There are few cities more atmospheric than New Orleans, the city that bride Jordan, the executive director of Bayou City Waterkeeper, a Houston-based environmental nonprofit that works to protect and restore the waters around the region, lived in for nearly a decade and calls her “heart home.” She moved back to her home state of Texas to be with groom Kent, the owner and manager of Whitener Ranch, one of the oldest continuously family-owned ranches in Texas, but always new she’d want to marry in NOLA.
The couple merged their love of New Orleans and their Texas roots in their breathtaking interfaith Jewish wedding at the breathtakingly eclectic Race + Religious, a breathtaking, eclectic New Orleans venue. They went for a full-on old world vibe, full of deep gem tones of burgundy, gold, indigo, and purple, lush greenery, old wood, and candle light.
Guests entered the venue through a magically wild gate, covered in vines and foliage, the couple’s atmospheric chuppah in deep autumnal shades is one for the books, and the couple’s beautiful ketubah by Enya Keshet for Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubah.com featured exquisite papercut menorahs and detailed artistry illustrating verses from the Song of Songs. An eight-piece brass band, New Orleans jazz, Creole food, sparklers, rounded out this memorable day – we’re obsessed with the gorgeous photos from Heather Schneider of Dark Roux Photography.
There’s so much more to say, but we’ll let the bride, who looked stunning in Anna Maier Couture, tell you the rest…
How we met
Jordan and Kent, the bride and the groom: Jordan and Kent met in Austin, Texas in 2014 after literally running into one another at a downtown bar. After exchanging playful remarks, they realized they had a lot in common. Despite living a whole state away for a year – Jordan living in New Orleans and Kent in Austin – they started dating. Fortunately, Jordan traveled to Austin often for work, and Kent had no problem visiting New Orleans. In 2015, Jordan made the move to Austin and the rest is history!
A New Orleans Wedding
Kent and Jordan got married at Race + Religious, a breathtaking, eclectic New Orleans venue. Jordan, having lived in New Orleans for nearly a decade before moving back to her home state of Texas, wanted to be married in the city she calls her heart-home. Race + Religious is located at the juncture of Race St. and Religious St., on the edge of the Irish Channel (where Jordan lived) and the Lower Garden District. With the memories, the historic space, the neighboring Mississippi River – it was no contest that Kent and Jordan wanted to be married within the garden walls of the Race + Religious complex.
New Orleans Meets Texas
From the beginning, Jordan and Kent had a very clear vision of their wedding and how they would include their love of New Orleans and their Texas roots.
Race + Religious provide the perfect backdrop. The theme and colors exhibited an old-world essence – deep gem tones of burgundy, gold, indigo and purple, lush greenery, old wood, and candle lighting all added to the old world New Orleans feel.
Jordan and Kent hired Rena Sweeney of Alchemy Events. It was no question after they spoke with Rena that she would be a fantastic partner in making this vision come to life.
A New Orleans Celebration
The Save the Date was created by Jordan and her brother Justin Macha, a designer based in San Francisco. The Save the Date was inspired by the old maps of New Orleans and set guests with the expectation of a true New Orleans celebration.
The Wedding Invitation was created by Sheena Whatcott of Simple Line Works. She created a watercolor drawing of the “Race” building at Race + Religious. The simplicity and artistic design provided a beautiful art-piece that Jordan and Kent have framed in their home.
Hair + Makeup
Jordan’s makeup and hair reflected her simple side – with a loose high bun and simple-glam makeup choices. Jordan’s hair was designed by Bethany Barnes at St. Pierre Salon. Makeup by Christie Trumbaturi at Makeup by Polished.
All the bridesmaids and the mother of the bride had hair and makeup done by the team at St. Pierre Salon, lead by Bethany and the Makeup by Polished team, lead by Christie.
An Anna Maier Dress
The dress was designed and handmade by Anna Maier Couture in New York. Jordan and her mother, Nita, worked with owner and designer Charles Bunstein II at Anna Maier to custom fit the dress design found at Nordstrom Wedding Suite in Houston, TX. Lisi Maldonado at Nordstrom was amazing as she helped with multiple fittings to get the dress just right.
