After MANY requests for this and a few years under my belt I feel that I am finally ready to have a post dedicated to those vendors whom I LOVE to work with.  Believe it or not, this post has been in my draft folder for over a year!  I will revisit this from time to time as I return and work places or find new vendors to add to this list.  If someone isn’t on my list, it isn’t necessarily because I don’t recommend them, I just only feel comfortable vouching for vendors that I have worked with (depending on the type of vendor, I prefer multiple times!) and can vouch for.

Bakery
Cupid Cupcakery – Oh my gosh.  SO SO SO good.  I can’t even describe how delicious they are.  I first had these delicious cupcakes for Kristin and Jacob’s wedding and have had them a few times since.  Trust me, they are amazing!  April is also pretty awesome and I’m not recommending her just because she’s a past client!

West Side Bakery – If we would have got married locally, I guarantee that they would have been making our cake.  Instead they made my sister-in-law’s baby shower cake and have been behind some of my favorite cakes at weddings.

Wild Flour Bakery – When I tasted Heidi’s cake, the first thing that came to mind was unmelted ice cream.  Since then, every single bite of a piece of their cake that I manage to sneak a nibble of has equalled or surpassed that first delectable bite.  Yum!

Band
The Sellouts – So here’s a thing you don’t know about weddings.  Bands are notorious for eating ALL of the food in the vendor room and not leaving any for the photographers.  This was the first band I ever worked with that actually REFUSED their meals and gave them to me and my assistant before they’d take theirs.  They won my heart RIGHT there.  THEN!  They were amazing.  If I ever have an event that requires music I guarantee you I’m hiring them in a second.  Tracy and Dan loved them and I promise you will too – especially if you are a child of the 80’s! 

Shout – When you can make my husband, whom is the biggest music snob ever, stop, stare and whip out his iPhone to record the music you KNOW it’s a good band.  He STILL, two years later, raves about this band!!  I must confess, they were quite fantastic and the floor was PACKED all night long.  Erin and Tony sure chose well when they picked this band!

Special Request – Another fantastic band that won my heart when they made sure I had food before they did.  However when I heard them play, they were my new favorite friends.  They also were willing assistants when I was shooting Lawren and Mike’s wedding rings!  Win! 

Catering
Spice of Life Catering – not only is their food and presentation amazing, but they are such a pleasure to work with!  Trust me, their food though is AMAZING.  To see a sample of just how amazing take a glimpse at Alyssa and Jon’s wedding.

DJ
Jeff with Rock the House – Jeff seriously made me smile so, so much.   You will be hard pressed to find someone that is much more easy going, fun and just a blast to work with.  The floor for Marshall & Colleen was jam packed all night long and much of that was thanks to Jeff and his amazing skills.

John from The DJ Crew – John and I have worked quite a few events together and he’s been a lifesaver a few times.  He’s the consumate professional and has always been one to bring the party up a notch.  He’s a joy to be around and that joy floats to the floor whenever he’s working.

Florist
Blooms by Plantscaping – Heidi was the first wedding I worked with Arne and his talented staff and I’ve worked with him many times over the years.  I still dream about Jillian’s amazing peony bouquet.

Prestige Floral – Tina is so fun to work with, I do a happy dance when I know she’s going to be working with me.  Her flowers always take my breath away and she is such an artist.  I still swoon a bit when I look at the roses at each place setting at Tracy’s wedding and Sarah‘s flowers are still some of my favorite works of floral art EVER.

Makeup Artist
J Kelly Face Art – Jason is the BEST makeup artist around.  He’s the bees knees and when I find out a client has hired him for makeup the day of the wedding, I jump for joy as I know my brides will look fabulous!  Meghan, Kristin, Rachel, Kelli and Colleen are just a few of the brides he’s worked with of mine.

Kajal by Kimberly – Kimberly is so awesome and is amazing at what she does.  She and Jason worked together at MAC so it only makes sense that they are my two top picks for makeup artistry!  I still hear raves about Alyssa’s amazing makeup.

Stationery
Print Julep – Katie is a past client but she’s also just freaking amazing at her job.  I fell in love with her when I saw her amazing work at Carla and Craig’s wedding and Katie’s own wedding was even more jaw dropping.  Check out her cake toppers!

Venue
Lantern Court at Holden Arboretum – home to my FAVORITE favorite favorite aisle of all of the aisles I have photographed.  You can take alternate routes to the altar they have here but WHY?!?

Stan Hywet – I know, it’s really popular but it is with good reason.  You’ll be hard pressed to find a more beautiful ceremony location in the Akron/Canton area.  The birch alee and the flower gardens are two of my most favorite locations to shoot at and with good reason.  Oh and my Dad did a lot of the lighting and electrical goodies here back in the 80’s so it’s an extra reason why I love it here.

Videography
Focus on You –  It’s hard not to love Bob & Krista because they are just fantastic people.  They are so easy to be around and just good people.  Beyond that though, they are fab because they work WITH photographers and not against us.  Trust me, you want your photographer & videographer to have that kind of friendship the day of.  If it becomes a battle of wills over who gets “the shot” everyone loses.  They are awesome to be in the trenches with and get what’s going on.

RAD – I know right?  I’m not supposed to be recommending my competition but seriously, after the intro video for Colleen and Marshall (can’t wait to see more from that day!) I was stunned and amazed by their work.  The camera guys were easy peasy to work with and we all got along great 🙂

Wedding Planning
Heidzillas – Heidi may be the only bride that has ever intimidated the crap out of me.  Seriously.  SHE CAME WITH A BINDER AND SPREADSHEETS!  Scary stuff I’m telling you, especially my first year out.  However, her wedding was flawless and much of that was due to her amazing organizational skills and planning.  Since then I’ve watched her go from a weekend warrior at day-of coordinating to running a full time business with her own crew of ‘zillas (whom are all fab ladies).  She’s awesome and when I work a wedding with Heidzillas, I know the day is going to be amazing like it was for Svetlana and Sandor, Codi and Joe, Jillian and Kevin, Jennifer and Todd, Erin and Tony, Erica and Aaron and Colleen and Marshall (I’m sure I’m forgetting someone…).