Love in bloom

ASHLEY MARIE HAMBY & DOUGLAS EDWARD HORAIST APRIL 13, 2019 • NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA

- KELLI BOZEMAN

The NOPSI Hotel had already undergone one major metamorphosis before Ashley Hamby ever laid eyes on it. Originally the home of New Orleans Public Service Inc., the Crescent City’s utility service provider, the 1927 building was all business before being restored and reinvented as an architecturally stunning boutique hotel 90 years later.

But when Ashley chose this venue to host the reception following her wedding to Doug Horaist in April 2019, she had an even more spectacular setting in mind. With the help of wedding planner Belinda Belk of Blue Gardenia Events and florist Kim Starr Wise, she transformed the hotel’s atrium and ballroom into a lush fantasy landscape.

“I wanted it to feel like an elegant but whimsical fairy tale,” explains Ashley. “I wanted flowers everywhere—lush greenery with pops of pink. I wanted flowers hanging from the ceiling, on the tables, and in places you wouldn’t expect to see them.”

It was the perfect happy-ending backdrop for a courtship and engagement journey that began when Ashley and Doug met while both were vacationing in Destin, Florida. At the time, Ashley was living in Madison, while Doug, originally from Lafayette, Louisiana, resided in Shreveport. But that magical meeting was enough to bridge the distance.

“We talked every day after the beach trip, and we finally went on our first date in New Orleans about two weeks later,” Ashley recalls. “It was the best first date of my life! I knew then that he was my person.”