The Benachi House and Gardens - The Benachi House is a beautiful venue, but if you plan on having a band for your reception DO NOT have your wedding here. Their is a noise ordinance and the owner is VERY strict about it. DO NOT HAVE YOUR WEDDING HERE IF YOU HAVE ANY TYPE OF AMPLIFIED MUSIC FOR THE RECEPTION. The owner will hassle you for the entire reception, and the venue is not worth the hassle. One of his employees even came up and unplugged the guitar player without talking to anyone first, it was very rude and unprofessional. Our band was very frustrated. When you sign the contract the owner is not clear about how strict they are.
Fine Arts Ensemble - I used Fine Arts Ensemble for my ceremony. If you are looking for traditional, classical wedding music they are a good option. However, if you want anything other than that do not use them. They charge you for every song they don't already have and they didn't have any of the more modern songs I was looking for. Also, the vocalist they sent me was an opera singer which did not work for my music at all!!!!
Get Polished Events - Emily and her staff at Get Polished were a huge help for my wedding! Being an out of town bride it was nice to have someone in New Orleans to help with the planning. All of their ideas were great, and they had some wonderful vendor recommendations. On the day of the wedding I didn't have to worry about anything. The Get Polished Team also did my hair and makeup, along with the bridesmaids and both mothers. Everyone LOVED their hair and makeup!!! I had a wonderful wedding day!
Sam Gregory Photography - We LOVE our wedding photos! Sam did such an amazing job. The colors in our photos are amazing. He was really easy to work with and got all the shots that I wanted. He was very professional, and was very inconspicuous. We will cherish our wedding photos!
Melissa's Fine Pastries - Not only was our cake beautiful, but it tasted AMAZING! We had a lemon poppyseed cake and it was so light and delicious. I have been craving more of that cake! Melissa is very creative and has some very impressive cake designs.
Bella Blooms Floral - I didn't have a lot of ideas for florals to start with and Bella Blooms was a great help. She had wonderful ideas that are unique and beautiful, and is so easy to work wtih. When I wanted to scale a few things back she was more than willing to work with me. My bouquet and the bridemaid bouquets were perfect. I couldn't have asked for better floral arrangements for the wedding and the reception.
Palate Catering - Palate was a good choice as our caterer. They were very easy to work with, and accomodated all of my special requests. The food was delicious and their presentation was nice also. I don't eat gumbo, but all of the guests raved about their gumbo! One of the passed hors d'ouerves was a little burnt, but that was the only thing that went wrong.
Big Sams Funky Nation - If you are looking for a great New Orleans funk band you should look into Big Sams, and if you haven't seen one of their shows before go check them out. They were so much fun and awesome musicians. We had so many people out on the dance floor. They even put up with our noise ordinance issues. GREAT BAND!