Belle Soiree' Events

Meredith is absolutely amazing! Very professional and personable. We hired Meredith for the month of/final details package and it was the best decision we made. I was able to relax and enjoy the day with family since she took care of all the details. No stress! Thanks Meredith for everything that you did to make our wedding perfect!

Merideth is a pleasure to work with and she was a huge help in general, helping put all of my daughter's wedding plans in motion. She specifically knows the local NOLA wedding community which was helpful to us in coordinating from afar, and she gave us good advice along the way. She had also been the planner for a friend's wedding, so the recommendation comes x2. Wish we could do it over again! Enjoy the ride.

Merideth has been so helpful in assisting us on our long-distance wedding. She helped us with our venue walk-through and is set to assist with our seating arrangements and decorations. My fiance and I have felt super secure in her hands. She has been such a gift in assisting us with our budget and finding vendors for our special day. We have had to postpone our wedding to next year, but she has been such a help in our peace of mind during this whole process! I am looking forward to having her at my side on my wedding day because I know she will take care of everything to a T!

I knew hiring Merideth and her team to help plan my wedding was a good choice, and then Covid happened and it solidified my decision! She came to my rescue and we had a plan A,B and C for my wedding. When the day finally came everything ran so smoothly, it was absolutely perfect. All the planning and assistance was worth it! I can’t sing her praises enough

I hired Merideth and her team about 9 months before my wedding. We decided to bump up the event and thank GOD we hired Belle Soiree. They were able to seamlessly and efficiently put together my event in a few months. The attention to detail, personalized service, and overall BEST FRIEND vibes was more than I could have asked for. BOTH of our families just adore Merideth and her team. Hiring her was one of the best decisions and investments for our wedding.

I hired Meredith and her team at Belle Soiree Events to plan my spring 2019 wedding! At first, I was totally overwhelmed with the process even though I lived in New Orleans! The day I hired Meredith, all the stress literally went away. She got me organized on things I had already done, set me up with an online planning tool, and gave me a to do list to follow for the next few weeks. From there, everything was a total breeze! I am very organized but needed help creating an overall vision that I would love and my guest too! Meredith created an entire EXPERIENCE for my guest and everyone still raves about it! Meredith truly cares about you and the outcome of your event. Thank you, Mere!

Meredith and her team were organized, professional, and absolutely amazing to work with! My husband and I were married in New Orleans in Dec 2016. I'm originally from the state, but not longer live there, so I knew the finalizing details leading up to the wedding could be difficult. Meridith worked with me to put together a package that worked for our situation, and she began assisting us with planning about a month and a half out. We partnered with her for planning both our Friday night Welcome Event and the Saturday evening ceremony and reception. Everything went off without a hitch, in very large part to the Belle Soiree team. Belle Soiree team - Thank you for taking care of so many items that I will never even know about! I know that you all were behind the scenes making things click like clockwork!

Our wedding was in November 2016 at Race & Religious, and being from Madison, WI, we knew we'd need someone in New Orleans to help us plan it! Merideth was instrumental in securing our vendors, and she did a great job of recommending vendors that she thought we would like based on our taste / interests. She took a lot of stress out of the planning process, and made sure we had everything we needed at our wedding. Southern weddings are much different than northern weddings, and I'm super thankful I had her to explain the differences. Our wedding was better than ever imagined and all of our friends / family members at the event still rave about how we had the best wedding ever. Highly Recommend her!

I was recently married in New Orleans and my mom and I hired Merideth for "month-of" service contract. Not only was Merideth and her team phenomenal in our final month of planning, but even leading up to that she was always willing to answer questions via phone or email when they came up. We are from out of state, so questions about vendors came up somewhat frequently! Every vendor she recommended was incredible AND economical, so she helped us save a ton of time and money in the planning process. On top of just being great at what they do, Merideth and her team and sweet, calming, and amazing people. They were so attentive, flexible, and willing to go above and beyond at the drop of a hat on our wedding. We had a large party- and everyone was from out of town, so no one was familiar with Nola- and they made each and every person feel taken care of. They even put someone on drink and food duty at the wedding to make sure my husband and I got to eat and drink all of the amazing things we picked out (trust me you will forget to do this as you are socializing the whole time!!). I should also mention our venue was GORGEOUS but tricky. We only had an hour and 15 minutes for set up before the ceremony started and it was small and we packed it full of people. We then had a second line where everything (chairs, tables, decor, etc) had to be flipped in about 20-25 minutes. I was nervous but knew we'd be in good hands for this challenge and again Merideth and her team again knocked it out of the park. I seriously cried when we came back in because it was so beautiful. The reception started to fall a bit behind schedule (because i wanted to change after the second line) and Merideth's team got us back on track so that we could enjoy every minute of the party. To Merideth and her amazing team, you created the wedding of my dreams. People keep telling us it was the most fun and unique celebration they've ever been to and I know we couldn't have pulled it off without your help! To the brides to be looking for a wedding planner, just stop looking and hire Merideth. She cannot be topped.

Merideth and her team went above and beyond my expectations! I selected her "Final Details" package, because I'm from New Orleans, but now live in Chicago. I organized most of the planning myself and left the last month up to them to coordinate. However, since I had an 18 month engagement, I was communicating with Merideth since the moment I signed my contract (about 14 months prior to the wedding day). We met in person, spoke on the phone, and she was always available to answer any questions or provide recommendations whenever I requested via email or phone. She's truly knowledgeable, listens closely, and genuinely cares about making each special day memorable. I was so relieved to hand over the remaining tasks to her one month prior to the wedding!! Knowing everything was in good hands allowed me to focus on other areas, like packing, gettin things at work at a good place, etc. I and my (then) fiancé met with Merideth 3 days before the wedding to discuss the timeline and met her team. They are all incredibly professional and if anything came up throughout the weekend, they handled it before I even knew of the issue (which really helped reduce stress and give me space to have fun in the moment!). If I had a last minute request or change, I was comfortable delegating to them to make it happen. I can tell they take pride in their work and take it very seriously, as they truly made me feel so important and special. Out of all the costs involved in planning a wedding, hiring Merideth is at the top of the list. It was absolutely worth every cent! I know I wouldn't have been able to make it go as smoothly as it did and there would've been a lot of questions I'd not have answers to, especially during vendor set up/break down. It allowed me to enjoy my guests, my husband, and have an amazing party! Merideth and her team are professional, kind, and personable. They're the kind of people you want to be friends with!

