Creativity, warmth and a whole lot of fun are de rigueur at weddings in the Crescent City. No need to worry about planning from afar — the New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau will help you out gratis. Call or email Leslie Straughan (504-566-5018, lstraughan@neworleanscvb.com), and she’ll offer a helping hand.
Straughan and her team will fi nd out which hotels in your price range can accommodate the wedding party, and they’ll lead you to venues for your ceremony and reception. They know reliable caterers, fl orists, photographers and transportation companies in town, and they’ll match you up with those vendors as well.
“You’re different here,” the New Orleans slogan goes, and it’s true. The European-style city’s distinctive characteristics enchant and energize couples of all ages. Your wedding might involve one of hundreds of churches, secluded courtyards, scenic gardens, centuries- old mansions or historic plantations. Imagine a steamboat party or jazz dinner cruise along the Mississippi River. Weave local fl avors into the reception menu — maybe a Pimm’s Cup cocktail, crawfi sh étouffée, and pralines or chicory coffee with dessert.
To show just how much the visitors bureau wants to host your wedding, it will send a complementary Visitors Guide to every guest on your list. It also offers tempting wedding and honeymoon packages that include accommodations, cake, sparkling wine and breakfast in bed.
WEDDINGS
You don’t have to wait to get married in New Orleans. Simply follow the requirements, bring a check and obtain your license and waiver.
HONEYMOONS
Whether you stay in a chic hotel or a historic hideaway with wrought-iron balconies, explore the city’s most romantic byways. Take a carriage ride through the French Quarter. Request a love prediction from a voodoo priestess. Kiss aboard a streetcar. And collect colorful Mardi Gras beads to bring back home.
TOP TIP
Forgo breakfast in bed one morning for a Big Easy classic: beignets and café au lait at Café du Monde. Follow with a walking tour of the French Quarter.
CONTACT INFO
504-566-5018, myweddinginneworleans.com
