Posts by gentlehound9

Roger Cooper5 said:Since this forum has been such an invaluable resource for us while living away from the Midwest, we wanted to give a quick rundown of our recent party.
The venue was Crystal, and the music was provided by the STILL band. We didn't sweat the small stuff during the planning phase—we focused entirely on two pillars: the food and the band.
The catering was excellent—truly great—though minor details are always subjective depending on individual tastes, and the service was top-notch. We’ll certainly remember the night because of the performance by STILL band; they were fantastic, and the setlist was spot on. From the moment we walked into the hall, the energy was there, especially thanks to their female vocalist—Rose (who became an instant favorite among our moms throughout the evening). Our guests were beyond satisfied, which is what matters most to me.
In short, everyone if you get the chance, go listen to them!!!
We're happy to share this if it helps anyone else—we know firsthand all the dilemmas you face when planning. :-)

Crystal Geyser in Gary, Indiana or Indianapolis?
Could you please tell me which little details you weren't happy with? We actually put down a deposit for them, so I want to know what to watch out for.

Brandon Jackson said:Greetings everyone... I am officially joining the ranks of the prospective wedding planners 😉

Well, my partner and I have finally settled on a date (May 2015), so I’ve been spending quite a bit of time reading through this forum. There is so much helpful advice and so many recommendations here, which is honestly such a relief given that we are both complete novices at this... 😍
Regarding the venue, we’ve had a positive initial response from Crystal Springs (we have a meeting scheduled for next week), but I find myself leaning toward Perdue in Des Moines as well. If anyone here has firsthand experience with them, I would truly appreciate it if you could share some details...

As for photography, I see a lot of people pointing toward the ladies over at Artes—they are currently my favorites, though the $10 $0.00 price tag for the photo and video package makes me hesitate just a little 🤷—and then there is Zoom Des Moines, plus the work coming out of the Bot studio looks quite interesting.

Our biggest dilemma right now is the band. We definitely want a group that features both male and female vocals, but we are completely drawing a blank on ideas (aside from perhaps catching Babylon when we visit our godparents in May, and maybe putting down a deposit if they're good)... I notice a lot of praise for Still and Sto Prosto, so perhaps we can try to catch one of them live...

That is all for now; I will continue to follow the threads here and soak up all the information I can... 😁

We went ahead and booked a small hall at Crystal Geyser in Belišće. We heard nothing but glowing reviews about them, except for one thing: their desserts aren't great. So, we decided we'd just order sweets from someone else.
I don't know what specifically you're looking for, so feel free to ask anything.

Oh, and hurry up. May and June are filling up fast. We put our deposit down two months ago for May 9th, 2015, and we barely managed to snag that date.

wiredfalcon3 said:That works for me..
My partner and I absolutely love it. I'm originally from the Midwest but I live in Washington, D.C. now, so we're planning to have the wedding back in the Midwest. It’s way more affordable than doing anything here in D.C....
🙂🙂🙂

We’re living in D.C. too, but since we're both from the Midwest, almost all our family is back there. That means the wedding is going to be out in the heartland. Get ready for a whole lot of endless driving back and forth. 😁

Elizabeth Phillips9 said:Hey,

New here. 🙂 Trying to lock down a band and a photographer so I can actually relax for a year before the wedding hits. 😍.
I'm looking for info on that Coca-Cola band out of Indianapolis. Anyone dealt with them? Do they play stuff that isn't just listed on their website—like some country or folk stuff? Hit me up in the DMs with prices. I'm based in Washington, D.C., but the wedding is way out in the Midwest, so I'm pretty lost on the local scene.

Any info helps.

Thanks 😁

Also, a word of advice: pick a venue first. Seriously. Don't end up like me, having to reschedule everything because you couldn't line up the hall and the band at the same time. It's a nightmare.

I don't know anything about Vigor—have you tried contacting them directly?

I've seen those makeup recommendations floating around, but they're all based in Indianapolis. Since we’re getting married up in Portland, it feels like a massive hassle to trek all the way down to Indy just for a makeup appointment.
Does anyone know a solid pro in the Portland or Savannah area?

Alexander Thompson93 said:Facebook, check out your own posts from a little bit ago!
Ugh, I feel like I'm repeating myself with every single post here! ☕

..iPhone talking..

That’s all I could find, and honestly, there weren't even any photos.

stormybear37 said:Which venue are you using for the guests?

Crystal in a Small town in the US

Keith Johnson11 said:We booked our cake and flowers about 10 months out, which was definitely enough time. As for the hair and makeup, I actually just tried to book someone 8 months ahead and found out they were already fully booked for our date... so now I'm back to searching...