We were really pleased with the work Merideth and her team did to plan our wedding. We chose the "month of" package, which perfectly fit our needs. With a fifteen month engagement, I was pretty confident I could handle most of the planning details myself, but as soon as we chose NOMA as our venue (which provides the space and that's about it), I knew we'd need someone to orchestrate the event and make sure all the trains were running on time the month of the big day. And I'm so glad we did. While planning the wedding was fun, by the time we got to that last month I was so relieved to hand the planning over to Merideth's capable hands. Trust me the last thing you want to me doing the month of your wedding is dealing with those details! Merideth more than delivered. It seems like she knows every vendor in town, and she exudes an air of confidence in dealing with these events and the inevitable trouble-shooting involved that made me totally comfortable with ceding control to her. She included me in discussions of last-minute arrangements when appropriate and but didn't bother me with a lot of the nitty-gritty details when it wasn't necessary. Every time I emailed her with a question or a worry about a detail she responded that it had already been taken care of or that it would be soon - and it always was. Plus, having shopped around some before choosing Merideth as our planner, and now helping my sister find a planner for her wedding in another city, I can say that Merideth's prices are extremely reasonable and competitive. Can't speak highly enough about Merideth or her team!

I was an out of town bride and chose Meredith to plan my perfect New Orleans wedding. She was fabulous via email and phone call and made a great first impression. She made us feel very taken care of during the vendor selection process and was very responsive to all of our questions and requests. I'm only giving Meredith two stars because of what happened when I unexpectedly had to cancel our wedding. According to our contract with Belle Soiree, if you have to cancel the wedding, Meredith keeps the deposit and all incremental payments (made every few months) leading up to the wedding date. Totally fair - unlike some vendors, she and her team are working hard during the time leading up to the wedding. In my case, I made a payment and then unexpectedly had to cancel the wedding a few days later. When Meredith and I spoke, I asked her if she would be willing to refund me a prorated portion of the payment I had made just a few days before. She immediately agreed to do so and promised to send me an email with the final refund amount that evening. I waited a week and didn't hear back from her... I ended up following up with 4 emails over a month-long period of time and still haven't heard a word. I don't have a problem with Meredith keeping the final payment. My problem is with the fact that she didn't have the decency or maturity to tell me that she intended to keep it after promising she would refund it. Meredith turned out to be the only person I worked with in the New Orleans wedding community who I would never work with again.

As a bride who has NO artistic talent or creativity, Merideth took a general feel of the kind of wedding I wanted and transformed it into an amazing event. She has great relationships with the best vendors in New Orleans (especially helpful since I planned from California.) She was able to work with Firefly Ambiance, NOLA Flora and The Chicory to make the wedding I dreamed of and more. If you need a strong design force for your wedding, this is definitely it! Three months since the wedding and I'm still having people tell me how it was the best wedding they had ever been to. Thank you, Belle Soiree Events!

I cannot speak highly enough of Merideth & the Belle Soiree team. I had very little idea of what I wanted for my wedding and she patiently helped guide me every step of the way. Being an OOT bride - her help was invaluable in terms of dealing with vendors and making things easy and efficient for me. She was always available (an essential for this type-A NYC gal) and pleasant in every interaction even when I was having needy bride "moments". She broke down my vendor choices into easy to manage decisions, and was persistent in following up with them to achieve what we wanted. Merideth is not only phenomenally organized and detail oriented, she is also a great problem solver. My guests are still raving about how beautiful the wedding was - particularly the ceremony venue which was an nontraditional choice that was a result of Merideth's creativity (a beautiful gas light museum which she transformed into a gorgeous ceremony venue). On the night of the wedding - I also was immensely impressed that everything went off without a hitch and I didn't go a second without a drink in my hand or a hair out of place thanks to Merideth. She is not only an amazing wedding planner - but also a wonderfully thoughtful and kind person. I highly recommend Merideth & Belle Soiree Events!

I was a bridesmaid in my big brother's wedding held at plantation estate's venue. I must say that Mrs. Bugbee is the utmost of professional and so very kind as well. Every single tiny detail was absolutely perfect. It was the most beautiful ceremony. I was in happy tears the entire time. They say some people have a calling and planning weddings is truly Mrs. Bugbee's calling. She is amazing! I very highly recommend her! If ever I get married, I hope to be blessed enough to have her plan my wedding! Any bride would be lucky to have her and an absolute fool not to book her services. A++++++++! =)

Merideth was terrific and tremendously helpful! She is quite literally an expert in the field and was a total joy to be around. She literally took care of absolutely everything and I didn't have a thing to worry about! We were out of towners/destination wedding-ers and it was like our wedding was in our backyard. She knew many of our other vendors and to us, they worked seamlessly together. She's sweet, knowledgable, and was 100% perfect. Thank you again to Belle Soiree!

My husband and I met at Tulane in college some 15 years ago and finally decided to tie the knot. When we were looking for a wedding city, we knew it just had to be New Orleans! We live up north and from the brief research I did online, I knew I wanted a full service wedding planner. Merideth came highly recommended on multiple websites and from her past great reviews. We set up a phone call and I knew before getting off the phone that this was the chick I could trust my wedding plans with. When we came into town for our initial meeting and visits, she had scheduled so many meetings in such a short amount of time. She took us ALL over the city and showed us places that didn't pop up on google. We ended up choosing a venue for a ceremony that has NEVER had a wedding take place at! How neat is that? If it wouldn't have been for Belle Soiree we would have never found this and might have had the "cookie cutter" wedding. All of my friends asked "why are you not more stressed? are you freaking out?" when I was wedding planning and I simply owed that all to Merideth. I was 100% involved with the planning but always trusted and knew Merideth was on top of EVERYTHING. Anything I emailed her about was already taken care of and she went above and beyond the basic expectations. Her team is also very pleasant and you can tell they all love what they do. In addition to the top notch service, Merideth allowed me to ship ALL my items- all 12/15 boxes to her house throughout the planning process. You can't get that anywhere else! There were so many other little details Merideth helped with that I could write a book on. She helped us find a priest in an outside the church ceremony, stuffed and mailed our invites, tracked our RSVP's, created our seating chart- again- we could go on and on! The other reviews don't lie. Merideth becomes your friend. We may seem over "gushy" but the relationship built with the entire team is something I will cherish forever! We had the perfect New Orleans wedding thanks to Merideth and the Belle Soiree team!

I had contacted Belle Soiree in the very beginning of my wedding planning but ultimately decided to plan everything on my own. However, I was worried that I would be very stressed the day of my wedding. So I contacted Merideth again. It was the best decision ever! She took over contacting vendors in the final weeks and providing time lines for everyone. I did not have to worry on the day of my wedding if everyone had arrived at the venue and was able to be relaxed and enjoy the day with my mom and bridesmaids. Merideth saw my vision and was able to make the venue beautiful! I would highly recommend the month of service to any bride who wants to do the majority of the planning but also wants the peace of mind as the wedding date nears.

