Destination Wedding Planning in New Orleans Parks - Pamela Reed

Congratulations for choosing New Orleans as your destination wedding! No better city for memories and celebration!

Many who come here to get married either haven't been here before or have not visited often. Because the parks here in town are so beautiful and romantic plus inexpensive for ceremonies, they tend to be the first choice.

My favorite is New Orleans City Park in Mid-City, but Armstrong Park in Treme is my second favorite - especially if you are looking to do some candids and portraits in the French Quarter.

Armstrong Park has almost everything the other parks do, but on a smaller scale and with some amazing history - BONUS!

City Park is large and filled with mature Southern Oak Trees draped in Spanish Moss that interlock to form arches with many location options. Between its arches, stone bridge, bayou waterways and grassy areas you can't go wrong choosing this park.

Audubon Park is just a Streetcar away from the hustle and bustle of the French Quarter. Nestled in the middle of the Uptown area and surrounded by large Southern mansions, a beautiful shady fountain and famous for the Tree of Life, Audubon Park has many attractive features for a beautiful, earthy wedding ceremony. Each park has wonderful attributes.

But have you thought about a backup plan in case it rains?

Yes it does rain here. 60+ inches of rain a year, actually. Year after year I find myself hustling to help couples find a backup at the last minute. Summertime is usually quite easy to find a place for a small fee to perform a ceremony in a covered, yet pretty space.

However, during wedding season, which is typically (for me) September through May plus July, we get a fair amount of rain or weather related issues associated with outdoor weddings. And other than July these months are pretty much high season here.

Below are some suggestions to help make your wedding stress and rain-free.

October is probably the most popular month of the year for my weddings. I can easily have 10 - 12 booked with Halloween being a favorite usually booked over a year in advance. The weather is, for the most part, ideal. But we are still in hurricane season -  while off-peak tropical storms do form, rarely here, but the rains do come. By the way, rain on your wedding day is 'supposed' be a sign of good luck, so no sweat there.

March, April and sometimes May can be pretty wet, raining a bit usually several times a week. July is just hot, humid and yes it does rain. 

Two of the three New Orleans parks I mentioned have either indoor or covered facilities. Those book quick with locals because they know our weather. I highly suggest if you are planning a wedding ceremony in the park with a guest count of 20+ you talk to the park event booking staff about their covered areas. During high season these book up as much as a year or more out so you need to address this as you are discussing your permit.

Yes, a permit is required at all the parks here. Usually only $50. However, if you add chairs or a covered space it is a bit more. Most smaller park ceremonies are under 30 minutes from meet up to goodbye so you don't need the space for long. Being flexible in booking date and time also helps.

1. The Pop Bandstand next to Morning Call Beignet and Coffee Shop is just a few feet away from free parking at City Park. This is a covered area.  Also the Peristyle is a much larger space with the bayou at your feet occupied by ducks, geese and swans and parking also steps away from cover.

2. City Park also has several indoor spaces for rental and they have a great catering service unlike any you've probably experienced. These are only really suitable if you decide to do both ceremony and reception in the park. And you also can rent a tent. Check with the park event staff about restrictions and requirements. Both of these locations are within a quick walk to beautiful locations for your artistic wedding portraits when the rain breaks, which it does.

3. Audubon Park has a covered area on the lakeside of Magazine Street by the golf course overlooking a waterway with waterfowl atop as a gorgeous backdrop. The Zoo, also owned by Audubon, is in this park with a separate entrance with awesome indoor and outdoor spaces for a wedding. Again these are best for ceremony and reception with a guest count of 25+. There are always neat places to use as backdrops for your portraits regardless of wedding size.

4. Armstrong Park is a completely different dawg. It's steeped in rich New Orleans African American culture from Congo Square to statuary representing Louis Armstrong, the Mardi-Gras Indians and local jazz musicians surrounded by a beautiful waterway, bridges, hilly grassy areas and Southern Oaks draped in Spanish Moss.

But there are no locations for cover except to duck under the entrance to a very cool concrete building which is fine for an elopement but not so much when you have several guests.

You would need to call the park for information about a tent and other options. Besides its history, Armstrong Park is across the street from the historic French Quarter. If you are staying there it opens up your options for photography using less time, ultimately saving you money without sacrificing quality and art. So don't rule out the park. And if you are staying in the French Quarter try to book a room with access to a balcony. You can always do a quickie ceremony there, which several of my couples have done when unexpected storms arrived.

What could be better than a ceremony on a balcony overlooking the beautiful French Quarter anyway?!!! 

Hopefully this helps you in your planning process. I'll put up another post about planning your wedding in the French Quarter and some of my favorite hidden or popular spots soon.

Give me a call if you want the most memorable and fun wedding photographs and experience. Because isn't that what its all about? Of course it is!  

Missy and Rory were facing a tropical storm and while the ceremony in New Orleans City Park's Pop Bandstand was rain-free we did have to dash between downpours for portraits later during the reception.

Luckily no rain at New Orleans City Park's Peristyle but still a beautiful location to book a ceremony.

Oops looks like Tropical Storm Karen missed New Orleans! We still had some rain but thankfully a covered balcony for the ceremony just in case.

Rain threatened this wedding and we just went with it. It was a light mist that came and went. We ducked under the ornate wrought iron balconies that surround Jackson Square, stopped for a toast inside then headed back out when the rain stopped.

See, from the photos above, even if it rains there are breaks for amazing portraits and cool places protected from it. 

Call me to book your elopement, intimate wedding or big affair. 504-920-8703