Ceremony/Reception-Bourbon Orleans Hotel (St Ann Cottage)The location was beautiful, secluded and had that old New Orleans feel with chandeliers and lamp post lighting. We had a smaller wedding of about 35 people and the cottage didn’t overwhelm such a small group. We had a beautiful courtyard for the ceremony and the trees were lit with white lights and we exchanged vows in front of an old fountain. If you are looking for something different other than a stuffy Ballroom, The St Ann Cottage is for you. I would like to add that I was a destination bride and that can make planning a wedding even more difficult. The Bourbon Orleans is a beautiful hotel, the suite they gave us for the night was wonderful, clean and overlooked Orleans and Bourbon Street. The staff at our wedding was fun, attentive and the food was incredible. Now the major downside was working with Claudia Rojas, who is the Senior Catering Manager at the hotel. She never returns phone calls, emails and I am talking up to a week before the wedding. On the day of my wedding it was raining on and off all day and I was freaking out because my ceremony was outside. She never came to discuss my other options, I had to go find her and I didn’t even find out where I was getting married until 30 minutes before my wedding. She didn’t inform me when my vendors had arrived and dropped off the cake, flowers etc. During the wedding she forgot to send me down the isle with my bouquet. She did nothing to help set up my event..My family and Maid of Honor did that. Working with her added that much more stress to such a special day. I do not regret my wedding at this hotel but I do regret having a wedding coordinator that didn’t cater to our needs.
Officiate- Rev Donald Bohn A couple of bumps along the way with the officiate. Everything with the officiate was done online through “Romancing New Orleans.Com” Payment, Scheduling etc. (We received an email three days before the wedding informing us that we had some how canceled the wedding). We did get the issue resolved that same day we received the email. Then on the day of the wedding we did not hear from the Rev until two hours before the ceremony. Once it came time to the wedding he was professional and made things easy to follow. I would also like to mention he was one of the most adorable officiates in the New Orleans area.
Flowers-Rouses Super Market Cindy in the floral department at the Rouses on Tchoupitoulas Street was wonderful and created beautiful flowers for our wedding. They worked with our budget and even delivered the flowers to our hotel. My only concern was that the flowers did arrive rather early and for a night wedding you don’t want your flowers sitting out all day. Our flowers held up fine and If you are thinking of ways to cut costs try the local supermarkets for your arrangements. They are so much more affordable and do just as nice of a job!
Cake-HaydelsThe cake tasting was a flop because they present you with a plate of these small bites of cake that for the most part taste exactly the same. We choose the praline filled and it was the flavor that stood out the most for us. The cake turned out beautiful and overall we where happy with it. I am not really a cake person. We did get a regular king cake for the grooms cake and it was a huge hit!
DJ-Marion with New Orleans Party SoundMy first conversation with Marion was fantastic, he was friendly, outgoing and completely made me feel like he could through a party. At the wedding he didn’t play a lot of the song list we gave him. I had to ask him to do certain things like speeches, the garter toss and even announce us into the wedding. He was definitely not the entertaining guy I spoke with on the phone.
Hair/Make-up-Just Face itThe best thing I could have done for my wedding was book Just Face It. I had spoke with Jessica originally who was booked on my wedding date and assured me that her partner Angele was amazing and she was right. She was knowledgeable, sweet and did a fantastic job. I received so many compliments on my hair and makeup. She was professional and used great products on our skin (Mac Makeup). By the way, she did seven peoples hair and makeup in one day starting at 10:00am and we were done by 5:00pm. She never complained or made you feel rushed. If I ever have an event that I need to attend in New Orleans there is no one else I would rather work with. Thank you Angele!
Photographer-Kendra Jones PhotographyI was a budget friendly bride and came across Kendra on New Orleans Craig’s List. She was from Orlando and had just moved to the New Orleans area. She has tons of photography experience (www.kendrajonesmorris.com) but had never done weddings before. She blew me away! She was professional, fun and took charge. We gave her our ideas and let her run with what she thought would be best. Not only did she create life long memories for us, she helped coordinate my wedding because like I said my wedding coordinator with the hotel wasn’t around. I cannot brag about her enough and the turn around time to receive some of our photos was just a few days! She is so dedicated to what she does and is extremely talented. I am very lucky to have had her be a part of our special day. If you are looking for the best photographer look no furtherJ Thank you Kendra!
Second Line-The Jaywalkers Second Line Band
If you are going to have a traditional New Orleans Wedding you have to have a Second Line Band. It is such a wonderful experience for your guests. The Jaywalkers were a five piece band including a grand marshall. We had to get a permit with Officer Don Powers and then we were able to hire the band. It is an added expense to the wedding but so worth it. The band was fun and the music was amazing. We paraded through the french quarter and gave our guests napkins and personlized beads to throw. The grandmarshall was our favorite, she made us feel compeletly comfortable and danced her butt off. We were also escorted by two police officers that helped with the crowd control. This was an experience I will never forget.