Venue-Board of Trade- A+
The venue was great and the food was fantastic.  Everyone is still raving about the shrimp and grits.  It was also nice to not have to worry about a thing the entire night!  They handled everything and they really do go above and beyond.

Ceremony-St. Francis of Assisi- A+
The church is gorgeous!  They are really helpful through the whole process, and it’s really helpful that they have a wedding coordinator.

Photographer- Eau Claire Photography-  A+
Sandra is wonderful! I loved working with her.  I haven’t seen my wedding pictures yet, but I loved my bridal pictures and my engagement pictures so I am sure the wedding pictures are great.

Videographer- High Rise Productions-  A
I haven’t seen the video yet, but he was easy to work with and the price was really reasonable.

Hair and Makeup-Get Polished-  A
They did my hair and makeup for my trial and for the day of the wedding.  They also did hair and makeup for the wedding party, the moms, and the grandmas.  They were on time, and got everyone finished on time.  It was also nice that it was the same two girls that had done my trial.  Everyone’s hair and makeup looked great, and it lasted all night long.  They were even able to squeeze in a bridesmaid that decided last minute to get her makeup done. 

Band- After 8-  A+
They were fantastic!  Everyone really loved the music, and they kept everyone dancing all night long.  The music was great for all generations.  Some of the older guests kept coming up to me and were so happy that they knew the music!  My friend requested one of our favorite college songs, and they didn’t know it.  But they pulled up the music and words on their phones and played it on the fly.  It was great!

Transportation- Big Easy Limos-  A-
They showed up to the hotel early, the cars were clean, and we didn’t have any problems.  They were a little hard to get in touch with before the wedding.  We had to change the pickup time, and my husband eventually just drove down to their office to change it.  But beyond that no problems.

Guest Transportation-Hotard Buses-  A+
We used two buses to shuttle our guests to the church and back.  They were really on top of things, and easy to contact.  The buses were clean and on time. 

Wedding cake and groomscake- Royal Cakery-  A+
The cakes were beautiful and delicious.  I still have people asking me where the cake came from!  They were super easy to work with, and both cakes were exactly what I wanted.

Florist- Christina O’Malley-A+
She was great!  She was so helpful and flexible and was just super easy to work with the whole time.  Her prices are really reasonable, and she was letting me make minor adjustments up until a couple weeks before the wedding.  The flowers were beautiful and I was really pleased with everything!

Bridesmaids’ dresses- Southern Bridal in Mandeville- D
Just don’t shop here.  They are one of those shops that is super nice to you before you put any money down, but that stops the second they have a deposit.  I got into a big fight with them, and I ended up being right but I never once got an apology and they never admitted that they were in the wrong.  Also, most of my girls were from out of town, so instead of getting the complimentary alterations they opted to get the dresses shipped to them for free.  Well that is only helpful when they ship the dresses to the right girls!  Also, 3/5 girls went with the store’s sizing recommendations, which was a huge mistake.  The dresses were huge on them!  I later found out that they offer complimentary alterations for only small changes, so I guess that is their way of getting you to pay for alterations.  I could go on, but just don’t waste your time here!

Wedding dress, veils, haircomb, shoes, earrings- Bustle in Baton Rouge- A+
Loved them! The ladies here are fantastic!  They have a great selection of dresses, and it was a wonderful experience. 

Tuxes- Jos A Bank- B
They just started renting tuxes, so I think their employees are just learning the system.  Only one guy that works there knows how to do tux rentals.  Also two of the tuxes ended up in the wrong states (they went to the stores that the guys were measured in rather than here).  We got them on time, so it was ok in the end.  And the store even had several back-up plans, which was nice to know that they were handling their mistake.  The tuxes looked good, but the majority of them had loose buttons (a good reason to have that sewing kit!). 

Room Block-Sheraton on Canal- B
Prior to the wedding weekend, the Sheraton was a little difficult.  It was very hard for us to get in touch with the lady handling our block, and when she would finally respond to our calls or email she would only answer half of our questions.  Our guests also had problems booking with them.  You had to call the local number to even book in the block, and our guests were given incorrect information a lot!  Some were told the block was full even when it wasn’t.  While others were told 3 night minimum even though it was only two.  Our guests had to call multiple times to finally get someone on the phone that knew what they were doing.  But the hotel did redeem themselves when we got there.  They were fantastic and very accommodating.  They let our guests have late checkout, they brought up another mini fridge to the room to hold the flowers, and they opened up one of the ballrooms so we could take pictures inside since it was raining.  They did a lot for us that weekend, but they were a little bit of headache leading up to the wedding.
Rehearsal Dinner- Red Fish Grill- A
The service and the food were great.  It was really easy to book and to set up the menu. 
Bridesmaid Luncheon-Palace Café- A
I reserved the wine room, and I am so glad I did.  It was nice and private, and the service was great.  For lunch, there is no food and drink minimum for the room.  There is just a gratuity minimum which I thought was very reasonable.  We had the full menu available to us, and the food was delicious.
Spa Day- Spa Atlantis-A
This place was great! They set out complimentary snacks for us, and we got all the champagne and mimosas that we could drink.  The ladies that gave us the mani/pedis were really friendly.  This place is also walking distance from the quarter, which is a huge plus!

