I do declare! This is about the luveliest place Ah’ve seen to get mahrried in a whaal! Wow. I never realized how hard it is to write a southern accent, even though I hear it on a daily basis. But I digress. If you’re a Gone with the Wind fan, or your honey is a civil war buff, you just might take to the idea of having your ceremony and reception on a real southern plantation. Spending time at the Houmas House Plantation, known as “the Crown Jewel of the Louisiana River Road,” will have you speaking like Scarlett in minutes. Talk about harking back to another age, a gentler time and place, this 38-acre plantation in Darrow, LA, not far from New Orleans (one of my favorite cities!) dates back to 1825, when the daughter of a Revolutionary War general developed the property her daddy had bought. Legend has it, you may run into a ghost or two here!

Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte and other movies have been filmed here, and a number of companies, like Budweiser, have filmed commercials on the plantation. The 16-room mansion, called “The Sugar Palace” is filled with period antiques and Louisiana artwork. The grounds and gorgeous gardens are a glorious setting for a wedding. Your guests will love staying amid the excitement and activities New Orleans has to offer, and they’ll be charmed out of their britches when you bring them to the splendor of this location for your vows and reception.

How much fun would it be to dress your bridesmaids like southern belles and your groomsmen like antebellum gentlemen! I declare, you’d have youah guests talkin’ for days and days! (Sorry, it’s a hard habit to break…) Your wedding photo album would be a real showpiece, filled with colorful images of an extraordinary day. As wedding themes go, this one’s a real doozy! You have to promise me, though—if you do have your wedding at the plantation and run into a ghost, you have to let us here at My Wedding Hero know! Talk about weird wedding crashers! If Ah were you, Ah’d just invite ‘em to partake of youah sumptuous weddin’ meal, a mint julep or two and dance ’til the cows come home!

Susan