John & Danielle – Houmas House Wedding {Baton Rouge Wedding Photographer}

Posted on December 22, 2011

Prep, Ceremony and Reception – Houmas House Plantation

Danielle and John’s wedding was at the beautiful Houmas House Plantation, the perfect location for any ceremony. We all watched the weather closely all morning leading up to their 4pm ceremony … John and Danielle chose to do a “first look” which always makes me happy. I think this is such a beautiful way for a bride and groom to spend some private moments on their wedding day. At what other time during the day will you too really get to be alone to soak it all in? In this particular case, I believe the first look helped them both relax so that neither of them cared what happened the rest of the day, as long as they were married. Just as we were finishing up their first look, the drizzle started and their smiles did not falter. We hurried through a few photos then headed to the porch to finish up group photos. Neither Danielle or John stopped smiling the entire time we took formal photos, even though the drizzle continued, threatening their outdoor ceremony. Everyone was relaxed and enjoying themselves as we quickly got through all the photos and everyone separated again to wait out the rain. Danielle’s bridesmaids led her with an umbrella back to the bridal cottage while John and his guys kept up with the LSU game in the Turtle Bar. Guests mingled on the porch and wondered what the plan was going to be as the 4pm ceremony time got closer and closer. Finally, around 3:59 pm, the rain stopped, the chairs were wiped down and the ceremony began on time. It was amazing, blue skies even peeked out towards the end of the ceremony and everything turned out perfectly.

The “First Look” in Danielle’s words:

We decided to do the “first look” so we could get pictures finished before the ceremony. And we also wanted a private moment together. John stood on the sidewalk; I walked up behind him. We don’t like cheesy moments so to make us laugh I started singing “Don’t turn around”. He laughed and turned around. Then he told me I looked so “pretty”. I did my happy dance. We laughed some more.
I think everyone should do the “first look” because everyone is at their best – clean clothes, fresh makeup, pretty hair. And it takes the pressure off getting all the family pictures done in between the ceremony and reception. I have friends who didn’t do it and they regretted it