I hired Simone Endres of Je T’aime Weddings (her company) to plan my October 11, 2008 wedding in Corolla, North Carolina. She was very attentive and helpful until my fiance and I met her in June and paid her $1,000. After that, I did not hear much from her — and soon I did not hear anything at all. I actually thought she was sick or something bad had happened, so I called her home and asked her husband to call me. After that, she emailed me apologizing saying she was very busy planning other weddings. I was pretty angry. I had been completely ignored for over three weeks at this point, and I was depending on her to help me get my vendors lined up for my October wedding. Obviously in June I did not have a lot of time to waste.

In short, I fired Simone. She’s fairly new to the Outer Banks (from New York) and I don’t think she is as experienced as she claims. I am very unhappy with her services and very unhappy that she offered me absolutely no refund, not even partial. This was a blow to our wedding budget and it was a big mistake on my part for not researching her more before I hired her. I hope others will not make the same mistake and I absolutely do not recommend her.

Link to Vendor’s Site: Je T’aime Weddings — Simone Endres
Date of Service: June 2008
Vendor Location: Outer Banks, NC
Vendor Recommended: No

Working with Aimee of Creative Montage was the most stress free and pleasant experience that I ever had with any vendor. I came to her on a serious time crunch because my previous stationer could not provide the services she promised and I had to let her go 2 weeks before my invitations had to go out. Talk about a major panic having to search for another stationer that can produce quality work with barely any time… When I contacted Aimee she responded promptly and within a day she had quite a few designs for me to choose from that went perfectly with my venetian masquerade theme wedding reception. Please go to her works in progress page and take a look under “McClinton”. She designed my invitation suite, programs, menus, table numbers and thank you tags. Creative Montage not only designed all of this, but delivered all so that I was able to send out my invitations on time. Each piece of her design was so elegant and completely gorgeous that I couldn’t wait to use them. I’ve gotten rave reviews on the invitations and I have had a lot of people call and ask me who did I use as my stationer. A lot of people kept the programs and everything as keepsakes. I give my highest recommendation to Creative Montage because not only do you get quick and courteous service. You receive a product with such great quality, that you will be receiving compliments over and over again. Thank you Creative Montage for helping make the wedding of our dreams.

Link to Vendor’s Site: Creative Montage
Date of Service: June-August 2008
Vendor Recommended: Yes

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I contacted Miriam of LimoncelloSTYLE about designing my invitations for my wedding. After a preliminary email about my budget and logistical issues, Miriam and I connected via telephone. Instantly it was like talking to an old friend. Miriam quickly understood my vision, mainly by being able to ask me the right questions. She inquired about colors, decorations, my wedding gown- things I wouldn’t have thought mattered for my invitations. A week later I received three mock-up designs via email and I was blown away. All three designs were visual statements of my vision for my wedding. After deciding on a design, wording and numbers Miriam had the finished product shipped to me within a week. Miriam even sent me photos of the progress she was making, so I could feel involved 2000 miles away! I was impressed by her designs, her courtesy, her prices, everything she had to offer. I will be using Miriam again for personalized cards and announcments!

Link to Vendor’s Site: LimoncelloSTYLE
Date of Service: July, 2008
Vendor Location: MA
Vendor Recommended: Yes

Aimee at creative montage is incredible! I worked with her on my wedding invitations, placecards, and thank you cards, and a wedding newsletter with info for out of town guests. I could not have been happier. Right from the start she “got” the look I wanted for the wedding and was able to create clever, unique designs that fit my theme perfectly. She always worked quickly, and could come up with a variety of choices for me to pick from which I found really helpful. I live abroad, and it was ideal to have an online format to view her work and any changes she made (based on my suggestions) immediately. What’s more, she was willing to work with me and my budget and was happy for me to do some of the printing myself where it made sense- saving me money and making me very happy! I got so many compliments on the various parts of the stationery- I can’t recommend Creative Montage highly enough!

