Original review – five stars

Over the years I have heard so many horror stories of brides trying to find the perfect wedding dress: rude service, being pressured, poor quality dresses that were not as seen in person.

Complete Bridal Salon is the first (and so far only) place I have gone to look for my dress. And my experience was nothing like any of the horror stories I have heard.

Anetta, Jeff and Dave all took their time to listen to what I was interested in and gave me their honest opinions. I had a great experience here, and while I have not purchased a dress yet, I have an appointment to go back later this week for round two.

I like supporting small businesses and the fact that the shop is located in the area where I grew up, so we know people in common. Even if this was not the case, I know I still would have received great, individual service.

Dave also mentioned that they routinely have girls get ready at the shop before your actual wedding to steam your dress or help with any last minute touches. Try getting that from chain bridal shops!

Updated review – two stars.

Originally, I loved this place, but that soon changed after I bought my dress.

Because I had a good eight months between buying it and actually getting married, I opted to have them hold onto my dress for me and do the alterations in-house.

When I called to set up my first fitting appointment, they had to take a message and call me back later. I never got the call, so I called again, and was able to make an appointment but could tell they were stalling with me. Why? As I found out when I showed up later that week, they could not find my dress. One of the guys and I had to tear apart their storage room until we found it, in a bag, hanging on the back of a door.

Rosa did my alterations, and I had no complaints about this until for my final fitting, she took it in 1.5” instead of 0.5” which is kind of a big difference for something that fits like a glove. She promised that she would fix it and suggested that I come back later.

Given that I was on my way to my bachelorette party and that I live over an hour away, coming back later was not an option. She agreed to fix it then and there only after I started crying because I was being asked to choose between going to my bachelorette party or not having my dress ready for the following weekend when I was getting married.

The price for my alterations was considerably more than I was quoted up front.

I would also caution brides against giving the people here your email address. If you do, you will continue to receive bridal expo spam well after your wedding date.

NB: this photo is of my dress. 3 years ago

One star.

Oh, lucky me!

Months ago, at a bridal expo, I “won” a free hair styling for my wedding.

I tried to schedule my service, and then played phone tag with two separate women for over a week. When I finally got to talk to someone, all the details that they do not tell you about when they inform you that you won came out.

Apparently, you only get your prize if your bridal party gets their hair or makeup done by them too.

Needless to say, I did not get my hair done with them, but judging by their underhanded promotions, I am okay with that.

NB: this photo is of my good friend Matt and I hugging, and it also showcases my wedding hair, done not by the ladies at Pampered Bride, but by my regular stylist, Erin from Milio’s. She got up at the crack of dawn to come to my hotel downtown and do my hair. I <3 Erin. 3 years ago

One star.

Please note this review is for their floral department only.

Weeks in advance, I ordered flowers for use in my bridesmaids’ bouquets, and ordered already-made corsages and boutonnieres for our parents and grandparents.

The night before the wedding, I sent my brother to pick them up.

Half the order was missing, and what we did receive was incorrect in terms of color and arrangement – we received no wrist corsages like we ordered for the women, only pin-on boutonnieres. Oh, and some of the roses for bouquets were stem only.. i.e, no bud.

When we called to complain, we were told that the other half of the order was there, just not where anyone could find it on our first trip. A second trip needed to be made to get the rest of our flowers.

A totally ridiculous experience – I would never order flowers from here again, especially for something as important as a wedding! 3 years ago

Three stars.

Last summer, my husband and I had our wedding ceremony and reception here.

We could not have asked for a more beautiful day, both inside and out. We got married on a Sunday morning and opted to have a brunch reception. So many of our guests commented that they were impressed by the spread, and that it was the best food they had ever had at a wedding.

The staff did a great job of accommodating different dietary restrictions by not having dairy and meat on the same platters, and by keeping any pork products away from non-pork. All food items were also clearly labeled so no one accidentally ingested anything they weren’t supposed to.

I was hoping to be able to write a five-star review for our venue, but they fell short in a few ways:

The week before our wedding, I came by to drop off items and have a final walk through. At this time, Bill Ryan stated that for the ceremony, each side of the aisle would have eight chairs in each row. On the day of, my husband’s side had eight chairs.. and my side had five chairs in each row. This would not have been an issue had we known this in advance, but because the only way we were made aware of it was by coming in and seeing that certain members of my family did not get to sit in the front row, this became a huge source of unnecessary drama.

At the walk through, I was also told that during our reception, Kevin would make an announcement to dismiss tables to get food. And, well.. he didn’t. Instead, one of my husband’s cousins grabbed the mic and called out tables, skipping over tables one and two. Nothing says awkward like nearly starting World War III at your wedding reception. And again, had this been communicated differently, it could have been planned for, and all the drama could have been avoided.

And finally, I heard that the desserts were amazing, but because they were taken away so quickly, neither my husband nor I had a chance to try any of them.

I would recommend the Signature Room to couples looking for a unique place to have their wedding, but I advise them to be a stickler on details and to get everything agreed upon written into their contract rather than verbally stated.

NB: this picture is of our sweetheart table with the view of Chicago, thousands of feet below the Signature Room. 3 years ago

Two stars.

Five of us stayed here before my wedding, and while the room was clean and comfortable, our stay could have been much, much better.

The day of check-in, it was raining. We had quite a bit of things with us, and the bell hops did a pretty miserable job of bringing them in. Worst of all, they had my wedding dress dragging on the floor and dropped my mom’s dress for the wedding on the ground outside.

NB: this picture is of me coming down the hotel’s stairs to meet my groom. They have elevators too, but that would have killed the effect :)
We had booked the suite well in advance, and got a pretty sweet deal online.

