Hi Knotties! My husband and I got married on February 2, 2013. I know this is a little late but had to set time aside to actually really write everything. We did the majority of the planning ourselves. It was the most wonderful day of my life to date and couldn’t have asked for things to go any smoother. Plus Mother Nature was definitely on our side because it was a BEAUTIFUL day. I hope these reviews help because the Knot was so helpful in my planning.
Let me first say our wedding was the day before the Super Bowl, which just so happens it was in New Orleans this year, and also a week before Mardi Gras. We didn’t realize this when we started planning but it did cause some problems along the way: we could not get hotels, had problems getting limos, ran into some route issues since parades were rolling, etc. So please to save you some problems research your day first!!!
Ceremony: St. Catherine of Sienna – B+
This church is so beautiful. We ultimately decided on it because it’s my grandma’s church but I was so happy with our decision. Father Gene officiated and did all our premarital counseling and he was wonderful. He really took the time to get to know us and talk to us; he even took us out to eat one night before the wedding. The only thing I had problems with was the two ladies the church hires to run the rehearsal and the wedding. They are suppose to be there to make sure everything goes smoothly yet I feel like they caused me more stress than anything. One of the ladies contacted me about a month out from the wedding and had me fill out some paperwork other then that I did not meet them until the night of the rehearsal, as soon as I walked into the church that night it was chaos. They were telling me that I wasn’t allowed to use some of my decorations including my hand painted aisle runner I spent forever on because of church policies and that I should have gotten a letter saying the do’s and don’ts of the church. After everyone calmed down and I explained to the woman I was never told anything they agreed to allow my decorations if we took certain precautions. Even though I was relieved I could use my stuff I felt like some of the precautions looked out of place on the wedding day. Other then these two women, the experience with this church was wonderful!
Reception: The Balcony – A+++
I cannot express how much I LOVED this place!!! Not only is it beautiful but Jay, Mike, and the Balcony staff were amazing. They took care of our every need including making sure we ate! The food was amazing. Our wedding attendant was right by our side all night asking if we needed anything, same for our parents and bridal party too. It was wonderful! I heard compliments from our guest about the food and atmosphere that night plus throughout the next month. The DJ was included in the price and kept the guest on the dance floor all night. I couldn’t ask for anything better! They even sent us home with a little package of cake, food, wine, etc. AMAZING!!!
Photographer: Stacy Marks – A
Stacy was amazing and his pictures are beautiful! We walked through the French quarter to take my bridal pictures and he was so patient with me and my mom. (My mom was kinda freaking out because my dress was getting dirty!) The day of the wedding he arrived on time and was able to get pictures of me and my girls getting ready plus head to the church and get pictures of the groomsmen before the ceremony. I got the proofs back really quick, like three weeks after the wedding, plus he threw in an extra proof CD at no cost for my mom. His attention to detail is wonderful. He had so many pictures of not only us but of our guest too. The best part is he took all these pictures without ever really being seen, he just let us enjoy our night and took candid shots and they came out amazing!
Hair and Makeup: The Hair Boutique – A+
Lauren and Kaylan from the Hair Boutique were amazing! My original girl I hired for hair and makeup canceled on me a week before the wedding and these two wonderful ladies saved my life! I called her literally the week before and she altered her schedule so she could do it. They arrived early in fear of catching traffic (they traveled from Hammond) and did all of the bridal party’s hair and makeup including mine. Plus they are soooo affordable about half the price of my original girl!!
Cake: Gambinos – A
Our cake was wonderful and tasted great (even though the only bite I had was what DH fed to me.) I went into the consultation with a picture of what I wanted and some changes I wanted to make and they were willing to work with anything I said. I had ribbons, feathers, a cake topper, and 15 cake pulls and they did it perfectly!They also did the groom’s cake. He knew he wanted Tiger Stadium and was able to pick what he wanted out of a book. His cake was also delicious but it was pricey!!
DIY: Second Line Hankies, Fleur de Lis Air Fresheners, Second Line Umbrellas, Programs
We ordered the second line handkerchiefs in bulk from Tansclub.com and screen printed them at Covenant Creations where I work. We also made the fleur de lis air fresheners ourselves. We knew we wanted to give our guest something they would use. My mom purchased our second line umbrellas from Gem in Metairie but they were plain, so we decorated the umbrellas ourselves.
Transportation:
So we had problems getting limos because of the wedding being the day before the Super Bowl, this was frustrating since I was a local bride trying to give money to local businesses and they were more worried about the big spenders coming in to the city. Most business gave me a polite no and sent me on my way, however the owner of Celebrity Limos was the rudest person I have ever came into contact with and called me and my mother stupid to our faces. If this is how he treated me before he had my money I hate to see how he treats his customers after. I would stay far away!!
Wedding Dress: Pearl’s Place – B
Pearl’s Place is the first place I went to try on dresses and I ended up falling in love with the second dress they put on me! My consultant Ruth was very nice but kinda pushy when it came to trying to get the sale. The service at Pearl’s Place can be stressful especially during alterations!!! On alteration days there is a line of women waiting to be fitted and they make you get dressed in these TINY dressing rooms with very little help. Alterations are included in your price though and I have to say my dress came out beautiful. I lost about 20 pounds before my wedding and they had to take my dress in on the sides and you couldn’t tell!! I did end up having to pay an up charge for them to add a french bustle which was ok I just wasn’t expecting it since it was never stated.
Florist: Christina O’Malley – C
Christina is great for the budget bride. Flowers weren’t my main focus even though I knew I did want real flowers!! The only flowers we needed were for the bridal party and two arrangements for the alter at the church (nothing for the reception.) I spoke to her strictly through email to get all the details finalized. I found she was difficult to get in touch with, a lot of times when I emailed her I waited weeks to hear back. We were also gonna put a rosary into my bouquet but she could never find time to meet me and wanted me to leave it on her doorstep, I’m sorry but no matter how many times you have had brides do that in the past I am not going to leave a treasured item just lying on your doorstep so I opted not to worry about it and just did without. Then the day of the wedding we got dressed at my aunt’s house, she just came in the house and dropped off the flowers and left without knocking or talking to anyone or anything---I didn’t even know she had been there!!! To top it all off my bouquet stem was suppose to be wrapped in navy ribbon with a lace over it (something we talked about it detail) and it was wrapped in white ribbon just like all the bridesmaids. This actually wouldn’t have been a big deal but I had figured that would be my something blue and ended up having to find something else. The flowers looked great though and held up all night!
Wedding Stationary: Gem’s Printing – A+
Our invitations were beautiful and didn’t break the bank! They were so helpful in helping us get exactly what we wanted!!
Bridesmaid Dresses: David’s Bridal – B
David’s Bridal can be chaotic. I had my bridesmaids ordering from different stores because they lived in different places. A few of the dresses came in to small but it was because the sample dresses they had tried on were stretched out and therefore didn’t fit like the new dresses.
Groomsmen Attire: Men’s Warehouse - B
We had four groomsmen have size problems with different pieces of their tux. Men’s warehouse was able to fix all the problems before the wedding day but it was just an added stress that we really didn’t need.