Race and Religious Wedding in New Orleans with a Second Line| Heather + Josh

Heather and Josh wanted to show their family and friends how much they love New Orleans and each other, so there was no better way than to have a Race and Religious wedding! The couple both met a few years back in New Orleans, neither a native of the beautiful and vibrant city. Heather, originally from Connecticut, and Josh, a Missouri native, fell in love with New Orleans almost as hard as they fell in love for each other. Since the majority of their wedding guests would be traveling to Louisiana to celebrate with them, they wanted their wedding weekend to be a celebration of all things New Orleans.

Day 1: a Second Line

On the first day of their wedding weekend, Heather and Josh hosted a Second Line through the French Quarter and Marigny neighborhood. They had the Perdido Jazz Band lead us through with their brass jazz. A Second line is a traditional parade usually led by a brass band and followed by the paraders with their handkerchiefs and parasols dancing in the air. Heather and Josh told their friends “dress however you like. The wackier, the better”. They delivered! Random tourists joined in on the fun and others threw mardi gras beads from the balconies. 

Day 2: a Crawfish Boil

The second day was a large crawfish boil on the bayou. I had never been to a crawfish boil, let alone eat a crawfish! I still couldn’t be convinced to ‘suck the brains’ out, but I did enjoy the tails! Here was a great recipe I found on cooking crawfish.

Day 3: Wedding at Race and Religious!

On the last day of their wedding weekend, Heather and Josh hosted a Race and Religious wedding for about 120 of their friends and family. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; Race and Religious is not only my favorite wedding venue in New Orleans, but perhaps the whole county. This venue has SO much charm. It’s fun, vibrant, historic, unique, and just plain beautiful. 

The couple had a very unique wedding day as well. Heather, an artist herself, did all of the decor! She painted the signs and drew the invites, as well as the cake toppers! They had a casual dinner setup, with a food truck parked just outside the main gates of the venue. Everyone danced the night away under the market lights and eventually jumped into the pool!sitting inside! Either way, they always end up on the same dance floor. 

You are allowed to have bands and live music at Race and Religious. A lot of couples also have their second line immediately after their ceremony and parade around the block! 

Want to see more?

Check out this second line in the French Quarter! Also check out this wedding in the heart of the French Quarter.