Classic New Orleans Wedding Complete with an Heirloom Dress

Erin Lepperd
August 30, 2017
Categories: The Blog

From an antique engagement ring to her grandmother’s wedding dress worn for her first dance, this Bride is all about “Something Old”. And that sentiment fits right in with a New Orlean’s celebration filled with classic details styled by Victoria Austin and lovely NOLA charm captured through the images of Greer Gattuso and lens of Bride Film. See it all unfold, including the perfect Second Line parade, right here.

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From the Bride… The dress I wore for our first dance is actually very special to me. My Grammy was like a second mother to me, as well as my best friend. She is no longer with us, but I was honored to wear her wedding dress and have her with me, in a way, for my first dance. It was a very special moment, not only for me, but also for my mother and her two sisters. (And yes, it is blue, but it really was her wedding dress! I like to think I get my individuality from her )

I think Grammy also inspired my penchant for antiques. We spent months searching for the perfect antique engagement ring and finally found my circa 1890 pink sapphire ring at Erstwhile Jewelry, a boutique store in NYC owned by a fifth-generation jeweler. My wedding band is a reproduction of a Tiffany & Co., also circa 1890, as the original could not be re-sized. I love knowing that my ring had a history before us and that we aren’t contributing to any unethical gemstone mining or trade practices. For our first dance, we knew we wanted a song from the ’50s and finally settled on “When I Fall in Love”, as performed by Nat “King” Cole. We took some dance lessons with the lowly intention of breaking out of our standard “turn in a circle” move, but we ended up having so much fun that our first dance became one of our favorite moments both preceding and during our wedding day. Our favorite moment, however, was exchanging our wedding vows in front of all of our loved ones. We were blessed to have my best friend, Reverend Felsha Foster, perform our marriage ceremony. Felsha has been my best friend since the third grade, so we have shared some amazing memories over the years, but having her unite us in marriage was by far the best. Finally, working with you, Greer, was a dream. Prior to the wedding, Ryan was worried that he would feel self-conscious about the photography and videography, but we hardly even remembered we were being photographed and filmed.