Hotel Mazarin Wedding Photographer
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Hotel Mazarin Wedding Photographer

How did you meet?
We met in high school — we were fellow band nerds brought together by mutual friends and experiences! We began dating in 2016, graduated high school, attended the same college, and got engaged in 2019!

Include a little bit about yourselves. What do you do?
Sarah is a pediatric registered nurse and Noah is a software developer.

what is your favorite thing about each other? Share a personal story.
We love that we can be 100% authentic and open with each other. We support each other in everything we do and build each other up in any challenges we face.

How did the proposal go? Who proposed to who, were you surprised?
Noah proposed to me on Christmas morning in 2019. I had been pestering him about proposing for months, but wasn’t actually expecting it anytime soon since we were both still in college and money was tight! But on 12/25/19, my dad had asked me to tidy up a bit in front of the tree. I was confused as to why that particular moment, but accepted it. Noah came up and said he had one more gift to give me, then got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I immediately burst into tears, which I didn’t expect, and said yes of course! He had also written a super sweet and heartfelt letter that we read together. We spent probably 10 minutes just hugging and crying!

Where was your ceremony held and why did you pick this site?
We got married at Hotel Mazarin. We wanted a French Quarter wedding, and after photographing a few weddings at Hotel Mazarin in the past, I knew I was in LOVE! Noah was hesitant about the courtyard setting at first, but after seeing it in person, he fell in love as well and we booked the same day! Also, my Aunt Michele and Uncle Johnny had also gotten married there — then Michele ended up helping to plan our wedding and Johnny officiated it (truly full circle!).

Where was your Reception held and why did you pick this site?
We held our reception at Hotel Mazarin — both for the ease of having everything in one spot and the incredible reception space!

What unique or special things did you do at the reception?
At our wedding, we had a lot of unique decor! We had a unity sand ceremony with an hourglass, a second line, a polaroid guest book, a memorial table, light up batons, a centuries dance, succulents as favors, a neon sign, tiered king cake, and a sparkler send off! Also, a lot of the decor Sarah made herself with the help of Noah, Sarah’s family, and bridesmaids!

Pick one moment in the day that was your favorite thing?
Sarah’s favorite moment was reading her vows to Noah during the ceremony. Noah’s favorite moment was holding Sarah’s hands and staring into her eyes during the ceremony.

Did it really go by as quickly as everyone says?
YES!! Once the day really got going, it was just nonstop! In the blink of an eye, we were already doing our sparkler send off!

What was the inspiration behind picking the color palette and decor that you picked?
Inspiration from other weddings — I think the blush/burgundy/ivory combination with all the greenery is just beautiful!!

From the Bride - When you first saw the groom, what were you thinking/feeling?
“This is so weird, this is so weird, I can’t believe this is happening this is so weird”. During the ceremony my hands were tingling and my heart rate was probably at least 150!

From the groom - When you first saw the bride, what were you thinking/feeling?
How beautiful Sarah was and how he didn’t think he deserved me, but also how we are made for each other!

Who was your baker, what was the flavor of your cake? Was it delicious?!
Gambino’s!! The cake was almond with strawberry filling — honestly, Sarah just got the one bite after the cake cutting and that’s it, time was just flying by too fast! But that one bite was FANTASTIC. Noah was able to take a couple bites of the cake and the king cake, but he said the king cake especially was SOOO good! Sarah can’t wait to try some after the honeymoon!

Did you do a first look? If so how did you feel about it? If not, do you wish you had?
Yes we did! Noah and I are both so glad we decided to do one. It was so nice to have that private moment to soak it all in without a million eyeballs on us! And we also got to get most of the group shots out of the way which allowed more time for us to just enjoy the night afterwards!

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 had Michele, Brittani, and Thaddeus with Unique Weddings assist with the planning and coordinating. They all did such an amazing job and made the day of so much smoother, and we are so grateful for them!

What was your first dance song? Why this song?
“Next to Me” by Imagine Dragons. We wanted a song that we both knew and that had meaning to us. We both attended an Imagine Dragons concert in 2018 and have bonded over listening to their songs for a long time.

Band or DJ? Did they rock it?
DJ — we had Robbie with Party Tyme Productions and he did an amazing job! Absolutely flawless!

We want to hear YOUR advice for future brides.
Deep breaths, soak it all in and experience your wedding day with all five senses! It goes by so fast, so enjoy your day and create those happy memories! Also, don’t stress so much about the little things. The most important thing is that you are marrying your best friend!

We work really hard to help come up with a timeline and plan for the portrait list to make sure you are getting the most out of your day. How useful was this for you?
Very useful, I felt very confident that everything was being taken care of and it lifted so much burden off of me! It was great!