Link to Vendor’s Site: Creative Montage
Date of Service: May-August 2008
Vendor Recommended: Yes

There are not enough words to describe the awesomeness that is of Courtney at Flush Designs. At first, I really didn’t care much when it came to the invitation aspect of the wedding since all I thought that was out there were the typical pastel, floral patterns, and cursive lettering which all are not my style. I didn’t think there would be a designer that would understand my desire to have a creative and unique wedding invite. But after meeting with Courtney, she got me excited about everything paper. She really was able to grasp me and my hubby’s personality and design aesthetics and brilliantly incorporated all of that into her designs. She would take my ideas and run with them and the result would turn out even better than I imagined. She was able to tie our design theme throughout our entire wedding which all my guests took notice and were impressed. The invites alone, all my guests were so blown away on how original and creative they looked but also commented on how the invites really reflected our personalities. So mission accomplished! She was so easy and fun to work with - probably the best aspect my husband and I enjoyed the most from the entire planning process. I would highly recommend - if you’re looking for something simple to something out of the box, Courtney has an amazing talent that delivers! (insert bowing down motion here.)

Link to Vendor’s Site: Flush Designs
Date of Service: October 2007 - August 2008
Vendor Location: Pasadena, CA
Vendor Recommended: Yes

I absolutely cannot say enough about our photographers. They were outstanding and so creative!! We had Jeremy as our head photographer and he immediately clicked with both my husband and I. They really take the time to sit down and listen to what you are looking for. They also scouted our venue and found the best locations for all our shots. We also had a crazy large Irish family, but yet it did not faze them. They worked through all the craziness (yes, even crazy peacocks running amok during our ceremony) and every photo was so beautiful.

Link to Vendor’s Site: StudioThisIs
Date of Service: 5/25/2008
Vendor Location: Valparaiso, IN
Vendor Recommended: Yes

Laura was such a treat to work with and has such beautiful vision. In one sitdown session with me, she immediately knew what I was looking for and had a ton of suggestions. I am thrilled to say that I took her up on using peonies for our bouquets, because they were stunning. She was the perfect florist for me, because she worked with me on staying within my budget, but gave us gorgeous flowers.

Link to Vendor’s Site: Fiore Couture
Date of Service: 5-25-08
Vendor Location: Frankfort, IL
Vendor Recommended: Yes

Erin and Nicole at Bird and Banner designed by daughter’s invitations and they are everything she was hoping for. Her wedding is going to be in October at the Hyatt Lodge in Oak Brook, Illinois which is located right in the middle of a forest perserve. She wanted an invitation to reflect a warm and cozy feeling which they did perfectly. They are letterpressed and tied together with vintage buttons and yarn. They are spectacular

Link to Vendor’s Site: Bird and Banner
Date of Service: August 1998
Vendor Location: Philadelphia
Vendor Recommended: Yes

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At the strong recommendation of my fantastic wedding coordinator, I hired Courtney Keefe of Flush Designs to create my wedding invitations and all corresponding stationery for my wedding on August 2, 2008. I’m so glad I did, because everything turned out exactly (well, probably better) as I had hoped and imagined. Stationery was very important to me but I couldn’t afford to pay an arm and a leg for it. Courtney was so sweet and was able to work with my budget, while delivering absolutely stunning materials. The invites were unique and a huge hit with our guests, same with our escort cards, table numbers, and especially programs! They were BEAUTIFUL! It was so nice to work with Courtney too - because she runs such a small operation, everything was very personal. You feel like you’re working more with a friend than a “vendor”. She’s always readily available, and returns emails and calls very quickly. Lastly, she is ridiculously creative! It’s great. I remember emailing her to find out if she had any “creative” or “out-of-the-ordinary” ideas on how to display my escort cards and I got a list of 10+ awesome ideas! These were the little touches that helped to make my wedding very personal and unique, so I can’t thank her enough.

Link to Vendor’s Site: Flush Designs
Date of Service: Feb 2008 - Aug 2008
Vendor Location: Pasadena, CA
Vendor Recommended: Yes

La Dolce Vita Studio is an excellent vendor to use for any photography needs. I used them for my engagement and wedding photographers, and our pictures came out absolutely BEAUTIFUL! They are very unique in their shooting, which makes your pictures stand out from the rest. I can’t wait to use them again! Their shoots are fun and enjoyable!

Link to Vendor’s Site: La Dolce Vita Studio
Date of Service: 06-28-08
Vendor Location: Jacksonville, Florida
Vendor Recommended: Yes