Well, you probably need to start thinking about those details pretty soon too.

graniteridge6 said:I booked my Makeup and hair as early as humanly possible. To be specific—Chic Studio only just started taking reservations for this year back in December, and I jumped on it immediately, even though I would have pulled the trigger sooner if they'd been open. 😁
Our cake is actually included in the venue package, so we just need to find a wedding cake—we haven't done that yet, and neither have the flowers (we still have six months until the big day). We’re planning to tackle those within the next month.
The reason we’ve been so nonchalant about some things while being incredibly aggressive with others—like my insistence on Chic Studio and nobody else—is pretty simple: there are certain vendors we absolutely refuse to compromise on, whereas for other things—like flowers or the cake—our policy is basically "if our first choice is booked, we'll just find someone else."

If you know there is a specific person or vendor you absolutely *must* have—it is never, ever too early to book them; that was our golden rule, and that’s how we handled those specific bookings. Everything else? We're just playing it by ear. 😁

The cake might be included in our venue package too, but I've heard the food there is pretty mediocre, so we're likely going to arrange something else entirely.
We also put down deposits only for the things we were dead set on; everything else is being planned more slowly.
Does anyone know if there are photos online of the work done at Chic Studio? I tried Googling it, but I couldn't find anything. 😢

Oh, and one more thing—how far in advance do you usually finalize the venue layout (tables, decor, etc.)?

How far in advance should I be booking makeup artists, florists, cake designers, and all that good stuff?
We’ve already checked off the big essentials—like the band and the venue—but honestly, I haven't the slightest clue how early I need to start locking down everything else.

Keith Johnson11 said:It looks like I'm back with more questions 😁. Does anyone have any information regarding the lighting from https://www.facebook.com/magnuslux.osijek/? Their prices seem quite reasonable. My main concern is whether the colors might be too intense or garish. Has anyone here had any experience working with them?

I don't, but I am curious—did you happen to get a quote for how much it would run?
The lighting package at the hall where we're getting married is priced at $1000 which feels absolutely ridiculous to me. Do you happen to know if hiring independent companies like this ends up being cheaper or more expensive than the venue's own setup?

Four Sense bend

Hey ladies, if any of you have done some digging on this before, could you do me a solid? I’m looking for restaurant or venue recommendations in Indianapolis or maybe Annapolis that can comfortably fit about 120 to 150 people. Somewhere actually decent, too.

steelskipper5 said:Just scroll through the Formal Debate for a bit. ☕

That PDF never actually gained any real traction anyway.

wiredmason10, I sent a private message to both moderators and Tyndall over two months ago asking if I could start a thread for suggestions on the forum. They told me they had to touch base first.
About a month ago, I followed up to see if they’d finally reached an agreement. Nope.

You wouldn't believe how difficult it is for them to decide whether or not someone is allowed to open a single thread.

swiftcrane96 said:Look, I’ve got the time, I’ve got the motivation, and I’ve definitely got the big beard. Pick me, pick me, pick me. 🙂

And what about that permanent ban you were making such a huge, dramatic scene about just the other day? 🤣

hollowsailor48 said:You’ve got an open spot on the moderation team coming up soon, so you all better get your act together and reach a consensus 😉

I just hope whoever they pick next actually has the time and the actual desire to moderate properly.

hollowsailor48 said:It’s the same old story. You’d have the exact same people pulling the same stunts, only this time, they’d be busy pointing fingers at everyone else to cover their tracks. 😉

We both know exactly who we're talking about. 🙂

And now you're just talking absolute garbage.
Honestly, nobody would even bother making a scene if there was actually a moderator showing up on a regular basis.
If you've got a personal vendetta against someone, take it to the PMs. Don't bring that nonsense here.
Look, why don't you actually sit down and read through our posts before you start critiquing mine? It feels like your arguments aren't even rooted in logic or reality anymore—it just sounds like you're venting pure frustration.

hollowsailor48 said:Look, gentlehound9 and the rest of you, if you were popping a handful of pills for breakfast, another handful for lunch, weighing maybe 110 pounds, and dealing with a parent who can barely move along with a mountain of other real-world issues—would you honestly care more about moderating a forum or actually tackling real problems?

Why are you making this personal? Nobody called you incompetent or anything of the sort. Honestly, this is such a low blow.

If you don't have the capacity or the time, then just step away. It’ll be easier on you, and frankly, it’ll be better for us, because we clearly need someone who actually has the bandwidth and the drive to moderate.

I don't think you get it at all, and based on the replies, I don't think anyone else does either. Why on earth would people even bother responding to you if you're telling us you can't handle it and it's such a massive burden?
Good grief, we aren't monsters. Go deal with your problems, but let's be real: the garbage mods cannot just be two people who are virtually invisible because they have zero free time, overseen by a single admin. I have no idea how anyone expected the system to function like that in the first place.

Look, sorry rustydrifter10, but we’ve been watching how we phrase things for a long time now. Honestly, we're at our breaking point because people have been treating us like idiots for way too long.
I assume even you can tell we're pissed off, even if you are an admin.

hollowsailor48 said:Oh, please. gentlehound9 can justify just about anything. 😉

Look, Brandon Lopez6 was just being sarcastic. 😉

The last few days? You mean the last couple of months.