When Louisiana State University grads Rachael, a Social Media Manager for the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, and Cody, a Manager of a Sunbelt Rentals Power and HVAC Store, were ready to make things official, they knew they wanted their wedding to include some nods to the state where they met and fell in love.
From their choice of the oh-so-charming Southern Oaks in New Orleans as their wedding venue, a jazz band, and delectable Southern cuisine, this celebration was full of atmosphere – plus a few ultra-personal touches like a grooms cake made from mini bags of Spicy Doritos, complete with a specially designed bag featuring Cody’s name!
When it came to the Jew-ish ceremony, Rachael, who’s Jewish, and Cody, who’s Catholic, made sure they came up with something that worked for both of them. And it was actually Cody who found the couple’s beautiful ketubah by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Nava Shoham. The couple picked her Tree of Life Infinity Ketubah, customized with text that fit their feelings for each other and the relationship. Don’t miss it in the wonderful images from Brenner Photography & Films!
Now over to Rachael, who looked ever so elegant in Mikaella…
How We Met
Rachael and Cody met at LSU in early 2015 through mutual friends. Their friendship grew and eventually, they both invited each other to their sorority and fraternity events. What grew out of this friendship was a connection that laid the groundwork for a beautiful relationship soon to form.
Much of the time that Cody and Rachael dated, was spent long-distance. Cody was based in Houston, Mobile, and Puerto Rico due to his job. But their commitment was strong for four years of dating, until on July 12, 2020, when Cody proposed.
For the proposal, they drove up to Poplarville, Mississippi, where Rachael’s family farm is located. Rachael was told, that they were going to be taking family pictures on the farm. This is where she had her suspicions that it might be the BIG moment. So she secretly went out and bought a new dress for the special day. Cody had requested to make sure Rachael’s nails would be done for the proposal since this is something she told him she wanted so her mom helped get Rachael to a nail salon.
The Maas and Mitchell families arrived to set up a surprise celebration while Cody whisked Rachael away on a side-by-side into the fields overlooking the farm for a little bite to eat. He had a plan to purposely leave a small speaker in the side-by-side to ask Rachael to go back and get it. When she would turn around he would be on one knee. Instead, Rachael being the helpful person that she is, grabbed the speaker out of the side-by-side when they got out of the car and foiled his plan. They then set up a picnic blanket and fruit and talked for a while. At one point Cody turned to Rachael and asked the big question, “Will you marry me?” After Rachael said yes, they popped some champagne and celebrated!
They then headed back to celebrate with both of their families, who had helped set up a beautiful table of decorations and a huge lunch.
A Southern Venue
Rachael, the bride: We chose Southern Oaks in New Orleans as our wedding venue, captivated by the city’s charm and the venue’s enchanting trees. The team at Southern Oaks impressed us with their exceptional attention to detail, handling every aspect of our special day seamlessly. What truly won us over, apart from the venue’s stunning beauty, was their delightful array of pass-around foods. With an impressive selection of around 80 delectable options, we knew this was the perfect place for our celebration.
Louisiana Vibes
Our wedding didn’t have a specific theme per se, but we embraced the color blue and incorporated elements that symbolized our connection to Louisiana. The planning process involved my mother and me, while Southern Oaks provided day-of coordination services. We made sure to infuse personal touches into our special day.
Knowing Cody’s preference for savory snacks over sweets, we opted for a unique grooms cake made from mini bags of Spicy Doritos, complete with a specially designed bag featuring his name. Additionally, my mother and I personally crafted our favors using oyster shells and pearl soap balls.
Invitation
We had a friend design our save-the-date and rehearsal dinner invitation. For wedding invitations, we used Shine Wedding Invitations.
Hair + Makeup
Hair and Makeup was Flawless Bride. They were easy to talk to and I looked like myself after it was done.
A Mikaella Dress
I purchased my dress from Linen Jolie Bridal by designer Mikaella. I had to go back and try the dress on a second time to make sure it was the one. But I kept thinking about it and could see myself wearing it. I loved how I could move around and tuck the sleeves in for our first dance.
