Hello ladies! I am sorry that my vendor reviews are so late but life has gotten in the way! I was married on May, 30 2011. We had a destination wedding, which I planned all from Memphis, TN in 4 months.
Ceremony/Room Block: Hotel Provincial: B+The hotel and its grounds are lovely! It is also in a pretty good location. We were married in the hotel's courtyard and it was perfect, it needed no decoration! Robert, the hotel's planner is easy to work with and was very accommodating as far as how we wanted the chairs set up for our ceremony. The hotel states that the courtyard seats 30, but we had 60 attend and there was plenty of room, while still feeling intimate. The reason for the grade is I had a bit of trouble with my room block. Towards the end of being able to book, my block ran out of rooms and the hotel would not add any more. I understand why they couldn't, but it was still frustrating.
Hair/Makeup: Just Face It, Angele: A+
I have just three words: Angele was AWESOME! She did hair and makeup for myself, 2 bridesmaids, 2 flower girls, and my mom. We opted for the airbrush makeup and it was so worth it! It stayed put all day in 90 degree heat and humidity. Angele worked wonders with my family's thick, unruly hair. My flower girls were so intrigued and kept hanging around her, watching her every move and she never missed a beat. She came to our room at the Provincial and was very prompt.
Officiant: Vicki Cappel, Heartlight Weddings: AVicki did a wonderful job with our ceremony. She was very nice and personable, and visited with my guests before the ceremony began. She read our ceremony just as we had written it. When neither of us were
really sure how to do the handfasting, we pretty much winged it, and it was great. The guests had no idea we didn't know what we were doing. She marched in our second line parade for a bit, talking with my dad. Overall, she did a great job and I would recommend her.
Second Line Band: Dr. Jazz: A
Dr. Jazz did a great job during our second line parade. My guests all LOVED them and had so much fun during the parade. The guys in the band are all so sweet and genuine, and gave me very sweaty hugs once we reached the reception. For the money, the band is an excellent value. They were right on time, and began playing as soon as my husband and I walked back down the aisle, surprising all of our guests and myself! My favorite part of our whole parade was that the band played "You Are My Sunshine," which is my grandmother's special song to me. I will include a YouTube link to the parade at the end of the reviews.
Reception: Dickie Brennan's Bourbon House Seafood, A++Having our reception here was easily one of the BEST decisions I made!!! From the get go, Rebecca the sales girl, was amazing. She returned emails and phone calls promptly and was so great when our guest count kept growing. We brought in our own cake from Memphis (made by a friend of a friend), and she took off the dessert no problems and even deducted the cost of it. Rebecca even let us add a second appetizer choice at no charge! On the day of the wedding, the restaurant let my dad (he brought some of his DJ equipment from Memphis) and friends in early to set up the music equipment, place cards, and cake. The restaurant provided menu cards and centerpieces at no extra charge. When my friends brought the cake down from Memphis, it was a bit damaged on the middle tier, but I know accidents happen, and we were simply going to make that the "back" of the cake. But when I got to the reception, my friends informed me that the restaurant made up a batch of buttercream and repaired it for us!!! All of the servers and bartenders were amazing and so was all of the food! Our guests raved about the food- spinach salad or seafood gumbo app, rosemary chicken or bbq shrimp entree. Basically, Bourbon House was all around AMAZING!
Photographer: Amy Hutchinson Photography: A++ (Memphis vendor)
I figured I would go ahead and write about our photographer. She and her husband (who is her second shooter) traveled down for our wedding from Memphis. Amy was wonderful throughout the whole planning process, always returning emails very promptly. When I suggested wanting to do a boudoir shoot, she was immediately on board and did a great job with the photos. She includes an engagement shoot in all of her packages, and we did ours in Downtown Memphis. On the wedding day, Amy and Ed were just fantastic! They split up and shot each one of us getting ready, then we did a First Look. That was one of the best decisions. It was so great to get all of our photos done first, that way after the ceremony, we basically went right to the second line! Amy and Ed photographed the whole second line, and stayed for almost the entire reception. But the proof is in the pudding, and my photos are GORGEOUS!! That's all there is to it. I will include a link to our proofs at the end of the reviews.
Now, some may be wondering about other vendors, like our ceremony/reception music. For our ceremony, my sister's boyfriend played his acoustic guitar, which was lovely and fit in perfect with the setting in the courtyard. And for reception music, as I mentioned above, my dad is a DJ and brought some of his equipment (which the restaurant was awesome to allow!). It was the same with the cake, it was made by a friend of a friend and brought down from Memphis. As far as my bouquet, I DIYed it. My bridesmaids carried clutches I bought at Dillard's and adorned with a brooch. The guys only had pocket squares and the parents/grandparents had nothing (lol). I also DIYed the signs my flower girls carried down the aisle. For invites, we did DIY kits from Michael's (it was a pain in the ass and I don't recommend it, lol).
Well, I think that about sums everything up! If you have any other questions, feel free to ask me!
Photo Proofs: www.amy-hutchinson.com/clients.php Enter the password shesaid to view photos from the wedding and our e-pics are on there too.
YouTube Second Line: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62EtfUyEljw It is just an amateur video made by my cousin, but it does show (almost) the entirety of the parade, and if you are interested in booking Dr. Jazz, I would check it out!
YouTube Bull Ride Attempt: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2N8o3miWD8UYes, this video is what you think it is. After the reception, I tried to ride a mechanical bull on Bourbon Street in my wedding dress.