Hello and congrats to all NOLA brides and grooms! I just got married on 1/15/11 and absolutely LOVED all of my vendors! I planned everything from out of town without a wedding planner and it was so easy thanks to all of my wonderful vendors! Everything came together on our big day and we were lucky enough not to have one single problem! Any questions please let me know!
Hotels--The Westin Canal Place--We had rooms blocked off for all of our guests at the Westin. They were great about reserving a block of rooms for our guests and guaranteed a river view for everyone. We ended up having more guests than the original number we blocked off and they were happy to open more rooms up for the wedding rate. Both of our parents were upgraded to suites and my husband and I received one free night in the honeymoon suite after the wedding. Since we were out of town bride/groom, we arrived a few days early with family. We were showered with wine and champagne when we arrived and met personally with the wedding coordinator for the hotel who assured us she would be available for anything during our stay. The rooms were great and everyone got their river view!
The Sheraton--We also had some guests stay at the Sheraton. They all said the rooms were great. The groom and groomsman all had a room there to get ready in on the big day and they said the hotel staff were very helpful!
Church--First Presbyterian Church of New Orleans-- Fabulous Church! It is relatively small and cozy with beautiful stain glass and a great history! We had 160 guests and they fit perfectly into the church. Neither one of us is Presbyterian and the pastor was great about letting us be involved with the ceremony. The pastor is wonderful and was very easy to get a hold of and meet with. She got to know us and made our ceremony very personal. They have a beautiful organ and the acustics in the sanctuary are awesome! Our ceremony felt very 'homey' and intimate! I loved the fact that they let us take pictures in the sanctuary during the ceremony.
Ceremony Music--A Touch of Rose--Karen Rose-- Karen was great to work with! We just needed an organist for the ceremony but she has other instrumentalists available (strings, piano, etc). She sent me a CD with some of her work and was very helpful in picking out music! She has people available to play at the ceremony or at cocktail hours!
Hair/Make-Up--Flawless Bride-- Heather was AMAZING!!! All she does is professional hair and make-up for weddings, photo shoots, etc. She has an eye for what looks good on people! My hair was done exactly how I wanted and stayed in place the whole night! She was readily available for a trial run and her and another stylist came to our hotel room the day of. They did all of my bridesmaids hair as well and there were no complaints! I did the airbrush make-up which was the best idea of the day! My make-up stayed perfect and natural throughout the day without any need for touch-ups.
Photography--Ardent Studio-- Timothy Pham was AWESOME!! Him and his assistants were so great and FUN to deal with! He has a very modern eye and came up with amazing shots! He took every picture we wanted and even drove around with us on the limo to places in the Quarter to take outdoor shots! I felt like we had our own paparazzi following us around all day and night! Even all of our guests were commenting on how great they were and how they couldn't wait to see pics. They all have great personalities and fit perfectly into our day!
Limo--Big Easy Limos-- Very great to work with! We had multiple hotel pick-ups with different limos needed at different times. Every limo was where it needed to be exactly at the time stated! The drivers were great! We had a large wedding party and they had a wonderful limo bus that fit us all after the wedding ceremony! We were able to drive around and make stops all over NOLA for pics!
Flowers--Bee's Florist-- Eric was GREAT to work with! I told him I wanted flowers that were unique, fun, and classy and that's exactly what I got! He has an incredible imagination and does great designs for any taste! I even had some last minute changes that he was able to work with! Not only were the bouquets and flowers for the reception beautiful, but they were all delivered on time with no problems! He personally delivered all the bouquets to our suite, the boutoniers to another hotel for the groom/groomsman, and all the flowers to the church. Again, HIGHLY recommend!!
Reception--The Westin Canal Place-- BEAUTIFUL!! The ball room was amazing with three huge windows along one wall, mirrors on the opposite wall, and three chandeliers across the ceiling. The wedding coordinator was there for the whole event to make sure everything ran smoothly. We had a sit down dinner and she even helped accommodate for a few guests who didn't RSVP. We had a private tasting before the wedding to pick out our menu which was very nice! The food on the big day was even better than when we picked it out! We also had a cocktail hour before dinner...the area outside of the ball room was great and we were able to have a full bar and multiple cocktail tables set up. The ballroom and cocktail area are on the 12th floor so it was nice to have our own restrooms and private area without having to worry that other hotel guests would be walking thru.
DJ--Rock-It-Productions-- Awesome! Kept everyone on the dance floor all night long! The DJs were fun, professional, and very interactive. They played every song on my 'must play list' and didn't play anything from my 'don't play list'. They took requests and were even able to accomidate one of our friends who wanted to sing and dance to a special song! We had guests of all ages and everyone was up dancing! They have different levels of DJs and lighting packages which makes it possible for any budget.
Photo Booth--Square Face Photo-- By far the hit of the party!! The pics are surprisingly good! They print out immediately and we were able to make our own custom border. After the wedding, pics are posted on their website so you can order any if you want!
Again, I had the wedding of my dreams and not a single problem on the big day!! I will post pics as soon as I get them! I loved all the vendors and would be happy to answer any questions you have about any of them! Best of luck to all you NOLA Brides!!
Courtney