Beautiful, Rustic New Orleans Wedding: Katie + Joey

race and religious wedding

Race + Religious (also featured in our Top 26 Coolest Places to Get Married) is hands down our favorite venue in New Orleans, so as soon as we heard Katie + Joey tied the knot there, we were already excited. And after pouring through the stunning images of their day by the lovely Leslie Hollingsworth, our excitement only grew! Since you’re seconds away from seeing all of the prettiness for yourselves, we’ll keep things here short + sweet. We do have to say one thing, though, before we turn it over to Katie. We are experiencing a major case of flower love with this wedding! From the bouquets to the arrangements, from the wreaths to the table garlands, everything the talented Abany Bauer created ended up being such a beautiful fit for K + J’s incredible, historical venue! We’re pretty sure you’ll all agree.

More from Katie, Joey and I planned our wedding together from start to finish, so it was a complete reflection of what we wanted. We wanted to create a very intimate atmosphere for our guests, where they could let loose and relax, eat great food, drink great libations and enjoy great music with us. The minute we laid eyes on Race + Religious, we knew it was the perfect place. It was such a beautiful and inspiring venue; a natural relic of New Orleans past. Every decision just fell into place after finding it. Our colors, the rustic simplicity of the decor, and even elements of our menu were inspired by the look and feel of the venue.

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race and religious wedding


We totally dig Katie + Joey’s unexpected color story of plum, lilac + lush green.

boutonnieres new orleans

race and religious wedding

new orleans bride

race and religious wedding

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So in love with Katie’s Romona Keveza dress. If you’re looking for a beautiful dress with the same sweet, simple feel, check out the Poppy Gown by BHLDN, available in the GWS shop!

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I mean, these florals!

race and religious wedding

purple chair flower decor

Our Favorite Memory From The Wedding

The whole ceremony was pretty memorable! Joey says his favorite part was seeing me walk down the aisle (we didn't do a first look), and so many people told me his face was pretty memorable when he saw me. It was drizzling during the ceremony and my walk down the aisle felt somewhat treacherous. I was holding my train, my dad's arm, and my bouquet while making sure to be under the umbrella hoping my veil didn't fly away, I forgot to look up! I got a far way down the aisle before I finally looked up and saw Joey standing there. He looked so handsome. I then turned around and saw everybody. All our friends and family were huddled under one tent and I saw 150 little heads and smiling eyes staring right back at us. Nobody cared that it was raining, especially us, and it was perfect! Such a special moment, I'll never forget it!

race and religious wedding

race and religious wedding

race and religious wedding

race and religious wedding

race and religious wedding

chalkboard menu


And such pretty, rustic tablescapes!

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race and religious wedding

race and religious wedding

race and religious wedding

race and religious wedding

race and religious wedding

Our Musical Choices

Processional: La Vie En Rose + Sea of Love (performed live by Cristina Perez)

Recessional: At Last – Etta James (performed live by Cristina Perez)

First Dance: Harvest Moon – Neil Young

race and religious wedding

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Our Advice To Those Planning Now

(1) Plan your wedding with your groom (no matter who's paying for it). Our wedding was 100% "us" and everyone could tell. We did what we wanted to do, how we wanted to do it. Plus, it made the process more fun and helps bring you back down to reality, to remember why you're doing all of this in the first place. It made things like picking out our music, turn into red wine singalong late nights.

(2) Love the vendors/people you chose to help you put everything together. Pick vendors you want to do business with. Ones that will actually care about you and how your wedding turns out. They end up making it better than you ever could have imagined. I know our wedding would not have been what it was if it wasn't for all of the amazing people that helped put it together.

photography: Leslie Hollingsworth // venue name: Race + Religious, New Orleans, Louisiana // florals: Abany Bauer // bride's shoes: On sale at Anthropologie // bridesmaid dresses: I let them choose what they wanted in a shade of purple and but their jewelry was from Susannah Elle Designs // hair stylist: Head Games Hair Salon // makeup artist: Nicole Ena // groom attire: Luca Falcone Custom Suits // catering: Boucherie // event planner: Ginny Au // stylist: Ginny Au // wedding dress: Legends by Romona Keveza purchased at Wedding Belles New Orleans // jewelry: Haute Bride™ | couture bridal gowns and accessories // groomsmen Bowties: Hobo Ties // save the dates: Friend of Bride, Erica Rodriguez of Pretty Fly Creations // invitations: Scriptura // chalkboard program: Liz Maude Cook with Lionheart Prints // cake: Bride's Cake by Pure Cake, Groom's Cake by Debbie Does Doberge // ceremony music: Cristina Perez // reception band: The Essentials // rental items: Mrs. Vintage Rentals

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