How to throw a festive New Orleans wedding with Southern charm

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Happy Thanksgiving week! Jack and I flying off to New Orleans today to celebrate with friends & what better way to celebrate with a proper, classic & festive real Nola wedding?!

Set in the historic Southern French Creole city, Theresa & Nick’s nuptials featured so much classic Southern charm we can’t wipe the smiles off our faces. The day featured proper, classy attire, an ornate cathedral ceremony, a quintessential brass band parade, oodles of oysters and fancy parasols – c’est la vie!

And the food, oh the food! Beyond the oysters (which I truly could eat one hundred of) the couple spoiled their guests to ample Southern treats like pralines & beignets as well as three beautiful cakes so masterfully decorated.

I can only hope when we land today we’ll be treated with such festive flavors & joy as captured in this beautiful day by Arte de Vie.

Our Love Story

We met through a mutual friend. I had just moved to New York from Louisiana and started my new job where I did not know many people, so when was invited to Happy Hour with a coworker I gladly accepted! I went to meet her friends from college and there he was. We had an instant connection and talked the entire night. He asked for my number and even though when he texted me the next day to meet up again, “Hi Meghan” and not Maggie LOL, we became inseparable and the rest is truly history.

We had just purchased our first home and on our official move-in date Maggie was away on business so I was able to hide the ring on a top shelf in the closet behind the folded sweatshirts. When Maggie had gotten back from her trip a few days later she was getting settled in when suddenly I see her pulling down the sweatshirts from the closet and I panicked. I and asked her what she was looking for, and if she could stop digging through my sweatshirts. It was then when I just blurted out “I have a ring”. I think she was confused as I was just shouting for going through my stuff and am now shouting about a ring. She looked up and I grabbed the bag down from behind my sweatshirts and gave her the ring. We both cried. It wasn’t the proposal I planned, nor the one she thought she would get, but perfect in its own way. My advice to any who plans to propose is that you must roll with it, no proposal is perfect!

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The Dress & Attire

I went for romantic and classic when choosing our attire. I went for a full lace fitted dress with a low back and slightly off the shoulder neckline. I tried to keep Nick in mind when choosing my gown. He is simple and traditional and I wanted him to love my dress as much as I did.

My three sisters wore blush as it’s the closest color to white and my bridesmaids wore cranberry. All of the dresses were relatively alike and made form the same fabric. It was important to remain consistent and that we all flowed nicely in the pictures. I wore a cranberry lip color and had pops of cranberry and blush in my bouquet.

Nick went for a classic tux from Hugo Boss as we knew this brand fit him well. He went for a navy tux with a black satin lapel. His groomsmen wore a classic black tux, this way he would stand out amongst the groomsmen.

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The Flowers

My bridesmaid bouquets were loose and garden-y – all-green leaves that included seeded and Gunny eucalyptus, variegated pittosporum, and bay laurel. I really wanted my flowers to stand out on their own so only my bouquet had color and everyone else’s was all greenery. All bouquets had long hand-dyed silk ribbons that were blush and burgundy to tie in the two colors from the two different bridesmaid dresses.

I personally splurged on flowers and that was important for me to have my guests surrounded by beauty.

The Venue & Style

We really wanted a Fall wedding because of the cool temperatures. We loved the deep berry colors; blueberry blues, cranberry reds and greenery with a touch of gold. We really wanted our wedding to be southern and classic. We have very classic taste and wanted to give our northern guests a traditional southern wedding to experience.

Nick actually chose the venue, we figured I would most likely choose much of the “little things” so this could be his choice. What really stood out about The Board of Trade was its history and age. We both loved the classical elegance and the story the building told.

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The Family Heirlooms

I wore the same blushing veil as my three older sisters who got married before me.

I also re-made my mom’s wedding dress into a cocktail dress and wore it for my wedding rehearsal. It was hand beaded with lace and small pearls all on the bodice and sleeves. I removed the sleeves and skirt but kept all the beadwork on the bodice intact. We added an exposed zipper and slim skirt for a more modern, but classic look.

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The Band

The most important thing for us was the band. The band is what gets your party started and that is where you make memories for a lifetime. We had Rockin Dupsie play at our reception. He was a true Jazz performer. We felt like we were at a concert – everyone standing around the stage and even people on chairs!

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The Cake

I really wanted a naked cake with lots of berries showing through each layer. We met in the middle for a nude cake with berries on the outside. After it was all said and done we ended up with three cakes. A traditional vanilla buttercream wedding cake, a chocolate groom’s cake and a surprise cake, a replica of our dog since she could make the journey south with us.

For favors, we wanted everyone to walk away with a traditional sweet dish made locally. All of the famous desserts that New Orleans is known for like King Cake, Pralines, Roman candy, beignets, and Pecan pies.