We got married at Vintage Court in Covington on Saturday, 11/10/12 at 1pm in the afternoon. Everything was PERFECT!
Rehearsal Dinner – Southern Yacht Club – A+
My mother-in-law handled this so I don’t have much input except as a guest. Can I just say AMAZING?!?! The view, the room, the lighting, the service, the FOOD – all excellent! We had a choice of fish or filet for the main course. The piece of fish was so huge that it took up the entire plate. I was only able to eat half! And the filets looked to be at least 12 oz but still managed to be cooked perfectly. We had their delicious bread pudding for dessert – two huge spoonfuls to be exact. And then we lingered after dinner just visiting and chatting and they were nice enough to let us without rushing us out of there. It was absolutely perfect.
Hair and Makeup - Flawless Bride – A+++
I saw Heather at a bridal show and loved her makeup so she was really the only one I ever considered. I then saw a few less than stellar reviews but wasn’t bothered by those. We had a few issues on my end (where to get dressed at since we unexpectedly moved out of state a few months before the wedding) but Tasia, her assistant, was more than accommodating. I e-mailed her a picture of what I wanted my hair to look like in advance and was able to get some feedback as to the style of haircut I’d need to achieve it. On the morning of our wedding, Heather and her team of 3 other girls arrived right on time, before all the bridesmaids actually! They started hair and make-up assembly-line style. All 8 of us were done in less than 3 hours. All of my bridesmaids and my mom looked beautiful! And my hair came out better than I could have imagined. That was the one thing that I was stressing about and I really had no reason to with Heather doing it J I let her makeup artist have free reign and it came out great (and lasted the entire day!). I have truly never felt more beautiful than on my wedding day. And they were such a great group of girls that we had such a blast getting ready with them.
Photographer – Sabree Hill – A+++
I came across Sabree’s name on the boards here and I am so glad that I did! Her website was great and she fit in our budget. She met with my husband and I two days before the wedding to go over all the details (she had a nifty little questionnaire to fill out) - who was who, pictures we’d like to take, order of the afternoon, etc… Very, very sweet and, from her website, very talented. She met the girls and me where we were getting dressed at to get a few shots of my dog and I (who we flew in with us especially for this!). I can’t wait to see those shots. She was perfect in that she was always around but you didn’t really notice her – very inconspicuous. And she took her time with our family and bridal party shots after the ceremony but at the same time was very good at getting it done quickly so that we could join the party. She was a pleasure to work with and I’m looking forward to what will no doubt be fabulous pictures!
Florist – Beth’s Flowers – A
When my husband and I visited Beth’s just to see what she had to offer, she was, like others on this board have pointed out, a tiny bit pushy. She showed us some pics on an iPad and then asked for the deposit. My husband, not knowing what was happening (my fault – I didn’t explain that we were just there to see what they had and not to book just yet), handed over his debit card so we were locked in at that point. However, Sue was very nice to work with and was able to fit our budget. I had heard great things about Christina O’Malley so we previously got a quote from her and Beth’s was the same price. I didn’t opt for delivery as we were getting married on the Northshore and delivery charges would have been ridiculous. I called the week before the wedding to see if I could some by the Friday before to check out the flowers but she said Thursday from 12-2pm. I was a little surprised that they were going to be done on Thursday for a Saturday wedding and was of course worrying about wilting and whatnot. Unfortunately, having just flown in on Wednesday night and having a jam packed day on Thursday, I wasn’t able to check out the flowers beforehand. My mom’s husband picked them up for us on the morning of our wedding and they were beautiful - not wilted in the least! My one complaint is that I asked for exposed stems (and I watched her write it down) and they were wrapped all the way from top to bottom – no stem was showing at all. And the other minor thing was that our cake topper (red roses like all the other flowers) was to double as the toss bouquet in order to fit our budget. It was beautiful on top the cake but the roses were stuck into a flat bottomed plastic piece, to fit on top the cake I’m assuming. We didn’t end up doing the garter and bouquet toss so it wasn’t really an issue but had we decided to do one it would have been difficult to toss this rose covered plastic thing. Luckily it all worked out for the best.
