Married: January 19, 2019
Bridal Prep: The DoubleTree
Ceremony: Felicity Church

How did you meet?
From Blake:

Our relationship began with a picture and a text. Beth’s friend, Meagan Cadavid (then Breaux), sent Beth a picture of me and gave us each other’s numbers. Beth’s first text to me was “Is this my future husband?” While we broke up at the beginning of our relationship (of course it was my fault), I always said that if I got another chance with Beth I wouldn’t mess it up. And, as they say, the rest is history.

How did the proposal go? Who proposed to who, were you surprised?
After I passed the bar, it was time to plan the proposal. I’d told my Best Man, Dave, that I wanted him and some of my family and friends in town on August 5, 2017. Now, to most people who don’t live in New Orleans, August 5, 2017 is just another day. But to us who live in Lakeview, it’s the day that the pumps stopped working. Everyone was in town for the big day, and I planned to propose outside the Columns Hotel on St. Charles around 5:30 p.m. The Columns would provide a perfect backdrop for a picture of me down on one knee asking Beth to marry me, I thought. Beth and I, along with our friends Dave, Reid, and Raegan, were all getting ready in Lakeview around 4:00 p.m. when the rain started. Unfortunately, it never stopped, and the water started to rise. By 5:15 there was nearly three feet of water outside our house, and the ring was burning a hole in my pocket. We were stranded. So, I improvised. I called my Dad, who was at the Columns, and told him to get everyone to Café Sbisa, the restaurant I’d planned for after the proposal, while we tried to get an Uber. Of course, Uber could not get to us because of all the water. But Brandon saved the day and came and picked us up in his Tahoe. Our five-mile trip to Café Sbisa took us nearly an hour and a half.

By the time we got to the restaurant nearly all of my plans were out the window, except for asking the big question. Beth went to the restroom and I got everyone to take their seats. When she came back, I asked her to marry me in front of my friends and family. She didn’t say “Yes,” she said, “Well, yeah!”

Where was your ceremony?
Blake and I were married at Felicity Church in New Orleans, LA. We chose our long time friend and chaplain to marry us. Blake and I wanted the feel of a church ceremony and when we found the church online we could not resist. Felicity Church is a beautiful setting for an intimate and religious ceremony.

Where was your Reception held and why did you pick this site?
Our reception was held at the DoubleTree by Hilton downtown New Orleans. Beth actually attended a bridal show at the DoubleTree which brought the location to our attention. After meeting with Jennifer, touring the ballroom and bridal suite we were sold! Our goal was to host our reception in a hotel to offer convenience to our guests. Not only were we able to have the convenience of the hotel but the ballroom, the views of downtown, the staff, and the food were all incredible!

Did it really go by as quickly as everyone says?
Time flies when you are having fun! We would agree that as a whole, yes, the weekend did fly by. However, our weekend was packed with family, friends, drinking and dancing and it was a complete and full weekend.

From the Bride – When you first saw the groom, what were you thinking/feeling?
How handsome is my future husband! In all honesty, I remember being locked in on him. My eyes never left his the entire walk down the aisle. I did not look at the guests, the pastor or the bridal party. Throughout the entire ceremony, I just looked into his eyes and soaked up every moment.

From the groom – When you first saw the bride, what were you thinking/feeling?
The wait was worth it. I was adamant about not doing a first look. I wasn’t nervous about anything on the day of the wedding, except accidentally seeing Beth before her walking down the aisle. There are no words to describe seeing your wife-to-be in her wedding dress for the first time. I couldn’t believe how beautiful and happy she looked. It was exactly the moment I’d hoped for.

Who was your baker, what was the flavor of your cake? Was it delicious?!
Since Beth has an allergy to gluten we wanted to make sure as a couple we could enjoy our wedding cake together as well as for our one year anniversary. After a lot of research we reached out to Shake Sugary. After speaking with Dawn and trying her gluten free cake we said “where can we sign!” For most of the layers we did a take on the “berry chantilly cake.” The other layers were a strawberry cake with a cream cheese frosting filling. The outside was decorated simply with mixed berries. I received so many compliments on our cake and after relaying that it was gluten free our guests were shocked.

Did you do a first look? If so how did you feel about it? If not, do you wish you had?
Blake and I did not do a first look. We were both on the same page about wanting our first look to be in the church among our family and friends. I am so glad we did and our family and friends could be a part of such an intimate and special moment with us.

Did you have a coordinator or did you plan everything yourself? If you didn’t have a coordinator any advice for brides planning their own wedding?
We did it all ourselves! We were very strict with our budget so some details such as a coordinator did not work for us. We did have a year and a half to plan our wedding which gave us plenty of time to have a stress free planning experience. We also mutually planned our wedding. All tasks and decisions were split 50/50.

We want to hear YOUR advice for future brides.
Soak up every moment! A good friend of Beth’s suggested taking a moment together at the reception to step away and look around. Look at all of the faces of the family and friends that came to support, love and celebrate you two.