On a sultry summer evening in New Orleans, Will came up to Rebekah at Vaughn's nightclub and asked her to dance. She said no, explaining that she preferred to dance with men in public only after she danced with them in the kitchen. So they chatted instead, getting to know each other over cold Abita beers and the brassy jazz music spilling out into the street. They met up again the next evening, ate some serious jambalaya and gumbo at Coop's Place on Decatur Street, and walked around the French Quarter, talking and holding hands. After a midnight kiss on the Moonwalk with the Mississipi River rolling behind them, Rebekah now dances with Will whenever they want, wherever they want.

Our wedding is Saturday, January 26 at 5:00 pm. The ceremony will be held at St. Anna's Episcopal Church, 1313 Esplanade Avenue. Father Bill Terry will officiate. The service will be a Eucharistic Mass, with lots of music and liturgy in a small, beautiful New Orleans church established in 1873.

The reception is actually a Mardi Gras Ball. After the wedding ceremony, the Krewe of Houdini will take over, and the celebration of Carnival will begin. Guests should feel free to bring a costume to change into at the reception. There is plenty of room downstairs to change. We'll be having a contest and forming a court, complete with kings and queens. The party will be held at the Venusian Gardens Gallery and Studio, 2601 Chartres Street. There will be lots of food, dancing, drinking, and fun. After the ball, we'll head into the Marigny and the French Quarter to continue celebrating.

If you have not already, you should make hotel arrangements at a locally owned hotel in or near the French Quarter or Faubourg Marigny, where the wedding and reception will take place. Some recommended hotels are: Hotel Provincial, www.hotelprovincial.com; French Quarter Suites, www.frenchquartersuites.com; Dauphine Orleans, www.dauphineorleans.com; Villa Convento, www.villaconvento.com. Out of town guests should arrive on Friday evening, the 25th, in time for the rehearsal dinner, which is at 5:00 pm. The dinner is at Cannon's Restaurant, 4141 St. Charles Avenue. This is Uptown, not the French Quarter, so you should arrange for transportation to the restaurant if you do not rent a car. If you do rent a car, there is adequate parking at Cannon's. There are two Mardi Gras parades passing in front of Cannon's that night. The dinner will be buffet-style, so you can go in and out of the restaurant as you wish to expereince the parade. That's why you need to get there early so you won't get stuck in traffic and miss the parades!

As an alternative to the honeymoon gifts we've registered for, we'd also appreciate gifts in the form of donations to our favorite organizations. They are St. Anna's Episcopal Church, 1313 Esplanade Avenue, New Orleans, LA; Southern Animal Foundation, 1823 Magazine Street, New Orleans, LA 70130, and Broadmoor Development Coorporation, 4514 S. Derbigny Street, New Orleans, LA 70125.