Today’s elegant New Orleans wedding is a stunner. Less is more in this case and using the beautiful city architecture makes me feel like I have been transported into another time. I just love it!
Wedding budget breakdowns are one of the hardest things to do. Knowing what is important to both of you and having a list of “must-have” items is a good place to start. As the bride below says, you may have to forfeit something to be able to have something else.
The bride in today’s post was creative in that instead of having expensive floral arrangements on every table, she decided to use tea lights as center pieces and was then able to afford the all-time-favorite peony for her bouquets.
Candles add a sense of warmness to a room, not to mention creating a romantic atmosphere. A friend of mine found and bought these really cool candles the other day. I am so impressed with I am going to get a set for my own wedding, especially since my wedding venue doesn’t allow real candles. These are Submersible Tea Lights that you can put in a mason or vase to illuminate the water. I love this idea and can’t wait to use them in my champagne fountain decor idea.
Couple
Christine & Thorsteinn
About This Wedding
Overall theme for the ceremony and reception
“I didn’t have a conscious theme in mind. If I had to put a label on what it ended up as, I would go with Vintage and Natural.”What were some challenges you faced planning your wedding?
“We had an international wedding, with myself being from the US and my husband from Icelandic, and us both finishing our senior year of university, there were definitely some challenges.  Planning a wedding can be stressful as we all know, but having family spread not only across one country but across two different countries,  definitely took  some extra work to communicate ideas and to plan effectively.”What was your budget? Did you go over or stay under? Where did you save money?
“We stayed close to our budget. I wanted peonies in our arrangements and for my bridesmaids’ bouquets, but they were out of our budget. Â We decided to eliminate floral arrangements on the smaller tables, and instead only had tealights. This allowed us to have peonies and it was still beautiful and cozy!”
What were the highlights from the ceremony & reception?
“Other than becoming husband and wife! My sister did a reading that I arranged from Plato’s Symposium about soul mates. It was beautiful. We really enjoyed dancing with our friends and family, especially family we had not seen in a long time!”
Any tips to share with brides planning their own wedding?
“I think the secret to a happy and stress-free wedding day is to communicate very clearly in advance what you want and expect, but be open-minded and don’t be afraid to defer to the experts. I was happiest with the details that I didn’t try to control.”
Which pieces of music did you use during the ceremony?
The processional was “Everyday” by Buddy Holly, the Brides Entrance was “Dearest” by Buddy Holly and the interlude was “GoÄ‘an Daginn” by Sigur Ros.  Our recessional was “Home” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes. Our first dance was to “Sea of Love” by Phil Phillips (a Louisiana native)
Describe the bride/bridesmaid’s attire
 “I wore BHLDN’s Onyx gown, a veil from BHLDN, gold flats from Nordstrom, and earrings from local New Orleans jewelry designer Beatrix Bell. My bridesmaids wore Davids Bridal and floral crowns from Serenity Crystal on Etsy.”
What types of flowers did you have?
“Lavender, orange roses, off-white/white peonies and roses, blue delphiniums, and orange tulips.”
What was the best advice you received when you were planning your wedding?
“My good friend, Katrina, was married the previous May and told me over and over to get things done. Don’t procrastinate. I didn’t listen to her as much as I should have. She was right!”
What wedding favor did you give your guests?
“We didn’t offer wedding favors, but we did offer paper fans for the comfort of our guests during our courtyard ceremony and custom coloring books for the children.”
Did you have your wedding invitations made or make them yourself?
“We had our Save the Dates printed by Wedding Paper Divas. Our invitations were from Minted. I made our programs myself.”
If you could go back in time would you change anything?
“I would have done more research on vendors and finished everything sooner. Â All in all, everything was wonderful. Â We had a great time, our guests had fun and at the end of the day we were married!”
Gallery
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