A glam Halloween wedding with a black dress and beignets

Offbeat partner: Yvette, Amature Bikini bodybuilder & Business Development Extraordinaire

Offbeat partner: Brandon, Land Surveyor, Professional Nice Guy & Beard Tamer

Date and location of wedding: The Ace Hotel, New Orleans, LA & Frenchmen Square, New Orleans, LA — October 31, 2016

Our offbeat wedding at a glance:

Our wedding was held on Halloween night in New Orleans and had a “Till Death Do Us Part” theme. We wanted the look and feel to invoke a sort of luxurious, devil came down, cozy funeral for two, eternal love and damnation sensation. I think the darker season and the historical opulence of the city lent perfectly to that feeling.

We wanted the ceremony and everything leading up to it to have a just us feel to it. We took boudoir pictures instead of wedding party or engagement pics, bucked the tradition of the groom not seeing the bride, and spent our wedding day getting ready together. Even during the ceremony, it was just us up there. Life goals for us, really.

Tell us about the ceremony:

We tried to keep the ceremony itself nice and short. Brandon walked in to Lana Del Rey’s “Off to the Races” and I walked in to “Born to Die,” from the same album (we’re both in love with her ethereally sensual sound and fundamentally broken lyrics. Basically the whole night’s playlist was Lana… not gonna lie).

Tell us about your reception:

We ate with our closest friends and family in a gorgeous private room at the Ace Hotel, and then moved our little group out onto Frenchman Street where we leisurely strolled from jazz club to jazz club, taking in the sights, wading through the masses of Halloween costumes and party goers.

When it was time to call it a day, we broke off from our group and ended the night — just us again, over coffee and beignets at Cafe Du Monde before heading back to our AirBnB loft. Most amazing of all, our awesome photographer, who we really can't say enough positive things about, stuck with us the entire day, cataloging the whole event from breakfast to beignets.

What was your most important lesson learned?

I had almost everything booked a year in advance. While I thought this meant for a stress-free last few months you just can’t account for life’s little lessons.

While working on our wedding website, just eight weeks before Halloween, I found out the venue we booked closed. Worst part: I found out on Yelp! No one even called to tell me. After a few tearful phone calls, I hopped right back into super planner mode and has us booked at the amazing Ace Hotel in just a couple of weeks. The staff, food, and general ambiance was leaps and bounds better than our original venue.

Vendors

• Photographer: Jason Albus Photo
• Floral: Leaf & Petal NOLA
• Dress: Pronovias
• Evening Dress: Fausta
• Bridal Boutique: Bella Bride Boutique in San Antonio
• Venue: Ace Hotel
• His Rings: Iz&Co. & Clocks and Colours
• Her Ring: Custom Design from San Antonio Jewelry

Gallery

This slideshow requires JavaScript.