meeting and Lisa took the time to talk to use about what we wanted and let us try all the ice cream we wanted. Because of the number of guest we need to feed we will have a 3-tier cake with two round cakes flanking the sides. Our main cake will look a lot like the first picture below. Our icing will be white with white swirl designs and small pearl studs to add some interest. We will also use silk flowers to decorate the cake as well.
Lisa was really great in helping us to imagine how our cake will look. She even set out the pans so we could get a general idea on size.
We chose four flavors -
For the large bottom tier we are going with what they call the "Trio of Fantasy". It's strawberry ice cream blended with whip topping and chocolate shavings on white cake. It's amazing and I am not typically a strawberry fan!
The layer right above the square piece is going to be an Oreo Cake - chocolate cake with Oreo Filling Ice Cream.
Top layer and one of the side layers is for FI. White cake with a sweet cream ice cream. Basically a white on white. He is a simple man and likes that best.
And then the last side cake is going to be Peanut Butter Playground - its chocolate ice cream with whipped peanut butter and Reese Pieces and then chocolate cake. It's super rich but amazing as well!
Below are some pictures of the Coldstone booth at the bridal show. I will post pictures of our cake after the wedding!
Rehearsal Dinner - Smokin' Chicks BBQ
We are hosting the rehearsal dinner on Friday night before the wedding at Smokin' Chicks BBQ in Columbia. We will have a pretty large group, about 40 people, consisting of wedding party members and out of town family members who have made it in for the wedding.
We are planning to do a limited menu to help ensure quick service. Our guest will have several meal options as well as drinks. We haven't picked the menu yet but we will in the months to come.
Check out their website.
We are planning to do a limited menu to help ensure quick service. Our guest will have several meal options as well as drinks. We haven't picked the menu yet but we will in the months to come.
Check out their website.
Busch's Florist - Columbia Location
We went with Busch's Florist for our day of flowers. I did some price shopping and they gave us the best quote, even better than HyVee.
Our total cost will be $485.00 and it includes:
Bride bouquet - medium sized clutch arrangement of cream roses, likely 18 roses, collared with green thai leaves and wrapped in ivory satin ribbon with crystal pins.
Total cost = $75
Bridesmaid bouquets - small sized clutch arrangement of cream roses wrapped in turquoise satin ribbon to match their dresses.
Total cost = $200 or $50 each
Toss bouquet - smaller version of the brides
Total cost = FREE
Corsages - Each made of cream roses with ivory satin ribbon. One for each mom and one grandmother.
Total cost = $45 or $15 each
Boutonnieres: Each made of cream roses with greenery. The grooms will be accented with a folded thai leaf to match the bride and have a very crystal stones.
Total cost for the groom, 4 groomsmen, 1 dad and 2 ushers = $80 or $10 each
We also have to purchases vases for delivery at $4 each and pay a delivery fee of $35. Not bad and I was happy with it. I know they will do a nice job!
Our total cost will be $485.00 and it includes:
Bride bouquet - medium sized clutch arrangement of cream roses, likely 18 roses, collared with green thai leaves and wrapped in ivory satin ribbon with crystal pins.
Total cost = $75
Bridesmaid bouquets - small sized clutch arrangement of cream roses wrapped in turquoise satin ribbon to match their dresses.
Total cost = $200 or $50 each
Toss bouquet - smaller version of the brides
Total cost = FREE
Corsages - Each made of cream roses with ivory satin ribbon. One for each mom and one grandmother.
Total cost = $45 or $15 each
Boutonnieres: Each made of cream roses with greenery. The grooms will be accented with a folded thai leaf to match the bride and have a very crystal stones.
Total cost for the groom, 4 groomsmen, 1 dad and 2 ushers = $80 or $10 each
We also have to purchases vases for delivery at $4 each and pay a delivery fee of $35. Not bad and I was happy with it. I know they will do a nice job!
Riversong Spa and Salon (Wedding Day Hair and Make-Up)
I had originally planned to go with The Clip Joint South but when I went in to book they already had other people booked and couldn't get everyone done in the time frame we had. I went basically across the street to Riversong and they could get everyone in and done by 11. We have a 2:00pm ceremony so we need everyone to be done early.
Riversong Spa is located at 2100 Forum Blvd. Their prices are decent and with mine they give a free trial.
My trial is planned for June 4th. Can't wait to go and see what they can do.
< ---- I like this look!
Riversong Spa is located at 2100 Forum Blvd. Their prices are decent and with mine they give a free trial.
My trial is planned for June 4th. Can't wait to go and see what they can do.
< ---- I like this look!