My now husband and I fell in love with New Orleans when we met here back in college. Fast forward 10 years we decided to finally tie the knot and hired Merideth instantly when we met her. As a new bride and groom, we had no idea the steps that needed to take place to ensure we had our version of the perfect wedding. We met with a few different planners and they all seemed very cookie cutter until we met Merideth. Merideth had a way of explaining that this was OUR wedding and we were free to do whatever WE wanted. This really set home with us as I am sure many of you know- weddings can be stressful with so many different opinions. Merideth and her team lead us through every step of the process and provided excellent vendor recommendations among excellent service. My husband and I BOTH received birthday cards on her our birthdays and were randomly sent our favorite bottles of wine during those stressful weeks. The attention to personal details was something that really resonated with us. Merideth eventually became a friend which made the planning process much more enjoyable. I am not sure we would have had the same experience with anyone else and I am so glad we chose Belle Soiree! Our wedding day was flawless and if anything went wrong we had no idea. Every decision, every cry, every moment leading up to our big day was made possible with the help of Merideth and Belle Soiree. The other reviews are true- if you are lucky enough to know Merideth you are lucky to gain a new friend. Thanks again for everything! We couldn't be happier!

Merideth Bugbee from Belle Soiree is a terrible wedding planner! My wedding was in December of 2014. A few months before our wedding my husband & I considered firing Merideth. We ultimately decided not to fire her b/c we’d already paid her in full. That being said, if I could go back in time I would hire someone else. Here’s why. A few weeks before our wedding, my husband & I met with Merideth to discuss the final details. During the meeting Merideth said she would meet with us a few days after the wedding to give us the gifts she collected at the reception. However, on our wedding day Merideth did not follow this plan. When our reception ended she decided to leave our gifts at the front desk of the hotel where we were staying. Keep in mind we never gave her permission to give our gifts to the front desk. When I woke up the morning after my wedding, I began looking for things like my makeup bag. My husband called Merideth to find out where these items were located. She said my makeup bag & wedding decorations were at the front desk. She never mentioned our gifts being at the front desk. I called the front desk & they brought my makeup bag & wedding decorations up to my room. However, they did not bring any wedding gifts. And we didn’t know to ask the front desk for our wedding gifts b/c Merideth neglected to tell us that she’d left our gifts at the front desk. As a result, valuable items were left at the front desk for an extended amount of time. A few days went by before we discovered Merideth had delivered our gifts to the front desk. We discovered this when some of our guests started asking if we had received the gift they brought to the reception. Our response was “no”. This prompted us to call Merideth. After repeated attempts to reach her, we were finally able to get her on the phone. We had to call her from a phone number she didn’t recognize in order to get her to answer our call. When she answered she said she delivered the remaining gifts to the front desk in a box. She said she did not get the name of the person she left the box with, or ask the front desk to lock up the box. Prior to having this conversation with her we thought my Dad had collected all of our gifts at the reception b/c Merideth never communicated that my Dad only had a few of our gifts. Therefore, we had no idea that some of our gifts were missing until we contacted her. I immediately called the hotel. The hotel was unable to locate the box b/c they were undergoing renovations. The hotel was concerned that our gifts had been accidentally thrown away. The hotel opened an investigation. The hotel’s director of loss & prevention called Merideth repeatedly in an effort to try to figure out what happened to our gifts. She never returned the hotel’s phone calls. We also discovered that the person working at the front desk offered to deliver our gifts to the room the same night she dropped them off. But, she told the hotel employee not to deliver our items to the room. Had Merideth followed the original plan that was discussed in our final meeting, none of this would have happened. Since Merideth gave our gifts away without our permission & refused to return the hotel's phone calls during the investigation, we got a lawyer involved. Merideth tried to blame me & my husband for our gifts being thrown away. This was hurtful & unprofessional. In the end, we were financially compensated by the hotel. Do yourself a favor & don't hire Merideth...trust me on this!

I chose Merideth of Belle Soiree' Events almost immediately. Our first email interactions showed me she was warm, friendly, professional, and most of all… perfect at planning weddings. At the end of our first in-person meeting, I wanted to chase her down and hire her on the spot! Within two days she had arranged several venue visits, which she attended with myself, my mother, and my husband's mother. She was diplomatic, reasonable, and properly opinionated. Merideth helped me to see what each venue offered and how it could work for my budding wedding ideas. Once we settled on a venue and a date, she was right to work helping me pull inspiration, finding vendors that were both available for my date as well as matched my style. Merideth attended all of my vendor meetings and always helped me to be true to my vision. She never let me lose sight of the end product, which can easily happen with an overwhelming amount of decisions, choices and stress. Merideth continued to be open with her time and communication, was easy to reach, and always clear and concise throughout the entire process. I cannot say enough about the amount of time she devoted to us. When things were stressful, she was there. When I was dealing with the personal difficulties that inevitably come along with the joining of two families, she was right there. When things were wonderful, she was right there to celebrate along side of me. As our wedding day approached she took over with the control of a true pro. I was able to glide into the last week with relatively low stress knowing that every detail was now in good hands. On the day of she allowed me to just be the bride, but was never more than a phone call away. When I was obsessing about the way my dress looked, she arrived within minutes of a phone call and fixed the problem, and reassured me that my groom would be blown away. She held my hand all the way down the elevator to our first look. I will never forget that. She made me calm when I needed her. I cannot say enough about this woman. If you have the opportunity to work with her, know how lucky you are. I now count her as one of my friends. Merideth is a true, true blessing to brides everywhere.

Merideth was absolutely wonderful to work with and ran a flawless event! Being an event planner myself, it was a hard task of letting someone else run the most important day, my wedding! I couldn't have asked for a better person to take charge. She was extremely detail oriented and made sure everything was perfect at the Reception site. She was there for my husband and I the whole night whether refilling drinks or helping put on my garter! She helped deliver and the wedding of my dreams!

I chose the "Month of Coordination" Package. I am a local bride so although I wanted to do "most" of my planning, I knew I would need help executing my big day. My wedding was November 8th 2014, and Merideth came on board in the first week of October 2014. I will say that this was the best investment I made for my wedding day. She was completely responsive and definitely on task while keeping me "stress free". The weekend of the wedding she checked in however took care of all of the details (small ones will get forgotten lol!). I have recommended Belle Soiree to over 5 brides already. We received wonderful compliments from our guests I have Merideth to thank for making it all go so smoothly. She and her team will put you first so you and your groom can actually enjoy your wedding experience. Thanks again to Belle Soiree!!

Merideth is a phenomenal wedding planner. Although my husband and I never imagined a wedding before it was time to plan one, Merideth helped us create the dream wedding we never knew we wanted. Hiring her from start to finish of the planning process was delightful--she took care of a lot of details and logistics that my husband and I did not want to do and she presented us with a lot of options. She is very professional and has great relationships with vendors. She also made sure we were always satisfied. The day of coordination went seamlessly--it flowed perfectly and my husband and I enjoyed every single minute of our wedding. I cannot imagine having gotten married with Meredith's help and highly recommend her.

