A New Orleans Second Line Wedding Parade: Samantha & Daniel
Have you ever been to a carnival or parade and wished your wedding could be exactly the same? Well that is exactly what happened to Samantha and Daniel when they stumbled across a traditional second line parade in New Orleans. The excitement of marching through the streets with their guests and a jazz band was exactly the type of ‘wow’ factor that they were looking for to say thankyou to all their friends and family that made the long journey to celebrate with them in New Orleans. Samantha had the perfect mix of DIY mixed in with a few splurge items such as a live oil painter, who worked in each of the wedding guests into a painting that the couple now hang in their home, whilst her mum helped create a handmade brooch bouquet made up of family heirlooms.
Samantha and Daniel are the just the cutest, I can’t wait to for you to see all their gorgeous details!!!
Here is Samantha to tell you more…
“Dan and I chose our destination wedding in the city of New Orleans (we are from Philadelphia) during a trip to the city before we were even engaged! While exploring New Orleans Dan and I witnessed a “second line parade”. A New Orleans traditional celebration parade through the streets, with a jazz band, police escort and all wedding guests, locals are invited to join onto the end! We knew right from that very moment that this was for us and our family and friends! A year after the trip we got engaged on a vacation to Sedona Arizona. Dan proposed at the Grand Canyon. I started wedding planning right away! In search of a venue that would hold such a small wedding of only 50 guests we came across the Hermann Grima house and fell in love. It had the perfect New Orleans style charm that would wow our guests! We kept our decor simple and didn’t even hire a florist. I hired a stylist who decorated the space with lanterns, glass bubbles and candles throughout the courtyard as both our ceremony and reception were held there. I did a lot of DIY projects for this wedding including invitations, hand stamped and embossed by myself and family. I handmade our umbrellas for the second line parade gluing each feather in place. My mom and I put together my brooch bouquet using brooches from members of both sides of the family as well as adding some that I purchased on my own along the way. I couldn’t have been more proud to carry that on my wedding day!
All of our guests travelled great distances so I had to make sure that this day was special. One of our favourite moments had to be our first dance which we took dance lessons for but totally forgot our moves in the moment. Our second line parade was most memorable; our guests had never seen anything like it! Having a live painter at the wedding was also an amazing touch; Alex Harvie worked each one of our guests into the painting which now hangs on our wall in our living room. Our food was amazing! Our caterer Joel did an amazing job, finishing the night with a “late night snack” consisting of sliders, French fries and beignets (fried powdered sugar donut). But our favourite moment of all was having our closest friends and family travel so far to share in our wedding day.
For couples planning their wedding I would recommend to do their research on vendors and let them do the rest! They are the experts! Let go and enjoy the planning process. It goes too quickly! Get a GREAT photographer and videographer like Mark Eric and Contrast Films. I would also advise you to splurge on something you think will make your wedding more memorable, you won’t regret it! Our splurges were our second line parade with 6 piece jazz band and our live oil painter.”
Super Suppliers – Photographer: Mark Eric Weddings// Videography: Contrast Films// Live Oil Painter: Alex Harvie// Makeup Artist: Ashley Sievert Beauty// Location:Hermann Grima House// Cake Designer: Kupcake Factory// Food: Joel Catering// Jazz Band: Kinfolk Brass Band// Submitted via Two Bright Lights//
Much Bespoke Love
Emily x