Weddings

Reeve Carney and Eva Noblezada Turned Their Wedding Into a New Orleans Love Parade

Eva Maria Noblezada Carney and Reeve Jefferson Carney
Photo: Mo Davis

The couple decided upon Hotel Peter Paul in the lively Marigny district: an eclectic boutique hotel that speaks to both the old European and Big Easy styles prevalent in the city, restored from a former church and schoolhouse that dates back to the 1800s. “It was so fun to picture our family and friends partying in the chapel and then stumbling 50 steps back to their hotel room,” says Eva.

“We had always envisioned our wedding [as] a big family vacation in our favorite city,” says Reeve.

Quickly, Eva found wedding planner Michelle Norwood, who got to planning their dream day in six months. “We wanted someone who really knew and loved New Orleans,” explains Eva. “I never ever dreamed of having a destination wedding. Reeve and I knew for several years that N’awlins was the city that we would ‘celebrate our love’ in, so we just wanted everything to feel as special and perfect as we felt about each other.”

While menu tasting and enjoying the maritime fruits of Louisiana was a highlight, the hardest part of the planning process, by far, was putting together the guest list. That said, once they had settled upon the list, they found joy in arranging the seating chart. “It was just so wonderful to picture all of those wonderful people from various parts of our lives, all in the same room, and being tasked with putting them together in a way that we imagined would magnify that joy even further,” says Reeve.

Working on the gruesome gothic series Penny Dreadful from 2013 to 2016, Reeve wore many beautiful costumes designed by Oscar-winning Gabriella Pescucci while playing the role of Dorian Gray. “One in particular from season two stood out to me,” recalls Reeve, a bespoke Italian three-piece ivory tuxedo, complete with custom ivory Italian leather ankle boots. “I remember first trying it on, and saying to Gabriella and her assistant Giovanni Lipari, ‘Wow, this is beautiful! I’d wear that at my wedding one day!’” Gabriella excitedly asked when he was getting married. “I’d wear that at my wedding…one day!” Reeve repeated. At the end of the season, a few members of the costume department came to Reeve’s dressing room and handed him a red satin-wrapped package with a handwritten note: ‘To Dorian, for your ‘wedding.’ Love, Gabriella.’”

Reeve told Eva early on about the tuxedo that sat tucked away in a storage unit. “I wanted to make sure that whatever I wore would complement the incredible dress that Eva would end up choosing, [while] being open to something more traditionally black tie. Eva insisted that I wear the tuxedo. She was even looking at photos of it when choosing her dress, I later found out.” The tuxedo wasn’t originally paired with a tie, but Reeve bought a few cravats while they were in London. The tie he eventually landed on was from Ede Ravenscroft, chosen less than an hour before the ceremony.