Meredith and her team of planners were so instrumental in making my dream wedding come to life! I had my wedding at the New Orleans Museum of Art. This venue only provides the space and you have to coordinate everything else...down to the last fork! It was a lot to plan, but Meredith took over the organization in the final month so I could relax and enjoy the special time. She and her team were professional and organized. They ensured that everything ran smoothly and on time. My limo even broke down on the way to the reception and Meredith's assistant planned another ride for us. Furthermore, Meredith is very reasonable priced. I highly recommend Meredith and her team to any bride.

I am a detailed, analytical researcher by nature, so I actually found the wedding planning process to be an enjoyable experience. I was also willing to invest the extensive time necessary over our 22 month engagement to conquer every minute detail needed to coordinate the significant event. In retrospect, it was more work than I expected despite the fact that our guest count was intimate and our venues responsive. I do not think that most brides truly realize the time expenditure they sign up for if they intend to handle their own wedding, especially in a city like New Orleans where there is so much choice. I have lengthy spreadsheets as a reminder of the consolidation of data I tried to put together to make sense of all that was available by way of vendors and details; an item that would have been significantly minimized had I involved Merideth of Belle Soirée sooner in the process. As much as I could make time to plan the wedding in advance, the realization that it would be nearly impossible for me to personally execute the wedding day details became apparent, and the time sensitive and stressful to-do list for not only myself, but also a number of friends started to feel daunting. Normally I have difficulty asking people for help, as I like to be actively involved throughout each stage, so it was humbling for me to let go and hand over control as our wedding date approached. After over a year of planning and an empty bank account, we realized that we did not want to burden our guests with tasks, or feel the weight of stress on our shoulders on this important day. Even though I had to relinquish a bit of control, never once was I left in the dark as Merideth communicated attentively and thoroughly when necessary. It was also incredibly freeing to shed all of the wedding items ahead of time into her care, which contributed to the feeling of relaxation I experienced leading up to the big day. We literally had nothing left to do but follow the timeline once Friday arrived, fully confident that everything would be taken care of in a way that would exceed our expectations. In all honesty, I never thought that I needed a wedding planner, but in retrospect I'm incredibly grateful to have had Merideth by my side to ensure that our vision was realized to its full potential. My husband and I attribute our ability to have been able to enjoy every aspect of our wedding to the fact that it was not only in capable hands, but that Merideth treated our event with the loving care of a professional while acting as a resource to our guests. Although nothing technically went wrong apart from the cake not fitting on the vintage glass stand we had purchased, she was able to recognize that we would have hated the large, modern one available at the venue and problem solved a suitable alternative. By our wedding day she knew our tastes so well that she was able to make accurate decisions on our behalf and I wholeheartedly believe that it is this ability to put herself into her client's shoes that sets Merideth apart in the industry. Working your event is not just a job to her, it is a true passion. We cannot thank Merideth and Belle Soirée enough for our fun and memorable wedding!

Merideth and Michael were absolute LIFE SAVERS for our wedding this past June!! We decided on the "month of" package for the last minute details, but Merideth's help began way before that! I was majorly stressed when it got down to crunch time and she made sure everything was pulled off seamlessly and kept me up to date along the way. Everything turned out PERFECT and I didn't have to worry about a thing except show up and have fun!! She and Michael even picked up items from my house to bring to the church and reception ahead of time, and then collected everything including gifts and dropped them by my house the next day! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

My new husband and I have both been married previously and we wanted this wedding to be simply us. With only 30 guest and a VERY limited time frame, Merideth helped pull together our sweet intimate wedding without a flaw. We wed in an intimate chapel and second lined over to a fabulous french quarter restaurant. I did not meet Merideth until the week of my wedding and it takes a lot to put 100% trust in a complete stranger. I never doubted the planning experience and I am so thankful we chose Belle Soiree to make our special day happen.

Merideth and her staff were amazing. The day of the wedding they went above and beyond. Everything turned out so beautiful and, I was so happy all day thanks to them! If anything went wrong I was not aware of it. I am very thankful and forever grateful for Merideth and her team for making our special day so wonderful!

I am from Texas and we wanted a destination wedding in lovely NOLA. From our first contact I felt like Merideth was an old friend! I used Merideth for the "day of services" because my now husband and I wanted to do a lot of the planning. Merideth still checked in on me from time to time and she made me feel comfortable to ask lots of questions. She was always available to help answer any questions I had, especially when I was trying to choose vendors. The few weeks leading up to my wedding, I wasn't even stressed because Merideth was ON IT! She had already been checking with all my vendors and made a time line for the day of the wedding. Everything was in place once we arrived in NOLA for our wedding April 6th, 2014. The only thing I worried about was if it was going to rain or not for my second line (it didn't)! Merideth and Michael made my whole day run SO smoothly and effortlessly. She even helped my husband's mom (who was from out of the country) get to where she needed to be on time! Our wedding was the best day of our lives! I was on the dance floor most of the time and when my champagne glass was getting close to being empty, Merideth swooped in like a cat and exchanged it for a fresh glass!! SHE WAS AWESOME! We had so much fun and our guests couldn't stop talking about how "perfect" and "smooth" it was!! Using some of your wedding budget for a planner is worth it, but getting Belle Soiree' events to handle your special day is the BEST decision you will make! Her attention and professionalism is top notch! I have no doubt she is at the top of her game when it comes to planning and executing an event. She will make you feel like you should feel on the most important day of your life.....like a queen!! :)

well, i guess i could have, but my wedding would definitely not have been as enjoyable, laid back and stress free as it was on our day. meredith & michael were amazing! i'm a very laid back bride, & had done much of the planning myself, so i didn't really grasp the point of having a wedding planner, but i am so very glad we chose belle soiree! with very few meetings they were able to grasp everything i could ever dream of that i needed or wanted. & the day of they let me okay all of the decor and set up and of course it was more beautiful than i could ever dream of! i didn't realize how much i needed them until it was happening, (running around for items, dodging the groom, setting up, helping coordinate the ceremony, handling guests and vendors & much much more!) I couldn't imagine having to do those things or having my family do them, as we were all so busy already. they were life savers in our times of need & i will recommend them to anyone! our wedding was exactly as planned & i couldn't have done it without them! truly the best! & if you're hesitant about getting a planner, DO IT. you won't regret it. trust me, you do not want those tiny things to fall on you, because there will be more than you can handle. & your wedding day is not something you should stress out about, you should enjoy it! in the end i fell in love with meredith & michael, they were the best!

