Louisiana-New Orleans

vendor reviews

Reception- Pat O's on the River- LOVED the location and the views of the city.  We got good reviews on the food and of course everyone loved the full bar (which was something we really wanted).  They were easy to work with and handled any issues that came up that night.  I didnt' have to worry about a thing.
Church- St Louis Cathedral- worth all the trouble you have to book/get in touch with them. They're experts at weddings and everything ran perfectly.  Of course the church is beautiful...we didn't even put flowers in the church and it looked great.
Rehearsal- Ralpha and Kaccos- they were great and let us customize our menu and our bar.  We had four options that our guests could pick from and kids were able to order from the resturant's kids menu.  I can't say enough about how flexible and accomodating they were.
Photographer- Sandra O'Claire- she did our engagements and we loved them, still waiting on the wedding pictures but she and her assistant, Sam, took a ton of pictures.  she arrived at 2pm for our 7pm wedding to get lots of getting ready/formal shots before the wedding. Sam met with the boys pre wedding and got before shots of them takien care of.  Everything was organized and she got all the pictures I listed for her to get without interupting us having fun. I can't wait to see the finished product.
Videographer- Kirk at One Louder.  I'm picking up the video today (took about two weeks) the teaser looked great and he did a vido for a friend's wedding which I loved.  I'm excited to see it.
DJ- Rick at Decades Music- they have an online form that you can fill out for all your song likes and dislikes which was great.  My only "complaint" is that a lot of the songs I thought would be played at the end of the night were played really early before we could get to the dance floor and enjoy them (like Ying Yang Twins halftime and a few other songs that I think of as end of the night songs).  He kept the party going though and the dance floor was packed all night.
Flowrs- Cara at Escapes flowers- great! I gave her a really vague description of what i wanted and pictures of the dresses and the flowers were beautiful.  She was very reasonable, we paid just over 1K for 10 bridesmaids, my bouquet, a throw away, flowes for Mary, and flowers for moms, grandmothers and grandfathers (the boys used pocket squares and reception flowers were in our package).  She's not widely used so her contact info is cara@escapesflowers.com and caravalez@cox .net.
Limo- Big Easy on time, clean and nice limo.
Hotel to get ready- Bourbon Orleans- we got the bilevel suite for me and my 10 bridesmaids and mom to get ready, we had plenty of space and the pictures on the balcony were awesome.  I requested the corner suite (it's closer to the cathedral and the balcony was larger) which I was able to get.  Of course the location can't be beat for a wedding at the Cathedral.
Hair/Makeup- Flawless Bride- I know there are a lot of debates on this board about Heather but I never had any issues with her.  She was always responsive to emails/phone calls and she was on time for the wedding with no issues.  Everyone looked great and my hair/makeup lasted through all the dancing.  We were ready early and everyone seemed really happy with their looks.
Cakes- Haydel's we did a king cake grooms tiered grooms cake and my bridal cake from Haydels.  They were beautiful and tasted great.  If you go on a Saturday to pick out your cake be prepared to wait a little bit before they get to you but other than that they're easy to work with.
Second line band- Storyville Stompers- on time, sounded great and it was a wonderful way to get the party started.
Invites and favors- Szabos we did simple invites and "to go cups" for favors.  Less expensive than Gems, quick and everything looked great
Bridal Gown- Pearl's Place...i hate that I gave them my money...horrible customer service after you purchase the dress (alterations/bridesmaids dresses etc).  Takes forever to get anyone to help you and then you feel rushed.  The plus side is I loved my gress.  I took it to Danny at the Golden Needle in Baton Rouge to alter and he worked absolute magic!  He really takes the time to alter the dress the way that suits you.  He added boning in the dress and two bustles so it would stay better...LOVED him.
Bridesmaid Dresses- Bustles and Bows---love them!  They were a little more expensive than Pearl's place but they offered to match the price pearl's place gave me.  Much more friendly to work with.  Everyone's dresses were great and on time.  I got my veil and my mom get her dress from them as well.
Tuxedos- John's Tuxedos- Great to work with, they customized the exact look my husband wanted and were able to deal with a last minute ring bearer issue.

I also used Etsy for random things like the ring bearer pillow and garter. Sellers were RomancingJuliet, Primele, HeartNSole, Angelynn, florriemitton.
Save the date magnets were from vista print.  We put them inside a matching card that we got from them as well...they came out really cute and were inexpensive. The only down side is they can take a while so be sure to order early.
We used LCI paper adn Invitation Consultants for some other stationary/invitation needs.  Everything came out great.
Bridesmaid gifts were a bag from Old Navy, flip flops from Old Navy and earrings a friend made.
Groomsmen gifts were from Bass Pro Shops (ice chests)
Rings were from Aucoin Hart...I swear their store is like heaven.

I honestly would recomend any of the vendors we used to others...we had a wonderful wedding with no major issues. we were truly blessed!

Re: vendor reviews

  • mabezanmabezan member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Thank you, it's great to hear reviews! We are also having our reception at Pat O's on the river and I can't wait.
  • edited December 2011
    i love danny to

    www.mromag1.weebly.com
  • fatgirlboofatgirlboo member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    i get a little worried sometimes about st. louis cathedral since they really are hard to get in touch with, but its good to hear that everything turned out well for you!
  • edited December 2011
    the cathedral can be a pain at first, but once your wedding date gets closer they're great to work with...they're just busy i guess but no compaints in the end ! I loved Kevin
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