Accessories and Shoes
My husband gifted me a bracelet to wear and my mother let me wear my grandmother’s earrings. I wore tennis shoes under my dress the whole time and that was the best decision I could have ever made.
Bridesmaids
My bridesmaids were my “something blue” and wore the same dress from Ashley Renee Bridal.
Ceremony & Chuppah
We used my grandfather’s tallit for the top of our chuppah. For the 2 kiddish cups, one was a new one we received from our registry, the other was my father’s he received for his bar mitzvah. The tallit that was used to wrap us my mother made for my father. It took me a while to figure out how to design the chuppah, but in the end, I didn’t want anything too distracting but I still wanted something that incorporated the flowers from our ceremony.
Ketubah
My husband is Catholic and I wanted to make sure whatever we choose worked for both of us. He was the one who actually found Nava Shoham at 1-800-ketubah.com and he was drawn to the Tree of Life Infinity Ketubah. We chose words that fit how we felt about each other. I loved how easy it was to work with Nava and for her to personalize the ketubah to our preference.
Our music choice
Our venue provided a DJ. We played pop and oldies music. It was a constant party!
Flowers
I knew going into our meeting with florist that there weren’t many blue flowers. But the florists at Nola Flora knew how to make those few shine. They made my bouquet shine and had eye-catching centerpieces and designs throughout the whole wedding. They had also worked with my venue plenty of times and knew what it needed to look great or what would work best in each area.
Photographer and videographer
Brenner Photography & Films is a husband-and-wife team and were so easy to talk to. They made us feel comfortable in front of the camera and did an AMAZING job with all of the photos and videos. They did some posed but mostly candid shots, which are my favorite.
Food and cake
Catering was included with the venue. My cake was made by Gambinos Bakery. And Cody had Doritos!
Extra Details
For our guest book, we used After the Tone. We wanted to be able to hear the love and support of our family for many years! We had a jazz band for our second-line exit and had the bridal party leave on a street car! We didn’t invite everyone to our rehearsal dinner so we had a hospitality room for a couple of hours for people to come early to see us. We also had a brunch on Sunday as an extra thank you to people for coming in town to celebrate us.
Cody and I also brought left over wedding flowers to my grandparents grave sites in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. And to his grandmother who was in a nursing home. To make them feel included. Another thing I did with my bouquet was sent it to Honeybee for Keeps to help preserve it. I made gifts for my parents, bookends, candle holders, ring holders and some other pieces. She did a fantastic job!
Honeymoon
We waited to go on our honeymoon in May, which I highly recommend waiting at least a couple days to go. We were exhausted after our wedding. We went to Greece for our honeymoon. We visited Athens, Mykonos, Santorini and Milos. Cody had never been out of the country and Greece has always been on my bucket list! We planned everything our selves.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
Take your time and think things through. Don’t be afraid to stand up to someone and say that isn’t what you want, in the end it is your day!
RACHAEL & CODY’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography + Videography – Brenner Photography & Films
Ketubah – Nava Shoham {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Venue – Southern Oaks
Bride’s dress – Mikaella found at Linen Jolie Bridal
Bridesmaids – Ashley Renee Bridal
Hair + Makeup – Flawless Bride
Flowers – Nola Flora
Catering – Southern Oaks
Cake – Gambinos Bakery
Stationery/Invitation – Shine Wedding Invitations
Guestbook – After the Tone
Flower preservation – Honeybee for Keeps
Smash The Glass Pouch – Smashing The Glass Etsy Shop {or join Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club and get one for free!}
If you’re a Jewish or Jew-ish bride-to-be, you’ll want to join Smashing The Glass’ Brides Club. Guided by the world’s number 1 Jewish wedding expert, Karen Cinnamon, Brides Club is the private community for Jewish and Jew-ish brides that removes wedstress and indecision and gives you what you need to plan with confidence during these uncertain times. Join our Brides Club here.
