Sisters Constance “Connie” Julie McIntosh and Allison McIntosh Cardwell and their friend Elizabeth Hunley Perrien all attended Camp Point Clear every summer for many years. In 1998, Patrick Anthony Hunley Jr., Elizabeth’s brother, picked her up from camp; he and Connie were introduced by their sisters and the rest was history.
On New Year’s Eve, 2009, Patrick surprised Connie by asking her to marry him with a ring he had designed at Friend & Company.
On April 30, 2011, Connie and Patrick married at St. Francis of Assisi Church in New Orleans. Father Jerry Dabria officiated the ceremony and the altar was adorned with 300 Easter lilies. Kay Higginbotham sang through the ceremony accompanied by an organist and a trumpeter. Patrick’s family are parishioners at St. Francis, and Patrick was an altar server there when he was younger.
Connie wore a slight tiered strapless gown with a sweetheart neckline and a trumpet silhouette. She wore her sister’s veil as her “something borrowed.” Her hand-tied bouquet was made of several shades of white, including peonies, hydrangeas, roses and lilies of the valley. Lisa Mathews with Salon Sierra did Connie’s hair.
Connie’s bridesmaids wore strapless, short navy blue dresses with ruched waistbands and ruffle trim from Ballin’s Ltd. Her sister Allison served as matron of honor.
Patrick, his groomsmen and ushers all wore white linen suits from Perlis with blue Vineyard Vines ties. Chandler Kinnett, Patrick’s best friend since preschool, served as his best man.
Betty Hunley, Patrick’s mother, and her team – Christina Eiswirth and Tanya Henriques at Betty Hunley Designs – worked hard to create a beautiful program with ink that complemented the bridesmaids’ dresses perfectly and to keep this a surprise for Patrick and Connie.
After the ceremony, the reception was held at the Pavilion of the Two Sisters in City Park’s Botanical Gardens.
Connie and Patrick decided on the location because they thought the beautiful blooms that appear in springtime
would make a magical backdrop for a nighttime wedding.
Meade Wenzel designed all of the floral arrangements for the ceremony and reception. She used coral, apricot, pinks and citrus greens with ranunculus, hydrangeas, peonies and roses. In addition, Connie picked out several lighted branches that were incorporated into the buffet arrangements.
City Park catering provided the food for the reception. Guests were greeted in the candlelit gardens with champagne and dined at carving stations, chef-prepared crab cakes, smoked salmon, oysters en brochette, praline brie en croute, crawfish cheesecake, shrimp remoulade, marinated crab claws, crabmeat ravigote dip, stuffed artichoke hearts and crabmeat mornay.
Shane Gorringe of Zoë’s Bakery created the six-tiered white chocolate wedding cake with fresh strawberries to resemble the bride’s tiered dress. Connie surprised Patrick with a groom’s cake designed by Shane. It was a two-tiered carrot cake with a replica of the groom’s beloved lab, Deuce, on top. Surrounding the cake were dozens of apple Hubig’s pies, Patrick’s favorite sweet.
The Tip Tops from Mobile, Ala., provided the musical entertainment. The couple’s first dance was Ray LaMontagne’s “You Are the Best Thing.”
Mathew Foster was the photographer for the wedding. Foster took family photographs immediately after the ceremony to capture all of the family members who traveled great distances to be there. Suzy Marks Videography was the videographer.
Connie and Patrick honeymooned in St. Lucia for one week. They now live in Uptown New Orleans. Connie teaches second grade at Holy Name of Jesus School and Patrick works in sales at World Ship Supply.
