Everything you need for a Midwest wedding

granitesurfer18 said:Hi everyone. Has anyone here held a wedding reception at the Perkins venue in Indianapolis, or perhaps attended a wedding there? I need to know what the experience is actually like. What are the impressions? Looking for some honest feedback. Thanks in advance.

The venue itself is top-notch; my cousin had her wedding there recently...
The service felt a bit sluggish at times, though they eventually got everything sorted,
The food was excellent, and honestly, there were plenty of good options to choose from...

amberheron3 said:Has anyone here tried designing their own wedding invitations and thank-you notes? I was wondering if there are any good places to find supplies for that. Also, I've had people suggest traveling over to some cheaper areas out west to plan the wedding, but I'm not really feeling that idea, even if prices are lower there. Has anyone actually done that?

And how exactly would you even get them back across the border...?😢

boldcrane143 said:I suggest looking into Krizmanic photography out of Indianapolis. Their recent portfolio is quite impressive, and honestly, they caught me by surprise; their work is top-tier without being overpriced.

"Top-tier" is a pretty subjective term. There are plenty, plenty, plenty of better photographers out there.

Hey ladies!
I’ve been reading through the threads here and saw someone mentioned they already have a hall booked at Perdue over in Des Moines for September. I was wondering if that girl might be able to tell me what the booking situation looks like for August... are things already looking pretty full? We’re hoping to host something there too, but we won't actually start our serious search until after New Year's Day since we're currently living in Germany. My big worry right now is whether we'll miss out on a free date entirely... what do you all think? Is it cutting it too close to wait until early next year to start planning everything out and getting all our reservations locked in? Thanks!

Chloe Hughes5 said:Hey ladies!
I’ve been reading through the threads here and saw someone mentioned they already have a hall booked at Perdue over in Des Moines for September. I was wondering if that girl might be able to tell me what the booking situation looks like for August... are things already looking pretty full? We’re hoping to host something there too, but we won't actually start our serious search until after New Year's Day since we're currently living in Germany. My big worry right now is whether we'll miss out on a free date entirely... what do you all think? Is it cutting it too close to wait until early next year to start planning everything out and getting all our reservations locked in? Thanks!

Look, we checked out Mimi instead of Perdue, but they are just as busy.
The situation was this: back in February, we looked at dates for next September, and every single Saturday in August and September was already taken. Maybe a Friday was still open. They get incredibly crowded. However, they are building a new hall right next to Perdue—supposedly it holds up to 1,000 people. Apparently, they aren't even taking reservations until New Year's Day. I heard that, but I can't guarantee it. As for Perdue, I would suggest calling them just to ask.🙂

granitesurfer18 said:Can anyone recommend a solid wedding photographer out in the Midwest? Doesn't matter what city they're based in.

I had a great experience with a duo out of Des Moines. Their work is solid. You get plenty of shots and the pricing is fair—certainly better than what I've heard some women paying lately.

Angela Davis74 said:Look, we checked out Mimi instead of Perdue, but they are just as busy.
The situation was this: back in February, we looked at dates for next September, and every single Saturday in August and September was already taken. Maybe a Friday was still open. They get incredibly crowded. However, they are building a new hall right next to Perdue—supposedly it holds up to 1,000 people. Apparently, they aren't even taking reservations until New Year's Day. I heard that, but I can't guarantee it. As for Perdue, I would suggest calling them just to ask.🙂

Thanks for the advice, Angela Davis74! I'll give them a ring and see what other options we have left. Also, I was wondering what everyone thinks about the band SiriusXM?

boldcrane143 said:So, here is the situation... I have been considering making the party favors myself for quite some time now. It might not seem like such a massive undertaking for a group of 600 people if someone actually had the spare time available.
However, between my various daily responsibilities, I simply cannot find a moment to sit down and get them done.
I did hear a rumor that that specific woman over in Ivankov also makes these favors. But then I overheard a price point of roughly $1.50 -$0.67 per unit!
Is that even remotely realistic? Hmm...

