Emily and Joshua
Wedding at the Barn at Sarah Bella / Norris Oaks

Norris Oaks (which was at the time of this wedding known as The Barn at Sarah Bella) is a wonderful and highly regarded wedding venue located in Picayune, Mississippi, which this beautiful Slidell couple chose as the perfect spot for their exchange of vows after hearing positive comments about it from someone who had attended an event there recently.  Located only about 20 miles north of Slidell, it’s a great choice for couples in this area looking for a quiet, rural place to get married that is away from the hustle and bustle of New Orleans, and couples who are seeking a rustic look will adore the interior of the air conditioned barn for their reception.

Emily and Josh had about a hundred guests, though Norris Oaks can accommodate several hundred guests all the way down to very intimate weddings with only a dozen or so people in attendance.  The natural ambience and beautiful scenery is refreshing, and I loved the weathered wood of the barn as the backdrop for the ceremony, but there are also some large oak trees that would also be excellent choices.

The bride and groom wanted to wait until the ceremony to see each other, but wanted to have a moment of prayer beforehand, which was accommodated by using an open door as a partition.

They gave a lot of thought to timing the event for the best light outside, which I certainly appreciated!  The late afternoon lighting was made even better by the perfect amount of cloud cover softening the sun. After the ceremony, the couple had a small reception

Because the timing was so carefully planned, we had just enough of a trace of daylight remaining at the end for the newly married couple’s fantastic send-off. In that beautiful series of photographs, captured in the soft light immediately after the sun had set, the bride and groom departed through a shower of bubbles from their cheering friends and family members. Although this period right after sunset can produce gorgeous light to work with on a nice day, the timing can be tricky, as the level of light will drop very rapidly… literally just a few minutes can be the difference between perfect light and too dark.

Though I loved the way this natural light image looked, bubbles also photograph well at night with flash. Bubbles are a great alternative to the popular sparkler send-off or tossing birdseed, flower petals, confetti, etc. Sparklers can potentially be more hazardous, especially when some of the guests may have had a bit too much to drink. Some wedding venues, especially older, historic buildings and/or those with lots of exposed wood, are hesitant to allow sparklers for fear of the risk of fire or for other liability concerns. And similarly, venues sometimes do not allow anything to be thrown during the departure because of the clean-up necessary afterward. Bubbles alleviate all of these concerns.

Lastly, a bubble send-off is significantly easier and less risky to coordinate. One of the biggest problems with sparklers is that they only last a few minutes before burning out. Some of this burn time is lost during the process of lighting all of them, leaving just a very brief window of time for the departure to take place. If there’s a miscommunication, and the sparklers are mistakenly lit before the couple is actually ready to come out, the danger is that they’ll all or mostly be burned out by the time the couple departs through them.

So, unless you have a good wedding coordinator or an assertive friend or family member in charge of the send-off to ensure it goes smoothly, bubbles are definitely a safer option!

A Gorgeous Fall Day

This couple’s wedding took place in the month of October, which most people who live in the area would agree is the most pleasant time of year for an outdoor wedding in south Louisiana and Mississippi. The temperatures tend to be comfortably mild, and this is also historically the driest month of the year, so there’s less of a chance of rain affecting your plans (though you should still always plan to have an indoor event space available as a backup just in case!).

Rustic Barn Wedding Venue Near New Orleans

Norris Oaks was previously known as The Barn at Sarah Bella until early 2023 when it came under new ownership and was renamed. Several improvements have been made to the venue, such as a suite for the bride to get ready in, a covered area just outside the rear of the barn, and a brick-paved ceremony area in front of a large oak tree.

Only about a 20 minute drive from Slidell, and less than an hour from New Orleans, couples getting married in southeast Louisiana wanting a quiet, natural, country setting for their event should definitely consider this location, as should southern Mississippi residents of course. Couples who are seeking a rustic look will adore the interior of the air conditioned barn for their reception.

This couple had about a hundred guests, though Norris Oaks can accommodate several hundred guests all the way down to very intimate weddings with only a dozen or so people in attendance. The front area of the barn features rows of wooden benches which can accommodate up to about 80-100 guests, and additional seating can be brought in if needed, as was the case with this ceremony.

The natural ambience and beautiful scenery is refreshing, and I loved the weathered wood of the barn as the backdrop for the ceremony, but there are also some large oak trees that would also be excellent choices. The bride and groom wanted to wait until the ceremony to see each other, but wanted to have a moment of prayer beforehand, which was accommodated by using an open door inside the venue as a partition.

Other Rustic Venues in the Area

There are several other barn and similarly rustic venues around the New Orleans area, such as The Berry Barn near Hammond, Louisiana, and The Barn of Pearl River. The Henry Smith House, also in Picayune, Mississippi, is another great choice for a couple seeking a rural venue far away from the hustle and bustle of the city.