Lauren and TJ grew up just blocks from one another in Dallas, but it wasn’t until junior year of high school that their paths finally crossed. She was a diver, he joined the swim team for a semester, and what started as an unexpected connection quickly became something lasting. More than nine years later, after attending Tulane together and building careers in architecture and medicine, they returned to the city that had shaped so much of their relationship to begin their next chapter as husband and wife.
“I always said it was New Orleans or nowhere,” Lauren shared. “It’s just so celebratory and happy.” That sentiment became the foundation for an unforgettable wedding weekend that felt effortlessly woven into the character of the city. Every decision reflected not only New Orleans itself, but the life Lauren and TJ had built there together.
As an architect, Lauren approached wedding planning with a designer’s eye. Alongside one of her closest friends and former architecture studio partner, she created nearly every paper element of the celebration herself. From custom illustrations to signage and thoughtful details throughout the weekend, the wedding became a creative collaboration long before guests ever arrived. Her mother then helped bring those ideas to life, taking Lauren’s vision and executing countless handmade details while Lauren balanced architecture exams and the demands of work. “We DIY’d pretty much everything,” Lauren said.
Inspired by New Orleans in the spring, the celebration embraced rich greens accented with timeless blues. Jasmine, one of Lauren’s favorite memories of the city, became another intentional layer of the experience after she and TJ visited weeks before the wedding. “You go to New Orleans in the spring and all you smell is jasmine,” she recalled.
The wedding morning began at Windsor Court Hotel, where Lauren spent one last evening with her identical twin sister before welcoming bridesmaids for a joyful morning of getting ready. A handwritten note from TJ, an emotional first look with her father, and family heirlooms, including her great-grandmother’s handkerchief tied to her bouquet and her grandmother’s ring, made the quiet moments before the ceremony especially meaningful. While many couples choose a first look, Lauren happily waited until the ceremony.
Following their ceremony at Rayne Memorial Methodist Church, guests stepped into one of New Orleans’ most beloved traditions. Led by live musicians, Lauren and TJ’s second line carried family and friends through the streets beneath custom parasols Lauren designed herself, transforming the walk into a celebration every bit as memorable as the ceremony. Inside the reception, handcrafted oyster shell installations, playful alligator motifs, and timeless Southern details reflected the same thoughtful design seen throughout the weekend. Music, one of TJ’s priorities from the very beginning, filled every event, from jazz during cocktail hour to a lively reception that kept the dance floor full all evening.
“It all felt so special,” she said. “Every single person there was someone we truly knew. It just felt like such an outpouring of love.”
For a couple whose story has always been shaped by thoughtful design, shared ambition, and perfect timing, there could not have been a more fitting place to begin married life than the city that had quietly felt like home long before they ever said, “I do.”
