New Orleans Wedding at The Frenchman Hotel | Jessica + Max

If you’ve always imagined yourself wearing your mom’s wedding dress, Jessica and Max’s New Orleans wedding is inspiration!

Jessica wore her mother’s beautiful wedding gown (we love the sheer gloves with lace appliqué!) and then changed into her Lea-Ann Belter Saskia, whose embroidered net echoed the texture of her mom’s dress.

“I wore my mother’s gown for the ceremony itself, which felt like a childhood dream. However, I used to work in bridal boutiques and LOVE wedding dresses and all the new styles. I still really wanted that experience in a boutique finding my dress with loved ones. I had my sister, mom, and mother-in-law in town and we went to two stores.

Elizabeth Cole was having a trunk show and we all just started grabbing different styles and putting them in the dressing room. It was the last option I had in the room and didn’t even see it come in. Before putting it on I was already in love with the lace pattern and subtle clear sporadic sequins. Once I tried it on, it was game over. It fit me like a glove and made me feel absolutely beautiful. Everyone teared up and I truly felt like a bride.

Max also wanted to look unique and different from every other groom in a black tux. We spent months looking for the perfect one, and finally found one with a muted green flower pattern. He definitely stood out and looked so handsome on our wedding day.”

These two wed in New Orleans, where Jessica spent some of her childhood. After the ceremony, a second line led everyone in a dance parade to their reception at the Royal Frenchman Hotel.

wedding dresses: Lea-Ann Belter Saskia via Elizabeth Cole Bridal , Jessica’s mom’s wedding dress! | photographer: Josh Williams Photography

Our sweet bride shares more about their day below:

How did the two of you meet?

“Good ole fashioned Hinge. I was about ready to give up and delete the app and found Max right before.”

How did you know they were the “one”?

“I couldn’t imagine my life without him. I knew he was always going to fight for me, and I was the same.”

How did you two get engaged?

“He moved to South Carolina for a new job so I was getting ready to move to be with him. I threw myself a little going-away party in Nashville with all my friends and he took me out on a rooftop area overlooking the city and dropped down on one knee.”

Tell us about your day!

“We got married in New Orleans, since that is where I spent some of my childhood years. We got married in a courtyard downtown and immediately after “I do” had a Second Line brass band parade through a block of the city. Which led into our cocktail hour, followed by dinner and dancing. We had the absolute best band ever, everyone was on their feet!

I am a very sentimental person so we added some small details that were important to us. One of which included a cross that my Grandad made, I am the third grandchild to get married that he made a cross for, we also included my grandparents wedding cake topper as decoration. It was important that we gave our families love stories recognition, since that is what got us to this point, so we added pictures of weddings for our parents and grandparents.”

What part of your wedding day was/is most important to you?

“We knew no matter what we were going to have fun, so our biggest importance was placed on the ceremony itself. I wanted our friends/family to truly feel the love between us and that God was in the center of it all.”

Where did you go on your honeymoon?

“We went to Sandals in Jamaica. It was exactly what we needed after all the commotion of the wedding week and planning leading up. We got to go out of our rooms directly to the beach everyday. We didn’t have to worry about any hidden expenses since it is all-inclusive, so we were able to just completely relax and be in each other’s company.”

Any tips for couples getting married?

“Make sure you picked your wedding party well. They were my complete support when things started going off course, and they were problem solve without me knowing. My wedding would not have been the same without them.”