I planned our wedding while working full-time. Brides’ online reviews
of vendors were very useful. I was so happy and impressed with our own vendors
that I had to share!
Maile Lani Photography – A
I did a lot of research
here as we have so many talented photographers
in the New Orleans area. I choose Maile Lani for a few reasons. I love
the
vintage feel her photos have. She offers packages with actual film
photography,
but her digital photos still have that light grainy film feel. You can
tell even via email that Maile has a bubbly personality. I started
following her on
Instagram and learned that she loves corgis and glitter – I knew that we
would
all get along. I
ultimately choose Maile over, maybe, two other photographers because I
enjoyed her evening candid photography the most and I expected we would be
spending plenty of time on the dance floor under that low candle lighting.
Maile arrived with her assistant, Mark, right on time at my parent’s house for
our get ready. She’s very efficient with
capturing the details and posed group photography. I was forewarned by another
bride that, in an effort to hustle family for photos, Maile may get a little
blunt. She might throw out the occasional, “hey you!” to get everyone in place.
That might be at the risk of offending someone, but for sake of wrapping up the
posed photos as soon as possible. I appreciated her direction while we were
taking photos in Audubon Park before heading to the Wax. During the reception,
you hardly noticed Maile was there. I’m not sure how long it will be before we
will receive our wedding photography, but I expect it will take quite some time
since we’re getting into busy wedding season. Maile posted a few shots from our
wedding to her Instagram which are absolutely gorgeous. I cannot wait to see
the finished product. I know it will be worth the wait.
**UPDATE: Maile Lani Photography – B-
15 weeks later, and I still do not have my wedding photos ( I received the online proof link to view at about the 10 week mark however I have yet to receive the flash drive with actual image files so I can start ordering prints. Here I am in the later-half of January and I still have not been able to order our holiday cards with the wedding photo that I had planned to include. I had also hoped to have time to print wedding books for our parents and grandparents as Christmas gifts - no chance. I had expected the photos would take about 2 months to arrive, but I was not prepared for a nearly 4 month wait. Very dissappointed. The proofs look great, but we realized that there is not a single bridal portrait of me where you can see my gown from the front. There's a beautiful over-the-shoulder shot of the back of my gown which I'm pleased with. But my grandmother's only photo request is a full front view of me in my gown, and so far it seems that does not exist. I'm hoping I'll get lucky and find something in the RAW image files when I finally receive.
Lipari Films – videography – A+
I happened across one of Lipari’s earlier wedding films that was hosted
at Race & Religious, and was instantly struck with emotion. As soon as I
determined that we had the funds in our budget, I contacted Damon Lipari to
book his services. Damon is so sweet and easy to work with. I completed the
detail sheet and listed suggested music for the film. We provided an external
hard drive for him to later load all of the wedding day footage and return to
us. Due to questionable weather I had a Plan A, Plan B and Plan C haha for our
first look where Damon would first meet up with us for the day. He had no
problem playing this by ear. I later learned that he got a flat tire but you
would never know it because he made sure he was where he needed to be for our
first look and then our wedding at the Wax. Damon and the second cameraman
worked well with Maile Lani and, once again, you could hardly notice that they
were there for the reception. Apparently we booked Damon at a convenient time
in his schedule, as he was able to edit and complete our 10+ minute wedding
film in time for our one week anniversary!! It’s such a sweet film, we can’t
stop watching it. It really captured all the highlights from that day and
allows us to relive our wedding experience again and again.
Benedict’s Plantation – catering – A
We had tastings with a couple caterers, and Benedict’s really impressed
us. They are one of the Wax’s partner caterers so they are very familiar with
the kitchen and space. They worked with us to develop a delicious menu within
our budget. After the ceremony they served h'oderves then opened hot
and cold buffet tables. There was plenty of food for all and even some extra
plates packed for the groom and I to later enjoy (because there’s no time to
sit down and eat at your own wedding!) Of the dishes, we heard about the crab
and corn bisque most often as the guests’ favorite.
Pearl’s Place – wedding gown – B+
I visited Bustles & Bows, Bridal Boutique by MaeMe and Wedding Belles before finally arriving at Pearl’s Place. All the
boutiques were lovely and the staff very helpful, but Pearl’s Place has without
a doubt the largest selection of wedding gowns. I was a little intimidated by
the negative reviews of Pearl’s customer service. One of my bridemaids had a
connection to a Pearl’s Place employee, so I was sure to invite her with me to
ensure we received plenty of attention. I also visited well in advance of the
wedding (about 10 months) to allow plenty of time for ordering and alterations.
During my first visit to Pearl’s, the staff helped us find the dress; a
beautiful Allure gown that sparkled like crazy under our candle decorations. I
had a few follow up visits to Pearl’s – if you are visiting to try on your gown
when it first arrives and to pick it up after it’s been steamed then I
recommend visiting on a Tues or Thurs when the seamstress is not on site. The
store is much quieter on these days. For complimentary alternations, I visited
Pearl’s during my lunch break on a Monday or Wednesday. The wait was quite
long. Fortunately my gown only needed an alteration at the sleeve and a bustle
(which didn’t hold up very well during the reception). I received so many
compliments from guests on my gown and I felt like a million bucks in it. I am
very grateful for the help I received from Pearl’s Place.
Flawless Bride – hair and makeup – A
Heather and her team were recommended to me by one of their previous brides.
