How did you meet?
Mardi Gras 2016. I lived on the parade route at that time and so does his parents. We had mutual friends who I was walking with and they needed to stop at the Finn’s to say hi. Clearly a set-up but it felt natural at the time. We hit off immediately and never left each other’s side the rest of the week. We went on our “official” date the week after Mardi Gras and the rest was history. People joke that we started dating the week we met-which is basically true.

Include a little bit about yourselves. What do you do?
Tim works for Iberia bank and LOVES to golf. We (originally Tim’s) have a chocolate lab named Bailey. She is almost 9 years old. I work at Ochsner as a nurse practitioner. Tim is originally from New Orleans and I am from North Louisiana. I have lived in New Orleans for almost 12 years now. We love Mexican food, specifically Juan’s!

What is your favorite thing about each other?
He makes me laugh. That sounds so generic but it is true. We like to do the same things and he is very affectionate. I knew immediately (about 6 hours in) he was the one. We just clicked. I waited 32 years to meet him and it was worth it!!

She’s a good person. I could tell from first meeting her and she has this maternal side to her that I love. I could tell immediately she would make a great mother.

How did the proposal go? Who proposed to who, were you surprised?
Tim proposed on a random Friday night. He told me his parents had a gift certificate for Desi Vegas that they gave to us. I had a long day at work and had not eaten much that day, so I was very excited to eat at Desi. Tim told me we had to stop at his parents first to have a drink-nothing unusual. On the ride there he was acting funny and told me we had to go in the side door by the courtyard-very suspicious. I knew the proposal was coming in the near future but not necessarily when. I didn’t want to get my hopes up on that car ride, but I had a feeling. He had candles lined along the courtyard and then roses and champagne. He asked me to marry me where we first met, at his parents house. The BIG surprise was walking inside and having about 40 family and friends there to celebrate. It was wonderful. (I still wanted to go to Desi Vega’s though LOL)

Where was your ceremony held and why did you pick this site?
We wanted a traditional and classic wedding. Tim went to Jesuit for high school and always wanted to get married at Immaculate Conception. I love the church and also always wanted to get married there. We liked the idea of The Roosevelt since it’s classic New Orleans and right next door to the church. We had a lot of out of town guests and they all stayed at The Roosevelt which was so easy for them. I loved the idea of getting married somewhere in New Orleans that will always be there. We always go to the Roosevelt during Christmas to see the lights and for the Sazerac Bar. It will always bring us good memories when we go there.

Where was your Reception held?
We are so glad we chose The Roosevelt. It was a classic experience and the staff was excellent.

What unique or special things did you do at the reception? 
I definitely wanted a live painter. I love the idea of always having a painting to remind me of that night. Denise Hopkins is great. We didn’t do a lot of extras-photo booths, glow sticks, fancy exit, etc. We didn’t feel like it was necessary. We made sure the drinks were full and the company was good. We did gelato ice cream cones instead of a groom’s cake and a late night snack of beignets. Tim loves ice cream and thought that was a nice surprise.

We did do a table of wedding photos of our parents and grandparents. We are really lucky to have a long line of strong marriages in our families. My parents have been married almost 48 years and his about 40.

What was your favorite part of the day?
Just being around everyone I love. I have an extensive amount of girlfriends and loved having them all in one room. I didn’t get to talk to everyone as much as I would have liked, but just knowing they were there was special. Also, we had Finns from all over the country for the wedding! It was so nice to have them there and they know how to party!

Did it really go by as quickly as everyone says?
YES!!! Everyone gave us that advice, but it went by even quicker. I love reliving it and cannot wait for the pictures!!

What was the inspiration behind picking the color palette and decor that you picked?
I didn’t want a “color palette”. Navy is classic and looks good on everyone. It also went with the Blue Room feel. The girls looked great in the dresses. The flowers were kind of a surprise to me. I wanted all white peonies for my bouquet and hydrangeas for the bridesmaids. I let the florist decide everything else.

From the Bride – When you first saw the groom, what were you thinking/feeling?
I was so nervous! Not about seeing him or getting married, but because so many people were looking at me. As soon as I got to him and held his hand, the nerves went away.

From the groom – When you first saw the bride, what were you thinking/feeling?
Excitement. I had no reservations about getting married and was ready to make it official. I knew she was the one a long time ago.

Who was your baker, what was the flavor of your cake? Was it delicious?!
The Roosevelt did the cake. We had different flavors. Tim actually chose all of them. I believe we did red velvet, a cream cheese, and then classic wedding cake on the bottom. We got several compliments on the cake and there was none left!

Did you do a first look? 
NO. This was not even a question for us. We are traditional and I find something so romantic about seeing each other for the first time as those church doors open.

What was your first dance song? Why this song?
Hall and Oates- “you make my dreams come true”

This is one of our favorite songs. We didn’t want a traditional slow song since that isn’t us. Tim really pushed this one and I’m glad he did. It was different than every other first dance you see.

Band or DJ? Did they rock it?
BAND. No question for us. Bobby J was great and everyone raved about them!!

We want to hear YOUR advice for future brides.
Just enjoy it. It was very stressful at times but definitely worth it. It feels so good after the wedding and then the fun has just begun!

Anything else you want to say?
Corine was amazing!! This was one of the best decisions I made for my wedding.