Bride: Nancy + Chris
For Nancy Pratt and Christopher Stuben, French Quarter Fest in 2019 was more than just a great party—it was a weekend that would change everything for both of them. “We were celebrating my best friend’s birthday in the city, and we met through mutual friends that evening getting after-dinner drinks at the Saint Hotel’s Burgundy Bar,” says Nancy. “Our official second and third dates were one day at each weekend of Jazzfest that year. If you can spend a whole day at festivals with someone, you really get to know them, and we had a blast!”
Three years and countless festivals later, Chris and Nancy had built a relationship that they knew would last forever. “Following a great family trip to Copper Mountain, we went to our favorite local restaurant, Pardos,” Nancy recalls of the day Chris proposed. “We went into the bar after dinner to dance, and the piano player was singing “La Vie en Rose.” A huge sign made of flowers said, ‘Marry Me Nancy?’, and Christopher got down on one knee. I cried the whole time I was saying yes.”
On April 16, 2022, Nancy brought tears to everyone else’s eyes as she walked down the aisle at The Gallery Venue at Tomas Bistro, wearing a vintage-look gown reminiscent of old Hollywood. As Nancy’s father officiated, the two exchanged their personal vows to one another before Chris’s children were included in a special family vow. With nearly 200 of their closest friends and family as witnesses, Chris and Nancy were pronounced married. “It was so special because it was the same day my nana and granddaddy Gene got married in 1955,” says Nancy. “They are no longer with us, so it was a wonderful way to have them still be a part of our wedding.”
After leading their guests in a second line post-ceremony, the newlyweds convened for photos and a wardrobe change—Nancy, into a dress similar in style to her grandmother’s wedding dress—before re-joining the party for an on-site reception. “Although the second line is traditionally done in New Orleans weddings, we specialized it with our wedding party holding fancy umbrellas, while I had white feather burlesque fans and Chris had a sequin sign that I made—one side said STUBEN and other side said LOVE. Both of our mothers held wooden heart props decorated with Mardi Gras beads, which my mom made.”
Dining on charcuterie along with New Orleans favorites including beignets, the couple and their guests also made use of the dance floor throughout the night—and made some great memories. “Chris and I had a choreographed dance to a medley of three songs—I made our mix and choreographed it, and I was so proud of Chris’s performance,” says Nancy. “We included lifts and turns and even some comedy. It was also funny for friends and my family to meet Chris’s identical twin brother for the first time. Some guests may have gotten confused once or twice.
“A few other details that made our wedding so special were our wedding décor, which I’d curated—vintage books, globes and gold and brass candelabras, wedding photos from our parents and grandparents—and we had a cigar bar for the adults and bean bag beignets and streetcar toys for the kids,” Nancy continues. “And my best friend was our amazing wedding singer, Jenna Richard with The Groove band. She was so good!”