Invitations- Invitation consultants.com:  A+
I shopped around town, and actually found Gem printing to be too expensive for what we wanted.  Invitationconsultants was great, and it saved us about $200.  It was really easy to set up and order, and the invitations came in quickly.  By ordering online we were able to get exactly what we wanted. 

Favors- Leah’s Pralines- A
We ordered the pralinettes, and it was really convenient that they came packaged and with a custom sticker.  They looked really cute and the guests loved them.

Misc stuff from etsy- A+
I used luxedeluxe, texascowgirl360, and creativebridal. I had great service and loved everything, so if you have any specific questions just message me.

CL2 Hair Studio – bride and MOB hair

Callie is my normal stylist, and I used her to do both my hair and my mom's hair. She is just great - an amazing hair artist and also a wonderful person. She is easy going and made everything so easy for me. I highly recommend her for weddings and for any other hair needs. She is one of a kind!

Just Face It, LLC – hair and makeup

I can't say enough about Jessica at Just Face It. She is simply amazing! She is quick, professional, responsive and she made me, my mom, mother-in-law and my bridesmaids look so pretty. She was very easy to work with and was priced better or comparable to everyone else in the area. I highly recommend her work! She did bring Chris with her, and she was awesome as well.

Scriptura – Invitations, save the dates and thank yous

I loved Scriptura because I really felt like they knew what they were doing. They knew all the etiquette and customs, and also had some very sound advice on where to draw the line on these things! They are great with special artistic designs, and are really pleasant to work with. I do think they get a little overwhelmed at times (especially around the holidays), and I was frustrated at times when I couldn't get a hold of them. I used them for Save the Dates, Invitations and Thank-yous, and while they were more than other places, the quality of the product is excellent and I was very pleased with the end result.

Mandeville Ballroom – Dance Lessons

We were only able to do one lesson before the wedding, but we were able to do a group lesson with both of our parents. They were so easy to work with and let us pick our date and time. It was really fun and very affordable, and gave us some basics to start with (which we definitely used!). I only wish we had more time to take a few more lessons!

Marriott New Orleans – Hotel block

I used the Marriott for all of my reservations, including my own, and it was very easy. The location was great for people to go out before and explore the French Quarter and it was very easy to deliver welcome gifts to each room. The bar was a great gathering place, and each time we walked through the lobby we ran into family and friends meeting up there. It was really fun to all be together in the same place.

Macy*s - Registry

They were very easy to use, and we loved being able to register online, but they discontinue and change products all the time. There is no notification when your product is out of stock or no longer available, so you have to actually go in and check all the time.

John's Tuxedos Inc

We had all out of town groomsmen, and big and tall fathers, and John's was able to accommodate everyone easily. They gave us a ton of advice in the beginning, and everyone looked great. They delivered and picked up from our hotel, and were so easy to work with.

Court of Two Sisters – Rehearsal dinner

My in-laws did most of the rehearsal dinner planning, but from what I understand, the Court of Two Sisters was great to work with. They did everything that we asked, and were priced well compared to other historic French Quarter restaurants. The food and service were both great that night as well.

John Zimmer - Officiant

We had heard great things about Reverend Zimmer, and it was all true. He was very easy to work with, and personalized everything even though we had only talked to him on the phone once.

Laura's Candies – Chocolate bar

We used Laura's Candies for our chocolate bar. We found them to be the best price for what we wanted - a chocolate fountain and assorted chocolates all together. Our only complaint was that it was very hard to get in touch with the owner and he made us very nervous since we didn't have a confirmation until shortly before. However, it all worked out and he was great and the chocolate bar was a big hit!

