Ursuline Academy and Felicity Church Wedding
– Stephanie and Thomas –

This Austin, Texas couple’s Felicity Church wedding reception was a blast to photograph. The ceremony took place at Our Lady of Prompt Succor Church at Ursuline Academy.

But we started out their wedding day coverage at the Pontchartrain Hotel on St. Charles Avenue. They had an unusual and challenging request: they wanted to exchange gifts and letters together (in the same room) before their ceremony, but they did not want to have a first look. So, after scoping out the available space in the hotel, I suggested that instead of trying to do this in a common area like the lobby or lounge (which would have the typical flow of random hotel guests walking through), simply sitting back to back on the corner of the bed in the bride’s suite would be a more private and intimate setting for this moment.

The bride agreed. It took some careful coordination and maneuvering with the help of wedding planner CJ of Evermore Weddings to get the two of them in this position while ensuring they didn’t inadvertently see each other, but it went off without a hitch! While a strict adherence to a purely photojournalistic wedding photography approach would arguably preclude me from influencing the stories that I am capturing, realistically speaking there are times during the wedding day when I have to help arrange a particular interaction or scene that the couple wants.

Oui Do Jazz was on hand for the reception entertainment. We also snuck away for a few minutes to grab some portraits of the couple. I love Felicity Church’s beautifully aged stairways!

Later in the evening, the Cafe Du Monde food truck showed up to treat all the guests to the world-famous beignets and cafe au lait this New Orleans icon is known for, and then at the end of the night the couple was given a fabulous sparkler send-off!

The bride wrote this great review after the wedding:

Michael was wonderful to work with. We planned our New Orleans wedding from outside of the city which can make planning more complicated. Michael made planning easy with his prompt and clear communication. We reviewed several photographers who work in the New Orleans area. We chose Michael because of the shots in his portfolio, the way he captured emotion, his unique style, and ability to capture natural and posed moments. He was very enthusiastic when we spoke to him about how we wanted our wedding day captured.

On the day of the wedding he was on time and offered great ideas about different types of shots. I immediately felt at ease upon his arrival and knew that he was appropriately prepared. Michael was respectful of the strict rules provided by the Church and I felt safe knowing that he would respect these. During the reception Michael was everywhere but his presence was never felt or bothersome. A few of our guests noted that he was present in every area but non-intrusive. He captured our wedding day comprehensively and has provided us with cherished memories.

Following the wedding, Michael was prompt at writing a blog post and communicative about when our photos would be available for us to view. We would definitely work with Michael again in the future!

About Felicity Church

Felcity Church is an amazing and unique venue.  It served the community as a Methodist church for well over a hundred years, and after being damaged in Hurricane Katrina, it was sold and sat in disrepair until the new owners lovingly renovated and restored the historic building to serve as an event venue.  As a photographer, I can’t help but to absolutely adore the effort that was put into carefully maintaining, preserving, and sealing the old, weathered appearance rather than just slapping a fresh coat of paint on everything.  It really gives this venue an amazing appearance that photographs exceptionally well, especially when contrasted with a gorgeous bride and groom.