About a month ahead of time, we had our wedding 99% planned and we did not need to pay anyone else to plan our wedding for us -- or so we thought. On the day of our wedding, there was stuff that we simply could not take care of, nor could we delegate to our guests (e.g., setting up chairs, tipping the bus drivers, coordinating flower arrangements, confirming with vendors including band, collecting gifts and making sure they are safe, and in New Orleans coordinating the chaos of a second line parade, etc. etc.) and the list seems endless. Meredith and her team took care of ALL of this seamlessly. For the amount of hours and effort they put in ahead of time (and even after the wedding,) they were in many ways underpaid, but due to budgeting issues, we could only afford so much and Meredith found a way to work with us. She outdid everything she offered to do for us and went above and beyond. Not only would I recommend a day-of wedding coordinator in general, but I would HIGHLY recommend Meredith Reed and her team. For New Orleans, where things tend to move at a slower and less punctual pace, Meredith and her team were always 5 steps ahead of us and they were a pleasure to work with.

When I initially met with Merideth of Belle Soiree, I had a venue/ date, a dress, a photographer, and a growing knot of anxiety about the rest of the details for my wedding. I thought I could handle planning it on my own, but I found myself absolutely drowning in the process. I didn't know about caterers or linens or equipment rental or which florists would be the best fit for me, and frankly, I didn't want to have to think about those things. I wanted to be able to enjoy my wedding with my groom and guests without having to worry about the details. So I put off making any decisions about it at all (and that knot of anxiety just kept growing). Enter Merideth and her team. At our initial consultation, her eyes got slightly larger when I told her the day was only 3 months away, but she said, "That's not a problem!" And it wasn't! She took care of absolutely everything. She found a great florist, she hired an officiant, she found ceremony musicians, and she found a band that was exactly like the band I wanted but that fit within my budget. She sent out my invitations for me! She even called one day to ask what stamps I would like her to use on the invitations. (You may care about stamps, but I really don't. I did think it was extraordinary that she would think about the fact that I might care about stamps.) Fast forward to the day of my wedding: She'd hired fantastic hair and make-up people who came to my house, hired a car to drive me to the venue, and even made mimosas for my group while we were getting ready. The only thing I had to do on my wedding day was make sure my dress zipped, which it finally did after much coaxing from Merideth! Everything at the venue was absolutely gorgeous. Stunning is the word I keep hearing from guests, and it was just stunning. She had taken the loose idea I'd had about a decor theme and absolutely transformed that space into a dreamscape. The ceremony and reception were perfect, even though we'd planned an outdoor ceremony and had to bring it inside at the last minute due to rain. If there were any difficulties because of this, I don't know about them because Merideth took care of it. She even made sure my groom and I always had full glasses during the reception! Really, I can't praise the team at Belle Soiree enough. She was always available to answer my questions, and from the minute I met her I knew I could relax and just let her handle the whole thing, and I'm so glad I did. My wedding was just perfect, and Merideth and Belle Soiree made it happen.

Merideth and her team are the best wedding planning agency a bride could ever dream of! I came to Merideth in a panic 8 weeks before my wedding day and she made it all come together beautifully and remained calm as could be. She is organized, professional, dependable, and timely ALWAYS; you can count on Merideth to get anything done and that trust in her saved me so much stress. Merideth was not only my wedding planner, but she became my confidant and friend. I called Merideth on several occasions in tears just to vent and she was always there at all hours of the night and day to ease my stress. Every single thing that I asked for from flowers to my cake table to ceremony decor she delivered. Merideth listened to every single detail and took my vision and turned it into my fairy tale wedding. I never had to speak to a florist or rental company because she had my ideas and vision perfectly etched in her mind. The day of my wedding Merideth and her team seemed more like friends to me and my husband. They are so relaxed and comfortable to be around. All of them went above and beyond their call of duty to make our day perfect. My husband and I initially thought that we didn't need a wedding planner, but working with Merideth and her team was THE BEST investment we made for our wedding. My husband and I just showed up on our wedding day and everything fell into place without either of us worrying even for a second. Unexpected things happened the morning of our wedding - our hairstylist was in a serious car accident - and Merideth was there to find another stylist that matched what I had in mind and everything went off without a hitch (all while I was enjoying a Starbucks latte with my family before getting ready). What Merideth and her team can provide is more than what money can buy, its peace of mind during the planning process and the luxury of enjoying every second of your wedding day from start to finish. I absolutely love Merideth and I still keep in touch with her because she is an amazing friend. Her positive attitude is so nice when you're planning and she never lets any stressful situation rattle her, which is exactly what I needed. Our wedding day was absolutely perfect in every way; I had my fairy tale wedding I've always dreamed of. There is nothing more I could have asked for, Merideth and her team gave us more than we ever dreamed.

When I first pulled up to my parents' newly purchased plantation style home with its white columns, wide balcony and acreage filled with oak trees and azaleas, I decided then at 12-years-old that one day I would get married in that house. Belle Soiree Events turned my dream wedding into a reality on October 5, 2013! As an at-home wedding, much more planning was involved than at a traditional venue. Everything needed to be rented from tables and chairs to event restrooms. Working a full-time job, there was no way I had time to find and coordinate so many vendors. Merideth Reed handled all of the logistical details, followed up with vendors, revised contracts, did site walk-throughs, everything! One benefit of working with Merideth is that she suggested creative details and decor ideas that I never thought to ask about and made the event visually stunning. Even if you're trying to go low-budget and DIY, hiring a wedding planner was still the best investment I made. The stress she took off my shoulders was priceless. The most important element of your wedding is that you enjoy it! Also, Merideth could look at contracts and know when we were being overcharged or if another vendor could do it cheaper. She actually saved me money. Merideth can either take the lead on all the details or serve as bridal support depending on your preference. Merideth and I spent the first few months getting to know each other and defining my style. Once Merideth saw my vision, she was able to run with the idea and leave me to enjoy being engaged. With my busy lifestyle, I wanted to save every second to simply enjoy my wedding and let Merideth take care of it all. The whole event was absolutely perfect and if anything went wrong I wasn't aware of it. I will definitely recommend Belle Soiree Events to my bride friends! You can judge for yourself and check out photos from the wedding day here: http://artedevie.com/vicki-and-bill-married/

I cannot say enough good things about Merideth Reed! I live in Kentucky and decided to have a destination wedding in New Orleans. Neither of us had been before, but I was hesitant as to whether or not I even needed a planner, as I thought I was organized and knew what I wanted. Though this may be true, I quickly learned that I am not the professional that Merideth is and she made our wedding day perfect! Though I did not have the opportunity to meet her until the day before, Merideth was like a friend in guiding me through making the right decisions in my wedding planning. She seemed to know my likes and taste and I was able to trust her opinion in all areas. She was right about everything! I was pleased with every vendor that she recommended. She took care of so many things for me and I'm sure there so many that I don't even know about. I appreciate Merideth for keeping me involved with everything and making sure I felt a part of it even though we were so far away. When I finally got to meet her, she greeted me with a hug. She was so pleasant and calming on our wedding day, as was her assistant, Michael. Though sweet, she was also assertive enough that I knew everything was going to be taken care of so I did not have to worry. Belle Soiree Planning is a great choice for their professionalism, thoughtfulness, and attention to detail. Our wedding day went so well, it felt like a dream! I am confident that this is thanks to Merideth Reed and Belle Soiree.

