Saturday Snapshot

 

Saturday Snapshots is hosted by Alyce at At Home With Books.

We were lucky to be in New Orleans last Saturday, the day before Easter.

Weddings in the French Quarter often begin with a ceremony at the St. Louis Cathedral. These weddings often see the bride and groom reach their reception venue by a horse drawn carriage or by leading a “second line” preceded by a jazz band.
The first wedding we "happened" upon was around noon outside the Cathedral. The wedding party were there and then the bride was walked down the path by her parents to the groom and the officiant, I am not sure if he was a minister or a priest.

There were many umbrellas or parasols among the wedding party and guests. The common sense of necessity combined with the rigors of a second line stroll through the French Quarter or older neighborhoods of New Orleans before air conditioning hit the city makes it easy to figure out. The idea of carrying an umbrella for shade was very common and it was also a symbol of southern style, femininity and grace.  Second Line Umbrellas now reflect attitude and personal style as they twirl and spin as if to say “laissez les bons temps rouler”!

Many umbrellas were decorated with symbols of the couple's interests.

Another uniquely New Orleans wedding tradition is that of the second line. A second line parade at a wedding signifies the beginning of the life between the bride and groom. The second line band leads the wedding party and guest from the church to their reception venue or it may take place at the reception venue itself. The second line stems from the African American jazz funerals and has evolved to become part of all New Orleans celebrations.

The next wedding was later in the afternoon and they were just beginning their parade around the square at the cathedral .

The next wedding was parading down Canal St. as we were inside a store so I hurried out to get some photos. This bride was not dressed in a traditional dress. 

The police moved the barricades on Bourbon St. so the parade could continue.

Another wedding posing on Bourbon St.

As part of the “ribbon pulling” tradition, wedding cakes in the New Orleans area come with ribbons embedded in the icing. A charm is attached to each ribbon of the cake and all the female guests simultaneously “pull” to find out their “fate.” Charms include a ring, a heart, a thimble, a button, a horseshoe, a clover–and sometimes a fleur-de-lis–an anchor, a dime, and also a penny. Each has a traditional meaning–the ring means “next to marry,” the heart means “true love,” the thimble or button means “old maid,” the horseshoe or the clover means “good luck,” the fleur-de-lis means “love will bloom,” the anchor means “hope,” the dime means “wealth,” and the penny means “poverty.”