Tyrell-Brennan Wedding

Craig and Bridget

Bridget dancing with her father Ted Brennan

If you were by chance in Jackson Square during the late afternoon of Dec. 11, 2004, the usual sounds of the calliope and musicians were replaced by those of bagpipes. This festive scene was for the wedding of Bridget Rebecca Brennan and Craig Michael Tyrrell, who via carriage were following the bagpipers from St. Louis Cathedral to Brennan’s restaurant. Bridget, as you can tell from her last name, is part of the famed Brennan family—her father Ted is one of the co-owners of the restaurant.
For the wedding, Bridget chose the same dress her mother wore for her wedding 34 years earlier. Designed by Priscilla of Boston, it was a coincidence that Craig is from Boston and it was at Boston College where the couple met. The dress, with a minor adjustment, fit perfectly. The bridesmaids donned ruby-red velvet dresses made by Illaine Hartman Haute Couture of New Orleans, while the flower girls and ringbearers—10 in total, ranging in age from two to nine—were dressed by Mignon for Children.
After the ceremony at the cathedral, a procession including Bridget and Craig, the wedding party, family and friends joyously made their way through the French Quarter to the reception. Closed down for the day, every room in Brennan’s restaurant was filled with guests from New Orleans and out of town (Craig is one of 11 children). And because the wedding was close to Christmas, the décor was enhanced by rich fabrics, lush flowers and glowing candles. The food, as to be expected, was a feast with raw oysters and shrimp, a sushi bar and other delights, as well as traditional favorites such as steak Diane, oyster and turtle soups, crabmeat Rockefeller, grillades and grits, and much more. Children had their own room, where peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chicken fingers and French fries were served. Dessert stations included crepes Bridget, named in honor of the bride when she was born, crepes Fitzgerald and bananas Foster. The six-tiered wedding cake was by Theone Perloff-Velez of Piece of Cake, and instead of having traditional cake pulls, Bridget had her unmarried bridesmaids pull CZ rings, while the married women pulled Mardi Gras king cake babies. The groom’s cake, made by Flour Power, celebrated Craig’s heritage. It was a replica of Fenway Park, home of the 2004 World Series champions Boston Red Sox, and Craig’s aunt was heard to say, “Are you really going to cut it?”
After a Caribbean cruise for their honeymoon, the couple is back in New Orleans, where Bridget is a lawyer and Craig is a production manager at Bent Media and is studying for his MBA at Loyola University. •