Louisiana-New Orleans

Vendor Reviews - 11/20/2010 (Long)

Kelly Sherlock: A+ - Kelly was my AMAZING wedding planner. I was never stressed while planning my wedding. I feel like Kelly did most of the work and I just made decisions. I told her what I was looking for and she totally got me. I would never have found my wedding venue without her and it was perfect. She also found me my florist and my hair & make-up people. I truly feel like she was indispensable. I enjoyed planning and attending my wedding because of Kelly.

The Chicory: A+ - A new venue at 610 S. Peter's next to Ernst Cafe. We had both the ceremony & reception here. It's a beautiful restored old coffee warehouse with just enough modern touches but all the old world charm. The food was really, really great.  They also threw in a vodka upgrade for free (b/c DH loves Grey Goose) and when so many people at the reception asked for Crown Royal they provided it without an upcharge as well.

Studio Tran Photography: A+ - My pictures are so beautiful. I knew that Corine or Beebe would capture the best moments at my wedding and that I had to have one or the other. I was lucky enough to get Corine (and Leslie as her assistant) and I love my pictures. Looking at them reminds me how much fun I had at my wedding.

Haydel's Bakery: A - Haydel's did our wedding cake and it tasted great. It looked mostly like what I wanted but I asked for this kind of scroll work detail to fall down the cake and it wasn't as big as I would have liked and the colors weren't exactly what I wanted. But since I think that's splitting hairs, I'm just taking away the +.

Sean Lionnet: A+ - Sean did my groom's cake. I found out about him through my wedding planner. He bakes on the side but is a great baker. I wanted a sort of complicated cake that looked like a Tecate beer can with a Tobasco bottle and limes. Kelly said that kind of cake would be super expensive at a regular bakery and suggested I use Sean. We met and I looked through his portfolio and decided he'd be perfect. The cake came out GREAT. DH loved it. It tasted awesome and cost half what our wedding cake cost (and the wedding cake wasn't nearly as complicated).

Federico's Florist: A - For the most part I loved the flowers at my wedding. I wasn't super picky about the flowers and didn't give tons of direction - just asked for "purple." I kind of wish there had been more purple but otherwise the flowers were beautiful and Federico's was very, very reasonably priced. I was shocked by how much less the flowers ended up being than what I expected.

5 Finger Discount: A+ - 5 Finger Discount are definitely on the more expensive side for a band but they were phenomenal. Everyone loved them and they kept people on the dance floor all night. I knew I wanted a live band for my wedding and 5 Finger provided excellent entertainment.

Algier's Brass Band: A - I used Algier's Brass Band for my second line and they did a great job. The music was awesome and all my guests (especially my OOT guests) loved the second line.

John's Tuxedos: A+ - All the guys looked great. I loved worked with a small business for this part of the wedding. Everyone at John's made us feel like our business was important to them. Plus, they picked up the tuxes at the hotel for us so people didn't have to worry about returning them.

Bustles & Bows: A+ - I got my wedding dress here and I just love the owner, Shelley.  She's the sweetest person ever.  She was so helpful without being overbearing. I loved my dress and I loved how reasonably priced it was. I also bought most of my accessories here too.

Pearl's Place: F - I knew from this board that Pearl's was terrible but they were the only store in the area that carried the bridesmaids dresses I wanted. The service was fine until we'd paid for the dresses, then it quickly went downhill.  They even lost 2 of the dresses for a couple of days and didn't seem concerned about it at all. At that point it would have been too late to order new dresses. They kept insisting someone had already picked the dresses up and then when they found the dresses (they had no clue where they were - how do they not have a system to track this???) they did not apologize for continually blaming my bridesmaids for the problem.

Elvia's Alterations: A+ - Elvia is the woman I used to do the alterations on my wedding dress. She was suggested to me by Bustles & Bows. I could immediately tell how comfortable Elvia was working with my dress and making it what I wanted it to be. She was great and very reasonably prices as well.

W Hotel on Poydras: A - We had our room block here. The rate was out of this world for a W and the service was pretty great the whole time we were there. I was a little disappointed with the bathroom in my suite (I think it could have been nicer) and the tub was having some issues with draining properly. Plus, I wasn't really impressed with their breakfast. But, it was a great place for pictures and the prices was just so reasonable.