Anyway, I just sent you a PM about the party favors.
Bye👋

We settled on the Still band for the music. We caught them playing at a few different venues, which was honestly my biggest concern at this stage.
Now, I can say I’m genuinely thrilled with the choice. They’re fantastic, but I should mention that compared
to the other groups we reached out to (like Twist Off, Vigor, or Major League), their rates are significantly more reasonable.
The cost of live entertainment is what really caught me off guard; everything feels so inflated and overpriced lately, but seriously,
where does it all end?

Hey there, future brides and lovely ladies 😍, so I’m officially starting my hunt for a wedding dress, and I was wondering if anyone knows where I can find Pronovias or San Patrick gowns around St. Louis or the surrounding area? I have this specific vision in my head—I actually found exactly what I'm looking for in some of their Broche and Nerveo models...

Thanks for any help 😉

Noah King33 said:Hey there, future brides and lovely ladies 😍, so I’m officially starting my hunt for a wedding dress, and I was wondering if anyone knows where I can find Pronovias or San Patrick gowns around St. Louis or the surrounding area? I have this specific vision in my head—I actually found exactly what I'm looking for in some of their Broche and Nerveo models...

Thanks for any help 😉

Check out Isabelle's boutique on Michigan Avenue.. near the Magnificent Mile..
They have a great selection and the prices aren't bad.. if I hadn't been set on Maggie Sottero, I would have gone there for sure..

Angela Davis74 said:I had a great experience with a duo out of Des Moines. Their work is solid. You get plenty of shots and the pricing is fair—certainly better than what I've heard some women paying lately.

Angela Davis74, please don't take this personally, but I happened to see some of the work from those Zoom video guys over in Des Moines recently, and I just can't bring myself to agree with you. I'm really not one to criticize people's work, but what I saw was honestly a bit of a disaster—not to mention that stolen footage right at the start of the video.
That said, I suppose you could say there's a buyer for everything, and from what I hear, they aren't asking for much money. But still, I can't help but feel that since a wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime event, there shouldn't be any "do-overs" or second takes. You really ought to put a little more effort into creating something meant to last... you know, forever.

I hope you won't hold my comment against you; it's just my honest opinion based on what I actually witnessed.

Best,

Hey everyone, I totally messed up my booking with Leon Productions 😠😠
Does anyone have solid recommendations for photo & video crews out in the Midwest?

Anthony Stewart8 said:Angela Davis74, please don't take this personally, but I happened to see some of the work from those Zoom video guys over in Des Moines recently, and I just can't bring myself to agree with you. I'm really not one to criticize people's work, but what I saw was honestly a bit of a disaster—not to mention that stolen footage right at the start of the video.
That said, I suppose you could say there's a buyer for everything, and from what I hear, they aren't asking for much money. But still, I can't help but feel that since a wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime event, there shouldn't be any "do-overs" or second takes. You really ought to put a little more effort into creating something meant to last... you know, forever.

I hope you won't hold my comment against you; it's just my honest opinion based on what I actually witnessed.

Best,

Regarding pricing... everyone in that area charges roughly the same. I have no intention of paying $10 $0.00 or more for photos.
I have nothing against you. They filmed weddings for several of my friends, and everything was excellent. Look, it's the same everywhere: if you know the boss, you might get better service. That might be a factor. Regardless, based on my experience, I am satisfied, and they will be filming my events. It is all relative. It is like having a great dentist who fails one filling; suddenly, they are incompetent. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. If the photos you saw were bad, then they were bad. In my experience, every photo I saw was perfect. 🙂

For anyone actually looking for advice—and look, I have nothing against the vendors who absolutely nailed their weddings—I’ve been hearing some pretty bad things lately. There's this photography studio out of a small town in the Midwest, Viki, and the feedback is brutal. One groom was telling me they didn't capture a single shot of the wedding cake being brought into the hall, nor did they get anything during the exit from the church. The video footage? Just tragic. It's mostly just someone filming straight ahead before suddenly whipping the camera up toward the ceiling. Total disaster. 👎

It isn't overpriced, though. I actually stopped by a local shop to ask about their rates for photo and video packages $1.50

Then there's Rahela Photography, also based out of that same area, charging around $5,000 $2.50. But apparently, the number of photos you get is basically tied to how many guests show up—and she mentioned they don't even shoot inside the reception hall, at least that's what I heard 😠

