Academy of the Sacred Heart | "Look at You, Baby!" - Celeste & Michael the full film

"Home, let me go home.    Home is wherever I'm with you."

-from Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes

While many will choose to unite their lives with a destination wedding, sometimes, there's just nothing like coming home...literally.

new orleans nola wedding video pic 14
new orleans nola wedding video pic 14

While Celeste's bow on her Vera Wang wedding dress (courtesy Mimi Nola) proved to be the most challenging part of her morning as a bride (have we mentioned how much we love that our brides are the most laid back, relaxed chicas in the world?), nothing was quite as sweet as the moment her dad, dressed in tux, stood on the staircase and took in the sight of his daughter as a bride.   "look at you, baby. Look at you," he said lovingly.  Wow.  Those moments where a father of the bride expresses so much pride in his daughter are really special.   The family gathered up the bridesmaids and headed to the Academy of the Sacred Heart, wherein the chapel, Celeste would be married 2 hours later.

Celeste grew up attending the school, but upon graduation, many of Celeste's friends went their separate ways. Celeste ventured to the University of Virginia, then to the LSU school of Law, then back to New Orleans to further her career.

Michael, from Lake Charles, followed a similar trajectory.  After attending the University of Virginia, he made stops in Dallas and Birmingham before the pull of home led him to settle in New Orleans.  Home is where the heart is!

new orleans bride wedding vera wang dress pic 01
new orleans bride wedding vera wang dress pic 01

With "home" being another character in their story, it was only fitting that the arc of the wedding day run through the locations that embody that sense of place.  From Celeste getting into her dress upstairs at her parents house, to walking down the aisle at the chapel in the academy, to taking her first dance with Michael in the backyard of her childhood home, there was a rooted-ness in family history throughout the day's events that few couples experience.

Celeste and Michael, thanks for inviting us to come home with you.

new orleans nola wedding video pic 04
new orleans nola wedding video pic 04

Photographer: Elizabeth Dondis Dress: Vera Wang, from Mimi Ceremony: Academy of the Sacred Heart Reception Entertainment: Sauce Band (from Austin!) Makeup: Tisa from Tisa's Beauty Bar Event Planning and Flora: Ted Viator, The Gardenaire Catering: Audubon Tea Room