Do you like love stories? I’ve a feeling you do, so settle in m’dears for a real gem. Southern belle meets Irish lad on spring break, falls in love and embarks on an adventure that brings us all the way to their wedding day, captured in pure beauty by Bride Film. From the floral-filled church to the classic cake by Melissa’s Fine Pastries, it was a fairy tale brought to life. Grab some tissues and get ready to get happy.
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From Bride Film… Tanya and Conor have such a unique relationship spanning the course of nine years and multiple continents. Their wedding celebration was clearly a grand beginning to their long awaited marriage, and we loved hearing about it through their family and friends’ wonderful speeches!
From the Bride… Conor and I met when he visited his best friend who was studying in my hometown of New Orleans. We hit it off instantly, and after only a few days decided to make it work, despite the fact that Conor is from and was living in Dublin, Ireland. It has now been over nine years, with both of us living together in London for the past seven. Having lived abroad for so many years, it was really important for me to have the wedding back home in New Orleans. There were so many elements that made our day special, but most of all it had to be the many Irish and English friends and family that flew to the incredible city of New Orleans to celebrate with us.
The ceremony took place in a decommissioned Catholic Church, The Marigny Opera House, that we filled to the brim with trees, foliage and flowers, courtesy of Dunn and Sonnier, as a juxtaposition to the seemingly derelict, historic building. We wanted the ceremony to be extremely personal, so we asked one of Conor’s best friends from Dublin (and the husband of one my best friends – a story for another time!) to conduct the ceremony, shared personal vows and had specially selected songs and readings from our friends and family. A highlight was a rendition of Bob Marley’s “This Is Love,” sung by my cousin and performed on the piano by my uncle.
Following the ceremony, we rode to the reception venue, Latrobe’s, in a traditional New Orleans horse and cart and celebrated with the passers-by. The cocktail hour at Latrobe’s, included a local jazz band and New Orleans fare, including Mint Juleps, fried oysters and crawfish cakes. The wedding cake, from Melissa’s Fine Pastries, was a simple white, covered in real flowers that echoed the table decorations. The surprise groom’s cake, was a large salted caramel cake, in the shape of a pint of Guinness!
We had a sit down meal with speeches, as is tradition in Ireland. The sit down meal was again classically New Orleans cuisine with a starter of shrimp and grits, followed by two taster mains of red fish and duck. After dinner, we hit the dance floor, with our first dance being the maybe not so traditional “Let’s Get It On” – the first song we ever danced to. Around midnight, we surprised the guests by having a brass band enter the venue to start a traditional New Orleans second line. Of course, this was a first for many of our out of town guests! We danced through the streets, waving hankies until we reached the after party venue, Bevolo’s Light Shop, where the party continued into the early hours of the morning.
Photography: Charlotte Latham | Cinematography: BRIDE FILM | Event Planning: Grand Events NOLA | Floral Design: Dunn & Sonnier | Wedding Dress: Monique Lhuillier | Cake: Melissa's Fine Pastries | Invitations: Scriptura | Ceremony Venue: Marigny Opera House | Reception Venue: Latrobe's on Royal | Bridesmaids' Dresses: BHLDN | Hair + Makeup: Blush And Bashful | Groom's Attire: Suitsupply | Ceremony Music: Gumbo Trio | Transportation: American Luxury | After Party DJ: Rock-It Productions | After Party Venue: Bevolo Gas Lantern Museum | Groom's Getting Ready Venue: Omni Royal Orleans | Reception Music: BRW | Rentals: Event Rental | Sound + Lighting: See Hear Productions