Despite going to multiple dress shops in the Houston area, Jordan knew immediately after getting engaged that she wanted Charles at Anna Maier to create her dress. Known for utilizing French Leavers lace, which is only created on a handful of looms worldwide, gorgeous silks and architectural draping, it was no question which designer was the front runner.
In early 2018, Jordan found the “Brittany” dress created by Anna Maier. It featured chantilly French Leavers lace, with a bateau neckline and a soft pleated fluid skirt. In the summer of 2018, Jordan and her mother began the process of working with Charles to create and fit the muslin dress template, create the under-gown, and finally overlay the beautiful French lace just weeks before the wedding.
Accessories
Jordan stayed simple and chose to only wear a pair of statement Althea Drop earrings from Kendra Scott. Featuring two geometric dichroic stones set in gold and surrounded by eclectic crystal accents, these earrings provided a nod to Jordan’s more eclectic style.
For the badeken and the ceremony, Jordan wore a cascading waltz length veil designed by Toni Federici.
Sam Edelman Shoes
Jordan wore Sam Edelman Dori kitten heels, featuring a silvery-rose jute mesh that modernized the overall bridal look. Totally comfortable, these heels lasted through a dance-filled second-line post-ceremony, a dance-off with Kent, and into the wee-hours at the after party at Tracey’s Irish Channel Bar.
The handsome groom
Having attended a few Mardi Gras Balls over the years, and in keeping with New Orleans tradition, Kent opted for a traditional black tuxedo from Perlis, a New Orleans clothing store established in 1939.
In keeping with his Texas ranching roots, Kent and all the groomsmen wore black, leather cowboy boots by Ariat from Allen’s Boots in Austin, TX.
Bridesmaids in Black
Jordan and Kent are blessed to have many friends they call family, and family they consider close friends. This is how you end up with a wedding party of 26: 8 bridesmaids, 8 groomsmen, 6 little attendants, and 2 ushers.
For the primary wedding party, the bridesmaids and the groomsmen, everyone wore black. The groomsmen matched Kent in wearing a classic Perlis tuxdeo, and the bridesmaid honored their own personal style by choosing a gown-length dress.
Having been in several other weddings, Jordan knew she wanted her bridal entourage to be comfortable in what they were wearing and to be able to choose a style and look that fit their personality.
Given the winter month, Jordan’s bridesmaids all received personalized flannel shirts from Everly Grayce to mark the occasion. Jordan’s flannel featured her wedding date stitched into the cuff of her sleeve. Kent’s groomsmen all received a specially chosen t-shirt and seafood-themed socks from locally owned Dirty Coast.
For the little attendants, the four ladies wore a menagerie of rose, champagne, and gold dresses, and the two boys donned pinstripe vests and white shirts to echo the men.
Lace Chuppah
Jordan worked closely with Jamie Thorpe at Kim Starr Wise Floral Events and Rena at Alchemy Events to create the 9’x6′ chuppah. The chuppah canopy featured Mexican lace gifted to Jordan’s family when she was little girl. Jordan had always loved the lace cloth and chose it as a perfect tie-in with her dress and the other classically romantic design elements use throughout Race + Religious.
Ceremony
Because the vast majority of the guests were not Jewish – Jordan had converted to Judaism and Kent is a deist – it was important to Jordan and Kent to provide a non-obtrusive primer to give their guests touchstones throughout the Jewish ceremony. Jordan created the program, which outlined all the special elements that would take place throughout the two-part ceremony.
Attended by family and the wedding party, the first part of the ceremony began with the ketubah signing and the badeken. Jordan and Kent’s parents provided a sweet blessing to them under the chuppah, and Rabbi Chase Foster of Congregation Beth Israel in Houston provided a centering oration on the path that brought Kent and Jordan to that space and time.
In the second part of ceremony, joined by friends and family from across the country, Jordan and Kent met at the chuppah to begin the next phase of their journey together. Before entering the chuppah, Rabbi Foster guided them in a mutual seven circling while reading a blessing to set the stage.
