Well, I'm now a married woman and the big day was a blast...I just wish it hadn't gone by so fast! I used this board a LOT in my planning days to find quality vendors that really know what they're doing...I credit a lot of the wonderful day to the vendors I worked with...so I'm happy to pass the info along! Here goes (sorry so long!):
Hotel block: The Whitney (a Wyndham hotel on Poydras)- AWe got a great rate for room blocks here, and the process was easy. Anytime I emailed to get an update on the room blocks, I got a response right away...like sometimes within minutes. They were helpful with the OOT gift bags and everyone got one at check-in. I believe the guests were happy with the rooms and the hotel in general...at least I have not heard anything to the contrary. I would recommend The Whitney as a nice hotel with character and charm, that is also more budget friendly than a lot of the FQ hotels, but still in a very convenient location.
Hotel block: Hotel Monteleone- BAs far as aesthetics, I absolutely LOVE this hotel...it is just so beautiful and has so much history. I did not have problems working with them to book the hotel block...but apparently a few guests had some issues getting the correct rate or getting into the block. It was only a few people...and I really did not find this out until after the fact, but apparently it did all get resolved in the end. We also booked ourselves a suite here and it was pricey, but was really nice and I don't regret spending the extra $$ on the suite. We (the ladies) got ready in it, and there was plenty of space and they sent up a steamer for our dresses. Also, when we got back at the end of the night, we had champagne and chocolate covered strawberries in the room along with a note of congratulations. My only complaint with Monteleone would be their gift bag policy. They won't give out gift bags at the front desk, they will only individually deliver them to rooms...but they charge a fee and make you fill out a form, individually label each bag, etc. We ended up running around for days trying to find out everyone's room # and give them the bags ourselves. It would have cost us another few hundred $$ to pay the hotel to do it and just didn't seem worth it. I
will say that this fee
was mentioned when I originally booked the room block, but I was not even really thinking about gift bags yet at that stage of planning, and was just really set on wanting Monteleone b/c of how beautiful it is. Our guests also loved it, and LOVED the rooftop pool/bar. Overall, I would still definitely recommend this hotel...just be aware of some of these issues.
Venue: Elms Mansion- A+We had a great experience with this venue from start to finish. They have done tons of weddings, and it definitely shows...they completely know what they're doing. We worked with Judy and she was
fantastic! I really can't say enough about Judy and how she made sure everything went smoothly...even when
we were somewhat unprepared and/or disorganized, Judy stepped in and got everything together. She also herded family around for pictures so that things went quickly and we didn't spend forever on pictures. She made sure we got a plate of food to eat, even as we were busy making rounds with our guests. She checked in many times throughout the night to make sure things were going well and that we were happy (and had a drink in our hands...haha). I also liked the fact that the venue is inclusive as far as food, decor rental, etc. Once we booked the Elms, a huge part of the planning was finished b/c I didn't have to find a caterer, or rent tables or linens or anything...they take care of all of it. The venue itself it so beautiful...and Judy and everyone there has the wedding thing down to a science. Highly, highly recommend.
Officiant: Coco Robicheaux- BFor those who don't know, Coco is a local musician and just generally a New Orleans 'character' so to speak, who also happens to be ordained to perform weddings. We wanted a short & sweet, non-religious ceremony so he seemed to fit the bill. I will caution right off the bat that if you are someone with a very specific vision of your ceremony, vows, readings, order of events, etc...he is probably not the right choice for you. If you are going to have Coco, you need to accept that he is basically going to get up there and do his thing. At the rehearsal, we had a rough order of events...no readings or anything like that, but we did plan to light a candle in memory of deceased relatives. When it got to that day...Coco lit the candle and said something about 'the fire of love'...lol! Not what it was intended for! We laughed about it later, but plenty of brides would probably be pissed about something like that...so Coco may not be for those types of brides. Overall, I don't regret using Coco...he is a true New Orleanian, and man, that
voice! We got a lot of comments from guests in the nature of, "Oh, you
have to tell us about your officiant!" He also stayed around for the reception, and had come to our rehearsal dinner, and at both events, people basically loved him and got such a kick out of him...you could tell that our OOTers had never met someone like Coco before.
Ceremony music: Tim Laughlin- ATim is a fantastic clarinet player. He put together a trio for our ceremony music with a guitar and stand-up bass. I will be honest that I was too nervous and was thinking about too many other things to really pay attention to the ceremony music. However, apparently it was really good...several guests raved about it!