I always knew I wanted to have a destination wedding .. and really always knew I wanted to have it in New Orleans. It was just convincing my now husband to have it there that took a little coaxing. As soon as I got him on board I knew that it would be difficult to plan a wedding out of state (we both currently live in Philadelphia but are originally from Seattle) but I knew it could be done. What I didn't realize was that it was pretty much MANDATORY to have at least a day of coordinator. That is, if you are like me and don't want to worry about ANYTHING the day of your wedding. I was unsure about what route to take but after reading multiple wonderful reviews about Belle Soiree I decided to go with them. I will tell you, with everything that I went through (as far as choosing vendors go) and deciding what was "necessary" and what I could do without .. there is one thing I can say was the best decision I made during the whole wedding process and that was hiring not just a day of coordinator but hiring Merideth Reed to help with my wedding. As "relaxed" as I was hoping I would be on my wedding day could not even come close to how confident I felt the day of my wedding. I was never the type to plan my dream wedding but walking into The Chicory the day of my wedding and seeing everything come together was more then I ever dreamed of. We were married last weekend and my husband and I still can't stop talking about how magical the entire day/night went. From start to finish. And I really owe that all to Merideth and her assistant. They were soo helpful and made sure everything was taken care of. We even had a mishap with the cab company early on (totally our fault for being cheap and picking an unreliable company to transport us on our wedding day) but not once did Merideth worry me of the situation and she ended up solving the problem and getting us there even earlier then we expected. I could go on and on but I will leave it at this. I couldn't have hired a better wedding coordinator. Merideth was amazing and I am so thankful I hired her for our day of planning because it truly was a dream come true. :-)

After the excitement of my engagement, came the feeling of being completely overwhelmed by the planning and expense of a wedding. I set up a meeting with Michael and in the first minute of our meeting, I felt completely at ease and relaxed. Michael’s confidence, organization and friendly personality was the answer to my anxiety. Michael immediately took charge of my wedding planning and made all my dreams come true for a perfect wedding. In addition to helping me plan my wedding, Michael was also straightforward with me about pricing options. She was aware of my budget and in the event that there was something that I wanted that was outside of my price range, she counseled me on options available similar to what I wanted but more budget friendly. The day of my wedding went off without a hitch! Without Michael my day would not have been perfect! I have referred Michael to everyone I know that is getting married and all have been just as thrilled with her as I am!

Let me start off by saying that I am a pretty organized person and was very organized when it came to all of my wedding details! I knew exactly what I wanted and was not going to settle for anything less. No matter how organized you are as a bride, there are always the little details that can slip your mind. I knew I wanted someone with experience to help with all of the last minute details, because as I was told the 2 weeks before the wedding especially the week of can get CRAZY! That they did!!! Trust me I did my research as I did with anyone/anyplace that I hired to be apart of our wedding. I was so glad that I found Merideth and Erin!! They were both extremely professional and stayed in close contact with all of my vendors to help make sure that everyone was on the same page for the day of the wedding. Merideth even stood her ground and got things done when it came to contacting our limo company who was a pain in the butt to get in contact with and confirm things about a month out. Our day turned out amazingly beautiful and I have both Merideth and Erin to thank for that! I was able to relax and enjoy my day knowing that these ladies had everything under control! Couldn't have been more pleased with my decision to hire Belle Soirée to help with all of the last minute details and plans. Best money I spent!

Michael was my wedding planner and I honestly can not thank her enough! She was perfectly professional, but also became a good friend through the planning process. She helped me develop a timeline for my planning and ensured everything was planned, ordered and organized with plenty of time. It was so nice to bypass shopping through countless vendors...and saved me SO much time! Michael knew the best vendors in the area and also helped me secure the best price. The day of the event flowed so perfectly that even my bridesmaids and family were bragging on her. It turned out better than I could have ever imagined. I would absolutely recommend hiring Belle Soiree 100%. Thank you Michael!

Couldn't have done it without her!

My wedding was a destination wedding in New Orleans so I knew that I would definitely need help getting everything together. Merideth and Belle Soiree's awesome reviews on the wedding boards led me to her. She was great throughout the entire process and helped with any question I had. She's incredibly knowledgeable and quick on her feet and will do her absolute best to make sure your wedding day is the best. I was really nervous about getting everything together for the wedding and I felt so much better about everything after meeting with Merideth in the week of the wedding. She has a real calming effect which is awesome for stressed out bride! I can honestly say that my wedding day was the best day of my life and I owe a lot of thanks to Merideth for helping pull everything together!

I had the privilege of working with Merideth for my best friends wedding last year and let me tell you, she is AMAZING. The entire planning process was seamless, there were NO hickups and day of was so relaxing it was a dream. When we arrived on site, the ceremony area was set up without a single flower out of place and the inside for the reception was so picture perfect, you could almost cry. Not only was she always available, but she was such a true pleasure to work with I am sad I didn't know her to help with my OWN wedding. I would recommend Merideth for ANY event. She is fantastic!!!

When we got engaged in May of 2012 we had been together almost 7 years. We knew that we didn't want a long engagement so we got to planning. We live in Denver but already had plans to go to New Orleans over Christmas. I had never been but I started research online right away. I decided on the restaurant and ceremony location. I never thought I would need a wedding planner for a small ceremony but once I got into planning there were many small details I didn't think of. We had our restaurant reserved and I asked them for a list of recommended wedding planners. They sent me over around 25 planners complete with email and websites. Meredith was the only one who actually read my email on what I was requesting and didn't response with a "form" reply on the services and prices. I had already planned so much of my wedding that a traditional quote didn't make sense and she was the only one that from the beginning realized that. I was so happy to find someone that actually listened to my vision of my wedding and helped me any way that she could. She turned out to be a key role in why our wedding was absolutely perfect! First of all, she was always quick on replying to my questions. Believe me, I had plenty! Second, she was a great resource of other vendors. Because of her I ended up having a wonderful photographer and second line band. Lastly, the day of the wedding she was the reason I was able to completely enjoy my day and not be stressed out. She joined me while I was getting ready and went over the details of the day and took it from there. Not only did we think we had the perfect day but all of our guests rave about it being the best wedding they have been to. I have Meredith to thank for it being this way. She understands how important this day is for us and I am so thankful we found her! If you have a large or small wedding I would highly recommend Belle Soiree.