Judge Kevin Centanni: A+ - Judge Centanni was a perfect officiant. We met with him beforehand and he allowed me to alter the words he was going to use as much as I wanted. The length of our ceremony was perfect and he was the perfect level of gregariousness. My OOT guests kept saying he was exactly what they'd expect of a judge from Louisiana (whatever that means). In addition, Judge Centanni took care of everything with mailing the license in after we had signed it so we didn't have to worry about it at all.

Gem Printing: A - Gem was great for invitations and favors. I think they were probably a little more expensive than some online options but I really appreciated how quickly the got everything done.

Second Line Umbrellas - Etsy seller lizmpetro: A+ - I loved our umbrellas. I loved that I got to design them. I told Liz what I wanted and she did exactly what I asked for.

Hair - Trish Popovich from Style Squared Salon: A+ - I LOVED my hair. Trish did my hair, my 5 bridesmaids, my mom, my MIL, and my 2 flower girls. They all looked great. And when Trish found out I was paying for everyone she gave me an excellent deal. And I can't tell you how many people told me that night how much they loved my hair. People how have seen pictures also always compliment my hair. Trish is a really sweet person and I loved having her with us all that day as were were getting beautiful.

Make-up - Ellen Sbisa: A+ - I truly loved my make-up. Ellen was scheduled to do me, my mom, my MIL and 4 of my bridesmaids. When the fifth bridesmaid saw how awesome everyone looked she asked to get hers done too so I asked Ellen to squeeze her in. Then my 2 flower girls really wanted to get theirs done too. I asked Ellen if she could also squeeze a little something in for them just to make them feel special and of course I'd pay for it. Not only did she squeeze all 3 in (giving the little girls just enough so they felt pretty but not too much), but she told me she wouldn't charge for the flower girls. Everyone looked and felt beautiful thanks to Ellen.

Emeril's: A+ - Our rehearsal dinner was at Emeril's and I thought it was great. The food was awesome and everyone loved it (especially the OOT guests). I didn't find Emeril's to be much more expensive than most other places so I decided it was worth it. On top of the great food, they were very accomodating to creating a special meal for the best man who had a gluten intolerance and altering dishes so that my sister's 3 kids and my brother's son would be happy with their food. I couldn't ask for them to be more flexible and they dealt really well with my siblings' crazy children constantly being in the way of the servers.

I really lucked out with some amazing vendors for my wedding. The only one I wasn't happy with was Pearl's Place. I'd be more than happy to answer any questions anyone might have or provide more information about a particular vendor.

Good luck to everyone in planning their wedding!!!!!!!

Re: Vendor Reviews - 11/20/2010 (Long)

  • edited December 2011
    Great advice!  Thanks for sharing!
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  • phunluvin82phunluvin82 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Thanks for the reviews!
  • wmh6wmh6 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Thank you for the reviews and congrats!!!
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  • bmolson1bmolson1 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I JUST looked at your wedding pics on Studio Tran and then happened upon this post!  I stalk the Studio Tran website daily, and as I looked down your list of vendors it clicked that I had just looked at your pics!  Beautiful wedding.  Did you use your planner for the whole time or just "day of" services?  Do you mind sharing how much she cost?
    Thanks!!
  • RflattmannRflattmann member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    great review it helps so much thanks
  • edited December 2011
    @bmolson1 - Thanks, Corine Tran was great and I am LOVING my pictures.  I used my planner, Kelly Sherlock, for the whole time.  She charged me $5000.  I guess that can sound like a lot of money and I understand that most people can't afford to spend that, but it was totally worth it.  And it was pretty much the same price across the board for all the other coordinators that I interviewed.  I was an OOT bride and knew that I needed someone to be my representative on the ground the whole time.  Kelly did all kinds of work for me and like I said, I was never stressed out.
  • bmolson1bmolson1 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Thanks!!  I'm going to look her up.
  • edited December 2011

    Great review! Do you have a contact email for your wedding planner? I am interested in contacting her.

    Thank you

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