Southern Weddings

Suzanne + Keith’s reception at the Wolff Ballroom took place in one of the oldest communities in the South, Washington, Louisiana! The soft lighting against the brick walls and wooden beams created an atmosphere of Southern hospitality, which was only helped by the sight of S + K’s four-tiered wedding cake, decorated with magnolias and the blue hydrangea centerpieces. Guests partied the night away to the band, Louisiana Red, which the newlyweds credit as their favorite detail. True to tradition, the couple also had a money dance at the reception before making their getaway and continuing their journey to their honeymoon. Now, they’re looking forward to their bright future with their new furry companion, Coteau, a shelter dog they adopted and named after the town they were married in! Thanks again to Ali Harper for sharing this wedding!

Our favorite detail of the wedding was: Our band, Louisiana Red. The reception was so much fun!
What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? Magnolias were in my bouquet and accented the wedding cake. An old time trolley transported the wedding party from St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church to the reception site at Wolff Ballroom. Both beautiful buildings were built in the 1800’s. Wolff Ballroom is in Washington, Louisiana, which is ranked one of the oldest communities in the South. We had the traditional Southern “money dance” where the bride and groom dance with guests and have money pinned on their wedding dress and tuxedo. Our rehearsal dinner was in the courtyard area of my aunt’s beautiful antebellum home in Grand Coteau, Louisiana, which was also built in the 1800’s and is on the National Registry of Historic Places.
Describe your wedding cake: It was a four-tiered traditional wedding cake with accents of magnolias on three tiers. It had buttermilk frosting and different fillings on each tier of pecan, chocolate and cream cheese.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? It was very stressful trying to plan the wedding in Louisiana from Atlanta. Thankfully, I have a wonderful family and some great friends who helped me to pull it all together.
What range did your wedding budget fall into? $10,000 to $25000
What is the one thing you are most happy you splurged on? The band! It was well worth it!
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? Gosh there were so many, but probably the most memorable was the minute they opened the doors at the church and I saw my sweet husband standing at the altar.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? We are so very excited to start our lives together. We had an amazing engagement, wedding and honeymoon and are so thankful to have found each other. We were given some surprising news exactly one month to the date of our wedding. I’m 31 years old and was diagnosed with breast cancer. We feel so very blessed that this was found fairly early and believe with all of our hearts that everything happens for a reason, and that this is just part of our journey. The first year of our marriage will have some challenges, maybe more than some. More importantly, it will bring many blessings in unexpected places and bind us even stronger! The future is bright for us, and we just adopted a precious dog from a shelter, and we named him Coteau (taken from the name of the town we were married in, Grand Coteau). We look forward to all that is ahead!

Photographer: Ali Harper Photography // Ceremony venue: St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church // Reception venue: Wolff Ballroom // Florist: Kaddie Tidwell of Breaux’s Florist // Wedding Cake Baker: Brent’s Catering // Caterer: Lafayette Receptions // Bride’s Dress: Mikaella // Bride’s Shoes: Alfani

Before you go…

Written with love by Nicole