Groom’s Cake – Gambino’s Bakery (Metairie) - A+
I visited Gambino’s after going to Haydel’s and finding out that they didn’t deliver to the Northshore. I LOVE Haydel’s but the only way to have their cake was to do a customer pick up and that wasn’t going to happen for a 4-tier wedding cake - no way was I driving that across the Causeway! So I went Gambino’s next. They could deliver to the Northshore for $$$ but I was a little worried about it making it there in one piece. I ended up going with a Northshore bakery (more on that below) but did see the perfect Groom’s cake while I was there. When I was in town one weekend, I stopped by to order the Groom’s cake and pay for it then. Since it was just a chocolate cake with a Tulane helmet on top, I felt ok driving it across the Causeway. There was a little hiccup when I called the week prior to see if I could pick it up Friday afternoon instead of Saturday morning. They couldn’t find my order but that’s just b/c it was still in the wedding cake pile since that was what I originally went there for. They did find it and it came out beautiful! And the price couldn’t be beat and was delicious (from what I’ve heard since I never actually got to eat a piece).
Wedding Cake – Aiavolasiti Bakery (Folsom) - A+++
I cannot say enough about Aiavolasiti’s! They were the last bakery I went to b/c I cancelled all my other appointments after visiting them! The price was right (they did charge a nominal delivery fee) and the cake was DELICIOUS! I visited Mandeville Bake Shop right before them and it was more almost triple the price of Aiavolasiti’s. Plus their icing was full of sugar crystals. Anyway, I ordered a 4-tier almond cake with almond buttercream to serve 150 but this cake could’ve served 200+, easily. They kept the top tier for us and then served the middle two tiers and we still had the huge bottom tier left over. Marley was a pleasure to work with and was very accommodating. I don’t like fondant so I wanted super smooth buttercream that looked like fondant with black trim and it came out beautifully – exactly like the picture I gave him! Unfortunately they don’t rent cake stands so I just ordered one online (belmontcakestands.com had the best prices I could find) and had it shipped to the venue and Aiavolasiti’s set the cake up on there when it was delivered that morning. It was so moist and so delicious and so perfect for such an unbeatable price!
Venue – Vintage Court – A+++
Shannon was such a great person to work with. They really know what they’re doing over there – such a well-oiled machine! I ended up picking them b/c my number one choice, Rosy’s Jazz Hall, didn’t have my date available and also didn’t fit my budget. So Vintage Court it was! I had been to a wedding there a few years ago and the space is just beautiful. There isn’t a need for crazy décor b/c it’s already beautiful on its own and the outdoor space is just breathtaking. And they were offering a special when we booked for $5 off per person - can’t beat that! Plus they could accommodate our 1pm afternoon wedding. We stopped by on the Thursday before our wedding to drop off the guest book, table overlays (you can rent them thru them but they’re cheaper online to just buy outright), etc… Since we weren’t doing a formal rehearsal, she just did a quick run through with my husband and me. She took lots of notes, made a chart with who’s walking who to their seats, bridesmaid and groomsmen lineup, reviewed the ceremony music with us, etc… Everything went off without a hitch on our wedding day. It was absolutely perfect, perfect, perfect. The weather was 75 and sunny that day so the ceremony outdoors in front of the grotto was beautiful. There was a little traffic noise from Hwy 25 (that can’t be avoided unfortunately) but there was a sound system set up for the officiate and everyone was able to hear just fine. One minor thing was that I had dropped off rose petals on Thursday to line the aisle and they said they’d set them up for me Saturday morning. I wasn’t able to check everything out before the wedding as my groom was roaming around. It actually took me a few days after the wedding to realize they hadn’t lined the aisles but it really wasn’t a big deal as the grounds were so beautiful on their own. Plus I was a little worried the color of the petals and the color of the roses in the bouquets wouldn’t match so it’s just as well. The food was delicious (they made plates for us and we snuck off to the dressing room to eat and were able to just enjoy being married for a few minutes!) and there was more than enough of it. They were able to start passing the hors d’oeuvres while we were taking bridal party and family pictures after the ceremony so that people weren’t standing around hungry. There were two bars open, which was perfect for the 165 people we had. And their in-house DJ was great!
DJ – Arthur Meyer (In-house DJ at Vintage Court) - A+
I e-mailed Arthur our song list a week before and let him know that these were just the songs we wanted played in no particular order and to feel free to mix it up as he see fit. He did a great job of keeping the party going and even gave Alabama/Texas A&M updates throughout the reception (only in New Orleans…).
Transportation – Nicholl’s Limousine – A
My mother-in-law arranged for a town car to bring us to our hotel in the Quarter after the reception. They were kind of rushing us out of there and it turns out it was because our driver had a pickup in Destrehan at 6:30. So he was going to be cutting it close. We hit some traffic in Metairie and then we hit a parade upon exiting the Vieux Carre exit. He was a little frantic and on the phone making arrangements for someone to take his other pick-up but we arrived at the hotel at 5:45 so he was able to keep it. Still, something I didn’t need to know nor worry about. But he was very nice and personable and pleasant besides all that.