I shared the prices for hair and make up with my bridesmaids, and we set up a
contract for selected services well in advance. I decided to have my trial the
day before the wedding so I could wear my fancy do to the rehearsal. Heather
does amazing work and is a very efficient professional. I described what I
wanted and shared a few inspiration photos and she nailed it. She was very
patient with one of my bridesmaids who had particular requests and wanted to
add hair extensions. My mother had her hair and make up done as well and she
looked gorgeous.
Johnny’s Tuxedo – tux rentals – A
I didn’t know the first thing about tux rentals. I walked in with a
couple photos of what I was looking for the guys to wear. The staff shared a
few options with me, punched in the order and had me out of there within an
hour. Out-of-town groomsmen were able to send in their measurements and pick up
their tux a day before the wedding. Note that rentals are expected to be
returned by the following Monday, however Johnny’s Tuxedo is closed on Sundays.
The men looked dashing for the wedding, I was very pleased with the final look
and ease it was for me to order from Johnny’s.
American Luxury Limo – transportation – A
I contacted about 4 different transportation companies and American
Luxury fit the bill in terms of rate for a 20 person limo bus. If I remember
correctly, I had to call American Luxury to get the process started. I don’t
think they have a very up to date website like some of the other companies. But
once I spoke to someone over the phone, we were able to complete the rest of
the process via email. I booked the limo to pick up the groomsmen first, drop
them off at Audubon Park for our first look, then to pick the bridesmaids and
parents and bring them to the park. After photos, the limo transported us all
to the Wax. Our driver was very polite and had a great laugh. American Luxury was accommodating to my Plan
A, Plan B and Plan C based on weather that day; about an hour before the first
look we were able to decide to go with Plan B and let the driver know.
Event Rentals – linen rentals – B+
I wanted off-white linens for the tables, which the Wax does not have
handy, so I opted to rent from Event Rentals. I requested a proposal through
their site, and a representative soon got back to me with a quote. It was
initially very expensive and outside my budget so the representative suggested
we pick up and return the linens ourselves to forego the delivery fee. That
helped a lot. The groom visited Event Rentals in Gretna to pick up the linens
then dropped them off at the Wax during our rehearsal. When he visited to pick
up the linens, they couldn’t find our order # so I had to stop what I was doing
on that crazy day and dig up the purchase order. We returned them together the
following Monday. Beth had suggested I purchase linens, but I wasn’t a fan of
buying linens that would need to be ironed then thrown out after the wedding.
Event Rentals provided linens that were clean and free of wrinkles and the cost
(without the delivery fee) ended up being about the same than if we had decided
to purchase.
Southern Gem Photo booth – A
There are so many photo booth vendors out there, but Southern Gem was
an easy pick due to positive reviews and a Groupon rate. The guys at Southern
Gem put up with me when I requested a certain color scrap book and a custom
design I provided to print on the headers of the photo strips. There were two
attendants and they made sure the booth was set up in advance of the reception.
They brought their own props and provided me with a flash drive storing all the
photos along with the scrap book. You can tell from the pics that guests had a
blast in the booth. There is a choice between black and white or color photos
and guests get to keep a second copy of their photos. I only wish there was
some signage or that our DJ had done a better job reminding guests to visit the
photo booth. The booth is all black and sort of blended into the stage which
may have made it tough for guests to notice. Plenty of photos were taken at our
wedding, but I can tell a few of our guests didn’t make it in there.
Galvez Restaurant – rehearsal dinner – A
Galvez has a beautiful Atrium ballroom with one of the best views of
the city and Mississippi River. I would have loved to have our wedding here,
but I was concerned that the venue would not be large enough for our 150-200 guests.
Instead, we planned to have our 3 hour rehearsal dinner here for a group of 34
and were thrilled with how the evening panned out. The Atrium Ballroom needs no
décor, but the restaurant was sure to include flowers on the table and arrange
our oyster shell ‘place cards’ over the custom menu. The food was delicious and
we went through quite a few pitches of sangria. There was plenty of room to
walk around and mingle. There was also music playing the ballroom over speakers
that some of the bridesmaids and I got up and danced to after dinner. We had a
great time.
Our officiant is a friend of ours who became ordained to marry us. It
made the ceremony very special as he was able to work in a personal piece about
the groom and I. My mother created the succulent centerpieces for the reception
tables and I ordered silk peony bouquets from Morgann Hill Designs' Etsy site.
I designed and embossed invitations, so I don’t have any personal experience
with florist or stationary vendors. Other DIY elements created by myself or the
bridal party: cake pulls, marquee letters, second line parasols, toppers for
the grooms cakes, Jeep exit decorations, posters and ribbon wands. I created
instruction cards for the bridesmaids to pick out their own dresses within the
same color scheme and length. The DIY pieces are great fun and make the décor
that much more special. But a word of warning, if you’re ordering any of your
craft supplies online, do it well in advance. We seemed to have the worst luck
with online orders coming in late or incorrectly. For example, I ordered
succulent boutonnieres months in advance from an Etsy vendor. They were
scheduled to come in two days before the wedding, but the vendor mailed them
late and they didn’t arrive until minutes after the limo had already picked us
up. Fortunately my bridesmaids rallied and created boutonnieres that very
morning using pieces that my mother collected from a grocery florist
department. They turned out great. I actually liked them better than the
succulent bouts!
I hope these New Orleans vendor reviews are helpful. Good luck planning your wedding and
have fun!! -G