Posts by jadeotter10

silentraven18 said:Hi ladies, I’ve been reading through your posts quite a bit lately—honestly, there is just so much helpful info here.

So, my fiancé and I have decided to get married next year in October, and everything would be fine if I were actually from around his area and knew a bit more about what’s available locally. 🙂

The thing is, I’m originally from NYC, but my fiancé is from Indianapolis, so we’ve decided to hold our VK Wedding in Indianapolis.
We’re planning to both leave from the same house because we really don't want anyone—especially since we're the first ones doing this—to have to drive 200 miles on the wedding day just to follow some old tradition where I have to leave my own home.

Since we’re expecting about 300 guests (around 200 of them are mine), I could really use some solid recommendations for venues, lodging, and music (and photographers too!). About 80% of my family is coming all the way from California, so I need somewhere to put such a large group at an affordable rate—though we'll probably try to split people up among various houses as well.
Regarding venues, I’m specifically curious about what you recommend and what you definitely wouldn't. I heard recently that over at Admiral, the food refills were pretty slow, and apparently, they didn't even get the heat turned on for people during certain months... which sounds a bit iffy. Since we'll have people traveling from everywhere—the Midwest, California, and DC—I’m really interested in hearing who offers a good, diverse menu. I noticed that Laura in Ivan underwent some renovations and looks nice enough, but unfortunately, they don't seem to offer round tables at all.

Gosh, I could ask you a million other things, but this is the most pressing stuff for now. Just imagine if you had to recommend the absolute best options to someone you cared about. 😛

And please don't forget to suggest music and a photographer (does anyone have experience with Leon production out of Columbus?). Ideally, the venue should be in Indianapolis, but everything else can be from the surrounding areas.
Thanks so much!

Look, I can definitely give you a tip on photographers. Leon production is fine, but man, they charge A LOT OF MONEY! Personally, I think they're totally overpriced... I got married on May 11th and used STUDIO 69 from El Paso, and let me tell you—the photos are AMAZING! I am beyond happy. The crew was totally in sync and super relaxed. I think the most important thing for any bride is having as little stress as possible on her big day!
Here is the link to their page if you're on Facebook 😁

https://www.facebook.com/stu69dio?fref=ts

btw. here are my fiancé and I in our cover photos 🙂

mellowridge7 said:Congratulations, I wish you both nothing but happiness! 👋

Thankful 🙂

Just a little friendly advice: don't let anything get under your skin!
Live in the moment, because seriously, the day just flies by in a blink!
I started planning my wedding a year and a half early, and trust me on this—no matter how hard I worked to make everything perfect, it’s just impossible to control everything!
For instance, the guy I booked the tent from for the reception? He rented it out to someone else for a political rally just three days before the big day! And the flowers? A total gamble until the very last second. I specifically wanted peonies (which are $17/pcs), but the garden suppliers either didn't bloom enough or overdid it, so the whole decor situation was basically a surprise until Friday night :P To top it off, on Saturday, May 11th, when we were getting married around 5 PM, the weather turned absolutely insane. It was a total downpour—like, I swear it rained harder that day than it has in the last century (we had 28 liters of rain in just 10 minutes!!! plus hail!) and there was even flooding inside the church where the ceremony was held 😁
But honestly, the second my husband and I decided to go through with the wedding, I told myself right then: "I am not letting anything, and I mean ANYTHING, stress me out." And I stuck to it! It was fantastic, and I wouldn't change a single tiny detail! Just accept that you can't please everyone and things won't go exactly according to plan. Relax and enjoy every single minute!
To wrap up this little essay of mine 🙂 I want to wish you all tons of happiness, love, and God's blessings! 😍 👋

Kevin Smith7 said:Congratulations and all the best! If you don't mind me asking, which band did you hire?

The Bonus Band! And honestly, I have to admit, even though I was a little skeptical when we first booked them, they totally blew me away—not just me, but all the guests too 🙂 the guys and the girl are just fantastic, and man, the singer has an incredible voice!!! if I were ever to get married again, they’d definitely be my go-to!

mellowridge7 said:Is this procedure just for civil ceremonies? Does it not apply if there's a church wedding involved?

I had to go through all those exact same steps too... it applies to church weddings as well! You just head back about eight days after the big day to pick up your marriage certificate, and you're all set..
If you're planning a church ceremony, you just need to get everything sorted about a month ahead of time—that’s what I did....
And hey, I've been happily married for 12 days now! 🙂🙂

Hey ladies! Does anyone know where I can pick up a three-way pruning shear for rosemary in Indianapolis?
Any idea what the damage might be on my wallet?

dustytinker58 said:Has anyone here checked out or picked up any rings from the Pleroo jewelry stores? I'm curious about how their pricing looks and if the quality actually holds up.

