I seriously cannot rave enough about how wonderful our wedding day (and weekend) was. Everything went perfectly and I just could not have asked for a better weekend. This post is long and gushing, but I just can't help it, all of my vendors were outstanding. I just couldn't give anyone anything below stellar! I'm happy to answer any questions...I used the reviews on this board alot during my planning, so am excited to finally post mine!
Mother Nature: A++++
I couldn't resist on this one, the weather was so amazing! Perfect temperature, beautiful blue sky, couldn't ask for better weather in Nola
Venue - Musee Conti: A++
What can I say about the Wax that hasn't already been said? It's a great venue, very unique, and we got so many compliments on the space and how cool it was. Beth is fantastic, very quick to respond, give suggestions, etc. Alex and our attendant (I feel so bad that I can't remember her name!!!) were also wonderful, making sure my husband and I never had an empty glass, made sure that we ate, and checking in with us to make sure that we had everything we needed. They are pros at the Wax.
Day of Coordinator - Weddings by Lulu: A++
Lu is fantastic, sweet, and everything else nice that everyone has already said about her. I decided to hire a DOC after I had already booked most of my vendors, but Lulu was so helpful in recommending vendors and answering my millions of questions, even though it wasn't part of the package that I hired her for. She also helped my father in law find a spot for our rehearsal dinner when our original location fell through, and helped my husband and I pick our honeymoon spot. On the day of, she was checking in with me to make sure I was feeling good, if I needed anything, making sure we were on schedule, etc. And she always did it with a smile on her face and in the most calm manner possible. Her assistant Ashley is fantastic as well, she went out of her way to come pick up all of my ridiculous, glittery, DIY projects a few days before the wedding (I probably owe her a carwash/vaccuum!). It was awesome to just let them take over and not have to worry.
Photographer - Shoot 2 Studios: A+++
Steve is so talented and was really fun to work with. He was probably the 2nd or 3rd vendor that I booked (after venue and band) and I just knew when I saw his work and met with him that he would be a great fit for my husband and I. He photographed our rehearsal dinner at Tommy's on Friday evening as well as being with us all day for the wedding, from my getting ready to first look/family/bridal party pics, to the very end when we did our sparkler exit. I got a surprise when I checked facebook on the day after our wedding and he posted the picture below. I literally said that I didn't care what rest of the pictures ended up looking like because this one picture captures the happiness and amazingness of the day so well! He's since posted a few more pictures and they're equally beautiful.
Videographer - One Louder Productions: A++
Kirk was very quick to respond to my inquiry on his availability and his packages were just perfect for what I wanted. He and Lillie were awesome on the day of my wedding, they showed up at my suite even earlier than I expected and just jumped in and started getting footage. There were a couple of times where they asked me or the bridal party to do something specific, but for the most part they were there capturing everything as it happened, so nobody felt like they were posing or acting the whole time. They just posted the teaser video on their blog (www.getolp.com), and it makes me so excited to see the finished product!
Makeup - Just Face It, Angele: A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
(I wish I could find a higher rating!)
All of my vendors were amazing, but Angele at Just Face It went above, beyond and all the way around the world for me on my wedding day. Besides being such a sweetheart and a fantastically talented makeup artist, she really helped out when I got in a bit of a bind. I only hired her to do makeup for us and had hired someone else do our hair. After the person I hired to do my hair finished up with us and left the suite, I had an issue with my hair falling and not looking right. I was really upset and about to cry...or try to fix my hair myself. Luckily I hadn't gotten my makeup done yet. As soon as Angele heard that I was upset she immediately called the valet and had them get her car brought up so she could get her hair tools and fix my hair. She literally saved the day and made me feel so much better, I felt so beautiful...even before she started her magic with my makeup. I seriously do not know how I could recommend her any more...short of taking out a billboard or ad on the knot! She made me (and all of my girls!) feel so beautiful, exactly how every girl wants to feel on her wedding day.
Second Line Band - Kinfolk Brass Band: A+++
These guys are freaking AWESOME!!! It's hard to pick a favorite part of our wedding, but the second line was in the top for sure! I mean, look at the picture above, we're obviously having the best time of our lives. My friend Becky works for White Oak Productions and recommended Kinfolk and helped me book them (along with our reception band, Taboo), and she did not steer us wrong. They played all of the standard second line songs, kept everyone dancing, and even had a dance party with us in the street when we got back to the wax museum. Everyone thought the second line was the coolest thing they'd participated in, and it's one of those moments that I'll remember forever. I'm sure it would have been fun with another band, but these guys were so awesome and just put it over the top.