Merideth was GREAT! I can honestly say that my wedding was PERFECT was and went off without a hitch and much of it was due to Merideth. She was by far the savior of the night. My bridesmaids kept calling her the stealth wedding planner because if there was even a whisper of something that might be wrong, Merideth fixed it before they even had a chance to tell her. She kept everything running smoothly, helped keep me calm, and even had bobby pins and lip gloss to spare when I needed it. She also kept my husband's drink refilled without him having to ask (which he loved). Merideth really is an amazing wedding planner and I am so glad we booked her for the last month. Having her allowed my mom and I to focus on the fun stuff and not stress about contacting the vendors. Her "day of schedule" helped the day flow as planned and relieved all the anxiety I had about trying to come up with a day of schedule. Merideth knew the answer to almost every question I had, and a solution for any issue I had. The night really would not have been as wonderful as it was without her. She was never intrusive but always available throughout the night. Merideth also knew/had worked with the majority of my vendors, which was helpful to me. It allowed the flow of communication to run smoothly and the planning of the timeline work well/ Anyone looking for a very thorough, helpful and professional wedding planner would definitely be satisfied with Merideth. She was AMAZING!

I hired Merideth for the “full service planning” for my wedding. I can’t thank her enough for what she did for me. From helping me find the perfect venue (that I would never have found on my own), down to choosing the perfect color for my linens, Merideth did everything. The day of my wedding? Merideth to the rescue! I never had to talk to a vendor, and I didn’t have to worry about any small things, like if the handkerchiefs were in the right place. She took care of everything. My carriage didn’t show up, I had drunk wedding guests causing drama and who knows what else… I NEVER knew anything about it. She made my day PERFECT for me and my husband. I would recommend her (and have) to anyone. Thank you Merideth!

My husband and I married March 24, 2012 and it was the best day of our lives. We want to relive our wedding and reception over and over... thanks to Merideth and Belle Soiree' Weddings. My husband and I live in Texas and make frequent trips to New Orleans, as we're so in love with the romance, spirit and diversity of arts and culture in the city. It is our special place to get away and be together. Needless to say that was exactly where we wanted to say our vows and celebrate our marriage. Knowing I would need a full wedding planner for a destination wedding, I called several wedding planners in the New Orleans area, and none came across like a friend until I spoke with Merideth. She immediately listened to any questions I had and answered them with me in mind (she's a very good judge of character), and within 3 minutes of my phone conversation with her she'd already given me heads-up on making hotel reservations, what would be going on in the area during the month we wanted to get married, etc. And I hadn't even hired her yet! But I knew she was the one. And she was! She saw the wedding through my eyes and all of her suggestions were spot-on. She got excited with me about planning, and I felt so at ease and comforted every time we connected about any decisions that needed to be made, or my time line for the wedding. The day of the wedding: if anything had gone wrong - I never knew about it, and neither did the guests. (And I can't say anything went wrong). As for my peace of mind: Merideth, her assistant, and her amazing friend, our photographer for the wedding- Sarah Marie (sarahmariephotos.com), were all helpful and calm and sweet, and moreover… made sure I was calm and happy the entire time. The wedding: went off without a hitch. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL! It was everything my husband and I dreamed and more. To this day our friends and family rhapsodize about how romantic and perfect, and US it was. Our photos say it all! Hire Belle Soiree Weddings if you want a good friend, a professional execution, a kind demeanor, an amazing listener, and a wonderful wedding! Love you Merideth!

Read my full review on the knot, which has too many characters to post here. http://forums-beta.theknot.com/discussion/comment/6786431/#Comment_6786431 The short version is that after the wedding, Merideth's assistant, after being told to call my mother before coming by to drop off our wedding items, left our stuff on the side of my parent's house, including the top layer of our cake (which was ruined after sitting in the 90+ degree New Orleans heat). Also, she delivered somebody else's toasting flutes and cake cutting set. She graciously offered to replace the cake top, and for months and months kept offering to meet up because she "had the cake" and then never responded when I gave her my availability. In the end, after yet another shot to get the cake top from her (almost a year later at this point), I posted a review on the knot, and suddenly she cared enough to contact me about it. She delivered a cake the next week, and it was finally resolved a year later. However, we know somebody who works at the bakery who looked up the order for us, and we discovered that Merideth ordered the replacement cake two days before giving it to us, which means she lied to us for almost a year about ever having a cake in her freezer. I had to clarify on my other post that this is not about the cake, it is about the principle. Her assistant left wedding items on the side of a house (which could have been stolen), we were promised a replacement for our damaged property, and were lied to and strung along for a year- which strikes me as being extremely unprofessional. Personally, I would not recommend her because of her unprofessional attitude, lack of follow through, and consistent lies. The did a fine job the day of, but not good enough to warrant the aftermath.

I am editing my previous review of Merideth and Belle Soiree. I have left my previous review intact below, but I feel an update is needed to make other brides aware of potential issues post-wedding. Our wedding was 100% destination, so we knew we needed a wedding planner. While Merideth did well for us during the actual wedding, we had major problems with her afterwards. My sister-in-law had left her very expensive Nikon camera and her hand-held video camera (with our wedding video on it) upstairs at the reception while she went downstairs with everyone for our sparkler exit. When she got back upstairs, the cameras were gone. Merideth assumed they had been forgotten and had taken them, and people tried to contact Merideth to get the cameras back that night, to no avail. We left for our honeymoon the next morning and assumed that things would get worked out between Merideth and my sister-in-law while we were gone. We were wrong. My sister-in-law contacted Merideth repeatedly, with no response and for the next ****4 MONTHS***** myself, my husband, and my sister-in-law hounded Merideth to get the cameras back. She told us multiple times that she had mailed the cameras, but we never got them. She was very difficult to get a hold of during this time. Our wedding photographer finally got the Nikon camera from her, but getting in touch with her about the video camera was a battle. The only way I could get a semi-immediate reply from her was to post a message on the wall of her personal Facebook page. Humorously, she would reply to the Facebook post by emailing me that she had just seen the post and not to use Facebook as a method of communication because she couldn't access it from her iPad or phone. She even posted a message on her business's Facebook page telling brides not to text her or post messages on her Facebook wall, but rather to email the business's contact email (which she constantly blamed for missed emails) or the business's phone number (which was never answered). She eventually emailed me on a Monday that she had mailed the package and would email me the tracking number "as soon as she got home". The remainder of the week, I called her and emailed her at the business's contacts EVERY DAY. I got no response from her, but finally got the package the next Monday. According to the postage, she had sent it on Thursday (not Monday), and there was a notation on the box that it had been received as an open box and had to be sealed by the Post Office employees. I was so disappointed and angry at her for lying to me so many times. I offered to send her money for postage, and she told me it wasn't a matter of money, she just needed to "find time to go to the Post Office". How hard was it to go to the Post Office? This behavior after our wedding is the reason I had to lower my rating of Merideth and Belle Soiree. Previous Review: We hired Merideth for Month-Of coordination. She is very enthusiastic and willing to help, but she is very busy. In the months leading up to our wedding, she was sometimes a little hard to get a hold of, but we did only hire her for Month-Of coordination, and I had done 95% of the planning before we hired her. The day of the wedding, Merideth did a great job. I had planned to bring some things to the reception venue during the week before the wedding, but I didn't get around to it, so Merideth got everything taken care of. She also coordinated the limos the day of which was great.