Justin Martinez3 said:For anyone actually looking for advice—and look, I have nothing against the vendors who absolutely nailed their weddings—I’ve been hearing some pretty bad things lately. There's this photography studio out of a small town in the Midwest, Viki, and the feedback is brutal. One groom was telling me they didn't capture a single shot of the wedding cake being brought into the hall, nor did they get anything during the exit from the church. The video footage? Just tragic. It's mostly just someone filming straight ahead before suddenly whipping the camera up toward the ceiling. Total disaster. 👎

It isn't overpriced, though. I actually stopped by a local shop to ask about their rates for photo and video packages $1.50

Then there's Rahela Photography, also based out of that same area, charging around $5,000 $2.50. But apparently, the number of photos you get is basically tied to how many guests show up—and she mentioned they don't even shoot inside the reception hall, at least that's what I heard 😠

Honestly, it is just terrible what some people are doing in this industry. They refuse to take certain shots or film during the reception, and what kind of professional approach is that? It's like, "I'll photograph half of it and you guys just figure out the rest..." It's an absolute disaster.
If that's the case, these people aren't even taking their jobs seriously at all. 😲

Justin Martinez3 said:For anyone actually looking for advice—and look, I have nothing against the vendors who absolutely nailed their weddings—I’ve been hearing some pretty bad things lately. There's this photography studio out of a small town in the Midwest, Viki, and the feedback is brutal. One groom was telling me they didn't capture a single shot of the wedding cake being brought into the hall, nor did they get anything during the exit from the church. The video footage? Just tragic. It's mostly just someone filming straight ahead before suddenly whipping the camera up toward the ceiling. Total disaster. 👎

It isn't overpriced, though. I actually stopped by a local shop to ask about their rates for photo and video packages $1.50

Then there's Rahela Photography, also based out of that same area, charging around $5,000 $2.50. But apparently, the number of photos you get is basically tied to how many guests show up—and she mentioned they don't even shoot inside the reception hall, at least that's what I heard 😠

I wonder why they don't let you take photos in the hall...🤷 I think you might have misread the situation... I’ve seen the photos from their wedding and they look totally standard, just like any other venue at a regular price, so there's no way they were paying some special premium just for shots inside the hall. And that whole thing about having "one photo per guest" makes zero sense to me either, since these places usually just offer different packages where you decide exactly how many prints and what kind of shots you want to go with...

I can't believe I actually found this thread... just when I thought I'd seen everything on this board. Pronovias has some new styles in stock at the local boutique now, and I actually spotted some St. Patrick pieces earlier today over at the mall in Indianapolis... though, I have to tell you, I tried that Nerveo stuff recently and it was honestly a bit of a letdown. Maybe it just wasn't right for me, who knows...

So, about a month or two ago, I reached out to a local photographer to get some info on pricing, packages, and how many shots they usually include. She was being all sweet and "customer service friendly," telling me that yes, every package comes with a set number of photos—but then she drops this gem: she says they don't shoot inside the reception hall, and when I asked her roughly how many photos they actually take during a wedding, she just goes, "Well, one for every guest." Um, okay? Who knows... maybe she was just some rookie, or maybe she was a little too high on something else entirely.????????

frozengull0, when was this wedding you saw photos from?

It happened back in May... and honestly, I don't think it's anything to do with mental capacity. It just makes zero sense to me that they aren't allowed to take photos once they're actually in the hall; the whole thing feels completely absurd, because if they're filming, why wouldn't they be taking pictures too? It would almost make more sense—though I know that sounds vague—if they said no photos were allowed before entering the room, rather than waiting until they arrive to start snapping away, and with this many guests, there are just so many shots being taken... I mean, back in the Midwest, we have weddings with 400 or 500 people, and how on earth is one kid supposed to manage 400 or 500 individual photos without losing it... I have no idea what else to say, maybe they're all just on something...😂

Has anyone heard anything about the Zen ballroom over in Memphis? It’s a relatively new venue and looks quite stunning from the photos... I was wondering if anyone could speak to the quality of their service or how they handle their event organization? Thanks!