Luxury wedding planner + designer based in New Orleans. Personalizing traditional, yet custom + timeless, yet modern weddings. Named Martha Stewart’s Top Planner 2014
On the most gorgeous grounds of Houmas House Plantation, this bubbly little couple from New York tied the knot! They were the kind of couple that I will always keep in touch with- so thoughtful, so sincere, and so in love! At the end of our initial consultation, the bride “went to the restroom” and came back with champagne to toast to our planning partnership! A new bride and bubbly?! I was hooked!
When we started the design process, her vision was an Elegant Swamp Theme! Sounded like a contradiction at first, but then our team and I knew just what to do! And we loved designing something different- organic and glamorous! Turned out to be the perfect combination and Southern Weddings Blog loved it and featured it, too! See their national post here!
Welcome to our elegant swamp!
Lori and Ryan’s (sweet, sweet) Testimonial:
“The first – and best- decision I made in planning our wedding. I cannot sing Elyse’s praises enough, and shiver at the thought of doing it all without her. For starters, we live in NYC, so her knowledge of the New Orleans area and local vendors was invaluable. As far as her vision and design – she is a gifted and creative designer, but also a great listener and puts her brides’ wishes first. Whereas others (even my MOH) laughed when I said I wanted a “sophisticated swamp” theme, Elyse saw it as an opportunity and came back with the most elegant, southern-Louisiana-glam design I could have possibly dreamed of!
As a planner, she has a tireless work ethic, was always three steps ahead and thinks of EVERYTHING. She is very responsive to emails/calls/texts (which trust me, is a HUGE deal), and could teach Martha Stewart a thing or two about organization. Not to mention, she radiates a reassuring confidence and calming presence that just wraps you up like a big, fluffy towel right out of the dryer. I think one of the most helpful things to me was her decisiveness- and ability to help ME make decisions. No problem was ever too small or too complicated, and she never looked down on me like I was a silly girl (although I know I was at times!). I can’t emphasize enough how awesome it was to have someone who could relate to me, and treated every question I had as a valid concern. She never forced her opinion on me, but helped me think things through and make choices that I could feel amazing about.
Most importantly, she is clearly passionate about her job, and even more so about her brides. Her enthusiasm for weddings, design, and marriage is infectious, and even though I knew she was busy planning dozens of other weddings, I never once felt like I was anything other than special. She was my advocate and ally when dealing with vendors or feuding family members, and made every element of our wedding day come together in the most seamless way imaginable. I was able to just sit back and enjoy my big day because Elyse had made sure everything was taken care of before hand, and she and her amazing team took on the day with the precision and efficiency of a SWAT team. I would have paid her three times as much for the peace of mind that came with having her on my side, and even my 75-year-old father, who doesn’t compliment anyone, was still bragging six weeks later at Christmas about what an amazing job Elyse did.
I could go on and on about Elyse and Tying the Knot Weddings, but to sum it up – I doubt that many brides can say they feel as blessed to have met their coordinator as I do, and that they were sad the wedding was over because it meant not getting to talk to their coordinator regularly anymore. I didn’t know Elyse before I hired her, and odds are that I’ll never see her in person again, but I feel like she made such a difference in my wedding experience that I will always be indebted to her, and will definitely think of her as a friend – not just a coordinator. Book her NOW if you can, it will be the second best choice (after saying ‘yes,’ of course!) you’ll make!”
Planning and Design | Tying the Knot Wedding Coordination
Photography | Mark Eric
Ceremony and Reception Venue |Houmas House
Florist | Bee’s Wedding and Floral Design
Candle Decor | Luminous Events
Bakery | Royal Cakery
Band | Rockin’ Dopsie
Linens | La Tavola and Event Rental
Hair and Make Up | Kiss and Makeup
Transportation | Hotard
Second Line Band | Smitty Dee’s
From the first time that this bubbly pageant girl’s email crossed my inbox, I knew that we would be best friends throughout this planning process! Then when she told me that she wanted a classic wedding with a trendy twist that was full of details, I fell even harder!
Brittney and Ty’s wedding day was full of love, emotion, and the biggest smiles! And boy was there plenty to smile about! With the modern patterns and lounges, florals that highlighted a single flower in each bouquet, and a Vera Wang gown accented by most gorgeous Jimmy Choo’s I’ve ever seen, this wedding is the perfect mix of personality and style that you’ll love for years to come!
Also see their wedding featured on BRIDES blog! They did such a fabulous job highlighting the details and why we chose each decor aspect!
If you love vintage, this wedding will leave you dreaming of the day you can sort through your own families heirlooms!
Mary Margaret and Aaron’s New Orleans wedding featured many, many items passed down from their families! I endearingly deemed their style grandmother’s antiques vintage, where we were able to bring in cut glass crystal vases in all shapes and sizes that sat on mirrored jewelry trays, heirloom jewelry in our tablescapes, vintage New Orleans postcards as the guestbook, brooches unique to each bridesmaid for each of their bouquets, and to top the design off, the bride’s grandparent’s cake topper sat atop their wedding cake!
A wedding so perfectly vintage that Glamour and Grace also shared it with their following!
Relive every memory of playing dress up at grandma’s house through these beautiful images by Mark Eric! Enjoy!
Design and Coordination | Tying the Knot
Church | Christ Church Cathedral
Reception Venue | Montegut House
Photography | Mark Eric
Videography | Mason Jar Films
Florist | Iris Floral Design
Candle Decor | Luminous Events
Vintage Rentals | Mrs. Vintage
Caterer | Joel’s Catering
Bakery | Royal Cakery
Band | Crystal Clear Band
Second Line Band | Jazzmen
Live Painter | Christopher Turner
Hair and Make Up | Glamour Therapy
As a bride, BRIDES blog Aisle Say is the best place to go for descriptive inspirations that can truly help you bring those ideas to life! So pretty AND practical! And when this beautiful bride came to us to plan and design her wedding, she told me that her dream was to be on BRIDES!
Well Brittney, this is not a dream anymore! Welcome to your reality! Thanks for being the perfect muse!
Wander on over to BRIDES to see their love story unfold!
What a wedding! And one of my favorites to date!
Dara and Nate tied the knot at the ever-so-interesting Marigny Opera House, an old church that’s been turned into an event venue– and it’s amazing, might I add! Then add in an even more amazing bride, a groom who just adored his lady, a great story, her phenom sister who did the flowers, and some amazing talent behind the camera to capture it all (Mark Eric)… and you get this gorg soiree!
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World, meet Mary Margaret!
She’s a beautiful bride who tied the knot with us back in December! Before we share her STUNNING wedding that was straight out of the richest antique shop, I wanted to give you a glimpse of who she is by sharing her bridal portraits! These photos are brought to you by the ever-so-talented Mark Eric!
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Pure art, this dress!
And I can’t even explain to you how perfectly this bride was poured into it! It was one of those make-you-gasp kind of moments when she walked in the room! No wonder she had her man in tears when she walked down the aisle!
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