Kirstie & Chris, 5/3/2025

Jazz Fest weekend, Kentucky Derby day, and a wedding at Margaret Place—Kirstie and Chris picked the most New Orleans possible collision of celebrations and leaned all the way in. A hundred and fifty guests gathered in the courtyard for a 7 PM ceremony, then turned around to find a stage built over the pool and a party that felt like it had been going for hours before it officially started. Pijon kept the tables loaded, the bar poured beer and wine, and the bride toasted with a vanilla Coke—her signature move and, honestly, a flex.

The night peaked the way the best Margaret Place weddings do: with a second line. This one wound through City Park, brass ringing off the oaks, the whole crew in the street. Kirstie’s thank-you email afterward was all caps and exclamation points—“THANK YOU SO SO SO MUCH”—which tracks. Some weddings are elegant. Some are a party. This one was both, and it didn’t need a single cocktail to get there.