Newly Engaged!

jolenepeach

Hello all!
I just got engaged this weekend and am so excited to start planning our wedding! I just wanted to start here and see if anyone had any local vendors that they would consider a MUST. Every and any category. Who do you personally recommend? Thanks!

louisianablue

Congratulations and good luck with your planning!

meganb1977

There really are none that are a must, it all depends what kind of wedding you want and which venues and other vendors fit your vision and are available on your date.  Once you start gathering information you and your fiance can make the decisions, so set a time frame of when you'd like the wedding to be and what kind of wedding you want and then you can start getting information on local vendors which will tell you what you need to know.  Take it one step at a time and enjoy.

raven541

Congrats!

Like Meganb1977 said, there really are no must vendors. I would recommend figuring out your budget first, and then ranking your priorities to allocate your budget. For example, I wanted a lot of flowers so I placed more emphasis on them on my budget and less on other items like a band/dj.

Have fun planning!

Also, figure our your venues and book first! A lot of places in NOLA fill up super fast!

LaceyS25

Congratulations! You will find that wedding planning is one of the most exciting...and stressful things you will do. I had to learn (and am still learning) to not stress so much over the small things and over other people's opinions. Just remember it's all about you and your fiance!!
Keep checking the message boards....I have gotten lots of helpful advice from fellow knotties!

NO2012

Congrats and happy planning!  My first step was to scroll through these boards, especially the vendor reviews of brides who came back to post about their weddings, for ideas and vendor choices.  If you have the time and the patience to do that, you will get a wealth of (free) info and advice.  Keep us posted on your plans!  The girls here are very friendly and helpful. 

kphelps2

Congratulations! It's definitely a stepwise process, at least that's what I've found. Once you pick a date and a venue--after you decide general things like how you want it to feel, how large, etc--all of the other parts start falling into place one by one. This board is definitely a great resource!

Another thing that has helped me a lot is The Knot's book of Wedding Lists--you can get it for pretty cheap on amazon. I've liked having something concrete to flip through, and it starts you off in the right place and takes you along from there. Good luck!

silverspark7

Congrats!  For me, the musts were my reception venue and videographer.  I think you just need to figure out what you absolutely have to have and then make the rest of it work around their availability.

I agree with others--stuff books FAST!  I started planning about 18 months out and found myself a little behind the game on some things.  The earlier, the better -- and the less stress you'll have!