Erin Raizk & Timothy Lincoln

“Tim and I started dating in high school, and although we spent time apart while he started his career as a musician and I started mine as an interior designer, once we found our way back together we knew it was forever. My favorite thing about our relationship is our ability to make each other laugh, and while neither of us are serious people by nature, one thing we do take seriously is our love for each other. We wanted our wedding to be a true expression of our personalities and the solemnity we felt in our commitment to one another.

With Tim’s musical background and my flair for the…shall we say, dramatic, we knew that the vibrant and culturally rich city of New Orleans would provide the perfect backdrop for our big day.

I have always been inspired by the over-the-top drama and richness of Baz Luhrmann’s films, and while an unlikely inspiration for a wedding, I particularly love the funeral scene from his version of “Romeo + Juliet”. From the dramatically lit Gothic cathedral, to the thousands of candles, white ceremonial flowers and religious iconography, to me it’s the epitome of romance. 

I worked with Ceci New York to design our invitations featuring a custom painting of the Virgin Mary, and incorporated a pattern designed by my brother RJ, a talented New York artist. The invites ended up setting the tone for the entire wedding, with a rich color palette of deep Bordeaux reds, royal blues, gold, and touches of antique pink.

While I had a perfect vision of the impactful and sumptuous setting I wanted to create in my mind, bringing it to life was both a challenge and an incredible journey. After searching for the perfect venue for months, we stumbled across the remarkable Marigny Opera House, a former Catholic Church that now functions as an art space, and immediately knew it was the ideal place to bring our dream to life.

I  worked with a local vendor to design and construct the altar from the ground up using hundreds of candelabras, antique altar pieces and candlesticks were sourced during the months leading up to the wedding. Theatrical internal and external lighting, floral arrangements and even a layer of fog  added an ethereal element to the space. The final effect was more breathtaking than I could have ever imagined, and when I walked down the aisle I truly felt like I was stepping into a dream.

Tim and I are lucky to have an amazingly talented group of friends and family and it was important to us to incorporate them into our wedding day. Our close friend sang me down the aisle, accompanied by a gospel choir, and another close friend officiated. Later, Tim’s sister and musician friends joined him on stage at our reception in the Orleans Ballroom at the Bourbon Orleans hotel for a song he wrote and performed for me as a special surprise.

From my custom wedding gown and Monvieve veil, to our leopard print cake, to our authentic New Orleans brass band and second line parade, our wedding could not have been a truer expression of our personalities and relationship.”