second line parade

stephrubia

i'm from NY but am getting married in NOLA.  i would love to do a second line parade for my wedding.  is this frowned on because we're not from new orleans?  how do you go about getting this together?  like what permits do you need and how do you get them?  any help would be appreciated!

greatgirl29

I was wondering the same thing (being from Ohio).  I was also wondering what 2nd line options I have with my ceremony being at the same location as my reception.  Sorry I don't have any answers, just more questions.

maccalovah

Hello!

No, you don't have to be from New Orleans to have a second line- nothing is frowned upon in NOLA, come on! Seriously though, your guests will love it....If you are going to parade through the streets, you do have to have a permit, as well as a police escort (sorry, I don't have any contact info for you, but there should be something on the board somewhere....). If you don't want to go through the streets, you can just do one in your reception venue, and you obviously don't need a permit for that- still fun!

greatgirl29- my ceremony and reception are in the same place, too...the way I am working this is that we will second line at the very end of the reception...we're only doing a 3 hr reception, and this way we kind of get everyone out of there without having to abruptly end the party- and also people will have had a few drinks by then, and will probably get into it more! ha

stephrubia

thanks for your response!  all of my family and friends are so excited about it!  some even started planning their parasols aleady!

i'm just thrilled!  my finance and i completely fell in love with the city of NOLA.  we got engaged there too so it just seemed like the perfect place.  nothing up here in NY seemed to fit.  almost everyone coming down has never been there before so i can't wait for them to see what made me fall in love with NOLA! 

caramia1500

You should absolutely have a Second Line Parade!  We are not locals, but were married in NOLA in November. We also had the ceremony and reception at the same place.  We paraded around the courtyard first and around the block and down Bourbon Street between our cocktail hour and dinner.  It was great because everyone had a few drinks already.  I would have liked to have it after dinner , but thought some of the older guests and children might enjoy it more if we had the parade earlier...plus it was starting to rain.  I wanted my parade!!!  The second line was def. the highlight of the wedding, our guests are still talking about it.  Usually, if you ask your band leader, they will give you contact numbers for the permits and police escorts, but you can call the Orleans Parish PD for more info, I'm sure.  Do you have a wedding planner?  They will take care of EVERYTHING.
I have the permit contact number somewhere if you can't get info. from anyone else. The permit was $50.55 (money order sent 4 weeks before) and you need 3 police escorts at $100 each (cash only on the day-of BTW). We got away with only 2 escorts because we had les than 50 people.  I also have some recommendations for brass bands if you're interested.

stephrubia

i would love recommedations for bands!!  that would be awesome.  i found a bunch online that we liked but if you or someone you know have had good experiences i'd rather go with that!  thanks!