Also, just wanted to jump back into the conversation regarding photographers from a few pages ago—I finally booked Photo Zoom, and honestly, I'm super happy with everything we've worked through so far!🙂

We actually picked up some rings at Pleroo. Super happy with them! 😁The staff is really easy to talk to, and the prices are totally fair...

Walter Harris5 said:Hi everyone, has anyone here dealt with a bonus ban before? Also, I was browsing through some photos from Kelley Studio—if anyone has firsthand experience working with them, I would truly appreciate any insight you could share. Thanks! 🙂

My big day is May 11th, so if your wedding is after mine, I can definitely give you a heads-up. You're more than welcome to come by and listen in! 🙂

Patrick Morris6 said:Thanks for the tip! They’re awesome and have plenty of availability for our dates, though they might be a little pricey, I guess. 😢
They're looking for someone for just one afternoon, I guess. $833I mean, I know they’re a solid group, but maybe it's just a bit much?
Anyone else looking? I guess since those Midwest folk musicians released their new tracks and videos, they probably hiked up their prices too. Does anyone have a lead on someone else? $500Maybe around 2000 max? I guess.

That is seriously way too much 😕. We actually have a full band providing the music, so I didn't even bother checking prices for solo folk players... but yeah, that's definitely overkill

rustyjackal26 said:Well, if you're so sure, why don't you send me a photo of yourself after she's done with your makeup?😉 Like I mentioned before, the fact that she offers house calls and can even bring her own hairstylist along is a huge plus—at least, that's what I've heard. I've looked at some of her work; some pieces were fantastic, while others felt a bit too conventional. Then again, maybe that's just what younger clients are looking for.🙂 The problem is I haven't found much of her work online, and it feels awkward to walk into a salon and demand to see a physical portfolio.🤣 Meanwhile, those girls over at Chic have a massive gallery on Facebook, and they really are 😍

The crew at Chic is absolute perfection. 😍 I was in for a trial run recently, and "satisfied" doesn't even cover it—I was BLOWN AWAY! My only warning is that they stay incredibly busy, so if you're thinking about booking them, move fast... they barely squeezed me, my bestie, and my sister-in-law in, and I was actually the third bridesmaid that Saturday! 😲

Kimberly Alvarez8 said:Hey... anyone else picked up some gear from Arizona lately—specifically bows and stabilizers? How are the prices looking? Any decent selection? Also, what else is actually worth grabbing out there?

Ugh, me too... definitely curious about this.

Patrick Morris6 said:It probably depends on if you're just giving them a heads-up or actually sending out invites. If it's official invitations, then yeah, a month or two out is fine, but otherwise, you should probably call them way earlier. Like, several months... we’re planning to start calling people for September just so we can get an actual headcount.
Also, does anyone have a recommendation for a good local bluegrass band near Indianapolis? We booked a full band, but we're still missing some backup musicians...
And btw, someone was asking about that photographer Kelley—well, we went ahead and booked them, so we'll see how it goes 🙂 They have a special deal running through the end of February, they seem pretty decent and the price is reasonable. We'll figure out the rest after the wedding...😁

For a brass band, I can definitely recommend the Boy Scouts of America. I heard them once and they were sooo good! You can find them on YouTube, go check them out 😉

loneridge93 said:Hey, does anyone happen to know where I can rent a small pop-up tent around Indianapolis? I need one for my backyard, but ideally something with a floor included. If you know any leads, let me know 😁

Ever checked at Walmart? I heard Vigor might have some for rent too... Maybe ask 🙂

loneridge93 said:I really like how Helen does makeup, and Mary is great too 🙂 They're both super nice and easy to work with.

So, who are these girls actually? Like, do they work at a local salon or just do private gigs?

northernseal15 said:They did some photography and video for my friends' weddings... honestly, they were pretty pricey and didn't really blow anyone away. They take on way too many gigs, so you end up waiting forever for your photos. They do music videos (like "General Danger") and weddings, etc. My friends waited months for their pictures and DVDs—maybe even a whole year. There was so much arguing and endless emailing. Apparently, the boss was away, and the crew ended up drinking too much, so they barely took any actual shots. For a while, there was nothing at all, just random photos of people partying rather than the family. The short DVD was actually well-made, about an hour and a half, plus a short highlight clip. The bride was losing her mind trying to get the photo DVD so she could print them herself, but after all those months, the photos weren't even edited yet... nothing. All in all, they get the job done, and maybe they've finally scaled back how much work they take on...

Thanks for the input! I haven't heard much about them personally, mostly just people giving recommendations... but I checked out their Facebook page and watched their short clips, and man, I am LOVING everything I see!
Do you happen to know what their pricing looks like?

Hey everyone!

I’ve been lurking on this forum for a while now, but I finally decided to officially sign up.
There is so much great info being shared here, so I wanted to see if anyone has worked with the photographers over at Memphis Studio 69?

Any insight would be awesome!!