Corona and a Hurricane Were No Match to this Il Mercato New Orleans Wedding

Il Mercato New Orleans Wedding against all odds… If there’s one thing 2020 taught us, it was to adapt quickly when plans change. And no better place to test such skills than when planning your own wedding, right? For Lyle and Meghan, that also meant navigating through a category 3 hurricane and power outages on their wedding day. Amanda Price Events made sure the day went smoothly amid so many last minute changes as captured by Erika Parker. You’d never know when you look at THESE IMAGES!

Il Mercato New Orleans Wedding bridesmaid dresses

From Amanda Price Events: Fall is the couple’s favorite season, so they knew a fall date was a must. Three months later, the couple set a date. Lyle and Meghan were to wed on October 31, 2020. Venues were being selected, florists booked, planners chosen. One by one Meghan began checking things of her wedding timeline. In March, things took a turn when COVID numbers began rising across the country and state-wide restrictions were enforced, shutting everything down.

Planning a Wedding Amid Covid-19 Restrictions

Months of planning went by with no word on when things would re-open. As the 6 month point neared, the couple knew big decisions could no longer be placed on hold and they needed to start moving forward with planning once more. The couple contemplated moving the wedding out of state, going to the court house, having a backyard wedding with immediate family, but nothing seemed right. With all of the groom’s family and closest friends in Ohio, a New Orleans wedding with a guest list of 250 people traveling, was looking more and more unlikely.

Invitations were printed and re-printed. Showers cancelled and rescheduled, the stress came and went, but one thing remained true, Meghan and Lyle knew they wanted to be married on October 31, 2020.

As the date drew nearer, Meghan pushed along with planning, receiving daily and weekly updates on the latest restrictions in New Orleans from her wedding planner, and continued moving forward despite the smaller guest list and new rules in place for their ceremony to accommodate for social distancing.

Il Mercato New Orleans Wedding centerpieces

The couple had plans to move to Pensacola, Florida in September to start their life as a family together, taking over a Chiropractic practice on the Emerald Coast. While the wedding planner had COVID restrictions/updates taken care of, Meghan began to plan for the couple’s big move weeks before they said “I do”.

Il Mercato New Orleans Wedding Amid a Cat 3 Hurricane

Nothing could stop the couple from what they knew was most important- their love for each other and the beginning of this new journey together, as husband and wife.

Finally, everything seemed to be set.

Meghan planned to leave Florida and arrive in New Orleans 3 days early to begin preparation for hair appointments, final dress alterations and the arrival of their out of town guests. Lyle was to join her the following day. On the morning Meghan was set to leave, the National Hurricane Center announced that Hurricane Zeta was headed straight for New Orleans and would make landfall that night as a Category 3 hurricane.

Meghan stayed at a friends house that evening and went to sleep with power out across half of the city that night. The next morning power was still out. Lula Distillery, a distillery on St. Charles Street, scheduled to host the rehearsal dinner in 24 hours, was still without power. By noon the following day, parts of the city were still without power, and once again decisions had to be made on how to move forward with less than ideal situations and unlikely circumstances. Thankfully, the venue had power to half of the building, the part we needed, and our wedding planner and venue manager worked together to provide lighting for the restrooms that were still without power at the event. The air conditioning was not working at the venue, as the power to that part of the building hadn’t been turned on, but thankfully the weather was perfect and no one noticed!

Once more, everything began to fall into place. Within a few short hours, our wedding planner moved the rehearsal dinner to another location and Tableau hosted a beautiful dinner for the couple, their families and the bridal party.

The big day was exactly how the couple imagined it would be. Meghan’s vision was brought to life by the incredible team around her and her family and friends. I couldn’t have done this year with so much grace and optimism if it weren’t for the people I had around me. More importantly, without Lyle’s support. Behind every decision I struggled with, he was my biggest cheerleader, guiding me and making me laugh along the way. I reminded him to not take life so seriously and he helped me to remember the most important reason we were having this wedding….for each other and the life we wanted together, that’s it.

There were so many things I thought I would have to give up to make this Il Mercato New Orleans wedding possible. But at the end of the day, it was more perfect than I could have ever imagined. It was truly magical and 3 months later, I truly am still glowing. It was intimate and romantic, full of laughing, dancing, and so much love! “I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. It was the most magical day of our lives and I want to relive it over and over and over again,” says Meghan. “We’re thinking about planning a 1-year anniversary bash just to do it all over again with everyone who wasn’t able to attend because of COVID”, says Lyle.

Although the couple had to cancel their honeymoon to Hawaii, they are instead looking forward to traveling to Italy as soon as COVID travel restrictions are lifted!

Looking for more ideas for a New Orleans mini destination wedding? Here’s another gorgeous Il Mercato wedding and why we love this venue so much!

Wedding Manager: Amanda Price Events

Venue: Il Mercato

Caterer: Joel Catering

Photographer: Erika Parker

Videographer: Tone Productions

Band: Dat Band

Florist: Bella Blooms