1. Tell us a little about your love story! How did you meet? How did you get engaged?
In a nutshell, we met at work! Mallory started a new job in April of 2015 and was flown to Denver, the HQ, for training. Ben worked in the Denver office, and being the social guy that he is, invited the trainees out for lunch with a couple other Denver colleagues. He sat next to Mallory and the rest is history! We dated long-distance for a year and 3 months before Mallory was promoted to the Denver office.
We lived in Denver for 3 years when Ben planned the BEST proposal for us. We were flying out to Nola for Labor Day, and he got down on one knee at the Denver International Airport’s lookout spot that overlooks the mountains on a clear day. They drank champagne before getting on the plane, and when they arrived in Nola, Ben’s family from Iowa and Mallory’s local family, were all waiting for them at the airport! When Mallory thought she couldn’t be any more surprised, Ben had friends surprise them throughout the whole weekend, flying in from Iowa, Colorado and Washington. For a couple who loves to travel and puts family first, this couldn’t have been a more perfect weekend!
2. How did you choose Herbivore for your wedding? Did you know a lot about flowers when you started your plans? What was the vibe you were going for? I fell in love with them through their Instagram account, then my wedding planner, Heather Schwanner with Uncommon Camellia, also backed that up with great reviews. I am not a flower expert, but I had a vision for my bouquet, and I was nervous to go with another florist that didn’t have photos to show me of any similar bouquets. I knew that Herbivore would understand me. (Herb finally just asked me to stop sending him so many photos of bouquets because I was driving myself crazy, and he knew what I wanted to achieve! Lol) He even found sourced burgundy peonies when they were out of season, which was a big surprise to me on my wedding day!
3. How did working with Herbivore fit into your schedule? Did you enjoy working with the Herbivore team? Herb was so easy to work with. We planned everything in one sit down meeting. He knocked some reality into us that no other vendors did around facing the COVID-19 restrictions. What were we willing to give up in order to have our idea of a wedding? We weren’t fully facing that before, and we ended up moving the location of our wedding to accommodate more guests safely, and it was the best decision that we could have made. Herb worked well with my wedding planner, and they had no issues with his team on the day-of setup and breakdown.
4. Why did you choose New Orleans as the site for your big day? Did you incorporate any New Orleans traditions into your celebration? I (Mallory) grew up in New Orleans and we know how to party! This is also where we’re starting our married life together, so we thought it was sentimental. We had almost 50% of our guest list from out-of-state, so we wanted them to experience the traditions, such as a live band, Second Line, cake pulls and the Groom’s cake.
5. Do you remember what you were thinking when you saw (your bouquet, the ceremony, the completed reception space) for the first time?
The first time that I teared up on my wedding day was when I saw my bouquet. I didn’t expect that as I’m not a flower guru, but they were STUNNING. No one could have brought out my vision as well as the Herbivore team did. Then, I get to the ceremony and tear up again seeing the flower tie-backs that outlined the drapery that my husband and I were to stand under. The whole ambiance was dreamy!
6. What is your favorite memory from your wedding day? Looking around and seeing everyone really enjoying themselves despite going through a pretty dark year for most.
7. What advice would you give to other couples trying to plan their big day? Hire a wedding planner, at least for the day-of. You can pick out all of the vendors that you want to work with and put together your vision, but when it comes to working between all vendors in order to make your wedding day happen without a hitch, that’s near impossible to do when you’re the bride. The amount of stress will far surmount the investment. Enjoy yourself!
Photography: Sarah Becker Photo | Planner: Uncommon Camellia | Venue: Maison Lafitte | Cake: Zoe's Bakery | Band: Groovy 7 | Catering: Mirepoix Catering | Hair & Makeup: About Face | Decor: Firefly Ambiance | Rentals: Cole's Rental World