With family and friends stretching all over the United States our first hurdle with wedding planning was figuring out WHERE!! We researched several different cities before deciding on New Orleans. We knew most of our wedding guests would have to travel regardless so why not make have the wedding in a city that we love?!! There is so much to New Orleans. For many who haven't been, there is the obvious "crazy party scene" cliche but the city is so much more. It's historic, romantic, musical, artsy, a foodie haven and SO much more. Please visit the "things to do" tab to see some of our few favorite things to do in NOLA! Another reason we fell in love with the idea of having our wedding day in New Orleans is that it is SUCH a walkable city. We felt it was important for our guest to be able to walk everywhere and not have to worry about renting a car! From any of the hotel blocks we have reserved you are less than a 10 minute walk from the ceremony/reception venue as well as from the French Quarter. There is also a street car that can take you to the garden district area (which is a must see in our opinion!).

Story according to Amanda: I was at a girls wine night with 12 girls and was literally the only single one. They kept asking me what I was looking for in a guy etc. and they decided I needed to make a Bumble account. Well thank goodness for that night because I met the man of my dreams! We had an immediate connection the day we met and made plans for the following day. Brian was SUCH a gentleman and I knew I was head over heals for him very quickly into the relationship. A month or 2 later he invited me to go visit his family in Louisiana and go to an LSU game with him. THAT'S when it hit me that he was into me too and we were actually serious. I truly could not imagine a more perfect soul to complete me! Story according to Brian: I had been living in Dallas for about six months and didn't know many people so I gave the online dating a shot. I went on a few dates but nothing serious. When Amanda and I matched, I was excited because she was extremely gorgeous and her pictures gave me a little glimpse into her life. We texted back and forth for a few days and everything seemed really positive so I finally decided to ask her out and thankfully she said yes! We first met a a casual bar and talked for a few hours and had a few drinks. I am a shy person so I wanted to be in a lively, social location to help me calm the nerves a bit. I thought we hit it off right away and I definitely wasn't ready to leave when we did. We did make plans to hang out the next day though and we spent most of the afternoon lounging by my pool!

Well I had been having the longest week at work (it was only Tuesday and I was already dreaming of the weekend) so Brian messaged me that we should have a date night on Friday so we had something to look forward to! I was excited but thought nothing of it! He has said that in the past so it didn't catch me off guard at all! So Friday FINALLY came and I started getting ready for our dinner plans! Brian was in the living room watching TV (waiting on me- ;) whats new). Right as it was getting time for us to leave to meet our "reservation" he told me he had to run out to his car. A few moments after I heard him leave I heard him yell "Hey Amanda- come out here for a second". I went out to the living room and there was a video he had made for me playing on the TV. my FIRST initial instinct was OMGosh IS THIS HAPPENING!! AM I GETTING ENGAGED?!!! - but during the video I was trying to not let myself get TOO excited (I mean after-all he could just be doing a very extravagant date night) but when Bruno Mars - Marry You came on I knew I could get excited! The end of the video instructed me to head over to the park that was right across from the apartment. When I got there he was waiting with candles and rose petals <3 it was so perfect. BUT as if that's not perfect in itself. He also coordinated for all of our family and closest friends to travel to Dallas and celebrate the entire weekend. It still gives me chills. Not sure how I got so incredibly lucky!!