The two Kiddushin and the Nisuin were particularly meaningful as the chalices that bore the wine were special to both Kent and Jordan. For the first blessing of the wine, Jordan and Kent used a chalice that belonged to bridesmaid Michelle’s departed brother, Nick. For the second, Kent presented Jordan with a self-carved cup made of pecan wood sourced from the Whitener Ranch in Burton, Texas, where Kent is from.
And finally, each wedding party member recited a reading or poetry stanza to support the seven Hebrew blessings chanted by Rabbi Foster.
We ended with a bang as Kent smashed the glass and all yelled Mazel Tov – queuing Kinfolk Brass Band to begin the recession. The glass shards now reside within a mezuzah, hung on their front door.
The ceremony was largely inspired by the writings of Anita Diamant, particularly her books the Jewish Wedding Now and the New Jewish Wedding. Jordan and Kent appreciated her thoughtful take on interfaith marriages and her ability to provide a modern lens while also embracing the traditional and spiritual.
Rabbi Chase Foster was not only Jordan’s rabbi, but also a close friend. Rabbi Foster performed Jordan’s Jewish conversion (and his wife, Sarah, acted as one of the beit din witnesses). It was a huge honor to have him officiate.
Papercut Ketubah
The ketubah was designed by Enya Keshet for Ketubah.com. The ketubah Jordan and Kent chose featured papercut menorahs and exquisitely detailed artistry illustrating the meaningful verses from the Song of Song (3:4 & 6:3) and the 6th Blessing of Marriage. The ketubah outlined important commitments for their marriage: to build a life that emanates love, peace, charity, and tolerance; and to be better together. The ketubah design was inspired by nature, featuring flowers, greenery, and flowering branches.
Our music choice
Music has always been a connecting force between Jordan and Kent. For the processional music, they chose the symphonic score, composed by Benh Zeitlin, from Beasts of the Southern Wild – a fantastical tale about a small community, family, and a resilient young girl living on the edge of Southern Louisiana.
Rabbi Foster, Kent, and family walked down to the musical pieces, ‘Until the Water Goes Down’, followed by the wedding party and ‘The Thing That Made You’. The little attendants preceded Jordan and her parents, walking down the aisle to ‘Once There Was a Hushpuppy’. Within the same song, as Jordan turned to walk down the aisle, the celebratory crescendo of the piece began with trumpets and strings.
After the breaking of the glass, Kinfolk Brass Band – an eight-piece brass band – queued the guests that the celebration was about to begin! With the blast of a trumpet, Kent and Jordan grabbed their black and white second-line umbrellas – hand-crafted by RatTrapp in New York City – to lead their guests on a celebratory procession. Guests grabbed a printed handkerchief, designed by Secondline Handkerchiefs in Mandeville, LA, and a specially crafted Hurricane cocktail, and joined Jordan and Kent as they led the party to the streets of New Orleans to celebrate! Kinfolk brought the funk, leading a 20 minute dance party in small park.
For Jordan and Kent’s first dance, they chose ‘Your Song’ from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack, sung by Ewan McGregor.
For the father-daughter dance, Jordan and her father chose ‘Purple Rain’ covered by Dwight Yokum.
For the mother-son dance, Kent and his mother chose ‘You’ll Be in My Heart’ by Phil Collins.
Flowers
The flowers were essential in achieving the old world theme that Kent and Jordan sought. Forest greens, plum, burgundy wine, dark indigo and rusty golds were the primary colors. Utilizing seasonal, and relatively local/native plants, was of supreme importance for the greenery and flowers.
For Jordan’s bridal bouquet, Jamie Thorpe with Kim Starr Wise Floral Events created a freeform organic bouquet with beautiful texture. The bouquet incorporated a mix of deep greens, bay laurel, and herbs with flowers in the shades of cream, burgundy, purple plum, navy and deep golden yellow. Flowers included caramel antique garden roses, plum ranunculus, blue thistle, white astilbe, pepper and privet berries, and burgundy scabiosa. The bouquet was tied together with an ivory silk ribbon to match the cream lace in the bridal gown.
