While some brides shy away from tradition, others embrace it. Courtney Lynn Perschall is one of the latter – in fact, her wedding program had a full page entitled “The Wedding Tradition.” The “Something Old” was her mother’s wedding dress, an elegant candlelight, scoop necked, long-sleeved dress of silk duchess satin, accented with Alençon lace and pearls, highlighted by the “Something New,” a cathedral length lace veil. The “Something Borrowed” was a lace and pearl handkerchief carried by Courtney’s aunt on her wedding day.
But when it came to “Something Blue,” the inspiration was obvious: Courtney’s “Tiffany Blue” eyes. That blue, which happened to be the color of the altar ceiling in St. Francis of Assisi Church (where Courtney and her husband Will Nalty were married and also attend services) was also echoed in the lace in her bridal bouquet, in the ribbon that adorned the peach cornucopias filled with white roses and eucalyptus on the altar rails and windows, in the ribbon around her bridesmaids bouquets and the sashes on their gowns, in the bands on their wedding cake and even in the writing on their wedding program.
Courtney and Will met at a bachelor’s club party during Courtney’s debut year, though their parents had known each other since the two were young. After a proposal on Christmas Day, Will had arranged a surprise celebration of the engagement by both families, with himself as the only conspirator.
On Saturday, Nov. 17, 2007, Courtney Lynn Perschall married William Sellers Nalty at a Nuptial Mass at 7 p.m. The bridesmaids wore Jenny You autumn peach dresses with the above mentioned Tiffany Blue sashes from Wedding Belles and each dress had a matching bolero jacket that they wore during the service. The groom and groomsmen wore white tie tuxes. All of the floral arrangements were designed by Courtney’s mother, Linda Perschall, and created by Grow With Us. These included Courtney’s bouquet of white Vendela roses, white Cattlaya orchids and Tiffany Blue lace; the bridesmaids’ bouquets of sunset Ecuadorian peach roses tied with Tiffany Blue ribbon; and the above mentioned cornucopias in the church.
Their reception was held and catered by The Orléans Club, where Linda Pershall and Grow With Us again worked their magic. Each room was filled with various selections of roses and punctuated in a couple of rooms by white orchids and tall stands of white roses formed into large balls accented with white orchids in the parlors. The main attractions, however, were a five-foot replica of St. Francis of Assisi Church out of lush roses (mostly red and peach) and the Nalty-label champagne bottle constructed entirely out of white roses.
Courtney and Will even personalized their cakes, both from Swiss Confectionery. The wedding cake was five-tiers accented by Tiffany Blue ribbon runners on each layer with a veil of orchids spilling down the front that sat on a table draped with the same Tiffany Blue lace featured in Courtney’s veil. The Groom’s Cake was decorated with a tennis racquet, placed between two silver cup trophies filled with Joan Farrell-Mathis tennis ball cookies, remembering when Will was captain of his college tennis team.
Keeping everyone on their toes was the band Bobby J. and Stuff Like That. Later, when Courtney changed into her peach going away dress, the attendees waived festive blue fleur-de-lis handkerchiefs and second-lined around the club all the way to St. Charles Avenue – where they saw that the lit yard was decorated by a huge “N” made out of roses. Each guest rang a silver bell, their gift, as Courtney and Will departed.
After their honeymoon in Italy and France, the couple will live in New Orleans where Courtney is the lifestyle coordinator of nursing care at the Lambeth House and Will is a financial advisor with Smith Barney.
