Global Gourmet Catering

By Elizabeth Greene

You can take the couple out of New Orleans, but you can’t take New Orleans out of the couple, and this festive affair is proof. Infused with Big Easy touches—from the brass band to the beignet desserts and magnolia-adored cake—this wedding, captured by Weddings By Sasha, is the perfect mix of California style and Southern flair – and when the beautiful Bride herself is an expert, would you expect anything less? Head to The Vault to see all this pretty and oh so much more!

From the Bride… My husband Joe proposed to me in New Orleans, one of my favorite cities on the planet. Our families were there for a vacation and he got down on one knee in Jackson Square and we all went for beignets to celebrate.

Being that our lives and my job are in California, we knew we wanted to get married here, but with lots of influences of New Orleans. We found Villa Montalvo, a gorgeous Villa and gardens that looks like it fell straight out of Tuscany. We pictured an elegant outdoor garden wedding in this more formal location. For the decor we paired wicker chargers and flowers with ferns with ornate silver candelabras and our decorative monogram wax seal throughout.

A few details that made this wedding extra special include:

– My christening bonnet turned into the handkerchief that I carried on my wedding day
– A New Orleans brass band surprised guests for the recessional playing “When the Saints Go Marching In” and then led guests from the ceremony to the cocktail hour
– The bouquets were created in sterling silver cones that my mother had collected
– We had fun New Orleans cocktails at our custom bar (French 75s, Sazeracs and Mint Juleps of course)
– Our menu was Southern inspired, a salad of sweet gem lettuces, peaches and crispy shoestring sweet potatoes with pancetta and mint julep dressing. And for the entree, whole grain mustard glazed chicken, fried green tomatoes, pickled fennel remoulade, smoked gouda grits and pole bean slaw.
– After dinner we passed powdered sugar beignets and sent around a whiskey cart for after dinner drinks
– A large magnolia, the symbol of New Orleans adorned our cake

I was so grateful to be able to call on all of my fabulous “friendors” to help me with the wedding. Sasha took beautiful photos and was omnipresent on the wedding day without me ever even noticing. My friend Ali Moss did a beautiful job on my hair and Julie Morgan killed it on the makeup. I was thrilled to have Global Gourmet give a stunning interpretation of our Southern inspired wedding. One of the recipes we came up with was such a hit that it remains on their menu today. Atelier Joya blew me away with their gorgeous flowers. And my dear friends Chris & Julie from Yonder helped craft the beautiful, traditional paper pieces that spoke to my heart. Amber from Sweet on Cake did a gorgeous job with the cake, which was super tasty to boot!

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