New Orleans Wedding from Dark Roux Photography
I love this wedding. Not because it was super gorgeous (even though it was) or perfectly planned (again, it was) but for the heart. The love that went into it. The brides wanted their favorite blooms, succulents, but because they were going to be hard to get in New Orleans... they grew them in their garden in California, packed them up in a suit case, and flew them to their wedding. And that is just one of the many amazingly heartfelt details this whole wedding, captured beautifully by Dark Roux Photography, possessed.
From one of the beautiful brides... Even though we can not legally marry we decided that it was important to us to have a ceremony signifying our love for one another. We believe our love is no different and just as important as anyone else who loves someone. Plus, I couldn't think of anything better than being able to call Tyra my wife. It just so happened to fall on the same week that the Supreme Court was in discussion about whether to uphold Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act.
We really were about anti-formalities. Our idea of the perfect wedding was close friends and family, good food, and lots of dancing. We are both very family oriented so we incorporated different details throughout to honor them. For Tyra since her dad passed away at a young age I wanted to honor him and have him present. I put an antique locket in her bouquet with pictures of him because I couldn't bear the thought of him not walking her down the isle. She had no idea until right before our first look when she noticed it. For my grandmother who was a painter, we used her easel to display the "pick a seat not a side" sign. For my Uncle Sandy who loved to read, we used his vintage books as the cupcake display.
We have so many close friends therefore we chose not to have any bridesmaids or wedding party and instead chose to have all of our nieces and nephews as ring bearers and flower girls. I really wanted a vintage feel so in order to achieve this I collected antique bottles for months to put flowers in. We also used a lot of my families silver heirlooms as the vases for our flowers and displays. Succulents are my favorite and I really wanted them in my floral arrangements. So I grew them in California in my garden and brought them on the plane to New Orleans with me because they can not be found there. I was honored to have my cousins, whom spent years making floral arrangements, prepare our flowers. Every arrangement was so unique and perfect in every way. I have always loved romantic quotes and wanted to incorporate them into the decor, so we placed different quotes throughout in flowers. I was even lucky enough to have an artist friend of mine make me an amazing sign with a quote from Dr. Seuss. It fit in so perfect with our decor.
Every single detail you see was uniquely crafted for our wedding. It truly was a labor of love. We wanted to have a magical day that was filled with contributions from so many loved ones and it truly was! Our friend Jodi was our officiant and she put so much thoughtful detail into our ceremony. She really tied everything that we thought about each other together and made it so beautiful. She said, "Each of you expressed the balance, the harmony that you find in the others presence. That yin & yang quality. Where in the puzzle of life's challenges, you have found in each other that those pieces create a perfect fit- where in the absence of each other, the picture would otherwise be incomplete."
One of my absolute favorite memories of the night was the dance off during the reception. I must say my friends can really get down! I still laugh thinking about it. We wanted so much for everyone to have a blast and enjoy themselves and that was confirmed by each and every guest who are still telling us that it was "THE BEST WEDDING EVER!!!!!" Our only wish was that we could go back and do it all over again.
Photography: Dark Roux Photography | Flowers: Rachal and Margaret Mascarenas, and Debbie Digilormo | Event Design: Ashley Smith, Buzzworthy Events SF | Event Planning: Ashley Smith, Buzzworthy Events SF | Ceremony Location: Race and Religious | Reception Location: Race and Religious | Caterer: Fly by Knight Catering, 504-885-8415 | Music: Kinfolk Brass Band | DJ: Quickie Mart | Hair: Jenny Lundy with Stardust Hair Salon New Orleans, LA | Makeup: Ashley Vignes, Avignes23@yahoo.com | Cupcakes: Sucre | Officiant: Jodi Capaci | Invitations: Artwork by Randy Muller
We really were about anti-formalities. Our idea of the perfect wedding was close friends and family, good food, and lots of dancing. We are both very family oriented so we incorporated different details throughout to honor them. For Tyra since her dad passed away at a young age I wanted to honor him and have him present. I put an antique locket in her bouquet with pictures of him because I couldn't bear the thought of him not walking her down the isle. She had no idea until right before our first look when she noticed it. For my grandmother who was a painter, we used her easel to display the "pick a seat not a side" sign. For my Uncle Sandy who loved to read, we used his vintage books as the cupcake display.
We have so many close friends therefore we chose not to have any bridesmaids or wedding party and instead chose to have all of our nieces and nephews as ring bearers and flower girls. I really wanted a vintage feel so in order to achieve this I collected antique bottles for months to put flowers in. We also used a lot of my families silver heirlooms as the vases for our flowers and displays. Succulents are my favorite and I really wanted them in my floral arrangements. So I grew them in California in my garden and brought them on the plane to New Orleans with me because they can not be found there. I was honored to have my cousins, whom spent years making floral arrangements, prepare our flowers. Every arrangement was so unique and perfect in every way. I have always loved romantic quotes and wanted to incorporate them into the decor, so we placed different quotes throughout in flowers. I was even lucky enough to have an artist friend of mine make me an amazing sign with a quote from Dr. Seuss. It fit in so perfect with our decor.
Every single detail you see was uniquely crafted for our wedding. It truly was a labor of love. We wanted to have a magical day that was filled with contributions from so many loved ones and it truly was! Our friend Jodi was our officiant and she put so much thoughtful detail into our ceremony. She really tied everything that we thought about each other together and made it so beautiful. She said, "Each of you expressed the balance, the harmony that you find in the others presence. That yin & yang quality. Where in the puzzle of life's challenges, you have found in each other that those pieces create a perfect fit- where in the absence of each other, the picture would otherwise be incomplete."
One of my absolute favorite memories of the night was the dance off during the reception. I must say my friends can really get down! I still laugh thinking about it. We wanted so much for everyone to have a blast and enjoy themselves and that was confirmed by each and every guest who are still telling us that it was "THE BEST WEDDING EVER!!!!!" Our only wish was that we could go back and do it all over again.
Photography: Dark Roux Photography | Flowers: Rachal and Margaret Mascarenas, and Debbie Digilormo | Event Design: Ashley Smith, Buzzworthy Events SF | Event Planning: Ashley Smith, Buzzworthy Events SF | Ceremony Location: Race and Religious | Reception Location: Race and Religious | Caterer: Fly by Knight Catering, 504-885-8415 | Music: Kinfolk Brass Band | DJ: Quickie Mart | Hair: Jenny Lundy with Stardust Hair Salon New Orleans, LA | Makeup: Ashley Vignes, Avignes23@yahoo.com | Cupcakes: Sucre | Officiant: Jodi Capaci | Invitations: Artwork by Randy Muller