Hi everyone! I just got married on 10/29, and wanted to share my vendors with y'all. I hope this helps!
Dresses - David's Bridal
Overall, David's Bridal came though, however I was really disappointed with their customer service. I was warned, and had really low expectations, and they managed to go even lower. That being said - I got a gorgeous dress for a very reasonable price, and I was really happy with my bridesmaids dresses and flowergirl dresses. For me, it was worth the aggravation to get a dress for a decent price. My bridesmaids and flowergirls were spread out across the country, so it was important to use a national chain to make things easier on everyone.
Photographer - Studio Rouge
I chose Studio Rouge because Philip (the owner) did my friend's wedding that I was in, so I had experienced his photography before. He offers very reasonable packages, and does great work. I especially liked him because he didn't make us do anything out of the ordinary. We were able to tell him our ideas and he would make it happen. He knew a lot of great locations around
Baton Rouge to take our pictures, and I really don't think he even stopped for 3 minutes at the wedding. I would highly recommend him!
Band - After 8
We chose After 8 after listening to them on their website. We hadn't heard them live, but we decided to take a chance. Lucky for us, they played at a friend's wedding a few weeks before ours, and they were amazing! They did a fantastic job at our wedding. We had a lot of special requests for them, like a special "father-daughter" dance, and also a "married couples" dance because my grandparents were celebrating their 50th anniversary. Their interaction with the guests help make the reception special. They have several packages that seemed in line with what most other bands were charging. We paid for an extra horn and no girl singer, but we ended up having the extra horn AND the girl singer, so that was really nice of them.
Church - St. Joseph's Cathedral
We chose this church because we are parishoners there. They have a lot of rules and are pretty stuffy, but it's worth it if you want to have a cathedral wedding. The church is so beautiful on the inside that we didn't even need decorations. If you aren't a parishoner, be prapered to pay about $1000 though, and you'll need to find your own priest. The money that you pay for the church includes a fee for the organist and a church coordinator. The organist is amazing - it's a big pipe organ. The church coordinator was a lifesaver. She asks you all of the relevant questions and then pretty much takes control of the whole wedding and rehearsal, so you don't have to worry about a single thing! She was also great for asking recommendations about several vendors because she's done so many weddings.
Reception Venue - De La Ronde
We chose the De La Ronde because we had a second line after our wedding, so we wanted to keep everything downtown. They were also well within our budget - however I did notice recently that they revamped their menu and their prices went up a little. The good thing about them is that their package is all-inclusive, so there aren't any hidden fees for table linens or things like that. They even provided the decorations for me, which was one less thing that I needed to worry about. The food was delicious and was better than most other weddings that I've been to. The staff is very easy to communicate with, and got back to me promptly. While this is small, they even printed out napkins with our names and wedding date on them. which was a thoughtful surprise!
Second Line Band - LSU School of Music
Apparently second line bands are hard to come by in Baton Rouge. Our church coordinator suggested that we call the LSU School of Music, and sure enough. they put us in touch with someone who was able to get a small band together. The price was very reasonable and they were amazing! They kept the crowd entertained while we were in the church taking pictures, and learned a few of our favorite songs for the second line.
Second Line Handkerchiefs - Wedding Lagniappes
I ordered these online and over the phone with Sherri, the owner. She did a fabulous job and was very reasonable with the price. Her website has a lot of really cute things for favors, but most of it was out of our price range.
Flowers - Kristin Danger on Etsy
I am not a huge flower person, so we budgeted $1,000 for flowers, thinking that we'd just get the minimum. When our "florist," who was a friend of my mom's fell though six weeks before the wedding, I turned to Etsy. I found some really cute feather bouquets by Kristin, and the feather bouquets were more my style than a traditional bouquet. She E-Mailed me constantly thoughout the process, and I didn't even use up half of my flower budget. She also was able to model my bouquet after the feathers and flowers in my fascinator. If you are looking for something a little less traditional, I recommend her! She was amazing!