Alterations – Elvia (works out of her home in Kenner) – A+
My dress fit off the rack without any alterations needed. I just had Elvia do the bustle and steam it for me. She even kept the dress for me until 2 days before my wedding so that it wouldn’t get wrinkled! Very sweet and very inexpensive ($40!) for such great work.
Veil – valuveil.com – A+++
I just couldn’t stomach spending $200+ on a piece of tulle that I’d never wear again. Luckily I had come across this website on one of the boards here. I took a chance and ordered a two tier elbow-length with pencil edge veil from them and I could not have been more pleased. The veil was $8.99 (!) and shipping was the same. But still, a beautiful, hand-made veil for under $20? It was perfect.
Bridesmaid Gifts – The Knot Wedding Shop – A+
The Knot was having a huge sale and I was able to get black pique robes for $14.99 with free personalization and they were embroidered! Sometimes free personalization means iron-on felt letters but not these. I ordered myself one in white to go with the girls. Since they didn’t offer kid’s sizes, I ordered my flower girl a matching robe from Personally Yours Monogramming out in River Ridge. It was the same price as I was able to find online and I’d rather spend my money locally. She was even able to match the font that I had selected. Thanks again, Jackie!
Bridesmaid Dresses – David’s Bridal – A
Since I had an out of state bridesmaid, I went the easy route and chose David’s Bridal. Some of the girls and I went to try on dresses one day and I didn’t really love any of the short, black dresses they had to offer so I went with was the one I liked the most, a one-shouldered black satin short dress. Two of my girls are tiny and the smallest size DB has is a 2 and they also seem to run big. So in DB sizing, they would have needed a 00 but that wasn’t an option. Everyone needed some sort of alterations but got them done elsewhere since DB’s were a little expensive. Can I just say how STUNNING the dress looked on once it was altered and paired with Flawless Bride’s hair and make-up??!?! The girls were all beautiful! So many people complimented me on their dresses and the fact that they could definitely wear them again. Well done, DB.
Invites – Two Sprouts – A+
I looked at invitations online but stuffy isn’t my style. We were in Two Sprouts on Metairie Rd. picking out a christening gift (they have the cutest stuff!) and stumbled across their invites. We selected “Pink Square” but had it done in red with black writing instead. Amy and Erica were wonderful to work with! They made doing this from out of state painless. And when I was in town two months before the wedding, I was able to stop by and get a proof from them before the invites went to print. I inquired about having them address the envelopes as well (calligraphy is also not my style) but it was a little too pricey for me. I figured I’d just do it myself but it was such a pain due to the 6x6 envelope size. So I brought it to my local FedEx Kinko’s and they were able to do it for $11!
Officiate – Michael Greer – A+++
Mr. Greer was one of the recommendations given by Vintage Court. I spoke to him and knew off the bat that he was the one. My husband is Catholic but I’m not and we decided not to get married in the church. Mr. Greer is a former Catholic priest (from a long, long time ago) so it seemed like the perfect fit! We met with him and his wife at their house when we were in town a few weeks before our wedding. They were so sweet and he was very sincere in getting to know us, the couple he would be marrying. He provided us with different styles of vows and readings to choose from. He does a 30 min ceremony with a gospel (preaching) as opposed to a 10 minute Justice of the Peace ceremony, which I loved. He did a great job during the actual ceremony and we are so glad we found Mr. Greer.
Hotel – Hotel Royal – A+++
Our wedding just happened to be over a city-wide convention weekend and we couldn’t find a hotel room ANYWHERE! A friend was able to pull some strings and get us a room here. They just underwent a huge renovation and are under new management and its all money well spent. The front desk agent was very helpful and even arranged for a taxi at 5am the following morning (don’t ask…). The bellman was very pleasant as he led us up the three flights of stairs to our beautiful, HUGE room with a ginormous balcony overlooking Royal Street. I mean, truly amazing. The bathroom was HUGE as well with a ginormous Jacuzzi tub, double vanities, the works! We had a HUGE flat screen over the fireplace and an iPod dock next to the big king sized bed. I am so sad that we were only there for less than twelve hours. It’s in a great location in the Quarter (Irene’s Cuisine is just around the corner!) and I would have loved to stay longer and explore.