I hired Belle Soiree mid-way into planning my wedding. I had already selected my venues and vendors, but I realized that I needed assistance to pull together the final details and design the look for the wedding. In our initial contacts Merideth was personable, responsive and willing to create a personalized package to meet my needs. This led me to select her, instead of others, to be my wedding planner. However, as time went forward, she became much more difficult to get a hold of. I waited a couple weeks to hear from her after she recieved the first payment. When she did get back to me, she promised a payment tracker to help manage the payments to my vendors. This was never delivered to me. We had an initial meeting in which she did a great job to help me get ideas and places to look for ideas. Inspired after our meeting, I went home and spent almost an entire weekend on Pinterest and nailed down a firmer concept for my wedding. I was so excited to share this with her. Again, no response came from her for a matter of weeks. After eventually hearing back from her, after multiple attempts at contact, she did come along to two vendor meetings, the venue and florist, with me. She was helpful and decisive at these meetings, and these meetings ensured that I had a solid design concept for my wedding. Moving forward, it always took about 5 days for her to respond to emails/phone calls/ texts. I could live with this when my wedding was months away, but when it was weeks away it was very stressful. I was never entirely certain what she was (or was not doing to prepare for my wedding. It took almost 5 weeks for her complete a linen order for my wedding, and I never recieved the requested information from her on bakeries or candy bars for the wedding. In terms of the actual wedding weekend, I was less than impressed with her planning services. My rehearsal was very disorganized (it was run by one of her assistants), and timlines (another item promised in my contract) were poorly done and only distributed to bridesmaids (not groomsmen and family as also promised). This caused me to have to answer 100,000 questions on the day of the wedding because people did not know where to be and when to be there. I had asked for an email of the master timeline earlier in the week and this was never provided to me either. On the wedding day, her company handled an issue regarding linens very well and made sure it was not a problem. Otherwise, they seemed just as confused as we were about what was supposed to be going on. Our picture location had to be changed last minute, which caused our first look to be moved around. My programs were forgotten by their staff and disributed at the last minute at the ceremony (what a waste of $400). After the wedding, we had a very difficult time getting in touch with her to get the gifts and reception items back from her. She would not return calls, e-mails or texts for days at a time. This was very stressful as she had some very important items with her. Overall, I feel that Merideth's company spreads themselves too thin. They had 3 weddings the weekend of my event. I have expressed to her that I felt, for whatever reason, that my wedding was less important to her company. While I did not hear this, many guests reported hearing her talking about a "more important" wedding the next day at my wedding events. I cannot comfortably recommend Belle Soiree to other brides.

My wedding was on March 10th, 2012 in New Orleans, Louisiana. I have known Merideth for 13 years, so there was never any question as to who I would get to help plan my wedding. With that being said, people often asked me, are you worried she won't put as much effort in because you guys have been friends for so long. SO NOT THE CASE! Merideth treated me just as any other client, and made the whole process so easy. I am a very organized person who feels like they need to be in control the whole time and over all the details, and on the day of your wedding, it just isn't possible. Merideth seemed to have eyes and ears in every room in every building the day of the wedding. From the beautiful design of the ceremony space, the reception room deatils, the bride and groom's "hiding room," to making sure I had everything I needed while getting ready. Merideth filled me in on enough details to ease my nerves and worries or what was going on but left enough mystery so that I could be surprised and take it all in while walking down the isle. If anything went wrong, I have/had no idea. I had an idea of how the day was going to go, and Merideth and her assistant exceeded them to a level I didn't think was possible. I felt her heart and hard work in every detail...from a hug of encouragement to get me through the day to something as simple as the way she delicately placed our favor boxes on the table so they were "just right." After the ceremony while in the hiding room, Merideth came in to check on Chris and I and had my cell phone with her so I could call and check on our little boy, Buddy. It was the little details such as those that make her stand out from any other wedding planner. Anyone who says they don't need a wedding planner is just plain crazy. As I stated before, I am one of the most organized, OCD people on this planet, and there is no way in hell I could have even been capable of doing a third of the work Merideth did. I ended up moving to Texas a month before the wedding and was stressed out of how I would finish everything from so far away. Merideth took care of EVERYTHING! The last month of planning, I didn't have to do anything except for pack my car and head to New Orleans. After a year and a half of planning with Merideth, my wedding was a true fairy tale for me. Merideth, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your dedication, support, and love you have shown both Chris and I through this whole process. You hold a very special place in my heart, and every year on our anniversary, we will think back on our wedding, and your name will always be one we remember with the utmost appreciation and gratitude.

Hiring Merideth was seriously the best decision I made! She was absolutely amazing! I hired Merideth when I very first got engaged and even though I only booked her for month of coordination she constantly helped me through my year long engagement. She was also very easy to get in touch with either by phone, email or facebook. She would sometimes get back to me within a matter of minutes when I emailed her. Her shining moment though was of course the wedding day! I honestly wouldn't have made it through the day without her. So many of my vendors messed up and she fixed it all! My photographers dropped out on me the day before the wedding and Merideth made sure to get someone there the day of to capture our ceremony and second line since luckily my sis is a photographer and stepped in to take pics before the ceremony and at the reception. I also had a lot of decor that broke in the shipping process and Merideth somehow managed to gather a ton of decor for the ceremony and reception to make my vision come true. She got the music at our reception going even after Event Rental deliveerd the wrong cords. She kept me calm all day and assured me she would take care of everything and she certainly followed through on that promise! She set up my centerpieces, made sure everyone followed the timeline and just took every single ounce of stress I might have had away. She even drove us around all day the next day after the wedding since we didn't have a car! I can't recommend her enough!! I really feel like I gained a friend through this whole process and I am so sad that I won't be talking to her all the time now that the wedding is over :(

Merideth was on top of everything. My only complaint is that my favors were not places towards an exit, but that may have been a venue problem not belle soiree. Otherwise, they made sure that everything went just right on my wedding day and it did!

It has been said that one not need to look towards the heavens to find an angel. While planning my 11/11/11 New Orleans nuptials, I spent countless hours mulling over all of the details to make my dream a reality at Oak Alley Plantation. When it came time to pulling off my big day, I couldn't have done it without the help of Merideth or Belle Soiree. From confirming vendors to my nerves, Merideth was in deed a Godsend. I highly recommend Merideth and the Belle team to any bride who is looking forward to pulling off their dream wedding. After all of the planning, it only makes sense to allow Merideth's professionalism and aesthetic appreciation shape your vision! Laizzes le Belle Family Rouler!

Choosing Merideth of Belle Soiree to be our wedding planner was one of the best decisions we could have made. Merideth went above and beyond for us. Not only did she help us to have a gorgeous wedding, she also reminded both of us to relax and have a great time, which we did! My husband and I recommend Belle Soiree 100%