Cakes - Gambino's (In Baton Rouge)
I was really pleased with Gambino's. It was great to sit down and meet with the actual decorator - not just some salesperson. I mention this because I used to work for a bakery here in BR, and I was a wedding cake decorator. The brides would meet with a salesperson who would "design" the cake for them, and when I would see these tickets, some of the decorations were impossible! So I would recommend that when you meet with a bakery to get your wedding cake, try to meet with the decorator! She straight up told us what she could and couldn't do. I had wanted some black and white anemones on the cake, because our colors were black and white, and she said that she couldn't make them, but she gave me several websites where they bought their sugar flowers to buy them. I ended up using Etsy instead, but at least she didn't say she could make them, and then I would end up with weird looking flowers! Besides the flowers, we had a traditional wedding cake - 4 tiers, iced in buttercream, and each tier was wrapped in black ribbon. My husband's groom's cake was the Sportsman's Paradise Fleur de Lis in purple and gold, and it was awesome!! Besides the beautiful cakes, the flavor was delicious and I really think the best in Baton Rouge. We paid around $650 for a 4 tier wedding cake and a groom's cake to serve 50. This also included a delivery fee and an extra fee because one of tiers was red velvet. I think the wedding cake served 250.
Rehearsal Dinner - Boutin's
We had a nontraditional rehearsal dinner. My MIL wanted to invite close family and friends in addition to the normal wedding party. We had 60 people at our dinner! Boutin's did a great job! We rented out their big room, which was private. It had a private deck, but also opened up to the regular dining room so that we could still hear the band and dance if we wanted. The food was delicious, and they offered several different packages in different price ranges.
Limos - Riverside
They were priced in line with everyone else, and they showed up on time! As a plus, my driver was really really friendly. When all of the bridesmaids had exited the limo, and it was just me in there waiting and waiting... I started to get a little nervous, and I think he could tell, so he struck up a conversation, and before I knew it, I was calm and ready to walk down the aisle!
Hotels - The Hilton Capitol Center & Hotel Indigo
The Hilton - I had my suite here. I mainly chose The Hilton because I wanted to use my Hilton Honors points!! I had the second-nicest suite, and was really impressed when I got there. It was $350/night. It had a separate seating area, and was very spacious for getting ready with my bridesmaids in the morning. My biggest complaint was that when we left for the wedding, I asked them to clean the room. There were 10 people in there that morning, so it was a mess, no clean towels, trashcans were full, etc. Well they didn't!!!! So when my husband and I went in after the wedding, we came in to a dirty room. Normally this wouldn't bother me, but it was my WEDDING NIGHT, and I was paying them over $800 for the stay with all of their little fees and whatnot. I complained and they gave me 25,000 extra Hilton Honors points. That's equal to almost one free night's stay. Just be warned... On the brighter side though, they did send me up a free bottle of champagne (the real stuff, not sparkling wine), and a cheese tray.
Hotel Indigo - I got a wedding block here as well as the Hilton because they were a little cheaper. So far, I haven't had any complaints from guests, and the staff was easy to work with when booking my block.
Hair/Makeup - Vicki Beechler/Ashley Smith
I used to get my hair cut at Perkins Road Parlour (they are closed now). Vicki has been doing my hair for a few years now, and she's really the only person I trust. Besides just the regular trim, she's done some awesome stuff to my hair, like dying some of it bright red! Ashley also worked at PRP doing hair and makeup, so when I asked Vicki for a recommendation, she recommended Ashley. I of course did a trial run, and everything was amazing. However, PRP closed in October. Vicki stll does house calls - thank God, but Ashley was a little hard to communicate with. I had some nasty tan lines, and had been asking Ashley about getting some body makeup, but she would never return my calls or texts. Finally, on the afternoon before the wedding, she sends me a text saying that I could go to Sephora to get some body makeup, and that everyone needed to bring their own foundation and powder!! So I texted her back and politely said that it was the night before my wedding and I wasn't going anywhere, and that I also didn't own foundation (I've been blessed with great skin). Also most of my guests had arrived and I wasn't about to make them get out and buy makeup! So she said that it was no big deal and that she'd just match their skin tone. She was also 30 minutes late, and rushed out to get to her second job. I will say that everyone looked beautiful, and that she was very speedy, but as a person, she was pretty flaky. She didn't even leave me lipstick or anything for touch-ups, but I had a feeling she was going to do that, so I was prepared. I highly recommend Vicki, but Ashley not so much... Although you probably couldn't get in touch with her anyway!
These were the most important of my vendors - I hope this helps. For the invitaitons and programs, I did some extensive googling and used online places. Our budget was $20,000 for 250 guests, and we came in at around $18,000. My in-laws paid for the band and the rehearsal dinner. If anyone has questions or needs phone numbers or E-Mail addresses, you can E-Mail me: jessicalyngallagher@me.com