Karma – Band

I can't say enough great things about this band. They are relatively new, but all members have been in other bands, so I think they are very reasonably priced. They are also amazing! Not only did they give us tons of help with our first dance songs, they also put together a special father-daughter song with 2 of our favorites, and learned our first dance song. That was just a few weeks before the big day, too. In addition, they customized our play list, spent a ton of time with me to make sure we were happy, and the keyboard player helped us out last minute with our ceremony music. I cannot recommend them enough - our guests kept asking who they were and we have heard so many comments since the wedding about how great they are. Unlike many of the popular local wedding bands, they also can sing current music in addition to old favorites. They have both a male and female singer as well (meaning you don't have to pay extra to get both like you do with other bands). Definitely check them out!

Jared the Galleria of Jewelry

I used Jared for my husband's ring and was very disappointed. I had a custom made (Platinum and diamond - not cheap) ring made for him. I decided to go with Jared because of their lifetime repair program which allows him to get it polished for free at any Jared. Their pricing was very similar to everyone else's and my initial sales and service was also comparable. My sales person kept pushing me to decide so we would have enough time to get it done, and then when it came in weeks later, it was completely bent up and scratched. The sales person had not looked at it before calling me, and really didn't seem to care when I arrived to pick it up and it was wrong. The other sales people suggested a use it temporarily (it looked awful, keep in mind, like it had been run over or something), and the manager seemed pretty apathetic. They ended up redoing it in a week (why they needed 6-8 weeks to begin with, I don't know), and it all worked out. But, I would certainly not recommend them. The stress they caused was definitely not worth it.

Flour Power – wedding cake

I loved my cake! It was so pretty, and tasted so good as well. We had a great experience with Flour Power. We tasted cakes at many places, and theirs was the best. Other places had just as pretty details, but didn't taste very good, or vice versa. We felt Flour Power was the only one that was both gorgeous and tasted amazing! It was a little higher priced than others we looked at, but you definitely get what you pay for!

O’ Delice – Groom’s cake

This uptown bakery is amazing! My husband loves their flourless chocolate cake, and so we had to get his cake from there. It was so delicious and the owner was so nice to work with. We brought her a stencil that she used for the top, and she even loaned us her personal cake stand from her own wedding because we needed one at the last minute. The only draw back is that they do not deliver, but we had a friend pick it up and drop it off at Rosy’s.

Yvonne La Fleur – wedding gown and MOB gown

I was hesitant to go to Yvonne's at first because I thought it would be uppity, but it was not at all. The dresses are hanging from the ceiling, so you can really see everything without having to wrestle with them on racks. The service is really hard to beat - they listened to what I wanted and then picked the perfect dress for me. They do a great celebration when you buy the dress, and they have helped my mom and I with every little detail from then on. I think every bride should have a Yvonne experience - it is truly unbelievable and really hard to find in today's market. Their alterations were included and the seamstress that did them was great. My mom got her dress there as well, and she loved it. She doesn't dress up often, and they really made her look fabulous and she was so comfortable too. If you are buying a dress in New Orleans, you absolutely must go to Yvonne's. Oh, and they said right when we walked in that no dress was over $1500, so it's also not overpriced.

Bella Bridesmaid – bridesmaids dresses

This is a store specializing in bridesmaid’s dresses. We used the one in Austin since their wasn’t one in New Orleans and all of my bridesmaids were in Austin. I would recommend them if you have bridesmaids in different cities, as they were able to work with their sister stores in other locations to measure and fit each bridesmaid. They were very easy to work with.

Fat Cat Flowers

I had used Fat Cats before for work, and I was always impressed with them. Diane is so great to work with - I had no idea what I wanted and she had some really creative and beautiful suggestions and I just loved her work. Everything was beautiful, and she was just the most laid back and nice person to work with. A+ all around!

Matthew Foster Photography

I used Matt for my engagements, bridals and wedding day coverage, and he is so wonderful. I loved my pictures and he is so easy to work with. He is very creative and has an amazing eye, but is also down to earth and the nicest guy. I got all of my pictures back very quickly, and he was very quick about prints as well. I would hands down recommend him to anyone!

Rosy's Jazz Hall – ceremony and reception

I had an absolutely wonderful experience at Rosy's. The staff were all amazing and very easy to work with. They provide you with a wedding coordinator, Darlene, who makes sure everything goes smoothly and really does so much to help. They were very easy to get a hold of, open to new ideas, and I was so thankful to have chosen them for my big day. I would recommend them again to anyone! Oh, and cost-wise, they were comparable or less than everywhere else I looked.

USA Hosts – Transportation and Second Line         

We use them for my work a lot, and they are just amazing. I don’t know if they normally do weddings, but they coordinated everything for me and it was so easy. We provided transportation to and from the venue and the French Quarter, so we used a lot of transportation and they made it very easy on me.