Band: Bucktown Allstars
Coordinator: Rhonda Perez
Florist: George Newell
Bakery: La Louisiane
Hair: Ali Vasquez
Makeup: Melissa Vacarro
Brides Gown Designer: Liancarlo
Bridesmaid Gown: Hailey Paige
Bridal Boutique: I Do Bridal Couture
Tuxedo: John’s Tuxedo
2nd Line Band: Bucktown Allstars
Stationary: LuLu Roniger

How did you meet?
We met at a bar in Tigerland after an LSU game.

Tell us a little about yourselves!
Stephen is from Ft. Lauderdale and went to LSU for undergrad. I managed to convince him to stay in New Orleans after graduation. He now works at Hancock Whitney in Treasury Management. He loves sports, mainly football, and his new hobby is renovating our new house!
As for me, I am from Chalmette. I went to MCA for high school and of course LSU for undergrad. I graduated from LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans and am now in my Dermatology Residency. I used to teach dancing….so naturally I was ALL over the dance floor at our wedding!

What is your favorite thing about each other? 
My favorite thing about is Olivia is her work ethic, beautiful smile, and loving family.
My favorite thing about Stephen is how he always makes me laugh especially when I am stressed. I also love how close Stephen is with my family.

How did the proposal go? 
Our anniversary has always been December 1st. Unfortunately, on December 1, 2017, I was post-call and a zombie, so we postponed our anniversary celebration. On December 2, 2017, we had a wedding to go to in New Orleans, and Stephen planned a staycation. We had a room at the Omni Royal Orleans and grabbed drinks at Muriel’s. When we left, we stopped to take a picture in front of Jackson Square, and that’s when Stephen got down on one knee! It all made sense why Stephen wouldn’t give me his jacket earlier in the night when I was freezing! Needless to say, we didn’t make our friend’s wedding (Stephen had already let the bride know we weren’t going to make it). We then headed back to the Omni where our family and friends were waiting for us to celebrate!

Where was your ceremony held and why did you pick this site?
We had our ceremony at St. Mary’s Assumption. The church has a beautiful altar and gorgeous wood floors. We also knew that this wedding was going to be a destination wedding for Stephen’s family and friends. We most definitely wanted to do a proper second line, and St. Mary’s is right down the street from Il Mercato.

Where was your Reception held and why did you pick this site?
The reception was at Il Mercato on Magazine. I had been seeing pictures of the gorgeous outdoor fireplace and immediately had a clear vision for our wedding….which is huge because Stephen will tell you how indecisive I am. When I found out Il Mercato was available on December 1st (our anniversary), we immediately booked it….without me ever stepping foot inside the venue.

What unique or special things did you do at the reception? 
As I said before, I am an indecisive person, so I had a reception dress too (why wear one wedding dress when you can wear two?!). We also second lined from the ceremony to the reception with the Bucktown Allstars. We had glow sticks, light up tambourines, light up sunglasses, and koozies. I wanted our guests to be on the dance floor, so we put flip flops in the girls bathroom with hair ties too. We also had a Photo Booth with GIFs thanks to Boogie Booth.

Pick one moment in the day that was your favorite thing?
I can’t just pick one but some of the top moments include having my dad drive me to the church in a family member’s antique red car, hearing all three of my ring bearers make it up the aisle, and of course walking up the aisle with my dad and seeing Stephen on the altar.

Did it really go by as quickly as everyone says?
The whole weekend really does go by quickly.

What was the inspiration behind picking the color palette and decor that you picked?
I chose a church and a venue that were stunning on their own. I envisioned greenery and white flowers on the outdoor fireplace at Il Mercato. From there, I knew I wanted my bouquets to be similar. As for my bridesmaids’ dresses, I love black because it is classic and is flattering on everyone.

From the Bride – When you first saw the groom, what were you thinking/feeling?
I was so overwhelmed with emotion when I saw Stephen that I couldn’t stop crying. I was just so happy!

From the groom – When you first saw the bride, what were you thinking/feeling?
I was just so excited and felt extremely lucky!

Who was your baker, what was the flavor of your cake? Was it delicious?!
La Louisiane made our wedding cake. Stephen and I prefer chocolate desserts, so we did a chocolate cake that was delicious! We also had king cake for the groom’s cake from Nonna Randazzo’s.

Did you do a first look? If so how did you feel about it? If not, do you wish you had?
We did a first look on the roof at the Omni Royal Orleans. We loved it because it was an intimate moment for just the two of us. We also did not want to miss a minute of our reception!

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?
I didn’t hire a coordinator, but I definitely had help! My mom and matron of honor helped out A LOT. We also bought all of our own decor (lanterns, candles, picture frames, etc). We had a few family friends graciously go set up for us on the day of the wedding, and they did an amazing job!

What was your first dance song? Why this song?
“You are the best thing” by Ray LaMontagne. We wanted something upbeat, and we knew the Bucktown Allstars would sound amazing.

Band or DJ? Did they rock it?
Bucktown Allstars…..who totally CRUSHED it!!!

We want to hear YOUR advice for future brides.
Don’t overthink things! There will be things that don’t quite go as planned, but everything will still be perfect!!!!

Also, maybe don’t forget to pin your veil in…..mine kept falling off during the ceremony!