Wedding Feature: Katie & Andrew
Last fall, Katie & Andrew said “I do!” We were so honored to play at their gorgeous wedding reception at Capitol Park Museum, located in Baton Rouge. We are excited to share their journey as a couple: how they met and how they managed to create an incredible final result filled with joy and love.
Tell us the story of how you two met!
Andrew and I met through our running group, Varsity Sports. We knew of each other for a couple of years and had both been running with the group before we began dating. We began hanging out with groups of people after the runs and eventually began talking after the runs just the two of us and then started dating!
What made you decide that this was the right person to be with for the rest of your life?
Katie: The way our relationship evolved so naturally and how I was always thinking about Andrew and wanting to see him was one way that I knew he was different. I had never been like that with anyone before! What did it for me was about 2-3 months into dating, I was doing a 10 mile race out of town and he offered to pick me up (very early around 4:30 am) that morning to drive me to the race. He held all of my stuff, ran the majority of the race to get pictures of me and cheer me on and stayed at the finish festival for as long as I wanted. I was like “you want to do all of this for me?!” That’s when I started thinking, “yeah…I love this guy!” That was October 21, 2018. I remember that day well.
Andrew: I knew Katie was the one after a few weeks of dating. We were able to be so open and honest with each other. Its hard to describe it but there is this feeling that you get and you just know that your life would always be missing something without this person. That is what I feel with Katie. That is how I knew Katie was the one. You can ask her, I’m never wrong 😉
What do you enjoy most about each other’s company?
There are a lot of things I enjoy about Andrew, but I especially love time with just us whether that is lounging on the couch just being in each other’s presence or going for a walk in our neighborhood and talking about whatever is going on in our lives. He makes me feel absolutely myself, and it is just so easy and natural to be with him. Also, he makes me laugh, and I love that.
How was your experience with Nola Dukes Band?
Our experience with Nola Dukes was AMAZING! I love the information page where you can put in all of the details of the wedding and what music you want played at your wedding and how you can update it in the months leading up to the wedding! It was great to have to get me started thinking of what we wanted on our actual wedding day. We used Nola Dukes for both ceremony music and the reception, and we had a blast!
What was your favorite song you danced to at your wedding?
The reception was a blur (like everyone says), BUT I have two specific memories of songs that Nola Dukes played that I got to dance to. Number one is our wedding dance, “You Are the Best Thing,” and number two is dancing to “‘Valerie” with my baby brother. He is a great dancer, and that song is just so much fun.
Share one special memory from your wedding with us.
This question is tough!! So many memories. The one I will pick is walking down the aisle to Andrew. That moment was pretty surreal. As soon as Dad and I walked out of the building and I could see all of the people and Andrew at the front was an amazing moment. Nola Dukes played the piano version of “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” and it was a very emotional and special moment I will remember forever.
Do you have any advice for couples as they plan for their wedding?
My advice for couples planning their wedding is to get all of the big things out of the way first like choosing vendors, and then you can relax a little before the details come together in the weeks before the wedding. Also, having a wedding coordinator was HUGE for me because she pretty much handled all of the small details leading up to the wedding and I also did not have to do a thing on wedding day! She took care of it all!
Photography by Eric Garcia