St. Patrick’s Church: A Yes, they have their rules and you have to
follow them. But the church is
magnificent. You have to do the NFP
class. But it is online and no big
deal. The dress I chose was technically
off the shoulder, but it covered my back and cleavage which is what I think
they really care about. I had more
trouble finding bridesmaids dresses, but once I started searching MOB dresses I
found more modest cuts and it was fine.
The church lady there is strict but organized and my wedding was
beautiful, well orchestrated and on time.
Gallier Hall: B+ The manager here is a little scatter
brained so be prepared to stay on top of her.
It is, however, a beautiful venue at a great price. We rented the entire second floor for $3k
with security and a $500 deposit that came back to us. You do have to bring in your own caterer,
florist, linens, etc. so pick vendors who have worked there before. Also, if you are the kind of bride that isn’t
the Type A, organized, do the details yourself kind of bride like me, then this
may not be the place for you.
Capdeboscq: A+ This family owned caterer has been in
business for over 40 years for good reason.
They know how to do weddings.
Everyone raved about our food.
The prices our great, although we did pay extra to get real china and
glassware instead of acrylic. The attendant pulled us aside to give us food,
had us in the right places for the cake cutting, first dance, etc, and lit the
candles on my tables. She even found me
a pair of sciccors when I wanted to cut the inside layer of my dress out
because I was tripping on it. I highly
recommend them.
Lagniappe Brass Band: C+ They played our second line from the church
to the reception. They were lively and
played good music. They showed up on
time and did everything a brass band should except that they took off without
the bride and groom. Apperently they
realized their mistake a few blocks down and turned around and were there when
my husband and I made our grand exit from the church, but still how do you
forget the bride and groom?
Something Blue Band: A+ They were the band at my wedding. They were a variety style band. Think “Sweet Caroline” and “Don’t Stop
Believin.” The woman singer was
incredible and everyone had a good time.
If you are the younger set and want covers of Ludacris and Black Eyed
Peas they may not be for you, but we enjoyed them. They were from Baton Rouge and one of the few
bands that didn’t want to jack up the prices because I was getting married on a
Jazz Fest weekend.
Haydels: A Typical wedding cake. I had four tiers. Two tiers were red velvet and two were
almond. Our groom’s cake was chocolate.
All were good and we had no complaints.
Nicolls Limousine: A We used one limousine to pick up the
groomsmen from the hotel and bring them to the church and then turn around and
pick up the bridesmaids and bride. It
was all of $160 I think and they were on time and courteous. The limo was clean. No complaints.
Bike Taxi Unlimited: A We had two pedicabs waiting to bring some of
our elderly guests during our second line.
They showed up on time and the guests enjoyed them. It was kind of expensive at $50 apiece for an
hour rental.
Flawless Bride: A+
At first had some trouble getting a signed copy of the contract back
from them, but Heather was great on the day of my trial and wedding. She showed up right on time and had my four
bridesmaid’s hair done in no time. They
all loved it. She did my hair and
make-up. Everyone complimented me on my
make-up and told me I looked like Kate Middleton that night.
Sabree Hill: A+++ She was my photographer for my engagements,
bridals and wedding. I loved, loved
loved my photos. Bonus because she is so
reasonably priced. I wanted a picture in
front of a streetcar and she almost got hit by a car laying in the street so
she could get it for me. She was
great. I highly highly recommend her.
Bob Eutsler Productions:
B- Videograpahy was a last minute add on for
me. I wanted someone reasonably priced
and I wanted a highlight video that wasn’t cheesy and was in chronological
order. I hate the videos that skip
around between vows and cake cutting and back and forth. He also said that he doesn’t edit the
ceremony in your long video. I liked
that. I haven’t seen it but I’m sure it
will be fine. The only thing that bugs
me is that he was standing in front of my husband in the middle of the aisle
with a big light while I was walking down it!
I was looking forward to seeing my husband’s face for the first time as
he saw me, but all I could see was him standing on his toes trying to see
around the videographer. Bummer!
Hilton Riverside: A My husband and I both had parlor suites to
get ready in and they were big and nice and great for taking pictures. My hotel block was also in this hotel and
they were nice setting everything up.
Once again, this came down to money for us. Since we got married on a Jazz Fest weekend
most hotels were requiring 3 or 4 night stays.
The Hilton let us have room blocks with only Saturday night stays.
Le Grand Florist: C- Flowers were not a huge concern for me, but
we live in Gretna so we wanted to support a local florist. I asked that all the flowers be delivered to
my suite and I’m glad I did as they were not what I wanted or asked for. I specifically stated that I did not want any
greenery in my bouquet. The woman
responded that she knew that but she felt it was missing something! I just ripped all the greenery out. My husband wanted simple white rose
corsages. They had ugly baby’s breath
and a banana leaf looking thing. We sat
there and cut all those off too.
Everything turned out ok. I was
just not pleased, because it was specifically not what I had articulated to
them. They did give me a free toss
bouquet and a free fake bouquet to use for my bridals, however.
Event Rental: A We used them for linens. Their warehouse is in Gretna so I just picked
them up on Friday and my husband returned them on Monday. We had no problems and I was not about to
spend an extra $200 on a delivery fee.
I had a wonderful wedding and the weather was perfect. I also did everything myself without a
coordinator and several of my vendors told me it was the most organized wedding
they had ever seen. My advice: don’t
waste money on a coordinator but do provide your vendors with a timeline of
your day. They were grateful for
it. Also, make sure that your getting
ready suite is clean when your photographer gets there. Don’t let your bridesmaids throw their stuff
everywhere and set up your dress, veil, something borrowed, blue, etc. and
invitation suite how you would like your photographer to photograph them so
they can do that while you finish getting ready. Don’t waste any precious time on your wedding
day!
