Paloma and Cole wanted a laid-back, typical New Orleans wedding. They both really love to travel, so wanted to have their wedding somewhere unique that they would want to plan a vacation to. Most of all they wanted to keep the day fun and to avoid the stuffiness of a traditional wedding.
“We had a quick, intimate ceremony with 50 guests in a small wedding chapel in the French Quarter”, the bride began. “The ceiling of the chapel was covered in hundreds of dollar bills, and there were giant cardboard cutouts of our dog Hunter’s face on either side of the altar (which was essential, since he was back at home, in Seattle, with a nanny). My best friend, Sierra, was my officiant, and Cole and I said our own vows — his were unbelievably sweet and heartfelt, and mine were, of course, an awkward stand-up routine. Afterwards, we pinned our own dollar bill to the ceiling of the chapel.”
“Immediately after our ceremony, we led a second-line parade through the French Quarter to our reception venue. The parade consisted of our friends and family pelting people with mardi gras beads, a brass band, and a police escort. It was a blast!”
Their reception was held at Brennan’s, a traditional New Orleans restaurant. They didn’t fuss with lots of extra details – there was no cake, their photographer made Paloma’s bouquet and they put together their own playlist of requests from their guests instead of hiring a band or DJ.
The bride’s sister made all my place cards, had a custom-made guest book made for them, and she and their mother bought a vintage wooden box that they filled with paper and pens for guests to write them well wishes with. The bride wore a BHLDN dress with white boots by Steve Madden. Her bridesmaids were each assigned an autumnal colour, but they were given free reign to choose their own dresses.
“The hardest thing was coordinating the wedding from out of state”, Paloma said. “We live in Seattle, so most of the time it felt like we were herding cats. However, it was fun to basically plan a vacation with all our closest friends and family. That, and getting to see our crazy idea actually come to fruition!”