Upon check-in, Abraham mentions to us that there are no suites we had booked (2 beds in a separate bedroom, plus the fold-out couch in the living room separated by a door) left, so we’ll have to take a smaller room. We balked at this, and he insisted there was nothing that could be done.. until we asked to speak to the manager. Then, miraculously, he found a suite for us. Funny how that works..

The room itself was fine, but a few tweaks could have made our stay much more pleasant. This is the only hotel I have ever stayed in that did not have an exhaust fan in the bathroom. And for whatever reason, we were only given two rolls of toilet paper for five people for two and a half days.. even when our room was cleaned, no new rolls were given to us.

The business center charged the standard BS fees of something like $15 for 10 minutes of internet and $10 to print a few pages out.. and the parking at the hotel was close to $50 a night. There is much cheaper parking a few blocks away, FYI.

I could see this hotel working for someone who just needs a bed to crash in that is conveniently located, but I would not stay here again for a special event and would not recommend this place to anyone. 3 years ago

three stars.

I’ve been in here to just browse a few times, and also once to pick out saris for my bridesmaids to wear, and twice for their fittings.

I feel like I was treated totally differently when I had my sister-in-law with us to pick out saris and help bargain the price down, versus when I came by myself or with my other bridesmaids. Service a little less friendly, being told I’d have to come back the next day to pick up something that was sitting behind the counter, etc.

I would not come here with the intent to buy something without bringing my haggling skills, or preferably, one of my family members who have much more experience (and language skills) than I do.

All that being said though, they have a pretty good selection and prices can be reasonable once you go through a few rounds of haggling.

NB: this photo is of three of my bridesmaids in the sari shop. They are holding the pattern we decided on. 3 years ago

three stars.

My experience here was pretty limited.

I came in one day, by myself and without an appointment, to wander around and look at bridesmaid dresses.

Based on horror stories I have heard, I was expecting less than what I got. I had two staff members approach me and they were pretty friendly and not pushy at all – I had made it clear that I already had my dress and was just looking casually for ideas for bridesmaid dresses.

Ultimately, I found that nothing there suited my tastes – too expensive and too blah. That is based on my personal tastes and refusal to ask my friends to shell out more than $50 for a dress they will wear once. 3 years ago

Five stars!

I could not be happier with my experience at Ethan Lord!

After a less-than-stellar attempt at having a ring custom designed for us somewhere else, Larry made sure that we were happy with their design at each step in the process.

His frequent communication and willingness to let me be involved with the process not only alleviated any fears I had about having another botched-looking ring, but also gave me the unique experience of meeting the CAD designer and seeing how that end of everything works.

I would recommend Larry and Ethan Lord Jewelers for anyone looking for a friendly and competent jeweler, especially if you are looking to do custom work.

NB: in case you could not tell, this is a photo of my ring. The stone has been in my family for multiple generations. Here, it sits in a platinum setting and rests on my bouquet. Some day, one of my grandchildren will inherit the ring. 3 years ago

Five stars!

Of everything I received compliments on at my wedding, nothing was as highly praised as the clay bouquet Sarah made for me.

Her handiwork is exquisite and her prices are very reasonable.

If you have considered using an alternative to fresh flowers for your special occasion or to give as a gift, I would definitely check her out.

Fenton Florals on Etsy.com, FTW! 3 years ago

three stars.

After googling “Chicago Justice of the Peace” and “Chicago Wedding Officiant” and compiling a modest list of potential officiants for our wedding, we decided to go with Judge John Laurie.

Our decision was made based on the following: availability, price (charging us $225 for 30 minutes of work versus the $450 the next guy wanted), and willingness to let us write our own ceremony.

We initially contacted him through his website, and also had the opportunity to email and chat with him on the phone.

After handing over our $100 deposit, we received the stock ceremony script he uses for weddings he prefers. If I had not already planned on writing our own, I would have been disappointed because it was pretty blah. Ours, on the other hand, was awesome, and he complimented it as well :)

On the day of, he showed up on time and got the job done. Our venue had no mic, which could have been helpful as he did not project as much as we would have liked. A word of caution on tricky names, have him practice them beforehand because even though we had names written out phonetically, a few were still butchered in the pronunciation.

All in all, Judge John Laurie took care of business. I would recommend him to others, especially those getting married downtown, to act as an officiant.. you might just want to go over the volume and pronunciation ahead of time. 3 years ago

Four stars!

Its been over a week, and my toes still look great and my finger nails are just starting to chip and peel.

I’m usually a DIY kind of girl when it comes to beauty, but for my wedding, I got a mani/pedi. We were kept waiting about 15 minutes for our appointment, but at least they had chairs and plenty of trashy magazines for us to read while we waited.

Janny was not particularly talkative while doing my nails, and I appreciated it. The whole experience was so relaxing that I fell asleep more than once!

Salon Excursion is off the beaten path for me, but if I was in the area and wanted to treat myself, I would not hesitate to stop in again.

Oh, and I should mention that while they do accept credit cards, gratuity is cash only. 3 years ago

Five stars!

My husband and I absolutely loved working with Jon!

He is easy to get a hold of, gives feedback and direction while shooting, and is a lot of fun to be around! Reasonable rates, a la carte purchasing options, and quick turnaround time.

We enjoyed having him as our wedding photographer so much that we asked him to shoot another celebration next week! 3 years ago

Five stars!

Songhea and her crew were phenomenal at my wedding this past weekend! They played for our ceremony and then for the duration of our reception at the Hancock Building.

My husband and I found them on GigMasters.com, and we could not be happier with the service they provided. Songhea was our point of contact and was very easy to work with an extremely accommodating. For a string trio, they charged around $800 for 3.5 hours which we thought was reasonable, especially when compared to other area musicians.

I especially appreciate them learning a new song so we could walk out to “Everlong!” I would hire them again in a heartbeat for any special event! 3 years ago