Pennywell Events is a charming blend of personal touches, mixed with a touch of “let’s party!” to create an epic and memorable event!
My name is Alicia LaHaie and I am the face and heart that started Pennywell Events LLC, a New Orleans Wedding Planning Company that is here to help couples that want to get married in the greatest city in the world, New Orleans, Louisiana.
These are a few shots of the very first wedding I did, my own, back in 2011 at what is now Margaret Place! These shots in the moment of laughter, dancing, and letting my eclectic and somewhat nerdy side out, are just a few of the reasons I fell in love with planning weddings.
While I was planning my wedding at the then Margaret Gardens venue (different owners and absolutely different vibes today), I often felt pigeon-holed into doing what had been done again and again. I was offered 2 options for everything "A or B". At one point I was questioning whose wedding I was planning because nothing felt personal, nothing was being planned that told our guests who we were as a couple. Our love story was not part of the planning process for us and I absolutely felt that.
So, I did what I do best, and started to craft elements where I could to show off the unique personalities of the two people getting married. Being that I worked in the fashion industry at the time, I designed and sewed every one of my bridesmaids dresses.
Our wedding cake was designed and made by my oldest sister who was taking cake decorating classes at the time. Our cake "toppers" were a borrowed vintage Barbie from my boss and a vintage styled robot from the shops in Alphabet city in NYC. Both of which weighed far too much to actually put on top of the cake, so they were cake table accessories more than toppers.
The music was even crafted to shake things up. I walked down the aisle to Stevie Ray Vaughn's "Pride and Joy" to the total confusion of my dad who has never listed to anything with that much guitar. And our surprise song for the dance floor later was the Ghostbusters theme song (which is way longer than anyone gave it credit for; word of advice, cut it off after a minute and some good photos.)
Even our guest book was something personal and unique, at the time, as we had made a custom photo-booth setup from scratch with our laptop and used the film strips later to create the biggest guest book photo collage anyone has ever put on their living room wall. Having to find a way to make it feel less like a rubber stamp or cookie-cutter wedding was the spark I needed to realize how many other couples were experiencing the same planning nonsense and I was on a mission to make weddings and events more personal any way that I could.
No one should ever be boxed in by some run-of-the-mill wedding "factory line". Each couple should feel like their wedding is unique in every way to them. And after helping numerous couples to bring their vision to life and ensuring that each couple had the most amazing wedding with epic stories to reminisce over later, THAT is why I love what I do, and could not imagine doing anything else.
Growing up in New Orleans, the Fleur de lis has always been a symbol of hope, happiness, and love for me, which is why it has been a part of our company since the beginning. I am so excited to share these blogs with you to help you to be able to get the best advice, tips, and guidance possible for planning your wedding either solo or with us by your side, and to hopefully give you the best chance to have the wedding of your dreams!
If you want to know more about myself, Alicia, our other planner, Allison, or just what Pennywell Events can do for you, feel free to drop us a line here.
Wedding days are those rare moments for you to make memories that you will cherish for a lifetime. Let's make sure you get to enjoy those moments with Grannies and Paw-Paws and every other person that means so much to you. This is my Granny and my mom.