This couple came all the way down from Alaska to get married in New Orleans, with their ceremony and reception taking place at the lovely and historic Degas House on Esplanade Avenue. The bride was truly stunning, and quite a bit taller than the groom!
As a wedding photographer in New Orleans, one of the many things I've observed over the years is the huge difference in how the wedding day is structured for the bride and bridesmaids compared to the groom and groomsmen. For the ladies, getting ready is often an all-day process. But the guys can be ready to go in a very short amount of time, freeing up the earlier portion of their wedding day to engage in recreational activities. Often this means a round of golf, or maybe just taking in some of the sights of the city. In this case, the groom was a racing cyclist, and spent this time doing what he referred to as a "little ride" of about 62 miles along with some of his friends. For context, that's approximately the driving distance between New Orleans and Baton Rouge! Naturally, the groom's cake was bike-themed.
The ceremony took place in perfect light, starting about a half hour before sunset. Sometimes the wedding ring is a bit of a tight fit and is a struggle to get on the finger. Whenever this happens, it always makes for a great picture!
Toward the end of the reception, the couple had a big surprise, a visit of a fabulous brass band arranged in secret by one of the guests. This last photo in this post was at the end of the night... a Louisiana native, the groom had been demonstrating his oyster-shucking skills to his bride when the last song of the evening was announced, so he whisked her over to the dance floor forgetting that he was still clutching the shucking knife! In short, it was a fantastic evening with some great people at a beautiful venue!
Here's the nice review the bride wrote for me afterward:
We love our pictures!! I had read that the photographer is not what you want to skimp on to keep your wedding budget down, and although I thought Michael’s portfolio was on par with more expensive photographers, it was still a stretch for us. Until I received the pictures I was second guessing the decision to pay so much for a photographer. I just got the gallery and I have no regrets, they are truly amazing and there are so many of them that it took me an hour to go through them once! The wedding itself went by in such a flash, and going through these pictures makes me feel like I actually get to experience my wedding finally! I love getting to see all the sweet moments our guests had that we missed. He did a great job of capturing subtle moments. I couldn’t be happier and I’m so glad that we have these pictures forever. It took just shy of 4 weeks to get our full gallery.
Location: 2306 Esplanade Ave, New Orleans, LA 70119.