Reception Band – Taboo: A ++++
Once again, I don't know how to put into words how awesome this band was. I was dancing the WHOLE night! Mike is so ridiculously talented and can sing anything and everything, and if you want an Etta James/Beyonce sound alike, then you will love their female singer (I feel so bad that I can’t remember her name right now). They kept the dancefloor packed all night. Literally from the first song they played until the end of our reception, there was always a crowd on the dancefloor. I sent Mike my list of must plays, do not plays, and several songs that we wanted played for different times (cake cutting, bouquet toss, etc.) and he made sure that everything went as planned. We got SO many compliments on Taboo and so many guests raving about how they were the best band they’d ever heard at a wedding. Décor – Firefly Ambiance: A+++
Jennifer was great to work with, was quick to get back to me when I needed to make changes to the proposal, or even a last minute addition. I met with her in person to discuss what I wanted and she asked lots of questions and made lots of recommendations based on here experience at the Wax. She definitely knows what she's doing and what will look good.Everything looked beautiful and the candle light made the room look great!
Flowers – Christina O’Malley: A+++
As others have mentioned, Christina is great for the budget bride, which I was since I only wanted flowers for the bridal party (no table arrangements). I dealt with her almost exclusively via email, I spoke with her maybe twice, just to get some details finalized. Her work is great and she is very flexible and makes great recommendations to help you stay on your budget. She had to make a last minute substitution (garden roses for peonies) due to the supply not being available for her, but it definitely was not her fault and she made sure to let me know several days in advance, just in case I wanted something else. It wasn't a huge change at all, but I really appreciated her letting me know rather than just doing it and not telling me...I probably wouldn't have even known the difference!
Cake – Cake Designs by Meg: A+++
Yet another fantastic vendor. I wanted a very small cake at the top of a cake stand filled with cupcakes and cake pops and Meg took my vision and executed it perfectly, along with the groom’s cake! And she did it all under the budget that I was working with. The cake and cupcakes were so yummy (the cakepops went too fast for me to taste the night of, but they were delicious during the tasting) and everyone loved the different flavors and how great the whole display turned out. Meg was really sweet and very easy to work with and I would definitely recommend her.
Portrait Venue - Irish Cultural Museum: A+++
We originally wanted to have our ceremony in the courtyard at the Irish Cultural Museum, but it ended up not being big enough for the number of guests we were having. The owner, Matt Ahearn, was awesome to deal with and was very quick to respond as they were in the middle of construction on the space when we originally booked with them. Even though we didn’t end up having our ceremony there, we took our first look photos there because I loved the space so much. If you’re looking for a beautiful outdoor space for a ceremony or reception, I would highly recommend the ICM.Photobooth – Big Easy Photobooth: A+++
Another great vendor that was quick to respond and very easy to work with. They designed the custom graphic on the photostrip and delivered everything as expected. Everyone loved the props and the photobooth. I got the base level package, so my guests got copies of their pictures and I got the thumb drive with all of the photos. It was really fun to have them to look at when we got back from our honeymoon (we actually had it the night of the wedding but didn’t have a chance to look at them). Caterer – Handsome Catering: A+++
I originally was going to go with Benedict’s since they are one of the caterers that the Wax Museum works with regularly, but I had an issue with Benedict’s never following up with me (as promised) after we did our tasting with them. After two attempts to contact them with no response, I started looking elsewhere. I heard about Handsome Catering through a friend and went to check them out. They operate out of the bar Handsome Willie’s, which does free food on Friday nights, so it was cool to check out some of their food before even doing the real tasting. They don’t exclusively do catering like the Benedict’s and Pigeon’s of the world do, but their food is delicious and their pricing is the best that I saw BY FAR. We went very non-traditional with the food for our reception (pulled pork and beef debris poboys, mac n cheese, etc.) but they definitely offer the more traditional things like carving stations, etc. We got SO many compliments on the food, especially the poboys, and there was LOTS of it!