Luxury wedding planner + designer based in New Orleans. Personalizing traditional, yet custom + timeless, yet modern weddings. Named Martha Stewart’s Top Planner 2014
This beautifully gilded wedding of a former pageant girl and her Dr. is still making me smile! The wedding’s backdrop was the chippy and charming Race and Religious in New Orleans, LA and Greer Gattuso Photography captured every emotion and detail through film so perfectly! We designed the wedding with the idea of pure timeless glamour by bringing in some gold beaded lace, a Debra Moreland crown cake topper, a monogrammed Velvet Raptor guest book, and many more golden touches that helped to dress up the space! The bride’s Jenny Packham gown glistened and flowed so effortlessly, while the bridesmaids stunned in their own white gowns! It was just the right pairing of glamour and natural beauty!
In fact that it won Borrowed and Blue’s award for the Most Glamorous Wedding of 2016 in their Best of B&B awards! Fitting since Morgan is the most glamorous woman I know! XOXO
Planning and Design | Elyse Jennings Weddings
Photography | Greer Gattuso Photography
Ceremony and Reception Venue | Race & Religious
Florist | Kim Starr Wise
Rentals | Event Rental
Candles and Lighting | Luminous Events
Videographer | Bride Film
Catering | Pigeon Catering
Bakery | La Louisiane
Band | Tip Tops
Hair | Brian
When phenom photog Courtney Dellafiora entrusted me to bring her “Water for Elephants” wedding to life, the ideas instantly started swirling in my mind… starting with the wonder of how much it would cost to rent an elephant?! Then after putting that dream to bed, I started recruiting a few of my favorite vendors to join our circus!
As always, the most important initial decision was our venue! We put all of the pretty plantations and gardens aside for a dusty (and stinky) horse stable! The perfect backdrop for our gypsy bride and groom! I’m all about the juxtaposition of bringing glamorous beauty to such a rough space, so I decided that all props and rentals should be rustic, so that the bride, groom, and their fabulous flowers (thanks Kim Starr Wise) could really POP! We trekked to Slidell to find Lawrence Barattini and his enormous prop warehouse! There we found ripped antique settees, old leather trunks, wood crates, freakishly tall wooden ladders, and an arcade sign among his many thousand other amazing finds! I knew that he could help us set the stage!
The rest of our team quickly fell into place! Margaret of Proper Prints would work her magic to create all of our paper and hand painted products! Kim Starr Wise, the magnificent, took my floral sketches and brought them to life! Rich and glamorous red peonies, red anemones, and red roses were collected for event! Mrs. Vintage gave our guests a place to sit with her mix matched wooden chairs! Event Rental erected our red and white striped circus tent! We were ready to transport our bride and groom back in time!
On the day of the big show, Brandi Zito glammed up our bride and groom with 1930’s inspired hair and make up! To finish off the gorgeous bridal ensemble, we applied the most period specific bridal cap from Wedding Belles! They were ready to say their “I do’s!”
So without further adieu… Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! Welcome to our “Greatest Show on Earth!”
(cue the trumpets)
Planning and Design | Tying the Knot Wedding Coordination
Photography | Courtney Dellafiora
Florals | Kim Starr Wise
Calligraphy and Paper Products | Proper Prints
Stamps | Verde Studio on Etsy
Rentals | Lawrence Barattini Props
Vintage Chairs | Mrs. Vintage Rentals
Hair and Make Up | Brandi Zito
Bridal Cap | Wedding Belles
Horse Stable | Lewis Stables
Circus Tent | Event Rental
Is this really happening?!
Jack and I’s very own engagement party has been featured on Style Me Pretty! Pinch me! My full take on the soiree coming soon!
When I heard the news that Wedding Sparrow wanted to feature my styled shoot on their international stage, my heart and soul fluttered in the wind just like the ribbons on this dress! And I couldn’t imagine anyone better to capture the beauty through her film camera than Greer of Greer G Photography! Here’s my design inspiration from falling in love with the dress to the full styled shoot coming to life!
See the Wedding Sparrow feature HERE!
When designing this shoot, it all started with the dress! I fell in love with the romantic embroidered lace and the dainty little sleeves of the Lula Kate L’Amour gown! It had this perfect, simple ribbon just draping down the dress! So was born the inspiration for the shoot! We wanted the design to have fluidity and movement- with a touch of the ribbons threaded through each dainty detail! I chose the Pitot House, a historic home that belonged to the first mayor of New Orleans, as the setting. It has a Southern plantation flair amidst Bayou St. John! Their blue footbridge stood as the setting for our ceremony! One of my favorite touches is the velvet embossed place card ribbons that marked each guests seat with their initials! It was a fun DIY project (requiring just a few easy items and steps) made for an intimate wedding! I also tied in a french blue velvet ribbon embossed with the bride’s initials for her bouquet! Another trend that we are especially enjoying here in Nola is the wedding mixologist who can create a custom craft cocktail for the festivities! Our shoot featured Heirloom Cocktail who created a spin on a New Orleans classic! In all, we created a shoot that displayed movement through the dresses amidst the movement of the moss and southern charm! A pretty picture of feminine beauty and romance!
Thank you to my incredible team who helped it all come to life:
Planning and Design | Tying the Knot Wedding Coordination
Film Photography | Greer G Photography
Venue | The Pitot House
Florist | Kim Starr Wise
Vintage Rentals (peach chair, brass, bar) | Mrs. Vintage
Rentals (linen, bentwood chairs) | Event Rentals
Mixology | Heirloom Cocktail
Paper Suite | Kelly Tesvich of Kelly Draws
Wedding Gowns | Wedding Belles
Groom’s Attire | Perlis
Hair | Ginger Dickey of ColorBar Salon
Make Up | Ashley Sievert
Models | Amy Laviolette and Kurt Schwartz
Caramels | Crescent Confectionery
Pinch Me!
You are looking at my designs on Grace Ormonde! So blessed that Courtney Dellafiora, the fabulous photographer, called me to help put her vision into action! It’s perfection (if I don’t say so myself)! Pure, glamourous, rich, sexy, perfection!
See the shoot on Grace Ormonde here!
Then be on the look out for my full blog post with many more photos and a behind the scenes break down of how I designed the setting and who I used to make it happen!
On a rainy day in New Orleans, these two shared their wedding day with 30 of their favorite people… and US! My, does that make us feel special!
I don’t think anyone minded that the weather drove us inside! Their stunning ceremony took place under an antique mantle glowing with candles at the Beauregard Keyes House while their guests stood watching in admiration! After a romantic joining of the families, dinner was served while the guests reunited with old friends! There’s nothing more special than an intimate wedding amidst the Parisian inspired decor! Continue Reading