Engagement Photos (Joann LeBoeuf Photography in Houma) -- A+ -- Great price and great photos! We didn't want too many engagement photos because that's not really our style. Joann ended up with about 30 good photos that our family and friends enjoyed looking at and ordering. She was inexpensive, which was great!
Invitations (InvitationConsultants.com) -- B- -- Our invites were okay, but that's about it. I didn't want to spend too much on invites, and basically I got what I paid for. Although I wasn't a huge fan of our invites, they do have some beautiful invitations on their site, so I wouldn't completely write them off. A few of our return envelopes were printed upside down, so that knocked their grade down a notch.
Hair (Salon M) -- A+ - I can't say enough wonderful things about Salon M. First of all, my hair looked great and stayed all night. You are treated so well when you come in for your hair trial and day of appointments. All the stylists treated me, my bridesmaids, and my mother like princesses which really helped soothe our nerves and made us feel great. The location is also super convenient for FQ brides -- just follow Canal Street out towards City Park and it's right there in a converted old shotgun home. I would highly recommend the ladies at Salon M!
Wedding Dress and Bridesmaid Dresses (Town and Country) -- A+ - The ladies at Town and Country were great to work with and all of my dresses and alterations came in on time. I also got my garter, shoes, and rehearsal dinner shoes there -- all for a great price.
Rehearsal Dinner (ACME Oyster House) -- A- - I had heard some negative things about the ACME Oyster House in the FQ, (people not returning phone calls, etc), but we had zero issues with ACME. They were good to work with, the newly renovated banquet room looks great, and it was so much fun to be able to hang out on the balcony and people-watch with a glass of wine. The only (very minor) issues we had was the confusion getting inside -- there is a long line at ACME and it can be confusing to push through the line to get inside the banquet room doors. We also had a police officer come upstairs and shoo us out after we met our time limit. I understand that we had to go but I think it could have been done more tactfully -- at the point the police officer came upstairs, the only guests left were my 80 year old grandparents and my mother! I don't know if this is ACME's fault, though, or the police officer, so I don't reallly want to point fingers. All in all, it was a great, fun, and AFFORDABLE venue for a rehearsal dinner.
Ceremony and Receptio (Musee Conti) - A++++++++++ - Beth and her staff are amazing at the museum! Our guests loved every second of the ceremony and reception. We had some stressful situations come up minutes before the ceremony was about to begin, and Beth handled everything for me with a smile on her face and a glass of champagne for me in her hand
I could not have asked for a better event space or a better event coordinator to work with. The food was incredible, the bartenders were awesome, and people had a blast! I would highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend the Musee Conti for any bride -- you will NOT be disappointed!
Cake (Royal Cakery) - A+ -- We had a 3-layer, gold and white colored cake. Two layers were red velvet with cream cheese filling and 1 layer was almond cake with fresh strawberry filling. AMAZING! Seriously, the cake was gorgeous and it tasted wonderful! I know that there are some great cake places in NO that charge a lot more than Royal Cakery, but this cake tasted like it was $10 a slice! I would highly recommend Shirelle and her cakes to any one, no matter what your budget is!
Wedding Favors (Beacoupbridal.com) A -- We ordered engraved stemless wine glasses that were so cute and that everyone loved! This is such a fun Web site with a TON of great gift/favor/reception ideas. The only bad thing is that you will end up wanting to buy EVERYTHING on this Web site, so beware
Photographer (Sabree Hill) A+ -- Obviously we have not seen the photos yet since the wedding was just on Friday, but I have no doubt that the photos will be great. Sabree is a great person to work with, and just a total sweetheart! She was working her tailfeather off during the reception to get great photos -- I'm so excited to see them once they are ready to go!
Band (Souled Out) A++++++++++++ -- I can't say enough about these guys, they are simply amazing and they deserved every penny we paid them and more. They are based out of Houma, and honestly should be playing in New Orleans. We found out that they will be playing the Saints Christmas party this year, and there is definitely a reason for that. These guys are so talented, and they somehow managed to get my coservative 80 year old grandmother shaking their behinds to "Doin' Da Butt." WOW!
Officiant (Reverend Marilyn Dennis, Fig Street Ministries) A+ -- I have never heard anyone compliment the justice of peace at a wedding, but I received SO many compliments about Reverend Dennis' ceremony. She was wonderful, and is just the nicest lady I have ever met. Our families are Catholic and were not thrilled that we were getting married outside of the church, but all of our family members complimented Rev. Dennis numerous times after our ceremony. She's great and I would highly recommend her. Baton Rouge brides : she actually lives in BR, so she would be a great option for BR weddings as well!