A Joyful Noise: Mallory and Andy’s Noisician Coalition Proposal
With a proposal this epic, it shouldn’t have taken me over a year to get it into the blog! But for a New Orleans proposal filled with firsts, it’s fitting this would be the first proposal it took me many months to write about! It was also the first proposal planned entirely by a woman who was proposing to a man, the first (and only) proposal featuring New Orleans own noise marching band, and the first proposal I planned for a friend!
I have known Mallory since… goodness… 2008? We met when I photographed and then later joined the ragtag group of misfit musicians, the Noisician Coalition (Noiseco, for short). We made a joyful noise all around New Orleans for a solid ten years before the group largely went defunct. But even though we weren’t donning our corsets and banging on trashcan drums in the middle of Mardi Gras parades anymore, many of us are still friends and our lives continue to interweave in the most wonderful- and often weird- ways.
Mallory is one such Noisician who I’ve kept in touch with. I’ve watched her grow from selling handmade wares at art markets to teaching others how to do the same and successfully market themselves, to authoring a book and becoming a public speaker. She’s been an inspiration to me and I will not try to hide the fact I cried during the curtain call of her one woman show a few years back. Watching her succeed filled me with joy. It feels weird to say you’re proud of a friend but I totally was- and still am!
So when Mallory contacted me about photographing her Mardi Gras Day elopement to her then-boyfriend, Andy (a writer who makes really endearing stop-motion videos out of clay robots he creates), I was all-in. And more-so, I was all in to help her plan a surprise proposal for him! While they were technically already engaged, there had been no formal proposal. And with a couple of weirdos like those two, we had the opportunity to get SUPER dramatic.
It was only natural that we’d enlist the help of the Noisician Coalition to pull off this surprise. Andy and Mallory met because of Noiseco and as a group, we hadn’t paraded or crashed any parties in years. It was the perfect opportunity to invite a handful of Noisicians to dust off their megaphones, squeeze into their old costumes, and turn up the noise for a couple we could all get behind.
Mallory and I met to envision just how absurd this would unfold. And what we settled on was about as absurd as we could get. We would get our Wedding Planner/Officiant friend, Andrea Heming, to lure them into the Bywater for a supposed meeting to discuss their upcoming nuptials. But she would “arrive early” to the meeting location and decide it was too crowded so she’d keep “moving” to other spots in the neighborhood, luring the couple to where Mallory wanted to stage the proposal- in front of B Mike’s “Light” Mural on Royal street.
Once they were passing the mural, they would be stopped by two “time travelers” from the future who would hand them earplugs because the “Noisening is nigh!” And then a big red van would appear, Noisicians would jump out the back and surround Andy, the time travelers would abscond with Mallory into the van which would then drive around the parking lot to a designated spot while Mallory did a quick change in the back. When she was ready, she would get out of the van on the side facing away from Andy.
The Noisicians would part as the van drove away revealing Mallory holding a giant golden key (the key to her heart, of course). After she got the “yes!” they’d go right on back to noisening and the time travelers would appear once again to pop off confetti cannons filled with (biodegradable) red heart confetti.
There were a lot of logistical considerations for this one and it took quite a lot of figuring to make sure it would all work the way we wanted it to. But as my motto goes “there’s always a solution; we just have to find it!” and find it we did.
To say this one was difficult, however, would be an understatement. This was due to the fact I was tasked with directing a bunch of old friends, most of which I hadn’t seen in years. It was too exciting to see all of them. And while I was standing firmly in my Proposal Planner shoes, there was that younger version of me that they knew when I was cutting my teeth in the photo pits of Voodoo Fest that wanted them to be proud of me.
Based on how well everything went, I’d say they must have been plenty proud!
I hid behind a truck parked across the street to capture Andy and Mallory as they approached and be in a good position to capture all of the action. And just like we rehearsed before the couple arrived, everyone played their parts flawlessly. (My partner is a saint, by the way. He drove the Noisician getaway vehicle filled with that ridiculous crew, bless him). Andy was indeed very surprised as he accepted the key to Mallory’s heart without hesitation. We saved a couple of cannons to pop off during a few portraits after (sidenote: confetti cannons are kinda hard to work with!) and then we all spent a little time together at a nearby watering hole (which was rather surreal considering most of us don’t drink anymore!) before turning it crazy early because we are all super old.
I have done so many wonderful, beautiful, imaginative, and exciting proposals in the year and change since this one happened. But none of them have lived up to this level of delightful weirdness! This one was theater. It was performance art. It was a moment born of a bygone era- neither of which could ever be replicated. Looking at these photos fills me with a sense of nostalgia. But it also fills me with the pride of all the accomplishments that have happened in the years since I hung up my horn. Not just my own- but also those of the friends who piled into that van to usher Mallory and Andy into the next stage of their love story… in a way only the Noisician Coalition could.
Enjoy photos from Mallory and Andy’s wackadoodle Noisician Coalition surprise proposal in the Bywater of New Orleans after the jump!
And if you’re ready to create your own joyful noise (Noisicians optional) smash that button below to get started!
