Congrats to all you new brides! Enjoy the planning process! I know I used thir board a lot in the early stages, so here are my vendor reviews. Hope you can use this!
Venue: Rosy's Jazz Hall A+
Steve and Darlene were so easy to work with, and both my husband and I feel they could probably charge at least 25% more a head for the value of the experience. I didn't have to stress about a single thing--Rosy's handled EVERYTHING. The food was amazing, and I can't say enough about the service. My dad is wheelchair bound, and Darlene personally made sure he got to try all of the food and that he always had a drink. Just thinking about how well they treated us makes me want to cry. It was a great experience.
Church: Holy Name Of Jesus B
I've always wanted to get married here because I'm a Loyola Alum. The church is SO beautiful--perfect for weddings! I gave them a B because if I had to do it over again, I don't think I would pay so much for the church. As much as I loved getting married there--and our wedding was BEAUTIFUL--I just didn't feel like it was much of a value. Plus, I dealt with one wedding coordinator leading up to the big day, and she was fine, but lost some of our paperwork and cashed my checks late. The day of, she wasn't our coordinator, and the lady who was was kind of rude. She ran a tight ship they day of, though, and everything went off without a hitch. Bottom line, if you have the money, go for it. If you're on a budget like us, think carefully.
DJ: Decades Music B+
Rick was really easy to work with and let us pick most of the music. People were on the dance floor all night long--it was fabulous! The only reason I'm not giving him an A is because my husband was annoyed he didn't play more songs from our list (I liked everything he played) and because during a photo slideshow I made for my dad, there was a computer icon up in the middle of the screen for about half of it.
Dress: David's Bridal A
I'm a plus sized bride, so going to those boutiques was just humiliating. I went to the David's in Slidell and had great service and selection.
Flowers: Zahn's in Kenner A-
Full disclosure: the owners are friends of my dad's, so that's why I chose them. They were affordable and easy to work with, but I didn't like the way my bouquet was wrapped. Other than that, they did a great job and gave me exactly what I wanted.
Wedding Shoes: Toms A+
I'm taller than my husband and needed comfy flats, so I got ivory TOMS. Do yourself a favor if your dress covers your feet and get a pair for the reception. They were so comfortable and the perfect dance shoes. I could really move in them!
Cake: Chez RuRene A+
The cake was beautiful and everyone said it was the best cake they ever tried. Chez RuRene is SO affordable. Do yourself a favor and check them out!
Jeweler: Ramsey's A+
The commercials are annoying, but the service is great. My fiance brought them my mother's engagement ring, and they did a custom re-setting. We also got my band there and I reset a sapphire ring as a pendant to be my something blue. All three of our experiences were great. Their sales people are knowledgeable without being pushy, and they really make you feel special. We got my husband's ring through etsy because he wanted a wooden ring. Otherwise, we would have gone to Ramseys!
Invitations: Write On A
Lori at Write On was so great to work with. She did a custom design for us that matched our theme and colors, and she came in way under budget. The only reason she doesn't get an A+ is that the paper was glossier than I thought it would be, but I'm sure you could order it more matte. Make sure you ask. But, honestly, this company is great to work with.
Rehearsal Dinner: Austin's A+
I didn't even think about the dinner at all in the planning. I let my mother-in-law do everything. The dinner was delicious, the room was beautiful, and the service was great. I couldn't have been happier!
Photography: Chris Williams at Zoeica Images A
Haven't seen the pictures yet, so I can't give him top marks, but Chris was amazing to work with and every time I asked him to get a shot, he had already taken it. He was always nearby when I needed him, but I didn't notice him once when I wasn't looking for him. Very professional experience!
Honeymoon: Lydia Mountain Rentals A+
My husband found this company online. They rent cabins in Virginia near Shenandoah National Park. We stayed for a week and it was AMAZING! Inexpensive and beautiful. The perfect vacation: lots of fun stuff nearby if you wanted to do something, but a beautiful secluded cabin if you don't want to do anything at all.
Things we did without because they weren't in the budget, and I never noticed we didn't have them:
Limosines: A friend of ours who has a gold prius (fit my color scheme!) drove us and I wouldn't have it any other way
Groom's cake: Bride's cake was so good, no one even asked about a groom's cake.
Videographer: This broke my heart a little, but we lucked out and a tech-saavy friend filmed it for us. I think I would miss this otherwise.
Favors: We used a Walmart giftcard someone gave us and bought a bunch of toys for Children's Hospital. We just put out a little framed notice explaining to people that we had donated the toys in our guests' honor.
Bridesmaids dresses: This had nothing to do with budget, but my girls looked amazing in little black dresses of their choice, and they were so grateful to really have a dress they can wear again!