The wedding will start at Clouet Garden at 9am! Please account for extra time to get to venue as roads will be closed, parades will be happening, and Uber's will be hard to get. Figure out your plan to get to the venue on time!! Once you get to Clouet Garden feel free to grab breakfast that will be provided inside the garden (show our caterer your beads to get food-come to Monday night dinner to understand this). There will be limited seating at the ceremony. Be prepared to stand for at least 20 minutes. Please look out for each other and anyone who needs a chair or stool get first dibs. After the ceremony we will clean up, and start walking down roayl street to join the St Ann parade. PLEASE WEAR SENSIBLE SHOES, seriously. It's about a 1.5 mile walk. We will have a 6 seater golf cart for anyone who needs a lift. Once we reach Frenchmen street we will go into the Art Garden (613 Frenchmen). We will have lunch, first dances, and more partying there. Please be mindful of the Art Garden for this is Aria's workplace. Official end time is 3:30pm/4pm. In the event of rain, we will be having the ceremony at 5139 Mandeville Street, New Orleans 70122.
FUN, FUNKY, COSTUMES HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, AND SENSIBLE SHOES. Our wedding will be a GARDEN THEME. We will be getting married at Clouet GARDENS and parade to the ART GARDEN (hence the garden theme). Be prepared for unpredictable weather. It could rain, it could be hot. If you'd like, feel free to join the garden costume theme! Fun headpieces and funky shoes are a great start. Here are a few garden theme costume ideas: flowers, ladybugs, gnome, soil, bugs, plants, fairy, fruits. Outside of the wedding, you will see plenty of creative and amazing costumes. You could also wear a halloween costume or come in regular day clothes.
Mardi Gras, aka Carnival season, is actually a multi-week season and not just a day. Mardi Gras day is the last day of Carnival season, otherwise known as Fat Tuesday. There will be multiple parades happening on Fat Tuesday. As a wedding group, we will be surrounded by the St. Anne parade! This is a walking parade that starts in the Bywater and walks to the Mississippi River. It is an opportunity to come dressed in your best costume and enjoy the creativity, art, and community that makes up New Orleans. WHAT ARE THROWS? Throws are things that people handout. They usually support the theme of a costume. For example, last year we were snails! Were we handed out homemade "snail mail" envelopes for people to send letters to their loved ones. Aria drew a sweet design of little snails on paper and we gave them room to write and an envelope to send their snail mail. Throws are personalized , creative, and usually homemade. They are very special and make the day even more magical. So bring a little bag/fanny pack with you or have pockets to collect some throws! Also, complimenting people on their costumes is great way to interact with people! (not to mention you usually can get a throw from this) Being kind and sweet on Mardi Gras is the key!
Fat Tuesday is a holiday in New Orleans, so most things on Tuesday (and Monday) will be closed! Think of it like Christmas Eve and Christmas day. Ubering around the city on Monday and Tuesday might be challenging, so leave plenty of time to get somewhere. You never know when you might encounter a parade! We highly recommend staying in the Bywater/Marigny neighborhoods because that will be where most of the wedding festivities, which will make traveling easier.
Yes. you can openly carry your drinks anywhere you go. There will be plenty of people drinking and having fun, but please be mindful and respectful during the wedding. We've found that if you get too fucked up during MG you miss out on all of the beautiful art, creativity, and community building that happens. Mardi Gras day is magical. You could be dancing in the streets with people you don't know and have the most amazing conversations and interactions with people. PRO TIP-bring a little bag with you because people will give you throws! The better your costume- the more throws you get!!
There is a fantastic app that keeps track of all Mardi Gras parades, it's called the "WDSU 6 Parade Tracker" app. For Iphone users, it is purple and has 6WDSU on the front. This app will keep you updated on the big parades. It will probably not show you St. Anne parade because it is a walking neighborhood parade.