My husband and I got married in November and were so happy with all of our choices. I wanted to pass them along in case they will be helpful to other.
- Reception/Ceremony - we held everything at the Audubon Clubhouse. The location was stunning. It was dark when the ceremony started but the trees were lit and we had extra lighting. The scene was very romantic and dramatic. The food was also amazing and much better than we had at our tastings. Our guests kept saying how great the food was which made us so very happy. We had some worries about the space being too small for 150 people but it worked out perfectly.
- John Zimmer conducted our ceremony and did a great job of keeping it short but personal. We really liked working with him.
- Band - we used Doreen's Jazz New Orleans. She plays a lot of New Orleans Classics and is very reasonable. We used her for the ceremony and reception and she can put together just about any combination of people for a reasonable price.
- Cake - Kristin Essig at NOLA Bean did our cake. We met with her and she personalized to our specifications. She was also very helpful in finding a cake stand and knows a lot about local vendors. The cake was very flavorful and not your standard wedding cake. We ended up with two different types - a vanilla cake with pecan brittle buttercream and a chocolate cake layered with ganache and Cacao Nib Butter cream. The whole thing was frosted in salted caramel buttercream and covered in white fondant. So Good!
- Photographer - we used Sam Gregory. We just got our pictures back and they are excellent. He was very easy to work with and very accommodating. Also reasonably priced compared to some of the others we found. You also get actual photos and a copyright released CD of pics included.
- Make up - I did my make up at Bamboo on Magazine Street. They did a wonderful job of making me look like a classic bride and did not do too much make up!
- Dress - I found my dress at Mimi's on Magazine. I bought a floor sample which made Vera Wang affordable. Gail who works with all their brides and Dami the seamstress are fantastic. Gail makes you feel so special and takes time with you. Dami can do absolutely anything. Since I bought a sample the dress was too big and there was some damage. When she was finished, no one could tell.
- Wedding night - we had our after party at the Sazarac in the Roosevelt and stayed there. The bar was perfect and the room was very nice.
- Flowers - I used Harkins Florist. Peggy was very helpful and came up with arrangements in different price ranges. I emailed her pictures and she was able to recreate the bouquets.
I think that's it. We had a very lovely day. I hope that this will be helpful to others. I am happy to answer other questions too.
Elaine