Written by Katie – Planning a wedding is supposed to be a fun and exciting time for a bride to put all of her dreams into the perfect day. However it is entirely a different matter when you are planning the wedding of your dreams from another state! Even before getting engaged we always knew that the wedding would be in Cleveland. Knowing this we had to pick vendors that would understand the challenges of planning from afar, that were quick to respond to anything that we needed, and ultimately who we would connect with us throughout the planning process and day of the wedding!
Our journey started with deciding to hold our ceremony and reception at Windows on the River. I cannot say enough praises for the entire hard working staff that made our day so magical! From our first meeting with Kathy Lewis, she ensured us through every step of the planning process that all our needs would be met. She went above and beyond the call of duty to arrange zoom meetings with my family and I to do a walk through to envision decorations I wanted, to being extremely responsive to any question we had. Weeks later I am still hearing praises about how beautiful the venue was, how amazing the dining service is, and the incredible dishes that were served throughout the night!
Our next endeavor was to find the perfect DJ to ensure the party continued throughout the night. It happens that we met Shaughn Gillihan, C-Town Entertainment while touring Windows on the River with my family. We were very impressed with the set up and his easy going personality. After setting up a consultation to discuss the process and prices, we were sold! Shaughn made the process so streamlined! From his user-friendly platform where we could access every aspect of our wedding, to his adaptability during the wedding when my father decided to throw in an unexpected toast, Shaughn did a magnificent job navigating the order of events!
To ensure that my family could enjoy the day, I decided to hire a wedding coordinator to carry out my wishes and make sure everything was taken care of. After researching several coordinators I ended on April Skuhrovec from Believeland Weddings. We set up a phone call to discuss her planning process and we instantly clicked! She was on top of every check-in phone call leading up to the wedding and reminding me of things I still needed to complete. When my train became extremely dirty after pictures before the ceremony, April came to the rescue with Tide wipes to remove lingering dirt before I walked down the aisle! She was a superhero that day! I cannot say enough about April and how effortlessly she executed all of my wishes.
While attending the 2021 Bridal Show at the IX center is where I first met John Paul Studios. After spending a whole day chatting with other photographers, John and Adele ultimately made me feel comfortable in their presence and allowed me to express what we were looking for in a videographer and photographer. John and Adele’s entire team was so kind and engaging with our family and friends throughout the day. Even when the bridal party was running behind on time they were able to get us back on track to enjoy the day and get all the photos we wanted. We are so appreciative of all the hard work they put into capturing our special day and ensuring they snapped tiniest of details. We are so looking forward to reliving our magical day through our wedding video!
The timeless elegance of the ceremony and reception wouldn’t have been complete without our extraordinary and talented florist! Botamer’s Florist was recommended to me after my efforts of calling up local florists to inquire about wedding arrangements. After connecting with Amy and Connie, I felt very at home. These two ladies are the sweetest and kindest people to work with and make sure they deliver your vision. From our zoom chats to discuss my dream wish list to our final meeting of inspecting my flowers they made me feel so special. Even when I lost my grandmother months prior to my wedding, they were able to make her corsage for me to give to her earlier. I cannot highly recommend Botamer’s Florist enough and the incredible work they do!
Lastly I would like to give a shout out to the incredible team at Aloft Cleveland Downtown! For couples looking for a wonderful space to create a room block for your guest, look no further! Amanda Taylor is your go to super women! I spoke to so many hotels about room blocks and Amanda was the only one to invite me to come down to take a tour and chat about what they could offer our guests. She went above and beyond the call of duty when she booked the hotel shuttle not only to transport our bridal party to and from rehearsal but also for our wedding guest as well! She took an immense amount of stress off my shoulders and assisted with anything I needed the day of the wedding! Also another shout out to Lago Custom Events bridal suite coordinator Corina Rivera! She made my bridal suite so beautiful and even put out the food an hour earlier for us girls to munch on throughout the morning. I am extremely grateful for all the hard work and energy she spent making my morning super magical
