Flying to New York City for a birthday party seemed like it was just going to be a fun weekend with the girls for Cecile “CeCe” Villere, until she met Trevor Colhoun, an entrepreneur. The two chatted during CeCe’s best friend’s sister’s birthday party in the Big Apple but didn’t start dating until a few months later after exchanging a few e-mails. When CeCe moved from Dallas to New York, Trevor asked her out immediately. After a year of dating, he knew he wanted her to be his wife.
Trevor called and asked CeCe’s father for her hand in marriage right before the two took a long vacation to Europe. CeCe’s father of course said yes but asked him to wait to propose until they reached the Villa d’Este on Lake Como, Italy, because he thought CeCe would love it. That night, Trevor asked CeCe to wear the same white Christian Dior dress she wore the night they met. Over a bottle of wine, Trevor got down on one knee on a pier overlooking the water and asked her to marry him. He presented her with an asscher-cut emerald set in a platinum Graf setting, flanked by two diamond baguettes. She instantly said “yes” and her father was right: “It was the most beautiful place I’ve ever been,” says CeCe.
When it came time to plan the wedding, CeCe had no other place besides New Orleans in mind for where she wanted the wedding; the city where she was born and raised. “It’s my home,” she says. “It’s my heart.”
Along with her mom, Mimi Bowen, owner of Mimi on Magazine Street, CeCe began planning her New Orleans wedding with the help of family friend Mary Lynn van Wyck, of VAN WYCK & VAN WYCK Inc., an event design and production firm out of New York. CeCe insisted on not being one of those brides who has every detail of her wedding planned out. “I wanted to be surprised,” she says.
CeCe always wanted to be married at Holy Name Cathedral on St. Charles Avenue because it was the church right down the street from her house growing up. The ceremony was short and simple with family friend, Father Joseph L. Tagg of Memphis, presiding.
CeCe wanted her “old-fashioned” sense of style to really show through on her wedding day. One way she accomplished this was with her simple, elegant and classic gown by Vera Wang, purchased from Mimi. The gown was ivory organza mermaid-cut with a 3-tiered skirt and intricate lace detail.
The bride wanted a simpler look to go with the veil she wore, which was a family heirloom from Trevor’s family. Made of Belgian lace, the veil has been passed down several generations and originally had been acquired by the Colhoun family from the Bonaparte family. Empress Eugenie of France originally wore the veil during her wedding to Napoleon Bonaparte III in Notre Dame Cathedral. CeCe carried a nosegay of white peonies, gardenias and lillies of the valley by VAN WYCK & VAN WYCK. Her wedding day ensemble was breathtaking and unique.
CeCe’s bridesmaids wore custom-made Vera Wang ivory satin gowns, also purchased at Mimi, with a wide black sash around the waist, tied into a French bow in the front. They carried nosegays of white anemones with black centers, white French tulips and white gardenias also by VAN WYCK & VAN WYCK. The groomsmen wore white ties and tails from Perlis, while the groom wore a family Colhoun Clan kilt.
Following the ceremony, guests enjoyed cocktails and passed hors d’oeuvres at CeCe’s mother’s home, where the bride grew up. Guests dined on a wide selection of food stations created by Joel’s Catering. The wine of the evening was from Landmark Vineyards, Trevor’s family vineyard in Sonoma.
Afterwards, guests second-lined with the bride and groom accompanied by The Storyille Stompers, to a covered tent for the reception. The newlyweds danced their first dance to “Everything” by Michael Bublé played by Charlie Kohlmeyer. After some dancing and conversation with her guests, CeCe changed into a shorter white organza gown by Marchesa to get ready for the second band, The Jimmy Church Review from Tennessee.
After hours of dancing, the evening came to an end. The bride and groom left their guests around 2 a.m., and retreated to the Presidential Suite at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. The couple honeymooned on a private island in Belize for eight days. Though they returned to Dallas after their wedding in New Orleans, they’re planning a permanent move to the Big Easy in a few short months.
The bride with her father, Pierre G. Villere.
The couple with their mothers, Mimi Bowen and Molly Byrne.
The wedding party: Row one: Michael Turley, Jr., Will Farnsworth, Jamie Leveridge, Lucy Morton, CeCe Colhoun, Trevor Colhoun, Elizabeth Farnsworth, Liam Turley, Lisa Biderman, Vicki Hillman, James Turley, Thomas Farnsworth. Row two: Gregg Walker, Pierre B. Villere, Marin Wollerman, Muffy Turley, Ian Colhoun, Catherine Littlefield, Kate Dehne, Michael Turley, Sr., Bixby Jamison, Matt Drukker. Row three: Mike Colhoun, Sr., Jim Boshart, Mike Colhoun, Jr., Bill DiSpaltro, Tommy Farnsworth, Brian Frank, Jason Cuenca