For Kent’s boutonniere, Jamie incorporated the gem tones used in the bridal party’s flowers with blue thistle and burgundy spray rose. For a special touch, Jamie included rosemary – a herb that carries special weight for Jordan and Kent from their first date. On their first date, after dinner, Jordan and Kent walked down South Congress Avenue in Austin, Texas, sitting outside a small shop with rosemary bush. Kent placed a sprig of rosemary in Jordan’s hair – and kept his own sprig of rosemary (much to the surprise of Jordan years later).
Upon entering Race + Religious, the guests entered through a magically wild gate, covered in smilax vines and colorful foliage, such as pepper berry, ivory spray roses, burgundy snapdragons, combo roses and and sweet pea flowers. The whole venue echoed the lushness of Shakespearean forest.
Photographer
When it came to photography, there was no question that it would be the amazing team from Dark Roux Photography. Jordan and Kent worked closely with Heather Schneider to develop their vision.
The day of Jordan and Kent’s wedding was positioned to take place on the longest night of the year – the day after the Winter Solstice – in addition to the final full moon for the year. Dark Roux is known for their fantastic night shots – and given the long night and the need for the ceremony to take place after sundown – Heather and her team were the obvious choice.
Prioritizing a photojournalistic take on style, Dark Roux was able to capture the big and small moments that occurred throughout the day. Prior to the ceremony, Heather and Ryan provided helpful tips during the “posed” portion of the day while also giving us wide berth during our “First Look” on the balcony walkway.
Food
The main catering was headed up by Black Pearl Catering. Wanting to provide a true New Orleans experience, Black Pearl’s head chef Walker Geoffray and his wife Katie Morris executed Jordan and Kent’s shared vision perfectly.
A must-have at the reception was a raw bar, featuring local oysters, both grilled and fresh shucked. This was such a huge hit that Kent and Jordan didn’t get to try one bite before the oysters were devoured by the guests!
For passed appetizers, Black Pearl featured their boudin-stuffed dolmas wrapped in collard greens, lemon tahini shrimp served with toasted pistachios and pickled cumin seeds, the fried green tomato banh mi bite, and the buffalo-style soft shell crab “wings”.
For the main course, Black Pearl featured a fennel crusted redfish cooked fresh on a cast iron skillet, served with roasted and grilled market vegetables, and a cane syrup lacquered pork loin, served with red bean-style risotto and a grilled cabbage caesar slaw.
Cake
Jordan and Kent broke tradition and cut their “cake” at the beginning of the night. Fortunately for guests looking to snag a a bite, they didn’t have to wait until the end of the meal. In lieu of a traditional cake, Jordan and Kent indulged their savory side and created their wedding “cake” out of wheels of cheese! The “cheese cake” was created by St. James Cheese Company and made of four different layers. The cheese course was paired with decadent charcuteries and savory nuts and spreads provided by Black Pearl Catering.
Jordan and Kent provided european-style pastries for their guests to enjoy. Kieu Tran of Chasing Wang – Baking Studio provided the bite-sized treats, featuring two 30″ croquembouche trees, and trays of airy napoleons, seasonal fruit tartlets, and dark chocolate mousse cups.
As a birthday surprise for a close friend, and fiancee of a groomsmen, Jordan and Kent arranged for a special cake to be made. Because of their shared love of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Jordan had Kieu create a chocolate with salted caramel buttercream cake in the shape of a Star Trek uniform with the legendary words of Captain Jean Luc Picard: “Make It So”. Mid-way through the dance party, Jordan and Kent brought out the surprise cake for everyone to sing a rousing “Happy Birthday to Sarah!” on our shared day of joy and celebration.
Entertainment
For reception entertainment, Jordan and Kent went with Dat Band – an incredibly talented group of musicians able to play New Orleans-style jazz and switch to bringing the dance party.
Nearly eight months later – guests are still raving how much fun they had dancing the night away. Armando was an amazing MC and lead singer, backed up by incredible talent. Dat Band surprised Jordan and Kent with a dance-off – Jordan easily besting Kent; and lead the whole party in sing-a-long to songs from Third Eye Blind and Journey.
