Laissez les WTF Rouler

The Big Easy has been getting plenty of attention as of late: we hosted SuperBowl XLVII and the Discovery Channel keeps putting on shows detailing how south Louisiana folks shoot things (plus whatever is going on in TrueBlood these days. Seriously, that shiz cray). Despite the colorful picture these shows paint, we don't ride to work in pirogues or throw beads off of balconies every weekend, but we're still a pretty unique city.  Louisiana doesn't have counties, we have parishes. And we don't bury people underground. And let's not get started on our eclectic vocabulary. We sure do love to party for any reason at all, complete with good food and drink.  Suffice to say, that New Orleans is a special, diverse place, and it is near and dear to my heart.

With that said, I have a big problem with the way New Orleans does weddings. And you're saying, "But didn't you just say that New Orleans loves to party and eat and drink? Doesn't that add up to a spectacular wedding?" Yep, I know. Some of this isn't going to make sense, so just try to follow me here.

First off, I am not a wedding veteran. I've only been to a handful of weddings, so my experience is pretty limited.  However, I did contact plenty of venues for pricing and packages and spoke with them too.  Until I started reading wedding websites - and watching Four Weddings - I had no concept of sit down dinners at weddings. Well, I knew, but I thought it was only for movies and super fancy, $100K+ affairs. Imagine my surprise that everywhere else in the country and beyond, these are the standard.  And to be honest, I felt cheated and I got a little pissed off.

Can You Picture That?

Yes, that's a reference to "The Muppet Movie" song, which is now going to be stuck in my head all day so I had to share.  Oh well, "moving right along"...

I've written plenty about our engagement pictures, I haven't yet shared who will be following us around on the wedding day capturing all of our favorite moments.  From the beginning, I figured it would be easier logistically (and cheaper) to choose a local photographer for the wedding, instead of Concept.  So we booked them for the engagement package and set our sights closer to home for someone to cover my bridal portraits and the wedding.

You know the drill: there was lots of Googling, looking up reviews, staying up late to "just look at one more page," and of course I made a spreadsheet to keep everything straight:


A line for each photographer's package - cost, hours, what was included, and how much do I like them.

I compiled my list by looking through New Orleans wedding magazines and the info that I received from a bridal show back in January.  Bonus for bridal shows - a lot of photographers handed out cards with their prices and packages which weren't listed on their website! That's a few less people to email!

Sanity and Organization

If you were to ask my closest friends for three words to describe me, they'd probably say laid-back, easygoing, and spontaneous.  I really hate planning things and I'd much rather just see how things work out on their own.

Ha! Did you believe me?

I feel like I'm a broken record here, because so many bloggers are type-A, uber-organized, and love spreadsheets lists and planning - I think that kind of comes with the territory of blogging.  Mrs. Waterfall put it the perfectly when she described herself as the combo of Monica Geller, Blair Waldorf, and Charlotte York - I aspire to live somewhere in that neighborhood.

So right after we got engaged, I was ready to step up to the planning big leagues and hit a home run on this wedding business - and I became completely overwhelmed.  I guess I just wasn't prepared for how much stuff comes at your right when you begin your wedding research.

You're simultaneously trying to Google every wedding venue in the area, read some bridal magazines, recover from sticker shock, explain to your fiance about the difference between the color ivory and white, find pictures of first looks so you can explain to your mother that you aren't doing something weird, look up weather histories in your city for the past five years and retell your proposal story to everyone you meet.

And if you're like me and got engaged around Christmas, you're probably checking your Facebook keeping tabs on everyone who just got engaged (give or take 5,000 of my friends in December).  And what does that mean? They're snatching up your vendors, that's what that means! Get your butt in gear, woman!

Unintentionally, The Muppets can explain all of my emotions./Source: WhatShouldWeCallMe

Sit-Stand-Kneel Conundrum

Even before we had settled on a church for the ceremony, my friends were asking the question we were already pondering. "You aren't going to make us sit through a full mass, right?"

We were leaning towards not having a full mass anyway.  While plenty of people in New Orleans are Catholic (which makes this a thing), obviously there are many who are not - and that's plenty of our friends and family.   And attending mass on the regular doesn't even help to make that hour go by any shorter. We realize it makes for a long ceremony.

And all you have to do is watch an episode of Four Weddings to find out that the stand-sit-kneel conundrum gets confusing to those who don't know what comes next.

Plus less time at church = more time for fun! We'd still get all of the readings, and some songs and the important stuff in there (oh, like getting married).  So for the sake of the timing of the day, and the comfort of our guests, the Pyramids were all like "YEA! Half-mass it is!"

One wedding decision down! High five! And you've seen this picture before - forgive me. 

The Bride Crafts!

We knew that this day had to come, the day when no bit of furniture was safe from paints, no hair left unsticky. Here it is - my first adventure into a DIY project (hide yo' kids, hide yo' wife).

Crafts, DIY, and being artistic are not my strong suit. However, I'm here to show you that you too can create something cute for your wedding day!  For this first experiment, I went with something that was not too valuable - a prop for the engagement photos.  I saw this inspiration a while back, and I knew that I could easily recreate. If it was a bust, I wouldn't be heartbroken. 

Fleur de Lis wedding date announcement - so cute!/Source: Lauren Carroll Photography

A Grand Shoe Adventure Concludes

Where we last left off, I was searching for my perfect pair of wedding day pumps.  I hadn't found what I was looking for at home in New Orleans, but I had gotten a little closer in Houston.

What's a girl to do?

Well, take a trip with her mom, Nanny (aunt/godmother), and sister/MOH to New York City for a shoe shopping trip, of course! 

Me, MOH Lil Sis, Momma P, and Nanny at rooftop Birreria Restaurant at Eataly.
Seriously, you must go eat there. Amazing.



Top of the Rock on a cloudy morning.  Family resemblance much? Momma P and Nanny are sisters.

"Shoes Make Me Happy. I'm Superficial. Whatever"

Post for shoe lovers ahead!/Photo from Keropok Man

Back when I was a young, starry-eyed girl graduating from college, I made a promise to myself that my first paycheck would go towards my very first pair of designer shoes.  I had worked hard in school, landed a great job, had a bonus tacked on and I was going to reward myself!
Well, as it turned out my first paycheck went to cover my credit card bills that I had racked up gallivanting around Disney World finishing up my College Program with BM M.  Ok, that's plenty rewarding enough.  I wasn't too hard on myself.


The 11th drink - margaritas in Mexico - of our EPCOT "Drink around the World"! Matching t-shirts FTW./Personal Photo

So I knew that the wedding would be the perfect excuse reason to buy some amazing designer shoes!  I'm not spending much on shopping these days, so I figured I could splurge a bit on the perfect pair.  But with so many brands now available to me, I got a little overwhelmed trying to narrow them all down!