Hey guys! I got married May 17th and wanted to share with you some of my experiences with the vendors I used for my wedding. Hope this helps y'all out!!
Dress/ bridesmaid dresses
Pearl's- B
Pearl's has a great selection of dresses. They are reasonably priced and the sales woman who helped me was great! The only problem I had with Pearl's was their alterations. First of all, they only do alterations a couple times of week. There are so many people who come, that it quickly becomes a whole day ordeal (not good for people who have work and can't afford to take off). However, the real problem for me came with my bustle. During the wedding reception, it took us at least 15 minutes to put up my bustle. It was very hard to find where they put the loops and hooks. Eventually, I had to tell my wedding coordinator to use his pocket knife to cut holes in the layer of tulle so what it could hook up. No sooner we had it up, it fell out again. Once again it took another 10 or more minutes.In the end, I had to walk around my reception holding my train up. The wedding coordinator even said that this was one of the more difficult and problems bustles that he had encountered. I understand that bustles are not exactly easy to put up, but I do feel that mine was poorly done and was sad that I spent that much time during my reception to get it up.
Reception-
The Balcony- A+
Amazing venue with great good, good music, and a gorgeous setting. We were so pleased with The Balcony. The employees were so friendly and nice. We received so many compliments on the food and the staff worked very hard to give us what we wanted. Mike did a super job making sure that we stayed on track. He even had a table set up with the foods we liked and made us sit down and eat. I was very happy with The Balcony and would certainly recommend it!
Photographer
Lauren Carroll- A++++
We loved Lauren! She is very sweet and has such a great personality. Her prices are great and her pictures are phenomenal. She has this calming effect about her. While I was freaking out about time, she was very calm and professional and got all the pictures we wanted. During the reception, she was easy to find and whenever I asked her to take a picture, she was more than willing to. She is very flexible and will travel to New Orleans at no cost. Another bonus is that she gives you the copyrights to your picture. This is a great value and allows you to make whatever prints, photo books, and canvases you want, when you want. I would definitely recommend her. Great photographer with a great value!
Videographer
Bella Productions- A++
While we have not received our wedding video yet, I know beyond all doubt that we will love it. Bella productions does beautiful work. Korry is very professional and friendly. My husband did a suprise song for me at the wedding and he was able to call Korry before and keep it a surprise. During the wedding, Korry had an assistant with another camera to record everything from a different angle. I was very impressed with Bella productions and can not wait to see out end product!
Flowers
Joie de Vivre- A++
I contacted Joie de Vivre after I read another review on the New Orleans board. I was very impressed with Hilarie even before I met her. Every time I emailed her, she was extremely quick to answer me back. She often responded within a few hours. She took the time to get to know me and my interests. When I met up with her, I was very surprised to see that she had looked up my wedding board on pinterest to get a general idea of what I liked! She also took the time to research a lot. For example, since we got engaged in Japan, our wedding was Cherry Blossom. She took the time to research which flowers were popular in Japan. This impressed me. Never before had I encountered a vendor who took the time to do all that.
Anyway, Hilarie is very friendly and cute. She has a very bubbly personality in which you can't help but get excited. I felt like she truly understood what I wanted and I even allowed her freedom to experiment and try different things. I trusted her. I was right to put my trust in her. The flowers came out gorgeous! My jaw dropped when I saw them. She did everything that I wanted and more. My husband was also very impressed about couldn't stop raving about how much he liked his boutonnière! I would definitely recommend Joie de Vivre 100%.
Photobooth
A Picture Booth- A++
I was very impressed with the photo booth and everything we received with it. First, the booth was nice and could easily fit 4 people at a time. The props were great and of great quality. My guests received a copy of the pictures and a copy was put in an album for my and my husband. My guests loved it! Imagine my surprise when I saw a picture of my very conservative grandparents! It was a blast! Ricky was very professional and friendly! Overall, I think that it was one of the best purchases for the wedding and made a great favor for guests!!!!
Limos
Alert Transportation- A+
I was the most worried about limos before the wedding. I had read many horror stories about limos and was very worried it would happen to me. Thankfully it did not! Alert Transportation was very professional. They arrived exactly on time! The limos were very clean and the drivers were very friendly. When my limo arrived, the driver called me and made sure to tell me to call him when I was coming to the limo. He wanted to make sure that he was pulled up to the entrance so that my dress would not get dirty. It was very considerate! I felt that they were the most reasonably priced and most certainly the best bang for our buck!
Rehearsal Dinner
Vincent's Italian Cuisine- A+
Great food in a great environment. The prices were reasonable and we received a lot of food. The staff was great and very friendly. I was very impressed with Vincent's after the wedding. I received a phone call saying that they had accidentally charged us the night of the rehearsal the fee to book and that they would like to reimburse us. Not many places would take initiative to call about something like that. Would certainly recommend!
Cake
Gambino's Bakery- A
I loved my cake! It was beautiful and tasted delicious! I received many compliments. However, my husband was not impressed with his. He felt that Gambino's did not quite grasp what he wanted. On their defense, my husband's request for his was cake was rather odd and unusual. Overall, I was very pleased and would recommend without a doubt.
Makeup and Hair
Sharron Dore
Sharron is a personal friend of mine. She did my hair and makeup for the wedding and it came out beautiful! My hair was exactly what I wanted and it lasted all night! The make was beautiful and I received many compliments! Will be happy to send her number or pictures if you want.
Think thats about it guys. If you want any pictures or have any questions, feel free to message me. I will be more than happy to respond!