Julie and Kieron:
St. Joseph’s and the Four Seasons Wedding
Julie and Kieron had an amazing wedding day. The ceremony was held at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, with a Four Seasons Hotel wedding reception.
St. Joseph’s was built in the late 1800s, and is certainly among the most visually impressive churches in the area. It’s also one of the largest, able to accommodate up to 2,000 people. St. Joseph Church’s pastor, Father Tom, is known for pulling out his accordion and performing a song for the couples he marries.
After the ceremony, we had all the guests gather out in front of the church on the steps for a giant group shot. Because the front of the church faces the northeast, the mid-afternoon sun was behind the church, placing this area in shadow which, along with the large steps, made it ideal for this kind of photograph.
There was a gap between the end of the ceremony and the start of the reception, so we used some of this time for portraits of the couple and the wedding party around the French Quarter, such as the semi-candid shot of the group walking through Pirate’s Alley, which is next to St. Louis Cathedral.
The reception, with entertainment provided by the River City Hit Squad, took place at the Four Seasons Hotel, but before the guests entered, the couple shared a private dance in the empty ballroom. The groom is an airline pilot, and the couple incorporated this as the theme of their dinner seating chart by having a personalized luggage tag for each guest. An airport code was on each tag, representing the table where they were to be seated.
A grand exit
At the end of the night, the couple was given a cold spark machine send-off. These are devices that produce a shower of sparks that are completely safe, presenting no fire hazard. This is, of course, of particular concern for French Quarter weddings. I’ve even seen cold sparks used indoors! In the case of this wedding, I asked the bride and groom to stop just slightly behind where the machines were placed. In addition to making the spark effect more prominent, it also enabled me to use the light produced by the effect to illuminate the couple. This produced a more natural and dramatic look than my flash would have given.
The whole group then proceeded on a second line parade to Hotel Monteleone where the celebration would continue at the famous Carousel Bar!
Beth’s Flowers expertly coordinated the event.
A few months after the wedding, the bride had these kind words to say about me:
“We just got our wedding pictures back (after only 3 weeks) and WOW! Michael made us look like models. He instructed us just enough to get amazing shots without being intrusive. Given we had a full day of events, the fact that he worked with us to keep our budget manageable was a huge bonus. Now that we are looking through his shots, we appreciate just how many he orchestrated, making it difficult to narrow down what we will share with our guests! Thank you, Michael!”
The Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans
The iconic building at the foot of Canal Street that the Four Seasons Hotel now occupies began its life in 1968 as the World Trade Center. It is sometimes referred to as the International Trade Mart. Designed by Modernist architect Edward Durell Stone, the National Register of Historic Places added the building in 2014.
The World Trade Center was home to numerous organizations and businesses associated with international trade. But its occupancy eventually declined and it closed around 2011. After being acquired by the City of New Orleans, it sat unused for several years. Some residents of the city advocated for the building to be torn down and replaced with a park. Still, others believed that the landmark structure should be saved and renovated.
In 2018, it was announced that the tower would be redeveloped by The Four Seasons as a 341 room hotel. The development would also include 92 private residence condominiums as well, occupying the upper floors. The project took several years and cost $450 million, with the new hotel opening in 2021.
The Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans is in a great location for tourists. It is located right by the Mississippi River, within easy walking distance to the French Quarter. It’s also near the Ernest Morial Convention Center and the CBD. Harrah’s Casino is directly across the street and the Riverwalk Outlet Mall nearby as well.
Weddings at the Four Seasons
The hotel has a pair of spacious ballrooms. In its capacity as a New Orleans wedding venue, it can accommodate two simultaneous full-sized weddings. Also, it features an outdoor garden space on the ground floor that is perfect for a more intimate event. Indeed, on the evening of this wedding, the other ballroom was playing host to another large wedding, and a smaller event was taking place in the garden area downstairs.
About St. Joseph’s Catholic Church
The parish came into being in 1844, with the original smaller church being located near Charity Hospital. The land on which the current church sits was purchased in 1866, and construction began in 1869, but the building was not completed until 1892. Interestingly, the church was initially very sparsely furnished, with plain glass windows, a simple wooden altar, and no pews. Furnishings and decor such as the beautiful stained glass windows and a marble altar were added over the course of the following three decades are so, as funds were raised for these projects.
The historical marker plaque outside the church reads as follows:
Saint Joseph Church
This building replaced an earlier church, erected in 1844 on Common St. (Tulane Ave.) opposite the Charity Hospital of Louisiana – breaking for the present edifice took place May 9, 1869. Construction continued intermittently until dedication December 18, 1892. The congregation of the mission, first community to answer the appeal for European priests by Bishop Louis W. Durbourg, Second Bishop of Louisiana (1815 – 1826), continuously served the parish form the time Fr. John Hayden C.M., became pastor in 1858. He remained until chosen U.S. Lazarist Provincial shortly after undertaking work on this monumental structure.
