Southern Weddings

When Taylor and I started thinking of our first big trip together, I immediately suggested going to New Orleans. It’s been one of my top travel destinations for years! Though we researched other places within the continental United States, nothing made us as excited about vacation as New Orleans did. We were attracted to the history, the food and the adventure factor New Orleans has — a combination of its Creole soul, spooky past and other-worldliness. Traveling to New Orleans was almost like going abroad, but everyone speaks English (though with a mixture of about four different accents!). Because of this, Taylor and I wanted to prioritize staying in a hotel that was part of the culture, not just another chain. We had heard many recommendations for The Soniat House in the past (remember our post on Southern summer escapes?), so we jumped at the opportunity to stay there!

Top photo courtesy of Mr and Mrs Smith, the proprietors of The Soniat House.

The Soniat House comprises two Creole-style townhouses with gorgeous inner courtyards and gallery fronts — we loved seeing the balconies from the street! The entrances are gated for extra privacy and we very much enjoyed that we carried old school keys to the gate and suite instead of key cards. When we first arrived, our butler opened the gates for us, showed up to the office to check in and then showed us to our room. No joke, I clapped my hand over my mouth to keep from squealing as we walked through the gate. It was like entering paradise, y’all! Everything was lush and gorgeous and The Soniat House still boasts its original architecture (spiral stairs, balconies and all) from when it was built in 1830.

Don’t y’all adore that striped awning above our door?

Inside, our room was the perfect combination of French colonial style and modern comforts. The first photo below isn’t of our room, but is similar and the perfect example of how gorgeous the textiles in each suite are. Our bedspread even had The Soniat House monogram on it! We were lucky enough to have a suite with a sitting room, where we kept our laptop, cameras and touristy purchases away from our perfectly made bed.

Top photo courtesy of Mr and Mrs Smith

The Soniat House is just a few short blocks away from Jackson Square (historically the Place d’Armes), the heart of the French Quarter. It’s surrounded by the Saint Louis Cathedral, the Louisiana State Cabildo and Presbytere, the two oldest apartment buildings in the United States, dozens of artists and dozens of restaurants. Needless to say, Taylor and I were never bored and never hungry. Aside from eating the best of New Orleans food fare and getting educated on the detailed history of the city, we spent a lot of our time marveling over the architecture. The balconied apartments were a sight to see. All of them were decked in flourishing plants.

We spent our first day in the city getting acclimated and wandering around the French Quarter. We ate a delicious meal of po’boys (oyster for me, eggs benedict for Taylor) at a restaurant called Stanley’s and later that night, found ourselves in the courtyard of a Cafe Beignet, where a live jazz band was playing. (Later, we were excited to discover that Stanley’s has a sister restaurant a block from the Soniat House called Stella’s! It made me want to watch A Streetcar Named Desire.)

I immediately fell more in love with The Soniat House and their attention to detail as soon as we returned to our suite for the night. The pathway from the gate through the courtyard was lined with candles and our room had gotten a turndown service — shades drawn and pillows fluffed!

We spent our second day in New Orleans doing as much touristy goodness as we could. We were happily surprised that despite the warnings our friends gave us, the city in July was not sweltering hot and there was always a nice breeze coming off the Mississippi River. We took a walking tour of the city, toured the famous Lafayette Cemetery, went to the Audubon Aquarium and then enjoyed crab cakes and hushpuppies at a Riverwalk restuarant (where another jazz band was playing!) before ambitiously deciding we would be hungry for dinner and making a reservation at K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen upon the recommendation of the concierge at The Soniat House. The decision was definitely worth it! Taylor and I enjoyed one of our best New Orleans meals there and I tried my first sazerac (conclusion: good at first, then tastes like cough syrup).

Since we packed our second day in New Orleans with fun outings, we decided to take it slow on Sunday. The best way to do this when staying at The Soniat House? Staying “in” for their homemade biscuit breakfast and cafe au lait in the courtyard.

Are y’all seeing these biscuits?!?! They’re made to order and come out piping hot!

The biscuits are accompanied by strawberry preserves and butter pats shaped like madelines! In addition to cafe au lait, we enjoyed freshly squeezed orange juice with our breakfast companion, Claire, The Soniat House cat. Taylor and I now refer to her as Smuckers, since she smelled suspiciously like strawberry preserves.

Breakfast was absolutely heavenly. We were tempted to spend the rest of the morning in that breakfast paradise, but there were more adventures (and food!) to be had. However, if you crave slower, homey nights in the middle of your vacation like Taylor and I do, you can always come back from dinner, make yourself a drink or pour yourself a glass of wine at the honour bar, soak in your jacuzzi tub and then watch Iron Chef in your complimentary bath robes, which we definitely did one night.

From our tour at the Old New Orleans Rum Distillery and a snap of my delicious muffaletta!

We were sad to leave New Orleans, so we spent our last few minutes at The Soniat House soaking it up on their second floor balcony before saying goodbye to Claire the cat and catching our cab to the airport.

Being in New Orleans (especially the French Quarter) was truly like being worlds away from home, where jazz music can be heard at all times of the day and night and where everything you see and touch has its own lengthy history. I’ll admit, it can be spooky at times (we ate dinner in a haunted restaurant on our last night), and wild (we were on Bourbon street for just a few minutes before we ducked into Cafe Beignet), but it was definitely a trip that no other can compare to, and just the summer adventure we needed. If you’re also the type who craves a little adventure, New Orleans might be the perfect spot for your honeymoon or minimoon! We loved that The Soniat House made for a beautiful getaway in the middle of a vibrant city, where the staff was friendly and accommodating, our suite was comfortable and our surroundings romantic and a bit Old World.

For anyone planning a getting to New Orleans, I’d be happy to give you more details about our trip! (And everything we saw. And ate.) Huge thanks to The Soniat House for hosting us!!

All photos are personal unless noted otherwise.

Written with love by Nicole