Favors
While there weren’t specific favours for the guests, Jordan and Kent provided reusable cups that featured their two cats: Tater Tot and Roux.
Guests also got to take home fun pictures from the Magic Mirror Photo Booth, provided by Party Portraits Photo Booth. The ornate “mirror” took photos and played games with guests in preparation of their momento. Jordan and Kent captured doubles all these photos in their own photo guestbook.
Half from New Orleans, half from Texas
Jordan and Kent’s guests were pretty much split evenly down the middle – half from New Orleans, the other half from Texas. For their Texas family and friends, Jordan and Kent wanted to provide a rich New Orleans experience, which they achieved with their festive entertainment and delicious New Orleans fare.
Around the venue, Jordan and Kent displayed framed photos of family, friends, and their childhood for all to enjoy. It was a fun way to show friends and family from across the aisle who they were and where they came from. They also honored those that had passed on and lovingly displayed them.
Guest book
The welcome sign that greeted guests was hand-painted by Kent’s step-mother Marti Dunn, featuring the couple’s initials and the latitude-longitude cardinal points of the night. For their “formal” guestbook, Jordan and Kent asked their guests to sign a special cookbook, Gulf Coast Oysters: Classic and Modern Recipes of a Southern Renaissance, which author Chef Miller personally signed with well-wishes. Guests chose their favorite recipe and wrote a special message so that Jordan and Kent could think of them when they prepared and cooked the chosen recipe at home.
Sparklers
At the end of the night, Jordan and Kent were sent off in a blaze of 36″ sparklers and whisked off to the after-party at their favorite neighborhood bar, Tracey’s, in a pedicab. The quiet ride to Tracey’s provided a meaningful moment to the end of the night, riding along the streets of New Orleans in the neighborhood Jordan called home for nearly a decade, lit by the street lanterns and the full moon.
Honeymoon in Germany
After the wedding, Jordan and Kent retreated to Kent’s family ranch where they relaxed and enjoyed each other’s company – and much needed down time – as newly-weds.
Jordan and Kent haven’t yet gone on their honeymoon, but plan to travel to Germany in November. They decided on Germany as it’s one country neither of them have spent significant time in and both wanted a new adventure! Jordan and Kent are looking forward to exploring medieval towns, picturesque castles, and snowy mountain tops.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
Wedding planners are life-savers – even if you’re a super type-A planner like Jordan 🙂 While absolutely critical on the day of – having Rena with Alchemy Events providing sound advice, wonderful suggestions, and coordinating all the vendors throughout planning was incredibly helpful.
Whenever possible, breathe and enjoy the day/hours leading up to the first-look or the ceremony. Take in being with your bridesmaids, family, and close friends – and celebrate those friendships and relationships. Those men and women have been a foundation and a rock throughout this whole process – hug, hold and kiss them in gratitude for being with you on this special day, and savour the little moments while getting ready.
It’s been said 1000 times – but don’t sweat the small stuff! Especially when it comes to decor and other relatively small elements at the venue. No one will notice it. If you have that frame of mind going into the finalization with vendors, you and the teams coordinating the event will all breath easier. They’re professionals for a reason! Trust them to do what will work – but also – look best.
Jordan & Kent’s little white book
Photography – Dark Roux
Ketubah – Ketubah.com {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Wedding planner – Alchemy Events
Venue – Race + Religious
Bride’s dress – Nordstrom fitted by Anna Maier Couture
Bride’s shoes – Sam Edelman
Bride’s accessories – Toni Federici and Kendra Scott
Groom’s attire – Perlis and Ariat purchased at Allen’s Boots
Hair + Makeup – St. Pierre Salon and Makeup by Polished
Flowers – Kim Starr Wise Floral Events
Band – Kinfolk Brass Band and Dat Band
Catering – Black Pearl Catering
Cheese cake – St. James Cheese Company
Sweets – Chasing Wang – Baking Studio
Photo Booth – Party Portraits Photo Booth
Stationery – Simple Line Works and Justin Macha
Decor + Lighting – Firefly Ambiance
