A New Orleans French Quarter Wedding at the Kingsway House
From this moment on, when I think of a New Orleans wedding I'm pretty darn sure this stylish soiree captured by Kent Meister will pop in my mind. Beautifully planned by Valerie at Sapphire Events and complete with stunning florals from Kim Starr Wise, this gallery is perfectly NOLA and perfectly personal.
From Kent Meister Photography...When you think about New Orleans, it's usually all about having a good time. That's exactly what Matt and Simone's French Quarter wedding was all about. It was loaded with laid back, classy, NOLA-style charm. Their was at the Kingsway House, a refurbished historic recording studio on the edge of the French Quarter. It had just the right combination of Southern charm and modern edge. Plus, the location couldn't be beat! The best memory I have from the day was taking the wedding party out into the French Quarter for portraits and interacting with everybody on the street that joined in to celebrate with them! As an NYC-based photographer I've had my fair share of street participation during wedding shoots, but the French Quarter is on another level entirely!
Yes, this was very much a New Orleans wedding and the best thing about that is it perfectly complimented Matt and Simone. They welcomed their friends and family into their city and made it a large part of the event itself. By doing that, they kept the vibe of their wedding personal and true to who they are. That's what's called "doing it right."
From The Bride...We met in and started our relationship while living in the French Quarter, so wanted to to get married where it all began. Since we were inviting lots of friends and family from out-of-town to a destination wedding, we ordered more casual and fun "map-style" invites from an etsy.com vendor, flagging New Orleans within the state of Louisiana. The venue--the Kingsway House--was an old mansion that served time as a recording studio for acts like Bob Dylan and Pearl Jam before being converted into a home and event space for a local developer. We felt like the space was fresh and modern while maintaining the architecture and eclecticism of the Quarter, and the edge of the house's former life.
The ceremony was outside in the courtyard on a beautiful fall evening. All flowers and decorations were done by Kim Starr Wise, who brought in festoon lights to keep everything lit as the sun set. We had gotten engaged while in Paris over Kronenbourg beers, so we had a tub full for our guests to start with as they arrived. We made the programs ourselves on paper bags to put the beers in--Quarter Koozies. Great local jazz musician Linnzi Zaorski provide the music.
We tried to keep the whole affair personal and involve friends however we could. Our officiant was a friend that Simone went to law school with, Brian Page, who we asked to get ordained through the same online humanist church Matt previously used to do the same thing. We wrote out our own ceremony and vows and tried to make it about us and what we loved/liked about each other rather than something rote and religious. Our cakes were made by Simone's high school friend Amanda Malone at Petticoat Pastries out of Lafayette (where Simone grew up). We got the handmade cake topper online on etsy.com because they reminded us of a trip to Australia we took together for another friend's wedding (Koala Groom, and Kangaroo Bride), and had the Groom's cake decorated with the logo of the Quarter bar at which we met (One Eyed Jack's). Kent Meister, a Brooklyn photographer and friend of Matt's from high school, was nice enough to fly in to take the pictures.
The reception was on-site with great food and plenty of booze from Pigeon caterers. Party music was by Brice Nice, a great local DJ with a Saturday night show on local radio station, WWOZ.
We were seen out to a Quarter pedicab that took us on a ride through the Quarter for the after party at the Carousel Bar in the Hotel Monteleone.
Yes, this was very much a New Orleans wedding and the best thing about that is it perfectly complimented Matt and Simone. They welcomed their friends and family into their city and made it a large part of the event itself. By doing that, they kept the vibe of their wedding personal and true to who they are. That's what's called "doing it right."
From The Bride...We met in and started our relationship while living in the French Quarter, so wanted to to get married where it all began. Since we were inviting lots of friends and family from out-of-town to a destination wedding, we ordered more casual and fun "map-style" invites from an etsy.com vendor, flagging New Orleans within the state of Louisiana. The venue--the Kingsway House--was an old mansion that served time as a recording studio for acts like Bob Dylan and Pearl Jam before being converted into a home and event space for a local developer. We felt like the space was fresh and modern while maintaining the architecture and eclecticism of the Quarter, and the edge of the house's former life.
The ceremony was outside in the courtyard on a beautiful fall evening. All flowers and decorations were done by Kim Starr Wise, who brought in festoon lights to keep everything lit as the sun set. We had gotten engaged while in Paris over Kronenbourg beers, so we had a tub full for our guests to start with as they arrived. We made the programs ourselves on paper bags to put the beers in--Quarter Koozies. Great local jazz musician Linnzi Zaorski provide the music.
We tried to keep the whole affair personal and involve friends however we could. Our officiant was a friend that Simone went to law school with, Brian Page, who we asked to get ordained through the same online humanist church Matt previously used to do the same thing. We wrote out our own ceremony and vows and tried to make it about us and what we loved/liked about each other rather than something rote and religious. Our cakes were made by Simone's high school friend Amanda Malone at Petticoat Pastries out of Lafayette (where Simone grew up). We got the handmade cake topper online on etsy.com because they reminded us of a trip to Australia we took together for another friend's wedding (Koala Groom, and Kangaroo Bride), and had the Groom's cake decorated with the logo of the Quarter bar at which we met (One Eyed Jack's). Kent Meister, a Brooklyn photographer and friend of Matt's from high school, was nice enough to fly in to take the pictures.
The reception was on-site with great food and plenty of booze from Pigeon caterers. Party music was by Brice Nice, a great local DJ with a Saturday night show on local radio station, WWOZ.
We were seen out to a Quarter pedicab that took us on a ride through the Quarter for the after party at the Carousel Bar in the Hotel Monteleone.