Sarah Miles Norton and Scott Richards Samuel have known each other since high school, even though Sarah went to Newman while Scott went to St. Martin’s. In 2008, the pair ran into each other two weekends in a row and began talking on the phone. Scott called Sarah and asked her to join him the next Friday night to celebrate his passing the Louisiana bar exam. They celebrated that night with friends and Scott asked Sarah on their first real date the following week to Dick and Jenny’s.
Scott knew that Sarah would want a low-key wedding proposal, but he still wanted to surprise her. He called her in a panic about a lost item in his house and asked Sarah if she could help him find it. They looked everywhere for the missing item and Scott “found” the engagement ring hidden in a drawer. He proposed and she immediately said yes. They had already planned to go out to dinner that night with Sarah’s mother and stepfather for Sarah’s birthday. The next night, they continued the celebration at Mosca’s Restaurant with friends.
The Friday night before the wedding, close friends and family celebrated the couple with a perfect rehearsal dinner, hosted by Marlene and Barry Samuel, the groom’s parents, at Arnaud’s Restaurant, where the evening was crowned with individual baked Alaska desserts.
On June 18, 2011, Sarah and Scott married at Trinity Episcopal Church. Sarah went to Trinity School for 10 years and had always wanted to get married there. Father Michael Kuhn, who had been chaplain when Sarah went to school there, married the couple. Sarah’s father, William Norton, walked her down the aisle, where they were joined by her stepfather, Lawrence O’Meallie. Both men presented her at the altar.
For the ceremony, Sarah wore a strapless, ivory floral organza A-line Jim Hjelm gown with a wide taupe silk sash adorned with jeweled flowers from Town & Country. Her “something borrowed” was a pair of her mother’s earrings. Nicole Klein and Holly Tyler from Blush and Bashful did the makeup and hair for Sarah, her mother Sally, and her sister.
Her bridesmaids wore blue silk taffeta dresses from J. Crew. She also gave her bridesmaids gold cuff bracelets designed by close family friend Susan Ripley from the new Susan Ripley Collection. The maid of honor was Katherine Margaret Norton, Sarah’s sister. The other bridesmaids were Scott’s sister, Whitney Drennan, and Sarah’s four oldest friends from when she was in preschool at Trinity.
Scott and his groomsmen wore white linen suits from Perlis. One of Scott’s favorite things is horse racing, so he chose ties from the Kentucky Derby line at Vineyard Vines. Barry Nathaniel Samuel, Scott’s father, was his best man.
The reception was held at the New Orleans Country Club, this was one of Sarah and Scott’s favorite venues in New Orleans. Meade Wenzel did both the church and the Country Club flowers. The flowers were in shades of white, cream and blush. They were summer garden flowers, specifically, hydrangeas, peonies, roses and dahlias.
The Country Club catered the reception. Guests were welcomed with mini BLT sandwiches and fried eggplant. Shrimp, crab claws, oysters, catfish, beef tenderloin and assorted cheeses were served during the reception. Late night dancers were served grilled cheese sandwiches, a childhood favorite of Sarah’s.
Sarah steered clear of the traditional almond-flavored wedding cake and had Gambino’s Bakery create an original five-tier white doberge cake with chocolate filling.
The Groom’s cake was a chocolate chip cookie cake decorated like Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby day complete with racehorses and riders by Gambino’s bakery. Cookie cake is Scott’s favorite cake and Sarah took him by surprise with this racehorse themed design.
Jeff Pounds played piano for the first hour of the reception while guests mingled and welcomed the new couple.
Bobby J and Stuff Like That played from 8:30 to midnight. Sarah’s father, William Norton, was very instrumental in choosing the music the band played. They played many of the songs Sarah heard him sing as she was growing up. The couple danced their first dance to “Shama Lama Ding Dong.”
Charlotte Latham photographed the ceremony and reception. Wedding preparations started out with a visit to Betty Hunley at Betty Hunley Designs who helped with the beautiful invitation. Kate Norton, Sarah’s sister, is a graphic designer and designed the couple’s save-the-date and wedding program long-distance from Austin, Texas.
After the reception, the couple spent two nights at the Ritz Carlton and then went to St. Bart’s for nine days.
Sarah and Scott reside in New Orleans. Sarah is a first grade teacher at Isidore Newman School and Scott is
an attorney with Christovich and Kearney.