Reception music: Big Sam's Funky Nation- A+I have been a fan of Big Sam for years...since before I even moved to New Orleans, so it was so amazing to get to have him play for our wedding. Since neither my husband nor I are originally from here, 90% of our guest list was OOT, and they were blown away by Sam. He started out playing some classics like 'Lil Liza Jane' and such, but it was semi-mellow while people were socializing and eating. Then, later in the night, he tore it down and got everyone on the dance floor...it literally took him a total of 30 seconds to get everyone out of their chairs. Our OOT guests who were in NOLA for the first time said they never saw a band like it before.
Photography: Steve Randon- A+We absolutely loved working with Steve. We have not gotten pictures back yet, but we did an engagement photo session with him also, and if the pics come out half as good as those did, then I will be thrilled. Steve was just really fun to work with, and is familiar with most venues so he has great suggestions for pictures, and knows where the good shots will be. He also ripped right through the family pictures...even though we both have large families and moms who wanted a picture with every conceivable combination of family members! I really appreciated how quickly he was able to get all those pics done...b/c I was ready to go get a drink and start the party!! I will update when we get some wedding pictures back, but I'm very confident to give Steve an A+!
Flowers: Fat Cat Flowers- A+I worked with Diane from Fat Cat...and she gets an A+ all the way. I'm sort of clueless when it comes to flowers, so other than colors, I had no clue what I wanted. Diane really worked with me to figure out my style and what I liked and what would look good. She also worked with my MIL who wanted some flowers for the RD and post-wedding brunch. And all the planning was seamless. The flowers were SO beautiful...I absolutely loved them!! I also did not have to call her to confirm anything...b/c she called me and double-checked all the delivery times and locations. I appreciated that b/c it was one less thing for me to have to do. Basically, with Diane, I was not once worried about getting what I wanted or about things getting to the right place...it was so obvious that she had everything under control. Highly recommend.
Hair/Makeup: Just Face It- A+
Jessica @ Just Face It did on-site hair and airbrush makeup for myself, 3 BM's, 2 moms, and 2 FG's. She did an awesome job, everyone looked great. After an entire day & night of running around, dancing, and sweating...er 'glistening'...I expected to look pretty disheveled. When I got back to our room at the end of the night, I looked in the mirror and couldn't believe that my hair & makeup looked the same at when I left that morning! I even had a bride-to-be stop me in the hotel lobby at the end of the night and ask to take a picture of my hair b/c she thought it was so pretty and wanted to use it as an idea for her own hair. Jessica will make you look awesome...the end.
Cake: Gambino's- AI would recommend Gambino's for their quality and their price...we spent a lot, but only b/c we went a little cake-crazy, overall they have very good prices for someone on a budget. We got a 4-tier round cake w/ fondant and also a groom's cake made to look like a bottle of Crystal hot sauce. The chocolate cake was fine...nothing to write home about, but no complaints either. The red velvet cake (groom's cake) was delicious! No problems with ordering, customizing, delivery, etc. I would recommend Gambino's.
Transportation: American Luxury Limo's- ANo complaints about American Luxury Limo's. They were on time, the limos were nice, and they were easy to work with as far as booking, etc. The woman I spoke with even recommended ways to save $$ when I was trying to figure out what & how many vehicles to book. After researching a lot of different companies, I think they're prices are pretty competitive...and they offer 'transfer rates' which we were able to use for the end of the night, and not have to pay for 'x' number of hours.
Favors: Beads by the Dozen- AWe did custom Mardi Gras beads in our wedding colors that had a medallion with our names and the wedding date surrounding a fleur di lis. I believe what we ordered was called a 'quick disc medallion' and was very reasonable (less than $1 per). They were easy to work with, and the order took about 3 weeks. Our guests really liked them.
Guest book: Spirit of New Orleans by Bruce Keyes- A+If anyone is looking for an alternative to the traditional, sign your name on the line, type of guest book, this is a beautiful, large coffee table book of black & white photos of New Orleans. There is minimal text and a lot of space around and in-between pictures for people to write. I got a lot of compliments from guests about what a cool idea it was. I had originally found the book while perusing amazon...but only a used copy. So I googled it and was able to order it from the author's website directly from him. What happened next was a debacle in which the USPS managed to lose the package even though it had tracking. I commuicated back a forth with Bruce literally a dozen times about the status of this package...with both of us having tried to contact USPS multiple times. After weeks of not getting anywhere with them, Bruce sent me a new copy at no charge. He had also signed the book to us with a nice message. He was really awesome, and his book is full of amazing pictures.
That's all for now...I left out things from non-local vendors, like the dress shop, but I may need to do round 2 of reviews at some point for the fantastic etsy sellers that I used for various other items...hope this helps a bride-to-be out there!